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“ROUGE. ARE YOU AWAKE?”
“Gah! Omega!” Rouge jumped at the abrupt robotic voice from outside her bedroom. She huffed, then she threw off her covers and made her way to the door. She planned to scold Omega for startling her, and she’d curtly remind him— again— to knock in the future.
Rouge threw the door open and was greeted by the giant robot, whose silhouette filled the entire doorframe. Omega cut in before a word escaped her mouth.
“ROUGE. SHADOW IS UNWELL.”
Rouge stared at Omega. Had she misheard him? “Omega, you just woke me up. What are you talking about?”
“I REPEAT: SHADOW IS UNWELL. HE REQUIRES YOUR IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE.”
Rouge looked at Omega only a second longer before she grabbed her bathrobe off the hook on her door. “This better not be a joke.” She threw it on as she sped-walked down the hall to the living room, Omega trudging surprisingly quickly behind her.
“IT IS NOT A JOKE.”
“Then what do you mean, ‘Shadow is unwell?’ He can’t be unwell, he doesn’t get sick.”
“I AGREE STATISTICALLY SPEAKING IT IS UNLIKELY, BUT PRELIMINARY SCANS SHOW A SPIKE IN BODY TEMPERATURE AND AN ELEVATED HEART RATE. SHADOW ALSO DID NOT RESPOND WHEN I GREETED HIM THIS MORNING. HE ALWAYS RESPONDS TO ME.”
Rouge entered the living room of her penthouse apartment. The light was dim, sunlight barely peaking through the thick curtains she had drawn last night on the floor-to-ceiling windows. An L-shaped couch faced away from her towards the fireplace. Rouge could just see Shadow’s quills poking up from the other side where he lay on it.
“Shadow?” she asked tentatively.
No response. Not even a twitch of his ear.
Rouge moved around the couch to where she could see Shadow’s front, and she stopped short. For a terrible, horrifying second, she thought he was dead; she had never seen Shadow look so ghastly pale. Then she saw his chest rise and fall with breath, and in a moment of both relief and panic she rushed to him.
“Shadow! Shadow, can you hear me?”
Rouge knelt on the carpet next to the couch, where Shadow lay limp under the blanket she’d lent him the night before. Rouge put a hand on his shoulder to shake it, and—oh, she could feel the ‘spike in body temperature’ Omega had mentioned. She put her other hand on Shadow’s forehead and cheeks: yup, definitely felt like a fever. But then why did he look so pale?
“Come on, Shadow, wake up now.” Rouge shook him gently.
A moment passed, and then Shadow finally stirred, seeming to register the hand on his face. He leaned into it slightly. A quiet, pained groan escaped from the back of his throat, and his eyes slowly fluttered open. Chaos, he looked exhausted. Rouge felt guilt rise in the pit of her stomach for waking him, but she squashed it; too late now.
It took Shadow a good few seconds to find Rouge’s face, his gaze unfocused and distant.
“Hey, Shadow.” Rouge kept her voice even. “Can you see me? It’s Rouge.”
Shadow squinted at her. “…Rouge.” His voice was quiet. No, not just that, it was… weak. Shadow the Hedgehog sounded weak. Shadow scrunched his eyes, groaning. “What… what’s happening?”
“You’re in my apartment. Remember last night, you asked to stay here?”
Rouge thought back to the night before. Shadow’s request had been made quietly—it had been the most he had said all evening. Omega had stayed too, as he did occasionally. Rouge had been happy to concede to them both; after the craziness of everything that had happened, it felt good to keep her dearest friends close.
“No, I…I know that…” Shadow blinked several times, then he shuddered. Otherwise, he barely moved. “I meant, what’s… happening to me? Something… everything feels wrong .”
The weariness in his voice still threw Rouge for a loop. Even speaking seemed tiring for him.
Come to think of it, Rouge had noticed yesterday (after they’d all safely returned to Sonic’s party) that Shadow had been especially quiet—even by his standards. Rouge cursed inwardly; had he already been unwell then? Had that been a sign? She took a breath before answering him.
