Ok, that took a while. Sorry about that everyone. Life as I knew it went to hell in a hand basket for a while but things are finally settling down. Here's the first of two chapters I have done, the second will be posted in a few days. I haven't had a chance for anyone to beta read this chapter or the next so if there's a problem, please PM me so I can fix it.
Mostly a fluff chapter this time, with a bit of Sonic's backstory filled in. Not much happening but the next chapter should make up for that, so please bear with me. If you're reading any of my other stories, don't worry those will be updated soon too. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog.
(Sonic's POV)
Sonic suppressed a groan as he felt the first rays of morning creeping through the window. "I really don't want to get up," He thought tiredly, starting to roll over only for a quiet murmur of protest to stop him. Sonic glanced over and saw Miley, still sound asleep cuddling him.
Tired or not, he smiled warmly and gently stroked her head. So last night had been real. He had hardly dared to hope, but looking down he realised that this was reality. "Better not mess this one up Sonic." He told himself. "You won't be getting another chance after this."
As much as Sonic would have loved just to lie in bed and hold Miley for the rest of the morning, he knew that they both had to get up. Just because they had stayed up late didn't mean that they got a day off work. The Freedom Fighters still needed them. Ruefully, he gently shifted Miley from her tight grip on his chest. "Miley," He called quietly. "We need to get up."
Miley didn't answer, but with her arms no longer free to tighten around him she curled up against his chest, arms tucked across her body. Sonic chuckled and told her, "Wish we could just stay here but Sally's going to be calling soon, and this is not the best position to be in for the video calls." Miley didn't reply until Sonic bent over and kissed her awake.
Miley sighed and looked up at him. "Morning." She said tiredly. "Do we have to get up now?"
"Yes sadly." He replied. "I would much rather stay here with you. But we still have to go to work."
Miley made a face. "They could do without us for a day." She muttered.
Sonic laughed and nodded. "But even if we weren't going to work, I need breakfast and I think you do too." He stood up and stretched slowly. "You go ahead and get your shower first; I'll start breakfast."
Miley nodded but looked ruefully as she pulled the covers off herself. He gave her a warm look, not taking his eyes off of her and Miley raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you staring at?" She asked teasingly.
"You. You're beautiful." He told her.
Miley blushed a little and shook her head. "This isn't helping me get ready. Give a girl some privacy. Shoo." She told him, waving her hands at him. Sonic chuckled and headed for his room. He threw on a robe and headed down to get breakfast started.
Breakfast was quiet, with Sonic and Miley exchanging a few quiet, almost shy verbal exchanges while eating. As they were finishing up Miley finally plucked up the courage to ask, "So what happens now?"
"What do you mean?" Sonic asked, a flash of worry crossing his face.
"Not us as in us." Miley reassured him. "I mean with the Fighters, with everything else. What do we do?"
Sonic shrugged. "My position doesn't change much. You'll probably need to talk to Sally, since she's in charge of team coordination, to let her know. She and I aren't allowed to discuss anything like that."
"Why? What exactly is your role among the Fighters?" Miley asked, suddenly curious.
"Technically? I'm second in command." Sonic told her. "I was in charge for a while but I stepped down because I'm not the best team player. So now I'm in charge of assigning solo missions and Sally's in charge of team missions."
"So you were the one who assigned me to guarding Elias? Why were you so upset about me being assigned to guard Elias then? You were the one who assigned me." Miley accused.
Sonic bit back any sarcastic reply that might have come out before carefully telling her, "Miley, you were the best qualified member we had to complete the mission. That was my job, to select the best qualified. That didn't mean that I was happy about throwing you into danger like that. Most qualified doesn't mean bulletproof. I was worried that I would be sending you out there and then burying you, regardless of how good you are."
Miley rolled her eyes. "Ok. That part we went over, and that makes sense. But how come I have to talk to Sally? It seems like you're chickening out."
"Chickening out? What's Sally going to do, fire me? Arrest me?" Sonic asked, confused. "She and I ended our relationship and now are co-workers and friends, end of story. If she raised a fuss over us being together, I'd walk out. Out of the Fighters and out of the country."
Miley blinked at him. "That might have been a little extreme there Sonic." He chided himself. She stared for a moment before asking, "You'd give all this up, for me?"
Sonic swallowed heavily, desperately thinking, "Careful here. You don't want to scare her off now."
"Of course I would. If we couldn't be together here, I'd go elsewhere." Sonic bit his lip nervously before adding, "I just got you. I don't want to lose you too."
