AN: Hard to believe it's actually over... writing this collab has been a wild ride from start to finish, and I'm pleased with the result. A bit sad to end it, but that's inevitable. Look forward to more fics from TheHunterPersian and barely any more from me probably!
AN: Heh heh, and with that from cosmictruffle out of the way, this is TheHunterPersian here. Yup, you're reading right, this is the last chapter of A Joint Vow. I have been working on this fic with him since last August, and I have not looked back. Doing this was one one of the funnest things I've done in terms of writing, and I'm so glad I could co write with an author who inspired me.
Now, if you're sad that this is over, don't worry, ill still be uploading vecpio. As a matter of fact, my fic, A Deal or No Deal, is still ongoing, so check that out!
So finally, from me and Cosmictruffle, we hoped you enjoyed A Joint Vow, and we hope you enjoy this final chapter...
Unfortunately, all good things come to an end. Late afternoon arrived and it was ultimately time for everyone to leave.
Vanilla, Cream, Cheese, and Chocola walked up to the Chaotix. "So, about the tables, should we keep them there, or?" the adult rabbit asked.
"Nah, dun worry 'bout it, Ms. Vanilla. I can get 'em tomorrow," Vector said.
"Well, that's that. I really did enjoy our time here, from baking the cake to attending your wedding… despite what happened towards the end…"
"Yes, I know…" Espio said. "We'll have to be doing a lot of cleaning up tomorrow…"
"If you want, we can help you with that, won't we, Cream?"
The young rabbit and her Chao nodded. "Yes, mommy,"
"Hey, then that's great to hear!" Vector exclaimed, giving a thumbs up.
"Anyway, Cream and I will be going back home for now. We hope that you two are eternally happy in your new life of marriage, Vector and Espio."
"Thank you, Vanilla. It means a lot to us," the chameleon said, smiling.
"Trust me, me 'n Espio are already plannin' to have our honeymoon. Just gotta start savin' up…" Vector said as he stretched. "After what happened today, I think we need to stray away from the chaos of everythin' fer a week."
"Why of course, I don't blame you. It's quite understandable." Vanilla smiled. "Still, may you three have an amazing rest of the day!"
"Goodbye Mr. Vector and Espio! And Charmy?" Cream said.
The bee turned to look at her.
"See you soon…"
Charmy smiled. Even with Cream seeming annoyed by him during the wedding, she couldn't hold her mini grudge for too long. The two Chao waved as the rabbits headed on back home.
Team Sonic walked up to the Chaotix, Sonic's arm over Knuckles' neck as the echidna looked like he was starting to sober up a bit.
"Yo guys, great wedding! Sure, Eggman had to come and I got blown up, but hey, seeing you guys be happy, makes me happy." Sonic said.
Knuckles hiccupped. "Y-Yeah, what Sonic –hic- said…" The red echidna lazily said.
"Is… he gunna be okay?" Charmy asked.
"I wouldn't worry about him, Charmy," Tails said. "I'll take him back to Angel Island and make sure he sleeps off his drunken state. Who knows how bad his hangover is going to be when he wakes up tomorrow."
Vector laughed. "Yeah, and then we get to make fun o' him fer it while he rapidly denies it!"
Everyone, including Knuckles (who didn't know what was going on), chuckled. The two tailed fox looked back up at the crocodile.
"By the way, Vector… you still aren't mad about the backyard and about the whole Room-bot thing, are you?" he asked.
"Nah, I chilled about that, but what I said to ya back when yeh were picking up what was left of that thing, I sill rest mah point."
Tails awkwardly chuckled. "Nothing personal of course, and don't worry, I won't forget your rides to Little Planet are gunna be free for a bit. Who knows? When you want to get another moon flower for Espio or something, I'm always there."
The married reptilian couple looked at each other before laughing.
"Trust me, Espio's gunna get all the moon flowers he can have," Vector joked.
"Dear…" The chameleon jokingly said, playfully hitting his husband's arm.
"Can I go along with you guys, too?" asked Charmy.
"Sure, why not?" responded Espio. "We can show you the sights of Little Planet, since you've never been there before!"
"Whoopee! I can't wait!"
Charmy buzzed around in the air as Sonic almost dropped his drunken friend, but managed to get him back up at the last second.
"Anyway, me and Tails should be headin' out now. This lug has to get his beauty sleep. See you guys around!"
"Same to ya, Sonic!"
