Chapter Text
Shadow grasped her waist, and in an instant, the cool mountain air vanished, replaced by frigid, wet weather. She barely had time to take in the medieval architecture surrounding them before Shadow rushed her beneath a nearby awning, sheltering her from the rain.
‘Are you all right?’
Rouge sneezed and said, ‘Quite.’
Shadow glanced up at the downcast skies, then shrugged his jacket off and draped it over her shoulders. ‘I had to book a lot of this in advance,’ he said, helping her put her arms through the sleeves. ‘I couldn’t really account for the weather.’
‘If you really loved me, then you’d clear the skies and make the sun shine for me,’ Rouge teased.
Shadow’s ear twitched, then he realised that she was joking. ‘I’m not going to accelerate time for you. It will throw off the entire schedule.’
’Schedule?’ Rouge slipped her arm through his and clung to him for warmth as they moved from one awning to the next, dashing across streets and alleyway entrances. ‘Do I get to see this “schedule”, or will it ruin your surprises?’
‘I memorised it,’ Shadow muttered.
‘Did you eat the paper after you were done?’ Rouge asked, referring to a common way of destroying mission instructions.
‘No, I torched it with my shoes,’ Shadow said flatly. But there was still a hint of mirth in his voice, and he squeezed her arm against his side.
‘Let me guess,’ Rouge said. ‘Roses in the morning. Kisses in the afternoon. Making sweet, passionate love at night –’
‘Rouge!’ Shadow cleared his throat and steered her towards the entrance of a nearby shopping arcade. He may have warmed up to her over the years, but he still had his limits. ‘… I haven’t scheduled public or private displays of affection. And you’re not accounting for time zones.’ He gave her an abrupt, subtle kiss on the cheek and kept walking
She grinned, and her gaze landed on a large, gold-colored, star-shaped clock with 20 points. It told her two things. One, that they were in Brussels, Belgium. And two, that it was 10 am. And three, that he had kissed her just to disprove her prediction.
‘You love being right, don’t you?’
‘You’re one to talk. You’re just as bad.’ They left the Mont des Arts area behind and made their way to the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, slipping through the entrance of one of its three arcades. The rain had turned into a sunshower, and light streamed down through the arched glass ceiling.
She breathed in the scent of coffee, listening to the noise of shoppers and cafe customers. She knew she should give his jacket back, but he did look good in shirtsleeves. She reluctantly shrugged the jacket off, helping him put it back on. She noticed a glimmer of gold in his pocket, and she looked inside. ‘A pocket watch?’
He grimaced. ‘I can’t wear a wristwatch with my inhibitor rings.’
‘Oh. You could check the time on your burner phone.’
‘I didn’t bring it with me.’
‘What if we get separated? What if I need to call you –’
‘We’re not getting separated.’ He looked her up and down, and his gaze lingered. ‘Aside from the fact that you’re hard to miss in a crowd of humans… I’m not letting you out of my sight.’
‘You like what you see, huh?’
He didn’t answer, but he placed his arm around her waist this time, rather than offering it to her once again.
They made their way down the gallery’s rows of shops, sidestepping wrought iron tables and sandwich boards outside cafes and chocolatiers. They stopped outside an intricate storefront made of marble and glass windows. The interior lights were so bright that it made the store look as though it was made of gold.
‘Are we going in?’
‘Mm.’ He nodded towards the signs above their head and said, ‘This is the Neuhaus Atelier. They’re one of the best chocolatiers in the world.’
‘My my. The best roses, and now the best chocolates? You’re going to find it very hard to surpass yourself when Valentine’s Day rolls around next year.’
‘Well, you can’t surpass perfection,’ Shadow said matter of factly. But for a moment, he looked uncertain, and he rested one hand in his trouser pocket. ‘… I wanted today to be perfect. Or close to perfect, at the very least.’
‘That sounds like a lot of pressure.’ Rouge turned and took his hands, walking backwards through the chocolatier’s doors one step at a time, coaxing him. ‘You should try to take it easy and have fun. Come on.’
He humoured her and allowed her to pull him through the doors. ‘I’ll try. Now watch your step. And watch your wings.’
‘Watch your quills,’ she retorted, swiftly moving him away from an elaborate display of boxed chocolates. He glared at her, but she was barely paying attention. The shop was far larger than it appeared from the outside, and part of the floor space was dedicated to a cafe and some kind of dessert bar. She was quickly distracted by the chocolates on display. They looked like jewels… and she loved jewels.
She flitted from one display cabinet to the other, fantasising about staging a heist and making off with the store’s entire inventory. She usually reserved her skills for stealing multi-million dollar gems and antiques, but perhaps she would have to make an exception. ‘What kind do you think we should get?’
‘Wrong word.’
‘Huh?’ When he didn’t respond, she looked up, pursing her lips. ‘I know you’re proud of yourself for putting this all together, but we’re not getting chocolate. We’re making it.’
‘Pardon?’
One of the staff stepped out from behind a nearby counter and opened a door at the back of the shop. She caught a glimpse of his name badge, which said ‘Jules’ on it. ‘Ah, Monsieur Shadow. Bonjour.’
