There was a long silence.

Manic didn't know what to say. This guy seemed like he would be nice enough. He had good music taste, he had a good sense of humor. But he wasn't just a car thief like Manic. No, he was an armed robber. He had pointed a gun at Manic's head, and stolen something that meant the world to him. His gaze never moved from the pendant for that whole pause. Every scratch was where he remembered them being. There was no way this could have been a forgery.

Scourge didn't know what to say. For whatever reason, he cared about this hedgehog. He was willing to risk being called out to get his beloved necklace back to him. But he threatened his life. Not just the life of some new punk he liked, ooooh no. He threatened the life of someone who was clearly having issues of some kind. He didn't want to look at Manic. He knew what he'd done. He ruined his relationships with everyone, but this was more than that. This was completely fucking up a relationship that hadn't even started.

So they waited.

Manic eventually had the nerve to look up. Scourge was turned away from him.

"Why'd you give me this?" He wasn't angry. Just confused.

Scourge didn't respond.

"Dude... There's a line, you know?" Manic started to put his old necklace back on. "You can steal from some kinda rich guy, but don't just steal from random people. That ain't cool."

Scourge finally spoke. "Are you scared?"

"I'm always scared."

"Why aren't you running?"

"Cause I'm dumb as a rock." Manic gave a hollow laugh, and looked at the steering wheel.

Scourge relaxed the arm he was using to prop his head up. He didn't turn to face Manic, he stared at the sky.

"Why are you fine with this?" Scourge's voice was quiet and emotionally voided.

Manic waited to give his answer. "You know I'm also a thief, right?"

Scourge glanced at Manic, but didn't turn his head.

"Yeah... yeah, it's a problem. But I don't steal from anyone who can't afford it! It's only snobs and stuff." Manic looked Scourge square in the eyes. Scourge flinched. "Why did you threaten people, though? That isn't cool."

"We never hurt anyone." Scourge said. "I got some medical work. We needed a lot of money. So we got a lot of money."

"How much did you need?"

"Too much."

"Are you going to be okay?"

"I'm fine. I don't care about my health!" Scourge pounded his fist on the door. "I fucked you over so badly. Shit... SHIT!"

Scourge grabbed his quills in his hand and grasped tightly. His sunglasses fell of his head when he did so, but he grabbed them with his left hand before they hit the ground. Scourge wasn't new to regret, but to feel this frustrated was like poison to his body. His stomach began to ache, his scars lit on fire, and his heart felt like it was ready to burst. He sat in pained, awkward silence.

Manic broke the silence again. "You still need a drive back? It's not that far from here."

Scourge opened his eyes just enough to look at Manic. He didn't seem insincere. He smiled subtly, but it was clearly forced. His eyes gave away his sadness. This was tearing apart Manic just as much as it hurt Scourge. His posture was defeated, but not scared or angry. All he expressed was simple, base sadness.

"...Yeah."

Manic twisted the key again. The car stuttered and coughed to life. Without a word, they pulled out of the parking lot.

"It's just about the money with you, huh?" Manic asked. Scourge finally looked at him again.

"I need as much as I can get."

"Not even a little thrill?" Manic smiled, but this time, it looked sincere. "Trust me... There's something about taking some fancy lighter or thing, and trying to get in and out without anyone noticing. That moment, knowing you could get caught at any second; there's a thrill there I just can't get anywhere else. Honestly? Even this jacket was stolen." He shook his head. "Just tore off the tag and walked out."

Scourge looked away. He didn't want to admit that there was a little truth to what Manic had just said.

"Hey... Hey, so about that whole group of thieves. It's a group, right? But you keep saying you're the only one that needs money."

"I called in a few favors. And Fiona's always willing to roll with me."

"None of them are getting money?"

"I ain't the absolute worst. They take what they want, whether I like it or not."

"Then why did two of them stop going with you?"

Scourge said nothing. The motel was barely visible from their distance.

"I saw four thieves, but the news says there are only two?"

"I had three partners. We traveled in two cars, so if one of us got caught, the others could get us out of dodge. We split in one city, and never saw each other again." He sighed. "Fiona said we should forget about them..."

Scourge trailed off. He was watching the motel. As they drew closer, they could see a figure standing by the road that eventually came into focus as Fiona. As they got closer, something else came into view - a blue SUV. Fiona saw the car driving towards the motel, and walked towards the car quickly.

