New Beginnings

Chapter 25 - The Second Time

Silver had disappeared.

Moving his eyes past the people partying in the valley below Espio suppressed a grimace, stress brewing in his stomach as he gazed at each individual over and over again. He'd been at this for minutes already, scrutinising the entire surrounding area to determine if the other was nearby, and yet the fluffy grey-furred hedgehog seemed to have faded off the face of the planet entirely. Both Knuckles and Vector had left the ninja be a while ago, but clearly the time he had spent talking to the others had caught more of his attention than he would have wanted... and now he couldn't find Silver in the crowd. That was, assuming he was mingling with the other people in the first place, as unlikely as that might have been. Espio would long have gotten up to look for him, were it not that he had promised he'd stay here; if he left without the hedgehog knowing his friend would panic for sure.

A worried frown adorning his face the chameleon decided to give his visual search one more shot. Silver could take care of himself, and the other tended to be rather loud in fights too, so if something were to go wrong he could easily discern it by battle cries and whirls of cyan... which also happened to be the colour racing towards the tables in the town's square from the edge of the forest on the other side, he noticed as his attention got drawn to it. And shrouded in the wisps of power was a grey figure, small in the distance and with muddled features, but unmistakeably Silver all the same. Releasing a sigh he didn't realise he had been holding Espio slouched, rubbing his face as he tried to calm his worriedly-beating heart. That had been much too stressful, but at least the hedgehog had been located after all. He probably was just looking to grab himself some food, or-

"Espio!"

Perking up at the noise immediately the chameleon's stomach began to flutter as Silver dashed closer, his bright smile visible from yards away as he neared where Espio had been waiting. "I'm back!" his friend panted as he skidded to a halt, the ninja quickly getting up to step closer and subject him to an extensive interrogation regarding just where he had been... only for a laugh to slip past his lips instead at the plethora of pastries and snacks the smaller anthro was carrying on a paper party plate, the goodies nearly spilling over as they were kept in place by whisps of cyan.

"I see you acquired something tasty?" Espio hummed warmly in place of the worried scolding he had been planning to go for, leaning in to wipe away a few crumbs that had accumulated around Silver's muzzle. Clearly the stuff he was carrying with him hadn't been the only snacks he had devoured so far, but he looked rather adorable like that, like the cheerful teen he had never been able to be in the ruins of his future. The hedgehog's eyes were sparkling, his face adorned with an innocent smile which made the chameleon feel weak in his knees...

Giggling as Espio's fingers brushed over his lip Silver peeked back at him, the hints of a rosier colour beginning to form on peach cheeks. "It's for you!"

"For me?" With a fond chuckle of his own Espio slipped his free hand underneath the plate to stabilise it, his fingers ghosting against the back of the hedgehog's hands it was resting on. The plate wasn't remarkably heavy; rather, it was absolutely overflowing with food as Espio did his best to keep it steady also. How could he pass up the opportunity to help the other out? He wasn't stealing touches if it was to lend the other a literal hand. "Silver, you shouldn't have."

"I wanted to, though!" the psychic protested as cupcake tumbling to the ground despite their best efforts was skilfully intercepted by psychokinesis and placed back on the feeble cardboard. "I wasn't sure if I could just take a bit of everything, but Rouge and Shadow said it was okay. I have no idea what it all is, though." With a nuzzle against the other's hand resting against his muzzle still he held the plate up to Espio, the chameleon struggling just a bit more to keep the tower of pastries steady as his body seemed to light up ever so slowly. But it just felt so nice... "I dunno what you like either, so I wanted to give you a choice! Um, a lot of choice. Maybe too much," Silver chatted in the meantime, teal powers sneaking underneath the plate also and gently caressing the chameleon's hand there.