Author's Notes: Remember Omega's "secret mission" in the last chapter that he used as a lame excuse to leave Rouge and Shadow alone? Well, there was actually more truth to that then you might think.

I don't know why this chapter contains so many Beatles references, but I just saw the opportunities and went for it.

So... super long chapter. Consider this may way of making up for the short early chapters and delay in Crimson. Don't get used to this. :P

Chapter 8- Always By Your Side

All was quiet except for the sound of pages turning. Shadow sat idly in the couch, a stack of books taller than he was piled haphazardly next to him. He'd heard about libraries from Rouge, and then promptly "check them out" from a local Barnes and Nobles.

He had "checked out" every book they had on frozen deserts, from "Roman Ice Cream: Historical Origins of an American Classic" to "The Perfect Milkshake for Dummies."

By now, he had read enough that he could probably qualify for a pHd in Ice Cream, if there were such a thing.

Sitting on the ivory bat's breakfast table was a bowl containing at least thirty bananas, and doubtless nestled in the freezer was also several gallons of vanilla ice cream. He was trying his hardest to stay focused on his newly found hobby, but try as he might, he could not keep his mind from wandering seemingly casually back to his ivory companion. She had gone to work since he was recovered, and left him to his experimenting and musing, like some Ice Cream obsessed mad scientist.

He had a variety of aspects to contemplate, not the least of which was what direction his life would take from this point onwards. Now that he'd taken care of Black Doom, what should he do? Sure, he had the vague sense that he was a "hero" of Earth, and had a duty to protect it, but what about when the world was not threatened on such a planetary scale?

Could he really sit idly about and make milkshakes for the rest of his life? As much as he liked the desert, he didn't think so.

Then why was he still here? What was he accomplishing?

He'd already realized that Rouge must want him with her, and if her rescuing him from Westopolis wasn't enough to demonstrate this, her... friendliness since then most certainly was, even if he did not fully grasp its significance.

But now that he'd recovered, he remembered the promise he'd made to himself on the hill outside Westopolis.

Flashback

'After I lay low for awhile, where am I going to go?' he mused. 'I have no home, but I can't stay here forever.'

Instantaneously an image of Rouge and Omega flashed into the dark hedgehog's mind.

'Our alliance is over. I got what I wanted; I know my purpose,' he countered, commencing in a sort of "argument" in his head.

'And yet you feel as if you belong with her, as if you should go to her,' the other side told him sternly.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, she probably wouldn't even take me in!"

'You just saved the entire damn planet. A complete stranger would take you in. It's not a matter of who would tolerate you, but more a matter of who you could tolerate.'

He blushed slightly, and began walking towards the city.

'Alright. But I'm only staying with her until I can find a place of my own better than a tree on a hilltop,' he bargained with himself.

End Flashback

"Hm. I did say I would only stay with Rouge as long as I have to. But where will I go?"

He thought for a moment, and became fully conscious of the fact that he had no home. And yet, he felt ill at ease staying with her, he was too powerfully affected by her presence. Her advances brought feelings that were confusing and chaotic, like being swept along in a swiftly running river to who knows where. He would have to pull himself out, for he could not swim against the torrent much longer.

His thoughts were disrupted by the ringing of the phone. He looked around, puzzled by the sound. Spying it sitting on the stand next to the left of the couch, he picked up the headset with a bewildered and unsure expression.

"Hiya Rouge, this is Sonic,"a voice crackled electronically out of the speaker. Shadow had never used a phone before, but he'd used a radio, and quickly assumed it worked on the same principle.

"This is not Rouge, this is Shadow you moron. Over," apparently he'd assumed that he needed to speak the same as he would with a radio as well.

"Oh hey Shadow, good to hear from you again!"

"Can't say the same for you, over," he remarked sarcastically.

"Still as sunny as always, I see. Say, what'cha doin' at Rouge's place, hmm?"Shadow didn't like the strange tone in Sonic's voice, and he didn't like where this conversation was going either.

"That's none of your concern!" by now he was distressed enough that he forgot to say 'over.'

"A little... touchy, are we?" he snickered. "Alright, I respect your privacy..."

Shadow noted offhandedly that he didn't think he'd ever heard Sonic say 'respect' before.

"...Just let me know if any little ones... pop up. I'll need to remember to child-safe my house so that I can spend lots of time with 'em, spoil 'em rotten."

"Why you-! There is nothing going on between Rouge and I! And if there were... which there's not... and if I ever do have children... which I won't, I'll make sure you never see them!"

"Oh... so you're at the 'if' stage, huh?" Sonic chuckled devilishly, his smirk almost seemingly to be visible through the line. "Well it's no good denying it now buddy. It's not very much of a leap from if to when."

