Title: Never-Ending Rivalry
Fandom: Sonic the Hedgehog
Character/Pairing/Group: Sonic/Jet
Genre: Humor/General
Rating: PG
Table: #4
Prompt: #09 - Competitive
Warnings: Slight language
Summary: Jet and Sonic have a burning rivalry, something that neither will put aside. So the two decide to have one last race, hopefully to decide it all. But is there really such a thing as a 'last race' when it comes to these two?
Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of that, let's just put it at that. XD.
It was another day in the futuristic Megalo City, and Sonic the Hedgehog had just parted with his two friends, Tails and Knuckles. Now he was racing through the city on his own two feet, tightly holding his Extreme Gear to his side. He had a little date with a certain hawk this evening, and this confrontation would determine it all. Who was the fastest between them.
Of course; the two 'always' say that this is going to be the final race, the final confrontation, the final showdown which determines whose skills are superior. But in the end their rivalry against one another is everlasting, and they never really mean it.
Soon enough the hedgehog arrived at a cliff overlooking the city, the meeting place for him and his rival. Sure enough; the hawk leader of the Babylon Rouges was waiting, standing firmly and staring out at the city of technological wonders. If Sonic was to guess, he's been here for a while now.. just waiting, waiting for him to arrive.
Jet glanced over his shoulder, hearing the arrival of his rival. A smirk crossed his lips. It was about time that the hedgehog arrived..
"Your late." He commented, setting his extreme gear on the ground. Sonic laughed lightly, scratching the back of his head while coming up to Jet's side, also setting his extreme gear on the ground.
"Heroes always are, aren't they?"
The hawk rolled his eyes at that. Sure, Sonic was a hero, but so was he! He helped disconnect the Arks of the Cosmos from the Babylonian Spaceship, the Astral Babylon. He had to be given 'some' credit at least for the major assist!
"Whatever! You ready Sonic the Hedgehog?" He questioned while stepping onto his Extreme Gear, the board rising up and hovering above ground, the hawk ready for their race. Sonic simply smirked and stepped onto his own, nodding his head while looking at Jet with confident, green eyes.
"You bet! Don't forget our wager now."
Jet grinned almost cockily, recalling the little wager they made beforehand. Loser had to do one thing the winner said, no matter how humiliating or questionable it was. This was a race he just 'had' to win. Oh the things he could think up.. he was cross between making Sonic having to walk around in a frilly pink dress, or make him bow down in front of his friends and chant on how the hawk was the fastest creature on the planet. Oh, so many ideas..
"How could I forget? Your going to regret challenging me with that wager after I win." He boasted, cracking his neck gently and getting himself ready to roll. All Sonic did though was fake a yawn, sharing Jet's overconfidence.
"Sure. Let's go!"
There were no more words left to say. The two having exchanged their taunts and having their rides ready, they gave each other a simple three seconds before shooting off into Megalo City, smirks on each of their faces as the race had begun. The two had already agreed upon a 'finish line', around Sonic's own household. Having had just as much confident as the hawk, Sonic boasted that he wanted the finish line as close to his home as possible, so he could turn in right after he won.
The two weaved around hover cars, neither getting a real apparent lead on the other. Their eyes constantly glanced over at each other's direction, keeping up with the other's progress, needing to know when to speed up or when they need to kick it into high gear.
Jet was confident, very confident as he shot over to where the hedgehog was, curving and flying right in front of him, and nearly throwing him off balance. Seeing Sonic stumble a bit and looking like he was about to fall, it was a priceless moment for the hawk as he called back to him.
"Your making this too easy!"
Sonic frowned at the dirty attempt to knock him off his board, speeding up and weaving around more and more hover cars. Soon the two would approach and enter a tunnel, keeping high so they didn't bump into any of the drivers or cars. The hedgehog was now side-by-side with his rival, only a few feet separating them from colliding into one another. Jet smirked, eyes shifting to meet with his.
"How you holding up Sonic? Give up yet?"
"Heh, not a chance!" Rebuked the hedgehog, smirking and weaving right in front of Jet. The hawk was a bit surprised by this familiar maneuver, slowing down slightly and unable to help but chuckle. 'Clever bastard, swerving in front of me to throw me off course.' He thought, grinning. 'He's learned a thing or two since our last race!'
The two continued their race to the 'finish line', soon emerging from the tunnel and heading high speed through the city. They weren't about to slow down anytime soon. In fact if anything, they were just going to get more fast and daring as the end neared.
