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“This is a mess,” Sonic said bluntly. “Look at it! It’s all swollen!”
Shadow hissed at him, curling up further against the dirt wall, vines pricking into his back. He didn’t relish in the way his injured leg scraped against the floor, bumping against small pebbles.
“Have you seriously just been waiting it out? Did you touch it at all? How did you even hide this?”
“No, I didn’t touch it,” Shadow said exasperatedly. “It’ll heal on its own. I don’t need anyone to prod at it.”
Sonic raised an eyebrow, mouth set in a thin line. It was a look that made Shadow want to snarl at him. The blue hedgehog was exuding an air of I know better than you, to which he didn’t. Shadow would be fine in a couple days’ time. His self-regeneration wasn’t usually this slow, but it’d happen eventually.
“If you wait too long to fix a dislocated joint, you’ll be, like… permanently disfigured. You get that, right?”
“That’s not going to happen to me,” Shadow scoffed.
“Says you? You told me a day ago you didn’t know what you were. Have you considered this,” Sonic gestured to his leg. “—might be an exception to your oh-so convenient healing?”
Insufferable, Shadow thought. He hadn’t let that rare moment of vulnerability slip just for Sonic to use it as leverage to win a stupid argument. He watched the cobalt hedgehog grimace as the words left his mouth, and though it was comforting he felt some regret for his blunder, it wasn’t enough for Shadow to let go of his building anger.
“This,” Shadow bit out, “is a pointless conversation, as no one is around to actually fix it for me. What is your problem?”
“There is, actually, but you won’t let me take you to her.” Sonic retorted.
“You don’t want to take me to her, either! Which is fine, completely fine, so would you just drop it? Pick up a comic, the guitar, the Walkman, or leave.” Shadow growled.
Sonic went quiet— a feat Shadow always took a second to congratulate himself for— and seemed to consider something. Shadow tried to bring his leg up, but immediately stopped when a rush of pain hit him. He didn’t like the clinical way Sonic observed the offending limb, fingers drumming against his crossed arms.
“I could set it for you,” he blurted out.
Shadow scoffed again, turning his eyes to the wall with the mural.
“I’m being serious,” Sonic leaned forward, hands planted against the floor. “Maddie’s taught me a thing or two. I’ve practiced on those weird med school dummies she bought, and now they’re just sitting in my closet, and after we watched Skinamarink, Knuckles opened the door and screamed his head off and woke Ozzie up and it was a whole thing—“
“Sonic.”
“—Right, right,” he backtracked. “What I’m saying is, I’ve got experience. I can make things a little less— uh, painful, for you. This is probably why you’ve been more snappy lately, right?”
To prove his point, Sonic poked Shadow’s upper leg, where he was sure there were no abrasions. Shadow lightly slapped it away, staring at Sonic. He watched the other hedgehog shift at the eye contact, rapidly darting to look at different corners of the cave they were sitting in.
“I refuse to believe you can do this without screwing up in some way.”
“Wh—“ Sonic reared back, face twisted in offense, before he suddenly calmed. “Hey, I get it if you're not sure of my experience. What do I know, right? I did good on those examinations, though. Trust me, Maddie’s a gruelling teacher.”
He patted the floor absentmindedly. “I’m not offering to make myself look cool, okay? Injuries like these suck. I know that first hand. But, I really, really believe I could help. Will you at least let me look?”
Shadow considered his words. Throughout his stay in Sonic’s old cave, the other had dumped trinkets, old and new, to keep him occupied. He brought leftovers, snacks, and occasionally, full meals. Never once did he parade it over him, or gloat about how thankful Shadow should feel. He didn’t ask for favours in return, ones that weren’t Hey, wanna race? Come on, it’s a good song, how can you not dance to it? Eat this for me? I hate mayonnaise. So mundane.
Shadow didn’t expect Sonic to hold this over him. The only thing that was left was uncertainty, about whether Sonic would manage to do this without irreparably ruining Shadow’s mobility.
