Chapter Text
I looked up at the large cafe wall clock for the third time in as many minutes. I knew I was doing it, but couldn't help myself. I'd been waiting for almost 20 minutes and it was almost time for the agreed-upon meeting. I could hear my heart ticking in sync with the second hand and prayed they wouldn't be late. My anxiety-ridden brain couldn't handle it. I couldn't believe I had let Blaze talk me into this whole mess. Taken in by all her words of encouragement and worries about how I needed to leave my comfort zone and socialize with others besides her and Espio. Letting her help me make a profile for a well-known dating sight even as I had mini heart palpitations while filling out all the question boxes. Sometimes I ask myself why I let others talk me into things that I know were going to blow up in my face. Then I remember that I'm a complete pushover that hates confrontation of any kind and that shuts me up really quick. Now here I was, sitting at a two-person table in the corner of Dahlia Delights waiting for my dates to arrive. Just the thought of dates, as in plural, makes me want to puke with nerves. When I received the first text notification about having a possible match I immediately ran to Blaze in a panic about what to do. She had, as usual, called me silly, and told me to go and see who it was. After calming myself down with a few deep breaths I clicked on the link of my supposed “match” and had been greeted by a very flattering picture of a blue hedgehog with a smile that could rival the sun. Another quick click and I was taken to the other's profile page and found that his name was Sonic and he was only a year older than me. He loved running, adventures, and apparently had an overwhelming fondness for chili dogs. What really caught my attention though was the fact that he was also a Chaos user. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest at those couple of words and I spent more time than I should have staring at them. Chaos users were quite rare and the idea of meeting someone else like me finally replaced my earlier apprehension with excitement. Enough of a push to actually invite this Sonic into a conversation. It wasn't until a week later that I found out that my “match” was actually “matches”.
Another hour-long minute passed before the sound of the front entrance's bell jingled loudly to signify another customer had entered the shop. My eyes shot away from the wall clock to find the bright blue quills of my date. Our eyes met and I was hit by the full force of that bright, sunny smile. It was even more breathtaking in real life. I found myself swallowing heavily as my date strode confidently over to my table and took a seat on the opposite side. Sonic leaned back comfortably in the seat, one leg crossed over the other casually while maintaining eye contact.
“Hey.” the hedgehog greeted simply and I had to remind myself that sitting here silently like an idiot wasn't going to make a good first date impression. Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I returned the other's smile with an, admittedly, awkward wave.
“Hello.” Sonic's smile only seemed to widen and his eyes twinkled with amusement.
“It's nice to finally see you in person. You're even cuter than I anticipated from your pictures.”
“What....oh...um.” I felt my face heat up at his words and my heart was now doubling in its attempts to jump out of my chest. I instinctively tried to cover my cheeks to hide the red coloring that was undoubtedly covering them, but another gloved hand grabbed the right one and lowered it to the table.
“Easy Silver, just relax okay? There is no pressure. Just think of this as a casual meeting with a friend, alright?” Sonic advised stroking his thumb comfortingly over the top of my glove. I swallowed heavily again before letting myself take deep calming breaths.
“Right, sorry, I'm just not good with new situations.” I admitted quietly. Enjoying the other's gentle touch. Sonic hummed in reply before leaning forward and forcing my gaze back to his emerald eyes and not his hand. Were his eyes always so bright green? How could I not notice something so beautiful before now?
“It's alright, Shadow is also bad with certain social situations so it's something I'm used to.” At the mention of that name, I found myself suddenly realizing that I should be seeing two hedgehogs, not one. I foolishly looked to the front door as if expecting I'd see the other waiting there or something. Sonic of course noticed and gave a chuckle before taking my other hand and repeating the motions of the other.
“Shadow couldn't make it today, unfortunately. His job called him in unexpectedly this morning and it was urgent so he couldn't decline. He was very disappointed that he wasn't going to be able to meet you today. I think he's jealous that I've been able to talk to you longer than he has.”
“Jealous?” I found myself asking and my stomach swooped at the smirk thrown my way.
“One thing you should know is that we are very competitive by nature. That includes our love lives. The fact that I get to go on a date with you today and he doesn't is driving him crazy.” I found myself smiling at the idea that Sonic's long-time partner is mad about not being able to go on a date with me. It made me feel like maybe I wouldn't completely mess this up for myself.
“Is it bad that I'm kind of happy to hear that?” I said and Sonic's brow raised in a silent question, but his amused smile remained. “I tend to overthink things a lot and I was actually worried that Shadow wouldn't like me.”
“Why did you think that?” Sonic asked not pausing once in his calming touches.
“Well, you two have been dating for 5 years already and I was worried that he might not care for someone else intruding. Also, I'm worried I might not be able to connect with him as I have with you.” I explained shyly and this finally had Sonic's smile dimming into something more serious.
