Title: Together
Summary: Silver comforts Espio after something bad happens
...
Silver the Hedgehog knocked on the door of the Chaotix Detective Agency. He had only ever been here once, and that was a few months ago, so he was a little nervous. But that nervousness was far outweighed by his worry for his friend. If the rumours he had heard were true, then Espio would need his help.
The door soon opened, revealing a tired-looking bee, who was yawning. He took one look at Silver, then turned to face into the building. "VEEEECTOOOOR."
A minute or so later, the large green crocodile appeared at the door, also yawning and tired-looking. But he seemed to snap awake when he realised who was standing at the door. "Hey… Hey, you're...uh...Silver the Hedgehog, right?"
Silver nodded.
"Espio's friend?" Vector ventured.
Silver nodded again.
"The one from the future?"
This time, Silver didn't bother nodding. "Look, is Espio alright? I've heard some rumours that...something happened."
Vector's expression changed again, this time to one of relief. "Oh, you're here to help! Thank goodness."
"So...that thing DID happen?"
"I guess you've already heard…" Vector sighed, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. "Yeah it did happen, and Espio's been a mess ever since. You wouldn't see that if you didn't know him well, though. He looks perfectly okay to any normal person. But he's...he's not."
"He hasn't meditated since it happened!" Charmy burst out suddenly. "And he meditates every day, normally! Now, he just sits on the roof and stares at nothing all day!"
Silver hesitated. "And he's there now?"
"He hasn't come down since it happened," Vector responded morosely. "He won't speak to me or Charmy. He won't eat. He just won't move at all." He gave the hedgehog a pleading look. "Hey, I know you two haven't known each other very long. But...could you try talking to him? He might listen to you."
With no hesitation at all this time, Silver nodded firmly. "Of course."
With that, he activated his psychokinesis and flew up to the slanted roof, landing on the very top. He immediately spotted the purple chameleon sitting near the edge, legs spread out in front of him. He had his back to Silver but the hedgehog just knew what kind of expression he would find on his friend's face. And sure enough, when Silver floated down to sit next to the chameleon, he found him staring out at the sky, a dull expression on his face.
"Hey, Espio," the hedgehog said softly.
If Espio was aware of his presence, he didn't show it.
"I...uh...heard about what happened." Silver lifted his hand to place it on Espio's shoulder but faltered. "How are you doing?"
He got no response from the chameleon.
Finally, he decided to just talk and see if Espio responded to anything he said. "So you haven't told your friends about us yet, have you? I can understand that. I guess it can be hard to tell your closest friends about who you're dating, even when it's not someone of the same gender. I just thought…" He hesitated. "N-No, nevermind. I won't force you to do anything you're not comfortable with doing."
Apart from lowering his eyes, Espio didn't respond to that either.
"Look, remember something I said to you during our first mission together?" Silver burst out suddenly. "When we were confronting Eggman Nega and his newest massive robot, and Knuckles and Rouge showed up as well? Do you remember what I said to you, despite us being outnumbered and grossly outsized?" Despite his question, he didn't wait for an answer; he doubted Espio would have given him one anyway. "I said "Come on, Espio. We can take them all on." And what happened next? We won." Silver let out a weak laugh. "We actually won. We beat Eggman, a robot five times our size, one of the strongest beings on the planet, and a flying thief. All at once. I mean, if we can do that, we can do anything."
Espio slowly drew his legs to his chest and folded his arms on his knees, finally tearing his gaze away from the horizon to look directly at Silver.
The hedgehog seized this opportunity. "Whatever happened, we can deal with it together, okay? That's what we do. We take everything on and we win. Together."
He held out his hand towards Espio, who glanced down at it for a moment. Just as Silver decided to retract his hand, the chameleon very slowly lifted his own hand and placed it in Silver's. A smile spread over the hedgehog's face and he closed his fingers around Espio's hand, squeezing it tightly.
"Sonic was fighting one of Eggman's robots in the marketplace," the chameleon croaked abruptly, his voice sounding dry and unused. "I was there alone, trying to get the civilians out of the way. But I wasn't paying attention to the fight, and as I was helping a child find his mother, I didn't realise I was in the firing line. Until…" Espio's own grip tightened on Silver's hand. "Until I felt someone push me aside. It was the child's mother."
Silver felt his eyes prick with tears. Even though Espio hadn't told him the civilian's exact fate yet, he just knew that it had ended very badly. "Oh, Espio…"
"She...took the shot that was meant for me. I… I held her in my arms as she died, right before her child's eyes."
"Espio…" Silver closed his eyes briefly, allowing a couple of tears to slip from his eyes.
"If I had only...paid more attention…" Espio's already weak voice cracked. "...then maybe…"
"Espio, she made her choice," Silver murmured, using his other hand to grasp the chameleon's shoulder. "She chose to save you. Nobody told her to. Nobody made her do it, least of all you. Without her, you would have died."
"Ninjas are supposed to protect people, Silver!" Espio's voice rose. "At the expense of their own life, if necessary! They are not supposed to let others die for them!"
"You couldn't have done anything!" Silver matched Espio's volume. "You're not omnipotent, nor can you be in two places at once! You saved how many other civilians that day?"
"I… That's not the point…"
"Yes it is, Espio," Silver said, lowering his voice. "Look, trust me when I say this: if you focus on the negatives all the time, it'll drive you mad. I can tell you that from experience. You have to celebrate your triumphs as well as mourn your failures. And it seems to me that you've done all the mourning you can bear and then some. Please… Give yourself a break. Your friends are really worried about you."
"Vector and Charmy…" Espio hesitated, his eyes shifting away. "Did they call you?"
"No, I heard some rumours and came to see if you were okay." Silver gave a reassuring smile. "You're okay now, right?"
After a short pause, Espio slowly nodded. "Yes. I think...I will be okay."
"Good." Silver glanced away for a few seconds, before turning back. "Do you want to sit here for a while longer? The sun's going to set soon."
After another hesitation, the chameleon nodded. Silver then put his arms around Espio, who leant closer to him and rested his head on the hedgehog's shoulder. They both stared out at the setting sun, which was turning the sky pink and orange.
"We CAN take anything on, right?" Espio whispered suddenly. "We can beat anything together, right?"
"Yes, Espio." Silver's grip on the chameleon tightened unconsciously. "We can."
We can.