Despite being in the middle of a war, the Freedom Fighters had a makeshift 'throne room'- although it was more like a warped, parody version of such. It was really nothing more than a hollowed out cave in one of the more secure parts of a base not all that far from Robotropolis. It was carpeted with regal-looking (yet frayed) carpet, various tapestries - that had been salvaged from the original castle - depicting battle scenes hung from the walls. Three 'thrones' stood at the head of a cracked table, painted in royal purples and golds: in reality, wooden chairs that had been painted by the refuge's children, and it showed. Altogether, everything looked like a mockery, a distorted copy of what a royal-owned room ought to be. And Rouge of all people would know, having seen enough wealth and riches throughout her various 'adventures' (which is to say, stealing). To Rouge's experienced gaze, it was obvious that the decorator of the room had probably never even seen a throne room.
It was more of a meeting hall, in any case.
The approaching meeting was why the two hedgehog princes were there, uncharacteristically early. And by early, it absolutely didn't mean they had made a total mess of the place and were desperately trying to tidy it up before Sonia killed them. They hadn't 'borrowed' Tails' remote control robot scouts and made them battle each other in this room because it was the biggest empty room. And they definitely hadn't lost control and trashed the room. Nope; the hedgehogs arriving way too early was a total coincidence.
At the sound of footsteps Sonic simultaneously jumped to his feet and span around, hiding a piece of splintered chair behind him. "Sonia! I-" He paused upon seeing the slightly smirking face of someone who was definitely not a hedgehog but familiar all the same.
"Sorry to disappoint you, sweetie. I am looking for her though, I don't suppose you know where she is?"
"Uh, yeah. Should be here soon," Sonic replied quickly, sidestepping to block her view as the bat turned to see what the cause of a sudden crash was. Not that it really worked, Rouge being taller and all. But still, it wasn't beyond Rouge to stir trouble, and he could do without Sonia chewing his ear off, so he attempted the distraction method. "So, what's with th' roses?"
Rouge glanced downward at the tastefully arranged magenta flowers held in her gloved hand. "These? Courtship presents. I hear roses are traditional when courting royalty."
Looking unfazed, as if they had been discussing the weather, the bat casually sauntered off – smirking to herself – moving to lean backwards against the wall by one of the thrones on the other side of the room.
"She totally means me, bro," Manic whispered, appearing next to his brother.
"Pfft, yeah right. Who's the super-sonic speedster hero 'round here?" Sonic retorted, though still in a noticeably quietened voice. Not that he was that arrogant, but it was fun to tease Manic. His brother was about to retort when the sound of a smooth voice made them both freeze.
"Just so you know: these ears aren't just here to accentuate my beauty." A gloved hand casually tucked a stray piece of fur behind said ear, the owner of the hand smirking as the hedgehogs jumped slightly and blushed.
The room settled into an awkward silence, Manic and Sonic being busy cleaning up in any case, pretending as if they didn't keep on snatching glances at the thief. It was like this until a certain princess walked in.
Sonia scanned the room casually, taking note of the missing furniture- but by now, her two triplets had cleared away most of the mess, so she didn't really register anything as overly important. Sonia glanced at Rouge, surprised to find the bat watching her. Glancing away then looking back at her, she found the slightly amused gaze had remained on her. Rouge smiled and pushed herself off the wall, walking towards Sonia, hips swaying casually and maintaining the stare the entire time. The hedgehog forced herself to keep eye-contact, a light blush rising to her cheeks.
'Looking away is a sign of weakness-' she remembered one old, stuffy ex-officer-turned-freedom-fighter of her mother telling her;'-not fit to show in front of commoners. Certainly not befitting of a future Queen.'
And she certainly didn't want to show weakness in front of Rouge of all people. The bat was unpredictable; an opportunity-grabber with questionable loyalty.
"These are for you, milady." If Rouge had been a cat, the words probably would have come out as a purr. With a slight bow and flourish, a bunch of fresh-looking flowers wrapped in intricately-woven lace was presented and held out before Sonia.
"These are beautiful, Rouge," Sonia replied cautiously. 'Tasteful, too,' she mentally added, noting the fashionable pattern. It was not that she wasn't grateful, but the rogue bat didn't exactly go out of her way to give things to people. Not unless she wanted something.
Something in Sonia's voice must have given her away, because Rouge let out a faint chuckle. "Don't look so serious. They're a courting present."
"A courting present?" It was only Sonia's upper-class upbringing that prevented her from dropping the flowers as she accepted them from the bat. Even after years of Lady Windermere raising her to act in-control and formal it was difficult to keep her voice even and her hands steady. Even if her first reaction would be: she wants to COURT me?! The bat was unpredictable indeed.
"Roses are a traditional first gift." Rouge gave a slight shrug. "I know you like being traditional." At least, if the room was anything to judge by, Rouge thought to herself. There really was no other reason to doll-up a room like this; not in the middle of a war. Not when it could be destroyed at any moment anyway if Dr Robotnik discovered it.
