Halloween was a new experience for Blaze and, while he had apparently read about the holiday, Silver alike. The pair had done the rounds of Station Square, having burned their way to midnight partaking in "trick or treating" as Amy had described; the practice of visiting home after home and being rewarded with sweet goods for their travels. Blaze had found it to be an interesting, albeit rather childish, custom. Even now, having partaken in it for well over four hours, the idea of dressing up to visit houses for candy was bizarre to Blaze; however, despite her confusion, with her partner by her side she'd very much enjoyed the venture. They'd started as a band of four, Amy having convinced Sonic to come as the wolf to her red riding hood, but at some point they'd split off into their pairs. Assumedly either the blue blur had run and pink gave chase or Amy had decided to end this double date, as she'd embarrassingly dubbed it in the girls' private conversations, to procure some alone time with Sonic.
The remaining duo had stopped in a, highly thematic, garden just as the clock struck midnight; the park's regularly yellow bulbs had been swapped out for an orange hue, the edges of its path were decorated with gravestones like mismatched teeth and small ghosts, crafted from tissue-paper and string, swayed from the branches in the Autumn breeze. They had come to rest on a bench and Silver, lacking the experience to show restraint with sugary foods, had begun to shovel his way through their pail of treats. This, however, was no ordinary pail as Blaze had seen others carrying tonight; no Amy had seen Silver's excitement at experiencing Halloween and insisted they take what could only be described as a large cylindrical garbage can with a jack-o-lantern face painted on it. There had to be at least fifty litres of sweets in there... perhaps they'd slight overdone it.
The princess rolled her eyes as he practically dove into the bucket but she couldn't help unleashing a small smile at her partner's antics; the plastic chains that hung from his cuffs consistently getting in the way of his scramble. He was dressed in a long white cloak and wrappings that flayed into the air around him; his symbols' ebbing glow cut through the night, bouncing off the bright white cloth to further amplify their shine. He made a simple but highly effective lost soul. Blaze thought she made a considerably less effective reaper of said soul, dressed in a long, hooded, mantle with a flowing black dress beneath; frayed bell sleeves, a pale cabaret mask to form a skull when paired with her white muzzle and a plastic scythe that she'd been unsure where to put for the whole night. Perhaps though it wasn't that she made a bad grim reaper, she internally admitted, rather she simply wasn't comfortable wearing a dress, especially in such a public place; its billowy length was stylistically torn a bit too much for her liking.
She'd been more than a little uncomfortable upon being presented with it but when she'd emerged, arms crossed and frowning, Silver had made it clear that if she wasn't comfortable she didn't have to do this… but his awe at her costume had won her over before he could say a word. He'd tried to hide it, smother it beneath his caring, but it had been displayed how his bright eyes had glowed and the redness on his cheeks; Silver's smile had eaten away at his equally genuine sincerity. Would she have worn this for anyone else, if Amy had pleaded or Marine had begged? Absolutely not, that was probably why the aforementioned pink hedgehog assumed... no, knew things were more than they seemed on the cat's end. Those thoughts were always so much easier to ignore when they were alone, things just were as they were and could progress slowly, but now all these thoughts had been stirred up.
She was pulled from her thoughts when the very subject of them re-emerged from the almost overflowing bin, hands extended to her and full of wrapped candies; ranging from lollypops to individually wrapped sweets to bars of various sizes. "You've not tried any of these, right? Do you think the sweets here will taste different from the ones in your dimension?"
The feline curtly nodded, "I've not; I assume there will be some differences, be it due to the recipes or perhaps certain ingredients aren't shared across worlds or form differently here. Regardless I'm certain they'll be tasty."
"Well, there's only one way to find out right?" Silver was beaming, with a safer living environment his interests had flourished in a manner she'd only seen glimpses of in Crisis city. Near chief among his passions were two things; researching the world of the past, though experiencing said world more physically clearly trumped that, and learning the differences between cultures. Most notably the differences between the world he'd read about, alone in the future, and the Sol dimension where he now spent so much time. He'd always poured over books, even when they'd been young together, but it'd become a much more relaxing endeavour rather than a feverish attempt to cling to normalcy and create a world like the past. Now part of that past he wanted to experience it all; the nature, the history and of course the food.
Blaze had reunited with her partner around four months ago and, as a result of the less than stellar eating in a destroyed future, the princess had gradually been revealing to him the delicacies of a better world. She'd started simple and worked her way up so as not to overwhelm or confuse his pallet but, through that journey, she'd overturned something she'd never known about her partner; Silver had a love for most food but above that, he had a giant sweet tooth. It'd started when she'd introduced him to tea, first having him drink with no sugar before explaining that he could add some to sweeten it… she'd halted him as he reached for the seventh lump and reprimanded him as he tried to eat them from the bowl. Taking what she assumed to be a plain chocolate bar, a good base to study, she spoke. "Indeed there is but you shouldn't eat too much; especially not so late."
