It had been one year since Vector the Crocodile had concretized his unconditional love for Vanilla the Rabbit. After many enterprising deeds such as offering flowers, chocolates, proposing help for works or duties, the mother started to see her feelings towards him change of nature. So she proposed him to spend some time with her, and as they learnt to know better each other and felt their relationship turning to a loving one, his visits became more regular in the week, then they became daily. Finally, in a few months they officially proclaimed themselves as a couple, so Vector and his crew moved to the two rabbits' house, and some times later they married each other, in the occasion of a happy and festive ceremony.
For Vanilla's daughter, Cream, life had changed in many ways. She loved Vector, who was always sweet and playful with her, and having him as her dad was such a bunch of fun. Though he was legally his stepfather, she called indeed him « Dad » and nothing else, for she had one and it was all that mattered. She also loved to see Mom and Dad kissing each other or calling each other « sugar », « honey », for she was sensitive to romance. Contrary to Charmy Bee, who also shared her life now, and always said this kind of things was disgusting and made him want to puke. Which made Cream laugh because he accompanied it with winces, but also because she felt that despite his speeches, he seemed to have a little crush on her...
One night, they were all five (plus Espio the Chameleon) watching a movie on TV, all close to each other like a true family. Vanilla was snuggled up to Vector's chest, for she loved to smell his musk mixed with his shower gel and deodorant, which were very present due to his mania of being « so fresh, so clean ». The crocodile was smiling, happy to feel the warmth of his furry wife, and he gently caressed the back of her head. On their left side, Cream and Charmy were watching absent-mindedly the movie, preferring to play calm and silent games or telling each other jokes. They both giggled constantly, contrasting with Espio's total silence and concentration at the other side of the couch. When the movie was over, Vanilla briefly left Vector's embrace to grab the remote.
She turned off the TV and declared : « Alright, I think it's time for everybody to go to bed ». So they all stood up, Charmy moving to his room with a big yawn, Espio going to the garden's hut that had been fit out as his room at his express request, so he could do his meditation at any time. Only Cream didn't move from the couch, not feeling like she wanted to sleep. Her mother quickly saw it and ordered her to go to bed. « Oh, mom, I don't feel tired at all », she protested. It did not please Vanilla and she was about to insist, until Vector intervened. « Don't ya worry, sugar, I'll deal with it. Come on, Cream, follow me », he said, giving his hand to the little rabbit who obeyed, and both walked to the hallway leading to her room.
Just before they go, the crocodile looked at his wife and reassured her : « I won't be long, you can go to our room and wait for me », he told her with a wink. Vanilla watched the father and daughter move on together with a smile, before going to her room as her husband said, hoping he would do so. Meanwhile, Vector sat at the edge of Cream's bed, which he had laid down on it. « So you don't feel tired ? » he asked her gently. Cream shook her head, feeling wide awake. « No, dad, I even wanna play », she said in excitement. « I see », Vector observed, caressing his chin. He could see that she still had her shoes. « Why don't you remove your shoes ? It's not very comfortable to sleep, or even lay on your bed », he suggested.
« Oh yes ! » Cream said with enthusiasm, and she quickly removed her shoes, revealing her bare feet, since she hadn't worn socks today. To tease her, Vector sniffed briefly and said : « Uh-oh, looks like these littles tootsies smell of cheese », pointing at them. Cream giggled and blushed in a kind of embarrassment and amusement, protesting : « Dad, it's not true », though it was right that her feet were quite smelly. « Why are you barefoot in your shoes ? » he asked in curiosity. Cream explained : « I love being barefoot, I feel free and comfortable. But mom doesn't like it, she says it's dirty. But I don't like to wear socks, so I put directly my shoes on... but after, I can't remove them until I'm in my room, because mom says it makes them smelly ».