He looked at Sonic, who was peering at his leg, eyes narrowed as if working something out. Hands hovered over his knee, then darted back to Sonic’s sides.
That clinical look, one that made him sick, planted a ball of dread in his chest, one that’d clog his lungs and arteries until all he could do was hold his breath, look down, and wait. That look.
It was professional, self-assured. It was confident. His leg abruptly flared, making him jerk back against the wall. His head bounced off the dirt.
“Woah!” Sonic yelped. “See what I mean? You need—“
“I know,” Shadow hissed.
“—to get… wait, what?”
“Do it,” Shadow said, uncomfortably. “I’m… allowing you to fix it for me.”
Sonic blankly stared at him a second before brightening, a grin stretching across his face. “Seriously!? Good on you, man! Thank you! I’ll be right back!”
He got up, as if charging to run away, before Shadow tightly grasped his arm, pulling him back down. Sonic blinked, shaking his arm a little to get Shadow to loosen his grip. He did not.
“If you mess this up,” Shadow ground out, pulling Sonic closer, their faces inches apart. “I’ll break your arm in return.”
Sonic seemed to gaze past him until the words registered. “Wait, huh?”
“You heard me.”
“I, uh, we can’t work out the terms a little?” He laughed nervously. “I mean— jumping straight to violence? Pretty unlike you, y’know?”
“I’m not joking,” Shadow replied. Maybe he was. He wasn’t sure if he’d have the wits to actually aim for Sonic’s arm, or if he’d just start beating the shit out of him the moment he felt something pull wrong at his knee. “Do it right, or I’ll pop that twig out of its socket.”
“Technically, that’s dislocation instead of a fracture, and also, twig?! You’re making it really hard to want to help you, dude,” Sonic huffed, yanking his arm out of Shadow’s grasp. “Fine, fine, why not. Just know it’ll be really hard to explain to my family.”
He sped out of the cave in a blur, blowing gravel into Shadow’s face. He growled, brushing it away. Stupid hedgehog.
Within a second, Sonic came back, holding a first-aid kit. Shadow squinted at it. He’s never had one used on him before.
“This has a ton of stuff in it, but you’ll probably just need splint supplies and the painkiller bottle,” Sonic rambled, grabbing a blanket from one of the corners of the cave and spreading it on the floor. He pulled the aforementioned objects out of the kit and laid them on the blanket.
“I’ll wash this for you later, there should be two in here, right?” Sonic asked, not looking up from where he was inspecting the splint.
Shadow hummed in confirmation. He looked at his dislocated leg, poking it experimentally. It hurt. Considerably. The swelling made him a little sick to his stomach.
He’s used to the sharp pain of shards of bone being slotted back into place. If Sonic wasn’t bullshitting, he could do it in one go. It wouldn’t even last a second, he’d be fine.
“Okay,” Sonic was beginning to walk over, plopping onto the floor in front of him. “I just need to feel around for where I should set it back together for a minute. You ready?”
Shadow turned away. “Get on with it.”
Sonic tentatively felt the fur on his knee, and Shadow felt a gasp die in his throat at the sting that came with it. Sonic looked up apologetically, muttering a small “sorry.”
His hand wrapped around his leg lightly. Shadow shivered at the contact and hoped Sonic hadn’t felt it. He continued to move his hand across his leg, avoiding the knee itself.
“If it makes you feel any better,” Sonic suddenly piped up, “I also dislocated my knee once before I met Tom and Maddie.”
Shadow’s ears twitched, but he didn’t say anything in response.
Sonic’s hand stayed wrapped around one area, his eyes narrowed, deep in thought. He seemed to be speaking just to speak, no thought behind it. It was something he did semi-often. “Don’t remember how, but running around to get the supplies to fix it sucked. I had the foresight,” he suddenly snickered. Shadow rolled his eyes.