“I… We think you’re sick, Shadow.”
Shadow’s strained eyes shot to her. Rouge could see the confusion—and shock—in his gaze.
“WHEN YOU DID NOT RESPOND TO MY GREETING THIS MORNING,” Omega said from behind the couch, “I CONDUCTED A PRELIMINARY SCAN. RESULTS INDICATED A SPIKE IN BODY TEMPERATURE AND ELEVATED HEART RATE, OF WHICH I NOTIFIED ROUGE.”
“In other words, you’re feverish,” said Rouge. “And you’re as white as a sheet, good golly.” She stood to adjust his blanket. “How are you feeling right now?”
Shadow closed his eyes. “Very, very lightheaded.” He shivered and drew his arms close as the blanket moved and the air hit him, reluctantly adding “and… cold. Everything hurts.”
“OTHER SYMPTOMS IDENTIFIED,” added Omega, “INCLUDE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE AND DEHYDRATION. SHADOW SHOULD REHYDRATE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. SHOULD I GET A GLASS OF WATER?”
“Yes, Omega, that’d be great,” replied Rouge.
As Rouge watched Omega move to the open kitchen, Shadow curled into himself, shuddering involuntarily. He stared at the ground past the edge of the couch. “This… shouldn’t be possible.” His brows furrowed deeper as Rouge looked at him. “How is this possible?”
Rouge sat on the edge of the couch next to Shadow. “I don’t know,” she said, biting her lip as she thought. “Maybe… maybe you’re not actually sick, per say, but you’ve just… overexerted yourself? You’ve done it before, though not to this degree. Have you-?”
Omega approached them. “I HAVE THE WATER FOR SHADOW.”
“Thank you, Omega.” Rouge gratefully took the glass from his metal fingers. (How a killer robot managed to do such a delicate task was a mystery to most, but Rouge was used to the fact that Omega could be surprisingly gentle when needed.) “Oh, can you get my fluffy white blanket, too? On the chair in my room.”
“REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGED.” Omega marched out of the living room and down the hall to Rouge's bedroom. Shadow grunted, and Rouge turned back to him. He had a hand to his forehead now, his eyes squeezed shut.
“What is it?” Rouge asked him.
“… My head is killing me.”
“Probably from being dehydrated. Here, sit up so you can drink this.” Rouge put the glass on the ottoman behind her to free her hands, and she reached down to help up Shadow. His movements were startlingly slow.
Once he had sat up, Shadow sank backward into the couch cushions, face tight with discomfort. He looked like he was trying not to pass out.
“Here,” Rouge picked the glass back up and held it out to him. “Drink. It’ll help.”
Shadow opened his eyes, finding the water. He reached out with one hand before thinking better of it, then proceeded to take the glass with two. “Thank you,” he managed to whisper.
Rouge stood. “I’ll get you something to take with that, for both the fever and the headache. One sec.” She walked away and began rummaging through her kitchen drawers, looking for her bottle of ibuprofen. Shadow stared at the cup in his hands, listening, thinking.
Omega came back into the room. “HERE IS THE BLANKET.” He walked over and placed it next to Shadow before addressing his friend. “I WILL STAND GUARD WHILE YOU ARE INCAPACITATED. BEGINNING ‘OPERATION: PROTECT SHADOW’ NOW.”
Omega marched away before Shadow could properly thank him. He stationed himself by the front door like a bodyguard, clearly determined to fulfill his self-given objective. Shadow’s mouth twitched with a ghost of a smile, but he couldn’t manage more. His entire being felt heavy and off-balance.
Shadow looked back down at his glass. Perhaps a sip would be nice… He slowly raised it to his lips—and found himself draining it in one go.
“Oh…” he took a deep breath when he was finished. “That does feel a bit better.”