Sonic glanced around as they sped down the streets, knowing they were but a short distance away now. Unfortunately though by the time he finished his thoughts and realized that, Jet had swooped around him and taken the lead, sticking his tongue out at the hedgehog as he headed for his probable victory. He cursed, wishing he hadn't taken his attention away from the race for even a split second!
'Now what am I going to do..?' Sonic wondered while gritting his teeth, doing his best to catch up though already at maximum speed on his Extreme Gear. He had but a few short seconds to come up with something before he missed his chance, and even more so, the race and wager. Then it came to him..
.. A shortcut!
'Oh yeah! I always took THIS path..' The hedgehog swiftly tilted and shot down the street curving to the left, seemingly off track and heading for certain defeat. However.. he actually knew what he was doing. 'The path Jet took hits a curve which he'll have to go around before hitting my place! I always sped down THIS alley..!' He tilted once more, sharply shooting down the said alleyway, seemingly a long but straightforward way to the other side.
'Because it was easier! And faster! I'm still in this race, Jet!'
Sonic couldn't help but cheer loudly, a bit embarrassed that he had forgotten his own shortcut home at first, but happy to know that he was going to win the race. He never did like losing after-all, being pretty much the fastest thing on the planet.
As he was about to emerge from the alleyway though, a thought hit him.. something that he never considered thinking over before. Jet the Hawk was ALWAYS trying to beat him in a race and prove his worth, but Sonic always snatched victory away from him. He couldn't help but wonder.. was this 'his' fault? Was the hedgehog the reason that Jet was always so sour? The reason he can't take no for an answer when it comes to racing him? Soon it became clear..
.. and then; a choice.. a choice Sonic knew he had to make. "Well I hardly get any R&R now.. Jet challenges me pretty much every other day.." He pondered, recalling that just a day or two ago, the hawk had forced a race upon him. The reason he couldn't refuse? Because his stake and reputation as being the fastest was at stake. Plus; he just couldn't STAND taunting, especially when it came to his speed.
He knew he could either throw the race or win again, and look forward to another challenge in the near, near future. But Sonic groaned at the thought of throwing a race, having never done that before in his life.
"Oh come on..!"
The hedgehog felt so confused as he emerged from the alleyway, seeing his house further away, and Jet soon appearing on the complete other side of the street. It was like the finish line was right in-between them, and one of them had to get to the middle first before the other did. And so.. it was on, the two now speeding like mad for the finish, their Extreme Gears going at maximum velocity.
Sonic had to make a choice, here and now. As he shot for his house, his mind was already arguing over what to do, second after second. Time was running out.. and then.. a decision was made.
'Damn it Jet, I'm getting sick already! About what I'm about to do..'
The hedgehog gritted his teeth then began to slow down, being careful as to not draw attention to himself. Luckily Jet's eyes were only on the prize.. his rival's home which equaled the finish-line. The hawk continued to speed on for the win, confident.. oh so confident. Then..
.. a few seconds later, he made it. A few seconds earlier then Sonic the Hedgehog. He had won.
"Alright!!" Jet cheered, jumping up and down on his board as he came to a slow but steady stop, Sonic doing the same nearby. It was almost unbelievable, the hawk finally accomplished what he set out to do. Beat Sonic the Hedgehog at his own game.. speed.
Swiftly he jumped off his board and scooped it up in one hand, turning and giving a wide and cocky smirk to his rival. Sonic simply gave a nervous grin in return, feeling a bit uncomfortable at the moment. He had lost.. no.. he threw the wager and the race. He's never done that before, and it kind of hit him hard on the inside. But he had to suck it up and be a man. After-all.. he REALLY wanted that rest and relaxation.
"Looks like I beat you, Sonic the Hedgehog!" Jet boasted, already unable to wait as he just HAD to share this victory with his partners, Wave the Swallow and Storm the Albatross. Wave probably wouldn't believe him.. Storm on the other hand, probably would whack her outside the head and agree with every word that comes out of the hawk's mouth. Oh the joy of having a friend and 'lackey' as so..
The hedgehog grumbled a bit then put on a weak grin, returning the taunt. "Well.. err.. that's only one win for you! You won't win the next time."
Probably not the most smartest return, as that could easily turn to getting more challenges from the Babylon Leader. However; Jet simply shrugged his shoulders and smirked, opening his mouth to speak.
