Work Text:
Rouge is sitting in the playroom, she was going through the baby bag to ensure she got everything for Radiance and Garnet should they need a change of clothes or snacks. While she was busy with that, Garnet was playing with his brother, Radiance. Maybe less of ‘playing’ and more directing since Radiance was building a tower.
“No, Rad, if you don’t put a block there then the tower is going to fall!” Garnet instructed, pointing to the correct place his brother should put the block..
Radiance chose to ignore his brother and continued to place the blocks as he pleased. Garnet frowned, not understanding why Radiance wouldn't listen to him. He was correct after all and knew better than his younger brother. Garnet reached for a block, thinking he would correct the obvious mistake himself. Radiance noticed this and was quick to grab the block and hold it out of his brother’s reach.
“Gimme the block back-” Radiance chucked the block at his brother’s face.
The echidna boy sat in shock silence before he started to wail. “Mommy! Radiance hit me!”
Rouge let out a big sigh, bringing a hand to her temple to rub. “Radiance, don’t hit your brother.”
Radiance just stuck his tongue out. Garnet then punched the tower Radiance was building in retaliation. This caused the little hedgehog to cry. Rouge threw her head back before she got up and walked over to them, picking up Radiance.
“Can you boys behave for 5 minutes? We’re going to Amy’s house and I don't want to have to call it off because you two can’t get along.” Rouge shushed Radiance.
“Sorry mommy, but Rad is just a baby!” Garnet huffed, crossing his arms.
“He’s only 4, Garnet. Be nice to him..” Rouge chuckled, kissing Radiance’s forehead as she wiped away his tears. “Besides, he gets to be a baby a little bit longer.”
“Bah! I wasn’t such a baby when I was THAT young.” Rouge held her tongue so as to not spill all the times that Garnet STILL acts like a baby.
“Sure sweetie, now hurry up and wait for me by the door.”
Garnet got up from the ground and hurried over to the front door. Rouge then turned her attention to Radiance, pinching his cheek. “And you, my little sweet angel, are going to help me convince papa to bring us to Amy’s.”
Rouge didn’t exactly plan for this trip like she usually does. Normally she’d make the trip with only her and the boys, just like she always does. This however was not one of those times, the visit was an impulsive decision she made over a phone call she had with Amy yesterday. Her and Amy loved to chat every now and then when they couldn’t visit each other, however, that call left an impression on Rouge. It was something that kept playing in her head and she could remember how Amy tried to seem calm and collected. Rouge had a knack for picking out when someone was trying to hide something and when it came to Amy, she knew exactly who to blame- Sonic.
With Radiance in her arms, Rouge went to the downstairs area. While the rest of the house was relatively modern, the downstairs area was entirely high-tech. Multiple security measures were taken to secure this location. Rouge came to a steel door with a keypad on the side. She typed the passcode in, scanned her hand and even stood still as the bio scan commenced. She at least tried to stand still, hard when you have a fussy baby in your arms. Once the door’s lock was released, Rouge stepped in. Radiance held tightly onto her as they were bathed in artificial blue light. The room was massive and had multiple shelves filled with various items. Many of them were guns and gadgets that Shadow either built himself or had co-created with Tails.
Rouge walked past all of these displays and the various workbenches and headed to a door on the far end. The door opened and let her see the man she was seeking, Shadow.
He sat with his back to the door with his attention fully on the multiple screens in front of him. Rouge simply just rolled her eyes as she approached from behind. Shifting Radiance to sit on her hip with one arm holding him close while she guided the other around the black hedgehog’s head and down to his chest to get a handful of that white chest fur.
“Hey baby, having fun saving the world?” Rouge leaned over Shadow with a seductive smile.
Shadow gave a deep chuckle as he turned to give Rouge a kiss. “What brings you both down here?”
Shadow brought a hand up to ruffle his son’s quills. The little white Hedgehog making a pleased purring sound as they lean into the touch.
“Well, I need you to do something for me.” Rouge said she slid Radiance into Shadow’s arms.
“Do you need help with the kids again? Omega should be able to do that for you now that he came back from Tails’.” Shadow cradled his son, the little hedgehog clinging tightly to his father.