Shadow growled in irritation, while rubbing his temples to sooth his rising headache. "You are the most obnoxious moron I've ever had the displeasure of associating with."

"What I'm saying is only annoying you because I'm right and you know it," the cerulean hero countered. "So, if you're got everything all figured out, why do you think she rescued you?"

"WHAT? How do you know about that?" he spat, now all the more livid because Sonic was aware of his moment of weakness.

"Unlike some people, I actually talk to my friends. Rouge told me everything."

'What did I ever do, God? What!'

"You need to answer my question: why are you there?"

"Because Rouge is grateful that I saved the planet," he spurted with deliberate force, as if he were hurling a projectile at Sonic.

"That's not what I'm talking about, although we both know that's not the truth. I'm talking about why you are staying there."

He paused a moment, wondering this for himself, for indeed, he'd not resolved the dilemma even for himself. "I... don't know. I may not be for much longer."

"Dude, where will you go?" you could hear Sonic's disappointment at the prospect, although one might guess he'd have little interest in Shadow and Rouge's relationship. Truth be told he was more of a... closet romanticist.

'As much as I hate to admit it, the blue idiot has a point,' he mused.

"I don't know. I don't have anywhere," he finally concluded, his voice a numb deadpan.

"But you do have somewhere. You're just already there."

There was no way he could tell Sonic how complicated everything was; even he couldn't understand it fully, and he'd never been much into the 'let's share our feelings' thing.

'I'll talk to Rouge about this. I'll gauge just how badly she wants me here, and make an informed decision.'

"I've got to go, Sonic. I'll talk to you later..." he paused, before adding. "… if there's no avoiding it. Farewell, over."

He hung up before Sonic's could reply, and returned to the solace of his books.

The hulking crimson robot stomped along through the streets of the city, alone. He came up to a quaint, sky blue house with a picket fence, the sort of safe-looking building you would expect to find an elderly person living in.

He came up to the door and prepared to knock, but realizing that if he did, he would knock it clean of its hinges, he opted for crushing the doorbell with his oversized index finger instead.

After an expectant pause, the door swung open, and none other than the blue blur appeared in the opening, a slight smirk on his face. "So, you go my message?"

"Affirmative. This unit has the data and photographs you requested. Now what about your end of the bargain?" Omega answered mechanically.

"My little bro Tails will install the upgrades for you," Sonic answered gleefully.

Nodding slightly, Omega opened a compartment in his chest, revealing a stack of papers and pictures. The azure hero hungrily snatched them up, thumbing through the pictures the robot had taken with sick amusement.

"Nice. I like the one of them snuggling in bed together," he snickered. "Good work, my friend. I'll email you mission updates every so often."

Omega nodded again, before turning to go. "Operation: Matchmaker is proceeding as planned."

Shadow had finished reading the books and begun experimenting by the time Rouge got home from work. She came through the door covered in sweat, and wearing a tight black outfit, whose appearance reflected how strenuous her mission must have been that day. The shirt and shorts were torn in places, and there were even small cuts lacing her form.

The outfit left her midriff entirely exposed, and around her waist was a belt that contained various pieces of gear which presumably she needed for her mission, along with a pair of handguns that were holstered at the apex of her thighs.

The ebony hedgehog had to catch himself staring absently and return his attention to the milkshake he had been sipping. 'Well, I'd best get this over. I'll just say it,' he resolved.

"Rouge, I've been thinking, now that I'm better, it might be best if I go," he said without preamble or emotion, disguising the veritable storm within him.

The voluptuous ivory bat seemed dually surprised and saddened by what he said, and pondered it deeply for a minute, fighting back drops of moisture that seemed determined to show themselves. She had to be strong, she had to show him that she was a strong ally that he could depend on.

"If that's what you really want Shadow, I can't keep you here against your will. You're free to go whenever you like, but you'll always be welcome back," she said with great difficulty. "If you do go Shadow, I want you to know that I'll always be by your side, even if the whole world is against you. Remember that."

He turned away from her abruptly to fight back his rising emotion, he needed to appear calm. He was the Ultimate Lifeform, why did he have to feel? Why couldn't he be strong and soulless? What good was a weapon that had feelings?

"I won't leave you," he said. 'Not now, not ever.'

He was taken aback by his own thought, for it seemed almost involuntary, and yet he was thankful that he hadn't said it out loud. When he spoke, the clear disappointment on Rouge's face melted, and gave way to pure elation. She clasped her arms around him tightly from behind with glee, squeezing just a little too much for comfort... or respiration.

"Ack... Rouge... can't... breathe!"

Releasing him with a sheepish grin, she sat on the couch and began pulling off her boots, which were coated in a layer of dirt from her G.U.N. mission earlier that day. She looked up, wondering why he seemed to be standing as far away as he could from her, as if repulsed.

