Hey guys and girls! How have you all been? I know it's been a long time since I last uploaded anything, mainly because of massive writer's block, but college and personal issues didn't help either.

Anyway, this is a story I've been writing for a while now and I can't wait to share it with you! :D

On a side note, my chameleon, Sage, is still around. He says 'hi'. :)

I hope you all enjoy this story! Feel free to R&R! I appreciate the honesty, as long as it's constructive.

Arby xx


Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to SEGA. I simply freak out over them. That is all.


Every day was the same. Charmy would be sat watching cartoons and trying his hardest to ignore Vector's complaints as he read the newspaper at his desk. Espio would usually be in his room meditating, trying his best to ignore any and all commotion that came from downstairs. Despite this usual daily routine, they all seemed content, especially Charmy who appreciated the 'normal' life more than anyone realised. He noticed every little detail from day to day and was thankful for each and every part of it.

Today was just like every other day before it. Espio was in his room while Vector and Charmy were downstairs. The bee was watching cartoons and trying his best to ignore… nothing. He snapped out of his trance when he realised that Vector was silent at his desk. The small insect turned to see that he was reading the newspaper as usual, but wasn't complaining about every single headline. A small stab of anxiety could be felt at the pit of his stomach, while his mind told him that he was overthinking things. Still, he was curious and decided to venture the situation further.

"Hey Vector?" The child asked, but the reptile gave no response. One eyebrow lowered and Charmy grew a little irritated thinking that he was being ignored.

"VECTOR!" He yelled unexpectedly giving the croc a fright.

"AH! Huh? What? Oh, hey Charmy. What's wrong?" He replied. Charmy widened his eyes at his response.

"What's wrong with me?" He said, almost feeling insulted. "What's wrong with you?"

The crocodile sighed. "What're ya talking about, Charms?" The bee rolled his eyes, irritating Vector a little before answering.

"How come you're not complaining at every little thing in the paper today? Plus, when I called your name the first time, you either ignored me or were off in your own little world. Basically what I'm asking you, is if you're alright?" Vector knew he was being serious by the look on his face. It had 'serious' written all over it, which made the usually stubborn croc a little uncomfortable and began to look anywhere except at Charmy. The little insect noticed instantly and his expression grew to one of concern. Vector sighed again.

"I've just got… a lot on my mind, okay?" His voice was a lot calmer and even quieter, as if not wanting someone else to hear.

"Why are you whispering?" Charmy asked.

"I just don't want Espio to hear because then he'll ask what's wrong and I might snap at him and I don't want to do that." The croc spoke unusually quickly, making it obvious to Charmy that he was nervous, but why?

"You'll snap at him? Did you guys have a fight?!" The insect asked in a panic.

"No! It's just… it's complicated, alright?" Charmy became irritated once more.

"Hey, just because I'm a kid doesn't mean I can't listen. Sure, I may not understand all the adult situations like you and Espio can, but that doesn't mean I don't care. I came over here to see if you were okay and to see if I can help in any way, but the only way I can do that is if you let me." Vector was speechless for a few seconds by Charmy's sudden mature attitude. He felt bad for misjudging him.

"Maybe I can trust him with this… at least once anyway." He thought to himself.

"I'm sorry, Charms. I seem to forget that you're growing up real fast. I guess I still see you as that little guy we met on Angel Island." They both smiled at the pleasant memory, but Charmy was the first to bring them both back.

"So, are you going to let me help you or not?" His ability to get straight to the point was something Vector thought could be of use to him.

"Alright, I'll tell you, but you gotta promise me that this doesn't reach Espio. Do you understand?" The bee nodded excitedly and sat on the desk in front of Vector. The croc breathed in and out nervously. He could barely say a word, which made Charmy worry even more.

"It's alright, Vector." Charmy reassured which to Vector's surprise, actually seemed to make him feel a bit better.

"Ok Charms, you're right. I have been very distracted and the reason for that is because Espio has been on my mind a lot."

"Is there something wrong with him?" The boy asked innocently. Vector giggled a bit.