“You say it like you didn’t believe me.” Rouge stood at the edge of the couch again, eyeing Shadow with a flirtatious smile. She had to fight to keep it, though—it pained her to see him like this. Shadow looked back at her with hesitant, tired eyes, his frame huddled and stiff as he tried to preserve warmth. He truly looked like a fish out of water, who didn’t know what to do with himself.
Rouge altered her smile into something more empathetic. “Let’s get you settled.” She took the glass from him to get more water, and in exchange handed Shadow a cracker and the ibuprofen she’d found.
Shadow stared at the small pills in his hand, uncertain. Rouge came back and saw him, and gave him a questioning look.
“… I’ve never taken medication before,” Shadow said finally. “What will these do?”
“Oh.” Of course, Shadow hadn’t taken any meds before; why would the Ultimate Life Form need to take meds? Rouge walked over and sat down beside him.
“These are called ibuprofen; they’re an anti-inflammatory drug, so they help with things like pain, headaches, fevers, etc.” She gave him an assuring smile. “They help a lot. You can read the instructions here on the bottle if you’d like.”
Rouge handed Shadow the bottle, which he turned over in his hand and studied carefully. “Why the cracker?”
“So the meds are more gentle on your body. Ibuprofen can make you feel nauseous if you take it by itself.”
Shadow looked back to Rouge.
“You’ll feel better within an hour after taking them, I promise.”
Another moment of hesitation, and then Shadow sighed and nodded. He handed the bottle back to her. “Could you…” he addressed Rouge, looking away, “turn around?”
“Sure thing.” Rouge got off the couch entirely and headed towards the kitchen to give Shadow privacy. She grabbed herself some water while she was at it. “As long as you actually take them.”
“I will.”
A few minutes later, and Shadow was done. Rouge returned to take the cup. “You should lie down again,” she encouraged him. “Rest is the most important part of recovery when you’re sick, you know.”
Shadow nodded wearily. “I know.” He laid back down on his side, seeming relieved to be in that position again.
Rouge leaned over and tucked in Shadow’s two blankets around him, ensuring as much heat would stay in as possible. She was about to ask how he knew rest was important, besides perhaps a general guess, when the obvious hit her: Shadow was originally a caregiver. Rouge wished it wasn’t him who needed caring for right now; she could have asked him for tips. He undoubtedly would be doing this far better than she was.
After Shadow’s blankets were arranged, Rouge murmured softly to him. “You sleep now. If you need anything, you ask us, ok? Omega and I will be right beside you.”
Shadow looked like the exhaustion was catching up to him again. “Right beside…” He nodded once, barely noticeable, before shutting his eyes. Only a few seconds passed before he was asleep again.
As Rouge watched him, something in her heart hurt. How strange and troubling this must be for him—to feel so awful in a way he’d never felt before, to be sick when all logic indicated he shouldn’t be… Rouge wished she could just snap her fingers or kiss his forehead (she blushed lightly at that thought) and take it away.
Rouge found herself reaching out her hand to Shadow’s face, placing her fingers against it and gently stroking his cheek with her thumb. If Shadow could feel it, he didn’t stop her.
*****
Shadow had slept most of the day by the time evening rolled around. Rouge had only woken him once to give him more water, another round of medicine, and offer him something to eat (he had declined). He still snoozed now, just after midnight, having hardly moved at all.
The living room was dark, except for a few moonbeams and the city’s nighttime lights reflecting through the windows. Rouge sat at the base of the couch in her lounge shorts and t-shirt. Omega still stood faithfully by the door. He had periodically updated Rouge on Shadow’s condition throughout the day: it hadn’t changed much, unfortunately, but letting Shadow continue to sleep seemed like a wise course of action. The medicine seemed to help a little—he was slightly less pale now.
Rouge sat on the ground surrounded by several piles of papers. (It was something to keep her busy.) She squinted at the G.U.N. documents in her hand, not because of the dark (she had a bat’s night vision, after all), but because of the legalese she was trying to decipher. Darn G.U.N.; why did they always have to be so dang bureaucratic?