By the time they arrived, Scourge was fuming. He knew far too well who was in that SUV, as the sky blue hawk and tan-and-black lynx who drove it had helped him and Fiona with their thefts.

Scourge couldn't wait for Manic to stop the car, and jumped out to dash towards Fiona. Fiona opens the door to the SUV, slamming it in Scourge's face. In a desperate attempts to talk to her, he slammed his fist on the drivers-side window. Instead of backing down, Fiona pushed the lynx aside, and cracked the window as little as possible.

"Forget it, Scourge! If you aren't going to listen to us, we aren't gonna play along!"

Scourge tried desperately to claw the window down. "Open the fucking door, Fiona!" He opened his jacket, and raised his fists into a fighting pose.

"Listen to me!" Fiona screamed in the most ear-splitting way she could manage. "We aren't possessions you can toss around or robots to do your bidding! We are Predator Hawk, Lightning Lynx, and Fiona Fox, our own people! You want my love, you treat me like I have feelings!"

"Where the hell's everything we took?!"

"Right where we left it, baby." Fiona spoke in a softer, cooing tone. "Just a little lighter, though... I just wanted a little consideration." She dramatically threw her head to the side, and put on a cheesy pouty face. "Oh, I'm sorry I'm not going to see your self-centered hedonism for a while...!" She pulled out a stack of fifty dollar bills, and wiped her eyes.

Scourge pulled his mouth against the gap in the window. "How much is a 'consideration'?"

"It's enough. You know where to find us." Fiona moved away from the lynx. "Hit it."

The van sped out of the parking lot, with Scourge desperately trying to run after the car. But before he could catch up, the car inevitably rocketed down toward the street. Scourge ran up to his car, and jumped into the passenger's seat.

"Floor it."

With only a moment's hesitation, Manic took off after Fiona and friends. The convertible stuttered and fumbled along while the SUV swam through the city streets. Manic and Fiona pushed their vehicles to their absolute limits. Speed didn't matter. Eighty... Ninety... Speeds Manic has no right to be driving at. We're going to squash someone played on repeat in Manic's head.

Scourge didn't fear anything in that moment. All he could feel were his teeth so clenched, they almost sunk into his own flesh.

At an empty intersection, the lynx suddenly swerved to the side of the road. Manic pulled a quick stop. To their relief and utter horror, the swerve wasn't them crashing - they managed to swerve around 180 degrees without stopping. Manic attempted a three-point turn, but it was too late. By the time they had turned the convertible around, the van had turned and disappeared down a road too far in the distance. Manic, emotionally exhausted from such a chase, stopped the car in a nearby spot.

"What are you stopping for?!" Scourge screamed as loud as his voice could manage. "You said you like thrills, go get them!"

"Dude..." Manic was out of breath. "That's too much thrill... they're gone, man. We lost them."

Scourge was too stubborn to admit defeat that easily. In a fit of desperation, he jumped out of the car and tried dashing down the street. As fast as he could run, and as far as he tried to run, it was nowhere near a hundred miles an hour. He was alone. Just him, Manic, and a seedy, rundown part of the city.

"AaaaAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUGH!"

Scourge's scream was louder than should have been reasonably possible. Manic shuddered at the intensity. Scourge grabbed his quills again, and turned his head towards the sky! "DAMNIT!"

Manic did nothing. There was nothing he could do that would make Scourge feel any better. He stayed parked, still processing what had just happened, and waiting for Scourge to make his next move.

Scourge stood outside staring down the road Fiona left down. Scourge, having nothing else to do, walked back to the car, and slammed the door. He didn't say a word, but was panting heavily from his run.

"Want to go back to the motel?" Manic asked as softly as he could manage.

"Don't take me back there." Scourge was pissed beyond belief, but it clearly wasn't directed at Manic.

And once more, they waited.

"Any way I can help?"

Scourge didn't respond. He let go of his quills, which fell mostly into place, but more messy than before.

"What helps you calm down?"

"I don't get calm. I get even."

Scourge lightened his death grip on the door, and put his forehead in his hand. Manic leaned back, looking away and pretending not to hear all the obscenities he was saying between gasps.

Then... Manic had a thought. It was a terrible, stupid idea, but there was a chance. He opened his case of CDs, and pulled out one with a blindingly neon pink label. He put it into the CD player, and the stereo system whirred to life.

It's a total eclipse
The moon's overtaken the sun.

