A/N: Hi everyone! The below is the mature version of Chapter 14 of The Rules. For Chapters 3 – 13, please read the story on AO3 under my profile there, MagicJigsaw. I've included a link to my AO3 profile on my bio.

As this is the mature version, please be aware that the below contains some spicy scenes. Enjoy!

Chapter 14

Throwing Out the Rulebook

It was date night. Amy finished applying her makeup then carefully put on the necklace Shadow had bought her for Christmas, admiring the way its ruby pendant caught the light.

Shadow was her boyfriend now. Boyfriend. The word felt strange and unfamiliar in her mouth, like she'd just taken a bite of some strange new fruit; but she liked saying it. Lately she'd begun saying it to anyone who would listen. First she'd called up Blaze and informed her that Shadow was now her boyfriend. Then she'd called up her parents – they didn't answer, so she left a message telling them that if they tried to call her that evening she wouldn't be available to pick up because she was out on a date with her boyfriend. Then she told the barista at her local coffee shop that she would be grateful if he could make her oat latte as quickly as possible because she didn't want to be late for a date with her boyfriend. That last one was probably an overstep, in hindsight.

At seven o'clock, Shadow came to pick her up from her apartment. A surge of excitement pulsed through Amy when she saw his Jeep pull up on the street. She scurried down the steps to the first floor just as Shadow was getting out of the car and flung her arms around him.

"Shadow!"

She didn't care that Rouge had told her to play it cool around her dates. Right now, she was just excited to see him.

Her gave a low chuckle and returned the hug, placing his hand on the small of her back and lifting her gently off the ground. He buried his head in her quills and inhaled deeply, seeming to drink in her scent.

"Someone's happy to see me," he remarked in her ear.

"Are you kidding? I've been looking forward to this all day!"

"Just a day?" he murmured teasingly. "I've been looking forward to this all week."

"Yeah? Well I've been looking forward to this all month."

"We haven't even been together a month, Amy."

"You know what I mean!"

Shadow drove them downtown. It was Saturday night and the streets were abuzz with bars and clubs and casinos, all enticing the revellers of Station Square through their doors with flashing neon signs and promises of free drinks on entry. But Shadow took her hand and led her past the alluring shopfronts until they arrived at a building that read Twinkle Park in glimmering fairy lights.

Amy had been to Twinkle Park once before. It was a gargantuan entertainment venue with rollercoasters, bumper carts and halls of mirrors. They weren't doing any of those things tonight, though.

Shadow approached the lanky teenage fox at the counter. "I booked two tickets to the roller disco tonight."

"Sure," the fox drawled in a bored tone. "Let me just pull up your booking confirmation."

The fox took Shadow's details before rotating a card machine towards him for payment. Amy automatically reached for her father's credit card, but Shadow flashed her with a look.

"This is my treat, Amy," he growled.

"I don't mind," Amy insisted.

"I want to treat you to this. Besides," he added, "you don't have a job. You must be insane to think I would make you cover our date."

"I have my father's credit card."

Shadow then wrapped his arms around her – the action alone nearly made Amy melt a little. He placed a finger under her chin and lifted her head until their gazes met. His red eyes were intense and protective and devoted, all at once.

"Things are different now, Amy," he told her gently. "You are my girlfriend. One day I hope to make you my wife. I want to take care of you. Nothing would make me more content than spending my money on you, if that means seeing you happy."

Amy gazed up at him. "Thank you," she said. "I appreciate that. But… I would at least like to pay for something tonight. It's important to me, Shadow. My parents buy me everything and it makes our dynamic... icky. It's like they think that if they spend money on me, they don't have to bother with anything else."

She took his hands in her own and squeezed gently.

"How about I pay for our food and drinks tonight instead?"

Shadow brought her hands up to his face and brushed them with a kiss. "Fine," he murmured, "if that would make you happy."

Amy smiled, pleased with their compromise.

Our first disagreement, she thought. Adorable.