"Too?" Miley asked him and Sonic inwardly cursed. "That's along the lines of what Eggman said. What was he talking about?"
He now wanted to bang his head on the table. Repeatedly. How could he have let that slip? "I'm afraid I'm going to have to partly back out on that one." Sonic told her. "Not because I'm unwilling to tell you but you remember how I was after I told you about my parents? It would be a repeat of that, only worse. Sally will give you a brief bit about it if you ask, and I can fill you in with the rest of the information after work. And while I'm chickening out about telling you about this, you can rest assured that I am being punished by having to meet with Shadow today."
"Again? You're taking a lot of lessons lately." Miley teased him and Sonic almost sighed with relief. She wasn't going to start of a fight about him not talking. "All right, I can accept that you're being equally punished. How late will you be today?"
"Not very. I'll meet you afterwards at my office. I think Sally's going to be doing some rearranging with the team missions." Sonic told her, standing up and holding out his hand for her plate. "Are you finished?"
Miley grinned and pushed away her plate. "Yeah. And leaves the dishes out, I'll clean them while you get a shower. Don't take too long thought or I'll leave you behind."
"Me? The fastest thing alive?" Sonic asked, his grin shifting from warm to competitive. "Want to try?"
"Me? Race Sonic the Hedgehog? That sounds risky." Miley teased, laughing as she went to clean the dishes. "But I think I'll take the chance, but only if you actually go and shower."
Sonic joined in laughing as he went upstairs to get ready for the first time in months almost ready to leap up the stairs. "Today's going to be a good day." He thought.
(Miley's POV)
Miley stood outside of Sally's office, staring at the door ruefully. "Well, today was going to be a good day," She thought before knocking on the door.
"Come in." A tired voice called out to her.
Miley opened the door and was startled to see Sally looking, for lack of a better word, haggard. The princess had bags under her eyes, her shoulders were hunched and she was scowling into her paperwork. "Hi Sally. Do you have a minute?"
"Not really but I'm not likely to have any spare time regardless so don't let that slow you down." Sally told her in an irritated tone. "What do you want?"
Miley swallowed heavily before managing, "Sonic told me that I had to inform you of a change in relationship between us."
"Oh? Did you two have a fight or are you now comfortable living on your own?" Sally asked, not looking up from her paperwork.
"Neither. We're together now." Miley told her.
The snap was audible from across the room and Miley winced as she watched Sally slowly put down the two pieces of her pen. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Would you mind repeating it?" She asked the Fox Mobian a little too calmly as she wiped ink off her fingers.
Miley looked Sally in the eye and told her, "We're together now. Sonic and I are in a relationship, and as I understand, that means I have to report our relationship to you because you are in charge of team missions."
"I see." Sally said slowly, standing up. "And when did this, relationship, begin?"
"Yesterday." Miley told her, not liking the look in Sally's eyes.
"Yesterday? Or last night?" Sally pressed.
Miley looked Sally in the eye, her temper starting to flare. "Yesterday. Are you asking another question or are you trying to imply something?"
"Did you sleep with him?" Sally demanded.
"I don't see why that is any of your business." Miley growled.
"I'm asking as your supervisor and superior, did you sleep with him?" Sally demanded, her voice rising."
"Then yes, I did." Miley snapped. "We slept together last night for the first time. Happy?"
"Happy? Far from it!" Sally snapped. "This is unbelievable. This is unacceptable!"
"Why?" Miley demanded. "Why would it be unacceptable?"
"How could Sonic waste his time with a whore like you?"
Miley froze, her temper close to breaking as she leveled a glare at Sally. "What did you say?" Miley growled.
"You heard me." Sally replied, her voice cold. She stood up and circled around her desk, leveling an angry glare at Miley. "I don't care who Sonic wastes his time with, since that's his business but I won't have him in a relationship that might compromise his safety, especially from a little whore like you."
Miley felt her hands curl into fists and it was all she could do not to draw her gun. "I think you might want to be very careful about what you're saying." Miley snarled. "It sounds very possessive of you."
"Possessive?" Sally asked, looking startled. "Possessive how?"
"I'm sorry. Accusing a rape victim of being a whore is very normal for a non-biased being." Miley snapped, her temper out of control. "I don't care that Sonic dumped you, and I don't care that you never got over him. But you will not threaten my relationship and you will not use me being a victim as an excuse to attack me!"
Sally stared at Miley for a moment before giving a very hollow laugh. "Threaten your relationship? Oh Miley, you have so much to learn." Sally sighed ruefully. "Yes I'm jealous, mostly because of what Sonic and I had and lost. But even without that jealousy I would be making these statements." She thought about it for a moment and then corrected. "Most of these statements. You have no idea how dangerous it is for Sonic to love."
