Though his cup was now empty, he knew more was within reach. Looking through the empty glass in his left hand revealed the blurred form of a purple feline, pulling him by his right. She seemed as elegant as ever, rushing up the stairs, while he felt the dull sensation of his toes bashing on each carpeted step. It was a wonder that he hadn't fallen over... well, hadn't since they'd arrived on the stairs.
"Blaze," He called out to her, still stumbling behind, " Where are we-
Blaze halted on the spot, he was met with a set of seriously furrowed brows and pursed lips which contrasted the redness on her cheeks. In the pyrokinetic's right hand was a corked bottle of wine, clutched with her own empty glass pressed against it. Rather than drinking that however, Silver's gaze was fixed on the feline herself. Though more recent memories were a blur to him, he'd remembered her getting dressed up for the party they'd been attending. While she'd bristled and fussed about her chosen outfit, a choker necked white dress with bishop sleeves, the cat looked more comfortable in the garb than ever before.
"We're still well within earshot, you must remain silent Silver, it is of the upmost importance so that we decamp unnoticed," The cat insisted in an overly neutral tone, frowning down at him from the higher step, "Now come along, it is doubly imperative that we make haste."
With some of her word choice still rattling in his slowed head, the cat resumed her lead and dragged him stumbling upwards. Having been cowed, and slightly bamboozled, the hedgehog thought back to what had led him here. There was the party of course or rather, as Blaze had called it, the royal function set to celebrate the defeat of the Sol Dimension's greatest enemy. Eggman Nega was no more, the doctor had traveled to the distant past in an effort to harness the power of Dark Gaia, only to lose control of the beast. While Silver and Blaze had been there to put a stop to his rewriting of history, it'd been by his own hands that his fate had been sealed. With him gone, even the future was now at peace.
In hindsight, it was no wonder that there had been so many speeches... still, the hedgehog probably only had himself to blame for all he'd drank.
The hedgehog felt himself whipped around a corner, almost crashing into a wall as the cat pulled him faster. With that surprise rousing him from his thoughts, the hedgehog realised where he was being drawn. Less than an hour after the speeches had concluded, with schmoozing now the night's focus, the cat had subtly point him toward the room's entrance before later rendezvousing with that bottle in hand. It should have been obvious to him that the guardian had longed to escape that stuffy battlefield of royal titles and posturing. Well, it would have been if it wasn't for the fuzziness numbing his brain.
As expected, silver found himself pulled into a familiar room before it was slammed into darkness by the cat closing the door. Perhaps it was due to his inebriated state, but the hedgehog's symbols weren't spreading light as well as they usually did. The hedgehog found himself fumbling as, from seemingly nowhere, a bottle and glass were pushed into his chest as feet quickly padded past him. The sound of sliding metal led to warm orange sunlight breaching the space, she'd drew the curtains open to reveal the late sunset of this summer night.
Blaze's bedroom was as he recalled leaving it early this afternoon, her four poster bed and then her writing desk held his attention as he took things in once more. By the time he'd finished processing his surroundings, the cat had already made for the bed and kicked off her shoes. She was lounging against the headboard, half sat and half lying atop the covers. For a moment they stood in silence, Silver's brain continued to misfire.
"I believe I handed you that bottle and glass for a reason, I presumed you were astute enough to comprehend the intent behind that action," The cat tutted, looking to the window rather than him.
"Oh, right, um," Silver looked to the goods clutched against his chest.
He decided to wander his way over to her desk, setting down the glasses and eying the top of the bottle. He was able to pick off the wax seal but the cork looked to be more of a problem. He thought for almost a good minute about sneaking down to retrieve one of those strange screwing implements before remembering that he was indeed psychic. Pointing a finger at the cork, he tugged and tugged with his mind... only to use too much force and send the stopper flying. As he lurched in response to that, the wine started to spill; he only just managed to catch the liquid with his mind before it could hit the carpet. Rather than risk pouring from the bottle and spilling more, the hedgehog simply transferred what he'd already dropped into the two glasses.
With those in hand, and the open bottle beneath his arm, the hedgehog made his way over. By the time he'd arrived, he'd truly forgotten which glass had been hers. He stood for a good second, only to catch the cat impatiently extending a reaching arm from her slumped position. Quickly, he handed over the closer of the two.
"How gracious of you," She commented, eyes still on the balcony window, "Do take a seat."
Rather than sprawl as he might usually, Silver didn't want to disturb the for once relaxed position his partner had claimed. He perched on the edge of the bed, reaching to set the bottle on the feline's nightstand. Almost immediately, now face to face with it, the glow of sunset claimed his attention.
The orange and warm yellow of near twilight was a sight he was supposed to have grown accustomed to, he'd visited this world and those with similar skies for almost a decade now. Twenty two years of this life, working to restore his world, had finally come to an end. So much and yet so little had changed for him. He still sat by his partner's side, he still held his power and his want to do good, and yet now he had no-
A kick to the hedgehog's side, strong enough to make him fret about spilling his drink, roused Silver from his thoughts.
