Hey guys! Long time, no update. Sorry about that, a crazy amount of stuff has happened since my last chapter - I've had to apply for a new job, do interviews, moved to a new country - and with all the chaos I totally forgot about this story! But I got a few messages reminding me to update so I sat down and managed to crank out a few more words. Unfortunately, this is the final chapter of the story. From this point on I don't know whether the next story I post will be another Sonadow fic or if I'll head in a completely new direction with a new fandom or what so just putting a general disclaimer out there: I don't know what the future will bring.

But again, I'm sorry for taking so long to finish this thing and I just want to give a big shout out to all of the people that liked my story and those of you who have been there since the beginning - you guys really made this whole experience worth it. But that's enough rambling from me. I hope you like this new chapter!

"Sonic!" she screamed, fighting against Tails' and Knuckles' restraining arms. "You are so dead when I get in there mister!"

"Amy?!" the blue hedgehog yelped, flinching when Shadow tightened around him.

"What?!" Shadow said, alarmed, and then there was a ding and a flash of blue light and Sonic jolted, knocking the black hedgehog off his lap with his spasm. "Sonic?!" he asked, eyes wide, watching the blue hero but as quickly as the convulsions started, they vanished and Sonic was back to his normal self, rubbing his head and moaning.

"What hit me?" he asked and Shadow was almost relieved enough to smile.

And then the commotion really started.

"How dare you cheat on me, Sonic the hedgehog?!" Amy screamed as she struggled out of Tails' and Knuckles' grip. She charged towards him, summoning her hammer and lifting it above her head, and visions of death started flashing in front of Sonic's eyes. But the pink hedgehog barely made it two feet before Rouge shoved her out of the way.

And that's when Sonic really started praying.

Because while everyone else had been so busy dealing with Sonic and Amy, Rouge had been focusing on Shadow, noting the dishevelment of his fur, the cum stains all around his groin, and his inability to stand up even though he'd wrapped his hand around the shower curtain and was trying his damndest.

And she was pissed.

"You'd better have a good explanation for this, hedgehog," she hissed, the menacing aura emanating from her so thick and palpable that it gave everyone else pause, even Amy.

Silence engulfed the room. As one, Sonic, Amy, Tails, and Knuckles all looked to Shadow, who looked more startled by his friend's behavior than anybody, and then turned as a unit to look at Rouge. Who looked like she was getting ready to snap every bone in Sonic's body and then flay his broken remains, laughing all the while.

Sonic swallowed.

"Rouge," he said shakily, his hands slowly raising in a peacekeeping gesture, "it's not what it looks like-"

"THE HELL IT'S NOT!" she roared, charging at him with murder in her eyes – Tails, Amy and Knuckles all jumping back to get out of her way while Sonic only whimpered – and then a voice rang out that stopped her in her tracks.

"Rouge!" Shadow shouted over the noise, and the bat immediately turned to look at him, her body still primed to attack. Everyone else in the room froze to stare at him as well and he sighed, reaching around to turn off the shower that was still, unbelievably, running. "It's okay," he murmured into the ensuing silence, "he didn't rape me."

Nobody said anything. Sonic was perhaps the most surprised of all of them but Shadow avoided looking at him, choosing instead to focus on Rouge who was analyzing every detail of his face. They stayed like that for a moment, not a single movement or sound from anyone while Rouge and Shadow stared into each other's eyes. And then she nodded, satisfied, and fell back into a casual stance. As if she hadn't just been on the verge of ripping Sonic's eyes out of his skull.

"Whatever you say, sugar," she drawled and the tension in the room visibly loosened as the immediate threat was dispelled.

"Okay," Tails said, nervously side stepping around Rouge as he tried to get the room's attention. Everyone was still giving the white bat a wide berth, just in case, but she just chuckled and went to kneel on the tile beside Shadow, busying herself with pushing his stray quills back in place. The black hedgehog huffed but pressed his head into her touch and she smiled. "So what's going on?" the kit asked, glancing between Sonic, who was still staring at Shadow, and Shadow, who was steadfastly looking everywhere but Sonic. "I'm guessing my de-corruption device worked, so is everything back to normal?"

He looked to the blue hedgehog, inspecting him for signs of abnormalities, but the hero didn't answer, too busy staring, and Shadow just scoffed.

"As normal as we'll ever be," he muttered and Tails nodded, realizing that this was probably the best he was going to get from either of them.

