Chapter 9

My Kryptonite

Disclaimer: Deep breaths...deep breaths. If you haven't figured out now that I don't own the Sonic games or anything having to do with the Sonic games, you are an idiot and probably need help.

Yay last chapter! Well, not 'Yay'. But you get it...this is the last chapter! I have gone over this in my head over and over...and...well, you'll just have to see...here's the ending! Enjoy!

Amy closed the door gently behind Tails and looked back at the two male hedgehogs. Her heart felt twisted and torn into over six thousand pieces. She fought the tears brimming at her eyes, she thought maybe if she looked him in the eyes, looked into those emerald green eyes that so brilliantly matched her own, that maybe she could somehow convince him there was no way he really liked Shadow more. He couldn't! She took a deep and shaking breath as she turned to face them completely, her legs felt shaky, as if they weren't going to support her weight much longer. She prayed the weakness wasn't visible in her features, but it was, as Sonic so clearly announced. "...are you okay, Amy?" He had a strange tone of guilt in his voice and she heard it. He knew it was his fault that she felt like this.

The three of them seemed to sit there in a silence that pressed down on each of their lungs, suffocating them. None of them wanting to start the conversation, because no matter how it went, unless they decided to all three get married, and that would be just plain weird, someone's heart was going to get shattered into a million pieces. Amy knew it was most likely going to be her, but she couldn't help clinging to a feeble hope that it wasn't. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her words stayed glued to her tongue. Sonic's questioning voice seemed to linger in her mind, she recalled the guilt in it, like a memory from over thirty years ago. "Yeah, I think I might be getting sick." She mumbled awkwardly, staring at her feet. She felt his gaze leave her after she answered the question. Amy couldn't look up to see if Shadow and Sonic were looking at one another.

"Don't lie." Shadow finally spoke up. Amy had never noticed how severely Shadow's voice cut through silence. It was strict and somewhat harsh, she sucked in a breath after he spoke. She was lying but she didn't want to tell the reason for the tears teeming in her eyes. "You feel the same way I do, for the same reason." The same voice. She clenched her eyes shut tightly, it hadn't hurt so much when she thought it. Her eyes traveled up the blue hedgehog just far enough to see a clenched fist. She let out a shaking exhalation of breath. Her eyes eventually drifted completely up the reason of which Shadow spoke.

Sonic winced softly after the comment. Sometimes he hated the fact that Shadow was so damned blunt. Did he have to phrase it so that every single point sounded so gory to Amy? He gritted his teeth and looked at the two of them. They were both looking at him. Exactly what he was hoping they weren't doing. Finally, he started over toward Amy and released his clenched fists. Staring into those pretty green eyes, he took her hand after a second, her eyes widened as he moved. "Amy..." He spoke her name, and his words got caught in the back of his throat. He couldn't say anything else to her. He didn't want to reject the girl, he thought she was one of the prettiest things he had ever seen. Not to mention, she was a good friend when he had needed her, but truth be known, he had to stop this right now. "...Amy, I don't want to hurt you." She strained to hear his soft voice. He wouldn't look up at her though, she stared at his downward-cast eyes.

He felt her stare at him as she squeezed his hand a little tighter in her own. He had never felt so close to Amy before, but he didn't love her. He didn't, he didn't even like her as a girl, he liked her as a friend. That was all he could get out of his feelings. He would rather do anything than hurt her, anything, that was, except lie to himself. "I know you don't, Sonic." Her voice was quieter than his. He hadn't thought that was possible. He remembered the black hedgehog and felt those two red eyes staring him down. He could feel the sympathy even from across the room. "It's..." She couldn't get it out, he heard her choke softly on her words. Tears straining at her eyes, she allowed a few to slide down her soft cheeks.

"Amy, I don't..." Her hand on his mouth prohibited him from speaking any further. Before, she had thought she could handle hearing it. That she could handle losing him permanently. She couldn't though, she didn't want to know. She thought that maybe if she ran from the room, everything would change, Sonic would change his mind. He sighed softly as she didn't remove her hand, he grabbed it with his own free hand. "I don't love you." He heard a sob escape her. He bit into his lower lip; he didn't want to look into her eyes. But, he had to and he looked up, finally. She didn't let him take it any further than that.

