Chapter 4

It did not take long for Rev to realize he had probably gone a little too far. He screeched to a halt the best he could without jolting Tech around that much. By the time they had come to a full halt, they weren't even in Acmetropolis anymore. It seemed to be mostly countryside, with open grasslands as far as the eye could see. There were some sparse barns and buildings here and there, but it seemed apparent that they had wound up in the middle of nowhere. At least they still had the paved road beneath their feet. It appeared cracked and weathered, but it was a sign that they knew where to go when heading back. Rev looked over to Tech, immediately wincing at the sight. Rev had not anticipated what the G-forces would do to someone being pulled behind him at a speed like that. The result was a very stretched out and disjointed Tech E. Coyote. Fortunately, due to his molecular regeneration, it did not take long for him to get back to his old self.

"Do me a favor. The next time you think about whisking me out of a situation that fast, don't" Tech sighed as he brushed some of the dust off of his clothes and fur.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Guess I wasn't thinking much there" Rev said nervously, scratching the back of his head, "On-the-bright-side-I-don't-think-those-paparazzi-are-going-to-follow-us-out-here." They both looked around, getting a bearing on how far out they were.

"We might as well head back now. I can run us there pretty fast need be" Rev readied himself to run them back, but Tech held up a hand indicating for him to stop.

"If you think I'm flying air Rev again, then you are sorely mistaken. I can still feel the strain in my neck. The gang can come get us in the jet" Tech pulled out his phone, confidently. The expression on his face quickly changed.

"Problem?" Rev inquired.

"I don't think I can get a signal out here."

"We can try my phone!"

"If my phone can't get a signal, then I'm positive yours wont." Tech sighed, putting it back in his pocket.

"Well, we don't know until we try!" Rev pulled out his phone, only to soon put it back in his pocket as well.

"No signal?"

"Maybe"

"I guess our only bet is to walk back" Tech began trudging in the direction they came.

"You're forgetting that while you can't travel super-fast, it's still no problem for me. I can run over to the base in no time!" Rev was about to start up again when Tech jumped in the way.

"Rev wait!"

"What? What's wrong now?"

"Well, it's just" Tech crossed his arms defensively, "I just don't want to risk it."

"Risk what?" Rev blinked, confused. Tech seemed reluctant to expand upon his statement.

"It's just… all I'm saying is that it might be difficult finding me with the jet all the way out here, not to mention we don't know how long that search could take" Tech huffed defensively.

"Wait a minute" Rev did his best to hide a smile, but he was doing a very poor job of it, "Are you just afraid of being out here on your own?" Rev had a hard time believing whether not what he was saying was true. Tech became much more defensive at the inference.

"What? Of course not!" The coyote turned his back, not wanting Rev to see his embarrassment. The bird couldn't help but chuckle to himself about how Tech was behaving. This was a side he had never seen in him before. Trying to break the tension, he put his hand on Tech's shoulder.

"Hey um, look, if you don't want me to leave then I'll stay right here. Ok? I promise I won't go leaving you" Rev smiled, comfortingly. Tech turned round to face his friend. They were standing pretty close to each other at this point, the tip of Tech's nose was just a hair shy of touching the end of Rev's beak.

"Thanks" Tech smiled, trying not to look too infantile. Rev couldn't handle it, he stepped back, taking his hand off of Tech's shoulder, once again embarrassed by the blood rushing into his cheeks. It was only then that he realized that this was going to be difficult. Both Tech and he, walking all the way back to Acmetropolis. Even if they were able to hitch a ride, it would still take hours to get back. They would have to walk next to each other for quite some time, with no one else around. He would have no more excuses to avoid the inevitable. He wondered whether or not Tech was onto him. Not to mention, how would Tech react if he was being honest? It was only a few hours ago, but so much had happened since that moment in the lab that Rev had a hard time believing it was earlier that day. If he was going to be honest, then he would have preferred there to be a bit more time in between the incident and his actual confession.

"Well, if we're walking back then at the very least you could keep up a brisk pace" With that Rev immediately began walking down the road, back in the direction they had come from. Tech was caught off guard by this and immediately had to jog just to catch up, before slowing down to match Rev's walking speed.

"Is everything ok? You seem a bit standoffish" Tech asked.

