Star-crossed Lovers

Chapter 7 – Orderly Truth

"Well, I was with both of my parents, and we were going over to the market that day. When I was a little crocodile, I used to enjoy spending a lot of time with my parents since I didn't have any brothers or sisters to play with at home."

"So, we went into this one toy shop, because I was being really whiny and I just kept insisting that we go in. I guess you'd be surprised that I would actually be so interested in toys, especially since I'm the person that I am now. But I was just like any other bratty kid when I was at that age."

Espio laughed at Vector's comment of himself. "You think very little of yourself as a kid. Did you not like how you acted when you were a child?"

Vector shook his head. "I have changed a lot over the years, and now that I own a detective agency with you guys, I guess I can finally say that I'm no longer who I used to be. Before, everything was just kind of given to me since my parents had a pretty high income, so I just thought that everything else in life would be given to me. I eventually learned that I need to work for what I want instead of just waiting for things to just magically happen. I wasn't given the work at Team Chaotix, I made it myself. I guess forming this detective agency was a big jump in my life."

Espio smiled, because he knew he could relate with Vector. His life as a ninja with very little family has given him no flavor in his life. That all changed for him when he joined Team Chaotix where he could truly use his teachings to the fullest.

"So back to the toy store. My parents and I were looking for presents for other family members, and I thought I would be smart and find something for my younger family, like my cousins. I thought that all of my family was like me and would rather be playing around than doing chores and doing my homework. My mom later told me that my cousins don't like playing with toys because they're too busy with their other activities and their schoolwork. So we were in the toy store pretty much for me since it seemed that my family was too formal and organized to actually do anything fun."

"I went down the many aisles in the store to look at the shelves filled with things like action figures, comic books, video games, and things like that. My mom told me that if I found something that I liked that I could get it, but she told me that I could only get one thing. So using my mass-genius skills, I weighed the costs and benefits of having each toy and I determined which one was best for me."

Espio gave Vector a funny look and said, "So you basically took a few that you liked, closed your eyes, and randomly pointed your finger to something."

Vector gave a feint laugh. "Yeah, it may have gone a little like that, but the way that I said it sounded way better."

Espio laughed sweetly to himself. "I know you almost too well, Vector. I'm already catching on to how you acted when you were a little one."

"Yeah, yeah, wait until we start listening to some stories of your wonderful childhood, and we'll see who gets the laugh on this."

"Try me," Espio said slickly.

Vector laughed deviously to himself and almost felt like he was going to tackle Espio, but he knew that he probably shouldn't do that in a public place like the restaurant that they were in. Especially since the two of them were in suits and tackling each other would probably get them thrown out. Vector just simply continued the story.

"So the thing that I skillfully decided on… was a ninja." Espio then lit up. He didn't realize the point of the story, but he knew that Vector was leading up to something about him. "It was a white echidna that was wrapped in the generic black robe with his face covered and everything. It was striking a pose that any ninja action figure would, and he was holding a shuriken. Something about ninjas at that time just seemed so cool to me, so I got it off the shelf and brought it over to my mom. She thought it looked nice and "cute", because apparently everything I pick out is cute to her, so we ended up buying it."

"After we left the store, I really wanted the shopping to end, so I rushed my parents when they went to the next few stores. I wouldn't let my mom try on fifty dresses at the clothing store and I wouldn't let my dad stop at the sporting goods store, even though he loves his sports. I just wanted to get home so I could play with my new toy, and my parents knew this. They are really used to the routine of going to the toy store first, me picking out a toy, and them torturing me for the next hour and a half while they went to really boring stores. Though I brought the torture onto them, also."

Espio laughed to himself, because he knew that he wouldn't have ever been able to be like that around his parents. Espio's family is a lot like Vector's cousins, where his family is just stricter and more organized than any ordinary family.

"After all of that, I was finally able to get back home. I brought my ninja action figure…" Vector paused because he already felt silly for being so obsessed over an action figure. "I brought my ninja into my room, and I did something a little bit new. I played detective. I would be the detective that got all of the secret assignments and you… I mean the ninja would be my sidekick that would sneak in and kill of the bad guys before I enter a room."

Espio chuckled a bit. "It sounds like the ninja should be the hero and you should be the sidekick. It seems that the ninja is doing all the work while you're just walking into a room full of dead bad guys."

"Yes, but I walked into the room with style, which makes up just about 80% of all heroes. The ninja just snuck in with his special… sneaking-in powers and just killed everyone in the room. Where is the style in that?"

