Chapter 2 - What a sunrise brings  (nudity and emotion)

*Story Chapter with a lot of setting up and a lot of emotional stuff. Not exactly sex* 

The sun rose slowly and silence reigned in a very special bedroom above a very special club in Midnight Babylon. As the first rays of light pierced the curtains and gave the room a dim lighting, they dared to awaken one of the sleepers in the room.
Slowly, Rouge the Bat opened her eyes. Her mind felt incredibly sluggish and she was too tired to look around for more than a few seconds before her eyelids pushed down again, but she could feel the warmth of another body in her bed.
Too tired to think or remember, she forced herself to turn and a smile crept on her face.
“Oh… it’s this dream… I like that one…” she purred quietly and crept closer to the sleeping form besides her. Using all of the strength, her tiredness allowed her, she cuddled up against the black and red hedgehog resting her head against his shoulder. For a moment, her hand roamed over his stomach, feeling the strong muscles under his fur, the slight curve of his waist and the sheer power of his arm. Her shapely leg intertwined with his and she pushed a few small kisses onto the sleeping Shadow’s neck before her tired body lay down in silent bliss. She rose a little with each of his breaths and smiled for a moment of soft bliss in the presence of her Shadow. Her foggy mind clouded over even more and she stopped to wonder why the dream felt so real or why it seemed to begin where her other dreams had ended.

One or two hours later, Shadow the Hedgehog awoke from his slumber. His eyes opened and after a moment of thinking, he remembered several things. This was Rouge’s bedroom, he encountered a giant, fuzzy and very amorous version of his best friend and they had spent the last night together.

Yes, that had actually happened!

He wanted to close his eyes and think about it for a moment, when the right half of his body began to demand his attention and informed his confused brain that something very soft, very warm and very, very nice was half on top of him.
Shadow looked down and a sigh of relief left his mouth.

It was Rouge. Regular Rouge! Sure, her hair was messy, her make-up smeared, her clothes were missing and she was usually not pressing herself against him this much, but she was herself again.
The hedgehog was about to shake her awake, when the implications of yesterday night hit him fully and he relaxed into the bed. Had yesterday night truly happened? Surely, he had, after all, no memories of getting into this position otherwise. One of his hands moved up to his forehead and he began to attempt and rub some reason into his brain. Rouge had shown up as some monstrous she-beast. She had begged for help at first. Then she had… hugged him. A lot. He had attempted to escape, she had ruined his shoes and finally caught him before taking him here and… ravishing him.

No… that wasn’t fair… she hadn’t… it had just been so surprising. He wouldn’t have given in to anyone else. It had been Rouge… just not bound or bridled by society or her own ego.
Still, the memories stirred many emotions in him and most of them led to rather worrying results. He didn’t feel violated. Confused, slightly insecure about their future relationship, worried about her wellbeing and… and most worrying… incredibly happy.

His hand left his forehead and slowly moved around the bat by his side, pulling her into a soft embrace. For a moment, the hedgehog relaxed and let only the soft breaths of the bat and his own heartbeat fill the room. He had not felt this calm and relaxed in ages. Just a wonderful woman at his side, a soft bed that smelled slightly of perfume and the sweat of love and the promise of a sunny day. He knew that he was not supposed to, but Shadow couldn’t help but feel a deep and honest happiness stir inside.
Slowly, his hand moved up to Rouge’s head and he began to pet her softly between her ears. The huge, tan conches twitched cutely and the bat purred in appreciation at his treatment, rubbing her cheek against him firmer and pushing her wonderful, soft breasts against his belly.
“Maybe… when this is over and… maybe we can… be like this again?” Shadow wondered, a part of him scared that this would end in nothing but regrets. But in this moment, he did not regret. He just wanted to pull Rouge closer and kiss her, hoping that she would want the same.
He gently rubbed the small place between her ears again, savoring her joyful cooing and repeated rubbing of her chest against his belly and her warm, shapely leg against his. But it was time for this to end. Gently, he shook her, trying to wake Rouge up.
The bat let out a soft grumble.
Shadow shook her a bit harder, but there was little reaction from Rouge.
Worry stirred in Shadow’s heart and he slowly slipped out of Rouge’s grasp. But she suddenly moved, clinging onto him. The hedgehog looked at her, but it wasn’t consciousness that had her moving. She was still sleeping. Shadow decided to bite the bullet and moved his hand to her ear and gave the lobe a firm pinch. Rouge’s head moved, shaking his hand off. Her eyes opened halfway, blinking slowly but often, her pupils unfocused and sluggish. For a moment, they seemed to focus on his eyes and smile crept onto Rouge’s voluptuous lips. “…adow...” came out of her mouth in a slow, half-comprehensible way and she leaned closer against him, nuzzling his chest with her cheek before falling asleep again.

