Regardless of the thick coat, mittens and scarf she wore, she was chilled to the bone. This winter had been much colder than she anticipated; so many days had been below freezing temperatures. Had she not been able to summon her flames to warm herself, she would've been a walking icicle.
The dimly lit bus shelter she stood under did little to protect her from the winter wind. She had pulled her hood onto her head, attempting to shield her ears, but the wind knocked it off.
Her bus was scheduled to arrive ten minutes ago. Usually, she wouldn't be as annoyed, but when it's frigid temperatures out and you're carrying a bag that weighs close to twenty pounds, you're allowed to be annoyed. I shouldn't be surprised though. The darn schedule is always off. She thought, shifting her bag over her shoulder.
She glanced to the clock across the street from the shelter, reading 8:37 PM. She knew that making an appointment for such a late interview would be a mistake. She sighed. The cat still had so much to do: make dinner, work out, check in with her friend Cream (for she did worry about Blaze), clean her apartment, and of course, the mountain of homework that had been dropped upon her. Ah, the life of a single university student…
She broke her gaze as she caught a pair of headlights in her peripheral. Her eyes darted to the small LCD information mounted on the side of the vehicle. About time, She thought, hurrying out of the shelter. A blast of wind hit her as the doors opened, the cat gracefully leaping in.
Her heels sank into the soaking rug that had been spread down on the floor of the bus. The feline dived into her bag, fishing out her wallet. She produced her bus pass, tapping against the small payment unit. She put her wallet away, beginning to walk to the closest seat. Before she could sit, the machine screeched loudly, causing the driver to turn to her with a displeased voice. "Your pass is empty." They said, fingers drumming against the steering wheel. "Got any change?"
Blaze's face grew flushed. She remember earlier in the day, when she had gluttonously ran to a vending machine for a packet of gum after eating a particularly fishy lunch. She quietly shook her head, her face downcast. Then came the evitable, "Get your ass off my bus freeloader".
"Sorry, but I can't let you ride for free." The driver said.
Blaze's hands balled into small fists as she looked to the driver. "My home is an hour's walk from here." She said. "I can pay at the terminal tomorrow."
"Sorry sweetheart, but rules are rules." The driver said, pointing to a bright red sign right beside the payment unit. The doors swung open again. The wind blew in, shaking the bus. She heard annoyed honks coming from behind the bus, most likely because it was stopped at a green light.
"I have money at home, I just forgot to reload my bus pass." She said, her voice low. "If you allow me to ride, I'll pay double the fare at the terminal tomorrow morning."
The driver shot her a glare. "If you really had the money, you wouldn't have forgotten it!" Now offa my bus, I've got a schedule to keep!" The driver exclaimed, pointing to the door.
The cat shot a glare towards the driver. The winter chill attacked her once again as she stepped off the bus. The doors quickly slammed shut as she shifted her bag again and began to walk away from the bus. As she walked away, she swept her hand below the bottom of her coat, causing smoke to rise from the hood of the bus. She scowled as she heard the driver angrily cuss behind her.
The cat bundled her scarf tighter around her neck, attempting to keep herself warmer. As she began her hour walk to her home, she heard a voice call behind her.
"HEY! HOLD UP!"
The cat turned around to see a silver grey hedgehog running towards her. He wore a green jacket that was half buttoned up with big boots on his feet. The cord of an earbud peeped from under the brim of his hat. He carried a black tube on his back with a large bag that seemed to weigh him down. Blaze stopped walking as he caught up with her. She pointed to herself, confused as he beamed a cheery smiled at her.
"I was just on that bus and heard what happened." He said, pointing back at the smoking bus. "The driver had me get off too, something about engine trouble."
Blaze stayed quiet as the hedgehog beamed at her again. "There's another bus coming to replace that one," He said, his yellow eyes wide with wonder. "I can pay your fare if you'd like."
"That's very kind of you." The cat said as she watched another bus roll into view. Her eyes drifted back to the hedgehog in front of her. "But I don't want to impose."
"Impose? Nah! I'm happy to help." He batted a hand, shaking his head. "Besides, I see you every morning. You ride the 76B to the university. It's not like we're total strangers."
Uh, yes we are. Blaze thought herself as the driver popped open the doors, yelling at the two of them. The hedgehog yelled something back and then held out his hand to her. "C'mon, it's cold out here. And you did say it was an hour's walk back to your place."
The cat glanced at him as he hurried back to the bus. "C'mon, the driver's getting impatient!" He exclaimed. Blaze let a sigh escape her lips as she hurried inside the bus, seeing the hedgehog smile at the driver. He handed over an extra bill for her own fare. Blaze felt a blush adorn her cheeks out of embarrassment for not being prepared.
The hedgehog paid and began walking back, picking a seat across from Blaze. He had almost fell on his face when the light had changed and driver stepped on the gas. He stumbled, glancing wide eyes towards her. He gave a small laugh, flashing another smile before slamming into his seat.
The rest of the bus was empty, minus the driver and the two. Blaze gingerly removed her bag from her shoulder, resting it on the seat beside her. She removed her gloves, blowing her breath on her hands and rubbing them together to warm them up. Her gaze wandered back to the hedgehog, who was still smiling at her. She scowled a little before clearing her throat.
"Thank you." She said. "For the fare."
"Eh, no problemo." The hedgehog said batting his hand in her direction. He pulled off the tube and set his bag on the chair beside him. "You're a uni kid. Chaos knows you could use a hand from time to time."
