Here's another romance fic of mine for Shadouge fans out there. Enjoy! Please don't judge me.
Who Do Ya Think You're Kidding?
Rouge was in a dilemma. She was out on a date with her G.U.N partner and good friend, Shadow the Hedgehog. So far, things had been going rather well that night. They'd seen a movie, something about a guy trapped in a dream world, taken her to dinner at a nice little Italian place and payed for the whole meal and now they were taking a stroll through a garden to top it all off.
By all rights and respects, it had been a perfect date. First, he'd shown up at her house, looking well dressed and washed. He had then bought popcorn for them to share while watching the movie and had payed for their meal at the restaurant. He had been polite and had even smiled once or twice, something he rarely did. He had been, in every essence, the perfect gentleman. But Rouge was still worried.
She had already had her heart broken once. Knuckles was now with that echidna girl Shade. She'd seen them together, holding hands and Shade had even kissed Knuckles on the cheek. When she saw that, it felt like something inside Rouge had died, a piece of her heart had shattered. She didn't want that to happen. Not again.
"Rouge. Earth to Rouge." Shadow's voice bought her out of her thoughts. She turned to look at him and saw him smiling at her. "Back with the living, bat girl?"
Rouge smiled herself at that and responded with: "Quick to the chase aren't ya, emo boy." Shadow gave a small chuckle at her reference to his usual emotionless demeanor.
"What were you thinking about?" he asked, "You seemed to be lost in your thoughts there for a bit." Rouge considered telling him about how she was feeling, but she didn't want to upset Shadow. It was obvious he'd put a lot of work into planning out this date and she didn't want him to be disappointed.
"Oh, nothin' much," she replied, trying to sound casual, but probably sounded forced. She was proven wrong, when Shadow didn't probe the issue. He just nodded and continued walking along, his eyes drifting to look at the star-filled sky. She wondered is his thoughts were now drifting to the space station ARK that used to be his home, to the life he used to have, to Maria...
No, she thought. Shadow was different now and didn't dwell on past experiences or mistakes. She liked him like that. It made him a little less... grumpy. That was the best way she could describe it anyway.
"Hey, Rouge," Shadow started, "You want me to take you back home? You're probably pretty tired." He was right. Rouge was feeling a little sleepy from the night's activities. But, she had to settle something with herself. Alone.
"I'm good Shadow, but do ya mind if I wonder off? I've got some business to take care of," she asked him. Shadow gave her a knowing look and nodded.
"Okay, I'll see you later then," he said. He then leaned in and kissed her on her cheek, before speeding off on his air shoes, gliding over the ground in a graceful sort of way. Rouge stood there stunned and brushed the spot he'd kissed her. Now she was really confused.
She sighed and sat herself on a bench, rested her head on her hand and was once again lost in her thoughts. Her stomach had leaped when Shadow had given her that kiss. But she still wasn't sure. What if some other girl turned his head? What if she lost him too? She couldn't bare to go through heartbreak again. She was on the verge of tears when...
"Hi there!" A chirpy, friendly voice bought her back and she looked up at the speaker. It was a Mobian, a cat to be precise, but not one she knew. She had jet-black hair reaching to her shoulders and tied back in a ponytail. Her fur was icy-blue and her clothing was also in different shades of blue, with a dark blue shirt, a snowflake emblazoned proudly in the middle and aqua-marine jeans and white sneakers. Although her appearance made her look as if she liked the cold, she had a sort of warmth radiating from her; her face wore a wide smile and her green eyes radiated with concern and kindness.
"You look a little down in the dumps there on your own," she pointed out. "Need some company?" she then asked. At first, Rouge considered sending her away, but she couldn't refuse her kind face and it would be good to have a girl to talk to.
Rouge gestured next to the empty spot on the bench. "Sure, knock yourself out," she said in a rather bland voice, but the cat didn't seem to notice. She still wore her smile as she bounded over and sat down next to Rouge.
