~Whiskey on your Breath~

Sonic wasn't exactly sure when it happened, but at some point during the night he'd become very, very drunk.

The twenty-two year old gripped the edge of the bar to keep from sliding off his stool, the colours from the neon lights, pool table and other patrons mixing together in his dazed stupor. The music and conversations echoed loudly in his head, and he could feel a dull ache beginning to creep into his skull. He groaned and attempted to focus on the drink in front of him, his fifth of the night. Or was it his sixth? Seventh? He couldn't remember - hell, he couldn't even remember what sort of alcohol he was drinking. All he knew was that it burned when it slid down his throat, and left an almost bitter aftertaste in his mouth.

"Alright, bud," the bartender - a man who went by Captain Falcon - sighed, leaning across the bar and glancing at the glass Sonic clutched in his hands. "I think you've had enough tonight."

"S-Screw you..." Sonic mumbled, not bothering to even glance up at Captain Falcon. "You... you dunno me. You dunno my life!"

Captain Falcon's eyes fell to the phone in front of Sonic. He'd seen this kind of thing many times before. "Breakup?" he guessed.

Sonic blinked a few times, before he loudly sighed. "Fiiine, you win this round. But I'll beat you next round!"

Captain Falcon pushed a bowl of peanuts towards Sonic. "Eat something." he demanded, before turning his attention towards another patron.

"'Eat something'." Sonic mimicked in a mocking tone before grabbing a handful of peanuts and shoving them all in his mouth at once. As he loudly crunched the food in his mouth his eyes fell to his phone where it was open to a very one-sided conversation with his ex-boyfriend, Mario.

'AKA the reason I'm at this damn bar.' Sonic angrily thought, typing in another message that was supposed to say, 'Just want you to know that I'm thinking about you', but ended up being a mess of letters thanks to Sonic's inebriated state.

'Lousy, no good...'

Fishing a handful of crumpled bills out of his quills Sonic left the money on the bar and stood, his vision swimming. He once again gripped the edge of the bar to steady himself before stumbling his way to the door and stepping outside into the crisp night air. Sonic took a deep breath in before slowly stumbling his way down the sidewalk to Mega Man and Pac-Man's apartment where he was temporarily staying ever since he and Mario broke up.

A surge of anger bubbled in his chest as he thought about Mario, how perfect Mario always was and how beloved by all he was.

So maybe Sonic had been a bit too harsh when his jealously got out of control. But in his mind, Mario deserved it! It was about time someone knocked him down a peg, especially when the magazine article was comparing the two yet again and praising Mario like there was no tomorrow and shitting on Sonic even though it was common knowledge that they were in a fucking relationship.

Sonic had snapped. And words had been exchanged - hurtful, hurtful words - and then Sonic was packing up his things and walking away. Walking away from someone that treated him incredibly well and never once made him feel inadequate or that he was lower than him.

Damn, he really had been perfect...

Sonic stopped, coming to a familiar four-way crosswalk. Going straight would lead to where he was supposed to be going, while going right a few blocks led to Mario's townhouse.

The emotions that the alcohol had brought up possessed Sonic to hit the call button for the crosswalk that went right, and without thinking twice began his trek to his ex-boyfriend's house. He stumbled up the steps and banged on the door, leaning against the doorframe to keep himself from falling over.

It could have been seconds or minutes - Sonic couldn't really tell through the fog in his brain - but eventually the door opened revealing the annoyed resident within.

"What?" Mario sighed, folding his arms as he gave Sonic a blank stare.

"I-I've... I've been texin' the both of ya..." Sonic slurred, noticing how there were suddenly two Mario's standing in the doorway. Mario pinched the bridge of his nose, not wanting to deal with the situation at the moment.

"I know," he snapped, a bitter edge to his words. "I turned my phone off after the third message."

"W-Why haven' you texted me back?" was Sonic's next question, pointing an accusing finger at Mario. Mario stared at the finger, unamused, before returning to giving Sonic that blank stare.

"I didn't want to talk to you." he answered simply, folding his arms again.

"Well, let's talk right now!" Sonic suggested, making a move to walk past Mario. Mario blocked his way in with his arm.

"I don't want to talk to you when you're drunk."

"Whaaa?" Sonic whined. "I'm not drunk!"

"I can smell whiskey on your breath," Mario muttered. "And you just said there were two of me. Go home or wherever it is you stay now."

"I..." Sonic began, but groaned as a wave of nausea hit him. He turned, violently threw up in a potted plant and passed out.

/~/

Sonic woke to the sound of an alarm clock going off. He opened his eyes and almost immediately regretted it, the light burning his retinas and sending a sharp, stabbing pain through his brain. He groaned, turning his head and realizing that he he was on a couch with a blanket thrown over him. A very familiar brown couch that he remembered making out with Mario on among other things.

When... when had he shown up here? What had he done last night?

Sonic spied his phone laying on the table and picked it up, noticing he had four missed calls from Mega Man and two from Pac-Man. Going to his messages he winced seeing the entire row of texts he'd sent Mario. Or what he presumed were supposed to be texts, it was hard to tell when none of them resembled any words. How drunk did he get?

"You're up."

The familiar voice echoed in Sonic's head, and he slowly sat up and faced Mario who was holding a glass of water and a bottle of pills in his hands, a neutral expression on his face.

"Why... why am I here?" Sonic rasped out. Mario sighed and handed Sonic the water, shaking a couple of pills out of the bottle.

"You showed up last night piss drunk, threw up in a plant outside and passed out. I wasn't going to let you stay outside all night, so I brought you in and let you sleep on the couch."

"Uh, thanks," Sonic mumbled, taking the pills from Mario and gulping them down with a sip of water. "That was kind of you."

Mario shrugged. "You know me Sonic. Even if we're not on good terms right now... I still don't want anything to happen to you."

Sonic pursed his lips, focusing on the clear liquid in the glass he was holding. "I should go."

"You can stay a bit longer if you want." Mario pointed out. Sonic shook his head.

"No, I've already overstayed my welcome." Sonic stood, momentarily wobbling before he steadied himself and placed the glass of water down and grabbed his phone again. "So... I'll see you around I guess."

"Yeah... see you around."

Sonic quickly left the townhouse, already sending a text to Mega Man to let him know that he was fine and on his way. The pills were finally beginning to dull the throbbing in his head.

If only they could dull the sudden ache in his heart as well.

AN: I don't usually headcanon Sonic (or Mario for that matter) as a jealous type. But this is an AU, so...

~Steel