Run Away With Me
MaturePopcorn
Description: Tails the Fox, prince of Mobius, secretly likes men; one man in particular, actually. Dating in secret so as not to alert his father, will his façade of marrying a neighbouring princess continue? Or will he crumble under his pressures and disappear for good?
Warning: Rated M for mature themes. This chapter covers alcohol use, next chapter covers a sex scene.
Author's Note I: Well, here's chapter two… I hope this story is alright lol
~Hannah~
Chapter 002
Shadow stared as he processed these words, which took several seconds. Utterly shocked and bewildered, Shadow practically leapt from the bed as he exclaimed, "You wish for me to kiss you?"
Frantically Tails waved his arms, whispering loudly, "Please, silence yourself, or a passing guard may hear!" The prince settled down then and added in a firmer voice, "You have heard me as clear as the morning breeze, Shadow. I wish for you to kiss me." All signs of inebriation were absent from his body; it was as though he had not drank. He continued, desperation creeping into his speech, "Please, my knight, can you not see that I yearn for you dearly? Late at night, when I am alone…" he trailed off, cheeks flush with colour.
The hedgehog widened his eyes in surprise, his face matching the fox's in redness. He had absolutely no idea the young fox thought of him in such a manner. "And in such certain terms, he… Touches…" Shadow refused to finish his own thoughts, forcing them out of his mind before stating plainly, "My prince, I cannot. Aside from a punishment of hanging if we were to be caught, I find it highly improper."
"I believe I requested you call me Tails," the prince shot back coolly, frowning. He whimpered softly, "Improper? Do you not feel for me in this way, then…?"
The knight exhaled slowly, eyes glossing over with an inexplainable sadness and longing. "I never stated such a fact," he breathed, "But with your age and gender, surely it is impossible. I'm truly sorry, my-" before cutting himself off. He continued after a pause, "Tails, but the risk greatly outweighs the reward."
The fox's face lit up suddenly, as though his mind had finally processed these words. "You… Never did state such a fact, did you? Do you fancy me, Shadow?" he boldly asked.
At this query, the hedgehog found the subconscious lull to reappear. It nagged at the corners of his mind, urging him to say yes, to give in to the fox's demands and kiss him fully. He attempted to push these thoughts away; this time, however, it was to no avail. Almost against his will, he found himself nodding slowly without thinking. His eyes widened further still as he did so, and he opened his mouth to speak, yet no words came out. The prince's face beamed as brightly as the morning sun, and the knight found it almost intoxicating. He could not draw his eyes away.
The prince spoke softly, stating an obvious fact, "I fancy you as well," before standing from his bed as well and walking over to his knight. He slipped his smaller hand into the hedgehogs' and held it tightly, staring deeply into his eyes. The two stood for several long moments before, without warning, Tails began to lean his head upwards.
"God, help me," Shadow thought as he closed his eyes and allowed the moment to continue without further protest. He leaned his own head down so as to meet the boy halfway and, finding himself occupying the same space as him, pressed his lips to the fox's. His whole body immediately tingled curiously; he had kissed women before, though often drunk, yet somehow this kiss felt different. It felt surreal and almost magical, and it certainly felt astonishingly amazing to the hedgehog. Breathing only through his nose, he scented the smell of perfume and roses on the prince, only adding to the feeling of intoxication. He decided he rather liked kissing the boy.
For Tails, whose very first kiss this was, he was absolutely shocked yet blissful. The prince was pleasantly surprised at how soft the opposing lips were, and could vaguely taste lingering smoke of some kind on them. He had forgotten that Shadow smoked a pipe, and he realized the source of the familiar smell from nights past; his mother had smoked a similar piece. Closing his eyes as well, he sighed deeply and parted his own lips slightly so as to allow a tongue to slip inside his mouth.
