Shadow's apartment was not inviting-looking and he knew it. It was likely the furthest one could get from "homey" but he just didn't have the furniture for it. Before he could leave for work, his phone buzzed at him. It was Rouge.

'Hey, I'm downstairs. The trio is meeting us at Big's.'

Shadow groaned. He didn't realize this was a group trip. Regardless, he got in the elevator and counted the numbers as he slowly declined. Only then did everything from last night that had kept him up flooded back. He remembered what Rouge had said the day before.

"...Are you going to ask her to sign your book?"

No. No way.

And he had just been able to forget about all that, too. Something about those pictures provoked something in him and he didn't like it one bit. He didn't like how finally seeing Rose allowed her to envelop his thoughts so quickly and so fully… not to mention the horrible crowd that surrounded her that kept him worrying.

At first, he insisted to himself it was his quiet sense of justice poking through, that he recognized the drama around this woman as tragic. But the more he considered it, he realized it was much more selfish than he wanted. He just thought she was absolutely beautiful, she and her writing. But, he was supposed to be better than that.

Well, apparently he would get to meet her. But he could never let his thoughts tamper with such an opportunity. No. He would just stay far, far away. Anything to reduce the risk of making Rose uncomfortable. He really didn't want to do that. Not to mention how embarrassed it made him. He decided he didn't really care about getting his book signed, anyway. There was no benefit to it. Yeah.

Rouge waited patiently on the other side of the lobby. At the sound of the elevator, she looked up from her same book and waved as Shadow stepped off.

Only for her to look confused as he winced and pressed the button again. Minutes later, he arrived again, a book tucked under his arm.

"Should I have her sign my book, too?" Rouge joked, holding up the velvety cover she had brought with her, the Silver Orchid design shining under the fluorescent lighting.

"Shut up," Shadow groaned. It was a dumb joke, anyway.

After a long walk, the two finally arrived at the bookstore, finding a small crowd outside the store waiting, despite it already being opened. Big must have still been setting it up. Among the crowd were their friends. Sonic and Knuckles looked fondly at Tails, who was beaming with excitement and rattling on and on about it.

"Hey, guys! …What's going on?" Rouge asked, noticing the mob.

"Apparently, this 'modest book signing' has gained quite a few more attendees." Knuckles said, pointing through the glass into the store.

There, Shadow's gaze met with the usually peaceful bookstore filled wall to wall with a sea of people, pushing and shoving their way to a table in the center. At the table were two cardboard standees for 'Whispers of Solaris,' picturing some tense-looking fantasy characters. Beside them were a couple of bored security guards, and a pink hedgehog in the middle of it.

That was Amy Rose. It was actually Amy Rose.

Shadow stifled his wave of excitement at the sight of her, at the sight of concern on her face. At a closer glance, her wide smile was clearly strained, not that the readers seemed to notice or care.

"You guys should take up my book for me. It's busy." Shadow offered, finding himself getting oddly uncomfortable.

"What? No way! You've gotta get your own book signed. When else are you going to get an opportunity like that?" Sonic replied in shock. Shadow sighed, knowing there was no way out of it with those four.

Reluctantly, the group whittled their way through the crowd, realizing that Shadow had to work soon. Despite wanting to be polite, they knew patiently waiting would get them nowhere. It took them 15 minutes to find a place where they wouldn't get pushed.

Shadow looked above the swimming heads to see Amy patiently signing books and posing for unauthorized pictures. Of course, she gave a perfect, winning smile each time. Despite the chaos, the security seemed unbothered, barely even flinching as customers pushed, shoved, and got in Amy's face. As someone with experience in… that sort of work, Shadow's blood was boiling.

After what seemed like an hour, which it very well could have been, they arrived at the table. Shadow thanked Gaia that the store was so small, or it very well could have taken all day.

Amy Rose sat at the table and said something to her security that Shadow couldn't quite catch, but the wrinkle under her eye told him what it might have been. She looked exhausted.

