Before now, nobody could really put a finger on what it meant to be the "ultimate."

It had been a little more than three weeks since Shadow had undergone the procedure to receive the ability to understand emotions, and also to act upon them. He had emerged from his pod and greeted his family with a smile, and his creator, Gerald, had all but burst into a string of tear-filled laughter. He was relieved to see his greatest project-no, his own grandson-safe and sound. But above all else, he was happy. Truly happy.

And so, too, was Maria.

Shortly after his procedure, Shadow and Maria had spent a lot more of their time in each other's company, much to the satisfaction and joy of her grandfather. She had told her new black-haired friend of the wonders of the world when emotions were put forth, and effort was made into understanding them. She had invited him for walks around the park on multiple occasions, and naturally, Shadow was more than eager to accept. He would take the hand she offered him, a gentle, mild smile across his face, and a bright, beaming one spread across hers.

A smile that never seemed to fade when the two were together.

Their trips to the park would always consist of feeding the many breeds of birds that could be found flocking to its greenery. Maria, of course, would find them so adorable, and she would make sure to bring along whatever scraps of bread or other soft foods she could muster, and happily break them apart to feed them to the avians, which were always eager and appreciative of her kindness. They would chirp happily back at her, in what she could only assume was their way of showing gratitude.

"Here, Shadow," she smiled, holding her hands out to him, soft food resting on her frail palms. "Why don't you try to feed them?"

His crimson eyes looked down at the food, unsure of how to respond at first. He glanced back up into the blonde's cerulean orbs.

"Do I just do what you're doing?" he pleaded. "Break it up and toss it to them?"

She nodded with a sincere smile. "Sure thing! But make sure not to toss it too hard; they'll get scared and fly away."

"All right," he nodded, kindly taking the food from her hands and using his two fingers to crumble it into nearly microscopic bits. Before he tossed the food, however, he replayed her warning several times in his mind instead of moving. When he finally decided to budge, he stood up slowly and simply placed the food on the ground in front of his feet. At first, Maria's face showed confusion, but when she glanced over at the birds and saw that many of them were timidly making their way towards them, her heart leapt bounds, and her smile only widened.

And then, he held out his hands.

A small blue bird looked over to Shadow's hands, seeing bits of food resting on his palms. Clearly too afraid at first, it was moments before the bird made any sudden movements. Shadow's face lit with a caring smile.

"Don't worry, friend. I won't hurt you. I only want to see you fed."

The bird looked directly up into Shadow's eyes, and to Maria's surprise, it seemed to understand his words. It leapt carefully onto his palms, the crimson-eyed man not moving an inch, in fear of losing the frail little bird's trust in him. It pecked eagerly at the food, filling its belly with tasty nourishment. Once it was done, the bird happily leapt off of his hands, rushing back to its flock. He sat back down on the wooden bench with his blonde companion.

"Shadow, that was amazing!" she breathed.

"Was it?" he blinked. "I don't understand."

"Well, birds don't normally interact with people a lot," she explained. "When they do, it's because we offer them food, like we just did. They always flock around here in waves, so it's started being a nice little activity to feed them!"

"Oh..." he sighed. "Right. I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For not knowing that."

"You dork," she mused, placing her hand on his. "There's plenty of stuff you-everybody-doesn't know. But that's part of what makes life so wonderful!"

"Not knowing things?"

She giggled. "No, silly. The fact that we can learn to begin with."

"Yes," he agreed. "I enjoy it when I learn new things. Being alive for such a short period of time has taught me that...well, there are a lot of things I can learn."

"I wouldn't sell myself short, if I were you," she grinned playfully. "You've more than proven how smart you can be!"

He smiled faintly at her. Of course, she was referring to an incident that occured at SciLab, not but a few days ago. The main computers, all terminals that contained the absolute most important information and data in all of the facility, had been hacked by an ex convict, one that had previously worked for SciLab before his punishment reprimanded him. Scientists all over the facility had alerted Gerald of the incident, and Shadow volunteered to solve the issue. He had used the intelligence programmed into himself in order to counter the efforts of that hacker, while simultaneously learning of his whereabouts. The police were notified at once, and that sad fool was caught within the hour and once again thrown behind bars.

And of course, Shadow's efforts were wildly praised.

"I knew something had to be done," he responded. "I know how important that data is to everyone..."

"I know," she said, smiling warmly at him. "You were amazing."

His cheeks started to turn the same color as his eyes. "Thank you."

She giggled playfully. "Why, Shadow," she started to tease, "is that red I see on your face? Are you blushing?"

"Huh?" his eyes widened in confusion. "I don't know...Is that what happens when your face gets hot?" He patted his cheeks gently, looking away for a moment, then back again. "Because my cheeks are definitely hot."

