Synthetic (Silver the Hedgehog x Reader)

-5-

Silver groaned, his forehead burning as he slowly regained consciousness. He gripped the cloth around him tightly, shifting.

"It's okay. I'm just trying to cool you down." His eyes snapped open and he shot upright. (Y/n) lifted an eyebrow, a wet cloth in her hand.

"Here?" Silver whispered.

"You showed up at my door last night with a dozen bullets lodged in your body," she said, picking up a container and swishing the bullets around. "And you were drugged. I don't think you were thinking straight."

"You...you were the only place I could think of." He flopped back onto the bed, his chest rising and falling quickly. He groaned again, his wounds burning.

"I've never really worked with this kind of thing," (Y/n) said, pressing the cloth to his forehead and running her hand carefully over one of the bandages. Silver turned his head to look at her, lifting one of his hands and touching hers.

"Why?" he whispered. "Why are you helping me?"

"Because I need you," she said just as quietly. "More than you know." Silver paused, then wrapped his hand around hers. She stared down at it, then slowly withdrew it and focused on cooling him down.

"How did you end up in your situation?" she asked after a couple minutes of silence. Silver opened his eyes, hands fumbling.

"Not everyone admires me," he mumbled. "A gang shot and drugged me." The (a/t)'s hand came to a stop and he turned his head away. She moved and touched the cloth to his head again before standing up.

"Clearly, you don't take well to drugs," she said. "I guess that's good since I can't see you as an addict." Silver huffed out a laugh.

"Thank you," he breathed, staring up at the ceiling. He thought back on what the fox had said. "You're...you're a strange villain."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I've read the news paper, watched the stuff about it. People make commentary on my technique all the time, break the fourth wall, all that stuff."

"Why don't you kill me?"

"I already told you."

"That was too vague. You save me, and you never take the chance when you have it. With the buildings. You had me. Right there. You could have...." He took a shuddering breath, shivering. She hurried back over to him.

"I honestly don't know what to do," she said. "As this point, the most I can do is sit around and make sure you don't die."

"Talk to me," Silver said. "Please. I need to know."

"No, you don't," she replied, her tone sharp. He turned his head to her, eyes dull. She put her hand on his face, the other reaching down and running subconsciously through his chest fur. "You got blood on your fur. I cleaned most of it out so that you didn't look like you'd been part of a murder, but you'll have to do the detailing."

Silver let out a soft purr at the sensation. Her hand came to rest and she looked down at him. "Cute purr," she teased and he blushed. She shifted her position to above his head and slowly ran her hands through his quills. "This feels really wrong, by the way. I'm violating a whole bunch of villain rules here."

"Villain rules?"

"Yeah. Don't help the hero. Don't be friends with the hero. Basically don't do anything that is nice for the hero. And...." She paused awkwardly, her hands still moving through his quills.

"And what?"

"I forgot. But this is not what a villain does, and you know it."

"So why are you doing this?" She didn't reply. He prepared to say more, but he was still slightly groggy and the feeling of her hands in his quills sent pleasant shivers down his spine and he relaxed, closing his eyes.

~

When he woke up again, he felt much better, standing up and going into the kitchen to find (Y/n). She had a knife in hand, shattered ceramics all over the floor.

"Uh, what have you been doing?" he asked, looking around. She looked up at him, throwing the knife behind her.

"Nothing," she said quickly, sweeping shards behind her with her foot.

"Caught red handed?"

"I got bored." She ran a hand roughly through her hair. "I have a headache coming on. Do you need something to eat?"

"I'm fine." His stomach grumbled in contrast.

"You need to eat something. You were unconscious most of the day yesterday, and your stomach is now demonstrating a whale mating call." Silver's cheeks flushed. "It's okay. I'm not going to poison you. Why would I have helped you instead of letting you die?"

"I don't know," he said. "You're so confusing."

"Thank you. I do try." He sat down on one of the stools in front of the counter, pressing his hands to the counter.

"Tell me," he said, leaning towards her. "Why do you hate me so much?"

"I don't hate you. I just don't agree with you."

"You came out of nowhere. I didn't even know you and you claimed to want to vanquish me."

"You don't need to know the villain. Like I said: I just don't agree with you."

"Then why all the violence? The terrorization of everyone else?"

"Gets my point across. Now, please stop prodding. I help you and what I get is an interrogation?"

"I'm sorry, but I have to know!"

"Mind your own business." She brushed past him. "I'm going for a fly. If you decide to leave, go ahead. If you stay, please don't touch anything."

"Can I come with you?"

"So you can pry more?"

"I promise I'll be quiet." She hesitated, then sighed.

"Fine." Silver smiled and trailed after her as she exited her house and lifted off the ground. Her ears and tail were drooping and she grit her teeth.

"What's going on with you?" Silver asked as they soared above the buildings.

"You said you'd be quiet."

"But you look ill."

"It doesn't matter! I'll be fine, so shut up!" She then took off ahead of him, leaving Silver to wonder on his own.