Shadow walked his way through G.U.N.'s training room. He popped his back and his neck. His body was completely healed from the crash of five days ago and he was ready to throw some punches at the new agents.

Some of the agents trembled while others were excited to battle the famous Shadow the Hedgehog.

"Volunteers?" Shadow asked as he finished putting sports tape around his hands.

The tape wasn't for his protection but to soften the punches the agents might receive.

An orange wolf volunteered, he seemed confident in his abilities. He gave Shadow a cocky smile and Shadow felt anger rise within him.

He just reminded him of a certain blue hedgehog.

"That's Alex... he was on the top three of our graduating class!"

"His defense technique was implacable"

"I believe even Shadow is going to have trouble with this one."

Shadow heard the agents whisper between themselves. The black hedgehog and orange wolf walked to the middle of the gymnasium.

Shadow had his hands crossed and had a soft stance, confident oh his skills he said;

"I am ready,"

.

The training was done and most of the agents were beaten badly.

Shadow really tried to restrain himself with everyone but he found himself giving a little too much than they can handle.

He came out of G.U.N's building, riding his favorite bike, BB. It was nighttime already and Shadow decided to take a ride throughout the city just for the joy of it.

The day he was racing and crashed DR, the motorcyclists were nice enough to let him keep his bike.

He didn't know if it was niceness or was the 1000 rings he gave to each one of them.

He decided that DR was better off with Amy. He wanted to keep it for himself, but the constant worry that Maria could steal it again hunted his mind. In the next few days, he fixed the bike and left it in front of the Resistance. He knew very well that Amy was going to take it in.

He found himself enjoying the loneliness of the ride. He took the longest path still not wanting to go home. He knew that Maria most be waiting for him at his apartment ... but maybe not.

Unconsciously, Shadow went to the places he thought Amy would be at. He passed by the hot dog place, the arcade, the park, the Resistance, the restaurant she used to work at. He regretted not asking Rouge where Amy got employed. If he knew that information, he would have checked it out as well.

He wanted to see her. Talk to her, be with her.

He couldn't understand why he was so angry at Amy and Sonic. He should be happy for them ... Just like he was happy with Maria.

He was better than before. He was content that he was giving a new chance to be loved.

So why couldn't he stop feeling that something was missing?

Shadow sighed, it was enough for today. He was waiting for the traffic light to turn green, the pedestrians were still passing in front of them.

And as if Chaos wanted it, he saw pink between the crowd.

.

Amy finished her night shift; she could feel her eyes closing as she walked. She was feeling a bit dizzy and she was hungry as well. She carried a bag with leftover food from the restaurant but although she wanted to eat, her need for sleep was stronger.

She was extremely tired but it was worth it since she could afford this month's payment of the Resistance.

She walked through the streets of the city, she enjoyed how lively it was. Friends, couples, families, she just liked how everyone interacted.

Amy looked at her phone, checking her bank account. She sighed, she had 500 rings she could use for the rest of the month. Minus 100 for her monthly cellphone payment, minus 70 to pay the water bill, minus 120 to get groceries, minus-

Amy put down her phone, she could worry about this tomorrow. Right now all she wanted to do was to get to the Resistance and sleep.

Amy crossed the streets and walked through alleys. Some guys whistled and catcalled her but she just flipped them off, they weren't worth her time.

She finally turns around the corner where the Resistance was and her eyes glittered when she spotted her rusty home. Her eyes shone brighter when she found Shadow waiting for her at the entrance.

She approached him slowly and when they were closed enough. They share silent stares at each other and after a few seconds; they both spoke at the same time.

"I am sorry."

"I am sorry."

At the words of each other, they both looked at the ground, feeling some type of warmth come to their cheeks.

"I am going to be clear..." Amy said in a low whisper but Shadow was able to hear it clearly. "I don't support you dating Maria and probably never will. But, you know I can't stay angry at you for long. ... So I have come in terms with it and if you believe she is good for you then ... I can't do anything but accept it."

Shadow couldn't think of a single reason why he was blessed by having such a great friend like Amy. He regretted ever having such negative views of the pink hedgehog before he met her. He tried putting words in his mouth, but he found himself at loss of words.

But it wasn't only because of their embarrassing situation; but because up until now, he was noticing just how beautifully astonishing Amy was.

Her tired eyes, her messy her, the small breakouts in her skin and even her wrinkled clothes enhanced her beauty. She was a total mess and regular Mobian would consider Amy average or even below it. However, Shadow couldn't see any mistake, no fault in the beautiful creation Chaos had placed in front of him.

But it wasn't the moment to think about it now.

"I am sorry too ... I understand why you reacted the way you did and I know Maria may have left a bad impression-"

"Shadow," Amy said, "I really don't want to hear it. While you are with me ... Can we please not talk about her?"

Shadow nodded, knowing that her proposal was the best at the moment. Now that they were in better terms, Shadow wanted to ask Amy about a certain blue hedgehog.

"Would you like to go inside?"

But on the other hand, that may wait.

He agreed and Amy guided him inside the place she called home. Shadow still remember it too well. He had become a bit nostalgic, he wasn't too fond of the place. It used to be very lively, day and night there would be agents walking through the corridors. Agents going in and out of missions, some explosions now and then coming from the Science and Technology department. He even remembered Amy walking through the corridors and smiling at him while saying 'Good morning, Shadow!"