"Then explain!" Miley snarled. "Enlighten me as to why loving him is a bad thing."
Sally just shook her head. "You know that Sonic didn't join the war until a few years ago right? Well, his reasons for joining the war aren't quite as linear as we make public. Sonic officially joined the war five years ago, when he was eleven. The truth is that while his parents died when he was eleven, he didn't join the war for another year. Instead, right after killing his parents and watching his uncle be institutionalized, he ran."
"Near as we can tell, Sonic spent four months running across the continent, looking for a place to stay. He fought his way through gangs, was nearly forced into prostitution three times and has numerous scars where a small town just outside of our Kingdom tried stoning him. He finally ended up in the Dragon Kingdom, broken and nearly dead."
Sally sat down heavily in her chair. "This is where things take a turn for the worse. Sonic was taken in by the elder who maintained the Golden Lotus Temple Li Yuen. He was a Lion Mobian, known for taking in orphans from the village, and bore no ill will to Freaks like Sonic. He nursed Sonic back to health and offered for Sonic to stay with him for as long as he needed."
"Sonic, with nowhere else to go, agreed. He stayed and helped to maintain the temple, looking after the children and helping to protect them from the Ninja Clans of the Dragon Kingdom. He liked living there, finally feeling like he had a purpose. And that feeling only grew when he met Li Moon, the Elder's granddaughter."
Sally shook her head sadly. "The Elder had devoted his life to the Temple and thus had no true family of his own. But after Li Moon's parents passed away, he took her in and made it known she was his granddaughter and heir. She was a pretty Fox Mobian with a good heart, and treated everyone with a warm respect that you had to admire. I never met her but I talked to the villagers when I visited Li Yuen, and they all spoke fondly of her. Sonic met her and fell head over heels for her."
"Sonic hadn't told anyone but after spending a few months at the temple he was planning to leave. He had finished fixing up all the damages to the buildings and the village was now sporting a local guard to keep the town safe, so he figured he could run away. He thought that he would ruin everything by staying, because everything else in his life had been ruined. But he gave up those plans after spending time with Li Moon. He spent every waking moment that wasn't for work with her, courting her and keeping her safe." Sally shrugged. "I don't know if it's possible for us to fall in love when we're that young but Sonic and Li Moon came as close as any can. His life was happy, despite everything that had happened to him. And then Eggman came."
"No one knows why Eggman decided to attack the Dragon Kingdom. He already had a war with three other countries along his boarders and he seemed pretty tapped for resources but for some reason he chose to invade. He struck quickly, shattering the Dragon Kingdom's boarder defences and invading the town that Sonic was in."
"Sonic didn't run did he?" Miley asked, and then felt foolish. Of course Sonic hadn't run, not while he loved Li Moon.
"He considered it." Sally admitted. "When he saw Eggman was coming he tried to force everyone to evacuate the Temple and get everyone to safety. But Li Yuen wouldn't leave. He felt that it was his duty to guard the Temple and Li Moon wouldn't leave her grandfather. The Clans had all heard of the attack and were deploying their forces, so the villagers thought they were safe if they could hold out for a few days. With everyone he cared about refusing to leave, Sonic chose to stay."
"He helped them fight, taking out dozens of Swatbots at a time thanks to his speed but... It was his first real time fighting and for the first time he saw the atrocities of war. Villagers were slaughtered, whole families destroyed in seconds by Eggman and Sonic was powerless to stop it. He became desperate to protect the Temple, taking ridiculous risks to prevent any damage to the Temple or those inside. Eventually Eggman noticed that it was Sonic doing most of the fighting, and sought to kill him directly. But the other villagers, and the Clans' soldiers who had arrived as back up, realised how valuable Sonic was and took great pains to keep him alive. So instead, Eggman targeted the people of the Temple."
"Why wasn't the Temple protected?" Miley asked. "Surely such an important site..."
"It was under protection from ground troops but Eggman didn't use ground troops. He bombed the village." Sally told her grimly. "He wiped out most of the defence force and what was left was crushed under his assault with Badniks."
"Badniks?" Miley asked. "I haven't seen a file on those."