Rouge shook her head, walking over to the console where she leaned against. Arching her back as she pushed her chest out. “Well, no. The kids are fine.”
Shadow took notice of her figure but kept a straight face as he held her gaze. “Knuckles being stubborn again?”
Rouge shook her head, tilting her head to one side as she pretended to look in deep thought. She leaned back on her hands, swaying her upper body from side to side as she looked off in one direction.
Shadow pursed his lips as he narrowed his eyes. “Rouge, I know what you are doing- this doesn’t work on me. Speak plainly.”
Rouge immediately hunched, relaxing her pose in a huff. “Fine, if you’re so insistent- I want you to teleport me and the kids over to Amy’s house.”
“We have that teleporter for a reason. Just use that.” Shadow turned back to the console, going back to shifting through camera feed and documents while Radiance sits comfortably against him.
Rouge scoffed. “Ugh, you know that teleporter isn’t precise. If I wanted to visit Amy, I’d have to take several buses and trains or fly with two kids over a massie city towards the urban area.”
“You made that trip before, why complain now?” Shadow reminded her as he continued his work.
“Because I want to check on Amy!” Rouge shouted, scaring Radiance as he threw himself into Shadow’s chest. “Shit- I'm sorry, sweetie.”
Shadow patted his son’s back, his gaze going back to Rouge. “Why? you can just call her if you’re so worried.”
“Don’t you think I’ve tried that already? I tried calling her this morning but she wouldn’t pick up.” Rouge sighed. “Our call yesterday made me worried. She was trying to hide something.”
“Let me guess…”
“Sonic.” Rouge and Shadow said in unison to which the black hedgehog rubbed his temple with a free hand.
“What did the blue idiot do now?”
“Amy wasn’t very forthright with the details, so I wanted to find out.” Rouge crossed her arms, angrily tapping a finger on her arm. “Nowadays it’s nothing but Sonic causing her troubles.”
“I warned her about letting him back into her life.” Shadow remembered last Christmas very well and about how he almost punched Sonic for even showing up.
“As did I but Amy had her reasons- even if she wouldn’t tell me- but that’s why I wanted to go over and see what happened.” Rouge then pointed to Radiance. “It’s why I figured I’d take the boys with me to make it seem like it’s just a regular visit. Have the boys keep Dash distracted so I can sit down, ease her with pleasant conversation and gently prod the answers out of her.”
Shadow started blankly at Rouge. “I may have grown wise to her manipulations but it surprises me how after a marriage and 2 kids- you can still have people play into your hands..”
“This is serious.” Rouge fought to keep her voice even so she wouldn’t scare Radiance again.
“I’m aware of that.” Shadow lets out a long sigh. sinking back into his chair. “And you’re sure this is the only way to make sure she’s alright?”
Rouge nodded her head. “Amy is a tough gal but she really likes to keep the matters of Sonic to herself. Best to just be blunt about it.”
Shadow sat in silence, allowing Radiance to check out his inhibitor rings. He let out a long sigh before he sat up with Radiance in hand. “Fine, I’ll get you right in front of her house.”
“Oooh, Shadow.” Rouge tossed her arms around her husband and squeezed him tight. “I’ll pay you back for this, I swear.”
A devilish smirk crossed the hedgehog’s lips. “Careful what you say. I might take you up on that.”
In a flash of green, Rouge with Garnet in her arms and Shadow holding Radiance in one arm with the other wielding a green chaos emerald. He passed Radiance off to Rouge when she put Garnet down.
“Contact me when you want to go home.” Shadow gave Rouge one last kiss. “Chaos control!”
Disappearing in a flash of Green, Rouge shepard her children to Amy’s door. Knocking on it. It didn’t take long before a pink hedgehog with her long quills pinned back in a ponytail answered the door. She looked surprised to see Rouge.
“Rouge? this is a surprise.” Amy offered a confused smile as she looked at her friend.
“Hi Auntie Amy!” Garnet chirped as he went in for a hug.
Radiance didn’t say anything but he did wave to Amy. Rouge just smiled. “I know, I usually call beforehand but you weren’t picking up.”
“Ah, well,” Amy’s eyes darted downwards for a bit before going back to Rouge. “I’m still happy to see you. Come in!”
