Limited Edition Logistical Miscalculations

Shadow had tittered back and forth deciding in which of his vehicles he’d pick up Amy. At Shadow’s request, Bruno prep the Rolls before deciding it was too ostentatious, fearing, after the cleaning incident, Amy would be intimidated. It would also be inconvenient to lose the hood ornament to Amy’s neighborhood.

Same problem with the Bentley. Shadow would have to drive his two-seat Aston himself, but, again, would that be too much? He briefly entertained the idea of acquiring a more mid-range vehicle (perhaps a newer version of the Lexus Nicole drove?), but just the risk of getting caught in such a farce scratched that option off the list.

Finally, he settled on the Benz which was, as his daily town car, the most used and ‘casual’ of his collection. And the cheapest.

Then Shadow stepped out his front door, felt the unseasonably warm weather and immediately headed for the garage. By some stroke of luck, he located a second helmet. Bruno wished him a good evening as they passed, the chauffeur to park the fifth unused automobile and Shadow on his motorcycle as he rolled into the early evening air.

His was a sleek machine, mostly black but accented with his red, and Shadow loved her dearly, about as much as a man could love an inanimate object. Over the years he had owned a succession of motorcycles, all of which inherited the name of the very first: Dark Rider. Shadow maintained each himself and parts carried over from incarnation to incarnation, like some sort of mechanical Ship of Theseus, until his girl purred between his legs with a smoothness that obfuscated the power and speed she could achieve.

In many ways Dark Rider and her predecessors were analogous to Maria’s rose garden. Hours of the sibling’s youth had been spent wiling away at their respective hobbies at opposite ends of the mansion. Eclipse seemed the odd one out, without a specific interest (other than foolishly trying to take responsibility for their mother’s happiness) and bounced between his siblings, covered in dirt one minute and grease the next.

Shadow was ashamed to admit it, but his upcoming date (or memories of his night together) with Amy preoccupied much of his waking hours since he’d left her apartment late Tuesday morning. Luckily, he was still riding the wave of his victory over his rogue Board of Directors and his attention on mundane matters was largely ceremonial as his subordinates and employees resurrected projects with borderline religious zeal.

Eclipse had been uncommonly silent, Rouge exceptionally busy responding to her opponent’s latest machinations, and Mother seemingly placated having only asked once for Shadow’s mystery Omega’s pedigree. The sudden downtime – or what served as downtime in Shadow’s life – left him ample time to work himself into a number of mental stress positions regarding the myriad of ways that the date could go terribly wrong.

Luckily, Nicole was available to handle practical matters. Shadow was determined to ignore the degree of excitement she seemed to have regarding making a short list of viable dining locations and after-dinner activities. It was wholly appropriate and good that she enjoyed her job, he decided. How much his assistant seemed to already know about Amy was not concerning and he certainly didn’t need to waste any time thinking about how she came by the information or what motivated her to do so. Sometimes wisdom lay in the questions that one chose not to ask.

Sadly, no matter the preparations, his habit of self-recrimination was given equal billing the past few days, his excitement paired stroke for stroke with disproportionate dread.

He was going to fuck this up, as sure as the sun rose in the morning. Shadow shook his head, trying to free himself of the miasma of useless thoughts once more. He would be charming. He would be honest. He would be patient. He would be deferent. He would control his temper.

Shadow would be his best self for Amy. He would respect her decisions afterwards. He would be overjoyed if she decided to continue seeing him. He would be at peace if she chose otherwise.

He would fuck this up because he didn’t deserve to be happy.

Shadow grimaced and pulled the clutch, lifted the gear lever up, and accelerated into a higher gear. A little recklessness should garner his attention away from his ghosts. He couldn’t change the past. He could only be better in the future. If he let himself be haunted, he’d only repeat his worst mistakes again.

His jaw tightened inside his helmet, and Shadow willed the reverie away as the forested suburbs gave way to the sun-glittered glass and steel of the City. He made good time passing through the City Center, lane splitting through evening traffic, towards the south where Amy lived. The weather was perfect and he hoped it portended well for the evening’s activities.

Pulling up to Amy’s building, he killed the engine and dismounted. Shadow didn’t particularly like the idea of leaving his bike unaccompanied, but what kind of gentleman would ask his lady to depart her abode unaccompanied?

