A/N: Hello friends! I know it's been a while; I haven't exactly had a good month. This whole month sucked for me in general, and truthfully? I can't wait for 2020 to just be over already. I've been thinking of this story a lot. I'm going to try and get a few more chapters out before the year ends.
NeckBreak: Thank you for your review like always! It truly means the world to me.
CVGWJames: I would love to write you a chapter! I will write your Tikal request after this request. Thanks so much for continuously reviewing it means a lot to me!
Someperson: Thank you so much for all the support you're giving me, I love your encouragement and support. It really motivates me. This chapter is dedicated to you, I really hope you enjoy!
This chapter is dedicated to someperson who wanted a KnucklesxRouge chapter. Thank you so much for all your support throughout my chapters, I'm very honoured to write you this. I hope you enjoy!
I'm giving out a small warning to everybody with this chapter. This one is going to be very angst, very angst filled with a happy ending. No spoilers in this author's note though. I'm basically getting my thoughts out into writing with an added plot line to it.
Summary for this chapter: Rouge the Bat is hard at showing her true feelings and emotions. Her reputation is suddenly on the line when everything just continuously starts to go wrong. Will a certain man help her lift herself back up?
Ships for this chapter: RougexKnuckles, Sonamy, Crails.
Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of his characters! All rights to SEGA! I do however, own a fake pink flower plant that sits on my nightstand.
Word count:
I hope you enjoy this SomePerson!
Chapter 8: Livin' the Dream
Rouge the Bat thought she once had it all. She had the best friends she could ever ask for; she wasn't hard to look on the eyes. She had amazing, well, in her own personalized opinion, flirting skills. She always seemed to get what she wanted with a blink of the eye. A snap of the fingers. Her life was pretty much going well now. She had a job at the best jewelry store in Station Square; it was a government job. It looked amazing on a resume and boosted up anybody's reputation.
As soon as somebody hears that you're a part of the Station Square Fancy Jewelry company, they immediately see you within a different light. Rouge got extremely fortunate; she managed to get this job full-time with a total of forty hours a week for working. With an amazing pay start on top of that. Everything seemed like it was going perfectly.
Until it didn't.
It all started when Rouge was working her Monday-Friday job on a Tuesday. A freaking Tuesday. When a customer came up to the bat right in the early evening. Around 1:45pm to be exact. If anybody is counting. They asked for a fourteen karat Rose Gold ring size medium for an engagement type. One of the best things about Rouge working at a place like this—is that she knew she gems, extremely well. There is no better person to go to for this kind of thing but her.
"No problem, I'll be back in two. Chiao." Rouge says with charm. Giving off a small wink to the customer—which was her signature move. The bat girl flirted with a bunch of her customers, it was how she personally, got her business. The men loved having a sexy looking girl making their self esteem boost up.
Rouge quickly walked into the back room where the rings were held. Due to high thief within their specific store location— (it wasn't Rouge anymore thankfully! She's a changed bat now.) they had to keep their product in the back of the store. Thief was becoming worse over time, especially since Dr. Eggman retired from his evil ways to start a family. Imagine that?
While walking to the back, she made sure to sway her hips a little. She knew the customer was watching her every move. Not to sound cocky, or stuck up, but every guy did. Again—this was how Rouge got most of her business. Which was flirting with the customers. Mostly men, but some women as well.
"What is your business today my dear?" The store supervisor asked. All the employees got along extremely well with the bat. They were kind of like a family. They got themselves gifts on holidays; they had little business parties. Or they invite each other to dinner sometimes as well.
"Fourteen karat, Rose Gold. Medium." Was all Rouge responded with. Her back was turned away from the supervisor, while she was leaned down to search through the storage cabinet for their product.
"Hm. You'll score on this one. You always do. Good luck my girl; go get em'!" The supervisor responded.
Rouge was one of the best employees to have around. Not only had she known a lot about gems, but she always somehow got the business no matter how hesitate the customer could be sometimes. With her charm, her flirty exterior, the customer always bought the product in the end. No matter the price—and gave Rouge a great tip on top of it. She did extremely well for the business. Also, she's been here for seven years now.
