#we don't talk about my sporadic contributions to shadamy week okay

[darkmatters-ghost]

Day 5: Singing

I want to put a TW, but I think the warning would genuinely be more extreme than the oneshot itself. Uh, don't read this if you're under 8, I guess. Though if you're under 8 I'm not sure you should be on Tumblr.

(If anyone who reads it thinks I should, lemme know)

Don Quixote is pronounced "Key-ho-tey, btw. It's a surprise tool that will help us later.

Enjoy what is quite possibly the most fluffy, romantic thing I've ever written!

Amy Rose wasn't used to Shadow being so perky. But it was a lovely surprise.

He perked up when they moved in together. Well, after he got used to his new surroundings. It had been a few months and everyday she came home from resistance-clean up and find that no matter what she had accidently ruined or made messy the night before was spotless when she got back. He was a real sixties housewife.

Last night, she had made a real mess of the kitchen while "rage-baking" as Shadow called it. She was so frustrated that she'd officially resigned from the resistance months ago, but still had files to organize for her replacement. And she didn't want to take it out on the poor girl newly in charge. At least the crepes were good.

But when she walked into the kitchen, it wasn't the clean counters that surprised her. Nor the dishes he was cleaning.

Shadow was singing.

She blinked.

Shadow was singing.

It wasn't like anything she'd heard before. His voice was deep, but not too deep. Sweet, but not too sweet. There's was a light carefree feeling his voice as he sang. She didn't recognize the song.

"Dulcinea, Dulcinea, I see heaven when I see thee, Dulcinea." Dulcinea... She'd never heard a name like that before. "And thy name is like a prayer an angel whispers, Dulcinea, Dulcinea..."

She tried to be slow and quiet, as she stepped closer to him. Unfortunately, there's no sneaking up on the Ultimate Life Form. One of his ears perked up, and he turned to her.

"Hello, Rose," he said happily.

"I didn't know you could sing like that," she said.

"Lot of free time on the ark." He shrugged noncommittally. He turned back to grab another dish, but she stopped his hand before he could get there.

"Why haven't you sung like that before now?"

He didn't seem to have a good answer for that.

"... Never felt like it before."

"What's it from anyway? Hardly sounds like a pop song."

"Man of La Mancha. The musical hit Broadway while me and Maria were on the ark. It's one of my favorites."

"Oh! What's it about?"

Realizing that she wasn't gonna let him keep washing dishes, he faced her and smiled.

"It's about this guy, who calls himself Don Quixote the knight."

"Okay."

"And turns out his just some old nut-job."

"Um... Okay? Does he become a knight later in the story?"

"No, he's just insane. Knights weren't even a thing in his time period."

"You're making it really hard to like this story," she pouted.

"Don't worry, he finds this woman who he thinks is a princess."

"And she's not." Amy said dryly.

"Not in the slightest."

"Then who is-"

"She's a prostitute."

"SHADOW!" He smirked. "Wh- how is this your favorite musical!"

"Well. When he sees her, he asks her name. She says her name is Aldonza. He decides that royalty such as herself could never-"

"She's a prostitute," Amy said, deadpan. Shadow's good mood didn't falter.

"... Could never have the name of a peasant."

"He says, to her..." Shadow then took her chin gently in his palm. She met his Ruby Red eyes, so full of love. "No one as beautiful and kind as you should have a name like that. Your name should be a name befitting of royalty. Like, Dulcinea."

"And... He sings her that love song..." Shadow nodded. "It... Is a beautiful song..." She admitted. Though she wasn't sure if it was the lyrics or just his voice that made her find it so lovely.

Shadow smiles. "He calls her Dulcinea for the rest of the show."

"What does Dulcinea mean? Exactly?"

"Melodic. Sweet, elegant, idyllic... Whichever you prefer." He said all those words like he meant that they defined her.

"Huh..." Amy shook her head, and Shadow pulled away. "But she's just a prostitute."

"She's not just a prostitute. She's a person. She was desperate. She didn't enjoy her life. The place she lived wasn't good. And the work she did wasn't pretty."

"Then why not run away?"

"Running requires money."

"Oh." She looked up at him. "This story sounds sad!"

He shrugged. "A little bit."

"The guy's insane! The girl is miserable, how is this your favorite musical!"

Shadow didn't speak for a moment.

"Well, the man saw things that nobody else did."

"Because he was crazy."

"Sure, but the things he saw weren't bad. He didn't see the world as it was, but he saw it as it should've been. I think there's value in that. Being able to see good in things no one else can. He saw good in her. Even when she didn't see it in herself."

That's when it clicked. He saw good in her, even when she couldn't see it in herself. Amy saw good in Shadow. He didn't believe her. She really had to fight to convince him. It's hard to pinpoint exactly when he changed his mind. But it took years.

"Has this... Always been your favorite movie?"

"Always been up there, but I've recently found a new appreciation for the moral of it all."

"I think you're more like the knight."

"That I'm crazy?"

"No, doofus! That you're kind and romantic!"

"Am I?"

"Yes!" She leaned in for emphasis, grinning. "And you also go around, hearing what everyone calls a girl, only to call her something else because you think it's prettier."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Rose," he said with a smile.

"How does it end?"

"Why would I tell you that? It would ruin the ending."

"Well you told me everything else!"

"I definitely haven't told you everything else. You hardly know anything."

"Well I know enough!"

"Then why are you asking for the ending?"

"Well, I- ugh!"

"There's a movie version. Why don't we watch that tonight?" Amy stopped to think. She didn't have anywhere else she needed to be. She could just relax with him on the couch until she fell asleep.

"Have you seen it?" She asked.

"Parts of it."

She giggled. "You're on."

Watched that movie recently. I loved it. The person who suggested it to me loves it, and I get why cause it's really good, but also when I first watched it I was just WTFFFF the entire time.

Don Quixote loses a fight with a windmill.