A/N: Because I love chicken wings so much, and because Shadamy is my second-favorite pairing, I thought I'd do another story to celebrate National Chicken Wing Day. Enjoy!

It was a blistering hot day in Emerald City, and Shadow was taking a stroll downtown. Unlike the majority of people going down the sidewalk, the stifling heat didn't bother the Ultimate Life Form. At the moment, he was more concerned with just getting out around people. While he would usually be content to sit down in the middle of nowhere or hang out at Rouge the Bat's mansion, he was in a bit more of a sociable mood today, and he didn't feel like getting crushed by insurmountable loneliness. Granted, everybody was treating him as if he were invisible, but he felt better out in the open air. Then, his Hedgehog Sense tingled, and this time, it was because someone he knew was approaching:

"Shadow! Shadow!"

Shadow paused and slowly turned around to see who was running towards him: it was Amy Rose. Today, she was dressed in a red tank top with white trim, black leggings and red sneakers with white stripes.

"Hello, Amy. Why are you so eager to find me?"

Amy smiled. "Sorry if I startled you! I just found this new chicken wing restaurant and I wanted to try it with you!"

"Why?"

"Well, today is National Chicken Wing Day!"

Shadow scratched his head. "I've never heard of 'National Chicken Wing Day', but I'll go with you."

"Grand!"

The place that Amy ended up taking Shadow to was Wings At the Speed of Sound, located in the Lower East Side neighborhood. It was a decently-sized place with a full bar and wooden tables, some sized for two people, others for four. At the moment, there was a bit of a lunch rush crowd forming, but Amy and Shadow found a table across from the bar. Shortly thereafter, a waitress – a black cat – came over to their table with menus.

"Hi, welcome to Wings At the Speed of Sound! Can I get you two something to drink?"

"I'll have a lemonade," said Amy.

"Do you have Pepsi?" asked Shadow.

"We only have Coke products," said the waitress.

"Fine, I'll have a Dr. Pepper."

The waitress left to get their drinks.

"That's a cute outfit," said Shadow. "What made you want to change your style today?"

Amy shrugged and smiled. "No reason! I just wanted to feel fresh. Also, thanks for the compliment!"

"You're welcome."

"You know, you've gotten a lot better at giving compliments and just being a better person. I admire that!"

"Thank you, Amy. Ever since I defeated Black Doom and Solaris, I've slowly been learning that not all people are bad. It's been a rough, slow process, but I've been getting there, and to be honest, I owe much of that to you."

Amy smiled. "Really? How so?"

"You mean aside from accidentally hugging me and reminding me of Maria's promise? Well, the fact that you stayed by my side for at least part of my war against the Black Arms meant a lot to me."

Amy clasped her hands together and held them to the side of her head. "Awww, you're so sweet!"

Just then, the waitress returned with their drinks.

"Do you need a few minutes to order or are you all set?"

"I'll have eight wings with sweet & sour sauce and a small waffle fry, please," said Amy.

The waitress turned to Shadow next. "OK, and for you?"

"I'll have 16 wings with honey BBQ sauce and the loaded waffle fries, please."

The waitress left to get their orders.

"You actually said 'please', too!" said Amy. "It's really sweet of you to be so polite!"

"That's another thing I've been working on. I started off not only by saying 'please', 'thank you' and 'you're welcome', but I've been doing things like holding doors open for people and helping old women cross the street."

Amy put her hands on her cheeks. "OH MY DAMN CHERRY BLOSSOMS!* You really are the sweetest guy!"

Shadow smiled nervously and blushed. "Oh…um…thank you! I uh…I've also been volunteering at an animal shelter lately."

Amy rested her head on top of her hands. "How interesting! What made you wanna do that?"

"I wanted to find something to do to make a difference aside from killing criminals, and I actually like animals, so I figured that would be a good fit for me."

"Well, it seems like it's making a difference with your personality, too!"

"Not to mention I like it so much that I ended up adopting a cat."

Amy gasped. "NO WAY! What's it's name?"

"Her name is Verosika."

Amy stroked her chin. "That's an unusual name."

"I named her after a character from a web series I watch called Helluva Boss."

Amy smiled. "Fascinating! What's she like?"

"She was really shy at first and had trouble adjusting to her new home, only coming to me if she needed food. However, she's gotten better over time, and she's eager to see Rouge and I, though for some strange reason, she takes especially well to Omega."

"Sounds like you've got a new part of your family!"

Shadow scratched his head. "I'm not sure you could call Rouge, Omega and I 'family', but Rouge is very motherly to me, so I see what you're getting at."

"Shadow, family doesn't have to be biologically-related! I mean, you all live, work, eat, and hang out with each other, and you love each other like family, so I think that counts!"

Shadow nodded. "And I'm happy to live, work, eat and hang out with them. Also, Amy, may I ask one thing of you?"

"Sure!"

Shadow smiled. "I want you to call me 'Shaddy'."

Amy raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Why?"

"Rouge started calling me that, and I used to hate it, but it's been growing on me, and since I really like you, I thought I'd let you try it on, too."

Amy's eyes widened. "You like me that much?"

"Amy, there's no other way to say this, so I'll be completely honest with you: I've never wanted any girl more than you."

Amy let out a loud gasp as she covered her mouth with both hands. While she figured Shadow had taken a liking to her, even her Hedgehog Sense couldn't see this coming. Nevertheless, she knew exactly what to do after hearing that:

"Shaddy…"

Amy got up from her chair and approached Shadow, who, figuring that she wanted something from him, got up from his chair as well. Then, when she came over to him, she gave him a big hug and kiss. His eyes widened, and he flailed around a bit at first, not sure of how to process the whole thing, but then he wrapped his arms around her and gratefully accepted her love. While not usually one to be given to romance, he saw a special something in her, and the way she paid attention to him, the way she listened to him when no one else would meant a lot to him, and he couldn't imagine being with any other woman. Not only did her shade of pink excite him greatly, but the fact that she was so soft, warm and cuddly did a number on his senses as well. While enjoying Shadow's affection, Amy was still having trouble processing the fact that he had a major crush on her. Even so, she loved being in his strong, manly arms. That, and she thought he just looked so handsome with those red-streaked black quills, not to mention she couldn't help but be entranced by his blood red eyes. Being with him, she wondered why she'd even bothered chasing Sonic at all. Granted, she still thought the Blue Blur was a good friend, but the Ultimate Life Form excited her passions like no one else could. Even so, she broke away from the kiss, gazing longingly into his eyes.

"I love you too," said Amy.

Shadow smiled. Then, both of their Hedgehog Senses tingled, so they returned to their seats just as their waitress brought their food to them.

"Thank you!" said Shadow and Amy.

Shadow and Amy proceeded to eat their wings. In particular, Shadow nodded as the sweet spiciness of the honey BBQ sauce and the savoriness of the chicken fell off the bone and into his mouth. Amy's "mmmm" indicated similar approval.

"This was a very good choice, Amy. We'll have to come back here again someday."

"Oh, we're DEFINITELY coming back here, Shaddy!"

Shadow smiled. "Then I'm greatly looking forward to it." He took another bite from a wing.

After the meal, Shadow elected to pick up the tab for both of them, much to Amy's delight:

"Shaddy, you didn't have to pay for both of us!"

"True, but you've been so good to me today that I wanted to repay you for it."

"Awww!"

Amy hugged Shadow's arm as they took a walk back to Amy's place, happy to have begun something beautiful and hoping to keep it that way.

*-The phrase "OH MY DAMN CHERRY BLOSSOMS" is a registered trademark of KagamiPINKAgreste, used with permission.

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