Speeches and Blunders

Duck and dodge, duck and dodge, duck and dodge, duck and dod-

"Whoa!"

Apples and pumpkins flew in every direction as a sterling hedgehog ran straight into a cart of fruit and veg. He whacked his head on a squash as he hurtled to the ground, bewildered and confused.

Silver groaned groggily and slowly lifted his head to survey the damage he'd just caused. When he spotted an angry vendor glaring down at him he immediately cringed. Jumping to his feet, the hedgehog bumbled apologetically as he ducked to save the produce that lay strewn across the cobbled floor.

He apologised profusely to the vendor and paid for a couple apples and went on his way again, being extra careful not to repeat his earlier mistake. After rushing through more packed streets and cutting through hidden alleys, he arrived at the castle in record time and let out a sigh of relief.

"Looks like I'm going to make your speech after all Blaze." He said to no one in particular. Silver walked into the courtyard and was pleasantly surprised that the decorations for the Autumn Moon festival were up and floating prettily in the light fall breeze. He glanced at the clock and frowned. Blaze was supposed to be giving her speech in five minutes, so why was the courtyard so empty?

He caught sight of a small raccoon talking to one of the guards, and recognising that accent anywhere, he made his way over as he guard left.

"Hey Marine." Silver said cheerily.

"G'day Silver. Bit early aren't ya?" The raccoon replied, her busy tail flitting around restlessly.

"Isn't the Princess giving a speech here right about now?" He asked, glancing around the courtyard just to make sure he was right.

"Oh yeah, she is. The speech got pushed back an hour by request of the decorators." She replied as she looked at the clipboard in her hands.

"Oh. Do you know where the Princess is right now?"

"Haven't seen 'er since she went out for a breather mate." She replied with a knowing smile.

Silver wracked his brain for a second, trying to think of all the places his best friend would go if she had an extra hour to spare. He noted the time on the clock and thanked Marine for her help. Marine happily waved him off as he made his way to the one place he knew he'd find the princess, the one place that only the two of them knew about.

Crashing and swirling, the waves moved in formation against a rocky cliff. Atop of the cliff sat a purple cat, her eyes watching the calming movements of the sea and contemplating her upcoming speech.

Her first solo speech, she thought with a wince. To be quite honest, Blaze couldn't be more prepared for the appearance. She'd written and rehearsed what she was going to say, and most of it had been committed to memory. That wasn't the issue.

The issue was all the people that would be watching her, just waiting for her to trip and stumble on her words. No matter how many times Silver had told her that it was irrational, she still couldn't quite get the thought out of her head.

She closed her eyes against the sea, letting herself relax to the sounds of the rolling waves. She'd come out here to collect her thoughts, and that's exactly what she planned to do. The calming sounds lulled her into a trance like state, so when she felt someone touch her shoulder she jolted to the side and fell into her fighting stance.

She held her arms out in front of her, flames blazing through her fingers and partially obscuring her vision. She wondered exactly who would regret sneaking up on her later. With her hands up she couldn't see who was there, all she could hear was the sound of laughter. A deep rumbling kind of laugh that was so familiar it sent shivers down her spine.

Curiosity got the better of her and she dropped her flames, figuring that if whoever was there was going to attack her they would have done it by now. When she caught sight of a smirking hedgehog doubled over laughing, she groaned loudly.

"Silver, was that really necessary?" Blaze moaned, sitting back down on the cliff top, her legs dangling precariously over the edge.

"Were... those dramatics...really necessary?" He responded between chortles and deep breaths.

Once Silver was done laughing at her, he joined her on the cliff but that huge smile remained on his face. She turned to glare at him, but even she couldn't resist that charming grin and her anger quickly fell away.

"So, princess. How's it going?" Silver asked casually, meeting her gaze. When Blaze didn't respond, Silver reached out and placed a hand firmly on her cheek. He could see the fear that she refused to show anyone else as clear as day in her eyes.

"Blaze, you will do great out there today, okay?" He said, his voice firm and reassuring. "Say it with me."

"I will do great out there today." Blaze replied weakly and Silver raised his eyebrows at her. She sighed and tried again, this time her voice was stronger and more determined. "I will do great out there today!"

"That's the princess I know and love." Silver said, letting go of her face and placing his hand on the ground. Blaze's breathing hitched as he said the last word and looked away from her quickly.

Love. The two had been best friends, but even they knew that they were so much more than that now. They'd been dancing around that truth for months now, and every so often one of them would slip and mention something like 'love' and the conversation would quickly change. Blaze knew that sooner or later one of them would have to take the plunge and just openly admit their feelings, but she didn't intend to be the one plunging. At least not any time soon. But that didn't mean that she couldn't have a little fun with the fact that they were both afraid to admit the full truth.

Slowly, the princess shifted her hand and settled it on top of her best friends. She smiled inwardly as she caught a flush of pink streak Silver's cheeks. He was doing his best to act casual and she knew that it was taking all his self control not to look at her while she gently interlocked her hand with his.

They'd held hands many times before, but not when they were alone like this. Blaze bit her lip in amusement. He really did look cute when he was trying to hide his feelings from her. Feeling a rush of confidence surge through her, Blaze leaned forward to kiss his cheek playfully.