Obliging, Shadow indeed felt Tails' tongue with his own and inhaled sharply; he had not expected the kiss to go so far. He explored the prince's mouth with his own, and the prince did in kind; thus the two stood necking for many long moments that stretched into minutes. Safe in the fact that nobody would dare intrude without knocking, Tails allowed the moment to enrapture him, captivating his attention. Only when the knight finally uncoupled did he allow his mind to wander once more, thinking, "This simply must become a regular occurrence."
Shadow, on the other hand, was busy grappling with his morals. He had given in to lust and had fallen quite far, in his opinion, and he felt ashamed for kissing a boy of Tails' age. The knight also felt ashamed simply for having kissed a fellow man, and he recognized instantly that he would be ostracised for this fact alone if word ever got out. Panting slightly as though out of breath, the taller creature shakily stated, "There, we have kissed," before inquiring in a whispered tone, "Are you satisfied now?"
Tails frowned sadly, glancing down at the floor. "You mean to tell me you didn't enjoy that?" he breathed, dejected.
The knight hesitated, then, groaning loudly and leaning his head back, he shouted, "Augh! Why is my own mind making this so difficult?" He glanced at a slightly startled Tails and continued, "My prince, Tails, I enjoyed that moment very much." The prince's face lit up once more. "However," he added, and the prince's happiness faltered. "This was but a one-time occurrence. We are both due to be married, and it is highly improper for us to be engaging in such activity."
Crestfallen, the prince chuckled sadly, saying, "This isn't like my book at all," with pure melancholy eyes.
The knight simply retorted, "Life isn't like a book."
Tails turned to his bed; as tears welled up in his eyes, he sniffled, "You may leave now. I will see you early tomorrow." Before the knight could neither protest nor agree to his suggestion, he shuffled himself over to his bed and climbed on top. Without removing a single article of daytime clothing, he crawled under the covers and buried himself in the thick blanket; another sniff could be heard from inside.
Shadow then turned and swiftly left. He thought to himself, as he strolled down the corridor, "This is exactly what I meant. As just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, the boy is too young; he cried when he didn't get his way!" He paused and halted his forward movement, comprehending just then that he didn't care. He liked the prince, and the prince reciprocated his feelings. Why couldn't they date in secrecy, just as his book had described?
Shaking his head, he shut his eyes tightly and took a deep breath then, opening his eyes once more, continued walking. He simply had to put the notions out of his brain; there was no future for the two of them. There never would be. There couldn't be. He was a knight, a mere lowly servant of sorts, and Tails was the royal prince; their love was forbidden for a multitude of reasons.
As he exited the castle, he found himself unwilling to take another step in the direction of his home. He desperately did not want to return to his fiancé now, after what he had done with the prince. Yes, he did not care much for her, and yes, he had ignored her in the past, but he had never actively committed adultery of any kind. Even kissing was grounds for sin in his eyes. Simply put, he couldn't face her with his own guilt and shame.
Regretting the previous few moments of his life greatly, he groaned softly once more and furrowed his brow in anger. As a knight and servant, he could not express his true emotions around the castle, but the truth was that Shadow was naturally an extremely, perpetually livid creature. He made his way to the orchard behind the garden and under the gaze of the setting sun, he picked a single apple. Staring at its perfect looking shape for a moment, he suddenly widened his eyes and yelled incoherently, throwing it as hard as he possibly could against a nearby stone wall. It broke apart into dozens of pieces, and juice flew everywhere, staining his clothing. He stood under the tree and, picking more apples, he repeated this motion until his arm grew tired, yelling all the while; the tree he had chosen was nearly bare, and his shirt was soaked with the liquid.
Finally, panting heavily and now quite out of breath, he knelt and closed his eyes. His mind raced in a million different directions, most of them involving the prince and all of them involving his romantic frustrations as a whole. The knight inhaled sharply and exhaled shakily, over and over, until he had sufficiently calmed himself.
Opening his eyes, he glanced over his shoulder and noticed a red echidna staring at him intently, eyebrows raised. It was his friend, Knuckles, one of the few people Shadow genuinely liked and felt he could trust with anything; that being said, there were still certain things he did not share with the echidna. Slowly he stood to his feet and turned to face the fellow knight, softly requesting the knowledge, "How long were you watching me?"
