Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Today is finally the day!” Amy excitedly said, as she sat up on her bed to stretch her arms out. She looked at the clock to see that it was already 7:00 A.M. She stood up to walk toward her calendar across the room, then went to draw an X on the previous day. She looked at ‘today’ date with a smile on her face.

“It’s finally Valentine’s Day! After so long, I will get to go on my date with Sonic!” Amy jumped with joy as she was able to convince Sonic to go on a date with her. It had taken 7 years to get Sonic to eventually agree to go on a date on Valentine’s Day. She won’t have to chase after him on this special day. Amy went to take a shower and put on her outfit for the day. She put on a new red floral print dress with her favorite red ribbon to hold back her middle length quills. It was growing back nicely, as she wanted to try out a new style. Finally, the excited hedgehog added Rouge’s Morganite and Diamond earrings that she was able to borrow from her best friend.

Rouge the Bat never let anyone borrow any of her jewelry; however, after hours of having to listen to Amy pleading, the pink hedgehog finally reminded her, “this will be my first date with Sonic on Valentine’s Day.”  Rouge ultimately agreed in exchange for a favor. Amy was thrilled for their trade; she immediately asked the white bat about the favor. Rouge gave her a troublesome look in her eyes, which she answered, “I will tell you when the time comes.”

Amy went to her car to drive toward the city. It was only 11 A.M. when she got to Central City, which meant she still had an hour to spend on herself. There were many couples walking around the streets with flowers in their arms. Amy suddenly remembered that Vanilla the Rabbit had opened her own flower shop the previous year. Amy walked around the street of the big city until she was able to see the sign ‘Vanilla’s Garden.’ As Amy walked into the shop, she noticed some customers walking around looking for any flowers that were left. The shop looked empty without bouquets of flowers everywhere.

“Well hello there Amy dear,” a voice said, behind her. Amy turned around and was face to face with Vanilla’s bright smile. She had the loveliest lavender dress that Amy had seen. She had her long brown hair in a simple French braid, it went all the way down to her lower back. The older rabbit still looked as young as she did when Amy was a child.

“I’m surprised to see you here, I thought that you had your big date with Sonic today?” Vanilla asked worriedly. She knew how Sonic had left her daughter’s friend behind multiple times to go off to his adventures. She liked Sonic but Vanilla saw Amy as her own daughter as well, which upset her to see the big hero leaving her ‘daughter’ behind with a broken heart.

“O-oh I came early to our date, and I wanted to come visit you! I know how busy you get on Valentine’s Day!” Amy explained. She knew how worrisome Vanilla become when it came to Sonic. She has always been there for her like a mother that she never had. She was always grateful to have her support, but she hated to make Vanilla worry about her well-being.

“Oh dear, that is very sweet of you to pay me a visit! You always know how much I enjoy your company! Well the shop is going to close soon as you can see from the lack of flowers left,” Vanilla said, her finger pointed to the last few flowers left in display. It had been a crazy morning as there were large groups of people coming into the shop at the last minute to grab any kind of flowers to give to their significant other.

“Well I hope a special someone came into your shop to get me any of your beautiful flowers for this special day!” Amy excitedly said. Vanilla looked surprised then turned toward one of her workers that was standing in front of the cash register.

“I can’t really say for sure that he came in, but I know it was very busy this morning that I may have not noticed with the crowd of people,” Vanilla said with hope in her voice. Amy looked a bit disappointed but turned her head toward the clock on the wall and noticed that it was 11:50 A.M.

“Sorry Vanilla, I must get going or I’ll be late for my date! I can’t keep the fastest hedgehog in the world waiting!” Amy yelled as she ran out of the shop in a hurry.

“Have fun dear!” Vanilla yelled outside her shop.

Amy looked at the clock up on the wall of the cute little cafe that she picked out for her date with Sonic. It has already been an hour since the date was supposed to start. Amy did come one minute late which she thought the blue hedgehog may had left when he didn’t see her; however, after half an hour of waiting, Amy went up to the human cashier and asked if they had seen the famous Sonic the Hedgehog. They had shaken their head and said that they hadn’t seen the famous hedgehog.

“Maybe I gave him the wrong time, I don’t mind waiting for him!” Amy explained to herself. She looked around the cafe to see other couples with flowers or chocolate on their table. Some of them were laughing, two were staring into each other eyes, one of the couples in the last table were just making out at this point. Amy looked away to distract herself. It was a beautiful day outside, but it was a bit chilly as spring was still coming back from winter. Amy laid her head on her arms to breathe in the fresh air. The sun felt nice on her fur, but she should have kept her jacket on if she was going to stay outside for long. Amy slowly closed her eyes as she listened to the birds singing and the wind blowing softly though the leaves in the trees.

Amy suddenly wakens up with a startle as she felt a hand on her left shoulder. Her eyes opened to see the gentleman from earlier.

“I’m sorry miss but we are about to close the cafe,” the man explained.

“O-oh my goodness, I’m sorry but do you happen to have the time?” Amy asked.

The man looked at the clock on his wrist, “it is 3 P.M.”

“I have been asleep for two hours!?!” Amy yelled, as she stood up from her chair.

“My apologies miss, we were afraid to wake up the wonderful Amy Rose. We know how amazing you are with your hammer!” The man awkwardly explained with his hands in front of him. Amy sighed and left a big tip for the worker as an apology for being there for so long.

After a long ride home, Amy finally made it without crying in her car. She had gone to a park in the city to clear her head after leaving the cafe, but she only seen to walk around for hours. She didn’t know how to feel after being stood up again. How many times does she have to do this? She felt like a fool for believing that Sonic was finally going to be her boyfriend after all these years of chasing after him. The hash wind reminded the pink hedgehog that she was walking without a jacket. Amy finally accepted that she needed to go home.

As Amy was getting to her front door, she had noticed a single pink rose with a red ribbon around it on her doorknob. Amy picked up the rose and looked it over as she noticed that it had a darker shade of pink to it compared to her bubble gum pink fur. It was one of the most gorgeous flower that she had ever seen. Amy was opening the door to her house when she heard her phone ringing. Amy took out her phone to see that Cream the Rabbit was calling.

Amy was answering the phone when she heard “OH MY GAIA! HOW DID THE DATE GO? TELL ME EVERYTHING!”

“Hello to you too Cream,” Amy said awkwardly.

“Soooooo….?” Cream said patiently.

“He didn’t show up,” Amy stated.

“Ohhh... I’m so sorry Amy! I thought that this was the moment that you guys were going to become a couple,” Cream sounded hurt on the other line. Amy knew that Cream thought of her as a big sister and was her biggest supporter for her love life. Cream always hoped that Amy and Sonic would end up together.

“It’s okay Cream, I’m not really sure how to feel right now but when I came home, I found a rose on my doorknob.”

“What kind of rose was it?” Cream asked.

“Well it’s a pink rose with a red ribbon on it.”

“Wait a pink rose?? Do you even know what that means??” Cream sounded excited on the phone.

“I’m not sure what it means, what is the meaning behind it?”

“Well pink roses mean admiration! Oh how romantic of Mr. Sonic to give you that!”

“Wait do you think that Sonic left this for me?” Amy asked with hope in her voice.

“Of course! Maybe he was too shy to show up to the date and this is his way of expressing his feelings for you!” Cream explained with excitement.

“That would make so much sense! Maybe the red ribbon symbolizes the color of my dress? He wanted me to know that the rose was especially for me! Oh Cream, I always knew that Sonic loved me!” Amy jumped around her living room with glee. She went to the kitchen to find something to put her special rose in and found a beautiful beige mug to put water in.

“I’m going to send you a picture of my lovely rose from the handsome Sonic the Hedgehog!” Amy moved back and snapped a photo of her flower.

“I will have to look at it tomorrow. Mama just got home, and I should have been in bed an hour ago. Goodnight Amy.”

“Goodnight, Cream,” Amy said as she ended the call. Amy put her arm on the counter and laid her head on top of her arms, as she stared up at her rose.

The next morning, Central City was getting attacked by Dr. Eggman’s robots. Amy ran as fast as she could to join the fight when she had heard the news during her shopping spree in the mall nearby. She had on her usual outfit. A middle length red dress with a long white hooded cape attached to her outfit. This was a perfect time for battle.

Knuckles and Tails were already there when Amy arrived at the battlefield. The red echidna had his dreadlocks up in a high ponytail, a white hairband held it all together. He was able to run faster with the new green and yellow sneakers that Tails was able to upgrade with new tech that he had learned though out the years.

 The yellow fox had a huge growth spurt, becoming the tallest in their friend group. Tails still had his hair short but let the white muzzle grow fuller on his face. He added a new white lab coat which seemed to be his favorite. The fox may look like a teenager but still had the same blue eyes of a young child.

 Amy summoned her hammer in the palm of her hand. As she was getting ready to slam the robot in front of her but froze when she saw a blue blur. The robot exploded in front of her which she raised her arm to block the scrap metal.

“Hey I was going to get that one Sonic!” Amy huffed.

“You have to be faster than that!” Sonic laughed as he ran to catch up with his friends. Sonic still looked the same as he did years ago. The blue hero may have added some accessories, like his brown hooded cape and the white sports tape around his hands. He still looked as handsome as the day that Amy Rose had fallen in love with him.

Amy pouted at Sonic response but then turned to look toward her friends, who were laughing together as they were beating up Eggman’s robots. Her frown turned into a playful smirk as she shouted, “Hey! Save some for me!”

Amy ran to her friends as they all laughed together. Eggman escaped as usual when he saw all his robots getting destroyed. Amy ran up to Sonic and grabbed him before he had a chance to ran away. Knuckles and Tails laughed at their awkward friend as he tried to get Amy to lose her grip on him.

“Hey Ames, mind letting me go?” Sonic awkwardly asked.

“I’m never letting you go after what you did last night!” Amy buried her face into his chest as she was hiding the smile on her face. Her grip got tighter around his body.

“O-oh n-no! D-did I forget about one of our d-date?” Sonic stuttered. He knew how Amy got angry when he forgot about one of her dates. He still had haunting memories of her furious face with the big hammer in her hand.

