A/N: I was thinking about Starlight Guardian Indigo a lot lately and about how much she means to me, so I wrote this fic for her.

It was a cool Friday afternoon at Rouge the Bat's mansion, and Shadow the Hedgehog was in his bedroom, rocking out to his favorite Voron Vikings album: Horns of War. Currently, the album was playing the song "Brutal Grounds". While Shadow appreciated pretty much any variety of metal, the Voron Vikings were one of his top favorite bands due to their speed, hardness, heaviness, balls-out aggression and irreverent lyrics. In fact, for him, they were second only to Iron Maiden. Overall, everything was awesome. Pretty much nothing could disrupt his speed metal session…that is, until his Hedgehog Sense told him that somebody was coming, and he paused the CD just as there was knocking on the door.

"Coming!"

Shadow opened the door, and…

"Hey Shadow!"

Shadow's eyes widened as his smile beamed brightly. "VENUS!"

Venus the Hedgehog was a gray hedgehog who looked up to Shadow as an adopted brother. Both of them eagerly gave each other a big hug, holding on for at least half a minute before letting go.

"Please, come on in!"

Shadow let Venus into his room, and he closed the door behind her.

"So, what are you up to?" asked Venus.

"Oh, I was just listening to some of my favorite music when you arrived.

"Hm? Which band were you listening to?"

Shadow walked over to the record player combo. "Ever heard of a band called the Voron Vikings?"

Venus shook her head as she followed Shadow. "I can't say I do."

Shadow stopped. "They're one of the best heavy metal bands in existence."

Venus stroked her chin. "Well, I don't listen to a lot of metal, but I'll listen to them."

Shadow smiled. "OK."

Shadow resumed the song and continued rocking out. Venus, however, was less than impressed and covered her ears:

"Shadow, what is this awful noise!?"

"What's wrong, you don't like speed metal!?"

"Please, turn it off! My ears are bleeding!"

Shadow continued rocking out. "I'm sorry, I can't hear you over how awesome this music is!"

"SHADOW!"

Despite being assaulted by the aggressive triple-guitar attack of the VVs, Venus managed to brave the brutal speed metal long enough to stop the song, much to Shadow's chagrin:

"Venus, why did you stop that? I was enjoying that!"

Venus frowned. "Well, some of us prefer actual music to…whatever that head-exploding stuff was!"

Shadow crossed his arms. "Well excuse me for wanting to share something good with one of the kindest, most beautiful girls in the world."

Venus stared at Shadow briefly, but then burst out laughing:

"Oh you!"

Shadow smiled. "Glad you're amused. Now, if you don't mind, why don't we sit down on my bed together?"

"OK!"

Shadow and Venus sat down next to each other on his bed.

"So, what's on your mind?" asked Venus.

"So, I've been thinking about you a lot lately, and I can't tell you how grateful I am to have met you. You'll never replace Rouge, or Amy, or especially Maria, but you mean so much to me. Having you as my sister makes life that much better. I love you more than most people."

Venus smiled. "Awww! Shadow, you're so sweet!"

Venus gave Shadow a big hug, and as he did with any of his favorite girls, he happily returned the gesture. Even if she could never replace any of the three he mentioned earlier, he still valued her very much. She'd helped him get through some hard times, just as he'd helped her navigate some of her own mental health issues. Knowing that it was because of what he did that he saved her life, it made him want to be with her forever and ever. The fact that she was so soft, warm and cuddly, combined with the fact that she smelled like a field of flowers on a warm spring day made him want to continue holding her.

Similarly, Venus didn't want to let go of Shadow. Having been through a rough childhood with abusive parents, not to mention having dated a guy who was abusive to her, the Ultimate Life Form meant a lot to her, being the first guy who never judged her, never dismissed her troubles as trivial, and never discriminated against her just for being a girl. He may not have been her boyfriend, but he was her BFF, and she loved him very much and would do anything for him, and giving him a hug made her feel very safe and secure. Given how cozy and safe everything felt right now, she didn't want to let go. However, after an eternity had passed, she did end up letting go, albeit not without a smile on her face.

"I love you, Shadow."

"I love you too, Venus."

Venus put her hand on Shadow's shoulder. "So, what do you wanna do now?"

"Why don't we watch a movie together? I'll let you pick."

"OK!"

Venus followed Shadow downstairs to the living room, happy and grateful to have an adopted brother like him.

NOTE: Venus the Hedgehog was originally created by Greybullet/SaberA2/RedHadal.

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.