There was only one more temple. One more temple, and Dark Gaia would be sealed and Chip's quest would be over and, finally, the world would be safe like it was supposed to be. They were on track to keep the issue from growing and allow the cycle to continue as it was supposed to.
They were on track, that is, until Sonic slowed his running to a halt. "I think I need to rest, Chip," he said.
Chip stopped flying and looked back at Sonic, rolling his eyes. "Come on, Sonic! It's the middle of the afternoon! We can't stop now!"
"Yeah, but I can't keep running forever," Sonic said. "I didn't get any sleep last night, remember?"
Chip started to retort before he realized Sonic had a point. "You're right!" His face morphed into an apologetic expression. "Oh man, we haven't stopped in days! I'm sorry, I guess I lost track of time!"
"It's not a big deal, Chip," Sonic said yieldingly. "It's not like I was complaining."
But Chip still looked guilty at pushing him so hard. "We just passed that town, wanna find a place to stay there?"
Sonic paused at the prospect. "Actually, why don't we just set up camp here?" he asked finally, smiling in a hard-to-read way. "Way less hassle," he said.
Chip shivered a bit as a breeze blew through his fur. "I dunno," he said. "It's kind of cold."
"Then we'll make a fire!" Sonic said, his eyes bright at the idea. "Man, I can't believe we've been traveling all over the world and we haven't made a single campfire."
They set out into the woods to find some sticks. Well, Sonic did most of the collecting while Chip just watched. How was this less hassle than getting a hotel room? But Sonic seemed to be having fun gathering wood, so Chip didn't say anything.
Soon, they'd set up a nice-sized campfire and were sitting around it. Chip held his hands out to absorb the heat of the fire. There was definitely an interesting atmosphere to sitting around a fire like this. It was very Sonic, making heat out of nothing but .
"Chocolate?" Chip offered. Sonic broke a square off of the bar and popped it into his mouth, smiling at the sweetness.
Sonic sighed, leaning back on his hands. "It's too bad we've only got the chocolate bar," he said, "or we could go full-camp-experience and make some s'mores."
"Yeah," Chip said, imitating Sonic's wistful tone before pausing and thinking for a moment. "What are s'mores?" he asked, curiously.
Sonic sat up and gaped at him for a moment before standing up suddenly. "You keep an eye on the fire, buddy. I'll be right back." And before Chip could ask him where he was going, he had run off.
Chip considered following him, but realized that somebody had to make sure the fire didn't go out, so he stayed behind to watch it.
Predictably, Sonic was only gone a few minutes before he came back with a large bag of jumbo marshmallows and a box of graham crackers.
"Good thing the general store was open," he said, a little out of breath.
"I thought we set up camp so you could rest," Chip said, his voice somewhere between flat and amused.
Sonic shrugged. "Yeah," he said, unconcerned, "but there's no way I'm letting you miss out on s'mores."
He retrieved some thin sticks from a tree near them and placed. "Like this," he said to Chip, sticking his marshmallow in the flame and pulling it out when it caught on fire.
"So you just burn the marshmallows in the fire?" Chip asked, confused.
"That's what I do," Sonic said. He blew out the flaming marshmallow and inspected it, nodding in satisfaction. "Tails says you're s'posed to roast them over the fire so the outside gets all brown and the inside is gooey, but they always fall off the stick when I do that."
"Probably because you get impatient and don't pay attention," Chip said in a teasing sing-song of a voice.
Sonic shrugged and placed his charred-black marshmallow on the graham cracker. "Chocolate, please?" he asked. Chip broke off a square of his chocolate bar and Sonic gratefully took it and placed it on the sandwich before closing it and taking a bite.
"It's that easy," Sonic said, and if he noticed his mouth was full while he was talking, it didn't discourage him.
"I think I'll try it Tails's way," Chip said skeptically.
"Suit yourself," Sonic yawned, his sleepiness finally catching up with him, but he made no move to lie down.
Chip thought for a moment before putting two marshmallows onto his stick and held it a few inches above the flames. He kept his eyes trained on it for a few seconds until he got a feel for where it was and relaxed his scrutiny.
