Silver wasn't sure how they'd gotten this far without him questioning it but now a certain thought was eating away at him. Sat on the edge of his bed the seconds were passing like hours, hours like days; just waiting for Blaze to return so he could ask her a single, simple, question. How much do you love me?
They were eighteen, bordering on nineteen, almost five years ago he'd arrived in this dimension and they'd remembered their shared past… but when in those years had things changed between them? His confusion at this was due to how their relationship had begun, rather than treating it as something new their partnership had grown, budded and blossomed to become more intimate; eventually culminating in what it was today. There was no clear point where one had become the other, where mutual love had been made clear, and this left him with many additional questions. When had they gone from friendly partners to the loving sort? Over how long had their love built to this level? Had they both decided they were in love at the same time? Had they been on this path ever since reuniting? Before that? With each of those thoughts he felt himself grow hotter and hotter, his palms came up to rub his forehead; quills frayed between his fingers and cyan light shining through closed eyelids.
He'd been asking himself these questions ever since this morning, now it was the dead of night and he was still awaiting her return. His hands lowered to his chin, he brought his legs up to fold and rested his elbows in his lap; recalling this morning for the hundredth time.
He'd awakened first, her head immersed in his chest fur and their limbs a tangled mess atop his bed; he'd have pins and needles when he rose, his right hand had been truly numb, but as he lay there his only thoughts had been of her lying with him. It wasn't the first time they'd shared a bed, goodness no, but it was the first in a long time; she lived a busy life tending to her kingdom as he did tending to the future but now things had eased on both fronts. It had been lying there, immersed fully in her warmth, that he'd had time to just think... a rather dangerous thing for him. His thoughts, starting at how warm she was and how comfortable he felt, slowly tended toward just what they were and where they were in their relationship. He was comfortable, he was happy and he knew he loved her but the evolutionary nature of their partnership blurred when things had grown this intimate. He loved her so much, but when had it reached this point? And, from that, he began to question whether they were at the same point, had their growth as partners always been in lockstep or was he leading the way … was she leading the way?
Over the more recent stage of their relationship Silver had observed some changes in Blaze, changes he most certainly liked but perhaps suggested she was the one leading. For one thing, her confidence had massively grown, with the maturing of their relationship more often than not she was the one who led in kissing or came to his room in the palace… she had the prior night in fact, they were in his bedroom. But from that confidence had come something Silver himself could barely do; teasing. Teasing wasn't totally new to Blaze, you're so naïve could be used in so many ways, but more recently it reached the point of physical teasing. Was this a sign that he was falling behind or was this just the dynamic of their relationship? He liked to think it was the latter but in thinking about it he realised the question that was now plaguing his mind, he realised he'd never asked her how much she loved him.
He was sprung from these thoughts as she shifted in her sleep, one of her hands casting further down his back and her head turning to place a cheek against his chest; a particularly long purr had sent electricity up his spine. He'd told her he loved her and she'd told him the same but... she'd never said to what extent. I love you was spoken between kisses, when parting for an extended period and generally just when she felt like saying it but she'd never told him how much weight those words carried for her. Was it intentional? Could she not? Or was it just because he'd never actually asked her. Once again the subject of his thoughts drew him from them, an awakening yawn sounded beneath him; he gently drummed his fingers on her back.
"Good morning Silver." Her voice rumbled from beneath him, looking down he caught a glimpse of her amber eyes before they quickly reclosed but a, lightly fanged, smile remained.
"Good morning Blaze." The sight of her lavender frame curled against his only further fed these questions, it felt like gaps in his memory but he knew he hadn't forgotten a thing. He felt her arms shift to his shoulders as she wiggled her way up to eye level, her tail coiling around his thigh and colouring him red. With age he'd ended up a head taller than her and so it was in positions like these that intimate moments most often occurred.
Her forehead had pushed against his, chin leant away thus lips just out of reach, her eyes now locked on his; there was that teasing. "I've got an early meeting, I can't linger too long."
Despite her words the pause would last a moment longer, a moment designed to leave him anticipating, before he felt her forehead leave his, her eyes closed… only for there to be another pause. He'd tried to speak the word please but hadn't got passed the first syllable before she was upon him; head tilted to the side and her mouth pressed over his. It was a deep kiss, albeit a brief one; she briefly pushed passed his teeth, tapped his tongue and with it popped his eyes wide, before retracting; beginning to untangle herself from him. As her tail unwound from his leg, recovering from the induced shock, his mind lurched back to that question. As she rose, the warmth of the bed tiptoeing after her, he managed to ask; "How much do you love me?"
Blaze had turned to him with furrowed brows, bearing down on him with her analytical gaze… albeit it's usual intimidating seriousness was diminished by baggy pyjamas and lowered hair. She leaned in as if to get a closer reading; amber eyes piercing into his own. Finally, the stare eased, her hand went from his forehead to pet his quills. "You're so naïve."
