The sun was starting to set over the horizon of Emerald City, the remaining lights reflecting off the tall glass buildings and making the city seem like magic. The sparkling effects seemed to add a richness to the large capital, aside from the obvious celebrities that roamed the streets.
Shadow the Hedgehog, one of the more popular celebrities, was currently making his way through town. Or... Trying to.
The hedgehog had to fight his way through the large crowd that, upon spotting him had flocked around and blocked him from his destination. Screaming girls and children jumped in his way as the famous hedgehog; shoving pens and papers in his face, practically begging for an autograph. It was absolute chaos, and something the dark hedgehog had to put up with a lot.
His friends would always joke about it, talking about how if they ever needed their own piece and quiet from their fans, they would just bring him along to shopping malls or restaurants. Knowing what the populous was like, they'd forget about everyone else and focus only on Shadow. Even Sonic couldn't stand in his light; the main hero of Mobius just wasn't cool enough.
It was rather annoying to the dark hedgehog, who rather enjoyed his peace and quiet. It was even more annoying when he had plans and was kept late because of the crowds of people that insisted on making him sign a photo of himself. Right now, for example, the hedgehog had something to attend and he was already five minutes late.
Dammit, he hoped he wasn't ruining the occasion; it was something he had been planning for the past few weeks and had been looking forward to it. Actually, a lot was at stake with this event tonight, and being late was definitely not winning his favour.
The people refused to move, a bunch of fangirls had surrounded him, some taking selfies and others grabbing onto his arms and asking for attention. Shadow growled to himself, wishing he had asked for an escort through the town instead of trying to play it casual. But... That was something else he had chosen not to do tonight. He was trying to prove himself, and boy he was proving himself wrong.
Now sick of being held up, the hedgehog pulled the red emerald from his quills and held it up,
"Chaos... Control!" He yelled, before disappearing from the middle of the crowd. The people all blinked, staring at where he had just been in awe, before they all dispersed back to whatever it was they were doing.
The hedgehog appeared outside a restaurant, dusting his arms as if covered in dirt. He hated being touched, especially by strangers; but fans hardly treated their celebrities as living beings...
Shadow huffed, glancing into the restaurant and seeing his guest was already sitting and waiting for him. He sighed and pushed through the large glass doors, over to the reception. The room was filled with chatter, families and couples and businesses all sat at their respectful tables, talking and laughing, cracking jokes; everything was normal. A waitress hurried over, grabbing a menu from the stand placed at the entrance. She was a leopard, dressed in a simple black dress with a white collar around her neck, a black bow sat behind her ear.
"My apologies sir, I'll seat you now." She said, raising her head. When she saw who it was, her eyes widened, "Oh my, Shadow the Hedgehog!"
The entire room went quiet, and everyone seemed to now be staring at him. Shadow growled, rubbing his forehead,
"Thanks for that..." He huffed, and the waitress cowered back slightly.
"S-Sorry..." She mumbled, "You booked for the 7 o'clock correct?"
"Yes..."
"Alright, follow me." She smiled, tucking the menu under her arm and leading the hedgehog to the small table.
Already sitting there and look rather impatient was a (f/c) (a/t); she had her back to the walking duo, but Shadow could see she was wearing her (f/c) dress with matching shoes; her hair was done up nicely as well. The girl was currently tapping her foot, glancing out the large glass window in wait for Shadow's arrival.
"Here you go." The waitress smiled, placing the menu on the table, "I'll be back to take your orders in a moment."
And with that she left, disappearing out the back to join the rest of the staff. Shadow nodded to her, before taking his seat in front of the (a/t). She jumped and faced him, blinking,
"You're 15 minutes late." She said, leaning on her hand.
"I... Yeah I'm sorry." Shadow said with a sigh, "The fans attacked..."
As he said that, the waitress could be heard freaking out in the back of the restaurant. The other diners turned to look at the kitchen whether it be in annoyance or curiosity; Shadow felt himself shrink down slightly as his point was proven. The (a/t) only rolled her eyes, tapping her finger impatiently on the table.