"They don't exist anymore. Eggman got rid of them because they kept rebelling. A Badnik was a combat robot given artificial intelligence and powered by organic life. The larger and more intelligent the life form the more powerful the Badnik. But they also retained much of their free will and instinct. Before they learned to rebel, they made up Eggman's elite squads. They tore through the Dragon Kingdom's clans, taking out ten soldiers for every one that fell. The Dragon Kingdom has no air force save for a few dirigibles; the mountains have unpredictable weather that makes flying a plane suicide. But that means that robot pilots are perfect for making an assault. The combination of the planes and Badniks reduced the village to dust with only a few survivors."
"And in case that wasn't bad enough, Eggman himself came down to deal with the survivors. Sonic didn't know this and fought his way into town looking for survivors. He found Li Moon cradling her grandfather among the wreck, not even noticing Sonic was there. Sonic tried to get her to safety but Eggman found them and cornered them. Sonic went to fight him but Eggman beat him down and held him still with his Badniks. Then Eggman went to kill Li Moon. He grabbed the girl by the throat and started beating her, slamming her into the ground while Sonic was forced to watch. He then put Li Moon inside of a Badnik and set her on the rest of the survivors. She wasn't in control but she watched herself kill the people she'd grown up with, lived with. Eggman had complete control. Sonic tried to fight, tried to help her but he couldn't. Eggman just laughed and ordered Li Moon to kill Sonic."
Sally looked away, her voice getting quiet. "Remember how I said that Badniks kept rebelling? Well, Eggman knew that they were rebelling and installed a self-destruct feature as well as an override. He could, for a short amount of time, force the Badnik to do whatever he wanted but only if the being inside the Badnik didn't choose to blow themselves up. Don't ask me how it works, but it does. Unless the Mobian inside that suit makes the choice to let Eggman control them, he can't. So he built the bomb in as a way to convince people to obey."
"You always have a choice." Miley said, disgusted.
"So Eggman decided to have fun. He made a circle of the Badniks and wanted Sonic and Li Moon to fight to be death. He made her attack Sonic and beat on him because he wouldn't fight back. Sonic didn't know about the bomb and kept begging Li Moon to stop, telling her he loved her. He grabbed her and hugged her, begging her not to fight him. Eggman ordered her to kill him."
Miley had a horrible flashback then. "The bomb that Sonic tried to walk off..."
Sally nodded. "That was Li Moon refusing to obey." Sally sighed. "Sonic didn't try to walk off the bomb; he did walk off the bomb. He tore through the Badniks and tried to rip Eggman to pieces. The Army of Acorn found him after he chased Eggman for two days. They stopped him from running by accidently getting in his way and he passed out from pain. That's how we got him."
Miley shook her head. "That explains one case but I can't imagine that this is everything. You're making it sound like Sonic has nothing to lose. This happened almost five years ago, and this sort of thing would make Sonic hold tighter to his friends. What aren't you telling me?"
Sally sighed and shook her head. "What, one sob story wasn't enough?" She asked rhetorically. "Before Sonic and I got together, he was nursed back to health by one of ours, a girl named Mina. She was a Mongoose Mobian, and she was gifted with super speed. She wasn't as fast as Sonic but she had her gift, and would use it on missions. She had a crush on Sonic since she met him, and after spending a few months with her, Sonic started to reciprocate. The eventually got together, casual dating and working together on missions. But Mina couldn't handle being a Freedom Fighter, so she eventually quit. She took a different path, becoming a singer. Entertainment wasn't a huge business since the war started but people took to Mina. She appealed to the public, and became a huge hit almost overnight. She was the spokesperson for the Fighters, and helped keep public moral up. Her popularity only rose when Sonic went public with their relationship."
"Public, as in everyone knew or public as in told the press?" Miley asked.
"Public as in swept her off her feet during an attack on her concert and kissed her in front of the cameras upon finding out she was safe." Sally told her dryly. "After that, there wasn't any way to hide it. This was in the heat of the war, right as we were losing and Sonic was just starting to help us turn the war around. The Fighters were a brand new concept, and Mina turned us into heroes. With her help, we started turning the war around, and Sonic was untouchable. He was on the front lines, tearing through anything that Eggman sent and gaining ground by the day. Like he always does, Eggman decided to retaliate."
"Eggman sent us a fantastic target; his nephew Snively, leading an army of Robians against the border. Sonic didn't have Chaos Powers then, but he could counter and take out the Robians without killing them. He led our strike force, hoping to save as many Robians as possible. While we were all away, Eggman flew himself into the middle of the capital, where Mina was giving a show, and shot her in the heart, in front of her crowd. No statements, no other targets. One shot and Mina was dead, and he was gone." Sally shook her head. "Eggman couldn't have hit us harder. Not only had he essentially strolled into our capital without being hindered, not only had he shot the most popular person in the Kingdom but he also crushed Sonic's fighting spirit with one blow. It wasn't as bad as before because Sonic couldn't have stopped her death and might not have been even the reason for it but the damage was done all the same. He began to withdraw from everyone. No one was sure how stable he was, whether he would snap like his uncle did or would just fade away."
