A/N: No, your eyes do not deceive you, it is NowLoading. Although, I go by iSpeakSarcasms now.

L o s t

Chapter One: Guess Who's Back?

Reading was a wonderful pastime, especially when the environment was peaceful enough to allow getting lost in the words on the pages. It was the perfect way to destress. There was no husband wanting attention, no household chores that needed to be done, and no child that was too wrapped up in their playing to realized that they could be distracting. It was just silence. Beautiful, wonderful, calming silence.

…Right up until the ringing of an iPhone completely shattered the fragile mural that silence had created.

With an irritated sigh, the individual who had been reading retrieved the blaring object from the coffee table and checked the Caller ID. Across in white letters across the purplish-black screen was the word "Hubby" accompanied by a heart emoji.

"Yes?"

"That's all I get? A statement synonymous to 'what do you want'?"

"You could've gotten a voicemail."

A sigh. "I obviously interrupted you while you were doing something. Mybad for not having an itinerary of your day and not knowing the perfect time to call. I just wanted you to know that I'm gonna need you to pick Shift up from school today."

"Wait a minute. Wait. A. Minute. You interrupt my reading time, my time to destress and relax, and command me to do something for you?"

"I didn't comm…"

"You didn't ask. You didn't say 'can you please' or 'would you mind', oh no. You said 'I'm gonna need you'. That is a command."

Another sigh. "Blaze, don't do this. Can you please just pick up our son? Please?"

"Why can't you get him? It's your turn anyways."

"I have to work late. By the time I get off, it'll be his bedtime."

"You seem to work late more and more often. Why don't they just change your schedule?"

"I don't know…look, babe, can you please get Shift today? I promise I'll get him the rest of the week."

A laugh. A very cynical one, to be exact. "Nice try. Today's Thursday."

"Alright, well, I'll get him next week. Promise."

The feline shifted, resting her hand on the crook of the arm she was using to hold the phone up. "Fine, I'll pick him up."

"Thank you, you're the best. Oh, and before I forget and you're completely thrown for a loop, guess who's back in town?"

"Your sister?"

A chuckle. "Yeah, I wish, but no it's not her. It's your friend."

"You'll have to elaborate, I have many friends."

"Your best friend."

Pause.

"Blaze? Baby, did you hang up?"

Silence ensued.

"Hello?"

"S…sorry, I just…how do you know that he's back?"

"I saw him. He was walking around downtown when I was on my lunch break, so I took a second to catch up with him and I told him to drop by and see you since it's been so long since the two of you have spoken."

"Wait, he's coming here?"

"Yeah. It might take him a minute though, because he's travelling by foot. Something about him being robbed on a bus in Angel Island and now he's terrified to set foot on one. Anyway, I had saw him a little over an hour ago, and I don't know how long it takes to walk from my job to our house, so if someone rings the doorbell, it's probably him."

"O…okay…"

"I'll let you get back to your reading and I'll see you when I get home. Love ya." And then a click was heard.

However, the fact that her husband had hung up the phone didn't seem to register in Blaze's mind. She became lost in thought. Her best friend was back. The best friend that she hadn't seen in years? The same best friend that skipped her wedding? The same best friend that hasn't even bothered to text her since he last saw her? The same one that didn't even bother to say goodbye? Well wasn't this just a doozy?

Blaze had no clue how to react. She couldn't be mad at him, simply because it was petty to hold a grudge for six and a half years and because he had to have a good reason for seemingly disappearing off of the face of the Earth. But would she be able to welcome him with open arms, all these years and all these emotions later? And not feel just the slightest bit of pain? Was that possible? Perhaps. Maybe feigning excitement and picking up where they left off would work out better in the long run than greeting him with bottled up anger.

As if on cue, the doorbell rang; and upon turning around, the feline was able to make out the figure of a familiar spiky head through the partially covered glass of the front door. Setting her phone back down on the coffee table, Blaze went and unlocked the door before pulling it open and revealing a light grey hedgehog.

He was just as fine now as he was when she last saw him. Maybe even better looking.

"Uh…hey Blaze. Long time no see."

His voice had deepened. Another attractive trait that enhanced in his absence. When he spoke, his voice came out as a smooth baritone. It was…captivating, if she were to be completely honest.

"Hey Silver," the feline responded, coming out of her stupor and moving to hug the hedgehog. His fur was soft and warm, just like she remembered, but she didn't seem to recall all this muscle that was attached to it. Where did that come from?

Silver hugged back, not noticing how Blaze seemed to melt at the action, and gave his usual goofy grin. "Missed you," He said quietly, inadvertently pulling the feline closer to him.

