"This isn't working…" Amy sighed, leaning back in her desk chair as far as possible without knocking it over. She groaned and dragged her hands down her face, trying to summon some inspiration through the arbitrary gesture. Unfortunately, It was to no avail.

Somehow she was in no mood to start on her newest novel, despite her various techniques for overcoming writer's block. She had paced around her spacious apartment, broke for lunch, jogged, took a shower, and even tried to read some of her older work for inspiration. Yet, as she sat and stared at the stark white computer screen, pulsing with light, her mind was just as blank.

Well, not entirely blank. There was something… Something which had been plaguing her mind, filling it with its comforting yet addictive fumes. And the high was palpable. Yep, Amy Rose had it bad. As the enticing thoughts came through, Amy felt her focus shift and had to snap quickly back into consciousness.

'Fine.' she thought. 'I guess I'm Athena, today.'

If she was going to be in an amorous mood, she might as well get some work out of it. She exited the blank document and opened a half-finished one. Taking a glance at her notes and outline, she picked up from where the story left off. A teal rabbit and an impishly flirtatious raccoon. Amy had a vivid setting in her mind, and she already thoroughly plotted the story. She wondered why she didn't just start with this, as she had done all the thinking already. She just had to fill out the page.

Establishing the setting with a motif, using it as the focal point, setting where the characters are, and their dynamic. Stolen glances, a fleeting thought, a brush of the hand. Writing romance came to Amy all too easily. Three paragraphs down. She read back through them, her eyes lazily rolling over the screen. She could edit it all later, really. But she had a ritual of observing her process as she went.

'Cherry's eyes are blue, not green.' she thought, swiftly selecting and correcting the error. It was a quick enough fix, though she wondered how she forgot such a detail when Cherry's eyes were so striking in her mind. Amy rarely wrote characters with green eyes, anyway, for fear of it coming across as a self-insert.

'...Hold on, the thief is a rabbit. Why did I write he has quills?' She wondered, fixing that mistake as well. Perhaps today was just an off-day. Yet, the more she read, the more errors she found. Cherry had a bob rather than her long, flowing curls. The thief had a new patch of fur on his chest, and his eyes went from a cool purple to a hardened crimson stare. It didn't take long for Amy to connect the dots. Perhaps she failed to clear her mind as well as she thought. She felt like a fool for not noticing. She looked at the page longingly, debating with herself.

There he was, hidden throughout the page. She was just writing about Shadow.

Herself too. The two of them.

Still wrestling with her thoughts, she swerved around in her chair and looked around the room. Dusk had left the impression of blood-orange light all over her office wall. The calendar and sticky notes swayed lazily in the breeze from the window. It was empty. She was alone.

She checked the clock. She had about an hour before she had to start getting ready. Turning back to her computer, she took a shaky breath as her fingertips drummed at the keyboard in a new document.

"His eyes were dark and hooded. The moonlight bounced off of his sharp ebony quills as his hand tightened around a glass. His eyes never left her back, even as she turned to him with absorbed emerald eyes."

The scene started vaguely enough. A dinner scene. Just something moody to brainstorm some descriptions and warm up. She would return to her novel after it was out of her system.

Yet, she didn't. She couldn't.

Soon enough, her eyes became strained at how intently she watched the screen, as if in awe of the things she, herself, was writing. Even as the structure of the story collapsed, as her normally prudent grammar unraveled under her fingertips, she couldn't bring herself to stop. Eventually, the scene evolved from a moodily set conversation, to an exchange of blatant coquetry, then to that of a full-on fantasy trip. Amy speculated on the feeling of Shadow's hand slowly and gingerly skimming her arm, or the feel of his breath on her ear as the fur on the back of her neck stood on end.

It was exhilarating, and Amy, for a fleeting yet somehow infinite moment, bypassed her inhibitions. She felt just like she did when she first started out. She scratched out the scene in full to the very furthest it could possibly go. At the end of the scene, her hands only felt empty, lacking anything more to type. She scrolled back through the document, wondering if maybe she could read it again.

