It was a simple plan. Sonic knew it was. Get inside his house, grab his communicator, and call Tails. Thinking back, if he knew that this whole ''Dark Gaia'' thing was going to happen to him, he would've carried his communicator at all times.

He regretted the decision, because in the state he and the planet were in, finding Tails would be next to impossible without his communicator.

He unlocked the door to his house - thankfully, he kept his key in a hidden pocket inside the cuff of his sock and not his glove - and went inside, shutting the door quietly behind him. Chip had stayed behind to finish off a chocolate bar he had, which Sonic was happy for because Chip was a very loud character normally.

He needed silence, which was what made his plan not-so-simple. It wasn't that he hated noise so much, but he didn't know what time it was. Under any normal circumstance, it would make little difference to him, but 10 PM was a very special time for him.

It was the time when Metal would visit. It was weird, he knew, but ever since the two had communicated outside of combat, they'd grown close.

Probably too close, but his love life was no one else's business anyway.

Point being, Metal always visited his house at 10 PM, and Sonic didn't want to be seen. He'd originally picked the meeting place out of convenience, as they were guaranteed to have no one else around, but now he was regretting that too.

He waited, expecting Metal's voice, but sighed in relief when he heard nothing. Then again, it made sense given the fact that the door was locked. He flicked on the light switch, making it his top priority to find his communicator and leave as soon as possible. He walked around the house at a quick pace, searching under tables and chairs just to make sure he wasn't missing anywhere. He couldn't remember where he'd put the darn thing.

Eventually, he found it in one of the drawers in his bedroom, clutching it to his chest like it was something extremely precious to him.

That was Step 2 completed.

He left the bedroom, a guilty feeling seeping into his chest as he realized that Metal would arrive soon and he'd be long gone, with no sign of if he'd come back the next day or not. Would he be worried? Would he be upset?

Sonic tried to push the thoughts out of his head. It would've been so much easier if he could project his current hatred of Eggman towards Metal, but he knew he couldn't. It was, as Metal would probably put it, ''a mental impossibility''.

He reached for the doorknob, but froze as heard a click from the inside of it.

Metal was testing his own key.

Sonic cursed his poor luck as of late, his hand immediately going to the light switch, actually breaking it as he slammed it down to the 'off' position.

Still, the lights went off, and Sonic had just enough time to dash under the table - not the best option, in retrospect - before the door had actually begun to open. He'd dropped his communicator in the process and just hoped that Metal wouldn't notice. Sonic covered his mouth with his hands, feeling his heart racing as he saw the red of Metal's eyes from a distance. He mentally scolded himself, knowing that it'd be near impossible to leave now without being caught.

Metal shut the door behind him, giving a few beeps that Sonic knew meant he was processing something that had confused him.

The lock, he thought. He saw that the lights were off and was surprised when the door wasn't locked.

Sonic's mind was practically screaming. There he was, a big monster, cowering under a table. Any sudden movements would surely catch Metal's attention, so he tried to stay still and just hope that Metal would forget about him.

He knew he wouldn't.

The red of Metal's eyes turned away, out of Sonic's sight. There was another confused beep as Metal presumably went to turn on a light switch that was broken.

"Sonic?" Metal called.

Sonic instinctively opened his mouth to answer, but shut himself up in time.

An uncomfortable silence followed, the red of Metal's eyes beginning to dart around the room.

"Is there a burglar here? You have picked a particularly inconvenient time to intrude!"

No one else would've been able to pick up on it, but Sonic could tell that Metal was starting to get annoyed by the lack of a response. The guilt was biting him harder now.

"If you don't come out, I will be forced to activate my headlight. You will be found in approximately five seconds." A beep. "Six if you are merely an intelligent rat."

Sonic panicked. He needed a plan, and he was bad at plans. That was Metal's job, not his.

"...Very well."

There was a click, the lights in Metal's eyes flashing on completely, illuminating part of the room.

Sonic flinched. "METAL, STOP!"

Metal froze where he was, the light flickering off after a moment.

"Sonic?" he called to confirm.

"...Y-yeah, it's just me." Sonic awkwardly shifted from underneath the table, doing his best not to tip it over or damage it as he stood up.

"You did not answer the first time I called," Metal stated. "And this light switch is broken. In addition, your voice has a marginally rougher tone to it. These are three anomalies."

"I-I know," Sonic admitted. "Look, I just... we can't hang out today, all right? Some stuff came up, and I—"

"Are you ill?"