"I think there's a lot of style in that. The ninja's sneaking-in powers must be amazing."

Vector chuckled to himself when Espio mocked him for say sneaking-in powers instead of anything else. "Yes, well, I was way cooler. That echidna worked for me, and that was how it went. So we would go from room to room and then we would enter the last room where there was always some kind of prize at the end. I always made it different whenever I had a new "mission", but I wasn't exactly creative when I was young. I would use treasures like gold and diamonds when I want to be rich and I would use treasures like a stick of gum if I was just hungry at the time."

Espio giggled at the thought of killing a bunch of bad guys just so that they could get a stick of gum at the end. "Was the gum at least tasty?"

"Of course it was. It was the best-tasting fake gum that I ever had, and fortunately, it was the only fake gum that I ever had. Hopefully, it's the only fake gum that I'll ever have."

"You were really into the pretend games when you were younger, weren't you? I guess I was so focused with being a ninja when I was young that I never developed an imagination."

"That's a shame, because since I didn't have any brothers, I didn't exactly have a lot of adventure in my life. So when I started getting toys for my birthday and Christmas, I would bring them up to my room and I would make up the adventure. It definitely beat watching sports with my dad 24/7."

"Even though you do that a lot nowadays."

"Yeah, even though my dad and I never really got along with each other when I was growing up, I still ended up being a little like him. He was actually the first person to give me his approval when I told everyone that I wanted to be a detective and open up my own detective agency. My mom thought it would be a dangerous for me, but my dad thought that it would add culture and adventure to my life."

"In the past year, we have had quite a lot of adventures while in Team Chaotix. It's also nice to know that your dad was the one that got you into this."

"Yeah, I was so used to my mom being the one to tell me when I am doing something right, but when she didn't do it that time, it kind of just sucked for me. That's when my dad stepped in and told me why being in a detective agency would actually be a good thing."

"So after playing around with the ninja and other toys, I slowly began developing the motive to become a detective. A couple of years ago when I began my hiring process, I almost didn't know who I would pick. I knew that the people in my team would be in the team for a really long time, so I couldn't just pick them like I would pick my toys. I picked Mighty because of his determination, but I knew I needed more than just him. So I kept looking, and then you wanted to be apart of the team."

"To tell you the truth, Espio, you were the first person that came into my office who was actually a full-fledged ninja with several years of training and experience on your back. Also you were only 14, so you were definitely young enough to withstand a good detective beating for a long time. The minute you walked through that door, I thought about the ninja action figure that really started this whole thing." Vector paused for a second and said, "I almost wanted to hire you on the spot, but I just wanted to make sure that you were everything that I wanted, and you were."

Espio was a little shocked, because he was officially a remnant of Vector's childhood. "I made you think of your childhood? I can't believe that I would have had such an impact on your life and on this team." Espio was almost excited to hear that he was dating someone that he has already made an impact on. But, then something came to mind when he thought about dating Vector. This made him frown.

"Hey Vector?"

"Yeah, Espio?"

"I'm just curious, but is the main reason that you asked me out was because I reminded you of your childhood?"

Vector thought about why Espio would ask something like that, but then he realized that if he did that, that means he truly didn't love him. Vector… truly loves him. He shook his head and said, "No, Espio. I liked you as a partner because you reminded of the ninja in my bedroom. Now, I like you as a partner because you have shown me that you are determined that you can do anything, even if the situation seems crazy and impossible. You always seem to know a way out of the most sticky situations. Now, I like you as a friend because you have shown me that you always have my back whenever I'm not in the best mood or just really stressed. Now, I love you as a boyfriend because you have shown me how beautiful you really are, and I know that you will just return the love right back to me."

This brought a tear to Espio's eye, because he didn't realize that Vector could say something so poetic on a spontaneous moment. "That was really nice to hear, Vector. I guess I like you as a partner because you always are the hardest working person in the entire house. You always are working on the bills, trying to find clients, while also making sure Charmy and I are fine. I love you as a boyfriend, because you have shown me that you have cared for me. The fact that you love me back… it's nice." This was Espio's one true moment of weakness where his emotions finally take hold instead of his organized behavior.

Vector and Espio leaned in from across the table and their two lips melded into one. With this new information in mind, the two of them knew that they could live in eternal happiness with each other. They never knew that something like that was possible, but now it was especially clear.

Vector and Espio will be together forever.