Tails and Sonic excitedly stepped up to get their books signed, and while Knuckles tried to play it cool, even he couldn't help but look like a kid in a candy store.

"Thank you so much! I just want to let you know your books are my absolute favorites." Tails said politely as he took back his book.

"Oh well, thank you so much! I certainly will!" Amy replied. Her shoulders seemed to relax a bit.

"Have a good day, Miss!" Tails departed. As Knuckles stepped up and handed her his book, Tails' eyes were full of stars.

"Thank you. And thank you for making the little guy's day. We practically raised him on these books," Knuckles said thoughtfully. Amy seemed quite flattered, maybe slightly overcome.

"Oh wow! Thank you! That- That means a lot to me!" She signed his book and gave it back to him. Sonic was up next and he, of course, was running up the walls in excitement, though figuratively this time.

"Thanks! Have a good one-" Sonic thanked casually, ready to swiftly move on before Amy interrupted him.

"Hi, sorry, you seem familiar… have we met?" She held on to his book as she tried to place him.

"I… don't think so." Sonic was confused, but flattered she would stop to say more than just a few words to him. Amy shook her head.

"No, I think I'm mixing you up with someone! Sorry about that." Amy apologized.

"Oh, no big! I get that a lot. I'm mistaken for other hedgehogs all the time. Kind of weird, really."

The two shared a laugh as Sonic thanked her again and caught up with the other two. All three seemed perfectly happy and buzzing with feverish excitement.

Finally, it was Shadow's turn. Based on the other three's meetings, he felt he had a chance of it going well.

Amy looked away from Sonic as he left, that puzzled look still on her face, and turned to see Shadow, only to let out a sudden yelp of shock. The surprise was enough to quell the ambient noise of the bookstore for a moment before the hall erupted with noise again. Shadow's hopes for a pleasant encounter shattered.

'I scared her? Really?! Shit! What did I do? Oh Gaia, I'm the worst, aren't I? I probably look like shit from last night…' Shadow's mind raced, and his ego slowly shrank.

Amy dropped her hands from her mouth and couldn't stop apologizing.

"Oh chaos, I'm so sorry! You did nothing wrong, I promise! You just… Uh, you remind me of someone…" Amy reasoned. She wondered how that could happen twice in a row for two separate hedgehogs.

Looking at his expression, she could tell he got that a lot, too. But this time, unlike the blue hedgehog, she knew exactly who he reminded her of. He was tall and looked like he hadn't slept in ages. Yet, he seemed proper somehow, and there was intelligence to his expression. She couldn't quite pinpoint what it was, however. But damn, he really looked just like she pictured him to look.

"Oh, it's fine. It's a pleasure to meet you." Shadow confessed, trying to save both of their embarrassment. He figured he could just move on and spare her from having to apologize anymore.

"Oh, well, thank you. It's a pleasure to meet you too!" Amy gave him a darling smile, and Shadow could feel his words get caught in his throat.

'Chaos, she is so… Sweet' he thought.

Shadow hated anything sweet, but that didn't change the fact he could not bring himself to move. He felt pathetic in his current position. As Shadow thought, he realized they were both standing in utter silence. How long had they lingered like that?

"So, you want me to sign your WOS copy, right?" Amy asked at last.

"WOS?" Shadow repeated in confusion, as his brain froze in delirium.

Amy seemed confused, and Shadow only realized his mistake after a moment.

"Oh, oh! Whispers of Saharas, no thanks."

Taken aback, yet also amused by the muddling of her title, Amy tried not to chuckle. 'What's this guy about?'

"No, I'd like to get this one signed, actually." He said, trying his best to bring out the book casually. Amy seemed bewildered, then hopelessly ecstatic at the sight of the cover, much to Shadow's euphoric confusion.

"Oh, wow… Through the Hazy Abyss?" Amy felt she was in disbelief. She took the book excitedly and stared at it like a hidden artifact.