"But...what about..." He just shook his head. Her heart felt like it was under about thirteen thousand cinder blocks. The blue hedgehog bit his lip again, he was rather unprepared for what was going to happen. He didn't know if she was going to slap him or burst into tears, or hell, the girl could have started laughing hysterically! She proved all but one of those theories wrong by choking out another sob. He stared into her eyes, tears shamefully obvious inside them. One of his feet escaped backwards as if the poor girl was going to lunge and attack him. "Sonic!" She shouted, his ears drew back in alarm as the sound reached them. "Why?" He couldn't very well answer her, so he just kept a blank stare on his face. "I love you, Sonic! I don't understand."

"Amy, please..." The green-eyed hedgehog turned away from him, shivering in depression. Sonic placed a hand on her shoulder, he felt her shudder as he touched her. "...don't." She pulled away angrily, then looked over to the slightly concerned black hedgehog, who had been paying closer attention that she thought. Sonic's knees felt weak, and his stomach filled with a nauseating sense of dread. He hadn't wanted to do this to her, but he had no choice in the matter.

"Don't?" She questioned, as she looked back at him, her voice was high, tears were streaming down her face as she shouted, her voice hoarse from crying. "Don't what, Sonic? Don't cry?" Sonic felt awful, he wanted to grab a rope and hang himself. He winced and shrugged his shoulders, he looked like a child taking a reprimanding from a parent.

"Amy, don't yell at him." Amy turned her furious glance towards Shadow. The two glared at each other in complete rage for a few moments. Amy may have very well attacked the black hedgehog, had Sonic not grasped her shoulders. She turned and stared into his eyes for what felt like ages. Tears kept falling down her face, Sonic felt like hell, but he knew he couldn't let her keep acting like this. It was getting outrageous.

"Sonic...I'm sorry." She finally resigned quietly, staring down at the hardwood floor. Sonic drew in a breath, he didn't feel relieved of what he had done, though she had relaxed slightly. Shadow put his hand to his forehead, he had really fallen in love with the wrong person, at the wrong time. Why did he have to interfere with Amy's love interest? Although, he had to say it was better than Rouge's. A look of dismay crossed his face as he imagined himself and Knuckles, he shuddered in quite a disgusted manner.

"So am I...but, Amy...I can't change this...I would if I could, but there's no way I can lie to myself and to you...it would be a total fake. It wouldn't work." She stared at him blankly, he hated that look. He looked away shamefully after a moment; quite honestly, he looked like a puppy that had been kicked too many times, his bruises and wounds added to this effect. Then he heard her take another deep breath and start to speak.

"I know...Sonic..." She let her voice leave, what else was there to say? That she loved him? That would just make the poor guy feel worse. She wrapped her arms around him, Shadow stared at the two of them. He swore Amy had Sonic in her arms for over an hour. He was absolutely sure they had fallen asleep or something. He wondered what Sonic was thinking, since the only thing he saw was Amy's tear-streaked face. Though, the girl had yet to cease the crying. "I really do love you, I always will." She finally said it, she disregarded any consequences it may have, he needed to know it. He just gently nodded his head as he pulled back from her.

"Believe me, I know that, Amy." The tenderness in his voice was enough to make her forget everything, at least for a moment. She could just lose herself in the sincerity of his voice. Sure, he was Sonic the hedgehog, who never got worried, never cried, never...showed any type of real emotion, but he could still always make her feel better. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to push thoughts of him from her mind.

Shadow's position became uncomfortable and he shifted, he knew he had no right to interfere in this little...'goodbye' they were having, but he wanted her to leave; he was ready to commit suicide from impatience. He needed to talk to Sonic too, had they forgotten that? He was sure Amy had, but he couldn't help feel a little jealous, even now when Sonic was plainly rejecting the poor girl, of her, he was treating her with a gentleness he had never shown Shadow before. He was afraid somehow the girl was going to win him back over in this agonizingly long moment, just staring into his green eyes like she was. "Well..." Her gaze fell upon Shadow, whose expression showed no emotion what so ever, "...I guess you two need to talk, huh?" She turned to exit the room. Sonic wanted to say something nice, just one more time, to lift her spirits, if only slightly, but there was nothing to say. Sure, 'Amy, have a nice fucking day, even though I just ripped your Goddamned heart out.' He kept his mouth shut, angry, yet somehow satisfied with himself. "I'll talk to you later." They were in her house, they both realized this, so by later, she meant 'as soon as you're finished talking because I'm going to wait like a crazy person outside.'

The blue hedgehog nodded to her and she simply let the door click shut behind her, Sonic turned to face Shadow after that. "You okay?" Sonic nodded his head, a smile creeping across his face as he lifted his eyes to meet Shadow's. "Faker, I honestly didn't think you had it in you to do that to her."