But the hedgehog had already engrossed himself, having poured an entire bag of Halloween themed gummy sweets into his mouth. He was struggling to chew but smiling as he did, eyes closed and ears lowered as he fully immersed himself in the flavour. His total lack of restraint manifested itself in the treats lifting from his hands and beginning to orbit them, their Halloween packaging only adding to the somewhat childish seasonal atmosphere. Blaze, having removed her mask to sit on her lap and lowered her hood, broke the top two squares from her bar and popped them in her mouth. There was indeed some difference from chocolate in her own dimension, though that could perhaps be explained through the brand or type of bar, to Blaze it tasted far more of milk than the sort she was used to, with the chocolate flavour being more subdued.
She turned from her bar only to find Silver struggling to fiddle the cramped metallic wrapping off of a chocolate, shaped and packaged to look like an eyeball; already munching away at something else. Finding his fingers not up to the task, he returned the orb to the air and tried using his psychokinesis; immediately crushing it in two. Snatching the remains from the air he tossed the two halves in his mouth to mingle with the other sweets, the crinkled paper flying its way into a nearby bin. Eventually dispatching the mouthful he heaved a sigh but his contented state wouldn't last long, his bright yellow eyes glanced back and forth across the candy belt; a large swirling lollypop caught his eye and began to drift toward him. The feline knew she had to stop him before this went too far.
Blaze caught the treat by its stalk, halting it a good few inches from him; immediately she had his full attention, a confused furl to his brow. Did he have to pull such endearing faces while she was trying to talk him down? "Were you not listening? If you keep eating like this you'll be up till the crack of dawn and surely have a stomach ache."
"But… I like watching the sunrise?" He'd never been good at making excuses but that was really bad. Blaze gave him a small glare, one just strong enough to convey that this wasn't to be argued, and refused to relinquish her grip. He sheepishly poked his forefingers together, shrinking beneath her gaze; "Just this last one then?"
Her gaze sharpened, he shrank even further, but she relented; holding up what remained of her bar. "We'll not open anything new, we'll finish this." Contented with this compromise the river of sweets was diverted, channelling its way back into their bucket. Silver, however, no longer under her stare, had shifted closer; he'd already been close but now his leg law brushing hers, they were directly shoulder-to-shoulder.
There was nothing abnormal about that, it was common even, but torn from the comfort of her regular clothes and having endured Amy's consistent nattering about love and crushes Blaze's capacity for ignoring these things had been eroded. Trying to push her redness aside Blaze turned away, holding the bar out to him… but she didn't feel it leave her hand. Instead she felt it shift slightly before becoming lighter, he'd bitten it directly while she'd still been holding it, pulling the bar back she took a similar bite without hesitation. The idea that this was a date still echoed in her mind, once a double date now they were alone; late at night in a dark park, sitting side by side and sharing a meal in the most intimate manner possible. Mouths indirectly touching, a way of eating she'd find objectionable and inappropriate if she was sharing this meal with anyone else. If it weren't for their environment and all that had happened today she wouldn't have blinked at this situation but today it seemed… different. She cast her eyes down to her legs.
"Is something on your mind?" She was startled, almost jumping as his voice cut through the silence of the park. Blaze looked up to him only to find a sincere look of concern; "Since we've sat down you've looked tenser than usual, do you just want to go back to Amy's house?"
"N-No, I'm happy to be out here with you Silver it's just…" What even was it? She still wasn't sure of the source herself, or even if it was some singular thing; it was far more likely a combination of the night's events. What could she say then? "I think it's mostly the dress. I'm still not used to more feminine clothing, while it's not as bad as it could be I'm still a little uncomfortable." It was far from the whole truth but it was a start at least.
Immediately he moved to wrap an arm around her, fumbling slightly with his plastic chains but eventually holding her even closer than she'd been sitting; fingers rounding her shoulder. She felt her temperature soar but attempted to smother it, fearing for the chocolate in her hand almost as much as him noticing. "You didn't have to wear it if you didn't like it, this was supposed to be fun for both of us."
"No, it was fun, but... I'm not sure how to describe it without sounding strange." She admitted, turning back to face him. In sitting, like when she was out of her heels, their small height disparity became more pronounced; she tried her best to ignore that, turning back to the chocolate bar only to find it was melting despite her efforts. Making a lie in this state would take far too much effort. "I don't think I'd have worn it if you weren't here."
Unfortunately, this only seemed to confuse him, oblivious as ever he replied; "But…I said you didn't have to if you didn't want to?"
"N-No I did want to." He looked really confused at that, leaning in even closer; he couldn't be more than a few inches away. How could he be so dense at a time like this? "I wanted to because I knew it'd be more fun for you if I did." That seemed to only befuddle him more; he was looking at her like she'd spoken a completely different language, his blushing was out of confusion no doubt. She rolled her eyes, heaving a sigh; "Just forget it. It's fine." Averting her gaze she held up the chocolate between them.