“Well I’m still upset about our date yesterday but I’m talking about the beautiful rose that you left for me silly!” Amy looked up at his face with her hands on her cheek as she giggled with the memory of finding his special gift just for her. Tails and Knuckles looked at Sonic as they tried to hide in their laughter as they made kissy faces at him.

“Wai-wait a minute, I never left any rose for you,” Sonic said nervously, he saw his opportunity to stand up and took it. Amy was pushed back with shock on her face.

‘Wait if sonic did not leave the rose for me then wh-‘Amy’s thought got cut off when she heard someone yelling her name.

“AMY! I have been looking for you!” Cream yelled as she caught up to everyone. She had her hand on her knees as she was trying to catch her breath. Brown hair flowing down on the young rabbit’s shoulders, it was hard to see her cinnamon-brown eyes.

“Well… since the day was saved, I should really get going! Bye guys!” Sonic shouted as he ran off.

“Wait Son-!” Amy yelled after him, but Sonic was gone. She held her hand out in the air; it was once again empty. Knuckles and Tails left right after they made sure that Cream was okay, which she reassured them and told them that she needed to speak to Amy alone.

Chapter Text

Amy took Cream to the new cafe that just opened in the center of Central City. She wanted to take Cream to her favorite café, but couldn’t go back after what happened yesterday. She may never be able to show her face to the workers again after all that embarrassment.

“Okay Cream, what did you needed to talk to me about?” Amy asked.

“Remember the rose that Mr. Sonic gave you?” Cream asked, as she was trying to take her phone out.

“Sonic didn’t give me the rose,” Amy stated. Cream dropped her phone at Amy’s statement with shock on her face.

“Oh shoot! Mama is going to get mad if I break the screen on my phone,” Cream said with a frown. She picked up her phone and breath out a sigh of relief when she saw there were no crack.

“I was talking to mama this morning about your rose which I showed her the photo that you send me last night. She noticed that it wasn’t just any pink rose, it was a deep pink rose which apparently mean something entirely different than what I thought,” Cream pointed out as she showed Amy the photo of the rose. Amy did notice that it looked different from the usual pink roses that she had seen.

“So what does the deep pink rose mean?” Amy asked.

“It means gratitude,” Cream stated.

“Someone just gave me a rose to say, ‘thank you?’” Amy asked, confused. She was surprised to find that someone would take the time to give her a flower to just politely express their gratitude. She usually got cards from people that she had saved in the past, but no one had ever just given her flowers and especially not on Valentine’s Day.

“Maybe someone wanted to show their appreciation, and this is their way of expressing it,” Cream explained.

“But who would give me the rose?” Amy asked, as she was curious as to who was her secret admirer. Maybe there was no romantic connection to the rose, and it was a gift of gratitude from a stranger.

“Mama told me that she wasn’t sure who could have gotten it for you since there were so many people in her shop this week. I’m sorry that I couldn’t be of much help,” Cream said. The small rabbit looked sad that she was wrong about everything. She was wrong about the meaning of the rose and Sonic. She had hoped that her dear friend was going to finally find love. Her ‘big sister’ deserved to find true happiness.

Cream was getting lost in her thoughts until she felt a hand patting the top of her head. Amy smiled at her and said, “Hey don’t worry about it! I’m grateful that someone gave me my first Valentine gift. It may not have been what I had hoped for, but it is what I may have needed.”

“This was your first valentine gift?! Oh no, I should had gotten you something! I love you as my big sister and I will make sure to show you how much I love you from now on!” Cream said, as she jumped up from her chair to give Amy a big hug. Amy giggled as she hugged her ‘little sister’ back.

Amy had just gotten back from the city when she went to check on her rose. She had some conflicting emotions toward the flower but still looked at it with admiration. She had taken the rose to the living room to put on top of her maple wood coffee table when she heard a knock on the door. The pink hedgehog quickly laid the mug on top of the table to open the door. There in front of her was Shadow the Hedgehog.

“Hello, Amy Rose,” Shadow said. He looked annoyed, as if she was the one that was bothering him. He still looked the same as he did years ago when they first met. Always looking so serious at everything. Never having a smile on his face. There was a shiver coming down her back at the sight of the irritated hedgehog.

“Hello Shadow! I’m surprised to see you here,” Amy nervously said. She hadn’t seen him in a week since she went to Rouge’s house. He always greeted her but never stayed long enough to start a conversation. This was the first time he had ever come over to her house.

“I have come to retrieve Rouge’s earrings,” Shadow stated.

“Oh I see! Well come in and I will get them for you! I’m surprised that Rouge didn’t come to get them herself,” Amy said, as she moved out of the way for Shadow.

“She had some business with the Master Emerald. It seems the echidna left it alone for a moment and she saw an opportunity. I owed her a favor and I’m here to repay her,” Shadow calmly stated.

He walked across her living room to lean against the wall, next to her desk. Crimson eyes shift around the room to take in all the surrounding that seen to be Amy Rose’s home. On a large cherry wood desk next to the doorway of the kitchen, there laid a set of multiple postcards with different locations on each one. There was a white metal coat rack next to the front door. A yellow raincoat and green winter coat hanged on the rack. Red eyes kept moving as it saw the long white couch laid against the window which helped shine the light that was radiating from the sun. A tall cherry wood lamp sat next to the couch, a perfect location for reading a book at night. Finally, there was the huge cherry wood bookshelf that stood up to the cellar. Set of books packed on the shelves which barely had any room for any new books. Shadow looked back to the center of the room, to the maple wood coffee table that was in front of the couch. His eyes lit up when he noticed the rose with the red ribbon in a small beige mug.

Amy had noticed his stare as she said, “Do you like my rose? I just got it yesterday for Valentine’s Day.” Shadow looked away immediately when Amy spoke.

“Who gave you the flower?” Shadow asked curiously. Amy went to her drawer as she continued her search for Rouge’s earrings. She suddenly froze when Shadow asked his question. He never seemed to be interested in her personal life before. If anything, he would stare at Amy then walked away. It was like he couldn’t stand to be near her for long.

“I’m not sure, I was hoping that it was from Sonic after he stood me up on our date. I was… wro- wrong about everything…” Amy tried to sound calm but couldn’t stop the crack in her voice. She took a deep breath and continued, “I am guessing that it would be someone that I had saved in the past. This rose symbolizes ‘gratitude’ apparently.” Amy went back to her searching as she needed a distraction from the tight feeling in her chest. She was hurting inside but she couldn’t show her heartbreak to anyone, especially to Shadow.  He always seen annoyed to be in the same room with her, she didn’t want to be more of a burden to him.

“Do you not like the rose?” Shadow asked with concern in his voice. Amy was sad that the flower wasn’t from her Sonic; however, she was happy to be reminded that someone appreciated her.

“Oh no, I love the rose! It is nice to remember there are people out there that I have helped and made a difference with them,” Amy said shyly. She was getting nervous as she kept talking about herself.

“You do make a difference in people lives,” Shadow stated. Amy froze at his statement. This was the first time he had given her a compliment.

“Thank you, Shadow,” Amy said, as she looked away with a blush on her face.

“You’re welcome. May I ask why the rose is in this mug?” Shadow asked as he moved closer to the coffee table.

“Oh shoot! I forgot to ask Cream to get a vase for me,” Amy took her phone out to send a text as she continued to speak. “This is the first time anyone has given me a flower.”

Shadow seen shocked at her words. “That is surprising to hear,” he said.

“Why? No one has ever given me anything for Valentine’s Day.”

Amy shrugged her shoulders as she is used to this. It was no surprise to anyone that she was always focused on Sonic. Amy was turning around to walk toward the bookshelf when she got startled. She was face to face with Shadow. He looked down toward her with his crimson eyes, and Amy suddenly lost her train of thought.

“I for one, believe that you are deserving of all the flowers in this world. It is disappointing to hear that you only started receiving flowers now,” Shadow whispered into her ears as he was touching her quills. Amy froze as she had never had Shadow this close to her before. His gloves felt pleasant when he touched her quills. She was close enough to his chest to notice that he smelled like a certain flower. She couldn’t think on the top of her head which flower; however, she was still surprised to know the Ultimate Life Form smelled quite lovely. He had backed away from her when she noticed the rose in her quill, near her right ear. The red ribbon flowing down next to her face.

“I should head back now.” Shadow turned away as he was heading towards the front door.

“Wai- wait! What about Rouge’s earrings?” Amy asked nervously. Shadow raises his hand to show the small black jewelry box.

“Goodbye, Rose,” Shadow said, as he closed the door behind him. Amy didn’t know what to think after this weird encounter with Shadow. This felt so different from the other times they had spoken, it felt nice to have a conversation with Shadow.

Amy smiled as she thought to herself about the next time she goes over to Rouge’s house, ‘maybe I will ask Shadow to hang out with us.’

|four days ago|

Shadow was walking around in Central City when he noticed some bright objects at a shop. It was not the small flower shop that had his full attention but the deep pink roses that were displayed in front of the shop. It seen to drawn Shadow to grab it.

“I see you taking a liking to that rose,” a voice said as they came up behind Shadow. He turned around and saw that it was Vanilla the Rabbit.

“Hello, Vanilla, I’m surprised to see you here,” Shadow greeted calmly as he put the rose back in the display.

“You are surprised to see me at my own shop?” She giggled, pointed toward the shop name. Shadow looked up and saw the sign ‘Vanilla’s Garden.’ How weird that he has walked around the city multiple times and never noticed this place before.

“Are you planning to get that flower for someone special?” Vanilla curiously asked, as she pointed toward the vase full of deep pink roses. The same one Shadow tried to stealthily put back.

“Tch, I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and this would be a great way to show your admiration,” Vanilla pointed to the calendar on her wall. There was a heart scribbled on the 14th.

“I thought Valentine’s Day was all about romance,” Shadow stated with his arm crossed. He was losing interest by the second as he never cared for this holiday. There was no celebration for Valentine’s Day on the ARK as it seen pointless. Everyone was too focused on their research to even remember what day it was.

“That is what special about Valentine’s Day! It is not just showing your love to someone in a romantic way, it is also a way to show your appreciation to someone that you care about!” Vanilla’s voice brought Shadow back to their conversation as he was getting lose in his thoughts. She took out a single rose out of the vase and placed it in front of Shadow.