"Missed you too," She managed to respond after taking a second to collect herself. She was married after all, and she shouldn't be thinking about a man like this. "So, what brings you back to The Square?"

The hedgehog released the hug and shrugged. "A lot of things. Mostly being homesick, though."

"Why'd you leave Station Square in the first place?" Blaze questioned, kind of alluding to him missing her wedding, but not really just in case he got uncomfortable.

A nervous chuckle, accompanied with a scratch to the head. "Uh, well that's a, um…rather long story…"

"You've got time, well, you will if you come with me."

He watched his friend leave what he inferred was the living room and walk into another room, only to return a few seconds later with a purse and a set of keys. "Where you going?"

"To go get my son."

Pause. Then, "Son?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, when people get married and are blessed with fertility, they tend to have children."

"Oh, y…yeah, true. I guess I'll tag along and meet your son."

With a small grin and a nod, Blaze led her friend out of the house and towards her car.

"So uh," Silver began as he got into the passenger's side, "Any other kids or just a son?"

"No, just a son." The feline responded as she got into the driver's side and started the car, putting on her seatbelt as she pulled off.

"Name?"

"Shift."

A nod. "So, uh, not to be nosy or anything, but why didn't you have any more kids?"

"Well, that's an interesting story. I never told anyone this, but I was actually pregnant about two weeks before my wedding. Luckily I was in the first trimester, and when a woman is pregnant for the first time, she doesn't show until the second trimester. In all honesty, I didn't want to have a baby right after I got married. I mean, I always thought in my head that I'd be married for a couple of years before I reproduced; but I guess my plan wasn't in the cards. So, I had Shift, and Sonic and I decided to wait until Shift is less of a hassle to take care of before we had any more kids. Make sense?"

"Uh…yeah…yeah that makes sense. I totally understand." Which was true, Silver did understand why Blaze had been married for six years and only had one child. However, he was having a hard time comprehending the fact that she was pregnant the last time that he had ever seen her. That was the part that was tripping him up. He never would've imagined it. Ever.

"You okay?"

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine. Just uh…what's Shift like?"

"You know how Sonic is? Yeah, like that only younger."

The hedgehog chuckled, "So, I take it he's a handful?"

"You have no idea. Get the two of them together and I feel like I have two kids instead of one. But, even though Shift is wild like his father, he can be very respectful and very sweet. In fact, when he behaves himself, he's a little angel."

"Like you?"

"Are you implying that there are times where I don't behave?"

"I mean, there were times where you'd be wildin', but I was referring to how you can be respectful and tactful and nice. I figure that's where Shift gets it from." Silver shrugged. "Of course, I could be wrong and think that he got it from his father."

"I wish. You and I both know that Sonic is a trip."

"A real trip," chuckled the hedgehog. "But you always said that his foolishness was cute."

Maybe Blaze's ears were playing tricks on her, but she could've sworn she heard pain in the latter part of Silver's statement. But why would the things that she liked about her husband hurt her friend? She decided to change the subject. "Yeah. Anyway, uh, why'd you leave Station Square?"

But Silver was having none of this subject change. He didn't care that it broke his heart to converse about Blaze's son, he'd rather do that than explain why he left the city that he called home six years ago. "No, no, don't change subjects yet. I wanna hear more about Shift."

"Why?"

"Because, unlike your other friends, I wasn't there for any of his birthdays or his original date of birth. So, I wanna find out what I've been missing."

With a sigh, the feline nodded her head. "Fine. Shift was born on Halloween at around two in the morning. He was extremely premature."

"When was he supposed to be born?"

"First week of December. He was nearly two months early, and my body wasn't physically ready for him to come when he did. I had pre-eclampsia when I went into labor, so to keep me and Shift from potentially dying, I had an emergency C-section."

"Any other complications?"

"Not really. Shift spent the first two weeks of his life in the NICU because he was so small and born so early. And he was nameless for about a week and a half."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, Sonic and I had thought of some names, but none of them seemed to fit his appearance. We had originally planned on calling him Sonic Jr, but Shift isn't the spitting image of his daddy, so that wouldn't work. I suggested that we name him Phoenix, but Sonic said that since a phoenix was a bird, that wouldn't work. Then one day when I was allowed to take him out of the container that they keep the NICU babies in, Sonic and his brother were talking about cars and he said "gear shift" and Shift opened his eyes and looked at him. At first I thought it was just a coincidence, but then Manic said "shift" and he moved his eyes towards him. So, we named him Shift."

Silver chuckled, but it wasn't genuine. Hiding behind it was the pain that he felt for not being there to share that moment. "Sorry I missed that."