However, Shadow needn’t have worried, because as he took his helmet off and shook out his quills, the door to the apartment complex opened. Amy emerged, her shade of pink immediately drawing all of his attention even from a distance, and panic stabbed his heart. He glanced frantically at his watch and confirmed that, yes, he was indeed ten minutes early thanks to some flagrant disregard for posted speed limitations.

Still, Amy had been waiting and that was simply unacceptable. He would do better next time, he resolved, should he be given the honor.

She drew closer and his breath caught.

Amy had curled her short quills and they framed her face like an angelic cloud, forming a visage that should have been gracing the ceiling of some cathedral in his Motherland. With surprise, Shadow realized that, in all of their encounters prior, Amy had been thus far barefaced. Now her every feature was accentuated with care: her lashes longer and fuller, her lips redder and luscious, her cheeks rosy even fresh from a warm environment. A new facet of her magnificence was being presented to him and Shadow was more than willing to worship at this altar as well.

In short, she was supremely gorgeous and Shadow couldn’t help but stare awestruck and revel in his good fortune.

Amy wore a rather common coat over a short dress with stockings covering her otherwise bare legs before they ended in a pair of adorable, if practical, black flats. Rouge’s comment regarding hostess attire came to mind and Shadow dismissed it.

She stopped before him, smiling sweetly and clutching the strap of her purse and he couldn’t help but declare, “Beautiful.” He almost felt embarrassed at using too inadequate a word to describe her.

Amy blanched at the compliment, her cheeks staining further red and her ears joining the flush. She looked away, abashed. “Thank you.” She murmured, though his ears, trained fully on her, caught every syllable. Whoever had taught her to be embarrassed of her appearance should be drawn and quartered. Settle down, he coached himself. There will be none of that tonight.

“I hope I did not keep you waiting.”

“Oh, no, not at all.” Amy smiled, a sight to which Shadow would gladly become hopelessly addicted. “You’re early and I guess I was a little excited, is all”

Shadow’s chest swelled at her admitted eagerness, and he felt his tail wag involuntarily, an alien experience for him. The motion startled him and he twisted in place to examine his strangely animated limb. He turned back quickly when he heard Amy laugh. She’d seen as well and her mirth seemed to be more at his reaction than the wag itself. “Sorry.” She covered her mouth. “You just looked so surprised.”

“You’ve read me plainly.” Shadow found himself grinning, another rarely used set of muscles activating. Not a sneer. Not a smirk. A bold-faced grin. Rouge’s wit would flay him open like a fish if she could see him now. “I was caught unawares.”

Amy laughed again, bolder this time and a wave of pleasurable tingles ran amok across Shadow’s flesh. His tail went wild and – fuck it – let her see. There was no use denying the obvious. Shadow felt absolutely no shame in displaying his attraction to Amy. He was love-struck like a teenager and simply did not care whoever saw him.

She turned in place to show her own tail cutting a trail inside her coat. “We match.” Amy giggled.

Shadow found himself chuckling, a sorry presentation of the euphoric maelstrom raging in his chest. He’d lost track of his feelings. They swelled and burst too quickly, filling his stomach with a queer fluttering feeling and his head with something akin to helium. Too much more and he was likely to lose contact with the ground and float up into the heavens in search of Cloud 9.

“As you say.” His face felt strange as it remained in a contented position. “ Before we depart, I have something for you.”

Amy’s expression faded. “O-oh, more gifts…”

Luckily, Shadow had learned his lesson. “Not this time.” He winked and undid the latch on his motorcycle’s trunk. Moving aside the extra helmet, he retrieved a soft bundle and presented it to her.

“That’s my coat!” Amy exclaimed, her eyes lighting brightly, and taking the article from Shadow. “I left it at the…” Her face fell, no doubt remembering Shadow’s reprehensible behavior, “party.” Had it really only been two weeks? It felt more like six months. “How did you get this?” She asked, hugging the coat tightly to her chest. Her snout wrinkled, catching bits of his scent on the garment, Shadow hoped.

“I retrieved it from the coat check before I left that evening, in case I ever had the opportunity to return it.” He didn’t mention the bloody cardigan he’d been burying his face into each night as he desperately pleasured himself to her scent: Vanilla and strawberries, vanilla and strawberries, a melodic siren song compelling him to drown in his fantasies over and over and over again.

