A/N: Since this is "Mental Health Awareness Month", I wanted to do a story about one character checking in on another. Plus, it's been a while since I did a Sonouge fic, so yeah.

It was a bright, sunny spring day in the Kingdom of Mobius, and Rouge the Bat was soaring through the wild blue yonder, the cool wind caressing her skin as she flew at speeds that could rival fighter jets. Soon enough, she came upon her destination: a log cabin at the southern tip of Azure Lake Zone, which had a little garage next to it. Upon alighting at the doorstep, she rang the doorbell.

"Who is it?" asked a familiar male voice.

"Big Blue, it's Rouge!"

Shortly thereafter, the door opened, and Sonic the Hedgehog greeted Rouge, albeit with a dejected frown replacing his usual cocky smile. He sighed.

"Hey Rouge."

Rouge frowned as well. "Sonic, is everything OK? It's not like you to be this sad."

"I know. It's just…I mean, nothin's really wrong today, but I'm bummed out because I feel like nobody really cares about me."

Rouge put her index finger up to her chin. "Why would you say that?"

Sonic shrugged. "I mean, sure, I got plenty of friends, but I kinda feel like people only care about me because I'm famous and because I whoop Robuttnik and other bad dudes on a regular basis."

"That's not true! People love you because you're a kind, selfless individual who would go out of his way to help the innocent and powerless! We love you for that, too!"

"Yeah, but do any of these people really take the time to get to know me as a person rather than a celebrity?"

Rouge put her hands on Sonic's shoulders. "Sonic, listen to me: it's OK to feel sad. Even if you feel like people only care about you as a celebrity, you have plenty of good friends who care about your health and well-being and want you to be happy! In fact, that's the one thing I've really admired about you is that you go out of your way to make sure your friends are OK, and that's exactly what I'm trying to do for you right now!"

Sonic gazed deeply into Rouge's aqua green eyes. While her words didn't really change how the general public perceived him, they helped put a smile back on his face.

"Rouge, thanks for checkin' on me. That means a lot."

"You're welcome, honey!"

Rouge gave Sonic a big hug, and he returned it. While not usually one to be a ladies' man, the Blue Blur could tell that she was different the first time he met her. Where other people would've seen a narcissistic, flirty woman who only cared about gems, he saw a woman who possessed motherly qualities, and he found that to be super-attractive. Of course, her being easy on the eyes also helped. Holding her in his arms, he felt no sadness, no pain, nothing to interfere with good vibes. As a matter of fact, Ol' Blue felt all warm and tingly, knowing that he had such good friends who genuinely cared about his feelings. Plus, feeling her soft, cuddly warmth really melted away whatever sadness wouldn't go away otherwise. In this moment, Big Blue considered himself the most fortunate person on the planet.

Rouge considered herself fortunate as well. Ever since she learned who Sonic was, all she wanted to do was be with him, to give him all her loving. However, the more she got to know him as a person, the more she saw him as attractive not only on his cool blue exterior, but deep down inside as well. Never in her life did she ever imagine she'd have to comfort him when he was feeling sad, but it really appealed to her motherly side to do so. Sure, he could never replace Shadow as her best friend, but he could give her something that the Ultimate Life Form never could: a cool, cocky warmth that appealed to her flirty, sassy nature. Plus, that cool shade of blue really excited her senses and made her want to care for him and spend every night together. She didn't even let go until he did, by which time his trademark smile was back.

"Feeling better, Big Blue?"

Sonic gave a thumbs up. "Much better! There's just one more thing I wanna ask of ya…"

Rouge put a hand on her hip. "Name it."

"Mind if we snuggle?"

Rouge wrapped her arms around Sonic. "Oh, you're gonna get more than a snuggle, honey!"

Rouge kissed Sonic, who gladly got lost in her touch. Finally, after aching for her affections for so long, it took him higher knowing that she genuinely felt that way about him. Again, he wasn't one for long-term commitments, but this woman made loving fun. He completely forgot that he'd been down in the dumps thanks to her touch. Eventually, she stopped kissing him, but kept looking into his emerald green eyes.

"Rouge…thanks again, Mama!"

"You're always welcome! Now enough talk, let's have some fun!"

Rouge entered Sonic's cabin with an arm wrapped around him. Sonic smiled, not only grateful to have really good friends who cared about his feelings, but eagerly looking forward to a round of fun with Rouge.

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.