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Now, Rouge was a lot of things. A spy, a treasure hunter(thief), a club owner, and an occasional ally of the Restoration. One thing she is not, is a drunk. So, waking up with a headache that feels like she emptied her entire inventory of red wine, and resisting the urge to toss her alarm blaring phone out of her bedroom window meant one thing. It was that time of the week where her cravings kick in, it always drops on her when she least expects it.
"Fuck, already? Damn it, I need to hurry up or else I'm not going to be able to function at all today." She drags herself out of her satin sheets with staggered steps, turning off her phone alarm and easing herself over to the her mini deep freezer that she had installed in her bedroom when she moved into the apartment space above Club Rouge. One would think why one would need a mini deep freezer of all things in someone's bedroom and not somewhere more obvious, like the kitchen. Well, Rouge was a special circumstance, one that she planned to satisfy quickly as she opened up to...
"What? No. No no no no, did I forget to restock!?" She looked in mild panic as the freezer cold and empty, not a single thing inside as she slammed the lid closed and trudged her way to her kitchen. "Okay, don't panic. I'm sure I still have a bag or two stashed in kitchen." With a growing headache, she leaned against the wall of her hallway before doing the same to the countertop of her kitchen. She grabbed the handle to the freezer above her refrigerator and yanked it open, her stomach dropping as there was only her frozen meats, veggies, a bottle of vodka for special occasions. But, not a single bag of what she's looking for.
"Are you fucking-! Okay, just calm down. You're letting your hunger get to you, just wake up Shadow and ask him for a quick bite to hold you over until you reach-" Her train of thought stopped as she went to the Ultimate Lifeform's bedroom, door unlocked and bed empty as she forgot that he was away with Hidori for a contract. And there's no telling how long until they get back! "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" She slumped against the wall, she was already starting to feel lightheaded and woozy. She had to think of something, she was in no condition to drive, fly, let alone walk. So, what was she to do?
"...That's it!" She pushed herself up and forced her body back to her bedroom, staggering around her bed to reach her phone before her legs gave out on her. With a triumphant grunt, she fell backwards onto her bed, phone in hand as she focused her eyes and thumbs to call the first contact she could.
---
"Thanks for joining me on my errand run, Knux. Shadow is off on a mercenary job with Hidori and I didn't know who else to call for all the extra heavy lifting."
"Don't worry about it, you said it'd be quick and I'm always there for my sister."
Knuckles said, riding in the passenger seat of Amy's car. The echidna was surprisingly not on Angel Island for once as Amy needed his aid in picking up a few things. He couldn't say no to his younger adopted sister and it'd get a certain few to stop nagging him about not stepping off the floating island once in a while. Speaking of his girlfriend, Amy's phone rang in between them with the ringtone that was picked for when the bat called. "Mind getting that for me, Knuckles? Hands are busy here. And put it on speaker, please." He picked up Amy's phone, a bit gingerly as he didn't want to accidently crack the screen with his strong hands before answering the call and setting it to speaker for her. "Hey, Rouge! Up a bit early, aren't we-" "Amy! Where are you right now?" Rouge interrupted, which Amy would've found rude if not for how panicked the bat sounded. She and Knuckles glanced to each other before she answered. "Um, we're about to drive through Emeraldville. Why?" "Emeraldville? Perfect. Look, I need you to do me a favor, okay. Go to the blood bank, and tell whoever is at the desk that you're picking up a supply for me." "Wait, blood bank? Rouge, what happ-" "I'll send you the confirmation code, just hurry and bring it to my place at Club Rouge. I'll owe you after!" And without much else to explain, she hung up before texting Amy said code, a random five digit mix of numbers. Amy was quickly concerned, Knuckles even more so as this was his girlfriend calling his sister to pick up a supply of blood. They shared another concerned look before Amy sped up her car, navigating her way to the blood bank as Rouge requested as Knuckles voiced his worries. "What do think happened? She didn't sound okay." "I don't know, let's just get whatever supply she's talking about and hurry to her club."
---
Amy pulled into the lot of the Emeraldville blood bank, both she and Knuckles getting out and walking through the automatic doors into an lobby and waiting room, air conditioning was definitely on high as they felt a chill as soon as they entered. The only occupant other than themselves was a middle-aged bear mobian in hospital scrubs at the front desk, she glanced up at the two through the eye glasses perched on her nose before greeting them.
