Crisis city nights weren't much different from Crisis city days. Thick cloud hung overhead, fires still wildly burned and you could rest assured that the spawn of Iblis still prowled the streets. With the sun down it was, admittedly, a little darker, but the ever-present flames prevented true darkness. Really, one could sleep all day and scavenge all night without the slightest change in difficulty; the difference was that small.
Yet, for whatever reason, Blaze had fallen into a routine based on this unseen solar cycle. The first of her yawns had just broken through her lips, no matter how she'd tried to smother it, and dampness was starting to collect in her eyes. The words in her poetry book had started to jumble, she was scarcely able to read them let alone understand the prose's deeper meaning. Thus began that evening routine; stretching slightly, she rose from the chair she'd been lounging in and began to wander through her abode.
She and her partner had recently claimed a townhouse as their home, gathering the prior occupants' heirlooms and enshrining them in what had once been a child's bedroom. The building was nice, being one in a row of houses had offered some additional protection, and they'd settled rather easily. Books and games they'd gathered were neatly pilled in the living room, the cupboards were filled with salvaged goods and any damage to the walls had been thoroughly patched.
Blaze climbed the stairs, another yawn sneaking past her lips as she reached the landing. A few paces more and she arrived in their bedroom hallway, but before she could sleep step two of this routine had to be completed. She pushed into the first door on the right, coming face to face with a thoroughly unused bedroom; its neat bedspread coated in a thick layer of dust. Ignoring that she turned to the closet, opening it and finding her clothes neatly arranged. Shedding her combat garb, taking extra care to avoid the various bandages crossing her body, she donned her nightwear; a loose-fitting grey tank top and equally baggy black shorts. Her gloves removed, she reached up and gently undid her ponytail. Free of it and her heels she couldn't help but feel she'd shrunk considerably. Regardless phase two was complete, with the spring of carpet directly beneath her Blaze exited her room crossed to the door directly opposite. Here she hesitated, not for fear of continuing but out of courtesy.
Ever so gently, the feline turned the doorknob and slowly pushed inside what had become her true bedroom. The room was dark, heavy curtains pulled, but every so often a pulse of cyan light would push away that darkness. That lowlight provided more than enough visibility for Blaze to glance across the room. Of course, that presence of that light meant the one who cast it was also present. Silver the hedgehog was fast asleep, lying upon their shared bed. She didn't remember when he'd come in from scouting, she'd surely been too engrossed in her reading, but it was wonderful to see him sleeping so soundly, despite the world outside. His quills and limbs strewn in every direction, he was laying on top of the duvet rather than beneath it; backside in the air as he took up the central section of their bed. Blaze tried to smother her laugh. It was common that she stayed up later than him but she'd only found him like this on a couple of occasions. Today's scouting must have really sapped him for energy; he hadn't had the strength to crawl beneath the covers let alone give her a proper rundown of what he'd seen. As Blaze rounded to her side of the bed she knew the end point of her routine was near, it lay somewhere beneath that hedgehog's left shoulder.
His face was buried deep into the pillow but, from her new angle, she could see dimples brought on by his sleeping smile. The patchwork of bandages garbing both their bodies slipped her mind as she watched him. From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a slight movement. His foot was twitching, a telltale sign that he was dreaming but about what she could only guess. Perhaps some great success, be it the final defeat of Iblis or the discovery of some helpful artefact from a bygone era.
As she slid to sit on the bed the hedgehog shifted in response, a sound not dissimilar to a sigh slipping his lips, but he hadn't moved nearly enough. Fortunately, however, Blaze knew exactly how to handle him. Her hand came up to caress his quills, slowly but methodically returning his quills to their typical arrangement. With every brush and caress, she watched his expression shift, through her touch she was able to gently ease him further toward his side of the bed. Her fingertips rounded to the back of his ear and scratched, though she did so much too gently. Silver's head tilted toward her hand, his whole body shifting back into her grasp as he attempted to fully embrace that contact. After no more than a minute he was fully on his side, his sleepy smile fully displayed to her, and she managed to slip into a lying position.
Face to face with him, she could see the effect her touch was having. His grin had been warped, small fangs glinting through a broad grin and his brow smoothed through relaxation. Another yawn having broken through, Blaze's head fully met with the pillow; her eyes slowly closing. From there her scratching slowed, her hand slipped to hold at his nape and she felt sleep begin to overtake her.
But alas, it could not claim her yet.
A whine, bordering on pathetic, slipped his throat; his sleeping form lumbered closer in clear protest of her stopping. She lowered her hand to the small of his back and gently pushed her forehead to his but, apparently, this contact wasn't enough. The feline felt him even nuzzle closer, as if attempting to sink deeper into her touch if not reclaim the other side of the bed.
She bumped back with her own forehead but, as she did, words tumbled from his lips. Spoken no louder than a whimper, he pleaded with her, "Don't go, Blaze, please… I need…"
She felt the twitch of his foot and, prying her eyes open, she watched his brow harden. There was no doubt in her mind, the hedgehog was dreaming of her. For as long as she'd known him, she known he was a frequent dreamer. He'd often regale her with them as though they had really happened, sometimes Silver would dream of how he imagined the past; sailing over bright blue seas and clambering through vine filled forests. He'd even talked of a school life, attending classes and doing whatever it was they were meant to do in school. Oftentimes she was present in such dreams but, on occasion, he would wake up scared. Either he'd noticed she wasn't there or, as was more common, he'd lost her in some nightmare.
