"Shadow..." Rouge repeated, her voice echoing slightly in the unconventional room. She leaned away from the hedgehog, though her waist remained in his intimate grip; her hands rested on his shoulders and gloved fingers pressed against his fur. And although she felt uneasy that he hadn't released her, the young mercenary's cheeks flushed a rosy shade. "Um, you can let go now..."

Finally pulling his body farther away from hers, Shadow straightened his posture and dropped his left arm from her form. His right hand stayed stuck to the bat's lower back and his eyes fixated on her face as if he were in a trance. When Rouge stared back into his maroon-colored gaze, she identified his disconnected state by the noticeable dilation of his pupils and the hazy expression his half-lowered lids conveyed. She was concerned again, raising her hand once more to cup his cheek.

"You're not acting like yourself," she stated softly. "There must've been something strange in those sprinklers. I'm worried about you..."

The room around them may as well have not existed according to Shadow's warped eyesight. His vision was tunneling, focused only on the woman in front of him, and under the enchantment of an unknown substance, she looked unbelievably radiant. Her beauty was enhanced in every way, and the Ultimate Lifeform could no longer force himself to look elsewhere. Rouge's bright eyes shimmered with charisma, their teal color so bold that the dark man subconsciously wondered how he'd never been hypnotized by them before.

Long lashes seemed to flutter alluringly beneath carefully applied layers of blue eyeshadow; her glossy pink lips gleamed like he'd never noticed before, tantalizingly hovering only a few inches away; beautifully tanned skin looked warm and smooth to the touch. And her expression was the most enticing part of the illusion – instead of gentle concern, Shadow saw amorous affection. The jewel thief didn't look like a friend worried about her teammate, but rather a loving partner with desires too saucy to share.

'She can't be looking at me like that, can she?' his thoughts echoed, sounding frayed and wavery in his head. 'She is... I... can't handle this. I can't stand keeping it hidden anymore...'

Shadow's gaze drifted to one side of her face, descending along the stark whiteness of her hair to the pretty curl of silky locks above her shoulder. 'Rouge... you deserve to know. How irresponsible of me to neglect telling you for all this time...'

His eyes trailed lower to the teasing bareness of her chest so close to his, curved shadows and soft highlights accentuating her shapely breast above the constriction of her heart-shaped chest piece. The intense beating pulse of his heart thumped loudly in his head, fast enough that he feared he might start shaking. How embarrassing it would be for his partner to feel him trembling under her caring hand. When her palm started to leave his cheek, his left hand shot up instinctively to wrap around her wrist, wanting her touch to stay.

"Rouge..." he finally slurred, his mouth feeling oddly dry, lips worryingly numb. The hedgehog felt as if he'd been staring at her for hours rather than seconds. "I can't let myself hide these emotions anymore... I have to tell you..."

Shadow didn't notice the change in her expression when he looked back up at her face; the spy, normally collected and confident, experienced her own flurry of mixed emotions as she watched his gaze slowly lift from her chest. Her cheeks were flushed a deeper hue of pink and her heart beat quickly, too. She was anxious, worried, hopeful, sinking deeper into the crush she had on him – but above all, she was curious about what he had to say. Though she had a good idea, hearing the words come from Shadow himself was mandatory to know for sure. He hesitated, his mouth open in preparation for a syllable to slip out, but he only managed to force the start of his confession -

"I lo-"

- before his throat cinched, cutting off his sentence and making him feel faint. He failed to get the words out as his body gave out a bit, causing the Ultimate Lifeform to slump forward. He swiftly released Rouge's wrist and braced his palm against the wall behind her, though the sudden lean towards her pushed the bat backwards enough to bump into the counter.

"Oh!" she blurted in surprise, her hands moving to brace against the edge of the countertop.

His face hung heavily next to hers, their cheeks brushing together, and his grip on her back grew tighter. They'd rarely hugged before, and the squeeze of his fingers pressed firmly against her was the first time he'd held her so snugly. It was surreal being embraced by Shadow for this long, their bodies fitting together while his chin rested on her shoulder. The powerful aroma wafting off him overwhelmed her sense of smell, but she couldn't stop breathing it in, no longer trying to pull away as she started to find the scent a little more pleasant.

'Maybe that's because the smell is on him,' she thought briefly before his voice filled the room again.