"Welcome in, dearies. A bit early to be making a donation aren't we, trying to beat the traffic?" She spoke with a caring tone, instantly reminding them of Vanilla in their younger years as they approached the desk.
"No ma'am. We here to pick up a uh, resupply for my girlfriend? Whatever that means?" Knuckles answered, feeling a bit sheepish about how it sounded. Yet, the nurse seemed to understand immediately, typing on the computer.
"Of course, sweetheart. May I have your girlfriend's name?"
"Rouge the Bat."
"Rouge...Rouge...Ah, I see. And that confirmation code?"
Amy reached into her pocket, opening the text Rouge sent with the code. "0-8-2-6-1."
The nurse continued typing, humming with a nod before standing up, surprising both of them with how tall she really was. "Got it. I'll be right back with the tote for you two." She said, stepping away into the back room and leaving the two to their thoughts.
"Okay, what on earth could Rouge need a resupply of blood for? You don't think she's hurt, do you?" Amy asked, growing a bit worried while Knuckles tried to think on it as well.
"I don't know. Maybe something happened with Shadow? But, she didn't even ask about a blood type, so who knows. What I do know is that has to be serious to call you so urgently like that."
The ursine nurse returned, sitting back down and placing a red carrying tote that looked like a cooler in front of them, they could feel how cold it was. "Here you are, dear. It's already paid for, I imagine that she's probably not doing so hot if she needed someone to pick it up for her. So, I suggest you two get a move on and make sure she gets it before she gets sick."
Knuckles immediately grabbed the shoulder strap of the cooler, slinging it over his shoulder as Amy bowed her head in thanks.
"Thank you, ma'am. We're on it! Let's go, Knuckles." She waved goodbye to the nurse who waved back as they left to their next stop, Club Rouge."
---
"Rouge? Hello! Omega let us in!"
The bat hadn't even moved after calling Amy, still in her nightgown and sprawled on her sheets as she was trying to fight falling unconscious with her skin looking a bit pale. She focused her ears, hearing Amy calling for her before trying her best to sit up, finding her voice for a moment to call out to her.
"In here! My bedroom! Hurry..."
She luckily didn't need to wait long for her to enter, but wasn't at all expecting her boyfriend to be along with her! Then again, she briefly recalled Amy saying 'we' when she called to begin with. So, not only was she dealing with withdrawal, but her boyfriend seeing her an absolute mess!
"Rouge! You okay? Where are you hurt?" Knuckles was immediately at her side, dropping the tote cooler on the bed and holding her in his arms with clear concern. She'd find this adorable were she not fighting to do something she'd regret. Amy was on the bed with them, opening the cooler to more than a couple dozen blood bags of different blood types.
"Okay, uh...Rouge? Which is your blood type? And what do you need this many for?" Amy asked, picking up a bag of A+ just as Rouge weakly turned her head. Once the bag was in her sight, she felt it hit her like a truck. Her breathing slowly picked up, fangs unsheathing as she pulled herself from Knuckles' grasp in a weak lunge for the bag, startling the both of them.
"Woah!" "Rouge!?" Of course, what came after was even more surprising. Once the bag was in her hands, she opened her mouth wide with a quiet hiss before biting into it, her fangs poking into the plasticized PVC before she retracted them as she tilted her head back. What followed was a solid minute of both her boyfriend and one of her best friends watching her drain an entire bag of A+ into her mouth like it was water. During it all, her skin slowly looked less pale to less the bag had. When it was empty, Rouge dropped it in her lap, swallowing what was left in her mouth with a relieved sigh. She wiped off a stray drip from her chin before looking to the stunned hedgehog and echidna, both wide eyed while the bat sheepishly chuckled.
"Uh...sorry you both had to see that. I was just so hungry and as soon as I saw the bag, well..." She explained, Amy being the first to snap out of it before exclaiming.
"Rouge, what the hell!? You just...you drank...why!?" Knuckles' came to soon after thanks to his sister's shouting.
"What was that!? Since when do you drink blood like a..a..."
"Vampire? Since I was seven. May as well come out a say it. You see, I have a bit of vampire bat genetics from long distant ancestry. It's not serious or anything, I not a full vampire or anything like that but..." She picked up the empty blood bag between her thumb and forefinger. "We do have this genetic issue where we need to consume blood once in a while or we get some really nasty withdrawals, as you've both seen."
The two slowly calmed down, looking to each other before turning back to Rouge with more questions. "So, when you called me, it's because you ran out?"
