"The One To Hold My Heart"
He was the Ultimate Lifeform, a superior being that towered over nearly everything. It was in his DNA, literally. He was created to be the best, the ultimate trump card, bred for violence and bloodshed and a chess piece to be used by powerful people in authority to impose their will on others. A weapon of mass destruction with no thoughts and hopes and feelings and ambitions and dreams of his own. At least, that's what he used to think and believe.
Watching the sleeping beauty nestled in his arms, her face pressed against his chest, auburn hair gleaming in the glow of the burning fire, Shadow found that he was wrong, and he was okay with that. There was more to life than just living and going through the motions. He was allowed to have this, this peace and comfort and stability. He was allowed to have friends and to trust them and be trustworthy to them. He put them through a lot of grief, both intentionally and deliberately, but they forgave him.
It's all water under the bridge, Shads! He could easily hear Sonic's exuberant voice, and he girt his teeth at the sound of that obnoxious nickname, but he found himself smiling, nonetheless. He'd be hard-pressed to give that blue blur any dues, but he could concede to himself and only himself, that Sonic was the pinnacle of what a true hero was. His capacity for kindness and fearlessness was staggering, and the way he selflessly stood up for not just himself, but others and the very world itself on a daily basis was nothing to sneeze at.
It was that openheartedness and true confidence that allowed him to mend bridges and create everlasting bonds with everyone he met, save for his enemies, and even then, they held a grudging respect for him in spite of the odds.
He supposed he'd credit him if only for helping him get his head out of his ass and asking Sally to be his.
"Sally and I go waaayyy back, okay? I know her like both sides of my hand. I'm telling ya, she liiiikkkeeesss you." Shadow sneered, pushing Sonic out of his face, but not before he was able to hide the way his face was hot with an unwilling blush, heart stumbling all over itself at the mere thought that a pretty, accomplished young woman like Sally Acorn, would not only like him as a friend, but harbored romantic feelings for him on top of their established bond.
What could she want with someone like him, some failed government experimentation with hands bloodier than a first-day period? What could a high-class woman, she was a princess, after all, want with a reformed criminal? Not to mention all of his dazzling trauma and ptsd.
"You're certain my feelings aren't one-sided? Because if this is some kind of joke, that's cruel, even for you." Shadow did not like to hope. It was a setup for letdowns and perpetual disappointments, and he had a whole lifetime of those, and he was tired of.
"Shadow." Hearing Sonic go from lackadaisical to startling serious was enough to force himself to look him in the eye. "Life is short, and tomorrow is not promised. I wouldn't push you towards her if I knew it wasn't reciprocated. I wouldn't do you like that, and Sally sure as hell ain't the type to be so careless and cruel herself. She likes you, like, a lot, actually. She doesn't care about your past. Well, she does in the sense that it's your experience and it's a part of who you are, but she doesn't hold your past against you, so don't let that be the reason why you don't take a chance to be happy, okay?"
And Shadow listened and took a chance on his heart, and now he was holding the love of his life in his arms, and he couldn't be happier. They'd been dating for a few years now, and he was just as besotted by her now as he was when he first saw her piercing smile or the sound of her melodious laughter. He could get lost in those sapphire blue eyes of her, and the way they fit together in all the best ways made his heart do summersaults.
Smooth, soft lips were pressed against his, and he couldn't stop himself from kissing her back if he tried, one hand cupping her cheek while the other tangled itself in those luscious, thick, silky auburn locks. He welcomed the warmth and weight of her body, letting her drape herself over him, the light of the fire dancing over their bodies as they lost themselves in each other.
His home was with her, her arms around him and her heart in his hand.