"Mhm..." She said, turning her eyes to the menu, "As they always do."
"(Y/N) I'm sorry." The hedgehog said, taking her hand, "I tried to get here on time."
The (a/t) closed her eyes, shaking her head, "We've talked about this Shadow, your status is... It's getting between us, ruining every single plan we make together. It's growing tiring... Tonight you were meant to prove it won't get in the way..."
"I know, but I'm here now." Shadow said, "Everyone's fashionably late."
He leant down, kissing her hand. The girl sighed again, before offering a small smile; pulling her hand away she gave him a pat on the head. He returned the smile, before they both searched through the menu and made their choices. The waitress came back, her hair a frizzled mess. She apologised for being loud, before taking their order.
Once they were done, she asked if she could possibly get a photo. The hedgehog hesitated, not wanting his status to ruin the planned date, seeing the look of jealously flash through (Y/N)'s eyes. She said nothing, keeping her eyes on her menu.
"My apologies." Shadow said, "But I'm here for a date, I'd like it not to be interrupted."
"O-Oh! Of course." The waitress' cheeks turned red and she rubbed her head, her tail swished behind her and she bowed, "I-I'll get your meals out to you straight away. I'm sorry for the inconvenience..."
She rushed away, her ears pinned to her head and she only took Shadow's menu. Did she even take (Y/N)'s order...?
Shadow turned to face her, raising a brow, "Please tell me she didn't forget about you..."
"Oh no no no, why would she ignore me?" The (a/t) asked sarcastically, before getting to her feet, "I'll be right back..."
She turned on her heel and walked over to the kitchen doors, catching the leopard waitress and striking conversation. Shadow let out a sigh, leaning back in his chair. Dammit all to hell, being famous was really not worth it, not when it affected his life like this.
The others didn't mind the invisibility when around him, they saw it as a chance for silence in public. But (Y/N)... She's never been famous, not like Sonic or Knuckles or Silver. She's always been invisible to the world, always ignored and pushed to the side whenever she's in public with Shadow. Any time they go out for a date, be it for the movies, or a nice dinner; they are always interrupted by fans, they always push her away to get to Shadow.
He hated it himself, she deserved so much more than what she got. And he was meant to prove that it won't always be like that; they had planned this date to be on a day when the media were busy with other news; they had planned for the restaurant to be silent; they had planned everything to try and avoid this problem. It hadn't worked.
They just wanted to be able to spend time in the city, to not have to disappear to some secret beach or lake, to have to find secluded places just to spend time together. Shadow wished it could just... Be that easy. He hadn't asked to be a celebrity, but the media classed him as that after he saved Mobius from the Death Egg.
The hedgehog rubbed his face, trying to think of any other ideas. He could book out a whole place next time, but that would be abusing his popularity and it would be selfish. (Y/N) would hate that even more...
He couldn't blame the (a/t) for being jealous either. Remembering the flash he had just seen her throw towards the waitress. It was something they had talked about prior; with Shadow's popularity all the girls wanted him and as much as he insisted to (Y/N) she was the only one, sometimes her insecurity would get the best of her.
"What if you just one day... Find someone better...?" Her words had been soft, scared; they had stuck with him since she said it.
Gods he wished he could just tell her it wasn't like that, that he would never change his mind about her. But she was stubborn, and although she finally accepted it in the end, the hedgehog knew she was still worried.
Shadow closed his eyes; he had thought about proposing to the (a/t), but he didn't know if she'd like the publicity that would put them through. She already hated the journalists that tried to interview Shadow every few days, imagine being his fiancé! The fans could respond in a negative or jealous way and that would be ugly. Plus, that was a big commitment, and depending on tonight... Well they'll have to wait and see.
(Y/N) finally returned, taking her seat once again. She looked... Sad... Shadow sat up, leaning towards the (a/t).
"What's wrong?" Shadow asked, tilting his head, "Did the waitress say something rude?"