Sonic gave him a stressed look, "Do what to her? I didn't want to, but I couldn't very well...lie to her." Shadow nodded his head, Sonic did have a point here. But, they were avoiding the point they needed to address ASAP. The two of them directed their gazes to the floor, each wanting the other to speak first.

"Sonic..." Shadow seemed to stammer through his name though it came out perfectly, he sighed and tried to come up with any other words. But, nothing but the hedgehog's name was repeating in his mind. He had never been so speechless in his entire life. He tried hard to locate the right words within the depths of his mind, but it was as if they were playing a particularly annoying game of hide-n-seek.

"Back there, on the ARK...did you say?" Shadow gritted his teeth, he didn't want to blush, but he was beginning to think it was unavoidable. He bit into the inside of his cheek, he knew he needed to interrupt before Sonic saying it made him whimper with desire.

"Yes." It was all he managed to squeak out, this seemed to be enough to give him the upper hand though. He stared up at the blue hedgehog, who jerked his glance down again. He saw his cheeks turn a bright shade of crimson and a grin came to pass over Shadow's lips as he saw the blush. Obviously, it meant something to Sonic if he was blushing because of it.

A weak smile characterized the adorable look Sonic already had on his face, "Were you just really worried, or did you really mean that?" Shadow continued to bite at the inside of his mouth, not liking the distance they were having this conversation from, he felt like he was screaming at the green-eyed hedgehog, he smiled as Sonic was still staring straight down.

"...I meant it...and Faker, you really need to learn to look at people when you talk to them, it's really rude not to." A weak smile crossed the lips of the blue hedgehog once again. His cheeks flushed immediately though, and he kept his eyes on the ground. Shadow took a deep breath and let his gaze rest upon the flustered hedgehog. A smirk slowly edged across his face as he saw the familiar embarrassment return.

"Very funny," he mumbled softly as he spoke, he knew Shadow was looking at him and his heart skipped about ten or twenty beats. Maybe it was just one, but right now, that wasn't what the azure hedgehog's mind was primarily focused on. "Shadow..." He started, but he couldn't figure out what words he had been planning to say. He simply sighed and kept his focus on the ground. He had handled it a little better before, and it was so unlike him to be so worked up. He had never been embarrassed...or nervous in his entire life! Why did Shadow do this to him?

"Hm...?" Shadow's voice was a lot gentler than usual, a softness that was very rare for someone like the dark hedgehog, Sonic knew he was questioning him on what he was going to say. He searched his mind furiously for any words he could find, they weren't any. He was confident he had forgotten the entire English language! He heard the darker hedgehog laugh softly, and lifted his eyes to see what exactly he was laughing at, "You know, Faker...you're cute when you blush." Sonic's eyes widened in surprise as he looked up at Shadow after he said this.

"What?" He didn't stammer, he knew what Shadow had said, but it just took his own embarrassment to a whole new level. He bit into his bottom lip hard enough to break the skin and cause a fairly bad blood flow, luckily, that didn't happen, he winced slightly at a sudden burst of pain that had been welling in his leg. "Sometimes you say the weirdest things!" He didn't shout, but his voice wasn't as soft as it had been either. Shadow watched intently as the younger hedgehog's face got redder, he felt his own burn with nervousness.

The black and red hedgehog raised an eyebrow at the blue one, "You do." He smiled as Sonic looked at him, blinking in a confused manner.

'Cute?'

Sonic's ears perked up alertly, he finally met the red eyes that probably matched the color of his own cheeks. He smiled slightly, finally Shadow closed the gap between them, he walked towards him, a look of bewilderment caught in his eyes even as he stared at the floor and thought, "Do you think it's weird? That you like me and not Amy?" Shadow questioned him slightly, he worried over it for a moment, but then he just honestly wanted to know the answer to the question. He did think it was somewhat weird, but he guessed you love a particular person, no matter how long you've been around them, or who they are.

"Not really." He smiled as he saw the grin across Sonic's face, "I mean, you know...it's not really...she was a little bit annoying." Shadow rolled his eyes and laughed at the irony in Sonic's comment. He shrugged his shoulders slightly, he agreed, but he wasn't sure whether to do so verbally or not. He stared into Sonic's green irises for a long time, then looked away, out the window again. "Do you feel okay?" Shadow turned back to the blue hedgehog at this comment, he was looking at him fully now, but he was still tented red, or his face was.

Shadow smiled and simply nodded his head, "What did you ask that for? I'm fine." Sonic just shrugged his shoulders and looked up at him.