“It is interesting that you picked this deep pink rose!” She giggled.

“Explain to me how that is fascinating?” Shadow asked with curiosity.

“There are many meanings behind each flower type and color. This deep pink rose for example means gratitude; this would be a great gift to give someone to say, ‘thank you!’” Vanilla explained. She had always loved to help customers in the shop find a way to express their emotions. It had surprised her to find that one of these customers happened to be Shadow the Hedgehog today.

Shadow looked surprised when she told him about the meaning behind the flower that seemed to have drawn his attention. He grabbed the flower from her hand as he moved it around his fingertips. It was indeed beautiful, and the rose reminded him of a certain pink hedgehog. The rose had a darker shade of pink which did not match her bubblegum pink fur, but it still made him think of Amy Rose. Shadow had wished to express his thanks to the pink girl. If she hadn’t spoken to him in the ARK, he has no idea what would have happened after. He was grateful to her for reminding him of his promise to Maria. The black and red hedgehog wanted to show his gratitude, but always stopped himself whenever the words would get stuck in the back of his throat.

“If I were to give this flower to someone, would they know exactly what’s the meaning behind the flower?” Shadow asked.

“Well not exactly…” Vanilla looked away awkwardly.

“What is even the point of giving this flower to someone when they don’t even know what it is for?!” Shadow sighed with annoyance as he closed his eyes.

“Because you will know the meaning behind it,” she responded with a smile on her face. Shadow couldn’t hide the dumbstruck expression on his face. He quickly changed his expression back to the usual frown on his muzzle.

“I don’t see the point of giving this to her,” Shadow rolled his eyes in exasperation. He gave the rose back to Vanilla then walked away from the shop.

“I will be here when you come back!” Vanilla shouted outside of her shop as she waved goodbye with the rose still in her hand. Shadow turned around and scoffed.

| Valentine’s Day |

Vanilla had a huge smile on her muzzle when she saw Shadow the Hedgehog coming back to her shop in the early morning. He was quickly looking around for the deep pink roses; however, a look of disappointment appeared on his face when he found the vase completely empty. He had a firm frown on his face. He cursed himself for coming too late. If only he had listened to the kind Rabbit for trying to help him before. He was not used to people trying to lend a helping hand toward him. Most people would try to stay as far away from him as possible. It did surprise Shadow that she still tried to assist the anti-hero. Maybe he lost the chance forever. Shadow was about to walk out of the shop when Vanilla called his name.

“Mister Shadow! I saved one of the roses for you!” Vanilla yelled out. Some of her customers looked at her with concern as she was shouting in her own shop. Shadow stopped in his tracks to turn around with a smile tugging at face. Maybe he still has a chance for new opportunities.

Shadow finally arrived at Amy Rose’s house in the evening to give her the deep pink rose. He had put a red ribbon around the rose to put a little part of himself in this gift. This was the first gift the black and red hedgehog had given to anyone. Shadow pushed back his quills as he felt his heart rate increasing. He needed to calm himself. This was just a simple gift for the pink girl. There was no other reason for him to get this uncomfortable feeling. Shadow finally took a deep breath and then continued to Amy’s door as he knocked on it. There was no response. Shadow knocked on the door again in case she didn’t hear it.

“She must have stepped out,” Shadow said to himself. He let out a deep breath of relief. He did not know how this delivery would have gone. This was unplanned. Shadow had woken up from one of his rare slumbers, having a sudden strong urge to get the rose from Vanilla’s shop. He chaos controlled to Central City as soon he got off his bed.

“I will wait for her arrival.”

Shadow went to sit on Amy’s front step. His fingertips moved the rose in his hand as he couldn’t stop the smirk on his face as he was thinking of the pink girl reactions.

The wind was getting chillier as the sun was going down for the night. Shadow had waited for hours as he had hoped to see Amy Rose, but it seemed that she had other plans. This was a spontaneous moment for Shadow, and he should have known that she would have been absent for the entire day. He was not the kind of guy to be spontaneous. He had always planned his next move, but this was different. Maybe that was his mistake for trying to be different.

 Shadow finally stood up and went to Amy’s front door to wrap the ribbon around her doorknob. Shadow spoke to himself for the last time, “Maybe this was a bad idea. I should have left long ago. I hope she will enjoy this simple gift.” Shadow will go back to planning his next move ahead of time; that is what he knows best. He took one last look at his rose before he disappeared with a flash of green light appearing around his body. In the distance, a white car slowly drove toward the small house.

Chapter Text

Shadow had just arrived at Team Dark’s house after one of his bike rides. The weather was still chilly, but Shadow needed some fresh air since his thoughts had been overwhelmed lately. It all started after his encounter with Amy.

He made the excuse of Rouge’s favor to see her. Rouge had complained about picking up her jewels but needing to go to the Master Emerald that afternoon after she had heard Knuckles was away in a battle. Shadow would usually disregard her whine, but his ears perked up at the mention of a certain pink hedgehog. He agreed to do this as one of her favors. This surprised the white bat, but she seemed too contented to care for the reason behind his kindness. She made sure to put on her best outfit when she left the house, a spiny pink tube top with white jean pants. It was chilly that day, so Shadow suggested that she bring a jacket out. The white bat winked at him, saying, “don’t worry about me sugar~ I will have someone to keep me warm.” He rolled his eyes at the nickname.

Shadow was uncomfortable at first when he first stepped foot into Amy’s home. He looked around the whole house until he noticed his rose. He had unexpectedly walked toward it when he noticed a black jewelry box on the floor, near the coffee table. Shadow could have left at that moment, but there was this strong feeling of longing to have his rose in her soft pink quills. The red ribbon complemented her rosy cheeks. His heart started to beat fast as she gazed up at him with her emerald eyes. He needed to leave immediately, as he felt a warmth from the tips of his ears. Shadow sighed at the memory. He opened the front door and was immediately greeted by the very pink girl that seemed to haunt his mind.

“Good evening, Shadow!” Amy was reading a leather covered book on the living room couch, but immediately put it away to greet Shadow.

Shadow turned toward her, “greeting, Rose.” He started to walk toward the kitchen, her presence following behind him. He was making coffee when his ears peaked at the sound of the kitchen chair moving.

“Do you require something, Rose?” Shadow asked.

“Nope! I am just waiting for Rouge and Omega to come back with our dinner!” Amy cheerfully replied, her legs swinging off the chair.

“I see,” Shadow narrowed his eyes. He was facing the window, as he felt her gaze behind him.

“So how have you been?” Shadow was puzzled at her question. They would usually greet then part ways. Any conversation with the pink girl would leave him with a dry mouth. Amy would only be in the house when the others were here. This is the first time they have left the pink girl behind.

“I have been well enough…How have you been?”

“I have been great, thank you for asking, Shadow!” Amy replied with glee.

“...You’re welcome...” Shadow replied awkwardly. He did not know how to continue their conversation.

“Hey, I have a question to ask, if you don’t mind?”

‘Why is she suddenly talking to me now? Does she know the rose was from me?’ Shadow thought to himself, as he felt a small tightness in his chest. The palms of his hands were getting sweaty inside of his gloves. Shadow took a big swallow of saliva to help with his dry mouth.

“What is your question?”

“Why did you call me Rose when you left my house the other day?” Shadow did not realize that was the moment that he started to call the pink hedgehog by her new name. He remembered looking at the flower in her pink quills and thought of his rose when he thought of her. The warmth came back to the tips of his ears at the memory.

“We have known each other for years. I felt that it was best for us to be more formal with each other,” Shadow explained. It was not exactly a lie; they had known each other for years. Shadow felt the new atmosphere when they were near each other during that encounter. Amy took a deep breath, as she was getting ready for her next question.

“We are planning to watch a m-movie when everyone comes back, w-w-would you like to join us?” Amy tried her best to ask with all the stuttering. Shadow couldn’t stop his heartbeat from rising. The muscles in his throat began to tighten. Words couldn’t come out of his mouth. Shadow slightly turned his head toward her and was only able to nod his head.

Shadow was sitting on his couch, as he was reading one of his favorite horror novels. Spring was finally settling in. Shadow had the window opened to feel the breeze, the sun shining on his black fur. He was at peace, until a knock on the door interrupted his favorite part of the story. Shadow ignored it and continued to read the book. There was another knock which made Shadow roll his eyes, but he stayed focused on the words on the page. There was finally silence, and Shadow was able to breathe, but was interrupted by the third knock. He immediately stood up and went to the door to open it swiftly.

“What the hell do y-“ Shadow growled but stopped himself when he noticed green eyes looking up toward him. Amy Rose was standing in front of him, and his throat suddenly tightened up.

“Hey, Shadow! Is Rouge home yet?” Amy asked. She did not seem to react to Shadow’s outburst, or she did a good job at hiding it. Shadow was only able to shake his head. He had no idea how to speak after that embarrassment.

“Do you mind if I wait inside until she gets home?” The pink hedgehog asked. Shadow shakes his head again, as he moves aside for her to enter. Shadow did not know what to say. His feet unexpectedly took him back to the couch and his hands picked up his book. His thoughts become overwhelming. He did not know how to act after the outburst. Amy looked at Shadow until she sat down next to him. She was going through her purse until she took out a small brown leather book. She opened the book and took out a bookmark which she held against the end of the book. Shadow had noticed a red ribbon between her fingertips which connected to the bookmark. His eyes shifted to the deep pink object in the center. He was drawn to it, his hand moving closer. His eyes opened wide when he noticed his fingertips on Amy’s hand. He backed away immediately from the pink hedgehog.

“I’m sorry, is there something wrong?” Amy looked at Shadow with concern. There was a tingling sensation on his fingertips, and his breathing seemed to stop. There was only silence between the two hedgehogs. ‘Focus on your breathing,’ Shadow reminded himself. There was a small movement of his chest going up and down as there was air in his lungs now.

