Silver was starting to feel cold. Several minutes had passed as he crouched lower into the bushes, tightening his jacket as the cool crisp autumn breeze blew over him. But he kept still, his eyes stationary to the lavender cat ahead of him that was raking the orange, red, and yellow leaves into a small pile in her lawn. He smiled, thinking of what her expression would look like when he put his devious plan into action.
If only it wasn't so cold.
He watched his child hood friend stop for a moment to lean on her rake and wipe an arm over her forehead. She only had a few more spots of scattered leaves to rake up before she could finally be done. Then she could go inside, snuggle up next to the fire, and enjoy a cup of hot coffee. Yeah, that'd be nice…
Trying her best to avoid stepping on the leaves around her, she raked the last dozen of them into the pile. She smiled victoriously as she surveyed the completed task. Now all she had to do was burn them to make sure the wind didn't divide up again.
Unfortunately for her, Silver decided now would be a good time to strike.
"Geronimo!" Silver cried out as he gave a tremendous leap, doing a mid-air somersault, and landed with a crunch in the leaves, separating them over the lawn once again.
The reaction was immediate.
"SILVER!" Blaze roared, throwing down her rake, "What is wrong with you? Do you have any idea how long it took me to rake that? Why on earth would you do that? WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?"
"Ah, come on, Blaze!" Silver cackled. "That was fun and you know it!"
"Maybe for you!" Blaze huffed, crossing her arms, "Now I have to start all over!"
"No you won't." Silver said, standing up and dusting off the leaves on his white fur and jacket, "You honestly think I would be so cruel as to leave you with the mess again? You know me better than that."
Silver stood in front of the demolished pile of now broken leaves and held up his hands. They started glowing light blue as he activated his telekinesis powers. Gradually, they all floated back to the pile, mending into the mound it was before. Silver grinned as he turned back to Blaze, seeking approval.
"That's better." Blaze said. "Now, help me get it into that trash can over there so I can-"
"Wee!"
Crunch!
Blaze sighed, shaking her head, as Silver landed again into the leaf pile. But she couldn't help but smile at his childish behavior, as he waved his arms around laughing and watching the bright colored leaves gently float back down. He grinned again at Blaze, holding out a hand to mend the pile back again. He then stood up and unexpectedly grabbed Blaze's paw.
"C'mon, do it with me this time! It'll be fun!" He said, his gold eyes gleaming excitingly.
"What? No! Silver, I just want to clean this up before-"
But Blaze didn't get to finish, as Silver suddenly lunged forward brining the she-cat with him. She yowled as she landed thrashing to sit up, the leaves obscuring her vision and cackling next to her ears. She flipped over, suddenly facing the golden autumn sky. She blinked, watching the leaves above her lazily drift back to the ground. She suddenly smiled, turning her head to the white hedgehog beside her.
"Okay, that was pretty fun."
He smirked. "Told ya."
"But now we need to clean it up."
Blaze hauled herself off the leave covered ground, offering a hand to help Silver up. She grabbed the aluminum trash can next to the tree as Silver restored the leave pile again. He then transported the pile into the can, where Blaze snapped her fingers to start a small flame, setting fire to the leaves. They stood next to each other, watching the flames lick the leaves away turning them to ash.
"You don't do many fall activities, do you?" Silver asked Blaze when they had finished cleaning up the remains of the ashes.
The question was a bit random to Blaze. "Well, sure I do." She answered. "I mean, I was raking the leaves a moment ago, wasn't I?"
Silver shook his head. "That's not a fall activity. That's a fall chore. Jumping in the leaves was a fall activity."
"I did that."
"Yeah, with my help."
Blaze sighed at him. "Well, then no, I don't do a lot of fall 'activities.' So?"
"So, you're missing out!" Silver said, kicking a small rock off her porch. "There are so many fun things to do when it's fall! There's apple cider, and pumpkin picking and loads more!"
"Doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me." Blaze answered stubbornly.
"You also didn't think that jumping in the leaves would be fun."
"Hmm….Touché. Still, I'm not convinced."
"Well, it's hard to explain through talking…" Suddenly Silver jumped up in excitement. "I know! How about I just show you how fun it is? Today, it'll just be you, me, and fall filled awesomeness!"
