Chapter Text
“Alright, I’m ready to go!” Rouge said, snapping her compact shut.
“About time,” Shadow grumbled, uncrossing his arms and rising from his spot on the couch where he’d spent the last half an hour waiting for the bat to get ready. ‘Fashionably late’ she called it, and although the phrasing was lost on him, he did enjoy the extra moments to compose himself. The emerald he kept tucked in his quills emerged from its hiding spot, and he shifted his grip on the gem before reaching for her arm.
“Aw, are you mad I robbed you of a few minutes with your little lady?” Rouge teased, drawing out of his reach.
“Again with this…” he sighed
Rouge raised her hands in surrender. “Hey, I’m not the one that follows her around like a gloomy little rain cloud.”
“I do not-”
“Oh yes, you do. Are you ever gonna tell her what's going on in that spiky head of yours?”
He glared at her in silence, quills bristling slightly with his unease.
The bat shrugged. “Hey if you wanna brood in silence, be my guest. Just maybe consider saying something to her before big blue notices she’s something worth chasing after.”
“I don't recall asking for an opinion,” he grumbled.
“You never do, which is why I'm giving you one anyways.” She flashed a cocky smirk, one she wore often when she’d backed him into a corner or tried to get a rise out of him.
Rather than deign to respond, he stepped forward and grabbed Rouge by the arm anyways, Chaos Controlling them to the beach where the others were gathered.