Amy runs up to them, grabbing Sonic by the arm and nearly yanking him to her side. She's glaring daggers at Shadow, while the he looks back at her with disinterest. Scratch that. Shadow's face is disinterested but his eyes tell a different story. He's looking at Amy like he'll maim her where she stands.

"There you are, Sonic!" She squeezes Sonic's arm painfully tight and Shadow bares his fangs for an instant before his mask is back in place. "I've been looking for you everywhere! You need to enjoy the party, instead of hiding away in the corner."

Sonic feels a number of things, but at the top of the list is discomfort. Amy has no reason to be clinging to him like this, and last time he checked she and Shadow were friends. She was practically an honorary member of Team Dark at some point! What happened to make them so hostile with each other?

"I am enjoying the party?" He tries to shake her off, but only succeeds in lightening her grip. "I said hi to everyone and hung out, I'm just hanging out with with these guys right now."

He shoots the trio a desperate look, hoping they'll help him out of this. Shadow and Rouge nod minutely, while Knuckles looks way too entertained. He raises his eyebrows with an incredulous smile and takes a sip from his drink.

"Well I've been so lonely without you! I'm not having fun with you wandering away. Don't you want me to have fun?"

Sonic cringes. She's really going to play the guilt trip card? "Well I'm having fun right now..."

"You know, you could leave if you're not having fun." Shadow's voice is smooth and even, but Amy immediately bristles. Knuckles ducks his head and smithers a laugh behind his glove, shoulders shaking. "I think everyone else is having a grand old time."

"Leave? Leave? You're kidding right?"

One of Shadow's ears tilts. "Is that a hard concept for you?"

Knuckles looks between the two and purses his lips in open amusement.

"I'm helping host this party! I can't just leave!"

"Oh yeah, you are aren't you?" Rouge puts a hand on her chin, looking lost in thought. "I totally forgot! Ms Vanilla has been asking us to help all night, hasn't she, Knuckles?"

Knuckles nods, taking another swig of his drink before answering. "Yeah, she's been asking us to help with the party since we got here. Getting ice, making drinks, helping with the food... ya know. Party stuff. She seemed a bit stressed so we were glad to help."

Amy looks pale. Her grip weakens enough to where Sonic can finally get his arm free. He steps out of her immediate range and close to Shadow. The hybrid wraps an arm around his shoulder, a heavy hand resting on armor. Sonic doesn't know what's happening, but he doesn't like it. He's still glad for the small comfort though.

"Oh no..." Rouge has a pout that seems sincere, but something's off. "Looks like Ms Vanilla is gonna need a new hostess next year... I'd be more than happy to step up."

Amy's hands curl into fists, while Knuckles has his mouth hanging open, looking between the two woman with glee and shock.

"Well. It seems I need to help with the party." Amy turns to Sonic, eyes honing onto the hand on his shoulder. "I'll see you later, Sonic."

She offers one more bone chilling glare to Shadow before twirling and heading off to the kitchen.

That. Was. Weird.

Knuckles bursts into laughter and pulls Rouge into a hug. "That was savage, you guys!" He kisses Rouge's nose and nuzzles her neck. "Especially you, mama."

Rouge hugs him back but wears a frown. "You think so? I wasn't too harsh?"

"Nah, you were just the right amount of judgy."

Rouge rolls her eyes and slaps Knuckles on the butt. "I didn't want to be mean but she was coming at my boys sideways."

Knuckles shifts to press a kiss to her neck, earning a gasp from Rouge and Sonic. "You know I love it when you get protective, baby."

Shadow grabs Sonic's hand and rushes him down the hall and the stairs. Sonic is more than a little lost. Shadow leans against the wall at the foot of the stairs, shoulder resting there as he gazes at Sonic with a knowing smile. "They're going to make out and feel each other up. It's best we stay out of their way. Not that Rouge minds an audience."

Sonic feels his face grow even hotter. "I didn't know Knuckles liked pda."

Shadow shrugs. "He doesn't. But he's had a few drinks and he's comfortable around us." He glances to the top of the stairs and huffs a laugh through his nose.

"The best we can do for them is make sure no one finds them like that. Knuckles won't like it if they get caught and will probably keep his hands off her in public for some time. And then she'll complain to me about it."

A second later Shadow stops Charmy from going up the stairs. "Sorry, kid. I can't let you up there right now."

"Oh come on, please? Vector is hogging the bathroom down here and I don't want to be in there next."

Shadow shakes his head. "Trust me. Knuckles is hogging the one up here. You don't want to be in there after him either."

Charmy sticks out his tongue and gags. "Ugh gross! Thanks for the heads up, dude." Before flying away, he side eyes Sonic. His face morphs from disgust to something mischievous. "Since you did me a solid, I got you. Amy won't see ya."