Miley nodded slowly. "You were ordered to keep an eye on him, get as close as possible because he had some feelings for you." She guessed. "The only person Sonic shares his secrets with is the one he shares a bed with."
Sally looked up at Miley in shock and indignation. Miley just shrugged. "It's only logical. You've grown up with everyone you know at risk of being killed over the smallest dispute and you don't want that for the rest of your life. If Sonic was in a high risk situation, no matter how much you felt attracted to him you would have a hard time allowing yourself to get close. But if you were ordered, you'd do it, especially if it was your father asking for a personal favor."
Sally glared but there was no real heat in it. "You're right. I was ordered to do it, and even thought it was an order, I was happy. Sonic is a great boyfriend. He's kind, considerate, and if you were sad he'd burn the world just to see you smile. Underneath his arrogance is a scared little boy who knows the world hates him and tries to forget all the hurt he's caused, only does what he can to never repeat it. But Sonic came with a price I wasn't willing to pay." Sally looked away, her face full of shame. "Sonic and Death shake hands every day. I was with him for a bit over a year and during that year he was in surgery fifty three times. In the field, he took blows for me, and when he thought I was dead, he destroyed a country. Sonic is the embodiment of Chaos, and nearly limitless if he doesn't care about his own well being. I finally snapped one day, and told Sonic the truth. I told him that this had to end, that no assignment was worth this."
Miley stared at Sally in shock. "You said that to him?" Miley demanded. "And let me guess, it was right after a surgery when he just woke up, because you couldn't hurt him anymore from just saying that."
Miley didn't think Sally could look more ashamed but this was her day to be surprised. "I did. It hurt to see him Miley. I had watched my father have to be carried away and sewn back up, watched him nearly die from a plague that was the result of his nobles' stupidity, and had to make my first kill when I was six years old because someone wanted to use me as leverage against my family. I know that my life will always be dangerous, and that there will always be risks but I want some security, some normality. Sonic couldn't give me that. He would rush into danger in a heartbeat and leave me to watch so I wouldn't be hurt, and I would have to let him because I was a liability."
Miley didn't have an answer to that, so she shrugged instead. Sally continued, "I regret that we broke up but in the end, there was nothing else we could do. And now, after everything that's happened, he's fallen for you. I don't know why, but that's probably just jealousy talking. Regardless, Sonic can't safely be in a relationship. He's unstoppable with you but then you'll die and there'll be nothing left. He will break, and we all lose."
"Pretty dramatic statement but I see you're still breathing and I survived my last encounter with the good doctor in great standings." Miley told her dryly. "And I know the risk Sonic is taking but what you've decided for him will destroy him. I certain he'll beat Eggman, and probably die soon after, or at least be unrecognisable. But if that's what you want then by all means keep wishing because I'm not giving Sonic up."
"You might not have a choice." Sally replied, her voice levelling out. "And your change in relationship is noted. Starting tomorrow, if Sonic is healed up, you two will begin training together. Antoine and Bunny will work with you both on coordinating your actions in the field. Once you two are ready, I'll be assigning you two as a field team to help ease the workload off of Team Rose and Rotor's missions."
Miley nodded before standing. "Then I'll be heading to see Sonic. He was seeing Shadow and then stopping in to do paperwork. Is Rotor in today?"
"No. He's out in the field with a border patrol. Seems to have uncovered a base of Eggman's, and potentially a few new allies. Sonic doesn't need to be in today, and neither do you unless the Tornado needs repairs." Sally pulled a new pen out of her drawer and started writing again. "If you don't need to do any repair work, you can take the day off. Sonic could use the rest but he won't get it unless you're with him."
"Past experience?" Miley asked, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice and failing.
"Only partially." Sally replied calmly. "You were his first you know."
That did surprise Miley a little but she thought nothing of it. "The Tornado just needs restocked. I'll take you up on your offer. If you get a chance you should go home too." Miley turned and left, not knowing what prompted her last response but wanting to leave before the response came.
It took her a few minutes to find Sonic's office, mostly because she'd never thought to look for it before this. Even when she finally found it thanks to Nicole, it took her a while to make her way across the complex to his office. When she did finally arrive, Sonic was sitting at his desk, working his way through a mountain of paperwork. Miley knocked on the door hesitantly and Sonic looked up, giving a warm grin when he saw her. "Hey Miley." He said quietly. "Come on in, take a seat if you want to. That was pretty quick."
