Sonia woke up with a yawn and with a smile on her face. Another new day, another date with Shadow! They were scheduled for their second official date. She was gonna go out again with her super duper hot crush. Sonia couldn't contain her excitement, she wanted to jump up and down and perform cartwheels. She didn't though, for she kept her self composure. She walked into her wardrobe and began to pick out an outfit.

She wore a red sleeveless shirt with a black belt and gold buckle and black skirt with matching black wedges. Her eyelashes were curled and she wore red lipstick. She also had gold studded earrings.

"Good morning, Sonic!" Sonia greeted with a smile. The blue hedgehog was lying on the couch still fast asleep. "I'll be back before the night ends, I promise! I'm going on another date with Shadow!"

"YOU'RE WHAT?!" Sonic exclaimed with a jolt. Well, at least he was awake now. However, before he could say anything, Sonia was already out the door, leaving a defeated Sonic on the couch and just covered himself with a blanket.

Sonia skipped along happily as she made her way to their next date spot; a local coffee shop! She bursted through the door and smelled that distinct coffee smell. She looked around and saw Shadow sitting at a table for two and by the window.

"Shadow?" She called out.

The black and red hedgehog was looking out through the window lost in his thoughts. He somehow managed to ignore all of the people who began to pile into the coffee shop. He snapped out of his thoughts when he spotted Sonia waving at him.

"Shadow?" Sonia called out to him. Shadow's eyes widened as he saw Sonia's outfit. Has she always had a figure before? He felt himself get red in the face. His mouth was slightly open and agape. How that black complimented Sonia's dark magenta fur complexion made Shadow's heart skip a beat.

"Sonia…" He said in her name in a flustered tone.

"Sorry about the outfit change, I… wanted to wear something different today…" She said nervously, tucking a piece of her hot pink hair away from her face.

"Don't worry about it…" Shadow began gently. "I think you look… dazzling."

"Dazzling?!" Sonia repeated, smiling widely and giggling like a madman. Several people in the shop had stared at her with a look of confusion. She blushed in embarrassment as she took her seat across from Shadow. They stared at each other for a bit.

"So… how was your day yesterday?" Sonia asked with a smile.

"It was um…." Shadow began. "An interesting day…"

"I see," Sonia nodded. "I was out doing a show!"

"I know…" Shadow responded.

"You do?" Sonia gawked.

"I mean… I knew from… Amy… because she was there… with Scourge…." Shadow answered. Sonia blinked in confusion, before she shrugged and accepted it.

"I see…" Sonia nodded once more. "I also met someone!"

"Oh… did you now…" Shadow said in a nervous tone.

"Yeah… he was really weird; he had a black fedora, trenchcoat, and sunglasses!" Sonia explained. "Then he said something about me being pretty… I hope that's something you don't mind.." She said with a slight frown at the end.

"...Oh, I don't mind at all… in fact… I think that I agree with this mysterious stranger…" Shadow said, making Sonia blush the brightest red she had ever blushed. He too also blushed in the process.

"You think I'm pretty?!" She exclaimed. The Ultimate Lifeform did not say anything but merely nodded. She smiled so brightly that Shadow's heart melted a little, but not by much though, he was still getting used to having these warm fuzzy feelings.

"...Thank you.." She smiled so warmly. It was the sweetest smile you'd ever seen. Shadow stared at her intently.

"So anyways, was that guy related to you?" Sonia asked, bringing up the subject again.

"Um…. what do you mean?" Shadow asked, trying not to sound nervous.

"He had such a gruff voice like yourself, and he was able to chaos control out of there too!" Sonia explained. "He reminded me a lot of you, so I figured that you would have to be related to him!"

Shadow looked at her, so Sonia never figured it out, huh? He sighed in relief at this. Hopefully Amy would keep her mouth shut for much longer about his secret.

"Is he your half brother?" Sonia pressed on.

"...Yes… definitely…." Shadow responded with a slow nod.

"Ooh, what's his name?!" She asked.

"...Harold…" Shadow muttered.

"Harold?" Sonia questioned. "That's all?"

"Yup!" He replied.

"I see," Sonia nodded, giggling in the process.

"...We should um… probably get our drinks now…" Shadow stated.

"Ok!" Sonia replied with a smile.

The two hogs got up and then went up to the cash register.

Unbeknownst to them however, the two were being followed! A certain blue hedgehog somewhere in the coffee shop. He was in a gardener's outfit wearing a black thick mustache.

