A/N: A simple one-shot drabble-like story that I had made a short while ago. I decided to post it today. It is Valentines Day, and it includes Shadouge, so why not? I hope you enjoy, and if you see any errors, please give me constructive criticism and explain what I should do to improve it. Happy Valentine's Day!
The crackling of flames was heard as it softly echoed through the dark, silent surroundings of the night sky. It seemed almost as if it were interminable, for the flames continued going on for minutes, soon extending to hours. Its soft glow engulfed the darkness and lit up the area, providing warmth so that the creatures in use of the flames wouldn't freeze from the cold night breeze.
Three certain forms surrounded that fire.
A specific one moved over in his deep slumber, almost as if he were agitated. He continued to shuffle, subconsciously trying to find a more comfortable position. He then let out a groan and violently flung around once again, one of his arms slapping a comrade of his while doing so.
The ally he had hit grumbled in her sleep, trying to shove the arm off. It didn't move.
Noticing she'd have to get up slightly to move the arm, she squinted her eyes open and cringed, being temporarily blinded by the fire's light. Her gaze then moved over towards the crimson stripped arm that began to squeeze her shoulder tightly. She flinched at the harsh contact and moved herself in a sitting position, waving his arm off her.
"Great, I'm never going to go back to sleep now..." she mumbled quietly as she huddled her legs closer, resting her head between her knees as she hugged the said limbs, watching the fire spew sparks here and there.
She shook her head and let out a small yawn as she stretched. It was no use trying to get back to sleep. It would be fruitless. Even if she was accustomed to sleeping during this time, her bat instincts still stood with her, making it harder to fall asleep at night, unless, of course, she was exhausted. That had been the case this night, when Shadow and Omega reluctantly agreed with one another to take a break, noticing how she had seemed a bit 'off' the farther they progressed in the mission they had been given.
"I'm just glad none of Dr. Eggman's robots had found us." she noted, looking around at the quiet scenery. They were on a rocky cliff of sorts, surrounded by multiple mountains. They could've easily been spotted, but with Rouge's fatigue and Shadow's lack of a Chaos Emerald, they couldn't have found safer grounds.
Shadow would've brought a Chaos Emerald, but the Commander of GUN had stated to keep it safe. Thanks to a well working 'Chaos Tracker' that Eggman had recently invented, if they had the Chaos Emerald, they'd be spotted twice as fast. "It's pure luck. It would've been easy just to attack us while we were asleep." She paused and looked back over at her teammates. Shadow lay asleep, curled up not too far from her, and Omega was currently shut-down, recharging his energy for the situations to come. She sighed and shook her head. "If all of us were asleep, that is." she corrected herself.
Then, letting out a long yawn, Rouge closed her eyes for a while before squinting them open once more. "Maybe I should at least try to get some more beauty sleep." she told herself. "Knowing the others, they wouldn't want to waste any more time if I got tired in the middle of the day." She leaned backwards and rested against the ground.
Feeling the cold rock against her wings, she shivered slightly, but stayed quiet. She was Rouge the Bat, the worlds most famous treasure hunter. This was nothing she couldn't handle. She shuffled over to relax on her side and closed her eyes.
Suddenly, she could hear the sound of shuffling once more, followed by the feeling of something brushing against her back once again, making her shutter at the tickling sensation. She looked over, not surprised at the least to see it was Shadow's spikes. She tried to ignore it.
Continuing to find the appropriate spot from whatever dream or nightmare he was having, he continued to brush against her, making Rouge shift around uncomfortably, her cheeks turning a bright red, but from frustration, bewilderment or from something else, no one knew.
Deciding on a way out of this, she began to move away from the hedgehog, soon gaining about three or four feet of distance separating the two. Smirking with victory, she turned around to face the hedgehog. She paused when she noticed that his face subconsciously dropped to some kind of disappointment. His hand then moved around slightly, as if he were trying to find the warmth he once had.
With this, he didn't look like the 'Ultimate Life-form' he expressed himself to be. He looked innocent. He looked vulnerable.
"Ally..." At Shadow's quiet mumbling, Rouge blinked slowly in surprise. Was Shadow talking in his sleep?
She watched as Shadow stretched out his arm inevitably, seeking around to where Rouge had been, his face contorting to the expression of undeniable pain. "Ally..."
Rouge's face softened and glowed with remorse at Shadow's display. Was he having a bad dream? Was something wrong? Was he cold again? 'I remember reading somewhere that people who are sleeping tend to seek warmth, even without knowing it...'
No matter what Shadow said, he was still a normal life-form. He was just like every human on the planet. He was just like Sonic. He was just like her.
He didn't need as much as her, though, but he still needed daily necessities like food, hydration, shelter and warmth. Rouge couldn't even deny the fact herself that, even with the fire Omega and Shadow had created, she was freezing, too.
Sighing, she made her decision and shuffled back over to Shadow, who, when in the adequate amount of distance, subconsciously did the same. 'So unlike him...' He slept contently by her side, his head slightly resting on her shoulder. The distance was enough so that she could hear every breath he took, every beat of his heart... 'Yet, even a cold-blooded murderer can look innocent while asleep...'
Inwardly, Rouge couldn't help but smirk, even if the situation was a bit awkward. 'Shadow's gonna kill me when he wakes up...'
She outstretched one of her arms and rested her head against it, her eyelids lowering drowsily as she gazed at the sleepy hedgehog, whose ears began to twitch. She let out one last yawn before she snuggled closer to her arm, sleep slowly taking over her with the comfort of the fire and another's inviting warmth.
Soon, though, the fire began die out. The soothing, crackling noises became hushed as the last sparks soon disappeared, leaving only the smoke in the air to tell someone that there had indeed been a fire. This had made both Rouge and Shadow colder than they had been before, causing the former to move closer to the latter.
Unbeknownst to Rouge, before she fell into a deep slumber, the ebony hedgehog's mouth curled upwards slightly.
"...ally..." he murmured before he began to dream deeper, too.
He had finally found the comfortable position he had subconsciously been searching for.