A/N: Hi everyone! The below is the mature version of Chapter 15 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 15

Amy's Birthday

The months rolled into May, sped along by Amy's dates with Shadow and her Thursday night cocktails with Rouge. It was Amy's birthday in May, so she decided to invite her friends for a small dinner party at her apartment. After much hesitation, Amy decided not to extend an invitation to Sonic. She wondered if she was being unfair by leaving him out, but she simply didn't feel comfortable having him there. Not only had they broken up after he treated her poorly but, more importantly, Amy knew that Shadow wouldn't be able to enjoy himself fully while Sonic was there. Like Rouge, she wasn't prepared to sacrifice Shadow's happiness to spare Sonic's feelings. Everyone accepted the invitation except Tails; he was Sonic's best friend so Amy reasoned that he wouldn't want to come if Sonic wasn't there.

Shadow arrived at Amy's apartment on the morning of her birthday. The dinner party wasn't until the evening, but Shadow had wanted to spend some time together one-on-one to celebrate her birthday before everyone else arrived.

When she opened the door she found Shadow clutching a small, tasteful bouquet of pale pink roses.

"Are these for me?" Amy squealed excitedly, taking the bouquet. "How did you know pink roses are my favourite?"

Shadow looked embarrassed. "It wasn't hard to figure out," he mumbled. "You have vases of pink flowers all over your apartment."

"Thanks, I love them!"

Amy trotted happily to her bedroom to place the roses in the empty vase she had there, with Shadow following close behind.

"That's not all," Shadow said gruffly. "Here. Happy birthday."

It was then that Amy realised Shadow had something else in his hand: a small, unassuming brown envelope. She took it curiously. Dear Amy, it read in Shadow's familiar neat handwriting, Happy birthday. Love, Shadow.

Must just be a birthday card, Amy thought.

She tore open the envelope and shook out the contents. Inside were two shimmering slips of paper that said 'THE ERAS TOUR' in bold black letters.

Her breath caught in her throat. Shadow had given her two concert tickets to her favourite artist.

"Shadow," she breathed, "is this..?"

"Yes," he said immediately.

She stroked the shiny silver paper gently with her thumb, as if she couldn't believe they were real. She had wanted to see her favourite artist since forever, but tickets were difficult to come by and ridiculously expensive even if you could get your hands on them. The knowledge that someone – that Shadow – loved her so much that he was willing to go to such lengths to make her happy was nearly overwhelming.

"I don't even know what to say," Amy whispered. "This is the best birthday present anyone has ever given to me."

Shadow looked away, his muzzle flaming. "It's a present for me, too," he growled.

Amy wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you, Shadow."

She kissed him. It was only supposed to be a light peck and she was startled when Shadow responded with unexpected hunger, gripping her face with his hand and bringing it up so he could kiss her passionately. The drawer she had placed the vase of roses on clattered noisily as Shadow pinned her up against it with his body, and he moaned huskily into her mouth as her hips pressed up against his. She could feel his member already stiffening against her belly.

Amy could feel her own desire rousing in response, but she pushed it away. Things were accelerating quickly and she was conscious that Shadow had wanted to wait.

"Shadow, I thought you wanted to –"

"I can't," he murmured into her neck. "I can't control myself any longer. I need to be inside you, now."

Desire pooled in her abdomen as she took in the implication of Shadow's words. He carried her to the bed and wasted no time in hooking his fingers around her panties and sliding them off from underneath her dress. He hoisted her skirts up around her waist.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted this," he breathed in her ear.

Amy blushed. "We've only been dating for a few months."

"You think I've only wanted this since we began dating?" His voice was a low, lusty growl. "Do you have any idea how long I've had to watch you dance around in your little skirts, trying to control myself while I want nothing more except to bend you over and fill you with my hot cum? Do you know how many times I've pleasured myself thinking of you, imagining you screaming my name as I fuck you over and over?"

Her heart fluttered. "That time I caught you masturbating on vacation…"

"You were wearing that little red bikini. Fuck."

Shadow bucked his hips against her then; his member slid through her already-slick folds, rolling deliciously over her aching clitoris.

