Chapter Text
Metal didn’t belong in this moment. It didn’t belong in a bedroom bathed in the golden light of a sunrise, and it certainly didn’t belong amongst the tousled sheets and bedcovers that they lay in. Yet she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Rouge absently caressed the metal inhibitor ring on Shadow’s wrist. She could feel his chest against her back, and he was cradling her with one arm. Even in sleep, he was still careful not to scratch her with his claws. She pricked her ears, listening for signs that he was awake – his heartbeat or his breathing.
He stirred, but he still didn’t wake. He just wrapped his arms around her more tightly, all but encompassing her waist with his hands. His thumb grazed the bare skin between her tank top and shorts. She felt his lashes brush her neck, followed by a deep exhale.
‘Morning, sweetheart.’
‘Mmph.’ His shoulder pressed against hers, and he clumsily adjusted his grip on her waist, tangling his fingers in the drawstrings of her shorts.
‘Did you sleep well?’ Rouge knew he would prefer it if she let him doze in peace, but she wasn’t that selfless. His voice had a deep raspiness when he woke up in the morning, and it was better than starting the day with a cup of coffee.
‘Mm.’
‘Can’t you give me a little more than that?’
‘What do you want me to say?’ Shadow murmured.
‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Rouge teased. ‘I’m sure you can think of something to whisper in my ear, can’t you?’
‘Hm.’ He let his head rest against hers, and his breath tickled her neck. Then he said, ‘Did you dream about me?’
Rouge’s eyes widened, and she glanced back over her shoulder. He had already closed his eyes again. ’N-No. I don’t dream often.’ When he didn’t respond, she asked. ‘What about you? Did you dream about me?’
A faint smile curved his mouth. ‘It’s not like it would be the first time.’
‘What were we doing?’ She turned over in his embrace and pressed against his chest. ‘What was I wearing?’
‘You just want to listen to me talk, don’t you?’
‘Can you blame me?’
‘I don’t remember what you were wearing. We were on a beach. We were walking together. You took me into the water, and…’
‘You really need to learn how to swim properly.’
‘I know. You were teaching me. In the dream, that is.’
‘… Are you sure you can’t remember what I wore?’
Shadow groaned and said, ‘All right, fine. Neither of us was wearing anything. Can you drop it?’
‘No, I don’t think so.’ She hooked her arms around his neck with a smug laugh. ‘We could always go and do it for real. You and me, alone, on a beach under the night sky.’
‘…Rouge.’
‘What? I was talking about teaching you how to swim.’
‘I doubt that.’ Shadow rolled onto his back, but she merely curled up beside him, folding her arms over his chest and laying her head down.
‘Come on,’ Rouge murmured. ‘It’d be fun.’
He lifted one hand and placed it on her lower back. ‘You’re shameless.’
‘Don’t I know it?’ She raised her head and kissed him, and he gave her a reluctant smile.
At that moment, the alarm clock beeped, and Shadow reached out a hand, fumbling to turn it off. Rouge let out a whine, and he responded with a frustrated grunt. The beeping stopped, but the morning sunlight was only getting brighter.
Rouge hid her face in his chest. ‘I don’t want to go to work.’ She peeped at him through the slim gap in her folded arms and said, ‘I’m surprised you’re still here. Normally, you’re up and at it at the crack of dawn.’
‘Well…’ He placed his hand on her lower back again. ‘I can’t. It’s like when a cat curls up on you, and you can’t get up without disturbing it.’
‘Are you comparing me to a cat?’
Shadow chuckled and lifted his other hand to her head, cradling it and rubbing the base of one of her ears with his thumb. ‘You’re acting like one.’ He raised one eyebrow. ‘Good kitty.’
She pretended to hiss at him, but it was half-hearted.
Then he reached down, grasping the bases of her wings with his hands. ‘And now you can’t get up either. Looks like neither of us is making it to work today.’
‘What a shame.’ Rouge shifted, pressing her chest against his and making his cheeks begin to burn. ‘How will GUN ever manage without us?’
‘You might not be so indispensable, but they managed without me for 50 years. I think they’ll be just fine.’ He turned over, shifting her off him and hugging her from behind once again. ‘Either way, I need you more than they do.’
‘You do?’ she teased
His embrace deepened, and he kissed her shoulder. His hand came to rest above her shorts, holding her waist with one hand. His paw pads felt like velvet on her skin. She brought his other arm beneath her head, coaxing him to bend it at the elbow so she could kiss his wrist. Her wings flexed, making room for him, and he rested one leg on top of hers.
‘I don’t need you,’ Shadow said. ‘But I want you. And I don’t want to get up just yet.’ His grip tightened. He was too proud and awkward to ask her to stay in so many words, but he’d made his desires more than clear.
‘Then you’re in luck. I could go for a few more minutes… or a few more hours.’
Shadow was silent. She could hear the faint sound of his burner phone buzzing on the bedside table, no doubt summoning them to headquarters. Then he reached over, switched it off, and placed his hand back where it belonged. A moment later, she heard a faint pur as he began to doze off once again.