"Oh, and E-Espio?" Knuckles said. "D-Don't let Vector go rough on ya tonight in bed, man… you know how those after-wedding rituals are…"
Sonic and Tails looked at their friend as they walked away, hitting both of his arms.
"KNUCKLES!" They both yelled. The echidna laughed uncontrollably as the married couple looked uncomfortable.
"Eh heh heh… yeah…" Vector commented.
"Vector? What did Knuckles mean by that?" asked Charmy.
Vector and Espio's eyes widened slightly.
"You'll learn when you're older, Charmy," said Espio quickly.
"Aw… just like everything else…" Charmy pouted.
Amy then walked up to them.
"You know, even with everything happening today, your wedding was the loveliest thing ever!" she said. Vector and Espio grinned.
"Heh, thank you, Amy, it means a lot." said the fuchsia reptile.
"Hey hey, show me your rings! I didn't get to see them all that close when Charmy brought them over during the ceremony!"
The two reptiles looked at each other before holding out their hands, showing their wedding rings to the pink hedgehog. Amy's eyes almost glittered as she brought her hands up to her mouth.
"Oh… my goodness! These are so pretty! Look at the gems on them!"
It wasn't for about a few seconds until Amy realized the significance of the peridot on Espio's ring, and the amethyst on Vector's ring. She gasped.
"You know, it's funny… I remember back when you two weren't together, when I invited you guys for lunch, Espio confessing to me about your relationship, Vector… I see this now and I realize… you two truly love each other, and you were made for each other too!"
The ninja blushed. "A-Amy… I don't know what to say…"
Amy hugged Espio, then Vector. "When I'm older and hopefully married to Sonic, I hope to have a relationship like yours," she smiled.
"Hey! Don't I get a hug?" Charmy whined.
"Okay, Charmy, you can get a hug too."
Amy hugged the bee child, who smiled in response (Charmy was always known as someone who loved hugs).
"I'll see you guys around! Oh, and when you guys go on your honeymoon, bring me back photos! Okay?"
"Gotcha!" responded Vector.
Big came up to the Chaotix, holding Froggy. "Thank you for inviting me and Froggy over. We had a good time."
"Eh heh… thanks, Big," said Vector.
"You and Amy were talking about something called a honeymoon. I'm not sure what it is but I can invite you guys to fish if that's good enough for your honeymoon."
Vector and Espio looked at each other. They weren't sure how to respond to Big's offer. When did a married couple celebrate their honeymoon going fishing with a mutual friend?
"Err… no thank you, Big, me and Vector are fine…" said Espio.
"Oh… okay then… I'll be heading home now. I'm sure Froggy's tired."
The frog gave an almost tired sounding croak as he slept in the large purple cat's hand.
"Yeah, he's sleepy. I'll put him straight to bed when I get home."
He stared at the Chaotix. "I'll see you guys soon."
Big walked off as Vector, Espio, and Charmy looked on.
"There he goes, oh so majestic, Big the Cat. How we hardly knew yee," Charmy said.
"Been practicin' drama or somethin', Charmy?" asked Vector. The bee stuck his tongue out at his crocodilian parent.
Finally, Team Dark came up to the three. Shadow looked at them before calmly saying.
"This wedding was… a bit enjoyable, to say the least. Even if I was dragged here…"
He turned to face the red robot.
"Come on, Omega, we're leaving."
"Affirmative."
Omega walked past the Chaotix without saying a word. However, the two turned around when they saw Rouge wasn't with them.
"Rouge? Aren't you coming along?" questioned Shadow. The bat was against the wall of the Chaotix Detective Agency.
"I'm coming, I just have one bout of fair business left," replied Rouge. "Go on without me, I'll catch up."
The two Team Dark members looked at each other before walking off. Vector and Espio walked to where Rouge was.
"Err, Rouge? Is there something you'd like to say?" asked the chameleon.
"As a matter of fact, yes, there is,"
Rouge looked at the two reptiles before speaking. "I may have said that this was the least lackadaisical wedding ever and that I haven't been to many weddings, but… CHAOS… this was by far, the CHEAPEST and most low-brow wedding I've been to."
The two reptiles recoiled. They didn't know that Rouge felt that way about their wedding.
"I mean… wow, I knew you guys weren't the richest people in the world, but SURELY your wedding could be of much higher quality. I mean a non-proper outdoor wedding? Only the girls were dressed up? I could go on and on about everything wrong about this wedding…"
Vector growled. "Rouge… doncha think yer takin' this a bit too far?"