"Nah, he's fine, don't worry about him. He's been on my mind for a different reason, one which I'm unsure you'll understand." The bee scratched his helmet as if scratching his head trying to guess what was going on, but in the end accepted defeat.

"Just tell me, Vec. You never know, I might get it." The green reptilian nodded in agreement and even pat Charmy on the head, who smiled wide in response.

"Well… at first even I didn't know why I kept thinking about him. I thought maybe I was coming down with something because whenever I was near him, I'd get a stomach ache…" This caused Charmy to think again. He had an idea of what was 'wrong' with Vector, but he didn't want to say anything in case he was wrong. Instead, he stayed quiet and allowed Vector to voice his problem.

"…But then I woke up real early the other morning and I thought about it forever. Before I knew it, the penny dropped and I felt ill just thinking about It, which made me more convinced that it was what it was."

"And what was that then, Vector?" He tried to speak normally whilst trying to hide a very smug grin. He knew and so did Vector.

"I don't wanna say… but that creepy smile you have suggests that you already know." Charmy couldn't help but giggle under his breath. He then looked Vector dead in the eyes, which seemed to scare him half to death.

"You love him, don't you?" Before he knew it, Vector was on the floor. Charmy, of course, found his reaction hilarious and couldn't help but burst into a fit of laughter until he saw Vector's aggravated face once he'd gotten to his feet.

"Did you have to do that?" He asked, clearly not amused.

"In all seriousness Veccy, that's awesome!" He began to fly around excitedly which eventually brought a small smile to Vector's face.

"Thanks little guy, but it also dawned on me that morning that it may never happen." Charmy froze instantly and felt saddened by Vector's words.

"But why?!" He yelled causing Vector to shush him.

"Because I have no idea if he, you know… swings that way." The bee child sighed with relief.

"Oh, is that all? Just go and ask him then." The crocodile shook his head quickly.

"No way! Do you know how awkward that would be? I'm not as 'to the point' as let's say… you." The bee looked up at him slowly with a blank expression.

"You want me to ask him, don't you?" He thumbed up Charmy and gave him a toothy grin.

"Pretty please?" He tried to say in a higher-pitched voice, but failed and made Charmy jump a little instead.

"You owe me a massive jar of honey for this." Suddenly, Vector ran up to the bee and hugged him tightly.

"Deal!" He exclaimed happily before letting him go. He buzzed up the creaky wooden stairs of their small shack and quickly glanced back at Vector, who obviously watched him fly all the way up here, before venturing into the chameleon's room.


Espio opened one eye, sensing that someone was near him. He could see a small bee head peering around his door and looking around his room. Ninja weaponry was neatly hung on the walls, one of the reasons he doesn't let anyone in, but this case was an exception. Firstly, Charmy didn't barge in and second, he actually asked for his permission before walking in and closing the door behind him. The bee sat down in front of him with a blank expression, not knowing where to start.

"Something is wrong. You are unusually reserved today." He started, the bee nodded.

"You could say that, but there's nothing wrong with me, it's just… something came to mind and now I have a very personal question I need to ask you." Espio looked at him with a confused look.

"Personal?" Espio thought for a second before nodding.

"Whatever it is, I'll answer with honesty. You know that." Charmy smiled and nodded back before putting his serious face back on.

"Well, this was literally a thought that came out of nowhere, but there was something I wanted to know, about you specifically." The bee shifted awkwardly which Espio picked up on, but didn't mention.

"What is it then, Charmy?"

He sighed and figured that his usual directness would be the only way to get it out.

"Are you into guys or girls?" An enormous blush appeared on his face as he stared at the floor. Espio grinned at his embarrassment before reassuring him.

"That's a very fair question, Charms, and it takes a lot of guts to ask something like that." The bee looked up in surprise and smiled wide.

"Thanks, Es!" He said happily before rushing over to give the ninja a hug. The reptile slowly pat the bee on the back, but also thought hard about his answer. He had never been in a relationship before and in all honesty, never thought about love much. Deep down though, he knew what he liked and despite never telling anyone, he wasn't ashamed in the slightest or even worried about what other people might think of him.