Scourge was beyond pissed at Fiona. This was far worse than anything she'd ever done before. This wasn't just mouthing off at him, this was betraying Scourge's monetary needs entirely. But his obscenities stopped. Manic didn't make any more moves. He sat and waited. And sure enough, intentional or not, he was tapping his foot in time.

"The chorus instruments are tinny as hell." Scourge finally muttered.

"I've got an idea." Manic said, smiling now. "Can you trust me to drive you somewhere?"

Scourge at the passenger side rear view, and nodded. Manic slowly backed out of the car, and started a slow paced, easy drive through the city.

In my own mind's eye
I am the sky
So why should I be shy?

Unbeknownst to Scourge, Manic was taking a detoured route through the city. As the horrible yet catchy 80s pop trash came to a close, Manic fiddled with the car radio until it reached his favorite late night channel, a shockingly unpopular pop channel that every night, shifted from the cheesy pop garbage Manic hates himself for enjoying to chill, atmospheric music. A bit of slow jazz and gentle soul here and there, but mostly downtempo dance music. He leaned back, and took Scourge on a scenic drive past some of his favorite sights in the city.

Past the natural history museum, built to contain a massive, powerful emerald fiercely protected by a single red echidna.

...Now she won't be happy till she looks down and sees the engagement ring...

Past the Honey Clothing flagship store in the shopping district, a deep maroon building covered in huge lights and balconies that still managed to look elegant and not over-the-top.

...Do you understand, it's all in your head...

Past the G.U.N. building, and the elegant plaza in front of it with a tall bronze statue of a young girl.

...We've been driving down this road since I was seventeen...

Past Silver Lining Fortunes, a fortune telling shop with a large neon sign in the shape of a five petal lotus seen from the side.

...Now I search for the ground underneath my feet as the city burns...

The long drive finally came to a close as Manic parked the car in front of his apartment building. Scourge was still deep in thought and clearly angry, but the drive had taken a lot of fury out of his system. Manic waited a bit after parking the car to leave. They sat and listened to the radio in cool, gentle silence.

...In a world full of darkness, I'll become your midnight sun...

"Where are we?" Scourge eventually snapped out of his dazed thinking, and looked at the dingy building he was parked next to. A bland, brick exterior with many small windows and no defining features, other than overgrown ivy and a few broken, crumbling bricks.

"My apartment. Come on." Manic did his best to stay happy. He tossed the key back to Scourge, and started walking towards the door.

"Why did you drive me to your apartment?" Scourge tensed up.

"You need someone to talk to, right? Our place is nicer than that old motel, trust me. A nice place'll be good for you."

Scourge kept staring at the building as he hesitantly followed Manic. A 'nice place' my ass... he thought.

The halls through the building didn't help with that impression. The hallways were filled with cheap, monotone carpets and the walls were bare brick. There was one elevator that wasn't in order, and a dingy back staircase that barely had any lights in working order. The few small windows sprinkled through the building didn't help. A mix of stuffy air and bare design made the building feel like everything was just very slightly off.

They made their way up to the third floor. Manic walked down to a room with a very small plaque reading 310. He opened the door, and stood to the side, motioning for Scourge to enter first.

Scourge was pleasantly surprised with his apartment. The carpets in the actual room were a fine white that seemed much nicer than the hall carpeting. There was a small, generic kitchenette that was cleaned to a polish. The living room itself was filled with neutral cream, white, and very light, warm gold tones. The center of the room was taken up by a plush white sofa and a center table on a rich, golden carpet. A small hallway that lead into two small bedrooms and a bathroom.

"Sonia keeps it clean. Surprised?" Manic said.

Scourge was definitely surprised, but not at how clean the room was. He was more focused on the white drum set and stool that took up a good portion of the living room. It was clearly well used, but well taken care of.

"Come on," Manic said. He took Scourge's arm and tried to lead him further into the room, but Scourge stopped him.

"Kid, what are you doing?" Scourge clearly wasn't in the mood for hijinks.

"You know what the great thing about drumming is?" Manic asked. "It is the easiest way to get your anger out. It ain't like punching a pillow that's soft and stuff, drums are made to be solid and hit as hard as possible. You just gotta be careful with how you hold the sticks, but it's a great way to get out a looooot of crap at once."

Manic reached into his jacket, and pulled out the wooden drumsticks he'd used at the show. "I think you need something like that right now."

