Diamond in the Sky

I GUESS you love me.

In the Hero Hotel, Rouge sits in the lobby with Silver. Her wing has been set by the medic but she can't say she's happy about it.

"This bandaging is so unflattering. I look like a mummy. But who cares? You were great, Silver! I'm so proud! Wish I could-ah helped, not that you needed it."

Silver has something on his mind.

"Eggman said I fight like my dad. Who is my dad anyway?"

Rouge holds her temple, not sure she's ready to have this conversation... but he persists.

"Come on, don't I have a right to know? It's not like I dropped out of the sky."

Rouge giggles.

"Thanks love, I know that."

Silver folds his arms and looks away, insulted and... alienated. Rouge doesn't like this one bit.

"Sorry sugar, I didn't mean to make fun. I've made mistakes but you know I love you, right?"

Without looking back at her he replies somberly with... "I guess so."

Rouge's heart aches. He only guesses so?

Sigh. "Your father lives here on the island. You met him once though you don't remember."

"Sometimes I have a dream about a treehouse and a black hedgehog. And a blue hedgehog too. You're probably gonna laugh but, in the dream I swim in lava. Random, I know."

Rouge is offended. For him, these are the details of a dream. For her, they're the very real details regarding how he died.

"Okay, that's enough!"

"Fine, we won't talk about it then," he replies, frustrated.

Hoping to lift his spirits, she offers him something else instead.

"If it helps, I can take you to your father. I know he wants to see you."

"Did Eggman kill me somehow? Cause in the dream, I'm in this metal machine and..."

This is too much. Rouge stands and turns away. Gripping her arms, is if she is very cold, her eyes begin to water.

"Silver, please stop. One more word and I might just die."

He decides to say one more thing.

"So it's true. What Eggman said. Not the pervey stuff but the rest of it."

She nods.

"This dream you wanna talk about... it wasn't a dream, not for me. My entire life revolves around undoing it. So if you only guess that I love you, I guess that's all I can ask."

Silver's not the type to enjoy forcing tears out of anyone. He stands and carefully turns her to face him.

"Less than 24 hours reunited and I've already made my mother cry twice. Don't. Take me to my dad. I'll bug him instead of you."