Amy stepped aside and let the three into the house. Rouge immediately put both Radiance and the big bag of stuff for the boys on the ground. Radiance upon reaching the ground immediately started running with his brother to the backyard. Amy just chuckled as they disappeared.
“And I didn't even need to tell them where to go.” Amy chuckled.
“I just hope your backyard can handle the power of three boys.” Rouge joked.
“I’ll clean it up later,” Amy gestured for Rouge to follow her. “Now we can just have girl time.”
Amy led the way to her kitchen. It was much more open then Rouge’s back home where an Island made it seem like a smaller space. Rouge did get a chuckle out of seeing the cute, mushroom aesthetic that plagued Amy’s kitchen. Specifically the amanita mushroom decorations that dotted themselves around the room to match the red/white paint job. Rouge took a seat at the table, leaning back in her chair and letting out a long sigh.
“I’m guessing you had a long day?” Amy asked as she started to search around for items to make tea.
“Long week. Living in a house full of boys can drain the life from you.” Rouge chuckled. “Oh what I wouldn’t give to just have a single girl so I can have some companion in the sea of testosterone that plagues my house.”
Amy couldn’t help but snicker at that. “You know you could always just call for a girl’s night. I’m sure Vanilla, Blaze and Cream won’t mind. Maybe even Shade will join us.”
“I doubt it, she’s kind of a loner nowadays.” Rouge huffed. “It was a very hard concept to tell the boys that she couldn’t be around as much.”
“She was their favourite aunt.” Amy pointed out. Putting a pot of water on the stove to boil. “Although I can understand why she’d stay away.”
“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Rouge wanted that whole night out of her memory. Radiance was barely a year old and Garnet was just a little over 2 years. The massive fight that confession caused and still continues to plague her mind after all these years. The memory fills her with deep regret as she felt like it could have been avoided. Can’t think on it now, She came here for a reason.
“Sorry, I didn’t meant to-”
“It’s fine, it’s just something we’re still dealing with.” Rouge sighed before putting a smile back on. “Well enough about that, how has your cafe been faring these days? Haven’t had a chance to pop in recently.”
“Oh! Well, it’s been really good. business has never been busier.” Amy buzzed with excitement as she started to get together cups, tea bags and little tea cakes on a tray. “I’ve had to hire another employee just to keep up with the workload.”
“Wow, I’m guessing Dash spends most of his time at the cafe now too?” Rouge rested her chin on her hand. Keeping her gaze firmly on Amy as she started to lightly prod into the topic she wanted to steer this conversation towards.
“Yeah, I would call for a babysitter but I can’t bear to be away from him nowadays.” Amy took the put off the stove and put it on the tray. Walking over to the table and placing it there. “Dash still gets nervous when I’m not around 24/7 but I don’t think he minds being at the cafe.”
Rouge’s ears twitched at that, her gaze hardened as a faint smile crossed her face. She nodded her head in understanding as she took a cup. “Oh, he still gets like that? I wasn’t aware of that.”
Amy shifts uncomfortably in her seat as she pours the boiled water into their cups. “Yeah but he can still go to school just fine! It’s just when he’s home, he doesn’t like me leaving him.”
“I suppose I can understand why he’d be nervous.” Rouge took a sip from her tea, her eyes dart to Amy to watch for a reaction. “From what you told me, Sonic would disappear a lot.”
Amy went quiet, stirring a spoon of sugar into her tea idly. Rouge kept her eyes fixed firmly on Amy as she waited for her friend to take the bait.
“He never did tell us why he’d disappear for so long or so frequently.” Amy answered solemnly, putting her spoon down to hold the hot cup of tea in her hands. “He owned a radio, I figured he was just rushing in to save the day. Like he always does.”
“It sounds like something he’d do.” Rouge mentally noted how similar Sonic and Shadow were in that they both never quite gave up the hero work.
Team Dark may be officially retired from hero work, Shadow however, never quite accepted that decision. He went out on his own, continuing to save people as a vigilante since he still felt like he had a duty to protect this world. Sonic was always a vigilante so he was able to continue the hero work as he pleased, regardless if Knuckles or Tails joined him. They were both passionate and dutiful in rescuing others- however, that’s where the similarities ended between the two.