"You looked like you had something on your mind." Shadow laughed for just a few seconds again, he stared at the blue hedgehog, whom had lowered his head again. He wanted to tell Sonic to look at him, but he didn't. He just stood there staring at him, wishing he would look up to meet his own eyes.

"I do." That did it, Sonic looked up at him and tilted his head to the side slightly. Shadow watched him carefully, noticing the red tint to the bandages still wrapped around his wounds, and the pain that his posture was expressing.

"What?" Shadow looked at him like he had just asked if he was male or female, or something so utterly and completely obvious that it did not have the right to be put into question form. In all reality, it didn't, but Sonic still didn't feel like sounding all conceited and assuming it was about him.

"You, you idiot...what else would I have on my mind?" Sonic smirked and rolled his eyes. He had been right, and he had known this, but he decided not to let Shadow in on the fact that he had known this. He liked the look he was getting, which was slightly skeptical.

"I guess that was pretty obvious."

"Yeah." Sonic took a deep breath and turned his head slightly to the door. He wondered for a split second if Amy was feeling any better, he wondered this because he forced his mind to her. She had earned some respects for all the times she had held on to him for nothing, he knew he had treated her badly. But, he had also saved her life countless times, though, all that to her, probably meant nothing right now. He then looked back to Shadow, a passion or desire of sorts coming over him. He redirected his glance, the feeling bringing an even redder shade to his face. "Sonic, before...you told me you liked me different from everyone else, what were you talking about?" Sonic looked up at him. His heart started racing, he wished desperately that he didn't have to say what he was feeling. It was a different kind of way than how he had wished he hadn't had to tell Amy he didn't love her. Before, he wanted to say it, but he didn't want her to know. But, now, he wanted Shadow to know, but he didn't know how to say it.

There were three words he needed to say, that shouldn't have been that hard. He was Sonic the Hedgehog, if Shadow had said them to him, he could say them to Shadow. He just felt like there was a gigantic knot in his throat. He gave the dark hedgehog a weak smile though, he was glad Shadow decided to return it, as he felt a little more at ease then. "You honestly...need me to say that?" The red-eyed hedgehog simply nodded his head, a quick smirk coming across his face.

Sonic sighed, he could have never pictured himself saying those words. That was so out of character for him, so abnormal for him to admit an affection like that, he had always been so laid back. He still was, just not when it came to Shadow. "I can't read minds, Faker...I wish Doctor Gerald had given me that ability, but I didn't get that lucky." Sonic just nodded his head and smiled, Shadow couldn't read minds, and he needed to say this out loud anyway, to prove to himself if he really did.

He clenched his fists, then just squeezed his eyes shut tightly, he had no idea what words were about to come out of his mouth, he didn't know if he would be glad, or regret them. He just let his lips move, and sounds come out accordingly, "I love you, Shadow!" The black hedgehog blinked, staring at him. He saw that Sonic had surprised even himself with how bluntly he had put this, the blue hedgehog didn't regret it though, that was for sure. As a smile slowly came across his face, Shadow laughed.

"This is so...weird!" Sonic tilted his head at Shadow, listening as he spoke, "I never even thought I'd fall in love...I didn't even love Maria...I loved her like a sister, or even a mother...but I never thought I'd fall in love...like...in love. Especially with a guy...someone like you. I hated you, Faker!" The bemused hedgehog simply nodded his head. He had known this, he hadn't been utterly fond of Shadow either when they first met. He thought he was a copy, though, Shadow really hadn't been that similar to him, when he looked back at him. They looked alike, he guessed. They didn't even look that similar, just that they were both hedgehogs.

"I thought I'd fall in love..." Sonic's voice was a little softer than Shadow's, but he was smiling now, "But not with someone like you, either...trust me, I didn't like you all that much either when we first met." The red and black hedgehog chuckled slightly at the remark. He shook his head slightly, he stared into those green emeralds.

Finally, Shadow grabbed the flustered hedgehog again, this time he actually wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled his body to his own. It wasn't like before, like he was scared to do it, and Sonic smiled before their lips touched, Shadow could almost feel the beat of Sonic's own heart. He finally pressed his lips to the blue hedgehog's, he felt two arms around his own body as well, a feeling forced its way into his heart, which sped up, he felt Sonic's quivering breaths, and when he pulled his lips back, he saw the blue hedgehog's trembling. An intense desire, one even he had never felt before came over him as he stared at the green-eyed hedgehog. "Are you scared?" His voice was a gentle whisper now, Sonic just whimpered and shook his head. This proved he was lying, but Shadow was honestly scared too. Why? He had no idea, but he was scared in a good way and he liked the feeling.

