Author's Note: Hello, everybody! TheHunterPersian here once again! We hope you guys enjoyed last chapter because ughhhhhhhhhuh it was the cutest thing to like read. Don't worry however, more cute is coming our way as the wedding heads into the reception dinner (or lunch? I'm not sure).
Oh, and we also have Chapter 7 done actually! So in about a week, expect another update from us!
After the ceremony, everyone sat down at the table for the "wedding reception".
Plates of food scattered across the table; turkey sandwiches cut into fourths, chips, crackers with slices of ham and cheese with which to top them, and a giant bowl of fruit. Along with this, the wedding cake stood in the middle of the table, although it wouldn't be eaten quite yet (everyone was in awe when they saw the cake, Knuckles attempting a few times to grab it for himself). The meal was topped with wine for the adults, and sparkling juice for the kids.
Had it not been for the wedding just moments prior, it would have appeared to be a simple get-together between Sonic and his friends. Of course, with the wedding cake, it was clearly not the case.
As the newlywed couple dug into their meal, Espio stared at his new ring. It was hard to believe that just a few minutes ago, he had gotten married to the one he loved. Vector wasn't his teammate, his friend, or his boyfriend anymore.
He was his husband.
"My husband…" Espio thought, smiling. "And I thought I liked the way 'My boyfriend' sounded…"
"Mmm… this is good food," Vector said while eating a cracker, then one of the sandwich fourths. "Whaddya think, Esp?"
"I agree, this meal is delicious."
Suddenly, Vector stood up, grabbed a plastic spoon, and clinked it against his glass of wine. The sound, while unremarkable due to the spoon's material, drew everyone's attention nonetheless.
"Uh, hey! Is it fine if I could get a moment?" he asked. Everyone stopped talking and looked up at him.
"So uh, me 'n Espio are real happy that ya guys came out today to celebrate our weddin'. It means a lot to us," Vector began.
Espio got up, not wanting to put his husband into the spotlight alone.
"You all have been such good friends to us for the longest time, and we only knew that it was appropriate that you came to see us today," the chameleon said.
"So yeah! From us, we wanna give ya all a big thanks! And well, ya can return back to what yeh were doin'!"
Vector and Espio sat back down, returning to their meal. This time however, the two would be giving each other a little bit of affection every now and again.
Across from them, Sonic grabbed a bunch of the sandwich fourths and placed them into his mouth.
"Sonic, shouldn't you slow down on the sandwiches?" asked Tails. "You still gotta save some for the rest, you know."
"Can't! They're too yummy! These are amazing, Vanilla!" The hedgehog said, putting another sandwich in his mouth.
"I'm surprised you even like something OTHER than chili dogs..." Shadow said, sipping his wine.
Sonic ignored him.
"Why, thank you, Sonic," Vanilla replied, softly blushing. "But, Tails does have a point. You should save some for the rest."
Sonic sighed, and then frowned. "Alright, alright... just this last one."
As Sonic reached into the pile of sandwiches, Amy grabbed his ear.
"Ow ow ow! What the hey, Amy?!" he yelled.
"You better listen well, Sonic! When we get married, I want a wedding as good as Vector and Espio's!"
Sonic became flabbergasted. "W-What do you mean US married?!"
"You know what I'M trying to imply!"
"I-I don't like your insinuation!"
As the two hedgehogs squabbled, Tails and Cream attempted to calm them down as Rouge continued to watch.
"I didn't know she wanted a wedding this cheap," the bat thought.
Rouge turned her head and almost spit out her beverage. Knuckles was drinking wine at an alarming rate. He was filling his glass to full, drinking the wine quickly, and doing it again.
"Knuckles! Calm down with the wine!" she scolded. "With all this alcohol you've had today, you're going to end up giving yourself liver damage!"
The drunken red echidna shot a glare and pointed his fist at the white bat. "S-SHUT UP! NO ONE ELSE IS ENJOYING THIS FINE NECTAR FROM THE GODS, SO IF SOMEONE HAS TO DRINK IT, IT'S GOING TO BE ME!"
