((AN: This is called an "old" story because it is one that I used to have on my old account, which I will not name here for fear of search engine wrath. I thought I had deleted it for good, but I recently found an old flashdrive from about three years ago with a few of my old stories on it. Looking it over, I remembered that people really liked them and that the self induced fit of destruction where I wiped my old account was, you know, a bad idea. Because of that, I'm going to put up both this one and a second one on my current accounts, but be aware that I wrote these a long time ago and I have no plans to update them. Thank you for understanding.))

GUN always stuck me with the weird jobs.

Normally, I wouldn't even be here. The Station Square Museum of History didn't usually need any more help than its regular guard force, and as far as I'm concerned, I'd like to keep it that way. Of course, though, the one time they needed extra security, I get called in. When I had asked about how guarding some old scrolls and pottery was considered of federal importance, and they told me to just shut up and do my job. I gritted my teeth, hating being talked down to, but I knew it would ultimately be worth it. One day I'd rise through the ranks, and then, GUN would see some major changes.

Museums always have an unsettling air about them at night. I like them as much as the next person during the day; sure, they can be dull, and the fragments of some long lost civilization even scholars have forgotten about don't bear much relevance to the modern life of a government agent. I'll admit that in the day, they are harmless at best. With all the lights off, though, you can occasionally see the outline of a face in one of the pictures, or a scrawled drawing carved in a piece of feels like they're filled with ghosts, though that isn't what puts me off. It's more... the silence of anticipation. At least normally, I was thrown into firefights, or quelled uprisings, or active defense work. The point is, I could at least start the action, never staying still for more than a moment. Sitting here, waiting, didn't feel right to me.

For now, I was crossed between tired, bored, and on edge. Sure, the Blur is talented. He was supposed to defy mortal limits of speed, to the point where guards claimed he simply ran away from bullets. The news reporters spoke of him in mocking hushed tones over their false stretched smiles, joking he must be faster than sound to pull off his amazing heists. Time stones, ancient rings traded from the Middle East, a whole set of seven emeralds linked to the god of Chaos… he'd stolen from some of the most heavily guarded museums and academic institutions in the world, with the only evidence of his identity being some snippets of security footage with a black figure, taunting the camera. He was truly a legend among thieves.

But this wouldn't be the first time I've had to deal with a so called "legend" and come out ahead. Frankly, I thought that the security footage shown in his briefing must have been doctored. This guy was smart with tech, but that was all. Besides, there was no guarantee he'd even show up. Just because all the artifacts he'd stolen before were Echidnan artifacts didn't mean he'd be interested in this piece. It wasn't like it held some kind of legendary power or was exceptionally beautiful to look at – just a piece of pottery with some old runes on it. And yet, here I was. A glorified museum cop, watching and waiting for someone to strike from out of the shadows that probably wouldn't come.

Still, it was almost cute how concerned Sonic looked when I told him about this assignment. I tried to make it nonchalant, just a subtle remark while we ate dinner. It didn't quite work.

"Wait… you mean, the Blur? That criminal that's been on the TV?" he had said, stopping mid cut on his piece of chicken.

"Yes. One and the same."

"But… why would he come here?" Sonic said, fully perplexed. "There isn't anything he'd want here."

"The history museum is opening its exhibit on Echidnan civilization. Apparently, GUN thinks he'll go for the centerpiece artifact they just recovered."

Sonic looked down at his food, resuming work on the chicken. "I didn't know about that," he muttered. The meat split, white plate showing through the crack. He was obviously bothered – normally he shoveled down food like he didn't know when he'd eat again, but right then he lifted up his forkfuls slowly and chewed meticulously.

"I'm just telling you because they want me to observe the place overnight, so I won't be home tomorrow. I didn't want you to worry about me."

"Well, I am worried! This is kind of a big deal."

"I didn't think we had special plans tomorrow night…."

"We don't, but that's not the point and you know it."

I had groaned, pushing my own empty plate forward. "You and I both know how capable I am at my job. I will be perfectly safe."

"I just don't want to see you get hurt, Shadow. I think that the Blur is really going to do a number on you if you have to face him."

I pushed out my chair and stood up, my tableware shaking slightly in the process. "Are you doubting my judgement?"

"Yes!" he answered forcefully.

