Ok, so here's a story I worked hard on. I think it actually turned out rather unique. Also, if you find yourself wondering, I intentionally made it ambiguous to if Sonic's openly gay, mostly because I wanted to focus on Silver (hence it being his point of view).

This is meant to be light and make you smile or "aww" but it will not go too in depth with the relationships of any characters. I think I'll eventually create a multi-chapter fic for that.

I think this is my most significant story to date, because not only did I work really hard on it, but it also is part of a kinda turning point in my life. I really relate to Silver in this story, and it's based on personal experience in a way (Although obviously my moment was much less thrilling and spontaneous).

So yeah. This comes from the heart. Enjoy!

Drenched in Discoveries

The soft drumming of water continued resonated in my ears even after I stepped out of the shower. I sighed to myself and stared dejectedly at the rain-stained window besides my as I rushed a towel through my quills. Shaking the excess water from my body like a wet dog, I dashed to my room with a toothbrush hanging from my mouth. I was late.

Blaze of course was blatantly shouting at me from downstairs to, and I quote, "hurry your ass up before set you on fire, you girl." So what if I take a while to get ready? She's the childish one for not appreciating my effort to look good before going out to see friends. This sexy hairdo (quilldo?) ain't natural!

Three more minutes and I was downstairs. Blaze was already in her raincoat, and she handed me a half-toasted bagel (which I ate in seconds) before shoving me out the door and slamming it shut behind us. "Come on, Silver! I told Amy we'd be by ten minutes ago!" she complained.

"Wait! If you're not gonna let me grab a coat then what was the point of having me take a shower," I protested. "You know how much I hate the rain anyways," I muttered, feeling the drops travel sluggishly along my skin. Nothing was more irritating than the damp heat of late summer. Each day was horribly humid and felt like living in a giant oven, the only break being the constant drenching downpours that seemed to arrive every other day, although they weren't much to cool you off. As I stumbled out the door though, I noticed the gentle rain was rather relaxing as opposed to the violent daggers of liquid that usually came with the summer storms. It was like something was different today, and it reminded me of the first days I had been transported to this new world, my new home of Mobius.

Yup, me and Blaze lived here now. After that whole scene with Mephiles and Iblis and Soleanna, all of the events were erased by Sonic and Elise. Luckily, we somehow all managed to maintain our memories. Good thing, too! Who knows, if I hadn't I may have been still trying to murder Sonic...

Soon after, Blaze and I had realized we had nothing to live for in the future. It had been saved, but there had never been anything or anyone there for us. When we lived there we fought to survive, it wasn't like we were living in mansions with plenty of friends to hang out with. So after much contemplation and discussion with our friends, Blaze and I had managed to build ourselves a cozy little home with what little we had (much credit to my telekinetic powers and cheap Ikea furniture). Sonic, Tails, and the others were very kind to us throughout the process of trying to settle, and Blaze and I had eachother. After a year of adventures and mishaps (and some Olympic Games with the Mario team...), the two of us somehow managed to accustom to the craziness that is the the world of Sonic. So that brought us to now, ten minutes late to our own 1 year arrival anniversary party with Blaze fuming as she practically ran along the road and with me cluelessly trying to keep up.

"Here," Blaze started, with a pityful sideglance to me. She reached into her flowing leather coat. Well wasn't that practical. She pulled out a royal violet umbrella and held it out to me. I accepted it graciously, muttering a quiet thanks. I clicked the bottom and watched the umbrella shoot up like a cork from a champagne bottle from its restraints with a fwomp. The pair of us made our way through the barren streets silently, the pitter-patter once again flooding my eardrums. We saw not a single soul on our way to our destination, and all was still (save the drumming of the droplets of rain).

"You know, it's really awfully kind of Amy to throw us a party," Blaze told me, matching my footsteps beside me on the sidewalk. "Be sure to say thank you and be polite to her."

"Yeah, yeah. I know," I waved her off.