They changed into roller skates and entered the venue. It was a dark room, illuminated only by the blue and pink disco lights that moved erratically across the smooth surface of the roller rink. Bordering the rink was a row of leather booths and a bar selling hotdogs, fries and slushies. Upbeat music was pumping energizingly through the room.

Amy stepped precariously onto the rink. It took perhaps ten seconds for her to lose her balance.

Shadow was immediately behind her, catching her deftly in his arms.

She twisted her head to glance at him playfully. "So, what made you choose a roller rink for our date tonight?"

His lips curled in the beginnings of a smirk. "I hoped a roller disco might improve your god-awful ice skating. I thought it would be best if we went back to basics."

"You like my god-awful ice skating," Amy retorted teasingly. "It's a good excuse for you to put your hands all over me."

"Maybe it is," Shadow murmured. "And," he added, "I don't dance – and this is the closest thing that someone who doesn't dance can get to dancing."

They skated some laps of the rink before deciding to take a break for food. As promised, Amy paid for their meal – two hotdogs each, a large portion of French fries to share and a blue raspberry slushie for Amy. Amy eyed the slushie, which was an unnatural, almost radioactive shade of blue. Blue raspberry? Amy thought. What on earth was a blue raspberry? Everyone knew that raspberries were red.

"How's the slushie?" Shadow asked.

She took a sip. "It tastes like somebody tried to make a raspberry drink without the raspberries."

Shadow's hotdog was apparently not much better. "I'll take you out to a nice restaurant sometime soon," he decided.

A little thrill went through Amy. One of the best things about dating Shadow was all the things they had to look forward to – skating and dinners and movies and concerts. "That would be nice," she smiled.

Then Amy pricked her ears as a familiar song began to play. It was her favourite artist.

She jumped to her feet. "This is my jam!" she announced, abandoning the disappointing food to return to the rink.

Shadow followed her and they danced together, skating circles in the colourful dapples cast by the disco lights. At one point they fell over (well, Amy fell over and pulled Shadow down with her) and Shadow laughed. His laughter was surprisingly rich considering how gruff his voice was, and Amy found herself craving the sound. She began to giggle too – and just then all the bad feelings she'd been carrying around until now – the loneliness, the purposelessness, the fears of inadequacy – seemed very far away, like it was some distant dream from a previous life. In that moment, all that seemed to matter was her and Shadow.

"Shadow?"

"Hm?" he said, twirling her around.

"I'm having a really nice time right now."

His gaze softened and a small, rare smile appeared on his muzzle.

"Me too," he said.

After the date, they went back to Shadow's apartment. Shadow disappeared to the bathroom to brush his teeth so Amy went through to the kitchen to help herself to some water. And then she froze.

Rouge was there. Amy's good mood melted away like mist in the sunlight.

The two simply stood there, staring wordlessly at each other. It was Rouge who broke the silence.

"Let's get a drink," she said finally.

Rouge retrieved a bottle of wine from the fridge and poured two glasses, handing one to Amy. It suddenly felt very hot and airless in the kitchen, so they went out and sat on the steps of the terrace. Amy cupped her wine with both hands, feeling too nervous to drink anything. Rouge had already drained her glass.

Amy knew that she needed to make amends with Rouge, for Shadow's sake if anything. She didn't want to spend their relationship feeling afraid to go back to his apartment because Rouge hated her. But she didn't know how. She'd already tried to apologise once before to Rouge, and it had gone down about as well as a cup of cold sick. She didn't want to repeat that again.

But I have to try, she resolved.

"Rouge," Amy began. "I'm sorry –"

"No, Amy," Rouge interrupted. "I'm sorry."

Amy glanced at Rouge in surprise, taken aback by her unexpected words. "For what?"

"For everything," she said. "This whole entire mess is my fault. I made you follow these stupid rules – rules that made you change yourself, rules that made you play games with people. It's no wonder that you ended up hurting Shadow. You were just doing what I'd taught you."

"I don't understand," Amy mumbled. "What's making you say this now?"

