Rotor

Done in a "Heads or Tails" style. All characters a little exaggerated and not to be taken too seriously. I don't own any of the characters within, they are property Sega or Archie

Rotor was a good listener and he supposed there were worse things to excel at. As a youth he'd been painfully shy, not much of a talker. Exactly how his silence had been translated into a sympathetic ear was beyond him. It wasn't that he didn't care about the problems of others, he did. He'd always cared, too much probably, about the issues in others' lives. He had always been more than happy to give advice when it was requested, but in the past few years things had become rather ridicules. Rotor occasionally felt he was nothing but a sounding block for the others. They came and complained and left, leaving him feeling tired and a little neglected. It wasn't that he was ignored exactly. They'd never forgotten his birthday and should he happen to disappear mysteriously he had no doubt they'd notice. After all who would listen to them if he wasn't there?

Sally pushed open his front door with her hip, carrying a cardboard box filled with odds and ends. The early morning sun assaulted Rotor's eyes as he looked up to watch her approach. He had told the Princess that he was planning on working on a project of his own and somehow she had translated this into he would be more than happy to help her with whatever she was working on.

"Good morning Rotor." She greeted, sitting her box right in front of him. "How are you?"

"Well, not so great. I've had the worst bout of . . ."

"Oh! You won't believe what Sonic did last night!" She interrupted, throwing her hands up in exasperation. She seemed to be waiting for him to wager a guess at what the hedgehog had done and he shrugged, beginning to put away his own project, he'd have to work on it during his own time, which apparently was never.

"I don't know, spontaneous combust?"

"Rotor, be serious." She chastised, shaking her head sadly. "He brought me flowers." She sighed dramatically, her tone suggesting he'd done something more along the lines of pissing on her bed.

"So? Isn't that nice?"

"Of course not! You know why he did it."

"No, but I can't wait to hear." He told her sarcastically. She didn't seem to notice.

"He thinks if he's nice to me I'll let him . . ." She trailed off, raising an eyebrow expectantly. Rotor shook his head, motioning for her to continue. "You know . . ."

"No."

"Stay the night." She finally finished, but Rotor didn't reply. He was rooting about in the box she'd brought, trying to figure out exactly what she was planning on doing with the various mechanical pieces within. "Rotor." She prompted, clearly not liking the notion of being ignored.

"Oh, that's awful." He said half-heartedly. "He tell you that?"

"Well . . . no, but I know how his mind works."

"Ummm. Maybe he was just trying to be sweet Sally."

"Yeah, right. That'd be a first."

"Maybe just the first time you noticed." He muttered under his breath, pulling the largest piece from the box. "So what are we working on?" He asked, drawing her attention to her original reason for showing up that morning.

"I tell ya man, I can't win." Sonic sat on the edge of his work table, his legs swinging back and forth. He occasionally kicked the side of Rotor's chair and the walrus' thigh, but he either didn't notice or didn't care. "All I did was give 'er flowers an' she acts like I crawled inta the bed with her in the middle of the night. Since when does bein' nice equal psycho rapist?"

"I doubt she actually thinks that." Rotor replied with a sigh. He had been trying to read a book, but hadn't gotten past the first chapter when the hedgehog had appeared.

"Then what does she think?"

"You should ask her."

"I'm just sayin' . . . why'd things get so weird?"

"It's complicated I guess, growing up."

"No it's not." Sonic picked up Rotor's book and flipped through it, losing his place. "We just got taller is all."

"Uhhh . . . I think that's the least traumatic thing about growing up Sonic. Plenty of other things have changed too."

"Like what?" It was hard to talk to Sonic sometimes. He didn't always think about things before he spoke and when he was upset even the smallest of things tended to elude him.

"Puberty, for one."

"Big deal." He replied and Rotor sighed.

"Well it is for most of us. Like . . . five years ago if you gave Sally flowers or something like that, your relationship had nothing to do with it. Now she has to wonder what your motivation is and exactly how she feels about that."

"Just 'cause I'm old enough to screw her doesn't mean I gave her flowers as like a down payment on doin' it."

"No, but it's a factor Sonic, don't say it isn't. If you'd handed those flowers to her and she'd insisted you come in and . . . do things. You can't say you wouldn't have."

"But it wasn't why I did it!" He wailed plaintively. "I was just tryin' ta be nice."

"Look at it this way." Rotor offered, hoping to end the conversation and get back to his book. "It isn't so much what you're doing. It's mostly about her own insecurities. She actually, on some level, wants to be intimate with you and that scares her. Instead of admit it though she blames you for insighting those feeling in the first place."