Vector fully understood her. « Well, mom is right, you know. But even if they smell bad, you surely have cute little footsies », he reassured her. Cream blushed again and looked at him with an innocent smile that made him melt. Then, he had an idea to play with her until she feels tired. He proposed her : « What if I tell you a story... but an interactive one ? ». Such a mysterious proposal made Cream curious, and she nodded : « Yes, come on daddy ». Vector smiled at her and began his story. « Alright. It's the story of a little mouse who was peacefully walking... », he told, and at the same time, he moved his index and middle finger like two walking legs on the blanket. « Suddenly, she stops and starts to sniff... » and he dressed his index, making it wiggle.
« She has detected a cheesy smell, so she runs towards it... » and his two fingers run before stopping in front of Cream's feet. « And she finds it, a giant piece of cheese ! It looks so smelly, so delicious. So she starts climbing on it... », and Vector climbed his two fingers along her soles, which made her giggle. « Once she reached the top, she starts making some holes in it », he said, and he snuck his fingers in between her toes. « But then she wants to sink inside, so she climbs a little bit down... and she starts to diggy-diggy-dig in ! » Vector added, before going back to the base of her toes and scratching his two fingers. Cream giggled out loud as the real tickles began they lasted a few seconds, then Vector claimed : « And once on the inside... she keeps diggy-diggy-digging in ! ».
Therewith, he wiggled his two fingers on her soles, making her laugh in joy. She tried to curl her feet, but they couldn't escape the crocodile's sneaky tickles. « Hihihihihi Dad, it tickles, hihihihi stohohohohop ! » she laughed. Vector thought it was already a good start, and effectively stopped. « You're ticklish, aren't you ? » he asked her with a smile. « Yes, but I like it. It's funny, and it makes me laugh », she said candidly. Vector looked at her with a grin. « Alright ! Ready for an interactive story with Dad ? » he proposed. Cream nodded without hesitation. « Yes ! Yes yes yes », she said in excitement. For his second story, Vector announced : « This time I'll tell you the story of the wicked ogre », and Cream felt like a chill on her spine.
« Once upon a time », told Vector, « there was a wicked and cruel ogre, who was hungry all the time and ate children of all ages. He captured them when they were isolated, and he brought them to his home so as to cook and eat them ». Again, Cream shivered, but in a good way. Vector was very good at telling stories, putting all the intensity in his voice, and Cream was captivated all the more that scary stories with cruel monsters kinda fascinated her. « One day », Vector said, then looked at her with gloomy eyes, « he captured a little rabbit girl who was playing barefoot in a field of flowers, and he went to his home in the dark side of the forest, holding in his huge hand the girl who was uselessly screaming for help ».
Cream was so immersed in the story that she effectively felt like being trapped, though she knew it was only a story. « Back at home, the ogre went straight to his kitchen, and he locked the little rabbit girl in a small cage in the corner that served as a pantry. He looked at her, drooling and licking his lips, and said he would fatten her up for a few days. And once she'd be well fat, he would make her roast on a spit and eat her with chive sauce ». Just like in the story, Vector licked his lips while looking at Cream, which made her giggle. « He was about to go, when he smelled some bad odor in his kitchen, like a cheesy smell. He got his nose closer to the rabbit's cage, and he saw that her bare feet smelled indeed of cheese, because she didn't washed them ».
Cream being the victim in this kind of roleplay, Vector pointed at her feet, making her blush. He continued : « So he took her off her cage, saying that he'd have some cheese snack for dinner. He lied her down on the cutting board, and to tie her up, sent one of his snakes. The snake coiled her little body... » and he wrapped his arm around her ankles, to lock her feet. « … Then, it moved its head to the girl's right foot and... hissssssss », and while hissing, he scratched her her right sole, which caused Cream to giggle uncontrollably. « The snake did the same with the little girl's left foot that he smelled and... hissssssss », he added and scratched Cream's left sole, who laughed louder but not too much, so her mother wouldn't have any suspicion of what they were doing.
Vector grinned at her as he was preparing the last straw. « The ogre was satisfied to see the little girl had very ticklish feet. So he leaned on, and once her little smelly feet were within reach to him, he opened his mouth wide and... omnomnomnomnom ! ». Forthwith, he tickled Cream's feet again, this time with his ten fingers. It tickled all the more that he had trapped her feet, contrary to the first time, and she couldn't move them anymore. Yet Cream could definitely tell that she was a heck of a good time, laughing out loud, feeling her defenseless ticklish feet submitted to her dad's robust hands. She knew she couldn't do much sound though, so she took her pillow and placed it on her head to muffle her laughter.