The white bat looked at the crocodile before back to the ground. "Perhaps you're right. This is YOUR wedding after all, but I was simply willing to critique it."
"You know, I heard you two talking about a honeymoon and how you were planning to save up money for one. With a wedding like this, I highly doubt you'll even find a halfway decent honeymoon. But, that doesn't mean miracles can't happen."
Rouge reached into her pocket, and pulled out two stacks of bills, tossing it to Vector.
"Here, Chaos forbid your honeymoon be as underwhelming as your wedding reception," she said. The two reptiles were incredibly stunned.
"R-Rouge! Where didja get all this?!" questioned Vector.
"Not only that, why are you of all people willing to give this much money away? This is far too generous!" added Espio.
Rouge pulled out a lollipop from her pocket, unwrapped it and began to suck on it.
"When you're a treasure hunter and a thief, you know how to get good money. And here you both are, feel free to spend it wherever you both want to go for your honeymoon."
The bat turned around. "Good day," she said, before walking off to catch up with her team.
The two reptiles were absolutely dumbfounded; they simply stood there, looking at the large amounts of money in Vector's hands. Espio looked up at his husband.
"Rouge is right… we can go anywhere we want with all this money…" he said. The crocodile looked at Espio.
"We'll think 'bout where to go when we head back inside, alrighty?"
Espio smiled, and nodded.
Charmy buzzed up to the two.
"Hey guys! Uhh, where'd you get all this money?" he asked.
"Rouge gave it to us, said it was for our honeymoon," replied Espio.
"Your honeymoon?"
"Yeah, y'see Charmy, when married couples well, get married, they take a small vacation to enjoy their new marriage, and enjoy each other's company. That's what a honeymoon is." explained Vector.
"Oh wow! And we can go anywhere we want!"
"Err… yes, about that Charmy… honeymoons are only between the couple…" Espio said.
"So… that means?"
"Yeah… ya can't come with us… we're sorry…" Vector rubbed the back of his head.
"Oh… come on!" Charmy whined. "And here I was thinking that you guys were gunna start being my parents now… no, instead you're gunna be gone for some time while I'll be alone…"
The bee began to softly cry. Vector sighed; he never liked it when the bee cried.
"Look, Charmy, yer not gunna be alone. Obviously, someone's gunna take care of ya while we're gone."
The bee didn't listen. He kept his arms crossed as he was turned away from the two.
"Charmy, don't cry, okay? If you want, when we return, we'll take you somewhere nice. Does that sound good to you?" asked Espio, putting his hand on his son's shoulder. Charmy turned around, eyes turning slightly red.
"You… you mean it?" replied the young Chaotix member.
"Cross my heart. It'll be our first family day together." Espio smiled.
Charmy wiped his eyes as he looked happier now. "That sounds great… and yeah, it will be our first family day together… with me… and my two dads…"
Vector smiled and put Charmy on his shoulders. "Ha ha, ya betcha yer gunna be with yer two dads now!"
The crocodile walked towards the house, continuing to give Charmy a piggyback ride. Espio simply watched from a few feet away and chuckled, following behind them.
"Chaos… I never realized how good of a parent Vector could be, and how cute he looks too… Espio, you picked a fine person to marry…" the chameleon thought, smiling. He looked around the backyard one last time before shutting the door behind him.
LATER THAT EVENING
The backyard of the Chaotix Detective Agency was completely desolate, save for the ruins of everything destroyed during the wedding.
Since the three Chaotix members were inside, not one of them heard the sounds of footsteps hitting the grass.
A nose sniffed around as it looked left and right, emerging from the side of the house.
"Hey there guys!" said the figure, a black armadillo with a red shell, identified as Mighty the Armadillo, an old friend of the Chaotix. He held a present in his hand as he walked into the backyard.
"Sorry I'm late, I had to drop off Ray at a babysitter's, not to mention, I had NO idea where you guy's house was, so I've been searching all day. But hey, here I am, so let's not delay the weddi-"
Mighty stopped and looked around the backyard. He took notice of the ruined trees, scorch marks and food all over the ground, a table flipped upside down and beat up, and that just the tip of the iceberg.
The armadillo was processing everything as he looked left and right.
"Did… did I miss anything?"