“…May I...?” Shadow asked, his index finger pointing to Amy’s book on her lap. She looked at the book then handed it to Shadow. He shook his head, as he continued to point at the bookmark on her lap. It seemed to have been underneath the book. Amy looked confused but gave the bookmark to him. Shadow was surprised to find his rose in a glass-like bookmark with the red ribbon wrapped around the end. He did not have words to express the emotion that was going through his body.

“Ohhh! This must be new to you! This is resin and it is super popular right now, I made this bookmark myself!” Amy said with pride.

“This is remarkable...” Shadow whispered. Amy’s cheeks flushed at the compliment. She was surprised that he was impressed so easily; but of course, he had been frozen for 50 years, so she was sure that modern things were still new to him.

“This was my first time using resin, but I wanted to turn my first Valentine gift into a bookmark.” Amy looked softly at the object in Shadow’s hand. She slowly started to smile at the memory of Shadow putting the rose in her quill.

“Why did you do that?” Shadow looked at the pink hedgehog with confusion.

“So I’m always reminded that I do make a difference in people’s lives,” Amy answered. She put her hand on top of Shadow’s, as he were holding onto the bookmark. There was a burning sensation on the tips of Shadow’s ears again. At the flower shop, Shadow thought the rose would be a simple gift for the pink girl. He wanted to return the kindness that she had shown him on the ARK. He could not express his gratitude verbally, but he would be able to through his gift. He had hoped she would have known the gift was from him with the hint of his red ribbon. She had sadly mistaken the owner for that damn faker. Shadow would have been content with whomever she had thought the owner was if she was happy. He only wished for joy in her life; however, he was livid to hear what the blue fool had done to her on Valentine’s Day. He had hoped she was joyful on that day, but he could hear the crack in her voice when she spoke of being abandoned once again. He loathes the thought of having his rose associated with the blue idiot; but despite that, she was able to find out that faker was not the owner. She did not seem to mind the idea of the gift being from a stranger. Shadow wanted to speak the truth but held his tongue when she spoke of making a difference in people’s lives. His own life was one of them, but he wished for her to visualize all the people she had helped in the past. He did not wish to be selfish and take that honor away from her. She deserves everything in the world for all the kindness she has done for others. He was truthful when he told her that she deserved all the flowers in the world. Shadow knew the flower would not heal her heartbreak, but it seemed to bring some joy in her life. He wanted to be a part of her happiness, but he seemed to be the cause for her distress now.

“My deepest apologies...” Shadow whispered. Amy was the one that looked up at him with confusion at that moment.

“What are you apologizing for?” Amy asked. Shadow’s throat tightened up for a moment, but he swallowed his saliva to continue their conversation.

“I regret my behavior during our interaction earlier,” Shadow explained sincerely. He was shocked to see himself apologizing. He was not one to typically do this. Amy was also shocked to see Shadow the Hedgehog apologizing. She had seen his outburst toward her friends, especially to Sonic. The pink hedgehog has been used to his temper but felt surprised to see this new side of Shadow.

“I accept your apology and I appreciate that.” Amy’s smile beamed at him. The tightness in his chest began to feel overbearing, as he looked at the pink hedgehog and realized they were still holding hands. The sound of the door opening caught their attention, their hands quickly separating. Amy took back the bookmark to slip it between the book pages. Rouge had walked into the house to see both hedgehogs looking at her.

“Hey, Amy! Sorry for making you wait! Paperwork was crazy at work, are you ready to go?” Rouge asked. Amy quickly stood up and ran behind the white bat.

“Bye, Shadow! Thanks for hanging out with me!” Amy shouted outside of the house. Shadow looked outside the window to see the girls jump into Amy’s car. He sat back down on the couch. Red eyes drifted at his side to see the leather book next to him.

“That girl is truly forgetful,” Shadow sighed to himself. His finger pushed the book open to see it was guide for Tarot reading. ‘Fascinating,’ the black and red hedgehog thought to himself. He never thought this topic would intrigue the pink girl. His fingers kept pushing pages after pages, as he continued to read the book. His hand froze at the halfway point, the bookmark blocking words on the page. A small smirk appeared on his muzzle at the thought of his rose being with her always. He will make sure to return this when he sees her next.

Listening to the sound of raindrops on the roof of Team Dark house, Shadow laid on his bed. He needed some rest after a week of working nonstop on multiple missions. G.U.N. knew he could easily work for another week before the hedgehog needed to recharge by sleeping; however, Shadow demanded to rest this weekend. His decision had nothing to do with a certain pink hedgehog coming over to hang out. Shadow had started to notice a pattern of Amy Rose hanging out with Rouge once a week which would usually occur on the weekend. It has been almost a week since the bookmark incident, and Shadow still held onto the book. Crimson eyes looked over the pages of the leather book multiple times. Shadow firmly shook his head and gripped onto his ears to stop his thought. Shadow continued to remind himself that he needed an urgent break from work. If she were to come over and ask Shadow to join, he has no reason to decline her offer. He was just being a good host for their guest. The sound of the front door opening caught the attention of his black ears, and they started to flick around to hear whose it could be.

“Thanks for inviting me over!” Black ears perked up at the sound of the pink hedgehog. He was correct, she did come over today. Shadow stood up to leave his room for a snack. He would greet the pink girl on the way. It was just a greeting but why did his body start to become more tense with each step toward the bedroom door? Shadow finally made it to his door and realized that she was walking up the stairs. His hand held onto the doorknob, waiting for the knock that he would usually get when she came over. His heart started racing with each footstep toward his bedroom; however, the feeling of his heart sinking when the sound of footstep continued by his bedroom. Uncontrollably, his fingers turned the doorknob around. Shadow took a step out of his room and saw Amy Rose with Rouge. The girls turned around at the sound of the opened door.

“Shadow!” Amy shouted as she walked toward him. The feeling of his heart melted at the smile that appeared on her face. He had to use all the power within him to not smirk at the way her face brightens up at the sight of him. It made no sense to him, but he would be content to stare at her smile for a good while; however, it ended when Rouge gave him a pouty look.

“Why are you here?” Rouge asked. She started to cross her arms and leaned against the wall to her right.

“I live here,” Shadow bluntly stated. His eyes squinted toward the white bat.

“I know that! I mean why are you here when G.U.N. assigned you a mission for today?” she asked again, irritated that he wouldn’t answer her question. She had planned for them to have a girl’s night without any interruptions from her roommates. The white bat had no problem with having a group night; however, she wanted at least one night of having her best friend’s attention. She didn’t know why the idiot wouldn’t just ask pinky to just hang out with just the two of them if he always wanted her attention. Amy would go on about the serious hedgehog when they did spend some time alone. Rogue needed a night of just best friends.

“I required rest,” Shadow finally answered. Amy was about to speak up when Rouge grabbed onto her pale arm.

“We will leave you to relax, and we will be having our girl’s night,” Rouge stated. She took Amy to the end of the hall, to the white bat’s room. Amy looked back and waved goodbye to the sad hedgehog. A frown came on his muzzle. He had hoped they could have hung out that day. Shadow went back to his room and shut the door behind him. Maybe it would have been better if he had gone on the G.U.N. mission instead of staying in his room all day. Shadow laid on his bed to continue watching ‘Kill La Kill.’ He was not one to watch anime but this one seemed to have caught his attention. After an hour, Shadow needed to use the restroom. As he opened his bedroom door, there was another door that had opened down the hall. The black and red hedgehog looked to his side to find Amy coming out of Rouge’s room.

“Hey, Shadow! Were you going to the bathroom too?” Amy asked, surprised to find Shadow coming out of his room. He stood up straight as he listened to her lovely voice. His body became tense as she walked closer to him. The back of his throat became dry as he was trying to answer her question. He was only able to nod, which seemed to be the only way he could communicate with her at times. A black arm moved up, pointing to the bathroom for her.

“You can go first milady.” Shadow becomes tongue-tied. His crimson eyes were ready to pop out of his sockets at what he had just said toward the pink girl; however, Amy did not react toward the nickname. She only nodded her head and walked into the bathroom. As soon as the door closed, Shadow slapped the top of his head. How big of an idiot he has turned out to be. Today has not gone as he had hoped for. As he was ready to slap himself again, the door of the bedroom had opened.

“Here you go,” Amy stated, as she was heading back to Rouge’s room. Shadow had wished to speak to her longer, but his mind became overwhelmed until a certain book popped into his head.

“Wait, Rose! I have something for you,” Shadow said, hoping that she was able to hear him. The pink hedgehog stopped and turned toward him. He immediately walked into his room to retract her book, coming back to the hallway in front of her.

“Here is your book,” Shadow said, handing the book back to her. Amy went to grab the book but accidentally touched his hand in the process. A slight tingle formed around his hand, and he could feel the warmth radiating from her touch.

“Thank you so much, Shadow! I was looking everywhere for this!” Amy took a moment before she retracted her hand back with the leather book. Amy was so relieved to have her book back but most importantly what held her most prized possession, the bookmark. The pink hedgehog noticed the book was missing when she got home that night. She became worried that it may have been forgotten at the mall where the girls went shopping that day. She went back immediately the next morning to see if it had shown up at the lost and found. Sadly, it was nowhere to be found. She had thought that it would be gone forever; however, Shadow had found the book.

“It was a captivating subject to read, I never knew you were interested in Tarot reading,” Shadow said. “I have done Tarot reading since I was a child. Maybe I can do one for you?” Amy asked.

“I would like that,” Shadow said. His usual frown turned into one of his famous smiles. Amy almost didn’t believe her eyes, but she was excited to see it.

“I hope we can hang out next week!” Amy said, smiling at him. Shadow was truly captured by the way she looked at him. Amy was walking back to her best friend’s bedroom, as Shadow continued to go to the restroom. Both Hedgehogs did not realize that Amy had left Rouge’s door slightly open for the bat to listen to their conversation. The black and red hedgehog made sure to demand that he would be unavailable to work on mission during the weekends. The reason, Shadow explained, was that he had more important matters that needed his attention.

Amy could feel the warm breeze on her fur as Rouge kept pushing her from behind. Her eyes were shielded from the world with the blindfold which Rouge demanded she wear. The white bat had told her to put it on, and she spoke about a surprise when she suddenly showed up at her doorstep. Amy was unsure about her troublesome friend but finally agreed with a heavy sigh. “Rouge, where are we going?” Amy finally asked, after they had been walking for 10 minutes when Rouge had parked Amy’s car to guide her out.

