Written September 19th, 2022
Blue eyes stared at Shadow in shock. She fiddled with her fingers as she attempted to speak.
Shadow was used to people being nervous around him. His background and reputation made most people afraid of him.
“Hmm… Did miss Amy Rose move?” She finally managed to get out clearly.
Shadow shook his head. “Rose still lives here.”
A bright smile appeared on her face as she moved a stray blond quill out of her face. “I’m her neighbor.” She pointed to her house next door. “I normally come by to housesit when I’m in the area. Since Miss Rose is often in Knothole.” She rambled nervously.
Shadow nodded as he finished planting a flower in the flower bed he was working on. “I’ll call Rose down for you.” He stated simply.
“Oh. Okay. Thank you!” She called after his retreating form.
“Rose,” Shadow called as he walked into Amy’s craft room. The pink hedgehog was embroidering a cloth piece that was ment for a bigger blanket.
She smiled at Shadow as he entered. “How is your gardening going?”
“Good. Your neighbor is here. Blue eyed blond hedgehog.”
“Oh,” Amy hopped up. “She’s Maria Lavender. Our parents were friends. We used to play together when we were little.” Amy skipped to the front door. “Hi Maria, welcome back!”
Maria beamed, “Same to you.”
“This is my friend Shadow. He’ll be staying with me for a while.” Amy introduced the two. Shadow simply nodded as he went back to his flower garden.
“Hello Shadow,” Maria gave a nervous wave. “I’m Maria Lavender. You can just call me Lavender if it makes you more comfortable.”
Shadow nodded as he grabbed his gardening tools.
“Since you’re home, do you want to catch up over some tea?” Amy smiled.
“I’d love to. Should I come back when Shadow is done gardening?” Maria smiled as she watched him garden.
Shadow shook his head. “You two have tea and catch up. I’m fine.”
“Okay,” Amy lead Maria inside. “Shadow’s really nice once you get to know him.” Amy assured her as they entered the kitchen.
“I’m sure,” Maria murmured. She helped Amy prepare the tea. “This is the first time you brought a friend to your family home. Is there a special occasion?”
Amy shook her head. “Shadow wanted a quiet place away from the city for a bit. Gun’s provided housing is like smack dab in the middle of the city. With a lot of construction.” Amy waved a hand. “So I invited Shadow here.”
“Welp. He’s gardening,” Maria chuckled to herself. “So I feel like he’ll be visiting often.”
“That would be nice. Shadow’s a lot of fun to hang out with.” Amy hummed as she stared into her tea cup.
Maria’s eyes caught something in those green eyes that made her jolt up. She opened her mouth before closing it. “Amy, describe how Shadow makes you feel.”
Amy gave her friend a questioning look.
“Humor me please.” Maria smiled softly.
Amy sighed. “He’s my friend. It’s nice to hang out with him.” Maria urged her on. “I always feel secure when he’s around. It’s awesome when he acknowledges how hard I actually work. He’s a great sparring partner too. He provides just enough of a challenge instead of babying me. My palms actually gets sweaty during our sparring sessions.” Maria nodded as she made a few mental notes. “Shadow also gives great hugs. He’s super warm.”
Maria giggled after several minutes of Amy Gushing about Shadow. Her pink friend glowing. Amy paused and gave the blond hedgehog a questioning look. “I think you have a crush on Shadow. It’s very cute.”
“Maria!” Amy blushed as she slammed her fist on the table causing everything to jump before clattering back down.
Maria cleaned up a bit. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have pointed it out to you.”
Amy hid her face in her hands. “You’re not the first one. But ugh…”
Maria patted Amy’s back. “I get it. Your crush on Sonic was painful. It’s hard to put yourself out there.”
Amy nodded.
“So take all the time you need.” Maria assured her. “In the meantime, I would like to come hang out with you two more. I am curious about her friend dynamic.”
“You know for someone who doesn’t date.” Amy looked up at her friend, “You give good advice.”
“Your cards tell you the future,” Maria played with Amy’s quills. “But I remember my past life. It gives one a different view on things.”
Amy nodded. “I’ll make you a new dream catcher for your nightmares.”
Maria smiled, “Thanks. Let’s all go to the farmer market for the herbs tomorrow.”
Maria left with a smile. She waved goodbye to Shadow after complimenting his garden. She hummed as she opened her front door and kicked off her shoes. She had only ever expected to see Shadow on tv. Seeing him in person again felt awkward. But it was nice once she got over her shock. She giggled to herself as she went to pick an outfit to wear. Shadow was a little heart breaker. She felt conflicted. When she woke up, she had been a baby. Though she was aging like a normal mobian, Maria was well aware she was made by Professor Gerald Robotnik. She could feel chaos energy easily. She never got sick and injuries healed quicker than others. It also didn’t help that she had a copy of Maria’s memories in her skull. It only ever confirmed her suspensions.