His lips went to her neck and then her breasts; he pulled her top down until her breasts spilled out into the open, her nipples already hardening in the cool air. He buried his face in them, kissing and pulling at one nipple with his mouth, rolling and tweaking the other between his fingers. Amy let out a soft, sweet moan, arching her back in pleasure. His cock was rubbing agonisingly over her needy, throbbing clit as he moved, sending spasms of pleasure through her body; she squirmed, trying to increase the pressure, desperately hoping to inch closer to release. "Mm – hah…"

His tip was now dangerously close to her entrance and she realised that she needed him – she needed to be filled. Shadow took her face in his hands and met her gaze, his red eyes burning with lust and devotion. There was a wordless question there.

Amy gave the tiniest of nods, and Shadow pushed the head of his cock through her folds. Amy gasped as his throbbing member begin to penetrate her.

"Will it hurt?" she asked breathlessly.

"Yes," he said. He leant down and kissed her, his tip still inside her. "But we can go as slow as you want until you feel comfortable. This is the only time I will ever hurt you, Amy."

He gave a sharp thrust – Amy inhaled sharply at the pinch of pain – and then Shadow was inside her and slowly burying himself inside her hot, creamy core. He paused, allowing her body to adjust to the feel of him inside her, to this new unfamiliar sensation of being filled. He was exhaling heavily and she could see a bead of sweat rolling down towards his brow; and Amy realised just how much effort it was taking him to resist the urge to pump into her.

Finally, he began moving inside her. Amy's eyes rolled back as she was filled up with his throbbing member, pleasure dancing precariously with pain as her walls stretched to make room for his size.

"Good girl," he murmured. "You're taking me so well."

He pushed deeper into her.

"Mmmph," she whimpered. "Shadow – I can't – it's too big…"

For a moment she thought that Shadow had not heard her; then, with obvious effort, he slowed his movements and came to a stop. When he pulled out of her she saw that his member was coated with a creamy white substance.

Shadow rolled onto his back and pulled her on top of him, his hands gripping her hips.

"Let's try this," he breathed. "It'll be easier for you this way."

Shadow guided his member towards her core. Amy lowered herself onto it slowly, only allowing herself to take more of him once she felt comfortable. Shadow was right – this was better – now she could control the speed and intensity of his thrusts.

"Lean back a little," Shadow was murmuring, guiding her hips gently with his hands. He was leaning back, his eyes closed, face contorted in pleasure. "Move like this. That's it – good girl."

Amy was bouncing on his cock now, her breasts bouncing with her, her head thrown back and her eyes closed as pleasure began to overtake her body. Her clit was bumping deliciously up against him with each bounce, bringing her closer and closer to the edge – and when Shadow began to circle it with his thumb, she couldn't help the moan that slipped out of her parted lips. She wriggled her hips, trying to get deeper, trying to take more of him. It felt so good – her mind was totally consumed by his cock – she bounced and moaned – up, down, and around – up, down and around…

"Shadow," she panted. "Shadow."

Shadow was no longer content to sit and let her ride – now he grabbed her hips and thrust savagely into her, his teeth gritted. "Come for me, Amy."

"Oh, Shadow," she moaned, "I'm – ah – I'm cumming!"

Her eyes rolled back as she climaxed, waves of pleasure crashing through her with each vicious thrust from Shadow – she felt her walls spasm and clench around his hardened member, trying to milk him dry – the sloppy noise of him fucking her was drowned out by her inexorable moans as she came all over his cock…

It seemed to drive Shadow crazy and before Amy could even do anything she was on her back again. Shadow was hunched over her, grunting as he pumped into her relentlessly.

"Fuck, Amy," he hissed. "You're so tight. Fuck."

His thrusts became more urgent, his frustration evident in his movements. His grunts became more uncontrolled. Then his breath seemed to catch in his throat – and he let out a long groan and emptied himself inside her, his movements slowing to a grind as he drew out his release. After one or two more strokes he halted, his breathing ragged, his member still inside Amy.

They stayed that way for a moment. Then Shadow rested his forehead against hers and stared into her eyes.

Finally, Amy understood what Rouge meant when she said that sex felt cosy.

"I love you, Amy," he whispered.

"I love you too, Shadow."

She meant it, too.

He slowly pulled out of her. His semen began to leak out of her – Amy panicked but Shadow was there, hushing her in soft soothing tones, cleaning her up gently with tissues. Amy glanced down at the bodily fluids that had spilt a little onto the bedsheets – she noticed one or two drops of blood – and felt embarrassed.

"Sorry," she said bashfully. "Is this really gross for you?"

Shadow knelt over her and took her face gently in his hands, a small smile on his muzzle.