It wasn't the same, in fact, it was quite bad, and it made less and less narrative sense as it went. That's also when she realized how little had actually transpired in the scene. It was objectively a weak drabble, but it felt so much more tangible in her mind. She returned to her place in reality, and the story was back to just being a document, viewed through the window of her computer screen.

However, as the scene replayed over and over in Amy's mind, she found the story far from shattered by reality. The feeling of writing it was clear in her mind. With that realization, acknowledged as solid truth, Amy closed the file and deleted it. The document itself would never amount to the experience of writing it. But she maintained the memory and enjoyed it while it lasted. Perhaps a little too much.

She glanced back at the clock, and her eyes widened as she nearly fell out of her chair. She was late. Horribly late. She scrambled out of her office and began getting ready. She flung herself at the sink, hurriedly battering on some makeup, carefully styling her quills, and throwing on an evening dress.

As she stumbled around the apartment, there was a knock at the door, and she exasperatedly groaned at herself, thinking 'Dammit, what now?'

Truth be told, she was not only still half-groomed but had yet to cool off from her writing session. It was by far the most… intimate she had felt writing her works in a while. She was unsure of how she would hide the high she felt or the deeply settled blush in her cheeks from her agent or security, who were likely the ones here to pick her up for her speech.

She opened the door in the middle of cramming a high heel over her foot as Shadow's face appeared in the doorframe as it swung open.

'Wait… SHADOW?!'

Amy nearly fell over again, as the heat in her face erupted like a burst of flames. She caught herself on the door handle, dropping her shoe on the ground with it only halfway over her heel. Shadow reflexively put out his arms as if to catch her, which only sent further shivers of eagerness and embarrassment down Amy's spine. She quickly had to remind herself that this was reality. Shadow retracted his arms shyly, surprised at her sudden demeanor.

"Is this a bad time?" He asked politely, also somewhat surprised. Amy mentally asked Gaia how his voice was somehow even more handsome than she remembered.

"NO! No, you're fine. I'm just running a little behind." She quickly turned so she would no longer have to see his face in the doorway. That hedgehog would be the death of her. Despite only knowing him for a few weeks, he had him wrapped around his finger without even knowing it. That was either a huge testament to his charm or her naivete. She grabbed a purse and tossed in her keys, as well as some other essentials. Shadow took this as an invitation to come in. He stared in awe at her penthouse apartment with its vaulted ceiling and sleek furniture. He felt somewhat small in a room so effortlessly grand.

"Can I help?" He asked, finally snapping away from the interior design, and remembering the woman in the room with him. She was amusingly scatterbrained at that moment, and even in her elegant attire, it all seemed too formal for her. In fact, the apartment didn't seem like her at all. It was nice, sure, but it wasn't Amy.

"It's fine. I'm nearly done, anyway. Thank you. But I thought I was just going to meet you there." She opened a drawer in the hall console and took out a pair of sparkling silver earrings, using the mirror to align them carefully with her pierced ear. Shadow figured it might have been a bit too formal, anyway. That, or he was just severely underdressed.

"Actually, that's the thing, Rose." Shadow leaned against the wall, searching for the right way to ask what he wanted to ask.

The event in question was Tails' award ceremony. Amy had already agreed, prior to even meeting Shadow, to be the speaker for the writing competition, in which Tails had won an award for a thesis he had written on modern-day engineering ethics. It was a pleasant surprise for Shadow and Amy to find they would both be there. However, they swiftly decided they would attend separately, and simply enjoy the playful fun of their secret. They each assured themselves it was because the relationship was new, but they had their own, genuine reasons to want to stay separate. Mostly out of guilt.

Amy still hadn't brought up the photos, the photos of Shadow from the book signing nor the ones that popped up after their date at the cafe. Shadow hadn't brought up the fact his friends didn't know about them. They each decided they would have to cross that bridge when they get to it and hold back for now. But as Shadow considered it, the more he realized that wasn't what he wanted. Not at all.

