Shadow Fire

A shy smile came to his face. "When you ran, I realised exactly how stupid and selfish I was being, and that I may have risked losing you. I kinda... freaked out."

Sonic gently nuzzled Light. "I suppose I may still have some lingering feelings for Shadow... which explains why I..." Cutting himself off, the blue hedgehog moved his head away and gazed into Light's eyes, bringing a hand up to the white hedgehog's cheek. "But don't worry. I love you, Light. At any rate, we should probably go back. I kinda need to face the music." Lowering his gaze, Sonic blushed sheepishly. "I kinda, uh... swore in front of Shade."

Draping his arms slowly around his boyfriend, Sonic buried his face in the younger male's neck. "Please forgive my selfishness. I wasn't thinking of your feelings... I was only... thinking of mine..."

Sonic continued to sob softly. "All I ever do... is to bring pain... to those I care for..." Slowly, he looked up at the white hedgehog, letting their eyes meet, and giving a feeble whimper. "Sorry..."

I just learned of the programs I will be using in the course. I already use a couple of them, but seriously man... wow.

"I'm such a fool... I love you so much... and all I've done is... is hurt you." Dejectedly, Sonic broke out into sobs. "I don't deserve you... I didn't deserve Shadow... I don't deserve anything..."

Sonic stopped, glancing around. He had a feeling Light was around, but he couldn't see him. "Light... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get upset at you. I just..." The blue hedgehog dropped to his knees, feeling defeated. More tears began to form. "I'm so lost..."

Instantly feeling terrible, Sonic growled out a word that would surely have Shade reprimand him sometime in the future. "...fuck!" Breaking free of his brother's grip, the blue hedgehog took off after Light. At least he had speed on his side, so Light wouldn't have gotten very far.

Shaking his own head, Sonic lowered his gaze once again. "No... it's not okay. I'm an outsider... I have no idea what you guys went through, but..." Glancing back up at Light, his expression softened. "I'm still hurting too, love. How do you think it feels to have your best friend disappear for almost 3 years after telling him you're in love with him? If I'd never said those words that day..." "Stop!" The blue hedgehog jolted as the familiar voice of his brother suddenly sounded out. Manic gave an icy glare to his brother as he walked over and took him by the shoulders. "This isn't your fault, Sonic. Not. At. All. Got that? No, I'm the one who searched for the shadowy dude... and told him to come here."

"Light!" Sonic's voice came out a little harsher than he'd intended, and not realising that Shade had hidden behind him, he'd quickly grabbed a hold of his beloved, positioning himself between the two brothers, arms around Light. "What's gotten into you?" Eyes wide, the blue hedgehog wasn't used to seeing Light like this. It kinda scared him.

Sonic slowly lifted his head, and turned his gaze to Light, unsure of what would happen. "Light..."

Sonic turned his head at Shadow's voice, only to find himself suddenly pulled into a kiss. When his brain took in what was happening, a cascade of emotions set in. On one side, he felt pure bliss at having his childhood friend kiss him, the way he had always hoped for. However, on another side, he was devastated, because he was in love with Light, and knew it was wrong to be doing this. When the kiss ended, Sonic pulled away, and lowered his gaze to the ground. "Shadow... I..." There was suddenly a familiar flash of light. Sonic didn't even need to look up to know that it was Chaos Control.

Hearing his love's voice on the phone, Sonic initially wondered how Light got a hold of it. He hadn't given it out, and it was an unlisted number. However, he put that to the side when he heard how shaky the white hedgehog's voice was. "Is everything...? Of course, you're both welcome to." The call ended, and the blue hedgehog returned the phone to the receiver. His expression showed a little bit of concern.

Blinking, Sonic stood up and zoomed to the phone, answering it. "Y'ello?"

Emerald and ruby remained fixed on one another, Sonic staying silent.

A defeated look came to his face, the blue hedgehog staring down. "I never truly got over you, Shadow. I..." Trailing off, Sonic gave a heavy sigh. Suddenly, he felt a soft hand on his, glancing up to look at Shadow.

Sonic's heart sunk, and his entire world came crashing down. "You return--..." More tears began to flow, and the blue hedgehog began openly sobbing. Words he had wanted to hear for so long were now a cause of great pain to him. On the one hand, he was happy that Shadow felt the same about him, but on the other hand, he'd tried to move on, and found love with another. Trying to compose himself, Sonic meekly nodded. "Yes... with Light..."

Looking at the ebony hedgehog, he remembered just how much his heart broke when Shadow left him. "Almost three years... as you can see, I'm still..." The blue hedgehog choked back a sob as emerald met ruby. "What made you come back?"

The blue hedgehog pulled out of Shadow's embrace, stumbling back a little. His eyes were wide and filled with tears. "It's... really... you?" Without waiting for an answer, his legs suddenly couldn't hold him up any more, and he fell to his knees. "I didn't think... I'd ever see you again... after what I did..." Tears began to flow freely, and Sonic just let them fall.

The hours passed, and Manic still hadn't returned. Sonic could only assume he'd met up with his old friends and decided to hang out with them. Light had taken Shade back home, although Sonic had requested both of them to stay. I suppose I can't fault their reasons for going. But... this house is so lonely again... With a sigh, he headed out back, entering his rotunda, staring out the other side at the view. "It's so much to take in..." Closing his eyes, he gave a slight smile as he felt arms wrap around him. Opening his eyes, he turned his head, expecting to see Light, or even Manic. However, what he saw made him cold and suddenly weak. "Sh...adow...?"

Broken from his thoughts, Manic just blinked, before chuckling. "Sure thing, princess." Jumping off the sofa to his feet, the green hedgehog gave a slight grin, before waving to Shade and heading outside. "Bro, I'm gonna head off for a while, okay? I've missed this place so much and I should probably reacquaint myself with everything." Plus, I should probably try and find your dude's brother. With a wave, he suddenly turned to Light. "It was a pleasure to meet you. Take care of my bro for me. He can be a bit of work, but he's a good guy." He raced off before Sonic could protest, leaving the blue hedgehog to blink after him. "Well, that was... unusual."

Shocked to hear her speak, as he'd already come to the realisation that she was mute, Manic blinked and stared at her, before smiling. "Sorry to say, mu--princess(?)... it's true. You and Light seeing my return and how happy it made made my big bro... gave you some bad memories." He put a finger on his chin as he began thinking to himself. Maybe I should try finding this Shadow dude...

Inside, the green hedgehog was glancing towards where Sonic and Light were, before turning back and glancing down, giving a soft sigh. "I've screwed up again. My presence here has given rise to bad feelings 'n' stuff."

Holding his beloved close, the blue hedgehog gave a soft sigh. "I don't know, love. But I don't think it will be too much longer..." His expression became a little thoughtful. It's been over 2 years. How much longer can he spend away from his family?

As Manic protested inside, Sonic laced his arms around his beloved, resting his head on his shoulder. "He'll come back, love." Gently, he pressed a kiss to the nape of Light's neck.