To his credit, Shadow had successfully resisted the urge to surreptitiously acquire any of Amy’s used garments or linens during his visit to her apartment, despite the aggressive impulse to violate her trust in such a manner to feed his collection.

Amy put a hand on her hip. “Oh man, I already took the tags off this new one!” Shadow wasn’t sure what Amy meant. ”I guess it doesn’t hurt to have two coats.” She smiled.

“I…agree.”

“Thank you for returning it to me.” She gestured with the coat. “I’ve had this coat for ages, and I was pretty bummed to have lost it. My parents gave it to me when I moved to the city.”

He’d originally insisted on being given Amy’s coat from the check at the Odyssey Moon party for purely selfish reasons. Shadow had been certain he’d never see Amy again and hadn’t been able to deny himself the indulgence of acquiring every scrap of her scent he could get his filthy, blood-stained hands on.

Amy pivoted. “Give me a minute to run upstairs and put this one away.”

Was he being invited back into her apartment? “Should I…?”

“I’ll just be a minute.” Right, right, of course. “We’re ahead of schedule, right?” Amy’s brow furrowed.

Even if they weren’t, Shadow would find a way to stop time and give her all that she needed. “There is no cause for undue haste. Take your time.”

Amy quickly disappeared and he was left with his rapidly beating heart and a head dizzy with excitement.

He felt drunk.

He felt insane.

He couldn’t even name what he felt.

Shadow simply lacked the words. He unzipped his leather jacket, giving a modicum of relief to his overheated fur. Shit. He ran a hand along his muzzle and swallowed. Even in the open air, he could taste her and couldn’t help salivating. Amy was perfect and his soul was inextricably drawn to her like the earth to the sun.

He craved to burn up in her atmosphere.

Shadow coughed swallowing the excess fluid in his mouth and shook his head again, trying to clear it.

He’d made certain to take his blockers every day since he’d left Amy earlier in the week. Dr. Quack had advised against doubling his dosage to ‘catch’ up for the days he’d missed. The side effects could be debilitating, Shadow was strongly advised. On the other hand, his blood work from Wednesday showed elevated rut-associated indicator hormones. There was a chance he’d enter his rut early and Shadow needed to be exceptionally vigilant for the signs.

Under no circumstances was he to allow himself to rut outside of a secure and private environment…and nowhere near Amy. Shadow wasn’t ready for her to see him like that yet…

His potential early rutting…could it be due to Amy? Merde, what had Rouge been saying about mate-sickness?

The door opened and Amy reappeared, now wearing her old coat, but with the front undone so Shadow could see her dress now.

He froze.

Light blue, like the clear, open summer sky, free, unadulterated, and endless.

A trail of white stars decorating the bottom hem, like the scattered diamonds speckling the vault of heaven at night.

Nique-moi, Shadow cursed himself as a wall of cognitive dissonance smashed into his brain.

He was such a god-damned fool. An idiot of such immense staggering magnitude, it beggared belief.

Amy was wearing Maria’s dress that Shadow had given her.

She noticed his distress. “Are you okay?”

Shadow cleared his throat and looked away, trying to stuff away or dispel or otherwise come to terms with the idea of the woman he desperately wanted to stuff with his cock wearing the dress of his departed sister. He might empty his stomach right here and now. “It’s nothing.” He tried to smile, to reassure her, but his eyes were drawn again to the dress.

Amy’s brow pinched in confusion. She looked down, following his gaze. “Oh, I thought…You gave it to me, so I thought that-“ She fumbled to explain herself.

“You look lovely.” He interrupted her a bit more sharply than he’d intended to. “Yes,” He confirmed, “I gave it to you and of course you can…you would…” Shadow swallowed and closed his eyes. “Please allow me to explain myself.”

“O-okay.”

He took a deep breath. “Our first evening together, your dress had gotten…soiled and I had thought you’d like something else to wear home,” Shadow grimaced, “even though now I had wished I’d offered you the room for the night.” Should he confess to knowing Amy had been feeling ill the next day? Amy’s face flushed. “Perhaps that would have been too forward.” He back pedaled.

“What I mean to say is, I don’t maintain a lady’s wardrobe because I don’t have reason to on account of-“ He was rambling. He sounded like an utter buffoon. Get ahold of yourself, goddamn it! Shadow took a breath. “The only articles I could offer were those of…my sister, Maria.”