"Yeah, well, not much needed to be said really." Miley told him as calmly as she could. "Sally said you had the rest of today off, and if you're better tomorrow you and I will start training together."
Sonic nodded. "I suspected as much. And I'll take the day off once I'm through these forms. Sally's got all the problems coming through the palace to deal with right now, so I've got to handle most of the Freedom Fighter's stuff. And thinking and signing is not strenuous for me."
"Oh I don't know, thinking doesn't seem to be your strong suit." Miley teased and Sonic chuckled. "Anything I can help with?"
"Sure, if you want. See that small stack close to you? Those are field reports, both from the Fighters and the army. If you could scan them and just highlight anything that that jumps out at you as odd or suspicious, that would be great." Sonic pulled out a small cup full of pens and pulled out a folding table, sliding it in front of his desk for her. "I think you'll need your own office set up in a few months too, if only to make your life easier."
"How would having my own office make life easier?" Miley asked as she set up the table.
"You wouldn't have to wait for Rotor to have spare time to work on the Tornado. Speaking of which, how is it doing?" Sonic asked.
"Fine. Didn't have much damage beyond needing a bit of new siding. We refuel and re-arm her, she'll be ready to fly." Miley told him. Sonic nodded and after a bit silence consumed the room as they worked.
Miley read through the files as efficiently as she could, checking for anything she thought was out of place. She didn't pay any attention to Sonic, hoping that he was working through his paperwork fast enough they could go home. After that talk with Sally, Miley didn't really want to hang around headquarters for very long.
She was surprised when she closed her last file, Sonic was setting aside his own pile. "Wow you're quick." Sonic told her, surprised. "I thought you were going to need me to take some."
"You're done? Already?" Miley asked skeptically. She knew Sonic moved fast and might even read fast but to do that much work in that little time...
"Most of these are just orders for supplies or accepting missions." Sonic explained. "And some of these are reports that I need to read before assigning people, or are potential recruits for us to try out. We really don't have enough Fighters but we can't easily take more. We cost too much and are too hard to train. So the combination means that I can breeze through a pile as fast as I can move my arms and head."
Miley stared at the small pile of reports she read through guiltily. Sonic didn't seem to notice as he told her, "But those field reports are time consuming. It takes me hours to go through them, picking out the important info and making sure that it's filed away. You're way faster than me. Thanks for the help."
Miley smiled a little at that, and caught Sonic watching her out of the corner of her eye. So that was it. Sonic had caught on that quickly what had made her upset and sought to fix it. None of what he said was a lie, he was such a terrible liar that she could catch him blindfolded and deaf at lying, but he wouldn't have said anything had she not given any indication of being hurt.
She felt oddly pleased and touched by his response. She wondered how often he had done this, manipulated her little insecurities to help cheer her up. As she stood up, Sonic offered her his arm after he'd opened the door. She took it, asking quietly, "So what do we do now Mr. Hedgehog?"
"Now?' He asked her, shutting his office door. "Whatever you wish."
(Sonic's POV)
"This isn't exactly what I had in mind." Sonic grumbled as he shifted his weight on the pier.
Miley chuckled beside him and Big laughed as he sat down to join them. Miley would have chosen to take her day off to fish with Big. Not that he minded spending time with Big. But she'd asked him to do two things that were impossibly hard on him; sit still for hours at a time with water inches below his feet.
"I would never have guessed. How did you think I'd want to spend my day with you?" She asked him with a teasing grin.
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Curled up on a couch reading or maybe watching TV if there was anything good on." His mind could think of a few other things he'd thought of doing but none of them were activities he'd discuss in front of Big. Or anyone else for that matter.
Miley's grin didn't falter but she instead turned and leaned against him, resting her head against his chest. "Well, tough luck there Hedgehog. Maybe if you're a good boy I can make it up to you. I know you like your soap operas."
Sonic chuckled. "You got me there. I have to fight for them though; you and your cartoons." Miley elbowed him gently and both of them laughed.
Big, sitting a few feet away let out a warm chuckle. "Glad to see you two smiling. Hadn't seen either of you happy for a while. Then again, I didn't see much of either of you."
Sonic winced at that. "Sorry Big. I wasn't trying to avoid you." Miley nodded in agreement but Big just waved them off.