"Um… yeah, it's one of my favorites."

"Really... Sorry, it's just you're the first one to bring me one of these today. Most people come here for, well, you know." she gestured at the standees. Shadow looked unimpressed.

"That's odd. I think this is one of your best works. Your prose and your story were captivating and emotional, not to mention beautifully crafted. Brilliant, really." He said plainly.

Amy shook her head in confusion and looked up at the man in front of her, feeling the color grow on her face as she basked in his words. Maybe she was just a hopeless romantic, but she couldn't help but take his compassion and run rampant with it in her mind. She lived for that kind of recognition.

Then, the dark patches outlining his eyes, his attentive stare, the stark contours of his face, not to mention the lovely things he was saying, all hit her at once.

'That one,' she thought. The one with the dark quills, the intense eyes, the astute expression. The one who stood out amongst almost any other fan she had met, the one who made absolutely no sense, the one who looked so damn much like him,. That's the one she needed to dissect, to understand what makes him tick. She wanted that one. But that, of course, meant trouble.

Shadow was one second from waving a hand in front of her eyes, bringing her back to the present. His mind went from place to place, wondering what he could have possibly done to cause her confusion. What was this girl doing to him? He felt more and more vulnerable after every sentence she didn't utter.

Amy felt the spread of pink in her face turn from a gentle crawl to a burst of flame. "Oh! Sorry. Zoned out." She felt her embarrassment boiling over like the color in a thermometer as she slowly realized how long she must have been lingering on his gaze. Daydreaming.

"Is it the crowd?"

"What?"

"The people. Are they bothering you?" Shadow's face had somehow grown even more stoic, more attentive. Amy bet he could stop a tsunami in its tracks with that stare. Shadow felt himself growing frustrated, at the crowd, at the security who were doing nothing to protect, at everything. And that made him feel pretty bold.

"If they're a bother, I could kick their asses real quick." He joked, trying his best not to sound too forward. His sudden confidence was obvious in the way his shoulders rolled back under his coat and his smirk spread across his face. He made up his mind that this entire situation wasn't right, and Amy deserved to hear it from someone else. Amy, on the other hand, fixated on the fascinating little fang poking out from his upper lip. She finally realized what he was offering. While she knew it was just a joke, she still had a duty.

"Oh ha ha ha! No, no thanks! I love my fans!" Amy blabbered, trying not to let her eyes dart toward the antsy crowd. She suddenly realized they were probably growing impatient. Time was running out, but she couldn't bring herself to let this stranger go.

"B-but…" she muttered.

It was wild how subtle statements could grow out of control around the right people. Amy knew that more than anyone. Was she making a mistake? She didn't know.

"I appreciate you wanting to help… really." She put every ounce of sincerity she could into that breath. Like a flare from a lifeboat, hoping he would hear the words she really meant to say.

Before Amy could even tell if he got the message, the fans finally became impatient. The crowd swept Shadow away, and neither he nor Amy could do a thing about it.

Shadow tried to fight against them but ended up being pushed out into a slightly less crowded bubble, where he met with Big the Cat, holding his uniform.

Shadow was lucky to have a good boss in Big. He understood his excitement to meet a famous author, and politely asked him to begin his work, and Shadow felt compelled by Big's humility to do as he asked. He sadly walked away from the signing.

After a while, things went back to normal, as in there was only a normal long line at the station where Amy sat. Yet Shadow's mind was running a million miles a minute. No matter how cliche it felt, Amy Rose left him in stitches. The more people left, the busier Shadow became again. No matter how he tried to, he couldn't go back up to Rose, out of respect for her.

…And also to tend to his low-wage job. The gang left early after getting their books signed, just to escape the crowd. But Knuckles and Rouge came back later in the day to check on Shadow, as they never actually gave him a proper heads-up they were leaving.

"Wow, Shadow. Since when do you brew good coffee?" Rouge said, genuinely impressed.

