"Good morning, Shadow!" Rouge greeted her partner who had just walked into GUN HQ.

"Rouge. Omega." He acknowledged his teammates.

"GREETINGS, AGENT SHADOW. WHAT IS THE STATUS OF YOUR SOCIALIZATION MISSION ASSIGNED BY AGENT ROUGE?"

Shadow found Omega's description of the promise he made to Rouge amusing. Socialization mission was certainly one way to describe it. "I'd say it's going well considering Sonic is the only one left to talk to."

Rouge was shocked by this. "Are you serious? You already spoke to Tails and Knuckles?"

"Yes, I spoke to both of them yesterday. Which reminds me, Knuckles wanted me to give you a message."

Rouge had a coy smile on her face. "Oh? Knuckie has a message for me?"

Rouge was looking awfully smug right now. That made Shadow smirk. It was going to make her reaction all the more enjoyable. "Yes. He wanted me to tell you that he knows you've been watching him from that spot I found you in. He also says you either stop watching him or try to remain undetected if you're going to keep doing it."

The smug look on Rouge's face was gone, now it was red from embarrassment. She was at a loss for words.

"AGENT ROUGE, YOU ARE AN EXPERT IN STEALTH. FOR YOU TO BE DETECTED IS MOST UNUSUAL."

Rouge growled hearing that. "Yes Omega. It is unusual. I…I must have gotten a little careless." She was gritting her teeth, doing her absolute best to maintain her composure.

"I MUST ALSO NOTE THAT THE ACTIVITIES OF KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA ARE NOT A CONCERN TO GUN. AGENT ROUGE, WHY WERE YOU PERFORMING AN UNAUTHORIZED RECON MISSION ON KNUCKLES?"

"It's none of your business Omega!"

"I AM DETECTING A SHARP INCREASE IN YOUR HEART RATE."

"Oh my god! SHUT UP!" Rouge shouted at the robot before leaving the room to regain her composure. Shadow couldn't help but chuckle at the scene that played out before him. Knuckles definitely would be laughing uncontrollably if he saw this.

"IT APPEARS I HAVE ANGERED AGENT ROUGE."

"Don't worry Omega, it was more my fault than anything. Either way, she'll be fine. Just give her a minute to calm down."

"UNDERSTOOD. BY THE WAY AGENT SHADOW, AFTER UPDATING ME ON YOUR SOCIALIZATION MISSION, I HAVE GONE AHEAD AND DETERMINED THE BEST TIME FOR YOU TO HAVE A MEETING WITH YOUR FINAL TARGET, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG."

Shadow was shocked to hear that. Omega tended to only focus on business, the things that needed to be done. If not that, then he would focus on ways of optimizing his performance. To pay any serious attention to something like his promise to Rouge wasn't like him.

"Okay Omega. What did you come up with?"

"TODAY AND TOMORROW WILL NOT WORK. WE WILL BE ON CALL FOR ALL OF TODAY AND WE HAVE A MISSION TOMORROW. SPECIFICALLY WE WILL BE SABATOGING ONE OF EGGMAN'S BASES. THURSDAY COULD WORK BUT WILL NOT BE OPTIMAL, AS YOU ARE SCHEDULED TO HAVE LUNCH WITH AMY ROSE."

"Wait! How did you know about that? I don't remember telling you about that!" Shadow interrupted.

"YOU DIDN'T TELL ME THAT. HOWEVER, AMY TOLD AGENT ROUGE, AND AGENT ROUGE TOLD ME."

Shadow could only sigh and hold and hand to his forehead. "Yeah, that figures. Continue Omega."

"AFFIRMATIVE. FRIDAY WOULD NOT BE OPTIMAL, AS IT IS NEARING THE SET TIME LIMIT. THEREFORE, I SUGGEST YOU AIM FOR HAVING A MEETING WITH SONIC ON WEDNESDAY. WE WILL HAVE THAT DAY OFF UPON SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETING TUESDAY'S MISSION. IT IS THE MOST OPTIMAL CHOICE."

"Wednesday, got it. But Omega, I have to ask, why did you do this for me? You didn't have to."

"AFFIRMATIVE. I WAS NOT REQUIRED TO. I CHOSE TO BECAUSE WE ARE PARTNERS, AND I BELIEVE YOUR EFFICIENCY DURING MISSIONS WILL IMPROVE WHEN YOU NO LONGER HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THIS SOCIALIZATION MISSION. I ALSO DID IT BECAUSE YOU AND ROUGE ARE MY FRIENDS. AND THE COMPLETION OF YOUR MISSION WILL MAKE BOTH OF YOU HAPPY."