AND THAT VERY SAME NIGHT
Vector stretched as he closed the door to his and the chameleon's room behind him. Espio was already in bed, reading a book.
"Man, what a day, lemme tell ya…" said the large green reptile. He flopped onto the bed, turned himself around, and got under the covers.
"Agreed, it was eventful indeed." replied his new husband. Vector got right next to Espio and laid his head on his significant other's head.
Espio took Vector's hand into his own, rubbing the ring on his ring finger.
"Hard to believe we got married, huh?" he asked.
Vector nodded. "Yup, sometimes I look back on when I proposed, and I remember; 'I did that'." He kissed Espio's forehead.
"When we told our vows, Vector, I wasn't lying when I said I couldn't wait to spend the rest of my life with you,"
"Likewise, I can't either."
Vector sighed happily as the two stayed silent.
"So, about the money we have, where do you wish to go for our honeymoon?" asked Espio.
"Hmm… y'know, never thought about that all that well… I guess Emerald Coast. Ahh… someplace warm, water everywhere, it's a perfect vacation and honeymoon sight, lemme tell ya."
"Interesting, that doesn't seem like a bad place to be. As for me, do you remember one adventure Sonic had that he told us where he travelled the world while becoming at night a… Werehog he called it?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah, I remember,"
"When he showed us the photos he took with that small red friend of his, there was one location from there that fascinated me as soon as I saw it. Chun-Nan I believe it was called…"
"Oh, that place! I always knew ya wanted go there. To be perfectly real with ya, I was actually planning on takin' all o' us there fer yer birthday, so I guess that works out. Hell, I'll also be honest and say that if I had failed to propose to ya at Little Planet, then I wouldda done it there,"
"Well, we all know the result of that," Espio smiled. "Back on Chun-Nan however, I know it probably interests me more because it's cultural, but I think you'll like it too. So, can we?"
Vector placed his finger on his lips before happily nodding. "Yeh, that can be where our honeymoon is!"
Espio smiled. "That's good to hear… I can't wait…"
"Neither can I… no worryin' 'bout bills or Dr. Eggman fer a whole week… paradise if ya tell me…" Vector placed his hands on his buff chest.
"Agreed, I don't want any aging scales now."
The two laughed and cuddled one another.
"But, before we can worry 'bout our honeymoon, we gots some things to take care of," said the crocodile.
"Oh, packing?" replied his husband.
"Well, THAT too, but I meant other things. Like, we really gotta fix up the backyard before we leave."
"Oh… yes, I definitely agree. We can take care of the stuff that's easy to throw away and clean up, but for the grass, we'll definitely need to call someone."
"Yeah, and well, not only that… Charmy too."
"Charmy? Is this also about the honeymoon?"
"Well, Ms. Vanilla can take care of him fer the week; I know she will but… when I was playin' with Charmy earlier, I realized that this was our son, and… we need to protect him."
"I agree, but… what are you trying to say?"
"I'm sayin' that well, once we're done with the backyard tomorrow, let's head out to Station Square and to the adoption agency there. We should pick up the papers that basically says Charmy's our kid… even if he ain't biological."
Espio nodded his head. "Oh… I see, yes, we should do that. We may already have guardian rights, but we should update that to parental rights…" He then smiled. "Heh, can you imagine the face he'll make when he finds out?"
"Yeah, heck, he's been buggin' me 'bout this event comin' up at his school, this 'Parent Day'?"
"Oh yes, he has mentioned it to me. He told me it's when all the parents of the kids accompany them for a day of school. He really wants us to be there with him."
"Heh, can ya imagine everyone else with mom and dads, meanwhile, Charmy's the one with two dads?"
"Oh, the little angel… he'll probably get to brag to all his friends about his two dads. Hopefully he won't get bullied because of it…"
"Nah, I wouldn't worry. If any of them said anythin' 'bout him, I ain't afraid to break their jaw, even if they are kids. Besides, we all know that we love each other more than the two parents of the other kids love each other."
Espio chuckled as Vector took his face, kissing it softly.
"Oh, you and your sense of humor, how I love it…" he said.
Vector huffed. "Well, I'll be here to use it more, don'tcha worry,"
The ninja chuckled. "So, our plans for tomorrow are to clean up what we can in the backyard, head on over to the adoption agency to get the papers involving Charmy and his status as our son, and not to mention, we should start on finding ways to travel for our honeymoon… a very busy day tomorrow…"
"Yeah, ya can say that again,"
"We probably should start getting to bed now…"
However, before Espio could go to sleep, Vector put his strong arms around Espio's waist.