"No, not at all," he told her gently. "In fact, you look so beautiful right now – all flushed and filled with my seed."

"But it seems so… icky."

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "What we've just done is the most natural thing in the world," he said softly. "And I say that as someone who was made in a lab."

He lay down on the bed and pulled her closer, wrapping an arm around her. Amy rested her head on his chest, feeling his white chest fur tickle her nose.

"Did it feel… different compared to last time?" Amy asked hesitantly. "Compared to that echidna girl, I mean."

"So different," he murmured into her quills. "This time, it didn't just feel like I was having sex. It felt like – like I was making love."

"Really?"

"Mm," he nodded. "I'm glad we waited, Amy, even if I lost control a little towards the end. I feel very close to you right now. In fact… there's something I wanted to ask you."

Amy rolled onto her side so she could look at him better. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine," he said, placing another kiss on her nose – god, Shadow was being so affectionate today – "but… I want you to move in with me, Amy."

Amy blinked at him, speechless.

"I know it's sudden," he added. "But I wouldn't say this to you unless I meant it, Amy. I love spending time with you, but each time I have to leave you behind and return to Rouge's apartment I feel… empty. Rouge's apartment isn't my home anymore, Amy: you are."

Amy traced her finger on his chest fur thoughtfully. "Are you thinking of asking Rouge to let me live with you, too?" That would admittedly be kind of fun, Amy thought – her, her best friend and her boyfriend, all together in one house.

But Shadow immediately shook his head. "No," he said. "I'm grateful to Rouge for giving me somewhere to stay, but that apartment is her home, not mine."

Amy glanced at him playfully. "So you're inviting yourself to move in to my apartment instead."

His mouth twitched in a smirk. "Somehow I don't think I'd match your pretty pink décor," he remarked. "No, I'd want us to go somewhere new, Amy – somewhere we can make a home together."

Amy's heart raced. She couldn't remember how many times she had wished for someone to share her empty, silent apartment with – how envious she'd felt of couples like Blaze and Silver, with their matching towels and their walls of memories.

"You don't need to give an answer right now," he said, kissing the top of her head. "Just think about it, okay?"

They spent the rest of the day sprawled lazily on the bed, cuddling. Amy dozed in and out of sleep, soothed by the feel of his strong arms around her; in her fleeting moments of consciousness she was aware of Shadow stroking her quills.

Amy sighed when the day began to creep into the late afternoon. She had been looking forward to seeing her friends, and she knew she'd have a good time once they finally arrived. But right now, all she wanted was to stay here, in Shadow's arms, forever.

"I suppose I'd better start getting ready," she mumbled reluctantly. "Come on, let's go check on the food."

Amy had prepared a bourguignon that morning – basically a French stew that sounded sufficiently fancy and impressive enough for a dinner party – and had left it simmering over the stove on a low heat all day. She was alarmed when she went into the kitchen and found the place filled with thick grey smoke, apparently coming from the small gap between the pot and the lid. A foul odour wafted unpleasantly throughout the room.

Amy opened the kitchen window as nonchalantly as she could.

"I'm sure it's coming along great," she said optimistically.

She took off the lid – a puff of dark grey smoke blew in her face – and frowned at the black sludge inside. It looked vaguely like a stew this morning, she thought miserably. She stirred the bourguignon half-heartedly, scooping up a spoonful of what might have been carrot to try before quickly changing her mind.

"Um, Shadow," she said quickly, "why don't you try it? I, um, don't want to ruin my appetite."

"Fine," he growled.

He ate a spoonful of the stew. His eyes widened and he grimaced, as if experiencing physical pain.

"Amy," he growled, "this meal is unworthy of the Ultimate Lifeform."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means it's awful."

"Oh, come on. It can't be that bad."

She ate a spoonful of the bourguignon. Okay, never mind – it really was that bad.

"Oh no," she whined. "What am I going to do? I can't serve that at my dinner party! But I don't have time to get ready and make something new – people will be here soon! Even if I did have time to make a new meal, it'll probably just turn out bad again."

She sunk her head in her hands.

"Oh, my birthday dinner is going to be a disaster."

Shadow placed a hand on her shoulder. "Look," he growled, "why don't you just relax and get ready for the dinner party, and I'll make us dinner? Have a long shower, put your makeup on, take a walk around the block with a coffee. I'll pay."

