A/N: I was having car trouble last Saturday, so this came about. Enjoy!

It was a cold fall day, and Amy Rose was leaving her house to go grocery shopping. While one of her parents usually took care of the shopping, she also took care of it from time to time, usually because both of them were busy with other things or because they were both incapacitated somehow. In this case, it was because her father Douglas had to work overtime and because her mother Petunia was in the hospital with some unusual heart issue. She hopped into her car – a pink 1971 VW Beetle convertible – and started it up…or at least tried to. When she turned the key, the starter wouldn't turn over, and no matter how hard she tried, the car wouldn't start.

"Damn it! Now I'll have to take a bus or walk or something."

Amy got out of her car and was about to head for the sidewalk when a black 1975 GMC Sierra Grande 4x4 pulled up to her driveway. Her Hedgehog Sense had told her that somebody was coming, but she didn't freak out because it wasn't alerting her to danger. In fact, the guy who got out of the truck was somebody she trusted.

"Good afternoon, Amy," said Shadow the Hedgehog.

Amy shrugged. "Yeah, well, my car's not working and my parents aren't here, but I guess it's good otherwise…"

"What's wrong with your car?"

"It won't start!"

"Does the ignition turn over when you turn the key?"

"No, nothing happens!"

"Open the rear seat for me. I should be able to take care of this."

Amy flipped up the rear seat of her car for Shadow, who took a toolbox from the back of his truck and pulled a multimeter out. He turned it on, took the positive and negative terminals and applied them to the battery.

"Well?" said Amy.

Shadow removed the terminals on the multimeter from the battery. "Your battery's dead. I'll get you a new one. Wait right here."

"Shadow, wait!"

Shadow paused from turning around. "Yes?"

"If it's all right with you, I was going to go grocery shopping, so could you please take me with you?"

Shadow paused. "Since you're one of my favorite people, I'll let you come along.

Amy smiled. "Oh, thank you!"

Shadow and Amy hopped into the former's GMC, and they were off.

"This is a nice truck, Shadow! Where did you get it?"

"Tails restored it for me. I noticed that Sonic had a 4x4 as well, and I wanted to compete against him in a four-wheel-drive competition, so I decided to get this truck. It was in all-right condition considering how much I got it for."

Amy frowned.

"What?" said Shadow.

Amy crossed her arms. "You always have to compete with Sonic, don't you?"

"Amy, you don't understand. Sonic had a really nice truck."

"Shadow, I love you, but you're too much sometimes."

Shadow smiled. "Would you want me any other way, though?"

Amy stared at Shadow. Then, she burst out laughing.

"Oh, you're too funny!" said Amy.

"Anyways, would you like to listen to the radio?"

"Sure!"

"Does it matter what I put on?"

"Not at all!"

Shadow popped in a tape titled "BEST OF NWOBHM VOLUME 3", which began playing "Where Eagles Dare" by Iron Maiden. Much to his surprise, Amy began headbanging.

"YAY! METAL!"

"I didn't know you were into metal."

"I never used to be into it, but ever since I started hanging out with you, I've been getting into it more. I'm not into death metal or black metal, though."

"I see."

Shadow took Amy to the nearest GroceryMax grocery store, the Kingdom of Mobius' largest grocery store chain. Amy used a two-Mobium coin as a "key" to unlock one of the shopping carts, and then they embarked on their shopping trip.

"Thanks for bringing me here, Shadow! I was worried that I'd have to walk or take a bus here."

"You're welcome, Amy. Your feelings matter to me, so I'm happy to do this for you."

Amy put her index finger up to her chin. "Though I have to wonder: why were you coming over to my house, anyways?"

"I was going to bring you a little gift I got at the Emerald City Comic-Con, but seeing as how you were in need, I decided that this was more important."

Amy smiled. "A gift? Ooh, now you've got me all curious!"

"Usually, I'm not one to do things like that for people, but you're precious to me, and this was pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"Awww, you're so sweet!"

Amy kept shopping. At one point, she had to get peanut butter, and she was faced with a quandary:

"Gee, I can't decide which peanut butter to get. On one hand, I usually like this kind, but this kind here is 20% off. What do you think I should get, Shadow?"

Shadow didn't respond.

"Shadow?"

Amy turned around and saw Shadow staring at a light blue female hedgehog who was well-endowed, possibly more than Rouge.

"SHADOW!"

Amy smacked Shadow in the back of the head, causing him to turn around without so much as flinching.

"What?"

"If you want to stare at somebody's boobs, then at least stare at mine!"

"Sorry."

Amy's smile returned. "Now then, which of these two peanut butters do you think I should get?"

Shadow pointed to a jar of Skippy. "Go with that one. Rouge and I like that one the best."

"Good choice; that's my favorite, too!"

Shadow smiled. "And this is one of the things I love about you: we share so much in common."

"Awww!"

The rest of Shadow and Amy's shopping trip went smoothly. After the trip, they drove off, the radio playing "Shellshock" by Tank.