"And don't make any snide comments about her, erm, obsession," she said. She was referring to the "incident" last weekend. Sonic had blown her off to take the tornado with Tails into the city, and Amy had not taken kindly to that one bit. Tragically, I had somehow managed to find her at the worst time possible, caught up in a state of pure rage and on the verge of tears. I then made the worst mistake of my lifetime and asked if she had seen Sonic at all, as I had left my iPod at his place. She misunderstood and thought I was taunting her, one thing led to another, and let's just say that a piko hammer to the jaw doesn't feel too great. That girl may be small but she sure packs a punch!

"Ok! I won't!" I exclaimed short-temperedly "Jeez, stop mothering me. I'm not a child!" I crossed my arms defiantly and rather ironically childishly.

"Well you sure act like one!" Blaze tried to maintain a steady scowl, but a giggle betrayed her stern attitude. "God, we bicker like an old married couple," she mustered through her restrained laughter.

I glared at her for a few seconds, but there was no way I could stay mad at my best friend. Her infectious giggling spread as quickly as a wildfire and soon I was soon bent over in laughter. After I laughed myself out totally and stood winded, I shook some of the rain from my fur and continued to walk with her. "Guess that's what happens when you're friends with someone for so long," I mused.

Blaze had stopped laughing and she took on a little bit of a crestfallen face. "Yeah, I guess so..." She gazed off into space, suddenly aloof. This confused me slightly, how she went from bent over laughing to awfully aloof in a matter of seconds. Before I had much time to consider it, she spoke up again. "Look, there's Amy's place right there," she stuck out a finger towards the pink house at the end of a dead end. She nudged my side with her elbow. "Guess you'll finally be able to dry yourself off," she noted with a smug smirk.

I rubbed the back of my head bashfully, careful not to disturb my slightly droopy, dripping quills and gave a slight laugh. "Yeah, finally I can get out of the soggy weather." Together we strolled to the door and swung it open. Blaze called out to Amy that we had arrived and we slipped off our soaked shoes. In a few quick seconds our pink host was in front of us.

"Oh, Silver, you're soaked! Please, let me grab you a towel!" She suggested politely. I accepted the offer graciously.

"That'd be great, Amy! Maybe if someone hadn't shoved me out the door without letting me grab my coat, we wouldn't be having this issue..." I explained. Blaze shot me a glare as she hung her coat on a wall peg and Amy just giggled.

Right before she dashed to the bathroom, she nodded her head towards the living room. "Everyone's in there hanging out, you two can head in." She dashed off.

Blaze and I slipped into the room and I absorbed the scene quietly. The room was quite large, with enormous glass windows covering nearly an entire wall (although today the blinds were shut, artificial lamp light illuminating the room). A couch, a few chairs, and a beanbag were positioned facing the large plasma-screen TV, and behind those in the corner were a few wooden chairs positioned around a fair sized table. A few wooden bookshelfs with intricately carved designs lined the walls they were built into, with potted plants and such sitting upon them decoratively. All in all, it was a quite homey room, with a slight modern charm.

Shadow sat on the chalk colored couch, with Rouge clinging to his arm needily. Shadow of course was completely oblivious to her existence completely absorbed in some sort of nature documentary on TV. I shuddered at the sickening sight of a lion devouring an innocent deer, and Shadow leaned in to get a better view. I'll never get that guy. A few feet away in an armchair sat Knuckles, glaring daggers at Shadow, also being sure to sneak glimpses at Rouge. She snuggled into Shadow a little and I didn't have to look to know Knuckles was giving a stare that could kill. Blaze decided to wander off and say hello to Rouge.

On the other side of the room, around the table, sat Tails, Cream, and Sonic. Tails and Cream were deep in conversation, leaning into eachother so close that their noses were nearly brushing eachother. Tails held some sort of blueprint, and appeared to be pointing out different pieces to Cream. Sonic sat on the other end of the table with his chin resting in his palm looking rather bored. I found something about the scene captivating and I carried myself over to the quirky little scene.

As I approached, I realized Tails was explaining how the tornado worked to the curious rabbit beside him. The two were basically in their own little world. Sonic was looking rather lonely when he finally noticed me approaching. He grinned and stood up as I drew near. "Hey Sonic," I called.

"Hey, bud! Happy one year anniversary of living here!" He greeted casually, but as he inspected my posture he frowned. I suddenly grew self-conscious and my face nearly flushed.