Blaze shrugged as if it didn't bother her, but deep down she did wish that Silver could've at saw her son at least once. She turned into the parking lot of Shift's school and parked the car near the main entrance. "We'll talk about why you left later. For now, come with me."

The hedgehog obeyed and got out of the car, following his friend into the school and to the main office.

Sitting in a chair adjacent to the front desk was a hedgecat dressed in a graphic-tee, shorts, and a pair of Vans. He was reading, or pretending to read, a magazine; but once he heard the familiar jingling of keys, the flimsy book was placed back on its table and he was no longer sitting in the chair. "Mommy," he said ecstatically, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he watched his mother enter the office. His heart warmed when his Blaze responded with her usual but never monotonous "hi sweetie" as she signed him out, and his face lit up when she turned to him with a small smile. Shift didn't care if he lived with his mother, he'd never get tired of seeing her smile and hearing her call him sweetie.

"How was school?"

"It was fun. I got to be the line leader today," the child said, starting to follow Blaze out of the office, but stopped dead in his tracks once he saw Silver standing in the hallway. With a risen brow and a tilt of his head, he asked, "Who's that guy?"

"That's Silver, one of mommy's friend's."

The hedgehog offered a polite wave and smiled once Shift returned the gesture, accompanied with a smile of his own.

Now that he knew who this grey stranger was, the hedgecat had no problems with following the two out of the building and to his mother's car. The ride back was filled with short stories of Shift's day, and Silver finally got to see what his best friend's son was like.

"Okay Shift, I'm gonna let you in the house so you can start your homework while I talk to Silver, okay?" Blaze said as she pulled into the driveway and shut off the car.

"Yes ma'am," was her son's response as he patiently waited on her to open his door, and headed towards the front porch once it was.

The feline followed, taking out her keys and opening the door, watching her own flesh and blood dart into the house and into the dining room before she closed the door and turned to face her friend, who was leaning against the trunk of her car. "So, why'd you leave? Though this place was your home."

"It was, and still is; but I had to leave."

"Why?"

Silver took a deep breath. There was no lie that would be able to cover up why he left the city the day before his best friend's wedding. The truth, though it was a bit absurd, was the clearest path that he could take. "I didn't want to ruin your wedding."

Pause. Did she hear him correctly? "And how would you have ruined my wedding?"

"By objecting to your marriage."

Pause. Was it something wrong with her ears? "Why would you do that?"

"Because," Silver began, lifting his head so that he could look his friend in her captivating golden eyes. "I love you."

Emergency brake applied. Either Blaze had a hearing problem, she was delusional, or she just heard Silver tell her that he loved her. "What?"

"I love you. I loved you before you got engaged to Sonic, I loved you before you started dating Sonic, I loved you before you even met Sonic. I felt that I should've been the one with you instead of him, but I didn't want to be selfish and ruin the single greatest day of your life, so I removed myself from the situation."

"So…why'd you come back?"

A sigh, accompanied by a head shake. "You have no idea what being away from you has done to me. I couldn't take the distance that I'd put between us."

This was all too much. First, Silver comes back out of the blue after not speaking to her for six years, and then he drops the bombshell on her that he loves her? Blaze wouldn't be able to process this even if she wanted to.

After a moment of silence passed, Blaze offered her friend a small smile. "Nice to have you back, but, um, I have to go help Shift with his homework. You should go."

She'll never forget how hurt he looked before he turned and walked away. Maybe it was wrong to push him away so quickly, after all, he did come back to Station Square because he missed her. But how could she hold a normal conversation with him right after he told her how he really felt? It was awkward, and it made Blaze slightly uncomfortable.

With a sigh, Blaze turned and went into the house to see her son playing with his pencils instead of utilizing them to do his homework. Seeing this made the feline temporarily forget the discomfort that her friend had caused her, and she gave a small grin. "What are you doing?"

Startled, the hedgecat dropped his pencils and leaned his chair back on two legs so that he could peer around the counter. "Who, me?"

"Yes, you. And what'd I tell you about doing that?" Blaze responded, walking into the kitchen and placing Shift's chair back on all fours. "You're either gonna fall and hurt yourself, or you're gonna fall, hurt yourself, and break the chair."

"Sorry."

"Its fine, sweetie, I just try not to do it anymore. Now, why aren't you doing your homework?"

Shift gave a goofy grin. "I was waiting on you."

"Why?"

"I like when you help me."

"Shift, I'm not always gonna be around to help you."

"But you're here now, so you can help me."

A child's logic was simple. But it could also be very convincing. With a sigh that blended amusement and defeat, Blaze sat in the chair next to her son. "Alright. What do you need help with?"

A/N: I do not talk. I am just a writer