.:Sonadow:.At the Olympics Ch2

The once hazel sky was beginning to darken and a green like fire began to light up the heavens that night, causing a natural green to shine through the dim atmosphere. The whispering sound of the wind that hit the outer walls of the bus carried the melody of the distant lullaby. Lights flashed in and out of view through the windows as the bus passed the light posts from the vacant roadway.              

The famous azure hedgehog felt his consciousness slowly ebbing away. His muscles gradually grew more relaxed, causing his posture to become lax. His breathing is light, but controlled.

The ultimate lifeform took a quick glance at Sonic and noticed his jarring sleep position. The blue hero’s head began to slowly droop down to an uncomfortable angle with no neck support due to the movement of the bus.

“Sonic is just as wreckless in his sleep as he is awake, no surprise there.” A blustery whisper escaped his lips, quiet enough to not disturb the sleeping imbecile next to him.

An idea suddenly formed in his head. With a sense of urgency, Shadow bent down to reach Sonic’s backpack. He unzipped the bag to search inside, digging through the organized clutter to see if he had anything he could use to prop behind his neck. He dug deeper until his hand hit a soft, yet firm substance. Bingo. He grabs onto the article and steadily pulls out the mystery item out of the backpack. A neck pillow.

“Hmph” The ultimate life form smirked as if he had struck gold.

‘Gotta hand it to him, he came more prepared than I thought.’

Shadow delicately slides a hand behind Sonic's back and steadily raises it. He propped up the sleeping rodent in a comfortable position while slipping the pillow on the nape of the neck. He adjusts the item promptly so that it sits perfectly on his body. Cautiously, he lowered his head on his seat so that Sonic is able to properly sleep sitting up. Success.

Shadow gave a slight nod and turned to face the window again to watch the beautiful scenic route of the winter wonderland outside. His face was expressionless, however, he felt elated that he was finally able to enjoy his alone time.

Without warning, the tour bus bounced over a bump on the road, causing Sonic’s body to slide to the right. His head settled on Shadow’s shoulder which startled the uptight hedgehog. Shadow’s sharp eyes darted at the blue hero praying that he didn’t wake up from the abrupt bus movement. He sighed in relief when a sudden realization hit him like a ton of bricks. Sonic was using his arm as a pillow. His cheeks felt a sudden rush of heat and the closeness of Sonic’s body caused his muscles to become tense.

The first instinct that came to mind was to push that intolerable chilidog glutton away from his shoulder, however, the feeling of Sonic’s head laying on his shoulder sent a surprisingly pleasant feeling down his spine. He slowly began to accept the position he was in, knowing for sure that that chatter box of a hedgehog was better asleep than yapping away at Chaos knows what, especially at this late hour.

'I guess…I’ll allow it for now.’ He thought with a slight hint of regret. Shadow slightly adjusts his arms so that Sonic’s head is able to link perfectly on his shoulder. He let out a deep sigh and rested his head into his seat, trying not to think about the awkward position he’s in.

Unbeknownst to Shadow, Sonic woke up when the sudden movement of the bus jolted his body into the shoulders of his counterpart. He could have easily moved away and slept the opposite way, however, he felt much more comfortable in the dark hedgehog’s embrace. Sonic’s mouth curled into a slight mischievous grin as he slightly lifted an eyelid.

'What a sucker.' He gloated at his deliberate, yet corny plan in his head.

As night came to pass, Sonic eventually fell asleep on Shadow’s shoulder with a smile on his face. It was for a brief moment in the dawn of morning that Shadow was able to finally close his eyes and drift off into sleep after being lost in thought all night.


Day 1

The chirps of morning birds sang across the horizon and the sky began to shine a hue of bright blue. Fresh snow covered the dirt like a blanket and the trees bristled with the slight push of the wind. Inside the tour bus, noise began to crescendo as the chatter began to spill from the contestants. Sonic’s eyes shot wide open, his vision trying to adjust to the light projecting from the outside. He noticed that he was positioned on the opposite end of his seat, which made him wonder if Shadow had finally had enough and pushed him away while in rem sleep.

He turned to face Shadow who was laying his head against the window of the bus. His eyelids were closed shut and had headphones on, which was blaring music from his outdated music device he had hidden in his quills. Shadow sensed a pair eyes glancing at his direction and opened his eyes slightly. From his peripherals the dark hedgehog noticed his azure companion was wide awake, looking in his direction while giving him a sheepish grin.

"Morning Shadow." Sonic salutes his seat partner.

