Lost Resistance

Their 'lovely' week together was coming to an end.

Shadow was anticipating it, even dreading it, constantly anticipating a phone call at any second. He was sure that his apartment was getting closer and closer to being finished, and he would be out of Rouge's apartment just as quickly as he had been in it. Sitting on the bed of the guest room that Rouge had kept the same just for him, he thought of just what Rouge had come to mean to him, and what he meant to her. Surely she must care for him if she was willing to let him stay at her apartment despite how badly he had treated her. It was easy to point at Rouge and say that she was just a naughty girl who was fueled off her unearthly estrogen, but Shadow knew that it didn't do him any good. Rouge was unveiling emotions that Shadow wasn't sure he was even capable of, primal feelings that felt taboo, emotions he was sure needed to stay hidden…

Damn it.

No one, not even Maria could make him feel this way. He had loved Maria like a sister, but always fantasized about marrying someone a lot like her. He was sure that an innocent, sweet, pure soul would be the one to complement his dark, mysterious, and brooding personality. Maria had been the paragon of innocence, someone who always sought to see the good in people no matter how sinister they could actually be. Rouge was different. She wasn't necessarily the one who was suspicious of everyone, but rather, the one that everyone should be suspicious of. She's sneaky, conniving, feisty, sexual, the complete opposite of innocence that Shadow was so sure he longed for.

And he couldn't deny it anymore. He loved it.

He loved that he could break through the selfishness she had built up after years of nothing but lies and deceit to others. He loved that she cared about him in a way that she didn't care for anybody else. He loved her very being, her very essence, the fact that she would look to the face of adversity and fight with him against the world, even if it meant compromising what mattered most to her – herself.

And that's why he couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't keep being the cynical asshole that she thought he was – the cynical asshole everyone thought he was. But there was one thing he was going to do: he was going to stop pushing her away.

How do I go about doing this? He asked himself silently, standing up and walking briskly to the door. With Rouge, he found himself in situations he had never been put in before. This was the second time he found himself swallowing his pride and begging her for forgiveness. But Shadow was slowly finding out that maybe that wasn't a bad thing.

As soon as he opened the door, he froze. There stood the woman he was yearning for, clad in a t-shirt and sweatpants that actually covered her body without accentuating her curves, her face devoid of any cosmetics, her lips pursed nervously, and her own hand still outstretched, as though she had been reaching for the doorknob.

Shadow couldn't stop the word from slipping his lips.

"Beautiful…" He murmured to himself.

Rouge's right ear twitched and she cracked a small smile.

It was modest. Almost innocent. Perhaps she had been reading his thoughts?

For a moment, the pair simply stared at each other.

Finally, Rouge decided to say something.

"I don't want to lose you either."

Shadow sighed, scratching his quills as he stared at his beautiful best friend.

"You'll never 'lose' me, Rouge. I've been in existence long before you were conceived, and I will be here for a long time once you are gone."

"I think you're forgetting about when you and Sonic saved the world. For the longest time, I thought you were dead…" She looked misty for a moment. "Everyone thought you were dead. And do you know what happened? After all the press and news articles and apparent 'Shadow sightings,' … the world went back to its normal routine. Everyone went about their daily business as though nothing had ever happened. Sonic continued grubbing on his chili dogs, Knucklehead kept guarding his emerald, pinky kept chasing after Sonic... everybody was… okay. Or they looked okay."

Shadow's brow furrowed.

"Rouge –"

"But I wasn't okay. I wasn't okay knowing that you saved a planet filled with people who hated you unconditionally, who refused to try to know you beyond the image of mystery you gave them. You don't deserve that."

Shadow stared at her, silently urging her to continue talking.

"And I… I just want you to know that I'm different. That I want to know you, that I care about you and that I'm not afraid. And it's hard doing that because… Well, you know. I've yelled and screamed at you enough already." Rouge huffed, crossing her arms.

She stared at him longingly, observing his facial expression. Did he even realize how difficult it was to read him?

"So now I'm coming back to you as best I can. No make-up, no skimpy clothing, no flirting. Is this what it'll take to get you to communicate with me?"

Shadow sighed. He couldn't believe he was the one initiating this, but he walked forward, snaked his arms around Rouge's waist, and pulled her close to him.

Rouge gasped, not believing that Shadow would ever hug her, but gladly returned his embrace. Her arms wrapped snugly around his neck, and she let her head rest comfortably on the white tuft of fur on his chest.

"You didn't need to do any of that. I was going to talk to you regardless." He said, holding onto her as tightly and protectively as he could.

"Shadow…" She whispered his name so sweetly and lovingly, he hardly found any trace of 'awkwardness' in it as he pulled his head back slowly to get a glimpse of her tender gaze.

"Yes?" He asked, almost smiling at the look in her eyes.

Rich aquamarine gems that shone brilliantly with pent-up emotion and need.

And his carmine irises reflected her emotions for him perfectly.

"I love you," she half-whispered, pulling him towards her so that his forehead was against hers.

He nuzzled her luscious white fur, savoring her sweet, sweet scent.

All those other men that she slept with… they meant nothing to her, and he knew this to be true. Because he was the one she kept on coming back to, and that wasn't going to change anytime soon, not if he had anything to do with it.

"Good." He responded, sweeping her off of her feet and carrying her into his bedroom, placing her on the bed. She smirked at him as he crawled on next to her, because as soon as he did, his hands were on her body once more, pulling her close to him.

"I was going to apologize to you again. You were right. I acted like an asshole. You are my ally and I have a lot of respect for you, respect that I haven't done a stellar job of showing."

She smiled, draping a leg over his torso possessively.

"I hope that respect isn't all that you have for me, Shadow the Hedgehog. I've had my suspicions ever since Omega called you out for drooling over me at that crime scene, and of course, following me and Josh to his apartment…"

Shadow blushed, but he wasn't angry with Rouge anymore, and he certainly wasn't going to yell at her again.

"I… I have never experienced this particular emotion… Forgive me if I don't exactly know how to react to it."

Rouge sat up suddenly, looking down at him.

"So you're saying I'm the first lady you've ever had a crush on?" She couldn't stifle her giggle.

"Please don't milk this Rouge. This is already embarrassing enough for the both of us."

"Speak for yourself, hedgehog." Rouge said, pulling Shadow up so that they were facing each other. "I don't think there's anything humiliating in revealing your true emotions. I'm glad that we're finally saying something to each other. Working under the guise of professionalism was getting a bit old. I can't deny it anymore Shadow. I love you. I want you. I need you. Don't you feel the same way?"

Shadow stared at her resolutely. So many things could go wrong here. Was Shadow really willing to disregard his morals and the platonic respect he had garnered for his teammate for years? Here he was, at the peak of his sexual frustration with a beautiful woman that lusted for him, in his bedroom, with nobody to interrupt, no interferences, and no more hiding or fake emotions…

"God damn… Do you realize what you do to me?" He almost snarled at her.

She finally did it. She broke through his last barrier, and now there was no going back.

Without waiting for a proper response, Shadow grabbed Rouge by the hips again, pushed her onto the bed, and pressed his lips against hers.

The chapter after this one will be the last. Warning: expect lots of steamy Shadouge (because there's nothing better).