"Rouge... you should probably take a shower," he remarked sarcastically, indicating her sweat to be the source of his revulsion. She was pleased that at least it wasn't her he'd appeared so repelled by.

"Right you are, Shadow. I'll go and get all clean."

With a sly wink, the huntress slipped away, leaving her vermilion streaked companion standing aimlessly and blushing furiously.

'Argh! What is this burning of my face?'

Somewhere in the midst of the endless, cerulean plateau with no line on the horizon, a bubble broke the surface. The sea was dark and churning; a watery abyss that held unimaginable secrets, and strange sights man would never behold.

Beneath the waves, a whole different world existed than on the surface. Although he'd never know it entirely, man had glimpsed into this world, and the passing of a bright yellow submarine gave silent testimony to this.

Emblazoned on the size was the grinning face of Dr. Robotnik, his own personal and egotistical logo. When the submarine reached a location of seemingly no particular significance, it came to an abrupt halt, as the doctor's mad cackle echoed within.

"Hahaha! That's three Chaos Emeralds already acquired! It's only a matter of time before the others are mine as well!" he said, pausing a moment as if listening to a reply that was inaudible to any but him.

"No, I don't think that pesky blue hedgehog will be a problem. Not after I've completed my newest invention!"

He began pulling levers on the console in front of him, a manic grin on his chubby and wrinkled features. He looked strangely like some kind of demented puppeteer, his hands darting out to swivel up and down, dancing across the board and making the machines move.

Twin arms extended from the sides of the submarine, one of them grasping onto the Chaos Emerald that glimmered eerily on the sea floor, and the other grabbing hold of the Earth. The scientist sung gleefully to himself, in a strangely melodic voice.

His dark grey whiskered quivered as he crooned, and the haunting sound of his voice blended perfectly with the grinding sound of machinery working, as the submarine began to construct and undersea base.

"I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together. See how they run like pigs from a gun, see how they fly. I'm crying." At this he made a mock bawling noise, abruptly laughing after he finished.

"Sitting on a cornflake, waiting for the van to come. Corporation tee-shirt, stupid bloody Tuesday. Man, you been a naughty boy, you let your face grow long." He forced his face into an expressive frown, plopping down into his seat and spinning around wildly, while adjusting his perfectly circular glasses.

"I am the eggman, they are the eggmen. I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob."

Now his laughter emanated more forcefully echoing above the sound of the submarines internal mechanics. Finally the submarine finished transforming itself into a complete, disc shaped base which was anchored to the sea floor.

The sole inhabitant stopped with his singing, and finally stopped spinning in his chair, stumbling about in dizziness, while simultaneously giggling and crying, although it was impossible to tell what birthed these emotions.

Grinding gears turned within his head now rather than around him. Abruptly he composed himself, standing tall and imperious as if the outbreak had never occurred at all. Once again he addressed his nonexistent companion.

"Oh no, we don't need to bother going to look for Shadow. We simply commence with the initial testing for the Power Core, and let him come to us. The energy fluxes should attract his attention."

The doctor twisted his mustache, while grinning madly. Then without warning, he departed, allowing the suffocating silence of the deep to reign once more.

Noticing that Rouge had been gone for quite some time, Shadow looked up from his work with a quizzical expression. 'I wonder where she's gone off to. She said she'd be right back.'

He stood to his feet, checking the various rooms of the house with caution, as if afraid that behind any corner she lurked, waiting for him to pass by so that she could leap out and catch him in a suffocating hug.

Peering even more carefully than usual into the alluring bat's bedroom, but seeing that she was not inside, he scratched his head in confusion. 'I was sitting in the front room the whole time. If she left, I would've seen her pass through,' he thought. 'Besides, Rouge wouldn't leave me alone without at least telling me. Somethings wrong.'

His brow creased in worry, as his keen crimson orbs flicked about in desperation. Thinking quickly, he mentally went over every place he hadn't looked yet. Breathing heavily, he burst into the bathroom conjoined with the bat's bedroom, noting that he didn't hear water running.

Rouge was in the bathroom, submerged within a bubble bath, her sweaty clothing thrown aside. Shadow didn't move from the moment his eyes fell upon her apart from the involuntary twitching of his right eye.

"Hi there," Rouge smirked after her initial surprise, amusement curling her lips at Shadow's reaction.

He could not speak, could not move, he was petrified in the mortification and simultaneous interest... fantasy... even hunger.

"Care to join me?" she teased sarcastically. Her voice seemed to jolt Shadow back to his senses, and he averted his eyes, his cheeks burning fiercely.

"Uh... I was just um, wondering where you were naked- I mean at!" he bit his cheek and turned even further away, but no matter what angle his head was pointed away, his eyes betrayed him.