She closed her eyes and pressed her lips softly against his face. Being near him sent a warm fuzzy sensation flow through her. She pulled back and opened her eyes to see his reaction, considering that he'd pretty much turned into a statue over her holding his hand. Amber met amber as her eyes landed on a pair almost identical to her own. Blaze's brow crinkled in confusion until she realised that he'd been facing her this whole time.

She glanced down at his lips and back to his golden eyes. The look of pure shock he gave her told her everything that she needed to know. Her face flushed with heat and suddenly she couldn't look away from him quick enough, and apparently neither could he.

They both whipped their heads back to the ocean, faces as red as the apples Silver had stashed in his bag. What was she even thinking? How did she manage to turn something as innocent as a kiss on the cheek into their first actual kiss. Sure it was just an innocent peck, but what if it ruined everything?

The after thoughts of her actions soared around inside her as the two sat in an uncomfortable silence for what felt like an eon before Silver cleared his throat loudly. Blaze considered pretending like she hadn't heard him but then thought better of it and ever so slowly turned to face him. She refused to meet his eyes though.

Her eyes drifted to his lips and she realised exactly how bad of an idea that was, and she forced her gaze down to his outstretched hands instead. A crimson apple lay in his palms and he rolled it onto his fingertips and towards her.

"I uh, got you this from the market." Silver ran his free hand through his quills, or at least that's what she guessed he'd done. She had her gaze fixed firmly on the apple and refused to look up to confirm her thoughts. With a quiet thank you she took the apple off of him, taking extra care not to brush her fingers against his, especially after that blunder of a kiss.

She was busy examining the apple when it suddenly lit up and floated upwards. When she didn't follow the apples trajectory, she felt a pair of fingers rest under her chin and tilt her head upwards. Silver was looking at her with the strangest look of panic and enchantment that she wasn't sure what to think.

It was only a kiss she thought. Did he even care that she'd accidently kissed him? As she considered the question, her eyes searching for the answer in his golden gaze, she realised just how much she wanted the answer to be yes.

"I wasn't ready before." Silver said, looking at her softly. Blaze knew that he was reading her like she was his new favourite book and she was powerless to resist his entrancing gaze. The warm glint in his eyes, burning like the embers of a thousand dying suns that not even the most vivid of imaginations could recreate. The way he could see her, stripped of all the acts and airs she put up around others to protect herself. The real her. She knew that he was what she wanted and she reached up to touch his face as if to check he was really there.

She felt what little grasp she had on her self-control slip completely when Silver let his lips collide with her own, firm yet passionate. The butterflies inside her went crazy as he pressed closer to her and let his hands run through her ponytail, her apple lay forgotten on the ground close by.

Blaze sighed into the kiss and dug her fingers into the soft fur on his chest. She pulled him as close as she could and kissed him harder. Their kisses were anything but innocent. They were insistent and frenzied and left both of them breathless and wanting more.

Blaze felt the cold whip of the sea breeze against her face as Silver suddenly pulled back, a horrified look on his face. Her stomach dropped as she considered what had made him suddenly stop. Did she do something wrong? Did he think he was making a mistake?

Her eyes began to burn and she was surprised when Silver placed his hands on her shoulders with a serious expression on his face, his nose pressing against hers.

"Blaze." The cat blinked back her tears in response, unsure of what Silver was about to say. She did her best to keep her feelings under check and her face stoic as she waited for him to continue and explain himself. "Your speech."

And suddenly, his horrified expression made all the sense in the world. The young princesses face mimicked the hedgehogs exactly and both of them jumped up to their feet. They shared an awkward glance before Blaze felt the feather light touch of Silver's telekinesis surround her.

As much as she wanted to continue what they'd started and actually talk about what was between them, she really had to get back and quickly. She smirked at her best friend and flew into the air with a cry of 'race you slow poke'. With Silver keeping her up she had no reason to revert to her super form like she had done to get to the small island in the first place.

The princess laughed as the sterling hedgehog cursed under his breath and raced after her. He caught up with her easily, using his own powers to slow her down. Blaze was just about to yell at him for cheating when she felt his arms wrap around her from behind. He spun her in mid-air to face him, capturing her lips with his own in a soft kiss.

Silver smiled against her lips as they spun in slow-motion, hovering mere feet above the choppy water. He pulled back and their eyes locked on one another. "One for the road." Silver said with a wink. "Go out and there and rock that crowd."

"Silver." Blaze laughed. "I'm giving a speech, not jamming at a concert."

Silver shrugged nonchalantly as he let her go. "Eh, same difference. You're gonna rock it either way."

Blaze smiled as they both continued to make their way back to the castle. She was going to rock this speech she thought. And the quicker she did that, she risked a glance at Silver, the quicker she could get back to the one thing that mattered the most to her.

And breathe…. well, my first Silvaze fic is officially done and dusted. It has a rubbish name at the moment cause I'm all out of ideas right now so I might change it later. I had so much fun with it though and I hope you guys enjoyed it. Sorry for any mistakes (grammar or canon wise) and I really hope I write for these two again soon.

Thank you for reading and let me know what you think if you can :)