"Long enough," came a somewhat cryptic response. Frowning, Knuckles walked over to his fellow knight and placed a large hand on his shoulder, inquiring, "Does this have anything to do with Rouge leaving?" Remembering earlier in the day, the hedgehog suddenly grinned and sighed in relief. He had forgotten that Rouge was to leave on a mission for the king, and he would have his home and bed to himself.
He lied back, "Ah, yes, somewhat." He could not bring himself to tell his friend the truth about his fiancé or the prince, for though he trusted Knuckles greatly, he did not know if he would be forced to report back to the king on such egregious topics. "We will have to reschedule our wedding date," he continued, appearing to be melancholy.
The red knight nodded and plainly inquired, "Would you like to come into town with me? We can drink our troubles away."
Shadow blinked. He was surprised the laidback and carefree man before him had troubles, but he leaped on the opportunity to drink his own misery into oblivion. He nodded in response, and the two began down the thicker cobblestone path that led away from the manor and Shadow's abode.
A half hour or so passed, and the two found themselves in the nearest town. A large, bustling urban centre of 30,000 or so, it held a large plaza in the middle of the city which housed two separate taverns alone. Shadow and Knuckles entered one and sat at a table, at which point the red echidna loudly demanded an entire bottle of whiskey be brought to the table. Shadow blinked, then whistled loudly.
"What occasion calls for such a drink? And where did you acquire the funds?" he inquired of the knight. They made enough to support themselves and perhaps a spouse, but not much more; this sole bottle would be one weeks' pay.
Knuckles simply snorted, "Inheritance," as the bottle was brought to the table. Sliding money across the wooden counter to pay for it, he then opened the large glass flask and took a swig.
"I see…" Shadow whispered, afraid of his volume so as not to distress the echidna. When his fellow knight had taken his drink and set the bottle on the table with a warm breathy gasp, the hedgehog tilted his head and extended his hand. Obliging, Knuckles handed him the bottle, and he took a swig as well.
The two drank well into the night until the bottle was completely empty, candlelight from the dangling chandelier glistening off of its sides brilliantly. The pair were thoroughly drunk, and Shadow knew he would regret his decisions in the morning when he had to report the prince.
"The prince," he thought solemnly. "Why can't I wrap my mind around that boy…?"
Suddenly, the echidna let out a sniffle and a tear rolled down his cheek and he realized he was not the only one with issues that day. Flailing slightly, he put his arm around his friends' shoulder and attempted to soothe him, whispering, "Hey, why don't we go outside where it's quiet, and we can discuss this."
Knuckles nodded and, standing on unsteady and drunken legs, grabbed the empty flask and made his way to the doorframe where he stood for several long moment, groaning to himself. The two walked out into the centre of the plaza where the full moon shone brightly on them. A couple people milled about, but save them it was empty in the town, for everyone had gone to bed. They made their way over to several benches that lay around the edges of the square and sat down quietly.
Unsure of how to start the terrible conversation that lay before him, Shadow pensively stared at the sky, vision blurring slightly as he looked on at the milky expanse of stars above. He finally found the right topic and asked, almost carefree, "Lovely night, is it not?"
Knuckles began to wail loudly. Taken aback, Shadow simply sat in silence and allowed the sobbing to continue freely and loudly. Several passing people glanced warily at the knights but said nothing. After many long moments and several deep breaths, the echidna was able to choke out the words, "My father," before weeping quietly into his hands. The hedgehog wasn't quite sure what to do in such a situation; they had been merrily drinking but moments before.
"You mentioned inheritance…?" the hedgehog prompted softly, wishing not to upset his friend further.
Nodding once more, the echidna sighed sadly and whispered, "I knew it coming for a while now, yet I find myself distraught nonetheless." Sniffling and sloppily wiping his face, he added, "I loved that man dearly."
