~Chapter Twenty-One: Like a Coffee Shop AU~

"Come on Sonic, it's not that far away."

The response Mario got was an over-exaggerated groan, causing the plumber to lightly chuckle. Somehow the coffee machine had broken in the hotel, with the Mii's informing the teams that it probably wouldn't be fixed until after the Olympics were over. Naturally this caused a bit of an uproar, until Silver had said he'd located a coffee shop not too far away. And while Sonic had been positive the night before, as Mario quickly found out a decaffeinated Sonic was an extremely grumpy and lazy one. Which was how they got into this situation, Mario standing outside the bathroom door with his arms folded and Sonic taking forever as usual on the other side.

The door to the bathroom suddenly opened, Sonic lethargically shuffling out and glaring at Mario with tired eyed. "Let's go then," he sighed, Mario raising an eyebrow as they exited the room, locking the door behind them. Together they made their way outside into the foggy morning, the cool air helping to perk Sonic up the tiniest bit. After a few moments of silence, Sonic chuckled.

"Y'know, since we're in London maybe we should try an' speak with British accents!"

"You could try, but I don't think I'd be able to pull one off," Mario replied, shoving his hands in his overalls pockets. Sonic frowned at the response.

"Oh, c'mon! If the author can pull one off I'm sure you could!"

Mario stopped walking, a wrinkle of confusion on his brow. "Author?" he questioned.

Sonic ceased walking as well, suddenly aware of what he'd just said. "Oh, uh... nothin'. It's nothin', don't worry 'bout it."

Mario quirked an eyebrow, but said nothing more as they continued their way down the street. The coffee shop was in view by this point, upon seeing it they picked up the pace, a few pigeons scattering as they wandered by. Mario held the door open for Sonic, then stepped inside himself.

The scent of freshly ground coffee hit both of them like a punch to the face as soon as they entered. Taking their place at the back of the line, Sonic tapped his foot impatiently.

"I hate line-ups. Too slow." he muttered, Mario chuckling and shaking his head slowly. Eventually they made their way to the front of the line to order their drinks, and as Sonic went to pay for his Mario stopped him.

"No, I got it," he stated, Sonic gazing at him with a slight frown.

"You sure? 'Cause I can totally pay for my own..."

"No, no, it's fine. Besides, you're my friend and I like doing nice things for my friends."

Sonic quickly averted his gaze, silently cursing himself for his feelings yet again. "Thanks Mar..." he mumbled.

"Don't mention it," Mario didn't know what the big deal was though, it was just a cup of coffee. It made him wonder if Sonic had never been a reciprocant of a random act of kindness before. He shrugged it off as Sonic being typical Sonic though, casually glancing around the café. It wasn't particularly busy thanks to it being early morning but a few customers loitered, some of them seemingly recognizing both Mario and Sonic as they stared for just a little too long. To some it may have seemed a little uncomfortable, but the two heroes were used to it at this point thanks to the unwanted attention they received back in their homeworlds.

"Order 11!" the Mii behind the counter shouted, Mario and Sonic wandering over to grab their drinks. Since the coffee was in a to-go cup Sonic was expecting to just head back to the hotel, until Mario spoke up.

"You know, let's just stay here."

"You sure?" Sonic asked, Mario nodding.

"Yeah, we don't need to be back at the stadium for awhile," he pointed to a table near the window. "How about there?"

"Sure..." Sonic stuttered as him and Mario sat down at the table, Sonic focusing on the cup in front of him and trying to ignore the thumping of his heart. He didn't like how Mario had that sort of an impact on him. He shouldn't be having that sort of an impact on him.

'Ugh, sign number 1,991 that I've been dropped into a bad fanfiction... I would never act like this in canon!'

"Sonic?" Mario's voice cut through Sonic's thoughts, the hedgehog snapping his head up and his eyes meeting Mario's who was staring at him with one eyebrow raised. "You're making some strange faces, and while it's amusing it wouldn't be right to not ask if you were alright."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinkin', that's all." Sonic took a sip of coffee and stared out the window, watching the fog swirl around in the serene morning. It was nice to see that everything was so peaceful in London again.

"Um, excuse me... but you're Mario and Sonic, right?"

The heroes in question looked to the edge of the table where a teenaged Mii stood, tugging nervously at his hoodie strings. Sonic gave a friendly smile.

"Yep, that's us!"

"Oh, w-wow... I'm such big fans of you both. I've watched every single event, you two are my idols!"

"Thank you for the support," Mario grinned. The Mii turned away, clearly starstruck.

"You're welcome... and thank you for saving us from the Phantasmal Fog."

Before Mario or Sonic could respond the Mii had bolted, Sonic raising an eyeridge.

"Well that was... interesting." he commented.

"We never got his name." Mario realized, Sonic shrugging in response.

"Eh, it's probably fine. Who knows, we might see him again someday!"

Mario didn't think so. The odds of seeing that particular Mii again were incredibly slim, but then again stranger things had happened. He sipped at his coffee while Sonic resumed staring out the window. Mario frowned, Sonic seemed much more distracted recently. Mind you, Sonic had a tendency to be a bit scatterbrained when it came to things that he didn't deem important, but something about it just seemed... different.

"Coin for your thoughts?" he tried, Sonic turning to face Mario.

"Hm? Oh, it's nothin'." he waved a hand in the air dismissively, causing Mario to give him a playful look.

"You were thinking about nothing?"

"That's not what I meant an' you know it!" Sonic snapped, Mario grinning for at least getting some sort of response out of him. Scowling, Sonic downed the rest of his coffee and stood. "C'mon smart-alack, let's get back to the stadium."

Mario rolled his eyes before following suit and heading out the door with Sonic. Since it was a bit later in the morning there were a few more pedestrians around, and most of the fog had dissipated away.

As they continued their way back to the stadium, Mario kept a watchful eye on Sonic who still looked like something was troubling him as he weaved his way through the crowd. Without even thinking about it Mario slung an arm around Sonic's shoulder, causing the hedgehog to jump slightly at the unexpected contact.

"I don't know what's bothering you," Mario started. "But if you ever need help with it, just let me know. After all, I still owe you a favor."

Sonic just gave an uncomfortable smile and looked down to the pavement below, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on.

'I wish I could tell you what's on my mind, Mar. I really do. But even you would find it strange that I fell for you.'

Replies

pichuplayer: Thank you! I always try and make the chapter titles be a mix of funny and plot relevant, so if I made you laugh then I guess I'm doing even more things right haha!

CatbyShynie. EXE: Haha, well thank you! And for future reference, I update every Wednesday! :)