Written for Sallicole Week 2019's for the Day 2 prompt "Double Date."
Party Night
Sally Acorn's eyes went as wide as dinner plates. Her body stiffened, her hands clutching her knees so tightly that she heard her knuckles pop. All she could do remain still, matching the same posture as her adversary, who appeared equally befuddled.
The pulsing music of the Forget Me Knots blasted around them, Mina's heavenly voice roaring to the sky above as the crowd cheered around them. Sally wished she could have gone on listening to Mina's latest hit, enjoying the raw guitar riffs and smashing drums. It was a song which would have appealed to Sonic, and while not entirely her style, she quietly understood why that other girl was sitting right next to her.
"Fiona," Sally said, narrowing her eyes.
"Princess," the fox hissed, balling her hands into fists.
"Care to explain what you're doing here? You're still wanted on numerous charges."
Fiona brushed her bangs out of her eyes, snorting, "Don't bother me now. I'm not here to cause trouble."
As Mina bellowed the name of her next song, the crowd hollering her name, Sally scoffed. "That's rich coming from you. With your past record-"
"Look," Fiona hissed, her teeth clenching and brows furrowing, "I'm not here to pick a fight. I didn't even realize I'd be sitting next to you when I scored these tickets off Bean. I'm only here to enjoy the show with my girlfriend, got it?"
A particular word caused her ears flick. Sally repeated the word, sounding it out as if she was learning it for the first time. As Fiona scowled and crossed her arms, she hummed and tilted her head, her curiosity defeating her natural wariness.
Noticing Fiona started fiddling with one her belts, she asked, "Well, what happened with Scourge?"
"Dumped him." She shrugged. "If he wants to keep going behind my back with all those other anti-girls, then he's not a keeper."
Sally watched Fiona grip her elbows, her chin tucking towards her chest. While she knew the former Moebian queen had committed several crimes against her kingdom, her heart twinged. She knew what it was like to be manipulated, tossed around by people she thought cared for her without considering what she wanted.
Glancing back at Fiona, she knew she had suffered. She had been left behind in Robotnik's lair for too many harrowing years, alone and enraged, saving herself when most assumed she was dead. She endured a great deal of pain, but she chose to deflect from the Freedom Fighters, slapping Tails and allowing Scourge and his malicious posse to invade their base. With a smile on her face, a calculating gleam in her eyes, Fiona Fox tried annihilating them all for the sake of her own happiness.
She had committed many felonies some would deem unforgivable, but Sally watched her shudder. She had half a mind to arrest her in the crowd. The guards would drag her away to the underground jail, and she would rot until trial. She was certain the Council of Acorn wouldn't bat an eye when coming up with a fitting punishment for her, but the thought of it made a shiver race down her spine when she observed Fiona fidget, agitated and alone, her supposed girlfriend nowhere in sight.
"Where's your girlfriend?" Sally asked, lowering her voice, the flashing lights from the sage burning holes in her vision.
"She's coming," Fiona insisted, gritting her teeth. She quickly glanced around, catching sight of every nearby Freedom Fighter. Amy and Tails swung each other around, laughing in the middle of their own crowd. Antoine and Bunnie nestled together, their hands entwined as they danced to Mina's gentle love song. Sonic was nowhere in sight, prompting her to ask, "Are you here by yourself?"
"Oh, no, Nicole's accompanying me." She scratched her cheek. "We're on a date, too."
Her mouth fell open. "But I thought-"
She snickered, waving her hand dismissively. "Sonic and I decided to stay as friends. We're better that way."
As Fiona remained silent, Sally felt a hand slip into hers. She melted, her smile pressing into her cheeks as she tightened her grip. Looking over her shoulder, she found Nicole beaming, balancing two small cups of soda in her free palm.
"You will never guess who I just met!" Nicole exclaimed, but before she could continue, Fiona yelped, an arm wrapping around her neck.
"Got'cha," Nic jeered, holding her own cups of soda.
"Don't scare me like that. We're still wanted here," Fiona hissed, shooting Sally a sideways glare.
Humming, the weasel tilted her hat and grinned. "Oh, Princess Sally, nice to see ya again. I just had a lovely conversation with your girlfriend over soda flavors by the vendors."
Nicole bobbed her head. "We did! Thank you for teaching me about cherry vanilla! It's delicious!"
"Any chance I get to prove my brother wrong with another opinion means you're okay in my book." Nic handed Fiona a cup, chuckling as she jerked her head back to chug it.
Sighing, she wiped her mouth and peered at Sally. She certainly didn't want to be thrown in jail with Nic because of concert tickets she won from Bean. It wouldn't have been fair to Nic, dragging her back to Mobotropolis only to be thrown away as usual, forgotten in some dingy cell that made every atom of her being crawl. She tensed, her shoulders hitching closer to her muzzle, and she turned towards Nic, the weasel beginning to sense her apprehension.
