(AN: Hey guys! It's been a while, but here we are, a new chapter of Rooming In! As we get into our Thanksgiving chapter, this one is kinda gonna be big, and add more to the general story. So don't turn the dial, make sure you're paying attention, and let's get on with it!

Before we start, I wanna thank all the reviewers (sans that one person who complained about the Scourge and Fiona thing. That was pretty petty for something that isn't even big at ALL anon :V), everyone who faved and followed, and the 830+ views we have for this fic. I'm glad you all are loving the fic! Don't worry, there's still more to come!

Hope you all enjoy the family fluff, and the future plot point!

"How can I help you, sir?"

"Err, I ordered a deep fried turkey from here not too long ago. Here's my receipt."

"Ah, Mr. Espio, here for pickup?"

"Of course, Mr...Kage?"

"Err, yes. Right away, sir."

The dingo over the counter left the area as Espio waited for the man to return. It was Thanksgiving, and a line was right behind him waiting to get the turkey's they ordered that night for their feast.

The man came back a minute later, handing the chameleon a turkey.

"Let's just weigh this… okay, 3.1 pounds, put the sticker on here, and take it to the front to pay."

"Okay, thank you sir. Have a good night!"

Espio walked away, wondering what he just said. A man working on Thanksgiving giving away turkeys instead of being with his family? Clearly the sign that a company cared more about business.

When Espio returned back to the apartment, Vector stood by the stove, stirring a pan filled with corn while Charmy sat at the table, excited to see and smell the food. The two looked over at the fuchsia reptile.

"Is that our turkey?!" The bee asked excitedly.

"Looks amazin'…" Vector commented, already drooling.

"I'll say. Move aside, Vector. Let me put this in the oven so it can warm up while we cook the other stuff," Espio said, already moving to the stove.

"Man, I can't wait to eat!" Charmy said.

"Well, yer gonna have to wait a little longer. We're not done cookin' everythin' yet."

"In the meantime, Charmy, if you want to pass the time while Vector and I cook, why don't you set up the table? "

"Okay! What do I need?"

"Get three plates, cups, some napkins, and get some of the sparkling juice in the fridge for me, will you?"

"On it, Espio!"

As Espio got done putting the turkey into the oven, turning it on and placing it on a low temperature, the chameleon then got started on steaming Dragon Kingdom rice.

"Vector, could you pass me some potatoes? We still need to make our mashed potatoes, and also, there's the case of the lemon pie I wanted to make…"

"On it, and well, go ahead and make it! I'm sure it'll be delicious."

As the crocodile got the potatoes from the fridge Charmy left open, this let the chameleon do a bit of thinking as he opened up Vector's tablet, finding a recipe for lemon pie. As he got the ingredients for the filling, Espio thought about how he and the crocodile started getting along more since their argument, the two maturing from what happened. Vector had been helping around the apartment more, and Espio started having more self-control. If something went wrong, the two would stop before they got heated, and tackled it in the three C's Espio invented: calm, cool, and collected.

Vector noticed Espio simply staring off into space as he whisked away.

"Espio? What's up? Ya there?" He asked.

"O-Oh! Sorry, I just blanked out there. I was just thinking about… well, how we've grown since our argument."

"Oh… that. Yeah, definitely. I think it's fer the better anyway."

"Well, I think we can talk about this later at the table. Come on, let's get the rest of this food prepared."

And so, dinner was ready an hour later. Turkey, mashed potatoes, rice, corn, carrots, and lemon pie filled the table. Just as Vector grabbed over to reach the bottle of sparkling juice, Espio stopped him.

"Ah ah, Vector. I think before we eat, we should put our hands together, and… well, let's talk about HOW thankful we are to be here."

"Oh, alright. Ya sound religious all of a sudden. What's the change?"

"No change. It's something I think we can talk about."

"I don't mind!" said Charmy.

"If the kid dun mind, I dun either."

The three put their hands together, and closed their eyes.

"To whoever can hear us, thanks for letting me and my 'family' enjoy another day of living. And… thanks for letting us be together," Espio opened his eyes. "Who would like to speak next?"

"I'm thankful fer ya, Espio. Ya helped me get off the streets, and… and reminded me what it was like to live back at home with mah folks."

Charmy smiled at the crocodile. "I'm thankful for you guys! Mainly because I won't be as lonely anymore now that you're always with me!"

"If there's one more thing I can add," Espio said. "I'm personally thankful that out of all the friends I have, you two are the ones that stuck by me. I love you both, I hope you realize."

"Heh, we do too!" Vector replied.

"You know I love you more than anyone else, Espio!" Charmy said.