Amy’s grip tightens on the cup. “I really should have known.”
Rouge’s expression fell, she quickly scooted her chair closer to Amy. Placing a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, that’s not something any of us could have known he would do.”
“But I was his wife! I should have seen it coming.” Amy snapped, tears starting to well up in her eyes. “When he would come home late, When he would be gone for weeks on end, when he stopped wanting to be intimate with me…”
“Hey, come on,” Rouge moved her hand from Amy’s shoulder to her back where she gave a comforting back rub. “Lots of reasons could have been about the loss of intimacy.”
“Like what? What other reasons could there be?” Amy asked, wiping her tears away.”
Rouge bit her lip, suddenly recounting the various times where the intimacy between her, Knuckles and Shadow died. Either from overwork, fatigue, the children being young and requiring a lot of attention, Rouge herself had no sex drive for a solid year or two after she had each of her sons. So many reasons.
“A lot of reasons.” Rouge sighed. “It’s hard to pick one but it can happen for various reasons. Ask any of our friends and they’ll all give you different answers.”
Amy sighed deeply, the comfort from the back rub as well as hearing her friend’s reassuring words helped to ease her mind. She took a sip from her tea and that helped to calm her down further.
“Honestly, I think Sonic disappearing so often back then had more of an impact on Dash then it did me.” Amy admitted as she recounted the many times she caught Dash napping in the living room late at night or purposely staying up late so he could catch Sonic coming home.
“I was used to Sonic not always being around. That’s just how it was back when we were young or even when we were dating. I was just another quirk in our relationship. Dash however? He wasn’t used to that…” Amy bit her lip, breathing in shakily before sighing. “Made even worse when the divorce was finalized. The confusion in his eyes…”
Rouge remembered that day well. It was a day or two after everything was settled in court, Sonic packed up his stuff and left with Jet. Rouge remembered the rage she saw in her friend’s eyes when she saw the green hawk. She was thankful when Sonic and Jet didn’t stay long, however, she wasn’t ready for the aftermath. When Dash came home, he was asking for his father. Neither Rouge nor Amy knew how to tell him the truth. She can’t quite get Dash’s wails out of her memories.
“I don’t think he quite understood what the divorce meant, nor what the outcome would be.” Amy bit her lip. “I couldn’t believe he didn’t even try to fight for custody.”
“I think everyone was confused about that too.” Rouge reached to grab and pull her tea over to her.. “We all expected at least partial custody.”
“I thought so too…” Amy took a small sip of her tea. “But I suppose he just wanted to be rid of us.”
Rouge didn’t know what to say to that. What could she say? Agree with her and allow Amy to further think this entire thing was her fault for being a bad wife and terrible mother? Disagree and try to justify Sonic’s actions for hurting both his wife and son for leaving them for his affair partner? What right answer was there to this? Was there even one?
Rouge stayed silent and instead just wrapped an arm around Amy, pulling her into a hug. Allowing the pink hedgehog to cry into her shoulder.
Dash sat on the swing set, idly moving back and forth as he watched Radiance play in the sandbox. Any time Garnet and Radiance came over to play, that’s all the little hedgehog would do. Garnet was having a blast trying to swing as high as he could, his gaze temporarily catching Dash. stopping his swinging by skidding his heels in the dirt.
“What’s wrong?” Garnet asked.
“Oh?” Dash looked back to Garnet. “Sorry, nothing. Just looking over at Radiance.”
He pointed to the little Hedgehog, who was in the process of making a big dirt mound. Garnet just blew raspberries as he threw his head back. Seemingly annoyed by his younger brother just doing his own thing.
“He never wants to play with us, he always just wants to play in that stupid sandbox.” Garnet bemoaned.
“That’s my sandbox.” Dash reminded him.
“Well it’s stupid when he plays in it.” Garnet huffed, pushing and rotating himself in the swing by his feet. “Come on, Dash. Let’s just keep swinging or are you bored of that?”
“Sorry.” Dash pulled himself as far back on the swing as he was able to due to his stubby legs. Letting himself go and swing forward, now relying on his weight to carry his momentum.