Shadow saw his mouth move, however, he was unable to hear his words due to the volume of his music. He removed an earbud so he could hear what Sonic had to say.

"Hmm?"

"I said good morning." Sonic repeated.

"Morning." He responded with a soft serene tone and placed his earbud back into his right ear.

The bus suddenly came to an abrupt halt and Sonic face planted into the seat in front of him. Shadow was able to hold a tight grip on the seat handle above to avoid being chucked from his seat.

"Ok mommy I'll eat your cookies." Knuckles blurted out while being in a lethargic state from being jerked awake. Knuckles’ incoherent words echoed across the bus, which caught the attention of the blue blur.

Sonic snorted loudly, trying to contain his laughter like a little kid hearing a fart joke. Shadow grunted from the lack of maturity Sonic was displaying and shook his head disapprovingly.

"What the heck-a is the big-a deal?" A worn out Mario groaned, directing his comment to the bus driver.

"Sorry everyone! We made it." The bus driver bashfully grinned at the group.

The competitors looked out the window and saw a town covered in ice as if a winter storm had settled the night prior. The rays of sun reflected off the white sheet of snow, accentuating the glow of the hidden microscopic crystals beneath the surface.

The driver pulled down the lever to open the revolving doors, allowing the contestants to leave the bus at their leisure. The noises of backpacks and jackets projected across the vehicle as everyone was eager to stretch their legs and breathe the crisp and cool air. One by one they got off the bus, leaving Sonic and Shadow the last ones in their self assigned seats.

Sonic clears his throat and looks at Shadow who was getting ready to leave his seat. “So Shadow-"

"Sonic!" A vocal cheer came from behind him. Sonic’s face filled with dread fully expecting that his admirer would immediately hunt him down after the road trip.

"Amy...."

An awkward silence grew between them as Amy hovered around her blue romeo like a helicopter, examining him quill by quill. Shadow was just a bystander in their quirky encounter with a smirk on his face in pure amusement. Sonic is finally getting a taste of his own medicine.

Amy smiled sheepishly at Sonic and finally broke the silence. "Excited for the Olympics?"

Hesitant, he proceeds to respond to her "Uh, I guess...."

As amused as he was seeing the blue buffoon getting his karma, Shadow couldn’t help but notice that the bus was vacant and the contestants were congregating outside.

“Will you two love birds hurry it up? We need to get out of the bus. Some of us have things to do.” Shadow chimed in with a sense of urgency.

“You’re right Shadow! What are we doing here when we can enjoy the beautiful sunrise together, right Sonic?” Amy dotted. Before Sonic is able to get a word in, she snatches the blue blur’s right wrist and starts dragging him down the middle aisle.

“Amy, please wait…”

“NO TIME!” Amy interrupted and ran out the bus door with Sonic following behind like a ragged doll.

Shadow proceeded in the direction of the exit. As he advanced down the stairs, the bus driver tipped his hat and bid him farewell.

Outside, a small child-like mushroom humanoid walked up to the group with a megaphone in his right hand. He positioned the megaphone perfectly adjacent to his lips and pressed a button to send a piercing high pitch sound which caught the attention of the contestants. Bystanders who happened to be near the area stopped dead in their tracks to tune into the noise happening nearby.

"Hello everybody!” Toad began to announce. “Welcome to Vancouver! Tonight is our opening ceremony where we introduce our players from Team Mario and Team Sonic. You all have 14 hours to explore the town at your leisure."

The group gave him a slight nod and dispersed in opposite directions. Across the distance was a coffee shop, which piqued the interest of the ultimate life form. After a long trip, he needed to get his fix of coffee beans to make it through the day. Shadow hummed and began to walk towards the establishment.

In the distance, Sonic was still in the grasp of his captor, trying to find any excuse to escape. He looks around and notices Shadow walking towards the shop and begins to follow suit, only to be stopped by Amy. She tightens her grip around her sweet love, restricting him from further movement.

"Sonic, I saw a boutique nearby on the way here. Want to see me try some outfits on?" She asked a now visibly annoyed Sonic.

"No thanks Amy, I'm doing my own thing today" Sonic responded, hoping that his plea would get through to the pink hedgehog and let him break free.

Amy notices his expression which troubled her greatly. As much as she adores her blue romeo, she simply could not let his mood ruin all her fun.

"Hmph! Suit yourself." She pouts, letting go of his wrists. “Maybe I could still catch up to Cream and Cheese!”