Manic offered the drumsticks to Scourge, who stared at them for a while. Scourge was acting calmer, but Manic could see anger burning him up. He grabbed the drumsticks, and stormed over to the drums.

"Yeah, man, go crazy."

Manic watched from a distance as Scourge let loose on the drums into a violent, graceless cacophony. Every swing was full force, every sound the loudest the drums could make. Scourge went from traditional drumming to a hunched over, cramped, animal beating in a minute. He stopped thinking about where he was, what was going on. All he could think of was hitting these things as hard as possible, as though some long-buried primal instinct had been dug up once again.

Manic sat by and watched for four, painful minutes, until Scourge's drumming finally began to slow down. He still tried to swing with full force, but he no longer had the energy. The pauses between strikes became longer and longer apart as his breathing grew heavier. He went in for one final strike of his horrible performance.

Crack

The left drumstick his the medal edge of the snare at just the wrong angle, causing it to snap clean in half. The snap only took Scourge out of his concentrated state for a moment, but that was enough time for him to come to terms with his body. He had used up all his energy on his terrible performance.

"...I needed that."

Scourge stood up and fumbled over to the couch. He put his hand over his eyes, and started breathing heavy. Manic reclined on the other side of the couch, leaving plenty of room between him and Scourge.

"You wanna talk about it?"

Scourge finally spoke. "Sorry, kid." He put the intact drumstick on the cushion next to him.

"What, about the stick? Don't even worry about it, my man. They're like six bucks a piece."

"Not just about the drumstick!" Scourge would have normally sounded pissed off, but he was too tired to sound anything other than annoyed. "Every time I've talked to you, I've fucked up. I'm sorry, alright?!"

Manic waited before responding. "I mean... you held a gun to my head. If I'm gonna forgive you for that, it's gonna take a lot of time." He picked up his drumstick, and looked at it as he continued to speak.

"All the theft... Like, I can't really get around that, either, but I kind of get it. I have issues with stealing things too, but you gotta have more morals about it. Only take what people can afford to lose, only take what people won't miss too much, and don't hurt anyone. I mean, that's how I do it, anyways."

Scourge didn't fight back. Manic hadn't said anything Scourge didn't already know, but hearing it out of Manic's mouth made it resonate with him. He took everything better than he'd expected, but hearing him agree with everything he thought made every point hurt that much worse.

"That... Fiona's the girl we saw at the motel, right? She means a lot to you, doesn't she?"

"Yeah... Yeah, she does, punk." The anger had been replaced with regret. "This always happens. I screw her over, we get in a fight, and she bails." He looked at the window. "As much as she pisses me off, I still care about her. She only gets angry at me cause she cares, or something gay like that."

"That's cute."

Scourge glared at Manic, but it didn't sound like he thought it was funny or cruel to say.

"I mean, yeah, it's kind of toxic, but you still care about each other after all that, right? That's more than I can say about all my relationships."

Manic gave Scourge the same hollow smile he had before. Scourge tried to find the right words to say.

"I know I'm just a dumb kid with bad hair, and I know I can't really do anything for you, but if you wanna talk about anything, I'm always here, alright?"

"Don't say that shit."

Scourge looked pained saying that last sentence. Manic balked.

"Have some confidence in yourself, kid. You don't believe that, do you?"

Manic didn't try to laugh it off. He didn't smile, or defend himself. He looked deep into Scourge's eyes, and said nothing.

"Wanna know something, Manic? I've had to deal with that self-loathing shit for years, and look at me now. I ain't the ruler of the world, but I'm awesome. I've got good friends, a good life, and a good-ass body. If you talk shit on yourself and pretend you don't mean it, that ain't gonna get you anywhere. I love myself just fine, and I held you at gunpoint. You've got no reason to hate yourself like this."

They stared at one another.

"See a doctor. Get that crap taken care of." Scourge's anger was mixed with sadness. "I regret going through that garbage every day. I regret pretty much all the shit I do. Don't let it drag you down."

When he spoke about regretting everything, he instinctively covered his chest scars with his right hand.

"Kid, say something positive about yourself." Scourge said. He faced Manic. His normally bitter expression was tinged with sadness.

"I'm not completely screwed up yet."

"Say something serious!" Scourge yelled. Manic knew this wasn't out of anger, this was out of frustration.

He thought for a while, and eventually stumbled through the sentence, "My singing is pretty good."

