*Rachel's POV*

Two more weeks passed before life reached its next checkpoint.

Where the situation became evident was on a frosty February day… the morning of the day before Valentine's Day. Rachel knew that this would be one of the most different Valentine's Days she'd ever had. This year, she saw a potential Valentine in someone.

Especially after she woke up from a crazy dream in the middle of the night, she knew that that 4-letter word could finally get in on the situation.

Over the past couple of weeks, every time she caught sight of Silver, she couldn't look away. Her eyes wouldn't allow her to. Every time Silver spoke with her, she took every word he said and cradled it in her heart. Every time they were alone in the process was a surefire memory waiting to happen.

Every time she saw him with Blaze, that same rock made itself at home in her stomach, and she'd instantly go scolding herself for letting it.

"Blaze is his friend, just like you are," she'd mentally tell herself. "What are you, some sort of angel from Heaven? No. You're a fox. A highly intelligent fox."

She told herself that she knew better than to let Silver's time with Blaze convince her of anything rash. That would soon become more difficult by the boatload.

That dream she awoke from? The one that assured her that the word "love" was no longer a joke.

In Dreamland that night, she had found herself walking through the forest, which was somehow the location for a mile-long Valentine's Day party. The entire trail, it seemed, was decked out in holiday lights, hearts, festivities, and love.

Within that dream, she found herself walking through it all with Silver by her side.

Before she knew it, they were in a darker area. An area just barely outside of the sight range of anyone else who had arrived at that party.

She suddenly felt that Silver had taken her hand. The realization was almost like the discovery of riches.

She looked over at him and saw that his face was the definition of red. His cheeks could have been mistaken for red roses, like the ones whose petals rested patiently on the ground all around them.

She instantly knew what this meant.

Then, the real Rachel just had to open her eyes and find herself instead sitting upright on her bed, in the lonely place that was the cabin, darkened by the night sky.

Rather than the lights from the party, the area was only lit with moonlight. And she was all alone.

"Ugh, what the…" she groaned, quickly realizing that she was not going to be able to get back to sleep. So she laid on her side and "day" dreamt.

Constantly, she tried to convince herself that what she thought was not what she wanted to think. Having a crush is one of those bittersweet phases in life. She didn't want to be focused on someone that she wasn't sure felt the same way. This had to be simply a phase, she figured.

Then, she scanned through the turrets of her memories and understood that what she felt for Silver was something unmatched by any feeling she'd ever had for anyone before. An affection different than that which comes out of mere friendship. The desire for him to be included in every aspect of her life. The desire to be… close to him.

She had to face the facts and take them on. No backing out. She was in love with him.

She managed to keep herself busy until the morning sun rose. Once it brightened the world at an adequate level, she slipped her coat and boots on and left the cabin, hoping that another encounter with nature, or even possibly with another person, would clear all this out of her head somehow.

*Shadow's POV*

As the sun rose that morning, so did the realizations that Shadow had to face.

The entire night, he had tried to convince himself that what he was feeling for Rachel had to be tamed. He could accept himself liking her. It felt perfectly natural all of a sudden, as if it was embedded into his destiny.

But as the twilight glowed in the sky, he suddenly had to understand that it was more than that. Saying to himself that he simply liked her didn't feel right anymore. He wanted to spend as much time with her as physically possible, even if it would mean being by her side his entire life. Every word she spoke to him was like music. Beautiful music.

She did sing to him once, within the past 2 weeks, and it had put him under a unique, yet discreet spell of ecstasy. Standing there and hearing her singing voice, it was like they both were the last living beings existent on Mobius.

He wanted to be close to her, more than anything.

Love. A word meaning strong affection for another. It was no longer standing hopefully on the sidelines. On this twilit morning, it was finally in play.

And he had to do something about it… without confessing it directly. If what he and Rachel had were to crumble permanently, life would be like hell on Mobius. Meaningless… seemingly endless.

There was a question he decided to ask her. He'd heard it before. It was not nearly as harmful as other things, but, at the same time, had the great potential to start something wonderful.

He stepped foot on the forest trail and walked in the direction of Rachel's cabin, slightly puffing out his chest and mustering confidence.

*Rachel's POV*

Rachel was more grateful than usual to see Shadow up ahead. She ran up to greet him.

"Hi!" she panted. "How are you doing?"

"Fine," Shadow smiled. "Just fine."

Why was Shadow so… happy all of a sudden? Had he been drugged? Well, at the same time, that smile on his face made her feel somewhat… warm and fuzzy inside.

"Can I ask you something?" said Shadow.

"Sure," Rachel nodded. Her mind was actually off of Silver for once… What an occurrence!

Then, Shadow seemed to get… nervous?! When did "nervous" and "Shadow" ever go together?

"I was wondering, Rachel, if…" he said. "…if you'd like to go on a… sort of… date l-like thing… sometime."

"Ah," Rachel said back. That question had almost run her vocabulary completely clean for a second. She was numb.

"I mean," Shadow said nervously. "I understand if you don't-"

"Don't worry about it," said Rachel. "Sure! I can do that!"

Strangely, it didn't matter in the least at the moment if it wasn't Silver asking her out. She had been asked out. That was the point at the moment.

Jealousy of anyone else this had happened to was whisked away with the wind, especially when she saw that her response had made him smile that warm smile again.

Rachel asked "Like, now, or another day?"

"Another day," Shadow replied. "I had… a formal date in mind. With the fancy clothes and everything… if you can manage it."

"I can do that," Rachel nodded. She had a dress she thought was very cute. Perfect for a date.

"Perhaps… tomorrow at 8?" Shadow asked.

"Sure!" Rachel said.

What was it that was happening? It felt as if things had changed for a second there.

Did Shadow, perhaps, like her? And Silver wasn't in mind anymore. Where had he gone?

Author's note: For the past couple of weeks, I've been going into this with half a writer's mindset instead of a full writer's mindset. Maybe now that I don't have to write the day immediately before I write this anymore, that should change. I have a couple of questions for you this week as well! Oh, quick shout out to the one known as werewolf99. Thanks for your opinion, bro!

Question #1 for the readers: What's the most romantic date to you?

Question #2 for the readers: I'm going to say 2 potential shippings and a "neither", and I want to know which you like best. Here goes: Silvaze, SilverxOC, or neither?