"Thanks, let me work my magic." Rouge smirked. Letting out a 'ah ha'! When she found exactly what she was looking for. That didn't take very long. She pulled out a mini glass inspector to really get a good look at it. Just to make sure it was the right one.
"Hello beauty…let's go get you a pretty new home, okay?" Rouge says to the ring. To the average person, they might see her as a weirdo or a special kind. "Be right back." The bat girl says, bringing the ring out to the front of the store to where the man was standing nearby. Patiently waiting.
"Here we are, just as you ordered. Would you like to pay an additional $3.99 extra for a beautiful black box to put it in? I myself personally? Would highly recommend." Rouge says to the customer with full charm.
The man smirked back in return, leaning forward to grab the ring from her extended hand. Making full eye contact, he leaned in to snap the ring out of the bat's hand. Meanwhile, placing a hand just on the outside of her butt. Squeezing harshly.
The bat girl's eyes widened harshly. She stepped back with shock and scoffed in disgust.
"Excuse me? What the hell do you think you're doing? That's mine and if I recall, you didn't ask me permission to do that." Rouge snaps at the customer. Causing a few heads to turn towards them within the store. Of course, Rouge may come off a somebody who…does that kind of thing often…. but she was still a woman with rights. This was her body, don't disrespect it.
"Sweetheart, I'm about to spend $3,400 dollars on this ring. I'm about to give you great business right now, I'm grabbing what I feel like I deserve. I'm giving you and your company business, so don't back talk me. Just accept it." The man snaps back, moving in to inappropriately touch her again. This time however, the girl was more alert and move backwards.
Before she knew what, she was doing; a loud slap was heard across the store.
"Don't you fucking dare do that to me again. You'll be sorry." Rouge threatens, pointing a finger at the man. "And don't talk about women like they're slaves. You're a disgusting pig. I feel sorry for the girl who agreed to marry you. Pathetic!"
At that moment, the management team decided to come out. They quickly rushed over to the scene where they heard the slap. Their eyes widened when they saw Rouge with her hand held high in the air from where she slapped the man. The manager's eyes flared up with anger, as she stalked her way over to Rouge.
"Rouge! What the hell is going on?" The manager demanded. The manager and Rouge got along quite well also, but not merely as much as the supervisor and her did. Right now, though the situation was different. She didn't seem very friendly.
"This man—he doesn't even deserve this title! He touched me inappropriately on my…behind. He even had the nerve to say that he deserved to for giving this company business! Purely disgusting." Rouge says, crossing her arms across her chest.
The man raised an eyebrow at the two girls in front of him. Not even caring within this situation. The manager looked between both the bat and the man, before she turned to Rouge finally. Crossing her own arms across her chest.
"Rouge! This is unacceptable. You know our store policy isn't to physically harass a customer. We run a tight and very fancy based business you know. What you did wasn't classy. Dismissed." The manager says rudely, walking away with anger.
Disgust invaded Rouge's vision. As her face fell immediately. She took one last glance at the man and slipped out one last threat. Then she took her jacket and left the building without saying another word to anybody else. Her co-worker can handle this customer and his business. It wasn't worth it.
000
"Ohmigosh! He did that to you? I'm so sorry…just remember that you're a queen. A strong, independent woman, you can handle this. You didn't deserve that kind of treatment. He was a pig, a total jerk! If I were you, I wouldn't go back to that job. Especially since your boss didn't stand up for you. That's messed up." Amy Rose's voice was heard from the other end of the telephone.
Amy was Rouge's best friend. They have been friends for an extremely long time. They were always there to help pick each other up. Whenever they had issues with something or somebody, one of the girls called each other and together they discussed it on the phone for an hour or so. They told each other everything; there were no secrets between them. They were sisters, not by blood but by heart.