Walking over to his side of the table, I glanced over at his half eaten plate. A small pang of pity hit me. I can understand that he probably didn't want to know the specifics of my job – heck, maybe he didn't actually need to know. But I wouldn't lie to him. "Look. I can't refuse a task like this. It came down from the High Commander - three levels over my pay grade. Honestly, the only thing remarkable about him compared to the normal targets I'm assigned to is his media presence. He'll be easy enough to take down, and I could make a lot of money if I brought him in." I placed my hand on his shoulder, and he turned to look at me in the eyes. His muscles relaxed slightly at the touch, though he wasn't entirely at ease. "Just think," I said, coming in close to him, "we could move out of this tiny apartment. Get a fridge that makes our food not taste like all our other food. Maybe even take a vacation somewhere, just the two of us. Wouldn't that be nice?"

He shifted in his chair, swallowing his bite of food. "I, um, don't know if I'd feel comfortable doing that, knowing what you had to do to pay for it." He squirmed, his eyes shifting back and forth. "Please, Shadow, just tell them no! Say that you want time off! Fake sick! Just don't show up! Don't let them push you into this."

I squeezed his shoulder and turned him to completely face me. "Listen. I am doing this whether you like it or not. Ultimately, it's my decision to make, and I have chosen to go. Likewise, it is your decision whether or not to support me." I gave him a quick peck on the lips, causing a quick blush to rise on his face. "And I hope that you will."

Talking about the job felt so smooth back then, like I was signing up to take down some big threat to national security. Really, it was just a lot of loitering. Staring at a piece of broken pottery behind glass. Resisting the urge to fall asleep. Chaos, it was late….

At a quarter past one, a series of loud beeping and sizzling noises put me back on full guard. One of my hands pulled out my flashlight while the other went over the gun in my holster. I didn't pull it out just yet – for all I knew, it could be the sounds of a faulty air conditioning system. Glancing at the single entrance to the room, I shone the light on the closed doors. Pausing to look, the beeping and sizzling grew louder, as though they were approaching the room. Sonic's words started to echo in my head, but I shook them off. This was typical behavior. They were shutting off the cameras and external security systems, limiting the bulk of their work to getting the object itself. Nothing out of the ordinary for a thief at this level.

The door pushed open and the shadows shifted around the open crack. Or at least, that's how it appeared. I started to grip my gun, but still didn't pull it out of the holster. It was a trick of the light. There's no way he could have come through that door –

A loud thud sounded by the artifact, and I turned around quickly, drawing my gun. There he was. The famed Blur. Or at least I so assumed – really, it could have been any thief. After all, the figure wore a fully covering getup, covering all skin, hair, and other possible appendages he could've had. I couldn't even place his species – only his general proportions told me that he wasn't human. He must have come from the ceiling, repelled down or something… there's no way he was able to come through the regular door.

"Oh look," he said, leaning on the artifact's stand. He chuckled, the black material not quite suppressing his smile. "It's the big shot cop I've heard so much about. Recruited from outside the force, with no records of any kind of life before joining GUN? Seems suspicious to me." His getup apparently had a voice scrambler in it, as the sounds that came out of it seemed artificial. His movements, though, suggested he was an organic being – no robot I've ever encountered, no matter how sophisticated their AI, could pull off such a lazy, cocky stance.

"You're one to talk," I said. As I took aim, I noticed that he had attached some kind of device to the side of the glass case. "The person covered in black, who can't even use his real voice, calling me suspicious? That's laughable."

"Maybe," he said, powering on the machine. "But at least you know what my motives are. You don't strike me as the type to work for the government out of a desire for good citizenship."

I took aim, prepping the gun for fire. "What, are you here to evaluate me, or just to take the goods and go? I know your type. You come in, take away things that belong to the public, and sell them for a personal profit. It's disrespectful." He was right about my convictions not being that strong – my real reasons for joining GUN were more complex than that – but I needed to at least fake it. At least, until I could achieve my real goals.

"Sorry Shadow - can I call you Shadow? Officer just seems too formal, you know? You've got me all wrong." He said this as he kept rearranging the dials on his machine, completely calm, as though my pistol were nothing more than a water gun. I could practically see his confident smirk through his mask. It reminded me so much of… something. I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

I decided to ignore his question and cut the aching feeling of familiarity out of my mind. "I said, put your hands up! I will shoot if you don't!"

He let out a quick laugh. "Like I'm scared of your bullets. Hasn't anyone debriefed you on me? I'm the fastest living thing in recorded memory. And besides," he said, looking away from his code box, "you and I both know you wouldn't actually hurt me."