Shadow smiled at his robot friend. That was the first time he referred to either him or Rouge as a friend. Unbeknownst to either of them, Rouge had walked back in the room in time to hear Omega say it. The anger and embarrassment was gone. Now she was positively beaming. "Oh my god! Shadow! You heard him say it too, right!"

"Of course I did. He was talking to me." Shadow replied still smiling.

Rouge began to squeal with joy. "Oh you big metal lug give me a hug!" She cried and flew to Omega and wrapped her arms around as much of his midsection she could. She knew he was too bulky to give a proper hug, but she didn't give a damn at the moment.

"I AM AFRAID I CANNOT RECIPROCATE YOUR EMBRACE, AS THE FORCE OF MY ARMS WRAPPING AROUND YOU WILL MOST CERTAINLY CRUSH YOUR BONES. NOT ONLY WOULD THIS BE A BAD THING FOR A FRIEND TO DO, IT WOULD ALSO GO AGAINST GUN POLICY OF WORKPLACE VIOLENCE." Omega simply responded.

"What if you used one arm? Would that work?" Rouge asked.

"CALCULATING…AFFIRMATIVE! THAT WOULD WORK." Omega replied before slowly and carefully putting his right arm around Rouge, much to her delight.

"C'mon Shadow! Get in here! Team hug!"

"I'm good." Shadow replied.

Rouge grabbed Shadow's arm. She chuckled. "I wasn't asking you, I was ordering you." She said. Being much stronger than she looked, she pulled Shadow into the group hug, much to his chagrin.

As Omega had mentioned to Shadow, today Team Dark was on call, which was not so much agent work than it was police work. While the local police take care of most crimes in the area, sometimes there are special and dangerous cases, ones that require the skills of top class GUN agents like the members of Team Dark to be handled. The best case on days like this is to not get any calls. It might be boring but it means there was no incredibly dangerous crime that day and they still get paid. Today wasn't one of those days.

At 3:00 PM Team Dark got a call. Rouge answered. "We'll be there right away." Rouge said after getting briefed on the situation. She put the phone down. Shadow and Omega stood up.

"What's up?" Shadow asked.

"Bank robbery at Station Square. And they seem to be professionals. We'll learn more when we get there. Shadow, if you don't mind?"

Shadow nodded and pulled out his Chaos Emerald. Using Chaos Control, he brought them outside the police perimeter set up around the bank. They made their way to one of the officers at the scene. The officer saw them and ran over to them. "Are you from GUN?"

"Yes. I'm Agent Rouge, this is Agent Shadow, and this is Agent Omega. Give me a rundown of the situation."

"Right. We got a crew of six men robbing the bank. Not only are they highly skilled, but they're heavily armed. Only casualties so far were the security staff in the bank. Of course, they've got hostages as well."

"How many."

"We haven't been able to get an exact number, but we know they have at least ten people in there."

"Omega, perform a scan of the building." Rouge ordered.

"AFFIRMATIVE! ACTIVATING THERMALS. INITIATING SCAN…SCAN COMPLETE. THERE ARE SIX HOSTILES IN THE BUILDING ARMED WITH ASSAULT RIFLES AND EQUIPPED WITH BODY ARMOR. THERE ARE FIFTEEN HOSTAGES IN THE BUILDING, THIRTEEN ADULTS, and TWO CHILDREN.

Nothing grinded Shadows gears the way children being in danger does. "Are the hostages spread out?"

"NEGATIVE."

"Hmph. A big mistake on their part."

"Shadow are, you thinking what I'm thinking?" Rouge asked.

"If it's get in, get the hostages out with Chaos Control, then yes."

"You can get 15 people with Chaos Control, right?"

"Of course I can."

"Just making sure."

"WITH THE HOSTAGES GONE, THE HOSTILES WILL LIKELY ATTACK IN A PANIC. I RECOMMEND WE STRIKE BEFORE THEY ATTACK."

"I agree Omega. Here's the plan. Shadow will teleport in and then teleport out with the hostages. As soon as that's done I'll chuck this stun grenade through that window that should blind them for a while. Omega, that's your que to bust through the front door and then neutralize the robbers. You can use lethal force if absolutely necessary, but we want to try and take them in alive."

"AFFIRMATIVE!"

"Officer, be ready to cuff them when we're done."

"Yes ma'am."

"Alright. Shadow. Ready when you are."

He nodded and held his Emerald. "Chaos Control!"

Following a bright flash Shadow appeared in the bank, in front of all the hostages that were tied up. The Robbers saw him, but before they could raise their weapons, Shadow and the hostages were gone.

"What the fuck?!" One of the criminals shouted.