“Silver, you and I wouldn't be sitting here if I thought for a second that Shadow wasn't okay with the situation. As for him not liking you, I can already tell you that is not the case. I've shared every conversation we've had with him and he finds you just as charming as I do.”
“He does?” I could feel the faded pink of my cheeks and ears come back in full force as I fought to keep myself from grinning like a fool. The blue hedgehog's smile brightened back to full power before lacing his fingers with mine.
“Big time. In fact, you should prepare to be spoiled once he has you to himself. No matter what he says, Shadow loves to take care of and pamper those he cares for.” Sonic snickered and the sheer amount of affection in his tone made my heart swell like a balloon. It was easy to see how much love Sonic held for his boyfriend and the knowledge that I was being allowed to join such a bond had me absolutely giddy with both excitement and nerves.
“Can....can I ask a few things about Shadow? We haven't really talked very much about him other than how cute he apparently is.” I queried and Sonic perked up to the point he was almost bouncing in his seat.
“Sure you can! Ask away!”
“Okay....let's see, what are his hobbies?”
“Shadow loves reading, especially horror and historical fiction. Once he starts a new book it's a fight just to get him to stop long enough to eat and sleep.” Sonic informed positively beaming as he spoke. “He also is a big fan of motorcycles and weapons.”
“Weapons?” I asked in confusion.
“Yep! He's from a family of engineers and scientists so he grew up around a lot of machinery and medicine. He knows how to dismantle and rebuild almost every gun in existence!” Sonic elaborated excitedly.
“Really? Every single one?” I was quite impressed. I wasn't very knowledgeable on the topic of how many gun types there were, but I do know there were a lot thanks to Espio's line of work.
“Oh yeah! Shadow's got a photographic memory so it's easy for him to remember things like that! Meanwhile, I can barely pay attention to anything involving words longer than 8 letters.” The blue hedgehog joked as his hands squeezed mine briefly in response to his enthusiasm. I returned the show of affection.
“I'm also terrible at anything involving math.” I said softly. Showing a little bit of vulnerability without too much personal information for a first-date conversation.
“It's a good thing we have Shadow then.” Sonic replied and I nodded in agreement. Allowing myself to hope that this relationship really could work out for me.
“So, what does Shadow look like? I haven't seen any pictures on your profile. All I've heard is that he “has thighs that can crack coconuts.”” I chuckled.
“Yeah, sorry about that. Shadow's job requires that he be as inconspicuous as possible so he doesn't post pictures of himself online.”
“Is he an assassin or something?” I asked jokingly and this caused Sonic to laugh. A sound that had the butterflies in my stomach tripling in number.
“Nothing as interesting as that, I'm afraid. He works for the government so the less he is known to the public the better.” the other explained.
“Isn't that hard with your line of work?” I pointed out and Sonic just shrugged.
“Sometimes, but I'd rather Shadow be safe than have thousands of pictures of us on the news.” I nodded in agreement before another thought struck me.
“You trusted me enough all ready to meet him? Even with all his safety concerns?” Sonic's expression softened and he disconnected one of his hands to caress my cheek. I was starting to realize that the blue hedgehog was very tactile when it came to showing affection. Something I was 100% on board with considering my own love language.
“I like to believe I have a sixth sense when it comes to seeing a person's true character. You don't strike me as the type to go blabbing about people's secrets to random strangers.” I snorted at the idea of me being bold enough to talk to strangers in general, let alone spreading gossip to them. “I'm also a firm believer that a relationship can not exist without trust. I like you a lot and I want this relationship to last a long time. To make that happen we can't have any distrust between us.” I found myself licking my lips nervously before I turned my gaze to the table between us. Forcing down the anxiety trying to worm its way into my thoughts like so many times before. Blaze was right, I needed to stop doubting myself and take a leap of faith once in a while. Sonic made me happy and I deserved to give this happiness a chance.
“I like you a lot too.” I told him and he smiled happily at me in return. “I just want to warn you that I get easily anxious and there will be times when I start thinking that I'm not good enough or I'm doing something wrong. Also.......I'm.....asexual. Is...is that okay?” Sonic's touch froze for only a second before his hold on my hand tightened.
“Silver, can you look at me please?” he asked gently and I obeyed reluctantly in fear of the rejection I might see in his expression. Instead, I only saw an encouraging smile with a little sadness mixed in. I sucked in breath timorously. My ears pinned against my head giving away my emotions.
“I couldn't care less about that. I'm demisexual and Shadow is cupiosexual so you have nothing to worry about in that regard. As for your anxieties, that's not a deal breaker for either of us. Shadow and I both have PTSD and you wouldn't write us off for that would you?”
“Of course not!” I immediately argued and Sonic didn't look surprised by the outburst at all.
