//------------------------------//
// Late Nights 
// Story: Dear Maria, 
// by CalmHeart 
//------------------------------//

Dear Maria,
Hi! Yes, I've been doing well, thank you. The cakes have gone out for the week, so I have sugarcube corner to myself! Eee, I'm so excited! But, I am a little worried about Shady. When he went off to work today, he was more... unemotional than he usually is. I hope he's okay.
He hasn't gotten home yet.
Hm..
Well, I'll worry about it later!

Later Maria!



..2 days later...



The quiet creaking of the door seemed to echo around the room as the door opened.

Shadow silently closed the front door, hand on the door. He pressed his forehead against the door, and sighed with relief. He closed his eyes, and thought over the day.

"Shady."

Shadow's eyes popped open. He slowly turned his head to see Pinkie Pie standing at the bottom of the stairs behind the counter.

He crossed his arms, neutral faced.
"What are you doing up?"

Pinkie smiled at him.
"Waiting for you."

Shadow sighed, and closed his eyes.

"Not getting enough sleep will hurt you Pinks."

Pinkie giggled, and walked out from behind the counter.

"Says the guy who never gets enough sleep."

Shadow chuckled, and gave a smirk.

"Touché."

Pinkie hugged him tightly, and Shadow returned the hug. Pinkie inhaled the scent of his quills.

"I've missed your lavender smell."

Shadow chuckled again.

"It's only been 3 days Pinks. Although, I won't lie: I've missed your sugary smells too."

Pinkie laughed quietly, and she pulled back slightly.

"I'm just glad you're home Shady." She kissed his cheek, and Shadow gave a small smile to her. Pinkie departed from the hug, and beamed.

"So, are you gonna tell me how your day was?"

She began to walk back to the stairs, Shadow following suit.

"Of course."



The couple sat on Pinkie's bed, Shadow talking about his latest shutdown operation. Pinkie was engrossed in the story, soaking every detail in.

"So, I get to the kingpin, right, and there Sonic is, having gone into a state we have named Dark Sonic."

Pinkie gasped.
"No way! Uh, I assume that can't be good."

Shadow nodded his head. "It isn't. When Sonic turns dark, all the negative emotions in him go haywire. There's usually a few chaos emeralds in play as well, but curiously, this time there wasn't."

Pinkie was very curious as she scooted closer to him, making Shadow instinctively pull her onto his lap.

"He could have destroyed everything around him!" Pinkie commented.

"That's what I'm thinking at that point, and so I quickly restrain him in a hold, and I inject him with a knockout agent."

Pinkie gasped again. "Shady! How could you do such a thing?"

Shadow responded flatly. "It was the only way to calm him down in this situation."

"Is he okay now?"

"Yes, I brought him to his friends and they woke him. He's alright."

Shadow sighed. "I want to say this is the last time I'm ever going to let him partake in one of my missions, but I know that's not true."

Pinkie Pie nodded. That was understandable.

"So what happened to the bad guy?"

"He saw me take Sonic down, and realized who I was. Before he could react, I pulled out my pistol, and I spooked pretty bad. We detained him, and the building. Every victim there is now safe, whether that's back to their families or being watched over by GUN."

Pinkie sighed with relief.

"That's a relief. That story was heavy."

"Yeah."

Shadow looked down to the ground.

"But so is life. On my planet anyway."

Pinkie suddenly hugged Shadow tight, making Shadow blink.

"I'm just so glad you got home safe today."

Pinkie's voice sounded worried, a little less cheerful.

Shadow hugged her back tightly, closing his eyes.
"Oh baby, I'd never ever let you experience the things I do on a day to day basis. I will always come back to you. Nothing could ever take me away from you. And that is the pure truth."

Pinkie was blushing at his comments, and felt loved.

She pulled her head back to kiss him on the cheek.

"Thank you."

Shadow smirked.

"You missed."

Pinkie rolled her eyes, and grinned before giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

Pinkie quickly departed, making Shadow smirk.

"You're deliberately teasing me, aren't you?"

Pinkie only giggled in response. She was.

Pinkie nuzzled him under his muzzle, and shadow played with her mane.

"So, how was your day?"

Pinkie waved her hoof.
"Oh Shady, you know, the usual."

"Come on. What happened today?"

Pinkie beamed.
"Well, after you left I went to plan a party in canterlot, per Twilight's asking! It was spring themed, and celebrated the natural flower types that grow in canterlot! Fluttershy helped me a lot with it, and the party went off without a hitch! But you know, those canterlot elites really need to loosen up."