"I know babe, it was horrible. I don't know what to do during this time. Should I go to the mayor of town and tell them what happened? Or the police? What do I do Amy?" Rouge was desperate for remorse. She needed answers, she needed somebody to tell her that it was okay. Of course, the pink heroine was telling her it was okay, but you know.
"Okay first—calm down. You're okay. Everything is okay. Do you want Sonic and I to come over? You know I don't mind. I can sleepover? Call into work tomorrow. You don't usually call in, so this is your chance to give your brain a break for the day." Amy says sweetly on the other line.
Rouge sighs deeply. Pressing a single finger to her forehead to rub it gently.
"No, I don't need you to come over today…thanks for asking though. I will, however, take your advice on calling in sick tomorrow. Thanks for listening to me today babe, it means a lot to me." Rouge was never good at showing emotion or expressing her true feelings. For Amy though? There was an expectation.
"Okay Hun, if you need me for ANYTHING. Just know that I'm only a phone call away. Cream too!" Amy cheers out to her friend.
Rouge agreed and both girls bid their goodbyes before hanging up the phone.
000
After calling in the next morning sick to work, Rouge slept in for what seemed like the first time in forever. She doesn't usually sleep in—except her mind was exhausted. It was still trying to grasp what happened yesterday. Of course, as mentioned above, Rouge did seem more onto the sexual type. However, she was still a woman with rights. She deserved just as much respect as anybody else.
That morning, she took her time doing her own thing. She put on a silky light pink robe over herself as soon as she got out of bed. She heads into the kitchen to make some breakfast, some fruit in a bowl with a boiled egg for protein. After breakfast was finished, she began placing her used dishes into her dishwasher.
The next few minutes were very shocking. As soon as Rouge put the remaining dishes into her dishwasher, she pressed the button to turn it on. It made this extremely weird sound, a sound it didn't usually make before. The girl's eyes furrowed up in confusion at the dishwasher. What was going on? Was this Karma trying to tell her something? She lightly kicked the dishwasher, a loud gasping her mouth when the dishwasher caught on fire. It seriously, caught on fire. Red vivid flames burst up into the air, leaving a bundle of smoke to invade the kitchen.
The only question that was flowing through Rouge's head was, 'how?' like…how? This is a dishwasher for goodness sake. Unless you poured gasoline onto it, lighting a lighter and throwing it into the washer…there really wasn't any other explanation on how this could've happened.
Rouge quickly grabbed the fire extinguisher that was on the side wall of the front of her house, spraying the fire as much as she possibly could. A few minutes later, the fire finally stopped. The bat bravely opened the washer door, peeking inside to see if the area was down blowing up in flames. It was. It seemed to have calmed down now.
The sound of her rapidly beating heart was the only thing she could focus on at this moment. If she hadn't grabbed the fire extinguisher, her whole house could've gone up into flames. Two horrible things happened during this week thus far…and it's only Wednesday for Chaos sake!
Rouge groaned to herself. Using another one of her fingers to grip her forehead, rubbing it tenderly.
"Anything else? Come at me!" Rouge says to nobody in her empty house. "I need a breather. For Chaos sake." Rouge mumbled to herself, grabbing her leather jacket and putting on her famous white boots. Walking out the door angrily.
Most would've thought she would have gone to Sonic and Amy's house, or Tails and Cream's. But no, this time? She found herself at Angel Island. Perhaps having some flirty, fun, and careless banter with the cute Knucklehead would do some good.
"Hi Knuckie, long time no see." Rouge says softly, the soft sounds of her wings flapping as she flew down to the ground. Her feet landed softly to the ground with ease.
Knuckles looked up from the Master Emerald for a brief second and rolled his eyes at the bat girl. Yes, it's been a lot time since they had seen one another. He wasn't too keen on the random visit, he had better things to be doing or worrying about.
"What do you want? Can't you see that I'm busy? Don't you have some jewels to go steal or something?" Knuckles says back, a bit too harshly. Rouge lets out a 'tisk tisk' sound with her lips as she approached closer to him.