Rouge told him not to tell Sonic or Tails about Amy, but he was still a little confused as to why. Sure, they might make it weird but why did Rouge care? He had a theory. Shadow had a habit of exaggerating his distaste for people, perhaps Rouge failed to pick up on that. While Rouge knew him better than most, she still had trouble recognizing his hyperbole. She was so focused on fixing his "attitude" that she failed to question if his attitude was even genuine. She probably assumed Shadow hated those two, which he wouldn't blame her for thinking, in all fairness. He was always unfairly cold toward them and he knew it.

So, knowing that Sonic and Tails meant well, he wondered if he trusted them enough to introduce them to his secret. After all, he would rather tell them himself than someone else. And Sonic's concern grew more and more evident with every look of worry from afar. Chaos, he was acting just like Rouge. Why did they worry about him so much? Still, he might as well clear the air and trust them for once. He took a shaky breath.

"I was wondering if maybe you, um… Maybe you would want to come with me." Shadow played with the hem of his coat. Amy froze as she looked through the mirror, back at Shadow, the surprise outweighing the guilt on her face.

"Like, drive there with you?" She asked, finally pinning the back onto the earring. Shadow looked down at the linoleum floor and shrugged.

"Actually, I came here on my bike. You said you had always wanted to ride a motorcycle. We could hang out afterward if you wanted, too. I could introduce you to Tails and everyone else."

Amy hated to admit how fun that sounded. It was true that when she learned Shadow had a motorcycle, it filled her with an incredible amount of excitement. Plus, if she was right about where he lived, the school wasn't a huge walk away. He must really want to go with her. "Well, I've technically already met them, you know? Heh… I don't know, they seemed nice at the signing, I guess." Amy laughed as she stalled, which elicited a chuckle from Shadow as well. Although, neither was entirely sure where the humor was. An awkward silence hung in the air as Amy tried to summon her courage. "Are… are you sure?"

"...Are you?" Shadow asked.

It was at that moment it truly hit Amy how much she was hiding from Shadow. Her feelings, her career, her past, everything. If there was one thing she was constantly aware of, it was that keeping secrets like that is dangerous. Despite her double life not falling apart on her yet, she was constantly aware of what may happen to her if anything were to come out to the public. The last thing she wanted was for it to be used against either of them.

She decided, then and there, that eventually, the wall between them could and would break down. She wasn't ready to give him everything just yet, but the longer he stuck around, the more he could drip-feed him until all her secrets were secure with him. It would be nice to have a confidante. Was there a risk of him leaving and taking that information with him? Of him not accepting her baggage? Of course. But, based on the fear mirrored in his own eyes, he was trusting her with something that, to him, was important. The least she could do was return the favor. She had to try.

"You know what? You're right. Let's… let's do it!" She said, trying her best to put on a brave face. She was terrified, but for now, it just felt good to trust someone. Besides, she wasn't lying when she said she wanted to meet them.

The phone call with her security was a tightrope walk. Her employer's odd disdain for Shadow became less and less of a secret as time went on, so she was careful to leave him out as a detail. Despite her agent's suspicions, her security agents were told to hold off and meet her at the event rather than escort her. And since she wasn't speaking until later, that even gave her some alone time with Shadow and his friends. A little nerve-wracking, but freeing at the same time.

Amy hung up and gave Shadow an award-winning smile as she waved her phone in her hand as if to brag about her expert trickery. Shadow was unimpressed as he carefully secured the motorcycle helmet over Amy's head.

"What are you, 16? Why do you need permission to drive yourself to an event?" Shadow jeered. Amy responded with a huff. But, she quickly became self-conscious at the morsel of truth in his words. She felt a little silly for being so nervous to go alone. Yet, at the same time, she had good reason to.