Amy twirled around and eagerly skipped in the direction of the boutique, hoping to find her friends along the way. Sonic let out a huge sigh of relief and twisted his cramped up wrist from the unpleasant grip Amy had him in moments ago. Freedom, sweet sweet freedom. He grinned with excitement knowing he could still catch up to Shadow if he ran fast enough, which is not an issue for Sonic The Hedgehog. The speedster jolted to Shadow’s location leaving footprint tracks on the snow below.

"Shadow! Wait!" He waved trying to catch the attention of his rival.

Shadow’s ear perked as he heard the sound of footsteps coming his direction. He stopped in front of the entrance of the shop and let out an irritated sigh.

"I was hoping that pink brat would keep you distracted." Shadow yelled loud enough for Sonic to hear.

Sonic skidded to a halt. He raised an eyebrow and scoffed at the ultimate lifeform, giving him a slight nudge.

"You’re quite the class clown, Shadow.” He backbited, ”What? I can’t spend time with the ol’ rival?" Sonic tilted his head slightly while giving him a smirk.

"Don't get your hopes up, hedgehog."

"Huh, this is the most you’ve said to me so far. You must be warming up to me already." Sonic grabbed the door handle of the coffee shop and gave the passageway to his grumpy companion. He gave a slight bow putting his hand underneath his chest. “After you"

Shadow crossed his arms and walked inside, completely emasculating Sonic’s kind gesture.

"Grouch." He muttered under his breath as his lack of appreciation loomed over the speedster’s good mood. He walks in after Shadow, allowing the glass doors to automatically close behind him.

Behind the counter was a cashier surrounded by kitchen machinery and ingredients designed to create that delicious cup of joe people crave early in the morning. A strong caramelized aroma clouded the room, further adding to the free-flowing atmosphere of the coffee shop. With a warm glowing smile, the cashier waved at the two hedgehogs and greeted them enthusiastically.

"Welcome to our coffee shop! What would ya like?"

"Coffee Beans." Shadow replied.

"I err-" The cashier stumbled on their words before instigating further “Will that complete your order?”

"Yes."

The cashier hummed as they pressed their fingers on the kiosk, ringing up the item. "That will be $6.27"

Shadow reached for the back of his quills to pull out currency, when he felt a grip on his wrist, restricting him from digging further.

"I'll pay for you. It's the least I could do." Sonic gives him a reassuring thumbs up.

Shadow’s pupils shot towards the direction of the azure hedgehog. His eyes narrow and respond with a slight annoyance in his tone.
"No, I'm fine. I can pay for my own-"

Before Shadow is able to finish his thought, Sonic grabs the money he had pulled out from his own quills and hands the exact change to the cashier. He then looks at Shadow, who has a smug look in his face and gives him a wink.

Shadow’s gaze lowered as his cheeks turned a bright red. He shakes his arm breaking free from Sonic’s grip and lowers it. "There was literally no point to that." He voiced as he began walking away from the register.

“No, but I like being generous." Sonic slightly chuckles. The cashier tears the receipt from the register and hands it to Sonic directly.

“Here ya go! We’ll have it bagged up for ya and ready in about a minute.” The cashier reassures him. They both exchange a slight nod before the blue hero walks in the direction of his rival.

Shadow wandered around the establishment a bit until he was able to locate an empty table in the back. He walked towards one of the chairs to secure his spot with Sonic following suit. Sonic places both elbows on the table and positions both fists under his chin to secure his head. His eyes began to explore Shadow’s crimson eyes, watching them glisten under the light emitting from the ceiling.

As they sat in silence, Shadow’s thoughts began to wander, reflecting on the past several hours since they left for Vancouver. He was baffled as to why Sonic had such strong perseverance to stay glued to his side, yet at the same time amazed he had stayed this long considering he hasn’t fed much into his antics. However, there’s no denying that this whole time he’s been a persistent pain in the ass no matter how he felt towards that cocky lunatic. Deep down he couldn’t fight the feeling of him slowly appreciating the unwanted companionship he had the novelty of having up till now, if you could call it that. Shadow plants his right hand on his forehead and begins massaging his temples in frustration trying to fight such delusions in his head as he puts it.

Sonic notices the sudden and which raises a bit of a concern. “Hey Shadow, is something wrong?”

"Order for Sonk." One of the baristas announced in confidence.

Sonic’s eye twitches at the slight mispronunciation of his name which took his attention away from the situation. “For chaos sake, It’s SONIC. How the hell do you butcher that?” He groaned as he stood up to grab the bag of coffee beans that awaits him.

Shadow waited for the blue hedgehog to walk a good distance from the table to let out a slight chuckle. 'That hedgehog is something.'