Amy’s eyes grew large. “Oh my gosh.” She looked down at herself. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I just thought- Do you…want it back? I could run up and change. I’ll be quick.”

“No.” Shadow stated emphatically, bring a halt to Amy’s nervous placations. “I gave it to you to be worn. It’s yours now and you look so beautiful in it.” Shadow could almost hear Maria giggling, utterly exuding joy and excitement at how smitten her dark, severe brother was. How he, the so called ‘king of frowns’, melted like putty in Amy’s hands.

The object of his affection blushed and looked away. Something inside his chest wilted.

“Please don’t.” Shadow asked. Turning back, Amy looked at him quizzically. “When I but mention how radiant you are, please don’t feel self-conscious.” He explained. “The way you turn away from me, as if you don’t believe my words or as if I’m playing some cruel joke by just stating facts, wounds my heart.”

“Okay. I’ll try.” Amy nervously twirled a lock of her curled quills. “I’m not…good about being seen. I’ve spent a long time trying to go unnoticed.”

A ridiculous portion of Shadow rejoiced. Amy was and had always been his and only his. Her urge to avoid the gaze of false suitors proved it. Stop it! “I don’t understand.”

Amy turned to look at her building. “Like our apartment. The landlord has a whole no-Omega’s policy.” She snorted ruefully. “Says we stink up the place. We had to lie about me on our renter’s application.”

Shadow experienced a desire to explain the economic incentives and current property regulations that would explain such a restriction, but he quashed the impulse quickly. “That’s terrible. I’m sorry.”

“It is what it is.” Amy shook her head. “We should probably get going, right?”

“Right.” Shadow retrieved the spare helmet. “I hope it fits.” Shit, even if it did, it would crush Amy’s styled quills. Why hadn’t he thought of that? He should have just had Bruno drive them in the Benz.

“Your bike is really cool, by the way.” Scratch that, the bike was the right choice.

“Thank you. I maintain it myself.” Shadow said, not even trying to hide his pride.

“Woah, really?” Bless Amy and her moon-sized eyes.

Smirking, Shadow mounted Dark Rider and turned over the starter and the engine flared to life. “Really.” He answered, his deep voice flowing over the well-tuned purr.

Amy’s smile decayed and she stared at him with apprehension, clutching her helmet. His cockiness faltered. “To not fall off…I’d have to hold on to you, right?” She asked.

Merde. In his eagerness to ride his bike one last time for the season, Shadow had forgotten to take Amy’s haphephobia into account. Internally, he cursed himself colorfully. Should have taken the Benz! “I’m sorry. I failed to consider your condition.” He confessed. “I’ll arrange-“ He moved to dismount.

“No.” She said and Shadow stilled. “I’d like to try at least.” She hugged the helmet tightly against her chest. “I’m…trying to get better.” Through her trepidation, Shadow could see a fiery determination in Amy’s eyes. That, paired with the knowledge that she was about to wrap her arms around his waist, made Shadow’s heart sing.

“Please do not force yourself on my account.”

Amy shook her head in just about the most adorable display imaginable. “No. I want to.”

Shadow shifted, holding the bike steady between his thighs. “Take your time.”

Amy donned her helmet, which, in a minor showing of good fortune, appeared to fit well. Approaching, she paused to contemplate exactly how she wanted to go about mounting. Shadow couldn’t remember the last time he’d had someone behind him.

No.

That wasn’t right.

He remembered full well.

His and Maria’s nineteenth birthday.

Even though she’d always called him her older brother, Maria technically preceded him by a few hours. Persephone’s emergency drew Black’s full attention, leading to his absence at Shadow’s birth, very much to his mother’s disgust. After a few martini’s, Irena often retold the sordid tale of her lonesome recovery from near death and how Shadow’s father hadn’t visited for several days, too preoccupied at the time with funeral arrangements.

By that birthday, Maria had already lost a lot of weight. She’d never been particularly strong of constitution, but the signs of decline were become impossible to explain away as temporary. Shadow had surprised her by showing up unannounced, their traditional joint festivities having ended when she’d taken the Robotnik name several years prior.

