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Sunlight was breaching through an exposed sliver in the curtains that shielded against the balcony windows. The royal bedchamber was quiet on this early summer morning, even if the mind of Silver the hedgehog was not. He had been at war with himself for hours now, mentally running himself ragged, and yet tiredness still had not claimed his form. He should have been comfortable, swaddled beneath the most expensive covers in the land atop the most lavish mattress in this dimension. Compared to the rough floors of the long dead futures he was used to sleeping, this was better than perfect, and yet it offered no comfort.
He flipped over for what had to be the hundredth time, disturbing the covers as he went. His eyes fell upon the form of a purple feline. Despite his tossing, Blaze had slept peacefully through the night. It seemed that she lay blissfully unaware of the conflict at risk of bubbling over in his head- a war she was unknowingly fighting against the inevitable weight of his upcoming duties.
She looked so delicate. The cat surely wouldn't take kindly to being called such, but it was true. Blaze was physically stronger than him, she could command flames with no more than a thought, and yet all that power was housed within such a graceful frame. Her strength was tightly packed, deceptively so, like a coiled spring. That truth meant that she took up so very little space within the confines of her gigantic fourposter bed- leaving more than enough room for his ludicrous quills, regardless of their orientation.
The hedgehog had barely slept a wink since she had drawn him beneath the covers; he'd lain with his mind swirling, thoughts endlessly orbiting the feline lying less than a foot from him. Spending the night in her room was the norm whenever they shared a timezone and plane of existence. The sanctity of their bond meant that he hadn't even questioned the implication of such an act, that was until he'd answered her bedroom door to Gardon- the elder Koala had fainted on the spot. When Blaze emerged from her shower, she was less than impressed by the resulting scene. It'd taken an hour of the feline's flustered explaining for the psychic to understand the guardsman's response...
On each prior night he'd managed to sleep soundly, comfortable in knowing they would return to their respective sides of the bed the following evening. They'd formed something of an evening routine; she'd plan and prepare for the day to come while he spent some time in the ensuite. By the time he'd emerged she'd have worked herself tired and ended up awaiting him in bed with a book in hand- insisting she'd shower in the morning. By the time he was beneath the covers he'd already find the space perfectly warmed. With a wave of her hand she'd snuff the flame from nearby candles- he'd float her book to her desk and draw the curtains tightly shut. Evidently, he'd rather failed in that last duty...
This was to be their last night together for some time, as tomorrow he was set to return to the future reality that he called home- to battle through the apocalypse once more and isolate its cause. The date had rather snuck up on him; he'd awakened yesterday only to remember he had to pack. To forget his duty, even if just for that morning, had sent the hedgehog into something of an unspoken spiral- it had all caught up to him much too quickly. Soon he'd have to step through a rippling portal and into the complete unknown, without Blaze by his side. Goodbyes weren't exactly his strong-suit- a part of him was jealous of Sonic's willingness to flee without a word. They always brought to mind the first time the two of them had separated- how permanent it had all felt.
She looked so serene, as though she might slumber forever. The picture of elegance even as she rested, her typically tied hair was loosely spread across her pillow as if it were floating free of gravity. Her chest's gentle rise and fall had been the only indication of time's passage, that was until sunlight breached their sanctuary. If he kept staring he'd end up using her to count each remaining second she signalled- attempting to savour breath spent in her presence.
For what had to be the hundred and first time, he tore himself away from her to stare at the near wall. They hadn't drawn the curtains around her bed in the hopes of keeping things somewhat cool- resulting in a view of a starkly plain cream coloured barrier being permanently on display. Needless to say, the obscured brickwork didn't prove to be a sufficient distraction from the feline less than an arm's length away.
He'd feared that he was shirking his duties on more than one occasion. For him to sleep in a bed like this, wash in warm water, and spend any more than an instant in this island paradise while his home reality remained a wasteland still felt so very wrong. It'd taken her insistence and explanation that rest was important to ensure the hedgehog fulfilled his responsibility to his world. No one else could talk him down from charging into danger head first, despite a set of broken ribs and an empty stomach...
Infatuation was a word that he hadn't even heard before reuniting with Blaze, but the state of mind was absolutely what he was feeling. Thinking of them as two halves of a whole was wrong, he knew it was, but it somehow felt so right to him. They were different people with distinct duties, Blaze to a populous who knew her whilst he fought for the long departed, but in truth the hedgehog only truly felt like himself whilst he was by her side. Soon he would be reduced to a mindless investigator and combatant, giving up his sense of self to fully focus on his goals. In a matter of hours they would be separate once again, destined to wander separate worlds and times.