"Do you see them, Manic?" Sonic asked in a hushed tone.

"Nope! Don't see them!" Manic's voice replied as he was disguised as a… plant?

"Drats! They were right there though!" Sonic whispered through gritted teeth.

"Why are we even following them, Sonic?" Manic asked innocuously.

A few minutes prior….

"MANIC! MANIC! WAKE UP!" Sonic shouted as he banged on his youngest brother's door.

It took a while for the neon green hedgehog to respond as Sonic heard rustling. Eventually though, Manic finally opened up his door.

"Good morning Sonic!" Manic replied with a smile. He was pretty chipper for someone who just woke up a few minutes ago.

"Morning Manic ," Sonic greeted. "YOU HAVE TO HELP ME!" He exclaimed.

"Uh huh," Manic replied back with a nod.

"Sonia's gone on another date with Shadow! And it's so soon too!" He explained in an exasperated tone.

"Oh, isn't that nice?" He asked with a smile.

"NO! IT IS NOT NICE!" Sonic exclaimed. Then an idea popped in his head as a light bulb went off. Manic noticed the lightbulb and took it and placed it in his fanny pack.

"...We have to spy on them!" Sonic declared.

"Ooh, ok!" Manic nodded.

"But we're going to need a disguise, I wouldn't want Sonia to notice us…" Sonic said with a squint, before he began to think about what the two should do….

"WHAT THE?! THEY'RE NOT HOME?!" Sonic exclaimed as he was outside of Amy's house and fell to the floor. Manic walked up to the door and read the note.

"'Out to Twinkle Park… be back later'... awww… they're on a date, that's nice!" Manic said with a smile.

"Oh man… why did they have to go on a date now…" Sonic sighed in frustration.

"Hey, there's a backside of this note!" Manic stated, showing the note to his brother.

"...'P.S., Sonic, if you're reading this, don't even think about stealing my clothes… I have a bomb strapped in the closet… Suck it!... Signed, Scourge'..." Sonic read out loud in a deadpan tone. He groaned in frustration and screamed into his hands.

"Why don't we just break and enter?" Manic asked rather innocuously.

"NO! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF AMY FOUND OUT WE BROKE IN?!" Sonic shouted.

"...I guess ya do have a point, dude!" Manic replied.

The brothers went back home, and began to dig into their Uncle Chuck's closet.

"Aha! I found one of his mustaches!" Sonic declared.

"Nice!" Manic said.

"Now where in the world could those two be…" Sonic said with a devious grin.

"Oh, they're at the coffee shop! I overheard Sonia in the morning!" Manic explained. Sonic had an evil smirk as he slid the mustache on his face.

"...We're just having some brother bonding time, Manic!" Sonic said with a grin before he pulled in plant Manic for a hug.

Although Sonic continues to look for the two hogs. Sonia and Shadow were currently at the cash register.

"...You said you wanted… what?" The cashier gawked.

"I said I wanted just the beans." Shadow answered.

"...Why?!" He exclaimed.

"Because adding water DILUTES the flavor! Adding water just makes it coffee flavored water!" Shadow explained with a frown. Sonia just blinked at him in confusion.

"...I see…" The cashier nodded, before he turned to Sonia, "And what about you, miss?"

"I'll take a coffee with a triple shot of vanilla extract, two cubes of ice, one pump of creamer, one cup of milk and surprise me on how sugary the drink should be!" Sonia explained in a fast tone, earning silence as a response.

"Did you get all that?" She asked with a grin.

"Uh huh…" The cashier replied, who looked a little disoriented. Sonia smiled back while Shadow just looked at her with a face of shock. The two went back to their table.

"...How could you order such a monstrosity?!" Shadow exclaimed.

"Whatever do you mean? I order my coffee up to my standards!" Sonia exclaimed back.

"All you ordered was diabetes in a cup! That's about as bad as what Amy orders, except hers is much more terrible!" Shadow replied.

"...ACHOO!" Amy sneezed as she was in the middle of a Twinkle Park ride, the ferris wheel to be precise.

"You ok, Pinks?!" Scourge asked as he held out with a tissue.

"Yes… I just feel like I have to kick someone's butt for insulting my coffee preferences tomorrow…" Amy said as she squinted her eyes with a slight pouty face and crossed her arms.

"Mine is not diabetes in a cup!" Sonia exclaimed, looking almost offended.