“We are almost there~” Rouge teased.

“I swear, this better not be one of your tricks agai-“Amy paused mid-sentence when the blindfold was taken off and she was hit with the blight sun. She blinked multiple times to finally see that she was at the beach. “Happy Birthday, Amy!!” Everyone shouted. Amy turned around to find all her friends standing around in front of a table with food, gifts, and a strawberry shortcake. Tears started to well up in her green eyes. She couldn’t believe they surprised her with a secret party. A warm arm wrapped around her shoulder, pulling her into a tight hug. The birthday girl looked up to see Rouge being the first to give her a hug. There started to be another arm around them then there were two more. It seemed everyone came in to give the pink hedgehog a group hug. There was a giggle coming from the center of the group, everyone looking down to see a bright smile from the birthday girl. Everyone separated from the hug and started to head toward the table. The Chaotix were the first to start eating the array of snacks on the table. Omega and Blaze were working on making a bonfire. Big the Cat was fishing with Froggy. Silver seemed to have been working on arranging all the different birthday presents next to the table. Cream and Tails were working on a sandcastle. Knuckles sitting at the table with a plate of food when a sudden blur of blue came next to him. Sonic had just appeared at her party. Amy’s heart stopped for a moment when she saw the blue hedgehog. It took her a moment to breathe. She hasn’t spoken to the hero since their last conversation. Whenever the heroes finish a battle with Eggman, Sonic would immediately run off to his next adventure. Amy would watch as he ran away, but she stopped chasing after the blue blur. Amy turned around to look at the palm trees, she needed a moment for herself. As she was watching the breeze blowing on the leaves, her green eyes drifted down to see a dark figure. The light was shining on Shadow, as he was leaning against the tree with his arm crossed. There was a soft frown on his face, as his eyes were shut. Amy was surprised to see Shadow at a party. She started walking toward the black hedgehog until a hand grabbed her wrist.

“Amy, I want you to meet someone!” Rouge said, as she turned her around to greet the new guest. A red lion, with a white mane. He was wearing matching white boots and gloves. He had swim trunks with the sun symbol all over. A charming smirk appeared on his muzzle.

“This is Leo, he is a spy from G.U.N. I invited him to your birthday party. He is also a big fan of your truly~,” Rouge whispered the last part into her pink ear. The white bat gave her friend a wink.

“This must be the famous Amy Rose, it is lovely to finally meet you,” Leo took Amy’s hand and gave it a kiss. Amy’s face turned blight red at the bold gesture, this has never happened before. The pink hedgehog became overwhelmed from this overconfidence mobian. Rouge’s eyes light up at her best friend’s reaction. She had to use all her strength to not laugh at the birthday girl. “

It is nice to meet you as well,” Amy said nervously. She tried to hide the dizziness coming in her eyes.

“Hey! Why don’t you two go for a swim?” Rouge suggested. A deadly mischievous smirk appeared on her face. Amy’s body completely froze at the suggestion.

“I didn’t bring a swimsuit,” Amy gave a nervous laugh. She did not understand why her best friend was trying to set her up with this stranger.

“I just so happen to have gotten you a cute new swimsuit for your birthday!” Rouge replied, holding up a shiny red bag. A slow shaky smile coming on the pink hedgehog face. She is going to use her hammer when the two of them are alone. Amy took the bag and immediately went to the changing room before Rouge started suggesting more torture for her. A crimson eye opened at the sound of a certain pink hedgehog voice. He listened to the small group conversation the entire time. A firm frown coming on his muzzle at the sight of that damn playboy giving Amy’s hand a kiss. He looked away when he noticed how the pink girl was blushing from their encounter. Shadow didn’t understand why he was clenching his teeth, but the black hedgehog knew that he was going to kick that playboy ass during training. Amy came back with her new gift. A white Solid Ruffle Trim One Piece Swimsuit. There was the sound of a whistle coming from her best friend.

“Looking hot Pinky~” Rouge shouted, which caused everyone to look at her. Amy didn’t know that she could turn redder than ever before. She is so going to murder this woman later. Rouge’s teal eyes drifted to the blue boy, but he seemed to focus on the plate of chili dogs in front of him. The white bat slapped her forehead. Sighing to herself, Rouge looked over to Leo. A big smile came on his face at the sight of the cute girl. At least he seemed to be enjoying the view. The red lion walked over to Amy, taking her arm to guide her to the water. After trying to convince the birthday girl to join him in the water for 10 minutes straight, Amy finally accepted with a low groan. She was walking into the water when she felt a hand clasp around her waist. Her body trembled from this stranger that she didn’t even know for more than an hour.

“Let’s have a good time sweetheart~” Leo flirted. Amy could throw up in her mouth. He tried to flash her a charming smile.

“Hey, I’m totally sorry, but I do not find you attractive at all! Why don’t I invite some of my friends to have fun with me and you can try your chance with someone else?” Amy said bluntly. Amy moved his hand off her body, taking a step back. Leo seemed to be surprised at her response, he isn’t usually rejected. His confidence seems to be broken at her words. Amy called out for Cream and Tails to join her in the water. Leo excused himself, as he went back to the table with everyone. Amy felt a bit bad when she noticed how he looked defeated. There was a sound of snicker from a distant figure. Shadow was far enough away from everyone. He couldn’t help himself at the sight of this fool.

“Tsk how pathetic,” Shadow said to himself. Amy soon forgot about Leo, as she was spending time with her friends. She was able to open her gifts, eat cake, and play volleyball. She was starting to have a wonderful time. Amy looked over to see Leo trying to shoot his shot with Blaze. The purple cat seemed unimpressed. Sliver on the other hand, tried not to look disappointed with the encounter. He was about to walk away, but stopped when Blaze firmly stated that she was not interested. Sliver was in a better mood after watching Leo walk away with a look of grief on his face. Amy giggled to herself, he seemed to be out of luck that day. It was going to be dark soon, and Amy noticed everyone sitting around the bonfire. The birthday girl looked around and noticed the only seat available was next to Sonic. Amy shook her head to not think about the pain in her heart. She needed some fresh air. Her feet taking a step toward the water but were stopped by someone grabbing her hand. She turned around to face the red echidna.

“Where are you going?” Knuckles asked. Amy didn’t know what to say to him. She just wanted to be away from everyone for a moment, but she knew that he would be concerned. As Amy was able to open her mouth, a white bat jumped behind the echidna.

“What the hell!? Bat girl, what do you want?” Knuckles turned around to face Rouge.

“Ohhh~ I just wanted to ask if anyone was watching the Master Emerald since you are here with me~” Rouge batted her eyelashes. A wicked smile was coming on her face.

“Don’t even think about it bat girl!!” Knuckles shouted with his arms in the air. Rouge giggled, as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She made sure to press her chest against his. Knuckle’s body completely froze with red arms still in the air. Rouge looked at Amy and shifted her teal eyes toward the large boulder next to the pine trees. The pink hedgehog was confused at first, but soon realized that Rouge was giving her the green light to slip away. Amy was able to finally get behind the boulder without anyone else catching her. She breathes a sigh of relief. Emerald eyes looking across the water, the moon soon coming up to the dark sky.

“Trying to hide from everyone?” Amy’s body quakes at the sound of someone’s voice next to her. She looked down to see Shadow sitting against the boulder. He was staring up at the sky. A soft frown on his face.

“I just wanted a moment for myself...” Amy replied. She sat down next to Shadow.

“Do you wish for me to leave?” Shadow asked. He was confused by her words. The pink girl wished to be alone; yet she sat down next to him.

“No, it’s okay,” Amy said. Shadow looked at her, and thought to himself, how women can be confusing at times. They both looked across to the water, listening to the sound of nature around them. Shadow was completely content with the situation; however, Amy felt nervous with the awkward silence.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love spending time with all my friend… but sometimes I like some peace and quiet…. Do you know what I mean?” Amy awkwardly said. She looked up toward the stars. Shadow’s eyes shift toward the pink hedgehog.

“Completely,” Shadow agreed with her. There was silence between the two hedgehogs again. Amy didn’t know how to be in this awkward silence when she had so much boiled up inside her.

“I think I also needed some space from Rouge, she totally embarrassed me in front of everyone. I’m not sure why she bought Leo to my party! I feel like she was trying to set me up with him! Why would she do that when I am still trying to get over Sonic?” Amy finally expressing how she was feeling. There was so much anger behind her words. Shadow looked over the pink hedgehog with surprise, he had never seen her angry like this before. This was a situation that Shadow has never dealt with. He could help save the earth but not be able to talk about emotions. What kind of Ultimate Life Form was he? There was moment which Shadow would open his mouth, but words would not come out of it.

Finally, after taking a deep breath, Shadow was able to speak, “I believe that Rogue may have many skills, but communication does not seem to be one of them.”

“Why would you say that?” Amy asked, her left eyebrow rising with confusion.

Shadow’s face turned to look at her, his hand pointed at himself, “Have you seen her friends? Omega and I are not ones to talk about our feelings.” At that statement, Amy could not stop herself from laughing. There was a smirk appearing on his tan muzzle, a small chuckle coming from his mouth. There was always this pleasant feeling in the black and red hedgehog when he was able to make Amy laugh, it was an enjoyable sound to hear.

“You do make a good point, Shadow. I think that I may just need to talk to her about this, she is my best friend after all.” Amy said, after she was done laughing.

“I truly believe that she did not mean to harm you in any way, I believe she was trying to help you in her weird own way,” Shadow explained. After this, He will make it clear to all the other agents to decline the bat invite or else. This will not happen to Amy again.

“Maybe you are right… Rouge may be sneaky, but I know that she is always thinking of what is best for me even when I don’t know it,” Amy smirk at the thought of giving her troublemaker friend a complement.

“I have never seen Rouge make any friends since we have known each other, people did not trust her and for good reasons. She never trusted anyone, and people never trusted her; however, that changed when you two started to talk. I have never seen her so happy when she would speak about her day when you two spent time together,” Shadow finally shares his thoughts. He continues to look at her, going on. Amy was surprised to see Shadow talking about Rouge like this. He never spoke about anyone like this before. They are roommates but they seem closer than Amy had thought. She was happy that her best friend had a dear friend like him. The pink hedgehog felt content with the situation after their conversation.