"You are being far less boisterous than usual," Blaze over annunciated as she forced herself to sit up, "What is on your mind?"
"Just the sky," He meekly responded, "It's pretty tonight."
"It rather is, yes," She mused, shifting closer, "And to think, no one will ever attempt to disturb its serenity again."
"Yeah..." He trailed off.
"Silver," She drew his gaze to her, "While I am under no illusion of your inebriation, I can also tell that there is something else on your mind. Do speak, I find your quiet state rather disconcerting."
Thoughts again threatened to silence him, but, with a sigh, he pushed through, "What are we supposed to do now?"
"With regards to right now, simply enjoy the freedom I've secured us," Blaze astutely insisted, "With regards to our lives as a whole," The cat paused, he felt her hand at his left shoulder, "I suppose combat and strife is most of what we have known. These peaceful days, without fighting or planning will be quite bizarre. We don't have that consistency to ground us anymore," She did smirk as a conclusion planily came to mind, "I do plainly recall what you wanted when we first met Silver, is that not still the case?"
"Of course I do, I want to stay by your side, find somewhere nice to live," He wholeheartedly answered, "I just," The gears behind his eyes were struggling to latch, "I don't know. It's weird. I'm probably overthinking it. I need to find another way to do good, I guess."
Again a touch from Blaze pushed Silver from his hazy thoughts, this time a tugging contact at his chest. The hedgehog had been suited up for the party; he'd left a dark jacket behind when they fled, but the white shirt and blue tie beneath had stayed. Now however, though the tie she'd knotted still hung around his neck, the psychic found that his fluffy chest was exposed.
"When did my shirt get unbuttoned?" He asked aloud.
"I can't rightly recall, perhaps you found it too hot in the dining hall and felt the need to disrobe," Blaze calmly hypothesised, still toying away, "Such would be quite uncouth, however I do believe that you have imbibed a rather high quantity of alcohol. That tends to raise one's body temperature, your cheeks are indeed rather..." Her hand drifted up his left side until he felt a finger prod his cheek, "Salmon."
"Salmon?" He couldn't help but snicker.
The cat looked down to her glass, "Yes, most certainly. Quite salmon indeed."
Blaze's on state wasn't lost on Silver, despite the concept of drunkenness itself being quite alien to him. It seemed that alcohol rather switched their roles, once talkative and impulsive, he had been rendered thoughtful and quiet. Though the cat's change in state was on his mind, something else did creep to the forefront.
Over the years their relationship had morphed beyond the platonic companionship they held so dearly. Neither of them had vocally acknowledged that shift of course and yet seemed to have been fighting the sun for his attention since they'd arrived here. The hedgehog was in no state to fight his mind...
"You look really beautiful," He hummed, leaning a little closer.
"Well, now I'm absolutely certain that you are inebriated," Blaze deflected, "The Silver I know would find himself stuttering and stammering rather than dare make such an admittance so eloquently."
"Maybe that's true," He admitted, maintaining soft eye contact, "But I still mean what I said."
"I brought you up here to escape mindless chatter like that, the stream of compliments lumped onto me now that the day is won and peace is at hand," The cat recounted, making him panic for just a moment, "It is peculiar how much more fond I am of honeyed words when they drift from your lips."
It took him a moment to catch the meaning within her explanation, his drunk mind still buzzing.
"Then perhaps, for now, this is the good I will do," He half slurred, leaning closer still, "You are the smartest, kindest, person I know," His forehead found hers as, for a moment, thoughts churned behind his closed eyelids, "Your eyes are like the warmest sunset, your fur softer than any pillow. You're the strongest fighter I've ever met, I love watching your tail whip around when you try to hide your excitement and I know you don't really like dressing up fancy, but being here with you-
A finger met with his lips and eased him back, she'd turned to look at the sunset again, "Let's do one last toast, before my Silver slips so far as to succumb to this imposter of unconscious thought."
"Toast?" He questioned, "To what? Haven't we already toasted to everything?"
"..." For the first time tonight, the princess seemed to have run out of words, "To..."
At the party beneath they'd gone through the defeat of Eggman Nega, the health of the kingdom and so much more the hedgehog now couldn't recall. Silver's blurred mind again started to drift. Imagination took him back to their very beginnings, what had always been most obvious to him.
"To the..." He caught himself, better words bubbled to the surface as he raised his glass, "To our future."
Blaze matched his movement, "Whatever form our lives take."
"And however long it takes us to settle," He slipped in.
"Always together," She smiled.
"Never apart again," They finally drank.
For the first time in approaching half an hour, Silver supped a mouthful of wine and, for once, enjoyed its rich flavour. Perhaps that was because of all he'd drank before but he liked to think it was due to the company he was enjoying it with. No stuffy strangers, no forced friendliness, just the two of them.
Before he could realise what he'd done again, Silver's glass was empty and Blaze was snickering at him.
"Do you want to go out and watch the stars?" Blaze offered, setting her glass aside.
"I think I'm too drunk to stand," Silver hiccuped, though soon a better answer came to mind, "Besides, the best view in the world is right in front of me."