Garnet was pleased and started to swing himself. Soon the boys were in a little competition on who can go the highest. Dash was swinging faster than Garnet, his momentum carrying him higher and higher each time he swung forward. Garnet on the other hand was slower in swinging but he was able to push himself forward but throwing his own weight into each swing that the momentum carried through would launch him really high. Despite their efforts however, the boys were evenly matched. They could go no higher than the other as they reached the apex of their height the swingset would allow them to go.
“Hey, let’s see who can jump off the farthest!” Garnet yelled.
Dash just nodded, using that speed he had accumulated to launch himself forward. He tucked in on himself till he was a tiny ball that landed on the ground. It softened the impact so he didn’t suffer any injury. When he untucked himself, he saw that he made it a decent way from the swing.
“I win!” Dash cried.
“NO YOU DIDN’T!” Garnet yelled, causing Dash to look up.
Dash saw the peachy red echidna fly over him and roll farther then he did. Garnet caught his eye and flashed a smile. The Blue hedgehog frowned as he sat up.
“Cheater! I saw you gliding!” Dash accused his friend.
“Nuh uh, I can’t glide yet!” Garnet snapped. “I won fair and square.”
Garnet stuck his tongue out at Dash who huffed, crossing his arms and plopped himself down. Very upset he lost and that Garnet was rubbing it in. Garnet giggled at his friend’s anger and walked over, sat down next to him.
“What do you wanna do next?” Garnet asked.
Dash stayed silent, still stewing in his anger over losing the competition. Garnet was oblivious to this as he just scooted closer, tilting his head at Dash. They took notice of this and cracked a small smile when they saw the way the echidna boy’s quills fell over his head. Dash relaxed his posture, hands now nested on his lap as he started to think over what else they should play. Garnet started picking at the grass as he waited for his friend to speak. It was hard for Dash to pick something as there were a lot of things they could do; they could race around the backyard, wrestle or they could swords and sorcerers with his pool noodles- so many options. As his mind pondered over the options, he started to think about his birthday call he had with his dad.
“Oh!” Dash exclaimed.
“Thought of a game?” Garnet beamed, his tail wagging.
“No, I just thought of something-” Dash buzzed with excitement as he blurted out. “My dad got me an extreme gear board!”
Garnet’s eyes widened with awe. “No way, your dad let you have that?”
“Well, it’s not mine until Christmas but I’m still excited!” Dash got up off the ground as his mind started to imagine how the board would feel in his hands.
“I wish my dad would let me have a board.” Garnet pouted as he got to his feet, brushing himself off. “I saw his and father’s gear but he just says ‘no’”
“That’s okay, when I get my board, you can ride on it when you visit!” Dash shot his friend a reassuring smile.
Garnet smiled at that. “Can’t wait! Are you going to have a party like last time?”
Dash shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t think so.”
“What? Because of last Christmas?” Garnet tilted his head again.
Dash tensed up, suddenly feeling a little ill as he remembered that day but also recalling his birthday call with his dad. Bowing his head down as he bit his lip, forcing himself not to cry. Garnet was confused why Dash looked so sad and wasn’t answering him. He got a little closer, tilting his head til he was able to see the little hedgehog’s face.
“What’s wrong? Why are you sad?” Garnet asked. “Was it something I said?”
Dash shook his head but refused to answer.
“Was it because of the board? I won’t ride on it if you don’t me too.” Garnet assured him.
Dash just shook his head again.
“Was it about last Christmas? Also, I didn’t know Uncle Sonic had a husband.” Dash frowned, biting down on his lip as Garnet spoke.
“That’s not his husband!” Dash cried.
Garnet stumbled back, the ringing in his ears from dash shouting. He rubbed his head and shook it. “Sorry, boyfriend then?”
“Stop calling him that!” Dash shouted. “He’s not my new dad and he won’t ever will be.” Dash angrily stomped his feet on the ground.
Garnet tilted his head to the side, confused. “But, I thought he loved your dad.”
Dash pursed his lips tightly, remembering back to his birthday call where Jet admitted as such. “Well, yeah, he does.”
“Oh, do they still live together?” Garnet asked.
