AN: Welcome one and all to my next Shadamy fic :) As usual, please no flames and enjoy!

Disclaimer: Sonic and Co. belong to SEGA. NOT me.

=Prologue=

Dr. Eggman was defeated for what would be the final time. Team Sonic, Dark, Rose, and Silver, put the mad inventor into the ground. Then, a few months after their victory, both Team Sonic and Team Dark decided to join forces and took over the entire planet in a matter of weeks. By the time it was all over, both Team Dark and Sonic merged into one group, now calling themselves the Council of Six. They ruled the planet in Station Square, residing in a seven-story mansion called 'Castle Mobius'. They also invited other teams like Team Rose, Silver, and Chaotix to serve as back-up units. From then on everything worked like clockwork and there was peace and stability on the planet.

XXXXXXX

As time passed, everything became much quieter while everyone settled into their new lives. Castle Mobius had also become a fun house for the council members apart from being a government building. It had living quarters for each members, three conference rooms, two labs, eight security bases, a huge library, a dining hall, and a Recreational Room. The Recreational Room which dubbed 'Rec Room' for short was the most popular place of interest in the mansion. It had a few arcade video game cabinets, a pool table, a ping pong table, a poker table, and a couch that sat in front of a large flat screen TV where a few video game consoles were hooked up to. The Rec Room also had a small 'kitchen area' with a fridge, a vending machine that dispensed drinks like soda pop, lemonade, and water, another vending machine that dispensed coffee, and a microwave which sat beside a cabinet stocked full with a variety of snacks. The courtyard outside had a small soccer field and a small basketball court, a large skate park, and a series of picnic tables for people who wanted to eat outdoors.

Truly a paradise for any person living there. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case for Amy who had tried to leave Castle Mobius. Certain members of the Council had started dating and became permanent items after making it official. Rouge with Knuckles, Blaze with Silver, and Cream with Tails. However with Tails and Cream, they were just boyfriend and girlfriend for now because they were still a little too young to tie the knot as it were. Amy of course had tried to pursue Sonic as she always had, but toning down the erratic behavior she had before. Then, Sonic had left for Knothole for a week on a mission and brought back his old leader from his Freedom Fighter days, Sally Acorn. It quickly became apparent that they were going to become a couple, which devastated Amy. She couldn't believe how Sonic chose someone else after all they been through together. The whole affair had put a lot of stress on the sakura hedgehog. Another factor in that was the fact of how things were being run around there. It seemed to be more of a fun house where most of the team horse around like it's their own playground, rather than actual government. As a matter of fact, the only ones who seemed to take things seriously were Knuckles, Shadow and surprisingly, Sally. E-123 Omega didn't really count because technically, he was a robot and he usually did what Shadow told him. Since Eggman was gone, the robot objective to have his revenge was fulfilled. Thus, he became moreorless Shadow's lackey. Amy also felt that with her around she'd complicate things with Sonic and Sally and after all she only wanted to see the blue blur happy. So she packed her things and left Castle Mobius. However she was only gone for a week. Blaze-with whom Amy had become great friends-, Cream, and Silver went over to the small hotel where Amy was breifly staying at and convinced her to come back.

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Three years later, things were quiet again. The members who were just items were long since married to each other. Except maybe for Blaze and Silver who decided to wait a little longer, and Tails and Cream as they were still not at legal age. The main focus on that subject was Shadow. He had practically locked himself in the computer labs or the library day in day out and didn't socialize much. Finally, the team starting hounding on him to get himself a girl and settle down. The only problem with that was, marriage in their dominion was relatively the same as arranged marriages, and Shadow...well, he wasn't the dating type. Plus he wasn't ready for that kind of commitment. But with growing pressure from the Council, the midnight hedgehog finally let up and promised to find a mate. To be sure that he wouldn't be jerking them around, Knuckles told him that he had thirty days, or else they would start setting up blind dates.

And of course, Shadow REALLY didn't want that.

XXXXXXX

While Shadow was busy in the library looking for a few transcripts, he caught Amy sitting on a large chair-like window sill reading a book. Curious, he went over to her.

"Rose?"

Amy jumped in her seat at his sudden appearance. She relaxed when she saw it was only him.

"Oh, hey Shadow." she greeted. "Can I help you with something?"

"I was just curious to find you here, rather than the Rec Room." Shadow replied.

"It's too noisy in there. I can't concentrate on my literature if I don't have peace and quiet."

