Sat at his desk and bent over, staring at a computer monitor, Tails sat upright when he heard the knock on his door. Quickly typing in the last few characters on the screen, he swivelled his chair away from his desk and walked over to the door. It was bound to be one of two people: Sonic or Rouge.
Upon opening the door, he was greeted with a pink, heart-shaped breastplate.
"Hi, Rouge," he said, craning his neck up to meet her gaze.
"Hey there."
"Sonic's not here right now, but—" Tails started to explain, then saw a streak of blue approaching, "Oh, wait. There he is."
Sonic skidded to a stop a few feet from them, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Rouge! Ya showed up!" he greeted.
"Hi," she responded, "You wanted me for something?"
"Sure did. Tails, step aside and let the lady in."
The fox did so and Sonic followed Rouge inside.
"So," said Rouge, walking over to a desk and sitting on it, "What did you boys call on little ol' me for? You need a woman's presence around here?"
Sonic and Tails glanced at each other, "Uh... not exactly," replied the hedgehog.
"It's actually about that echidna you met," explained Tails.
The bat leaned forward, "Oh, Shock? Has he been asking after me?"
"No, it's just... we haven't heard from him for a couple of days. And, well..."
"...Well, we asked him to do a little, uh... spying for us," finished Sonic.
"You're having him spy on Eggman?" asked Rouge, leaning back again.
"Keep it down. But... yeah."
"So where do I fit into this? Wait, let me guess..." she put a finger on her chin and cocked her head in mock thought, "...you want me to go and check up on him."
The two noticed it wasn't a question.
"Yeah. That and bring back any information he has for us," said Sonic, "I mean... you should be able to show up at Eggman's base without arousing too much suspicion."
"Oh, is that all?" said Rouge, crossing her legs and leaning back on her hands.
Sonic could tell from the look she was giving him that she was asking what was in it for her. He rolled his eyes and sighed. Reaching into his quills, he took out the purple Chaos Emerald.
Rouge's eyes got bigger and she looked hungrily at the shining purple gem.
"If you do this for us and don't let on to Eggman... we'll give you the Emerald," Sonic said, reluctantly.
"My, my... how lovely."
Sonic hid it behind him again, "Yeah, but you're not getting it unless you hold up your part of the bargain."
"Well, alright. I suppose I could make something up to tell Eggy why I'm there."
"Thanks, Rouge. We appreciate it."
"I'll bet you do, hon," she smirked, getting off the table. She opened the front door and looked back, "Keep that Emerald safe for me."
Leaping into the air, Rouge took off flying.
"She could've at least shut the door," muttered Sonic, walking over and closing it himself.
"I wish we didn't have to offer her a Chaos Emerald to do this," said Tails, seating himself on his desk chair again.
"Yeah, but what else could we give her? I was hoping she'd do it for free, but..." he shook his head and briefly raised his hands.
Tails swivelled the chair to face the screen and resumed typing, "Maybe she'll give it back if she thinks you really need it."
"We'll worry about that later," replied Sonic, looking out the window, "I just hope Shock's okay. If Egghead's caught on to him... man..."
.
The sun over Metropolis Zone continued its daily, fruitless attempt to break through the thick clouds. Standing out against the dark, dull canopy was a bat wearing a brightly-coloured battle suit. She covered her nose as she flew over the smoggy city.
Ugh, is a Chaos Emerald really worth this smell? Wait, what am I saying? Of course it is...
She coughed, But this is still no place for a lady...
Up ahead, Rouge spotted the tall building with the golden Eggman head. She beat her wings and flew towards it as fast as she was able; the hot, thick air making it difficult.
She descended swiftly in front of the building, coughing twice more at the fumes. The two praying mantis-shaped robots raised their claws as she approached, scanning her, then, recognising the bat, they moved back and lowered their sharp instruments.
Rouge smirked, Knowing the Doctor has its perks. Not that I couldn't have taken care of these two if I wanted...