The chameleon nodded his head. "Now that this is over, let's get to eating!"

The three dug into their meal, and were immediately enjoying it as soon as they took their first bite.

"Chaos, this is all so delicious…" Vector commented, raising his fork up to his mouth. "I hope I can finish it…"

"I'll say! This turkey is sooooo good!" Charmy replied, holding a drumstick in his hand.

"Charmy, don't forget to grab vegetables," Espio said.

"I won't, Espio!"

"Well, I'm glad this came out so good. Vector and I hope you enjoy what we made, Charmy. And Vector? Dig in."

"Same backatcha, Espio!" Vector replied.

"Honestly, I feel like we could have had a bigger feast."

"This is as big as it gets, Espio. We're good."

"You're right there," Espio grabbed some rice, taking a sip from his sparkling juice. "Let's make the best of it!"

After dinner, the three washed all the plates, and the table they ate at. As they did, Vector turned on the TV and changed the channel to the one playing the Thanksgiving football game at the Mobotropolis stadium. He looked back and forth between the plates in front of him and the TV, so much so that Espio chewed him out.

"Vector! Stop getting distracted. We can watch it once we're done."

Vector made a soft whining sound, but went back to work, opting to hear the game instead (as much as it wasn't the same).

Thirty minutes later, all the plates were washed and left to dry. The three sat on the couch, Charmy on Vector's lap as the two arched their backs.

"Go… go…! Go go go!" The two cheered out. Espio smiled at the two; watching sports like these were a good pastime for the crocodile and bee. However, since he never watched sports on TV, he had no idea what was going on.

"Vector… what's happening?" Espio asked.

"Well, that guy right there-" Vector pointed to the well-built orca on screen. "He just fumbled the ball, and then the guy who's running really fast and…"

The crocodile started going on for what felt like forever. Truth be told, the chameleon got lost at the word 'fumble'. After all, it wasn't like he knew what THAT meant.

Maybe it was stuff like this being the reason he never watched sports on TV…

Sometime around the game's end, Charmy fell asleep on Vector's lap. Espio turned off the TV as the crocodile held Charmy and took him into his room, placing him in bed. They saw for a minute or two if he really was asleep, and when they saw he was, they shut the door, and nodded towards each other.

"Now's as good of a time as ever," Vector said.

"You know how Black Friday is," replied Espio.

The large green reptile went over to the pantry and pulled out a knapsack that was filled with energy drinks and placed it over his back. Espio, already bundled up, handed Vector his coat, as well as a hat, pants, and gloves.

After Vector got dressed, the two reptiles left the apartment, and ultimately, the complex.

Walking to the superstore, Vector and Espio saw a very long line stretching from the entrance, to the other side of the store. The two almost felt their jaw dropping in an instant.

"Well, we might as well get in line then," Vector said.

The two made to the back of the line, sitting down as everyone else waited in line to take advantage of Black Friday to buy something for themselves, or for someone else on Christmas. Much like everyone else, Vector and Espio were camping out to get Charmy's Christmas presents, and while they were here, Christmas presents for each other.

Vector opened the knapsack and pulled out an energy drink. "Espio, catch. I just know it's gonna be a long as hell night," he said, passing a can to Espio as he opened it.

Even though it was a very chilly night, the two drank their drinks as if it were nothing.

"So, tell me, Vector…" Espio said, starting up a conversation to pass the time. "How was Christmas like for you? For me, we never celebrated Christmas in the Dragon Kingdom. I started celebrating it when I took care of Charmy."

Vector shrugged.

"Ehh, I'll be honest, I never liked Christmas all that much. Since our family was so big, we only got one thing. It sounds selfish, but when I heard 'bout the kids who got super expensive things, and multiple of them, I'd get really jealous I only got one thing, and it was cheap. Lookin' back, I shouldda been grateful mah parent's got me somethin', but hey, when yer younger, yer outlook is different."

He drank. "I also started dislikin' Christmas because it reminded me of how lonely I was. No family, and… especially the time I had nobody period… I just thought of it as a time waster. Until, a year ago."

"What happened?"

"I have a friend, guy named Dingo. I lived with him at the time around Christmas. He changed mah mind 'bout how I felt. He made me feel loved again, especially since the Christmas before that was the time as I said, I had no one. Him and his husband did so many nice things fer me."

"His husband?"

"Oh yeah, Dingo's married to a guy; this wolf named Sleet. He's pretty chill. He's like half Dingo's size though, that's kinda funny to me. Speaking of that, I remember him tellin' me he and Sleet got engaged on Christmas Eve, think it was like 3 or 4 years ago?"

