Now this chapter is definitely earlier in the timeline- I'll look into the ins and outs of the 'move chapter' function (like if comments get moved too- y'all can answer if you know) but that's for later so as not to make readers search for the newest chapter. This was an idea I didn't think I'd pull off earlier, but I trimmed back my ambition for it and suddenly it seemed doable.

As for reviews feedback, thanks for Allen MVP (I will call them such as they earned the title) doing nearly ever chapter thus far. Yes, I'm definitely playing with how Rouge's relationships might develop when she chases a studly echidna, mixes things up with a bad boy hedgehog, and ultimately comes back to a sensitive fox... who all seem equally unlikely to take her up on the next level... Poor girl.

Also, shout out to xalixcs for being the newest reviewer on Angels, because that story deserved more reviews, and it's never too late to add one. Perfect timing for both of us. Hope you enjoy their further hijinks too.

The Tornado was still taxiing on the runway when Sonic leapt off and ran to a safe distance away before pausing to stretch his legs. "You're supposed to stay in your seat until the plane reaches the terminal!" Tails yelled. Never mind the fact that riders generally were also supposed to stay INSIDE a plane during flight. But Sonic was going to be Sonic, which in this case probably meant he'd take a quick run after being cooped up for a nearly three-hour flight.

Once parked in the hanger Tails jumped out as well. Normally he'd do some post-flight things, but he wasn't in the mood right now. Walking through the connecting door to the house proper, he paused to breathe in the familiar scent. After a week-long trip, home smelled sweet. And it wasn't just because of Rouge's perfume, who came over so frequently that there was always a faint lingering trace, even if undetectable to those without a strong enough nose. It was actually surprisingly strong now; Rouge must had been here within the last few days, possibly even earlier today. She could easily let herself in through the second floor's balcony door... which she was welcome to do (within reason.) The fact that she had been here wasn't concerning, it was just interesting. Why would she come by? Did she forget that we were gone? Maybe she left something here or needed to borrow something?

Before he could speculate further while walking through the hallway, his mind switched to wondering what could possibly suddenly feel amiss. The answer probably involved whatever fell from above and landed right behind him... and threw a pair of arms around him in a tight yet soft embrace that pinned his own arms. A set of wings folded around as well and blacked out the world. "Peekaboo!" a female voice said excitedly but quietly out of consideration for the sensitive ears that were only an inch from her mouth. "Guess who?" His alarm quickly faded to something resembling bemused annoyance as the voice's owner rested her head on the top of his.

"Rouge, what are you doing here?"

"Welcoming you back home, of course. I've just missed you so much!" The hug tightened for emphasis.

"I missed you too, but you're being awfully aggressive about it."

"That's because I'm on a foxhunt today. I'm a little disappointed it was so easy. You need to be more alert, kiddo." The wings retracted but the arms did not. The top of her head came leaning into view, upside down. "Didn't I train you better than that?"

"Sorry I've disappointed you. Can you let me go now?"

"No. I'm an intruder that has gotten the jump on you. You've gotta escape."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Well..." He moved a foot onto one of hers. "I just stomped your toes, causing overwhelming agony that makes you release your grip."

"Good idea, but you can't do that if I'm holding you like THIS." With that, Rouge straightened fully upright, lifting him clean off the floor in the process and leaving his feet dangling helplessly. Their heads were now next to each other, cheeks rubbing in what was surely an intentional act of affection. "What'cha gonna do now, Foxboy?"

"I guess wonder what kind of attacker I'm dealing with right now."

"Someone with very impure intentions," she answered playfully. "Now how are you gonna escape?"

"I'd kick my legs, throw my weight downwards, and then use the motion to launch you overhead."

"That's an awesome idea sweetie, but I doubt you could do that."

It was indeed highly unlikely. "Wanna find out?" he bluffed.

She called. "Oh, I DARE you to try."

Needless to say, he didn't. "Well, I guess I could also kick one of the walls and knock you off balance." Needless to say, he wasn't about to actually do that either. "Then capitalize on your disorientation and beat you into submission."

"Ambitious... but let's say you managed the first part." On that note she released the hold. Seemingly no sooner had his feet touched the floor that she grabbed him again, one hand turning him around to face her while the other grabbed behind his head. Then her other hand did the same and pulled him against her chest in another tight- and far more uncomfortable- embrace. With his head securely trapped, she moved an arm so that it could also scratch an ear.

"Rouge! Stop it!" he protested, though his tails unconsciously wagged.

"What'cha gonna do now, Foxboy?" With arms free now, he tried to pull or knock hers away, but was in no position to do more than flail around. He tried simply pushing themselves apart next. It didn't work, so he moved his arms higher to get more leverage closer to the hold, only realizing where her stomach ended at the same time that she let go to grab his wrists rather aggressively. For once his face didn't turn red, as it was instead pure white from the fierce expression she wore... which quickly softened to something resembling neutral. "Hey, you need to watch those hands, sweetheart." Her voice was joking but a little unnatural. She clearly had an adverse reaction to the misplaced contact but had quickly regained her cool over the mistake.

