Shadow the Hedgehog's mind is full of many thoughts.
Some thoughts are quite basic, like reading comprehension, or flipping a switch to turn the lights on or turning a knob to open doors.
Some thoughts are quite useless, like Sonic's constant chattering and...and, well, not much else actually.
Most of these thoughts however, share one thing in common: they slip back, either forgotten for the time being, or forgotten entirely.
But if there is one constant, enduring thought in Shadow's mind, it was of Maria.
Oh, sweet, innocent, strong-willed, optimistic and kind-hearted Maria.
Before, the mere mention of the girl's name sent Shadow into deep emotional distress, working him and his brain overtime to prevent the emotions from taking over.
In those days, Shadow would go to bed every night, dreading and dreaming the same dream-or rather, memory-that had haunted him since he had woken up in Eggman's lab, 50 years after the ARK incident.
Nowadays, Shadow could see her everywhere. But it didn't bother him as much as it used to. Yes, the memories were still painful, but Shadow reminded himself that before...everything happened, Maria was having the time of her life, and so was he.
It's as if the more he saw her everywhere, the less pain he felt.
He saw her in Amy; her overly optimistic nature being the one thing that bridged the gap between Shadow and the rest of the people beside and all around him, smiling and laughing as they celebrated another victory against the Doctor, very much like how Maria was optimistic that Shadow and Abraham Towers would finally see eye-to-eye, and though her optimism was 50 years too early, it did happen.
He saw her in Tails; his innocence and curiosity in how the world works and how he can make it better mirrors the awe and wonder Maria always felt whenever her and Shadow looked at Earth from the ARK's observation deck, no matter how many times they've been there before.
He saw her in Sonic; the way his determination rarely falters has helped get him out of very tight situations before, and is similar to how Maria was always determined to stay as healthy and positive as possible, for the sake of her optimism and desire to finally reach Earth.
He saw her in Knuckles; the Guardian may be a tad bit gullible and simple-minded, but behind the superhuman strength, hotheadedness and brawn lay a kind-hearted soul who loved nature and never wished to hurt anyone-unless of course you try to steal the Master Emerald or harm his friends-and is, in its own way, reminiscent of Maria's much gentler and more pacifistic nature, for she cared for everyone she loved and would never hurt a fly-if flies had existed back on the ARK, that is.
But Shadow saw her most in Rouge. Shadow turned his head to the right and gazed at the bat in question. He took her left hand in his right and the two exchanged smiles. To Shadow, if he ignored the part about her being a jewel thief and having a bit of a reputation for looking like a maneater, Rouge is the kind of woman Maria would have grown up to be: intelligent, strong, independent, extremely caring, and beyond beautiful.
And he loved both women for that.
Later on, as the pair sat down on the couch in the apartment they shared above Club Rouge, Shadow couldn't help but caress her face.
Rouge blushed slightly at the unexpected gesture, but smiled at the Ultimate Life Form.
Shadow was intially bothered by the thought of courting Rouge and how it would be a bit like betraying Maria, but he decided that Maria would have wanted it for him. He decided that Maria would have wanted him happy.
This puzzled Shadow initially, but he felt that, since it would be useless to ask for forgiveness, as his past sins were so great that he felt he didn't deserve Maria's forgiveness, he decided to make a pact with himself-and by extension Maria-that, to atone for at least some of his past mistakes, he would live out his life and move on, to hopefully find happiness, and to continue working and improving to keep the world and its citizens safe.
So, in deciding to start first with himself, he would have to confess his harbored feelings to Rouge.
It was lucky he did, for Rouge gave Shadow some of the best memories of his life thus far, whether it be during a harrowing mission, or simply strolling around together.
Shadow now pulled Rouge into a soft embrace, and eventually brought his lips to hers.
When they pulled away from each other, Shadow whispered, "I love you," he leans in and pecks her lips, "because you make me," he pecks them again, "happy," he smiles and brings their lips together again, this time for a longer kiss.
Rouge simply melted.
Disclaimer here because I don't own Shadow, Rouge and the rest of the gang, which is a shame because if I did, there would be so much sexual tension between these two. I mean-uh-SEGA owns them. Yeah.
Also, I sincerely apologize if this story is in no way romantic and makes your body want to send bile in the wrong direction. I'm not gonna pretend to be some Master of Romantic (Fan)Fiction, but, I tried. I tried hard ok?
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