"So naïve…" Her hand gently brushed between his spines before returning to hold the back of his head, drawing his face closer to hers. Tired as she was, Blaze couldn't stand to leave him like this. The feline's claws pricked free as she resumed her gentle scratching, "So sweet."
The smile immediately returned to his lips, she felt him gently wriggle back into her grasp as coos flavoured his breath. Blaze heard his tail begin to wag; a gentle yet repeated slapping noise filling their small bedroom. As if in response, she felt her tail flop across their waistlines before gently curling around him. Soon her free hand found its way to his chest fur, her fingers gently dragging through it; undoing the knots that had formed over the day's endeavours. He smelled strongly of smoke, well… everything in this world did, but beneath that was the slightly more appealing scent of sweat from the day's work. She'd trained with him in the morning, they'd sparred as per usual, but they'd spent most of the day apart. She'd checked their inventory and gathered food from the surrounding area; Silver had both scouted for Iblis' inevitable return and, more crucially, flown around the survivor settlements to make sure they were still intact, crossing from one side of the city to the other. His powers were strong but, naturally, overuse had drained him. It was no wonder he'd fallen into such a deep sleep.
As she continued, claws combing deeper through his fur, more words were pushed past his lips, "Thank you, Blaze…"
Whispering again, she started a reply; "There's nothing to tha-
Lost in a reality all of his own, the hedgehog cut her off. With three simple words knocked the sleep from her, "I love you…"
Blaze told herself it was sleep babble, plain and simple, nothing more and nothing less, but with those words spoken her heart quadrupled in pace. He'd been dreaming about her, dreaming deeply enough to call her name, and had then spoken those three words; three words simple words she'd never expected to hear. Before she could catch herself Blaze was purring, her claws shrank as her fists bawled and teeth grit. Even if he was asleep, even if there was no one to see, the feline wanted to hide her face; embarrassment burned like wildfire.
The sleeping hedgehog didn't help matters; he slipped forward again, attempting to seek out her touch. It was too much; she kept her hand to his chest in an attempt to keep the distance. Eventually, he settled; head slumping against the pillow and a look she could only read as dissatisfied formed on his face. Her fists slowly unclenched, her heartbeat rang above her considerable purrs.
Slowly, without so much as a thought, Blaze found herself shifting; soon her chin hung no more than an inch above his forehead. She aligned herself with his right ear, its tip poking free from his mess of quills. Leaning closer still, heat growing in her chest and on her face, Blaze closed her eyes. Opportunities like this were common, quiet moments always heightened the tension between them, but only in her dreams would she dare act upon them. With him asleep, Blaze's confidence was bolstered but even still she was afraid. What would this do to their partnership? Would he return her feelings? Even if he did, how would that affect their future? It might make him reckless, overly defensive of her… well, more than he already was.
Despite these thoughts, Blaze felt a twinge of confidence; likely brought about by his sleeping state. In as soft a voice as she could muster, she whispered four simple words into his ear; "I love you too," His head tilted upward in response to the sound, her muzzle dragged through his quills only for her chin to linger upon his forehead. Still whispering, purred words fell from her lips; "I want to tell you properly someday but, for now, I guess this will have to do."
Without so much as a thought, Blaze's lips found the hedgehog's forehead; her hand gently tugging back his quills to better allow the contact. The kiss was anything but brief; she'd longed to do this for so long and finally worked up the gumption, Blaze was going to take her time. Despite the coarseness of their world, his fur was still soft. He really was a naïve wonder in this otherwise rotten city, she didn't dare to think where or who she'd be without him. They would have struggled alone, a far worse fate than struggling together.
Finally, the kiss completed, Blaze pulled away from his forehead; releasing his quills, but as she did a groan sounded beneath her. Silver was shifting, his movements were different from those prior.
"B-Blaze?" Though sleep's slur lingered in his voice, Blaze could tell he was awake, "Wh-When did you get here?"
Their eyes locked and, try as she might, Blaze couldn't smother her purr. There was no way he knew of the kiss, he'd only started to stir as she pulled away, but the thought of that contact lingered in her mind; she bashfully broke eye contact. Her eyes slipped to his lips, "Not too long ago. I'm sorry to have awoken you."
"D-Don't worry about it," A sleepy smile crossed his face but, beyond it, even in the dark she could see his blush, "I'm sorry I didn't come down earlier, I was just too drained. Rest has really helped."
"So I noticed, you didn't make it under the covers," Now that her eyes were on his muzzle it was as though bashfulness was holding her hostage, she couldn't pry her eyes away from his lips, "You were dreaming, weren't you? Do you want to tell me about it?"
"W-Well," His hesitation spoke volumes, "Y-Yeah, I had a dream, it was different from the usual sort though," It seemed as though his sleep talk was truthful, "You were there…"
"I was…?" She struggled to feign ignorance; she couldn't help noticing his face was drawing closer… or was she drawing closer to him?