Shadow grimaced and gave the man a stiff nod. ‘Salut.’ He might be going out of his way to be more sociable for her sake, but it didn’t come naturally to him. He preferred to stay silent and let her do all the talking.
‘And your lovely girlfriend, who I hear is your better half in every regard. Madmoiselle Rouge?’
‘My reputation precedes me,’ Rouge said, giving Shadow nudge, and he bit back a weary smile. The two of them followed the man through the door. They stepped in a private room that resembled a luxury kitchen and bar. Faint classical music seeped from hidden speakers, and Jules held out two rolled white aprons to them. ‘Welcome to Neuhaus Atelier. Has your partner told you what we’re doing today?’
‘No, he’s a man of very few words… But I think you picked up on that already.’ Rouge took the offered apron and put it on, glancing around the room. The aprons were small enough to fit them, and the plastic gloves lying on the counter were large enough for their hands. She noticed two wooden footstools behind the kitchen island, and she bit back a smile. She could hardly imagine that a lot of children attended these workshops, so the stools had probably been brought in upon request.
‘This is a pralines workshop,’ Jules said, switching on the lights and fans above the stoves with the precision of an aircraft pilot performing preflight checks. ‘I’ll be teaching you how to make our world-famous pralines.’
‘I do hope you’re a good teacher,’ Rouge said, padding around to join him and alighting on one of the stools with a flutter of her wings. She pulled on a pair of gloves. ‘I can’t boil water without burning it, and he’s not much better.’
‘You needn’t worry,’ Jules said, raising one eyebrow. ‘It’s a fully guided lesson. No prerequisites.’ He stood on the other side of the counter, pouring and measuring sugar into the saucepans. ‘We’re starting with the praline paste, which in turn starts with caramelised sugar.’ He poured the sugar into the pans, and it sounded like sand passing through an hourglass. ‘Medium heat,’ Jules said, turning the burners on to a medium heat with sharp, metallic snaps, ‘and don’t stir. Just swirl the pan.’
Shadow and Rouge glanced at each other, and they froze in place. ‘… Are you sure this was a good idea, sweetheart?’
‘It can’t be that hard.’
‘I know it’s Valentine’s Day,’ Jules said, ‘but I’m going to need you to tear your eyes away from each other for a few minutes.’ He walked behind them, and they heard the occasional clatter of glass and metal as he worked on the other bench. ‘I’ll intervene if I have to, but your goal is to literally burn the sugar. I think this will be well-suited to your stated level of experience.’
Shadow looked down, and the bubbling caramel reflected his face like a stained glass window. ‘… Omega would probably be good at this,’ he murmured to her. ‘He likes burning things.’
‘And unlike me, he remembers to set timers and take things out of the oven on time.’ Rouge tilted the pan, toying with the idea of buying a necklace with gems that had a similar golden hue. ‘Do you think he gets bored when we do stuff like this?’
‘No.’ The edge of his pan glinted with a steady rhythm, and his movements were almost mechanical. He had good muscle memory. He repaired his own guns, did drills at the shooting range, and sparred with GUN’s soldiers to train them. It all came naturally to him… unlike love and affection, or so he had said in the past. ‘Omega can’t feel ennui. Only anger. If he’s at a loose end, he’ll go and raid one of Eggman’s bases or request new missions from GUN.’
‘I know,’ Rouge said. ‘I just worry that he feels left out.’
‘As I said, he can only feel anger.’ Shadow hesitated. ‘But we’re still a team. What you and I have doesn’t change that.’
‘Mm.’ Rouge tilted the pan, staring at her reflection in the metal. It wasn’t like Shadow wasn’t wrong. Omega didn’t give a damn about what they did in their free time, as long as they brought him along when they went on combat missions. He viewed their fraternising with a mixture of indifference and disgust, tolerating it for the sake of improving “combat effectiveness” and “team morale”. But despite his seeming indifference, her robotic teammate had still listened to her vent about communication breakdowns and differing life priorities. She wondered whether Shadow had inflicted the same fate on him. Probably. It wasn’t as though they had anyone else that they could talk about “the other person” with. Heaven forbid that they ask GUN’s commander for relationship advice.
‘I hope the poor guy isn’t spending Valentine’s Day alone,’ Rouge remarked.
Shadow sighed. ‘He doesn’t care about things like that.’
‘Still. Maybe I should see if Blaze or Gemerl are free. He’s always enjoyed sparring with them.’
‘Blaze probably has other plans.’ Shadow’s brow creased. ‘And Gemerl is probably babysitting Cream.’
‘Oh? You think Vanilla finally gave in and agreed to go on that date with Vector?’
‘I don’t think she needed much convincing.’
Rouge stifled a laugh. It was strange to hear him speculating about their acquaintances, even though she knew it was the direct result of her constantly relaying gossip to him during idle conversation. He usually cared very little to discuss the goings-on of Sonic and his friends. But it was better than the alternative: talking about heavier topics during what was supposed to be a romantic day out.
‘Excellent,’ Jules said, startling them both. He switched off the burners and slid two metal trays onto the counter beside them. ‘Now. Almonds or roasted hazelnuts, mademoiselle?’