Her gaze was cast to the line of gravestones beside them; it'd been foolish to try to explain how she felt through half a grim reaper costume, especially foolish when phrased like that. She felt the bar shift in her grasp as he bit it; drawing it back she took a bite herself. Oh, it had melted, quite a bit in fact; there was no satisfying crack as she bit into it. She'd thrown away the packaging and the remaining, surely liquefied, row of chocolate when her chewing was interrupted; she felt the chain's shift. His free hand had moved to take her empty left; fingers fumbled to intertwine. "Th-Thank you but please don't make yourself uncomfortable? Especially for something as small as today, I'd have fun being with you in costume or otherwise." So it had clicked. Faced with a concoction of closeness, he seemed to be slowly drawing closer with every second, contact and conversation Blaze was struggling to look him in the eyes; instead her gaze was locked to a mark on the inner edge of his cheek, centimetres from his lips.
He was wrong, if they were going to progress she had to make herself a little uncomfortable; take steps outside what was routine to them. Blaze knew she wanted more than this, to expand their routine to include more, to take those steps toward becoming a couple. That spot would allow her to start, a sweet mark on the edge of his lips. When he'd taken a bite from the bar, in its melted state, he must not have noticed the chocolate smudge it had left. Blaze did hesitate, there was no denying it, and as she did he must have followed her eyes; she felt him shift but before he could act she leaned in. Her lips met with his cheek, she lingered for a moment before her overwhelming temperature melted chocolate spot; the effort punctuated by a hint of sweetness slipping passed her lips. She pulled back only to see some of it had slipped out of reach and was crawling toward his jawline. Blaze's eyes closed, she felt herself grow even redder she leaned in faster this time; she was far too tense to focused on the action, overwhelmed by anxiety and embarrassment that she'd seized such a cliché opportunity, but clambering above those doubts was a feeling of elation and success.
This time when she pulled back the mark was truly gone, the hot pink spread across his face and up his ears could only be matched by her own complexion. Seeing his bright eyes spin she felt the need to give some kind of explanation, she clenched the hand that held his; "There was a mark on your cheek and I-
She was cut off, as he suddenly grew closer, she felt the hand from her shoulder shift slightly as he pulled in; his lips met with the edge of her muzzle and her temperature soared. Her grip grew even tighter on his as she tried to keep her focus, she was burning up but she'd certainly rather he wasn't subjected to that heat. Why had he done this? Had he just copied her? Was this a sign, she'd stepped out of his comfort zone and he'd returned the gesture… or was this all within his comfort zone? Was she the oblivious one for thinking that, or the oblivious one for assuming it to be otherwise? Suddenly she felt him shift, now mouth now pressed against the very edge of her lips; for a moment, as they brushed, she thought they'd fully connected and made a foolish, almost reflexive, attempt to lean into him. Her mind was racing at a mile a minute; when she was the one kissing him it'd felt so much faster, her heat and heartbeat were spiking wildly as she failed to keep them under control; why did this feel so comforting yet stimulating? What was she asking herself, she knew why, she knew exactly why she was enjoying this but... had he merely copied her? Was that really all it had taken to get this far? Had this been easy for him? Was it like sharing chocolate or sitting so close?
Finally, he pulled back, the arm at her shoulder was still tense but it lowered and with it his eyes lowered to the ground. "Th-There w-was some chocolate o-on you too so I…" Words seemed to fail him after that, his hand still loosely held hers but it seemed much of his strength had been sapped. Had there been a mark on her cheek? Did he believe there'd been a mark on his? Regardless her prior questions were shattered, this hadn't been easy for him; they'd both pushed the boundaries of their comfort tonight and began to set them anew. As long as she was with him in this discomfort she could, bizarrely, take some comfort in it. Had this interaction cemented further advancements? He spoke as she tried to rationalise it, "S-So I hope that was okay and… eugh…" It'd been more than okay but he was back to speaking nonsense words, his head had raised as if to speak only to immediately drop again.
Blaze, overcoming her own embarrassment enough to roll her eyes, quickly stood; his hand still in hers and plastic chains rattling while she took hold of her scythe and mask. She turned to him, skirt waving in the cool autumn breeze; having kissed and been kissed this all seemed far easier by comparison. He stumbled to rise, looking at her still somewhat dazed; their giant pail of candy lifting off the ground to make room. She managed to smile at him, in truth she was still rather embarrassed but she'd ride this high as long as she could; "L-Let's go back to Amy's, I'm sure whatever fantasy she's crafting far exceeds what we just did."
He was stumbling over his steps, still a mess of pink growing redder by the moment, in order to better stabilize him Blaze wrapped one of his chains around her arm. As she did that, however, Silver let out a yelp; starting to stumble over himself even more. Finally, he spoke, releasing his embarrassment into the air between them and reinfecting Blaze; "D-Didn't Amy say she only h-had one spare bed. W-We'll have to share tonight and we just... um...I-I-Is that g-going to be okay after all th-this? "
Blaze halted, what little confidence she'd regained came crashing down. She managed to look back at him, catching his eyes for a moment before locking her eyes to his feet. At the beginning of the night that'd hardly have been a problem but now, with that kiss shifting their boundaries once… it seemed their comfort zones would be being pushed even further on this late Halloween night. "L-Lets... just try to treat it as we usually do. I-I'll be fine as long as I'm with you."
The hedgehog's grip shifted, their handholding had tightened. "A-And a-as long as you're okay I-I-I'll be okay." Pinkness distributed evenly between their smiles they managed to keep pushing forward.