a/n: Further than I've ever known.
"Oh, hello Mister Shadow!"
He was silent as he stood outside of the home of Amy Rose. Rouge had sent him to pick up a package, something the pink hedgehog was apparently holding onto for her. He didn't expect to encounter the little rabbit girl.
"Miss Amy said that you would be coming by. She left you tea and cookies."
"I'm not staying for long. Where is she?" he asked.
"She went out to get us something to eat. She didn't feel like cooking," Cream said. She beckoned Shadow towards her, and he humoured her by leaning down. "Today is a lazy day," she said in a quiet voice, guarding a seemingly precious secret.
"I see."
"She'll be back in a few minutes, Mister Shadow. Oh, Cheese is playing with friends today. Mama took him to the garden."
"Yes. Intriguing," he replied absentmindedly.
"Come inside, please. We can't have a guest waiting outside on the steps."
"I don't-"
"It would be far too rude, Mister Shadow."
He relented and she pulled him inside by the hand, shutting the door. He watched as she scampered off into the dining room and stood on a chair, then with some effort picked up a teapot and started pouring tea into a mug.
"Here you are, Mister Shadow!"
"I'll take it plain," he said quickly. He took the mug and nodded towards her.
"Alright. Mister Shadow, if you need me I'll be in the living room."
"Fine."
She hopped down from the chair and skipped off. Shadow sipped his tea, and then started to gulp it down, ignoring the bitterness. He set the mug in the sink and intended to sit down until Amy arrived.
But something was calling him elsewhere.
He resisted for a few minutes before the stillness became too much to bear. Following the girl's path into the living room, he saw her sitting at a table in front of the television. It was off, and she picked up a box of crayons, thoughtfully looking through the two rows of colours.
"Mm...hm..."
"Was this what you were so eager to get back to?"
She looked up and gave him a sunny smile. "Yes it was! I'm going to draw something for Mama, but I'm trying to think of what to draw today. It's all so very perplexing."
He raised an eyebrow briefly at her choice in vocabulary. "You're looking through the colours."
"Yes. I'll know what I want to draw as soon as I can pick a colour to start with."
The logic didn't follow, but he left it alone. Cream hummed to herself before running a finger over one colour, then another, then another.
"Actually...I'll start with this! Yes, I think this will be fine." She reached down and pulled a pink crayon out of the box.
"Today's drawing will be...that!"
He looked at the blank piece of paper nearby. Cream followed his gaze and took up the box of crayons again.
"Do you want to try?"
"Huh?"
She held the box out towards him. "Go ahead, Mister Shadow. I'm sure you're very good at drawing! Just pick a colour, the one that's reflected in your heart. That's how I do it."
"I haven't..."
"It's okay. You can do it!" she said with determination.
"..." Shadow hesitated. He thought it was absurd, but he tried to find out which colour was 'reflected' in his heart.
He took out two colours from the box.
"Those are very pretty colours."
"...they are."
He sat down on the floor and crossed his legs. Grabbed the paper and set it in front of him.
Cream smiled as she saw him start to draw. She set the box between them and continued her own work, drawing a weird arrangement in pink. They worked together quietly, with only the scribbling of crayons and the movements of paper between them.
Shadow reached out for the red that lay on the table, his hand trembling. His fingers hovered over it.
"I don't think that will work, Mister Shadow. It looks like it will clash."
"Uh." He paused at the girl's words. She continued working away, saying nothing after that.
He looked at the red crayon again, parsing her words.
It would clash...but so would everything else.
The colours reflected in his heart. It...wasn't one of them.
It wasn't her colour, no matter how much she was draped in it.
He instead reached out for a black crayon, tracing along the edges of his finished creation.
"I'm home! Cream, don't you dare tell your mom that I got you pizza, okay?"
"Miss Amy!"
Shadow stood up, giving the drawing one last glance. He picked up the red crayon and set it back in the box firmly.
"Oh, Shadow! Sorry to keep you waiting," Amy said apologetically. She shrugged off her spring jacket before racing upstairs. A moment later she came back down, handing Shadow a small box. "Here ya go! Hopefully she's okay with it. If not, tell her to give me a call."
"Right. Take care, Rose. And you too," he said to Cream.
"I will! Thank you for keeping me company, Mister Shadow!"
"Yes. Of course."
"Thanks so much, Shadow. I'll bake you something real soon!" Amy said happily.
"Don't worry about it," he crisply replied. "Good afternoon to you both."
He left silently, closing the door behind him.
"What've you been up to, Cream?" Amy asked.
"I decided to draw a picture of us today!"
"Aw, it's so nice! You're getting a lot better!"
"Thank you, Miss Amy! Oh, Mister Shadow drew something, too! Look, isn't it pretty?"
Amy blinked and looked over the picture Shadow had drawn.
"That's..."
"It's a good thing he didn't add any red. I don't think it would have looked as nice. He's really good, isn't he?"
"Well...hehe." Amy shook her head. "I'm not surprised. I mean, he is the Ultimate Lifeform, right?"
She picked up the piece of paper and held it up to the light. There, in the smooth strokes of crayon, was a certain girl.
The colours were beautiful.
Warmth and love poured out from her blue eyes.