He never responded back, but she always greeted him.

Another thing he regrets.

The place was too loud for his liking but if this place was important to Amy then it was important to him.

Amy opened the door to her dorm and let Shadow in. It was clean and very simple. A small bed, a small table, and a small couch.

Shadow sat on the couch and immediately hated it. It was comfortable but the thing he hated was that it smelled like Sonic, the couch had Amy and Sonic's smell and he thought of the worst.

As he felt a strange sense of anger rise in his body, he decided to jump in her bed. Amy watched him, amused at his actions.

He was laying completely in her bed, and he took a big deep breath, inhaling Amy's natural scent. It was only her scent. meaning Sonic didn't sleep on her bed.

Good.

He breathed again, inhale and exhale. He found himself enjoying her scent, it was almost too good. He began to really wonder what kind of perfume she uses.

"You wear too much perfume," Shadow said as he noticed Amy seating on the edge of her bed.

Amy looked at him as she arched an eyebrow, "I don't wear any."

"Of course you don't," Shadow said sarcastically, he was just too sure Amy was wearing perfume. There was no way anyone could smell this toxically good.

"But I am not!" She replied as she got comfortable. She took off her shoes as placed her whole body in the bed. She laid down, opposite of Shadow.

"You are the one who wears too much cologne! When I wore your jacket, I could smell your cologne in me for three days!"

"I honestly don't wear cologne."

The didn't need anything but themselves. They talked about everything. How their week went, and Shadow explained why he decided to give back DR to Amy. She agreed, mentally thanking Chaos that she didn't need to rely on public transportation anymore to go to work. On the other hand, Shadow didn't mention the race he had with the motorcyclists, he just didn't want to worry Amy and he didn't see it necessary for her to know.

They kept talking until both of their eyes closed from exhaustion and for the first time, Shadow had forgotten about Maria and slept with a smile on his face.

.

Life couldn't have been going better for Shadow.

His girlfriend showered him with love and he was content that he could trust Maria again. She was engaged in the relationship as well. Maria would listen to Shadow and take care of him in ways that made Shadow's heart content. The day he had slept over at the Resistance with Amy, he felt bad for not telling Maria about it. The next day he went back to his apartment and found her sleeping on the couch, waiting for him.

His friendship with Amy was going well as well, they would hang from time to time and of course, Shadow will restrain himself from talking about Maria too much.

He still questioned himself about Sonic and Amy. Were they together? Amy hasn't said a single word about him and he hasn't seen the blue one in a while either.

Shadow wanted to ask, but he was having such a good time with Amy that he restrain from asking anything that might disrupt their time. It was like a secret they shared, he doesn't talk about Maria and Amy doesn't talk about Sonic.

Maybe it was better this way. The small moments he had with Amy, were always enjoyable. From walking in the park, to her passing by G.U.N. just to say hi.

But with Maria ... he was just teletransported to a magical place. Somewhere he was only allowed to.

And he was thankful for the two months they had been together.

Shadow prepared himself, he took his G.U.N. jacket and he walked towards G.U.N's private parking site to take BB with him. He exited the building riding his favorite bike and spotted Rouge and Omega, they were ready to take on their next mission.

Amy was there as well. He saw Amy and Rouge share a hug and she did the same with Omega. She turned to look at Shadow and gave him a soft look.

It was a cold morning and she noticed the pink one trembling ever so often. Without thinking and almost like an instinct, he got off his bike and took off his jacket to give it to Amy. However, when he took it off, he felt hands surround his chest.

"Hey, Shady~," Maria said in a sweet voice and Shadow instantly smiled at the gesture.

He could hear Rouge sigh in annoyance and Omega walk away loudly, showing off his disagreement.

Amy watched the couple interact, they were both in each other arms and she had to admit that they look too good together. She decided to give her attention to the robot and bat.

"I'll miss you guys, please be safe," Amy said.

"It will be fast, it shouldn't take more than a month," said Rouge as she held the pink's hand with her right hand and with the left, she grabbed Omega's mechanic one.

"Still, I see you almost every weekend and now I won't. I am going to be sad for a while." Amy pouted jokingly and she added, "And Omega, remember to not drink too much oil, you get weird, drunk like even."

".... I can't make promises I can't keep."

Maria watched from afar with jealousy at the pink one. Even when she used to go out with Shadow before, they never treated her like that. She turned her attention to Shadow and noticed he had taken off his jacket.

"So ... you are giving me your jacket?" She said teasing Shadow, "When I go to sleep, I can sleep with your jacket on and think of you."

Originally, that wasn't Shadow's intention but looking at his gorgeous girlfriend throw him puppy eyes, he couldn't say no. Anyways, the jacket always looked better on her.

She took it proudly and put it on as she and Shadow got closer to the talking trio.

"Rouge, Omega, it's time to go," Shadow said and they both nodded. His eyes averted towards Amy knowing that they still needed to say their goodbyes.

Maria noticed their tension and saw Amy's intention of wanting to speak up. However, Maria was faster and he pulled Shadow into a passionate kiss in front of the three.

"Goodbye Shady... I love you." Maria said.

Now it was time for Shadow's response, everyone was waiting for it, but especially Amy.

She felt time stop the moment Shadow said the four-word sentence.

"I love you too."