*Shadow's POV*
"I made sure there is no way to track us here. He won't show up again, I promise." I said softly, noticing Sonic was standing in place as he glanced around. He looked like he was afraid of something. "Are you not going to take a look around?" I asked, and he looked at me and nodded as if he had needed the approval from me to do anything.

It broke my heart seeing him this way. This wasn't the stubborn annoying hedgehog I fell in love with. But even if he wasn't how he was before, I was still deeply in love with him, and I will make sure he gets better.

"Sonic." I called out as I sat down in the dining table, thanking chaos the apartment came furnished. He came out of a room and looked at me but remained quiet. "We need to talk to. Can you come here?"

He walked towards me and remained standing up, then suddenly blushed and looked hesitant before he sat down on a chair beside me. I raised a brow confused and decided to ask.

"What happened?"

"When -" Sonic lowered his ears and looked away. "When Fleetway says 'we need to talk', he makes me sit on his lap. I was just... confused. I'm sorry, Shadow." My ear flickered, and I cleared my throat.

"I wouldn't do anything like that to you, Sonic." I said softly, then extended my hand to see if he wanted to hold mine, but he didn't. I usually did this to see what kind of day Sonic was having. If he decided not to hold my hand, he was not very social, unlike the days he did hold it. He also didn't like touch as much and preferred to stay at a distance.

I couldn't help but imagine the things that bastard did to Sonic. He was so afraid of many things. All I wanted to do was kill Fleetway, but killing him would cause Sonic to be afraid of me. Even if I didn't want to, I had to do things the "right way" if I didn't want him scared of me. If I wanted Sonic to keep trusting me.

"I know." He looked down at his hands as he started twiddling his thumbs. I was happy to hear him say that. It meant he trusted me.

"You trust me, right?" I began asking what I meant to ask in the first place. Sonic stayed quiet for a second and slowly nodded. "I know you still have your doubts on how much you can trust me, and I know you're scared. I want to make this a better place for you, for you to slowly trust me a bit more. Maybe we can work on that?"

"I trust you." Sonic whispered, and I leaned back on my chair and nodded. Keeping the distance he needed.

"Do you? Or are you afraid I'll get mad if you say you don't trust me?" My voice was soft and calm, not wanting him to be afraid of me. He pinned his ears down and looked away with his eyes closed, what he usually did when he thought I was going to snap at him or hurt him. "It's okay. It's okay, Sonic." I whispered, tapping the table lightly to bring him back to reality. "I'm not mad. I just want you to be honest with me. Can you be honest with me? I promise you, no matter what you say or do, I won't ever be mad at you."

He looked down at my hand on the table, and he placed his on top of mine. My ears perked up, not expecting that from him. Until now, I had been the one to initiate any kind of touch. A hug, a hand hold, me carrying him somewhere, which I learned I had to warn and say when and why. I had to say I was going to carry him and to where I was taking him and why I was taking him there or else he would start to panic and have a panic attack.

"I trust you." He repeated, this time while looking me in the eyes, which instantly became teary. "I trust you, Shadow. I-I know you won't hurt me." I stayed quiet and watched as a few tears escaped his eyes. I leaned over and cleaned them, then kissed his forehead. "I want to trust you." He finally said what he meant to say. "I want to believe you won't hurt me."

"We will get there." I promised him. "I'm not giving up on you, Sonic. I'm never going to hurt you. I'm never going to stop protecting you." I moved my chair closer to him. "Can I hug you?"

"Please." Sonics voice broke, I felt like crying too.

Days passed before we heard from his lawyer again, like we expected, Fleetway was trying to drag the divorce process. All I kept thinking was how much I wanted to kill him.

"Do I have to go?" Sonic reached for my hand as he lowered his ears.

"You need to be present, but the lawyers will be doing all the talking." I nodded at him. "He won't go near you again."

"Don't kill him." He whispered, and I sighed. "I know you're stronger than him. But you can still get hurt, and I am worried about that. And you know we don't do things that way."

"After everything he did to you?" I asked, and Sonic shook his head.

"I know you're mad. I can see it every time I say his name or the lawyer says his name. And I know you, when we were together, a stranger cussed me out, and you nearly choked him to death. I can just imagine what you'd do to HIM." He was talking low. He was scared.

"Fine. But if he tries to take you away or do anything to you again, you can not stop me." He stayed quiet then looked in front of him. "Whatever it takes." I cupped his face. "I will do whatever it takes for him to never touch you again."

"Shadow?" He looked me in the eyes.

"Yes?" I took a step back, holding his hands now.

"Thank you." He smiled. The most beautiful smile I have ever seen.