Chapter Text
No matter how hard he tried, Sonic could not fall asleep. His thoughts were running a mile a minute and no amount of soft wind, the sound of rain outside his window or comfy bed sheets were enough to lull the hedgehog to sleep. Thankfully, an excuse to get out of bed suddenly came to him in the form of someone rapidly knocking at his front door. He quickly, perhaps too quickly, sped to the front door, threw his shoes on and peered through the peephole at his late night visitor, very much taken aback at the figure he recognized standing there. Sonic threw the door open to see a very annoyed looking Blaze the cat standing on his porch in the pouring rain, every drop turning to steam as they hit the feline. Without a word, she brushed past Sonic and marched herself into his living room, quickly drying herself from all the water she'd been standing in not five seconds ago.
"Hey yourself," Sonic said with a light chuckle.
Blaze slightly glared at him out of the corner of her eye, before sighing and closing her eyes as she turned to sit on his couch. "I apologize for my sudden arrival, Sonic. I needed to get myself out of the rain quickly."
"I don't mind you stopping by, Blaze, I was just caught off guard when I saw it was you.”
The feline averted her eyes and rested them on the floor. “I understand if you didn’t expect company at a time like this. I can be out of your quills in a matter of minutes, I just needed a pit stop before going anywhere else,” she stated rather professionally, turning to glance back at the hedgehog.
“Nonsense, I have a guest room just for times like this. You’re always welcome to stop by if you need a place to stay.”
Blaze felt a small smile threaten to appear on her face, but she quickly discarded it with practiced ease. “You need to learn when a stray doesn’t need to be taken in-”
“You’re not a stray,” Sonic stated sternly, barely letting Blaze finish her sentence. His gaze softened when she looked back up at him, her expression unreadable. “I was only thrown off because I was curious what you’re doing in this dimension in the first place.”
Blaze turned her head to stare at the floor, her eyes fluttering a bit. "I…just had to get away for a while. Being cooped up in the royal bedroom all the time isn't the most riveting experience" she said matter-of-factually.
"I don't know, it sounds pretty fun to me. I think I'm missing out,” Sonic said with a smirk. Blaze rolled her eyes at the remark, trying much harder this time to banish her own smirk that threatened to show itself. Unfortunately, Sonic, intuitive as he was, immediately saw the foggy look in Blaze’s eyes. He crouched down to meet them, his own eyes showing their worry. “I’m sorry if that was…” He stopped himself. They didn’t see each other often, but Blaze could take a quip, and both of them had accidentally thrown a few back and forth that would accidentally hold an innuendo that wasn’t caught before it had been said. She wouldn’t work herself up over it. “Are you okay, Blaze?”
The princess instantly stood up and rubbed her eyes in response, faking a yawn that Sonic himself had pulled out whenever he needed to abruptly end a conversation he’d lost interest in. Blaze wasn’t one to pull that trick. "Of course, I'm just tired. It was a long day, and I really should be on my way.”
The rolling thunder outside could not have timed itself better. Sonic sighed as he glanced at the window, as if he even needed to. It was down pouring outside, loudly now. "I think it’d be in your best interest to stay in the guest room for the night.”
Blaze briefly cast her eyes down to the floor, but she quickly gathered herself and held her hands behind her back and turned to face Sonic. "I don't wish to be a burden to you. I'm sure I can find a motel where I can stay the night, or maybe Vanilla will let me stay with her if I can’t find somewhere before I make it to her.” She walked to the door and grabbed the handle, only for Sonic to place his palm flat against the door, holding it shut.
"I can’t let you go back out in that rain. I have a room you can have for the night, and plenty of food for a good breakfast in the morning.”
Blaze stared down at her hand on the door handle, her eyes burning with a mix of emotions Sonic found he couldn’t decipher, and it was then he realized she was shaking, her shoulders tense. "Sonic...please take your hand off the door."
The blue hedgehog slowly complied, keeping himself in her peripheral vision as he gently brought his hand to gently rub her back. When she didn’t flinch or try to make her leave, Sonic moved himself behind her as he carefully rested his hands on her shoulders, feeling the princess relax under his touch almost instantly. "You're clearly not ok right now, Blaze. Please. Stay here tonight and relax." He was taken by surprise when the lavender feline quickly turned to face him, tears welling up in her eyes as her ears folded down against her head. She wrapped her arms around Sonic's neck tightly and cried into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back, keeping her wrapped tightly in his arms, slowly starting to rub her back again as he swayed her back and forth.
Blaze pulled away just enough to have room for her to rub her eyes. She looked back up at Sonic and quickly nodded her head. "I-I'd like to stay here tonight, if you'll have me.." Sonic simply nodded and walked with her to his guest bedroom.
"I don't have much for clothes, but there's a few robes or pajamas somewhere in the closet or the dresser, if you wanna change into something more comfortable than your royal attire.”
Blaze nodded and rubbed her eyes again, finally looking like she was letting her form relax for the first time since she walked into his house. "Thank you, Sonic.”
"Anytime." He smiled softly at her and turned to the doorway. "I'll let you get your rest. If you need anything, anything at all, don’t be afraid to come knock on my door." He went to leave the room, only to feel Blaze gently grab his hand as he started walking away.
"You…" she whispered behind him, her voice still hoarse. “You don’t have to go back to your room yet, if you wanna keep me company for awhile?”
Sonic turned back towards her, his smile soft and his eyes kind. “I can stay here as long as you want me to" Blaze looked up at him, her eyes still a bit moist from her tears, but a smile had finally found its way to her face. Sonic sat down at the edge of the bed, Blaze taking a seat beside him. "Do you wanna talk about it?"
She shook her head and rubbed her eyes yet again. "I'd rather not tonight. But I promise I’ll talk about it another time."
Sonic nodded. "Alright. Is there anything you do wanna talk about?"
Blaze shook her head and turned back to look at the hedgehog. Her eyes searched his for a few seconds, before they filled with another emotion Sonic had never seen from her before, though this one was much warmer than the one they had when she tried to leave. "No," she said softly, as she leaned in and placed her hands on Sonic's cheeks, pressing her lips against his as she closed her eyes. Sonic was completely taken by surprise at this, and briefly felt himself panic, but his brain caught up quickly enough and he slowly closed his eyes and kissed her back, resting his hands on her arms. Blaze eventually pulled back, but wrapped her arms around Sonic's neck, burying her face in his shoulder as she breathed in his scent. "I came here to get away. I had to leave my kingdom for as long as I could without consequences." She looked back into Sonic's eyes, tears starting to form again. "I had to get away. From all of it. I know I have to go back soon, but all of my responsibilities still exist, they're still there, and I-" Sonic silenced her by placing a finger to her lips.
"I understand, Blaze. I can't possibly imagine what it is that you're going through, but you know that I'll always be here. Ready for whatever you need from me." He ran his thumb across her cheek, wiping a few of her tears away. "You'll always have me."
Blaze leaned in and kissed him again, harder this time, but only for a few seconds. "I love you, Sonic..and I want you to be a part of my life. But with everything I have to worry about, everything I have to take care of, I don't know if I can handle it all at once.."
This time it was Sonic’s turn to kiss her. Blaze let her hands move back to his cheeks as they held each other there for a few seconds before the hedgehog slowly pulled away, his eyes full of warmth and admiration as they gazed into hers. "Then let me help you. Let me be a shoulder you can lean on. Somebody that will be there to support you through your struggles. I wanna be there for you, Blaze." He ran his thumbs gently along her hips as the two rested their foreheads together. "I want to help you. Because I love you too."