'He's like a lost puppy, how cute,' she smirked, while lazily stirring the froth with the tip of her finger.

"I'll be out in a minute," she winked, before adding. "Oh, and Shadow?"

He had turned away as quickly as the first half of her response was spoken, and flinched subconsciously as she continued. "...Yes?"

"You might try knocking next time," she laughed. "...Or don't."

He hurriedly left, shutting the door behind him with unnecessary force. Coming out into Rouge's bedroom, he began to pace over the same six or so feet of floor, his cheeks still a light pink. His thoughts were erratic, one part irritation at his own reaction, one part awakened desire.

Hearing her stepping out of the tub, he quickly vacated the room, knowing that if he did not, he'd have to withstand the sight of her wrapped in a towel a second time.

Rouge stepped out to find her dark companion sitting pensively on the couch, his hands folded over his knees. She smiled at him as his eyes flicked to her, and then straight ahead, staring off into space.

"You look bored, Shadow," she commented, plopping down about as close to him as she could get without sitting on top of him.

He could not help but think that there was no possible way he could be bored with her around, for he had enough on his mind to occupy him for an eternity.

"We should do something fun together!" she exclaimed in excitement, evoking an ever so slight shudder from the dark one next to her as his thoughts took an inadvertently more perverse turn at her suggestion.

"Somehow I doubt that our definitions of fun align," he stated dually, the irony thick in his voice. She ignored his sarcasm, latched onto his hand, and pulled him blushing behind her out the door.

'Is there nothing I can do to resist?'

The two returned, with Rouge laughing hysterically to the point where drops of moisture brimmed on the edge of her vision. Shadow's arms were folded over his chest, and his head was turned away from her with a sulking expression.

"It's not that funny!" he growled, but this only served to increase her amusement.

"Ooh... and then... he mistook you for Sonic, ah ha, and you hahaha you threw him into a dumpster," she could hardly speak, and the muscles of her stomach hurt from laughing so much.

"I'm glad that you find the fact that I'll always be overshadowed by that moron amusing!"

"No... I don't find it amusing... I find it hilarious," she hugged him from the side, making him squirm slightly, as upon her touch burning hot coals crawled over his form.

"I'm... uh, going to go and... work on my milkshake," he finally said, actually using Chaos Control to escape her grasp and occupying himself with his experiments.

Rouge came and sat on the bar stool in front of where he worked, staring up dreamily at him with deep, aquamarine eyes. He tried to ignore her, but every couple moments, he found himself glancing back to her, his heartbeat now pulsing so loud he thought it was impossible that she couldn't hear it, especially with her enhanced hearing.

Unconsciously adding enough to the blended mix for two, he asked Rouge if she'd like to try what he'd been working on. She was a bit skeptical... after all, he was a trained fighter, not a cook... but eager to do anything to make him happy, she accepted.

He passed her a glass and she stared at it a moment in hesitation, before taking a sip. Her eyes widened dramatically, as Shadow wondered if he'd done something horribly wrong. She looked down at her cup, her mouth hanging open slightly.

"Shadow..."

"Yes?" he couldn't help but gulp slightly, as he imagined her disapproval.

"This... is the best milkshake I've ever had!" she burst forth, allowing relief and surprise to roll over him. "Even better than the ones they make at the parlor down the street! How did you do it?"

"Ah ah, that's my little secret," it was his turn now to wink as he poured his own, and sat down to enjoy it.

Once again the phone rang, and the ivory bat walked over to inspect the caller ID.

"Hi Sonic, how are you?" she said as she picked up the receiver. Shadow froze, and slowly turned to stare at her with pleading eyes, as if silently begging her to hang up.

"I'm fast to the max as usual! What about... Uh, Rouge?" he stopped abruptly.

"Hm?" Shadow of course could only hear her half of the conversation, and assumed that nothing good could be being said.

"What's that... slurping... noise?" he said slowly, as if afraid of what the answer would be.

"Oh, I'm having a milkshake. I love Shadow's banana milkshake."

Silence on the other line.

"Uh, Sonic?"

"...I don't want to think too hard about what that means..."

She giggled, and this unnerved her ebony companion, especially because she looked right at him as she did so. "Whatever, Sonic. You've got such a dirty mind."

"Well, I've got to go anyways. Have fun with him, but not too much fun, Rougey," you could almost hear Sonic's wink.

"I'll try to restrain myself," she responded coyly, as the blue blur hung up, apparently satisfied with the information he'd gotten from the conversation, and she finished her milkshake.

Author's Note: Wow, there was actually MORE stuff I wanted to cram in here, but it just got to the point where if I made it any longer, it wouldn't qualify as a chapter any more. :P