The sound of a window breaking shortly followed, and a stun grenade landed on the floor. Before any of them could realize what was happening, a bright flash and loud noise made them unable to see or hear. Omega charged through the door of the bank and clocked the first robber he saw knocking him unconscious.

"CATCH THESE HANDS, MEATBAGS!" Omega taunted as he zipped around the bank and knocked all of the robbers out with his fists.

"Omega. Status report!" Rouge ordered through the communicator.

"ALL HOSTILES HAVE BEEN INCAPACITATED. NO DAMAGE RECEIVED."

"Knew we could count on you."

The police officers were given the green light to go into the bank.

Shadow had been freeing the hostages from their restraints during this time, hearing the phrases "Thank you so much" and "You saved our lives" quite often during this process. He'd respond by saying he was just doing his job, or that there's no need for thanks. He's not used to this gratitude, from humans no less. He was so used to humans seeing him as a monster that he had just accepted it. He would still save them, but he still expected them to hate him. He didn't believe they would change how they saw him. It seems he was wrong.

Among the hostages were two young kids. There was an eight year old boy and a 16 year old girl. The eight year old had cried a bit once Shadow got them out, but calmed down when he realized he and his parents, who were hugging him tight, were safe. But the sixteen year old girl was still crying, and Shadow didn't like seeing it.

"Excuse me, miss." He said to the girl. She looked down at him. "I'm sure this must've been a terrible experience. Sorry you had to go through that. But just know that it's over. You're safe now." He explained, an uncharacteristic gentleness in his voice.

To Shadow's surprise, the girl knelt down and hugged Shadow. Her arms wrapped around his neck and were shaking, as she continued to sob. To Shadow, it almost felt like she was clinging onto him for dear life. As if she were to let go, she would fall despite currently being on solid ground. Shadow put an arm around her and pat her on the back, doing his best to calm her down.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." She repeated. "I…I thought…I thought I was going to die. I w-w-was s-so scared. I thought I'd never see my parents again."

"Well you are going to see them again. I'll make sure of it. Do they know where you are?"

"I told them I was going to the mall, but I didn't tell them I needed to stop at the bank."

"Why don't you give them a call so they can pick you up?"

"My phone died."

"Here. Use mine."

"Thank you."

The girl called her parents, and Shadow remained with her until they arrived. They mother and father hugged and kissed their daughter, overjoyed that she was alive and unharmed. The girl wanted to introduce her parents to the hedgehog that saved her and the others, but when she turned to find him, he was gone.

After filling out the paperwork about the bank robbery, Shadow returned home. Team Dark's response to the bank robbery was almost perfect in Shadow's eyes. Rouge believed it did go perfectly, but Shadow pointed out that members of the security team were killed. Rouge pointed out that they died before they even knew about the bank robbery, so there was nothing they could do for them.

"What's important is that nobody else died once we got there." He remembered her say. He knew she was right. He couldn't save them, they were dead before he got there. But it still bothered him. They still had lives to live, and they had been snuffed out. But he could take comfort in the fact that their killers were taken in alive. If they died it wouldn't have been a fair punishment. Now they're going to carry the weight of their crimes for the rest of their lives in the confines of a cell. It may not be as great as saving their lives, but it was the best way he could think of to honor the ones that died.

The mission to sabotage Eggman's base went off without a hitch. And there was no fiasco like taking a direct hit from a rocket. Though that was an educational moment for him. Before then Shadow was pretty reckless during combat in regards to avoiding damage. And he had his good reasoning for it. The truth is, Shadow is damn near unkillable. He knows that he is capable of dying, but it's going to take something absurdly powerful to do the job. Combine that with his body being able to heal itself at an accelerated rate, it means that Shadow can take damage. But just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. After getting chewed out by Rouge, the Commander, and Amy within the same day, Shadow learned something. There are people in his life that care about his wellbeing. These people know that Shadow can take the damage, but it still hurts them to see him hurt. They felt like he didn't hold much regard for his own life. That used to be the case, not anymore. So for the sake of the people that care about him, he decided to be more careful, and be pickier about when to tank damage.

Wednesday came. As Omega said, today was the most optimal day to meet with Sonic.

"Let's get this over with." Shadow muttered to himself. He grabbed his cellphone and called Sonic.

"Hello?" Sonic answered.

"Sonic. This is Shadow."

"Shadow! Hey buddy! Long time no see!" The hedgehog's voice immediately perked up. "Amy told me she gave you my number. I heard you talked to Tails and Knuckles on Sunday, so I was wondering when you give me a call."

"Yes. Apologies for the wait, work kept me busy the past couple of days."

"No kiddin. You and your team did a great job on Monday taking care of that hostage situation."

"You heard about that?"

"Duh! It was all over the news."

