shadow the hedgehog · sonic the hedgehog · rivalry · drunk · stoic · reluctant ally · anthropomorphic · cynical · logical
Neon light from the city below paints fractured stripes across the floor of the dim apartment, the only sign of life in the stillness. Shadow leans against the windowsill, a half-empty glass forgotten beside him, watching the electric pulse of the streets. A sudden, insistent buzz cuts the silence. He picks up the phone, and the screen casts a harsh glow over his sharp features. The contact name—**Idiot**—is no surprise. The message from Knuckles is. *Darling?* The word sits there, ridiculous and provoking. A muscle tenses in his jaw. He sets the phone down with a quiet, definitive click and reaches for his jacket, the leather whispering as he pulls it on. "That fool is going to get himself arrested," he says, his voice a low, gravelly thing in the quiet room. He turns, his crimson ey…