Rouge sighed and swirled the remnants of her wine in her glass. "After you came and apologised that time, I spoke to Shadow to let him know you'd dropped by. Turns out he was pretty mad that I'd turned you away without telling him. Anyway, we got talking about everything, and at one point I asked him what it was that made him fall in love with you.

"And what surprised me was that the things Shadow liked about you – well, they couldn't have been further away from the rules. I'd told you to look hot, but Shadow just spoke about your kind and compassionate personality, not your looks. I'd told you to pretend to be confident, but Shadow liked that you weren't afraid to cry or make your feelings known in front of him because it made him feel like he could vulnerable with you too, instead of just bottling up his feelings like he normally does."

Amy's ears pricked up slightly. "He said that?"

"Mm-hmm," Rouge nodded. "Anyway, it just put me in a funk all day. So when I next saw Knuckles, I decided to ask him the same question – what does Knuckles like about me? Knuckles is a pretty uncomplicated guy, so I was totally certain that he was going to say, 'Your ginormous boobs' or 'Your amazing juicy ass'. Like, that's what I would have said," Rouge added with a shrug. "But to my surprise, Knuckles said, 'Your loyalty'. And that's when I realised: Knuckles didn't fall in love with me because of the rules, either."

Rouge looked at the ground guiltily. "And then I realised… maybe the rules are kind of lame. They might attract some doofus who only cares about looks, like Sonic or Vector. But they don't set you up for an actual healthy relationship. Someone who genuinely loves you will like you for you – not how hot you are or how many guys you can make jealous."

She wrapped her arms around her knees.

"I ended up doing a lot of soul-searching after that," Rouge admitted. "Without boring you with my complicated family lore, I realised that a lot of this probably stems from my own personal issues. There was a time when it made sense for me to follow the rules – to put on a brave face and pretend that everything was okay, even when it didn't feel that way inside. It was what I needed to do to protect myself.

"But that doesn't mean I need to keep these walls up now. I know you tried to apologise for what you said about me at the New Year's Eve party, but it's really no wonder you look at me and assume I'm just this glamorous, confident woman with a perfect life – that's a mask that I've very carefully curated over many years. I need to learn that it's okay to let my guard down a little and be open and honest in front of my friends, instead of pretending that I know all the answers. And I need to stop projecting my own issues and coping mechanisms onto you, because that isn't fair."

Rouge turned to Amy and took her hands. Her aquamarine eyes were glittering with concern.

"So I'm sorry," she said. "I was forcing you to play games with people and pretend to be someone you're not. Okay, so you may have put the knife in Shadow's back – but I was the one who put the knife in your hand. Really, you just needed to be yourself all along, Amy. Because both Shadow and I think you're amazing the way you are. Although a dab of makeup doesn't hurt," she added with a small smile.

Amy smiled back. Then she opened her arms in the offer of a hug. "Friends?"

Rouge accepted the hug eagerly and pulled Amy into a crushing embrace. "Best friends," she agreed.

Amy squeezed her friend tight, comforted by the familiar scent of Rouge's perfume. She'd missed Rouge a lot.

"I'm so glad we're friends again," Amy whispered. "I thought you'd ditched me for Blaze. She said that you two had been spending a lot more time together lately."

Rouge shook her head. "No way!" she protested. "I have been spending more time with Blaze, but that was nothing to do with you. That was to do with Sonic."

Amy cocked her head to the side, confused. "Sonic?"

"Yup," Rouge nodded. "See, I've decided that I don't actually want to hang out with Sonic anymore, Amy. I don't think he's very nice to Shadow, and I'm not prepared to stick around and be all pally with him when he's bullying my friend. I'm not sure if Shadow told you what Sonic said at the snowboarding resort, but he was way out of line."

Amy pulled a face. "Yeah, he told me."

"Obviously I see you and Shadow and Knuckles all the time, but I only ever really see Blaze and Silver when we're doing something together as a group," Rouge explained. "So I decided to start hanging out with them separately. That way I can maintain my friendship with Blaze and Silver without having to see Sonic, too."