Over the duration of several minutes, Shadow tried everything he could think off to wake her up, from pinching over tickling to shaking her and even shouting into her ear. (NO, he did not try that you creep… Shadow doesn’t need unconscious ladies to do that to.) But he got at most a few muttered words and slow, half-voluntary reactions out of her. She was not in a coma or truly unconscious, but for all intents and purposes, Rouge was in an unwaking slumber.
Now, Shadow was far from a worrywart but this was alarming, Even if the chaos-induced transformation had sapped a lot of power from her, he should have been able to get her to wake up for at least a moment or two. Her state was clearly unnatural and if chaos emeralds were involved then basically everything could happen next. And the hedgehog had no access to an handsome prince. That was the problem with those emeralds. Even a master of chaos control like himself only tapped into them and used their power. But chaos itself was basically impossible to predict, even for him.

Finally getting away from the resting woman, Shadow got out of bed and collected his belongings. He had to get help and fast. He also that to make sure that G.U.N. was informed, that the staff of the club was informed that the boss was unavailable and-

*BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP*

He also had to get that call…
The ultimate life form grabbed his discarded glove and pressed the small “accept” button on the integrated communicator. His eyes went wide as a familiar voice came out of the box.

“Hey Shadow! Haven’t heard from you in a while!” Rouge’s voice rang through the room. For a heartbeat, his eyes went to the sleeping bat and his features darkened.
“DON’T YOU DARE TOYING WITH ME, DOCTOR!” Shadow almost yelled into the communicator. There was a short silence, which he used to leave the bedroom into the hallway, so Rouge could at least sleep in peace while he was dealing with the impostor.

“W-H-a..a” The communicator spoke before going into a bit of white noise and finally turning into the clear and rough voice of Doctor Ivo Robotnik. “Very well, it was worth a try. It’s not like I get my fingers on your private frequency every day…”

“What have you done to Rouge?” Shadow asked grimly. Robotnik had probably gotten the communicator off Rouge’s clothes.

“So, she found you? I suspected that she would go looking for you. Interesting that she instantly found you. Apparently not just her voice has gone far beyond its regular potential. I won-“

“Enough wondering, Doctor! What have you done to her?” Shadow demanded angrily.

“What have I done? What has she done! I did not force her to sneak into my old lab, hide in a highly volatile room and get trapped in my chaos infusior! If it had been up to me, she would have stayed as far away as possible from my property! I’m not letting you pin this on me!” Robotnik ranted back.

“Spare me the apologies, Doctor! Whatever happened to her, it happened on your watch and I will have you responsible for her wellbeing! Understood?” Shadow hissed back.
“Oh, give me a break!” the villain answered, but there was no fight in it. He knew that Shadow tended to fits of monomania and things never ended well when said fits were directed against the Doctor himself. “Fine… you will probably need to get the chaos emerald in my old lair. It’s the second chimney of the Gimme Shelter. I doubt that Rouge closed the doors behind her… You might also want to grab a bag, because if my calculations are correct, you will need to carry many fake emeralds… also…”

“Fine, but I can’t leave here… I can’t leave Rouge alone.” Shadow answered annoyed.

“What? Since when is Rouge five years old? She should be more than capable to take care of herself. Goodness, since when is Rouge the type to need a man holding her hand because she has one little unstable chaos-mutation. God, I have tried to-“

“Shut up! Rouge has been out cold ever since the sun rose. I can’t get her to wake up. Heck, she is in some weird half-awake state of mind. I have never seen her like that before.”

“Hm? That is weird! The last time an emerald overloaded a creature the way it did with Rouge, the subject simply turned into a more feral-looking version during the night and to its regular shape during the day. Maybe it has to do with the fact that it was only one emerald and a bunch of fakes this time. The fact that her higher functions seemed rather impaired might have to do with it… anyways! You will have to get the emeralds. I am too busy running from the G.U.N. and Rouge took out the robots in my lair. Those things are up to you. I can, at best, help you verbally.”

