A/N: Thank you all for the support you've given me. It's been a pleasure, but this is the end... For now.
That's right. There's a sequel coming up. No title's been assigned to it as of yet, but expect it to be uploaded somewhere in February or March (Though that's just an estimation). I've got my hands full with all kinds of projects. ;)
In the meantime, please enjoy the last chapter!
It had probably been about three weeks since those three days of torture. Rouge didn't pay a lot of attention to the passing time. The commander had allowed her to take the time off that she needed to get her life back to normal. But no matter what, it didn't feel normal. Not without Shadow, anyway. He'd been missing ever since he left her outside of the hospital. She was still staying at Amy's house.
Rouge was sitting in the guest room when Amy knocked on the door. "Hey Rouge, Blaze and I are going to see a movie. Wanna come?"
"No. Thanks anyway." Was the answer. She didn't bother to open the door.
Amy walked in. "Look, Rouge. It's been a while now. I think you should go. We'll have a good time."
"I said no."
"Rouge, you know what Shadow had to endure. And you know how he deals with that kind of thing. He may not be back for a long time. You can't spend your whole life waiting."
"And you can't tell me what to do!" Rouge replied angrily. She was sitting on the bed, facing the window. Amy walked over and sat next to her.
"Listen to yourself. You're becoming him."
Rouge thought about it for a moment. Amy was right, but she wasn't about to admit that. "I still don't want to go to the movies."
Amy sighed. "Alright. See you in a few hours."
She got up and left, shutting the door behind herself. Rouge waited until she heard the front door open and close before getting up and walking out of the room. Everything was silent. Leaves were falling outside, and it was getting colder. Stepping out onto the deck, she began to scan the ground for Shadow. Not that she expected him to be there.
He wasn't, of course.
"Where are you…?" She muttered, turning to go back inside. She sat down in a chair and looked over at the couch, wishing he would be there. "I don't understand why you left me all alone."
Knock! Knock! Knock!
She turned sharply to the door. It could just be Amy, forgetting her wallet or something, but there was a chance it was… no, she shouldn't get her hopes up. Rouge slowly rose to answer it. "Who's there?"
"Just open the door." It was a low, masculine voice.
She'd never been faster at scrambling to undo a lock. Rouge threw it open and smiled. There, stood Shadow the Hedgehog. There were still noticeable scars all over his body but he looked a lot better. "Oh my God…" A tear of happiness streamed down her face and she hugged him.
He kept his arms at his sides, not returning the gesture.
"Please, come in." He followed her inside to the kitchen and they sat down at the table. "It's been so long."
Shadow looked down at the wooden surface, unresponsive.
"...What's wrong?"
He shook his head. "Just nostalgia, I guess."
"Is that why you came back?"
He sucked in a breath. "I guess so. I left because I needed some time to clear my head. Things were spinning out of control. I wasn't sure if I could take it anymore."
She reached across the table to stroke his cheek. He smiled slightly. "But then, after having some time alone, I realized that the only way to keep my sanity intact… was to be with you."
She wiped another tear from her eye with one hand. "Shadow, Silver told me what you said right before you died."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. 'Should've let her kiss me.'"
He shrugged his shoulders. "Should have."
She rose from her chair and he got up too. Rouge walked around the table and grabbed his face in her hands, kissing him on the lips. This time, he returned the gesture.
After a moment, she pulled away. "Finally."
Shadow snickered. "I'll admit, that was long overdue."
She went to grab his hands in hers, but he put them behind his back. "What are you doing?" She questioned.
"I- nevermind." He began to walk away. "Wanna watch some TV?"
"No, Shadow. I thought we were done with all the drama. What's going on now?"
He sighed. "Okay. Fine. You're right. The drama's over."
He turned and showed Rouge his arms. There were red slashes showing through his ebony fur. Some were fresh cuts, some were becoming scars. The bat ran over and frantically asked, "D-did you do this to yourself?!"
He nodded, expressionless.
"Why?!"
He stepped into the living room and sat down on the couch. She followed him and sat in the same chair as earlier. "It was a last resort to try and get rid of the grief. Like I said, I realized later that the only way to be happy was to be with you."
"You were already so injured though! Why just add to the lost blood?!"