"You two were busy. Besides, you don't like fishing Sonic. You're only here for Miley. We see each other at work." Big shrugged. "I wouldn't ask you to come fishing. It's no fun for you. So we can just go smash Eggman and his 'bots instead."
"Can I come too? That sounds almost as good as fishing." Miley said.
"It's a date." Sonic told her, lightly kissing the top of her head. He glanced out across the lake, contently holding Miley and the fishing rod. It felt odd, sitting in one place and letting the world go by but for once, he didn't feel the need to rush.
He actually began to lose track of time, and it wasn't until the weather shifted that he noticed it was getting later. He cleared his throat quietly and told Miley, "We might want to head for home. We didn't pack lunches today."
Miley shrugged and sighed. "Just a little longer? Big said he has a boat and I want to try from the centre of the lake."
Sonic looked on the lake with a heavy swallow. "The centre? Like, go out onto the middle of the lake?"
Miley chuckled warmly. "I'm not asking you to come Sonic. I just want to try out the boat." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and told him, "After this, we'll go home."
Sonic nodded, telling her quietly, "Don't be too long. It's going to storm soon."
Miley gave him a warm look before turning to Big. "Let's see that boat."
(Miley's POV)
She knew there wasn't a good reason to scare Sonic with the water but she had to see how he would react. She loved being on the lake, loved the water and didn't want to give it up to be with Sonic. She couldn't give it up and she needed ot know that Sonic would respect that. And she had been pleasantly surprised when he had not only respected it but had agreed to join her in doing something he hated.
Miley helped Big get the boat in the water, although Big didn't need her help in the least. She wondered just how strong the massive Cat Mobian was, as he had picked up the boat that outweighed the whole group. It was an old metal boat, with a small motor on the back. After a quick bit of fiddling and effort, she got the motor purring and she sped off into the water.
She didn't overly care about fishing in the middle of the lake though. What intrigued her was an old rumor she'd heard Rotor and Shadow discussing about the lake. From what she'd heard, hidden within the middle of the lake there was a machine that created Power Rings.
This wasn't the only rumour about where Power Rings were discovered but a lot of rumors agreed that a machine in a lake produced them, and they agreed frequently on this lake in particular. It made sense in a way, since this lake was within walking distance of the Fighter's base, which meant the machine was fairly safe. But the machine's location wasn't the only rumor she'd heard, nor was it the reason she wanted to find it.
The other rumors had pointed out that the machines weren't made by Mobians but by Overlanders, from before the first war with Overlanders. Miley wasn't big on history but she figured that if there was a massive war between Mobains and Overlanders, then she was pretty sure that any Overlander capable of building such a machine from scratch was long dead. That meant that if the machines broke, there was no one currently able to fix them.
Except maybe her. She gave a grin as the thought crossed her mind again. It might have sounded vain or arrogant but she was one of the, if not the, most skilled mechanic and engineer in the Acorn Kingdom right now. If she got a good look at that machine, she could probably find out how it worked and know how to fix it. That would be a good thing for the Fighters, something she could throw in Sally's face.
She pushed that nasty little thought away before it could be completed. Whatever Sally had said had been in hurt and regret, so Miley would let it go. Besides, she had something else to worry about.
Setting her rod, with the fishing line still in the water, propped up against the far end of the boat while she leaned over the edge to stare out into the lake. The water was strangely clear, and she thought she could see all the way to the bottom. "This could be easier than I thought." Miley thought gleefully. She leaned in closer, nose almost in the water as her eyes scanned the bottom of the lake.
A dull noise started a distance away, slightly distracting her but Miley pushed the sound out of her mind. She needed to see the machine as soon as possible to confirm her suspicions. She thought she heard someone calling her for a moment but after pausing, she could hear nothing. She ignored what seemed as imagined distractions and kept searching, annoyed that ripples suddenly distorted the once clear lake. Glancing up, she felt her face go from annoyed to afraid, as she found the source of the ripples above her.
They sky had turned black and the lake in front of her was crushed by the downpour that followed. She barely had enough time to comprehend that there was a storm before the boat was blown back by the harsh wind and she was smashed into the edge.
Miley bit back a cry as she connected, and felt the fishing line wrap around her wrist as she struggled to remain upright. She forced her hand to move towards motor, because she knew this little boat wouldn't leave her very safe in a storm like this.
Her hands fumbled to start the motor back up, desperately trying to get moving as the storm worsened. The boat was shaking back and forth, barely staying upright. This wasn't normal. She'd never felt a storm like this before. Miley fought against the rocking, trying to keep the boat steady as she gave up her struggle with the motor. Right now she wasn't sure that the boat would stay upright, and she didn't want to find out how hard it would be to swim in this water.