Looking downward to hide her blush at the faint teasing and to analyse the sincerity of the statement, Sonia noticed the small but delicate, valuable-looking sapphire set in the middle. It looked like a genuine courting present. Rouge sounded and looked sincere. Sonia never would have suspected… but then again, Rouge had proven on more than one occasion that she was both able and willing to hide things. While this meant she could easily have been harbouring an innocent (or perverted) crush, it also meant she could have just as easily been hiding something rather more sinister. Sonia didn't know either Rouge or anyone close to her well enough to ask.
Sonia raised her gaze back up to the smirk that seemed to be Rouge's favourite expression. Rouge was... a useful ally. She had proved invaluable during stealth operations and rescue missions. While the bat's contribution to the rebel efforts always seemed to benefit Rouge herself too - thieving various things from aristocrats - she was so undoubtedly helpful that the rebels felt compelled to ignore this.
"Well?" Rouge moved her hand to her wide hip, leaning on one foot. Sonia glanced around, suddenly noticing the people milling around the room, and her brothers watching the pair curiously. The meeting was going to start soon. She glared at them. Only Manic had the decency to pretend to stop watching.
Now of all times, when they seemed so close to finally defeating Robotnik, was not the time to risk losing any allies: particularly not such a useful one. Personally, Sonia was surprised to find herself not all so opposed to the idea. Rouge was elegant, gracefully skilled, very... Sonia forced herself to keep her eyes on Rouge's face, and not look any lower. The bat leaned forward slightly, as if sensing her thoughts. Sonia couldn't deny she was good-looking.
Still, Sonia purposely kept her mind off the more… physical activity that the bat seemed the type to engage in. Honestly, compared to all the other sorts of trouble the thief could do, it hardly mattered. Sonia, like any other noble lady, had been raised with the expectation of marrying for politics, not love or libido. Not that outside of marriage... endeavours was forbidden in this day and age: quite the opposite. But she had been taught to accept certain things in a future husband. Or wife. Such as that political standing mattered more than anything else. Not that Sonia was planning - or expecting - any wedding bells with Rouge, but it meant she was, thankfully, emotionally prepared to put her kingdom before physical appearances. Besides, Rouge, female or not, was certainly more attractive than a 50 year old boring aristocratic politician she might one day have to marry.
It was really only luck that Bartleby had been as close to Sonia in age and as handsome as he was. Rouge was very different from her longest lover and former fiancé, Bartleby. Not necessarily in a bad way. Both were self-indulgent: used to and expecting luxury treatment, but while Bartleby was good at heart - or so Sonia told herself - even she couldn't deny that he was somewhat a coward. Bravery that verged on but never quite crossed into recklessness was Rouge's style. Admirable self-confidence, even if she could get irritatingly smug at times.
Earlier thoughts of how close they were to victory came back to her. Once Robotnik was defeated, what better way was there to secure at least temporary luxury and treasure than to manipulate a royal? But if that was the case, why not pick one of her brothers? Manic fanboyed over Rouge's thieving ability, and Sonia didn't doubt that the bat knew it.
Rouge quirked an eyebrow roguishly at her and Sonia made up her mind. Just to keep Rouge on her side. Totally. Sonia was confident she could keep emotions of friendship or love from getting involved – not to be cold, but at least until the bat had proven her sincerity. And when Sonia had figured out whether it was an elaborate attempt at manipulation or not, then she would be more than willing to be open and, if the situation called for it, perhaps allow it to become something more genuine-
Wait, how long had she been in thought? No matter - she had to keep her calm and reply calmly and regally.
"I accept your token of courtship." Formal, traditional wording was definitely the way to go.
Rouge grinned wide enough to show off one sharp fang, and Sonia couldn't help but wonder if it was possibly just a little softer than the expression she normally saw on the bat. Well, whether the bat was being manipulative or not, only one thing was certain.
This would be an interesting courtship.
Author's note: Just so people know, I don't seriously ship this XD (or I didn't at the start of the fic, but I kinda do now XD) I like both characters, and wanted to see if I could do a total crack-ship in character. I also think Sonia has a lot of potential as a character: being raised by Lady Windimere did make her snobby and aristocrat-y, but it's also set her up to be more politically-minded than her brothers, and have a lot of leadership qualities (some of which she displayed in the cartoon when not being flanderized). Basically, she has the sort of set-up to make her be a wildly diverse character than Sonic and Manic.
Anyway, as far as the backstory to this goes… idk, whatever anyone likes to think XD
ALSO, I used to have an account on here, but I forgot the email for it? I dunno if I posted this (this is old story - I edited it because I liked it and remembered my thought process behind it) but if you see it tell me! So I can remove it from that account (and maybe see my other old stories..)