"I don't! I can go wherever I want, it's just… Usually, going with security is safer." She said, muffled under the helmet. Shadow scoffed, yet he carefully examined her words. He flipped the visor up from over her eyes, revealing just how close their faces were. Amy felt the subtle warmth of a blush grace her cheeks as she looked up at him.

"Are you not safe with me?" Shadow asked. She gulped, not entirely sure what answer he was looking for, and somewhat preoccupied with their sudden proximity. Shadow searched her eyes for some kind of response. His question sort of slipped out, yet he wanted some sort of reassurance. In the back of his mind, he wanted to know what she was trusting him with.

"I trust you." She said, offering him a small smile. It wasn't like her smiles in photos or on camera. It was nervous and subdued. Small enough for you to see the humility behind it. Shadow couldn't help but find it endlessly endearing. He offered her his own smirk in return

"Well considering I'm the one giving you a ride, that's probably a good thing." He quipped. he pivoted toward the curb and mounted his bike with ease, nodding to Amy, and inviting her to hop on. Amy awkwardly straddled the back of the bike, unaware of how to do so gracefully. Without thinking about it, she firmly wrapped her arms around Shadow's middle. His breath immediately hitched at the sudden pressure against his stomach, the warmth, and he prayed she couldn't hear it through the helmet. It felt so natural, and yet it turned his gut into knots. He quickly shook off the nerves and soon they were off.

The speed right away was exhilarating, and Amy relished in the cool wind combing through her quills, still damp from her shower. The lights and billboards whipped by in blurry streaks of light, and the shiny, glimmering buildings blew past in a whirlwind of lost detail. She had forgotten how beautiful the city was at night. It was always hard to appreciate behind tinted windows. She leaned her head back, letting the breeze fly past her and the world turn upside down, yet she remained in her seat with her arms tight around Shadow's waist.

"Having fun back there?" Shadow asked, his voice only slightly raised to be heard above the motor.

"What?!" Amy yelled back, not paying any attention at all. The engine was deafening just as much as the lights were blinding. Shadow shook his head and snickered at her lack of awareness. She was so unbelievably spacey that he wondered how she didn't snap under all the conditions she was put under. Bringing her on a ride was the right choice, for sure. Not to mention the feeling of Amy clinging to him was… no less than wonderful.

Still, something puzzled him. Why was she acting so weird when he arrived? He wasn't blind. He could clearly see the flushed look on her cheeks and her frazzled state of mind. He tried to pin it on stress or perhaps she was feeling under the weather. Maybe she was embarrassed he arrived while she was still getting ready. But really, he knew better.

He knew Amy's exact look at that moment. He saw it every time he caught Rouge reading one of her books or in the mirror when he was reading those exact same ones. Amy might've been up to some reading of her own, or perhaps simply daydreaming. Despite his conscience telling him to think about anything else, In the far back of Shadow's mind, he wondered what, or who she possibly could have been thinking about. Even deeper down, he hoped it might have been him. It was simply too cathartic a thought to not think about. Perhaps the way she was pressed so closely and warmly to him now was a sign he might be right.

As the two walked into the building, they were met with the austere architecture of the school auditorium, adorned with handcrafted spirit decorations to commemorate the ceremony. If that, plus the program were anything to go by, fine arts was a small operation at Tail's school. Only about half of the program was creative works, and it was clear the competition was only funded thanks to the academic writings which were also included.

While this saddened Amy as an artist, it made complete sense to Shadow from context alone. Tails' school was not in Sonic or Tails' district. He had been transferred there because Sonic knew Tails wanted to go, and he believed Tails deserved nothing short of the best. There was one thing Shadow could appreciate about Sonic, he went above and beyond as Tails' guardian.

Sonic scrounged up almost any extra money he had for Tails'. Sending him on school trips and camps, buying him resources for his engineering projects, and of course, paying for his private education at the best science and technology school in the city. It wasn't easy either, as working odd jobs was only so stable as an income. But, as Tails got older and started funding his own projects more and more, their appreciation for each other only grew, and it was clear on Sonic's beaming face how proud he was of his little bro.

