The dim light of dusk was starting to fade away into night in the city of Station Square. Families were beginning to sit down for dinner and young teens and drunks were heading out to parties and clubs.
Almost all that is, except for a certain 18 year old cobalt hedgehog.
Sonic sat atop a large skyscraper and sighed deeply as the sun finally hid beyond the horizon. Glancing down at the street far below him, he watched the few cars that were still out moving slowly along what seemed the endless stretch of asphalt.
'I wonder what the guys are doing tonight…' He thought to himself.
It had almost been three months since the entire team had hung out together, and he was beginning to miss the guys.
Between his day job as a hero and his night job as a waiter or bar tender at a local restaurant, he hardly got any sleep and was too tired or busy to go out with his friends. Besides, he had some rent he had to pay off and he was already straining to be able to pay for food and other necessities. Having a home was more important than not being able to hang with your friends anyway.
A loud ringing interrupted his thoughts. Pulling his phone out from his quills, he checked the time.
"One minuet to nine already? I'd better get going before I'm late for work!" He exclaimed before quickly making his way down the building.
It took him about ten seconds to get to the other side of the city, and down to a pub named The Red Mule inside a small strip mall.
Rushing in through the back door, he took down his uniform; a maroon t-shirt with some nice pants, and black apron that had his notepad and pens inside a worn-out pocket.
Checking in his time card exactly a second before it was nine o'clock, Sonic made his way through the French doors separating the back room to the pub.
Walking up to the counter, he was greeted by a 19 year old white tigress with dark red eyes and a red streak in her bangs. She smiled at him and gave him a high-five.
"Hey, Blue! What's up?" She asked in a southern accent. "Not much Blaire, you?" Sonic asked the female. Chuckling, she opened her mouth to answer but was cut off by the bell on the front door ringing.
A group of young teenagers walking in through the door and placed themselves in different areas through out the restaurant. There were at least twenty of them and each one was rowdy and hungry.
"Damn," Blaire muttered under her breath. "Would you watch the bar for me, Blue?" Nodding his head, Sonic watched Blaire as she walked as fast as she could out from behind the counter and up to a table full of the kids.
Taking a breather, Sonic got to the few that were sitting at the bar and made them drinks, all the while answering questions and comments as they all stared at the famous blue blur.
After about two or three hours the group and some other customers finally left, leaving Sonic, Blaire, and a few other fellow employees completely exhausted.
"Jeez, you think they got enough to eat?" Blaire asked as she finished cleaning up a table absolutely filled with clutter.
"Yeah, I know what your talking about, Tig." A green kitsune with a black tattoo on his right bicep replied as he helped her.
"Well," Sonic said in attempt to lighten up the mood. "At least we made some decent tips so far."
"Here, here!" Blaire and the kitsune cheered with smiles on their tired faces.
Chuckling, Sonic finished wiping up the bar and sorting the money in the register kept under the bar. So far he had made about fifty dollars cash in tips from the teenagers and he was quite happy about it.
Yawning, Sonic rubbed his eyes before going to the back and grabbing a Coke from the fridge. 'Only two more hours… ' He thought. The bell on the front door jingled again and Sonic groaned before going back out to see who it was.
Sonic stopped dead in his tracks as the familiar crimson eyes stared into his drink at the bar.
"Shadow…?" Sonic asked as he stared at his former rival. Perking his ears, Shadow looked up at the cobalt hedgehog as he emerged from a back room in the building. A small smile spread across his muzzle as he sat up strait and greeted his old friend.
"Well, well, well. I'd never think I'd see the day Sonic Hedgehog started working at a pub. How've you been?" Smiling back weakly, Sonic hopped onto the stool by the register and took a sip of his Coke.
"I've been okay," Sonic replied riley. "You?" Shrugging his shoulders, Shadow took another "sip" of his drink, almost finishing it off.
"You want another one?" Sonic asked, nodding his head at the almost empty glass sitting in front of Shadow.
Sliding the glass along the counter to Sonic, Shadow muttered, "It's bourbon." Nodding, Sonic dumped out the ice cubes in the glass and put in fresh ones before filling it up with the desired drink.
Shadow nodded his thanks and took a large gulp, before sighing as he set the glass down on the counter. Raising an eyebrow, Sonic eyed his old friend worried. A few moments of silence passed by before Sonic decided to break the silence.
"Hey buddy, what's wrong?" He asked. Raising his head, Shadow looked at Sonic with a raised brow.
"What?" Setting his Coke down on the counter, Sonic leaned on the bar and asked Shadow the question again.
Averting his eyes, Shadow crossed his arms over his chest and set his jaw. It was time to tell Sonic why the team hadn't hung out together in a while…but how could he break it to him?
Sighing, Shadow unfolded his arms and finished off the rest of his drink. "Meet me at my house tomorrow at one thirty. I'll tell you there."
Irritated that he had to wait, Sonic sighed and let it go. "Alright, I'll see you there. The bill's fifteen dollars and fifty cents."
Handing the money to Sonic along with a ten dollar tip, Shadow walked out the old wooden door to the pub before speeding off into the darkness.