A/N: This piece is a collab between myself and the-clarity-organism. I wrote Metal and they wrote Sonic

The cobblestones here were rough, not smooth like they were on the main path, where countless feet wore them down, day by day, until their round surfaces were slick and shiny. No, these cobblestones were rough and coarse, like stones should be. Stones that no one had touched.

There were no lights back here either—Spagonia's latest urban planning initiative was all about energy conservation—but it was easy enough to see by the bluish glow of the full moon.

They had been dating for an extended time now. Metal had gotten used to seeing Sonic, come to expect it even, like you might expect the mail to come every evening. So when Sonic had suddenly stopped showing up, after the planet had broken apart no less, Metal was naturally suspicious.

He wasn't stupid. He had calculated enough probabilities to assume Sonic still had to be alive. It wasn't a complete certainty, but Metal knew better than to doubt Sonic's capabilities; he was always ahead of the odds.

So he went looking, and when he finally did find Sonic back in this alley, the small, flying creature that was with him had fled. But Metal didn't pay attention to that. How could he? Not when Sonic's appearance had completely changed.

Yet, his surprise could only last for so long. Sonic's appearance was largely irrelevant—it was the exhaustion behind his eyelids that troubled Metal. If Sonic had legitimately not slept since Metal had last seen him, Metal was impressed, but not the slightest bit amused. Metal couldn't scold Sonic now. The top priority was rest.

Sonic had tried to evade the issue, instead explaining what had happened, how the Dark Gaia energy had turned him into this, and how Eggman had ruined the planet. He was now working with the small creature that had run away—his name was Chip Sonic said—to restore the planet.

But as Sonic recounted his experience, Metal noticed a distinctive pattern. Sonic sprinted through the day, and he clawed through the night. Never did he seem to pause, to sleep, to rest.

And yet all Sonic had were excuses. "It's not my fault. I can't sleep at night. My werehog form makes me nocturnal."

Metal was having none of them. "If you are nocturnal, this means you must sleep during the day."

"But I change back iduring/i the day, so then I'm not nocturnal anymore!"

"Sonic, that is not how your body works. Look at yourself. You are exhausted. You keep closing your eyes and tilting over—you are doing it right now!"

Sonic sighed, not annoyed, but clearly wanting to be done with the conversation. "Mets, I love you, but I don't have itime/i to sleep, okay?" His expression fell. "I have to fix what I broke..."

"Look at this logically: you cannot function without sleep. You are not going to fix the planet until you rest. And further—" Metal wrapped his arms around Sonic's shoulders, trying to get Sonic to lean against him. "We are all here to help you. To support you. You can rest because we will all fix the world—together"

Sonic immediately tried to pull away, knowing full well what kind of effect being this close to Metal would have on him. And yet, his efforts were in vain. His tired body reluctantly leaned in Metal's direction. "B-but...mm..."

At that point, Sonic was leaning most of his weight against Metal, so Metal started to lead him away. He had anticipated this—of the many possibilities he had calculated, one included Sonic not sleeping due to the world's current state—and so he had set up a large cushion and blankets in advance. They laid tucked against where the walls met, hidden away in the corner of the alley, a soft nest against the hard stones. "Let us try to get some rest tonight. The world will still be there tomorrow. I promise"

Sonic wanted to argue, but his mouth couldn't form any more excuses. Most of him was asleep by now, and while he still clearly looked distressed, he hugged Metal lovingly. There was something comfortable about hugging his robotic lover. "O-okay. Thanks..."

Metal settled him on the cushions. While Metal hadn't predicted that his boyfriend would turn into a large, wolf-like creature—he would need to update his probability set—he had brought extra blankets just in case, and the nest was just big enough for them to both lay side-by-side.

With Sonic on the cushions, Metal nuzzled up to Sonic's side, keeping his hand on Sonic's back. His fur was thick, like a rug laid over hardwood, and Metal could feel the coils of muscle underneath. "You are very tense. I can feel it. That is why you need to rest—it is how the body recovers."

Sonic nodded then chuckled, "I'm not too heavy for you, am I?"

"Do not be ridiculous. I was engineered to travel at mach speeds. You are not heavy."

Metal ran his fingers through Sonic's fur. While the outside was coarse, designed to keep out the elements, his undercoat was soft and thick. Metal had always appreciated Sonic's ordinary fur, so soft and smooth, and finding his boyfriend covered in even more of the wonderful fluff was almost too much for Metal. Still, he had to focus. He ran his fingers through the fur again then came to a stop at Sonic's forearm. The muscles here were especially tight, thick tangles of rope beneath the skin.