That look of pride quickly turned to shock and awe at the sight of Shadow with Amy. Shadow winced, yet he figured the lack of disgust or anger in Sonic's face was a good sign. Still, his expression was somewhat hard to read. As he slowly approached his friend group, they each slowly caught wind.

"Uh… hi." Shadow greeted, unsure of how to proceed. Amy seemed concerned, mostly for Shadow. And her excitement slowly but surely turned into doubt. Sonic, Knuckles, and Rouge all stared in disbelief, the silence becoming almost unbearable until it was finally broken.

"You must be Amy, it's nice to… officially meet you." Knuckles extended a hand confidently, deciding that he might as well be the one to break the ice. Thankfully, it came out as warmly as he intended, and Amy happily accepted the handshake. Sonic and Rouge's gaze shifted from Shadow and Amy to Knuckles, and each somewhat calmed down at the sight of his nonchalance.

"Yeah, I remember you from the book signing! Nice to see you again!" Amy replied. "And you're Rouge, right? Shadow told me about you!" Amy said, trying her best to see past Rouge's gawking face. Rouge shook her hand in return, still somewhat stunned, and tried her best to act naturally as well despite how much her mind was racing in that moment. Amy randomly glanced down at her feet and made a sudden noise of surprise. "Oh wow, I love your heels! Where'd you get them?"

Rouge looked at her heels, then to Amy, then back at Shadow. Her face was only stunned for a moment, followed by a millisecond of what almost seemed like congratulations, followed by a sweet smile thrown right back at Amy.

"Oh, thank you! They're Italian actually. Europe was always one of my main inspirations…" Rouge quickly swept Amy up in a conversation, which she seemed completely fine with. As Rouge took the opportunity to ramble, Shadow turned to Sonic with a look of diffidence. Sonic's look of shock turned into a look of confusion, and he struggled to find the right words to ask.

"Wh- How did… Whe-" He stammered, only to begin laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation, shaking his head in amusement. He sighed and finally settled on the question "So, when did that happen?"

Shadow smiled in relief and shook his head as well, finally daring to look over at Amy, failing to hide his joy. "She gave me her number after the signing and we've been hanging out since."

Sonic let out an exaggerated gasp and continued "Why didn't you tell us?" He asked, roping Knuckles into the discussion and linking his arm around his.

"Knuckles already knew. He was there. I didn't tell you or Tails because you would've annoyed the hell out of me about it." Shadow bluffed.

"You knew?! And Rouge too, I'm guessing? That-" Sonic ranted, causing Knuckles to take a step back and wonder how he got roped into this. Sonic finally paused and said "Actually… That's fair. We probably would have done exactly that." He admitted, scratching the quills on the back of his head.

"Yeah. That and… I guess you could say we're still figuring it out." Shadow said, turning away. Sonic's eyes lit up with a sudden burst of excitement as he ran over and began giving Shadow a crucial noogie.

"Oh ho ho ho! Shadow, you little loverboy, you! I never knew you had it in you!" He congratulated. Shadow shook him off immediately and began fixing his quills.

"Will you shut up? I just said we're still figuring things out!" He snapped. Sonic held up his hands in defense.

"Woah! Sorry bro! It's just… You've got to admit that's kind of exciting! Do you like her?" Sonic asked. Shadow thought about it for a moment. There wasn't a doubt in his mind, but he didn't want to share too much out the gate.

"Yeah… Yeah, I think I… really do." He muttered, looking back at Amy. She and Rouge were across the auditorium by now, in the back where a table of refreshments was laid out. Shadow couldn't help but smile at the way her nose wrinkled as she laughed at Rouge. She had such an amazing smile.

"And does she like you?" Sonic asked, slowly pulling Shadow back into reality. He had to stop his heart from sinking at the question, as this wasn't the place for doubt. Instead, he shook his head again and chuckled.

