◤𝕊𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕒𝕞𝕪◢ - It Started With Vomit!

Chapter 26: Leave of Absence

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"Has anyone here stopped to ask themselves something very, very important?"

Silver, Sticks, and some other co-workers enjoying their lunch breaks turned to Knuckles, perturbed, eying themselves individually before asking, "What about?"—in unison.

Suddenly, the burly echidna rose from his seat dramatically and crossed his arms, accentuating the results of his more-than-frequent visits to his local gym.

"It's been an entire week, and no one's seen Rouge punch in or out."

"That wasn't a question," Sticks interjected, having a big bite from a ham and cheese sandwich. "And what's Rouge's business outside of work got to do with you, anyway?" She wiped some spillage on her aptly coloured black office shirt, then continued. "You've both broken up. Get a grip, man."

"S-Sticks—"

"Maybe she requested a leave of absence prior to this week, ya know?" The badger took another excessive bite which inflamed her cheeks like a party-size ballon. "And who exactly could blame her for wanting a break from a certain someone who's led her on for—what's it been now? Eight? Ten years? Ya know, Silver?"

"Sticks, really?" 

The hedgehog smiled awkwardly, pleading with her to stop her indiscretions by patting her on the back; an outwardly amiable warning that would soon intensify if Sticks chose not to wisely heed it.

"I'm not saying anything that isn't true, am I? Really! Men are assholes!"

Like a congested baby that needed to burp in other to relieve its distress, "You should stop now, Sticks," Silver quickened his striking intervals, intent on making the badger cough up her meal if she didn't comply with common sense.

"Where's all this coming from?" Knuckles sat back down, interested. 

"Something stuck up your ass today?" A deer colleague asked, picking up her trays to relocate to another table—as did two other disturbed colleagues.

Feeling criminalized all of a sudden, Stick's face turned an alarming shade of red, and Silver arrested his hands midway to landing another hard smack on her back upon noticing a fat blob of liquid roll and splatter unto her lunch tray.

He eyed Knuckles, who, in turn, eyed him back. 

"Um. . . are you good?"

This wasn't an area of specialty either men specialized in: consoling a distressed woman. Especially not when it involved a female so rambunctious, so carefree, and very close to them that she was practically a certified "bro."

Over the past two months, neither Knuckles of Silver would've expected to spend as much time as they did with Sticks Badger—crazy Sticks Badger, who was exactly as Blaze had put it: a tractable yet nutty house pet. 

Just as they enjoyed her company a bit too much, Sticks reciprocated the sentiment, and from there they learnt about her surprisingly athletic side, foodie habits, and video game passions.

Every Friday morning, the badger visited the gym with Knuckles, and on her free Thursdays, she would sample new dishes with Silver at popular restaurants and food stalls. They'd unwittingly allowed Sticks to perpetuate theirs and their other male friend's hearts and soon found themselves making plans that never excluded Miss Badger.