A flush of anger went through my body as I tried to get my hands steady. How dare this delinquent suggest that I couldn't do my job correctly? I was one of GUN's best trained operatives. I had set records for both accurate shooting and speed of reflexes. Nobody was more able to take this guy down than I was. But here he was, acting like I was some kind of toy for him to play with instead of a man of the law sent to take him down. "I don't hesitate to shoot criminals. Especially not thieves." The words came out with venom, and I felt my fingers tense around the trigger of the gun. One more second, and he'd be crying those words with a gunshot wound in his leg. See how fast he was then.

As I squeezed, the world seemed to slow. The shot fired, that much is true. But instead of the squishing sound a bullet makes when it hits flesh, instead there was a series of metallic sounds going far away from me. Focusing, I could see that the bullet had dented the stand underneath the artifact and cracked some of the floor tile from the ricochet, the only remainder of the Blur being a small trail of blue afterimages. My eyes widened as I felt a warm body grabbing me from behind, pressing my arms to my sides. How was that even possible? He was right-

"Told ya," he mocked. I felt his fingers gripping me tight, and I knew that I would have bruises on my arms after I got out of this. If I got out of this….

I tried to remember my training, trying to head butt him or stomp on his foot even in the decreased mobility. He dodged my attempts, and all I felt was air. "You underestimate me, Shadow," he said, whispering into my ears. Was it just me, or was he… purring? I tried to make my entire body slack, hoping the weight would pull him down, but instead he just gripped me harder, pulling me close to his body. I tried not to think of the heat rising up in me, but focusing on the job became much harder. "See, you think I'm doing this out of some sick thrill. Some rush from deviance." The word 'deviance' echoed up my body in shivers. Was this making me feel good? My body certainly felt warmer than before, with my heart beginning to beat faster. It was like the lingering moments before a strong, passionate kiss.

I shook my head, as much as the space would allow. I had a boyfriend at home. Sonic had been more than loyal and supportive, the best partner I'd ever had. I would not betray him, with that joyful smile and open heart. And what kind of guy was this anyway, thinking he could just walk right up to me and make me feel this way? But though my heart and my head knew this, the rest of me couldn't help but react to this stranger's touches and cool confidence. I cursed in my mind, willing this to end, wanting a return to the semblance of normalcy I had before.

"But the truth is, I serve the greater good. My guess is that GUN told you that this was some ancient artifact that belonged in this museum, and that I wanted to sell it on the black market or something." I kept struggling, but felt his attempts weakening. Most of the adrenaline rush was gone, and it looked like this guy wasn't going to hurt me. Maybe if I bode my time long enough, he would slip, or backup would come in, or….

His hands shifted, holding me with one while the other grazed along my thigh, tracing up and down in wavy lines. The heat from before multiplied tenfold, my body beginning to sweat as it stiffened. Thinking back through the debriefings on the Blur, I remembered that this wasn't his typical behavior. He normally knocked the guards unconscious one by one in swift strikes before stealing his mark, typically Echidnan artifacts, and left before any of them could wake up. It wasn't like him to be so slow or… affectionate with the ones who stood in his way. So why this time? Why with me?

I couldn't focus, though, as his touches became more insistent. Instead, he met my occasional half-hearted struggles with more pressure, more closeness, more of his own strength.

"I bet they didn't tell you, though, that the civilization that made this is still alive," he said to me. "Well, one echidna is still alive, anyway. But under the law, that's enough to keep his civilization's treasures under his supervision. You should know that better than anyone, right?"

I blinked twice, trying to gain some composure. "That's impossible," I said, trying and failing to make my voice sound intimidating. "The Echidnas died out hundreds of years ago. Everyone knows that."

"More like went into hiding because of your government." He stopped his touching now, and his tone of voice grew more serious. "My friend… he grew up isolated from the rest of the world. No family, no friends… nothing but these artifacts."

The room fell cold, and he adjusted his grip again. I couldn't even move my head now; it was pressed between his head and shoulder. I became aware that even though his face was covered, I could sense the smirk falling, the lines of fabric settling in a more grim position. "And then a bunch of armed gunmen show up and take them away from him! Don't even give him a choice in the matter! I mean, his people's treasures are all he has left of his culture and history, but these guys just swooped in and took it for this stupid museum. Or maybe they sensed the artifact's true purpose. In any case, they weren't their's to take."