"Okay well," he started, a little uncertain, "I guess we'll just give you some space then, right guys?"

He started backing out of the room, glancing at all the other Mobians and raising his eyebrows expectantly and Amy and Knuckles moved to follow him, the pink hedgehog still peeved and the echidna in a state of perpetual shock. Rouge waited for the others to leave, then turned to look at Shadow and stroked his top quill.

"Call me if you need me?" she asked and Shadow nodded, his gaze falling to the floor as she got up and went to the door, closing it behind her as she left.

And then it was just the two of them.

Awkward silence ensued, Sonic unsure of what to say and Shadow refusing to speak first. Finally though, when it got to be too much, Sonic broke down and finally spoke up, saying the first thing that came to mind.

"Why did you lie to them?" he asked and Shadow whipped around to face him. The hedgehog fidgeted under his stare and immediately dropped his gaze to his hands, unable to look his rival in the eye anymore. "I remember everything, Shadow" he mumbled, shame rolling off his body in waves, "I know how many times you told me to stop and I just kept going. It was rape. So why did you lie to them?"

There was a moment of silence while Shadow absorbed what Sonic had said. Every beat that passed without his answer, Sonic seemed to wilt more and more, convinced that his rival hated him so much that he was never going to speak to him again. And for some reason, that was what scared the blue hedgehog the most. That he would have made this disastrous mistake, under the influence of Eggman no less, and be immediately and efficiently cut out of Shadow's life forever.

Which is why he startled a little bit when Shadow actually replied.

"It wasn't rape," he muttered, his gaze now focused on the bathroom door, and Sonic gaped at him.

"Of course it was rape!" he said angrily, "You told me no and I ignored you, why are you-"

"It. Wasn't. Rape." Shadow spoke over him and then kept going when the hedgehog looked ready to protest again. "I know what the definition of rape is and what it entails, faker, I'm not an idiot."

Sonic still looked unconvinced though and Shadow facepalmed, grumbling into his hand. "Chaos, are you really going to make me spell it out for you?" he growled and when Sonic only stared at him, he gave an exasperated sigh. "It wasn't rape," he muttered, "because you had my consent. I…I wanted it."

"What?!" Sonic yelled, and Shadow jumped, every quill on his body bristling.

"Keep your voice down, faker!" he hissed but Sonic was already scooting towards him, the outburst long forgotten.

"So you liked it?" he clarified and Shadow gritted his teeth, an embarrassed flush tinging his cheeks red.

"…yes," he grumbled.

"And you'd want to do it again?"

Shadow shot him a look that was equal parts haunted and scandalized and Sonic put both hands up, waving them frantically. "Not like that!" he hastened to say before he scared the other hedgehog off, "I meant like, you know, as a couple."

Shadow relaxed almost imperceptibly and grunted, averting his eyes. Sonic took that as a yes.

"So," the hero murmured, flushing a little as he scooted just a bit closer and placed his hands on the black hedgehog's knees to draw his attention, "you'd be okay with me kissing you right now? Blink once for yes and twice for no."

Shadow just gave him a flat stare for a long minute then, when Sonic just continued to watch him, he sighed and averted his gaze to blink at the bathroom door. Sonic waited a couple of seconds but when the other didn't blink again, he leaned forward and captured his lips in a kiss, both of their eyes slipping shut. Their mouths moved in tandem for a moment, just feeling each other, and then Sonic deepened the kiss, swiping his tongue along the seam of Shadow's lips and asking for permission. And Shadow gave it, opening his mouth so that Sonic could swipe inside and caress everything he could reach, savoring his taste. They groaned together and Sonic wrapped a hand around the back of his rival's neck as he moved even closer, losing himself in the rhythm of the kiss.

After a long moment they broke apart for air, still so close that they could feel each other's pants against their lips. They stayed like that, trying to catch their breaths, and then Sonic moved in again to get another taste of his delicious lover. But before he could, Shadow turned his head away.

"Sonic?" he asked, softly and the other hedgehog nodded ever so slightly.

"Yeah?" he breathed, trying to gently turn Shadow's face back towards him so that he could get at those soft, wet lips again.

Then his head snapped back and he fell backwards, reeling with the force of the punch Shadow just decked him with.

"Ow!" he cried, massaging his tender cheek and shooting his lover a disbelieving glare. "What was that for?!"

"That was for messing with the Ultimate Lifeform," Shadow growled, petulantly. "Now help me up so we can clean ourselves up and break the news to your stupid friends."