He watched Sonic's lips slowly stop shivering, as he pressed his own to them again. He finally felt Sonic loosen up a little in his arms, catching the smile as he pulled away a second time. He took another breath after a second and just smiled, "You know, I've actually never done that before..." Shadow laughed, he didn't think it was funny, but he couldn't help but laugh from pure joy from the smile on Sonic's face. "...I liked it." Shadow shook his head, he hadn't done it before either. But he wasn't up for saying so, so he just smirked and pushed the blue hedgehog gently.

"You're so stupid, faker." Sonic sulked and disagreed with the comment, he didn't say anything though. Shadow had waited for him to speak up about it, but he decided he was going to have to, since the green-eyed hedgehog's thoughts seemed to be elsewhere, "You think Amy's gonna take it okay?" Sonic sent him a look.

"She saw us kiss...courtesy of the Ultimate Life Form, so I think she's going to be fine..she might be a little heartbroken for a while."

"I don't blame her." This caused a flush in Sonic's cheeks, the black hedgehog found this adorable and just smiled at him.

"Me...either?" Sonic's tone sounded like someone trying to sound cocky who was really kind of nervous and confused. The result was somewhat cute in Shadow's mind, but it sounded silly in Sonic's.

"I love you, Sonic the Hedgehog." Shadow just grabbed the blue hedgehog and pressed the soft lips to his once again, this action making his own and Sonic's skin crawl with pleasure.

---

Amy paced around waiting on the two of them to finish talking, tears still welled in her eyes. Tails watched the girl walk back and forth, he scratched his head, "Amy...why did all three of you need to be alone?" Amy jerked her thoughts from what they had been on and looked at the kit. He expected an answer but all he got was Amy shrugging her shoulders. He hated it when everyone tried not to tell him something. "Don't give me that, Amy, come on...just tell me." She gritted her teeth and turned to him.

"Sonic likes Shadow, Tails...gah...you're so annoying sometimes." He jerked back at what she said and the tone she said it in. He wanted to give her a gigantic hug when he saw the hurt in her eyes, but he figured she'd just slap him.

"Sonic likes...Shadow? Does Shadow like him?" She glared at him, but nodded. She hated the fact that he repeated it. Why did he have to say it over and over? It was like she hadn't announced it loudly enough for the entire universe to hear her the first time. He just gave her a weak smile, even as she glared. He figured she didn't need anymore anger than she already had built up in her. "...Amy...I'm sorry..." She just turned away furiously and let a few more tears slide down her face.

"It's no one's fault...Sonic can't help it and neither can Shadow. So don't be sorry..." She took a deep breath and just cut herself off before she fell to the ground in tears. She wanted to run back in there and cling to Sonic and refuse to let go, but she knew very well that she couldn't do that. Tails kicked up some dirt and watched the ground, lowering his ears.

He toyed with the thought that Sonic liked Shadow, it was strange, but not unexpected. He didn't know why but when the two had been so freaked out when he got to Amy's house, the conversation he had with Amy, it just seemed like it. He sighed slightly, he felt bad for Amy, but was almost happy for Sonic. Shadow and him seemed to fit together really well. "I am sorry though, Amy, I'm sorry you got hurt." She just nodded her head and didn't say anything.

"Why did I have to be the one..." She stopped herself and kept turned away from Tails, shivering in anger and depression. She bit into her lip and sighed.

Tails just shook his head. "No one wanted you to get hurt, Amy...but you'll be okay, you're so pretty...you'll find a better guy than Sonic!" Amy turned to him and shook her head. He realized he had said something terribly cliche, but what did she expect? He fidgeted quietly with his fingers and watched her gaze turn back to the door of her own home.

She glared vehemently at the white entrance to her home, she smoothed out her red dress and pinched her eyes shut, "...why did I leave?" She suppressed tears, doing nothing more than prolonging her composure for a few extra seconds as tears started to fall down her already tear stained cheeks. She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and she turned and gave Tails a weak smile. "I thought he...might...I suspected, but I thought...there's no way...he could love him for real, I didn't think it was possible...I was so stupid!"

"Amy, don't cry." Tails whispered softly, as if he didn't want her to hear. Amy truly was a beauty, he wondered how Sonic could reject her. He saw her stop, as her green eyes opened once again.