Her confliction came from wanting to tell Shadow everything but also not wanting to tell Amy she was made in a lab. She grew up with Amy. Amy told her nearly everything. She told Amy about the nightmares from her ‘past life.’ She comforted the girl when each of their parents passed.
Maria was sure Amy would always love her like a big sister, but Maria had hidden this secret for years now. She was certain Amy would be hurt no matter what. And the thought and image of Amy being hurt was too much.
The morning was chilly as Maria walked up the wooden steps. She knocked and hummed as she shifted on her heels. She wore a floral shirt and overalls with a deninum jacket.
“Good morning!” Amy opened the door within a few minutes. She wore a cute yellow sun dress with matching sandals. She held a wooden woven basket. “You’re early.”
Maria chuckled, “Early bird gets the worm.”
Amy stepped onto the porch as Shadow followed. Shadow paused on the porch, staring off into the sky. His ears twitching. He turned and went back inside and came back with a brown jacket. He held out the jacket to Amy as he closed the door.
Amy beamed brightly, “Thank you Shadow!” Amy put the jacket on before locking the door.
Maria found herself observing every little interaction between the two. Shadow as quiet. But the way he stuck close to Amy and smiled at her every action. Maria wasn’t sure if Shadow was acting on manners he learned on the Ark or if he had a crush on Amy. Perhaps he saw her as a sister like she did? Jumping to conclusions wasn’t good. She decided to gather more data first. After all, data is what proved a hypothesis right or wrong.
Amy happily chatted with a male shepard dog selling herbs. Maria shifted on her heel as she watched the man flirt and Amy not noticed. She froze as her ear picked up on a low growl. She shifted to look for a dog. Amy had a bad experience with an aggressive dog as a kid and was still afraid of aggressive dogs today. Amy did her best to hide it but she was certain Amy did not want that weakness exposed in front of Shadow.
Maria clasped her hands over her mouth as she realized the growling was coming from Shadow. She had no memory of him doing that before. Maria struggled not to burst into laughter.
“Hypothesis confirmed?”
Maria walked up to Amy and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Amy, do you think we can take a lunch break?” She smiled as she rested her head on her shoulder. Her giggles escaping now that she was safely hidden by Amy.
“Sure!” Amy smiled before finishing the transaction. Maria chuckled more, once she heard the boy gulp as he realized Shadow’s death glare. Maria held onto Amy as she nearly curled up in laughter.
“What kind of pun did your penpall send you?” Amy began to giggle with her.
Maria hummed as she looked away. “I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to tell you.”
They sat down at a wooden bench for brunch. Maria placed a plate of fresh fruit and pancakes in front of Amy. She placed a plate of chocolate pancakes with sausages and strawberries in front of Shadow. She had a plate of blueberry pancakes with mango.
Shadow arched a brow at Maria. He wondered if Rose had told the blond hedgehog his food preferences.
Maria realized she went based on her Ark memories. As she gave a nervous laugh. “I took a guess. You strike me as a chocolate dude.” She lied. “Did I guess wrong?”
“No.” Shadow responded as he began to eat.
“I’m glad.” Maria took a bite of her food.
“So… what joke did your penpal send you?” Amy asked as she swallowed a bite.
Maria chewed slowly as she thought of a good enough lie. Her penpal hadn’t sent a joke today. “It’s not really appropriate.” She fibbed.
“I’m not a baby anymore,” Amy pouted. Maria often treated her like a child.
“I know.” Maria smiled as she moved a stray quill out of Amy’s face. “But Shadow might not like the joke.”
“I don’t find any jokes funny.” Shadow stated. “But I don’t mind hearing them. And Rose won’t drop it until you tell her. So just tell it.”
Maria pouted. Shadow had found jokes funny before. She took a bite of her food. She’d get a chuckle out of Mister Straight Face. Once she finished her bite, she smirked. “What did the alien say to the garden?” She waited as Amy attempted to answer.
“Take me to your weeder!” Maria answered the joke with a chuckle.
Amy laughed whale Shadow stared at her face neutral.
“That joke isn’t inappropriate.” Amy giggled.
“It is when your penpal is talking about a different kind of weed.” Maria joked. She turned to Shadow. “I guess the doctors on the Ark told you every space joke in the Milky Way, huh?”
Shadow simply nodded. Professor and several doctors told dozens of these silly jokes to Maria to make her laugh. He had found them funny at the time. They weren’t now.
“If you ever get conned into stand up comedy,” Maria mused, “Just tell all the best ones. If Amy’s in the audience, she’ll laugh the whole time.”
Shadow nodded as he went back to the food. Rose’s friend was odd. She had been anxious and scared of him yesterday. Today she was cheerful, comfortable, and oddly familiar with him. He had also noticed her watching him with interest. It was different from GUN and Eggman, who saw him as a tool. Different from the people who saw him as a ticking bomb. Different from Rouge and Rose observing their friend. It felt unfamiliar and yet vaguely familiar at the same time.
Once they were home, Maria helped Amy put everything away. Amy yawned as she sat down. Maria chuckled, “Do you want to take a cat nap?”