Shadow stared at the moon for a few moments. He could relate to his friend's loss, and found his comforting words caught in his throat in his own sadness. His own father had died not long ago, hardly a fortnight, and as he opened his mouth to console his fellow knight he found that no sound could escape.
Just as he was about to force the speak out of his throat, the red creature beside him flashed anger and resentment in his violet eyes and grabbed the bottle swiftly, chucking it as hard as he could in a high arc. It hit the dead centre of the plaza and shattered into hundreds of pieces of broken glass, and Shadow, in his drunken state, did not so much as bat an eye to the motion. He could relate to this as well, after all.
Shakily, Knuckles muttered, "That's enough out of me. I deserve to suffer my pain in silence."
Shadow narrowed his eyes, retorting, "That's hardly true, and you know this. Everyone experiences grief, even the king; we all deserve to speak of it."
Snorting, the echidna shot back, "Well then, I don't wish to. If that is the case, why don't you speak of your own suffering? You have drank as much as me if not more."
Hesitating, the hedgehog muttered, "Touché," before kicking the ground gently.
This was not satisfactory to the fellow knight, however, and he stood at once, raising his voice as he said, "No, hypocrite, I have shared my troubles, now you will share yours."
Shadow groaned; it wasn't so much that he did not want to share his emotions with his friend, quite the contrary. He found confiding in a trusted comrade to be relaxing and rewarding in its own ways. The hedgehog was simply scared that his secret may be too big for the echidna to handle, and that the news may somehow make its way back to the king. He feared for his life, yet something in him told him he could trust the man before him.
Vaguely aware of the cool summer breeze that blew through periodically, Shadow whispered, "You yearn for knowledge into my life? Then I shall tell you plainly that I no longer wish to marry Rouge."
This visibly startled the echidna, who nearly fell off the bench in a jolt. He raised his speech volume loudly as he exclaimed, "Rouge? W-why ever not?"
Shadow frowned and growled softly, "Keep your voice down, friend! Do you wish for the whole town to know?"
Gulping slightly, the fellow knight nodded and lowered his voice once more as he repeated, "Why?"
Staring at the moon almost wistfully, Shadow bluntly stated, "I appear to enjoy the company of men better," before closing his eyes and breathing deeply through his nose, preparing himself for an outcry of a response. None came, however, as the echidna stayed silent as though processing the information slowly.
Eventually, the echidna spoke back, stating, "I see," before narrowing his eyes and adding the question, "Then why did you agree to be wed at all?"
Shadow snorted in response. "Pressure," he slurred back. "Pressure from my parents and from society. I hate it, really; if it were my choice, I'd stay alone forever." He paused, before muttering under his breath, "Well…"
He had hoped his friend had not heard this remark, but alas Knuckles picked up on the word and echoed, "Well? Well what?" He hesitated before adding, "Is there someone in particular you find yourself in liking?"
Shadow swallowed; he had desperately wanted to keep his secret just that, yet the alcohol in his system told him to do otherwise. "Knuckles," he began in a hardly audible whisper, "I find myself in a rather peculiar predicament. Yes, I like men, and that much we can agree is best kept secret, I hope; but will you be able to hold your tongue after what I am about to share with you?"
The echidna pursed his lips, rising to his feet. Several other patrons of the pub they had just left were noisily exiting the building and making their way across the plaza just then, and Knuckles stated, "Let us move somewhere quieter, if this secret really is so large, so as not to inform anyone else."
Shadow nodded and stood to his feet unsteadily. The two crossed the plaza and stepped into the alleyway shadows of a large, multi-floored building, where no one would dare hang about save them. The hedgehog began to tremble slightly as he realized the implications of what he was to say.
"The prince," Shadow stated before finding the remainder of his share caught in his throat.
Knuckles nodded slowly, his inebriated brain not catching the meaning of the name. He narrowed his eyes and prompted, "The prince…? What of the young boy?" When the hedgehog noticeably winced at the word young, the echidna inhaled sharply. "You don't mean to tell me you've taken a liking to him?" he gasped out, shivering despite the lack of cold. He received but a nod in response. Continuing, he asked in a whisper, "Does he know?"