‘What about coffee beans?’ Rouge asked, leaning forward.
‘We have those too. They’re just a less common choice, as they’re more bitter.’
Shadow gave her a pointed nudge and shook his head. ‘Just pick the options you like, Rouge.’
‘Aren’t we making two batches? Jules?’ The man nodded, and she tilted her head.
Shadow looked disoriented. ‘I-I was just going to make whatever you wanted. I don’t eat a lot of chocolate.’
‘I bet you’d eat it if it were made with coffee beans and dark chocolate. Come on! The caramel’s going to set!’
‘All right, all right!’ Shadow said hurriedly, and as soon as he had spoken, there was a clatter as Jules poured the ingredients onto the trays, followed by the two of them pouring the caramel over both batches.
‘Excellent. You’re well on your way to becoming confectioners,’ Jules said, and his dry tone of voice made her laugh. It even got a scoff from Shadow. ‘Do either of you know how to temper chocolate?’
Rouge blanched and said, ‘Of course not. Isn’t that supposed to be difficult?’
Shadow’s ears perked up. He didn’t particularly care about cooking, but the idea of something being challenging was usually enough to pique his interest.
‘Can’t be any harder than saving the world, no?’ Jules raised his eyebrows at Shadow, and Shadow narrowed his eyes in response.
‘… Hmph.’
Despite the fact that Shadow had picked this activity for her sake, he seemed to be enjoying it. She could tell. It was in the little details – the way his eyes focused on things, the way he was willing to crack the occasional smile. And it would be hard not to enjoy this, even for someone like him. It was… fun.
She kept having the same thoughts as the minutes ticked by on the golden clock mounted on the wall, while they were tempering the chocolate, moulding it, making the ganache paste, and adding it to the pralines. Even at the times they were sipping coffee and hot chocolate and making small talk while waiting for things to set, she couldn’t help but think that she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had this much fun doing something with him.
‘Rouge?’
She startled and looked up from the filled moulds, holding the spatula she’d used to seal the chocolates with one hand. ‘Sorry, what?’
‘Getting bored?’ Despite the casualness with which Shadow said it, she saw his ears lower slightly.
‘Of course not,’ she murmured, giving him an exasperated look. ‘We’re not diffusing bombs. I’m allowed to lose focus or think about something else for a minute.’
‘What were you thinking about?’
‘You.’ She set the spatula down on the counter and pivoted to face Jules before Shadow could answer. ‘Thanks, darling. You were wonderful.’
‘Must be nice to hear that from such a lovely lady every day,’ Jules said. Shadow sighed heavily, shrugging his apron and gloves off and setting them aside. It was a small miracle that he didn’t throw them in Jules’ face. ‘Enjoy your time in Brussels,’ Jules added, taking Rouge’s apron from her. ‘Your chocolates will be ready to pick up in half an hour, after they’ve set.’
‘Thanks,’ Shadow muttered, giving him a curt nod as he followed Rouge to the door.
‘De rien.’ Jules raised his voice slightly, speaking over the noise of customers at the chocolatier’s cafe. ‘Make sure you take her to a nice hotel tonight!’
Shadow whirled around, but the door had already clicked shut. ‘Damn it.’
‘What?’ Rouge placed one hand on his waist and whispered in his ear. ‘He’s not wrong. I deserve it, after all.’
‘… Mm.’ He led her over to the cafe, but then they turned right, taking a seat at the dessert bar that she’d noticed earlier. ‘You deserve nice things.’ He didn’t say anything further, and he placed an order with the person behind the bar in stilted French. It was discernible, but Rouge still winced at his accent. A moment later, Shadow pressed a cup of chocolate mousse into her hand.
She took up a spoon, rolling it between her fingertips as she watched him.
… He was copying her. He was taking her to beautiful places, buying them good food and hot drinks, and providing her with his company – all the things she had done for him over the years, even when he said he didn’t want or deserve her affections. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t begun to reciprocate her efforts over time, but on a day like this, it was far more obvious that he had learned from her example.
‘You’re sweet,’ Rouge said, digging into her mousse. ‘You know that?’
‘I’ll take your word for it.’
‘Speaking of sweet,’ she said. ‘It’s going to take a while for those chocolates to set. Do you want to look around the arcade? Do we have time?’
He fished out his pocket watch, and his gaze unfocused for a moment. ‘… Yes? We’ve got time.’
‘After all,’ Rouge teased. ‘How do we really know whether this is the best chocolate if we haven’t tried all of them?’
‘All?’
‘Well, some, at least.’
Shadow chuckled, and he rested one arm on the bar. ‘All right. We’ve got a little under an hour. But finish that first –‘
‘This is really nice. You know?’ Rouge could feel her face redden, and she gritted her teeth.
‘It’s all right.’
‘Not the mousse, you idiot.’ She swatted him between the shoulder blades, startling a laugh out of him. ‘Today. All of this. It’s… really, really nice.’
Shadow didn’t answer. But he placed one hand on her back, fingertips resting on her waist, and kept it there. He snapped the pocket watch shut, but not before she caught a glimpse of his smile reflected in the glass.