"To answer your question Charmy, I'm not exactly fussy. If I were to be with someone, I wouldn't care about gender as long as we were happy." An 'aww' escaped Charmy's mouth before he spoke.

"Thanks a bunch Es, I feel a lot better, but now that I know, can I ask a hypothetical question?" Espio shrugged and nodded. "If let's say someone like… I don't know, Vector was to ask you out, what would you say?" Espio was caught off-guard and definitely had to think about it. Vector was his best friend and not once had he thought of him in that sort of light. He snapped out of his thoughts to notice Charmy staring at him with his head to the side.

"Honestly Charms, I've never thought of Vector in a romantic sense before and to tell you the truth… it feels weird and not a good weird either. If that were to happen then I wouldn't be able to accept because we're friends and we work well that way." Charmy felt guilt slowly fill up inside of him, but hid it very well.

"That's alright Es, I was just curious is all." He forced a smile as Espio pat him on the head. "I'll let you meditate now, I'm gonna go watch cartoons." Espio nodded once more before the bee left his room and shut the door.


Before heading downstairs, Charmy took a few minutes to gather his thoughts. He could see Vector trying to read the paper again, obviously trying to take his mind off of everything else. The insect felt bad for the news he was about to tell him. He took a deep breath and made his way back to Vector's desk.

Upon noticing the bee, the crocodile immediately put the newspaper away and locked his eyes on him.

"So, what did he say?" There was a hint of excitement and nervousness in his voice, which were both about to be extinguished.

"Firstly, he said gender doesn't matter to him, which I'm guessing means he likes both guys and girls however…" Charmy stopped and looked down at the desk he was sat on. Vector tilted his head, but said nothing. "I also asked, in a hypothetical sense, what he would do if you asked him out…" Vector blushed and gave a quick glance to Espio's door before looking back at the saddened bee. "… He thought about it and then said he couldn't see you that way and would say no if you were to ask." Vector leaned back in his chair and gave a loud sigh.

"Oh…" It was only one word, but Charmy could easily tell that his friend was in pain.

"I'm sorry, Vector." The reptile then got up and pretended to brush it off.

"Hey, it's alright Charms. You did real good doin' that for me. I'm just gonna head to my room now." Before Vector could take another step, Charmy grabbed his hand forcing him to turn and face the young bee. He was met with a glare which honestly scared the croc. The bee's eyes demanded honesty and Vector sighed in defeat realising that was what Charmy deserved.

"Alright Charms… I'm hurt and I just need some time alone. I'll get over it, just give me a few days." The child's expression softened and he nodded at the older croc before letting him go to his room. Charmy then went outside and flew to the roof where he watched the sun set. The sky was alight with vibrant reds, oranges and pinks, which were slowly fading into gentle shades of blue and purple. He remembered coming up here all the time when he was younger, but seemed to drop the habit eventually.

"I really should start sitting up here more often. It's so pretty plus, this weird calmness comes over me, which I can't explain, but I like it." He laid there for a while, until the night-time breeze sent chills through the bee's body. He decided that it was a good time to head to bed.


Three days had passed and Charmy was yet again sat watching cartoons, but he was more distracted now than he ever was when Vector was in the room. The bee couldn't help but glance back at his desk every so often, only to see no one sat at it. He slumped back down and rested his head on his hand. He felt terrible. Suddenly, he heard a door open from upstairs. The little insect turned quickly to see that it was Espio coming out of his room after some meditation. Charmy sighed to himself and sat back down. Espio sat next to him and could tell that something was wrong.

"Hey Charms, are you ok? Where's Vector?" He asked in his usual deep, yet soothing voice.

"He's been in his room for the past three days and I'm worried about him." The chameleon pat the bee on the shoulder.

"Why has he been in his room?" Charmy panicked a little trying to think of an excuse.

"He thought he was coming down with something, so he went into his room for some rest, but that was three days ago." Espio then turned and looked at Vector's door before looking back at the concerned child.

"I'll try to talk to him. You stay here." Charmy nodded and Espio went to knock on Vector's door.

