Sonic: Hurriiieee! *hitting Thyra with a paper towel roll* I wanna know what happens!!
Shadow: *sucking back an ice cappucino and nodding vigorously, throwing random things - such as pens - at Thyra*

*hides from flying objects and paper towel rolls to finish story* heres the ending! Enjoy!

--

Shadow trailed silently after the blue hedgehog as he lead him down the hall. They only stopped once as they reached the lobby and Sonic's gaze darted up the staircase as if contemplating something.

"What?" Shadow's voice.

"I'm thinking of getting my shoe-" Sonic stopped as he heard movement on the second floor and quickly waved Shadow out of the house before Rouge could come down and catch them. Shadow suddenly became painfully aware of his lack of shoes and gloves once stepping out the house, squinting in the light. He looked at Sonic, who had a rather evil grin on his face. The grin people tend to get when they know they are doing something 'bad'. The hero snickered and waved at Shadow to follow him again, whom followed willingly, though not before sneaking a glance up to the second level to be sure Rouge wasn't looking out the window. The black hedgehog knew full well that if Rouge caught them then Sonic would end up in a bed right next to him in that hospital-like room, with himself more injured then he was presently. He chuckled softly at the thought.

The two of them scampered quickly down the long flight of stairs leading from Tails' workshop, and apon reaching the bottom Sonic sighed and looked to his right where the entrance to a cave was. He was still grinning. Shadow lifted an eyebrow at him, finding that the grin was curiously intriguing. His lip quirked as Sonic's bright green eyes locked with his scarlet ones, and the healing hedgehog noticed his lookalike's cheeks flush a light rose color as the hero quickly looked away. He had to fight not to grin at the cuteness of it. Although he was sure Sonic was trying to conceal the constant blushing, Shadow felt his heart skip a beat each time, hoping..

"Come this way." The hero started off for the cave after spluttering the words out. Shadow went after him once again as the blue hedgehog moved at a quick pace through the cave, turning down a tunnel smaller then the rest. Shadow ducked his head instinctively, his right hand trailing the wall as his eyes quickly adjusted to the faded light. He had no idea where Sonic was leading him, but was glad for a reason to get out of the hospital room. The place reminded him of the G.U.N. Labs. He shuddered at the thought and pushed it away, focusing on the blue quills of the hedgehog in front of him.

They didn't walk for long, although Shadow's hand flew from the wall once to help Sonic when he stumbled, which was very unbecoming of him. Being fast and gracefull as he was, Shadow was a bit startled by his trip. Sonic was flustered and waved the helpful hand away, muttering something along the lines of he was fine, but thanks anyway. Shadow smothered his chuckle to save the hero any more embarressment, getting the feeling that he didn't stumble over rocks very often. They quickly reached the end of the tunnel, causing the black and red male to blink from the brilliance of the sun as he exited after Sonic.

"We all call it the Viewpoint." Sonic's rather shy voice. Shadow wasn't looking at him though, so didn't see him blush and look at the ground. He was too busy staring, open mouthed, at the scene in front of him. He walked forward, the grass tickling at his bared ankles as his red gaze eagerly soaked up the sea of green that expanded as far as the eye could see. To his right was the glittering blue ocean, a train track racing along the cliffside below and winding out of sight. Shadow found that if he squinted in the direction of the tracks he could see a few sky scrapers in the distance, and figured that it must be the city. Station Square, he had heard it was called a long time ago. His ears twitched, still gawking at the sight. It was absolutely breathtaking, and he couldn't remember ever seeing anything like it from this height. Unless the Earth from ARK counted.. But that was different, so he didn't count it. A flock of white birds lifted from the treetops a little ways down.

"Nice, isn't it? You should see the sunrises and sunsets.." Shadow was pulled from his bewilderment at Sonic's quiet voice. He suddenly realized his jaw was wide open, and quickly shut it.

He could only nod. His scarlet eyes still hadn't moved from the sight, now watching how the green rocked in the wind, playing off the bright light of the sun. He sank to his knees, still staring. Sonic was smiling as he sat down beside the black one, feeling as though the pink was permanent on his face now, and with a sigh resigning into it. Green eyes studied the healing physique of the hedgehog, and as Shadow became aware of the blue one watching him, a grin split his lips. His head cocked slightly and he looked at the hero in a sideways manner as he sat down properly, manovering his broken left arm slightly as he did so.

"What?"

Sonic fought to control the blush on his cheeks. He cleared his throat as he answered:

"I-I was just wondering..." He paused, nibbling his bottom lip a bit. Shadow felt his heart skip again. That has to be the cutest thing I've ever seen.. Sonic had stopped talking though, as if unsure of what he was going to ask. Shadow only smiled.

"How I made it?" Sonic nodded. Shadow looked back out across the reaching jungle, letting a thick silence fall between them, the wind causing their quills to wave, before starting to speak slowly.

"I had a promise I was keeping and I fulfilled it when we defeated the Finalhazard." Pause. "That promise was all that mattered to me. It was made to a very.. special person." Shadow felt tears spring into his eyes, thoughts of Maria coming back like lightning. "After the Finalhazard all I remember was falling and not trying to stop myself. I remember you calling to me, but I couldn't really hear you. I didn't try to stop myself from falling. I didn't want to stop myself. I thought my purpose was finished. I thought I only existed to fullfill that promise, and that was it." He was suddenly very aware of Sonic looking at him, and his weight shifted nervously, eyes closing. "It was hot. Like fire was slowly burning up every part of me. I thought I was going to die. I think if I had lost my Hyper form, I might have." He turned his face away from Sonic, feeling his cheeks start to grow hot. "But it was when I was falling that I thought of someone, and I realized that maybe my purpose wasn't just the promise. That maybe I had something else to live for. And I think that was why I survived. Because I suddenly wanted to live." He turned to look out at the span of trees again. "Then I hit the water, and the next thing I remembered was waking up here."

