"Maybe we should have taken the airship."

Jet had always taken for granted just how useful actual vehicles could be when it came to cargo. Carrying his phone, wallet and other trinkets in his pocket while riding his extreme gear? Feels fine! Carrying a bundle of ancient golden rope that could tie anyone up if he so much looked at them funny while holding it? Dangerous, but doable. A quasi-bottomless vase (not to be confused with the gourd that does the exact same thing) full of strong acid from the trap that almost got them? Now that was starting to get a little too risky for his taste.

He would have made made Sonic carry the vase for him, but he was already busy carrying a heavy wooden box that didn't show any signs of rot besides being millennia old. So heavy that his extreme gear couldn't even get off the ground if he tried riding it while holding the box. Oh, and it had a sword on the inside. Hopefully it had a sword on the inside, or else they'd have to do another wave of treasure hunting together to find it.

And so, they instead opted to return to Sonic's home through public transportation. Everyone was looking at them weird – not only because they looked like they had just ransacked a museum, but also because they were coated in dust and sand and dirt – but they were allowed inside regardless of how much they were carrying so it was the best option they had.

"Nonsense, this is fine! We don't need a whole airship just to carry these puny little things." Sonic scoffed.

"Puny? You were the one whining about your arms being exploding if you had to stand at the bus stop for a single minute longer."

"At least I'm not the one that triggered every single poison dart trap on our way to the treasure chamber."

Both of them growled at each other, then after a moment laughed together. It was true, they really hadn't done the best of jobs getting to that last artifact. But hey, they were alive and poison-free! What else could they ask for? A shower, probably.

They were soon disembarking at the Station Square station. It was empty enough for them to be able to quickly arrive at their hardest challenge yet: going doing the treacherous flight of stairs blocked the path to the Mystic Ruins. It looked like it could break at any moment – and it sure felt like it too! – but it thankfully stayed firm and allowed the two of them to rest easy on the lower ground after a terrifying few minutes of climbing down.

Tails was behind the house tending to their garden. He couldn't see them coming, but he sure could hear them bickering about something or other from miles away. He went ahead and got a toolbox before Sonic could even ask for one. Jet was the one to take it, since he had the most experience of the three in opening ancient treasures.

There was a lock they didn't have the key for, and it was too strong to be smashed, so they had to opt for plan B. Tails had a high-tech tool that could heat up the metal hinge that held the lid together. Once it was hot enough, it could be easily cut with a regular saw and allow the box to be opened. All of this had to be done very carefully as to not risk damaging whatever was inside. Once the lid was free, all that was left was taking it out of the way and retrieve the treasure.

Jet held the object up so the other two could see it. It looked just like a sword hilt in shape. It was made of a copper-colored metal, with strands of an unknown silvery material wrapped around where one would grip it if it were a real sword. The body was curved and the end swirled upwards in the same fashion umbrella handles did.

"Looks like a scimitar handle to me," Jet noted.

The place where the blade was supposed to come from had a hole that went almost as deep as the hilt itself. Shining his phone's flashlight into it, he could see what looked like metal prongs at the very end.

"Good news is, looks like the blade is detachable so it's probably out there somewhere. Bad news, we don't have it."

"Aw man, I really thought we were going to be done with this today! Bummer." Sonic pouted.

"Aren't there only like three places left in that list of yours?" Tails asked. Jet had to check the picture he took of it with his phone to jog his memory.

"Two, actually. Death Ruins and Little Planet." Jet corrected. "And since Little Planet didn't show up this month, that leaves us with a single option for now."

"Then it's settled! I think Shadow's been there before, we should ask him to join us when we go there."

"Wanna give him a call right now?" Jet shot him a small smirk. Sonic smiled back, but it was more of an apologetic smile than anything.

"Woah woah, easy there! I think I've done enough tomb raiding for one day, Flicky." He let out a chuckle. "And I do need a shower. We need a shower."

Now that Sonic mentioned it, his muscles were feeling kind of sore from all they had gone through today. He had dealt with worse before, but it was probably wise to be at peak condition when visiting a place called Death Ruins. Jet's days of being reckless were over. He didn't want to be a burden to Sonic and Shadow. Especially not for Sonic.

"Sure. I guess… This is goodbye for today, then?" Jet really didn't want it to be, but it wasn't fully up to him. "I have to find a place in my apartment for these. Tails, you can keep the box. Make a plane with it or whatever."

"My workshop is not your dumpster!" Tails pouted.

"You keep all of this stuff in your apartment? I mean, I don't know how big your apartment is but it can't be big enough for all the treasures you've ever gotten, right?" Sonic asked.