“Uh, yeah I guess.” Dash shifted on his feet uncomfortably.
Garnet stared blankly at Dash for a moment. “So how is he not your dad too?”
“He- he just isn’t!” Dash stuttered. “Because I don’t want him to be.”
“That’s not how that works!” Garnet huffed as he pointed to Radiance, who was blissfully ignorant of the epic debate his brother and friend were having. “His father is my father too because he’s my mom’s husband just like my dad is her’s”
“But that’s different!” Dash argued.
“No it isn’t!” Garnet barked. “It’s exactly the same!”
Dash tried to find the words to fight back against his friend’s absurd logic but he couldn’t think of anything. He just started towards his house instead. “I’m going to tell my mom and she’s going to say you’re stupid!”
“Nuh uh!” Garnet ran after him. “I’m going to tell my mom and she’s going to call you stupid!”
The two boys rushed towards the house, frustrated at the other for not accepting them as right and deciding to call upon the higher authority; their moms, so they can settle this argument.
“And not a month after basically giving up and not bothering to fight for custody- he has the audacity to start spamming my phone and trying to talk to Dash!” Amy ranted as she drank another cup of tea.
Rouge just sat by listening, refilling her friend’s cup as needed. It didn’t take long or much prodded for Amy to go from sad and mopey to vengeful and angry as she began airing all her grievances about Sonic. Turns out there was a lot Amy wasn’t telling her about Sonic from the time he left, to when she told her she allowed Sonic to have monthly calls with Dash after a year. Rouge tried not to discuss any of her grievances, settling for just commenting here and there to keep her talking. Mostly she just wanted to let her friend rant as she suspected that Amy needed it. She couldn’t stop thinking that maybe she was so pent up because she didn’t want to bother anyone about her issues.
“I don’t know what’s more insulting, the fact that he cheated on me, the fact he cheated on me with his rival, OR that it was with a celebrity!” She took a sip of her tea. “I mean, I’d still be pissed just for him cheating but his rival that’s also a celebrity?! The nerve!”
“Hmm, like he wasn’t the same person.” Rouge offered a small comment.
“It just pisses me off, am I not good enough? Am I too homely and casual that he wanted an upgrade to a higher social status? He approached me!” Amy slammed her fist to the table. “Just the nerve of that blue rat.”
Rouge nodded her head, going to take a sip of her tea when the backdoor swung loudly. Startling Rouge and Amy as Dash and Garnet came barreling in towards them.
“Dash, no running in the house!” Amy reprimanded as she stood up from her seat. “I told you not to slam the doors against the walls.”
The two boys skidded to a stop, out of breath. “Sorry mom” Dash gasped out as he tried to even his breathing.
“When you both calm down, you can tell us what you came running in here for.” Rouge rested her head in her hand as she took a sip of tea.
The boys heaved as they tried to catch their breaths, their mothers waited patiently as they calmed themselves down. Garnet was the first to speak.
“Mom tell Dash he’s wrong and stupid for thinking Jet isn’t his dad too!”
“NO! Mom says Garnet’s wrong and that Jet doesn’t count!” Dash
The room went immediately silent, the two boys didn’t seem to notice as they quickly turned on eachother and started yelling at each other. The two mothers had a hushed silence between each other, Rouge glanced at Amy to gauge her reaction. Amy was deadly calm but the way she gripped onto the table betrayed that illusion. Rouge could see dents starting to form in the wood of the table under the iron grip.
“Boys,” Rouge called Garnet and Dash’s attention to her.
She rifled through the bag she packed for her boys, pulling out three bars of puffed marshmallow rice squares. The eyes of the two boys lit up as they drooled over the sweet treats in her hands.
“Go enjoy your snacks and give this one to Radiance, okay?” Rouge put the snacks in their hands as she got up and began shooing them towards the door.
“But wait mommy! You didn’t tell us whose right.” Garnet protested. “So who's right?”
“Auntie Amy and I are going to discuss that, we’ll let you know when we come to an agreement. Okay?” Rouge answered, Garnet seemed to take this as a satisfactory answer.