Shadow had found himself a little surprised. He always thought of Amy as one of those eccentric ones.

"If you don't mind my asking, what book are you reading?" Shadow inquired.

"Oliver Twist." Amy replied.

"Didn't know you liked Charles Dickens."

"He's alright. I like Mark Twain a lot better tho."

XXXXXXX

Since then, Shadow always found Amy wherever he went. It wasn't coincidence really. Since that whole gig with Sonic, Sally and her trying to leave the mansion, Amy had tried to avoid all the places where they would be seen apart or together. The only socializing area on the mansion grounds where Shadow actually found Amy in, was the courtyard. He saw the cherry-pink female sitting on the picnic tables with Blaze, Silver, Cream, and Big the Cat. Sometimes Tails would also be there accompanying Cream. Curiosity about Amy filled the crimson-splashed hedgehog's mind with such force, that it made him forget about the other things on his agenda for the day. Especially about Knuckles' warning about the thirty days to choose a mate. A week later, Shadow found the sakura hedgehog in the library again. This time reading Shakespeare's 'Othello'. He came up to her in interest.

"Rose?" he called out.

"Hmm? Oh hi, Shadow." Amy replied. "What can I do for you?"

"I have a free period this afternoon. Care to join me?"

"Um...sure. That's fine, I guess."

"Excellent."

Day by day throughout the week, Shadow and Amy went for a stroll in the courtyard and it was always in the late afternoon when everyone else would mostly be indoors. This worked well for both Amy and Shadow. Shadow because, if the senior members of the Council saw them together, they would automatically think that he was courting her, which he sort of wasn't in his mind. It was more like standard socializing. With Amy, it was a little bit of the same reason, plus she knew Blaze and Cream would just bombard her with annoying questions like, if she had gotten over Sonic then. And there really wasn't much to be said anyway, all they did was talk. But pretty soon, their discussions were unwittingly getting a little more intimate and personal.

"I heard you tried to leave us." Shadow implied.

"Yeah, well...I guess I was acting a little over the top back then." Amy muttered. "I'm still trying to get over that."

"Why did you decide to come back?"

"Well, Blaze convinced me to. She said I was needed here. Though I really don't know why."

"You are a valuable member, Rose. More than you realize."

"How's that?"

"For starters, you gave quite a contribution during our battle with the doctor."

Amy thinly smiled.

"Well, I guess I did kick a lot of ass didn't I?" she quipped.

"Rouge puts you in high regard when it comes to battle." Shadow added.

The sakura hedgehog gave a little chuckle to which Shadow shared a smirk. Truthfully, he was growing quite fond of her. This fondness once planted, grew and grew without end. A few days later, while he was working, the midnight male caught a glimpse of her talking to her friends and laughing along with their jokes. Shadow could not help but feel the same warm feelings that he felt when Maria when she was still alive. Amy herself had grown a bit fond of him herself. She didn't want to go any further than that however, because she was afraid that she would get into another situation similar to that with Sonic and Sally. Then Shadow slowly realized that he wanted Amy and he remembered that the Council wanted him to settle down. Perhaps it was time then. The very next afternoon, when Amy was out in the courtyard watching Cream and Big, the crimson-splashed hedgehog went to go see her.

"Rose? Can you spare a minute?" he called out.

"Umm...sure." she replied.

They went towards a small grove of trees. Amy was curious as to what he wanted with her.

"Well, what's on your mind?" the cherry-pink female asked. "What do you want?"

Shadow's eyes became intense from desire and he approached her in such a way that he backed Amy into the trunk of a tree she was standing behind. She let out a gasp and looked up in shock at him. The midnight clad male put one hand to her muzzle and leaned forward to her ear.

"You..." he whispered.

Before Amy could react or say a word, Shadow dove his muzzle into the cleft of her neck and bit down. Amy let out a cry at the impact. It took her a few minutes to realize what he was doing and what his intentions were. She had heard that the other senior members were ragging on him to find himself a mate. And now his choice by marking the young flower as his and they would get hitched as per Council rules. Amy felt her heart sink. Sure she had blossoming feelings for him, but she wasn't ready for this. Later that evening, when everyone found out about it, Amy had locked herself in her dorm. Only Blaze, Silver and Cream were able to get in because Blaze had a copy of the keycard to the dorm. The lilac cat sat on the sakura hedgehog's bed, patting her hand and saying everything would turn out okay and that Shadow was perfect for her while Amy just sobbed.

'I can't do it, I can't do it...' Amy cried in her head.