Sonic's heart ached at Metal's concern. He didn't want to lie to him. "...You could say that."

"I am incapable of getting ill. You have nothing to fear from my being here."

Sonic sighed. "No, it's not that."

"Clearly, as you still have yet to explain why the light switch is broken and why you reacted so violently when I had brightened the room," Metal pointed out.

Sonic was quickly running out of ideas, both hating and loving how insistent Metal was that they have their time together. "Is...is there a problem with talking in the dark?"

"Yes." The answer came instantaneously, thoroughly surprising Sonic.

"What is it?"

A pause, followed by a stuttering churning noise. Metal was embarrassed, but his voice didn't waver.

"I want to see you. To not be able to for our session together would be suboptimal."

Sonic flushed. This robot. This freaking robot.

He took a moment to compose himself before responding. "No you don't. Trust me, you don't."

"I would not lie to you." Metal sounded offended. "And while your statements can typically be trusted, I know for a fact that this one is false. You are acting suspiciously."

Sonic bolted for the door, realizing that he was out of options. "Look, I have to go."

His one hand grasped the doorknob, but Metal grabbed hold of his other before he could leave.

Sonic stiffened. Immediately, he knew Metal could tell that something was off. In his transformed state, he was ungloved, as his hands were much larger than they usually were. Metal likely noticed both, as he tossed and turned Sonic's hand in his own, trying to examine it in the darkness.

Probably frustrated, he went to turn on his headlight again. Impulsively, Sonic thrust his hand into Metal's face, practically throwing him straight to the ground.

Metal paused. "Very well. I will not activate my headlight unless you permit me to do so, but only on the condition that you explain what's going on."

"A-ah, geez. I'm sorry, Mets," Sonic said, rubbing an arm. "I still don't know my own strength like this."

"Like this," Metal repeated skeptically.

A sigh followed. "Okay, it's me who doesn't want you to see me, all right? Something happened with Eggman, and it... changed me. I transform into a monster when the sun goes down."

Metal took a moment to process the information, as he failed to understand Sonic's concern. "You believe I'll be afraid of you?"

"No, it's not like that. I'm just hideous." Sonic groaned, not liking saying it out loud.

"That is subjective," Metal retorted. "You cannot predict my reaction with 100% accuracy, and thinking I will despise your appearance is utter nonsense."

"Wha—why?" Sonic asked.

"You implied that you look different. That is already inherently interesting to me."

Sonic sighed. There was just no getting through to him. He'd have to show him.

He turned away, searching the wall for the light switch. Thankfully, he'd only broken off a small piece of it and maneuvering his claw in the right way managed to allow the lights to flicker back on.

As light washed over him, he felt exposed. He looked down at his clawed hands, then slowly turned back to Metal.

His red eyes were shifting up and down, looking over Sonic's changed form. Sonic swallowed uneasily, but really just wanted to get it over with. "Go on, say it."

Metal's eyes met with Sonic's, turning into slits as if he were squinting. "As I've previously stated, thinking I would despise your appearance is utter nonsense."

"W-what?" Sonic asked, surprised. "Don't tell me you actually like this?"

Metal hummed, taking a step towards Sonic and grasping his hand again. "I am attracted to Sonic. You are still Sonic. Therefore, I remain attracted to you."

Sonic felt like his face was on fire. Metal was talking like he was reciting the gosh darn weather, but Sonic wondered if he understood how romantic that sounded.

Metal released the hand he'd been holding and crossed his arms; something he'd picked up from Sonic. "What made you believe that I wouldn't accept you like this?"

Now that Metal had said it outloud, Sonic realized how selfish he'd be making Metal out to be. "Well, I mean... for one, I look angry all the time?"

Metal waited, his always-angry-looking face staring back at Sonic.

"...Oh."

"Your personality is easily discernable by things other than just your expression," Metal stated matter-of-factly. "Despite your mild change of voice, I can still sense how you're feeling. It isn't difficult."

When Sonic didn't answer, Metal prodded further, "What else?"

Sonic hated talking about himself like this, but relented, his eyes moving down to his arm. "My fur? I know you always liked feeling it, but it's—"

Metal cut him off, reaching for his shoulder. "Different does not mean bad. I—"

Sonic blinked, Metal's hand having made contact with his shoulder just as his voice trailed off. The hand twitched, curling slightly to get a bundle of fur into it. It was as if Metal was in a trance as he felt with his mock nervous system.