Rouge heard Shadow stir behind her. She glanced at her watch, which momentarily lit up her face in the dark room—12:17. It was late (relatively speaking), and she should probably get some sleep too. She couldn’t envision herself leaving the room, though, and sleeping in her own bed. Maybe she could grab her comforter and pillow and sleep here on the floor so she was near if Shadow needed her. That was probably the wisest thing to do, rather than continue to sort papers…
Rouge’s thoughts were interrupted by a groan from Shadow, followed by—was that a whimper? Rouge began to turn—
Suddenly Shadow cried out with full voice; Rouge saw rapid movement out of the corner of her eye and heard the sparking of electricity. She lunged.
“Shadow, no, wait!”
Papers fluttered to the ground around them as both hedgehog and bat froze. Each of them panted heavily. Above them, gripped tightly in Shadow’s hand, was a chaos spear. It sparked and crackled dangerously, illuminating the dark room in an otherworldly yellow glow. Rouge had barely grabbed Shadow’s wrist in time to stop him from hurling it across the room.
Rouge’s face was inches above Shadow’s as she leaned precariously over him, his wrist still locked in place by her hand. Shadow’s eyes stared wildly into hers, sweat on his forehead, his chest heaving. She could feel him trembling under her touch.
“I saw Black Doom again. He was here, in this room-!”
Rouge’s expression instantly softened (though she did not relax her grip on Shadow’s wrist). “No, Shadow, you were just dreaming.” She adjusted her position so she wasn’t about to fall over, sitting on the edge of the couch next to him. “It was just a nightmare. No one is here but you, me, and Omega.”
Shadow’s panting only slightly slowed. He stared past Rouge’s shoulder, as if expecting something to be there. He looked back at her, swallowing thickly. “Are…are you sure?”
Rouge’s heart ached; Shadow looked so uncertain, so nervous; like he didn’t believe his own eyes. “Yes, I’m sure,” Rouge said, channeling as much calm as possible. “Doom is long gone. You personally obliterated him, remember?”
Rouge’s words didn’t seem to have the effect on Shadow that she had anticipated. His eyes still darted about, as if waiting for the alien to burst out of the wall or ceiling at any moment.
Omega walked into Shadow’s view. “I HAVE DETECTED NO UNUSUAL DISTURBANCES. I WILL NOW SCAN THE AREA AGAIN FOR BLACK DOOM’S ENERGY SIGNATURE. SCANNING…”
He announced his verdict after a moment: “NO EVIDENCE OF BLACK DOOM’S PRESENCE DETECTED. I SECOND ROUGE’S OBSERVATION: BLACK DOOM WAS PREVIOUSLY DESTROYED BY SHADOW THE ULTIMATE LIFE FORM. THERE IS NO NEED FOR CONCERN.”
“Exactly,” nodded Rouge, turning back to Shadow. She finally released his arm, though it still held the chaos spear, and she took his other hand in hers. She stroked Shadow’s knuckles with her thumbs. “You’re safe, Shadow. I promise.”
Shadow stared at Rouge a moment longer, then glanced at Omega. Finally, he made the chaos spear vanish. They were left in the dark.
Shadow sighed heavily, tension releasing from his shoulders. He looked down and ahead of him, seeming ashamed. “I…” He floundered for words for a moment, then gave up and sighed again. “I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t apologize,” murmured Rouge. “It’s ok.” She sat a moment longer, watching Shadow: he simply sat there, a hand to his head, trying to steady his breathing.
The poor thing…
Rouge picked up one of the blankets that had fallen off the couch in the commotion. Omega returned to his self-designated post. As Rouge prepared to offer the blanket back to Shadow, she barely caught ear of him mumbling to himself.
“He wasn’t gone yesterday...”
Rouge stopped and looked at Shadow. “… Who wasn’t gone yesterday?”
With her night vision in the dark, Rouge saw Shadow’s eyes open wider, as though just realizing what he’d said.
“Are you… talking about Black Doom?”
