Complication

Rouge's smile dropped the moment the call ended. She stared at her home screen, at the picture she'd taken of them in bed – mostly centered on the hedgehog as he slept, less so on herself – and wished she was back home already. Of all the times for G.U.N to send her away from her fabulous life, it had to be when a crimson storm was trying to brew, leaving Shadow to deal with it instead of her being able to tell off the echidna herself. The bat cursed Commander Tower's timing under her breath.

She hesitantly pulled up her contacts and went to the 'blocked' list, where Knuckles' phone number resided; and stared some more. Should she even consider opening that can of congealed worms? What could she say that wouldn't come off either too hostile or too friendly? And could she reign in the emotions that would likely spring up from speaking to her ex-fiancé again? Rouge wasn't as composed as Shadow; he'd probably be able to speak neutrally, if it were him. But just thinking about it made the spy's heart speed up.

'I shouldn't,' she decided, backing out of her contacts and putting down the phone. 'I know it won't go well...'

She wondered how Shadow's confrontation with Knuckles might've gone – if her man had acted with the calmness she knew he was capable of. She could picture him, lean and serious in his uniform, his arms crossed as he told the echidna to leave the premises of her business. That was what she thought of him if she imagined it, knowing how controlled he was all the time. He certainly wasn't the type to fly off the handle, so she assumed he wouldn't do anything to escalate the issue. Then again, the last time those men had seen each other...

A sigh escaped the lady's glossy lips and she sunk into the chair occupying space in her tent. Maybe it would be best to just ignore it and hope Knux would get the hint. But... then he might show up at the club again, getting himself banned. Yet still, she felt she had nothing for him. Their relationship ended in a whirlwind, just as it had begun, and she was now caught up in a much more comforting storm; the kind she and Shadow sometimes watched through the window while cuddled up in the recliner.

Safely shielded from the harrowing rain and wind enough to find the beauty in its darkness – that's where she was with him, the quiet, introspective hedgehog. She wished she was there now, wrapped in one of those moments, rather than camping out with the humans. Rouge looked over at the entrance to her tent and the vague blob-shaped figures of the overlanders moving around outside. The talents she possessed were being wasted on such a simple mission! It made her more irritated and she thought that her return to domestic bliss couldn't come soon enough.

Shadow sat on the stoop, his fingers interlaced between his knees, staring vacantly into his palms and thinking. How likely was it, really, that she would want to leave if he told her the truth? She loved him, of course, so she'd want to stay beside him through anything, right? But then, things could change... it was easy to say she wasn't afraid of the future, but what about when mortality starts to creep up on her? Surely that was something to worry over; something that needed to be considered.

He didn't want to think it, but he couldn't rule it out – Rouge could potentially feel the fear of aging and impending death in a decade's time while Shadow remained youthful. Wouldn't that scare her, a little? The bat cherished her beauty, and although he would adore her no matter what, how could he be sure she knew that? Was the conversation even necessary if they could just go on living their life as it comes to them, happy and fulfilled until the aging process actually mattered? Maybe she wouldn't even notice...

"No..." Shadow mumbled to himself. "She would notice..."

While he stewed in his thoughts, the hedgehog was unaware of Silver peeking out at him through the bay window, so it surprised him when the front door cracked open. The Ultimate Lifeform turned around and was met with his friend's concerned expression, white brows curved upwards while a kind smile played on his lips.

"Hey, Shadow. The food's done..." He hesitated, then asked, "You okay out here?"

"Fine." He glanced away. "Just sorting some thoughts. I will join you two in a minute."

Silver's smile tensed and Shadow could tell he didn't believe him. "With all due respect, I know you're naturally reserved and everything, but I feel like something's off."

He walked through the open doorway, closing the entrance behind him and joining the dark hedgehog on the step. Planting his palms on his knees, lemon-hued irises locked onto Shadow's wavering maroon gaze. "Whatever's going through your head, I'd like to help. I'm a good listener."

He offered a soft smile, one that told his compatriot he was without judgement, welcoming of any hardship that was burdening the speedster's mind. Shadow's wrists rested on his knees and his fingertips bumped together while he pondered how to begin sharing his woes.

"Rouge called, and... she said something that got me thinking about a reality I haven't been entirely truthful about. A reality of myself..."

He trailed off and Silver asked empathetically, "Do you feel comfortable sharing it with me?"

Shadow paused, unable to look at his friend. His old tendency to clam up and keep his secrets crept towards the surface, but he quelled it with a deep breath and reminded himself that he had friends for a reason. "I'm immortal. I can't age. And I can't die unless I'm killed."

Silver was quiet for a few seconds, then whispered, "Woah..." He gathered his thoughts enough to ask, "And you haven't told Rouge?"

Black quills swayed as he shook his head. "She knows that I was created artificially, and how that affects certain aspects of my existence... but I neglected to tell her that I won't grow old or die naturally. That I'll... outlive her..."

He glanced at Silver, whose mouth was open in a display of nonplus as he stared at the Ultimate Lifeform. His silent reaction made Shadow look away again, uncomfortable with how the white hedgehog almost looked amazed.

"That's crazy... not you, I mean!" Silver rubbed the back of his neck. "The immortality... sounds like it's a burden to have to carry around with you."

"Yeah, it is. So, you see why I didn't want to put that on Rouge, too. I don't even know how she'd react to news like that."

The light-furred man thought for a second, then furled his brow and said definitively, "I may not be as close to Rouge as Blaze is, but I've been her friend long enough to know that she doesn't give up easily – especially not on people she loves. And she isn't quick to frighten, either."

