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Espio was well aware Silver was supposed to come over later; he felt selfish to think this way, but it overwhelmed him that he had no clue when he was supposed to arrive. He felt that to prepare himself, he should know.
Silver had been visiting more often, expressing that it wasn’t for the sake of the world but simply because he wanted to visit. Espio didn’t understand this. How could he balance both lives without deteriorating into sobs and misery? Espio felt so selfish for getting overwhelmed with simple agency Work.
The earsplitting noise of the world around him made Espio feel diminutive in comparison to his duties. He felt as if he should cease fighting so hard, stop responding to Vector if he came to check up on him.
There was no possibility of Espio finishing the case report Vector was expecting by Monday. He couldn’t think of any words to write, even if he tried – thinking felt too hard, too heavy.
Down the hallway, he could hear Charmy Bee clashing two wooden block toys against each other. Usually, he would be annoyed by the kid playing outside his door, but all he could think about was how loud it was. Before he could cover his ears, he heard a familiar voice coming up the stairs.
“Silver!” Charmy’s voice wasn’t very loud, but Espio didn’t miss who exactly Charmy greeted
“Hey buddy,” Silver smiled, “have you seen Espio…?”
“He should be in his room? Is he… not?” Charmy’s voice sounded worried, as if Silver could have already checked.
Espio supposed he certainly could have foreseen that Espio was in his room with his range of time travel, who knows how much he can do with his abilities, but he knew Silver hadn’t, or else he wouldn’t have asked Charmy.
“Thank you, Charmy!” Silver spoke in a warm tone, one that stayed at a volume acceptable but was still quiet enough to not make Espio’s head burst.
“Mm.. hm,” Char sounded too focused on his toys to properly give a response.
Silver very quietly turned the knob; Espio, of course, heard it. The room was dark except for the pink heating lamp positioned to the side of the bed. Espio owned other ambient lighting, but whenever he had moments of just wanting quiet, the buzzing of the lights drove him crazy.
Silver tensed up, immediately assuming the chameleon was asleep. He felt guilty for walking into his room while he was obviously out of it, then again, he was too embarrassed to leave in case Espio woke up.
Hesitant, Silver spoke up, “Espio…?”
He wanted to respond, he really did, but Es could not formulate the words in his head. He curled his back, popping his head out of the blanket.
Illuminated only by the lamp, Silver soundlessly took a step forward. “Did you just wake up—? It's 4 pm, and I'm worried— uh… Vector said I could stay the night,” Silver whispered.
Espio did not respond, rather staring straight at Silver, blinking one eye at a time. “…mm.” Was the only noise he managed to slip, his face half squished into his pillow.
Silver had not ever seen him tired like this; usually, Espio was aloof and distant when it came to his commonplace details. The hedgehog felt his quills warm, unsure of why he found this so interesting.
“…do you need a minute?” Silver asked, not whispering, but his voice wasn’t loud either. He assumed he had been napping, maybe that he’d go back to his withdrawn routine when he woke up a little. Instead, Espio seemed miserable at the idea of being left alone.
He shook his head no, sinking back into his blankets. Silver tilted his head, a fond smile sneaking up on him.
“No…?” He charmed, sitting down on the hem of the bed. He peered at Espio, who was lying with his knees against his horn, directly under the lamp.
Silver did not know what had possessed him to do so, but he scooted closer and took hold of the blanket. “Espio, are you okay? Do you want me to get Vector?” Despite Silver’s curiosity, at the end of the day, he didn’t know if this was bad, a warning sign of some sort?
Before Silver could think further, Espio sat up again and sniffled, making it very clear he was upset. He hated crying in front of people, especially in front of Silver, or any guests for that matter.
”Don’t. Please don’t.” Espio mumbled, his voice a lot quieter than Silver was used to.
The metallic-like hedgehog nodded, keenly aware that he was on Espio’s bed, in his room, in his house. It made silver’s slightly pink quills burn more than he thought they could, but he held it together for the weeping chameleon right in front of him.
“Is something wrong? Did something happen?” Silver asked, frowning.
Espio didn’t have enough energy to fully process his words, instead lowering his head and pressing his face against the back of his hand, exhaling shakily.
Silver took the hint to stop talking, awkwardly scooting again so he could cover Espio’s shoulders with the blanket, noticing that he seemed to calm very slightly at that. He pulled the blanket fully around Espio’s shoulders, tightening his hold very gently. To his befuddlement, Espio seemed to stop crying almost immediately, simply sniffling, closing his eyes slowly. Kneading his hands into the fabric of his sheets
“You don’t wanna talk? You don’t feel good?” He cooed, mind spinning with fascination.
Espio’s head hurt, sure, but he had no idea why he couldn’t verbalize anything, why he felt so guilty and awful, why he felt so comfortable being spoken down to when otherwise he would hate it. He felt like he was so much smaller than he was, like the world around him was too big and he needed to retreat and die within the confines of his body.
“It’s okay, Es. I’ll stay with you. You don’t have to cry.”
His voice didn’t sound condescending, it didn’t sound ill-intended, and Espio knew that he wouldn’t ever treat him like that. It was still weird to hear it, especially from someone like Silver.
Espio leaned over, wanting to stop looking so pathetic. He liked the snug feeling of the blanket around him – there was only one texture he had to focus on, and it was the woolen blanket vanilla had made for his 15th birthday.
The hedgehog fully swaddled Espio up in his covers, finding that warmth was the easiest way to calm him down. Silver hated seeing people cry, especially when it came to something he couldn’t fix with his powers.
The quiet in the room continued to linger; it wasn’t awkward, just quiet.
And Espio’s breathing calmed down.
Silver found it quite cute that he resembled an egg, sitting in a ball, wrapped up in the warmth of his incubator. It was a very stark contrast to the Espio he investigated the missing Chao with.
It wasn’t long before Espio slumped against Silver’s chest, too tired to move or think anymore. Silver understood and tucked him in his arms. This was absurd, this was not normal, and Silver should have gone downstairs and grabbed Vector, but no matter how anxious he got, Silver couldn’t force himself to leave him.
He couldn’t leave Espio alone, especially when he had begged him not to. It made Silver feel weird. Being needed. The whole world needed him, he knew that, but to be told that to his face right now, by Espio??? It messed with how he thought.
Silver lowered himself, firmly holding the mass of blankets close. Espio’s tail flicked against Silv’s leg, and he had to stop himself from screaming, instead nuzzling his face into the top of his head.
Espio peeked out of the comforter once again, listening to Silver’s breathing rather than any other noise he could pay attention to. This was better than quiet; it was comforting.
A string of incoherent murmurs came from his mouth. Espio could barely understand that Silver was staring at him again. He simply pressed into his friend’s shoulder, not caring that his face was still gross and messy from sobbing before he had walked in.
Silver very tenderly wiped the snot from his lip, cradling his head against him. “You’re hopeless.” He mumbled, smiling.
Minutes blurred, Espio had fallen fully asleep by the time Charmy opened the door with dinner plates. Silver set them aside for when Espio woke. Silver then followed Espio into rest.
They missed dinner.