"We kissed just today," Shadow stated bluntly, earning a look of pure shock from his friend. He went on, "He appears to have taken a liking to me as well, and we find each other's company soothing. Though…"
"Though?" the echidna echoed, perturbed yet intrigued.
Sighing, the hedgehog said, "I find it all to be highly improper, but the prince yearns for more. He claims to be awake at night, potentially even now, thinking of me. He claims I enter his dreams," he exaggerated for no reason in particular. "I haven't an idea of what to do. We both wish for it to continue, but I feel as though I must be the voice of reason and…" He trailed off before realizing, in his drunken state, that his emotions vastly outweighed his reason. He wanted to be with the prince, and if the prince wanted to be with him, what was stopping them from acting out scenes from a book?
He faltered, then changed his sentence, slurring, "Though, I don't want to be the voice of reason. I wish for this to continue, and so does he. Therefor it shall," he finished bluntly, looking at the moon with newfound determination.
Knuckles was completely dumbfounded. His friend and fellow knight was talking of dangerous and treasonous things, and he felt it in him to convince him otherwise, though he knew not how. Unable to find the correct words, he simply replied, "Be safe, friend."
Shadow nodded, not looking at the echidna, and inquired, "Will you vow yourself to secrecy?" He glanced over, adding, "My life is on the line, yet I find myself unable to stop." The echidna hesitated, and Shadow simply added, "Please."
The echidna vacillated more; then, "…Alright," he said after a long while. "You have my word." He sighed, adding, "Now let us return home; surely we are both deserving of a long rest." Shadow nodded, and the two departed.
From around the corner, a single creature stepped out of the darkness and into the moonlight. Casting long, deep shadows, she smiled gleefully as she whispered, to no one in particular, "You may have your dear friend's word… But do you have mine?" She watched the duo leave toward their separate abodes, stumbling over their steps, and she added to herself in her head, "Best watch your backside, Shadow the Hedgehog. You may one day discover a knife deeply inserted inside it."
Shadow found himself standing at the door to the prince's room in quite a peculiar set of circumstances. Gripping the doorknob, he discovered he was emotionally unable to enter, unable to face the boy after the events that had transpired the previous night. Rubbing the side of his temples with his free hand, he attempted to no avail to alleviate an intensive headache he had received upon waking. He briefly considered turning back and staying home for the day, claiming to the king to be too sick to work, but decided better of it; he did not wish to disappoint the prince.
Finally, sighing heavily, Shadow opened the door and knocked rapidly as he did so. He glanced around the somewhat large room and found it to be empty; furrowing his brown in puzzlement, he closed the door behind him and walked to the centre of the room. He turned towards the washroom door, which was closed, and came to the conclusion the prince must be there. He glided over to it, knocked, and waited.
Instead of a verbal response, the door simply opened, revealing the young prince to be wearing only shorts, with no shirt or really anything else. He bluntly inquired, "Yes?" with little expression on his face before exiting the washroom and walking over to his bed, sitting on it. He sighed when he received silence and added, nearly monotone, "I was simply taking a bath; there's no need to become so flustered."
Failing in his attempt to hide his face so as not to reveal his cheeks, which were flush with colour, the knight stumbled over his tongue in an attempt to respond. "Ah, no, you," he said, chuckling nervously, "That is quite alright; I am just here to report in, as it is now morning…" he trailed off and winced as a particularly bad bout of head pain shot through him.
Concern flashed through the fox's eyes for a moment before he hardened his gaze once more. In a steady, emotionless voice, he requested the knowledge, "What seems to be ailing you this time?"
Perturbed by his price's lack of caring, he tentatively answered, "Oh, I appear to have head pains this morning; I was up late last night, with an old friend…" He trailed off once more, unsure as whether to finish his statement.