“—to already pack a first-aid kit in my cave, but I didn’t know how to actually set my knee, or how to make a splint. I had to hype myself up to go to the library and spend enough time there to find something that’d help, because one, it would hurt, and two, I was worried I’d be too slow and someone would see me. Eventually, I managed it.”
His hands finally released his leg, and Shadow watched Sonic nod, which he wanted to take as a good sign. “I must’ve done something right, because I don’t have a permanent limp or anything. You’re in safe hands, Shads!”
“…Are you done?” Whether he was asking about the story, or about the examination was anyone’s guess.
“Oh, yeah! Uh, it was a little tricky to get a read of, but I think I know where to position my hands and stuff,” Sonic said. “Applying the right amount of pressure shouldn’t be a problem. Have I ever held back on you, Shadow?”
“Yes,” he grumbled.
Sonic shrugged. “Tough crowd.”
The hands came back, firmly grasping the side of Shadow’s lower leg, the other right above his knee. He breathed in shakily at the unpleasant tingle that came from it.
“Are you ready? I’ll give a countdown of three.”
Shadow said nothing for a few seconds, then nodded minutely.
Sonic raised an eyebrow. “You’re stiff as a board, man. Relax a little.”
Shadow became keenly aware that his shoulders were hiked up to his face, then scowled as he lowered them, forcing the rest of his body to go limp. His fingers dug into the floor.
“Okay, good,” Sonic said, as if he were talking to a child. Shadow bristled, but Sonic gave an unimpressed look to the way Shadow’s quills rose up. Again, he loosened the pressure in his chest, feeling the rest of the stress drain from his body temporarily.
“We’re fine, now?” Sonic asked, and Shadow could’ve screamed at him to just hurry up. Instead, he nodded again.
Sonic gained a concentrated look, biting his lip. “Okay, uhh… one.” He started slowly.
Shadow closed his eyes, feeling dread shoot through his body before clamping it down again.
“Two!”
Before Shadow could register the raised tone, he felt a white-hot pain, hurt, hurt, hurt rush through him, blinding and warm. He yelled.
When he opened his eyes, not noticing the tears pricking his eyes, his gaze snapped onto the stupid hero sat across from him, already locking the splint onto his knee.
“What the fuck happened to three?!”
“People always tense up on three,” Sonic said matter-of-factly. “I don’t want to end up with a broken arm. Sorry. On the bright side, it’s a one-use technique anyways!”
Shadow can’t even argue with that, but he’s still pissed off, so he glares holes into Sonic’s quills as he finishes adjusting the splint, blinking away the tears that had formed. He leans back to inspect his work. Shadow lowers his gaze as well, mildly surprised that he did it without breaking something else. He looked back up at the hero, an unreadable expression on his face replacing the previous glower.
“Alright, cool. Your leg’s actually straight now, so all I’m asking is to stay off of it. Tall task, I know.” The insufferable hedgehog says, moving to unclasp the painkiller lid and take a pill out. He grabbed a water bottle from the 30-pack he suddenly delivered to the cave one day, handing both to him.
Shadow all but snatches them from him, then demands, “Give me a second one.”
“Uh,” Sonic says intelligently, before giving the pill bottle a once-over. “Eh, you’re old enough to take two at a time. Knock yourself out.”
He tossed another one to Shadow, who shovelled them both down his throat, completely disregarding the water bottle.
Sonic looked disgusted. “You’re weird, man.”
Shadow grunted in response, then moved to get up. Sonic reacted instantly, rushing to his side.
“Woah, woah, woah! Did you forget when I told you to stay off of that? You’ve already been ignoring it for a week and a half, do you want it to dislocate again?”
Shadow huffed, brushing the other’s arm off. “If it’s been popped back into place, it’s only a matter of time until it heals completely. I’ll be fine.”
Sonic shook his head stubbornly. “Nuh-uh! You said that before it got fixed. Let me do it.”
Before Shadow could inquire what “it” was, Sonic suddenly picked him up and dropped him into a bean bag. “What the hell?!”