Some time in the middle of this, the sun finished its descent and Sonic transformed, an event that no longer phased either of them.
"So, millions of years of sleep," Sonic said. "Bet you have some crazy dreams." It was pretty obvious that the casualness was affected.
"Not really," Chip said, simply. "I don't dream."
"What, never?" Sonic asked, surprised.
Chip thought for a moment before nodding affirmatively. "Dreams replay your memories and make things out of what you think about, right?" he said. "All I've ever remembered is fighting Dark Gaia and beating him."
"Oh," Sonic said, his voice unusually small for this form.
An uneasy quiet settled between them. Chip took the opportunity to focus his attention on his marshmallows. Their undersides were a nice tan now, but the tops were still white. He turned them over.
"I don't think I could handle it," Sonic said, breaking the silence. "You know, just sleeping for all that time."
Chip grinned teasingly at that. "I don't think you could stay put for ten seconds, Sonic," he said, attempting to lighten the mood.
Sonic laughed, but it sounded decidedly forced.
Chip could tell what he was thinking now, but he didn't know how to answer.
For the second time, Chip considered heading off on his own. It would probably make things easier. Not the mission, that would probably be harder without Sonic's skills at getting past Eggman's robots. But the part after that would definitely be easier with just himself there.
But they were friends. And maybe it was selfish, but Chip liked being friends with him, liked being around him, liked having his help. He ... liked being Chip. Even if it wasn't going to last forever.
Satisfied with that answer, Chip turned his attention to his marshmallows. They were golden brown all over now and had grown to almost twice their original size. He grinned, glancing at Sonic, who was looking intently at the ground.
Chip frowned before smiling again, flying next to him to grab graham crackers from the box.
"Here!" he said, hovering about a foot in front of Sonic's face with one of his two constructed s'mores held out.
"Huh?" Sonic asked, snapped out of his trance and staring up at him.
Chip smiled encouragingly. "I did two, in case you wanna try one the 'right way.'"
Sonic blinked and took it silently. He'd assumed Chip was making two for himself. He wondered, suddenly, why he had assumed that.
He watched Chip take a large bite. Instantly, Chip's eyes lit up. "This is amazing, Sonic!" he shouted, smiling, "I can't believe-I love chocolate and I never knew you could use it to-this is so good!"
Sonic stared at him like he was trying to decode him. Decode how exactly the childish, sweet-toothed, curious Chip could possibly also be the responsible, self-sacrificial, wise Light Gaia. But his happiness was surprisingly infectious, somehow, and Sonic's bitterness just couldn't endure in the face of it. He smiled.
Remembering his own s'more, Sonic took a bite and seemed stunned. "Wow, that's really good," he said to Chip, grinning widely now. "You're a natural."
Chip returned the grin, pleased. "If there's one thing I know," he said matter-of-factly, "it's sweet stuff."
This time, Sonic's laugh was much more genuine. He took another bite, a bit of the marshmallow goo dribbling onto his chin.
There was quiet again, but it was less awkward and more peaceful as they listened to the sounds of the woods and watched the fire slowly become embers.
When Sonic yawned again, his eyes drooping, he forced himself to stay awake, knowing that, once he fell asleep, the night would be over and they'd keep on moving. He wished that time would stop in this moment. But his eyes continued to fall and he knew he couldn't hold back sleep's pull forever.
Chip could see Sonic's tiredness and flew up to him again. "Goodnight, Sonic," he said softly. Sonic nodded and lay down, closing his eyes easily. Chip started to fly over to his own place to lie down. Unexpectedly, Sonic stretched out his arm to pull him down to him, holding him to his chest in a hug, not unlike one would hold a stuffed animal.
Chip considering flying from Sonic's grasp, but decided against it. His fluffy fur was definitely comfortable. He let Sonic hold him and listened as his breathing slowed. "I wonder if, when I go back to sleep, I'll dream this time," he half-whispered, partially to Sonic and partially to himself, not sure if Sonic was already asleep or not.
Sonic didn't answer, but he did tighten his hug.
Chip smiled and hugged back.