"Nah, most stuff is at my father's house. I only have a couple of trinkets and recent hauls with me. Recent as in, four years? Maybe a little less." It really wasn't a lot besides his fans and the artifacts they had acquired on the airship trip.

Before Sonic could say anything else, Jet's mind jumped to the first opportunity it had to let Jet's yearning leak into his actions.

"Wanna come see it? I do have a shower there."

"You bet! I mean," Sonic looked over at Tails, "can I?"

Tails raised an eyebrow in confusion, "... Why are you asking me? I'm not your dad. That does save a bit on our water bill, though, so I guess I should be encouraging you."

"If you take longer than ten minutes to shower I'm kicking you out."

"You act like you're not speaking to the fastest thing in the universe."

"You're only fast at running, everything else you do is slow."

"I could say the same about your gear riding, Flicky."

"Chaos, just go already! You're gonna be here all day!" Tails pretty much pushed them back towards Station Square station.

One public transport adventure later and their train was soon arriving at Central City. It wasn't that different from Station Square besides the lack of interesting places and the more extreme gear-accessible architecture. The buildings were a bit grayer and the sky was a bit darker, but nothing to complain too much about. Jet sort of liked the place, if not only because of the good memories he made there. All of which were racing related and made him feel kind of hollow when he thought about them too much.

It was a five-minute walk from the station to his apartment. He could reduce it to a single minute if he took out his board, but he was still carrying the fragile and volatile artifacts. Plus wanted to show Sonic all the places he went to on the daily. His favorite restaurant, the window of the lady that always set up her clotheslines for him to grind on, his… former work building. Anything Sonic might be interested in use as an excuse to come visit him.

Not like he needed an excuse at this point. Ever since that night at Never Lake they had been closer than ever. Jet really couldn't thank Shadow and Amy enough for helping him get that far with Sonic. All the pieces were set up, and he just had to make the final push.

Unfortunately, the final push was always the hardest. Jet had never had a romantic relationship before, he had no idea how long one had to be friends with their crush before it being socially acceptable to ask them out. And there was also the possibility of their relationship going straight to the garbage if Jet confessed and Sonic didn't feel the same way and things got uncomfortable between them because of that.

But that was not the time to think about that anxiety-inducing topics. That time would be during one his next therapy sessions – which were going great! He should have started years ago instead of being stubborn, he'll admit, but late is better than never.

They had soon arrived by his apartment complex. It wasn't fancy at all, despite the type of household being the number one extreme gear racer in the world would imply. His room was on the ground floor, right beside the stairs and a service closet. He had a simple metal door plate that said "HAWK" in capital letters, and a doormat with the same thing on it.

He let Sonic go in first so he could lock the door behind them. There wasn't much to his apartment; it consisted of a living room, two bedrooms (one of which was used as a mini treasure storage) and a bathroom. Despite not being nearly as big as Wave's and not coming close to Sonic's house in number of rooms, it still felt spacious and comfortable to Jet. Both of them had been leaving a trail of dirt wherever they went, and Jet was loathing the thought of having to clean it up.

"Comfy! Though I didn't think this would be your style." Sonic commented, looking through Jet's award collection in the living room. "You look like the type of guy that'd want to live in a mansion."

"I would be living in a mansion if G.U.N. hadn't taken all of the Rogues' money. Like a couple hundred gems and gold pieces makes a difference for them, they could just steal a whole country if it was convenient for them." Jet scoffed.

Sonic couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Now I know how you and Shadow got along so well. He also hates their guts… even though he does work for them."

"How does that work out?" Jet raised an eyebrow,

"Not a clue, he never told me. He's always like," Sonic tried to put on his best Shadow impression, "you wouldn't understand, faker. You're a vigilante at heart. People like me have to infiltrate in the system to be able to beat it."

"People like him? I thought you said he had the power to teleport an incoming comet back to space. He sounds like the perfect kind of guy to destroy the imperialistic war machine without becoming a part of it."

"I know, right! I don't know what's going on inside Shadow's head half the time, but I trust him. He knows what he's doing most of the time, and when he doesn't Rouge is there to knock some sense into him. Sometimes with my help."

It was only when Sonic started actually touching his racing trophies that Jet decided to step in. He cleared his throat to get the hedgehog's attention.

"Take your hands off my stuff, hedgehog. You're leaving dirt everywhere."

Sonic immediately put the object back on the shelf, a little bit of a guilty smile poking through his cool guy expression.

"Don't sit down on the couch just yet either. I'm gonna shower first so I can clean your mess when it's your turn. Try not to move around too much."

"Now you're asking too much of me, Flicky. I'm a free spirit." Sonic rolled his eyes with a smirk, placing his hands behind his head. "You got lucky convincing me to get on a train two times in a row. I'd have just run ahead of you if it wasn't for that cute face of yours."