Espio nodded, tapping on the tin of the can. "Speaking of marriage… Vector, have you been married?"

"Pff, what do I look like, do I have a ring on me? Nah, never been. Don't plan to probably. Just ain't fer me. This one girl I dated really wanted me to propose to her. Dumped me when I told her I wasn't interested in marriage. Haven't even dated properly in like a year."

Vector took another sip. As he did, he couldn't help but think about… what if he and Espio were married? For some reason, the idea of Espio and himself wearing rings sounded almost… cute. He could even picture it clearly in his mind.

"Damn conflicted feelin's…" He thought to himself, downing the rest of his energy drink.

"You know, it's funny… the amount of people that seem to think we're together…" Espio said. "Ms. Vanilla, Angelica, a lot of the parents in Charmy's class, your Knuckles friend when he came over also thought so too… and well, there is kind of sort of another… a few months ago, while I was teaching this class, the husband of one of my students, he got very homophobic with me, believing me to be gay and then claiming the same to my boss."

Vector grit his teeth. "And who the hell is he?!"

"I dunno. Why?"

"Imma teach him a lesson fer messin' with mah best friend, that's why!"

"With the way he's built, I think you might have some trouble."

"Oh, I wouldn't doubt it! See, I've been gettin' bigger thanks to the gym. His ass won't even expect mah strength!"

"Heh, well, we'll have to wait and see I guess."

"Still, why didntcha tell me?"

"I just… didn't want to worry you. Besides, I can take care of people like that."

"Espio… ya know ya can tell me anythin' if stuff like that happens. What that dude did to ya wasn't right."

"I know but-"

"But nothin'! Hey, I told ya mah dark secret, didn't I? And if ya ever date someone different, ya can still trust me."

As Vector blurted that last sentence out of his mouth, he thought back to what he said. What was he even implying? Did he imply that… Espio would date someone that wasn't him?

That couldn't have been the case. Surely the chameleon wouldn't have noticed it. Before he could stress about it, a voice rang through the line.

"They're open!"

"Guys, they're open!"

And all types of way to say 'They're open went down the line of people, whispering it to the person behind them. Immediately, the line began moving forward at an incredible rate. Vector got up, and at that instinct, he and Espio held hands as to not get separated. They started following the people in front of them to catch up with the large crowd of people running into the store. The crocodile felt like he was in a zombie movie, running from the crowd behind him as they tried to get in.

When the two reptiles entered, they saw everyone make their way to electronics. Vector and Espio start speed walking there too.

"Okay Vector, Charmy said he wanted a toy truck and a new video game for Christmas. Primarily these two," Espio said, showing Vector a picture of what Charmy wanted. "They're both the same price according to the catalogue I got, so how about you get the truck, I'll get the game. After you're done, let's buy our gifts here. I have an idea about what I'll get you. Do you?"

"Hmm…" Vector thought about it. "I think I got one…"

"Good. Okay, let's split up now."

The two left, trying to find what they needed to get.

Vector went over to the toy aisle, seeing parents of all kinds grabbing the toys on sale. The crocodile looked back and forth as his tail swung in the same manor. He apologized to some of the people he hit, while other's he didn't. In the end, the green reptile found what he needed; a large blue truck.

"There we go!"

Before anyone else could make a grab for it, Vector pulled the toy off of the shelf and left the area, finally getting the thing Charmy wanted.

"But maybe I could get 'im somethin' a lil' extra…" Vector muttered. "Like…"

He went over to a few aisles, and found the board game section. Seeing some of the games on sale, he picked the box for the game, Connect 4.

"I dun think the kid's even played a proper board game. This should do him good," Vector said.

Leaving the toy section, it was time he got his present for Espio. As he walked towards the bike section, he decided on getting the chameleon a bike so he could to ride to work instead of having to leave early due to him having to walk there.

Vector looked for a bike that would fit Espio, namely one that also had a basket so he could put his work bag in it. He found a blue bike that fit just what he needed. An employee who was about to enter storage passed by the crocodile.

"Hey, hey there!" Vector called out to the female canary.

"Can I help you?"

"Yeah, I wanna get this bike here, but the thing is, I want this to be for delivery. I don't want it now."

"You want it at a later date?"

"Yeah, on Christmas. See, this is fer mah friend, and I really got no room to put it in the apartment we share until Christmas if I buy it now."

"Ohh, okay. Here, let me get someone to help you with that."

She pulled out a walkie-talkie from her side and spoke into it.

"This is Tekno, customer assistance needed at the bicycle section. Thank you."