"I feel weak around you." He sounded weak, physically, almost tired. His right hand slid across to the alluring curve of Rouge's waist as his arm wrapped around her a little bit more to soak up the warmth of her body, his muscles tensing from the nerves of saying something so vulnerable. "I've tried to ignore it, but it just keeps getting stronger... and now it's all the time."

She'd always liked the buttery smoothness of his voice, but it was crazy to her how his timbre had gained that quality tenfold; the deep rumble of his tone made her shiver a little, although she tried not to let her body quiver. She wanted to hear everything her best friend had to say, staying silent and letting him finally pour his heart out.

"When we're not fighting for our lives, I end up wondering what more there is for us, and that voice... my voice... it tells me- that-"

More hesitation, and now Rouge was tensing up, her fingers tightening on the counter.

His eyelids lowered more and his volume dropped to a near whisper. "I want you..."

The blush on Rouge's cheeks spread to the rest of her muzzle, shocked at what she heard coming from Shadow's own lips. She thought it couldn't be a twisted version of his real feelings, manipulated by the weird purple substance – he said it as if he'd felt that way for a long time. The man she knew to be stone-faced, serious, and prideful revealed possessing one of the deepest emotions possible for her, his teammate and only true confidant. She hoped the intensity of it wasn't being exaggerated.

"Jeez, Shadow..." The treasure hunter's arms slinked around his back. "I didn't know you felt that way. I always wondered if you would make a move or if I'd have to do it."

She let out a chuckle, the sound exceedingly pleasant to Shadow's ears, but he remained silent and closed his eyes. Her sultry voice continued, "But truthfully, I feel the opposite... I feel strong around you."

She tightened the hug, embracing him as lovingly as he was holding her. "Whether we're on a mission or saving the world, I know I can always count on you because you always have my back. And that makes me work harder... partly to impress you."

There was silence between them for a moment. Shadow allowed himself to stew in the wonderfully comfortable heft of his teammate's confession. Rouge savored the intimacy of their mutual grasp and lightly nuzzled the smoothness of her cheek against his. Then, the dark hedgehog gained the strength to stand again, rejuvenated thanks to her admittance while everything around him felt brighter due to the odd pheromones' effect. He looked deeply into her eyes and contemplated trying to say the words again – the ones he'd initially chosen to express how deeply he felt for her. And the shimmering stars in her turquoise gaze gave him the courage to do so.

"Rouge... I lo-"

"Slow down, sugar," she said, cutting him off and quickly putting her index finger up to his lips while a smile grew on hers. "Don't say anything you don't really mean."

"Can I kiss you if I mean it?" blurted Shadow, despite the gentle press of her finger. His cheeks flushed and his heart skipped a beat at the bold question.

Still blushing herself, the woman paused and her eyes slowly widened, her gloved digit pulling away from his face. The charming smile steadily faded as she opened her mouth to respond. "Yes."

He leaned in, no longer hesitant, and pressed his lips against hers. Their arms wrapped around each other again and the complementary pair shared a long-awaited kiss. It was electrifying, rocking Shadow to his core and making his heart pound furiously. He couldn't resist pressing his mouth deeper against hers, while his flirtatious ally sunk her fingers into his quills and pulled his body closer. The chemistry they'd built up over time paid off in spades as they practically melded together.

The stolid lifeform's subconscious thoughts of being with her rushed to the forefront, telling him that this moment was the perfect next step for them after years of being so close, and he was grateful for such a mishap to have turned out the way it did – even if the process had still been nerve-wracking for all his paranoid reasons. But he knew now: he was good enough for Rouge to love him back. And he intended to love her as he'd never done for anyone before, already playing out their future in his head.

Despite Shadow's desire to live in the blissful moment longer, the ivory agent broke the kiss. Still in her right mind, she knew they couldn't stay there; it was possible tripping the trap had alerted the scientist to their presence, meaning they had to get what they came for and bail. Her expression turned more serious and she stared through his dreamy gaze, pulling her hands back to grip her teammate's arms. Estimating the misty state of his mind, she spoke to him in a collected, even tone.

"Okay, listen... we can't afford to be here any longer. I don't know if the guy we're stealing from knows we're here – if he does, he's probably on his way right now to catch us. So, we have to nab this device and head back to G.U.N HQ ASAP. Got it?"

Shadow tried to force a determined expression and nodded, taking in her words carefully to remind himself of their mission. His arms slipped away from her figure and he backed up, letting Rouge turn around to scoop the spiky weapon from the counter.