"Whatever you say, weirdo." Jet turned around and walked towards the bathroom, hoping Sonic couldn't notice his brain imploding after getting called cute.

He took a quick shower and put on some gloves and shoes before stepping back into the living room. Sonic was standing by the corner, tapping his food impatiently as he watched something on Jet's TV. He glanced over at the sound of Jet's footsteps and immediately cracked a small smile.

"Nice hair."

Ah, that's right. Jet had forgotten to tie his feathers back up after showering. They clumped together like Sonic's quills, the dark green tips gently falling down towards his back almost touching it. It was a lot like his fourteen-year-old-self's look, except with much more "hair" than back then. Mostly because there wasn't a hairdresser in the entirety of Central City that worked with feathers. He hadn't gotten a decent cut since his visit to Wave on Christmas. He'd probably need another one soon.

"Your turn. You can go to my room afterwards and pick whatever."

"Why don't you pick something for me, huh? So I don't get your favorite clothes by mistake."

"I'm not your butler!" Despite that, Jet did retreat into his room to pick an outfit for Sonic.

He was initially just going to leave Sonic some regular red shoes and white gloves, but the part of his brain that produced his gay thoughts demanded him to develop the outfit further. Adding a jacket should be enough, right? Yes, the gray and red sports jacket with sponsors on the back. He wasn't going to be using that ever again most likely, so it wouldn't hurt to let Sonic have it. Maybe indefinitely.

"Do you want me to make you a sandwich and some tea as well?" Jet rolled his eyes, walking into the living room once again.

"Actually I wo—"

"GO!"

Sonic zipped past him and into the bathroom. Ugh.

Jet sort of regret having told Sonic to hurry up with his shower. He wanted to be able to clean everything before he came out of the bathroom, as well as get them some snacks (despite the earlier exchange). Oh well, he'd have to postpone the latter. It didn't take too long for him to clean the floor and polish all of the memorabilia Sonic had touched with his dirty gloves. He also took a step into the treasure room to store the latest haul. That took about five minutes in total. He wasn't too confident on his ability to make something edible as quickly, so he just resumed watching whatever Sonic had put on the TV.

Of course, Sonic came out of the shower nine minutes and fifty-nine seconds after he had come in, just to tease Jet. He could almost imagine him standing right next to the door while staring at his phone just so he could do that. Jet knew about it because he was also staring at his phone. Because he had a feeling Sonic just might try to pull off something like that. What a show off.

Sonic went straight into Jet's room. He couldn't hear any complaints or comments from the living room, so he assumed he did a good job picking an outfit. He started getting worried when he didn't hear anything for Sonic for five more minutes. He decided to walk to his room and knock on the door – and open it before he could get answer back.

Sonic was going through his stuff. Of course.

"What are you doing?" Jet leaned against the doorway, watching Sonic closely.

"Just checking stuff out. I don't really know what else you do besides racing." Sonic was rummaging through his shelves. There wasn't much to look at besides a few more awards, a couple of books and an old handheld game console.

"I literally don't do anything else that's not related to racing." Jet rolled his eyes. That didn't feel so bad to say anymore. "You could have just asked me anyways."

"I didn't because I knew you'd reply with something like that. Even if you think you don't do anything else, there has to be something."

Sonic now moved to inspect his closet. Jet wasn't particularly fond of letting the hedgehog snoop through his things like that, but at least he wasn't dirty anymore. Sonic rummaged through the dozens of jackets for a couple seconds until he pulled out a cardboard box from the end of the closet. Sonic started taking everything out and putting it on the bed.

"Is this… something I shouldn't be seeing?"

Dozens of makeup items were produced from the box – mostly eyeliners and nail polish. The lack of lipstick and similar products was noticeable and understandable. Sonic finally stopped digging into the box when he came across a fashion magazine with a very familiar hawk on the cover. They had long dark green feathers that covered up one of their eyes, which were surrounded by a patch of red feathers (though a bit larger than the ones Jet had). They were wearing baggy clothes, a beanie and standing on roller skates. The title of the magazine read "Urban Hawk".

"…Jet, I am so sorry if I—"

"Oh, there it is! I was wondering where I put this. Hang on…" Jet walked over to the bed and grabbed the magazine. He tore the cover page off and taped it to the wall with some duct tape he had in the same box. "There we go. My mom has been asking me to frame this cover of her somewhere for ages. This should be good enough for now."

"…Mom? Oh! Okay, thanks Chaos! For a moment I thought I had just… Never mind. Your mom looks really cool!" Sonic let out a sigh of relief, not finishing his sentence. Jet didn't know what he meant so he just let the subject go.