Shadow tensed up at the name. He opened his mouth to speak, then shut it and stared at the couch, firmly avoiding Rouge’s gaze.
“Shadow?”
No response. Rouge heard the mechanical sound of Omega’s head turning as he looked over to watch them.
“Shadow.” Rouge stood, hands on hips. “What did you mean by that?”
Shadow didn’t acknowledge her, so Rouge bent slightly to try and see his face: Shadow stared at his clenched hands, eyes unseeing, chest rising with shallow breaths.
Rouge‘s heart hurt at the sight, and she mentally scolded herself for being so harsh. She sat down on the ottoman to face Shadow, and she tried again—softer this time.
“Shadow, please tell me,” she started out gently. She took one of Shadow’s hands again in her own to ground him. “What did you mean by that? That Black Doom ‘wasn’t gone yesterday?’ It sounded important.”
Shadow’s held Rouge’s hand in return, his grip tightening. He still didn’t look at her.
“ Were you having dreams yesterday, too?”
Shadow shook his head once.
“Then what-?” Rouge paused. No. It couldn’t be…
“Shadow.” She breathed in. “Did you… see something, yesterday? When the timeline was out of whack?”
Shadow didn’t move for a moment. Then, finally, he raised his head slightly to look at Rouge. At that moment, Rouge’s heart broke in two: this incredibly powerful being sitting before her, her partner and dearest friend, looked so small, so afraid… so defenseless.
“What did you see?”
Shadow opened his mouth again. It took a few seconds for any sound to come out. “I saw Black Doom,” Shadow finally whispered. “He somehow knew the timeline was being tampered with.”
Rouge felt the blood drain from her face. Her stomach dropped. “He knew? He was here, alive, and speaking to you?”
Shadow nodded. “He forced me to… to relive my past. It was like the visions I had before, that I told you about, except these were so much worse—they were real . And then Doom, he—!” Shadow hissed in a breath, trying to collect himself.
“He changed me, Rouge. He tried to take control and use me again. He forced me to… use his power, in ways I never knew were possible. He somehow forced his power inside of me… he transformed me, in different ways, over and over again!”
Shadow’s breath now came in gasps, and he shuddered; Rouge knew this time it wasn’t just because of the fever. As he spoke, Shadow had subconsciously reached behind his back towards his shoulder blades.
“But,” Shadow said, catching his breath for a moment, “I used it against him. I beat him again. He didn’t win.”
Silence followed. Rouge sat there, frozen, so stricken with horror she wanted to scream. While Sonic had been running through his past, experiencing his previous battles, Shadow had been reliving the worst of his own. How had Rouge not known? How had Shadow been forced to face his worst enemies again, his worst fears again, and she hadn’t been there to help?
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Shadow’s gaze dropped. “…I didn’t know how,” he eventually whispered.
Rouge sat silent for a time. The only sounds she could hear were her and Shadow's breathing. Shadow hadn’t given many details, but just the idea of Black Doom attacking him again, forcing his way inside him, harming him at all? It made Rouge sick.
“Did they hurt?” Rouge eventually asked. “The transformations?”
Shadow didn’t answer. That told Rouge all she needed to know. She cursed.
“That monster. No wonder you’re ill!” Rouge stood suddenly, and she began to pace. “Your body was literally hijacked and forced to revolt against you! By him! It’s probably trying to purge anything that’s left of him out of you.”
“It’s…not a concern,” Shadow said quietly. “He’s definitely gone this time.”
“You weren’t so sure of that when you woke up screaming ten minutes ago,” Rouge muttered bitterly, still pacing. She stopped then, facing away from Shadow, and spat out her next words. “He hurt you.” She glared at the wood flooring, trying to imagine the best and most painful way to strangle and squeeze the life out of an alien.
Omega spoke from his position by the door. “I WOULD LIKE TO HUNT BLACK DOOM. I WOULD ATTACK HIM AND BURN HIM AND TURN HIM INTO A PILE OF ASH. I HAVE MORE FIREPOWER IN ONE ARM THAN HE DOES IN HIS ENTIRE BODY. HE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO STAND AGAINST MY FURY FOR WHAT HE DID TO SHADOW.”
