A/N: Once again, I'd like to wish a Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms on FanFiction! I myself have been blessed to have such a wonderful mother, but still, I decided to write something for those people who have no mom to spend today with.
Though cool and blue by nature, Sonic the Hedgehog was having an unusually depressing day. He sat on a log on the outskirts of the Great Forest, head resting in his hands, lamenting his situation in spite of the nice, sunny weather. Thus far, nobody bothered him and he bothered nobody else, which was fine by him as far as he was concerned. It was only because his Hedgehog Sense tingled that he turned towards the source of a whooshing sound.
"Hey, Big Blue!"
Sonic sighed. "Oh…hey Rouge."
Rouge the Bat frowned. "Sonic, is something wrong? I've never seen you feeling this depressed before."
"Ordinarily, I wouldn't talk about what I'm gonna talk about to anybody except Tails, but since ya been good to me since we met, I'm gonna tell ya straight out: today is one of the worst days of my life."
"Why, what happened?"
"Oh…nothin'…unless ya count the fact that it's Mother's Day."
"Is there something about that day that makes you feel sad?"
Sonic took a deep breath in through his nose. "Listen, Mama…there's somethin' I never told ya: my parents died when I was very young, and my Uncle Chuck was the only family I ever had. Sure, Tails has been like a little bro to me, but still, I feel depressed whenever I see and hear about kids gettin' to celebrate today with their moms when I myself don't have one to celebrate with."
Rouge's jaw dropped, and she put her hand up to her mouth. Knowing that the famous Sonic the Hedgehog, usually so carefree and snarky, was tormented by the loss of his parents was exceedingly touching for her. She put another hand on his shoulder.
"Sonic, I'm so sorry! I may not know what it's like to lose parents at such a young age, but it's OK to feel sad! Here…let me give you an Extra-Special Hedgie Huggle!"
Rouge cozied up to Sonic and huggled him tightly. Her so-called "Extra-Special Hedgie Huggle" produced varied reactions in hedgehogs, but in Sonic's case, he began purring, his frown turned upside-down, and he blushed really hard. Granted, he still felt sad about not having actual parents to celebrate Mother's Day with, but thanks to Rouge, the pain was hurting that much less. Even if she hadn't been one of his best friends, he enjoyed her company, and this was bound to become one of her favorite memories of her, especially considering how soft, warm and cuddly she was.
Rouge got a kick of huggling Sonic as well. Hearing him purr was candy for her huge bat ears, and she smiled herself when she heard it. Knowing that she was the number-one reason for his sense of comfort and relief made her feel very good about herself. While people might have dismissed her as "superficial" owing to her obsession with jewels, ever since the ARK incident, she found that often, her own friends were way more valuable than all the jewels in the world. Though Shadow the Hedgehog would always be her "little Shaddy baby", she found that there was no one like the legendary Blue Blur. Rouge kept huggling Sonic for quite some time before letting go.
"Feeling better, Big Blue?"
Sonic gave a thumbs up. "Right on! I mean, I probably ain't gonna forget about the loss of my parents, but knowin' that I had somebody like you to listen and help me out meant a lot to me! Thanks a bunch!"
"You're welcome! So, can Mama Rouge do anything else for you today?"
Sonic stroked his chin. "Actually…I was wonderin' if you'd like to go out to Joey's Pizza with me for supper."
Rouge smiled. "Oh, of course!"
"Hell, I'll even pay for everything since ya gave such a bomb huggle!"
"Oh no, I'll take care of paying! You've done so much for this planet, so you deserve a nice treat!"
Sonic shrugged. "Ah, whatever! I mean, I enjoy spendin' time with ya, so let's get down on it!"
Sonic and Rouge went to Joey's Pizza, located in the Grable Park neighborhood of Emerald City's South Terrace borough. In operation before the Great War, its plain-jane interior was spiced up with photographs of famous Mobians plus scenes of everyday life in Emerald City. After paying, Sonic and Rouge were given a placard with #91 on it, so they took a seat at the corner near the door.
"I can't wait to try the food here!" said Rouge. "It smells delicious! Thanks for suggesting this place, Sonic!"
Sonic smiled. "Please, Mama, call me Sonny."
Rouge chuckled. "Sonny? Oh, that's such a cute nickname! Where did you get it from?"
"That's what my Uncle Chuck calls me all the time!"
"Well, I'll have to give him my regards if I ever see him!"
Eventually, a waitress – a black squirrel – arrived with their food. Sonic had ordered a dozen chili dogs with a Wild Cherry Pepsi, and Rouge had ordered five chicken fingers with honey mustard dipping sauce, seasoned curly fries and a Mug root beer. The drinks came in a two-part system consisting of a 20-ounce bottle of each beverage, plus two plastic drinking glasses with ice. Sonic and Rouge thanked the waitress for their food and began to eat. Rouge dipped one of her chicken fingers in the dipping sauce and was about to take a bite when Sonic sucked down one of his chili dogs. She frowned.
"Really, Big Blue? Has NOBODY told you how rude it is to gobble down your food without chewing it?"
Sonic gave a sheepish smile. "What? I can't help it if I'm a big eater!"
Rouge briefly gave an incredulous stare to Sonic, but then laughed.
"Oh, I can't!" said Rouge. "You have one of the most beautiful smiles I've ever seen!"
"Thanks, Rouge! Yours is quite radiant, too!"
Rouge giggled. "Oh, you're just too sweet!" She took a bite of her chicken finger.
"Say Rouge, I wanted to ask ya somethin' else, too…" Sonic inhaled another chili dog.
"Do go on."
"If it's cool with ya, I wanna go out to the Glitter Palace and groove with ya after we finish our food."
Rouge swallowed her bite of chicken. "Ooh, I thought you'd never ask!"
Later that evening, Sonic and Rouge went to the Glitter Palace discotheque, also part of the City Center, more precisely the Greenville neighborhood. Built from the ashes of the infamous Imperial Theater, the "G Palace" – as it was commonly nicknamed – wasn't the first disco in Emerald City, but it was by far the largest and most popular.
After paying their entry fee in the lobby, which was decorated with paintings that were alit with blacklights, they followed the steady bump of the disco beat into the dance floor area, and it was here that they understood how the club got its name. Aside from the usual flashing colored lights, there was a 16-point neon "starburst" on the ceiling with multicolored neon tubes protruding from a large orange neon ring in the center of the ceiling, the whole thing being able to flash in various patterns. Hanging down from the center of the "starburst", was a four-foot disco ball. Another prominent feature was the dancefloor itself, which consisted of a Plexiglas layer over a number of square sections, each square containing a small strobe light surrounded by a flashing square neon ring. Like the "starburst", the strobes and neon rings could be programmed to flash randomly or in various patterns. At each corner of the dancefloor was a pole with two rows of flashing lights running parallel to each other, each pole having a Mark XII "police" light on top. Two staircases – one at each side of the dancefloor – led up to a balcony area, and each newel of these staircases was topped with a two-foot disco ball. After taking in the lights for a moment, Sonic and Rouge found a spot on the dancefloor, where they got down to the current song: "To Love Somebody", as covered by Claudia Field. Both of them smiled as they enjoyed each other's company.
"Rouge, thanks a million! This has been the BEST Mother's Day ever!"
"You're welcome a million, hon! I'm glad I could make this day better for you! Now enough talk; let's just dance!"
And so, Sonic and Rouge continued to boogie. Even though they didn't share everything in common, they were united in their love of disco music and disco dancing.
Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.