"Damn, I hope so." he joked. Sonic laughed in return. Shadow couldn't help but feel bad for not telling Sonic earlier, but really he didn't ever tell Sonic anything. Sonic knew this as well. His general distaste for Sonic and his energetic persona was well-known amongst their mutual friends, but nobody, including Shadow, really knew why Sonic annoyed him so much.

There was nothing inherently wrong with Sonic, but something just got on Shadow's nerves about him. Rouge chalked it up to one too many jokes about how similar they are, Tails and Knuckles assumed it was just Shadow's general attitude. Sonic himself didn't really know or care why Shadow disliked him, because he just considered them friends anyway.

Knowing that as well as knowing that Sonic was cool about him and his privacy about Amy restored Shadow's faith in him somewhat. Perhaps it was time he give the hedgehog another chance.

"You promise to be cool, right?" Shadow insisted, Sonic nodded and added a pair of finger guns.

"I'm always cool, aren't I?" He remarked, to which Shadow replied with an exaggerated eye roll. Knuckles couldn't help but laugh at the two.

"Glad you two figured that out. Tails is still gonna be in for a surprise." Knuckles added.

"Oh yeah. Where is Miles anyway?" Shadow asked, looking around.

"He's backstage with the other writer- I mean essayists. You'll see him lined up during the ceremony. Speaking of which, we should be taking our seats. Go grab your girlfriends real quick and I'll find a place we can all sit." Sonic commanded.

"Sh-she's not-" Shadow stuttered, only for the blue blur to disappear into the crowd. Shadow slumped down in defeat as Knuckles gave him a pat on the back, only to begin hastily tapping him on the shoulder.

"Shadow, I think your friend could use a little help." He pointed out. Shadow's head snapped up as he glanced over to where Rouge and Amy were before. To his horror, Rouge was being shut out by a cluster of people surrounding Amy. And by the looks of it, they were not being gentle. Immediately, anger settled in the pit of Shadow's stomach as the crown of his head fizzled with rage and a flare of protective instinct.

Without a second thought, Shadow began forcing his way past the people in the auditorium and toward the crowd, practically steamrolling over anything in his path. He frantically dove into the cluster, prying people - who seemed like an even mix of high schoolers as well as grown adults - apart with his hands and searching for the pink hedgehog. At the first sight of her, he grabbed her by the hand and began to pull her out of the heap. Amy, seemingly in a stressed-out daze, let him help her without a hint of reluctance, although the crowd was not nearly as complacent. Out of sheer necessity, he lifted her up slightly over his shoulder if only to keep her out of the crowd, which seemed to fluster her at first, not that either seemed to care enough at the moment. The crowd responded with anger, only for Shadow to hit them with a hard glare.

"Oh, fuck off! Don't you people have any respect?" He yelled. The crowd paused somewhat at the sudden accusation. "What do you think you're going to get out of acting like parasites? She's here to do a job so mind your damn business!" He scolded. To his surprise, the crowd backed off, if only a little. He couldn't believe that actually worked. Perhaps he was scarier than he thought. While the crowd remained, it was as if Shadow had created some sort of shield between them, as they just stood there angrily, watching them but not daring to come close.

Realizing she was still hefted over his shoulder, he carefully let her onto the ground. By the look on her face, she was partially relieved, yet somewhat saddened he let go, which flustered Shadow a bit. Glaring at the crowd a final time, he let Amy lead them away and toward the seats that Sonic had reserved.

They each sat down quietly next to each other. Knuckles and Rouge looked over in concern, while Sonic sat somewhat unaware of the situation. Rouge leaned over to where Amy was sitting.

"Hey, I'm sorry for leaving you hanging. You alright, girl?" she asked. Amy nodded shyly "Yeah, I'm good. It's just how it is, you know?"

Shadow looked over at her, perplexed. How could she be so calm? Why was she not offended or angry at all? How does she deal with this all the time? He sighed, knowing that his questions wouldn't be answered anytime soon. Knowing Amy, she would be reluctant to let all those feelings out. He would just have to be patient. Shadow hated being patient.