Then he blinked.. something was up. For some reason, he couldn't help but let this race go. There was something 'wrong', something that made his victory not all that sweet when he thought about it more. Sonic noticed this thoughtful posture from his rival and gulped, looking at him calmly.
"You okay, Jet?"
The hawk eyed him suspiciously. He stammered, he seemed to be in another world as he came racing towards the finish. He.. his board had been decreasing in speed.
".. You did not just throw the race.."
"!" Sonic winced, trying to throw together an innocent look though utterly failing. Jet seemed well.. very annoyed and ticked off as he stared at the hedgehog, unable to believe that he would throw a race. Who wouldn't be upset; their supposed first and only FAIR victory having been because of their opponent throwing the race. Although not exploding in anger, the hawk's eye did twitch a little as he began to speak..
"Why the HECK did you do that?! That's even worse for me!" He fumed, stomping and kicking the ground with a foot. "You pity me or something? Is 'that' why you threw the race?!"
Sonic shook his head, waving his hands in defense as he tried to think of a way out of this. "No! Not at all..!"
"Then why?!"
At that point the hedgehog went with the first thing that entered his mind, and it was surprising to say the very least. "Because believe it or not, your my pal too! And I wanted you to enjoy a win for once!"
Jet was driven speechless by the rebuke, then felt himself shrinking back a bit. Odd.. he felt like yelling a moment ago. Now he felt kind of funny, as he hadn't expected that response from the hedgehog. Sonic also went quiet, pondering in his head why he said that.. although.. it seemed to be doing the trick.
A bit more silence passed before the hawk finally began to speak, looking at his rival awkwardly.
"Err.. thanks.. but.." He paused, feeling a bit uneasy as he continued. "I don't need you going easy on me just so I can win." He said with a stubborn tone, crossing his arms across his chest.
Once more, silence. Sonic kind of felt bad at this point.. he didn't want Jet to feel as if he was worthless, or not a good rider, or anything of the sort. In fact he thought of his rival as the contrary. He thought of Jet as well.. really talented at Extreme Gear riding, and pretty cool to say the least. Funny how things like that don't seem to get out sooner. If they had, perhaps things between them would be a bit more.. well.. solid.
"Okay.. well.. you still won the wager," Sonic said, rubbing the back of his head. "Anything you want me to do?"
Jet looked at his rival in surprise. He had almost forgotten about the wager, yet he had brought it up. What the heck was he up to?
"Don't tell me no. Its cool with me if you make me do one thing, you deserve SOME spotlight."
The hawk shrugged slowly, pacing around a bit. He decided to take Sonic up on the offer of going through with the wager. Now he had to decide on something for the hedgehog to do. Dress up, bow down, anything he could think of, he would probably do Then something came to him, and he gave himself a little nod of approval before turning to face Sonic.
"Alright, so you promise to do whatever I ask?"
"Yep." Replied Sonic, hoping it wasn't too humiliating.
A second or two passed, and he was waiting for the verdict. What was it going to be.. then, Jet spoke.
"Invite me inside your house."
An awkward period of silence, Sonic staring at Jet unbelievingly. Did he just ask to be invited inside?
"What..? Why do you--"
"Hey! You said you'd do what I ask!" Rebuked the hawk, frowning big time. Although the request sounded weird, Sonic's admission to having thrown the race just to be nice well.. got him thinking. And it was a weird train of thought he was on, too. Just 'how' well did he know Sonic the Hedgehog? Were there more dimensions to him then just being a hero? The two share a heavy rivalry, but they never really done much to show friendship to each other.
Jet then smirked, starting to walk to Sonic's house anyways. "Besides, we need to plan when the next race will be."
Sonic sweat dropped, wondering when he had even invited the hawk into his home. Then.. as he thought about it, it wouldn't be 'that' bad to have some company. A small smile appeared on his lips for a moment before he quickly caught up to Jet, the smile turning into a frown.
"H-Hey! Who said we're racing again?!"
"Me, that's who."
The two seemed to stare at each other for a moment with burning eyes before slowly and steadily turning to laughter. Seems even an attempt at hanging out and building a friendship didn't stop their rivalry, and sure enough, another race was pre-determined in their future. At least this time though, they were going to do this on a more positive and friendly note.
Author's Notes: This is a fic I am doing for a LiveJournal Community known as 5x10prompts. This is the first of fifthy fics I am doing that involve Sonic the Hedgehog and Jet the Hawk, whether rivals or in a yaoi sort of sense. XD Happy readings everyone.