Sonic couldn't believe his eyes and he stared at the two with wide eyes. A grin grew on his face as he watched the two quarrel.

"Do you realize what this means, Manic?!" Sonic asked with a grin, poking his brother in the potted plant. The neon green spotted the magenta and black pair from where he was.

"...They're bickering…" Manic said with a slight frown as his ears drooped.

"I know!" Sonic said excitedly. "Sonia will realize just how weird Shadow is and she'll dump him! Meaning I'll never have to see the two of them together ever again!" Sonic cheered, as he envisioned a poorly drawn scene of a poorly drawn Shadow in tears as a well drawn Sonia stormed away.

"It is too! What you ordered is just… a crime against caffeine!" Shadow exclaimed.

"No, what YOU ordered in a crime against caffeine!" Sonia exclaimed with a frown. "Who orders the beans just by themselves?!"

"I do!" Shadow said with a huff. Though this time, he was all up in her face. Sonia began to giggle as she felt flustered.

The cheering that Sonic had been doing had stopped now as a record scratch was heard.

"...Why is she laughing?! Why aren't they angry at each other?!" He exclaimed.

"...What's so funny?" Shadow asked with a blush on his face.

"It's just, so funny seeing you passionate about something as trivial as coffee," Sonia said with a giggle.

"...Funny?" Shadow questioned.

"In a good way," Sonia replied with a nod.

Shadow looked at her with a mixture of being flustered and confused. Sonia thought he was… funny?

"...You think I'm… funny?" Shadow asked, not knowing what she meant.

"...I think it's kind of cute that you eat just the beans by itself…" Sonia started gently. "I've never thought of tasting coffee like that before…" She grabbed his hand. Shadow blushed, her hand was warm and gentle. It was a pleasant feeling. He didn't know how to respond. "I'm…willing to give it a try…" She said with a smile.

Shadow glanced at her ALMOST with a look of love, but he kept his composed demeanor.

"...Thank you… I suppose I'll try yours too…" He replied, taking her hand too. Sonia looked away trying to hide her blush.

"...WHAT?! IS SHE CRAZY?!" The Blue Blur shrieked. This time he had a pair of binoculars in his hands. People around him gave him a look of confusion as they looked at him.

"...No one's ever wanted to… try my coffee preference before…" He heard Shadow's voice.

"..That's because yours is absolutely vile!" Sonic muttered with a hiss as he looked at the two happy hogs.

"...Well then, let me be the first!" Sonia's voice added in. Sonic did not say anything, he buried his face onto the table.

Eventually, their drinks finally came after what felt like hours. Shadow immediately grabbed a spoon and began to munch on the beans. Everyone looked at him weirdly and began to judge him. People whispered at each other, some of which began to point and laugh at the black and red hedgehog before them. Sonia looked at everyone with a frown. She grabbed a spoon, and people then began to look at her weirdly. She bit her lip…. What would happen if more people found out she took her coffee like this? Would people still like her? Still, she held onto it and took some from his bowl. The magenta hedgehog held the spoonful up to her mouth. By now, everyone had stared at her, including Sonic and Shadow. She put the spoonful in her mouth…. At first, she was surprised by how strong the taste in her mouth was, but eventually, she came to like it, given her reaction towards the end when she swallowed the beans with a smile.

"It's so… delicious!" She exclaimed.

Everyone in the coffee shop gasped. They had never seen such a positive reaction to such a strange thing before. The black and red hedgehog stared at her… lovingly.

He couldn't deny it any longer.

Then Shadow did something that shocked Sonic, causing him to faint.

The Ultimate Lifeform picked up the magenta hedgehog by the waist and began to twirl her around. Sonia was very flustered as she tried to cover her redness with her hands, though she was admittedly very happy. Then Shadow stopped doing so and placed her next to his face and they squished faces for a bit. He then gently put her down.

"Awwwwwwwwwwww~!" Everyone in the coffee shop awed in unison, noticing the young couple. Shadow and Sonia blushed in embarrassment from this and rushed back to their seats.

Sonia took a sip of her order. When the cup had escaped her mouth, she had a bit of some whipped cream on the top of her upper lip . Shadow noticed this and picked up a napkin from his side of the table and motioned her to come closer. She did so, and he wiped it off of her. Then Sonia gave her cup to Shadow, who took it hesitantly. Shadow sipped some of her drink and was pleasantly surprised by how good it actually was.

"What do you think?" Sonia asked in an excited tone.