"Whatever injuries I'd obtained and blood I lost wasn't noticeable to me after I died. I couldn't feel it and it didn't seem to matter. So this was just something I could feel. It took away some of that horrible numbness, in fact."
"Shadow, I really appreciate that you told me this, and that you think it'll help to be with me, but that's not all it's going to take. You need professional help."
"Stop it, Rouge."
"I'm serious."
He paused for a moment. "Tell you what. I'll let you drag me off to some shrink, if and only if..." He began to smile at her again. "You'll kiss me one more time."
"You've got yourself a deal."
-XXX-
Station Square was becoming thoroughly riddled with holiday decorations. Shadow and Rouge were walking back from his latest session, and although he claimed that he hated them, he was always a little happier afterwards.
Shadow let go of Rouge's hand temporarily to fidget with a green scarf around his neck. Snow flurries were falling and freezing winds scratched at his face, but despite this, he turned to his significant other and asked, "Do you mind if we take a walk through the park on the way back?"
"Not at all." They crossed the street and began to enter the area.
As they walked past the bench they'd sat on the day that they went to the police station, Shadow stopped and thought for a moment.
"Do you want to sit down?" Rouge asked.
"No. No, I'm fine. In fact, is it okay if we leave now?"
"Sure. It's too cold out here anyway."
Once they were only a block or two from Amy's place, Rouge took a turn in a different direction. "Where're you going? It's the other way." Shadow said, confused.
"Nah, home's this way."
"...I don't understand."
"You will." She guided him down an unfamiliar sidewalk and around another corner before they entered a tall building that appeared to also be an apartment complex. They went four floors up in an elevator and then trekked down a colorful hallway. Shadow noticed that the doors were colored in a red, blue, red, blue pattern, and the walls had intricate murals sprawled about.
Finally, they stopped in front of a red door at the very end of the path, and Rouge reached into her pocket to reveal a set of keys. Shadow smiled. "I had a feeling."
"Come on in. I'll show you around." Rouge unlocked the door and Shadow was led into a comfortable, open-concept modern apartment.
"This is amazing!" He exclaimed, walking into the kitchen, "How could you afford it?"
"I've been saving up my paychecks for a while now."
"Wow. I had no idea that you wanted to move out of the GUN HQ."
"Yeah, you know how it is. There's no privacy there, the commander's always in my hair, etcetera."
He put an arm around her. "I guess it'll be a little lonely around there, but at least I'll see you during work hours and on the weekends."
She turned to him. "Actually, Shadow, I was wondering if you'd like to move in with me."
His eyes widened. "Really? You're serious?"
"Yeah! It'll be fun! Waddya say?"
He put his hands on her hips and kissed her gently. "Rouge…"
She pulled away and looked out at the living room. "It's okay if you don't want to."
He stepped in front of her. "Actually, I couldn't hope for anything better." She smiled.
Shadow then began to walk around the perimeter of the house. "What are you doing?" She asked.
"I'm going to break all the locks."
She rolled her eyes and leaned against the wall. There wasn't any furniture yet. "Sounds like you've got something new to talk about with Dr. Reynolds."
"Yeah, I guess. But I have good reason to be afraid! Amy's l-living room, th-the morgue…" He stopped in place and put a hand on his forehead.
"Shadow." Rouge ran over to him and grabbed his shoulders. "Shadow. It's okay. I'm here. I'm right here. Shh…"
He put his hand down and shook his head. With a sigh, he muttered, "Thanks."
"Anytime."
He continued to walk around their new home until he got to the bedroom. "Only one bedroom?" The black hedgehog questioned.
"Yep. Does that bother you?"
"Nah, it's just, you know. My night terrors."
She shrugged. "No big deal. You won't have them forever."
"You sure? Because I could just take the couch for a while if you want."
"No." She smiled at him. "Shadow, you're not a burden, if you think you are. I asked you to live here, didn't I? That means I'm okay with all the little things you do. In fact, I love them. Just like I love you."
"Thank you, Rouge."
"Again, anytime."
He looked over to a sliding glass door that led to a deck overlooking the city. "Can I see the view from that balcony?"
"Of course." She opened the door and they stepped out into the crisp winter air, together. The snow flurries had become thicker, and the town was turning white. Shadow sighed happily as he set his hands on the railing, but neither said a thing, and the moment was perfect.