"What? Ok? Everything's fine, well-if-you-exclude-the-fact-that-we're-stuck-in-the-middle-of-nowhere-because-our-night-out-was-ruined-by-a-bunch-of-paparazzi-and-we-probably-won't-be-allowed-back-at-that-restaurant, then yes, everything is fine" Rev did not intend to come off so snippy, he was just doing his best to try and avoid the inevitable conversation they were going to have during this walk. After he said all of that out loud, however, he realized the more he tried to avoid it, the more he tipped Tech off that something was different here. There was always the possibility he could just invent something. He could just make up some excuse as to why he was so awkward as of late. But what could he say? A coyote ate his parents? No. That would be far worse for their friendship, plus his parents had a way of showing up at inconvenient times.

"Look, if you're going to be keeping stuff from me then that's fine, but could you at least hold our take out? My arm is getting sore" Tech held out the bag of food they had received from La Merde. Rev had almost forgotten about it.

"Sure" he took the bag without saying much else.

For a few moments, neither of them said anything. The silence in those moments were not deafening, but rather thick and heavy. The sound of their own footsteps became a repetitive, rhythmic pattern. Tech was contemplating whether or not to break it. Rev could deny it all he wanted, but it was clear as day that something was bothering him. Even if he was the one who caused it, then Tech knew he needed to know what it was so that he could at least attempt to solve this problem. They couldn't go on like this. Earlier today they were best friends, they worked together so well. What had happened? Was it really all about Tech taking his shirt off? That was when he first noticed Rev being a bit out of it. Then again, he was under that engine for most of the day, could it have started sooner? Did Rev have a drug problem? Was he thinking about whether or not he should ask Tech for money? Maybe it was something to do with his parents. They certainly were not the most progressive when it came to coyotes. Had they said something to Rev? Did they have concerns about both of them spending so much time together? If so, then Tech really was at the center of all of this. It would certainly make sense as to why Rev had been acting so odd around him. But it was all so recent. He was positive that him removing his shirt was the start of Rev's behavior. He needed to own up to it. If it made Rev uncomfortable, then he would just get it out in the open and apologize. Besides, there wasn't anyone else around for miles, which meant that this was the best time to ask it.

Tech was surprised how nervous this made him. He could feel his heart pounding. The coyote opened his mouth, then closed it again. He needed to phrase this just the right way.

"Hey, look, I know you don't want to talk about this, but we have to. I can't handle this awkward tension between us for the entire walk" Tech said bashfully.

"I haven't the slightest clue what you are talking about" Rev kept his vision focused on the horizon, not bothering to glance at Tech in the slightest. He was as reluctant as ever.

"Rev I just need you to be honest with me. You've been acting so weird around me ever since I took my shirt off in the lab, and if I did something wrong or made you feel uncomfortable then I want to own up to it. Just let me apologize for what I did wrong so that we can move past it" They both came to an abrupt stop. Rev turned to face Tech, making direct eye contact.

"No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no! Tech, I do not want you to think, not in a million years, that this is your fault. You have done nothing wrong! There is nothing to apologize for on your part, I swear" Rev answered emphatically. His voice contained no hint of sarcasm or exaggeration, he was being totally honest. Rev wanted to make sure that Tech knew that he had done nothing wrong, he would hate for him to think that he had been the one to cause a rift in their friendship. It was then that Rev looked down, ashamed, breaking eye contact, "This is… this is entirely on me."

"Rev, just be honest with me. I'm not going to judge you" Tech did his best to be open.

"I wish I could. I really wish I could, but it's just difficult for me right now. I'm working through some personal issues"

"Hey, hey, it's ok. I know what it's like to go through stuff. I just want you to know that I'm here for you, ok? I mean, if you can't confide in me, then who can you confide in?" Tech shrugged, trying not to pressure him, "I just have to know what all this has to do with me? You were fine with the rest of the team, but you seem to be so reluctant when we talk."

"I know, I know. Again, I want to stress that is entirely a me thing. You've done nothing wrong, it's just the way I'm evaluating things right now have made it difficult. I know it's hard to understand, but if you could just give me a bit more time then I'm sure I'll be able to open up about it eventually." Rev took a brief moment to glance back up at Tech, before looking back down to the bag of food. Tech had mixed feelings about all of this. At the very least he was being honest, that much was certain. Despite this, it hurt him to know that Rev was putting so much pressure on himself. He felt bad having his best friend go through all this drama, and he wasn't even able to do anything about it.

"Ok" Tech seemed defeated, "Just promise me that you won't hesitate to be honest with me if you need to, ok?"

Rev nodded, "I promise." He seemed almost innocent in that moment. The way he said it reminded Tech of the way a child responds to a scolding from a parent. Without another word, they turned back to face Acmetropolis, and slowly resumed their walk.