Blaze tilted her head thoughtfully. Spending the day with Silver just so he could prove her wrong? She didn't think she was wrong actually, but it could be fun… She's noticed that she's been having really weird feelings around him lately. She'll suddenly smile when he does, and feel happy when he laughs, and she blushes around him. It feels…odd. Not bad, just odd. She'd like to know what it is she's feeling. Maybe a day with him will help…
"Okay, I'll give it a try. But I still think it's a bit pointless."
Silver beamed. "You won't for long! Now let's go."
"Where?" Blaze asked, as he grabbed her hand and began dragging her away from her porch. He turned his head to give her a knowing smirk.
"To the pumpkin patch, of course."
"Wait till we carve this bad boy, Blaze!" Silver said animatedly as he hauled the giant pumpkin onto the table. "This'll change your mind about fall!"
"I doubt it." Blaze answered, running her gloved hand down the skin of the pumpkin. "I don't exactly fancy getting all that gunk out."
"But that's the fun part!"
The pumpkin weighed at least ten pounds, and was as high as below Blaze's knees. It was bright orange, with a few bruises on the side, and a brown twisted stem.
"Why did you have to get the big one anyway?" Blaze asked Silver as he dug into the grocery store bag full of supplies for the pumpkin.
"Because, if this is your first pumpkin, I wanted to make sure it was a good one. Y'know…just in case it's your last…" He murmured the last part.
"I see. So, how're we gonna do this?"
"Okay, first we need to cut open the bottom. Then after that, we need to get out the gunk. Then we'll choose one of pumpkin patterns to follow, then cut along the patterns line, and then once the patterns in place we'll put a candle at the bottom so it'll shine through. It'll look really cool!"
"Sounds easy enough. Let's get started."
Silver flipped the pumpkin over on the newspaper and dug his knife into the skin. He cut open a large hole and took it out to reveal the orange mess inside.
"Oh, yuck!" Blaze exclaimed, holding a hand over her nose. "That's really gross…"
"Ah, you'll get used to it!" Silver assured her, thrusting his hands inside to take out a chunk of pumpkin guts. Blaze reluctantly joined him, trying not to throw up as the gooey gunk slipped in her fingers.
"Why can't you just use your powers to dig it out?" Blaze asked, wiping the orange mess off her hands.
"Because," Silver grinned, "Where's the fun in that?"
Finally they got the rest of the muck out of the pumpkin, and Silver opened the pattern booklet.
"Let's see here…" He mused, flipping through the pages, "I don't think we should do the classic jack-o-lantern face; too original. We could do a black cat!"
"Nah." Blaze said, "It wouldn't be black, would it? The fire makes it orange."
Silver rolled his eyes. "That's not the point, Blaze; it would look creepy and scary, and that's what we're going for."
"Why?"
"Because it's so close to Halloween!" Silver grinned. "You'll go trick-or-treating with me, won't you? You'll love fall if you do that!"
"Aren't you a little old to be trick-or-treating?" Blaze asked, skipping through the patterns having to do with zombies.
"No! You're never too old to trick-or-treat! But that's not the point; the point is to find a good and scary pattern to impress people when you put it out on your front porch. Wouldn't want you getting egged, would we?"
"First of all, I'm not even sure I'm putting it on my porch, and second, I thought the point of all this was to prove that fall is fun?"
"Fine, fine, fair enough. Just choose one!"
"Kay, I choose….that one!"
Blaze pointed towards the said page, where there was a simple design of a bat.
"Alright. Why don't you poke the holes in, and I'll do the cutting?"
Blaze nodded, took the page out of the booklet and taped it to the pumpkin. She grabbed the poker and began to punch the holes in, being careful not to go outside of the line.
"Kay," Silver said taking off the page once she was done. "Now I'll cut it."
He grabbed the knife and gently pushed it through the skin. He sliced in jagged motions as he cut, following the dotted line that Blaze had made for him. He reached the end, and took the knife out, seeing it covered in pumpkin juice.
"Yuck. Lemme just clean this off…"
"Silver, don't." Blaze warned, "You're gonna-"
"Ouch!"
"Too late…"
Silver whimpered as droplets of blood oozed from the new cut. He placed it in his mouth and sucked on it gently, holding onto his wrist.
"I tried to warn you."