Shadow smiled.
"Really?"

"Yeah! They really don't know how to have fun! But since I'll be head of entertainment and Equestria's national host soon, you can bet they will know how to have a real party!"

Shadow was surprised.
"Wait, you didn't tell me you were going to be Equestria's national host."

Pinkie chuckled nervously and backed away, rubbing the back of her head with her hoof.

"Really? I could have sworn I did." She giggled nervously, not sure how Shadow would react.

Shadow felt himself grin.

"That's amazing Pinks."

Pinkie beamed, blushing. Her nervousness dissipated immediately.
"I know! It's really exciting!"

"Now you'll get to spread your happiness across all of Equestria!"

Pinkie nodded in response to Shadow.
"It's going to be so fun!"

Shadow was smiling. He was proud of her for gaining this prestigious title, and was happy for her.

Pinkie suddenly gave out a loud yawn.

Shadow chuckled.

"Okay, it's time for some sleep. It sounds like you need it."

Pinkie whined. "But Shady, I'm not tired. Honest!"

Shadow layed her down on her bed, and stood up.

"Didn't you say I needed more sleep too?"

Pinkie sighed.
"Yeah."

"Then goodnight Pinks."

He gave her a kiss, and walked over to sit on his bed.

Pinkie turned her head to stare at him as he began to take his shoes off.

Pinkie suddenly had a heavy feeling in her gut. Her stomach was fluttering with butterflies.

There was something she had to tell him.

The problem was, she didn't know how to begin.

"...Shady?" She began.

Shadow took off his socks, but kept his rings on. Usually when he went to bed, he kept his inhibitor rings on just in case of emergencies.

"Yeah?" He didn't look up to her, as he was still in the process of taking his last sock off.

"Could you.. Sleep with me tonight?"

Shadow quickly looked up to her. She was avoiding his gaze. Shadow licked his lips, and was going to speak until he noticed her emotion.

She looked nervous.

'Why is she so afraid to ask?'

Shadow thought it over, Pinkie suddenly gazing up to him with light eyes.

Shadow started taking off his gloves.

She sighed, and closed her eyes. She turned her back against him.

"Forget it."

She talked to herself, looking down at her sheets. "It was a stupid question anyway, I shouldn't have-"

She stopped mid sentence. She felt her covers move, and the heat of someone next to her.

Her eyes widened, and she turned to see Shadow laying next to her, staring at her with sympathetic eyes.

His ruby red eyes shone though the dimly lit room, and were instantly comforting. There was so much emotion in those eyes. His left hand laid in front of his chest.

"Are you okay?"

Pinkie blushed. He was right there.

"I-I'm f-fine. I just... Would like to cuddle more with you."

Shadow blinked, then smiled softly. He would have melted from the adorableness if not for his hardened shell.

Shadow slid his arms around her, and pulled her close. Pinkie gasped lightly. Shadow whispered into her ear.

"You're cute."

Pinkie couldn't help but grin, burying her face into his soft, white chest fur.

She giggled, snuggling up against him.

The two enjoyed their company, and the close quarter cuddling/snuggling. However, that was not what Pinkie wanted to tell him about.

A long moment of silence came, closely together.

Shadow suddenly whispered a thought to himself.

"You fit me perfectly."

Pinkie blushed. Shadow realized what he had just said, and he blushed. Shadow and Pinkie looked at each other at the same time.

Pinkie realized, she had to get it out now. Now or never.

"Um, Shadow?..."

Shadow stared at her curiously. He waited patiently for her to continue.

Pinkie felt herself blush a vibrant pink, more pink than her coat color.

"... I'm ready."

Shadow was confused.

"Ready? For what?"

Pinkie blinked numerous times, trying to get him to remember something.

Suddenly, what Pinkie Pie was insinuating hit Shadow.

His cheeks flushed a wine red.

"Ar-Are you sure?"

Pinkie nodded her head slowly.

Shadow slowly and carefully climbed on top of her. He stared down at Pinkie. Both were blushing a marron color.

Pinkie's eyes were wide, staring at her love above her. She was really anxious.

Shadow could tell.

"Hey."

Pinkie listened. Shadow's voice was low, caring, and comforting, even though he was nervous as well.

"It's both our first, so we'll take it one step at a time. Alright?"

Pinkie was put at ease by his care, and she nodded.

He bent down and kissed her gently, and she returned it.

A lot happened that night. Luckily, the house was empty, and no one was around to overhear how heated it would become.