That response sent his mind spiralling, it was the only explanation she'd given this morning. Rather than elaborate she'd leant in, gently kissed his lips once more, before pulling away and turning toward the door. "I'll be back tonight, it's going to be a long day." Thinking back he wasn't sure if that was a long day for herself, him or for both them.
Without the answer the question kept repeating in his mind, bounding off the walls of his brain like some great echo chamber. "Blaze please." He had wined and thus, in hindsight, he knew she had won there and then.
She simply repeated, "You're so naïve," and leant down, once again gently kissing him… a deep kiss but not a long kiss, lingering far too short for his liking. "Later, I need to go back to my room and prepare." He saw a hint of those fangs again, "Try not to get too pent up about this." Of course, that had only made him infinitely more pent up about this. She'd turned, tail swishing behind her, and (with a wiggle of her ear as she confirmed no one was outside) she'd left him lying there; with a mired mind and a red face. Silver had tried to go about his day; helping Marine with her shipbuilding projects, not daring to share his troubles with her but often getting caught daydreaming.
Still sat on the edge of his bed Silver's head managed to escape his hands only for him to let out a half groan, quarter sigh and quarter growl; was he really this weak to this? He sighed, slumping back into his hands; yes, he was. Her teasing had started a year ago but it'd never been like this; she'd usually leave him hanging for seconds, five minutes at most, not fifteen hours. How much do you love me; was it really naïve to ask? Well considering their relationship maybe it-
He heard a key in his latch; besides him only she had that key. She didn't like calling out, Gardon was still Gardon; thus ever worried about the princess. He hurried to busy himself with something, using his power to pull a book from a nearby shelf and opening it in his lap. She was in pyjamas already, an indication she didn't intend to leave; hair reaching just beyond her shoulders, lining the collarbone exposed by a dark cyan, tending green, shirt. The t-shirt was coupled with baggy grey shorts, ending an inch above the knee; these were the kind of clothes she only wore to sleep; something about public engagements requiring a more refined touch. Realising he was starting he went to stand but she was already upon him; "Good evening."
"G-Good evening, how was today?" Of course he'd squeaked, she'd become so much more comfortable and composed in this setting while he would lapse and squirm.
Her honey gaze was drawing ever closer; she was leaning down to him… that only happened in these four walls. "Tedious, even outside the meetings, Gardon found me plenty of busywork. " She paused her advancement, gesturing down to his lap. "Your book's upside down."
He'd been pink before but now he could feel the sweat on his brow, he couldn't pull himself from her eyes; the book tumbled to the floor. "Can you please answer that question now?"
She drew even closer; her head had tilted; were they even an inch apart? Yet his eyes remained locked on hers. "What question?"
A shudder tore through his body; he wanted nothing more than to move in… well, one thing more. The answer to that question; "How much do you love me?"
"You're so naïve." Again those words rang out, he felt her arms come down at his sides; her eyes closed and she leant in. While it wasn't the answer he longed for but it was-
Her lips had only touched his for a second before she pulled back, her dark golden eyes had reopened and locked on his. His heart was pounding, his breathing desynchronised. "Blaze, please; tell me." She leant in again but this time her lips didn't meet with his, instead brushing near his jawline for a moment before pulling back… but not nearly as far. He could barely maintain eye contact now and her arms locked him in place. "B-Blaze, what are you doing?"
Soft purrs began to ebb from the feline, "You're so naïve." Her head rubbed beneath his chin, forcing him to look up, and then he felt it; her lips made contact with his neck. It lasted longer than those kisses but not nearly long enough, he felt his knees knock and his vision blurred; it wasn't that this was the first time she'd attacked that zone, it was how well she knew it to be his weakness. The kissing stopped but this time she didn't pull away, his head was still forced up. "I-I w-want to know Blaze."
Silver could feel every breath on his neck. "Want to know what?"
He knew that Blaze knew but no matter how hard he thought he couldn't understand why she was doing this. Why wasn't she answering? Silver forced through it, asking again. "How much do you love me?"
"You're so naïve." The kiss was planted further this time, her warm muzzle slid against his neck before her lips pushed through his chest fur ruffle and into his skin; his breath hitched this time as he felt her suck for only a second. He felt her lips pull away, prepared to speak again, only to feel a second and more gentle kiss brush against the same spot. This teasing would be the death of him, he felt himself begin to lose his balance and lean back; legs uncrossed. She followed, right hand shifting from the bed to hold the right side of his neck; the side she wasn't kissing.
He tries to think through the haze, tried not to think about his body failing him beneath her crushing confidence. Maybe it was how he was phrasing it; he tried to be more assertive. "I-I-I need to kn-know, B-Blaze; h-how much do you love me?"
"You're so naïve." It hadn't worked; with her hand to brace against him she was able to deepen the kiss further than before. And then he felt it, a pinching sensation against the soft skin of his neck. A love bite, a tiny one, but a love bite none the less. It was at this point, Blaze leaning into him, that Silver lost control; his back met with the bed sheets and thus Blaze towered over him once again.