"Oh, you buffoon, there are MORE people besides you who want something to drink… Besides, it's no wonder you got sloshed so quickly; knowing you, you only drink the water on Angel Island, and nothing else. Your tolerance must be lower than a basement."
Big sat across from Team Dark, feeding Froggy a few pieces of fruit and chips. He looked up and noticed that Omega had nothing in front of him.
"Omega? Do you want something?" Big asked.
"Big, Omega doesn't eat or drink anything," Rouge said, turning her attention away from Knuckles. "Even someone with a LITTLE intelligence knows that much about robots."
It was too late; Big was already pouring wine into a glass. The purple cat handed the glass to the robot.
"Here you go, Omega."
Surprisingly, Omega accepted the glass.
"Thank you, large purple cat that goes by the name of 'Big'," he said.
"Omega, you can't drink! Why did you accept?" Rouge questioned.
Omega turned to face Rouge. "I did not want to be rude. Therefore, I accepted the gift."
The white bat stared at Omega for some time before sighing.
"Sometimes, I don't get you…"
As Vanilla grabbed a few chips, she noticed that Shadow hadn't eaten anything on his plate, let alone barely had anything on it to start with.
"Shadow? Aren't you hungry? You've barely touched your food," Vanilla said.
Shadow turned his head to look at the adult rabbit. "As the Ultimate Life Form, I have been genetically made to have all the energy I could possibly need, in my default state. While I can and do eat, I can go without food for days, even weeks," he explained.
Vanilla began to chuckle. "Oh, you young people and your experimental diets."
Shadow's glare turned nasty. "I am MUCH older than you are," he sneered.
Vanilla simply stared at the black hedgehog.
Next to Vanilla, Cream was talking to Charmy across the table after successfully calming down Sonic and Amy. Cheese and Chocola floated above her, sharing a piece of turkey sandwich.
"So, Charmy," the small rabbit girl began. "When did you find out Vector and Espio were getting married?"
Charmy took a break from eating the handful of chips he had, pausing to ponder. "Well, it was late at night when Vector and Espio decided to go to Little Planet for some picnic. I don't know, I didn't go because I wanted to finish my game. Anyway, sometime later, WAYYY past my bedtime, even on the weekend, Vector and Espio return back home, and you know, they look really happy, and I'm like, 'What's up guys!'"
The bee took a breather and a sip of sparkling juice before continuing. "Then they tell me to sit down and I wonder if I'm in trouble. They tell me I'm not before the green one says 'Charmy, things are goin' to be a lot different around here.'"
Cream laughed at Charmy attempting to mimic Vector's gruff voice.
"So then I ask why, and that's when they show me rings on their fingers. And then they tell me that they're engaged, and how they're going to get married. And my first question is 'So, what size dress is Espio wearing?'"
Cream giggled yet again.
"He got SO offended. But it didn't matter in the end. I was happy that they were happy."
"Well, that's good, Charmy! I'm sure they'll be the best parents you've ever had."
Charmy froze when he heard this.
Parents…
Charmy never really knew his parents. The oldest thing he could remember was him all alone, and coming across Carnival Island. That was when he was five.
From then, the Chaotix took him in. Yet, he only looked at them as caretakers.
Now, with Vector and Espio's wedding… it seemed to take an all new turn. A turn Charmy had never expected.
Vector and Espio were now his… parents…
"Charmy? Are you okay?" Cream asked.
"Oh! Cream! My bad… I kinda zoned out," Charmy replied. Cream turned to her mother.
"Mommy, you didn't forget about the Brie, did you?"
Vanilla's eyes widened. "Oh! The Brie! Thank you so much for reminding me, sweetie!"
She got up from her seat. "I'll be right back."
With that, Vanilla entered the Chaotix Detective Agency.
Most people decided they'd had a fair share of the delicious food, and began to stare at the cake.
"Boy, does it look good." Tails said.
"It tastes good too!" Charmy replied. "Heck, we had a rui-"
"Charmy!" Vector placed his hand over the bee's mouth. "Ixnay on the ake-cay."
Finally, Vanilla came back, holding a plate full of Brie cheese.