Hopefully she also realized that it would be a bit hypocritical for her to lecture him on physical contact. Unsure how to proceed, he let out a nervous chuckle and tried to further defuse the tension. "In my defense, you need to watch those things too." Knowing exactly what he was only alluding to, Rouge's mouth dropped open in surprise. His did as well, immediately regretting the joke. There was a long beat. She still hadn't yet let go of his arms. Maybe the joke was too soon. He began to fear that his arms could soon meet a terrible fate.

Then she smiled in her usual sly way, reassuring that it was fine. "Fair enough." Phew- her sense of humor was as solid as hoped. He let out a breath of relief.

But she still hadn't released her grips. "Uh, can you let go now?"

The smile turned wicked. "How are you gonna make me?"

Back to that? He was more than happy to change the subject. He lifted a leg slightly and joked, "I'll kick you in the shins."

"The knees would hurt a lot more."

"I know. But I could also do this..." He raised the leg again, this time between her own up to knee-height, just enough to convey the idea.

"Now there's a really good answer... if it's a guy you're dealing with."

"An attacker probably would be..." He smirked. "..but I can also do this if it's a girl." He considered the wisdom of his next move for a long moment before suddenly kicking the leg back up... Due to his smaller height versus hers, the leg swung for an arc of approximately 125° before his shoe made contact with Rouge's hindquarters. It wasn't a hard kick, but enough to make her jump with a yip... and let go to put her hands to the struck area instead.

"DID YOU JUST KICK ME IN THE BUTT!?" she asked with great indignation.

A moment passed while he considered answers. When nothing seemed particularly good, he coyly replied, "Maybe." He snickered through it all.

"Why you little..." The bat lunged forward, now a trifle mad for real. He ducked away. She chased after him, arms out to grab. "Get back here, Foxy!"

He thought he detected a playful spirit underneath the fire but feared that he still wouldn't like whatever payback she had in mind. He negotiated even while continuing to evade. "Come on, Rouge! I'm sorry!" He was still slightly snickering.

"It's too late now." He kept out of reach... and his front to her. They went in circles until she suddenly spread her wings and launched at him. Surprised by the bold move, he could only open his eyes wide before getting tackled onto the couch that he had been crossing in front of- she was quite the opportunist. "Got you!" She stood back up with him still in her arms, at least until she dropped him to the sofa on his front. He quickly rolled over before she could... do whatever she was planning to do. She grabbed him again and tried to turn him over once more, clearly wanting to at least return the favor or maybe give him the mother of all spankings. No longer snickering, he grabbed onto the couch for dear life and knocked her arms away as the options looked better for each individual moment. "Oh, you're putting up a serious fight NOW, huh?"

"You're taking this WAY too seriously now!" he pleaded. "I said I was sorry!"

"Oh, I KNOW you're sorry now."

"It wasn't even that hard! You tease me all the time!" A soft kick to the fanny seemed like a perfectly reasonable comeuppance to him, but it appeared Rouge didn't quite agree. Intentionally or not, she fell back on top of him, their hands finding each other and locking together to prevent either one from doing anything. However, having the elevated position, Rouge simply used her greater weight to hold his arms down. Then she planted her legs atop his to pin them as well. It was a very familiar situation. His squirming was yielding no results. Wearing the mischievous smirk of an older sibling who was winning a game of roughhousing (a face he he knew all too well), Rouge leaned in closer to gloat...

...and didn't stop until her lips pressed onto his nose and delivered a light kiss. THAT got him to pause. "You lose," she declared simply. He didn't dispute the ruling and just waited to see if she was going to be satisfied with having this victory. There were certainly worse things she could still do. They remained in place for a while until she looked up in surprise. He turned his head as best he could to see a figure standing in the doorway. "Sonic?"

Whoosh- the bat and fox separated to opposite ends of the sofa in an instant. The former angled herself away. It had only been a brief glimpse, but Tails was pretty sure that she was blushing profusely. With her out of commission for the moment, he spoke for both of them. "It's not what it looks like!" When nothing came from the hedgehog apart from an ever-widening grin, he asked, "Weren't you going for a run?"

"I was just about to," Sonic answered. "But while I was doing some preparatory stretching, I heard some kind of commotion inside the house and came to check it out."

Dread built up. "How long have you been there?"

"I don't know, a few minutes?" In other words, Sonic had seen pretty much everything.

"And you didn't help me out!?"

"It didn't look to me like you needed any help. Besides, watching you two was very nostalgic. It sure brings back memories of how we used to play as kids."

"Excuse me?" Rouge interjected. "I'm older than you, Blue Boy. When were you two kids? Last week?"

