AN: I can't believe I'm writing something romantic. Not even romantic comedy either, just romance...
This takes place after the events of the final story in Sonic Adventure 2. Like many others, I always play through and see the scene after the Knuckles (Rouge if you play hero) boss fight on the ARK and think there has to be something more to it. That's why I had to go and write this. Enjoy!
It was a lovely night. Even though the moon was devastated by the attack Eggman unleashed on it, the assault did little to decrease its beauty. The remaining half glowed softly, casting a silver aura over the Desert Oasis. Though the moon was gorgeous, it wasn't the only attraction. On the cloudless night, so far away from civilization, the dark sky was perfectly clear, revealing an infinite spray of stars that one would never have seen in the city.
The mixing of moonlight and starlight lent the scene an ethereal glimmer. The fountain where Rouge sat was especially stunning, the clouds butterflies surrounding it turned into shimmering flakes of crystal, if only for a few hours; but Rouge wasn't looking at the fountain. Her attention was turned to the sky and the secrets hidden out in space.
On nights like these it was all she could think about. That fight she'd had up on the ARK, it kept coming back to haunt her even now, all the many months after she had parted ways with Knuckles and the others.
As she stared up into the sector of space where the ARK was supposed to be orbiting Rouge's fingers unconsciously tightened around her Chaos Emerald, the green one that so resembled it's larger cousin, the Master Emerald. Somewhere out there was the ARK and with it, Mad Space. Every time she thought about it, Rouge wished she could use Chaos Control like Shadow and jump up to the ARK. She wanted to go back and visit the spot where it happened so she could see if her memories were really as clear as she thought they were.
Maybe, just maybe, if she took another look at the tower where she and Knuckles fought, then she could make sense of everything; but sitting down on the planet Rouge could only stare up at the sky and reminisce.
Back then she and Knuckles were fierce rivals, both chasing after the Master Emerald; their paths crossing solely because of the treasure they sought. But after a while, something changed. Rouge started hunting the emerald shards, not because of their shiny allure, but because amassing them would increase her chances of meeting Knuckles again. She didn't realize it at the time, nor would she have ever admitted it, but the truth was Rouge had a crush on the brawny echidna.
When the two of them fought at Mad Space, Rouge regretted beating Knuckles down. Not that she actually defeated him though. She made him fall on his face a few times, but in the end they fought to a standstill, until they were both too tired to do much more than shout at each other.
By that point, even the simple act of taking a step was too much. She should never have let Knuckles bait her into lunging forward like that... If she'd just stayed calm and held her ground, then she wouldn't be tormented by that memory every time she looked into the night sky.
If Rouge had only stayed still she wouldn't have tripped, wouldn't have fallen, and Knuckles would never have had to come to her rescue.
Even after all those months of pondering, Rouge still didn't know exactly why she let Knuckles catch her. She didn't need the echidna to save her, not at all. Exhausted or not, it would have been easy to glide over to one of the tower's four pillars and climb back up. Why in the world did she, Rouge the Bat, the original independent woman, allow herself to be rescued?
Rouge always told herself that at the time she was too shocked to react smoothly and in the instant that she hesitated Knuckles acted for her, but there was more to it than that.
When she was falling, the distance between her and safety seemed to stretch. From the first moment she toppled over the catwalk's edge it felt as if time itself had slowed, but that she had already fallen too far. Ten, twenty, thirty feet towards the bubbling lava below. Then she jolted to a stop, and when she looked up she saw Knuckles staring back down at her, his eyes radiating concern.
He caught her before she could slip away, saved her from burning to death, helped her as she scrambled back up onto the narrow catwalk... And once they were safe he kept holding her hand and stared just a little too long.
Rouge chuckled as she remembered again just what she'd said to him. Suddenly indignant at being rescued, though Rouge could now see she hadn't wanted to accept the reality of her crush, she ripped her hand away and shouted at him. "Keep your hands to yourself; don't touch me!"
In hindsight, Knuckles' reply was equally hilarious. "Is that how you say 'thanks' to someone who just saved your life?!" So he wanted thanks, did he? Rouge had always wondered just what he'd been expecting. A simple thank you, or something else? A kiss perhaps? It was entertaining to think about, made even better since after showing his hand like that Knuckles had insisted he saved her for the Master Emerald's sake. He really was an adorable little hothead...