Just as Tekno the employee left, leaving Vector behind to wait for whoever would come, the crocodile noticed a familiar man walk by the bikes. It was a grey wolf wearing a purple sweater, holding a box for a blender. Once the crocodile saw the ring on his finger, he knew immediately who it was.

"Sleet! Hey, Sleet!"

It was Dingo's husband, Sleet. The wolf noticed Vector and his face had a look of surprise.

"Oh, Vector! What a surprise to see you here," He said, walking over to the reptile.

"Same man. Takin' advantage of the sales too?"

"Yes yes, I found this blender on sale. Dingo really wanted a new one because our old one broke two days ago, and since he's still in season, he needs his muscle milk and the like…"

"Yeah, I get whacha mean," Vector nodded his head. Just then, the employee that Tekno called arrived. It was another female, this one being a dragon.

"Here's your order-in sheet. Take this to the register to pay for it now, then when specify which date you want it picked up… here," The dragon pointed to Vector. "Fill out the details first."

She held the clipboard out to the reptile, who signed the necessary fields. He took the sheet and gave the rest back to the woman.

"We'll take the bike you have right now and place it into our pickup section. Remember, come before or on the date of your pickup, otherwise you will be fined."

Vector nodded. "Okay. Have a nice night."

The dragon left to the toy section as Sleet looked on.

"Say, Vector, why don't I accompany you while we pay for our stuff?" He asked.

"I dun mind. I got everythin' that I need anyway,"

"That bike for that Espio person you talked about a few months ago?"

"Yup."

"And the toy and the Connect 4?"

"Fer the kid."

"I figured as such. You seemed to have warmed up to him."

"Yeah, kid is a real sweetheart, at least, when he's not bein' a brat."

"Most kids are like that growing up. It's something I have to face."

"W-Whaddya mean?"

"Well… Dingo brought up the other day if we should adopt kids. I know he loves kids, and so do I, but I'm not sure if we're ready yet…"

"Did he? Never struck me as the kid type… Still, whenever yer ready man. That's how it goes."

"Definitely. Anyway, how have you been Vector? What's been going on with your life?"

"Whew, man is it crazy…"

And so, as the two walked towards the registers and waited in line along with tons of people in front and behind them.

MEANWHILE…

Espio had already gotten the video game for Charmy, holding it in his right hand as he looked through the audio section of the electronics department. The chameleon had been looking for a good pair of headphones since Monday to give Vector because his pair recently busted on the right side, and he didn't have the money to get the same brand (which were rather expensive).

After passing through various brands of headphones which were priced far above his budget, he found the exact same ones Vector had, not to mention, it was on sale for nearly 75% off!

Just at the fuchsia reptile made a grab for it, another hand was on top of his.

"Eh?" He said, looking up to see a lavender cat.

"O-Oh! I'm-I'm sorry! Did you want these?!" She said nervously.

"Er, yes. It's for my friend."

"O-Oh, okay! I'm sure that's not as important as my own needs! Hah hah…" The cat girl nervously whispered. Espio was confused.

"Why are you acting like that?"

The girl sighed. "I'm sorry, it's just… I wanted to ask this girl that I really like out tomorrow, and I thought a present would be a good way to declare my love… And since it's Black Friday, y-you know…"

"I see…"

Espio thought about it. In his mind, he felt like the situation of the cat was bigger than his. After all, he could just get Vector a new pair, but this girl really seemed desperate to have her crush say yes.

"You know what?"

The chameleon grabbed the box and handed it to the girl.

"Here you go. You need it more than I do."

"O-Oh, I couldn't! You wanted it first after all!"

"Well, if that's the case, tell me, what kind of headphones do YOU think your crush would like?"

"Um… she's purple, so I'd imagine she'd want purple color ones. Plus she's a swallow too, so probably earphones suits her?"

"Purple earphones?"

Espio looked through all the packages of earphones and headphones, and pulled out a pair of purple sports earphones. He tossed it to the cat girl, who almost dropped it.

"There you go, she'll like these."

"Oh, thank you so much sir! Thank you! I'm so sorry for bugging you, I just don't know much about stuff like this"

"No problem. It's fine. If she doesn't like it, you have my permission to throw the pack at my face."

The cat laughed.

"Okay, sure. My name is Blaze by the way, mister."

"Espio, nice to meet you, Blaze," Espio held out his hand as Blaze shook it. "Now, go get that swallow girl!"

Blaze nodded as she walked away, muttering to herself 'Wave's gonna love this…'

Espio smiled, feeling a bout of good karma coming his way.

BACK WITH VECTOR…

The crocodile had told everything to Sleet; the good moments, the bad moments, and everything in between.