"Follow me," she said as she walked past him, looking poised and competent. It made the hedgehog admire her more, watching Rouge's gracefully swift movements while he picked up speed behind her.

She grabbed her wet spy outfit from the carpet and handed the heavy bundle of cloth to Shadow. "Wring it out so we don't track stuff through the halls."

He did as he was told while she jogged over to the doorway where they'd entered the lounge. He watched her lean into the hallway, looking down it for any security headed their way, then smiled when she looked over her shoulder to nod at him – the sign that they were clear to make a getaway. The dark agent was thankful that Rouge still had a working brain, leading the way and making sure he was still close behind as they retraced their steps. He carried her dampened clothes in his arms, the leftover moisture soaking into his chest fur.

The hallways were warped from his unstable perception, making the multiple turns they took seem more arduous than they really were; and if he looked at the walls for too long, they started to bend and stretch higher than before. But with the bat's voice chiming in every now and then, he was able to keep up, and the pair eventually made it back to the window they'd entered through. Rouge went out first, then took Shadow's hand to pull him through, next lowering him onto the grass.

"You alright?" she asked once they were on the ground, lifting his chin to look at her. His pupils were still enlarged and his balance was questionable. "You're still with me, yeah?"

"Yes," he answered with a nod, cognizant enough to ease her concern.

While the jewel hunter flew back up to close the window, Shadow looked down at the grass below his feet, its emerald color bright and beautiful as he could see every blade in shockingly clear detail. He gently grazed the bottom of one skate against the lawn, watching the spiky turf bend fluidly to his motions. He almost got lost in the entrancing view, but Rouge's voice brought him back again.

"Hey, grass gazer, we need to split, quick." She grabbed his arm and guided him towards the tall fence, balancing the weapon cautiously on her other palm. "I saw the human's car pulling up the road, he'll be here any second."

"Let me teleport us," the speedster offered, stopping short. But when he turned right to grab hold of his partner, she was gone. Then he felt his left hand being pulled up before he was lifted into the air.

Confused that he hadn't seen her move, he looked up to the woman flying them both above the property's barrier. She met his gaze and said sympathetically, "Sorry, Shad, but we don't know for sure if your teleportation would work right when you're this out of it. Can't risk it."

He resigned himself to trusting her judgement, letting the winged lady carry him until they landed behind the bushes across the street. There, they ducked down and hid. Shadow closed his eyes and tried to rest his overstimulated vision while Rouge watched the victim of their burglary drive up to his home and park haphazardly in front of the gate. He looked irritated as he left the car, so she guessed she had been right about him coming back to check the security threat.

"Going in alone..." she mumbled, shaking her head as he stomped up the walkway. "What a kook."

They waited until the man was inside his home, then took off to deliver the weapon; once they did, Rouge accepted the briefcase full of cash and took Tower's advice to let Shadow 'sleep off the substance,' as he put it. She brought the encumbered hedgehog back to Club Rouge, making sure to set her soaked uniform aside for washing before putting him to bed. As he laid on the mattress with one hand draped across his forehead, she sat beside him and smiled down at the enigmatic man she'd finally kissed.

"What a morning, huh?" she asked, her question met with the endearing sight of Shadow's eyes closing as his lips widened into a smile. "You're seriously gonna need a shower the second you wake up."

A breathy chuckle escaped the Ultimate Lifeform, and his free hand found its way on top of Rouge's. "Yeah... sorry for stinking up your room."

She sighed dramatically, her tone playful when she replied, "Well, I guess it was time to change the air freshener, anyway. If the smell gets too unbearable, I'll just kick you out."

One of his lids raised to stare a ruby eye at her teal ones, his smile unfaltering as a tinge of slyness entered his tone. "You wouldn't dare – you like me too much."

Warmth touched the bat's cheeks and she responded sincerely, "Yeah... I do."

She almost leaned towards him, until Shadow suddenly sat himself up, taking the initiative to close the distance between them. His lips hovered near hers for a moment before they kissed again, and this time his hand cupped her cheek. Rouge felt another shiver like before, allowing her body to quiver instead of suppressing it, and pushed against him until he laid back down. Then she pulled away and squeezed his hand.

"Get some rest, handsome. We'll see how you feel when you wake up."

He nodded and shifted to get comfortable, unaware that his new beau wasn't just referring to his intoxication; but also, his feelings for her. Shadow would still mean everything he'd said once the pheromones wore off... right?