"Hm, not anymore. I'm a changed woman now Knuckie. No more gem stealing for this bat. Although do you know any place around that would have a good deal on them?" Rouge asked back. Crossing her arms across her chest.
Knuckles rolled his eyes.
"What makes you think that I know of anything? The only thing I'm worrying about those days is the Master Emerald. You? Changed? Ha! That's laughable. I'll believe it when I see it, Bat Girl." Knuckles snarls, turning his back against the girl.
"Awww come on! Don't be like that. You know you want to talk with me. You're such a freak." Rouge teases. Her voice was full of seduction and flirting. Sometimes, this was the highlight of her day. Having this banter with Knuckles was amazing. It really put a smile on her face at the end of the day.
Knuckles growls in annoyance at the girl.
"I don't have time for your foolish games Rouge. Now please, go away. I have to be on guard at all times." Was all he said in return. Causing the bat to roll her eyes once more.
"You're not fun. Fine, I'll go. But next time you'll see what you're missing." Rouge giggles. Patting Knuckles on the shoulder. She then, made her leave. Her wings began to flap again as she took off into flight.
Well that was fun while it lasted. Sigh.
000
Upon arriving home once more, the smell of smoke was filter all throughout Rouge's apartment. She huffed with annoyance, moving over to grab one of her candles from the local body shop and quickly lit it up. Why did this have to happen today? The smell of smoke wasn't pleasant at all. It caused the entire house to fill up. She's still questioning herself as of how in Chaos' name had the dishwasher caught on fire. There is no solid reason or explanation—still!
Picking up her house phone again, Rouge called Amy. She twirled the phone cord in her fingers lightly. Slightly humming to herself while she waited for the other girl to pick up. Both girls knew that Rouge had a slight crush on Knuckles. Anybody with eyes could see this. He wasn't very good with women though, he often got shy or withdrawn whenever one was near by.
"Hey girlie, what's the news for today?" Amy asked cheerfully as she picked up.
"My dishwasher caught on fire this morning." Rouge says with a loud, aggravating sigh. It was silence on the other line for a few minutes. No girls were saying anything—it's not like there was something to say, exactly.
"Oh—uh, how?" Amy finally asks quietly. The sound of footsteps was being heard in the background from Amy's end. Sonic must've been close by. The two had gotten together finally about three years ago. Sonic got over his fear of actually forming feelings for Amy and took Tails' advice. Asking her out.
"I don't know! I don't know Amy. I think this is Karma's way of telling me that I deserve this." Rouge spoke back, placing her head into her hand on top of her kitchen table.
"Rouge, no! You DO NOT deserve this. I don't know what in Chaos' name happened to your dishwasher, but this isn't Karma or anybody trying to tell you something. Do you need me to come over? You know that my offer still stands, right?" Amy says sweetly.
It took a few minutes for the bat to comprehend what was said.
"No…I don't need you to come over, it's okay. I'll be fine." Rouge says with a weak smile. This has just been the most horrible week ever. And it was only Wednesday for Chaos sake. How could things get any worse!?
"Are you sure? I don't want you to suffer by yourself in an empty apartment. I can call Cream, together the three of us can have a girl's night out. I can bring the wine, Cream can bring the food, and you can provide your beautiful face and your company." Amy says happily.
"Listen…babe…that sounds amazing. But I think I'm just going to take a pill then lay down for a little while. I'm exhausted. But if I find myself getting worse or need somebody badly, I'll let you know. Promise. If something else happens, you'd be the first to know." That's what best friends were for.
As much as she'd love to hang out with the girls, just the three of them, her mind just needed to clear itself. Her head was fogged up and needed release.
"Oh…alright. Well if you say so. Call me in the morning before work okay? You know I'm always here for you Rouge. You don't have to ball it all in, I'm here to help. Just talk it out." Amy says. That's the worst part. Rouge was terrible at opening up.
"I will babe, promise. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Love you."
"Love you too! Sleep well."