"What now?" Sonic lifted an eyeridge and Rotor sighed loudly, he'd forgotten who he was talking to for a moment.

"She's hot for you and that freaks her out. When you do nice things it makes her even hotter and that makes her really freak out 'cause this is new to her."

"Oh. So she's just scared an' acts mad ta cover it, I get it."

"Amazing." Rotor mumbled. He picked up his book and opened it, trying to find his place.

"Rota, Suga, ya'll got a minute?" The voice was sweet enough to give him a toothache and Rotor groaned softly, rolling over in is tiny bed. He fumbled for his wristwatch to see exactly what time it was. His large hand felt about on his cluttered end table for a minute or two before he gave up. It was the middle of the night, did it really matter what hour?

"Bunnie, it's really . . ."

"I know it's late an' all, but Ah got a tiny problem with mah arm. Mah fingers just keep curlin' an' dancin' about."

"Well, remove it and I'll work on it in the morning." He grumbled around a yawn, rubbing at his eyes.

"Ya'll know I don't like to do that. It makes me feel so darn naked an' eva'one looks at me."

"Bunnie, I . . ." He almost told her he didn't like to be bothered in the wee hours of the morning and that no one would see her for that very fact. Furthermore, even if someone did see her, they'd look arm or no arm. She was an oddity and fair or not, it drew attention. Rotor sighed loudly instead, throwing his legs over the edge of his cot. "I'll be right there, just light a lantern and sit down."

"You are looking non too goods." Antoine informed the walrus as he pushed his front door open without knocking. "Are you being sick?"

"No . . . I just didn't get enough . . ."

"Good! I am needing that you take my watch at the grotto." The coyote interrupted, smiling brightly.

"I was up all night working on Bunnie's arm Antoine, I'm tired." Rotor yawned, not bothering to hide the gesture.

"Ah, that is too perfect, no? I am knowing a tree that is too comforting for your back."

"My bed is comfortable enough, besides you're supposed to stay awake when you're on watch."

"Who will be knowing, friend?" He nodded to himself, making a beckoning motion to the taller mobian.

"Why can't you do it exactly?" Rotor questioned, even as he followed Antoine out his front door.

"I am to be escort-ee-ing ze princess to the board-or of ze city."

"I thought Sonic was going."

"Wee, but he is a cod, no? He is not to be trusted alone with her."

"You mean cad . . . I think." Rotor shook his head, letting his eyes slip shut for a moment. "Are you even invited to go?"

"I was not told I could not be going."

"Antoine . . ."

"I am pleading with you Rotor. I must try to be going. It is impotent to me."

"Important, the words important. Impotent means . . ." He trailed of, grumbling under his breath. "Fine I'll do it, but Antoine you have to pick up one of my . . ."

"Thank yous! Thank yous from the top of my stomach!"

"The sayings . . ." Rotor began, but the coyote was already gone.

"Watcha doin' Rotor?" The walrus lifted his head wearily, watching as Tails bound down the slightly sloping trail that lead to the grotto.

"Watch duty." He answered, rubbing at his left eye carefully.

"Oh. I thought it was Ant's turn." The kit skipped, full of energy around the fallen log Rotor sat on, then settled beside him, looking up at the walrus with large blue eyes.

"It is. He asked if I'd take it."

"That's nice that you did that for him."

"I'm glad somebody thinks so." Rotor mumbled, shifting slightly.

"I am glad. I was lookin' for you." Tails told him, his legs swinging, the heels of his shoes turning the log into a drum.

"One of your toys broken?"

"No."

"Something in your hut?"

"Nope." The boy chuckled, shaking his head.

"Ah, someone sent you to find me, right?"

"You stay so busy." Tails told him with an innocent smile. "I never get to talk to you."

"I see." Rotor took a deep breath, looking down on the kit. "What's wrong Tails?"

"Nothin' . . . I'm good. How are you?"

"H-how am I?"

"Yeah."

"I . . . I'm sleepy. I worked on Bunnie's arm last night."

"Its past cool you can fix stuff like that." The kit replied honestly.

"I guess."

"Sonic an' Aunt Sally went to the city . . . I don't have anyone to play with so . . . if you want, I could take your watch so you can have a nap." Rotor blinked, bending down a little closer to the boy's smiling face.

"Really?" He almost whispered the question, his eyes squinting slightly.

"Yeah, why not?"

"Thank you Tails, that's really nice."

"You do nice things all the time." The boy replied, clearly not realizing how much the statement meant to the other, his blue eyes studying a small white flower he had plucked for the base of the log. Rotor nodded, smiling softly. He patted the boy on the head lightly and made his way up the hill feeling for the first time in a good long while appreciated.