Chapter Text
Sonic had managed to make his way almost out of A-City, stopping only briefly to catch his breath. The injury to his side was still quite severe, painkilling antiseptic or not, and he could feel the wound open up and bleed again each time he tried to sprint.
Once he reached the next apartment complex, he decided to stop and rest for a moment in behind the building, out of sight. Sighing, he let himself fall to a seated position, his back to the brick wall. Fuck, why hadn’t he just stayed with Flash? Sonic felt his head pounding and his side throb with every heartbeat. Blood was starting to ooze from under the bandage the hero had put there. He was far from squeamish, but it was an unpleasant sensation, and unless he wanted to bleed out, he would have to stay put.
Just as he felt his heart return to a normal rate, Sonic heard footsteps approaching the alleyway. Great, just what he needed. Some jackass to come and tell him to move. He really didn’t have it in him to fight today. Forget this; he’d walk back to Flash’s apartment and spend the night there. He’d offered, right? And it wasn’t like -
“Hello, Sonic.”
He knew that voice. He’d heard it…three days prior.
Three days.
3 days! Don’t disappoint me, now!
His time was up. And Flash wasn’t dead.
Flash was returning from his training ground in the forest, the peace and quiet alluring to him. Attempting to avoid the crowd of people in A-City that would undoubtedly be wanting autographs and pictures or whatnot, he decided to take a detour of sorts and leapt atop the nearest building, hopping from one roof to the next with practiced ease.
His time in the forest had not cleared his mind. His thoughts were still overtaken by Speed O’ Sound Sonic. Had Flash been too forward with his offer of working together? Though he’d never admit it to anyone, including himself, he didn’t just want Sonic for the Hero Association. He wanted Sonic for himself, too. Sparring with him and tending to his wounds in the aftermath had taken Flash back to a more pleasant time in the village, the fleeting moments where he could honestly say he had been happy. And his happiness was a result of the ninja he’d left resting in his bed.
But Flash had fucked it up royally, all those years ago. He could have teamed up with Sonic long before, if he had just stayed behind instead of running away and leaving Sonic to take the punishment alone. He’d tried hard not to think about it, but the memory was fresh in his mind now, and the only remedy he could think of was being able to keep making it up to his former friend, somehow. But Sonic had clearly no interest in that, and Flash couldn’t blame him.
Another jump onto an apartment building’s roof and Flash’s eyes were drawn to two people standing below, in the alley in between two complexes. Even from a good ten stories high, Flash could make out the purple tattoos and bloodied bandage on one man, and the distinctive emblem of Hideki Odaka’s assassin troupe on the other’s briefcase.
Sonic said nothing as he turned to glare at the crime boss who was slowly approaching him, sunglasses on, briefcase in hand. “Quite the beating you seem to have taken there. Flashy Flash do you in good, hm?”
Sonic sighed as he forced himself to stand up despite the growing pain in his side. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’ll have to refund your money. Flashy Flash still alive.”
Odaka, dressed neatly in a button-up shirt and dress pants, shrugged and went to take off the sunglasses he wore. “Ah, see, Sonic, I’m not a patient man. The deal was Flash’s head on my table in 72 hours. Lucky for me, I have people all over keeping a close eye on you. I don’t trust easily, I’m sure you can understand. And last I checked you were coming back from his apartment.”
Sonic felt himself flush, but he forced himself to continue staring down the man before him. Fuck this, fuck it all. He hadn’t killed Flash, couldn’t kill Flash, and now, at this of all moments, he realized that yes, he gave a damn about Flash and subconsciously or whatever he couldn’t bring himself to kill him.
Instinctively, Sonic braced himself for a fight, his body tensing. Odaka grinned wickedly and shook his head. “I don’t like being betrayed, Speed O’ Sound Sonic.”
“Just forget about it. I’ll give you your 2 million back, and you can hire someone else.”
“If only it were that easy, right?” Odaka chuckled darkly. “Unfortunately for you, you’ve gotten a good look at my face. And we can’t have traitors running about with that information, can we now?”
Sonic now realized he was backed into an alleyway with the country’s biggest assassin leader, and he was completely defenseless. His katana broke, his shuriken all gone, and his body bleeding out.
Odaka slipped a dagger from his shirtsleeve into the palm of his hand. “I see you don’t even have a weapon on you. How sad. How pitiful,” the crime boss said, raising his weapon. “Good bye, Sonic. It was a pleasure to meet you.”
Sonic couldn’t even bring himself to be angry at Flash for breaking his sword, the weapon that might have given him a fighting chance. He knew Flash was right, deep down – that his skills were wasted in the dangerous world of bounty hunting, that Flash wanted to help him, that yes, he should have just swallowed his pride and joined the Hero Association. If he had, he wouldn’t be here, about to die.
For once in his life, Sonic allowed himself to feel fear. And regret. He regretted becoming an assassin, he regretted not just letting Flash apologize for shit that happened ten years ago, he regretted ever taking this stupid freaking job. But none of it mattered now, he supposed. He couldn’t fight against the underground’s most feared crime boss with no weapon, all the while bleeding out.
But he was stubborn. It was what had brought him here, and it was a trait he’d never give up.
It lasted less than a second.
Sonic charged in Odaka’s direction as the latter raised his weapon. The ninja’s speed and dexterity were impaired by the pain in his side, and Odaka sliced through his arm with little effort. As Sonic winced and grunted in pain at the new injury, he heard the slicing of flesh and a shrill scream, and when he opened his eyes and turned around, Sonic was face to face with Flashy Flash, who was sheathing his sword.
Before the hero, crumpled on the floor, was the bloodied body of Hideki Odaka, lifeless.
Sonic stared, gawking, at the sight before him, the pain in his arm and side suddenly nonexistent. Blood pounded in his ears.