Pining, that was another term he'd learned, along with the greatly similar word yearning. Despite not knowing those terms Silver found he had been embodying them more and more often- despite his duties, his mind always returned to Blaze. He'd reflect on what she might do, worry that she might be in peril, and imagine what they'd do upon his return. The time traveler hadn't even left yet, she was still lying beside him, why was he already struggling like this!?
Silver sat up, restricting his gaze to the room rather than his companion. Vibrant red light was cutting a line across the room's centre, practically bleeding through the balcony curtains. Sunlight had once served as a beacon of hope to him; the thought of clouds breaching to shine down had filled his dreams with hope. He'd longed to see the sun rise and set- to experience all of the sky's colours. Now that line of early morning red, that indicator of time's passage, signalled more hardship ahead. He supposed, when the clouds had finally burst as his partner had left-
"You've got a long journey ahead of you," His ears spiked as her voice sounded behind him, "Are you certain you want to rise early?"
"How long have you been awake?" He asked in panic, turning to find her staring at him.
"Did you sleep at all last night?" She yawned to counter, an eye shut against the pillow and a frown on her face.
"A little," He professed, fighting to smother his own yawn, " I think."
"That much," She tutted, rising only so far as to open both eyes and lean her temple into her hand, "You know, if it was too hot, you could have moved to one of the guest rooms…"
"N-No, it wasn't that, just," He had no idea how to express the warmth in his chest, "I don't know, sleeping felt like a waste."
"A waste?" She drew closer, now looming over him, "What would you have done instead?"
The sudden weight of her head on his chest warmed his cheeks and returned his back to the mattress. Amber eyes were staring up at him, what would he have liked to do instead? What did he want to do? He could feel himself sweating, his mouth felt dry.
"Just," He let the words tumble out, "Spend more time with you."
"Judging by the bags beneath your eyes, you have spent more time with me," Her eyes shut and her expression tightened to become more serious, "I would never forgive myself if I sent you away unrested and ill-prepared, do you want that?"
"No," He quickly answered.
"Then you know what to do," She instructed, shifting to put more of her weight against him.
Sleep- she was right to command such. Blaze knew what was best for both of them, she always had. This wasn't some overrun city where they had to sleep in shifts and be ready for the worst imaginable at all hours. They were at the heart of the royal palace, within a bastion- if combat broke out, the walls would stand long enough for them to prepare for a counteroffensive. Blaze held her duties as guardian yes, but her kingdom hadn't been invaded in almost a decade. Her missions were so much more legislative now, she spent such long hours in meetings...
"Don't you have to get up soon?" He immediately regretted reminding her.
"Soon isn't now," She curtly reminded him, "But if I am unrested, and I fail my people as a result, it will be your fault."
Almost immediately the cat had returned to her serene state, entirely at rest but now so much closer. His heart pounded in the wake of her words, surely loud enough that she could feel it, let alone hear it! How could she lie so comfortable and still while he was panicking like this?!
She was teasing him, but there was truth to her words. While his responsibilities would resume tomorrow, hers had been present for the entire time the hedgehog had been recuperating. While he had been resting, the feline had overseen the construction of new ships, harbours, towns, and trade agreements across her islands- and yet she'd still found time to consistently check up on him. More than that, the two of them had managed outings across her kingdom since their return from his world's past. Besides her successful sleep, she had shown no sign of weariness...
Silver felt the need to fidget, to run his hand through his quills or tug at his chest fur. Instead, his right hand found the small of her back, he could feel the truth he'd spent the whole night observing from his side of the bed. He could feel through the fabric of her nightgown, into the smooth fur that lay beneath and into the heat beating within her chest. She'd given him no quarter; he had to lie still now.
Her lithe frame fit perfectly into his grasp- there was no better place to be than in her arms. No matter how long they spent together or apart, he'd always want to return to this. The faint scent of charcoal about her person, the friction of her fur on his, the warmth of her from, and the weight of her head on his chest- this was where he belonged.
With a blind wave of his hand the sunrise was snuffed as the curtain wall sealed itself. He'd have to leave, it was inevitable, but Silver supposed a delay wasn't out of the question. Perhaps a few more minutes lying with her would cure the misfire of his synapses and the regret in his heart.
No, he was certain it would only make it worse... but Silver knew he couldn't refuse Blaze. No matter how much it would hurt him- he'd lie here, awake, for a couple more hours at least. His next sleep would surely be spent dreaming that she was with him.