Amy blinked up at him, her ears pricking hopefully. Shadow was a really good cook, after all. "Really? You mean it?"

"Really," he said. "Go on – get out of here. You shouldn't be within ten miles of a kitchen for the sake of everyone's safety."

"Okay," Amy agreed happily, giving him a quick squeeze. "Thanks, Shadow!"

So Amy took a long shower while Shadow rustled something up in the kitchen, enjoying the gentle caress of the hot steam against her fur. She stung a little down there from their intercourse, but she otherwise felt fine. She washed her quills before applying a leave-in conditioner; then while that was working she washed her body; then she used an exfoliating scrub designed to tease out loose fur and quills; then finally she dabbed a moisturising face cream to her cheeks. She was feeling decidedly relaxed when she finally stepped out of the shower nearly forty minutes later. There really was nothing like an 'everything' shower.

She dried herself and clipped her claws before shimmying into a dress and applying a fresh face of makeup. Then she put on the ruby necklace Shadow had bought her. When she finally returned to the kitchen, she found Shadow hunched over the kitchen counter, adding the finishing touches to the food. He had tossed out the French theme in favour of Italian and made a pizza – no ordinary takeout-style dish but a rectangular tray-baked pizza with fresh tomato, mozzarella and basil to garnish. The dough was homemade, deliciously charred at the edges – Amy could see dustings of white flour on his black fur. On the side he'd made a garden salad, rocket and tomato tossed amongst great lashings of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

"Wow," Amy breathed. "Shadow, this looks amazing. It smells amazing."

He wiped his brow, smearing flour on his forehead. "It was nothing," he said gruffly.

He tried to put his arms around Amy, but she delicately sidestepped him. "Flour," she explained apologetically.

"Oh – right. I'd better go and clean up. Can you set the table?"

"Sure!"

While Shadow rinsed the flour out of his fur, Amy placed the food on her dining table before laying out the silverware. She was just lighting some candles when her doorbell rang – the first guests had arrived.

It was Silver and Blaze. They wished her a happy birthday before handing her a gift bag: they'd bought her a house plant and a bottle of wine apparently made from Blaze's family vineyard in the Sol Dimension. Rouge followed soon after, shimmying into Amy's apartment in a rush of perfume and glitter.

"Happy birthday, gorgeous!" Rouge announced, pulling Amy into a hug. "May you continue to age like a fine wine."

"Thanks, Rouge. Where's Knuckles? I thought he was coming tonight."

"Oh, he's just back there," Rouge said carelessly, gesturing over her shoulder to the doorway. "I think he had a little trouble getting up the stairs."

Moments later Knuckles appeared. He was struggling under the weight of a mountain of presents.

"Thanks, hon," Rouge called. "Just leave them over there, would you?"

Shadow nodded at Rouge in greeting. He seemed alarmed when she responded by pulling him into a hug, too.

"Hey, there's my handsome little grumpy-hog!" she said, ruffling his quills affectionately. "You know, you're looking especially chipper today. Being in a relationship suits you."

"Please never do this again," Shadow replied. His voice was impassive, but Amy understood Shadow well enough now to know that he held Rouge in very high regard.

Amy poured each of her friends a glass of wine while they took their seats at the table. They helped themselves to the pizza and salad – Silver's eyes nearly bulged out of their head when he took a bite.

"Amy, this food is amazing," he breathed. "We had no idea you were such a talented cook!"

Amy caught Shadow's eye and he gave a small smirk – and Amy loved that for a moment, even in a room full of other people, the two of them shared a small secret, a little inside joke that nobody else knew except them.

The wine and conversation flowed and before long Amy was beginning to really enjoy herself. She noticed that Shadow seemed a little more talkative than usual – he made a polite if gruff enquiry to Blaze about her wedding and compared cars with Silver. His body language seemed different, too – instead of the rigid, angry posture she had come to associate with Shadow, he seemed quietly calm.

Shadow was just clearing their plates when there was a knock at the door. The conversation ceased and her friends turned towards the source of the noise.

Amy frowned. "Who could that be?"

Blaze cocked her head to the side. "Are you expecting anyone else, Amy?"

"No," Amy replied, puzzled. "Wait there – I'll go see who it is."

Amy rose from the table and made her way curiously to the door. She vaguely wondered if perhaps Shadow had ordered some kind of surprise flower delivery for her birthday, or if Rouge had booked a stripper as a joke or something.

She opened the door and couldn't help the gasp that escaped her lips.