"No..." The girl said, "She was actually very lovely... When she comes back, you should get a photo with her."
"Really? Are you sure?" Shadow asked, "I know you didn't want to be interrupted tonight."
"Yeah well... It's not all about me." The girl said, raising her head, "You've saved her life Shadow."
"I did...? I don't think so, I would have remembered if I saved her from Eggman or a collapsing building." Shadow said, turning his eyes on the waitress; she didn't ring any bells for him at all.
"No, you saved her life in... A different way." The (a/t) said, taking his hands tightly, "I get so wrapped up in my own personal business that I forget your fans are people too... She was suicidal before she found out about you Shadow. You being a hero, the speeches you've made on the media, even the short ones... They motivated her, filled her with hope. You made her feel like a better person."
Shadow blinked, completely taken back, "I... Have...?"
The (a/t) nodded, smiling softly, "Sometimes I forget that just you being famous can save someone. I... I'm sorry for staking everything on tonight, it was so selfish of me."
"Hey..." Shadow said, leaning forward to cup her cheek, "It's not selfish to want some privacy. And I'm sure we can find that privacy."
"I know. But really, give that girl a photo. She's dreamed of meeting you her whole life." The (a/t) said, closing her eyes and leaning into his hand, "And after we're done here, we'll go to one of those secluded places, at least we have those to fall back on."
"True." Shadow smiled, and the waitress returned with their meals.
After they were placed down, Shadow stood and shook the girls hand, asking (Y/N) if she minded taking the photo. She was surprisingly happy to take it, considering she now understood the leopard's story, she clearly understood what this meant to her now. The waitress was a happy, squealing mess, after the photo was taken, she gave Shadow a tight hug, thanking him for everything, before pulling away with a small blush.
Dusting off her dress, she bowed and thanked them both, before telling them if they needed anything else, to give her a call and she'd be over in seconds. The two were able to eat their meal in peace as well, the other diners seemed to keep to themselves, which was a pleasant surprise.
Once they were done, Shadow paid for their meals and left a nice tip for the waitress. The two left, making sure to keep to the quieter, darker streets to avoid any attention. Finally, they left the city hand in hand, smiling at each other. Shadow was glad the (a/t) had seen everything from another perspective, and he asked her what that now meant.
"It means I think I'll be able to handle everything a bit more." (Y/N) said, "It's still going to suck but... If you're making people happy, then why should I complain?"
The hedgehog nodded, before stopping the two from walking. (Y/N) looked at him with a confused tilt of the head.
"What's wrong?" She asked, "Did you leave something at the restaurant?"
"No." Shadow said, taking both her hands, "I just... I want to get rid of one other problem we're facing... If that's alright with you."
The (a/t) gave him a sceptical look, "What do you mean...?"
"Well, you once told me that you're afraid you'll lose me." Shadow said, moving his hand up her arm and onto her shoulder, "I tried to tell you otherwise, and I know you don't believe me."
"Shadow..."
"So I want to show you that I mean it when I say I'm never leaving." The hedgehog said, kneeling in front of the girl. Her (e/c) eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with her hand, "I might not be fully prepared for this... But seeing you tonight, the fear of what could have happened, and how things went in the best possible direction..."
The hedgehog held both her hands in his, turning his ruby gaze up to the other, "(Y/N), if it won't be too much of a burden, if you won't mind the media being after both of us, if you can stand against the fans that will be jealous of you... If you can do all that... Then do you think you could..."
"Shh..." The girl said, pulling a hand away and touching his muzzle gently, "With you by my side... I could do all that and more."
The hedgehog smiled. This was not the plan at all, he hadn't even thought about this before his arrival to the restaurant, but he was happy with the outcome. Standing, he picked the girl up and swung her around. She squealed and laughed, hugging his neck tightly. Finally. Finally, everything was going to be alright.
Even if there were many bumps in the road ahead of them with their newfound status; Shadow knew they would be fine.