"Clearly a lot had gone on. Whatever the case, I'm glad you're doing well," Sleet said, nodding. "Still, I can't believe a lot of people seem to think you and Espio are a couple."

"Well, when yer raisin' a kid along with him, livin' together too, it's how it is."

"Hmm… well, I'll be honest; I think you and Espio would make a good couple."

Vector's eyes bulged out, his stomach getting tingly. "W-What makes ya say that?! I mean, sure Espio's gay, sure I'm bi, but that doesn't mean he's gonna have a crush on me. He probably thinks I'm still pursuing Charmy's teacher, when I'm not anymore!"

"Well, it depends. You've dated men in your past, and you know it. Let me think… there was that other crocodile with the blue jacket and the grey beanie that also had headphones-"

"He cheated on me even though he said the sex I gave him was amazing."

"And there was that albatross you dated for a month-"

"…until he ended up havin' a breakdown after his parents found out he was datin' me and they shamed him for it."

"Oh, and there was also that weas-"

As soon as Vector heard those dreaded words, he slammed his hand on Sleet's shoulder.

"Ow, Vector!"

"DON'T… and I mean DON'T bring him again… this happened with Mighty too, I REFUSE to remind myself of HIM!"

Due to how loud he was speaking, a few of the people in line stared at the crocodile.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, Vector. I didn't mean to bring HIM up…" Sleet shook his hands rapidly. The green reptile rubbed his temples.

"Sorry fer shoutin' at ya man. It's just… ya know how I feel."

"I know… I'm so so sorry…"

Despite Vector knowing Sleet had the best intentions; it didn't stop him from thinking about his past with the weasel he once dated. His name being one he'll never forget, yet at the same time, refusing to even mention, or think about again.

To prevent himself from freaking out in the middle of the store, Vector told the wolf to keep his place as he got some water from the nearby water fountains. After getting back in line, Vector and Sleet went onto new topics, namely their jobs, and in Sleet's case, Dingo.

After nearly an hour or two of waiting, the two finally got to the register. Sleet paid for his stuff, and quickly let Vector pass.

"Well, I'll be seeing you, Vector! I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. Give us a call on Christmas, I think Dingo wanted to give a present to little Charmy too," The wolf said.

"Sure man! See ya! Tell Dingo I said hi!"

Sleet left as Vector paid for all his stuff, placing them in his bag. He sighed, the stress of Black Friday shopping finally over. He walked out of the store and into the small plaza of the store entrance, taking a seat on a bench as he waited for Espio.

When Espio had finished paying for his stuff, he exited the store and entered the small plaza, noticing Vector munching on French fries.

"Where did you get those?" The chameleon asked.

"O-Oh, Espio!" Vector said, surprised. "Got 'em from that vendin' machine towards the end there!"

The crocodile pointed to a French fry vending machine.

"Isn't technology somethin'?"

"Yes, clearly. We better not let Charmy see that."

"Oh the kid would go crazy. Anyway, ya ready?"

"Yup, got everything. You?"

"Same. Just one thing I got is comin' 'round Christmas."

"Oh? What thing?"

"Heh heh, yer gonna see!"

"Let's head home now. We need to be extra quiet once we get there as to not wake up Charmy."

As Vector and Espio walked out of the store, a mammoth wearing a white suit entered the store, but stopped for a minute.

"Huh? Was that…"

He exited out of the store and looked at the crocodile and chameleon he had just passed by, eyes widening.

"Holy shit… is that Vector?!"

The mammoth pulled out his cell phone and quickly pressed the buttons on keypad, holding it up to his ear.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Mobotropolis, a lone purple weasel sat in front of a TV, smoking while watching old gangster movies. His phone rang as the weasel answered it.

"Who is it?" He coughed.

"Nack! It's me, Mammoth Mogul. You won't believe this; as I was entering Grand Supercenter, I ran into Vector!"

The weasel, the eponymously named Nack, rised out of his chair, hand clutching the phone harder.

"You mean THE Vector I called? The same Vector I dated?! The same Vector who was with us?!"

"Yeah!"

"Did you make sure he was him?"

"Yup! He was with this chameleon guy though. Not sure why…"

"That's all I need to know. Thanks, Mogul. Return to what I assigned you."

"Understood, boss."

Mogul hung off as Nack laughed, placing his cigar on an ash tray.

"Oh Vector, how I can't wait to see you again, so we can also… catch up…"

END OF CHAPTER 10

Next time, on Rooming In…

A blizzard hits, and Vector and Charmy bond through the snow!

And Espio discuss his feelings with Sonia

…which leads to one conclusion…