The day is saved, Sonic’s friends are all safe, Eggman’s retreated, the rubble is being cleared, and the sun is even coming back out. All in all, a 10/10 adventure, if Sonic does say so himself.
He thinks so, anyways, until he spots Silver slumped over against a chunk of concrete.
Alarmed, Sonic skids to a stop and whips a u-turn.
“Silver!” he exclaims, ducking down until he’s in Silver’s field of vision. Or, he would be, if Silver wasn’t squeezing his eyes shut like he’s injured. “What’s wrong, are you hurt? I thought you said you were fine when Amy was taking a head count-”
“I’m not hurt.” Silver says it like he means it, but he also says it like he’s barely managing to get the words out, so sue him if Sonic doesn’t believe him. “I’m seriously. You can go home, Sonic, I’ll find my own way back.”
“Sure, but how are you supposed to return to the future if you can’t even sit up straight?”
Silver groans and rubs his head. “Can you quiet down?”
Sonic’s ears twitch. He hadn’t thought he was being that loud, but he does, at least, honor the request. “Okay,” he says, quieter. He looks around for enemies that might have snuck up on them, but no luck. “...Why are we whispering?”
Silver groans and rubs his head more vigorously, at his temples. “Why are you saying anything at all?”
It sounds like Silver is just being rude again, at first. But… he’s clearly in pain. Sonic frowns, trying to puzzle it out. He taps his foot, irritated with himself for not automatically knowing the answer. He’s sure he knows the solution to this one, but what…?
“Do you have a concussion?” Sonic asks, in a very tiny whisper. He’s not really sure how to treat them, seeing as he has an incredibly durable head and so do Knuckles and Amy, and he’s never, ever, ever let anything get close enough to Tails or Cream’s heads to risk finding out if they’re as durable yet.
“A concussion-?” Silver finally blinks his eyes open to try and peer up at Sonic in pure confusion, but he’s still squinting in the afternoon light. He winces, then squeezes them shut just as fast. “No, it’s not a concussion. It’s just a headache, I’m fine.”
Well, Sonic thinks, that’s a lot simpler.
The only person he knows who gets regular headaches is Vanilla – Sonic always figured it was just something people got when they got old. Silver’s younger than he is, but maybe it has something to do with him being from the future.
Or, he realizes a beat too late, having powers that stem from his mind. Huh.
Fortunately, Sonic knows just the thing for headaches. “Wait right there,” he says, in that same quiet voice. “I’ll be right back with just the thing.”
He doesn’t wait for Silver to tell him not to bother – “It’s no use!” is what he thinks he hears as he runs off, but that could just be his mind playing tricks on him. Instead, he pops into the nearest nurse station and grabs what Cream always gets her mom when Vanilla says she has a headache.
Ice, earmuffs, water, and an eye-mask. Sonic thinks Vanilla often takes some medication, but he’s not sure what type, and also Silver’s got a pretty horrible immune system so he doesn’t want to risk giving him something that’ll make him feel worse on accident.
When Sonic returns with an armful of supplies, Silver is laying on the concrete. Sonic can’t help but feel guilty if this really is from Silver overusing his powers.
Every time Silver comes from the future, it’s always to help with a crisis – or to prevent something bad from turning into a crisis. He might have a personality that Sonic can’t quite figure out – maybe it’s as changeable as that timeline of his, who knows – but he’s still dependable in a pinch.
Sonic just hopes that these will help him feel better.
Sonic drops into a crouch beside him, then carefully slips on the earmuffs. “For the noise,” he says, still in a quieter voice than before. Silver looks up at him, baffled, but when he winces at the light, Sonic presses the eye-mask into his hands, for Silver to put on himself.
“Water will help, and the ice will make it feel a little better too. I made sure the ice pack is extra durable so you won’t prick it open,” he adds, noting the way Silver’s front quills stick straight up. “Just try it, alright? I dunno what fancy stuff you use for headaches in the future, but hopefully this is good enough for now.”
“We- well, it depends on the timeline,” Silver says, reaching for the ice pack first. He lets out a sigh of relief once it hits his head, shoulders immediately losing their tension. “But… in the one I just came from, this is a lot better.”
Sonic quirks a smile. “Well, I’ll leave you to it, okay? Unless you’d rather I speed you off somewhere a little less, uh…” He gestures vaguely to the rubble around them both.
Silver waves a hand, then reaches up and ties the eye-mask around his head. “No, this is perfect, I think this rubble is comfier than the concrete bed I was using before… Thanks, Sonic.”
Sonic grins and shakes his head in bemusement, though Silver can’t see it. “Happy to help. And drink that water!”
“I will, I will.” To prove it, Silver opens the recyclable plastic bottle, and tips it to his mouth.
Deciding that Silver’s already well on his way to feeling better, Sonic speeds off. And, just for Silver, even chooses not to leave a Sonic boom in his wake until he’s a few miles away. Just to be nice.