"Where are you going, Shadow?"

"To get your car battery."

"Um…could I please ask one teensy, tiny favor from you?"

"What's that?"

"I wanna visit my mom in the hospital."

Shadow nodded. "Fair enough."

After buying a new battery for Amy's car at Autozone, Shadow and Amy headed to Early Memorial Hospital, where they visited Petunia.

"Hello, Amy," said Petunia. "You never told me you were bringing a guest."

"Mom, this is my boyfriend, Shadow. Shadow, this is my mom."

Shadow waved at Petunia. "Hi."

Petunia smiled and waved back at Shadow. "Hi, nice to meet you! What brings you here?"

"Amy was having car trouble, so I gave her a ride to the grocery store."

"Oh, that was nice of you, Shadow!"

"Thank you, Mrs. Rose. I…"

"Please, call me Petunia!"

"Right. Anyways, your daughter's feelings mean a lot to me, and I wanted to be helpful, which is why I gave her a ride."

"Amy, you're lucky to have such supportive people in your life!"

Amy smiled. "I know! Shadow can seem scary at first, but he's such a gentleman!"

Shadow gave Amy a flat look, mainly for the "scary" comment.

"So Mom, did the doctors say when you'd be getting out of the hospital?"

"They said I've improved enough that I should be out of here tomorrow."

"Oh, good!"

"I'm actually glad to be getting out of here because hospital food is terrible."

"I've never tried hospital food before, but I can only imagine."

Petunia chuckled. "You're not missing much, sweetie!"

"Petunia, we have to get going now," said Shadow. "It was nice meeting you, though."

"Before you go, Amy, did you remember to buy pork tenderloin and the ingredients for my famous marinade?"

Amy nodded. "I did."

"Well, be sure to marinate it tonight before you put it in the fridge, OK sweetie?"

Amy gave a thumbs-up. "OK!"

"OK, have a nice day, Amy and Shadow!"

"You too," said the two lovehogs simultaneously.

Shadow and Amy headed back for Amy's house, with the truck's stereo blasting "Denim and Leather" by Saxon.

"Your mom seemed like a nice person," said Shadow.

"Yeah, well not always. She's pretty nosy, and I have to really assert myself to get her to leave me alone sometimes."

"Amy, I don't know exactly what things are like between you and your mother, but if you ever need someone to talk to, I'll always listen."

Amy smiled. "Thank you, Shadow!"

Shadow smiled. "You're always welcome."

By the time Shadow and Amy got back to the Rose family home, there was another car in the driveway, a Dark Yellow Green 1975 Ford LTD Country Squire. Since there was no space in the driveway for Shadow's GMC, he parked it on the side of the street.

"Whose car is that?" asked Shadow.

"That's the family car. Daddy must be home."

"I see."

Amy grabbed the groceries, while Shadow got the new battery and installed it, putting the old one in the bed of his truck.

"OK, you're all set, Amy. Have a nice day."

Amy raised her hand. "Hold on, Shadow!"

"What now?"

Amy smiled. "You didn't forget about my gift, did you?"

"Of course not. Hold on a second…"

Shadow reached under the seat of his truck and pulled out a flat, rectangular gift in pink/red/white wrapping paper.

"Here you go."

Amy took the gift and unwrapped it. It turned out to be an autographed 8x10" color glossy photo of actress Frances Landsdown, who played Rose Summers – the yellow Ranger – on Muscle Rangers Overdrive. Amy gasped and smiled when she saw it.

"OH MY DAMN CHERRY BLOSSOMS!* Shadow, this is the best gift EVER! Thank you thank you THANK YOU!"

Amy wrapped her arms around Shadow and kissed him, and he returned the embrace. While not usually one to get caught up in romance, he thought she was the sweetest, sexiest girl ever, and he considered himself lucky to be with her. Plus, feeling the soft sensuality of her lips against his, and embracing her soft, warm, cuddly body, he forgot all about anything that was troubling him. He let one of his hands gently travel down her back and across her hips before reaching under her dress and grabbing her crotch, much to her shock:

"SHADOW!"

Amy pushed Shadow away, much to his confusion:

"What?"

"I get you love me and all, but first of all, don't just grab somebody like that without their permission! Second, take it down a notch! What if my father saw us?"

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself. You were just so sexy and cute."

Amy kept up the angry glare for a bit, but then she broke down giggling.

"Oh, I can't with you! Even if you are a raging horndog, you're still the nicest guy ever!"

Shadow smiled. "I appreciate the compliment, Amy. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get going."

"Hold on! Don't you want to stay for supper?"

Shadow kept smiling. "Ordinarily, I would say 'no', but since you are my favorite girlfriend ever, and since I enjoy spending time with you, I'll take you up on your offer."

"Thank you!"

"No, thank you."

"You're welcome, handsomehog!"

Shadow and Amy held hands as they walked into her house, happy to have such a fruitful, loving and supportive relationship.

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

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