"That makes sense," Amy thought aloud. "Is anyone else angry with Sonic?"

"Yeah," Rouge said. "I think people are starting to wise up to the fact that Sonic isn't the nice guy he makes out. Knuckles is super mad at Sonic, but that's not exactly anything new – those two are always at loggerheads. Silver and Blaze seem really disappointed in him, too. Apparently they went out for dinner with him and he started bragging about how hilarious it was to have 'stolen' you from Shadow. They both agreed that it really wasn't cool."

They must be talking about that double date we went on, Amy thought.

"Anyway, I think he's still invited to the wedding," Rouge went on, "but Silver has officially demoted him from groomsman. He's asked Shadow to be groomsman instead – apparently there have to be four groomsman at a Sol wedding. It's their lucky number or something."

"What about Tails?"

Rouge shrugged. "Sonic and Tails are still friends, as far as I know. I can't be too mad at him – he's still just a teenager, and he's always looked up to Sonic like an older brother. Maybe when Tails is older, he'll realise that Sonic isn't actually all that he's cracked up to be."

Amy sighed. "He had us all fooled – me especially," she admitted. "For so long I thought Sonic was this amazing guy. It wasn't until I started actually dating him that I realised I was looking at him through rose-tinted glasses."

Rouge poured herself another glass of wine. "I don't think he's an awful person," she said. "I'd like to think he's not, anyway. I don't think Sonic has actually thought that hard about how his actions are affecting Shadow. He just thinks it's totally hilarious to push Shadow's buttons and takes the joke too far."

She took a swig.

"I told Shadow before that he was going to end up alone if he didn't change, but I've changed my mind – it's Sonic that will end up alone if he carries on like this. His friends are getting pretty fed up of him already. He has a lot of maturing to do, and I hope that one day he grows up and realises what a jerk he's been. But until then, I don't want to be around him. As long as I have Knuckles, Shadow and our Thursday night cocktails, I'm happy."

"Our Thursday night cocktails!" Amy recalled. "God, you have no idea how much I've missed those. I've been totally lost without your advice. Trying to attract a man is one thing, but actually dating one is a whole other ball game. I need to ask you about…"

Amy could hear Shadow moving around inside the apartment. She lowered her voice and leaned in close to Rouge.

"I need to ask you about sex," Amy hissed.

"Sex?"

"SHH!"

Rouge blinked at her in confusion. "Why do you need my advice? Didn't you have sex with Sonic?"

Amy shook her head. "Nope. He tried, but I just felt super uncomfortable about it."

"Figures," Rouge shrugged. "Your body knows when something isn't right. But what about Shadow? I asked him about it, but he won't tell me anything. He just says it's none of my business."

"No, we haven't slept together yet," Amy whispered. "He said he wants to wait until we get to know each other better."

"Well, that explains why he's still jerking off like crazy," Rouge remarked drily. "I'm not really surprised, though. I know Shadow, and I'm pretty sure he's trying to make sure he doesn't hurt you. He probably wants to make sure he's having sex with you for the right reasons and not just because he's feeling horny or lonely or whatever. He really beat himself up after he did the no-pants dance with that echidna girl."

"Shadow told you about that?"

"No," Rouge shrugged, "Knuckles did. He nearly knocked Shadow out when he found out Shadow had nailed his cousin, until I reminded Knuckles that it is literally none of his business. Anyway, what did you want to ask?"

She hesitated.

"Okay, don't laugh, but…" Amy bit her lip nervously. "What does sex feel like? I've heard it can hurt the first time you do it, and I don't want any nasty surprises when it eventually happens with Shadow."

"Hmm." Rouge placed her finger on her chin thoughtfully. "I guess you could say it feels… cosy."

"Cosy?" Amy exclaimed.