It was Sonic.

He was holding a bouquet of red roses and had a silly grin plastered on his face.

"Didn't think I'd forget your birthday," he said, "did you, Ames?"

Shadow heard her gasp and was immediately by her side. "Amy, what's wrong?" he demanded in a low growl.

Then he noticed Sonic, and his body language shifted dramatically. His body tensed and his jaw hardened. His hands balled into fists, as if in anticipation of a fight. His red eyes flashed with barely disguised loathing. And just then Amy felt sad that Shadow, who until now had been calm and relaxed and happy, had recoiled into this threatened, angry creature, like a snake about to strike.

"Looks like you forgot to invite me to the party," Sonic went on cheerfully, making his way uninvited into Amy's apartment. "What's cooking?"

Amy was too stunned to say or do anything, but Shadow took a threatening step forward.

"You aren't invited," he growled, his voice dangerously low. "Leave."

"Wha – Not invited?" Sonic exclaimed in mock incredulity. "Nah, I find that hard to believe. I mean, surely you wouldn't all hang out without me, right?"

Sonic peered over Amy's shoulder to the dining table, where the rest of the group were sitting. Silver and Blaze looked awkward. Knuckles had ducked behind the candlesticks on the table, his hands on his head, looking utterly mortified. Rouge was the only person on the table to meet Sonic's gaze squarely. She wiggled her fingers at him in a wave.

"Besides," Sonic went on, "Amy and I are still best pals. Right, Ames?"

Sonic tried to put his arm around her but Amy flinched away. She swallowed and tried to still her heart which was pounding furiously in her chest. "What do you want, Sonic?"

The blue hedgehog rolled his shoulders in a shrug. "I miss you, Ames," he said carelessly. "Thought I'd drop by and see how you were doing. Ask if maybe you wanted to catch a movie."

Shadow stepped forward and wrapped his arm protectively around Amy's waist. When he spoke, his voice was hard.

"She doesn't want to go to the movies with you, faker."

Sonic's eyes glittered impishly – he had managed to get a rise out of Shadow. "Funny," he said. "I thought I asked Amy."

Before, Amy would have jumped at the opportunity to go to the movies with Sonic. Now, the prospect held no appeal to her at all. She thought back to all the time she had spent with Shadow – the gentle kisses when he thought no-one was looking, the thought-out dates he had planned and paid for, the rich laughter as they simply enjoyed one another's company – and realised she could not think of anything worse than going back to the selfish, inconsiderate blue hedgehog she had once thought she loved.

"Thank you, Sonic," Amy said firmly, "but Shadow's right."

A flash of jealously crossed Sonic's face.

"So it's true," he said softly. He was still grinning, but Amy noticed that his smile didn't quite meet his eyes. "I heard you rebounded onto Shadow after we broke up, but I didn't want to believe it. I mean, talk about sloppy seconds, right?"

Amy saw Shadow's eyes flash. His ears were flat against his head and his lips were drawn back in a snarl. She knew that he was trying – and struggling – to refrain from punching Sonic's lights out.

She needed to end this, now.

"Sonic," she said flatly, "please leave."

But Sonic was no longer looking at her; his gaze was fixed on Shadow. The two hedgehogs stood there for a moment, their stances tense and alert as if they might jump into battle at any moment. The atmosphere was so stifling that Amy felt she could cut it with a knife.

Finally, Sonic turned to Amy. "Alright, I'm going," he relented. "But let me just drop off these roses, okay?"

Before Amy could do anything, Sonic was whizzing at supersonic speed to her bedroom, towards the same vase she'd put Shadow's flowers in earlier.

"Sonic, no –"

It was too late – Sonic had opened the door to her bedroom. And Amy could only watch as his eyes took in the undeniable evidence of their earlier copulation – the used tissues, the blood and semen on the bedsheets, the smell of sex still lingering heavily in the air. Understanding dawned on his face.

Oh dear, Amy thought. Oh dear.

"Oh, I get it," Sonic said slowly. "I see what's happened here."

He tossed the roses carelessly on the bed. Then he turned to face Shadow.

"Look, Shadow," he said suddenly. "What do you say we put all this behind us, huh? Let's be friends."

Amy frowned. She wanted to believe that Sonic was genuine – perhaps, now he knew Shadow and Amy were serious, he'd get over his stupid obsession with competing for her. But something in his eyes gave Amy pause. And Shadow had seen it too – his eyes were narrowed, his expression guarded.

