Archive of Our Own ^beta

Sonic—alongside Blaze and Gardon—was relaxing in the drawing room of the Sol Imperial Palace; the princess had invited him over for another “diplomatic visit”, which she insisted held no ulterior motives whenever rumormongers inquired. And these rumormongers were becoming increasingly known to the trio, what with the hearsay appearing even in the very newspaper Gardon—Blaze’s personal guard and parental figure—was reading.

“Hmph, it seems that quite a few people are wondering if your private meetings aren’t as formal as you claim,” he said nonchalantly, lowering the paper so he could more directly address the cat and hedgehog who sat on a nearby sofa. Upon spotting their interdigitated hands, he added: “Although I’m sure those rumors are quite unfounded; aren’t they, Your Highness?”

The princess jolted at the remark, although she didn’t exactly pry herself away from the hedgehog beside her. “Gardon! I— You—!” she stammered, her cheeks gaining a noticeable red tint. And her blush only grew when both Gardon and Sonic began chuckling at her reaction.

Thankfully, the latter was ready to follow this up with his own reassurance: “Well, y’know what I say to that? ‘Let them wonder!’” He then placed a kiss onto Blaze’s cheek. “How ’bout it, princess?”

Blaze’s response was an embarrassed groan as her blush grew tenfold. “You’re lucky I love you…”

“Indeed I am…” And he pulled her into an embrace.

Gardon found himself chuckling at their antics. “Already, you two are making quite the couple!” He folded his newspaper and put it aside before continuing: “Is it time already to begin the wedding preparations?”

“W-wedding?” Sonic immediately stood up in alarm, denying Blaze another kiss in the process.

This wasn’t the reaction the koala expected, and tried to clear the air as best he could: “Well, yes… I was never opposed to a union between you and Her— ahem, Princess Blaze. Sir Sonic, I’m quite sure you’d make a fine—”

“Woah, no no no!” With an unfamiliar panic on his face, the hedgehog stumbled away from the couch and stared at Gardon. “Hold on a moment! Me, being a…” he trailed off with a shudder. “Gaia below….”

“Sonic?” Blaze interjected, distress plaguing her voice. “Are… are you saying that—”

“Blaze, no! That’s not what I… Chaos…” he cursed under his breath. Sonic was growing quite antsy, adjusting his posture as he glanced around.

“Sonic, wait—!” the princess attempted to reason with him, but she was too late: Sonic had already vanished in a gust of wind. But she was not one to give up so easily, so Blaze sped off after him without another word, leaving Gardon sitting there in confusion.

---

It wasn’t hard for Blaze to find Sonic, and the reason was simple: She knew the city of Solstice—the Sol Empire’s capital—like the back of her hand; Sonic did not. Although she wasn’t expecting to find him practically sulking by one of the canals.

She made her approach slowly, although her presence was known by the hedgehog, as shown by the brief glance he sent her way. Her heart felt as if it was about to shatter, and the urge to shout—to cry—to burst into flame—was strong, but years of practice helped her keep a levelheaded demeanor; when she finally spoke, her words were well-paced and delicate:

“Sonic… Do you….” She paused for a moment to breathe, before starting anew: “At the palace, when you… reacted, in that way, I can’t help but wonder if… if you are having second thoughts about our relationship.” The princess valiantly stifled any incoming tears. “If you wish to… break things off—”

“No! Of course not!” Sonic interrupted, and the honesty in his voice allowed Blaze to breathe a sigh of relief. “That’s not what I meant at all! It’s just…” he trailed off.

“Just…?”

“Well, it’s what Gardon brought up—marriage ’n’ all…” He nervously combed his fingers through his quills. “I just… I dunno….”

But when the Blue Blur looked as if he was ready to make like his nickname, Blaze took hold of his wrist. “Sonic, don’t run. We promised each other that we would be open regarding these sorts of things, remember?”

“Y-yeah, right…”

The cat took a seat next to him, taking his other hand and giving both a gentle squeeze. “So please, talk to me. What is it about a union between us that troubles you?”

“Well… I just don’t think marriage is really in the cards for me, y’know?” he admitted somewhat sheepishly.

Blaze tilted her head slightly. “What makes you say that?”

“Well, you know me—never really stayin’ in one place; going wherever the wind takes me; followin’ nobody’s rule… and on that note, if I were to inherit the title of ‘king’ or ‘emperor’… eugh… that just doesn’t feel right.” He shuddered, only to be taken off-guard by his companion giggling. “What?”

“You don’t know much about royalty, do you, hedgehog?” she teased, before recollecting herself somewhat. “I’m the princess here, no? You’d be marrying into my royal family; at most, you’d get the title of ‘prince consort’.”

“Oh…. A-and what would one of those do?”

“Not much—it’s a formality thing, after all. At most, you’d be… moral support, I suppose.”

Sonic chuckled at that. “Well, how am I doin’ so far?”

“You’re doing wonderfully,” replied Blaze, accenting her words by giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Anyway, you were saying…?”

“Oh… right….” And the briefly playful mood returned to what it once was. “I dunno if I’d work well with that sorta commitment, I guess…” He fiddled with his hands for a moment as he prepared his next words. “E-even though it’s been working out well, what we have now has always had a sort of… uncertainty, y’know? What with us living a literal dimension apart, ’n’ all that. I usually don’t really like worring ’bout that sorta thing, but with marriage, I…. Well, the reliability is all the more important, if that makes sense?”

“No, I understand. I….” The princes paused to clear her throat. “I have had similar worries, before.”

“Mhmm.”

“And, yes, our situation will likely bring about a few challenges in regards to marriage. But,—” She gave his hand another gentle squeeze. “—you’ve said it yourself before: We have always managed to succeed in these sorts of situations, no?”

Sonic pondered her words for a moment. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“…Although, I may have to agree with your stance regarding this,” Blaze added. “I feel that it is far too early for us to be worrying about this sort of thing.”

“Yeah, but I suppose it can sometimes be tough to remember that.”

The princess hummed in agreement. “At the very least, I’m sure Gardon will be understanding.”

“Aw, shoot! I kinda just left him in the dust, didn’t I?”

“Indeed…. If it makes you feel any better, I am guilty of that as well.” Blaze stood up from the bench. “I think we ought to check up on him.”

“Probably….” Sonic hopped to his feet. “Last one to the palace is a rotten Eggman!” And he sped off.

Blaze only chuckled in amusement, before racing after him.

---

“My sincerest apologies, sir Sonic!” Gardon exclaimed, having just been given context for the earlier kerfuffle. “It was never my intent to offend you! Had I known prior—or, for that matter, gauged your reactions better—I would have surely watched my tongue.”

“You’re completely fine, dude,” the hedgehog reassured lightheartedly. “’S a simple misunderstanding—nothin’ more.”

“Yes, but… I can’t help but blame myself—”

“Gardon,” Sonic’s voice was a tad firmer, now. “Seriously, ya don’t need to worry about it.”

The koala paused for a moment. “…Very well.” And he left it at that.

 

With the situation now well out of their minds, Sonic and Blaze decided to return to the drawing room to relax in each other’s arms once again.