"Is something wrong?" I asked nervously.

"No it's nothing. It's just you're wet and you look real cold," Sonic explained. I realized then that I was hunched over and shivering slightly with my arms crossed, apparently to Sonic for warmth. I straightened up immediately. "Uh, yeah, it's not that bad. Really, I just forgot a coat. Amy's supposed to be grabbing me a towel right now, actually," I explained, slightly embarrassed.

As if on cue, Amy showed up that moment with a fluffy white towel in her hands. "Here you go, Silver," she offered it over with a smile. I accepted it gratefully and mumbled out a thanks. I quickly ran the towel through my quills, soaking up the dampness. When I was done, I handed the towel back to Amy, who seemed entranced with me for the moment. She quickly snapped out of it and told me it was no problem with a giggle. After acceptinh the wet towel, she skipping off to put it away. Sonic just raised an eyebrow in what seemed to be amusement. Uncomfortable silence ensued.

"So, what's up with those two," I inquired with a flick of the eyebrow to Tails and Cream across the table, who were still deeply captivated with eachother. "They in love yet, or what?" I joked.

Sonic laughed casually. "Naw, not yet. Or at least they haven't noticed yet," he explained "To be honest, Tails hasn't said a word to anyone else since we got here. Both of them are oblivious to everything around them." Sonic turned to Tails and called his name in demonstration, to no avail. Tails didn't even bat an eye. Sonic turned back. "See?"

I laughed warmly. "Guess that must be what it feels like to be in love for the first time.."

Sonic gave me a curious look, as the smile ran away from his face. "Yeah, I guess so." For a second I lost him to his thoughts and he stared into space, but he came back down to earth quite quickly. He leaned in close to me, and almost in a whisper spoke to me secretively.

"Hey Silver, to be honest I don't wanna deal with the little love triangle over by the TV," he nodded over to where Shadow, Rouge, and Knuckles sat, and drew my eyes to Knuckles' clenched fists, indicating a fight was sure to occur. I nodded in agreement and Sonic continued. "And as adorable as these two lovebirds are, it's boring as hell sitting with them. And don't even get me started on Amy," he chuckled. I raised an eyebrow and nodded again.

"I really don't wanna be here right now, and I can tell that you feel awkward around here too." It was true, now that I thought about it. I really didn't want to be here around all these people very much right about now. "What do you say we head out to the gardens for a little while and get some fresh air? I bet it's a lot better than in here," he reasoned. The gardens were in a meadow just through the woods behind Amy's house.

I considered the proposal for a second. "I don't know Sonic, the rain's coming down pretty hard out there, and I literally just dried off..." Although I didn't say it out loud, I also didn't wanna leave Blaze alone here. She was like my buffer when I got myself into a bad social situations. I felt unguarded leaving her here, what if I said something stupid to piss off Sonic and he stopped talking to me! Although it was unlikely, anything could happen to an awkward guy like me and I didn't really want to get my self into a situation like that.

"Aw, come on. The rain's nothing! And if you're worried about leaving Blaze here alone, she's getting along fine with Rouge. Amy will talk to her too, if she doesn't hunt me down for leaving first. You'll be fine without Blaze for fifteen minutes!" It was like he read my mind

I thought about it once more, and decided that I'd play along. "Alright, I'm in Sonic. Let's go," I smiled at him and he grinned back conspiratorially.

"Awesome, follow me!" He cheered, and dashed off through the back door. We slipped into the rain without drawing any attention to ourselves, and at first the trickling of the droplets on my skin sent a shiver down my spine. It almost felt good. Sonic sped off through the trees and grass towards Amy Rose's famous rose gardens.

I pursued him through the bushy gateway and into the garden. I came to a dead halt the second I entered the garden. My jaw hung open in suprise and amazement. Roses of all colors grew everywhere, in every corner and every inch of bush. They glistened in the rain and the sight made me gasp and gape. I had heard of the beauty of this place, but I never really had the time to see it. How Amy managed to keep it so beautiful astonished me. The gardens were arranged in a large circle around the center, where a brick path led to two small benches facing eachother. It was undescribeably serene and almost romantic, like a scene out of a storybook.