Amy tilted her head back and forth. “Aren’t I too old for cat naps?’
“Nonsense!” Maria grabbed Amy’s hand and lead her to the back porch swing. “Everyone can take a midday sun nap.” she sat on the swing and brought Amy to lay her head on her nap. She carefully ran her fingers through Amy’s quills. Amy hummed as her eyelids drooped.
“Lullaby…” Amy muttered.
Maria giggled, “Of course,” Maria began singing the first lullaby she knew. It was an old one. Professor Gerald taught it to Maria Robotnik. Having those memories gave her several lullabies and stories to recite to Amy. Once Amy was fast asleep, Maria looked for the swing pillow to replace her lap. She puffed her cheeks out when she didn’t find it. She looked down at Amy contemplating how to move without waking her up. She flinched when she felt hot chaos energy pressing against her throat. She looked up at Shadow’s glare.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Maria frowned, meeting his glare with one of her own.
“Professor made that song up for Maria.” Shadow held the chaos spear closer to her neck. “How do you know it?”
“One,” Maria leaned back on the swing to distance her neck from the spear, “Rude. Amy is sleeping on my lap.” She hissed as she covered the pink hedgehog’s ears with her hands. She slid her glove off of her hand and held it up for Shadow to see the mark of the Black arms on the back of her hand. “Two, Professor Gerald Robotnik was a sneaky genius.” She didn’t want this conversation to happen. But lying to Shadow was a bad move. Especially an angry Shadow.
“Explain yourself.” Shadow ordered as he glared at the mark. He had the exact same one on his hands.
“Put away the weapon and sit down first.” Maria bargained. “And be quiet. Amy is sleeping.” She kept her voice at a whisper.
Shadow grumbled as he sat on the swing. He lifted Amy’s legs to rest in his lap. “Talk.”
Maria rolled her eyes at the order. “Professor made me after you. He uploaded Maria Robotnik’s memories into me. A digital copy at least. I was a back up in case a cure couldn’t be found. However, I was never aged up. My parents were sailors. They fished me up in an ark capsule. Woke me up who was physically a baby and decided to adopt me. I aged normally up until I was 21, when now it seems I’m barely aging. Thanks to Maria Robotnik’s memories I was able to figure things out easily on my own.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Shadow asked as he rubbed Amy’s back. Amy’s tail wagging in her sleep.
“I didn’t want to. One, I’m the only person besides Amy who remembers both of our parents. Family is super important to her. She would have planned a family reunion for us rather we wanted her to or not. Plus, Amy has told me nearly everything since we were kids. She’d be devastated if she found out I kept something this big from her. And you have enough issues. I doubt I’d be any help with any of that.”
“I don’t have issues.” Shadow glared. “That I can’t handle.” He added after a moment.
Maria chuckled before shushing herself. “Really? What do you call growling and glaring at the merchant boy who was flirting with Amy?”
Shadow stared at her with shock. A blush strongly forming on his muzzle as his ears turned red. He opened his mouth before snapping his mouth shut.
“Rose, please hit your neighbor with your hammer.” Shadow switched subjects.
“Shadow, she’s asleep.” Maria whispered.
“No she’s not. She’s pretending.” Shadow spoke confidently. “She woke up when I had the chaos spear at your throat.”
Before Maria could retort, Amy kicked Shadow in the side.
“That hurts Rose.” Shadow rubbed his side.
“I figured I’d let you talk it out.” Amy moved to sit up.
“Fuck nugget.” Maria muttered in shock.
Amy sighed as she laid a hand on Maria’s shoulder. “I’m not mad at you for keeping it a secret from me. Though please don’t tease Shadow for being a protecting friend.”
Maria sucked in her cheek to keep from laughing. “I’ll keep it in mind. But I make no promises.”
Amy heaved a sigh. She didn’t have the energy to argue with her today. “I’m going to make tea. Do you two want any?”
“Yes please.” Maria answered as Shadow nodded.
“Cool, I’ll make tea while you two have a nice get to know each other catch up chat.” Amy walked inside her house. She turned back to the two. “No fighting.”
Maria gave a bright smile to Amy before turning to look at Shadow with a neutral expression. Shadow was staring at the doorway where Amy had been. “Well at least you have good taste.” She joked.
Shadow blushed as he turned to glare her into silence. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Hm-mm.” Maria hummed. “I’ve known Amy her whole life. I’ve seen boys trip over themselves for her. And I have Maria Robotnik’s memories. And those include you.” She poked Shadow in the cheek. “Frankly I’m conflicted. If the two people I see as siblings start dating how will the dynamic be? What do I do if you two get into fights?” Maria mused aloud. “I’ll give you this, you’re a looker and kind. But you hide behind that scary shell. You’re like a burnt marshmallow.”
“Burnt Marshmallow?” Shadow arched a brow at her.
“It fits you.” Maria waved her hand, “Crunchy outside, soft gooey inside.”
“I’m not soft or gooey.”