"What?" Shadow asked, pulled from a maze of thoughts.

"I'm saying it's good. It's like… sweet? I thought you hated sweet!"

"It's a little too sweet, actually." knuckles added, despite continuing to drink it. Rouge chuckled at her boyfriend's antics.

"Ah, well thanks." Shadow couldn't help but look back at the table where Amy was, where he had given up on returning four hours ago.

To his surprise, after seven hours, the line had finally disappeared. They were cleaning up.

To his greater surprise, Shadow found his feet carrying him out from behind the counter and toward the table. His heart slowly began racing, but he couldn't even register it as his eyes fixated on Amy and Amy only.

"Wait, Shadow? Where are you going?!" Knuckles called, annoyed he would leave out of the blue. Rouge, however, immediately shushed her partner, intrigued by what would happen.

Amy, being the generous soul she was, helped her crew clean up, and was in the middle of folding a tablecloth when she caught sight of Shadow. Her eyes lit up immediately. It was obvious she was excited to see him.

"Oh, hey you!" she said brightly.

Her voice was enough to freeze him in his tracks and make him realize what he was doing. He didn't even have a plan. He just needed to be there, apparently. Nice going. It also made him realize that he never gave her his name.

"Shadow, actually." He said. Scratching his quills.

"Nice to meet you… again. Sorry if I was awkward earlier. I was just tired from working." Amy excused as she continued folding the tablecloth. Without so much as asking, she handed two corners of it to Shadow and the two began folding it without mention.

"No need to apologize. That was on me. I think the crowd got to me, too." Shadow assured her, struggling to make sense of the all-encompassing tablecloth.

"Oh, no! I love-"

"Your fans, right?" Shadow finished her sentence. The two each brought their own ends of the cloth to the midpoint between them. Amy froze. She had suspected she used that line too many times, but Shadow really had a read on her. Amy set down the neatly folded tablecloth on a cardboard box. Shadow put his hand in the pocket of his apron and pulled down on his hat, trying to summon his boldness from earlier.

"You don't have to excuse your fans for that garbage," Shadow insisted. Once more, he felt his disdain bubbling up, only to be simmered down by Amy's relaxed response.

Amy crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. "So you know about my fans reputation, but don't remember the name of my most famous series? What's your deal, faker?" She felt comfortable enough teasing him for being what her readers would call a 'fake fan', but soon felt surprised at how quickly he got her to even allude to her true feelings.

"Sorry, I figured I was getting too bold back there. And also, sorry that… I got the name wrong. Whispers of Solaris, right?" He hoped that was it.

Meanwhile, Rouge and Knuckles watched from afar, trying to decipher the conversation.

"What are they talking about? I can't read lips." Knuckles grumbled.

"Why don't we flirt like that, Knuckles?" Rouge whined, squinting to decipher Amy and Shadow's words."

"We flirt different, babe. It's what keeps it interesting… Wait, did you not bring your glasses?"

"Ugh, you know I hate my glasses." Rouge sighed.

"Speak for yourself. I think you look hot as hell in em'."

"Aww. See? Like that! I didn't know you could flirt like that!" Rouge gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I am a man of many talents, hon. What are they saying now?"

Rouge squinted and watched as the two clumsily navigated their conversation. Amy drug her foot on the dusty carpet, looking down. She took a deep breath.

"You're not wrong about them, though. But, it's… Complicated." Amy admitted.

"... Wanna talk about it?" Shadow offered with an awkward smile.

Amy gave Shadow a playful smirk and went to the table. She pulled out her chair and picked up a book off of it. Shadow's book.

With that same smile, she plucked a pen from behind her ear, signed the inner cover, and handed it back to him.

"Thank you for giving me something different."

"Mrs. Rose!" someone called out.

Before Shadow could ask what Amy meant, she and her crew were leaving, carrying boxes of books, folded tables, chairs, and, of course, the standees.