Sonic spun around in circles with his arms out to catch the rain and his head to the skies, eyes shut softly. He moved so...gracefully. I stood at the entrance, entranced by his swift movements as he spun and danced in the rain. Finally he plopped himself down on one of the soaked benches, water splashing to the ground, with a large grin glued on his face. He noticed me frozen at the entrance with my incredulous look.

"It's beautiful, isn't it," he said. "Come on, sit down," he motioned to the bench across from him.

I slowly wandered to the famous hedgehog ahead of me while trying to take in everything at once, still in shock of how amazing everything looked in this place. What sorcery was this?

"I...it's so...I mean..." I stammered harshly. Mentally, I facepalmed hard. I of course had just ruined such a gorgeous moment with my ungraceful stuttering. Way to go, me. Sonic just laughed.

"Yeah, it had that effect on me too the first time I saw it," he explained. I breathed a gentle sigh of relief, glad that I wasn't the only one with such a dramatic reaction.

Sonic slapped the bench across from him, signaling for me to sit down across from him. I plopped my self down roughly on the seat, and realized my feet were actually aching by now from all the walking I had done today. I was glad to be resting myself here. Sonic leaned his head back on the bench, and I mimicked him. I let the rain wash over me like bathwater, drowning out my busy mind. We sat like that for what was actually quite a bit. By the time Sonic spoke again I was in a state of total bliss.

"You know, I love the rain more than anything," he thought out loud. I responded with a questioning "hmm?"

"Yeah, really. I love the way it just rinses me out. I feel like I'm being refreshed, renewed or something," he continued. "You know, I don't really show it very much, but I get crazy stressed out during my adventures. It feels like the only time I really get to relax and let go off that stress is when I go for a run in the rain. I guess that it's also partially related to the fact that I always envisioned all my perfect moments happening in the heart of a storm. Proposing on a sunny beach is so cliche, or dying in gloomy hospital bed. I want the last thing I feel to be the rain," he mused.

I pondered this a bit. It felt kind of out of character for Sonic the Hedgehog to enjoy the rain. He always seemed to be the kind of guy who would live for sunny days. Everything Sonic did was bright and joyful, nothing like the somber rain. It was like he was sharing a deep secret with me.

"Hm, I never really thought about it that way," I said. "I've always kind of felt like rain was a sobering truth. The sun exists to bring warmth and comfort, and the rain is there to contrast that. It makes me take a step back and think a little about life. It's like light and darkness or something. I don't know." I felt like a fool and a poet trying to express myself.

Sonic smiled. "Like us? We have completely different views on something as simple as rain," he explained, an almost amused expression flashing across his face. "Deep conversations in the rain, that's what life's all about," he laughed. I chuckled a little bit, and the both of us grew silent.

Rain continued to pour down on us. I felt the thickness in my fur and thought about how my sleek, soaking coat was probably blinding at the moment with its reflective quality. Subconsciously, I noticed a droplet of water gather on the bridge of his nose. I watched it grow heavy, and trickle sluggishly down his features and then his slim chest. When I finally realized what my eyes had doing while my mind had zoned out, I tore my eyes away. I didn't mean to do that! But I had been looking, and it was embarrassing. Now one important thing about me: I most definitely am not a common blusher, but when I do, it's GLARINGLY obvious. With pure white fur, it's not exactly easy to hide. Right about now I'm pretty sure my face looked like someone spilled tomato soup all over my cheeks.

Sonic still had his face turned to the sky, and I was hoping he wouldn't notice the rosiness on my face. I was so totally caught up in hoping he hadn't noticed that I barely caught Sonic's words when he whispered them to me.

"Silver, are you straight?"

What?! Where did that come from! Of course I was straight! Why would he ask such a question? Had he caught my blush without even looking down? My mind was racing with questions. I just wasn't getting a break today! Now Sonic thought I was gay, and I felt extemely uncomfortable.

"W-what? N-n-no! Wait y-yes, I mean, w-why?" I stuttered uncontrollably, totally startled.

"Silver," Sonic tipped his head down to face me and responded calmly "There's not a single thing wrong if you're not. And I think we're close enough that you can let me know which way you roll," he reasoned. An expression of understanding rested on his face.

