One-Shot # 9: I Guess I should Thank You

Humming to herself for the billionth time within the hour, Rouge tapped the pen against her chin. A few minutes ago, the words had been there in plain sight and as clear as day. She had been so sure of what she was going to say in her letter; so absolute in what she was going to jot down that she couldn't even fathom how the words had disappeared. How could they have died away so quickly? Sighing in defeat, Rouge pushed the paper away, eyeing the picture on her desk carefully.

How long had it been since she had been on a field mission? She had been stuck in her "office" for what, five months? Maybe longer? A sudden increase in the higher ranked officers activity—as well as the heroes of Mobius—had led to an intense decrease in the amount of small jobs for Rouge to claim. Plus, she had virtually no chance to go jewel hunting, limiting her daytime plans to paper work and oh-so-exciting meetings. The last trip she had taken had been for leisure a long time ago…

As she leaned against the desk, she sighed. The trip was the reason she was writing the letter. The thank you letter. And as if it wasn't obvious enough, Rouge wasn't very good at writing letters. E-mails, texts, stuff like that was easy. But a well thought out, meaningful, hand-written letter? It was nearly impossible. Heck, she had been stuck there for hours, if not longer! Well, they had felt like hours. Of course, quick one hour meetings had a tendency to feel like fourteen days, so her perception of time may have had some issues…

Her ears beginning to fall forward from her lack of proper sleep, Rouge folded her arms on the desk, then rested her head and closed her eyes. It shouldn't have been so hard to write about something so easy. The trip, all those months ago had been simple enough. Or at least, it had been simple for the best friend of the Ultimate Life-Form.

"Come on Mr. Grumpypants, they're not staring at you!" Rouge exclaimed as she made her way through the crowd of exceptionally tall humans. "If anything, they're staring at me! It's not everyday that they get someone like me grace their presence!"

Growling, Shadow followed his companion. "Grace their presence?"

She huffed, "I was kidding, Shadow! Sheesh, lighten up." Rouge shook her head, wrapping the scarf around her neck once more. "Besides, this is supposed to be a happy occasion!"

Shadow rolled his eyes, "Yes, a happy occasion. I could be wrapped up in a blanket in my apartment, warm and asleep, but being on the sister planet on New Year's Eve, in the freezing cold much less, is so much nicer."

Smirking, Rouge nodded, "Of course it is!" she said as she continued to make her way through the crowd, "While Mobius may have a warmer climate, Earth has better parties! Plus, they have so many stores to choose from..."

"I guess."

Rouge rolled her eyes, "You guess? Come on Shadow, look at where we are!" She exclaimed, motioning towards the massive crowd around them. "This is Times Square for Pete's sake! One of the most talked about, most popular, to-be places on all of Earth! You can't tell me that you aren't at least a little excited, Shadow the Hedgehog."

As expected, he merely shrugged his shoulders, making Rouge roll her eyes once again. Though he was somehow able to hear her within the gigantic crowd, it sure didn't seem like he was listening. Basic Shadow. Shaking her head, she grabbed him by the hand, "Come on, let's get closer. They're going to drop the glass ball any minute!"

She led him off further into the crowd, though after a few minutes, she sensed that he was becoming uncomfortable. Shadow wasn't usually one for crowds. With that thought in mind, she sighed and let go of his hand. No matter where they were going, though, the mass wasn't going to be any less in numbers. Silently, Rouge looked up toward the main attraction, then glanced toward her newly bought watch. Two minutes until midnight. Two minutes until the New Year. The new beginning. The new start.

Silently, Rouge lowered her gaze as a series of flashbacks started traveling through her mind. Every mistake she had made in the past year felt as if it was washing away. All of the hardships and trials, all of the misery she had gone through… it was not going to bother her again. Soon, she was going to be free, and though no one knew it, it meant the world to her. The New Year… it had always had a special meaning to Rouge. Especially since…

"Hey, are you okay?" Rouge shook her head, releasing her from her daze.

"What?"

Shadow rolled his eyes, "Just asking if you're okay." He sighed, shaking his head in the process as he looked up once again. "Cause I'm pretty sure you don't want to miss it."

Following his gaze, Rouge looked up toward the ball. A minute was left, and the entire crowd had joined together in the countdown. Rouge nodded, a smile returning to her face, "Thanks."

He hummed (though it was almost a grown) quietly once again as the numbers lowered. Thirty… twenty-nine… twenty-eight… Rouge paused to look at Shadow, raising her eyebrows in the process. Even he was counting down. For some reason, it struck her as funny. Twenty-two… twenty-one… Shadow then noticed that Rouge was looking at him, and he furrowed his brow. "What?"

Eighteen… seventeen… "Nothing." Rouge grinned, looking back up at the clock. Thirteen… twelve… "Just excited, that's all." She told him, her heart racing faster with each second. Nine… eight…

"Is it really that exciting?" Shadow sighed, "Watching it drop?" Five… four… three…

She didn't bother responding, though. Under her breath, she whispered the last two numbers, "Two… one…" And then the swarm went wild as they watched the glass ball drop. Blasts of sound exploded from every side as people cried out in joy, various noise makers rang out, and countless horns went off. Through all the chaos; however, three words were clear: Happy New Year!

Rouge cried out and clapped as well, but upon realizing she had done such, quickly tried to regain her composure. Of course, Shadow had already seen enough. "Obviously, it is."

She stared at him with a scowl, and the thought of kicking him for his attitude seemed very pleasing. But with the spirit of the holiday in mind, she quickly shrugged it off and softened her glare into a grin. Instead of kicking him, she rushed toward him and pulled him into a tight hug. His body tensed up as she did so, but he was lucky in the fact that the hug lasted for only a few seconds. Pushing him away carefully, Rouge smiled. "Happy New Year, Shadow." Humming for a second, she smiled. "And thanks for bringing me out here."

Though he sighed, an echo of a smile graced his lips for a moment. "You're welcome."

She let a soft grin rest on her face before she smirked, "Is that a smile I just saw?"

His body tensed up again and he furrowed his brow, but before he could say anything, Rouge laughed. He simply growled and folded his arms.

A grin returning to her face in full, Rouge sat up straight and opened her eyes. Without another word, she grabbed the pen and started jotting down every thought that came to mind. Once she realized what she wanted to write, she found that she was unable to put it down. Of course, given the fact that she was writing a thank-you letter to her best friend, it was probably a good thing.

Shadowempress76's request. Whoa, it's been awhile since I updated this! I hope you guys liked it though! :) (And for those of you who read my other stories, don't worry, I'm working on them!)

Oh, and guess what? I have a deviantArt now! :D Yay! Next time is one of my own ideas, then its another request. :P