She pressed a button the intercom next to the door.
"Oh Eggy, are you there?"
There was a brief period of silence, then Eggman's rough voice barked through the speaker, "Hm? Who's there?"
The bat sighed, "Don't you recognise my voice?"
"Oh, Rouge. Yes, hello. What is it?"
"Nothing much. Just wondering if Shadow was there...?"
"No. Why would he be?"
"Well, I don't know. Maybe you had something you wanted him to do?"
"I don't and he's not here."
"Okay..."
Rouge waited, staring at the intercom. She crossed her arms and frowned. Finally, she pressed the button and spoke again, "Well?"
"Well what?"
"It was a long flight here. I'm tired and hungry," she said, trying to hint with her voice.
"Yes?"
She passed a hand over her face and rolled her eyes, "Can I come in?"
"Oh, I suppose," replied Eggman with an exasperated sigh.
The metal doors slid apart, "Thank you, Doctor."
The bat entered and casually walked towards the elevator, ignoring the robots following her movements.
.
Pink-tipped white boots stepped out of the elevator.
"How are you, Eggy?" asked the bat.
"Hello, Rouge," said Eggman, not sounding too thrilled.
"What's up with you?"
"I'm just busy."
"Oh, don't worry about me. I won't get in your way," she said, waving a dismissive hand. She looked over and smirked at the grey echidna who had stepped in from an adjacent room, "Hey, Shocky," she cooed.
Shock, initially surprised to see Rouge again, averted his gaze, "Hi."
Eggman looked between the two, "You two... know each other?"
"...Kinda. I met him a while ago and we had a little chat. Right?" asked Rouge.
"...Yeah," replied the echidna.
"So what are you boys up to?" asked Rouge, intending to get the information she was asked to as soon as possible.
"Nothing you should be concerned about," replied Eggman, typing on the keyboard in front of him.
"Just a little hint?"
Eggman glared at her.
She raised her hands in defence, "Okay, okay, fine," she said, turning from him and walking towards the echidna, who was keeping himself busy by straightening out the lab. She reached out and tickled the back of his neck.
He inhaled sharply and a tingle passed through him as her fingers brushed on his skin. Turning, he found himself face-to-face and close, very close, to the bat.
"Hey," she said, enjoying his evident awkwardness.
"Yeah, hi," he mumbled and tried to walk away, but Rouge, with her usual mischievous expression, moved to block his path, "What?" he asked, impatiently.
"I'm kinda hungry and tired. There any food or beds around here?" she asked in a dulcet tone, leaning forward slightly and looking deeply into the echidna's eyes.
"Yes, Shock, why don't you attend to our guest?" said Eggman without turning from his keyboard, then muttered, "Maybe it'll give us some peace around here..."
Rouge slipped a hand around Shock's arm, "Oh, how sweet of you, Shocky."
"My name's Shock," he said, sternly, feeling slightly irritated that she was getting to him.
"I know, but I think 'Shocky' is cuter."
The echidna sighed and, with the bat hanging off his arm, led her to the elevator, as the kitchen was on a different floor from the lab.
During the elevator ride, Rouge turned her head to the uncomfortable Shock, "You know, there's a reason I'm here, Shocky."
"What is it? To annoy me?"
"Don't be silly. I don't annoy you," she grinned as he rolled his eyes, "Anyway, a certain hedgehog wanted me to check up on you and get information on what Eggy's up to from you. Got anything?"
"Yeah, a couple of things. But..." he lowered his voice as the elevator reached its destination, floor thirty-six, "...we can't talk about them right now. The Doctor's mechs might relay the information back to him. I'll tell you later."
"Fine by me. And I'm glad that you're okay, hon."
I'll bet... thought the echidna and stepped out of the elevator with Rouge still holding his arm.
A/N: In case anyone is wondering – no, there is not going to be a love story between Rouge and Shock. She's just being her usual flirty self.