Silver gave her a sheepish glance.
Blaze skidded to her kitchen to bring out a package of band-aids, and came back to find Silver cradling his injured finger in his lap.
"Hold out your hand." Blaze instructed. She held it steadily, taking the band-aid and carefully applying it to the cut. Silver winced, and she ran her thumb over it soothingly. Then, for reasons she did not know, she tenderly kissed it.
Blaze slowly let go of his hand, and sparred a glance to see his expression. He looked a bit flustered, but had an almost appreciative look. He was smiling slightly, but the bright red hue spreading over his face seemed to cover it. Blaze was blushing herself, which she quickly tried to hide by turning away. Dang it…why did these things always happen around him?
"Uh, thanks." Silver mumbled, turning back to the pumpkin. "All we have to do is take these chunks out. Uh, why don't you get a candle and matches while I do that?"
Blaze nodded, and got up to get them. As she searched her closet, question ran through her head.
Why did she do that? Why did she blush? Why did he blush? What was he thinking? Does he think she's weird now?
She shook her head vigorously as she took out an unscented candle and a box of matches. She should probably just forget that ever happened. It'd just make the day incredibly awkward for both of them if she let it pester her for the rest of the day. If she let this feeling pester her. What was that emotion? Why was it always nagging at her from the back of her mind when she found herself thinking about him?
Why couldn't she figure it out?
She re-entered the room to find Silver waiting for her. "I've got it." She informed him.
"Oh, good." He smiled. "You ready for this?"
"Sure." She smiled back.
Silver placed the candle under the pumpkin, and lit a match. "Mkay, turn out the lights."
Blaze flipped the switch off, and the room darkened, the only source of light coming from the cracks of the window blinds. Silver lit the candle, then set the pumpkin over it.
"Whoa…" Blaze said silently. Silver was right; it was cool looking. The light from the candle shone through the holes emphasizing that it was a bat. The shadows crept out on the wall as the light spread across the floor and ceiling.
"So?" Silver prompted her, nudging her side with his elbow. "Pretty cool, huh?"
"Okay, you were right. This is cool." Blaze said, then after a pause added, "Though I could have done without the pumpkin gunk."
Silver groaned in exasperation, but was still smiling. "So close! Oh well, I still have backup things to do that might change your mind!"
Blaze smirked. "Lead the way."
"Silver, where are we going?" Blaze asked, pulling her jacket tighter around herself.
She surveyed the landscape of tall trees, brightly colored with its autumn leaves. She could feel the crunch of the fallen ones beneath her boots as they walked past a calm river. The water gliding along was the only sound she heard apart from the light breeze and occasional sound of the birds chirping.
"You'll see. Just sip your apple cider and enjoy the sight." Silver answered her behind his shoulder. Blaze sighed, looking at the warm drink in her hand. She was reluctant to try it, for she'd never had apple cider before. But if Silver said it was good, then why not?
She brought the drink to her lips and breathed in its sweet fragrance. She then took a small sip, gulping it down her throat. It had a sweet, but strong flavor to it. It was warm, and had an almost cinnamon like tinge. It tasted like….like…
"It tastes kind of like fall." She said.
Silver laughed silently. "That's a good way to put it. It's a good drink to have when we're in this season. I can't believe you've never had it before."
"Me either." Blaze agreed, drinking again.
Silver stopped at the side of the river where a few rocks were lined across. "We're getting close to the spot, but we've got to cross this river first. Mind your footing. Wouldn't want you to fall in now…"
He carefully put on foot on the first rock, and then the next, hopping over to the other side. Blaze clutched her cup of cider in one hand, and gingerly set her left foot on the first rock. Silver reached out a hand to her, in case she needed steadying. Blaze stepped onto the next rock, but unexpectedly, a sudden small wave of chilling cold water rushed over her foot. She yelped as she slipped, the apple cider falling out of her hand, and tripping towards the water…
"Blaze!" Silver yelled, grabbing her hand and pulling her forward, her face inches from the water. They tumbled backwards, landing in a small pile of leaves, panting.
"You okay?" Silver asked, sitting up.
"Yeah…." Blaze answered, looking back towards the river. "Thanks, that was close. Er, sorry about the cider…"
Silver chuckled. "You think I care about that? You're way more important to me, Blaze."