The fight was a losing one however as Miley was tossed around like a rag doll in the wind, and the rain was pouring down on her, making the wood slippery as she struggled. Each motion became harder than the last, no matter how hard she tried until her limbs just wouldn't respond.
She struggled even harder, trying to force herself to move in any way. The boat was rocking more violently than ever without her able to steady it. Miley tried to throw her weight across the boat, trying to keep it somewhat upright but her body wouldn't respond. She threw herself to the right, overbalanced and fell into the water.
Miley went beyond scared into straight panic the moment her face hit the water. The cold lake leeched the heat from her body in a heartbeat, and the churning waves swallowed her before she could react. With the water surrounding her, she fought her instinct to inhale and scream, instead throwing her body violently back and forth, wishing she could move her limbs to help her return the surface.
She suddenly felt something dig into her arm, a thin tight pain and she would have laughed if she could. Fishing wire. She'd gotten tangled up in her line, and the more she struggled the tighter the wire became. No matter how hard she pushed, the wire would prevent her from moving. Her mind spun around that idea, burning through time and air.
To hell with logic. She would make it to the surface. She twisted her body around, spending a few seconds to feel which way she floated before thrashing her body in that direction. She arched her back and pushed down with her legs, using her limited movement to push herself upright. Her lungs were starting to burn, and she could feel water in her nose and mouth. She needed to get to the surface.
Miley continued to thrash, barely making out the lighter section of water above her. It was still dark, as was the sky but it had to be the surface. She was almost there. Just another second and she could breathe. Just another-
Pain! Sharp, jarring pain that rattled her teeth. She opened her mouth involuntarily to yell and air came out. She went to inhale and water burned its way through her nose and throat. Her vision went fuzzy as she tried to move but her muscles screamed as loudly as her lungs for air. Her thoughts and movements were sluggish, as she struggled to fight her way up. For a frightening second, everything in her body was burning in her struggle and then it slowly faded. Nothing hurt, and her vision started to slip to black. She could give up…
"Breathe!" Someone yelled in her ear.
Breathe? But it was just water. It would just hurt.
"Damn it all Miley, breathe!" Sonic?
"Come on Miley, I can't lose you too. Breathe damn it all!" A sharp pain erupted in her sternum, and Miley involuntarily took a deep, jarring breath.
That breath set off a spasm of coughing, followed by heaving breathes that shook her to her core. She opened her eyes, barely able to focus but making out a blue shape in front of her. "Sonic? What happened?"
"You nearly drowned! One moment you were in the boat, and you didn't move once the storm started. Big and I couldn't get out there, and while we looked for another boat, you fell in." His voice broke for a moment as he told her, "You didn't surface."
Miley felt the ground beneath her and frowned. Sand? "How did I end up on the beach?" She asked, before looking and her vision clearing enough that to see his wet quills. "Why are you wet?"
Big suddenly came into view, asking, "She awake?" Before glancing at Miley's open eyes and nodding. "Good. Glad you got there so quickly. I couldn't find another boat."
"You swam out to get me?" Miley asked Big.
The Cat Mobian shook his head and chuckled. "Nope. That was Sonic."
Miley stared at Big for a moment, hardly believing her ears before glancing over at Sonic, who was pale and shaky as he sat over her. "I thought you didn't do water." She teased weakly.
"For anyone but you, I don't." He told her tiredly. "Next time, can we spend our day off at home?"
Miley nodded and blinked as something hit her eye. Looking up at the storm, she shivered and asked, "Suppose it's too late to head home before the storm huh?"
Sonic gave a weak grin and picked her up. "We can still make it. You gonna make it home all right Big?" Sonic asked.
Big waved him off, telling him, "I'll be fine. Now get your lady home before she gets a cold. See you two lovebirds tomorrow, though I suspect you'll be late." He wandered off as the blushing couple were left blinking in shock in the rain.
"Well." Miley said, awestruck. "Never would have suspected…"
"That makes two of us. But Big's much brighter than he acts. Now," Sonic gently eased Miley up higher and closer to his chest. "I seem to recall something about making this afternoon up to me?"
Miley snuggled in closer, desperate to leech off some of his warmth. She wanted home, a warm bath and a hot drink now, if not sooner. She allowed herself an evil grin as she plotted exactly how to get home as quickly as possible. She leaned forward and put her muzzle to her ear. "Well, since you asked so nicely… Why don't we go home, get out of these wet things and warm up? But you'd better get home fast, or I might change my mind."