"For our entrée, I fried cheese," she said.
All of a sudden, Knuckles slammed his hands on the table, looking furious and saddened.
"YOU FRIED CHEESE?! YOU MONSTER!"
Cream, scared by Knuckles' outburst, held Cheese in her hands as Chocola hid behind her head.
"M-Mr. Knuckles? Cheese is right here," she said.
"Oh… never mind then…"
Knuckles slurred his words as he slumped back into his chair.
Vanilla cut into the cheese and handed bits and pieces to everyone.
Vector and Espio bit into theirs, and found the garlicky and buttery tasting fried cheese to be delectable.
"Vanilla, this is outstandin'!" Vector exclaimed.
"Agreed, this is very delicious," replied Espio. "You should give me the recipe to this."
"Why thank you two so much. Did anyone else enjoy it?"
A good chunk of the people nodded their heads, and went back for more of the fried Brie cheese. Soon, it was completely gone.
Vector rubbed his belly. "Alrighty, we had a nice little feast. But it's time fer some dessert!"
"I've been waiting for this," Tails commented to Sonic.
Just as Vector got up and grabbed the knife by the wedding cake, Espio stood up.
"Vector? I thought I was going to cut the cake," the chameleon said.
"I thought I was gunna," Vector retorted. "Besides, doesn't the groom cut the cake?"
"We're both grooms, Vector! Well, to an extent anyway, but you know what I'm saying! Besides, I MADE this cake!"
Espio grabbed the knife from Vector's hand.
"Well I'm the more masculine one so I think I getta!"
Vector took back the knife.
"Already like a married couple…" Rouge thought.
"Just because you're the masculine one doesn't mean you automatically get to cut the cake! Hand the knife over!"
"Chaos, are you two REALLY arguing over a knife?" Rouge rolled her eyes. "Careful! I don't want a severed ring finger in my slice of cake!"
"I dunno, Rouge, I think you'd like it a lot! Well, just the ring, not the finger," Charmy commented.
Rouge glared a shut-up glare at the bee, who smiled, trying to act innocent. Vanilla looked confused as Espio snuck a look to his and Vector's "son" to "be quiet".
"In any other case, Espio, since yer distracted, I get to-"
"OH NO YOU DON'T-!"
"Guys, guys!" Sonic yelled, trying to get their attention. Everyone faced him.
"Here's an idea!" Tails suggested, smiling. "If you can't decide on who gets to cut the cake, why don't you BOTH do it?"
Vector and Espio turned to face each other.
"Y'know, Tails has a point," Vector said. "Let's both cut it, Espio. Me and yeh."
Espio nodded.
And with that, Vector raised the knife above the cake, his hand on the handle and Espio's hand over Vector's.
"Ready?" The crocodile asked.
"Ready," replied the fuchsia reptile.
The pair cut into the chocolate wedding cake, serving large pieces to themselves first. They then began to pass pieces to everyone else (sans Omega), even Shadow, despite requesting a smaller piece then the rest.
"Mmm… so good…" Amy said to herself, licking the icing from her spoon.
"God, this cake is bombass. This is delicious, Espio!" Sonic said, going back to eat some more. He stopped when he saw Vanilla staring him down.
"I-I meant, this cake is the bomb! Y-Yeah…"
"Why thank you, Sonic," Espio said. "Don't just praise me though; Vanilla helped me make this cake."
"I knew it! No one has more delicious cakes!" Tails complimented.
Vanilla smiled. "Why, thank you so much, Tails. Did anyone else enjoy the cake?"
Everyone nodded in agreement, even Rouge and Shadow.
"I helped too," Vector said quietly.
"Yes, yes you did." Espio ran a hand along his back.
"I must say, this is an interesting cake," Rouge began. "Normally, you don't serve a wedding cake to your guests – and on some occasions, it isn't even an ACTUAL cake – let alone... chocolate? But for what this is, it's quite delicious. Shadow?" The white bat glanced at the black hedgehog.
"It was good," he said.
"Well, with that 5-star review, you know that Espio and Vanilla made a good cake."
Rouge went back to her glass of wine.