And then, after all that, there was the final thing he said to her once he restored the Master Emerald. "I'm sorry... if I hurt you." It wasn't much, but that line was what kept her wondering. Rouge kept reliving that fight and its conclusion. Dissecting it and weighing every subtle nuance, every possible meaning behind Knuckles' words and actions, in hopes of finding some hint that his feelings for him mirrored her own attraction to him.
It was crazy, futile, and an utter waste of her time. She knew, but Rouge kept at it, staring up at the sky every night and remembering. That was why Rouge wished she could go back up to the ARK. More than anything else, she wanted proof, some hard facts to support or destroy her wild theories. She wanted closure. Only by putting the matter to rest with a solid answer could she move on.
Rouge sighed and tore her gaze away from the stars. The night's soul-searching session, like the countless others before it, had been fruitless. All she managed to do was rehash old information and mess herself up again. As it stood, going to the ARK was out of question, and Rouge didn't dare ask Knuckles about her suspicions. Once again she would have to table her obsession and find the next stash of treasure. Dawn was still several hours away, and until then she'd have the cover of darkness to help her along.
If she was going to do anything worthwhile before morning, she'd have to get going and soon. Rouge rose somewhat stiffly from her perch on top of the great stone head carved into the Oasis wall. Sitting still for so long had made her tail fall asleep. Rouge was about to rub some feeling back into the numb appendage when she spied a figure hurrying towards her. In the moonlight the figure's coat was a light pink color with a silver sheen, but the messy, matted fur was unmistakable.
Though she could hardly believe it, Rouge could think of no one else with that distinctive style. What was he doing here at this hour? As the figure drew closer Rouge called out to him.
"Knuckles, is that you?" There was no answer, but a scant few moments later Rouge was face to face with Knuckles the Echidna. "What are you doing out here?"
" I could ask you the same thing." Knuckles looked both tired and alert, as if he'd run a long way in a short time and was expecting her to kick him. Heaven knows she did it often enough...
Rouge turned up her nose. Just because she liked the echidna, it didn't mean she would let him question her for free. After all, as a government spy she couldn't just go giving away her secrets. It hardly mattered that she wasn't on government business at the moment...
"Fine, I'll go first. I sensed a Chaos Emerald in the area, so I came to see who it was," Knuckles sat on the stone head and stared down at the sparkling fountain Rouge had all but ignored. "I never thought I'd find you out here in the desert now that the Master Emerald is restored. You're not planning to steal it again, are you?"
Rouge glared at the echidna. What kind of amateur did he take her for?
"Of course not! If you must know, I came here to watch the stars." Knuckles shifted his eyes from the fountain to the sky and gasped.
"Wow, there are more of them out than normal tonight... A lot more." He laid back so he could see without cramping his neck. "I used to stargaze like this every night when I was living on Angel Island."
Rouge's ears perked up. "Really?"
"Yeah." Knuckles laughed, "There wasn't a whole lot else to do for entertainment up there."
Rouge couldn't help but smile. With a final stretch she plopped back down where she had been sitting before and stared at the sky again. Neither of them spoke and just enjoyed the quiet of a desert night and the starry spectacle above their heads, then after a few minutes Knuckles broke the silence.
"It's still up there in orbit somewhere about... There, isn't it?" Rouge looked over to see him pointing out at the heavens and though she couldn't quite tell what section of space he was pointing to, she knew what he meant.
"Yes. It's probably just like we left it." Rouge hesitated. She swore she wouldn't ask him this, but he was the one who started the conversation... "Knuckles, do you ever think about the time we fought up there on the ARK?" She held her breath as Knuckles kept looking at the sky.
"The time I saved you and you helped me restore the Master Emerald?" His lips pulled back into a toothy grin, revealing a set of sharp canines. "I suppose so."
Though he wasn't looking at her, Rouge grinned along with him. She was a little more restrained, but just as happy. Only a few minutes earlier she had been ready to leave in search of more hoardable riches, but now that hardly seemed important. She had an entire lifetime to find more gems and rings. For the present, she could wait here and watch the sun rise.
AN: Well, there it is. Rouge and Knuckles. Tell me readers, what say you? Do I have a future in fluff? (Please say no!)