a/n: Mumbles of past adventures.
"She means well. Always does."
He stood on the wreckage of an abandoned aircraft. A chance meeting in the snow.
Rouge and Amy had traveled across the frozen north by way of an ice road, in a fancy heated carriage as part of a small caravan. Sonic had crashed one of Eggman's creations after being spotted and shot at. Naturally, he took offense.
The smoking wreck had been doused earlier by the snow. The sun was high and ever present, same as always in this time of year.
"I'm worried. That I'm frustrating her. That I'm..."
"Not good enough. Heh. Welcome to my world."
"Don't give me that shit. She used to worship the ground you walked on. Probably still does."
"So what?"
"So what?"
He shrugged, holding his shoulders up an extra moment for dramatics. "Yeah, so what. I never thought I was good enough. I mean, as boyfriend material. She has you. She should be happy."
"I have a feeling she's not."
"Mm." He breathed out through his nose, a wispy white cloud forming. "You're paranoid."
"How so?"
"Just open up. And treat her like an adult."
"I'm trying. It's hard. I don't want to scar her. She's...beautiful. And I'm really...not."
"Scared that she'll end up like you. Someone lost in the dark."
"..."
He shrugged again from his perch. "It's fine. Amy's got her own light. That's part of why she can deal with it."
"Huh?"
"The darkness, you know? It doesn't bother her so much. She's gotten bolder, anyways. Become a woman. But you're holding onto a phantom. A past that was never there and that you want to go back to."
"I-"
"And I know that I've caused a lot of shit as it is."
"Don't say that." Rouge zipped up her parka, feeling a chill.
"A partition. A wall. Right?"
Rouge started to speak but paused.
"Thought so. But I know she's beating herself up for it too. She wants to reach you."
"...I don't want to fall apart."
"She'll put you back together again. No matter how long it might take, Rouge. No matter what difficulty. It's been long enough."
"...I'm just weak. That's all."
"Don't give me that shit," he said with a smirk. "You're a super woman. A genuine badass. Primo catch, you know?"
"Would you...I mean, if you could..."
"Like I said. Horrible boyfriend material. But you, yeah. For sure."
"Not just because..."
He shook his head. "Besides that. You're a fun gal."
"I've been groping for a lot of praise lately."
"It's fine. We all have those kinds of things. For me, it's solitude. I really do need it at random times."
Rouge let a long breath out into the chilly air. It rose as opaque smoke, up into the space between them. She could see his contemplative stare into the distance as he stood, ever comfortably, on top of the downed flying machine.
"Should have brought a scarf. A bit nippy out," he muttered.
"You're a real comedy act, you know that?"
"I'll start charging per joke," he said with another smirk towards her. She felt her guard slacken a bit with that.
"You think I'm ready?" she asked.
"You've been ready from the start. There's nothing to it."
"I...listen, I'm not jealous or anything. I just don't think I can compete with you."
"Compete?" he asked, blinking. "Hell am I competing with you for?"
"Amy, you idiot."
"You're the one fucking her, not me."
"You have her heart."
"So?"
"So? The fuck do you mean, 'so'?"
"I mean, so what? It's your journey. Both of yours, anyways. Leave me out of it."
"You're the reason-"
"Piss off with that," he said tersely. "So what if I am? It was all born out of chaos, right? That world, that place, it isn't the reason you're out this far. It isn't the reason she stayed. And neither am I."
"..."
"There's no going back to a simpler time. Because there's no such thing," he said clearly. "You wake up, and you look for the woman that you fell in love with that day. And when you find her, you grab hold of her. I know you don't want to strangle her, or kill her, or beat her, or anything else. She's right there, and I know there's a lot of fear, but you gotta get over it so you can do what you gotta do. Whatever it is you choose."
"..."
"She's gonna reach in and pull something out that you didn't want her to see. Tough luck. You're an adult now. Unless you want to go back. Do you?" he asked with a knowing look.
"...I don't. Even if I could...I can't leave this place. I have to have what's here, in this world of mine."
"I figured."
"I needed that. To hear it."
"I know. Rouge?"
"Yeah."
"Just be good to her. That's all she wants."
"..." Rouge looked at the blue hedgehog, coming to an understanding of him. Or...another understanding of him. Like the ocean waters, he was ever flowing.
"And...you gotta remember. Sometimes, just indulge yourself. You know? That'll open things up a bit too."
"Desires as windows to the soul. Right?"
"Something like that. Anyways..."
"Yeah. I'll get back. She's probably up by now."
He nodded and took off in a blur of colour. Crystals of ice and snow twinkled as they came down in his wake.
Rouge walked back to the heated carriage that they were riding in. Amy was still asleep. Looked like the driver was still out on his break.
She sighed and waited outside until the caravan would start moving.
It was seven in the morning.
Breakfast would be nice.