“In fact, all that knowledge does is let me know that you need to be verbally told how important you are to me on a regular basis. Something I am happy to do for you. Once Shadow finds out you better be ready for lots of cuddle piles in the near future.” Sonic's eyes shined with mirth at his “threat” and I could stop myself from grinning ear to ear with my hands over my seemingly irreversible red face. Sometimes having light-colored fur was so inconvenient.
“I don't think I can handle it if you two gang up on me.” I groaned and this had the blue hedgehog laughing once again before someone's voice caught their attention.
“Hello, sorry for the wait. My name is Cream and I will be your waitress today. Can I get anything for you?” The rabbit mobian waitress asked with a sweet soft voice.
“Hello Cream, I'll have a caramel coffee smoothie with extra whipped cream and caramel on top please!” Sonic answered with a friendly smile before turning to me expectantly. I scrambled to remember what I usually order over the sudden shift in conversation as well as the feeling of Sonic still holding my hand.
“A salted caramel hot chocolate with whipped cream please.” Cream gave both of us a nod as she wrote the order down on a tiny notepad before walking away with a small wave.
“A fellow caramel lover huh?” the blue hedgehog observed and I let out a slight chuckle while rubbing my head quills bashfully.
“Yeah, I've always loved the taste. Blaze likes to think I'm addicted to it.” Sonic hummed in response.
“Blaze is your roommate, right?”
“Yup. We've been practically siblings since middle school.”
“I'd like to meet her sometime. I'm sure she has lots of good stories about you as a child.” Sonic smirked and I immediately shook my head.
“Now I'll make sure you two never meet.” I vowed seriously and Sonic's ears perked up before a mischievous grin overtook his features.
“Challenge accepted, Silver.” I found myself gulping at the look being thrown my way before the other's expression suddenly shifted back into a carefree smile. “As for your earlier question, Shadow is a hedgehog like us, but his fur is black with red stripes.”
“He has strips?” I questioned in confusion. Hedgehogs weren't known for naturally occurring strips.
“Yup.” he answered leaning heavily on the p. “Oh, and he's built like a truck. Don't let his lean body fool you, the guy is all muscle.” Sonic suggestively wiggled his eyebrows at that last point and I could stop the abrupt snort that came at the sight.
“I'll have to remember not to get on his bad side.” I noted and it was then that Cream returned with our orders. We gave a quick thanks before we finally separated our hands in order to start drinking. The first taste of salted caramel chocolate on my tongue was always the best and I purred contently at the resulting warmth.
“That good?” Sonic commented while sipping on his own drink.
“Yeah, I've never been good with cold weather so hot drinks are my favorite way to warm up.” I disclosed while licking the small dollop of cream that stuck to my muzzle.
“Really? I'm surprised with how fluffy you are.” the other remarked.
“Well, I grew up somewhere that was really hot so I'm used to that kind of weather. Moving here was my first real taste of a colder climate.” I explained taking another sip of chocolaty goodness.
“How long have you lived here?”
“About 5 years now. When I had decided I wanted to go into Horticultural Therapy the cheapest college I could afford was here. When I finally graduated I couldn't bring myself to leave.”
“So that's why you work in the Chao Community Gardens.” Sonic said with a look of wonder. “So you help people through gardening?” I nodded with a smile.
“Gardening helped me overcome a lot in my life and I wanted everyone else to experience it as well.”
“That's amazing, Silver.” Sonic said with a soft look and I found myself blushing and avoiding eye contact again.
“Not as amazing as what you do. You put yourself in danger every day to protect people.” Sonic only waved a hand in response.
“Don't sell yourself short. I might protect the body, but you help keep the mind healthy. The way I see it, both are equally as important to living a happy life.” I found myself unable to argue with him and just agreed happily. Sonic, this amazingly charming hedgehog before me, was already someone I could imagine myself really falling for. He was so confident, so charming and so kind. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I could find someone this perfect who somehow also wants me to be part of his life. I almost wanted to reach out and pinch myself to make sure this wasn't a dream that would suddenly be ripped away from me at a moment's notice. What if Shadow was as equally as perfect? How was I going to measure up to these two? Was I really good enough to just take that leap of faith and allow myself to experience every bit of affection as Sonic had promised? What if this was a trap? Somehow it was all an elaborate prank that would leave me heartbroken and alone again.
“Silver.” Sonic's voice brought me out of my quickly spiraling thoughts. “Don't think so hard. Just enjoy this.” the other's hand had found my own once again and I swiftly entwined our fingers and gave a little squeeze. The gesture was returned and Sonic shot me a large smile with slightly pink cheeks that had my chest threatening to burst with how much fondness I already had for this handsome mobian.
“Alright.” Maybe, just this once, I won't think and just take that leap into the unknown.