Behold! My lame-brain excuse for not working on my Erik/Elphie story.

But here we are. I like this pairing, and I don't see enough of it. This is set in the Sonic Heroes 'verse, since I have no first-hand experience in any other Sonic 'verse.

Disclaimer: Hey, if this is a disclaimer, then it is disclaiming automatically! So does that mean that if I disclaim something, it's already disclaimed before I disclaim it? Ooh! This means I own it!

...Well, not really. I own nothing but this little fluffy tidbit.

Roll it, Louie!

Charmy was whirling around gleefully, singing, "Birthday, birthday, birthday, birthday!" Vector was chasing him around the apartment, trying to get a grip on the little bee so that he give Charmy his birthday licks. Tackling him to the ground, Vector punched the bee very gently in his arm.

"One," Vector crowed, "two," as another soft blow fell, "three…" Espio finally glanced up from the newspaper, glancing at the two Mobians on the kitchen floor with mild amusement.

"Seven!" the crocodile exclaimed as he whacked Charmy once more and helped the bee up.

"And one for luck," Espio said, absent-mindedly.

"And one for luck!" Vector said as he tickled his "little brother." Charmy laughed until he forced himself into the air to evade the crocodile.

"Didn't hurt!" the bee said happily.

"Yeah, it did!" the detective replied, grinning.

"Nun uh! Hey, where's my cake?" Charmy was, of course, referring to the birthday tradition. After Vector administered the birthday licks (watching Vector whack himself on his own birthday always sent Charmy into uproarious laughter and even made Espio smile), they ate cake for breakfast.

"Ah…" Vector began, looking at Espio for help. Luckily, the chameleon was better prepared.

"Charmy," he began, "how about you go get some fly practice on the roof? We'll have breakfast later."

"Seriously?" the bee asked, his eyes wide. "Really, Espio? Thanks, bye!" Charmy zipped out the window and up to the top of the roof in nothing flat.

The chameleon was the only one who routinely trained on the roof; he forbade anyone from coming up when he was practicing, since his expertise required not only for the body to be exercised in total consciousness, but also in a state of meditation. Respecting silence was not Charmy's forte.

"Heh heh, smooth," Vector said admiringly as Espio folded the newspaper precisely. "Thought we were in for it there." The crocodile headed for the stove and got out a pan.

"Sit," the chameleon ordered, coming up from beside his friend. "I'm making the cake. Charmy nearly cried last year at your…what was it? Fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a candle on top?"

"Psh, that was before he tasted it," Vector replied, but relinquished the saucepan to Espio. Although he wouldn't admit it, Espio was a good cook when he put his mind to it. Unfortunately, he rarely ever did, and so they ate a great deal of take-out.

Vector did sit down, and he turned up his music slightly, watching the chameleon whose back was to him.

The crocodile had noticed something peculiar about Espio from the first time he had watched the chameleon cook. Espio always moved in the same way when he got something from the fridge, or put something back, over moved from one end of the table to another. He took long, gliding steps or very short, quick ones; he alternated between each every time he cooked.

It had not escaped the crocodile's attention that Espio was extremely graceful, even for a ninja. Even a ninja had to steady himself before he could move forward, but for Espio, movement was effortless. He stopped and spun, occasionally, when cooking, and still he moved like liquid.

Vector admired this. As a larger reptile, he was not known for grace and speed, although he could crunch through a metal bar if it suited him. And although he was proud of this considerable strength, a spot of subtlety would probably be useful every now and again.

That aside, Espio's movements were also extremely attractive.

Yes. Vector was gay. It was not something that was made a big deal over, but it was not a huge secret. Anyone who had a problem with it was invited to discuss it with the crocodile himself, although words usually weren't what was exchanged.

And so Vector had become interested in the chameleon and his oddities. For example, Vector could remember when he first found out that Espio could cook.

"'The life of a ninja is one of solitude,' as my teachers were fond of repeating. As a result, we learn how to cook so that we may feed ourselves," Espio had responded to Vector's inquiry as to how he had learned to cook, never taking his eyes off of the boiling pot.

Now, Espio was stretching up to reach a small bottle of vanilla extract from the cabinet, and Vector was privileged to see the muscles in the thin chameleon's back and arms strain slightly and relax as he grasped the bottle and turned back to the bowl.

Vector hid a grin as he saw the chameleon take a quick sniff of the vanilla before returning back to his duty, his eyebrows knitted and the ghost of a smile on his face. Yet another thing he hadn't known about the chameleon.

After sliding the pan into the oven, Espio plunked all of the bowls and spoons into the sink. Turning around to smirk at the crocodile, he leaned on the counter and asked, "Like what you see?"

"Ayep," Vector replied, unabashed and also smirking.

"What are you going to do about it?" the chameleon asked quietly.

"Same thing as always," the crocodile responded, acknowledging the now-familiar ritual. Standing up and striding quickly –if not completely gracefully- before the lithe chameleon, he wrapped his long, strong arms around Espio's form. They kissed, softly.

"Mmmm…love you," Espio whispered softly as they broke the kiss.

"Same here, pretty young thing," Vector replied with a teasing grin, gently rubbing his lover's back. They kissed again, but suddenly Espio went stiff.

"Call from a client," he muttered urgently, and Vector understood automatically. Risking exposure for a second longer, he quickly pecked Espio's lips as if to say, "We'll continue this later," and darted into his chair. Charmy flew through the window a second later.

"Eh…it's BORING up there…there's nuthin' to do. I don't know why you like it, Espio!" the little bee said, fluttering around. "Where's my cake?" he asked, perking up.

"Right in there," Espio replied quietly, tapping the oven.

"Patience, kid, and soon you shall have your reward," Vector said, sliding Espio a slightly smoky look out of the corner of his eye. "A wise man said that."

Espio sat down and picked up his newspaper again. "Ten minutes and counting until breakfast."

The warm sounds of Charmy and Vector's silly chatter and the rustle of the newspaper filled the apartment.

All done! This is a one-shot; I might write more later.

Review, please!