*Sonic's POV*
I waited atop a hill, pacing around as I held a blue violet in my hand. I turned and continued pacing around, lost in thought. 

"You got this, Sonic. Come on." I took in a deep breath as I waited for Shadow to get here. It had been an hour that Tails forced me to press send on the message to be able to talk to Shadow and finally tell him. It was time. It was finally time.

After months of trying to tell him how I feel, after months of fixing our friendship for him to be able to finally be around me without trying to hurt me. There was no better time than now. And I knew that, yet my brain was telling me to do the only logical thing and run, run as far away as possible.

I've faced countless threats, battled endless robots, and even traveled through time and dimensions yet this. This felt like it was going to finally kill me if it went wrong.

"Come on, Sonic. It's just Shadow. He's not going to -"

"Not going to what, Hedgehog?" I tensed up and quickly put the flower behind my back, twirling it in my fingers as my heart picked up the pace, creating a knot on my throat. Shadows' piercing red eyes seemed to glow at the moment and stood a few feet away from me with his arms crossed.

"Erm. I'm just talking to myself, Shadz. What's up?" I smiled rather nervously, trying to regain composure.

Sirens were flashing on my mind, telling me to back away and leave. That I couldn't do this. But I pushed through.

Shadow narrowed his eyes at me. "You called me here, remember? Said it was important." His usual serious tone as he spoke, yet there was a hint of curiosity in it.

"Right. Right. Yeah." I forced myself to hold his gaze, getting lost in his eyes for a brief moment before snapping back to reality. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you for a while now."

Shadow uncorked his arms, taking a few steps closer to listen to me better yet kept the same cold expression as always.

Is this really a good idea, Sonic?

No. There's no time to retreat now. I must tell him!

"If there's something you need to tell me, then make it quick. I don't have all day, Faker." He rolled his eyes at me.

I chuckled nervously and nodded, shifting my weight from one foot to the other.  "Okay." I took a deep breath. "No more beating around the bush. I'll just go straight to the point." I lowered my ears lowly and pulled the flower from behind my back, now between us, my muzzle burning as I closed my eyes. This must be my biggest challenge yet. "I like you, Shadow. More than rivals, or friends, or whatever we may be now. I've had feelings for you for a while now a-and was wondering if you'd maybe -" I took a small pause, taking yet another deep breath, he next words coming out very quickly. "- Want to go out with me?"

I opened my eyes after I finally said what needed to be said. Shadow was silent, looking down at the flower I was offering him. He looked at it as if it were some kind of alien artifact. All I could hear was my heart pounding loudly in my chest, expecting Shadow to scoff and chaos control away without a word. I was expecting Shadow to break my heart one way or another, but he never spoke. He remained silent for a while. The silence was making me crazy but I matched it, giving Shadow time to think or snap out of his thoughts. I wasn't sure what was going on.

Until Shadow finally moved, slowly reaching for the flower. When he touched it, he hesitated, flinching at it, then finally decided to go for it and grab it from my hands. My ears perked up, and I looked up at him, his gaze meeting mine again.

"You're serious, aren't you?" Shadow spoke, breaking eye contact with me as he looked down at the flower again. I let out a breath I didn't even realize I was holding and slowly nodded at him.

"Yeah." I said almost in a whispered. I cleared my throat and rubbed the back of my neck, looking away, feeling slightly embarrassed since I could feel how badly I was blushing. "I-I know we have had our differences, but there's something about you." I stopped for a second and let my hand fall to my side, speaking calmly now, wanting Shadow to know I meant this. "I just figured life is too short to run away from something like this, you know? I like you, I know I do. And it is okay if you don't but if you decide to give me a chance. I promise I will try my best to make you happy every single day."

"Hedgehog, we-" Shadow stopped himself. He placed his hand in front of my face before I could speak again, letting me know he was thinking about something. "I am not good at this." He confessed after a bit. I took a step closer, hesitating at first, but gave in and placed my hand on his chest.

"Tell me, what do you feel?" I asked, my blush only getting worse. Shadow flinched and tensed up at my touch, but he didn't leave nor tried to get away. "Do you want me to leave?"

"No." He said after a long pause. "I just don't think I can feel the same." He looked at the flower again. "I'm sorry."

I nodded, my heart breaking at those words but understanding nonetheless. I took a step back, keeping the same force smile from earlier.

"It's okay. Thank you for not being mean about it, though." I looked down, then back up almost instantly, not wanting Shadow to feel bad about it. He may be my rival. We may have had fights, but he was good. He wasn't a monster. He wouldn't play around with someone's feelings. I started to walk away, but before I could even start to run, he grabbed my wrist.

"I-" He stopped and let go. I looked back at him. He had placed the violet in between his glove and his inhibitor ring. It looked so cute. "I didn't say I wouldn't want to give it a try. Maria said I have a heart, I'm just -" He sighed and turned around, crossing his arms again. "It's just difficult for me to -" I smiled and walked closer to him, getting in front of him so he could see me.

"It's okay, Shadz." I smiled sincerely this time. "S-So does that mean that we -" I pointed at the two of us.

"If you're willing to be patient with me. Yes." He answered calmly, a hint of a blush appearing across his muzzle. My smile widened at hearing this, and I nodded. Yet I couldn't help and hug him, Shadow didn't hug back. He simply tensed up and raised his arms, but he also didn't push me away.

It was a good first step.

Shadow and I were dating now.

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Rest of the story is coming soon! Hope you guys enjoy!