*Sonic's POV*
I had to go hide in the closet when Rouge came to check on Shadow. She forced him to lay down and get some rest. I didn't blame her, I also wanted him to rest. He looked pretty tired, especially after taking down the robots on his own. I was tired too, but I couldn’t sleep thinking of Shadow needing me.

I was right. Sometime during the night, as I leaned back against the wall and silently read a book with a small book light, I heard Shadow tossing and turning. My ears perked up remembering about his nightmare, so I looked out the closet to make sure Rouge wasn't there. The house was silent, so I figured she must have fallen asleep in the living room.

I walked out of the closet and walked to Shadow, resting my hand on his shoulder and moving the blanket up, covering him. I sat beside him and rubbed his arm, then leaned down to whisper in his ear.

"It's okay, Shadz. It's just a dream again. Everything's okay." My heart fluttered when I felt him relax at my touch. "You're not as tough as you make others think." I quietly chuckled to myself and continued, forcing myself to stay awake even though I felt just as tired.

I stayed by his side for a few hours, quietly making sure he wouldn't have another bad dream and looking out the window. The sun was finally starting to come out. Rouge would be gone soon, and we will be able to talk about what happened. Maybe. Unless Shadow would divert the conversation back to the mission.

When I heard footsteps getting closer to the door, I stood up, causing Shadow to wake up and notice I was letting go of him. The look he gave me, it broke me. He looked almost sad but instantly shook it off and looked at the door, hearing Rouge get closer.

I went in the closet just in time before she could see me. I watched as Shadow slowly sat up and stretched, and she smiled at him.

"Was that so hard? How are you feeling?" She flew closer to him, standing by his side.

"Better." He mumbled as he stood up. "What are you still doing here?"

"I needed to make sure you actually got some rest. Plus, I want to know who you were hiding here all night." She smirked as she pointed to my direction.

"What?" Shadow snapped. "What are you talking about, Bat?" He clenched his fists, but Rouge walked closer, her hand resting on her hip.

"Enhanced hearing, Hun." This was bad. This was bad. This was bad. "I could hear footsteps and whispers coming from your room."

"Rouge. Wait!" But Rouge didn't listen and opened the door. Her smile dropped when she saw me.

I raised my hands and slowly stood up. "I-I can explain." I nervously smiled as I walked out.

"Sonic?" She gasped and touched my face. "You're -" She stopped, she moved her hands to my arms, and then my shoulders. Almost as if checking, she was not speaking to a ghost. "You're alive!" She seemed relief, but in a split second, her mood changed and grabbed my hand, pulling me forward and kneed me in the stomach.

I gasped and groaned as I fell to my knees, holding my stomach in pain. I looked up, one eye closed. Shadow took a step forward but immediately held back when Rouge snapped her head back at him. She was furious. And not only at me.

"Wait. Wait." I stood up, stumbling to the side, causing Shadow to chaos control to my side, wrapping an arm around me to help me stay up. "Let me explain. Shadow isn't at fault here. So don't get mad at him."

"What is going on here?" She crossed her arms. "You are dead, Sonic. We had a funeral for you, and we were mourning your loss!" She raised her voice, she flew up, ready to use one of her famous screw kicks on us.

"Listen to him, Rouge!" Shadow spoke up. I'm glad to see he is feeling better.

"Talk fast." She ordered, and I nodded. I quickly explained to her what had happened and what Shadow and I did at Eggmans base. "So it wasn't just you, Sonic was there too." She landed in front of us again, understanding the situation. "Blue. I'm so sorry." She sighed and hugged me tightly.

"You are a good kicker." I chuckled painfully.

"You didn't sleep, did you, Hedgehog? You need rest." Shadow guided me to sit on his bed.

"Couldn't sleep in the closet. But I did finish the book you had there. There's got to be a sequel, right? They can't just kill him like that." I joked, making him roll his eyes.

"Why didn't you just share the bed?" Roige asked. "If you would have just told me about this sooner then -" Shadow and I looked at each other then looked away, the two of us remembering our kiss, causing Rouge to notice there was something else we were keeping from her. "Okay. Spill it out."

"It's nothing. Shadow would just have kicked me off the bed. You know how he is." I waved it off. But it wasn't convincing enough to Rouge.

"The truth." She demanded.

Just before I could speak yet another lie, Shadow interrupted, speaking the truth, taking me off guard. "We are dating, Bat."

"H-Huh?" I blushed, not expecting that. Were we? Shadow looked at me, his eyes meeting mine, then looked back at Rouge, and with a scoff, he walked past her and out the door. Rouge was still speechless, actually.

I wanted to chase after Shadow, but she blocked my way. I looked at her, her gaze intense and cold, and I gulped. Afraid.

"You're dating?" She asked me, and I slowly nodded.

"Y-Yeah." What else could I say? This was news to me, too. But I should have expected it from Shadow. I didn't mind it. In fact, I liked it. I was dating Shadow.

A smile quickly appeared on her face, and she grabbed my hand, pulling me closer. "You better tell me everything later." She whispered.

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Had a major panic attack when I got here and Wattpad kept telling me I had no stories. The only book that showed was the one that is Coming Soon.