"You can enjoy Mina's concert," Sally interjected, offering a pleasant smile. When Fiona jerked her head back over her shoulder, her features incredulous, she sighed. "As long as you two don't cause any trouble, of course."
"We'll be good, princess. You'll see us hightail it outta here when it's over." Nic dipped her hat and wreathed her arm around Fiona's waist, pulling her closer and rubbing a knot out of her back. Lowering her voice, she crooned, "S'okay, Fi. If princess starts trouble, I'll start blasting."
Her lips quirked into a grin. She buried her face into Nic's shoulder, hiding the creeping heat from being seen by the other couple. She tapped her foot to the beat of Mach's drum solo, the roaring crowd overtaking her worried thoughts. Feeling Nic tighten her grip around her hips, she sighed and listened to Mina announcing the name of her newest song.
Nicole leaned closer to Sally. She knew they had every right to be worried about any possible trouble those two could cause. Fiddling with her cup, she whispered, "Sally, can we be sure about them?"
Sally didn't need to gander at them. She trekked down her fair share of rocky roads like Fiona had. Her heart had been trampled upon and her spirit crushed on too many occasions to count, but she persevered. She lived to see the end of Robotnik's malicious reign, falling in love with her best friend, and enjoying the music pumping around them, the sensations of her people cheering and dancing filling her with more joy than when they defeated Robotnik.
She knew what Fiona had done, but compassion for her enemies was something a princess and leader needed. Understanding that someone could change for the better had been hard to acknowledge considering the many betrayals in her life, but she felt an odd kinship with Fiona. Seeing her build a happier life with Nic just like she was doing with Nicole, it warmed her heart.
She gingerly sipped her cherry vanilla soda, the taste far too sugary on her tongue, but catching Nicole's eager glance, she smiled and finished her drink. She swayed to the music, pocketing her empty cup into her vest pocket. As Nicole took her hand, sashaying along to the beat of Mina's raw vocals, she laughed in tune with the crowd's rally.
Nicole spun her around, finding Nic mimicking their dance. Nic had twirled Fiona already, snickering at her girlfriend's scarlet muzzle as she dipped her. Intrigued, Nicole copied them, dipping Sally low as Mina hit a high note, allowing the princess to throw her leg up into the air and bend so far back that her hair nearly grazed the grass.
Not wanting to lose, Fiona tossed herself back even farther, Nic barely managing to hold on to her hand in time before she could drop her. She stole Sally's pose, arms splayed back, leg shooting towards the night sky. Smirking at Sally, she stuck out her tongue, managing to hold herself longer as Nicole pulled up her girlfriend when her back started twinging.
"Getting a bit rowdy, huh, Fi?" Nic teased, lifting her up as Mina led the crowd through a headbanging session.
"A little competition never hurt," she said, brushing her hair back.
"Is that so?" Sally asked, cocking her hip, Nicole peeking out from behind her. "I'm in the mood for a little friendly competition myself. How about a dance off?"
Nicole cupped her hand to Sally's ear. "I've analyzed over one hundred dancing patterns, so we'd be certain to win."
"You're on!" Fiona blurted before Nic could reply, jabbing her finger at Sally's nose, smirking.
Scratching her long ear, Nic shrugged. She wasn't sure what suddenly brought on her girlfriend's fierce mood, but she certainly wasn't going to deny a chance to show her off. She fixed her hat, smoothed down her coat, and offered her hand.
"Looks we got a challenge over there!" Mina shouted from the stage, noticing the crowd creating a circle for the dancers. "Okay, girls! Let's see what moves you got! You'll be rocking to another new song Sharps and I wrote! Time for it's debut! It's time for Power Ballad! Whooooa!"
As Mina howled, the girls moved in sync to the boisterous, booming rhythm. Nicole and Nic spun their girlfriends around, marveling over how gracefully they wove themselves to the band's harsher rocking. Sally and Fiona kicked their legs up, cocking their hips and messing up their hair, losing themselves in the moment. They even forgot about their partners, leaving them to watch with stars in their eyes as they danced, becoming a two woman show for the entire populace of the Kingdom of Acorn.
"Man, we sure scored, huh?" Nic asked, elbowing the lynx' shoulder.
"If you mean we have wonderful girlfriends, then you're absolutely correct." Cupping her cheek, she sighed and accepted another cup of soda from Nic, allowing Sally and Fiona to continue dancing, eventually coming together with laughter splitting past their lips, all animosity seemingly forgotten, replaced with good vibes and happiness all around.