Rouge began to meet Amy for her daily walks at the Chaotix HQ in the morning—then she would escort her back in the evenings. The time they had together between then would be spent talking about anything and everything that caught their interest.
After their 'talk' in Strawberry Fields, Amy began to give Rouge the benefit of the doubt and Rouge returned the favor. The infamous jewel thief's softer side began to show itself; even as she still teased Amy, her quips were far gentler than before. She was good natured in her ribbing rather than mean spirited—and Amy had noticed this almost drastic change in the bat.
While Rouge would regale her with stories of her past crimes, Amy would chime in with stories of her own adventures with her friends back home in Knothole. The pink hedgehog could feel a shift occur between the two of them, but she couldn't put a name to this new, blossoming feeling. Whatever had been sown between them in Strawberry Fields was growing stronger with each day spent together—and it felt good. Certainly better than the animosity that had been there in their prior encounters.
On their longest walk to date, Rouge had led Amy to some of the Echidna ruins near the center of Angel Island. Nature had reclaimed most of the ruined city, but there were glimpses of intricately crafted marble beneath the greenery of vines and ivy.
They followed an overgrown cobble road into the heart of the ruins, to what must have once been a glorious courtyard. In the center stood a chipped basin of marble—a fountain with ambiguously shaped statuettes sitting on its edge, their true identities lost to the elements of an inordinate amount of years.
Amy looked up at the sky, shielding her eyes from the sunlight as she tried to gauge how long their trip had taken them. She sighed and headed towards the edge of the fountain, setting her knapsack down on the marbled surface.
"We made good time with that shortcut of yours," she hummed cheerfully as she searched through her bag to find some of the rations she had packed for their excursion. She heard Rouge chuckle as she followed her, sighing as she took a seat beside one of the statuettes, draping an arm over it as she rested.
"Of course we did—I told you, I know this Island like the back of my hand," the bat replied coolly, looking around them at the decaying landmarks of a once proud city.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I can still be impressed though, can't I?" Amy giggled and held up a bag of trail mix triumphantly, grinning as she handed it over to her companion. Rouge smiled at her as she took the bag, taking the first handful before handing it back.
"Hm. Took you long enough, didn't it?" She teased and turned to sit with her back leaning up against the weathered carving. Amy rolled her eyes and took a seat beside her, kicking her feet up onto the bit of space left between them as she started to pick through the bag of trail mix.
They ate in comfortable silence, contented to just admire the scene before them as the sun slowly began to dip lower and lower into the western sky overhead, bathing them both in a pink hued light. A warm breeze blew through the crumbling arches and columns, bringing the faint smell of jasmine flowers to them.
They must be blooming this time of year, Amy briefly thought, glancing over to Rouge to mention it to her. She paused with the words half formed in her mouth as her gaze met the bat's—her heart nearly skipped a beat.
In the light of the dying day, Rouge looked even more stunning than she did normally. The soft red hues that danced through her fur made it look like she was glowing—a rose colored angel. Her teal eyes glowed with the same light. At first glance, they stared back at Amy, now alluringly purple—the color of royalty befitting the batty burglar who hunted for the finer things in life.
Amy swallowed the dryness that had unexpectedly filled her mouth in what must have only mere seconds as they exchanged a glance. She quickly turned away, pretending to dig through the knapsack for some other item as her thoughts began to swim wildly inside her head.
What was that?! She frowned to herself, staring blankly at the supplies she had packed. That was weird… She didn't feel—whatever that was, right…?
Amy nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a gentle hand on her back, stifling a gasp as she turned back to face Rouge. She blinked rapidly until that rosy vision from earlier disappeared—in its place sat her friend, a look of concern on her face.
"I said did you lose something?" Rouge repeated, keeping her hand on Amy's back as she leaned to look over her shoulder into the knapsack the pink hedgehog was almost elbow deep into . Amy's cheeks grew hot in embarrassment, turning her gaze away as she realized she had gotten caught up in her own head again.
"Oh, I—just couldn't find my flashlight," she said sheepishly, letting out a nervous laugh as she pulled away, displaying the flashlight for Rouge to see. "Looks like we might need it on our way back…"
Rouge's concern faded and she pulled back, pausing a moment beside Amy before standing up. She dusted herself off and turned to her with a small smile, extending a hand to help her up. Amy took it hesitantly, smiling back as she stood. She reached down and scooped up the knapsack, and with her flashlight at the ready, began to head back the way Rouge had led them.
The walk back to the base was, for the most part, quiet—neither of them spoke much. Amy didn't have the words or bravery to mention what had happened earlier between them. Rouge didn't seem to have noticed it, anyway. Or at least, Amy had thought so, until Rouge reached for her hand in the darkness as they walked.
Amy shuddered at the electrifying shock such a small touch brought—she didn't dare look at her batty friend and kept her eyes low to the ground, trying her best not to trip in the darkness. She could hardly concentrate on her feet as her heartbeat thundered loudly against her eardrums and her breathing came quick and short.
At least she's not letting you get yourself lost, she half-heartedly chastised herself as she followed Rouge's lead.
The walk seemed to last for hours, but eventually they made it back to the base. Fluorescent lights lit up the night around them—a beacon in the storm that had been stirred up inside Amy's overactive imagination. Still hand-in- sweaty hand with Rouge, Amy walked up the entrance of the base.
When they got to the door that led inside, Amy finally pulled her hand away from Rouge, rubbing at her arm bashfully as she tried to work up the courage to look her in the eye again.
"Um, Rouge—"she began, glancing up just in time to see Rouge take a step towards her, closing the little distance between them. The bat lifted a gloved hand to touch Amy's cheek, cupping the curve of her face gently in the palm of her hand as she tilted Amy's head up to look directly into the pink hedgehog's emerald eyes.
There was a moment's pause. Amy's voice got caught in her throat as Rouge leaned her face in closer to her own. Instinctually, she closed her eyes, feeling her own body lean forward into Rouge's until her lips were met with soft warmth.
Her heart fluttered in her chest as she melted into it, the flashlight limply falling to the ground as her hands blindly and clumsily searched for Rouge's shoulders. She could feel pressure on her waist as Rouge wrapped her free arm around her, holding her tenderly as they kissed, while her other hand began to run inquisitively through Amy's quills.
She gasped softly for air when the kiss finally broke, reaching up to press her fingers against her lips as she opened her eyes, staring deeply in Rouge's own. Amy stuttered, her tongue tripping over the words her brain was still too hazy from the surprise kiss to form. Rouge shushed her gently and leaned in again. She took Amy's hand in her own to pull it away from her mouth to kiss her again.
Again, Amy melted into it. Her shoulders relaxed, dropping her knapsack onto the ground alongside the flashlight. She gripped Rouge's hand tightly, their fingers lacing together as Rouge took the lead once again. The bat pulled away almost completely this time—only holding Amy's hand like a lifeline. She said nothing. At this point, she didn't have to. Amy only had eyes for her as Rouge gently pulled her inside. Even in her naivety, she could sense what was going to happen next as they wordlessly turned down the hallway towards the sleeping quarters.
She couldn't think anymore—all her thoughts were blurry after the first kiss. All she knew was the longing hidden deep inside her melted away when Rouge touched her. She followed her heart, and the thief in front of her, into her bedroom, and shut the door softly behind her.
Rouge was to be a thief of a different kind that night on Angel Island.
