Written for Femslash February 2019's twenty-first prompt "Wings."
Fly and Release
"You know, you're cute when you pout."
Wave scowls. She crosses her arms and keeps her pointed glare on Prison Island below. It was supposed to be a simple heist, but her cohorts were complete idiots. Storm still had trouble rounding steep corners, causing him to flop off his board and right into the truck awaiting their capture. Jet taunted the G.U.N robots enough for them to actually shoot straight through his Extreme Gear, which left him vulnerable to the G.U.N soldiers surrounding him.
She had been lucky, and that's what infuriates her. She rubs her forearms, her fingers digging into her feathers and huffs out her irritation. Wave had been the only one who managed to evade capture with the Chaos Emerald secured in her knapsack.
Unfortunately, the one sent after her had been none other than her girlfriend who roundhouse kicked the bag right off her back. With ease, Rouge caught it and teased at her for trying to steal the Chaos Emerald from G.U.N's Prison Island base. She didn't want to admit her own embarrassment and immediately deflected any blame onto Storm when Rouge asked her why she was on the island.
Now, here she is in Rouge's arms, her Extreme Gear out of air and being flown back to the Babylon Rogues' zeppelin. Humiliation courses through her as if it replaced her blood. She covers her face, groaning as Rouge whistles, the wind caressing their faces.
"That was a really bold move. I mean, targeting Prison Island after it got a huge security buff because of Eggman's defeat? That's so coy, Wave," she says, pressing the swallow to her chest.
Rolling her eyes, Wave fixes her sunglasses to the tip of her beak. "Oh, don't tease me. I told them that Prison Island's security was increased, but those lunkheads didn't listen." She lowered her voice in a mockery of Storm's voice. "'Oh, hey, boss! Let's just barge in there, and I'll bash the 'bots! I still can't make sharp turns even though I'm the oldest!'"
"Heh heh! I don't think age has anything to do with skill, but it's kind of sad that he still has trouble with that."
"It does in my eyes."
Rouge snickers, finding Wave's scoffing as too cute. G.U.N had instructed her to oversee Prison Island in case any thieves wanted to monopolize the base after Eggman's defeat. While it was a boring job, and she would have rathered helped the Resistance patch up a far fancier place, catching her gobsmacked girlfriend in the middle of a heist proved much more enjoyable.
"So, you seriously parked the zeppelin in the middle of the ocean just miles outside of Prison Island's radius?" Rouge asks, spotting the zeppelin resting comfortably in the water, a large raft covering the underside of it to keep it afloat. "I'm more shocked G.U.N hasn't tried blowing that out of the water."
"Wait a minute! They'd seriously do that?" Wave cries, blanching.
"Oh, definitely. They're taking no chance with intruders. You can blame the doctor for that." As Wave shudders, Rouge smiles. "Don't worry. I'll get your boys out of there without any other incident."
Heaving out a sigh, Wave relaxes. She sinks into Rouge's arms as she glides down to the zeppelin. She glances at her wings, finding them tense, cutting through the wind like strong blades. With ease, Rouge controls the speed of her descent, and Wave nestles closer, resting her tired head against the crook of her neck.
"This almost beats using Extreme Gear."
Rouge chuckles. "I bet it does. Why'd you guys want the Chaos Emerald anyway?"
"Something something Jet wants a faster power source on our Extreme something or other." Wave dismissively shakes her head. "It was dumb. He's getting so cocky since Sonic's back."
"Especially since we just fought a war against Eggman. Can't that kid relax a little?"
"Hey, only I can make fun of Jet." Wave narrows her eyes and cups Rouge's cheeks as she flies onto the landing dock of the zeppelin.
The bat shrugs. "Sure, sure, I'm sorry for making light of his genius ideas."
Leaping out of Rouge's arms, Wave checks her Extreme Gear and finds nothing out the ordinary. She supposes the night hadn't been a total waste since she was given the joy of flying in Rouge's arms. Sighing, Wave smooths down her bandana and thanks her for the ride.
"No problem, hun. I'll go pick up your boys, and you can give them a scolding." Rouge turns her cheek and closes her eyes.
Smirking, Wave knows exactly what she wants. Skipping forward, she nuzzles the side of Rouge's cheek with her beak and murmurs, "I'll see you later, Rouge."
Grinning, Rouge winks and begins her ascent, calling down, "Ta-ta for now, sweetheart."
She watches Rouge effortlessly twist in the air, her majestic wings flapping and cutting through the wind. She stays in her spot for as long as Rouge is in the sky until she becomes one with the stars. Prison Island is still in sight, but she keeps her focus on Rouge for as long as she can.
"Must be pretty nice to be so free with those wings," Wave whispers, grinning to herself and imagining the next time she'll be in Rouge's warm embrace while they soar through the sky.