He lay there, eyes half-open, staring at the ceiling. A tremor of anxiety crawled up his spine, uninvited and unexplained. Shadow didn’t get this feeling often—not unless something was wrong. Very wrong.

He rolled onto his side, and the tension eased just a little. Neo Metal Sonic was beside him, the moonlight reflecting off the metal plating in soft blue tones. He almost looked like he was glowing.

Shadow let out a shaky exhale.

His rustling, however quiet, was enough to wake Neo.

Neo’s optics brightened slowly, a soft whirr echoing in his chest. “...Why are you awake, baby?” Neo murmured, still halfway in sleep mode.

Shadow swallowed, voice tight. “I’m just… overwhelmed, I guess.”

Neo scooted closer immediately—he always did. He curled into Shadow’s chest, wrapping their fingers together, his movements tender despite his metal frame.

“What can I do to help you relax?” Neo asked, tone gentle, even soothing—something only Shadow ever got to hear.

“Just… stay with me.” Shadow’s voice cracked, like he was fighting the urge to break down.

Neo warmed his core, letting the soft heat radiate outward, enveloping Shadow’s trembling hands. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” he whispered, running metal fingers carefully through Shadow’s quills.

Shadow flinched.

A sharp, stabbing pain shot through his arm.

Neo immediately sat upright, optics widening. “Shadow!? What was that?”

Shadow gripped his arm, eyes narrowing in fear. “It felt like—like I just got an IV.” His voice dropped to a horrified whisper. “Why would I feel that?”

“It doesn’t make sense,” Neo said, scanning Shadow’s arm with a worried whirr. “There’s no puncture. No damage. Nothing.”

This wasn’t normal.

Shadow hadn’t had an anxiety episode like this in years… but the pain was new. The last time he felt something that wasn’t physically happening to him was—

—before Maya was born.

Some of Shadow’s darkling abilities had changed, grown stronger. His new sense—“danger sense,” as Neo called it—was unpredictable, painful, and deeply tied to Shadow’s instincts.

Shadow’s stomach twisted.

He knew this could be a darkling thing.

But calling Eclipse?

Or worse… Black Doom?

No. Absolutely not.

Trying not to wake Maya in the next room—she had school with them in the morning, her first day—Shadow and Neo slipped into the kitchen. Neo grabbed Shadow’s phone and held it out.

“No. Don’t even think about calling him,” Shadow said defensively.

Neo raised a brow plate. “You need answers. Eclipse is the only one who understands this.”

Shadow pinched the bridge of his nose. “If I call Eclipse, he’ll talk for hours. He always somehow brings up crime, drags me into it, then finds out I have a daughter who’s five—oh, and I haven’t even told him I’m married.”

Neo snorted—a little robotic buzz of amusement.

Before Shadow could argue more, the phone lit up in Neo’s hand.

Incoming call.

From Sonic.

Shadow froze.

Neo offered him the phone.

“Pick it up,” Neo said softly.

“It’s Sonic. You know how much I—” Shadow started, but Neo cut him off gently.

“You said it yourself—Sonic’s been acting strange. Maybe you should find out why.” Neo placed the phone firmly in his hands and kissed Shadow’s cheek.

Shadow sighed dramatically. “Fine.”

He answered—muted at first—waiting.

A few minutes later Sonic finally picked up.

“Yo! Shadow! Sorry it’s late but—” Sonic spoke way too fast, but Shadow cut him off sharply.

“What is going on with you? You forced me onto paid leave for four days! You’re not even authorized to do that!” Shadow hissed into the phone, keeping his voice low so Maya wouldn’t wake.

“It’s three days now,” Sonic corrected with a nervous laugh. “Your birthday surprise is getting… sad without you, man.”

Shadow blinked.

Birthday… surprise?

Before he could respond, Sonic kept going.

“Okay look, don’t bother coming tomorrow. We’ll come to you. Mostly because she doesn’t believe you exist.”

Shadow stared at the phone.

“…She?” he echoed in confusion.

But Sonic hung up before Shadow could ask anything else.

Shadow lowered the phone, baffled. Neo’s hand slipped back into his.

“You feel any better, baby?” Neo asked gently as they returned to the bedroom.

Shadow sighed, letting the confusion wash away some of the fear. “I’m still confused… but yeah. A little.”

Neo brushed his thumb over Shadow’s knuckles. “Then sleep.”

And finally—finally—Shadow drifted off, Neo holding him close as the moonlight pooled over them like a quiet promise.