Finale

"Mmph!" Rouge let out a grunt, both shocked and satisfied with Shadow's response to her (somewhat) rhetorical question. Both of them were more than satiated with the others' reply, and one word was ringing through their heads simultaneously.

Finally.

Rouge wasn't sure how long she could've gone denying that this indeed was what she wanted. She had spent too many nights with other men while the face of a certain black and red hedgehog was etched in her mind. She didn't know how long Shadow had personally wanted this, but at the moment that didn't matter. The two of them expressing their feelings towards each other now, was all that mattered.

Rouge kissed him back fervently, wrapping both strong legs around his waist and pressing his hard, toned body firmly against her soft, supple one. It wasn't long before she parted her lips ever-so-slightly, allowing his tongue to explore her mouth and savor her honey-like taste.

He kissed her with such passion and unbridled urgency that she began to question if his previous derision towards her was ever authentic. If it weren't, then they needed to make up for lost time. Shadow was a powerful yet sensitive creature. He was intelligent, but naïve. He was created long ago and had lived through a couple of historical time periods, but lacked the social experience that would allow him to fit into the normative society that ostracized him for being 'different.' There was no doubt that he was unfamiliar with the feelings Rouge had been able to rouse within him, there was no doubt that he had been coming to terms with those feelings as he continually hung out with her, and there was no doubt that they were both going to expose the sentiment they held for each other – inch by tantalizing inch.

Immediately she pushed him back, and Shadow's eyes flew open, a disappointed groan escaping his lips. She smirked at him, keeping her hand on his furred chest and lithely making her way on top of him. Then leaning in with her large chest squished against his, she kissed him slowly and tenderly, breaking past his defenses quickly with only a few swipes of her tongue. His hands found their way to her magnificent hips and he stroked them gently, the friction between his legs increasing as he relished in the pleasure of her breasts sliding down across his chest. Her lips were gone again, but before Shadow could open his eyes, they were on his neck.

"Rouge…" He growled, holding onto her tightly as she teased him with her tongue and nipped at his neck with her fangs. Slowly his gloves slipped off and his hands were reaching underneath her shirt, feeling the soft, warm skin beneath.

He nearly gasped.

It was too much to handle at once. Being in bed with the woman he had personally sworn to never engage with in any sort of suggestive manner was one thing, but now he was… touching her. He was caressing her, losing himself in the feel of her body. It wasn't the first time he held onto Rouge. Occasionally he would pull her close to him when they needed to teleport to different places with the use of chaos control. But her body had always been covered by her jumpsuit, and he only grabbed her when his hands were clad in his gloves. Now he was feeling her bare skin for the first time, and it did him no favor in taming his feral desire.

Once Rouge finished her assault on his neck, making sure to leave a few love marks here and there, though they would easily be covered by his midnight-colored fur, she made her way up to his face again, giving him a peck on the lips and giggling when he finally grabbed onto the hem of her shirt, trying to pull it off.

She smacked his hand away.

"Wha…" Shadow frowned at her in disbelief. Did she not want this as much as he did?'

"Shadow, I believe I made you a promise."

The black hedgehog's mind was in a haze. He wasn't quite sure what she was talking about. Was she reminiscing? At a moment like this? He thought back to the moment they shared at Wave Ocean. The first moment he thought maybe she had felt more for him than she let on.

"To always remain by my side?" He asked dumbly.

"No, stupid. No sex." She said with an evil look in her eyes.

Shadow glared.

"Do you really want to do that to yourself?"

Rouge bit her lip, trying to stifle a laugh. It was most definitely in Shadow's nature to try to deflate someone else's ego once he bruised his own.

"And besides, I believe you said you wouldn't invite anymore guys over for sex. You didn't invite me over here for sex. I carried you into this room so we could talk."

"But I invited you to stay at my home with me." Rouge countered.

"No, I came here and asked if I could stay, and you said yes."

Now Rouge couldn't hold it in anymore. She laughed heartily, sitting up on him and taking her shirt off quickly, before crumpling it up into a ball and catapulting it towards his face. She wanted him and he wanted her, and his persistence displayed that perfectly. He stared at her, admiring the upper half of her body that was exposed to him, with nothing left but a lacy bra holding together her large 'assets.'

"I was just joking, you know." He sat up, his scarlet orbs now holding a glint of sincerity. "We don't have to do this unless you want to."

"Of course I want this…" Rouge said, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close. "Are you trying to make me change my mind?" She teased again.

"That's it," he said, standing up with alarming speed and the next thing Rouge knew, her back was against the wall and Shadow was kissing her neck and leaving bites of his own.

"Oh, Shadow… yes." She moaned, stroking his quills and urging him to go lower, to do more. He smiled while his face was buried within the softness of her skin, making his way to the crevasse of her breasts and dragging his tongue across lightly.

"I don't want to wait any longer, Shadow." Rouge said, taking ragged breaths as they kissed and groped each other, holding on to one another as if the moment weren't meant to last. He pulled away from her chest, capturing her lips once more and running his hands up and down her back before finally unclasping her bra.

At that exact moment, Shadow's phone rang.

"Fuck," he growled against her lips, placing her feet on the ground and abandoning her momentarily. He looked at his cellphone. The number was unrecognizable. He considered rejecting the call, but knew that it could possibly cause some problems later on.

"What?" He snapped, answering it on the last ring.

"U-Um… M-Mister Shadow?" A frail voice on the other end squeaked.

Shadow looked back at Rouge, whose bra had 'conveniently' dropped onto the floor. His red eyes softened at the sight of her.

"Yeah?" He asked in a less menacing tone, exhaling deeply.

"I have great news, we finally finished cleaning your apartment!"

Shadow loosened up once he realized who it was. It was that fidgety mongoose that was at his apartment last week.

He continued talking, "We'll need to talk costs for the cleaning and repairs, but you can actually move back in right n –"

"I don't care." Shadow said.

And then he hung up.

Oops that was a really bad ending. But here you have it, the conclusion to TSTR. I can't believe I've been on this website for nearly five years and this is the first Shadow/Rouge story I have ever written. It's shameful. But no matter how many Knuxouge stories I write, just remember that I still love this pairing with all my heart. Thanks to everyone who read & enjoyed. I appreciate it. *virtual hugs to all of you*