“So what are you doing out here anyway?” Amy finally asked the question that was stuck in her mind.

“I needed to hide from faker, he would just challenge me to another damn race,” Shadow growled. He was getting annoyed with just the thought of the blue idiot.

“I’m surprised that you didn’t want to race him, I thought that you usually win. Scared to lose today?” Amy said mockingly. She just knew how to rile him up. The two hedgehogs have been spending more time together and they both seem to enjoy teasing each other.

“No way, I just didn’t want him crying at your birthday party,” Shadow said smugly. A wicked smirk appeared on his tan muzzle. Amy looked over to Shadow with a light blush. She always enjoyed it when she could make the black hedgehog smile. It was very rare but always so special for her.

“So.. I wanted to ask, how are you feeling after having faker here?” Shadow asked. He had noticed the blue idiot after he had arrived late to the party. He was pissed off that faker didn’t even go up to the birthday girl but maybe it was for the best.

“I’m not sure how to feel… we haven’t really spoken since our last talk… I know that Sonic is not good with communication, but I wish that he would had said more...” Amy slowly began to whisper her words. She moved her knee to her chest. The feeling of her heart breaking at the memory of that moment.

“I think he was too scared to tell me the truth, that he didn’t have the same feelings as me…” Amy finally said the words that everyone knew but she was the last one to accept it. Tears started to swell up in her green eyes, as they fell down her cheeks. The starry night became a blur to her. Everything finally crashed down on her. Amy didn’t want to hide her tears anymore. She wanted to let it all out. All the emotions that she had been bottling up inside. Shadow sat beside her the entire time, letting her express the emotions that she was feeling without judgment. He waited for her to calm down after a few minutes.

“I’m so sorry Shadow, you shouldn’t have seen me like that..” Amy whispered. She was trying to wipe the tears off her face.

“No need to apologize, I’m glad that you were able to express your emotions with me. I am always here for you,” Shadow whispered the last part to himself. His hand came upon her head and gave her a few pats for comfort. He is not one for giving comfort to others, but he always enjoyed when Maria would do this for him.

“Thank you, Shadow,” Amy tried not to cry again at how kind Shadow was being to her. She was also trying to hold herself back from giving the Ultimate Life Form a big hug.

“I almost forgot but I have a gift for you,” Shadow turned to his side to grab it and hand it to the birthday girl. Shadow dropped it onto Amy’s hand, it was a Rose Quartz crystal. Amy looked at how stunning it was.

“I was traveling during a mission and saw this when I thought of you,” Shadow said, but also not mentioning the meaning behind the crystal. A store clerk had noticed the serious hedgehog looking over the pink crystal. The human mention that this was known as a healing crystal. Shadow thought that this may be something the pink hedgehog needed in her life. As he was staring at the pink crystal, the serious hedgehog did not pay attention to the rest of the meaning behind the rose quartz. A crystal that had multiple meanings such as to help the owner to become open their heart for all kinds of love in their future.

“This is so beautiful! I will cherish this,” Amy softly whispers, as she held onto the crystal. She learned her head against Shadow’s shoulder, a yawn coming from the birthday girl. Her eyelids were getting heavy suddenly, she must have gotten tired from all the crying earlier. Shadow’s body froze when he felt something heavy on his shoulder, he had never experience something like this before. His head slowly turned to the side to see a sleeping girl on his shoulder. He was not sure what to do at that moment. He just stayed in that frozen position, to not wake up the sleeping girl. He could hear her softly breathing, she looked peaceful like this. How could something like this happen to him? Maybe he did help bring some comfort to the birthday girl after all.

“Oh, la la~ did I just find a couple of lovebirds over here?” a voice said behind the boulder, as there were footsteps coming toward the two hedgehogs.

“What are you doing over here, bat?” Shadow asked.

“oh nothing~ I wanted to check up on my best friend and I find her cuddling up to you~ is there something that I am missing?” Rogue giggled to herself. Shadow gave her a dark stare, as he was starting to become annoyed once again by this damn bat. He was about to move Amy away from his shoulder when Rouge moved to replace Shadow’s spot. Shadow was about to walk away when he suddenly remembered something.

“Hey I think you two should talk when she wake up,” Shadow said.

“My my my~ what could I had done now?” Rouge said with a shit eating smirk.

“I mean it, I think that you may have hurt her feelings. She is a good friend, don’t mess it up.” Rouge looked surprised at Shadow; he was not one to think of others feeling. The white bat looked down at her sleeping friend and wondered how much the two of them had changed. Shadow never seemed to care about her personal life unless it was something serious. Maybe it was good that she lead her best friend to the dark male. 

Shadow felt the need for coffee beans, to distract his mind. The sound of sniffling could be heard when Shadow opened the door from his room. He softly closed it behind him. He walked toward the top of the staircase, the sound of sniffling continued.

“I don’t even know why I am still crying over him.” Shadow’s ears flick around at the sound of the pink girl’s voice. His body froze before taking his first step down the stairs. Rose would consistently ask Shadow to join their group hangout whenever she came for a visit. He wondered why she didn’t ask him this time.

“There there, it’s okay to still be upset about it.” The sound of the white bat was picked up in his black ears. Shadow sat down on top of the stairs.

“But It’s been months and I thought that I would have been over him by now…”

“Honey, you have been in love with him for YEARS! It will take time, but I know that you will move on and find someone that will treat you better.” Shadow felt a sudden guilt for listening into the girl’s conversation. He was about to stand when he stopped at Rose’s words.

“What if I’m not good enough? If Sonic didn’t love me then who will?” Amy started to cry again. There was a tight grip on Shadow’s heart at the sound of her pain. The black hedgehog wished that he could be of aid.

‘Why did she not inform me of her visit? Did she not wish for me to see her tears?’ Shadow wondered to himself. The sound of a slam coming downstair interrupted his worries.

“AMY ROSE! I can’t believe my ears! You are a catch and Sonic is missing out! You are a strong, beautiful, and smart women! You are the full package! Any men would be too stupid to not see that!” Rouge shouted. There was silence between the girls for a few seconds until black ear caught the sound of giggles.

“What are you laughing about, pinky?” “I’m just really happy to have a friend like you,” Rose continued to giggle. Shadow let out a breath of relief, he didn’t realize that he was holding in. There was the sound of chairs moving and silent again.

“I think that I need to focus on moving on from having someone else make me happy, it is time to make myself happy.” There was sound of movement as the footsteps moved close to each other.

“Well, I’m proud of you! Hey, how about we go out for dinner this weekend?” Rouge asked, the sound of footsteps coming to the living room.

“That would be wonderful! Thanks Rouge!” The girls continued talking as they headed to the front door. Amy explained that she had to leave before it got dark out.

“Can you tell Shadow that I said hi and sorry that we didn’t get to hang out today. I will make it up next time!” Amy explained, the girls gave each other a hug.

“Don’t worry about it, I’m sure he will understand,” Rouge said, her body turned slightly. Her Teal eyes looked toward the top of the stairs. Shadow knew that he blended in darkness that the girls shouldn’t have seen him, but Rouge’s ears have better hearing than his. He wouldn’t be surprised if she had noticed him.

“You know how he is, always staying in his room,” she gave Shadow a mischievous look, as she turned and pointed up the stairs behind her. Shadow breath stopped when he saw the slight of green eyes looking up at him.

‘Chaos, she shouldn’t be able to see me, but my heart rate is still rising.’ Amy turned around as she left with Rouge closing the door behind her.

“Want to explain to me, why you were listening to our girl talk?” Rouge asked.

“I don’t know what you are speaking about, I required coffee beans, and I did not wish to interrupt your conversation with Rose,” Shadow explained. He finally stood up from the top of the stairs and came down to the living room. Rouge rolled her eyes and walked back to the kitchen, as Shadow followed behind. Rouge sat on her chair to finish her cup of coffee. Shadow sat down across from her, his glaze annoying the white bat.

“What’s up Shadow?” Rouge finally asked.

“I had heard the topic of dinner, why did you not invite me?” Shadow had a firm frown on his muzzle.

“I have asked you to come out with us many times before and you always said no,” Rouge raises her eyebrow at the black hedgehog.

“Tch, I do not recall this.”

“I’m pretty sure that I have asked you like 50 times to come out with me,” Rouge said with annoyance.

“CORRECTION! SHADOW HAS DENIED INVITATIONS TO DINNER 44 TIME IN THE TIME SPAM OF TEAM DARK LIVING SITUATIONAL,” Omega Interrupted their conversation, as he walked into the kitchen.

“What the hell are you doing here Omega?” Shadow growled; his head turned slightly to look up at the robot.

“I HAVE COME TO ROUGE’S AID, SHE HAD INFORM ME OF DINNER WITH AMY ROSE,” Omega replied. Shadow turned his head toward the white bat, her pink cell phone in her hands. Rouge rolled her Teal eyes. She put her cell phone away to put her focus on the Ultimate Life Form in front of her.

“Why does Omega get to go when he doesn’t even eat?” Shadow asked.

“Because he is pleasant company,” Rouge explained. She put her hands in front of her eyes as she started to have a headache from this conversation. “Fine, do you want to dinner with us?” “Hm, sure.” Rouge’s right eye started to twitch. What is she going to do with these two?

The pink hedgehog was walking from the parking lot toward the restaurant, which was a few blocks away. She didn’t mind the walk as it was a beautiful sweater weather day. She was playing her music with her headphones on as she started to sing along with the song.

“It’s me

H- “

“Hi! I’m the problem,

it’s me.”

Amy turned toward her side to notice Shadow was walking along with her. His voice caught her attention as he continued singing along to the song.

“Shadow! Are you a Swiftie??” Amy jumped in front of him. His face turned away with embarrassment.

‘What have I done…’ Shadow whispered to himself.

“I must admit she’s made remarkable country albums,” Shadow replied awkwardly. Amy had grabbed his hands as she held them in front of her.