"What! But why do you think that I'm g-g..." I trailed off.

Sonic didn't even have to think about it. "Silver, you've never had a single girlfriend. Think about it. I've never heard about a single crush from you, the closest thing being Blaze. Plus, you could get Blaze any time you wanted, but you don't even try to make a move on her! And it's not only her, have you ever seen the way Rouge and Amy look at you?"

"That's not right, Rouge flirts with everyone," I retorted. "And Amy is just super nice. And Blaze and I are only friends, I swear," I protested.

"You know that's not true, the girls ogle at you all the time," Sonic countered. "And they have perfectly good reason to, you're adorable! And if you really don't think I have enough evidence to consider you gay, then let's step back five minutes to when you were checking me out. Don't think you can hide a blush like that, and it most definitely was not coincidental. Silver, whether you like it or not, I'm almost positive you're gay even if you haven't realized yet Beig gay isn't exactly a bad thing, Silver. First you need to accept it," Sonic concluded his rant. I stared back blankly, trying to process the information.

"Did you just...did you just call me adorable?"

Sonic shut his eyes tight in frustration and literally facepalmed. His expression reflected his exact thoughts, that I was missing the point.

Ok, so maybe I never really had time to even think about having a girlfriend, but that doesn't make a guy gay, does it? But then, I never really considered the possibility of dating a dude either. When it came to relationship stuff in general, I was usually just plain clueless, so I avoided the topic as much as possible. Blaze liked to tease me and call me her "naive little hedgie" to tick me off. I guess Sonic did have a little bit of valid reasoning for questioning me.

"Ok, ok, so I don't really know if I'm gay or straight. I just don't know! I never kissed a girl. I never kissed a guy. I don't bother to think about relationships and no ones really been there to guide me. You know as well as I do that I never had parents to teach me about this kind of stuff! And the only friend I've ever had is Blaze, who I only like as a friend by the way! Why is it such a big deal?"

"Silver, I just want to help you find yourself.." Sonic's voice was barely audible. I almost felt bad about the hurt in his voice from me nearly shouting at him. It was his fault for making me question myself anyways! Now I had to deal with feelings! I shuddered at the thought.

Sonic stared at me sadly and I turned my head away in annoyance. Like that stupid hedgehog was gonna get my pity now. I even gave a little hmph for dramatic effect.

"Silver?"

I didn't respond.

"Silver, I," Sonic paused, as if carefully planning out his next words. He sighed heavily finally. "Silver, I...I really like your gloves. The blue ring thingys look really cool." I could tell without looking that there was an apologetic smile forced on his face right now. I softened up a bit.

I turned my face back to him, but refused to make eye contact. I stared at the puddles around my feet instead "Thanks Sonic," I responded with what I hoped was an impassive tone. "They're actually part of my skin, and just shine through my gloves. I was born with irregular pattern in my fur as a result of my psychic powers," I explained, holding out my palm for him to look at. Sonic leaned in and took it in his own and started tracing the ring with his fingers.

"Wow, I guess I've just never been close enough to notice. It's really amazing," he mumbled.

I continued staring at the puddles shyly. Each drop of water seemed to create a whole chain reaction of ripples. "You're actually the first person who's ever complimented them..."

Sonic's eyes widened at my fingers. In suprise, he asked, "But why?! They're so beautiful!" He tugged at the corner of my glove, but stopped himself. He looked up to me and we finally made solid eye contact. His eyes were asking for my permission. "Can I..?" I nodded. He slid off my golden cuff and then the glove, placing them on the bench beside himself, and examined the glow of my cyan fur. "Awesome," he murmured under his breath. Rain gathered in the palm of my hand, glowing with the pattern.

"Thanks," I coughed out nervously. I felt awfully vulnerable with one of my hands completely exposed, but I ignored it.

"Hey Silv?" Sonic asked, finally tearing his attention away from my hand, but still grasping it firmly.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"Do you think you wanna find out?"

"I'm not quite sure what you mean by that, Sonic," I said.

