Aging Love – STH
"Eloquently Awkward"
Shadow looked upon his old partner and a mixed rush of emotions would swell inside of him. He envied that she could age, but at the same time he feared that she would soon leave him alone, once more. And the pang in his chest that came with the loss of the old bat was something he had not felt in many years, but he feared going through that emotion once again all the same.
Rouge had aged rather gracefully, actually. Despite that her face had wrinkled in places, Shadow still found her to be beautiful, especially when she smiled. Her days of treasure hunting and spying had long since passed, and though he still worked for G.U.N. in his immortal state, he always came home to her, and she always waited. Omega would come along every so often. He knew the robot was also aware of her aging, but wasn't so sure how a machine would feel about it.
Every so often, she would touch his hand, gently hold onto him, squeezing ever so softly. Her grip was far weaker than it had once been, when she could easily lift him in the air with her wings, which could no longer lift even herself so easily. But it eased him, somehow, that she could still touch him.
He wondered how much longer until her hands could no longer hold his. When he could no longer hold her close and listen to her heartbeat at night, just to be sure she was still there. And he was afraid of what he would do when that day would come, because Shadow wasn't certain what he would come to.