"Sorry! I have an interview in an hour or so. See you later!" Amy picked the box and tablecloth back up and began leaving.

"So long, Rose…" Shadow waved goodbye to her as she left, and she flipped around to wave goodbye to him as well before gesturing to the book. It was only then Shadow thought to open it.

It was Amy's signature, followed by a phone number.

"Uh oh."

"First of all, I am so, so proud of you. Second of all, don't tell Sonic or Tails." Rouge told Shadow. She scrolled through movies, trying to pick the perfect one while giving Shadow her sage advice. Knuckles was doing the dishes, listening idly. Their apartment was nice, as Knuckles' archeology gigs and Rouge's commission raked in decent money. And it was pristinely kept thanks to Rouge's penchant for interior design and Knuckle's relentless neatness.

"That's probably smart. I can imagine it becoming grating fast." Shadow admitted. He sat on the couch staring at the written phone number, deep in thought. He preemptively added Amy as a contact in his phone. The contact info was needlessly formal, as Shadow had a habit of doing, Full name, company name filled in, no contact photo. If only he had the courage to use it

"Yes, and you don't need those two bombarding you at the start of a new relationship." Rouge reasoned. Shadow nearly flinched.

"It's… It's not a relationship yet, I only have her number."

"Shadow, I have never seen you so charmed by anyone! I honestly didn't think you had it in you. And a girl like Amy? That's a special opportunity. And you can't keep turning those down."

Shadow scowled. Ever since they had met, Rouge had viewed Shadow as some sort of lost soul who she would nurture. It was part of Rouge's nature to advise people, but also a point of contention in her and Shadow's friendship. Of course, Shadow couldn't blame her, just based on the circumstance of how their friendship was built.

"I mean, think back to when I picked you up off the street!-" Rouge sang as she began recounting their well-known origins. No matter how understandable her behavior, Shadow felt she didn't have to recount the story every time.

"That was probably the best opportunity I could have taken! Aside from you, babe." Rouge gestured toward the kitchen.

Knuckles nodded in the background "hm."

"And look at you now! Your own place, a stable job, and people who love you! But, you've got to start making your own good choices, too. Amy, I think, is the perfect start!" Rouge declared.

"Where are you going with this?" Shadow began rubbing his temples in boredom of Rouge's repetitive encouragement.

"I'm saying text her before I die of anticipation!" Rouge reached out for Shadow's phone, only for him to snatch it away.

"Not now! I… I'm going to wait."

"Why? What could possibly be holding you back?"

Shadow took a breath. "She's my favorite author. I'm very attached to her work… And despite only just meeting her, I feel I may be attached to her as well. I'm reluctant to go too fast."

"Shadow, that is so, so sweet… But, come on!"

"Give him time babe. Remember how long it took me? He's got to get his ducks in a row." Knuckles dried off his hands and returned to the living room, plopped down on the cage.

"Fineee…" Rouge crossed her arms and leaned back, resuming her TV scrolling.

"Knuckles… DID YOU WATCH OUR SHOW WITHOUT ME?!"

"I didn't! I swear!"

"IT SAYS YOU WATCHED EPISODE 7 HALFWAY-" Rouge continued to yell, as Shadow spaced out once more before getting a notification from his phone. He opened a message from Sonic.

'Dude. Are you okay?' it said. Weird. Shadow was about to text asking what he meant before the message was followed by a link. Shadow clicked it and found about a dozen posts online from that day.

"Who was that edgy piece of shit at the Big's book signing? He was making everyone else wait for his ass in line!"

"Why the hell does everyone else get moved like cattle while this creep gets like 5 fucking minutes with Amy?!"

"This ugly ass was creeping on Amy at the book signing."

"If I see this guy I'm going to kill him for hurting my Amy."

All were posted by different accounts, followed by dozens of photos of Shadow taken from afar, from throughout the entire day.

What. The. Fuck.