"Right. Listen Sonic, I called because I wanted to talk to you later today, in person."

"Yeah I figured. 5:00 PM my house. Sound good?"

Seems he's quick even when he's not running. "Yes. That works."

"Cool. See you then."

Sonic ended the call. That was a lot easier than Shadow expected. Though he doubted the conversation would go as smoothly.

Shadow ran to Sonic's house. Sonic was already outside waiting for him when he got there.

"Hey Shadow! Good to see ya again."

"Yes, likewise. So are you ready to talk?"

"Almost. First, let's go for a little run. Follow me!" Sonic said before taking off at super speed.

"Sonic!" Shadow irritably called out. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he began following Sonic at a similar speed before catching up to him. He wasn't lying to Rouge when he said the blue hedgehog could be annoying. But he wasn't going to let himself get upset. He needed to be civil. After following Sonic for two minutes, they stopped at a beach.

"What do you think? Great view isn't it?" Sonic asked looking out at the ocean.

"Yes it is. But why did we come here?"

"I dunno, I just like beaches!"

"Really?"

"Yeah. Is that surprising?"

"A little bit. Cause if I'm not mistaken, you don't exactly enjoy large bodies of water."

Sonic chuckled. "You're not wrong. I don't enjoy being in water cause I can't swim. But when I'm outside of it, I can appreciate it."

"I see…"

"So Shadow, what did you want to talk about?"

"I want to talk about you."

"Me?"

"Yes. Because you confuse me. Always have. I don't understand you."

Sonic was perplexed by Shadow's response. "Um…okay. If you have questions, I'll answer them. Strange though…I never thought of myself as a complex guy."

"Well you are to me!" Shadow frowned. "First off, why are you so friendly to me? You remember how we first met! You went to prison because of my crimes. I tried to kill you twice. I'm the one responsible for almost destroying the planet. Why don't you hate me?!"

Sonic frowned. "Maybe I would hate you if you didn't also turn around and right your wrongs. If you didn't help me stop the ARK from crashing into the Earth, and nearly died doing it. But you did do those things. And I also know that if the Professor didn't tamper your memories, you wouldn't have done any of that in the first place. And to top it all off, you went ahead and saved the planet again, by yourself. How could I possibly hate you after that?"

Shadow crossed his arms. "Hmph. I think you're too forgiving."

Sonic smirked. "Well I think you're just too hard on yourself. You need to lighten up sometimes, buddy!"

There was a brief silence before Shadow spoke again. "Sonic…I want you to listen to me, because you're probably not going to ever hear this from me again." Shadow began. Sonic nodded, assuring he was giving Shadow his full attention. "Thank you Sonic…for believing in me. Even though I feel undeserving of it, I appreciate it."

"You're welcome." Sonic replied. No quips, no banter. He wasn't going to say anything about how weird it was to hear the words "Thank you" come out of Shadow's mouth and be directed at him, but he was thinking about it.

"Apologies for making things so serious there."

"An apology from Shadow too? Am I sure I'm not dreaming?" Sonic thought. "It no problem."

I just wonde-what are you doing?" Shadow cut himself off when he noticed Sonic pinching himself.

"Oh! I just thought there was a bug on my arm! Don't mind me."

Shadow knew it was a lie, but whatever he was lying was inconsequential, so Shadow let it slide. "Well as I was saying, I wonder quite often about how you always seem to be in a good mood. I can't imagine myself being that way. How do you do it?"

Sonic smiled. "Well, that's a tough question to answer. I never really think about it. Though I will say in fairness to you, if I were in your shoes, and went through all the things you have, I don't think I would be happy most of the time. But the best example I can give is I think about life. I think about life and how it's pretty short in the grand scheme of things. I could live for eighty years, and that may seem like a long time, but when you take into account how long the universe itself has existed, those eighty years are nothing. So if I'm going to have such a short time on this world, I want to spend most of that time happy. So that's what I try to do, I make positive memories for myself, have positive experiences." Sonic explained.

Shadow frowned. "I envy you and your friends sometimes."

"Really? What for?"

"For being mortal. You and your friends, will eventually pass on. It's not pleasant to think about, but the fact that your time on this planet is limited, it gives your lives an intrinsic value. When Sonic the Hedgehog dies, then people no longer have the chance to meet Sonic the Hedgehog in person. They may hear stories and see pictures of you, but they will never be able to meet you. That's not the case for me. Because I'm the Ultimate Lifeform. I'm immortal, I have no time limit. That's why I can't appreciate my life the same way you do."

"I don't know. I think you can still appreciate your life even if you're immortal."

"How?"

"Stop thinking so much about the future. Live in the present."

