Just Friends?

Distance

It was almost a month since Charlie's accident and being off the crutches felt so good. Charlie entered the garage after weeks. He was strictly on rest since that incident. Everything was the same but still something felt different. There was Jeff on the couch looking at something on his phone and next to him was Alan looking at Jeff's face like he wasn't his boyfriend but some kind of an alien. Then there was Sonic and Charlie finally guessed what was wrong. It was North and Sonic. Since Charlie couldn't race for a few months, it was North who had to take his place. He was under strict training from Babe and barely had any time on his hand. Charlie felt how Sonic must've felt, both of them were attached to hips most of the time.

 Not wanting to third wheel Jeff and Alan, Charlie went and sat next to Sonic. Sonic didn't even realised Charlie's presence next to him until he greeted him with his as usual sweet voice. Sonic replied with a small smile on his face which wasn't like his usual self. Charlie tried initiate a conversation with sonic, he talked about some new cafe that opened around the garage. Sonic only nodded to most of the things but suddenly he stood up which surprised Charlie a little.

"Sorry phi I have something to do" he said and quickly gathered his things, almost running out of the door. Charlie then saw North who just stood there while his eyes trailed outside where Sonic went. Charlie made a note to ask Babe about it, he felt like he missed so much in these days. 

North opened the door of their apartment and expected Sonic to not be there like he was since last two days. But to his surprise, Sonic sat there on the bed seeming to be in a deep thought. He saw North and quickly shifted to make some space for him on the bed. North was so tired with all that training Babe gave him and didn't hesitate before lying down on the bed with his eyes closed which opened up when he heard Sonic's voice. 

"I-I am sorry North" North glanced at Sonic, now his full attention on the face in front of him which looked so hurt. Sonic's heart sank even more when North didn't replied for some time. The events from a few days before played in his mind. He was the one who initiated the kiss, the one who ruined their years of friendship. For a moment he thought that North kissed him back but he was soon dragged back to the reality when North abruptly pulled back. His shocked face made Sonic realise how he had made a mistake. A mistake that could ruin their friendship completely which Sonic didn't wanted. So he apologized, it was hard but after two days of ignoring the problem he finally decided that he didn't wanted his friendship to be ruined. He would distance himself from North for some time. He would do anything for the sake of their friendship.

"It wasn't your fault" North's sincere voice pulled him out of the train of his thoughts. 

"It was! I am really sorry for that. I really don't want to ruin what we have North." Sonic said almost immediately. North now sat down, his hand cupped one of Sonic's cheek. He really wanted Sonic to understand that his words were true. "Nothing is ruined Sonic nothing! We are still best friends like we always were" 

"We can just pretend that everything would be same but it actually isn't. North I think we should stay apart for sometime. Maybe then you'll also be able to focus more on the championship."

It was true that North wasn't able to focus which made Babe go even hard in the training than he usually was which was really tiring. Although North didn't wanted to stay apart from Sonic but he knew that he should give the other one some time to move on. His feelings wouldn't vanish just like that and North didn't wanted Sonic to get more hurt than he was now. Maybe they should give distance a chance. North still had his hesitations but he finally gave in and the next thing he knew, Sonic moved out.

They had been living together since they joined XHunter and it really felt so lonely without him. Almost a month passed and Babe finally felt that North was ready for the championship now. Tomorrow was his first race and North couldn't help but feel nervous. He left garage and went to his apartment. The feeling of nervousness now changed into that of emptiness. He always felt like that without Sonic. The urge inside to him to just go and get Sonic back grew more and more as time passed but he also wanted to respect Sonic's boundaries and give him some time.

He opened their youtube channel which now mostly had videos of Sonic only. He always did that when he missed him. The last video was posted two weeks ago. It was their longest time without any updates and North was genuinely worried for Sonic. He didn't see him often at the garage also because most of the times he was on the track with Babe. But he heard it from others and he even himself knew that Sonic wasn't fine. It made him worried for his bestfriend. Sudden thoughts erupted in his mind which made him feel uneasy in his cozy apartment.

His urge now took the best of him and he drove to Sonic's apartment. His car was parked in the driveway and that ensured North that Sonic was home. He ringed the doorbell hesitantly at first but once there was no reply from the inside, he pressed on the doorbell button like a mad man. Bad thoughts completely took over his mind and now he was determined to see Sonic at any cost. He decided to check every floor, starting from upstairs which he thought was the next floor. But it was actually the rooftop. He decided to go downstairs but his feet froze in their place as he saw a blur figure near the edge of the rooftop from the glass of the door. On squinting his eyes a little too much, it was finally clear that it was actually Sonic who stood there.

His mind was now flooded with all kinds of thoughts. He wanted to cry for Sonic but surprisingly no voice came out of his throat. So he ran, like his life dependent on it and yes his life indeed dependent on it.

~~

The stoy is set after Tony's death with no mentions of him in the present just Charlie's accident. Also his accident was far worse in this au so he cannot race.

Hope u guys will like the story <3 next update soon