"I won't, Tails...because, you never know...maybe someone better is already falling in love with me...I can't sit here and cry over spilt milk." Amy grabbed Tails in a small hug, Tails just smiled and looked back at her.

"I know it's hard, Amy...but, it'll be okay." He patted her lightly on the back, she smiled genuinely for the first time in a long while.

---

"So, what was it LIKE?" Rouge and Knuckles glared wrathfully at the rabbit. She had been talking to them for the past hour, or talking at them anyway. They had hardly said three words to the young girl and she just kept right on talking. Knuckles ears were screaming in pain and Rouge was about to knock Cream from here to she didn't even know where. Not to mention, the incessant "Cheese" in the back drop, made each of them cringe.

"CREAM!" They both shouted almost simultaneously. She tilted her head at them and just gave them a smile. If they hadn't been so annoyed, they would have felt bad for the poor girl, but they were ready to pounce on her at any given moment.

"Are you guys mad?" They both gritted their teeth and Knuckles had to take continuing deep breaths to keep from strangling her and throwing her to the bottom of some deep canyon.

"NO, not at all." Rouge reassured calmly, ushering the young girl away. "Well, we'll have to talk to you later, Cream...me and Knuckles need some alone time." Cream blinked and stared back at her, she kept pushing her, though.

Knuckles watched in a slightly bemused manner as Rouge forced Cream from the area, waving her off for as long as she could see her. He couldn't figure out how Rouge persuaded Cream to leave, but she managed. He was relieved to see the bat walking back towards him, Cream(and Cheese)-less. "Go Rouge." He grinned and patted her on the back once she was within range.

"That little rabbit can really be nerve-racking." Knuckles nodded in agreement and just shrugged his shoulders. He sat on the stairway that led up to the master emerald, sure enough, they were back on Angel Island. Rouge watched him quietly, wanting to speak up, but simply biting her tongue in hesitation. "Well, Knuckles...I wonder what Eggman is going to do next...you know, I was thinking...I, um, I was really worried about you...when we were there without you...on the ARK." Knuckles turned to her, his purple eyes meeting her green ones. She worried slightly what he was going to say, figuring it would be mean.

"Can you believe that...Sonic and Shadow! That's so weird!" Rouge sighed, exasperated. He didn't even hear her. She swore this echidna was going to be the death of her. "Is something wrong?" He did notice that his remark bugged the bat woman. "You're not...jealous of Sonic, are you?"

She put her hand over her eyes and let out another sigh, "No! I don't really care who Shadow likes, Knuckles! He's cute, but that's all!" She glared up at him and he seemed pleased with this remark. But, then he thought on something else, seeming to chew on his lower lip.

"Really? I thought you liked him." He finally seemed to take her seriously, but he looked at her like he might ruin everything again with his next sentence, she looked away from him, preparing herself for the mental capacity it was going to take to not slap him off this island. "I'm glad you don't like him, though..." Rouge opened her eyes and stared at him in amazement.

"You are?" She resisted a smile, not wanting to jump to conclusions but it was difficult not to. His eyes lowered to the ground, as she continued to look at his face. He seemed to be pondering something or other, she wondered vaguely if it was her.

"Yeah..." He smiled slightly, and she waited to see if he was going to say anything else. "You're too pretty for him anyway." A slight red came over her cheeks.

She slung her arms around his neck and smiled, "Are you saying you like me, Knuckles?" This time it was Knuckles' turn to blush. He smiled slightly and put his arms around her. The echidna shrugged after a moment and met her eyes again.

"...maybe." Rouge kissed him lightly on the cheek. He opened his mouth to speak, but Rouge closed her eyes in exasperation, and put one of her hands to his lips before he got the chance.

"Don't say anything, you'll ruin it."

---

Espio beat his head repeatedly upon a wall in the ARK, as Charmy and Vector argued back and forth, "See? I told you the escape pods had been sabotaged by that weird little fox girl." The gator just glared at the bee, then clenched his fists.

"SO? A lot of good that does us! We're still stuck up here!" Charmy scowled, listening to Vector yell for a few more moments.

"Why can't you admit I was right? And, you act like everything's my fault! It's kind of your fault Shadow didn't like us enough to bring us back!" He shook his head and buzzed around a bit in the air, "Don't be mad at me, I didn't mess 'em up!" He clinched his fists and flailed his arms about in the air.

"Charmy, you're such a baby!"

"WHAT?"

"Will you two idiots SHUT UP?"

n-n; The end? Well, I hope you guys liked it! R&R. The ending was a little sappy, but I kind of liked the end result, hope yall did!