I was about to yell back that he was lying, that GUN wouldn't do anything like that… but something about the sincerity of his tone told me that, at the very least, he believed this to be the truth. It wouldn't be the first time that GUN did something off the record, or the first time they did something morally dubious either. Instead, I spoke quietly and without malice.

"I'm not sure I believe you." A loud click came from the opposite side of the room, and I realized it was the device he used, finally finishing its work. Maybe he wouldn't notice if we kept talking, I thought. Just a little longer. "You have to admit, it's a lot to swallow. Especially coming from a reported criminal. How am I supposed to trust you?"

"I can understand that," he said, slackening slightly. I thought about fighting him off, but decided against it. It wasn't like he'd let go entirely, and the longer he was here, the more time I could wait for reinforcements. "I just want to give my friend back what was rightfully his."

His hands began to grow soft again, one holding me in place while the other moved towards my immobilized head. His stern expression relaxed as well, and I felt his fingers run through my quills. The criminal was obviously a hedgehog, or something else with spines… only someone with a lifetime of experience could do this without cutting themselves. As much as I hated to admit it, it felt really good… almost gentle. I let out a sigh, despite myself. A few dead quills fell on the floor, leaving my head feeling lighter than before. I briefly thought about asking Sonic if he knew how to do this when I got home, but quickly dropped the thought. I didn't ever want to associate these two together. A caring partner with an enemy of the state. A happy person with an arrogant jerk. A gentle lover with a rough criminal who just took whatever he wanted. No matter what it was….

I felt the heat rising again, and I wondered just how much of it was from embarrassment. It didn't make sense how this guy was able to push all of the right buttons for me when he didn't even know me, but he did. "I wouldn't lie to you Shadow," he said, lifting up part of his mask. A trail of kisses went up my neck as he held my head in place, and I knew I was almost at my tipping point. "At least," he said in a very familiar voice, "not about this."

My eyes widened as I bent my knees sharply, using his precarious hold to throw him over my shoulder. He hit the ground with a thud and skidded towards the artifact. With him off, I pulled up my gun again, trying to take aim. He was too quick for me though, running out of my range before I could get a decent shot. I fired one, two, three, four times, trying to use my training to anticipate where he was going to be, but it was no use. He really was faster than bullets.

While reloading my gun, the Blur came in close and, with a show of force, he knocked the gun out of my hands. "I wouldn't be caught dead with one of those," he said. "In fact, if you really looked into me, you'd know that I never kill anybody. Well, unless you count robots. But that's another story."

I tried attacking him, and he met my attacks with sharp blocks. Though I knew it would give me less force in each hit, I aimed to go as fast as I can. For him, though, it must have been like watching a tape in slow motion. After a minute or so, he ran off, collected the artifact, and before I could grab my gun off the floor, he swept my legs out from under me. A strong pain struck my foot, and my eyes grew blurry with stinging water. "Now, I normally try not to hurt people," he said, "but GUN doesn't exactly deal in moral dilemmas, and they won't hesitate to make you fight me again. And I don't want that." He leaned down over me, pinning my arms down at the sides. Struggling made the pain worse, but I did it anyway. "So you're going to have just enough of a fracture in your foot to put you out of commission until I can clean this place out. Who knows? Maybe they'll still pay you for being the only person to remain conscious throughout an encounter with me. At least, they'll give you some paid leave."

I bobbed my head upwards and pulled the rest of his mask off with my teeth, thinking at the very least I could learn the Blur's true identity. And that's when I saw it. Peach muzzle. Blue quills. Brilliant green eyes.

Sonic laughed, as though it was all part of a joke. "Maybe you can even spend some time with that handsome boyfriend of yours, huh? Take that vacation you were talking about?"

He gently took the mask out of my stunned mouth and kissed me firmly. He never did this at home, since he normally let me take initiative… but maybe this is who he really was, and he had just been waiting for the right time to show me. I didn't know what to think, or what to feel.

Leaving me on the floor, he stood up and placed the artifact in a concealed box. Replacing his mask on his head, he patted in all his stray quills before turning to me one last time. "I'll see you at home, 'kay?" And with a gust of wind, he was gone, leaving the room almost exactly how he found it, except for one hole in the glass and one more broken foot.

And in that moment, I knew.

We would have a long talk after this was over.