Amy might have sensed his doubts, or perhaps she just wanted to, but in that moment she dared to reach for his hand, which Shadow shyly took. She squeezed it softly and whispered a quick "Thank you." And for the time being, that was good enough for both of them.

The first half of the ceremony was reserved for the academic awards. While the school was renowned for its scientific exploits, the administrators probably knew the students wouldn't find it as interesting as the creative works. So, they started the ceremony with the "boring part." And yet, even the most easily bored creature on the planet, Sonic, didn't falter once in his beaming smile during the entire presentation. He couldn't help but grin ear to ear at the sight of his little bro on that stage.

As Tails crossed the stage, he was curtly handed the mic and invited to say a few words of thanks. Tails was greatly disinterested in saying anything in front of so many people, seeking to earn his recognition and move on. Still, he chose his next few words carefully.

"Um… Thank you to the administrators and the engineering department. Also, to Miss Applegate and Professor Jackson... But, mostly… Thank you to my brother Sonic for his help all these years and for never giving up on me. I couldn't have done this without you."

As he turned to see his brother in the audience, he saw him beaming with such glowing pride that he wondered if Sonic might actually be crying. He had never seen his brother cry, and the fact that it was a moment involving him filled him with a sort of pride as well. He didn't think it was the actual case, but it was a nice thought.

Tails went back to his seat and was greeted by a loving noogie and a pat on the back at his return. His attention was immediately caught, however, by the sight of his favorite author sitting next to Shadow, their hands intertwined. He stood there, stupefied for a moment before Shadow gave him a distinct look, signaling him to sit down and pay attention. So, he did.

Soon, it was time for Amy to give her speech, she sat up out of her seat and scooted past everyone. As she did she stopped by Tails and quickly whispered "It's great seeing you again! I'll talk to you later." as she walked up to the stage, Tails wondered if perhaps he was hallucinating. Meanwhile, Shadow's hand felt suddenly cold.

"Well, shit," Shadow grunted, staring at the empty patch of asphalt.

"I didn't even know they towed motorcycles." Amy joked, immediately feeling bad. "I'm sorry…"

"It's not your fault, Rose." Shadow sighed as he began going down the sidewalk. "You coming?"

Amy looked up, confused.

"I figured I may as well walk you home." He offered, stopping to look back at her. She smiled and ran to catch up with him.

"My agent would not be happy about me walking home with only one escort, on foot no less…" Amy admitted. Shadow wasn't sure how he felt about being called an "escort." Still, that wasn't his biggest concern.

"I guarantee you you're safer with me than those goons you call security." He didn't mean for it to come across as jealousy, but apparently, it turned out that way. He did mean it though. Those agents were goons in every sense of the word. They turned up late, after the one they were meant to be protecting had already been harassed, and proceeded to fail at protecting her for every encounter afterward.

"Why do you care so much anyway?" Amy asked. Her ears were perked, clearly anticipating his answer. Shadow looked away. There were so many reasons for him to care. His pride, her dignity, his sense of justice. But, he figured he could just admit the truth to her now.

"I care about you, Rose. You're… important to me now. And you deserve… so much better." He sighed. He turned to Amy, expecting a rejection of some kind. It was his default to assume so. Instead, he was greeted by a galaxy of stars in Amy's eyes. A shy smile tugged at the corner of her lips, and Shadow suddenly realized that this might end up differently. Maybe he had no reason to have doubts in the first place.

"That's…" she started. Her chest rose and fell as her excitement turned to hyperventilation. She slowly, carefully stepped closer to him, and Shadow felt every nerve in his body flare up.

"I care about you too, Shadow." She admitted. The two stood there in awkward, euphoric silence until they were interrupted by the first few drops of rain.

Amy quickly grabbed Shadow's hand as they ducked under an awning, and their hands remained entwined as they waited and listened to the downfall.