"I was meaning to take these out anyways, I'm gonna have to look fancy for a wedding in a couple of weeks." Jet grimaced a little.

Sonic was quick to notice and comment about it. "You don't look too excited for it. Something wrong?"

"It's Storm's wedding, so I sorta have to go, y'know?" Jet explained, sorting the makeup onto whatever empty space he could find on his shelves. "But my dad's gonna be there probably. And… you know how that is."

"Don't need to remind me." Sonic grimaced as well. "Can't you just ask Storm to like… not invite him?"

Jet shook his head. "Not really. Family is kind of a big deal in our culture, even if it's a shitty family. I'll just have to suck it up and try to avoid him the whole night. At least until I have to give my best man speech or whatever. I'm procrastinating on that currently."

"Of course you are. Wave must be bugging you every day about it though, huh?"

"Eh, I'll come up with something on the spot. It can't be that hard to say nice words about someone, right?" Oh how things have changed. "Now I just need to find someone to be my plus one and—"

"I'll go."

Both of them paused and stared at each other until Sonic spoke up again with a hint of red on his muzzle.

"I mean, if you don't have anyone else to invite of course!"

"Sonic, all of my other friends are invited by default." Jet shrugged. "You can come, that's fine by me. It's gonna be way less boring with you there anyways."

Sonic looked like he was at a loss for words for a brief moment. "Aww, you flatter me Flicky."

"Now shut up and come look at my stuff. The stuff you came here to look at."

Jet put the box back in his closet and they box walked to the other room. It was about the same size as his bedroom, but it looked way more spacious since it was only furnished by displays that clung to the wall and let them have a lot more walking room. Most of the cases were empty, with some notable exceptions being his fans and the rest of the artifacts they had gathered. Aside from that, the one other noteworthy thing was the small safe in the corner of the room.

"That's where I keep the gems and other valuable stuff. They used to be on the displays as well but they started going missing after Wave started bringing Rouge along with her on her visits."

Sonic couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Yep, that's Rouge alright."

"Yeah." Jet scratched the back of his head. "That's… it I guess. Not really anything interesting in my apartment. Tails is… probably waiting for you right now, it's getting late."

"Oh no, he's staying at Charmy's today to work on a school project or something." Sonic shrugged. "We can hang out for a little longer if you want."

"Really?" Jet scolded himself for sounding so desperate for Sonic to stay. "I mean, sure. Your choice. Oh! I borrowed some video games from Cream. We could take a look at those."

"Sounds fine by me! Did you get The Fighters? I always lose to Cream whenever we play that one, it's gonna feel nice to finally beat someone in that game." Sonic smirked. Jet rolled his eyes and started heading back to the living room.

"You wish, hedgehog."

They were quick to set up the console together and play some matches together. They were on the same skill level (unsurprisingly) and they ended in a tie before the pizza they had ordered had arrived. All of this felt… strangely familiar to Jet. Like that first night back on Station Square. They even got the same flavor pizza as well! The only things missing were Tails and a nasty fight. Jet could gladly go without both of those things (sorry Tails).

And what better way to end it than with the same movie? Hopefully they'd get to watch it in a good mood this time.

It wasn't even cold, but Jet still went to retrieve a blanket for the two of them to sit under. Pacific Rim was once again put on the big screen and this time both of them could watch it without any ill feelings between them. They even went for the sequel afterwards – and they had a good time laughing at just how bad it was. In the end they put it back on cable for them to watch whatever came on.

They've come so far, huh? Jet was completely calm despite being this physically close to Sonic. Very warm and flustered, but way more relaxed than one would expect from Jet. He could probably go straight to sleep if he closed his eyes and let his brain wander. But he wanted to stay awake for just a bit longer.

Being this close to Sonic… was something he always knew he wanted but never knew how it was going to turn out. And he was loving every second of it.

Sonic shifted in his seat and his hand accidentally landed on Jet's. He started to pull it away but the hawk gently grabbed it with his. Both of them turned to face each other, hearts racing and cheeks flushed. The distance between got shorter and shorter as both leaned forward into each other, and…

"Ow!"

Sonic pulled back, rubbing a finger over his lip to check for any bruises. Jet did so as well, realizing what had just happened and what could have happened. Dammit!

"For a moment I forgot… beak!" Sonic burst into laughter. Jet followed soon after, glad the mood wasn't any more awkward between them besides that failed kiss attempt.

"Let's just forget this happened." Jet wiped tears from his eyes, glancing over at Sonic.

"Yeah, that's fine for me. Geez, I should have known better. Heat of the moment, am I right?"

"Yeah, right. I knew you were gonna end up stabbing yourself with my beak, I just wanted to see how it went."

"Sure you did, Flicky. Sure you did."