The boys went back outside and rushed over to Radiance. Rouge closed the door and let out a long sigh. She took a moment to bolster herself before she walked back into the kitchen to Amy. The pink hedgehog in question was starting to shake, Rouge went over to her and put a hand to their shoulder and gently pushed them back into the seat. Amy eventually released her grip on the table like Rouge had seen, there were visible finger dents. She shook her head and took her seat beside Amy and simply waited patiently for Amy to speak. It’d be quicker to just nudge her into talking about what the boys were demanding they settle a matter on, Rouge felt it would only spur Amy into an angry, unproductive rant. Best to just let Amy’s thoughts race and her emotions run wild in her own head and then maybe she can speak more calmly.
About 15 minutes passed before Amy finally spoke.
“Is it wrong of me to say that I hate Jet with all my heart?” Amy asked.
“One couldn’t blame you.” Rouge asked curtly.
“Does it make me a bad person?” Amy pursed her lips as she asked again. “Is it wrong that I hate him so much?”
“I can’t answer that, you know I can’t.” Rouge sighed. “What answer would I give you? Feed your hatred or chastise you for something that wasn’t your fault?”
“I don’t know, I just want an answer.” Amy placed a hand over her heart. “My heart was splintered in two when I caught Jet…”
Rouge placed a hand on Amy’s shoulder, urging her to keep talking. Amy heaved, fighting back a sob. “When I caught Jet pinning Sonic to a wall, kissing him, touching him…”
“I felt so betrayed and I never felt so much hatred for one person.” Her hand gripped the fabric on her chest. “It wasn’t just Sonic’s fault, Jet could have chosen to leave Sonic and let him stew in his mistake… but he stayed. He stayed and allowed Sonic to be with him.”
Rouge remained quiet, she didn’t have much of an opinion on Jet, back in their youth he wasn’t someone she concerned herself with. He was a bit of a brat from what she heard. Over the years she heard about him being a big shot Extreme gear racer so that brat turned into someone important but that was all he was to her. She never heard anything about him until she found out about the affair he had with Sonic through Amy or when Sonic blew up her phone begging her to persuade Amy. Jet was a non-person to her, she couldn’t make a decision if Jet was a terrible person or if he was just as much of a victim in this fallout as Amy was.
“It felt like he was taunting me, never saying anything about it but just the fact that Sonic lives with him- it feels like he’s saying ‘He’s mine now, your loss.’” Amy eventually released the fabric of her dress and leaned her head down on the table. “But no one is that cruel, right?”
Rouge pushed her and Amy’s tea cups away, in case Amy wanted to bring her hands on the table to sulk.
“I’m so cruel to him when Sonic brings him onto voice calls.” Amy admits to Rouge, grinding her forehead into the table. “I make snide remarks and talk down to him or just not acknowledge him at all.”
Rouge wanted to say something but she bit her tongue.
“I can’t blame him when he talks back and acts cruelly back.” Amy turns her head, shifting it so she can look at Rouge. “Maybe I am a terrible person. I don’t know what he’s going through and I presume so much without even talking to him civilly.”
Amy sits back up, staring at her hands. “Maybe I’m just the problem.” Amy then turns to Rouge and smiles widely. “I got time to improve, so I can start there.”
Rouge just smiled back and brought her friend into an embrace. The two mothers hugged for a long time before they broke away, Amy letting out a big sigh. “I have to stop letting Sonic and this whole cheating scandal go. I have a son and a business to run, I need to focus on those.”
“I think you found your own answer.” Rouge chuckled. “A good start at least.”
“Yeah but it’s not a problem that will go away. It’s just something I have to live with, I might as well not let it rule over me.” Amy stood out of her chair, looking like a new woman with greater confidence.
“Ooh, now that’s my friend, Amy Rose.” Rouge mused as she stood as well. “There’s the strong girl I was waiting to see.”
Amy waved off rouge’s compliment and walked over the stove. “First act of me not moping about this scandal- let’s make a hearty meal for us and the boys to enjoy.”
Rouge perked up and immediately walked over to Amy. “Now you’re talking!”
The two mothers got to work in preparing the best meal they’ve ever made. Amy looked 10 years younger as she walked with a new vigor in her step and Rouge just looked on fondly at her best friend. Happy to see that she’s taking her life in a new direction.