*blasts through the wall* GUESS WHO'S BACK?

HERE HAVE A FLUFF FIC!

I'm so sorry it's been so long since I did a drabble. College was hard and drained me to the point where it made it hard to even look at my outline notebook.
BUT. I AM DETERMINED!

so stay tuned~

also, here's the song for this one watch?v=ff0oWESdmH0

this story is Post "Break Me, Fix Me"

Sitting within the bedroom he now long shared with his partner, Scourge silently stared at his knees. His once prideful blues weary and exhausted, holding years of torment he was exposed to during his stay within the No Zone prison. On his cheek, just sliding down to the midsection of his neck, was a scar he gotten from a long past yard fight.

The control collar that once stood out against the green fur of his neck gone, though the burn marks from it laid still. The fur around the tissue slightly thicker to compensate the trauma.

The exhausted blues rested on the black jacket he worn years ago, it itself hanging in the closet he shared with his partner. Just next to a spare uniform. It sit there, taunting him of his mistakes and failures.

His hand clenched, mouth twisting into a scowl as he bit back the need to growl at the harsh memories that flowed so easily back.

With an angry huff, he laid back on the bed and turned away from the closet. Why? Why did these thoughts and recollections continuously haunt him?

Was it the exposure to the harsh programs the prison shoved him through so easily? Was it the constant abuse he received from his yard mates?

Or was it the fact that he finally began to feel the weight of his actions.

True, it was ridiculous, yet for some odd reason it made him shudder to think how much a hellish situation made him adapt into what IT wanted.

IT took away his bravado, his strength, his pride, his lust for power. It stripped him of who he considered himself and left him with nothing.

So who exactly was he?

Silently, through the bitter tears, his thoughts traveled to his partner.

It had been six years since they first met when he was first brought in, five after their small exchange after he was dragged back after his escape.

Yet, it seemed that after that exchange, the other refused to leave him alone.

He would always come to check on him, to take him into the medical wing, to pull him out of fights.

He'd even encouraged him to try school again, even helped him catch up on his spare time.

At first, he thought it was just some experiment the other wanted to try. To see if he himself could change and alter who and what this convict was.

And for a while, he was angry at the other for that.

It lead to weeks of hurt and confusion when the other was told he didn't want to see him.

It wasn't until he was half starved and refused assistance did the officer break into his cell in a rage and launch into a lecture that would make anyone younger tremble.

It left the green teen in slight shock when he was carried to the medical bay after that. Surprised how hurt and worried the other appeared during his check up. How furious he was.

It didn't take long to realize he wasn't mad at him, the convict, but at himself for not being there or trying harder.

The night's exchange left the two silent in the medical room. But it seemed more comfortable than it ever had been.

After many trials and errors, the officer managed to convince who ever was in charge to release him into a watchful care for his own safety after the increased attacks against him. It occurred after his cheek and neck were sliced.

The hedgehog smirked softly as he recalled the furious and protective look the officer had when he saw the damage.

That was four years ago.

And in that time, he finished catching up in school and was going on to the higher ground. Actually eager for once to have something his world denied him so long ago. Along with becoming closer with the officer who watched over him.

They could share jokes, make stories up, laugh about the most ridiculous things. Yet could be there to give support to one another when they needed it.

The green hedgehog sighed, curling inward a bit more.

He destroyed his world, left it in ruins for people to clean up. He almost destroyed the Prime world and the No Zone in his escape. He almost took the lives of those who betrayed him.

He was angry. He was violent. He was narcissistic.

So why and what did the other see in him that made him worth fighting for? To have a second chance for?

Faintly, he recalled their exchange years ago, about how they view and what they choose to do with themselves.

Maybe in that instance, an understanding was made.

Something they both felt and struggled with.

Who they were.

"Scourge?," a voice asked quietly from the door frame, knuckles ghosting over the door frame as if they knocked.

He didn't hear.

The blues of the weary hedgehog's eyes flicked over his shoulder, resting on the cerulean hedgehog before him. The once dead emeralds taught with concern and warmth directed towards him.

"Everything alright?"

"...No." He said softly, a broken laugh leaving him as he rolled over. His green ears twitching as the other walked over with quiet footsteps.

The slightly younger hedgehog left out a breath he didn't know he was holding in when the bed sunk beneath the other's weight.

"Do you want to talk?," Zonic asked softly. A blue ear twitching, listening for just in case someone barged in.

Scourge doubted it. They lived alone.

"...No." He answered.

Giving a small nod, the azure male instead laid down behind him and rested his arms across the other. Letting his body heat communicate his intention and emotions.

"...You changed….You know that right?," the older said in a soft tone.

The verde hedgehog sighed quietly.

"...Then why does it feel like I haven't at all?"

Zonic's emeralds watched the other's back rise and fall with each breath. "...We all have those days….that it feels like we took steps back instead of forward.," a peach hand fixed the green quills with gentle care.

"But, during those days, we have to remember those around us...Those that can remind and help us…."

"...Please...Scourge, don't shut me out."

The younger's shoulders trembled softly, a quiet sniffling rising off of him.

With a sharp snap of movement, the green rogue's face was pressed against the officer's chest. His toned arms from the work in the prison yard around him as he trembled.

With an eased silence, peach arms returned around the other. A hand rubbing small circles in the tense part of the ex-con's back.

Despite all their years together, they didn't forget how they each needed care.

And after all those years, they never forgot what they each had.

Understanding.