Blaze blinked at him, before turning away, a new blush forming on her cheeks and that familiar feeling buzzing in the back of her mind.
"Anyways," Silver said, helping her up, "We're almost there. Let's keep going."
They continued to trek through the woods, talking and laughing until they came out of the forest, and approached a small hill with a large and twisted tree at the top. It was perfectly outlined against the sky, its bright leaves floating down and its branches lazily swaying.
"C'mon, I'll race ya!" Silver said, running towards the top. Blaze smirked, and dashed after him, laughing as she passed him, and watching him run to her the rest of the way. He reached the top, and then plopped down beneath the tree, sprawled out over the fallen leaves with his fingers linked behind his head. He smiled up at her, patting the ground next to him.
She lay down next to him, placing her hands over her stomach. She saw the tree top above her, and then the golden sky spread out from that, the delicate pink clouds painted across it.
"That one looks like a star." Silver said, pointing to one of them.
Blaze nodded in agreement, and pointed toward another one. "That one looks like a dragon to me."
"How so?"
"Well, you see there's the snout, and then the body and wings-"
"Oh, I see it! Hmm, that one over there looks kinda like that bat you did on the pumpkin."
"Yeah, it does! And that one over there - to the far left - looks a bit like a heart."
Silver tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. "So it does…" He lifted up one of his free hands in a curved arch and held it up to the side of the heart. Almost as if she was supposed to do it, Blaze used one of her hands to complete the hand heart. They both smiled at each other for no particular reason before setting their hands down.
"Hey…Silver?" Blaze said quietly.
"Yeah?" He turned his head to her.
"I…I, uh…" Blaze's voice faltered. Why couldn't she just say it?
"What?" Silver asked curiously, turning completely over to face her, one arm slung over his waist, the other propped up to support his head.
"Um, I want to thank you for today." Blaze said, "Really. It was a lot of fun. Fall is a lot of fun."
Silver beamed happily. "Really? So you've changed your mind?"
Blaze giggled slightly. "Yes, fall is awesome."
"I'm glad you think so! Y'know, I actually had a lot of fun too. I uh….I think I would have asked to spend the day with you anyways…" Silver averted his gaze from her, the red tinge from earlier showing up again.
"What do you mean?"
"Well….you're a really fun person, Blaze. I mean, sometimes you can seem a little anti-social, and stuff, but when people get to know you, then you're a great friend. Or…more…"
He was becoming bright red, and he was avoiding all eye contact from her.
"Silver…what are you saying?" Blaze scooted a little closer. He gradually looked up, his golden eyes burning into hers.
"I….well, I really like you, Blaze…"
"Silver…" Blaze spoke, now thoroughly as flustered as he. He leaned in closer, his expression hopeful, but uncertain. Blaze closed her eyes as he neared, his sweet breath on her face. Then, slowly, his lips met hers, caressing each other sweetly.
Then realization hit Blaze.
Love. That was the feeling that made her heart pound and her stomach flutter. She was in love with Silver. And he kissed her.
"Oh no…" Silver spoke quietly, pulling away when she didn't respond. He turned away from her, eyes shut tight, probably to keep sudden tears from spilling out. "Sorry, I didn't…I just thought…."
"Huh?" Blaze answered, dazed. Silver let out a long resentful sigh.
"You don't like me back, do you?"
Blaze sat up with him, and stared at him for the longest time. Then she smiled. And then she laughed.
Silver looked at her like she had lost her mind.
"Silver…" She spoke, smiling and leaning onto his shoulder. "Who wouldn't like you?"
Silver blinked in mild surprise, and relief. "You mean…?"
Blaze laughed, nodding and holding onto one of his hands. "I like you too, Silver."
Silver gave her a cheesy grin, and scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. "Well…good! Great, actually! Heh…"
They sat in pleasant silent for a few minutes, enjoying each other's company, before Blaze looked back up at the white hedgehog.
"This really was a great day. I had a lot of fun with you, and I hope we can do it again. I think fall is starting to become my favorite season…"
Silver gave another cheesy grin, squeezing her hand in his.
"Well, if you thought this was fun, you just wait until winter comes around."
A/N: I've always wanted to do a Silvaze story. ^_^ This was probably the longest one-shot I've ever done...
Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or it's characters.
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