“I gotta split soon, and I’m not leaving you on the dirty, uncomfortable floor. Don’t rough up your splint too much. I was nice, and irresponsible enough to not force you to put on a cast.” Sonic replied, infuriatingly. He pulled a small table over, wincing at the screeching sound it made.
“You— ugh,” Shadow cut himself off, massaging his temple. “What are you doing now?”
“Making things more accessible!” Sonic chirped. “I know there’s no way you’ll actually rest for a couple days, so I’ll just put everything as close to you as possible!” To prove it, he picked up the guitar and propped it to lean against the bean bag. He dumped the Walkman and its accompanying headphones on the table, alongside the untouched water bottle and a small bag of snacks, art supplies, and guitar tabs he’d snuck in over the course of a week.
Shadow shifted, the flaring pain in his knee dulling to a noticeable discomfort. The consideration put him off, as everything about the other hedgehog did.
“Alright, done, I think. Mostly. Sure, why not? I’ll be back in the morning anyways, so…” Sonic turned to him, a dejected smile on his face. “Sorry I have to leave, like, right after all this. I want to stick around a little longer, ‘cause we didn’t even do anything fun, but Tails is gonna question me if I’m any later, and..”
Shadow fidgeted with the tangled headphones’ wiring. “I don’t need your company. I’ll be fine.”
Sonic wilted.
That came out a lot harsher than he wanted it to. He simply meant he’d do fine without Sonic putting them at risk by sticking around any longer, but he’s never understood the purpose of the No, I’ll be fine. Are you sure? Yes, I’ll be fine. Are you absolutely, completely sure? dilemma. Neither had Maria. She’d found it so annoying whenever she got into a spat with one of the guards because her bluntness was “rude for a girl her age.” He got irritated just hearing her narrate it. He felt himself sober at the thought of her.
“…Alright, see you.” Just as he made to climb out of the cave, Shadow called out to him.
“Sonic, wait.”
The blue hedgehog turned around, eyes wide. “Yeah?”
Shadow faltered. “They used to break my bones, back when…” he paused, mouth dry. “And I— they wouldn’t… do anything else, some wouldn’t even count down when they had to set it. I wouldn’t get a splint, they’d just send me on my way, and…”
Why was he saying all this? What prompted him? He yanked at the wiring. “Thank you. For— helping afterwards as well. For setting up the table, and everything. I appreciate it.” He finished lamely.
He refused to look at Sonic’s expression, probably already twisting into a cocky grin. He braced himself for laughter, when he heard a quick inhale.
“That’s— shit. I didn’t think— I mean, I did, but, that’s awful. They really did that to you?” Sonic inched closer, seemingly forgetting his previous incentive to leave.
Shadow didn’t answer.
“I…” Sonic started, seemingly at odds with himself. “You don’t have to thank me for basic respect, Shadow. Of course I’d help you out after, you deserve it. I don’t get why they made you feel like it was otherwise.”
He shifted closer, leaning down so he was at eye level with Shadow. “I care about you, y’know? I’d give you a million splints! And a lollipop for good behaviour! All those scientists back there were lame and stingy. But, now…” Sonic gave a little flourish of his hands.
“You've got your own, personal, top-notch nurse! And we’re both hedgehogs! We’re down pat in the medical wing!”
Shadow snorted. “A nurse that’s only available four hours per day? Spaced out, nonetheless? Very top-notch.”
Sonic groaned. “Let me have this! And— shit! I gotta go!” He whirled around, giving Shadow a quick, unexplainable pat on the head. “See ya, for real this time! And remember, stay off that leg!”
In a streak of blue, he was gone. Shadow waited for the cold feeling of absence to hit him, but instead felt his ears twitch at the lingering warmth from the other’s hand. He hadn’t even drawn anything on the splint. Maria would be offended.
Shadow stared at the assortment of objects on the table, then grabbed two markers from an elementary school packet, two different shades of blue, and scribbled two stars onto his knee.