"Hmph. That's easy for a mortal to say."

"It's easy for anyone to say. But to actually do it is a whole different beast." Sonic replied, getting Shadows interest. "Just like how people dwell on the past, a lot of people focus too much on the future. I was one of those people actually."

Shadow's eyes widened. "You? What was it about the future that you got hung up on?"

"Age. Specifically what I would do when I got older. I knew that eventually I would get to an age where my body just wouldn't be able to handle all the stuff that I do now. Eventually I would reach a point where I can't be an adventurer any more. And boy did the thought of that scare the shit out of me. Adventure, it's in my blood. I couldn't think of a life not doing it."

"So how did you stop focusing on it?"

"I just decided that I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Cause I got plenty of youth in me right now. I can't waste it thinking about when I'm old."

"Hmph. That certainly sounds like you."

"Either way, I'm serious about living in the present. Stop thinking so much about the future. And if you are gonna think about the future, think about things that make you excited, like having lunch with Ames tomorrow!" Sonic smiled.

Shadow couldn't believe it. "I'm guessing Rose told you that as well."

"Well yeah, Ames told me."

Shadow groaned. "Of course she did."

"That's Ames for you Shadow. Unless you tell her to keep something a secret, she'll usually tell everyone."

"I see. I'll keep that in mind in the future. Sonic…about Rose…"

"Hm?"

"She's a very special person."

"She sure is."

"And…I'm pretty sure she loves you."

"I know she does, as a friend at least. Romantically, not anymore."

Shadow was shocked to hear this. "What happened?!"

"About two weeks ago, I told her the truth."

"Did you not feel the same way?"

"Huh? No! I had feelings for Amy too. I'd be stupid not to. She's beautiful, she's the one of nicest people you'll ever meet, and always looks out for others. It's just…I knew it was never going to work out between us."

"Why?"

"Truthfully, she's too good for me. And I'm not good enough for her. What she wants in a relationship is something I can't really give to her. She wants someone reliable, patient, someone that would be looking to settle down. I'm none of those. I don't have a job, I'm a creature of whim, I take off running at the first sign of a possible adventure, and I'm not ready to settle down right now or any time soon."

"How did she take it?"

"She took it very well. I only wish I told her sooner."

"Why didn't you, if you don't mind me asking."

"Well for a lot of those years, I was just a kid Shadow. I didn't exactly have a great understanding of my feelings. I knew that I liked her but I was conflicted about getting into a relationship with her. It took me a while to figure out why I felt that way. How could I tell her why I wouldn't be good for her if I didn't even know the answer yet?"

"I see your point."

To both of their surprise, it was already 8:00 PM at this point.

"Jeez! It sure got dark. Time flies sometimes."

"Indeed. I have to get going."

"Hey Shadow!"

"What?"

The blue hedgehog gave him a thumbs up. "Don't be nervous about lunch tomorrow! I know you'll do great!"

Shadow looked confused and slightly flustered by what Sonic said. He went back to his usual stoic expression shortly after. "Whatever." He muttered as he Chaos Controlled back home.

Sonic's smile remained after Shadow was gone. He knew the Ultimate Lifeform was smitten with Amy. And he was rooting for him.

Arriving back home, Shadow immediately called Rouge.

"Shadow! What's going on, hun?"

"I kept my promise."

He couldn't see it, but he knew Rouge was smiling on the other end of the line. She chuckled. "Of course you did. You always do after all. So how did your talk with Big Blue go?"

"It went a lot better than I expected, kind of like my conversations with everyone else now that I think of it."

"I'm glad you figured that out. That was what I was hoping you'd learn from this experience. Talking to people is not as hard as you make it out to be."

"Hmph. Yes I suppose your right. But it's also not as easy as you make it seem."

"Honey, I never said it was easy. Socializing depends on the person. I love talking to people, so it comes naturally to me. You on the other hand, not as big of a people person, so it's not easy for you. I just wanted you to understand it's not impossible for you."

"Well I got the message."

"Good. Now where are you going to be taking the pretty pink hedgehog to lunch tomorrow?"

You'd be better off asking her. I told her we're going wherever she wants tomorrow."

"Really?"

"Yes. She didn't tell you that?"

"I guess she forgot to mention that part. You are paying, right."

Shadow scoffed. "Of course I am, who do you take me for?"

"Just making sure."

"By the way Rouge…did you also know that Amy is no longer pining for Sonic."

"Yeah. She told me about it."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You never asked."

"Hmph. Fair enough."

"I'm assuming you learned that from Sonic."

"Correct."

"Honestly I'm surprised you didn't figure something was up before today."

"How was I supposed to know?"