"...It's very sweet… but I think I could get used to it…" Shadow explained honestly.

That was all Sonia needed to hear, as she gave him a smile once more.

"...This is the worst…" Sonic groaned as he was walking. This time he had no disguise on.

"Sonia and Shadow were really nice, weren't they, Sonic?" Manic asked with a grin.

Sonic's worries had subsided when he spotted a certain yellow twin-tailed fox on a walk with a certain red echidna.

"Tails! Knuckles!' The Blue Blur called out to them. He dashed over there and gave the two a hug… much to the chagrin of the red echidna.

"Oh hey Sonic," Knuckles greeted, shoving off the blue hedgehog. "What have you been up to?"

"Listen guys, I've had the worst day possible!" Sonic exclaimed. "Sonia is dating…. Shadow!"

He didn't get a response as Tails and Knuckles only looked at each other and then back at Sonic.

"Ok." Knuckles said.

"...HOW ARE YOU OK WITH THIS?!" Sonic shouted.

"It's her life." Knuckles said with a shrug.

"B-but-" Sonic stuttered. "YOU used to date her! Isn't this weird?"

"Not really," Knuckles said with a shrug again. "It was a mutual break up anyways."

"BUT STILL! YOU DISLIKE SHADOW TOO!" Sonic exclaimed. "RIGHT?"

"...Well, I wish he would stop hurting me everytime he sees me-" Tails commented.

"And I do not care about him." Knuckles simply said.

"But he's MY rival dating MY sister!" Sonic replied.

"We know Sonic, you've been saying that for the whole of this conversation!" Knuckles said with a groan.

"Knuckles, don't be rude!" Tails exclaimed. Sonic was still freaking out.

"...Come on Sonic… maybe it won't be so bad after…" Tails began gently. "Who knows, maybe he'll stop beating me up!" He said with a slight chuckle at the end.

"...AND START BEATING UP MY SISTER?!" Sonic shrieked.

Sonic's Delusion #1:

The scene changed to an older Sonia with a sad look on her face as an angry Shadow walked in with an empty beer bottle. They both started fighting and yelling obscenities at each other. Sonic watched in horror as he was unable to do anything to help his poor little, defenseless sister from the wrath of his rival. How could Shadow do this?!

"Oh, I should have listened to my older brother who was right along…" Sonia said with a sniffle.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Shadow's voice shouted as Sonia dodged another one of his bottles.

"...Um, I don't think that's gonna happen…" Tails commented, seeing Sonic's delusion play out.

"I CAN'T LET THAT HORRIBLE FUTURE HAPPEN! I NEED TO SAVE MY BABY SISTER!" Sonic exclaimed, throwing his hands up into the air as he ran away.

Knuckles and Tails merely watched in bewilderment.

"Gee, I wonder what his problem is…" Knuckles asked naively. Tails facepalmed.

"I'm not sure… but let's just go!" Tails declared, dragging the red echidna away.

Several hours passed and it was nightfall. Shadow and Sonia were on a romantic boat ride for two. Shadow was rowing the boat while Sonia was looking off into the other direction. It was a small attraction that Sonia had found, and she grabbed the former by the hand. They were in the middle of the lake. Tiny fireflies surrounded the pair. By now, the black and red hedgehog stopped rowing the boat, leaving the pair of hedgehogs a bit far away from the other couples. Sonia stared at the fireflies. One of them landed on her finger. She placed the tiny creature in the palm of her hand and cupped it gently.

"Look Shadow!" Sonia exclaimed. The Ultimate Lifeform looked at her hands and saw the creature. "It looks just like a star! Isn't that so cool?" She asked with a smile.

The sound of Shadow's heartbeat was heard as he saw the light of the firefly made Sonia's face glow. Her eyes had reflected off of the night sky and Shadow swore he saw the stars in her big eyes.

"...It is indeed a cool creature…" He said, staring down at the firefly.

"Hold him!" She giggled, sticking the creature in his face. Shadow hesitantly took the creature from her hands and it began to glow even more.

"Oh Shadow…look at how cute this creature looks!" Maria exclaimed, pointing to a firefly in a book. Shadow looked at the page of the book. He had his arms crossed as he had a signature neutral expression.

"It does look cute.." Shadow said with a nod.

"Do you think there will be an abundance of them on Earth, Shadow?" Maria asked, looking out a window from where she was sitting with the book in her hand.