"Mets?" Sonic called.

An embarrassed beep followed, Metal withdrawing his hand. "Fascinating."

"It is?" Sonic asked skeptically.

"You are taller than me as well," Metal said, almost out of nowhere, as if he was mulling something over to himself. He pointed to Sonic's arm. "Is this all muscle?"

What did you think it was? Sonic offered his right arm, allowing Metal to touch it, though decidedly unflattered. "Yeah. I could probably break just about anything in half, but it makes me so slow."

Metal grasped at his arm with both hands, his left holding it in place while his right slid up towards his shoulder. He watched in silent fascination as the long strands of fur relaxed against his touch before slowly springing back up as he left their range.

"What else?" Metal asked quickly. Sonic could hardly believe his ears. Did Metal sound... excited?

"Uh... my fangs?" he answered dumbly. He tried to explain without sounding like a complete idiot, "I mean, I know we don't constantly kiss and you don't have a mouth, but, well, mine's way bigger now and I have all these fangs."

"That hardly seems to impair your ability to kiss me in a way I would find pleasing," Metal argued, his hand moving to Sonic's muzzle to feel for himself.

Sonic snorted in disbelief. "You wanna test that theory?"

"Yes."

Sonic yelped as Metal suddenly took his face in his hands, pulling him down into a kiss. He shifted nervously, trying to tilt his head correctly and kiss Metal as he normally did. He felt the sparks against his lips, indicating that Metal was ''kissing back''. Admittedly, despite the different feel of it, it wasn't as unpleasant as he'd imagined.

Sonic pulled away first, clearing his throat with a light blush on his face. "Well? How was that?"

"Different," Metal replied. "Nice."

"Seriously?"

"You doubt my opinion of you because you're different than you are usually. On the contrary, I find these changes quite intriguing."

He brought his hand back to Sonic's arm, now applying pressure as he felt along the fur. Sonic unconsciously leaned towards his motions, letting out a small noise of contentment.

It didn't go unnoticed by Metal, who now prodded Sonic's arm for a different reason. "You are tense."

"Yeah," Sonic admitted. "Having your whole form change and not catching a break for a while will do that to you."

"Sit," Metal said, directing a hand to the couch. "I will tend to you."

Sonic's eyes softened. It still amazed him how quickly Metal could ease him. He smiled, reaching an arm behind Metal and pulling him against him, carrying him cradled in one arm.

If Metal could gasp, he would've, his body suddenly pressed against Sonic's fluff. As Sonic walked over to the couch, Metal gently felt along his chest fur, curiosity making him wonder if the differently-colored fur on his chest felt any different than the midnight blue fur he'd felt before. It was, very mildly, having a slightly softer texture, and it was making Metal's sensors go crazy.

Sonic plopped down on the couch, leaning back and letting Metal sit on his lap. Metal would never admit that it was slightly disappointing to be put down.

Metallic hands made contact with furry shoulders, Sonic sighing blissfully as all the ''knots'' in his muscles were slowly being taken care of. He hadn't expected this to be Metal's reaction, but he wasn't complaining.

It made sense, honestly. Metal loved both knowledge and Sonic. Thus, he would love learning new things about Sonic. Transformed as he was, it opened up many opportunities.

"My arms can stretch too," Sonic told him as he was relaxing, figuring Metal might be interested.

Metal directed his attention to Sonic's arms. Sonic grinned, stretching an arm over to touch the farthest wall. He could hear the gears turning in Metal's head, Metal then moving the massage to Sonic's outstretched arm, likely as an excuse to feel it.

"This seems useful."

Sonic unstretched his arm, chuckling. "That's what I thought too."

He found it hard to stop grinning as he watched Metal explore and massage nearly the entirety of his changed form. His fascination was almost child-like, and though Sonic wouldn't say it outloud, knowing it would embarrass Metal, he found it extremely adorable.

"Has your mental state improved?" Metal asked, probably noticing the smile on his complement's face.

"Thanks to you, yeah," Sonic replied, running his hand along the side of Metal's face.

Chip could wait a little longer.

"Does this mean you'll come back tomorrow, at our regularly scheduled time?"

Sonic chuckled, lifting Metal up to his face.

"Oh yeah, definitely."

He leaned forward, giving Metal a gentle kiss. Naturally, Metal didn't hesitate with kissing back, and Sonic completely forgot why he'd ever doubted it.