Visitor in the Night

Thin chilly light filtered into the office of the Chaotix Detective Agency as the winter afternoon waned closer to evening. Espio suppressed another yawn as he closed the bottom drawer of their filing cabinet. He’d earlier wanted to check on a recent file only to find that Charmy had been completely ignoring their alphabetical filing system. Irritated at being unable to find what he was looking for, and otherwise bored without a case on their hands, he’d taken it upon himself to fix the mess and get everything in order. Done with that now, and with the sun creeping much too close to the horizon for his liking, Espio decided that it was time to leave. “I’m going to head home early,” the chameleon announced as he took his coat off the coat-rack and started pulling it on. “You can call me if we get a case while I’m gone, but if not, I’ll see you both tomorrow.” “Bye Espio, see ya tomorrow!” Charmy shouted after his colleague. “Vector, can I leave early too?” Espio didn’t hear the crocodile’s response, as he was already out the door and turning homewards. He pulled up the collar of his coat against a gust of biting wind, having to fight the urge to return to the warm sanctuary of the office. No, he’d be much better off at home with his heat lamps and electric blanket and a mug of hot tea. Being cold-blooded made winters difficult for the reptilian ninja, as his species hadn’t evolved to adapt to such weather. He’d found that as long as he kept himself warm enough in the winter, he was fine, but there was always that nagging urge brought on by the cold weather, the persistent urge to just curl up and sleep. His body wanted to shut down in the cold, and though Espio told himself it was likely some sort of hibernation that was beckoning him, he wasn’t going to take the risk. Besides, he hated the idea of being vulnerable like that, of losing so much precious time. But that urge to shut down was gnawing at him even now as he pressed on towards the edge of the city, briskly following the sidewalks that he traversed daily. His discreet treehouse wasn’t much farther now, another mile out beyond the city wall, and he’d be there. He much preferred the quiet of nature, and the privacy it brought him, as opposed to the rush and noise of the city. So many people packed so closely together, ugh. That life just wasn’t for him. At last, he was home. He easily scaled the trunk of the tree in which his house was situated, landing on the small porch with a soft thud of his shoes against the floorboards before pulling his key out of his jacket pocket. Ah, finally home, Espio shed his coat and stretched all his limbs, tail included. It was toasty warm in this house he’d built for himself, thanks to Tails giving him a tiny artificial chaos emerald to use as a power source. It was enough to keep his house sufficiently warm and lit year round without having so much power that it could cause a spontaneous power surge. After locking his door and turning a lamp on, Espio crossed the room, heading directly for his bed. He kicked off his shoes and proceeded to turn on the pair of large heat lamps by his bed. The electric blanket was still on from this morning, but it was at its lowest setting, so he turned it up a couple notches before curling up on top of it. He was feeling better already, his scaly skin absorbing the heat and returning a sense of calm to the intelligent chameleon. He could sleep safely now that he had the dim heat lamps humming alongside him. It was almost midnight when Espio was awakened by the sound of a powerful knocking on his door. “Idiot,” Espio muttered as he hauled himself out of bed to answer the door. When he opened it, he simply said, “I gave you a copy of my key for a reason.” Knuckles grinned back at him, rubbing at the back of his head with one spiked paw. “The light was on, but I wasn’t sure if you were awake. I tried calling you while I was on my way over, but—” “I left my phone in my coat,” Espio interrupted, stepping aside to let Knuckles in with an expression of feigned indifference. “You said you weren’t coming over tonight, so I wasn’t expecting you.” “Plans changed,” was the only explanation Knuckles offered. Espio closed the door behind his guest and turned the lock, only to have a pair of gloved paws slam against the door on either side of him. Knuckles had trapped him against the door, how juvenile. If Espio truly wanted to escape, he could easily get out of it, so why did it make his heart race to turn around in that tight space and have the echidna’s eyes so large in his field of vision, his face so close to his own? “Next time, just use the key, you dork.” Espio held Knuckles’ vivid gaze steadily, even when those eyes came closer, and all Espio could see was purple, black, and white as Knuckles kissed him. A muffled sound tried to escape the chameleon's throat as his eyes slid closed, melting in answer to Knuckles’ firm, fierce kiss. The short-tempered echidna affected him in a way that was beyond reasonable, but Espio had accepted that. Knuckles could pass certain barriers that others never could or would. Knuckles was special, but Espio wouldn’t dare tell him that. His ego was already inflated. “You should’ve told me that plans changed, I could have had some food set aside for you.” Espio eased away from Knuckles, trying to recover his breath. “Well, I’m here now.” Knuckles was kicking off his own shoes when Espio turned back around. “Yes, you certainly are, and you look like you haven’t showered in a week.” Espio stepped closer to Knuckles and plucked one of several leaves out of Knuckles‘ thick, ropey hair, letting it fall to the floor. “Come on, don’t be so harsh.” Knuckles waved off the comment casually, reaching out to slip his arm low around Espio’s back, pulling him close. “I just took the more aerial route to get here. Not my fault if the leaves don’t get out of my way.” He flashed another bright grin, and Espio chuckled despite himself. Then Knuckles was pulling him even closer, and Espio was melting before his partner’s lips had even touched him. He was putty in the echidna’s paws now, and they both knew it. “Come on, let me get the forest out of your hair.” Espio pushed Knuckles toward the bed, and with a chuckle, Knuckles seated himself on the floor. Espio perched behind him on the edge of the bed and began picking leaf and twig pieces out of his dreadlocks, simply dropping them on the floor for now. He’d take care of those in the morning. A relaxed sigh escaped the echidna as he closed his eyes. They didn’t talk for a while as Espio groomed his boyfriend, but it was a comfortable silence. “There goes the last of it. Okay, you’re—” Before Espio had even finished speaking, Knuckles had stood, turned, and kissed him again. They were quick kisses, but it was a barrage of them all over the chameleon’s face, tickling his softer scales. He was advancing, too, climbing up onto the bed and over the chameleon “Stop, stop!” Espio gasped out between giggles, helpless under the onslaught of affection as he found himself on his back. “You win, you win!” With those words, Knuckles fell still, his nose nestled into Espio’s neck. The chameleon’s arms looped around the echidna’s back as he caught his breath, warmth wrapping around him from every direction. “You’re the best.” Knuckles leaned over to lay beside Espio, pulling the purple chameleon as close as he could manage. That is, he was normally purple, but Knuckles’ keen night vision could see quite clearly that Espio was flushed all over, pink and red dappling his skin, eyes barely open in an expression of innocent contentment. It was so amusing to Knuckles to see the oh-so-serious detective flushed and giggling and so very vulnerable. “Hm, am I?” Espio quirked an eyebrow at the echidna, who just chuckled in answer and closed his eyes. “You absolutely are.” Knuckles opened one eye to see Espio had closed his eyes too, and damn, he just looked so happy.