"Oh?"
"Nah, Espio, let's… let's stay up some more, it's just the two of us alone in this room… Charmy asleep…" Vector explained.
The fuchsia reptile looked surprised at first, but then smirked. "Oh… you wish to get intimate…"
Vector rolled over, hovering over Espio. The chameleon blushed as he looked at his husband's strong frame.
"Is this what Knuckles meant when he said to not go rough on me?"
"Hell yeah, and man it feels so good to finally cuss without Vanilla breathin' down yer neck,"
Espio chuckled, and kissed Vector, then rubbed his chest.
"If that's the case then…"
"Then?"
"Show me that you truly love me…"
Vector's eyelids lowers as his smirk grew. "Don't worry, I will…"
He put his finger on his husband's lips, then his lips.
And then, he lifted Espio's legs.
THREE WEEKS LATER
With everything taken care of, the backyard restored to its former glory, all the paperwork involving Charmy's legality signed (meaning as of now, he was officially their son), and a plane ticket to Chun-Nan, plus hotel bought, it was safe to say Vector and Espio were ready to have their honeymoon.
"You boys be safe, okay?" Vanilla called out.
"Yeah! What Vanilla said!" Charmy exclaimed. "And bring me back all kinds of neat stuff too!"
"Don't worry, Charmy, we will," replied Espio, rubbing his son's head.
Shadow simply looked at the laughing individuals before turning away and groaning internally.
"Not only was I dragged to their wedding, but now I have to babysit some brat, all because he looks up to me or some crap like that… damn, I have better things to do…" The black hedgehog thought.
Vector and Espio gripped their luggage. "Well, we should be headin' out now! It's time that me and Espio enjoy paradise, while at the same time, enjoyin' each other. See ya guys!"
"Good bye!" said Espio. The two reptiles exited out from the Chaotix Detective Agency and headed off to the taxi by the front of the house.
"Bye!" called out Charmy and Vanilla. Vector and Espio waved once more before getting into the car, and being driven away to the airport.
As they watched the taxi drive off, Vanilla picked up the sign left by Vector and hung it on the door. He requested that she put it up until he and his husband got back. It read;
"Notice!
The Chaotix Detective Agency is currently not available for service, as two of its members are presently spending their honeymoon.
If you have a case you'd like us to solve, please call us at our number, or leave us mail, and we'll get to you when the Chaotix are available.
We're sorry for the inconvenience!"
Closing the door behind her, Vanilla looked at Charmy.
"You can go play in your room for the time being, Charmy, or down here. It doesn't matter. I'll get started on lunch," Vanilla said.
"Okay, Ms. Vanilla!"
The bee buzzed to his room as Vanilla turned around.
"Shadow? Aren't you tired of standing up like that? You should sit down and relax," she asked.
"I'm good," Shadow replied.
"Well… okay…"
As Vanilla walked to the kitchen, she noticed a sheet of paper by one of the tables.
"That's strange… what's this doing here? I don't remember this being here…"
As she picked it up, she noticed a symbol of lips that were blue; meaning someone with blue lipstick kissed this paper.
"And there's only one person I know who would do such a thing…"
Now, Shadow had walked over upon hearing the adult rabbit. He took a look at the paper and immediately recognized it.
"Oh, that's Rouge's. It looks like she left it here by mistake during the wedding," he said.
"But it's strange… it feels like a… receipt…"
"A receipt?"
Vanilla turned it around to confirm that it was. Shadow then looked over to read the contents along with her, but what the two found shocked them.
On the receipt, it talked about artifacts of Angel Island, and their… price?
"No… she wouldn't have…" Vanilla said.
All the money in total was the EXACT amount Vector and Espio had.
Moving the receipt down, she could read the price of everything, which also contained next to it: "Bought with stolen money", most likely from the service that bought the stolen Angel Island artifacts.
Shaking her head, Vanilla moved the receipt to the bottom, and almost dropped it when she read what was at the bottom.
"MOBIUS BLACK MARKET" it read.
Vanilla and Shadow looked at each other, worry in their eyes. Even Shadow found the situation conflicting, for not just his teammate and friend, but also for Vector and Espio.
"This is… going to be a rather interesting story for Vector and Espio…" Vanilla said.
FIN