000
Rouge slept through her alarm the next day. She immediately shot up in a hurry, quickly grabbing a muffin and some banana bread for breakfast and sped towards her car. She let out a bunch of curse words along the way. So, to recap. Yesterday she called in, today she's going to be late? It's not looking good for Rouge the Bat.
When she got there; her manager stopped her at the front door.
"Rouge, where the hell were you? You're ten minutes late." The woman snapped. Her arms were crossed, and her foot began tapping against the ground.
"I'm so sorry…I slept through my alarm, I meant to call except my phone died—I'm so sorry." Rouge gushed out. She tried stepping aside the manager but was stopped again. A hand pressed against her shoulder pushing her back.
"No, this is unacceptable Rouge. First you slapped a customer, second, you're late without notice. That's it. You're done. You're no longer needed for our company. You have simply no class or fanciness about you. This is a five-star jewelry store Rouge. Don't you understand that? You're FIRED."
And just like that, Rouge felt her whole world crashing down among her. No…she couldn't lose this job! This job is what's paying her bills, along with her insurance for her car. Without this, she'll lose her house…. lose her car. Lose everything.
It first started out with shock. Then turned into sadness. Now anger.
"Are you freaking kidding me right now? I got sexually harassed by a man who claimed he deserved it for giving our company business. Then I was ten minutes late by accident and you're firing me. This is such…. bullshit! I made so much money for this company. I got so many hesitate customers to buy our products and even gave me a grant tip on top of that. And you're firing me!? Good riddance. Good luck finding somebody else who can do better than me." Rouge snaps back. She quickly turned around and stomped off.
When she got to her car, she sped down the road to the nearest coffee shop and parked in the parking lot. Just to be completely out of sight of her now previous employment.
Rouge did the unthinkable right now. And cried. She gripped the steering wheel of her car with her hands, leaning her head down to rest of top of it. Hot tears formed down from her eyes towards her cheeks. Finally, onto her lap. Loud sobs were heard throughout the empty car. She didn't know what to do in this situation. She's spent so many years with this company…so many years!
This job has not only gotten her great tips but also it paid very well. It paid all her bills. Now what is she supposed to do? It wasn't fair. She was harassed! She was told it was her fault basically. She got fired from being late for only ten minutes without call. Rouge has never been late before; she has never called in sick not including yesterday. She's never missed a beat. She's always showed up to work on time and even stayed longer if they needed her.
This week was the worst. What is she to do now?
Continuing to sob loudly, Rouge pulled out her purple cellphone out of her purse. Dialling Amy's number with shaky fingers. Luckily for her, Amy picked up within seconds.
"Need me to come over?" Was all that she spoke.
"Yes please. Hurry." Rouge says through loud sobs.
"On my way, I'll bring wine. And call Cream on top of that." Amy reassures, then hangs up the phone without saying goodbye.
000
When Amy got there with Cream, both girls engulfed the bat into a huge hug. Squeezing her tightly. They gave our words of encouragement, and also love. It's what the girl needed right now. Out of all this time of being friends with Rouge, neither girls have seen her cry like this. Something must've been terribly wrong.
"Rouge…tell me what happened." Amy says softly. She moved Rouge to her couch, sitting the bat girl down while bringing her into a side hug. It was returned instantly.
"I…I got fired. I was late this morning by about ten minutes. I slept through my alarm. I didn't call to say because I was on my way there already. As soon as I got there; the manager stopped me at the front door and told me that my actions were unacceptable and that I was fired." Rouge explains through sobs and tears.
Amy gasps loudly. Pulling away from her friend for a second to look her in the eyes.
"Are you kidding? You were not in the wrong Rouge! They were totally unfair about this. You were sexually harassed! AND late by only ten minutes. You need to head to the labour board about this. If not you, me!" Amy threatens. Rouge sighs.
"I think it will cost me more money to go to the labour board rather than just apply for another job. It's okay. Thank you for caring so much for me." Rouge says softly.
Amy rolls her eyes.