“Thank you, Omega,” murmured Shadow, the tiniest hint of a smile appearing on his face for a moment. “But I did successfully destroy him—again—yesterday. And Sonic destroyed the Time Eater. So it’s over. Like you both said… he’s gone.”
Rouge dipped her head, her back still towards Shadow, sighing. She stood there for a minute, before turning partway towards him. “You said he made you relive your past.“
“Mm.”
“What all did you see?”
“…Everything.”
Rouge stared as the implications of Shadow’s statements sunk in. “Every-?” She took a breath. Then she slowly walked back over to the ottoman and sat down.
“Everything?”
Shadow nodded. “All kinds of memories, from all different times. Some people and places I didn’t even recognize at all. I still don’t know when those were from...”
Rouge only half listened to that last part. She took a shaky breath, refusing to let herself cry now. “Shadow, I’m so sorry.”
Shadow looked at her. Then he looked out toward the windows at the city below. “At one point…” his voice was distant. Despite her anxiety, Rouge waited for him respectfully in silence.
“At one point… I spoke to them. To Gerald and Maria.”
Rouge gasped. “You spoke with them, too?”
Shadow nodded again. His voice had become oddly calm and quiet. It reminded Rouge of people in shock. “I think Gerald caught on that we were all displaced through time,” he said, still staring through the window at nothing. “Maria didn’t know.”
Rouge barely managed to breathe. “Oh, chaos…!”
“I had… I had to…“ Shadow’s voice suddenly faltered. “… I had a chance to save her.”
Rouge stared. “Wh-? Maria?”
Another nod.
“How?”
Shadow opened his mouth to reply, his voice an intense whisper. “When I got to speak with her again… it was wonderful. For just a moment.” He shut his eyes. “I realized then that if I wanted, I could prevent everything: the Ark Raid, the invasion, all of it…!”
“But if I had done that,” Shadow continued, breathless, “I would’ve rewritten the entire timeline—I would have erased everything after that point, erased you, and the others—starting everything over. I knew I would’ve been playing right into the Doctor’s and Doom’s hands, but—!!”
Shadow’s breath hitched then. His bared teeth reflected subtly in the moonlight.
“I killed her, Rouge.” Shadow forced his next words out as tears started trickling down his face. “In the end, I chose to do nothing, and I killed her.”
Rouge’s breath left her at Shadow’s words. “What? No, Shadow…! That’s not how that works, you—!”
Shadow didn’t seem to hear her, clutching his blankets in a white-knuckle grip. “Chaos, I killed her twice-!”
“Shadow!”
Rouge grabbed Shadow’s burning, tear-streaked face with her hands. She faced his head towards her. “Look at me.”
It took a moment, but Shadow lifted his eyes to Rouge.
“No, really look at me.”
She waited until his gaze focused.
“Now, you listen to me, Shadow the Hedgehog,” she said, her voice stern and dangerously low. “Nothing, and I mean nothing , about what happened to Maria, whether it was a century ago or yesterday, was your fault. ” She looked harder into his eyes, making sure he was still watching her. “None of it. Do you understand?”
Shadow gasped to protest.
“Nope, no buts.” Rouge shook her head. “It was G.U.N. at the time who was responsible for the raid, and Doom was responsible for everything else. I don’t care what sort of magic tricks he or anyone else pulls out to try and convince you otherwise, ‘cause it won’t change the fact that you are not at fault!” Rouge practically shook his head as she spoke, tears falling down her own face. Her next words came out as a harsh whisper. “What do I need to do or say to make you understand that?”
