Painless

by KMD

He hadn't been himself lately. Usually, Charmy would be cheerful about almost anything, extremely playful, even annoying at times. But he wasn't any of the three for at least a month now. Something was bothering the bee – it was clear on his face. Just a look into his honey colored eyes could tell someone he was hurting. Espio, and even Vector had noticed his strange behavior, but whenever they asked what was wrong, Charmy would just smile halfheartedly and tell them it was nothing.

It troubled them to not have their fellow detective acting like he used to be. Vector pushed the thought aside, telling himself and Espio that he would tell them about itd when he wanted to. Espio, however, wasn't so carefree in the matter. He payed close attention to the six-year-old, watching his every movement and emotion, hoping for some kind of change, or at least a hint to what was wrong. About a week or two ago, he noticed that whenever Vector told the two that they were going to visit Cream and her mom Vanilla for something, Charmy would just simply acknowledge it and leave with his head down. Espio also noticed that whenever he saw Cream and Vanilla hug each other, or really just do something that a mother and daughter would normally do, he'd tell them that he was leaving and fly away somewhere for a while. He considered following him numerous times, but he always got held back by Vector and the others. Espio hated the feeling he got when he realized how much he missed the young bee's attitude. He missed the mischievous grin on his face whenever he got in trouble with one of them. He missed the never ending questions Charmy would sometimes throw on them. Hell, as much as he hated to admit it, he even missed how unbearably iannoying/i he got. The ninja chameleon hoped to dear lordy god and all the spirits above that someone could help him soon.

Just a few days ago, Vanilla had invited the detectives over to her house to stay for the week. Vector, who would practically do anything to get closer the rabbit, immediately accepted. Espio rolled his eyes at his crack croc boss, but also politely accepted. Charmy just nodded at the invitation, having nothing to say. About a day or two later, the three left for a little vacation.

It was just their first day there. Cream wondered down the hall, looking around absentmindedly. The rabbit girl stopped about midway through, turning to her right: Charmy's room. His room was closer than than the other two's, so she decided tostart with him first. With a cheery smile on her face, she knocked on the door lightly. "Hey Charmy, my mom and I want to know if you would like to have dinner with us," Cream stated in her usual high-pitched voice. She stopped knocking, expecting to see the door open.

No answer.

"Charmy?" She reached for the door knob and turned it right, pushing open the door. The room was darker than she had expected – not one light was on. The only thing making anything visible was a stream of sunlight coming through the window (though, most of it was blocked off by the shades) and the hallway. In the back, small sobs were making their way through the small room. Cream looked over to where the sobs were coming from and to was shocked at the answer. Charmy was curled up in a ball, crying like he had just seen Vector and Espio brutally murdered right in front of him.

"Charmy? Why are you crying?" the young bee looked up at Cream, who was climbing up onto his bed. He quickly blinked and rubbed his eyes.

"I-I'm not crying," he stuttered, wiping the tears off and sniffling a little. "I-I just had something in my.. eye..." He falsely rubbed his eye, hoping the rabbit would take the bait and go away. Unfortunately for him, it had the exact opposite effect.

"No you don't," Cream replied calmly. She scooted a little closer to him. "What's wrong?" Charmy sniffled again.

"Its... my parents," he started shakily. "I miss them." The rabbit nodded understandingly. She knew exactly what he meant – she didn't get to spend everyday with her mom like most kids did, and her father had divorced. It pained her whenever she was separated from her only parent, and that seemed to be happening a lot.

"I'm sorry. When'd you get separated from them?" Cream asked.

"About four years ago."

Cream let in a light gasp. The poor kid had been parted from his family for more than forty eight months. It put her situation to shame. "When are you going to see them again?" That's when Charmy burst out in tears again. She then realized that she never heard her friend ever say stuff like 'my dad is so awesome', or 'your mom and my mom would make such good friends!' She got worried as she predicted what he was gonna say.

"Never!" he choked out. "They're gone, and I'm never gonna see them ever again!" He fell to the bed sobbing, and Cream could feel her eyes watering a bit, too. Her situation with her parents was inothing/i compared to his. She felt some extreme sympathy for the bee.

"I'm sorry," was really all that she could say. Charmy sobbed even more.

"No you're not. You're lucky - you still have parents!"

Cream shook her head. "No. I haven't seen my dad in three years, and its only every now and then when I get to stay with my mom."

"Still," he choked again slightly. "You don't know what its like to not have a family!"

Again, Cream was taken aback. Without thinking, she mumbled to him, "but you do have a family." She almost regretted saying it, but then actually thought of some backup for her statement. Charmy immediately looked up at her in question, his crying seeming to stop for the moment.

"Wh-what?"

She looked at him straight in his honey eyes. "The Chaotix, Mr. Vector and Mr. Espio – they're you're family." Charmy looked slightly shocked at her answer.

"But... I only work for them," he stated. "They don't care about what happens to me."

"Yes they do. You may not believe it, but you're one, if not, top, of their priorities, and they would become really sad if anything bad ever happened to you." Even Cream herself was surprised that she could be such a motivational speaker. She thought for a moment that she could do those kinds of speeches more often, and maybe change a few lives. But she shook the thought from her head – she was talking to her best friend here, and she meant every word she had just said. Charmy looked at her with desperate eyes. Unexpectedly, but understandably, he pulled her over to him and hugged her tightly. Cream couldn't do anything else but hug him back.

"Thanks Cream," he started.

"You're welcome, Charmy."

He sighed tiredly and let go. "I'm sorry for crying in front of you. You must think I'm a complete wimp for that." Cream shook her head.

"No, not at all. Crying usually means sadness, which means you're feeling emotion. And emotions are what make us real. You should be worrying if you're not crying." She smiled, and he pulled her into a hug again. "I'm sorry for changing the subject, but you never answered my question about dinner."

Charmy let go again, and managed to crack a real smile for what seemed like forever. "I'd be happy to." Cream got up from the bed.

"Ok! Lets go see if the others want to, too," she suggested. Charmy nodded and followed her into the hallway. While the two were walking over to the next room, Cream grabbed his hand softly. The bee hesitated a little, but intertwined his fingers with hers. The two walked over in front of the room a few yards away from Charmy's, and knocked on the door.

"Espio, Vector! Open up!" Charmy shouted. Almost immediately, the door swung open, Espio and Vector standing on the other side. "Cream wants to know if you guys wanna have dinner with us." The change in the six-year-old's voice was clear as crystals, and the two detectives were almost taken aback by his refound excitement.

"...Sure!" Vector answered for both of them. The two kids then turned around and led the others back down the hall. Though, Espio had other plans. He walked past Vector, and lightly grabbed Cream's shoulder. She stopped walking, unnoticed by Charmy, and turned to the chameleon. He got down onto his knees to match the rabbit's height.

"Thank you Cream," he said sympathetically. She nodded and smiled.

"You're welcome."

egh... i think i made Cream use way too big of words. ah well, can't change it now, can i? just a note, but i don't actually know what happened to Charmy's parents, nor do i know what happened to Cream's father. i just made this because the idea was bouncing around in my head.

hope you liked it! please review!