"Do you wanna find out if you're gay or straight? I can help you," his eyes locked on mine intensely and I averted my gaze in discomfort. I pondered what he could mean for a second. Of course, being the clueless hedgehog I am, I had no clue whatsoever, despite how obvious his plan was. But the more I considered, the more I wanted to know. Mostly I was just curious as to how he was going help me find out.

"Ok, I'll bite. You can show me," I permissed. He smiled deviously. His right hand still gripping my own, he reached his left up to my left cheek. His sopping hand felt curiously reassuring. For a moment I felt peacefully comfortable. Then he pulled a risky move.

I felt my wrist being tugged, and before I could even process it Sonic had pulled me from the bench across from him into his lap. My mind went into full overdrive, and I swear it was the perfect set up for a panic-attack. My voice came out in an alarmed quiver when I spoke. "Sonic, what are you-"

My speech was cut off by silky lips crushing against my own. He leaned in a little too hard and I flinched at the contact. The taste of rainwater invaded my mouth, the only part of my body it hadn't soaked through to yet. I realized that my eyes were half-lidded in what could only have been enjoyment and my fingers were now completely laced with Sonic's as I sat, lip-locked with the hero of Mobius. For a brief moment my mind emptied and I understood why Sonic loved the rain. All my worries washed away and all I felt was the contact I held with The one I was kissing. The moment was over when my eyes shot open in realization, and the kiss was over before my thoughts had time to return. Short and sweet.

Short and sweet...so sweet... The last thought I had before my mind went blank again, this time in shock. I zoned out totally. I gave an empty stare to Sonic, who at the moment seemed to be eagerly awaiting some form of response. He was giving me time to think, but at some point it seemed he couldn't take the anticipation. He waved a hand in front of my face and snapped his fingers. "Silver?"

I reacted by blinking wildly, then spoke. "I'm in your lap?" It came out somewhere between a statement and a question. I could feel Sonic squirm nervously beneath me.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Got a little carried away. You can move if you wanna..." He began to shift below me.

"No!" I gripped his hand tightly. "Er, I mean, this is really comfortable. You're wet and warm and I like it," I trailed off. I must have sounded dumb right now.

"Oh, ok," he said. "I like it too," he added.

"Soooo," I began, but took nearly a full minute to finish it. Sonic and I stared at eachother. I didn't know what I was supposed to do at this part. "What now?..." That was where Sonic finally lost his patience.

"DID YA LIKE THE DAMN KISS OR NOT?!" Sonic snapped impatiently.

I was startled, and the first thing I blurted was a loud "Yes! Of course!"

A sheepish look emerged into Sonic's face and he grew shy once again. I tried intensely to read his emotions as I waited for a response. He seemed to be unsure how to express himself at the moment. Sonic loosened his grip on my hand and let it fall into his lap. "I'm glad you enjoyed it, buddy. I guess I can cross 'romantic kiss in the rain' off my bucket list."

I blinked at him. "Heh, yeah, me too." I paused. "I guess I can also cross of 'finding out my sexual orientation' now-I don't know if I like girls but I'm definitely into boys." I smiled lightly and edged off Sonic's lap back onto my own bench.

Sonic laughed abruptly and casually, so carefree. He stood and stretched himself all the way out, casting a subtle wink in my direction. "Well, now that we've gotten that all sorted out for you, we should really get back to the party before Amy freaks on me. She's gonna kill me when she figures out I ditched her. I don't think I've ever actually avoided her this long at once. We got lucky today!" He told me. "Must be the rain."

I laughed with him. "Haha, yeah probably," I told him. "You know, it's funny. I honestly have always despised the rain more than the Brits despise Americans (new fave expression-you know it's true). But I guess things change, and maybe the rain isn't that bad," I decided. "It brings things sunshine never could," I added

Sonic gave me a curious look, but his face was understanding. "I'm glad we came out here today, Silver. And I'm glad I helped you find out something about yourself," he told me.

"Thanks, Sonic," I grinned mischievously, a lightbulb going off in my mind. "Race you back to Amy's?"

"You don't even have to ask!"

The last thing we heard before we took off was the sound of Amy's furious voice searching for her obsession. SONNNNIIIIICCCCCC, WHERE ARE YOOUUUUU.

Thanks for reading guys! Hope you enjoyed, read and review!