Seeing Shadows of Red

**Seeing Shadows of Red** is the fifth one-shot of Sonic X: Heroes Forever.

## Characters

* Rouge the Bat
* Shadow the Hedgehog
* Payback Fox (Flashback)
* Maria Robotnik
* Ruby the Bat
* Aurora (Mentioned)
* Gerald Robotnik (Mentioned)
* Jennifer Robotnik (Mentioned)
* Meredith Robotnik (Mentioned)
* Geraldo Robotnik (Mentioned)

## Plot

This one-shot starts with Maria being greeted by Ruby in an apartment, mentioning she made some cookies and gives Maria some from her plate. Maria mentions that Shadow is worried that she would get a cavity, which is a bit strange to her as she had been resurrected from a clone which shares his DNA which prevents both of them from getting cavities in the first place. She comments the cookies taste like the ones her mother used to make and Rouge enters the apartment, surprised to see Maria there. The yellow hedgehog comments she wanted to visit Shadow, but, Rouge explains he’s currently practicing Chaos Control with a fake Emerald. Her sigh was a bit on the romantic side, which gets Maria to guess that Rouge and Shadow were dating. The younger bat is stunned that Maria was able to figure it out, but, Maria admitted that she and Shadow have a telepathic link so that she knows what Shadow knows, though he can hide it if he needs to. Ruby asks Rouge how long she and Shadow have been dating, and she admits it was a few weeks after her 19th birthday. Ruby wonders why Rouge hasn’t told her before and Rouge thought Ruby wouldn’t approve due to what happened between her and Rouge’s dad, but, the older bat assures Rouge that she’s pleased that she’s ended up with Shadow. When asked further, Rouge admits her interest in Shadow started when he saved Ruby from the Yagyu Clan and she had a vague interest in him during the ARK fiasco as well. She also tells the story of how she and Shadow started going out.

Sometime after Rouge’s 19th birthday, Rouge is wanting to ask Shadow out, when Payback walks over to her, asking Rouge what’s holding her back. Rouge tells Payback that Shadow is socially clueless, as one soldier congratulated him on a mission, but, he didn’t say anything back. Payback speculates that it’s because Shadow’s been alone for 50 years in suspended animation and Rouge also adds she’s shy. Payback is taken aback by this claim, given the way Rouge dresses, but, she admits that others have been attracted to her before. Before Payback could give anymore advice, she’s called out on a mission and dashes off, wishing Rouge luck. The bat heads over to Shadow, too shy to speak properly, if at all, and when Shadow asks if he should wait for it later, Rouge blurts out she’s in love with him, causing both to become embarrassed and for the black hedgehog to be flabbergasted. Rouge trails that she thought that Shadow may have had something for Maria, but, he admits Rouge is wrong on two fronts: he sees her as a sister and there’s a bit of an age difference between them. Still a bit sheepish, Rouge asks Shadow if he’ll go out with her when she asks his orientation and he accepts. Rouge excitedly leaps forward, hugging and kissing him, though he feels a bit awkward as he hasn’t had this kind of affection before, though, Rouge tells him to get used to it as it’s common between daters.

A bit later, the two are on their first date, with Shadow asking for a hot water and coffee beans, leaving the waiter a bit surprised by Shadow’s request. Rouge comments he’s more quirky than she thought and Shadow replies he’s not what people would call “the norm.” He also notes that he should keep Maria off of Google Images as some pictures made him question people’s mental health and Rouge suggests to turn the child filter on. Shadow also asks what it’s like to have a mother and Rouge explains that her mother is not perfect, but, she loves her all the same and she’s all she had for a long time. Shadow explains while the Robotniks were kind to him, Gerald and other scientists would often pull him apart and put him back together again, much to Rouge’s horror. He also tells Rouge that Gerald hoped he would be the key to curing Maria one day and, in a way, Gerald was correct. Both Mobians realized their pasts were tough and they realized that to make their lives better is to support one another as they hold hands.

Back in the present, Rouge was worried that Shadow would outlive her because he couldn’t age. Turns out, he *can*, but, it takes him longer to. Maria admits that she witnessed Shadow’s creation. He started out like an infant, but, he grew quickly and was able to learn English just by hearing it. She speculates this may be because of his Black Arms DNA, but, she tries to hide that piece of evidence from Ruby and Rouge. Shadow then enters the room with a limp, much to Rouge’s shock, but, he assures her he has a healing factor in him and he was already healed as he was talking. Ruby asks Rouge if Shadow was the “knight in shining armor” she dreamed of when she was a kid and she admits he was “close enough,” mentioning that reality jaded her a bit. She admits Shadow was as close to the ideal she could get and Shadow admits the same about her as the one-shot ends.

## Trivia

* Rouge is shy when talking to Mobians she likes. This is highly unusual as the games and anime never imply she’s shy when talking to Knuckles or Shadow, both Mobians she has confirmed or implied affection towards in both canons.
* In this story, we learn that Shadow is straight. He also can age, but, it takes longer than it does for normal Mobians.
* The Coffee Beans is a nod to the Twitter Takeover.
* This one shot is the shortest written one so far.