There was no celebration planned for Maria. Ivo hadn’t even been in the country, leaving her with Eve and her two children, that toddler Belle and the sullen, silent one with red eyes (Ferris has your eyes, Maria would joke). It was a normal day in the Robotnik household. Shadow had found that unacceptable.

He hadn’t had a plan. Shadow had just pulled Maria out of that dour mansion and taken her up the coast, sea shimmering in the summer air as he sped them faster and farther away. A week passed. Maria never asked to be taken back. They’d made it pretty far, almost to the northern border, when Black had called Shadow. What the fuck do you think you’re doing?

Apparently, Maria was close to her heat and was required at her ‘home’ by her Alpha. She’d failed to conceive so many times before then, missing an opportunity to try again was unacceptable. Contracts, Shadow’s sire emphasized, have been signed.

Shadow wished he’d just kept going north. He wished he’d leaned into that stupid teenage conviction that had led him to grab Maria’s hand and run in the first place. Thereafter it was as if a barrier of glass had been placed between them. Shadow’s contact with Maria became limited in nefarious ways and he was never left alone with her again. He could only watch from the other side, slamming his fist against the glass, as she smiled sadly and met her fate.

Amy’s arms encircling Shadow’s waist ripped him from past. He remained deadly still as she adjusted her seat behind him, scarcely even breathing. Was this their first hug? Amy’s grasp was ghostly but after a moment it gained a timid corporealness, slowly tightening.

He heard her suck in a breath, and his ears attempted to cant back in his helmet. Urges to help wracked his soul, but his mind couldn’t come up with a how. She would ask if she needed help. She would ask if she needed help. She would ask if she needed help.

Suddenly her arms cinched around him with greater force than what was needed. It took him a moment to realize she was likely holding him as tightly as she could. A dam of warmth broke in his chest. Even though their flesh was separated by several layers of clothing, somehow, he felt bare. “Amy.” He said quietly.

“It doesn’t hurt.” She answered quietly. “It doesn’t hurt when I touch you.” Her voice was pinched. She was weeping.

“Amy?” He twisted, but she clutched him tighter, pressing her chest and helmeted head against his back, right between his dorsal quills where they exited the vents on his jacket.

“It’s fine. I’m sorry. I’m just- It’s fine. I’m fine.” The sound of her sniffling was nearly more than he could bear. “I’m just so happy.”

His head emptied of everything except the feeling of her arms around him.

Shadow released one of the handlebars and slowly moved his hand to lightly touch the back of hers. She reached out, snatching his hand in hers and intertwining their fingers. She squeezed and he gently returned the gesture. Amy gave a choked laugh. “This is nice.” She said.

“I agree.” Shadow lightly brushed his thumb against her hand. “But I cannot safely drive like this.”

Amy released his hand and returned hers to his waist. “Sorry! Sorry. I got a bit carried away, I guess. I’m okay. I promise, I’m okay.”

Shadow chose to believe her. “Let me know if I go too fast.”

“I trust you.”

Shadow’s heart fluttered like a hummingbird’s. Those words did things to his mind and soul. Indescribable sensations rippled through him. This incomprehensible reaction was the agent rewriting him, inserting Amy into every page and paragraph and sentence of his existence. Est-ce de l’amour?

“Allons-y.” Shadow revved the engine and pulled away from Amy’s apartment building.

They flew through the city. Turns and acceleration elicited Amy to tighten her hold for a few moments. Shadow absolutely loved the increased contact, but he socked his pleasure in the stomach and locked it in a closet, choosing instead to slow for Amy’s comfort. He maintained excessive following distances and resisted the urge to weave recklessly through traffic. He even used his turn indicators.

Therefore, it was little surprise they arrived late for their reservation. Punctuality was meaningless in this instance – there wasn’t a sane reason that a table with his name on it would be given away – but Shadow was a creature of habit. He gave the valet a large bill along with his keys to set the expectation that greater rewards were in the future but only if Dark Rider was treated with more reverence than god by the jacketed young lemur.

The restaurant itself was adequately presentable. Immaculate groundskeeping around the private entrance for the establishment set into a tall residential skyscraper in the heart of the City Center. Now that he thought about it, Shadow might have taken lunch with Eclipse here before. Nicole would know…Maybe that was why she had chosen this location. He must have approved of the food.