"After all," Sonic went on in a low voice, a grin widening across his muzzle, "we don't need to fight anymore. You won. You fucked Amy. So you can give her back now you're done with her."

The rage that Shadow had hitherto been struggling to contain finally spilled over. He let out a roar of pure fury and drew his fist back in a punch. Sonic zipped out of the way at supersonic speed; Shadow's fist went through the wall.

He rounded on Sonic but Amy was there and so was Rouge; they held Shadow back while he writhed furiously, trying to get at the blue hedgehog. Sonic seemed startled to see Rouge; he began a stammering excuse.

"Oh, leave off, Sonic," she interrupted contemptuously, "I heard everything you said. I have big bat ears, remember?"

Amy was staring at Sonic in horror. What had happened between her and Shadow earlier had been something beautiful, magical. And Sonic had reduced it to something dirty.

In spite of her own disgust, she tried to calm Shadow.

"Shadow, please," she pleaded. "Ignore him – he's just trying to push your buttons."

"He disrespected you, Amy," Shadow snarled. "And I will fucking kill him before I let him speak another bad word about you."

"I know," Amy urged, "and I don't care. Please don't attack Sonic in here. It'll ruin my birthday. It'll ruin my walls."

Shadow looked at the hole he had punched in the wall. He looked at Amy. Then his gaze softened, though he was still visibly annoyed.

"Fine," he spat.

Satisfied, Amy and Rouge released him. But to their surprise, Shadow spun on his heel to face Sonic again.

"Alright, Sonic," he growled. "Outside. Now."

Sonic quirked an eyebrow.

"Outside?" he taunted. "Should I bring my duelling pistols?"

"Shadow, you said you wouldn't attack Sonic!" Amy hissed desperately.

"I said I wouldn't attack Sonic in here."

"I don't want you to attack Sonic at all!"

Rouge came to stand beside Amy. "I don't think you're talking him out of this one, hon," she drawled. "But you knew Shadow was bad at controlling his emotions when you started dating him."

"That doesn't matter!" Amy protested. "Shadow, stop."

He wavered – Sonic noticed his hesitation and seized on it.

"Damn, Amy has you well-trained," he grinned. "She must have one tight –"

Shadow lunged at Sonic. This time, his punch landed squarely on Sonic's nose.

Sonic gave a cry of pain and held his nose. Amy felt shock mingle with a brief sense of relief that at least Shadow hadn't punched another hole in the wall this time. Rouge looked impressed.

"In Shadow's defence," she said to Amy, "Sonic deserved that one."

"That hurt," Sonic said. His voice sounded nasally from how he was holding his nose. But apparently the pain was not enough to deter him, because he added, "It's adorable how protective you are over her. She really does have a tight –"

Shadow punched again but this time Sonic fled, hurtling out of the door to the apartment in a flash of blue. Shadow tore after him, hot on his heels. There was the jumbled clatter of cutlery and footsteps as everyone else in the apartment – Amy, Rouge, Knuckles, Blaze and Silver – rushed down the stairs of the communal area in pursuit of the two hedgehogs.

Sonic and Shadow were fighting in the street. They spin-dashed off of one another, blue against red, and writhed about in a flurry of kicks and punches. Amy saw Sonic kick Shadow painfully in the face, knocking out one of his fangs; Shadow retaliated by grasping a fistful of Sonic's quills and slamming his head down on the curb.

Blaze and Silver watched, horrified. Knuckles and Rouge looked like they were enjoying it immensely.

"My money's on Shadow," she heard Rouge remark to Knuckles.

"No way," Knuckles scoffed. "I've fought Sonic before and he's way tougher than he looks."

"Alright, but if Sonic loses then you have to let me keep the Master Emerald for a week."

"Deal." Amy heard Knuckles raise his voice: "On your feet, Sonic!"

"Clobber him, Shadow!" Rouge called.

Rouge and Knuckles weren't the only ones watching: a small crowd had now flocked around Sonic and Shadow to watch the fight.

"No way, is that Sonic the Hedgehog?"

"It's Sonic!"

"And look, there's his girlfriend – the pink hedgehog."

"His ex-girlfriend, I heard."

"Who's the other guy?"

"I heard his name was Terios."

"No, his name is actually Sebastian."

"His name is Shadow," Amy said, but no-one was listening – everyone was too focused on the fight.