Tails finished it for him, however, by simply quipping, "Drinking, I suppose?" The hedgehog nodded, and he went on in a sigh, "To 'forget your troubles', if I'm not mistaken?"
Frowning, Shadow walked over and instinctually sat on the bed beside the fox. "Yes… How have you acquired such knowledge?"
The prince simply snorted and answered, "Your clothing is wrinkled and you look a mess." Then, finally allowing care to return to his expressions, he gently added, "Here, shall I fetch you some new clothes?"
The knight shook his head and groaned softly in pain, earning another glance of concern from the young fox. He lay back on the bed and closed his eyes, ultimately deciding to give in to his whims and desires.
"Tails, my prince," Shadow began softly, "I have thought much about the night before." The prince perked up his head at this, cautiously interested though careful not to give too much of his emotions away. The hedgehog continued, "I have decided that I much enjoyed our kiss. I have thought that perhaps life can be a tad like a book, if one is careful-"
He was cut off by the prince, who boldly inquired, "Are we to kiss again?"
Shadow couldn't help but laugh at this. "Are you always so impatient? I was hardly finished speaking," he chuckled, opening his eyes and staring at the fox with loving eyes. He paused for a moment before finally continuing, "If it is what you desire, than who am I to keep us both from what we want?"
Widening his eyes as though he couldn't believe what was transpiring, the prince found himself asking, "Are you certain?" before regretting it. Why bother with such transparencies? If the knight reciprocated his feelings, he should leap upon the opportunity to take full advantage before feelings and minds were changed, or so he thought.
He relaxed his tensions once more when a soft reply came drifting back across the bed, "I'm certain." The hedgehog sat up with some effort and grasped the fox's wrist firmly, somewhat aggressively pulling the creature towards him. Their faces rushed together, and Shadow found them to occupy the same space once more.
The two locked their lips together again, this time more forcefully than the night previous, and they both narrowed their eyes in time as they fully grasped the situation. They were breaking every rule, yet neither party cared. Tails wrapped his arms around the knight's back and held him in a warm, tight embrace which the hedgehog quickly returned, placing one hand on the prince's shoulder and the other on his hip. Moving slowly, the prince ran his hand up the knight's back from over his shirt and felt the warm, broad muscles underneath. He sighed in blissfulness as Shadow's tongue entered his mouth once more, this time more aggressively in its movements.
The two stayed embraced on the bed for minutes together, passionately kissing until finally they simply had to break away for air. Tails smiled widely and began giggling, almost uncontrollably, and Shadow found himself inexplicably embarrassed. As the fox turned to laughing, the hedgehog frowned and almost angrily shot out, "What do you find to be so humorous in such a moment?"
The fox breathed as though to control himself and, finding his words, finally got out, "I'm just so happy." The knight sighed. He was undoubtedly happy too, yet he couldn't shake a nagging sense of dread that sat with him, somewhere in his chest…
He finally responded, "I'm pleased too, though you have to understand that for this to continue, it must be of the utmost importance to keep it a secret.
The prince frowned in mock displeasure and shot back somewhat humorously, "I'm well aware, and I intend to; so let me have my happiness." Smiling, he added, "And with that, so to let me have you all to myself."
Shadow grimaced internally; had he made a mistake? The boy before him seemed incapable of taking the situation fully seriously, and was far too joyous at such potential danger. Was he not emotionally developed enough for a relationship? Should he have waited until he had grown, or still more, held his tongue and desires and not held a relationship with him at all?
Tails sighed and closed his eyes, laying down on the bed with a smile still on his face. Seeing the blissfully happy fox, he decided that he had made no mistake at all; this secret would be well kept, and he would be happy with his new connection. The hedgehog smiled and lay beside the prince before wrapping his arms around him, embracing him warmly. The two held each other until sleep eventually overtook them both, and they slumbered peacefully knowing they had each other. For the first time in either's lives, they felt truly whole.
Author's Note II: Oof, sorry this story is such hot garbage, I'm trying my best… Ahaha… Chapter three up whenever I get the chance!