"Of course! You're my best friend silly. I'm always going to be here for you. No matter what. Now, let's forget this happened today. Let's wipe those tears away and have some fun. Shall we?" Amy coos.
Now, a smirked invaded Rouge's face.
"I'm in. What's your plan, babe?" She asks Amy.
"I'm going to invite the boys over. Sonic, Knuckles and Tails. How does that sound?" Amy grins, Cream clapped her hands from beside the two. Rouge nods her head in agreement.
"Let's do it. I'll grab some food and will unplug the telephone." She says, getting up from the couch to grab the food from the kitchen.
The other two girls cheered with excitement.
000
Later that night. A half tipsy Amy was giggling while clutching Sonic's bicep tenderly. Tails and Cream were cuddling on the couch. Rouge on the other hand, went outside onto her balcony to get a breather. Amy providing the wine for tonight was such a good idea. It was well needed, seeing at how horrible this week was going. She sat down onto one of her balcony chairs and sighed deeply.
"Rough night? Nobody had any gems for you to steal?" An incoming voice was heard from behind her. There stood Knuckles in the middle of the doorway. He closed the door behind him, while stepping out onto the balcony.
"Go away. I'm not in the mood." Rouge snaps, crossing her arms across her chest and turning around away from the echidna. He placed his hands up in surrender, taking a seat beside her on the porch.
"Feisty I see. I was only teasing you know. Why the long face? Anything happen?" Knuckles asked quietly. It wasn't like him to generally care this much for a woman or her feelings in the matter.
"Listen Knucklehead, I've had a very bad week. And I'd like to be left alone. I've been harassed, fired and my dishwasher caught on fire all in one week." Rouge snaps back, sighing deeply afterwards. Knuckles looked at the girl with a straight-lined face. He didn't know how to properly respond to that.
"Look…I'm sorry this happened. You'll find another job?" He says back, scratching the back of his neck.
"Is that a question or a fact? Listen, I don't need your pity. Just let me swallow in my own self misery in peace." Rouge snaps again. This time, more hot tears flew down her cheeks. It was so embarrassing. She's never cried in front of Knuckles before; in fact, she hasn't cried in front of anybody before until today.
Knuckles' eyes widened.
"Are you crying? Hey…" He says a lot softer now, scooting over to where the bat was sitting. She quickly moved back away from him and shook her head.
"No, I'm not…just something in my eye, that's all." What a lie. Rouge began rubbing her eye gently to try and stop the continuously flowing tears falling from her eyes.
"Yes, you are. Don't lie to me bat girl. Listen…it's going to be okay. I may not know much about being fired from a job or having a dishwasher catch on fire. I definitely do not know what its' like to be harassed either…but I do know one thing. You are one of the strongest women I've seen around. You're strong, fearless, you know what you want when you want. I see so much potential in you. Things will be better. I know it will." Knuckles reassures. Awkwardly patting Rouge on the back to try and comfort her.
Rouge let out a bunch of loud sobs and sniffles, nodding her head softly in agreement.
"Thanks…" Was all Rouge replied with. Then she got up from the chair on her porch, heading towards the door. "You're not so bad after all Knuckie."
The next morning, Rouge got a phone call from her work, indicating that they fired the manager due to poor management, and would like her to have her job back. Of course, she accepted.
She had a feeling a certain red echidna had something to do with it.
Fin
A/N: Hi friends! Thank you so much for reading this far. I'm excited for this is my first RougexKnuckles fanfic. I'm sorry there's not a lot of fluff in this one, but hopefully I'll get a request in the mere future for another RougexKnuckles one. I'll add more fluff to it I promise!
Thank you again for waiting for this to be updated. Please leave a review indicating your thoughts and feelings on this one. Or request something for a future chapter! I'm all ears.
Thank you again to SomePerson who requested a RougexKnuckles centric plot. I do hope you enjoy it. I didn't proofread it, so I deeply apologize for any mistakes. I'm only human!
Until next time friends, stay beautiful!