He pressed his palm against Sonic's muscles. He rolled his hand forward, slowly kneading away the tension.

Sonic let out a small whine at first, flinching as if he was resisting the massage. After a moment though, he relaxed. "H-heh, being fast doesn't mean strong; I'd probably know."

"True. You are much stronger now," Metal said. He ran his fingers up Sonic's arm to his shoulder—it wouldn't hurt to feel more of that silky, vibrant fur—massaging the tension as he went. "But you are not as heavy as that. You can only grow by so much and still obey the laws of thermodynamics."

Sonic laughed through his exhaustion. "I understand that kind of stuff even less when I'm tired, but I trust you."

He paused, then eyed Metal's shoulder. "Wish I could massage you too though."

Metal shrugged. "I am what I am—just as you are. It is enough that I am able to enjoy this time with you. Further, I believe you are at least entitled to a massage after all you have been through."

Metal pressed his palms against Sonic's shoulder blades, gently rolling Sonic onto his side. Fur covered Sonic's back, laid over his fine muscles like a pure sheet of snow draped over the land. Metal inched closer to Sonic, pressing his entire body against the fur, letting it brush over him, letting it bury him. He simply laid like that for a moment, then pulled back. He brought his hands up to Sonic's back, working his way up to Sonic's shoulders, kneading the stress from his body.

Sonic let out a low rumbling noise, similar to a purr. "I-I guess..." He leaned closer, trying to savor the sensation and, being so tired, numbly mumbled, "You smell nice."

After spending so much time with Metal, he had come to love the scent of Metal's machinery, and with his heightened sense of smell, Sonic could relish all of it: the scent of grease tucked between his joints, the scent of ozone from his hardware, and the clean, smooth scent of steel. All of it mixed together, complementing each other, like the spices of a fine wine.

Metal brought his hands to Sonic's lower back. Sonic was leaning almost all his weight on Metal, but luckily, Metal was incapable of becoming tired or uncomfortable, and he always appreciated being so close to Sonic.

Sonic was blaming himself for the broken world, and his guilt was driving him to exhaustion. Perhaps, if Metal reminded him of everything Sonic had done for Metal, he would realize there was nothing to worry about. "You have given me so much, Sonic. I cannot truly express it. To be here, with you, helping you restore the world—it means so much to me. Lending you my aid is the least of all I can do."

Sonic was silent, certainly hearing Metal but not knowing what to say. He wished he was better at words, or at least able to manage something just as heartfelt. His face flushed red as he held Metal's hand.

He turned, wrapping Metal in his arms, and kissed Metal's cheek.

"Thanks. You're awesome, you know that?" He was clearly very tired, but couldn't bring himself to sleep until he responded. "I don't think anyone else could get me to relax like you can."

Metal flushed slightly himself, the bottom of his optical screen glowing red. He leaned into Sonic and wrapped the tufts of fur on Sonic's chest between his fingers. "Well, the doctor did give me all of your data. It is only natural I would know where you hold your tension."

Metal paused for a moment, content to feel the weight of Sonic's body against his chassis. He continued, "I do worry about you, Sonic. You push yourself so hard."

Sonic scoffed, "The doc's data has nothing to do with it. All that analysis and learning stuff about me; that was all you...

"And I know. I'm sorry. It's just...scary, you know?" Sonic reached aside, pulling out one of the drained Chaos Emeralds and turning it in his hand. "They're not even responding to me anymore. I did that to them. I mean, I know it was really Eggman, but...I let him get away with it."

"Do not blame yourself for Eggman's doings. Believe me, I am very familiar with this path. It leads nowhere but madness." Metal took the Emerald from Sonic's hand and held it up to the moon. The moonlight shone across the dull surface, making it appear partially restored. "And yet you still have the Emeralds, do you not? And you know how to restore them even, with the Gaia Temples. You have made significant progress."

"With Chip's help, yeah." He joined Metal in gazing at the Emerald. "I'm just...so used to Eggman not being that big of a deal. Even the times with Chaos were more because of Chaos than Eggman, but... now? He split the world apart. He turned me into this...thing, and I don't even know if I can fix it."

He sighed, trying to focus on the sound of the machinery inside Metal, which he had found to be a comfort as of late. "I didn't think he'd actually be able to do so much. I saw people who couldn't get where they wanted to go because the planet's such a mess. He always got away, but...I should've tried harder to keep him from doing this."

"Perhaps you did underestimate Eggman. But that is in the past now, is it not? You cannot change what happened. You can only change what you will do in the future."

