I Can't Breathe Without You

Moving In

Chapter 4 - Moving In

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"You what?!" Rouge exclaimed, her mouth dropping open from surprise. Shadow returns a blank stare, not wanting to egg on her dramatic response.

"I offered Amy to stay with me while she recovers." Shadow repeats non chantly. It had been a couple days since Shadow made his promise to Amy. One that Shadow had been contemplating just how to bring up to Rouge.

Rouge raises her hand to pause any further explanation.

"I heard what you said. I'm just incredibly surprised by it." Shadow's gaze drops to his coffee mug. He had dreaded this reaction from Rouge, but now that it was playing out in front of him, he didn't know what else to say.

Suddenly Rouge's shocked expression twists into that of a sudden resolution, a wicked smile creeping onto her face. Shadow returns a puzzled eyebrow raise, as Rouge remains gawked from whatever thought has crossed her mind.

"Oh my god, you have feelings for Amy, don't you?" It was now Shadows turn to return the stunned expression. His eyes darted from his coffee to meet with Rouge's. A sinister glare twisted onto Shadow's face, exasperated by such the theory. Thankfully the G.U.N lunchroom was completely void of any other employees, other than Omega who listened on intently. Shadow would have fully lost it if Rouge had the audacity to mention such a thing in front of their coworkers.

"What a preposterous accusation!" Shadow spits back, his voice booming louder than a jet engine.

He had no such feelings for Amy Rose and to think so was wildly inappropriate. Shadow still didn't even know Amy well enough to claim such a thing. He was simply offering her freedom from her not so ideal hospital conditions. Nothing more.

Besides Amy having feelings for the blue hedgehog, Shadow's relationship with her was, at best, simply acquaintances. Just because he respected and somewhat cared for the girl more than he would others, didn't mean he had romantic feelings for her.

In fact, Shadow has never had such feelings for anyone in his life, the motion of such greatly confusing him. Maria used to always go on about finding love, especially after reading one of her many romance novels, Rouge was also a sucker for 'chic flicks' (as she called them). Both seemed to idealise these fictional men whose behaviour surrounding love was exasperatedly glamorised, and not a realistic representation of what 'love' seemed to be. At least Shadow had never witnessed such a thing.

He figured that maybe it existed in rare circumstances, however, as he adapted to this world and saw multiple relationships crumble—whether it was the shocking split of the latest celebrity couple that appeared perfect—his G.U.N coworkers that seemed to always be going through either a divorce or custody battle—or his best friend whose attachment of a certain echidna stemmed from his gigantic rock and not from any personal qualities of his own. Shadow's conclusion was that romantic love isn't something that lasts in the long run and he wasn't interested in finding out if a potential relationship of his own, was the rare exception.

He had already been through enough loss.

However, despite Shadow's refusal to her theory, Rouge's face continued to light up like she had just discovered the mystery of the century. A giddiness took over her, one that Shadow had never witnessed before, and was slightly intimidated by.

"That's why you always seemed to have a soft spot for her—helping her find Cream during the Black Arms invasion, going to her birthday and buying her tickets to see Hot Honey, visiting her in the middle of the night when you know you're not allowed to. How didn't I see this sooner? You're crushing on Amy Rose."