"Wow, you really can be dense sometimes. Shadow, whenever Amy was chasing after Sonic, do you remember how often she would bring his name up?"

"Almost constantly."

"Correct. Now think about this next question. Since you began hanging out with her after the Black Arms incident, how often she brought Sonic up."

Shadow thought back through his conversations with Amy. Amnesia incident aside, Shadow had an incredible memory. It's like his mind would transcribe conversations he's had in real time, and then put them in a folder in his brain he could access at any time. Going through his recent conversations with Amy in his head, he came to an answer and it made him feel like an idiot.

"She's only mentioned him four times, all of it being in passing."

"And that didn't raise any suspicions how?"

Shadow gnashed his teeth. "Because Rouge, I was too busy listening to what she had to say to think anything about it!" Shadow replied in an outburst. He calmed himself. "Sorry for yelling."

"Oh god Shadow, that is adorable. You were listening to her!"

Shadow emotional state became a mix of anger and embarrassment. "A-Adorable?! Don't ever call me that!"

Being around Shadow more often than most people, Rouge had gotten pretty good at knowing how to push his buttons. And she knew she could keep doing it right now. But she chose to stand down. "All I'm saying Shadow is that women love a good listener."

Upon hearing that, Shadow's embarrassed frown quickly turned into a devilish grin. For just as Rouge knew how to push his buttons, he knew how to push hers. "Is that so? Well that must be why you love Knuckles so much."

"OKAY! WE'RE DONE TALKING! Good night Shadow!" Was the last he heard before she ended the call. Shadow got a good chuckled out of that.

The next day, Shadow arrived at Vanilla's bakery on his motorcycle at 11:30 AM. Amy had told him to pick her up there as that's when her lunch break began. Very much unlike him he was wearing clothing today. It was common place for male Mobians to not wear anything aside from gloves and footwear, though an exception would often be made for a special occasion. Some would disagree but to him, having lunch with Amy was a special occasion. So he'd put on a black leather jacket and blue jeans.

"Hey Mr. Shadow!" he heard Cream call out to him from the bakery. He couldn't help but smile as he waved to the excitable bunny girl. He saw Amy making her way over to him. She looked rather surprised when she took a look at him.

"Hey Shadow!" She greeted.

"Morning, Rose."

"I gotta say, I didn't expect you to dress up for this."

"I felt the situation warranted it. I don't look ridiculous do I?" Shadow asked, concern in his voice.

"No! No! I was actually going to say you look great!"

Shadow sighed with relief. "Thanks. By the way I got you something." He said and reached into his jacket pocket.

"Shadow, you didn't have to get me anything."

"I know." He replied before pulling out a red rose and offering it to her. "But I did."

Amy's eyes sparkled when she looked at the flower. "Shadow! It looks beautiful."

"I wanted to pick a different flower, it felt lazy to get you a rose. But nothing else felt right. Roses just work really well with you."

"Thank you, Shadow." She said, beaming at him while holding the flower.

"Don't mention it. Now hop on."

He handed her a helmet, which she put on before getting on the bike with Shadow and holding on to him. He heard an audible sniff from her nose.

"Do you smell something?" He asked.

"Yeah, you. You smell like lavender every time I'm close to you."

"Of course I do. That's the type of body wash I use. Why?"

"Nothing. It's just a really good smell."

"I'm glad you think so. So Rose, where are we eating?"

"There's a really good pizza place not far from here. After that I'd like to get some ice cream for desert. How does that sound."

"I don't know what either of those things are, but it's what you want so it's what we're getting."

Amy gasped. "You're really telling me you've never had pizza and ice cream?"

"That's correct."

"Well we need to change that! Hit the gas, Shadow!"

Shadow smirked. "As you wish Rose." He replied and stepped on the gas pedal. "So what's the name of this pizza place? I come to this area a lot so I'll probably know where it is."

"It's Luigi's."

"Okay. I know where that is."

Arriving at Luigi's pizza, the couple were seated at a booth table. They sat across each other. For drinks, Amy got a water while Shadow got a ginger ale. He had tried one at GUN Headquarters and took a liking to it.

"First we need to figure out what we're gonna put on our pizza." Amy said.

"I'll leave that up to you. I don't know how this works."

"No Shadow! I want your input."

"But Rose…"
"Look, I'll make it easy for you. Do you like meat?"

"Yeah, I like meat."

"Okay. We'll put some pepperoni and sausage on the pizza. Now what about mushrooms, olives and anchovies."

"I like mushrooms, but I leave the other two to your discretion."

"Well then I'll pick olives, because I don't really care for anchovies." Amy said. "What about onions?"

"Pass."

"Bell Peppers?"

"That sounds good."