Blaze's brow furrowed as the hedgehog blinked twice and shook his head. "I-I meant, we all need a hand sometimes, right?" He said before nervously laughing.
"I suppose so." Blaze said, her gaze wandering to the window.
"So, are you at Capital City U?" He asked.
"Yes."
"Well, whatcha studying?"
"Marketing." She said, watching the hedgehog's gaze widen. The cat pointed to his bag, which spewed out several sketchbooks and broken pencils. "I'm assuming you're an artist."
"Caught red handed." He said with a smirk before waving a sketchbook, pages flapping in the air. "I'm at Crisis College for general art studies. Hoping to get a gig in graphic design."
"Interesting."
The hedgehog leapt a seat closer to her, extending his hand across the aisle. "I'm Silver," Blaze gingerly took his hand, shaking it. "Blaze."
"If I may, if you're at CCU, why are you so far downtown?" He asked.
"Oh." She murmured. "I had an apprenticeship interview today."
"How'd it go?"
She shrugged again. "Fine, I guess? The interviewer was hard to read..."
"When do you hear back from them?"
"They said they'd be in touch." She murmured before sighing.
Silver beamed at her. "Well, you did your best, that's all you can do!" He said as his eyes wandered up to the LCD screen above his head. The orange letters changed route stops as he leaned to his left, tugging the stop cord. He quickly gathered up his supplies, tugging the bag over his back, and holding the bag in his hand. He stood up, smiling at the cat.
"Well, have a good night, Miss Blaze." He said.
"Thank you, Silver." He said. "You have a good night too."
The hedgehog smiled again, shifting his supplies in his hand before walking to the doors of the bus. The vehicle heaved to a stop, Silver stumbling a little. The doors sighed opened as the hedgehog thanked the driver and left the bus.
He trotted outside the vehicle, the doors closing again. Blaze's gaze wandered to the window where the hedgehog walked past the bus, waving towards the cat. A small smile crossed her lips as she raised her hand, waving to him. A moment later, the hedgehog hurried away, and Blaze faced ahead once more.
The cat stood at the bus stop the next morning. On her shoulder was her laptop bag, and in her hands was a tray of coffee. One of the cup holders filled with small half-and-half creamers and sugar packets, and the other holding a rolled baked good.
It was still bitterly cold, luckily, the wind had lightened up. The cat stood under the bus shelter, glancing at her watch. As per usual, the bus was late. But who would expect it to actually run on schedule.
Steam rose from the wax cups. Blaze had woken up early and reloaded her bus pass as her number one to do. She'd left a note beside her bed side the night before, knowing that'd she'd forget. She then hurried to Cream's cafe so that she could pick up some coffee. The rabbit knew how to make the perfect cup of coffee, and perfect treats to match.
Blaze heard the bus sigh to stop in front of her. She produced her wallet and tapped her bus pass, the machine happily chiming. The driver, the same one who had forced her off the bus, glared at her. The cat shot back with a look so scathing, one would think that their eyes would bleed.
The bus was very much alive this morning, people were everywhere, sucked into their phones, listening to music or texting. Blaze took a seat, resting the coffee tray in her lap. Her eyes scanned the bus for the hedgehog from the night before, but he was not on. He had said he saw her ride this very bus every morning, so where was he?
The bus lurched forwards as Blaze's gaze turned to the window. Her eyes falling upon a silver hedgehog hurrying to the stop ahead. Her gaze widened, noticing that it was Silver.
His coat was half done up, his hat lopsided on his head. His tube hit against his back, his bag clutched in his right hand. He barely reached the stop before the bus began to pull away. He leap aboard the bus, breathless. Chest heaving, he paid, his eyes scanning the crowd as he waded through the crowds of people. His eyes fell upon Blaze as she sat up, her eyes darting from him to the tray in her lap.
He sat in the seat beside her, glancing behind him. He gave her a smile. "Mornin'!" He chimed.
"Good morning." She said as pickced up a coffee. "Here."
She gingerly pressed the wax cup and paper bag into Silver's hands. He glanced up at her, a little confused.
"It's just a thank you." She muttered, picking up her own coffee, splashing two creamers inside. "For last night."
The hedgehog smiled before shaking his head. "It was no big deal." He said, delving into the bag. "Thanks, though."
The cat blushed a little, sinking back into her seat. Silver turned to her, breaking half of the cheese croissant she'd bought him in half. He handed one to her, smiling.
"And thank you for the lovely surprise." He said, taking a bite of his half.
The cat glanced at him as she took the half. A small smile crossed her lips as she took a small bite.
A/N:
And so the saga of my bad silvaze fics continues... I was in the mood to write n had like *zero* ideas for any game canon stuff, so I searched for some prompts on good ol tumblr, and one that came up was 'ride the same bus together literally every day au'. For whatever reason, my mind was like 'YES'. Idk why it was like that, probably bc the bus system in my region is literal turds on wheels, but i digress.
silv's jacket is the same one from December 2015's sonic channel wallpaper… I really the design so I slapped it in here bc it's a hecka noice design. The tube thing he carries on his back is literally a black plastic tube used to hold rolled up artwork. Speaking of the art shit, I love the idea of silver being an artist. It just feels right with his character tbh, same with blaze and marketing.
Damn I love these two.
Thanks for reading~!