“And I might just be persuaded to not ignore my forced vacation and help G.U.N. to hunt you down, if you provide said help. Keep the communicator close, because I will contact you.” Shadow growled.

“You should be glad that I am a man of character! A lesser person would not tolerate your threats, but I am not going to allow Rouge to suffer due to your lack of self-control. Robotnik OUT!” the Doctor commented and hung up.

His bravado was lost on Shadow. He knew that Robotnik was less interested in helping and more in being spared another pursuer on his trail. At best, it was a bit of guilt and scientific curiosity.

Still, he had a clue.

Shadow let out a sigh and returned to the bedroom, only to let out a gasp.
The bed was empty! Rouge had disappeared!
The ultimate life form let out a shocked gasp and closed in on the bed. The covers had been both moved and dragged off a little and the pillow was on its side. He was about to search for more leads, as a flushing sound came from the bathroom door.
Shadow looked towards the door and slowly, it opened, revealing a very sleepy and very naked bat walking out. Her eyes were closed most of the time and instead of her usual, seductively swaying hips, she was more limping and wobbling, apparently only half aware of her surroundings. Quickly, the hedgehog walked towards her and steadied her by holding her shoulders. Rouge seemed to recognize him after a few moments and her hands moved up to embrace him and pull herself close.
Her warm, bouncy breasts rubbed against his chest and he could feel her put more weight on him as she slowly began to slip deeper into sleep. Her chin rested on his shoulder as her body went limp and Shadow wasted no time to scoop her up in his arms.
She was so beautiful and seemed so happy to be held by him. Why else would her breathing become slower and calmer and her head nuzzle against his shoulder? Looking at the bat in his arms set Shadow’s heart ablaze with different emotions. Worries and affection were the most prominent among them. Carefully, he carried Rouge towards her bed and gently laid her down on the soft mattress.
Then he sat down next to her.

He had to order his thoughts!

As bad as things seemed, Rouge was apparently not entirely helpless. She could go to the bathroom and if he put a glass of water next to the bed, he could probably leave her alone for a short while. He also had a connection to Robotnik and with a bit of luck, he would be able to fix his shoes with some spare parts from the bombs and lock picks, Rouge made herself in the club. His goals were set… but the rollercoaster of emotions was a completely different issue.
His eyes went over his naked ally again and Shadow sighed.
He needed to get her into some clothing. He had too much respect of her to keep her laying around naked and exposed. Even though his attraction to her had flared up, it felt wrong. Or rather because his attraction to her had flared up.
Calmly, Shadow walked over to her gigantic closet and opened the door.
He was greeted by enough shining and sparkling to blind the entire Black Arms Legion. What other women of wealth had in dresses or shoes, Rouge had in jewelry, gold and silver.

Wealth…

Something Shadow could not get behind. Sure, those things were pretty, but what use was having more than the prettiest? You couldn’t wear more than one necklace at the time, right? At least not without looking utterly silly.
His eyes went over the rows upon rows of glistening, shining treasure, looking for maybe a second door where he might find a nightgown for his friend, when he suddenly stopped.
Most of the shelves were filled to the brim. Each piece was catalogued and well-placed, of course, but it was clear that Rouge had used every molecule of space available.
Except for this one place…
In the middle of the shelve was a free area where two things were placed: A small photography of him, Omega and Rouge, satisfied that another mission had gone well, and next to it, on a small pillow, was a golden ring.

Shadow looked at his arm.

It was a precise copy of his inhibitor ring.

Or rather, it was one of the inhibitor rings that he had lost… a long time ago… when he had saved the world for the first time.
Robotnik had given him new ones, had copied the design of the originals perfectly, but he would recognize the originals anywhere.
“Why did she keep it?” he muttered in confusion. “It’s not real gold and it is set to my frequency… she can’t even put it on… why…?”

A wave of emotions hit the hedgehog like a bombshell and he felt his eyes burn.

Quietly, he finally found a suitable gown and returned to the bat’s side. He gently put it on, doing his best not to disturb Rouge and covered her with the sheets.
Then he put a glass of water and a few fresh fruit next to the bed and left through the door without looking back.
He didn’t want to see her like this anymore. He wanted his friend… his Rouge back!
Downstairs, he quickly repaired his shoes and left a note to the staff that the club would remain closed today.
He had to go now.

He had to safe her!

If only to tell her how he truly felt…
 