“We can listen to the whole album together! It’s perfect!” Amy giggled to herself. She was becoming electrified from the thought of finally finding another swiftie. Shadow sighed heavily at this conversation. This was one of his deepest secrets as he did not want anyone to know how much he enjoyed this type of music. He will never hear the end of it from Rouge after this incident. Amy was getting lost in her excitement that she almost forgot the tickets that she had been saving for an occasion like this.

“This is just wonderful! I have two tickets for February, and I didn’t know who to take with me! Would you like to come with me?” She couldn’t stop smiling toward the black hedgehog as her tail was wagging. There was a warm feeling overcoming Shadow’s muzzle. He didn’t know why but he admired the way Rose could easily express her emotions. There was a lengthy delay from Shadow, as the silence continued between the two hedgehogs. Amy started to get worried that she may have overstepped his boundaries.

She was loosening her grip on his hands, as she had difficulty speaking, “w-w-we can go as f-friends! I hope you didn’t think this was some kind of d-da-date or something!” She couldn’t help herself from having a self-conscious laugh. She didn’t know if she would even be able to go to the concert after dying from this embarrassment first.

“I accept your invitation,” Shadow replied, his eyes looking away as the corners of his mouth curved slightly upward. Amy squeezed his hands when she noticed the small smile on Shadow’s face, it was a pleasant sight to see. Amy was releasing his hands when she finally realized that she was standing on the sidewalk with Shadow the Hedgehog.

She looked at him with confusion as she asked, “hey Shadow, not to be rude, but what are you doing here?”

“Hmph, Rouge had invited me to dinner after the 45th times and I finally agreed to attend,” Shadow replied as he started to continue his walk toward the restaurant. Amy started to walk along her friend with a big grin.

“I’m so glad that you are finally coming to dinner with us! I have been really enjoying our hangouts at the Team Dark house,” Amy looked up at Shadow as she continued to walk with him. He looked surprised at her comment but seemed pleased. They walked together into the restaurant to see a big smirk on their bat friend.

Shadow was able to finally come home after a stressful day at G.U.N. He just wanted to come home to relax for once. It will be nice for him to wrap around his blanket with all this cold weather lately. As the black hedgehog opened his front door, he was greeted by Amy and Rouge. He gave them an unamused look. He has no idea what he just walked into.

“What am the hell are you guys doing?” Shadow was conflicted to ask but did anyway.

“We are having a girl night!” Amy said excitedly. The girls seem to be wearing some weird green cream all over their faces. The pink girl was wearing a green headband with her hair up in a bun. She was wearing a matching heart PJ. A light blush surfaced on Shadow’s muzzle which he was able to hide by fake coughing.

“Omega, where are our snack??” Rouge shouted. She was wearing a blue headband with a big ribbon on the front. She was wearing her usual blue silk PJ. Shadow turned toward the kitchen to see Omega come into the living room. Shadow froze at the sight of the robot, he started to blink multiple.

“Omega, what the hell are you doing?” Shadow couldn’t believe that he had to even ask.

“OBSERVATION: GIRL NIGHT”

“But why are you wearing that?!” Shadow moved his arm up and down to prove his point. Omega also had green goo all over his ‘face.’ He had a huge red scrunchy headband around his ‘neck.’ Shadow had no idea how, but the robot was wearing a huge red silk robe.

“RESULT: RELAXATION” Shadow just hit his face at the robot replies. He has no idea why he deals with his crazy teammates at time. He was able to walk away when his ears flickered at the sound of a cheerful voice.

“Shadow! Come join us!” Amy asked.

“Come on pinky, Shadow would nev-“ Rouge was trying to help but was suddenly interrupted by Shadow.

“Sure.” Rouge looked shocked at the black hedgehog but was surprised that the pink hedgehog was able to convince the huge grump to agree. Shadow would usually head straight to his room after coming from the office. He was the grumpiest when he had to come back from doing paperwork. Amy took out a pink headband with cat ears for Shadow which he gave her an unamused look on his face, but still put it on. Rouge had to stop herself from busting out in laughter when she saw the black hedgehog in the green face mask and headband.

“At least I will look young and youthful,” Shadow said smugly. Rouge gave the black hedgehog her death stare.

“Hey! Play nice you two!” Amy said, as she continues to put more of the green face mask on Shadow’s face. Rouge went on to show the black hedgehog how to use proper skin care produce after. It was from that very day that Shadow would start his twenty-step skin-care routine. 

“So any big plan for the most romantic night of the year?” Rouge teased, as she took a sip of her coffee.

“Rouge, you know that I am just focusing on myself right now!” Amy gasped, as she crossed her arms. She couldn’t believe that Valentine’s Day was only a month away. It has almost been a year since she got stood up from Sonic. It was after the incident that she started to slowly let go of her feelings for the famous hero. Amy was sad at first, but she always remained herself that she needed to move on to be able to grow as Amy Rose and not Sonic’s fake girlfriend. She had worked hard to become the hero that she always dreams of being.

“Whatever you say, but I know the hopeless romantic in you is still there,” Rouge narrowed her eyes with a big smirk on her face. Amy couldn’t deny that she was still hoping to find her true love, but she loved herself and that was enough for the pink hedgehog.

Amy started to feel awkward as she tried to change the subject, “so I was thinking of having a girl’s night for Valentine’s Day since most of our friends don’t have any plans.” This had gotten the bat attention, her ears flickered to her friend’s invite.

“Well I had planned to go see Knuckie and the Master Emerald for our usual secret date, but it would be fun to have the big idiot miss me,” Rouge laughed at the thought of knuckles trying to act cool and not bothered at the thought of her absent during date night.

“Great! I was planning to invite Cream, and Blaze as well. I thought we all could watch girly chick flicks and eat some popcorn.”

“So we won’t have fun with any boys that day?” Rouge said with a mischievous look in her eyes.

“No boys will be involved in our girl’s night!” Amy pouted.

“my my~ how boring you have become,” Rouge stated as she shrugged her shoulders.

“I don’t want any funny business on that day from you,” Amy pointed her finger at the sneaky bat. Rouge tried to a supported friend after last year incident. She was upset with the blue fool for leaving a gorgeous girl behind. Every chance that they had seen a handsome fellow during their hangout, Rouge would try to push her friend to put a move on them. Amy always refused the invite as she wanted to focus on her own well-being. Rouge had no problem with her pink friend focusing on herself; however, she didn’t want her friend to miss a great opportunity because she feared another rejection.

“I wouldn’t dream of it~ I cross my heart and hope to die,” the white bat traced an upright cross across her body with a smirk. Amy narrowed her eyes at her devious friend but released a breath of relief when there seem to be no trick behind Rouge’s words. Amy was going to comment on her friend’s statement but stopped when she heard the front door opening. A grin appearing on her face when she realized that it was the ebony hedgehog. He looked shocked to see the girls sitting at the Team Dark kitchen table, he did not expect company after coming home from a mission.

“Good morning Shadow! Would you like to have some coffee with us?” Amy asked.

“Thanks but no thanks, I was planning to head to my ro-“Amy interrupted him.

“Awww come join us! I haven’t seen you in a while since you been busy with missions lately,” Amy gave the annoyed hedgehog her famous puppy eye look. He rolled his eyes as he accepted her invitation. Shadow has noticed the increase difficulty of denying any request from Rose. It was one of the things that peeved him. He didn’t understand why he would easily accept a request from the pink girl, but he always dreaded having to do anything for his bat friend. The two girls continue their conversation as Shadow sat at the table in the background. He didn’t listen to the topic. His body faced forward to the window, but his eyes would move to look at Rose. He would nod his head when it seen like she was talking to him, but he kept staring at the way her lips would move when she spoke. Shadow snapped out of his trance from a hand waving in front of his face.

“Shadow, did you even listen to anything I was saying?” Amy pouted.

“Of course,” Crimson eyes moved up to gaze at her Emerald eyes.

“Are you excited for next month?” Amy asked. The male hedgehog body froze. Next month will be February which Shadow tried to put the thought behind. He had so much on his mind after last year.

‘Does she know about that day?’ Shadow was getting lose in his thoughts until a squeal startled Team Dark members.

“I can’t help myself! I am just so excited for the Taylor Swift concert!” Amy squealed again after holding in all her excitement. Shadow sighed out a breath of relief. Today would not be the day for that conversation.

“I still can’t believe that you convinced this grump to go with you,” Rouge laughed. She didn’t believe Amy at first when she heard the news. Rouge thought it was a joke. There was no way that this metal head was going to a country concert with this cute pink girl, but here he was.

Amy woke up with a rush of excitement as she had been waiting for this day for months. It was the night of the Taylor Swift concert. This will also be the first time that she will be hanging out with Shadow without the group. There was a small anxious feeling crawling inside Amy’s chest as she couldn’t stop the thoughts of Shadow abandoning their plan. Amy shook her head to get rid of that thought. She needed to focus on getting ready for the day. The pink hedgehog continued with her day but couldn’t shake off the fear in her mind.

‘What if he doesn’t show up?’

‘Does he even want to come with me?’

‘What will happen if I have to go by myself?’ Amy stopped herself as she was midway of getting ready, she took a deep breath and calmed down. She reminded herself that Shadow was not Sonic.

‘Even if something come up, I can always go by myself. I will not let a boy ruin my night,’ She felt at peace finally when she reassured herself. Amy was looking at the mirror, the reflection shows the pink hedgehog in a green sweetheart neck butterfly sleeve dress. She had put on a golden headband with her gold bracelet on her wrists.

She smiled softly at herself as she reminded herself, “I look and feel beautiful today!” Amy was looking at the time and noticed that it was already 5:55 PM, there was 5 minutes left until Shadow had planned to pick her up. The anxiety was starting to grow again as the clock continued to tick. Her thoughts were becoming overwhelming with doubts.

‘Was it a good idea to ask him?’ ‘Am I just going to get ditched again? ‘Why do I keep doing this to myself?’ Her heart wouldn’t stop racing until it froze at the sound of knocking on her front door. She turns toward the clock, it was 6 PM on the dot. Her body rush as she opened the door and jumped into Shadow’s arm. Her pink arms wrapped around Shadow’s neck as she couldn’t hold in the tears anymore. The black hedgehog was startled at the sudden embrace. His eyes widened in shock. His body became tensed. He hasn’t this kind of affection since she had hugged him on Prison Island.