"Yep, I thought I had some vials stashed too, but I was wrong. And Shadow wasn't here for me to feed off him."
"You feed off my/her boyfriend!?"
"Not like that! Shadow found my bags years ago during a G.U.N. mission that took a few days, he pressed me for answers and I told him everything. One day, I lost the last of my supply due to enemy attack and I could feel my withdrawal coming on. Shadow thought fast and held out his arm to me, nicking himself to draw out the scent of his blood and well...now he lets me get a quick bite in in case I run out without noticing. This was before you started dating him and I started dating Knuckles, we hardly do that anymore since out of respect for each others relationship."
"Okay, that makes sense." Amy said, looking at the open cooler tote and closing it to keep the bags from getting bad.
"So, this has been going since childhood?" Knuckles questioned, arms folded as Rouge confirmed with a nod.
"Yep. At first I thought I was just feeling sick, headaches, stomach pain, dizziness. The whole nine yards that made mom take an impromptu day off to take care of me with dad. It wasn't until the afternoon when my dad came to bring me soup to help my stomach that we figured out what it really was. Dad tried to spoon feed me, and my gaze caught the veins of his wrist, then my little baby fangs did. Mom heard dad screaming and sprinted into my room to see her little girl crying as dad trying to calm me down with a bleeding arm. After an hour of sobbing and dad bandaging himself up that mom brought me a cup of what I thought was fruit punch, but after the first sip, I knew it wasn't. But, I didn't stop drinking until it was empty. The next minute, I was slowly all better."
"And that's when you learned about your heritage? That had to have been traumatizing for you, I'm sorry." Knuckles said, a hand on Rouge's shoulder earning a grateful smile from her.
"Thanks, hun. And it was for a good while, I kept my distance from dad for a week thinking he hated me for suddenly trying to take a chunk out of him before he finally sat me down to talk. He was never upset, just concerned over my health and mental state from learning that I'm part vampire bat. It's no wonder he and mom are still together these days."
"So, if you don't mind me asking. How does the whole...supply thing work? The nurse at the desk even said it was already paid for?" Amy asked, recounting how the ursine nurse acted like it was normal.
"Ah, that. Apparently, while rare for some, it's actually not uncommon for bat mobians to order supplies of blood to sate their cravings. I couldn't tell you how nervous and embarrassed I felt when mom took me to pick up my own tote myself when I was twelve. Since then, I've been getting my own supply. They don't just do it for any bats either, they screen and diagnose you, even background checks to ensure you have the gene and to keep weirdos from making off with a crap ton of blood without it being illegal. Happens more often than you think." She shrugged, picking up the cooler tote and moving the blood bags into her mini deep freezer.
"And the freezer is where you keep it all? Never seen it before now." Knuckles noted.
"Because you've never been up here before now. I planned for the first time you come to my place, would be the day I showed you how serious I really am about us as a couple. So much for that..." She grumbled, closing the mini freezer shut before sighing. "Well, I'm certainly not up for leaving my apartment after that scare and I'd hate to kick you both out after helping me not lose my mind. So, how about I splurge on some actual food and have ourselves a lazy day as thanks?"
Amy thought it over, she did have errands to run, but nothing that couldn't be put off until tomorrow. Then she thought about her brother and...
"Alright."
"Huh?" "Really?" Amy and Rouge asked with surprise, both thinking he'd turn down the invitation in favor of returning to Angel Island as soon as possible.
"You nearly had a health scare, I'd be a bad boyfriend if I didn't stick around to make sure you're okay." Maybe it was her cravings slowly calming down, but Rouge felt like her heart beat a bit faster from that. "Just as long as I return to my island by sundown." And there it was. Still, she's glad she didn't have to talk him into staying.
"Alright then, you two head to the living room so I can put on something decent." She said, shooing them out of her bedroom.
"You? Decent?"
"Don't make me change my mind, Rose." She chided at Amy's joke as she and Knuckles left, sighing as she dug through her closet for something more 'appropriate' for their day in. "Shadow is going to have my head for letting my cravings sneak up on me like that."
---
Speaking of the ebony hedgehog, he was standing guard near Hidori on a rooftop in Casino Park, the black cat scoping out their target when a thought crossed his mind.
"Hm."
"Something up?"
"Nothing too important, just wondering if Rouge remembered to handle her blood cravings recently."
"Ah, noted."
....
"Her what!?"