"I'm Glacier, Glacier the Cat," she told Rouge enthusiastically. "And you are...?" Rouge told Glacier her name, in the same bland voice. "Rouge? That's French for Red, isn't it? Parlez vous Francais, Mademoiselle?" The cat giggled a little. "Just kidding! So, what's on your mind, hm? Penny for your thoughts?"
Rouge was a little shocked. Had she been that obvious? "Well... see uh..." she stammered, then a thought entered her head. Why did she want to tell this complete stranger her personal feelings? She wasn't sure, but seemed as if she had engendered some sort of... trust.
Glacier, however, appeared to read her thoughts, because the next question was: "It's a man, isn't it? Or a woman?" Rouge snapped her head up at that. "What? You never know with people these days?" She responded and started laughing and Rouge found herself laughing too.
"No," Rouge said when she stopped. "It's a man. Well, hedgehog."
"Aha!" Glacier yelled triumphantly. "I thought so. So, is he cute, sweet, handsome, dashing, heroic? I could go on."
"Well he's... you see he's..." But Rouge couldn't find the words. "I don't know."
"But you do," resounded an familiar voice in her head. She turned and saw the same creature that had helped her and Shadow. The female one, what was her name...?
Lu'saa, that was it. She turned and nodded at Glacier, who smiled and waved. A few more then appeared; another one, similar to Lu'saa that she had seen briefly, the robot they had helped rescue and a girl, with claws and yellow eyes Rouge didn't know.
"Rouge, why do deny your feelings? I hate it when people do that?" the telepathic Xenomorph asked sincerely. "You're just hurting yourself and, to an extent, Shadow. Why don't you tell him?"
Rouge sighed, took a deep breath and started to sing:
If there's a prize for rotten judgment,
I guess I've already won that.
No man is worth the aggravation.
That's ancient history-been there, done that!
She then turned to see they had all grouped together in dance formation and they too started to sing, dancing as they did:
Who'd'ya think you're kidding
He's the earth and heaven to you
Try to keep it hidden
Honey, we can see right through you
Girl, ya can't conceal it
We know how ya feel and
Who you're thinking of.
Rouge: No chance, no way
I won't say it, no, no
The girls: You swoon, you sigh,
Why deny it? Uh-oh!
Rouge: It's too cliche
I won't say I'm in love
I thought my heart had learnt its lesson
It feels so good when you start out
My head is screaming get a grip, girl
Unless you're dying to cry your heart out.
The girls: You keep on denying
Who you are and how you feel
Baby, we're not buying
Hon, we saw ya hit the ceiling
Face it like a grown-up
When ya gonna own up
That ya got, got, got it bad.
Rouge: No chance, no way,
I won't say it
The girls: Give up, give in
Check the grin, you're in love
Rouge: This scene won't play,
I won't say I'm in love.
The girls: You're doing flips
Read our lips
You're in love.
Rouge: You're way off base,
I won't say it
Get off my case,
I won't say it.
The girls: Girl, don't be proud
It's okay, you're in love.
As they sung this, they all pointed and Rouge looked. There was Shadow, his eyes casting about the garden, looking for something and Rouge had a pretty good idea what he was looking for. As she stared at him, Glacier leaned in to her ear and whispered:
"Go get him girl." Rouge then smiled and made her way to him, waving as she got closer.
"Rouge, there you are. I was just coming back when I heard voices and decided to investigate. Did you get your business sorted?" he asked curiously.
"Yeah, I did. And Shadow, I didn't get to say. Thanks, for taking me out tonight. It was really special," she said sincerely. Then she came in closer and hugged him. He could feel his surprise, but then he relaxed into it and replied:
"You're welcome." As she they stood there, she looked over his shoulder. The menagerie of beings were still stood in the clearing where she'd been. Glacier was grinning broadly and gave her the thumbs-up. Rouge returned the smile and looked at Lu'saa. She knew that she was inside her mind, so she sang in her head:
"At least out loud,
I won't say I'm in love."
Although she couldn't read her face, she could tell the Xenomorph was smiling at her. But Rouge was here now, in Shadow's arms and that was all she needed.
Wasn't that sweet? The song was I Won't Say I'm In Love from Disney's Hercules. Hope you liked it! R&R!