She couldn't help but laugh.

"That's a blush, all right!"

"I don't understand," he replied, somewhat distressed. "I wish I knew what this meant..."

She regained herself, and smiled once more at her naive friend.

"A blush usually happens when something embarrasses you," she said, giggling.

"So I'm...embarrassed?" he questioned. "Why?"

"Probably because of the compliments I just gave you!" she grinned. "A lot of people feel that way when they're flattered."

"So if I gave you a compliment," he puzzled, "would that make you blush, too?"

She blinked in surprise at his statement, her expression dropping slightly.

"That depends," she remarked. "What kind of compliment do you have for me?"

"You're beautiful."

Her eyes widened, bigger than she even thought possible, when her ears wiggled at the sound of those words escaping his lips. For a few moments, silence. Nothing was spoken between them. The wind had picked up slightly, blowing through their clothes and causing their bangs to dance with the breeze.

And just like that, as if on cue, her cheeks turned red.

"You're blushing. I guess you were right."

She quickly turned her head, looking away from him. She huffed at his statement.

"It's incredible that you can just say things like that to a girl with a straight face," she protested. "Just how many times have you said that before?"

He wasn't quite sure how to respond to her question, so he just went with the honest truth.

"Just you."

She slowly turned back to look into his eyes, her cheeks still flushed. Her mouth hung open slightly for a few moments, processing what he said. But then, he looked down at the ground, an expression of sorrow on his face.

"I...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset with me."

She thought for a few moments, realizing that her friend must have taken things the wrong way. Her face lit with a gentle smile, and the blush on her face still refused to cease. She scooted closer to him on the park bench, looking right into his eyes.

"Hey," she cooed, "don't feel sad." He slowly looked back up at her, waiting for her to finish. "I'm not mad, silly. It's just...nobody's ever said that to me before. I guess I was a little...surprised, that's all."

"I'm sorry..." he returned. "I don't understand it, but...the words just...slipped past my lips."

"Whaddya mean?"

"It..." He bit his lower lip, waiting for a few moments before he spoke again. "It felt...right...to say that to you. I don't ever say things like that to anyone else, not even the females at SciLab. I wonder why I said that...to you..."

At first, she thought about being offended. But she knew his words were not filled with ill intent; he was still learning what it meant to feel emotions. Anything, really, was a step in the right direction. She was happy that he was finally able to process those feelings, happy that she could help him experience life and its pleasures through the power of emotions, happy that she was helping him live a more fulfilling life by spending so much time with him and showing him all she can.

So of course, she wasn't going to ignore the fact that her heart was soaring.

"Yeah..." she sighed, smiling. "I wonder why."

"Maria?"

She shook her head, still smiling. "No, it's fine, really. But seriously...thank you, Shadow. You're very sweet."

He nodded faintly. "You're...welcome."

"Do you wanna head back? It's almost dinner time."

"If it's okay..." he reached for her fingers, placing his alongside hers. "Do you think we could sit out here, just for a little longer?"

"How come?"

It was his turn to smile, and his eyes stared deeply into the vermillion sky as a few rays from the setting sun crossed his face. His eyes slowly shut, and his muscles relaxed. He inhaled slowly, exhaling only moments after.

"The weather is wonderful today. I feel like staying cooped up in a building would let it go to waste."

She giggled at his suprisingly wise remark, taking his hand and intertwining their fingers. He looked back into her eyes, and they shared gentle smiles as they stared into each other's orbs for a few moments.

"That sounds great. Dinner can wait."

He nodded, looking back at the sky. But before he could respond, he felt something slightly heavy rest itself atop his lap. As he looked down, he saw eyes of a deep blue looking right into his.

"Maria?"

She giggled playfully as she looked up at him.

"This is a lot more comfortable. You don't mind, do you?"

For several moments, he didn't say anything in response. But then, he found himself doing something he had never done before. Something nobody-not even Maria-had seen or heard him do before.

He was laughing. And she could feel her heart getting lighter than air at the sound of his laughter.

"No," he replied, a warm smile gracing his cheeks as he glanced back down to her eyes. "Not at all."

She felt her cheeks mimic his expression, and before she knew it, they were laughing together. For the first time ever.

She couldn't have been happier.

After a few moments of silence, she inhaled deeply, releasing her breath before finally saying something to her friend.

"Hey...Shadow?"

"Hmm?" he looked down into her eyes.

"I'm...I'm really glad...you decided to become human."

He nodded in reassurance, gently squeezing her hand wrapped in his. It didn't hurt her at all; despite Shadow's overwhelming strength, she couldn't feel any pain. Only warmth. Warmth of his flesh touching hers, if only mildly.

"Yes. Me, too."