"I don't see a reason why they wouldn't be." Shadow replied truthfully. Shadow looked down at the planet as the ARK loomed over them.

"I hope one day, I'll be able to hold a firefly for myself!" Maria said with a smile.

"I hope so too, Maria…" Shadow replied, with a small smile escaping his lips.

Shadow looked at the creature with sad eyes, though of course he did not outwardly show them. He held it gently in his hands. Sonia saw the glow reflected off of Shadow's face and he also had the stars in his eyes. Sonia stared at him lovingly.

"...When I was a little, I read so much about fireflies," Sonia began.

"You did?" Shadow perked his head towards her. By now, the firefly flew away from his hands.

"Yeah… my brothers always used to tell me such freaky stories about bugs that I never really liked them…" Sonia began with a slight huff. "Of course, as I grew older, and I saw how they just crawled around…I couldn't handle them… when Sonic started to date Sally, she would bring a lot of books with her, and I saw some about entomology, and read a lot of it," She explained with a small smile.

"I see…" Shadow listened with a nod.

"Of course, I don't think fireflies are ugly, I think they look cute!" She replied with a giggle. Shadow just looked down at the ground with a small nod. He blushed when felt Sonia grab his hand into hers.

"...My brother was wrong about you… you're not so bad, Shadow the Hedgehog," Sonia explained, staring at him in the eyes. "You're such a good listener, thank you for not finding me annoying…"

Shadow gasped at this. The magenta hedgehog was already entertaining to be around, but she was becoming even more likable. Shadow grabbed her face gently. Sonia gasped when she felt his touch. Were they about to kiss? She closed her eyes and her lashes fluttered as Shadow brought her closer…

"I FINALLY FOUND YOU!" Sonic's voice exclaimed as Shadow and Sonia both jolted their hands to see Sonic skidding on water towards them. Sonia groaned as Shadow gave him an angry glare.

"I FORBID THIS FROM HAPPENING EVEN FURTHER!" Sonic shouted, flailing his arms around. "SONIA, WE'RE GOING HOME RIGHT–"

Sonic was cut off as he lost his balance and fell forward.

*smooch*

There was a brief pause…. until….

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Sonic and Shadow broke away from this accidental kiss and started screaming. They both exchanged screams for a while. Sonia looked as if she was about to faint.

"...Drown." Shadow said with a growl, before he grabbed the Blue Blur by the head and shoved him into the water. All that was heard was bubbles from Sonic as he screamed underwater.

"SHADOW! I know he's annoying but he's still my brother!" Sonia exclaimed, before she picked up her brother from the water. "Are you ok, Sonic?"

"...NO SONIA! THE ONLY THING THAT CAN CLEANSE ME FROM THIS IS THE SWEET RELEASE OF DEATH!" Sonic said with a shriek. The magenta hedgehog smacked him in the face, landing onto the side of the boat as well.

She couldn't believe her brother stole her first kiss with Shadow! Her cheeks puffed up as she was angry, she teared up a little.

"My lips need cleansing too…" Shadow began. "Come here, Sonia…" He said.

Sonia had little reaction time as her lips pressed against his. Hearts surrounded the couple as they kissed each other. Sonia's tail wagged up and down like a dog, she turned the brightest red she ever could.

Shadow felt like he was in a whole new world. His eyes lit up as if they were stars. His eyes closed as the kiss went on for much longer. Sonic saw this whole ordeal and fainted in the water.

The magenta and black and red hedgehogs pulled away from the kiss. Sonia had a look of euphoria on her face, while Shadow's eyes widened as he realized what he just did. He looked at her with a face of embarrassment as Sonia also looked at him with a red face.

"...I'm sor-" Shadow didn't finish his sentence, because before he knew it, he was tackled by Sonia and was given a barrage of kisses.

Much later, Shadow finally returned home. Rouge was having her nightly wine as she sat at the dining table.

"Oh hi Shadow, how are- WHAT IS THAT ON YOUR FACE?!" Rouge shrieked.

"Just my first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth kiss." Shadow explained. He looked at her as he was covered in kiss marks everywhere on his face.

"And you're…. SMILING?!" Rouge shrieked again.

"Huh…. so I am…" Shadow nodded, having a small smile on his face.

The white bat quickly took out her phone and took a picture of this. Afterwards, she fell onto the floor in shock.

Shadow walked into his room with a shrug. He then laid awake in bed for a bit.

"...Sonia has nice lips…" He said, as he went to bed with a smile on his face.