Shadow gives Charmy a mock salute which has the bee dying with laughter. The kid floats away, back into the troughs of the party.

"What was that about?"

Shadow fixes him with a look that's somehow fond and annoyed. He sighs before raising their joined hands. "I think Amy wouldn't be too happy about us holding hands."

Sonic totally forgot about that. Shadow must see something in his face. "Do you want to stop? I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

"No!" Sonic shouts, glancing around before continuing. "No, it's fine. It's good, actually. I'm good."

Shadow gives him a rare smile before shifting them. Sonic yelps as Shadow pulls him close, turning their bodies so that Shadow's back is against the wall and their chests are flush together. Well, as close as they can be with Sonic's chestpiece. Shadow moves his hands so they rest on Sonic's hips, and Sonic feels like he's aflame. It's much better this time around.

"What about this?"

Sonic is starting to associate that velvety smooth voice with Shadow's chaotic side. He moves his arms to curl them around Shadow's neck, revelling in the look of approval he's greeted with.

"I think I like this better."

Shadow hums, smile growing wider and Sonic just wants to commit this look to memory too. He loves this; the pull of Shadow's hands, the playful look in crimson eyes, the smile that's absolutely blinding. But as amazing as it is, he wants more. He feels it, bubbling up in his throat and barely being held back.

Sonic loves Shadow. And he really wants to tell him.

There's a creaky noise that catches his attention and Sonic is almost thankful for the distraction. He glances over to see Rouge and Knuckles making their way down the stairs, hand in hand. Shadow kisses Sonic's cheek before pushing off the wall, and they separate.

Knuckles immediately fist bumps Shadow when they reach the bottom. Wait, it's not just a fist bump, but a full blown elaborate handshake. It ends on a dab of all things and Sonic feels a little frustrated. He doesn't have anything so cool with Shadow. And Shadow always told Sonic dabs were stupid, but here he is doing it in sync with Knuckles.

"Thanks for watching our backs, man. I appreciate ya."

Shadow nods and punches the echidna's shoulder. "No problem. I've got you, asshat."

Rouge is grinning ear to ear, looking a little dazed and lips swollen. She fans herself a bit before looking Sonic up and down and winking. He wonders how much they saw before heading downstairs.

"Let's join the rest of the party, boys. I'm thinking it's probably time for cake!"

Rouge leads the way with Knuckles on her arm. Sonic steps to follow them before noticing that Shadow hasn't moved. Instead, Shadow is staring at him with eyes aglow in the lowlight. Sonic likes the attention.

"You good, Shads?"

Shadow finally moves, stepping beside Sonic. He rests a hand on the small of Sonic's back, leaning in close to speak right into Sonic's ear. "Sorry, I was just thinking about earlier."

Sonic grins. He loves that low purr. "Let's go then, slowpoke."

When they make it to the living room, they see Rouge was right. There's cupcakes and snacks of all sorts laid out on the table, ripe for the taking. Sonic helps himself to a massive helping of everything.

They move to sit with the others. The couch has enough space for one so Sonic squeezes in, while Shadow is offered the love seat. Sonic eats so much that he can feel the armor he's wearing fit tight around his waist. It's so good that he gets up for even more, piling his second plate just as high. He nearly drops it when he turns around.

Rouge has draped herself over Shadow's lap.

They both look comfortable; Rouge is chatting with Cream and Tails, and Shadow sips on a drink he didn't have a moment ago. He chimes in to whatever Rouge says with a signature frown, the kids laughing wildly.

Sonic growls.

It's out before he can stop it. Low and fierce and dark. He cuts it off abruptly, thankful for the racket of the party.

But then Rouge and Shadow are looking at him, with curiosity and concern. He puts the pieces together and realizes that they know. Somehow, with all this noise and their attention elsewhere they heard his mistake. This can't be happening.

Sonic takes his plate and excuses himself to the tiny backyard, breathing in the crisp October air. He munches on his food mindlessly, not even tasting it. He just wants to disappear. He didn't mean to, it just slipped out! And the reason why... Sonic feels so stupid. Shadow can't know how he feels. He can't know that Sonic is head over heels in love - but more importantly filled with ugly jealousy.

It's just so stupid. It's not a big deal but it is. Sonic shouldn't be concerned with what other people do with Shadow. And Shadow is his friend, he shouldn't be so angry over this.

But he is. He's pissed. He's the one that got Shadow out of his shell, so he's the one the should be getting all the kind words and warm hugs. He's the one who should be the one with Shadow's attention.

Sonic is jealous. And he hates it.