Shadow aimed a particularly well-placed blow that sent Sonic rolling in a spin-dash across the street. Amy hoped that the fight was now over, but Sonic managed to stagger to his feet. The two hedgehogs looked at each other for a moment. Sonic was badly beaten – his eye was swollen shut and had turned a nasty purplish colour, and there was a trickle of blood from his nose to his mouth. Shadow was in better shape, though not all that much better – his body was covered in cuts and scrapes and he was breathing heavily.

In spite of his wounds, Sonic managed a wonky, cocky grin. "Feeling better now you've got that out of your system, pal?"

"I still have plenty of fight left in me," Shadow growled darkly, "if you'd like more."

Sonic shook his head. "No, I'm done. You beat me good and proper."

He wiped the blood from his muzzle and winked at Shadow.

"I take back what I said," Sonic continued. "You don't need to give Amy back. We can just share her. I'm open to threesomes."

It was the final straw for Shadow. With a roar of pure fury, he grabbed Sonic by the quills and threw him through a restaurant window.

Glass shattered with a deafening crash as Sonic was tossed backwards through the window. Amy gasped and hurried into the restaurant. Some unfortunate cat couple were now sitting with shards of glass in their ravioli.

"I am so sorry," Amy told them breathlessly, "I didn't mean to – I can pay for that."

"Are you kidding?" one of them said. "This is the most interesting Saturday night I've had all year."

"Right?" the other agreed. "Talk about dinner and a show!"

Shadow marched slowly over to Sonic, who was still laying dazed in a halo of glass. His red eyes were dark and there was green Chaos energy swirling around his hands.

But Sonic just raised his arm defensively.

"Alright," he rasped. "I'm actually done now. No, seriously. You won."

Amy strained her ears, trying to detect any hint of Sonic's usual snark in his voice – but to her surprise, Sonic sounded genuine this time.

The blue hedgehog rose unsteadily to his feet and dusted the shimmering glass dust from his fur. For the first time ever, he looked defeated.

"I'm going now," he went on. "You and Amy don't need to worry about me bothering you again."

Sonic left the restaurant, glass crunching under his shoes. Then he wandered down the street, ignoring the crowd of onlookers, and disappeared into the night.

Shadow was immediately before Amy, holding her face in his hands.

"Are you alright?" he demanded breathlessly.

Amy gazed at his bloodied, scratched-up face and noted the irony of Shadow asking if she was okay.

But he was okay. And now that she knew he was okay, her disgust at Sonic quickly gave way to irritation at Shadow.

"No – I – am – not – okay!" she exploded, swatting him with a paper menu. "This was supposed to be my birthday! And you turned it into a freaking battle of egos with Sonic!"

He met her gaze calmly. "I'm sorry to have hijacked your birthday, Amy," he said sincerely. "But I don't regret my decision to fight Sonic. I should have done that years ago."

A violent flurry of emotions – love for Shadow, indignation at Sonic, embarrassment for her friends, gratitude at how special he had made her birthday – swirled to the surface and Amy couldn't help but impulsively throw her arms around him.

"Oh, you big dummy!" she cried, holding him tightly. "I'm just glad you're okay."

He hugged her back – and despite everything that had happened, all Amy could think of was how grateful she was to have Shadow in her life.

"Well I, for one, thought this was a totally awesome birthday," Rouge said cheerfully. "Plus Knuckles now owes me one Master Emerald."

Blaze squeezed Amy's arm affectionately. "If you're okay, then we're okay," she said kindly.

"But what about Sonic?" Amy said, gazing at the street he'd disappeared down. "Do you think he'll be okay?"

Rouge placed a hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "He'll be fine," she said reassuringly. "He'll go home and lick his wounds, and with any luck he'll spend some time reflecting on how his actions got him into this situation. But it's nothing for you to be concerned about, hun."

After a barrage of apologies to the restaurant owner for breaking his window and a promise to cover the damages, Amy and the others filtered out into the street. To her surprise, Shadow began walking back up to her apartment like nothing had happened.

"Hey, where are you going?" she asked.

Shadow blinked at her. "We still haven't had dessert," he said simply.

"Great!" Rouge declared, clapping her hands together. "I was just thinking that I needed something sweet to round off the evening."

Feeling a little dazed, Amy simply followed Shadow back to her apartment. Somehow, despite all that had taken place, this had turned out to be the best birthday she'd ever had.