Last Night
By Formerly Known As

I'm running. The trees are flying past, the wind is whipping about. I've already passed the sound barrier. And I'm still accelerating. I'm moving faster than I've ever moved before. I should be proud. But I'm not. Because I'm not just running. I'm running away. From that house. From that place. From last night. From him.

I'm not really proud of what I did. Just one of those things that happens. Right. Just a one nighter. If I wasn't moving so fast I'd laugh out loud.

It never should have happened. I want to just leave it at that. It never should have happened. But I can't leave it there because it did happen. I want to leave it behind me, that's where it should be. Back there, behind me, out of the way. Forever. But he's still back there. Waiting. I know he's waiting. For what I don't know. Doubt he does either. For breakfast. For an apology. For an excuse. For a fight. For me. And I know I can't run forever. It happened. I have to face that. I have to face him.

It shouldn't have happened. But it did. Why? I wish there was some excuse I could use that would make it all right. That would make everything okay again. But it happened. And there is no excuse for it. We did it. We had sex.

Some people may argue that what we did was not sex. That sex is between a man and a woman. But if it wasn't sex I don't have a clue what the hell it was. Even if it was sex I still don't have a clue what the hell it was. I...I can't say I actually remember last night all that well. Things are...a little blurry. See, we got drunk last night. Very drunk last night. Wasted would be a good way of putting it.

We were celebrating. We were fucking celebrating. We'd just won another battle against Eggman. We were triumphant, victorious. The world was safe once again. So we went and got drunk. Totally fucking drunk. I don't remember much of the actual drinking. It all kind of got blurred from all the alcohol. I do remember Amy getting kissed by Knuckles and giggling like a little girl. I'm not sure whether it was Knuckles or Amy who giggled. I remember Tails getting so drunk he threw up and passed out on the pool table. Fuck! I don't want to remember that. I mean, he's only what? Ten? And we laughed, that's the worst part of all. We laughed when he passed out.

I remember parting for the night. Amy promised to take Tails home. She was still conscious and lived closer than any of the rest of us, so it made sense at the time. Man, I hope those kids made it home okay. I can just see the headlines: Amy raped on a back street and Tails found dead in a sewer. It didn't seem important last night. Of course not much seemed important.

I remember Rouge promising to take Knuckles home. I can't recall if she meant her home or his. I don't think she ever did specify. And Knuckles was too drunk to put up any sort of a fight. Now that I think about it, that bat was the only one of us who showed any restraint. She was also the one who suggested the whole drink to our success thing. Oh well, guess I'll have to get that sneaky bat some other time. I hope Knuckles is okay though. Probably is. Probably isn't a virgin, but there are worse things in the world than losing your virginity to a gorgeous gal like Rouge.

Well, after Tails, Amy, Rouge, and Knuckles all dispersed that left just the two of us. I didn't really have a place to stay, so I left with him for his place down in the Mystic Ruins. Two drunks taking the late night train to the middle of nowhere. What a sight I bet we made, two drunks leaning on each other for support, stumbling around, laughing at every stupid thing. I'm sort of surprised no one mugged us. Or took us down to the police station. But I guess the status of hero carries a lot of weight. At least enough weight to get the two of us to the Mystic Ruins safely.

Once we got to the Mystic Ruins the only person we saw was Big and he didn't have much to say to us. Just told us to stop scaring all the fish. Or something. I can't really remember that conversation. One way or another we made it to his place. And that's when things really got strange.

It made so much sense at the time. There were just the two of us. It was
supposed to be harmless. We were just doing each other a favor. We were horny. And drunk. So it was just a little gratification of natural desires. Just helping each other meet our needs. We were drunk. It made sense.

But you know what bugs me more than anything else? It isn't that we did it. Or even what we did. It was waking up the next morning. Next to him. Him, curled up against me, sound asleep. It wasn't the realization of what happened the night before that scares me. It was the first few minutes, just sitting there before I realized. Those few minutes before things sunk in. It was that soft smile he gave me right after he woke up, before he realized what had happened.

It was supposed to be a one night thing. Just sexual gratification. One night, we both forget or if we do remember, put it off as a stupid thing that happened when we were both too wasted to know any better.

Except, it isn't.

It isn't done.

It's not ending here.

It won't end with one night.

It can't end with one night.

Because I know he's waiting. For an excuse about last night. For an apology for taking off like that. For something.

For me.

I slow down. I can't keep running from him. I've been running from him for...I don't even know how long. It seems like all I do is run. Run from him. I go slower yet. I look around. I've reached Station Square. And I hadn't even realized that I was heading here.

Finally, I stop running. I just stop. There aren't many people up this early in the morning. But I've always been an early riser. That or a night owl, depending on my mood. I wonder about the others. Wonder what happened to them after we separated last night. I wonder about Rogue. I bet she had fun last night. She's probably laughing her head off. I wonder about Knuckles. Did he have a good time? He was pretty wasted so he might not even remember last night. I wonder about Tails. Poor kid probably has the hangover of his life. I wonder if Amy's taking good care of him. Or wailing about her own hangover.

That's funny. I just realized that I don't have a hangover. After all I drank last night I would think I would have one hell of a hangover. But I guess there are other things this morning. Things that have a little more precedence this morning. I think about him. I wonder how he's feeling. I think about how I feel. Strangely, I feel...hungry. I walk a little through the still empty streets. Most of the shops are still closed. But one isn't. It's a donut store. I stop and look in the window. I think about his home. I can't recall seeing any food.

