A/N: Another Living Pains offshoot. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Living Pains: Overprotective

Shadow pulled his motorcycle up to his apartment building. She shivered involuntarily. He could feel the cold of the January air through his leather jacket and hi sweeter. He walked to the front door, stomping the snow from his feet before stepping over the threshold. He walked to his mailbox and checked for anything interesting. Junk, junk, late Christmas card for Rose, phone bill. He grimaced at the last one, trying to burn it with his glare.

With a sigh he began to climb the stairs. He nodded to one of his neighbors as he passed him. The cat nodded back and continued on his way. Shadow smiled and shook his head. Tim is going to get fired if he doesn't start coming to work. Don't think I'll be able to protect him from Rouge much longer. He walked to the next stairway, glancing at the elevator as he passed it. I've got to get Prower to fix that. With a smile laugh he climbed the stairs to the third floor.

He walked up to his door searching in his pocket for his key. Finding it he unlocked the door only to freeze at the sound of sobbing. He dropped the mail and his bag next to the door. He closed it behind him as he ran into the living room where he saw his housemate crying on the couch.

"Rose?" He asked quietly. She looked up at him and tried to stop hide her tears.

"H-hi Sh-shadow." She said in a horrible imitation of happiness. He frowned at her, causing her façade to drop instantly. She wailed and wrapped her arms around him.

"Rose what's wrong?" He held her back, completely confused about her tears.

"I don't want to talk about it." She whimpered into his chest. His expression darkened in anger.

"Sonic." He hissed under his breath. She clutched him tightly at the name. He swallowed a growl. "Shh…I'm here." He sat down on the couch with her, rubbing her back gently. "Let it out." He whispered. She cried for nearly an hour, Shadow's rage growing with every second. After a while she finally fell asleep. He picked her up in her arms and carried her to her bed. He tucked her in and kissed her forehead. "He will pay." He whispered as he turned and stalked out of the apartment.

As he closed and locked his door he presented an atmosphere of calm. Even when he started his motorcycle and began down the street, he still seemed fine. It wasn't until he came within sight of Sonic's house that he allowed his façade of calm dropped. He parked the motorcycle and ran to the door. Despite the rage on his features, he knocked on the door in a pleasant way. He waited as the footsteps came closer.

"Who is it?" Sonic's voice asked.

"Me." He said quietly. When Sonic started to open the door he charged it, slamming it open. The door crashed against the cobalt hedgehog, knocking him to the floor. Shadow stood above him, pure hate revealed on his face.

"Shadow? What the-" He was cut off by a large bang. Splinters from the wood floor showered the side of his head. His eyes widened in fear. Three inches to the right of his head was a bullet hole. Shadow's gun pointed at his face. "What-"

"Shut up." The ebony hedgehog growled quietly. "If Rose didn't love you I wouldn't have missed." He lowered the gun but didn't put it away. "Tell me what happened."

"That's what this is about? What did she go whining to her big brother because I said she was too immature for me?" He didn't see the punch coming. He landed on the floor, rubbing his chin.

"When I came home she cried herself to sleep! Now tell me exactly what happened." Sonic barely heard the last part. That scared him more than if Shadow had yelled the words.

"Okay, just don't shoot me." He stood back up and backed up out of Shadow's reach. "I had just come off the night shift at work. I was tired, and that idiot Jet was annoying me all night." He leaned against the wall tiredly. "I was walking home when Amy came running up to me, all excited about some date she wanted to go on." He grimaced. Walking? He must have been tired. Shadow thought to himself, putting the gun away. "She just kept going on and on. I tried to tell her I was tired, I really did." He lowered his head in shame. "She just wouldn't stop! I finally had enough and I…called her an immature little kid. I said she should stop bugging me and find someone that could stand her." He refused to look at Shadow. The black hedgehog grabbed his arm and forced him to turn towards him. Though he kept his face pointed down the hallway, Shadow could tell he was crying.

"Idiot." He said quietly, walking away from Sonic. "Sonic." He said sharply. The blue hedgehog made an inquisitive noise. "How do you feel about Rose?"

"I…" He trailed off. Knowing that neither of them liked to talk about this kind of thing, Shadow took pity on him.

"I can point the gun at you if it'll help." That brought a small laugh out of the blue hedgehog.

"No thanks." He shook his head. Neither of them said anything for a minute, both looking away from the other. "I…like her." He said quietly.

"In what way?" Sonic grimaced.

"I don't know. I can't stand her when she's all gushy, but I love being around her." He sighed. "And I hate the emo talk." Shadow let loose a bark of laughter.

"I'll tell her you apologized." Shadow said walking out the still open door. He paused on the threshold. "And I'll pay for the hole." He called over his shoulder. Shadow walked to his motorcycle, feeling strangely peaceful. At least he cares for her. He thought to himself. at least one of us has someone to care for in this world.

A/N: Not every ending is completely happy.