“I’m sorry about this but I really needed this. Thank you so much for showing up,” Amy cried as she tried to not get any tears on his black fur; however, Shadow was more concerned about the reason behind her tears.

“What has upset you Rose?” Shadow growled. Amy flinched at his reaction, she believed that her affection was the cause for his anger. The grip of her arms was loosening but his arms clutched around her waist and took her back into their embrace.

“You can hold on to me as long you need,” his voice sounded reassuring. It seen to bring comfort in this situation. Amy took some deep breaths and was able to calm down.

“Sorry about all the crying. I was worried that you were not going to show up,” there was a grasped coming from the black hedgehog.

“Of course, I was coming along with you. I have given you my word. I would never leave you behind,” his fingers picked up her pink chin as the two hedgehogs glaze into each other eyes. Their bodies jumped at the alarm on Amy’s phone.

“Oh no! We better hurry or we are going to be late!” Amy shouted, as Shadow let go of her. She ran to car but stopped when she noticed that she was missing someone. Shadow seen frozen in time as he couldn’t move since they detached from their embrace. He didn’t understand the feeling, but he missed the warmth of her touch. It felt completely different from their first encounter.

“Shadow! What are you doing? Let’s go before we miss the show!” Amy’s voice snapped Shadow back to reality. He walked toward her as he put his hand around her waist again. There was silence between them. The only sound coming Shadow, as his hand went through his quills.

A green emerald appearing out of his quills, Shadow holding it up as he shouted, “Chaos Control!” There was a flash of green light that blinded Amy. She held her arms up to cover her eyes, but it was too late, her vision became blurry. A black figure appeared in front of her which she assumed was Shadow. Amy was not able to make out her surrounding for a few minutes.

“Hey! You have to give me a head up before you do that,” Amy sounded upset as she kept rubbing her eyes.

“My apologies Rose. I am consistently teleporting that I forget about others,” Shadow panicked. He did not know how to make this situation better until he started to pat her head.

“I will stay with you until the dizziness go away,” Shadow sounded concerned about her wellness which Amy appreciated. Her vision started to come back when she saw that they were at the stadium.

“Oh my garia! We are really here!!” Amy forgot about her dizziness when she saw the sign of Taylor Swift faces everywhere. She started to run until Shadow grabbed her arm.

“Hey don’t push yourself. I understand your eagerness, but I would not want you to collapse during the performance.”

“I will be fine! I am stronger than I look,” Amy teased, as she sticked her tongue out.

“I do not doubt your strength, I am just making sure of your well-being. I will feel relieve if you hold onto my hand until we get to our seats,” Shadow released her arm as he held out his hand for her. This has been such a weird day for both of them. There have been multiple instances of physical touch between the two mobians. Amy held onto Shadow’s hand, as there was an electrical feeling overcoming their hand to his whole body. The warmth feeling coming on Shadow’s muzzle from their touch. He continued their walk to hide the dark shade around his ears. The concept was starting as everyone got to their seats. The blast of the music was so loud that everyone could only listen to Taylor’s singing. Amy was dancing to the music as Shadow stood next to her. His eyes closed as he nodded his head to the music. The hedgehogs were relishing the moment. Shadow ears flickered as he was listening to the lyrics of his favorite song. He opened his eyes as the song continued. His attention turned toward Rose. The way she looked enchanting as she smiled up at him, it took his breath away.

“Get it off your chest

Get that off my desk

That lavender haze

I just wanna stay

I just wanna stay in that lavender haze”

Shadow couldn’t take his eyes off her as the lyric of the song was getting to him. He noticed the way her gold bracelets were jiggling around her wrists. Her pink quills were moving around her shoulders, the red headband holding her hair together. Gosh how much he wanted to take it off and see how wild her quills would be, as it was dancing around her.

“Amy I-“ his voice was cut off as the sound of cheering drown out his words. Taylor was walking off the stage as that was the end of the show. Amy was done cheering when she turned toward Shadow.

“I’m sorry, were you trying to say before?” She asked. Shadow felt his throat tighten as he couldn’t say the words that were overwhelming his mind.

“It’s nothing of importance. I enjoyed our time together, thank you for the invitation,” Shadow smiled softly at Rose. This was the first time that he has ever seen truly happy with her.

Amy was walking around the flower shop, the smell of different flowers surrounding her. It has been a while since Amy had come to visit ‘Vanilla’s Garden.’ She had been so busy lately that she never seen to be in the city as much.

“Hello Amy dear!” Vanilla greeted, her arm wrapping around the pink hedgehog. The rabbit was happy to see her daughter friend again after so long.

“How have you been? How was the concert last night? Are you eating and sleeping properly?” Vanilla started asking multiple questions which was overwhelming Amy. She had come to see Cream, but it seen like that will have to wait.

“Hello Vanilla! I have been taking proper care of myself, so don’t worry. I had an amazing time with Shadow. I was glad to have someone with me,” Amy smiled to herself at the memories of the concert. Amy noticed the grin on Vanilla’s face as she stared at the daydreaming girl.

“So how has the shop been doing?” Amy asked nervously. She needed to change the subject. She knew that the rabbit will be busy soon as Valentine’s Day was only three days away.

“Well it have been doing wonderful but I did have an interesting encounter with a customer today.”

“Oh what happened?” Amy asked curiously, she kept walking around the shop as she was looking at each flower.

“Well the young man wanted to buy all the flowers in the shop,” Vanilla replied with an awkward laugh.

Amy turned around with her eyes wide open, “he wanted to buy all the flower?? That is crazy!”

“Well I did tell him that it may be a bit overwhelming for the person. We found other flowers that seen to satisfied him. It was indeed an interesting day,” Vanilla let out a sigh of relief. Amy was curious about this crazy customer but changed her mind as she knew it was a bad idea to ask.

“So what bring you to my shop today?”

“Oh! I was looking for Cream! She told me that she would be here today,” Amy replied.

“She is in the back. She is planting the new flowers,” her glove pointed to the back room of the shop.

“I just needed to talk to her about our sleepover then I need to do some shopping since I am in the city.”

“Okay Amy dear, please be careful out there.”

“I always am!” Amy gave a tight hug to the orange rabbit as she walked toward the back. Vanilla looked at her ‘daughter’ with a pleasing smile.

Rouge was the last one to arrive to Amy’s house for their girl’s night. She had explained there was a mission for a precious gem. It seen like she had some help with her ‘Important treasure hunt.’ There was no way for her to hide the dark mark on her white fur.

“Let’s get this party started with gifts!” Rouge shouted with her arms in the air.

“Wait what gifts?!” Amy asked with confusion. There were no conversations about gifts giving at their sleepover. The feeling of guilt grew by the second as everyone took out presents.

“Amy don’t worry! We all wanted to give you gifts to show our appreciation,” Cream replied. Amy looked at her three best friends and couldn’t stop the tears swelling up in her eyes. Everyone put their presents aside and went to give Amy a group hug.

“Please don’t cry! We all wanted to make you happy today!” Blaze explained nervously. The princess didn’t get to see her pink friend often. She is always needed in her dimension; however, she knew that she couldn’t miss this important day. The anniversary of Amy’s biggest heart break, Blaze would not leave her friend to suffer alone.

“There there, we are all here for you,” Rouge cooed, her hand bushing Amy’s quills.

“N-no this is wonderful; I love you guys so much!” Amy embraced everyone with a trembling smile. The tears did not want to stop, and the pink hedgehog was having a hard time seeing the smiles on all of her friend’s faces.

“Well if everyone is done with all the weepy sappy stuff, let’s enjoy this night for us girls!” There was a loud sound of music blasting behind Amy as she noticed the white bat by the speaker. Everyone parted ways to join Rouge in the dance party. Everyone laid down after dancing their heart out. It was calm, and everything seen to be at peace again. Cream sat up to grab her present.

“Amy, I hope you like the gift I got for you,” Cream said nervously. Amy sat up as she opened the orange box. Inside was a new green headband.

“I love it so much Cream! Thank you!” Amy jumped up to give her a tight hug as she rubbed their cheeks together. There was a cough behind them, both girls turned around to see the purple cat. Blaze held out a gold bag for Amy to open next. Amy opened the bag to find new pairs of green shoes. Amy stood up and immediately tried them out. They fit perfectly on her feet.

“Thank you so much Blaze!” Amy gave a tight hug to the princess. Blaze looked away awkwardly from their physical affection. The bat had picked out a lovely emerald necklace for her bestie to show her love for their fascinating friendship.

“Wow! This is beautiful Rouge, thank you!” Amy was dazzled by the jewelry.

“Anything for my bestie!” Rouge said. She will have to ask to borrow the dazzling jewelry. Of course, the jewel thief will see if her bestie will even notice that it was gone. She may be getting softer because of their relationship but she had no plan to change who she was.

“Gift giving is all done! What is the next plan for the night?” Rouge clapped her hands to get everyone attention.

“Well I was planning for us to watch girly movies for the rest of the night,” Amy replied. Everyone nodded their head except for the white bat.

“Come on Amy! We need some drama! Something crazy need to happen that will this night even better~” Rouge smiled mischievously. Her mind was going to multiple directions for the night to get even more exciting until there was a knock on the door.

“I wonder who would come over this late,” Amy wondered, as she was standing up. She looked back at her sneaky friend to see if she had something to do with this.

“Oh my my~ could that be lover boy for you?” Rouge teased her innocence friend with a smirk.

“HA HA very funny Rouge, I really hope this is not one of your schemes again,” Amy gave her friend a serious look with hope that this didn’t have to involve a boy again. Amy was opening her door when she felt a sudden gust of wind blowing her away. It had stopped just as she had completely opened her door, she looked around to see what had caused the weird weather change. Amy grasped when she looked down to find a surprise. Everyone walked up to Amy to see what had surprised her.

Rouge was talking behind everyone as she got cut off, “oh I would neve-“the girls all saw a red ribbon wrapped around the vase that held yellow with red tips roses.