Sonic was quiet for a moment, suddenly feeling anxious. When he spoke, his voice was very soft and quivering slightly. "..Wh-Who did you think of..?"

Shadow was completely silent as he swivelled his gaze, ears pitched forward, face serious. He stared meaningfully into Sonic's curious emerald eyes.

"You."

--

Sonic's eyes went wide as Shadow's serious look lingered on him before turning away. The hero found he couldn't break away from the black hedgehog, though, and kept staring at him.

Me..?

Everything suddenly seemed to fall into place. He realized why he had felt so empty. He realized why he had been thinking of Shadow so often. He realized why he was feeling so shy around him and blushing. He opened his mouth, not sure what exactly he was going to say, and was cut short by the whir of a motor overhead that broke the moment. Both hedgehogs looked up to see the Tornado hovering over them, Knuckles standing on the back of the aircraft. The echidna hopped to the ground and Tails waved to them from the pilot seat, then angled his plane back towards the workshop to go and land. The three males watched the youngster as he flew off, then the two hedgehogs peered at Knuckles curiously.

Knuckles, however, was staring at Shadow, his lips sporting the blunt and obvious question:

"What are you doing out of bed?"

Sonic coughed to smother his laugh as Shadow gave the Guardian a sour look. He must be getting annoyed by that...

"I feel fine. I wanted to walk. Is that really such a crime?" He replied in a rather sharp tone. Sonic silently wondered if he was as bothered by the interruption as he found he was..

Knuckles was smirking.

"How did you get out here without Rouge noticing?"

"That would be my fault." Sonic waved a hand in the air, which only caused Knuckles' grin to broaden and his arms to cross.

"She's gonna kill you when she finds out you two are out here."

"Not if you go preoccupy her for us.." Sonic countered, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at the echidna whom rewarded him with a raised eyeridge. Rouge had cornered Knuckles not long after the incident at ARK, and they had been a couple for what seemed a while now. However, Knuckles had been the reason Sonic hadn't received a swift kick in the head for his ignorance a few times now from the bat, and the knowledge that he was going to be conned into doing it again made his mouth twitch.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because if you don't, I'll tell her about the magazines under your bed." The hero replied swiftly and in a cheeky manner, grinning childishly. The Guardian smirked.

"She already knows about those. No go, sorry."

"Knuckles.." He tilted his head, giving the echidna the most pitiful look he could muster, whom in turn growled and unfolded his arms.

"You owe me, hedgehog." He stated flatly, nodding to Shadow as he hopped off the Viewpoint from behind to glide off to the Workshop. Shadow was watching Sonic, whom was giggling rather shamelessly. Shadow slowly arched an eyebrow at him, which only caused Sonic to continue giggling softly and blush.

"You should have seen it, really, she cornered him and demanded to know how he felt about her.. Then Tails and I turned away because she had launched herself at him and they started making out." He chuckled, shaking his head a bit at the memory, then looking down at his bare feet when he noticed Shadow smiling in a gentle yet amused manner at him.

"Shadow, I - "

"You're cute when you blush." Shadow interrupted in a low tone, his intense scarlet eyes still watching the blue hedgehog. Sonic, his muzzle still pointed downward, was shyly looked up at Shadow, his insides squirming. Catching his peircing gaze, he blushed furiously and looked away again. Shadow scooted over, still watching him. Sonic felt a tingle run down his spine when he drew near. Shadow was facing him now, on his knees again, his ears folded slightly. Sonic noticed how he held his broken arm tight against his body, as if suddenly anxious

"I want to thank you," His voice was still very quiet. "For being my inspiration."

Sonic didn't know what to say, looking at the black one sideways, cheeks warm and red. His heart jumped. Tingle down his spine. He saw Shadow bite his lower lip, and his breath caught in his throat as an ungloved ebony hand tilted his chin upwards. Jade eyes wide, Sonic saw how Shadow was focused on his lips as he inclined his head. Sonic knew what was coming, and he wasn't afraid of it. He was actually anticipating it, heart beating against his ribcage. His eyes fluttered shut just before Shadow's warm lips brushed against his own, like fire coarsing across his mouth and into every inch of his body. At that precise moment the hero felt suddenly like everything was going to be all right, and his eyes were still closed when Shadow pulled away. When he did look back at the hedgehog, whom suddenly appeared to be very handsome, Sonic's blush was warm and he welcomed it. He tried to speak but no words came out, and for the first time in his life he found that he was speechless. Reaching a hand out he cradled the raven and crimson's wounded cheek, leaning in and claiming his warm lips as his own.

Everything, he knew, was going to be just fine.

---

YAY! Happy ending! Maybe a bit sappy... But thats okay!! LoL, I quite like it! *smiles proudly* You guys like it? Well even if you don't, I still do! XP! Hehe.. Anyways, R/R! I might write a little epilogue-type-thing.. Not sure.. But yesh. *grin* hope you enjoyed!

Sonic: *glomping Shadow!*
Shadow: **^^**

Cute kids *grins cheekily and runs from flying pens again*


Again, nobody is mine - if they were, I'd be a lot richer and drawing official Sonadow comics instead of writing fanfics O.o mwaha