"Alright. Finally, do you mind if we add extra cheese?"

"I don't see a problem with that."

"Cool! Looks like we have ourselves a pizza!"

With that done, Amy ordered a large pizza for both of them to share when the waiter came for their order. Now they had to wait.

"Hey Shadow?"

"Yes, Rose?"

"I didn't get to talk to you about that bank robbery you, Rouge and Omega took care of."

"Oh that. Yes I heard it made rounds on the news."

"You guys were amazing. Everyone's saying you guys were real heroes."

"I heard many of the hostages tell me I'm a hero. It was bizarre to hear that. I'm used to humans hating me or being afraid of me."

"Well I think people are finally seeing the good in you. The good I always knew was there." She smiled.

That made Shadow feel happy and embarrassed at the same time. This wasn't a mix of emotions he was familiar with. "Hmph. Whatever you say." He muttered as he crossed his arms. She certainly was good at making him feel things unfamiliar to him, without trying or knowing.

"Anything else happen this week?" Amy asked.

"Well, Rouge, Omega and I blew up one of Eggman's bases without any problem and I didn't use my face as a shield against a rocket this time."

She giggled at that. "That's good to hear."

"And I talked to Sonic last night."

"Really?! How did it go?"

"It went very well. I definitely understand him a lot more. Not completely though. I don't think that's possible."

"Yeah. Sonic's a pretty confusing guy."

Shadow was surprised to hear that. "You think so too?"

"Of course! Everyone that knows Sonic doesn't completely understand him."

"Huh? Thought I was the only one for some reason. Either way, it's the first time we had a real conversation and it's much easier to talk to him than I thought. That is if he's not being annoying." Shadow admitted, which got a giggle out of Amy. "Anyway, that's my week. How about yours?"

"Well my week certainly wasn't as exciting as yours."

"I'd still like to hear about it."

Amy smiled at that response. "Well I went to work, did some grocery shopping. I caught up with my friend Big."

"Big? He's the big purple cat isn't he?"

"Yeah! You know him?"

"Hardly. I haven't even spoken to him. I've only seen him once and it was when we battled Neo Metal Sonic."

"Maybe I'll introduce you sometime. I should let you know, Big isn't the smartest guy, something he'll admit himself, but he is definitely one of the nicest."

"I wouldn't mind meeting him sometime. Give me a few weeks though. I need to cool down from all the socializing from this week."

"Sure thing. And the last notable thing I did was some sparring with Knuckles."

"I didn't know you liked to spar." Shadow said, very intrigued.

"I do. It's the best way to get better at fighting."

"Knuckles doesn't go easy on you does he?"

Amy snickered. "He did at first, but found out pretty quick that wasn't a good idea when I started smacking him around the island."

Shadow chuckled hearing that. Shadow had never fought Amy, but he had seen her fight. And just from witnessing her fight, he knew she was not to be underestimated. Even though her appearance would say otherwise, Amy Rose was a fighter, and a deceptively powerful one at that. How else would she be able to swing that massive hammer of hers around?

"She likes sparring. I like sparring. Maybe I should ask…" Shadow thought. "Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you…like to spar with me sometime?"

Amy looked quite pleased to hear that. "Yeah! That sounds great! When were you thinking?"

"I don't have an exact date in mind yet. I'll look at my schedule and let you know."

"Okay!"

And then, their pizza arrived. The waiter placed it on their table. Shadow eyed the massive circle of crust, cheese, and other toppings in front of them.

"This is a strange looking dish. And a large one too. Do we need to cut it up with a fork and knife?"

Amy giggled. "No silly! They're already cut into slices." She demonstrated by taking a slice and handing it to Shadow. She took a slice for herself and began eating it. "And you eat it like this."

Shadow mimicked what Amy was doing. The pizza hit his taste buds, and Shadow's eyes widened. "Whoa!" Shadow muttered.

Amy beamed at Shadow's reaction. "How's it taste?"

"It's…incredible! It's like ambrosia from the heavens!"

Amy laughed. "That's one way to describe it I suppose."

"It's the only way I can think to describe it. The crust, the cheese and the toppings all go together so perfectly. I've never had a favorite food before, but this might be it."

"Aw! I'm so happy to hear that Shadow!"

Shadow smiled after finishing another slice. "Thank you Rose. I won't forget this moment." He saw a look of confusion in Amy's eyes when after he said that. He chuckled. "I know that might sound weird. For me to consider the first time eating a certain food a special moment. But, I was made in a lab, meant to be a weapon. I was never intended to have these kinds of experiences. So when I'm sitting here with you eating pizza, it makes me feel…normal."

Amy smiled in return. "Well, I think we should take a photo to commemorate this special moment."

