Shadow never thought he'd have children. Not even adopted ones, or 'inherited' from a possible partner - their parent. The thought of starting a family was one of those thoughts that the half-alien, doomed to an eternal and ageless existence, had forbidden himself from thinking about the moment he realized the full prospect of his future.
He was supposed to be a loner. No ties, no attachments, no affections, no sympathies... no love. And certainly no children.
Losing it all would be too scary.
But there was nothing he could do about the stubborn persistence of one blue hedgehog. And if at first Shadow had convinced himself that it was just a call of the flesh, a meaningless infatuation, just a way to cope with the madness of his alien part, the unspoken words of sympathy were fatally close to the truth.
One he'd refused to acknowledge up until that moment.
The cub in his palms sneezed, and Shadow hurried to hold him closer. A small hand clutched at the long white strands, the baby squirmed, warm in the heat of his body, and Shadow lifted his head up, gritting his teeth and squinting tightly to keep himself from-
"Shad? Is everything alright?"
Sonic held the second child - almost a replica of Shadow himself, with still light colored fur but distinctive red markings - and looked at the black hedgehog, trying to deal with his emotions, with slight concern. Shadow took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and exhaled, hesitant to lower his gaze:
"They're so small. Defenseless. I..." he swallowed and admitted quietly, "I'm afraid of losing them."
The anxiety on the blue hedgehog's face was replaced by surprise. He slowly approached Shadow and placed his palm on his clasped hands, which were hiding in a protective gesture the baby clutched to his chest.
"Nothing will happen to them," he said soothingly. "I'll do everything I can to-"
"We," Shadow interrupted him, suddenly looked intently into his eyes, and repeated firmly, "we will do everything we can. Together."
Sonic didn't immediately realize his words. But then he broke out into a smile. "That sounds almost like a proposal," he said with a chuckle.
"Don't be fooled, hedgehog," Shadow snorted back and, before the smile of the Hero of Mobius could fade, pulled him in for a kiss, "It is."
***
These dreams were torture.
Bright, luminous, soaked in airy-light joy, warmth and happiness, filled with smiles and laughter - dreams so similar to the truth that it was unbearably painful to return from them to reality. Everything hurt: the splitting headache, the dry throat, the tightly closed eyes and clenched jaws, the palms, sore from the claws digging into them... the phantom, long-healed wound on his stomach, and the heavy hole in his mind that wouldn't heal - the void that had been formed the day he'd first heard them.
Only to lose forever a moment later.
In the silence of the empty apartment, there was no one to notice his tears. So it was possible to let his feelings out and, without hiding under the mask of calmness and humility worn for everyone - especially for him - to wail bitterly for the umpteenth time, mourning the irreparable loss.
The small, fragile lump... Shadow desperately wanted to hold it in his arms just once.
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