"Yes and… w-well, we…" It was like she was magnetized; slowly but surely the feline found herself inching closer and closer. Her lips were so close to his, no more than three inches between them. He'd clearly noticed, "Blaze…"
"Silver…" The end of his name rolled with her purr, her head began to tilt as the inches counted down.
As the tension heightened Blaze's eyes closed, his fanciful dream had granted them both the confidence to move forward! Their lips were about to meet, purrs ferociously tore through her chest and her ears pinned forward as if pointing her closer still. Her tail began to lash in anticipation and claws extend, a second longer and they'd seal their bond with a kiss!
But, for some strange reason, their lips never met. Instead, Blaze felt something bizarre. She was no longer leaning toward him, her head felt heavy and there was a pair of arms holding her, not his arms hugging her close but an arm behind her knees and another around her shoulders. Her eyes flickered open, she blinked twice, only to find they aligned with a familiar ceiling rather than her partner. She was in the living room, no more than three paces from the chair she'd been reading in.
A groan slipped her throat as she continued to blink the sleep from her eye, she felt the grasp around her shoulder and legs tighten slightly. They'd been moving before, they'd suddenly stopped. Where was Silver? Turning slightly, she locked eyes with his frazzled muzzle; the hedgehog was indeed the one holding her, but for some reason, they were in the living room? What had happened to that kiss? They'd been so close to-
Blaze's groggy mind finally caught up to her body, reality crushed her like a toppled skyscraper. It'd all been a dream; she'd been so foolish! While Silver occasionally spoke in his sleep the phrases were rarely so concrete. Furthermore, while her warmth often drew him close, for him to move so fitfully yet remain in deep sleep; it was simply unrealistic. It all made sense; she didn't remember him coming back because she'd fallen asleep before he'd returned! Even her confidence had been dreamt; taking such blatant initiative was well beyond her current capability. A different type of embarrassment swept over her, not that of butterflies in her stomach and inevitable kisses but the type born of hindsight, the type that toted an overwhelming compulsion to kick herself.
Judging by the sheepish look in his eye the embarrassment was mutual, albeit heavily lopsided with her bearing the brunt. He was a mess, fur lined with soot and a fresh bandage bound around his left shoulder.
His voice wavered, "H-Hey Blaze, sorry to wake you."
"Silver," She accidentally grumbled, "What are you doing?"
"I thought you were having a dream so I figured I'd move you somewhere more comfortable," He quickly explained, her awakened grumpiness had lit a panic in his eyes, "Your claws kept coming out so I thought it might've been a nightmare, w-was I wrong?"
"Y-You're so naïve," Again, those words came out as more of a growl than she intended. Even outside that dream, her blush still ran rampant; chasing from her cheeks to the tips of her ears. The closeness of his lips certainly wasn't helping matters, "It was just a dream, a normal dream!"
Blaze quickly broke eye contact, her fists clenched as she turned to the ground. Her book had fallen, her page surely lost but that was the least of her problems. Even now the lowlight scene kept replaying in her mind, from his words to the kiss they'd very almost shared. Usually, her dreams would fade when she woke up, Silver was far better at recounting his, but given the contrast between the situations Blaze knew there was no shaking it.
"Do you want me to put you back?" Regret and dejection punctuated his query, her grows had clearly offset him.
While a small (very embarrassed) part of her wanted to say yes, her sleepy memories of that imagined night and the comfort she felt in his arms begged otherwise. Maybe it was the regret in his voice, perhaps she was simply too tired to refuse but the warmth she felt was undeniably contributing to her want to stay. Besides, it wasn't his fault she'd had that dream; on any other occasion, she'd consider this normal. He was trying to help her, carry her up to bed so she could rest peacefully; she would do the same for him, without hesitation.
Rather than answer him, she posed a question of her own; "Why didn't you use your powers to pick me up?"
"I was scared they'd be too loud, I didn't want to wake you," Silver admitted, "I guess that was silly considering I ended up doing it anyway…" The feline met her partner's eye once more, his guilt was plain to see, "I'm sorry."
"Just…" She rolled her eyes, feeling her face flare warmer still, and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. Though a pout remained fixed to her lips, his kind-hearted nature continued to warm her heart, "It's fine, j-just take me upstairs."
"A-Are you sure, I can set you down-
"Silver," Again she found herself hissing, the embarrassment was simply too much; reality mismatched with fantasy. Certain her words would fail the cat mustered some courage; she'd speak through her actions. Biting her lip, she pushed her forehead against his cheek, nuzzling in a rough attempt to relax him, before fully leaning into the crook of his neck; allowing her eyes to close, "I'm just tired, let's go to bed."
"A-Alright," She felt his grasp shift slightly, accommodating her shift, and started to walk, "Oh, um, I hope your dream was nice whatever it was…"
With her face hidden among his fluff Blaze hoped he couldn't read her expression, but from the strain in his voice she knew they were in the same position; embarrassed by their situation but too scared to confront it. Perhaps, one day, she'd have the gall to act as she had in that dream, but until then she was content with how things were. As long as they were together they were free to dream of what might be.