"A photo?"

Amy took her phone out. "Yeah! I'll take a photo with my phone to capture this moment in time. And I'll get it framed and send it to you. You could use some photos in your house anyway, don't you think?"

"I suppose."

Amy got out of her seat and sat next to Shadow in his booth. She wrapped an arm around the black hedgehog, and held her phone up with the other arm. "Don't forget to smile!" she said. Shadow wasn't one to smile on command, but he conceded to her request. Amy took a picture and showed it to him. She had a big grin, he was smiling with an uncharacteristically gentle look in his eyes, and the pizza was visible. "Do you like it?"

Shadow nodded. "I do."

"Great! I'll get you a framed copy of it as soon as possible."

"Thanks."

When the two finished eating their pizza, Shadow called for the bill. Of course he paid for all of it, just as he said he would. After that they left the restaurant.

"Let's get some ice cream!" Amy cheered.

"Sounds like a plan." Shadow said, making his way to his bike.

"Shadow, where are you going?"

Shadow was confused. "I thought that'd be obvious, I'm going get my bike so we can drive to the ice cream shop."

Amy giggled. "Shadow! We don't have to take your bike, silly! The ice cream stop is right there." She said while pointing to the ice cream shop named Snow Bell that was across the street from Luigi's.

"Oh. That's rather convenient." Shadow admitted.

The two hedgehogs entered Snow Bell. They looked at the extensive list of flavors while they were waiting in line.

"Now, what flavor do I pick?" Amy thought out loud.

"I could say the same thing. I don't know what most of these flavors are." Shadow said.

"Could I ask you something, Shadow?"

"Of course you can." He replied. She smiled at that answer.

"What exactly did you eat back on the ARK? I understand you never had ice cream, but there are other foods that have flavors like vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. Did you really not eat food with those flavors?"

"I hardly ate anything back on the ARK."

"What?! Did they starve you?! That's so cruel!"

"What? No nothing like that! I hardly ate because I don't need to eat. I don't get hungry or thirsty. So there was no point in me eating."

"Oh…okay. But you said you hardly ate, so that implies you did eat food sometimes. When was that?"

"It was always when I was with Maria. She'd often share some of her meals with me. I'd always tell her she didn't need to because it's her food and I don't require sustenance, but she'd eventually be able to coax me into trying out whatever food she offered. That's just how it was with Maria and me, I could never say no to her." Shadow fondly recollected with a smile.

"Maria sounded like a real sweetheart." Amy giggled.

Shadow nodded. "She was." He looked into Amy's eyes. "I think she really would have liked you."

"Really?"

"Yes. I think she'd like the rest of your friends too."

"My friends? I think you mean our friends, Shadow."

Shadow didn't feel like the entire gang considered him a friend quite yet. He was sure they'd now see him as an ally, but he didn't know about friend. But he didn't want to argue with Amy about it.

"Oh! We're next in line." Amy pointed out. "I figured out what I'm going to get. What about you?

Shadow looked back at the list and realized he would not be able to make a choice within a reasonable amount of time. "I'll have whatever you're having."

Amy ordered two chocolate chip cookie dough flavored ice creams. Shadow paid. They left the shop while eating their ice cream. "How's it taste?" She asked.

"It's good. Very good I'd say."

"I'm glad you like it."

"Were you worried I wouldn't?"

"Sort of. I wasn't sure whether you had a sweet tooth or not."

Shadow looked perplexed. "Sweet tooth? What do you mean by that?"

"Sweet tooth is just slang for someone who really likes sweet foods."

"Oh. Well then I'd say that I like sweet things." Shadow admitted, though not referring to the sweet desert he had in his hand. They just smiled as they enjoyed their ice cream.

Shadow brought Amy back to Vanilla's bakery before lunch break ended. Amy got off his bike and turned to face him. "Thanks a lot Shadow. I had a really good time."

"I did too." Shadow replied.

Amy looked at the rose she was holding, the one Shadow gave to her. "You know it's funny. I know this was just us having lunch together, but it almost felt like a date." She smiled.

"You think so?" Shadow asked, getting a nod from Amy in response. "Then I guess we should go on a date sometime after our sparring session."

Amy's face became a slight shade of red hearing that. She hadn't expected Shadow to be so forward. "R-Really?"

"If it's okay with you of course."

"Yeah! Of course! That sounds great Shadow."

"Good. I'll talk to you later Rose."

"Bye Shadow!"

Shadow pressed on the gas pedal and made his way back to GUN HQ. On the way he thought about the concept of a date. He understood it on a surface level. It's an outing between two people from what he gathered. But that's about it. He was going to ask Rouge to fill him in on the rest.