"Hey Vector! Are you alright? You haven't been out of your room for days. Charmy said you weren't well."

"Thanks Charms, I knew I could count on you." Vector thought, realising that Charmy had made up that excuse to cover him.

"Don't come in here, Es! *cough cough* I don't want you to get whatever this is!" He yelled from his bed. He tried to keep his composure, but hearing Espio's voice didn't make his situation any less painful. The only person he ever truly cared for is the one person he can never have. That thought alone made Vector's voice tremble and Espio was able to pick up on it.

"You sound upset, I'm coming in to see if you're okay."

"No!" Vector responded. Espio grew a little suspicious.

"I either come in now, or I'll come back later and come in whether you want me to or not. This is getting out of hand, Vector."

"Ok, ok…" Vector sighed in defeat. "Come back later Espio, just not now… please…" Espio sighed quietly to himself, but agreed nonetheless knowing that this was the best he was going to get.

"There has to be something more to this. What is he hiding?" The chameleon looked back at Charmy who seemed to be watching cartoons and oblivious to what happened upstairs. He was forced to brush it off for now and went into the kitchen to make dinner. He opened up the cupboards and to his annoyance, found no food.

"How the…? Charmy! Where has all the food gone?" He yelled from the kitchen. A small whimper came as a response.

"Uh… I may have eaten it all… but usually Vector gets more, but um yeah…" He had his usual "please don't kill me" look. He wasn't mad at him, just irritated and went to the phone to order a pizza instead.


An hour and a half had passed and with Charmy devouring most of the pizza, it didn't take him long to doze off on the couch. Espio carefully put a blanket over him making sure not to wake the sleeping bee. He smiled a little and then remembered back to Vector. The ninja silently made his way upstairs and knocked on the croc's door. He got no response and knocked again just to be polite, but he knew he was going to go in anyway.

"Vector?" He whispered as he went through the door. Upon further inspection, he could see that the green reptile was asleep. He kneeled down making sure to remain silent as to not wake him. His hand moved to his forehead to see if he had a temperature. He had none.

"A little odd." Espio thought, but brushed it off and swiftly left the room to allow the croc to sleep in peace. Tears began to roll down the crocodile's face. He opened his eyes from pretending to sleep and silently cried to himself. He thought the pain would get better, how could he be so upset over something that never happened? But having the chameleon so close to him tore his soul apart.

"Dammit, I can't do this… I can't, I can't, I can't…" He whispered over and over again to himself until he fell asleep.


Both Espio and Charmy were up early the next morning, but there was still no sign of their 'head honcho' downstairs. The chameleon knocked on his door again and got no sign of life in return.

"It's still early, Es. Maybe he's still asleep." Charmy stated. Espio agreed.

"You have a point. Vector was never one for early mornings. I'll give him another hour." They both went downstairs and had some breakfast. After a minor disagreement on what to watch while they ate, Espio put on the news channel.

A husky in a dark blue suit appeared who was telling the week's upcoming weather.

"Temperature's will be rising over the next week, which is good news for any beach-goers out there."

"Nope." Espio thought.

"Yeah!" Charmy thought.

"Experts are predicting a major heat wave. While this is not certain, it could be the worst heat wave in the past two decades, so everyone is reminded to stay well hydrated and wear plenty of sun block. More info to come later in the week. Have a good day and goodbye for now." By the time the weather had finished, both Espio and Charmy had finished breakfast and turned the TV off.

"I had better check on Vector. In the meantime, it's your turn to wash up." Espio said with a smug grin. Charmy huffed, but did as he was told.

"Vector, are you awake yet?" Espio said calmly whilst knocking loudly on his door. "Come on, Vector! You need to eat!" He began to yell.

"That is it!" He thought in annoyance as he barged into the crocodile's room.

"Vector, you need to-" He cut off. Looking around the rather messy green and black room, he found no sign of the croc anywhere. He studied carefully, but the most obvious detail was the only window in the room. It was open.

"Charmy?" He said, still sounding calm.

"Yeah?" The bee replied from the kitchen.

"We're going on a little trip." The ninja growled.