He hears the sliding door behind him open, and leaps up, ready to run. To his relief it's just Knuckles. "Hey, Knux."

He sits back down with a deep sigh. Knuckles settles into the seat opposite of him, staring at Sonic with sympathy. "I get it, man."

Sonic's ears flick in confusion. "What?"

Knuckles raises his drink, pointing to towards the living room. "Them two. They're so close it can drive you crazy."

Sonic watches in amazement while the echidna snatches a cookie from his plate. "How'd you know?"

Red shoulders shrug. "Like I said, I get it. I know they're just close but seeing my woman on another guy still gets to me." Knuckles leans into the chair, but not before stealing a brownie.

"Rouge likes to stir the pot but she's definitely not doing this on purpose, alright? She'd never hurt you like that, plus Shadow would chew her out if she did it intentionally."

He chuckles and Sonic nods numbly. This night is just full of surprises. "How'd you know, though?"

Knuckles looks at him like he's stupid. "It's not that hard. Rouge. Shadow. His lap is occupado. You. You like him. You want to be there. Ergo, you're jealous. See?"

Sonic feels his face grow hot. "Knux! Shut up!"

"Well it's true!" Knuckles throws his head back on a cackle. "You've been glaring at me all night too, but I get it. We're jealousy buddies. Just gotta ride this wave."

Sonic grumbles. Is it really that obvious? Knuckles pulls out his phone and messes with it before he nudges Sonic with his foot. "You know, Shadow is a fucking asshole but he's actually kinda cool too. I should've taken your word for it before. He thinks the world of you, and I've already said my piece with him."

Sonic laughs at that, finally relaxing. "Why are you even telling me this?"

"I just think you should know that. I know my opinion matters to you."

Sonic feels touched. It does mean a lot that his favorite people are all getting along. Even if they're totally annoying about it. He's not sure why Knuckles is going out of his way to tell him this but it's appreciated. But...

"Who told you?"

"Nobody had to tell me. You hedgehogs make it obvious when you're pursuing someone, whether you mean to or not."

Sonic forgot that Knuckles is actually pretty observant. Especially when it comes to instinct.

"Well I gotta go. Looks like Rouge wants to head out and I'm not gonna tell her no. Our night isn't over, if you know what I mean. I'll see you later."

The two stand and hug each other, and then Knuckles is gone. Sonic takes a deep breathe before heading back inside. If Rouge's leaving then Shadow probably is too. He wants to say goodbye, even with his feelings a mess like this.

He looks around at the small crowd. Sonic must have been outside sulking longer than he realized. Half the party is gone and the rest are gathering their things. Cream steps into his view, holding up a goodie bag.

"Hey! Since Shadow left I figured you'd be headed out too! Text me when you get home safe!"

"What? Shads left?"

She nods, ears flapping wildly. "Yeah, he got called away on a mission while we were talking earlier." She leans in and Sonic leans down. "Between you and me, he seemed upset when he left."

Sonic stomach drops. He knows it's about the growling thing. What else could it be? Shadow's probably confused on why it even happened and then Sonic hid away like a coward instead of talking to him about it. Shadow didn't even come to say bye to him.

The run home is a blur. Sonic just harps on how stupid he feels. How dumb he is. Shadow is never going to love him back. He has all these feelings, all this love, but there's no point.

He checks his phone, seeing that Shadow had texted him.

Shadz 3 «Hi, I'm sorry that I couldn't see you before I headed out. I'm being sent on a solo mission and won't be back for at least 2 weeks. I hope you're ok.»

Sonic shrugs off his costume and curls up into his sheets. He doesn't bother texting back, knowing that Shadow won't see it. And honestly? He wouldn't even if Shadow could. This is too hard. Sonic doesn't think he can do this anymore. He doesn't know if he can be close to Shadow without his feelings taking over. He almost said 'I love you' tonight! If given another chance he'll almost definitely say it, and that could ruin everything they've built together.

Sonic tries to pull his attention elsewhere but fails. He tries to block the thought of it but it's no use. All he can think about this mess. Shadow would never feel the same. Why would he?

Yeah, Sonic and Shadow are friends, but that's it. Right? Shadow deserves freedom. He deserves to explore his options and to do what pleases him without someone else in the way. And he deserves someone who won't growl at his best friend. Why would Shadow tie himself down to someone who couldn't even admit to his crush to begin with?

But chaos does Sonic want him. He wants Shadow to be his, like he's never wanted anything. He wants everyone to know that Shadow belongs with him, to him. But that's wrong. Right? Sonic falls asleep in the midst of his internal battle.

He dreams of Shadow again, but it's bittersweet. It's a dream of ruby eyes and rough hands, sinister claws and fangs lovingly marking his skin.