But now he could finally catch her eyes in his, he tried to lean up and this time asked a different question. A question he was sure would get a different answer, an answer he already knew. "D-Do you love me Blaze?"
She crawled onto the bed, straddling his waist; the fingers of her right hand began to intertwine themselves within his chest fur while the left cupped his cheek. There was sincerity in her eyes as she spoke, an honesty Silver knew. "Of course I do."
"I-I know, but I r-really want to know…" His elbows dug into the mattress behind him in an attempt to prop himself up against her; she was smiling down at him… he had to ask again. "How much do you love me?"
That smile deepened, "You're so naïve." She moved in,
"W-Well…" No, he couldn't stutter, he had to do this right. He grit his teeth and looked up to her, "If you're not going to tell me how much you love me, then I'll have to show you how much I love you."
Without hesitation he pushed himself up; arms wrapping around her back he took her mouth in his, he'd been quick lest she cut him off. Their teeth had clashed at first; perhaps he had been a little too fast, but as his hands pulled across her back he managed to show his love more clearly. His tongue glided into her mouth, pushing past her fangs to meet with hers before his eyes closed. It had become rare for Silver to lead like this, usually this all happened in his mouth and so while he wanted to show how much he cared the hedgehog was rather unsure how to do this. He furrowed his brows and fought through that thought, he had said he was going to do this and so he had to do it!
He kissed her with all the love he could muster, all the power he could put behind it. She was his partner, the person he'd give up the world for had it been his choice. He had lost her so completely, not just her person but his memories of her, only to stumble upon her by some miraculous twist of fate; they had reconnected and their bond had grown only stronger. She was meant more to him than anything ever would or even could, that was the true nature of his feelings. In that brief time during their last life, just after she'd left him, he'd dreamed of just seeing her again; having her back beside him had been more than he could have dreamed but to lie here with her and take her lips in his still seemed completely impossible to him.
His tongue pulled back to those fangs, pushing against them, and she followed without hesitation. His right hand slid up to cup her ear in an attempt to deeper angle the kiss, plunging further into her mouth and tasting more and more. Every touch of their tongues stunned him a little; it took real effort to prevent hers from pacifying his but he managed to push back for a good few minutes before ending this kiss; panting slightly. "I-I… I don't think I expressed it fully but th-that's part of it at least." He released her from his grasp, falling back to the bed, but kept his eyes locked on her; there was a redness to her face, a look which told him despite his ineptitude he'd gotten his feelings across. His eyes had closed, attempting to fully recover, when he felt the weight of a hand on his chest.
Blaze was looming above him again, the redness hadn't left her cheeks but there was a determination in her eyes. Still unwound; quills, fur and mind dishevelled, he heard her demand; "Ask me again."
He didn't hesitate. "How much do you love me?"
Her eyes closed, her fanged smile grew and her head lowered, nuzzling to reach his neck. It was with that she pounced; his body began to quake as sharp fangs traced kiss after long kiss up his neck, surely leaving a trail in their wake. Eventually, she rounded from chin to cheek before hanging over his mouth, "You're so naïve."
This kiss would be anything but a brief tease. Jokes about the flames of passion were far too easy to make about Blaze but, as her lips met with his, he felt as though those flames were shining a whole lot brighter. It'd started with the feeling of fangs on his lip, opening him up rather than catching him mid-sentence this time, before her left hand came up to tilt his head; right beginning to claw as it raked through his chest fur. There was no denying it; she'd already taken a far deeper control of him than he had of her. Pressing down on him he felt her tongue shock his for a moment and fill him with warmth before drawing back, taunting him to follow… a taunt he'd fall for every time. His eyes widened when he realised quite how far he'd allowed her to draw him though, he'd realised his tongue had left his mouth just in time for it to reconnect with hers. He slid into the bliss, eyes closing as she continued to lead him; their mouths would part just long enough for her to take a breath, consistently surprising him both on the release and the reuniting of their lips… albeit that meant he was gasping by the third but she finally gave him time by the fifth. He'd try to run his hands through her hair, over her back, but truth be told she it was like she was completely blanking his mind. Over the course of the exchange he would feel her tail wrap and unwrap around his legs, she'd tug his chest fur within an inch of its life and his quills that had already been messed would become practically unrecognisable. Eventually though it, of course, had to end, still sat atop him she slowly pulled back.
"That was but a fraction of how much I love you." Now she had pulled back he could see the extent of her embarrassment, ears curled down and deeply blushing. "I simply wanted you to understand; some things cannot be expressed through words. I thought eventually you might ask me to show you how much I love you but…" The redness had begun to fade, confidence returning in its place. "I suppose I'd prefer to keep things as they went." And with that, she'd lean in again, clearly intent on sharing another fraction with him.