“F-Flash…”
“I was having a slow evening anyhow. This is nice; one less mobster sending assassins my way.” Flash walked towards Sonic and gently took his bleeding arm to examine it.
Sonic did not protest.
“What business did you have with Odaka, anyhow?”
Sonic looked away from Flash, now ashamed after the events of the last three days. How could he tell Flash, after the hero had saved his life not once but twice?
His heart pounded, and he couldn’t tell if it was anxiety, or something else entirely – but Sonic’s silence was apparently enough for Flash to figure it all out.
Flash chuckled lightly. Confused, Sonic met the hero’s gaze, frowning. Flash looked somewhat dejected, Sonic noticed, and the assassin immediately felt guilty.
“I suppose I can’t blame you for hating me that much, can I?” Flash asked finally, his voice still even and calm.
Sonic winced at the hero’s words. None of this was going the way he had anticipated, when he had first agreed to kill Flash merely three days ago.
He wasn’t entirely disappointed, he realized, either.
“I-I didn’t know he’d ask me to kill you,” Sonic managed. “I-I couldn’t bring myself to – not after…” he tensed, his face flushing, not used to being this open with his emotions. “You – you’re right. We’re different than – the village. But nobody understands that except…” He couldn’t bring himself to finish, this conversation a far cry from his usual proud and confident demeanor.
Flash said nothing, but removed his hand from Sonic’s wounded arm. Sonic felt his heart sink, wondering if he had crossed a line with his words. He let his gaze fall to the ground. Not knowing what to do, he continued rambling. “I don’t want to do this anymore,” he said quietly. “I don’t want to be…what they – what they wanted us to.”
He felt Flash step forward.
“I’m tired of nobody understand the shit they put us through to get here. I want – “
Sonic was cut off when Flash pressed his lips against his.
If it had happened any other day, Sonic felt certain he would have recoiled in anger and disgust at the gesture. But now, he craved it. He wanted Flash close to him, giving him the affection that he had needed for so long yet been terrified of.
And after Flash had taken the time and effort to save his life, to acknowledge the pain Flash had caused him, Sonic couldn’t be angry anymore. He wanted the comfort of knowing Flash understood his past and the pain of everything they’d been through as kids.
He couldn’t hate Flash anymore. He was as much a victim of the village as Sonic was, even if the wounds looked very different.
Sonic found himself wanting more, but Flash pulled away and pressed Sonic’s head to his chest. “You’re coming with me,” he whispered, holding Sonic tightly, as if he let go, he would never get to do this again.
Flash took to caring for Sonic’s wounds once more, only this time, the assassin was conscious for all of it. Sonic said nothing, his thoughts appearing to be elsewhere, as Flash gently cleaned and disinfected his injuries, using a damp washcloth to clean the blood and dirt from his skin.
From the time he had pressed on to ostensible freedom, leaving Sonic behind in his wake, all those years ago, Flash had known forgiveness was out of the question. He’d never demand Sonic forgive him. Flash hadn’t even expected Sonic to respond positively to his interfering and skewering that son of a bitch Odaka.
But he’d be damned if he’d ever hurt again the one person who’d ever cared about him, who’d ever understand the torture of the village.
Cleaning his wounds now, as Sonic remained silent, felt strangely intimate. It reminded Flash of their childhood, when they’d treat one another’s injuries. A surprisingly…happy time in their lives.
Flash was only grateful it seemed he’d get another chance of something approaching that happiness.
The hero was finishing tying the bandage around the other ninja’s arm when Sonic looked up and met his eyes.
“…thank you,” he said, voice barely audible, but the intensity of his gaze and emotion in his eyes not lost on Flash. It was the look Sonic had given him when they’d first hugged, first showed affection to each other.
“That’s a hug. It means you…care about someone.”
Flash merely nodded in response, but slipped his arms beneath Sonic’s body to lift and carry him to the bedroom, laying Sonic down gently on the soft, white sheets. Looking him over, Flash was suddenly flooded with too many new emotions for him to process all at once. As he looked at Sonic before him, lying on his side, his eyes closed and face solemn, what dominated Flash’s mind was the overwhelming desire to protect and care for Sonic, to make sure nobody ever hurt him again – not if Flash had any say in it.
Flash sat on the bed, his back to Sonic’s, and the latter turned his head and opened his eyes when he felt the bed dip. Hesitantly, Flash lifted his hand and traced his fingers through Sonic’s hair, out of its regular topknot, and Sonic responded by shivering slightly, clearly leaning into the touch, then wincing at the pain of movement.
The hero retracted his hand. “Sorry,” he said, face flushing a bit.
“…It’s fine.”
Flash merely hummed in response, still wanting to be close to the man beside him, especially since Sonic seemed to desire the same. Carefully, more slowly this time, Flash leaned in closer, throwing his legs onto the bed, until he was lying directly beside Sonic, who still faced the wall. Flash breathed in the musky scent of him, and remarked to himself that this felt little different than the last time they’d been this close, all those years ago in the village.
Flash felt Sonic push himself into his touch, and Flash took that as an invitation to wrap his arm around Sonic’s body, pressing him closer to his chest. Sonic tensed instinctively at the unfamiliar display of affection.
“Wh-what are you…?”
Gently, Flash leaned up and pressed a kiss to Sonic’s temple, feeling the ninja start to relax in his arms. Lying back down on the bed, face in the other’s hair, Flash pulled the bedcovers up over their bodies, settling into the soft warmth.
“It’s what you do when you care about someone,” Flash said simply, voice quiet, before taking Sonic back in his arms and closing his eyes, feeling perhaps the most content he had felt in so long.
He could only hope – no, he knew – Sonic felt the same.