Shadow approached the door and opened it wide, stepping aside to allow Amy to pass through first. But she wasn’t there. She’d stopped halfway down the path, her eyes trained on something to the side of the restaurant’s elegant façade. “Amy? Is something the matter?” He asked.

Amy blinked and looked at Shadow. “It’s nothing. It’s just…” She shook her head. “Never mind. It’s nothing.” She repeated.

Shadow found himself in an unenviable position. Something had clearly bothered Amy, but she’d said it was nothing and he’d promised to always believe her no matter what. However, if there was something amiss with the restaurant, Shadow simply needed to know so he could address the issue. He knew he’d go mad during the meal trying to think of what could have possibly given her pause. And what if it was actually nothing?

He needed more data.

Shadow turned to the façade and examined the spot that Amy had been distracted by. There, woven seamlessly into the carved wood and floral arrangements, were a pair of symbols. He stepped away from the door to get a better look. One was an ‘O’ in cherrywood with a slash of ebony cutting through it while the other was an ‘O’ in a pale, almost blue, mahoe with an ebony ‘A’ inside the ring.

Ah. Only Escorted Omegas. Such restrictions were common among higher end establishments but rarely enforced. Such policies were more for insurance purposes than anything else. Like an establishment would turn down business based on such an arbitrary determination. It was simply economically foolish.

But why would Amy…He recalled her comment regarding her landlord. Shadow was sure he didn’t fully understand Amy’s stance on Omega-based discrimination, but he could assume she wasn’t exactly enamored with the general concept.

“It’s fine. I’m with you.” Amy said, her gaze following his and her tone resigned.

Well, that wouldn’t do. “You seem reluctant. May I ask why?”

She studied his face and he, admittedly, felt a pang of self-consciousness. What was she thinking? He desperately wanted to know if only to relieve the tension building quickly inside him. Then Amy’s face relaxed and Shadow’s stress evaporated.

“I…kinda try to avoid giving business to places that exclude Omegas.” Amy hunched her shoulders, making herself smaller. “It’s kinda stupid I know and probably doesn’t make a difference, but it’s a little way I protest archaic policies like that. Kinda like how I started volunteering for Rouge’s campaign. It felt like something I could handle doing.” Amy looked at the ground. “But it’s fine. This place looks very nice.” She looked up, meeting his gaze. “A-and I’m with you, so even if they ID me, it’s fine.” The dullness he saw in her green eyes curdled his stomach.

“Perhaps,” Shadow closed the door, “but it is not fine with me.” He said sternly. “I am not satisfied with any establishment in which you feel uncomfortable. We will dine elsewhere.” He held out a hand to gently gesture her back down the pathway.

Amy’s verdant eyes grew wide with surprise tinged with a softness. She blushed, but smiled, as she allowed herself to be directed.

Putain. Where were they going to eat now? Nicole had sent him a list of backup options, but he’d have to take out his phone to look. That wouldn’t be aberrant, right? That’s how people without mercilessly efficient personal assistants found restaurants, right? That’s how normal people would react in this situation…But he wasn’t a normal person, was he? He would never be a normal person.

You pathetic, stupid, worthless sonofabitch, what in the nine hells is wrong with you? I’m not doing this right now. Tonight is about Amy. You can manage a multi-billion dollar portfolio of companies and you can’t manage to take a woman out to dinner without fucking the whole thing up? Nothing’s ruined. Everything will be fine. Amy should fucking kick you to the curb, you piece of rancid garbage. That’s not helpful. Stop it!

“Shadow?” Amy’s voice broke him free of his thoughts.

He cleared his throat. “Excuse me. I was preoccupied for a moment.” He withdrew his phone. “Please give me a moment. I will find a more suitable location.”

Amy strode in front of him, bringing Shadow to a halt, “You said we’d walk by the river, right?” She had her hands clasped behind her back and she looked up at him with earnest exuberance, as if she was enjoying the emergence of this sudden problem. “What if we headed towards the river and see what we find along the way?” God damn him, she is brilliant.

Shadow returned his phone to his jacket pocket. “That sounds like a wonderful idea.” He offered Amy his hand. She froze briefly, eyes going wide at the gesture, but she won out against the reflex. Her slender fingers grasped his and she gave him a gentle squeeze that aggravated the fluttering in his stomach.

Together, they strolled down the wide, clean streets of the metropolis towards the waterfront.