Woohoo! Theme four! Only ninety six more to go :P Actually, I already have quite a few written, i'm just taking my time in uploading them. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: i don't own the SEGA characters

Baked

It hurt.

More than he was willing to admit to himself.

He had thought she was different, but turned out to be wrong. She was just like the others. She feared him.

Whenever he drew near she immediately coiled away.

If he were to step even an inch into her personal space, she withdrew from his advance and stumbled over excuses. Though she claims she enjoys his company, that they were good friends, it's all a lie.

In a pit of dreaded emotion, Shadow began walking away, his feet taking firmly planted steps in his anger. Everyone feared him. Sure he had a cold, dark demeanor, he took pleasure in the way his very name could send shivers down a spine. Yet having the girl he loved wince with his approach didn't do any good to lighten up his heavy heart.

"Shadow wait!"

Halting in his tracks, he pricked up his ears and registered the quickly approaching footsteps, labeling the voice to a name.

Blaze came with her speed and skidded to a pause in heels. She stood in front of him, determined features reflecting her stature.

"What?" he snapped coldly, unintentionally showing his anger towards the feline.

Blaze detected the directed fury in his voice and heaved a frustrated sigh. "Shadow, it's not what you think." she stated blatantly.

Shadow raised a mere eyebrow, asking a silent question to expand on her statement.

"I'm not afraid of you. It has nothing to do with you at all." she claimed, and the subject seemed to cause her to become bashful, as her usually strong gaze began lowering to the ground. This was unlike her independent nature to allow her to do so.

"When I was eight, a year before my parents were killed, and I was still innocent and emotional." she explained with a regretful chuckle. "There was this little boy who fancied me, and one day caught me off guard and kissed me."

Shadow raised both eyebrows, curious as to how her story related to him.

"You see, my powers are based off of emotions. The stronger the emotion, the more uncontrollable they become. With the sudden intimate gesture the boy gave me, it caused my fire to spike and he ended up in the hospital for a month with second and third degree burns. My kingdom had feared me since."

Blaze glanced upward to see that Shadow remained stone still, listening intently to her explanation. "So...I usually tend to avoid emotions, knowing that if I'm effected by them, my powers can go on a rampage without my control."

Shadow nodded understandingly. "I see. What does this have to do with me?" He had an idea of what she was trying to express, but kept the thought to himself.

The lavender feline sighed again, the topic obviously exasperating her greatly. "I've been avoiding you so my emotions don't spike my powers, and I don't hurt you." she finished.

For a moment, Shadow didn't respond. This reaction put the she-cat on edge, as she held the weight of his dull gaze.

Just then, she noticed his lips quirk into a sly smirk, a small change that sharpened his features.

He approached her closely, and she was about to withdraw when he suddenly pulled her closer.

"You forget one thing Blaze. I'm the Ultimate Life Form. I can handle anything." he spoke smoothly, his fingers teasing her tail as he spoke.

Almost immediately, flames began licking up and down her form, the heat between them becoming unbearable for any normal human being. She made a futile attempt to squirm away from him to avoid burning the hedgehog to a crisp.

"Shadow, I don't want to hurt you." she exclaimed, but his arms only tightened.

He ignored her pleas and kissed her softly, feeling his fur alight in hot gas. The pain was searing but nothing compared to the feel of her lips on his. After a moment, he pulled away, and let her loose.

Blaze backed away with wide eyes and a regretful tone, "Shadow! I'm sorry! I..."

Patches of fur were now fragile fleshy pink, the once ebony covered fur singed off completely in those areas. However, despite the tingling of his sizzling skin, he only chuckled.

Slowly, before her very eyes, his injured skin began healing, the burns becoming soft skin again, and black hair sprouting to it's normal length, repairing the sore spots in a minutes time.

Blaze furrowed her eyebrows, walking tentatively closer and stroking a part of his chest that had only moments ago been burnt and blistered to second degree.

"H...how?" she blinked several times, piecing the facts together until she looked up at him with new found interest, "your immortality heals you quickly. I didn't hurt you too bad...did I?"

Shadow smirked once again, pleased at her surprised and impressed words. "It still hurt like hell. But it was worth it."

Regaining her composed self, Blaze scoffed and rolled her amber eyes, turning on her heel and walking away, not letting him see the pleased gleam in her eyes.