Metal placed the Chaos Emerald back in Sonic's palm, rolling Sonic's fingers over the gem. "And you cannot hope to stand up to Eggman unless you are in your best condition. Trust me, I was aware of Eggman's routines whilst he still controlled me. The doctor never skipped his sleep. He said he could not think optimally unless he got sleep."

Sonic faked a gag. "Ugh, you're trying to convince me to sleep because that's what Egghead does? You're pushing it there."

He paused, going over in Metal's words in his head again. "...But I guess this really can't go on forever, huh? I've been saving the world for years, but once he's gone, or locked up, or whatever happens, I won't have much else to do."

Sonic cringed, not wanting to think about Eggman dying—he didn't want to think about anyone dying, honestly—but he knew it was inevitable. Even though he didn't like his current form, it did give him a lot of time to think.

"Perhaps Eggman is a bad example. But we all know you need rest—myself, Tails, and even Chip. You cannot push yourself beyond your own limits."

Metal paused, resting his head against Sonic's chest. Sonic's breath was much heavier, much deeper in his Werehog form, and Metal found it fascinating. "And while we do need to plan, there is no need to think so far ahead. Such timescales are beyond what is immediately useful."

"Yeah, I know, but..." Sonic shook his head. "It's not that I'm worried about it. It's more like..."

He cleared his throat, blushing very mildly. "I'm just glad you're here. I never really thought about what I'd do in the future or if I ever wanted to have a love life, but then we just sort of...happened?"

He clutched Metal's hand tightly. "You're why I'm not worried."

Metal squeezed Sonic's hand in return. "I understand what you mean. It was the same for me—I had always wondered: what was I to do if I had ever completed the task Eggman gave me? What happened after I destroyed you? Without you, my existence would have no purpose, and even though I always understood that, I suppose I had never really considered the full implications of such a thing."

Metal leaned up and gently pressed his muzzle against Sonic's cheek, kissing him with a light spark.

"I greatly prefer this solution over whatever the doctor had in mind for me."

Sonic smiled softly despite the blush on his face. "Me too. It's good to know that, even though ol' Egghead causes a lot of problems, I still got you out of it."

Given that it was closest to him at the moment, he kissed Metal's forehead, keeping his muzzle there afterward to savor the warmth. "So it was worth the hundreds of thousands of his robot minions I had to kick."

Metal paused, allowing himself to fully experience Sonic's lingering kiss, then buried his face into Sonic's neck. "There is a certain level of irony to the situation, is there not? Eggman created me to destroy you, and yet here we are. Surely it is the stuff of Eggman's nightmares."

Sonic laughed, for once not even minding the rougher tones of his werehog voice. "Mets, this is WAY past 'certain level.' I don't even think there's a word for how ironic it is."

He relished the feeling of Metal against him, going so far as to gather Metal in his arms to help him get closer. "But yeah, nightmares are 100% guaranteed. I'll bet that even his daydreams are haunted."

Metal laughed, a soft, beeping tone, as he let Sonic pull him forward. Now this—this was it. Sonic's fur was all around him, draped over him like a sheet, and Sonic's arms were wrapped around him too. Metal was engulfed in fluff, and it was almost more than his sensors could handle.

"Oh yes, I am certain he just stews in it all day. It is exactly the opposite of what he intended. At least you can take solace in that—Eggman may have released Dark Gaia, but you have more than returned the favor to him."

Sonic smirked, feeling infinitely better despite the feeling of exhaustion. "And we don't have to be shy in showing it."

He leaned forward, ready to kiss Metal as an example, but stopped himself as dizziness hit. He groaned, feeling slightly guilty for ruining the moment, but tried to relax.

"We'll race tomorrow once I've gotten some sleep, alright?"

Metal took the lead, bring his own muzzle up to kiss Sonic's cheek. He then nestled back onto Sonic's chest.

"It is a date," Metal said. Though he hadn't said anything about it, his own systems were nearly depleted from the day, and he would need to enter sleep mode soon himself. "But for now—sleep. It is important."

"Mm." Sonic nodded. He ran a hand along Metal's head, taking in the warmth on his uncovered skin, then finally allowed his eyelids to shut voluntarily. He fell asleep in seconds.

Metal took a moment before activating sleep mode himself, watching Sonic's chest rise and fall with his breath. The pattern was rhythmic and comforting. Metal took one, last parting glance at Sonic, who was now peacefully asleep, then began to activate sleep mode himself, shutting off his systems until he too drifted offline.