This was not the answer Amy was expecting. She thought back to how she felt around Shadow sometimes – the unfamiliar tightness in her lower belly whenever he kissed her, the aching she felt down there whenever he pressed himself against her. Nothing about that screamed cosy.

"Yeah," Rouge shrugged. "It's cosy. I can't really explain it. You'll understand when it happens, though."

"Okay, one more thing," Amy pressed hurriedly. "Do you have any sex tips? Because I don't want Shadow to think I'm a total inexperienced dork. Do I need to twerk on his –"

Amy couldn't say any more, because Shadow had appeared in the doorway to the terrace, a scowl on his face.

"Are you two going to be yapping for much longer, or can I have my girlfriend back now?" he said frostily.

"Oh, don't let me keep you," Rouge replied airily, rising to her feet. "I don't want to interrupt your evening. I'm sure you two are going to be very… busy. Doing lots of… things."

Shadow's eyes widened and his muzzle flushed red. "W-We're just going to watch a movie!"

"Oh, that old chestnut," Rouge winked. "Alright, fine! I'm going to bed. And just to let you know, I'm going to be wearing my headphones and listening to music at a very loud volume."

She sauntered away, lifting her hand in a wave.

"See you on Thursday for our cocktails, Amy!" Rouge called cheerfully. "Goodnight! Have fun! The condoms are in the top drawer of the kitchen."

"ROUGE!"

"Okay, I really am going now. Ciao!"

Rouge left. Amy and Shadow lay on the sofa and began to watch a movie but Amy was barely paying attention. Rouge had not really answered Amy's question, and she was struggling to make sense of the overwhelming and unfamiliar new feelings she was increasingly experiencing around Shadow. The television droned on, a low indiscernible hum compared to the more insistent prominence of Amy's thoughts.

It was dark: the only light in the room came from the flickering TV. Amy felt, rather than saw, Shadow turn to her.

"Amy, what's wrong?" He could read her so well.

"Nothing," she lied.

Now Shadow shifted until he was leaning over her, staring her in the face. "Don't lie to me," he growled. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing, it's just…" She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling, frowning. "Shadow, what does sex feel like?"

Shadow's eyes widened. He clambered up into a sitting position. She could not see properly in the half-light but she was sure that his muzzle had reddened.

"Sorry," she added quickly. "It's just… it feels like there's this whole other world that everyone's experienced in some way except for me. You've done it before. I know Rouge and Knuckles have at least slept with each other. I don't know about Blaze and Silver, but if they're engaged and living together then I'm assuming they probably have, unless they're waiting for marriage or something."

There was a pause. Then Shadow sighed and leant back until his head rested on the back of the sofa. "Do you really want to know?"

Amy clambered onto her side, her eyes wide. "Yes!"

Shadow sighed again. He closed his eyes. "It feels amazing," he said.

Now this surprised Amy. "But I thought you said you felt awful when you slept with Knuckles' cousin that time."

"I felt awful afterwards. When I finished and my mind finally cleared, I felt disgusted with myself – with what I had just done. But it felt good when I was doing it. Really good."

Amy could not help the twinge of longing that stirred in her belly. Even if it was with someone else, the thought of Shadow having sex was arousing to her.

Shadow had noticed, even though Amy thought she had managed to conceal her dark feelings. He could read her so well.

There was another pause. Then he cast a sidelong glance at her.

"If you like," he said quietly, "I can show you how it feels, a little."

Amy's breath caught in her throat. "I thought you said you wanted to wait before we – I thought you wanted to wait," she finished dumbly.

"We don't have to go all the way. We can just… explore a little. But only if you want to, Amy," he added, taking her face in his hands. He pressed a kiss against her forehead. "I'm happy to be led by whatever you feel comfortable with."

Amy's heart was racing in her chest. Shadow had told her that he wanted to wait before they slept together, so she hadn't been expecting anything to happen for some time. She had wanted to speak to Rouge first. But now an offer had unexpectedly been presented to her, like some forbidden fruit, ripe and sweet and inviting. She need only reach out and take it.