Sonic thought about it. "It's been a couple years at least." Tails sighed. I hated always losing... Sonic must have picked up on that, because the big brother dominance eventually limited itself to noogies and the like. "We certainly stopped before either of us was old enough to be interested in kissing." Oh boy- Rouge flushed and glared at the hedgehog. Not in the least bit intimidated, he smirked. "Well, I'll go for that run now and leave you two alone." He turned to leave but paused first. "Although for the record, Tails never kicked ME in the butt." He took off before either of them could respond.

The bat and fox just slumped back into the couch, both somewhat defeated. "I can't believe Sonic managed to sneak up on us."

"It's your fault for leaving us unprepared for him."

"No, it was your fault for distracting ME!" Rouge countered.

"You started this whole thing!" She obviously attempted to come up with a denial but ended up simply sulking instead. When she said nothing, he suggested, "Better that he snuck up on us now rather than that other time."

"Yeah, at least I was wearing clothes this time."

She really didn't need to give a vocal reminder about that fact. He looked around to make sure Sonic really was gone and hadn't overheard that bit. A few seconds later he was satisfied that Sonic hadn't faked leaving. They both continued to sit in silence until he asked, "So... uh, want to do something else?"

She stood up. "I should get going myself. I thought you'd arrive earlier."

Honestly, he was actually rather relieved that she wanted to leave for the day, but politely said, "Oh, that's too bad."

Neither of them moved an inch afterwards. "Aren't you gonna walk me out the door?" she challenged.

"No," he replied flatly.

"Why not? A gentleman would do it."

"No, I'm just gonna stay right here."

She rolled her eyes knowingly. "Come on, you're being paranoid."

"Yes. That doesn't mean it's not justified."

They stared each other down for a minute before she said, "You win this round, Tails. NOW will you walk me to the door?"

"You don't actually think I'm really gonna fall for that, do you?"

She shrugged. "I had to try." She continued standing for a few moments before sitting back down.

"I thought you were going to leave."

"No, that was all just a ploy."

"I knew it," he murmured. "Well, what do you want to do now then?" He glanced around for answers of his own, but even the TV remote was too far away to grab without getting off the sofa.

"You pick; I don't care."

"Wanna do a videogame?" It seemed like a good idea: unlike a movie, a game would require their full attentions, hindering the ability to scheme any nefarious acts.

"Sure."

Just one problem: someone needed to get up first. "Dynamite Cop's in the Dreamcast," he announced to subtly suggest that she should get up.

"Why do I have to get up? Why don't you?"

They stared each other down again. "I can wait a long time, Rouge."

"So can I, Tails." They waited. Without talking. For at least three more full minutes. Eventually Rouge sighed and got up. Reaching the system, she looked back. "I can't believe you kicked me in the butt. How could you do such a thing? And to a friend, no less?"

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't be so dramatic. Your butt still looks good to me."

Her tail swished. "Well... I'm glad you think so." He suddenly remembered to look back up, blushing when her sly face said BUSTED. "But I never expected that you would be the first guy to tell me that."

DVD Commentary: I was thinking of calling this chapter The Pink Bat-her or something stupid, and having a running gag of our two partaking in some Inspector Clouseau/Cato routines... so there'd be a Return/Strikes Back/Revenge chapter as well, but since our two wouldn't really be smacking the crap out of each other and destroying their homes, I don't see enough material to pad out several chapters. Plus, the names would spoil the chapters, wouldn't they?

I had originally intended for our duo to have more of a sibling dynamic like what they started to form in Angels (y'all DID pick up on the fact their interactions mirrored that of Sonic and Tails?) before the shipteasing came in later (which would make Rouge's UST much more deliciously awkward- the poor girl has needs) but obviously I had way too much fun with more suggestive content. On that note, Rouge did NOT pull Tails face-first into Cartoon Marshmallow Hell (never cared for that gag myself) but sideways instead, though to specify in the story would have just been super verbose... though I admit even I tripped myself up by envisioning her scratching both ears, which would be hard to do otherwise.

You know, at this point I'm ready to just say that age in Sonic's world is a somewhat abstract concept with the fact that we've got upper-teenaged people acting as independent adults. I'm going with a rustic old-fashioned world, so I guess younger adulthood is a thing. I'd speculate there aren't any legal minimums on relationships that would apply here, but such would still be considered 'weird' or frowned upon by their society. Not that it's really going that way since I'm being all ambiguous with ages, but I'm worldbuilding here, yo.

And hey, we got to see Rouge's look-but-don't-touch policy in action this time, though this would actually be the first. There's probably some significance in the fact that her reaction in chapter 9 was quite different. Character progression?

Woo, I also released a review for Super Contra for my Youtube channel today, though it might not be up yet because Youtube has been slow since 2020. Seriously, it's usually been taking an hour to upload 10 minutes when a 30-minute video used to be under that. Once in a blue moon it's much faster but what gives? Then again, I also scheduled it to go public later anyway when more people are online anyway.