Shadow stared at Rouge, wide-eyed. Then he whimpered, despite himself, and his head dropped. Rouge instantly pulled him in close. She held Shadow as tightly as she could, sitting there in the dark, so he knew she was there; so he wouldn’t feel alone. So that even as he shook against her shoulder and clung to her like he was drowning, Shadow wouldn’t be able to think he was guilty of anything because she held him tight. Rouge would force those poisonous thoughts out of his mind through sheer willpower if she had to. She somehow pulled Shadow closer, burrowing her own wet face into his neck.
The two of them didn’t know how long they sat in that embrace—maybe a few minutes, maybe an hour—but finally Shadow and Rouge released each other. They ended up sitting against the couch cushions, leaning against each other, exhausted, staring out at the city nightlife in the early hours of the morning. At some point they had taken each other’s hands; neither had any intention of letting go any time soon.
Eventually, softly, Rouge spoke again, an ever-so-slight smile in her voice. “You know Shadow… I think you need to go to therapy.”
Shadow coughed out a surprised laugh, thick with dried tears, before humming in agreement.
“I AGREE; SHADOW SHOULD GO TO THERAPY. YOU SHOULD BOTH GO TO THERAPY.”
Omega’s voice startled the two of them so badly that they physically jumped. Then, looking at each other, Rouge and Shadow started laughing. Perhaps it was simply how tired they were, but it was a welcome release. After a good few minutes of laughing, then calming down, and then starting up again, they eventually settled again against each other.
Rouge pulled Shadow’s blankets further over the two of them, making sure most of them covered Shadow—he was still unwell, after all. His face, still quite pale, plus the extreme warmth under the blanket, reminded her of that.
“You know, Shadow,” Rouge began, “I was thinking… earlier, before we talked. What do you think of the idea of leaving G.U.N.?”
Shadow turned his head sharply (wincing only slightly at the sudden movement). “Leave G.U.N.?” He went silent a moment, thinking. “How?”
“I’ve actually already got the paperwork down there, somewhere,” Rouge glanced lazily beyond the edge of the couch. “It’s complicated, but we could do it. I think it’s high time we move past that part of our lives… part of healing, you know?”
Shadow nodded slowly. “G.U.N. won’t be happy about it.”
Rouge snorted. “Since when did you care what G.U.N. thought?”
Shadow smirked. “Fair.”
“I think the Commander will support us,” continued Rouge, “and that’s frankly all the support we need. Then we’ll be free to do as we wish. We can go save the world, if you’re feeling noble, or maybe I can convince you to become a band of thieves. I could enlist you to help me steal the Master Emerald.”
Shadow smiled wider. “Nice try.”
Rouge looked at him with a fake pout. “You must be feeling a lot better now, if you can be snarky!” Then she settled back into his side, her head on his shoulder. “How’s your head?”
Shadow tilted his head to lean on Rouge’s more. “Still hurts a little, but it’s better than before.”
“We should probably get you more ibuprofen.”
“Hm… in a minute.”
“I WILL GET THE IBUPROFEN SO YOU CAN BOTH REMAIN ON THE COUCH,” Omega said from the door. Both hedgehog and bat jumped again, blushing. It was hard to tell if Omega was aware of his teasing comment, but Rouge could have sworn he was somehow laughing when he brought back the water and medicine bottle with the pack of crackers.
“BOTH OF YOU SHOULD SLEEP AFTER THIS. YOU ARE ORGANICS, AND ORGANICS NEED SLEEP, WHETHER SICK OR NOT.”
“Yes, thank you, Omega, we’ll go in a minute.” Rouge shooed him away, although her resigned smirk gave away her good humor. She leaned back against Shadow, taking his hand once again in hers. He squeezed her hand once, leaning into her in return.
How lucky she was to have him. How lucky they both were that he had survived so much, that he had made it back alive so many times over, so that she could have the privilege of sitting next to him, here, in her apartment. What an honor it was to be beside him now, and in the weeks and months to come, to help him heal. It was tremendous pressure, but Rouge wouldn’t miss it for the world.
Within half an hour, the two of them had dozed off, still sitting there in the dark on the couch. It would be the most peaceful sleep either of them had had in a while.