Having finished supper and put her dishes away, Rouge the Bat went back up to her bedroom in her mansion and decided to put on a Herbie Hancock record. However, before she could put the needle to the record and turn on the record player, she hesitated. It occurred to her that she and her best friend Shadow the Hedgehog hadn't sat down for a nice, meaningful talk in a while, so she put the record back in its sleeve, put both back on the shelf where she kept her records and took a walk down to Shadow's room, humming "Watermelon Man" all the while. As she approached Shadow's room, her ears perked up, and she quickened her pace a bit when she heard what she thought sounded like crying. She didn't even bother knocking on his door, though she did open it carefully. Sure enough, Shadow was curled up on his bed in the fetal position, crying.

"Shaddy?" Rouge hurried on over to Shadow's bed and sat down. "Shaddy, what's wrong?"

Shadow lifted his head up. "Oh…n-nothing's wrong. I…it's just…I'm really happy right now."

Rouge raised her eyebrows. "Really? Can you tell me more? You don't have to if you're not comfortable."

"Well…I…I went onto YouTube to look for metal songs I hadn't heard before, and this…this video on the front page…i-it caught my eye and…and…"

"Yes?"

"I…I watched it and…a-and it was just so beautiful!"

Rouge put her hand on Shadow's knee. "Shaddy, you don't have to show me the video, but I'm curious about what it was that made you cry."

Shadow let out a trembling sigh. "Well…all right. So basically, these two people…I guess they were childhood friends…th-they hadn't seen each other in a while, so…well…maybe you should see this for yourself…"

Shadow picked up his Droid Razr Maxx and opened up YouTube. With a bit of poking around, he found the video in question, titled "Guy Surprises Childhood Best Friend Dressed As UPS Driver". He opened it for Rouge, who scooched up next to him for a better look. The video showed the open door of a house somewhere in Emerald City. A guy off-camera whispered "she's gonna notice me" before calling out "Svetlana!" A few seconds later, Svetlana – a brown cat with black stripes and blue eyes – came to the door. She received a moderately-sized package from a UPS guy and asked "do I open it here?" All of a sudden, her eyes widened when she noticed who the deliveryman was: her old childhood friend. With an "oh my god!", she quickly yet carefully set the package aside, rushed over to her friend – a green wolf – and gave him a big hug while showering him with "oh my god"s and his name: Ron. Ron was so happy that he let out a few chuckles. When the video concluded, Shadow looked at Rouge, who was now smiling.

"Well?" said Shadow.

"My, that was beautiful!" said Rouge. "But why did it make you cry?"

"D-don't you get it? It was because of Maria…because of ME…that those people had a chance to be happy! I…I just…"

At this point, Shadow lost the ability to form any comprehensible speech and resumed crying, which caused Rouge to frown.

"Oh Shaddy…"

Rouge gave Shadow a big hug, which he returned. Though wanting to cry herself, Rouge kept herself together and was more than happy to comfort Shadow in his hour of need. Seeing herself as his mommy, she had always vowed to stay with him no matter what, and she saw this as a really good opportunity to bond with him. Besides, she enjoyed hugging him regardless. Even if he was usually a ruthless hardass, she knew that deep down inside, he deserved to have somebody to love and comfort him. Another thing that made her happy was the fact that he was able to appreciate that not all people were bad and that they deserved to live for their dreams, for a better future.

As for Shadow, in spite of all the tears he was letting out, he didn't feel horribly messed up inside. Rather, he felt more complete, knowing that somebody near and dear to him appreciated his efforts to keep an old promise. If this was what love felt like, he wanted more of it. Granted, part of him really hated crying, but still, he found something special in being hugged. He figured that as long as he could let out his true feelings, then everything was going to be all right. How could he reject such comfort? Gradually, Shadow stopped crying, but Rouge continued to hold on to him, electing to keep holding on until he let go, which didn't happen for quite some time. He just couldn't resist her soft, warm touch or the scent of Chanel No. 5. When he'd had his fill, Shadow backed away a bit, but kept his hands on Rouge, as did she.

"How are you feeling?" asked Rouge.

"Well…I…I'm not feeling very sad, but still, crying always feels yucky."

"I know crying feels yucky for you, but believe me, it's part of what makes you a person! Here, have some of these…"

Rouge pulled out a packet of Kleenexes from her cleavage, which Shadow wasted no time in taking and blowing his nose. Finally, they both smiled.

"So, can Mommy do anything else for you, my sweet cabbage?" said Rouge.

"Actually, there is one thing…"

"Yes?"

Shadow chuckled before getting up on his knees, and keeping his arms wrapped around Rouge, he nibbled her ear, causing her to giggle.

"SHADDY!"

"What?"

"Shaddy, knock it off or else!"

"You don't look like you want me to knock it off."

"I'm warning you, buster, if you don't quit it, you're gonna get some back!"

"Oh really?"

Rouge tackled Shadow onto the bed.

"OH GOD! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Didn't I warn you you'd get it back?"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA! OK! OK! STAHP!"

"Shaddy, who's your mommy!?"

"YOU'RE MY MOMMY! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! STAHP TICKLING ME!"

Rouge ignored Shadow for a few more seconds before stopping the tickles, leaving him huffing and puffing for a little.

"So, would you like anything else, you naughty little hedgie?" said Rouge.

"As a matter of fact, yes…"

"Do tell me."

"First, I'd feel better if I had a glass of warm milk."

"OK! Anything else?"

"Yes, after that, I'd like to lie down in your lap and watch a movie with you. I'll even let you pick the movie since you've been so good to me."

"Actually, you've been through enough, so you can pick the movie! Besides, it's really romantic of you to want to lie down in my lap!"

"Oh, thank you! You're the best!"

"No, you are!"

"Come on, we're wasting time with this silly arguing! Let's just get to it, shall we?"

Shadow and Rouge hopped off of the former's bed and headed for the kitchen while holding hands. Another day had passed, and the world was much better off for their good vibes.

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.