Sonic awoke to the unfamiliar sound of Blaze's breathing, feeling her head nuzzled into his neck. He laid awake, not wanting to disturb her sleep, running his fingers through her fur— gently and carefully, noticing her bruises. He wondered what all she had been through, and what pushed her to what she did. He knew that she had a temper; a wild one, at that. But enough to kill someone? The thought actually scared him somewhat. Over the relatively short times that he'd been able to be with her, he came to trust her with his life. She earned that trust, proving herself worthy of it time and time again, but even still, it was hard not to let that nagging thought in the back of his mind fester; the thought that she was capable of murder.
Sonic closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind of all that for now, but nearly as soon as he did, he could feel Blaze begin to stir. After a few moments, though, she froze, and Sonic gently stroked her fur to let her know he was awake. She turned her head and faced him, a slightly scared look on her bright red face. "You- you stayed with me all night?" She asked.
"Of course," Sonic replied, smiling. "Good morning."
"Good morning—" Blaze relaxed a little bit, seeing his reaction.
"You hungry?" He asked her after a few moments. She nodded her head, still nuzzled into his neck; partly for comfort, partly for embarrassment. Sonic gently slid out from under her and moved the covers back to her neck. "Stay here."
"Thank you—"
—
Sonic winced as he scooped the slightly burned scrambled eggs from the pan onto a plate and pulled the bacon out of the microwave, setting it next to the eggs. He wasn't much of a cook, he had to admit, but he probably did better than Blaze would have. Especially now; He hadn't ever seen Blaze like this. She normally wouldn't take any help from anyone, she wouldn't ask anything of anyone, and yet now, she was willingly laying in bed while Sonic was cooking for her. Not that he minded; not at all, he always liked doing things for the people he cared about, but it was worrying to see her feel so… helpless.
Blaze padded into the kitchen, wrapped in the blanket from Sonic's bed. Sonic chuckled. He couldn't help but think about how royal she looked with it on. "Decide to come in here to eat?" He asked, setting the plate down on the table in front of her.
"Yeah— Is that ok?"
"Yeah, of course— Hot chocolate?"
"Um— yes, thank you." She answered, smiling. Sonic poured hot water into two mugs and set one down next to her plate. She wrapped her hands around it and sipped from it a few times before setting it down and looking down at the food Sonic had made for her. "Sonic, I… I'm sorry for troubling you with all of th—"
"Don't be." Sonic cut her off. "It's really good to see you, Blaze. And you can stay here for however long you want." It was difficult for her to not smile, with how patient Sonic was being.
"Well— thank you." She took a bite from the bacon.
"I've got a couple of errands I gotta run today. You wanna come with?" He asked, sitting down across the table from her.
"Mmm—" She hesitated. She really didn't like the idea of going out anywhere, but she probably needed it, and it would be nice to stay around Sonic today. "Sure" She smiled. "Do you mind if I um— borrow some clothes? I could just wear this shirt but— uh, I need pants." Sonic chuckled.
"Take whatever's in there; what's mine is yours," he said, grinning.
—
Blaze opened the top drawer of Sonic's dresser, looking for a pair of pants to wear. Instead, she found a drawer full of things that weren't clothes. She went to close it before something caught her eye and she slowly reached down to take a look at it. A picture frame held a picture of Sonic, one hand holding the camera and another hand around Blaze's shoulders. She remembered when he took that; it was the last time that they saw each other, almost 2 years ago. Back before all of this started. Tears formed in her eyes, and she placed the picture back in the drawer and shut it. She sat down on the floor, leaning against the dresser while her emotions overtook her again. She never really fought it anymore. 2 years ago, she would never indulge in such a display of emotion, but now?
"Blaze?" Sonic called through the door, knocking. He could hear her sniffling, but she offered no response. He knocked once more before opening the door slowly. "Blaze?" He asked again, softly, seeing her there on the floor, a concerned look on his face. Blaze looked up at him wordlessly, and he sat down next to her, taking her hand into his while he looked into her eyes. He knew he couldn't say anything to comfort her that he hadn't already said, so the two of them sat together, with only the sound of the wind outside to keep them company.
"You'll get past this." He eventually reassured her. "Ok?"
"Why?" She asked softly. "Why should I?"
"Because your life is too valuable to waste, and I won't let you," Sonic replied. "I'm not saying you'll forget it; you probably never will. But people like us— people like us have to move past our mistakes. That way we can keep doing what we have to." He looked down at her hand, still joined with his. "We're the good guys. We save people." He said, half-jokingly, looking back into her eyes. "Even if we don't always get it right." He wiped the tears from her eyes and gazed into them for a few moments longer. "Anyway." He said, getting up from the floor. "Get some pants on" he chuckled.