She felt woefully underprepared. Yet her desire remained coiled in her belly, desperate to be sprung .

"Okay," she whispered.

Shadow exhaled. "Come here, then, Amy," he said. His voice was thick.

She crawled, uncertainly, over to Shadow. He lifted her easily by her waist and settled her on his lap, so that they were both facing the same way with her back pressed up against his chest. She could feel him stiffening beneath her, his hardening member dangerously close to her flower, only the thin cotton of her panties between them. He was breathing heavily, almost raggedly.

"Amy," he murmured in her ear. "Amy, Amy, Amy."

He placed his hands on her then, and his touch was almost electrifying – she had not realised how tightly wound her body had become, how desperate for touch. His hands explored the curves of her waist and hips before coming up to find her breasts. His thumbs brushed lightly over her nipples – it was only a small action but it was enough to make Amy arch her back in eagerness for his touch, a small mewl caught in the back of her throat.

"You're so beautiful, Amy," he said softly, almost half to himself. "So perfect."

Then Shadow's hand moved to the waistband of her panties.

"Open your legs for me a little," he breathed.

She did as he asked.

And then Shadow's hand was dipping beneath the waistband of her panties. His fingers brushed her entrance and Amy was surprised at the slick wetness that was already gathered here. He made his way up through her folds until he found the gentle nub of her clitoris. And then Amy gasped as Shadow pressed down on the engorged flesh there.

"Oh," she exhaled. "Oh."

The pleasure was immediate and destabilising. It was unlike anything she had experienced before. Just that little act of Shadow's fingers, there, sent shockwaves through her body.

"Do you like that?" Shadow whispered in her ear.

She was almost too breathless to respond properly. "Y-Yes."

This answer seemed to satisfy Shadow and he began to work gentle circles on her nub. The pleasure returned, even more intense than before – now Amy writhed and whimpered, the unfamiliar pleasure unbearable. Her entrance seemed to throb and constrict, grasping at something that wasn't there.

"Shadow…" she pleaded.

"I know, baby," he murmured back, "I know."

And then Shadow slipped a digit into Amy's entrance – just the tip – her entrance clenched deliciously around his finger as he traced lazy circles on her clit with his other hand – and now the pleasure was too much and Amy couldn't help the moan that escaped her mouth. Shadow gave a low growl of satisfaction, as if the sound of her mewling was almost physically pleasurable to him; she felt his member twitch beneath her. "How's that?"

"Good," Amy whimpered, unable to say anything more intelligible. "Like, really, really good."

Shadow seemed to like this answer – he quickened his movements, applying a little more pressure with his fingers. Amy squirmed under his touch, subconsciously trying to bring Shadow's fingers deeper into her aching flesh. Her pleasure was quickly mounting – she could feel it peaking higher and higher, becoming almost intolerable… "Hah…"

His breath tickled her ear when he said, "Wishing you had stayed with Sonic?"

"No!" Amy gasped.

"Then say it," he said, his voice suddenly savage. "Tell me who you want."

"You!" Amy pleaded – she was on the cusp and desperate for release.

"Say my name," he snarled.

"Shadow."

She heard Shadow utter a low, guttural groan and roll his hips into her. "Again."

"Shadow."

He worked furious circles on her throbbing clit. His finger pumped in and out of her soaking core. She rolled her eyes back…

"Again."

"SHADOW," Amy cried out – and then she was falling apart in his hands, trembling uncontrollably as waves and waves of sweet pleasure rolled through her body. She could feel her walls constrict and loosen and constrict again, sucking sloppily at his fingers which were already slick with her own juices. Her own aroma wafted dizzyingly around her head like fumes of perfume, the sharp tang of sweat mingled with something sweet and delectable underneath that.

And then Shadow had her head in his hands and he was peppering her with kisses.

"Good girl, Amy," he was murmuring, "you've been such a good girl…"

And Amy could only lie back, her breaths coming out in ragged gasps, wondering what kind of strange new world Shadow had introduced her to.