*Shadow's POV*
"And here I thought you weren't even going to get in the water." Rouge said as she walked to me and Sonic. "Here. Down the street from here is my parents' cabin. I'll keep an eye on Cream. You make sure Sonic is okay." She handed me a key. Everyone had gathered around Sonic and me by now.

"We can take him. We need to -" Sonia said as she pushed through to be beside Sonic.

"I'm okay, sis." Sonic smiled as he slowly stood up. "But I would rather stay away from the water, you continue having fun, and just text me when you want to go home."

"Are you sure? We can go with." Manic said now, I stood up as well and nodded at Rouge. Making sure she would keep an eye on Cream while I was gone.

"Yes. I'm sure. You enjoy the lake. I just need a break." He said as she started walking away. I waved at Cream, and then I walked to Sonic after grabbing my backpack. I took out the chaos emerald, and chaos controlled the two of us outside the cabin. "What the -" Sonic gasped, but I ignored him and unlocked the door.

"Sorry." I apologized as I put the emerald back into my backpack and walked inside. "Are you sure you are okay?" I asked, and he nodded as he walked in.

I turned on the lights and looked around, spotting the kitchen and walking in that direction. Knowing Rouge, this was her party spot, so I knew she would have food. I opened the fridge and was not surprised when I indeed found perfectly fine groceries.

"I am. Thank you again for saving me... again." He chuckled softly. "My hero." He joked, causing me to roll my eyes and start taking out some meat to cook something.

"You're going to cook something?" He asked.

"No. I'm going to stare at it." I answered sarcastically. He started laughing and got closer to me.

"Can I help?" I stayed quiet then passed him an onion, a cutting board, and a knife.

At some point while we were cooking, Sonic started humming a song, and I don't know when but I started humming back with him. Other than our humming, the place was quiet. It was just us, and it felt so relaxing, so peaceful.

Somehow, during these past few months of knowing Sonic, I grew attached to him. I grew comfortable and felt safe with him. I trusted him, and he trusted me back. At some point, I stopped feeling so annoyed, and it wasn't bothersome when he was around. In fact, I started to look forward to going back to class where I could be around him, even if I didn't talk to him. It just felt nice to be around him.

"You're smiling again." He said as he leaned over the counter to look at my face. I looked at him, my eyes meeting his. I placed the knife down and turned to be able to be face to face with him. "What happened?" He was smiling happily and jumped to sit on top of the counter. He started swinging his legs since they didn't reach the floor.

"Nothing." I said, my tone softening for the first time with someone other than Cream, Vanilla, or Maria. I got closer. "Are you sure you're okay?" I asked again, standing between his legs and raised my hand to touch his forehead.

"I am, look." He grabbed my hand and placed it on his chest, I could feel his heart. "You see. I'm okay." He kept that smile on his face as he let go of my hand but leaned forward and hugged me. "Thanks for worrying about me, Shadz."

Being this close to him sent an overwhelming feeling all over my body, which I was unsure on what it could be. I just knew I needed to hug him back, so I did. There was no tension, no awkward moment, no panic, nothing, we were both enjoying this moment.

Until I acted without thinking, I pushed his quills back and kissed his forehead. Sonic tensed up, and I did as well when I realized what I had just done. I quickly pulled away and cleared my throat, then turned off the stove, the food was done anyway.

"I have to go check on Cream."

*Sonic's POV*
My blush simply worsened when Shadow walked out of the cabin. Did we just have a moment?

Did Shadow the freaking Hedgehog and I just have a moment?

I looked at the door, hoping for him to come back, but when he didn't, I jumped down from the counter. I looked down at the food, then served it on to go plates and washed the dishes used. I grabbed the keys and took the food with me after air locked the door and dashed off back to the lake.

Shadow was sitting by the edge of the lake, watching Cream as he talked to Rouge. I wanted to walk to him and talk to him, but I was also very confused and scared, so I didn't. I sat down on the table and started eating, I saw Shadows backpack and placed the sealed container inside his backpack so he could eat it later.

"You're back so soon?" I turned to look at Tails as he walked beside me with his towel wrapped around his shoulders.

"Yeah. I just needed to calm down the scare." I chuckled softly and patted the spot beside me. "So Cream?" I asked, and he blushed. "How long?"

"I-I mean. I think since we met each other. But we were too young. I am barely realizing how I've felt all along." Tails confessed.

"Have you told her?" I asked, and he shook his head.

"I get too nervous. Plus, I am afraid Shadow will kill me." He scratched the back of his neck. "I'm surprised you've gotten so close to him. Aren't you afraid of him?" I looked in direction where Shadow was.

"Honestly?" I said softly and smiled. "Not in the least."