I think about him some more. Back there. Waiting for me. Waiting for an
excuse. An apology. Or maybe he's just waiting for breakfast. I sigh and open the door. The little bell over head tinkles a little.

I took the early morning train back. I could have run back. It would have been faster. But for some reason, I'm a little sick of running today.

I walk back to his house. Just to give myself a little extra time to think. He's sitting outside, staring at nothing. I guess he probably watched the sun rise. But now the sun has risen and there's nothing but the sun to look at now.

He's not wearing much today, but then he never wears much. Hell, I don't wear much either come to think of it. For some reason though, I was expecting him to be wearing a bath robe or something. He turns and looks at me. The sun light gleams on his blue quills, catches on the curves, plays along the sharp point at the end of each quill. I slowly walk over to him. He watches me approach.

Uncertainty plays in his green eyes. Hesitantly, he speaks. "Hey."

"Hey," answer in return. Oh god, we sound so stupid. I stand there, watching the uncertainty, the fear that plays in his eyes. I try again. "I, uh, got some donuts. I thought you...might be hungry."

He smiles, just barely. It's a weak fragile thing. Barely there. Scared to be there. A tiny grain of hope sparks to life in his eyes.

Ah shit. It shouldn't have happened. But enough of that. It did happen.

I sit slowly down next to him. I hesitate and open the donut box. I don't know what kind he likes so I got a wide variety. He picks out a jelly filled. I grab a maple bar. We eat in silence for a minute. He seems to be thinking about something.

Slowly he turns to me. Our eyes lock. He clears his throat. "You, uh, left your gloves behind." He holds them up.

Left my gloves behind. Left them behind when I took off. When I left him behind. I still remember that. Leaping into my shoes, leaping out of the house. I remember him standing behind me, shouting my name. Me, running away from him as fast as my legs could carry me. And him not chasing me. Letting me run. Letting me go even when we both knew he could catch up, keep up. Letting me go. And hoping I would come back.

I stare into his hopeful, scared face. Hopeful that I didn't just come back for my gloves. Scared of his own hope.

I nod. "Thank you," I tell him, taking my gloves from him. I slowly put them on. And I hadn't even realized that they were gone. We sit for a while longer, eating our donuts. Too scared to speak. Too scared to leave. Too full of hope to even look at each other. Both of us lost in our own thoughts.

I could leave now. Leave him permanently. Last night was just a one night thing. I can leave and never come back.

But then again, I can't. I can't leave him. Everything that happened last night shouldn't have happened. But I can't change the fact that it did. It happened. And now we're going to sit here and eat our donuts and hope we can forget last night.

And hope we don't forget last night.

I'm more scared now than I have ever been in my entire life. And not because of what happened last night. Because that might have just been a one night thing. Something that happens when two people get extremely drunk. Something to ignore. Something to forget.

But today...Today is something else. Today isn't a one night stand. Today is something else. And I'm scared of what it may be. Scared of what today will be and scared of what tomorrow will be. And scared, so scared of what we will be together. Scared of all the things we could and may be. I'm scared of the things I'm feeling, more scared than I'll ever admit.

Last night never should have happened. But sometimes things that never should happen, do and sometimes they happen just so that things that should happen can. Last night is over. Today is just beginning.

I glance over at him. "Do you have any coffee?"

He gives me an odd look. "Sorry, I don't do coffee."

Now I give him a strange look. Doesn't do coffee? He's got to be crazy! That's what mornings are for after all! A good excuse to have coffee.
He holds up a carton decorated with bright orange circles. He says, "I've got orange juice, though."

I sigh. No coffee. What a rough way to start a relationship out! "Alright," I finally say. "Give me a cup of orange juice then."

He looks a little sheepish. "Uh, sorry, Shadow, no clean glasses."
My look turns wry. I feel a faint smile flicker across my face.
He blushes a little. I find it cute as hell. "I'm not really use to having people around. Generally I just drink from the carton."

My smile deepens. "Alright then, Sonic," I say, accepting the carton from him. "But later you're going to have to get a coffee maker."

I'm still smiling as I take a long drink from the carton. He makes a few loud, indignant noises. Rants a bit about how he's not going to waste his money on a coffee maker. He picks out another donut, a chocolate one with sprinkles. I set the carton down between us. I grab another maple bar. Last night is over. Today begins now.

Authors Note: Don't these things usually go at the beginning of the story? OOPS! Oh well, deal with it. Actually there was no authors note or disclaimer or anything at the beginning of the story in case it might spoil my already extremely obvious plot line. This story may not be over yet. It depends on several factors. Just...be aware that more may come.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sonic crew. I DO own this piece of writing and if you steal or tamper with it...you will be persecuted by the demons of hell. Or my lawyers. Or both. I know that this is not very official wording, but it makes my point pretty clear.

Author's Apology: I want to apologize now for the quality of this work...I seem to have this strange thing where I must wait about three months or more before I can properly edit a piece of work. So expect the NEW version in three months. Also, I would like to apologize to anyone I offended. I know some people might find this offensive material. I apologize now for offending you. But I will not, I repeat, WILL NOT remove this piece of writing just because some people don't like it. So feel free to flame me, it won't do ANY good. And it might just encourage me to write ANOTHER story like this one. But if you DO choose to flame me, I won't complain. Hee hee, more reviews for me!