Chapter Text
“What color?” Rouge says, sitting Shadow down. The chair he sat in (was forced into) was obnoxiously pink, but also spinny, and he was pretty sure that was the only upside.
“None of them.” His eyes narrowed as she grabbed and unzipped her bag of nail polish.
“Oh my Chaos, I'm going to paint your nails whether you like it or not!” She sat down across from him aggressively and began filing them without waiting for his permission. “What's your favorite color?” She asked, even though she knew already.
Shadow rolled his eyes in exasperation and peered into her chaotic bag of nail polish bottles, not finding a single color that caught his eye. They were all such infuriatingly generically girly colors.
“Do you even have blue? I don't see any.” His voice dropped as he looked around her room, even though he'd been in there countless times before.
“Uh…” She paused and put down the file and rummaged through the box, and to no one's surprise, cannot find blue. “No blue, but you could do black? Or red, or purple, or… pink?” She grinned and picked up a hot pink bottle while still looking through the bag with her other hand.
“I'd rather not.” Shadow sat back in his chair with the unfortunate realization that she wasn't going to give up, so he just picked red up out of the box. Rouge purred in satisfaction.
“Classic, I like it.”
After thirty full seconds, she finally broke through Shadow's favorite sound: silence, and loudly at that.
“So! Any tea?” She smiled mischievously.
“I'm not thirsty.” Shadow shook his head in confusion and frowned.
Rouge blinked and then laughed her ass off, wings hitting the chair a few times before she elaborated finally.
“Not real tea, silly! I mean gossip, drama, news! That's the word girls use instead. Honestly honey, you have got to get out more.”
Shadow's frown turned into a deep line. “No.”
“Really? Nothing at all?” She opened the nail polish bottle, wiping the excess from the bristles and putting the bottle down on the mat under Shadow's paws. “No crushes, new friends, places you want to go, gossip you've heard? Anything you've heard at GUN?”
“No, no, no, no, and no.”
Rouge took his left hand and started painting his nails, clearly scheming something. Her eyes stayed on her handiwork, but her mouth kept running.
“Well, tell me something! You're so quiet!” She blew on his nail before moving onto the next one. “What about that Sonic guy?” She looked up to investigate his response.
Shadow shifted uncomfortably in his chair, ears instantly flicking backwards. “What about him?” He tried to sound bored, but the panic in his voice betrayed him.
Rouge's smile grew excitedly. “Oh, I knew it, do tell!”
“There's nothing to tell…!” His gaze snapped away towards the window anxiously, trying to look as if he really didn't care about the blue dumbass of a hedgehog that was somehow always occupying his thoughts.
“Really? I beg to differ,” Rouge said, wagging the nail polish brush at him threateningly, “because I have seen you hang out with him before, and you can barely keep yourself together around the guy! You get all quiet and awkward.” Rouge finished the second paw and turned on a little fan to dry them before the second coat.
“I– he isn't… I just–” Shadow sighed, deflating, and tried again, and he knew he was done for regardless of what lie he tried to spin next. Rouge had always been able to read him like a book. “I just think he's– kind of cool, okay? That's it.”
Rouge nodded as if she was convinced, but clearly not buying the lie one bit. “Is that it? You don't think he's, I don't know, kind of cute, too?”
Shadow's face flushed and his quills flared, rustling against the back of the chair. “What?!”
“That's not a ‘no’,” Rouge shrugged, and then gasped so loudly and suddenly, nearly knocking over the nail polish bottle with the force that she slammed her hands onto the table with. “I should set you guys up on a date!!”
Shadow objected immediately, voice cracking slightly. “What?! No! Absolutely not!” While trying to scramble up from the swivel-y seat that was actively making it harder for him to stand.
“Hey, stay still!” Rouge held him down by his shoulders, right back into the pink seat. “Just try! Maybe he likes you, too!”
“I don't like him.” Shadow growled defensively.
“Sure you don't, hon. Okay, hypothetically, if you were to go on a date tomorrow–”
“Tomorrow?!”
“Yes, now hush. If you were to go on a date tomorrow, where would you want to go? Ideal setting?”
“Back home. Without him.”
Rouge sighed aggressively, turning off the fan and starting the second coat. With her free hand, she began to count places they could go on her fingers.
“We have the movies,” one finger up.
“There are no good movies out right now.”
“A concert,” second finger up.
“Too loud.”
“Aquarium?” Third finger up.
“Too wet. Sonic doesn't like water.” The retaliation was instant.
“It's behind thick glass, though?”
“Trust me. He would be stressed anyway.”
“Okay, wow, I guess you would know–” She looked up at him knowingly, and Shadow scowled at her before she continued, “…we have a roller-skating rink in town?” Fourth finger up.
Shadow considered it for a moment, face falling into a tight, thoughtful expression. He liked skating, but did Sonic? He was fast, sure, but wheels on his paws were different. It would be cute to see him try to stay upright, under the impression that he can't skate. The mere, amusing (sweet) thought of Sonic having to hold on to him to balance made Shadow a little less anxious.
“Fine.”
Rouge grinned, finishing up the second coat and setting down Shadow's paw on the mat to take out her phone. “Okay, tomorrow when? What time?” She turned the fan back on with her other hand.
“Preferably never,” he answered, but his heart fluttered a little. “But, 2 PM, I guess. If I had to give a time”
“Perfect!” Rouge taps open Sonic's contact (saved as “spiky guy #2” if you were wondering) and texts him, ignoring Shadow's red-faced immediate re-thinking of the situation and complaints thrown at her.
Sonic's phone buzzed with a text from Rouge– (“rock collector”)
Rock collector: shadow wants to go on a date w/ u tomorrow at the skating rink, 2pm 🫶
✓✓ – 1:54 P.M.
… the typing bubbles appeared and reappeared a few times before:
spiky guy #2: Shadow? Ur kidding hahaha funny joke stop what?
✓✓ – 1:55 P.M.
Rock collector: not kidding but I am his legal wingwoman so it was my idea ☺️
✓✓ – 1:55 P.M.
…
spiky guy #2: Is he sure??? Is he okay???? Did he get a concussion???? How did he agree
✓✓ – 1:56 P.M.
Rouge laughed under her breath.
Rock collector: yes he's sure. ok bye he'll see u tmr <3
✓✓ – 1:56 P.M.
spiky guy #2 replied “💙” to your message
Rouge locked her phone, content with her work. She looked back up at Shadow, who looked like he wanted the earth to open up and swallow him whole.