"Pretty good nothing. It's fucking ace." Scourge smiled at Manic. "Don't forget it."

"I mean... I mean, it's hard for me to find good things to say about myself, you know? When you look like-"

"You're cute."

Manic was caught off-guard by this comment.

"I ain't joking. Look at you! You're healthy, you're kinda femme, you've got a good voice. You're a looker, kid."

"...But maybe I've just got a thing for green guys with good hair and sexy jackets." He laughed at himself.

Manic wasn't used to being complimented like this. His first instinct was to try and find a way to turn it into a self-depreciating joke, but he knew Scourge would hate that. So he kept thinking. "You're calling someone cute?"

Scourge didn't know how to respond.

"Doesn't seem like the kind of word you'd use a lot, y'know? I don't think you'd go around calling people 'crumpet' or something like that."

"Shut up." Scourge joked. "You know what I meant. Don't pull this crap on me." As much as he protested, he was grinning ear to ear.

"I'm not complaining." Manic said. "I'm just saying, I don't get why you're spending all this time on me. You've got plenty to love about yourself."

"Like what, kid?" He was anxious for his answer.

"Well, you're pretty hot, right? And you're probably the most moral car thief I've met."

Scourge laughed, but Manic didn't. He moved closed towards Scourge. "Maybe I'm biased. I might have a thing for green guys with good hair and sexy jackets."

Scourge laughed and held up his hand at the joke. "Well, if you gotta look at me to like yourself, I ain't gonna stop you."

Then he turned to face Manic. Manic's voided glare was gone. His emotionless grin was now a warm, gently smile, his honey eyes filled with warmth and vibrancy. The bright, beckoning colors hypnotized Scourge more than they did the first time he really looked at them. Scourge wasn't used to being looked at this way. With lust or longing or fury, sure, he could handle that. But with affection? Never.

"You think I'm joking?" Manic asked, quieter this time.

Scourge finally got the vernacular. He turned his body to face Manic, and got serious for once. "You don't flirt with guys much, do you?" He shifted his jacket, giving Manic a good view of his two deep, fresh scars. "Don't tease with guy's emotions. Touch the wrong guy... and he'll carve you up."

Manic, without hesitation, flashed his grin. Scourge looked at his horribly chipped front tooth.

"I know the risks. I really know 'em. I'm not going to just tease someone with that kind of risk."

Manic put his right hand on the collar of Scourge's leather jacket. His voice was very soft. "Looks good on you. Where'd you get it?"

Scourge's mind raced for the right thing to say. Manic's anxiety went into overdrive. But neither of them made a move to stop the other. Manic toyed with the inner edge of the collar. The edge of his index finger brushed his upper scar.

"These don't still hurt, do they?"

"Don't worry about 'em."

"That's good." Manic's put his fingertips on Scourge's bared chest. He was surprisingly warm.

Manic could feel Scourge's chest rise and fall as he breathed. Scourge moved closer towards Manic, and put his left hand on his shoulder. Manic took this as an invitation, and moved his hand beneath Scourge's jacket. As Manic stroked Scourge's side, he tilted his head up to look at the hedgehog.

Out of nowhere, Scourge put his other hand on Manic's shoulder, shoving him down onto the couch. In a moment, Manic was lying down, arms splayed to his sides and completely defenseless. Scourge hastily positioned himself, propping his arms to either side of Manic's body. In that brief moment, all anger, sadness and worry left his face. Manic's barely parted lips looked soft and welcoming.

"I'm not a safe person to get close to."

Scourge's words were blunt, but he was surprisingly quiet. He moved his face closer to Manic's. They were both lost in their partner's warm gazes; Neither of them dared look away from the other.

"You need someone who can treat you right. You need someone you could handle being with."

Closer. Scourge's right hand grabbed and pinned down his partner's left bicep. Manic put his right hand gently on Scourge's back.

"You couldn't handle my love."

Closer. The two hedgehogs were almost touching. Scourge could feel Manic's warm, anxious breaths dancing across his face. As much as Scourge talked Manic down, he didn't try to lay off. His normally anger-ridden eyes were filled with affection, his lips opened with longing. Manic used his right hand to explore Scourge's body, rubbing it's way through the small of his back, past the edges of his jacket, and finally stopped by wrapping his hand around Scourge's tail and tenderly toying with his body.

Manic almost pressed his lips against Scourges, and whispered;

"Wanna bet?"