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"I have to say, Shadow, I never expected you, of all people, to settle down. And with Sonic? And his girlfriend?"Shadow smiled, something that wasn't as rare a sight as it used to be. It seemed as if he really was happy despite her misgivings. But Rouge had to ask, "What do you see in them? They just seem so stubborn and boneheaded." Shadow raised a brow at that, but she only smirked. "Never mind, I know exactly what you see in them."Shadow grumbled and took a sip of his tea, but soon got a thoughtful expression on his face. "I suppose...well. You aren't wrong, they are idiots sometimes.", he replied, chuckling a little. "And sometimes I am too. But.", he paused again, trying to form his thoughts in to words that would properly convey his feelings. "Amy Rose... I first talked to her, you know, back when... While everything was happening on the Ark. She was the one who convinced me to save Earth. I always admired her, for her persistence. She never falters or second guesses things. And if she hadn't been around, the resistance would have gotten nowhere. She's extremely intelligent, though you wouldn't know it at first sight. It certainly took me by surprise."He paused again, leaning back in his chair and resting his hands in his lap. "As for Sonic...I have to admit I didn't see that coming either. He has a very roundabout way of showing he's interested... Though he was a bit more straightforward after me and Amy decided to try being in a relationship.", and Shadow chuckled, "She was the one who actually caught on first." "That's not all that surprising. Of course you never had any idea Sonic was into you, both of you seemed set on being rivals.", Rouge commented. The black hedgehog sighed. "I think...it was likely he was afraid of being alone, just as much as he didn't want to feel tied down."..."C'mon, Knux, can't you just be happy for me?""I'll be happy for you when you're smart enough to see this will just end with you getting hurt.", Knuckles shot back, keeping his arms crossed as he sat on the steps leading to the Master Emerald. "Amy's one thing, she's actually good for you, in my opinion. But Shadow the Hedgehog? Really?""I know he's got a less than stellar rep, Knuckles, I've gone up against him multiple times. He's changed a lot, though." Sonic sighed and flopped down into the grass to stare at the clouds. So much had happened in the recent past. There were so many things he'd gone through that he couldn't tell anyone but the two hedgehogs who he had realized he couldn't live without. Namely all his secrets, from the smallest to the reasons he still woke up screaming, times when it took both Amy and Shadow to draw him out from the nightmare.The thought of them made him go silent for long enough that the echidna turned to look at him. Finally, Sonic spoke again in a quiet voice. "I've changed too."Knuckles studied his friend for a minute, not sure what to say. Then he shrugged and gazed up at the sky as well. "Nah. You're still the same guy. You just grew up. Finally."That got his friend to sit up abruptly and glare. Knuckles snickered."Well...Yeah! Unlike you!", Sonic retorted weakly, sitting up to get in a runner's stance as he got a smirk on his face. "I bet you sleep with that big rock like it's some kind of stuffed animal, since you're so attached to it!"Sure enough, the echidna growled and stood in an instant. "You take that back!" "Gotta catch me first, Knucklehead!", Sonic teased, before tearing off into the jungle. Knuckles snarled, but after a moment shook his head and laughed as he finally gave chase. "Yeah, you haven't changed at all. Still the Sonic we all know."...Amy Rose was not a morning person and having a day to herself to do nothing meant she wasn't out of bed until it was almost noon. Both Sonic and Shadow were spending a day with a friend. While she had considered getting Cream to go shopping with her, she'd opted to do some relaxing and unwind at home instead. The sudden and unexpected knock at the door while she was fixing breakfast startled her into waking up and dropping her toast... After going over who it could be and whether it'd be ok to tell them to buzz off, she sighed and let the visitor know she was on her way."Oh, uh... Hi, Amy. Is Sonic around?" It was Tails who stood in the doorway, smile lopsided.Frowning at this, she opened the door wider to let him in. "He isn't, he went to hang out with Knuckles on Angel Island. He should be back home later. Is something happening?" Tails looked down and shook his head. "No, just hoped he was here. We hadn't seen each other in a while." Amy's frown edged a bit wider, but she forced it into a gentle smile. "Well, if you want to hang out with me, we can watch movies and order a pizza or two!" The young fox hesitated for a moment, then seemed to steel himself and walk in. Shutting the door before following him to the living room couch, she fished around for the remote until she found it buried deep between the cushions and held it up triumphantly. "Got it! So, what's something you want to see? You can pick what we watch."Tails seemed hesitant again, looking up at Amy with trepidation. "Um, what's showing right now?" "Only one way to find out!", chirped Amy. Flipping through the channels, the two of them decided on several movies to go through and ordered the pizzas. Soon both had their eyes glued to the television with enough food to last them until evening. Things seemed to be going well! At least, until the hedgehog who wasn't Tails' best friend glanced over and realized he had started crying silently halfway into the second movie. Amy quickly put a pause on what they had been watching while putting a hand on his shoulder. "...You can talk to me, if you want too."Looking up at her with a slight hiccup, Tails rubbed at his face before he finally spoke. "We had a fight, about a week ago. Sonic had been talking about how great things were going with you and Shadow, before then. He hadn't been visiting as often either, and it seemed like I barely saw him. I just... I snapped and told him if he liked you guys so much better than me that he should just spend his time with you two. He left and hasn't contacted me at all after that." Amy listened to him, and watched as he curled up into a ball, looking more and more miserable as he did. Once it was clear he was finished, she thought quickly, and chose her words carefully. "Tails...you know he cares about you a lot.", she stated, and when he nodded, she continued, "You're like a brother to him. You were the one he was worried about telling the most. Your approval of him being with us two would mean a lot." Tails blinked in surprise. "Really?
"Absolutely! There's no way he would just abandon you. Not even for the two of us. He probably just thought you didn't want to talk or would want him around."
"Probably..." Tails seemed to curl even tighter into a ball of orange and white fur. Inwardly Amy berated herself and tried a different approach. "How about this, when Shadsy gets home, I'll make him take me out to dinner. That way when Sonic gets here, both of us will be gone and you two can make up!" "...Do you really think he'll want too?", Tails questioned, glancing up at her again. She smiled brightly back. "I don't just think; I know! Now, how about we continue that movie marathon until tall, dark and handsome is here?"
Tails couldn't help laughing at that. "Sounds like a plan!"
...
Shadow the Hedgehog slapped a hand on the door to the house, nearly knocking it off it's hinges. Whirling around, he pointed a single finger right in the face of the "Fastest Guy Around".
"Hah!"
Sonic grumbled something about cheating and swatted his hand away, only making him chuckle and turn to actually open said door and walk in. It was Sonic's turn to laugh at him when before he knew what was happening, he had been spun around and was being pushed right back out by Amy Rose.
"Nope, you don't get to ignore me all day and not take me out for a night on the town, we're going, right now, Hi Sonic, Bye Sonic!", said Amy. While she didn't stop, not for a second, he couldn't help but notice her glancing back with something like apprehension. Glancing back himself, he saw their partner lingering in the doorway, but soon step in and close the door behind him.