He gave Shadow another firm squeeze on his shoulder, this time out of reassurance. "I don't think you have anything to worry about, although I understand it's not always easy to be optimistic. Those thoughts linger, but... you should try to remember that we all care about you unconditionally."

When the quiet lifeform looked at him, Silver let a smile grow again, then stood up from the stoop and offered his hand. "Come on, I know you're hungry. We'll have a nicer conversation over lunch."

Tall trees and thick brush flanked every side of the military crew as they swept a section of the jungle. Rouge still wasn't sure what they were looking for, if anything, because Tower refused to give her specifics. Whether that was for a real reason, or just because he wanted to annoy her, the ivory agent couldn't tell – the old man did have a penchant for doing things a certain way to get under her skin. She thought it might be due to jealousy, as she held a closer relationship with the president than he did, and Tower's pride seemed to be very precious to him. If so, it was silly. All it did was make her want to go home even more.

Thoroughly fed up after following along behind the team for half an hour, shimmering lips pouted as she huffed out a burdened breath. Teal eyes trailed over to Topaz and she announced, "Ya know, I've about had it with this mission. If someone doesn't tell me what the hell we're supposed to be 'surveying,' I'm bailing and going home."

"Retain some professionalism, agent!" Topaz warned, shooting Rouge a cold glare. "Your job is to do as you're told; you don't need to know everything."

"Jeez, somebody's cranky today." The treasure hunter smirked at her human teammate. "Even more than usual, it seems. Did you run out of anti-aging cream or something?"

An offended grumble escaped Topaz's mouth and she turned away to search in a different direction. "Cram it, and stick to the mission at hand."

"But I don't even know what we're searching for!" Rouge whined, adding a bit of a bratty tone to her voice. "If you sticks-in-the-mud would give me something, maybe I'd be surveying more thoroughly!"

This time she was ignored, watching Topaz steadily move away from her. None of the other soldiers bothered to speak up, either, continuing on with their tedious sweep of the grassy area. Rouge was too bored to care about what her assigned purpose might be; she just wanted to get away from the people-drones and have a moment to do what she wanted. So, the mischievous spy slowed her steps until the rest of the group were ahead of her, then slipped away to explore elsewhere.

She soon found a thick, mossy tree with bushels of leaves curving above the trunk to form a dome-like cover above the jungle floor. Up it, she also noticed a sturdy-looking branch sticking straight out from the green-brown bark that looked perfect for lounging on. One last glance around her confirmed the bat was alone – her crew far ahead and none-the-wiser – and she flew up to the naturally-occurring bench. Resting with her back against the tree trunk, Rouge laid her legs straight out in front of her, crossing one ankle over the other.

She then retrieved her cell phone, mentally patting herself on the back and smiling at her own genius of sneaking the phone and a signal receiver out of the camp. Tower would blow a fuse if he found out she'd taken along two electronics she wasn't supposed to have while fulfilling a task, but who cared about his desires, anyway? He was the reason the jewel hunter was away from her favorite person and the more enjoyable life she had outside of G.U.N. Although she didn't want him to have a rage-induced heart attack, she also felt the mission was pointless so far. She had better things to do.

Rouge opened up her contacts again, but this time the winged woman went nearly to the bottom and looked for Sonic's name. She couldn't keep from wondering how she was supposed to handle the predicament with Knuckles, but the Blue Blur seemed to always have an answer when it came to tough situations; even if that answer was often to face the problem head-on and adapt to the outcome. He'd known both her and Knux for years, and although he was friends with the echidna first, he also proved to be a pretty neutral party following their explosive breakup, which she was grateful for.

She thought for a moment about what she should say to him. It was difficult to find the best words to open with on such a complicated issue, but she didn't want to handle it alone. And she couldn't involve Shadow any more than he already was – she remembered the stress in his tone when he'd told her about Knuckles' intentions. And he was already dealing with running the club without her. Bane and Jay were there to give him the support he needed, of course, but she knew part of the reason he'd accepted the job was to be around her more often. Otherwise, the duties of running a business were draining.

So, Sonic was the best choice to give her advice. Perhaps he could even provide some profound insight she hadn't considered; a rare occurrence for the hyperactive hedgehog, but it was possible. One line at a time – because the only way Sonic noticed his texts was by the constant beeping of his cell – she typed out,

"Hey sonic maybe you can help me with smth

"So I heard knuckles showed up to club rouge when I wasn't there wanting to talk to me

"And I'm not really sure what to think about it

"Like idk exactly what he wants but im not sure if I should even get in touch with him...

"But I know if I ignore it he might show up again and cause a scene

"You know us both pretty well

"So what do you think?"

She interlaced her gloved fingers, cupping the phone between them, and leaned her head back against the tree. When her turquoise eyes dragged up to the lush green canopy above her, she saw slits of golden light piercing through the bundles of leaves. It was pretty, and so peaceful out in the jungle; the only sound around her being the distant sweet chirping of little birds. Then the purple cell vibrated against her hands and she opened up Sonic's response.

"Sounds like he finally wants to apologize

"I told him to like a year ago

"But of course he'd wait this long

"So ummm

"I'd say do what feels right

"I know that's kinda vague

"But like

"You always trust your gut instincts right? So do that!"

Rouge sighed. Sonic was being even less helpful than she'd initially expected. But she thanked him anyway before putting her phone away and crossing her arms. Looking back up at the slender beams of sunlight illuminating the overhead greenery, she thought over the advice he offered, musing about what her instincts were telling her was the right call.