The sun was just beginning to set, changing the sky into brilliant hues of reds, pinks, and orange. The water glistened in the evening light and lapped gently onto the shore. Sonic marveled at the view, and Blaze stood quietly beside him taking it all in. He looked over at her, the look of wonder not falling from his face. "What a view,"
"Mhm." Blaze cast her eyes to the ground, then over at him for a moment, before staring back out at the ocean.
"I mean, the sky is really nice, but…" Sonic trailed off, looking back to the water. He made a subtle movement of shifting just slightly closer to her, half hoping she didn't notice and one hundred percent hoping she didn't shift away.
Blaze, observant, noticed this. She did not shift away, but looked over at him for a moment, commenting somewhat stiffly, "It's beautiful,"
"Yeah…" Sonic started moving his right hand towards her left, but hesitated, bringing it back and fidgeting with it using his other hand. "So are you."
"Oh," Blaze glanced at him again and felt her cheeks begin to grow hot. She gingerly brought her right hand to her face.
"Sorry." Sonic chuckled awkwardly.
"No, it's fine, I just…" Blaze hesitated, lowering her hand again. "I wasn't expecting that."
"I don't want to make this weird." He smiled at her candidly. "But you look amazing in this lighting. It suits you."
Blaze returned him a shy smile. "Thank you."
They looked at each other for a moment, and he took in her lavender fur and amber eyes, situated in front of a fiery sunset, the evening sun coating her in a yellowish-pinkish glow, and he thought of her brilliance, of her pyrokinetic gift, her perseverance and the shy smiles she gave him sometimes. She examined him, cobalt blue with emerald green eyes, and she reflected on the way he so selflessly helped her and others, how he had such charisma, charm, and kindness. She noticed something written in his eyes as they traced over her, and she wondered what he could see in hers.
"I wish I could stay longer. Or swing by more often." He turned away.
"…Me too." Blaze replied, she stayed fixated on him for a moment, then shifted her weight so that she was slightly closer to him.
They stared out into the horizon in silence, both increasingly aware of some sort of tension between them. A few moments passed filled with nothing but the ocean breeze and the sound of waves. Sonic felt pressured by the realization that he may never see her again, coupled with the fact that she had not yet ceased to amaze him at every turn. He had no trouble with risks, but he knew here he faced the possibility of a hard-hitting rejection. One which, of course, he would brush off with an air of casual nonchalance and pretend hadn't majorly bruised his ego or hurt his feelings. Yet also, he wasn't sure what he was feeling, entirely, but he knew he had to act on it. It was now or never. They were alone on the beach, a rejection witnessed merely by the two of them would be significantly less painful than a rejection witnessed by most likely two others—Marine and Tails—as well. He shot her a glace, before he swallowed hard and cautiously moved his right hand closer to hers. He willed himself not to back out this time, and when their hands first made contact she flinched slightly, and looked down at her left hand. There was a split second of hesitation before she slowly laced her fingers with his. Sonic felt a rush of adrenaline and a feeling of accomplishment, and a somewhat giddy feeling started to bubble up. He smiled and locked eyes with her, and she shyly looked at him, with cheeks slightly flushed.
"I may never see you again." He said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
"I know," She replied. "It is… unfortunate."
"I'm glad I met you."
"…Likewise."
"I don't know how to say this, but I think you're amazing."
"I've never met anyone like you." Blaze looked at their hands, then up at his face. "I don't know if I'll ever meet someone that can compare."
Sonic mirrored her gesture, and nervously spoke. "Do you mind if I… I mean, we're alone, right? This might be my only chance… can I… uh…"
Blaze could feel her heart racing, and was doing her best to hold some kind of composure. "W-what is it?"
"Can I…" he let out a nervous laugh and gazed into her eyes, leaning slightly closer. "Can I kiss you?"
"Ah…!" She felt as though her temperature rose, and gave a slight nod. "Y-you may."
Sonic moved in closer and closed his eyes, hesitating only a moment before he gave her a quick peck on the lips. Afterward, he lingered close, and she delicately touched her right hand to her face again, feeling over her lips. "That felt… nice."
"Can I… do it again?" He asked, grinning.
"Yes." She smiled slightly, and this time he kissed her slower.
"Wow, that's… really something." He nervously rubbed at the back of his neck with his free hand.
She subtly leaned in again, before being interrupted by a loud "OI!"
Abruptly, they released each other's hands and split apart, each hoping they hadn't been entirely caught. Blaze felt a slight tinge of disappointment, and Sonic shared the sentiment, wishing he had a few minutes more alone with her.
Marine bounded over choosing, of course, to stand between them. "What're you up to? WOW, would ya look at that sunset!"
Author's note: I played a little but of Sonic Rush again because I found my old DS. Fun fact: never played the second one, though I was always dying to, so I actually know very little about Marine as a character save for the little cutscenes I had seen back in the day on YouTube. The first game, however, blew my mind, I remember I instantly fell in love with Blaze as a character and my younger self thought the dynamic between her and Sonic was a little 3
That being said, the ending of this piece is a little weird, and I know this is just a short one-shot but I missed these two and I'm still sonaze trash after all these years… Though I am very out of touch with the fandom and it's been a loooooong time. I also completely forgot how to use this website lmao
Hope you enjoyed this piece!