« Hahahahaha Daddy please hahahahahaha have mercy ! » she laughed, and Vector could feel his heart melt at the view of his new daughter being so ticklish and laughing in joy. Of course he intended it to continue, and he sneered while seeing her poor little footsies wriggling, trying to escape his agile fingers and sneaky tickles. Every time she did so, he just tightened his grip, and he increased the strength of the tickles, making Cream laugh even louder. « Now who's the rabbit girl with the most smelly and ticklish feet in the world ? » he asked with a childish voice. Between two laughters, Cream answered : « Hahahahaha that's me hahahahaha ! ». Vector considered that the second salvo was over now with that confession, and he freed her from his grip.
Cream threw her head back and sighed in relief. « Ahhhh... How it tickled... but how good it was... ». Vector was a bit surprised, yet delighted to see how she liked to be tickled. She's so much fun to live with, he thought, just like her mom. « Well, I know one that enjoyed her sweet torture » he told her with a wink. Cream giggled and smiled, tilting her head to the side. « I love you, dad », she said. « I'm having fun like I never had before with you ». Vector was moved by these words, he could almost feet tears coming to his eyes. « I love you too, cutie pie », he answered and caressed her cheek. « Alright, feel tired yet ? » he added, remembering why he had come to her room. But Cream didn't want it to end. At least, not yet, not so soon.
« Actually... » she answered, « I'd like you to tickle my feet again ». Vector couldn't believe what he just heard. She was asking for more tickles ? Could she be the daughter all the dads in the world were dreaming of ? He looked at her with his grin. « Are you sure ? 'Cause this time I'll have no mercy ». But Cream nodded in excitement. « Yes, that way I'll be exhausted and I'll sleep more easily », she explained. Vector got ready, but the rabbit girl moved from her bed, taking her pillows with her. Then, she put one on the floor, laid down on it, and lifted her legs so her body formed a right angle, placing her tendons right at Vector's knees. « That way, it'll be even cooler ! » she said. Vector grinned as he saw her soles that she was offering him on a silver plate, ready for the tickles.
To ensure that she couldn't move, he enclosed her feet with his thighs and tightened them on her ankles. Cream couldn't help but giggle, knowing exactly what would happen to her in a few seconds. « And now... » Vector said slowly. « Tickle feet ! » he exclaimed, and he instantly gave her feet the tickles of a lifetime, driving Cream into another intense laughter session. He felt himself happy being able to tickle these adorable, soft, tender and oh so ticklish feet. Every attempt, every reflex to avoid the tickle storm only made him want to continue. He tickled everywhere, her heels, arches and toes, not a single zone was spared, and as soon as he found a more sensitive spot than the rest, he went for it without hesitation.
Meanwhile, Cream was laughing her head off, taking care of muffling the sound with her pillow, but still squirming, and feeling tears of laughter and joy rolling down. It was a happiness like she never had known in her life, and she wished that it could last forever. « Oh, these are so tender feet that we have here ! I think I could tickle them for eternity ! » Vector said on a playful tone, and Cream begged him : « HAHAHAHAHAHAHA DAD IT TICKLES TOO MUCH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA ! ». Though, Vector could clearly guess by her laughter that she wanted him to continue, so he kept on tickling her feet mercilessly. As time went by, he saw that she opposed him less and less resistance and her breath started to get short.
He understood that she was really getting tired, and now it was definitely time for her to go to bed, now that she could fall asleep. So he stopped the tickles, freed her, and put her in her bed. Cream was all red from exhaustion, tired but happy. « Oh Dad », she said while Vector adjusted the blanket, « it was fantastic. I think I never laughed so much before ». Vector smiled with pride and ruffled her hair. « I'm glad to hear that. Ready to have a good sleep ? ». Cream nodded, and he did a kiss on her cheek. « Goodnight, sweetie », he said, then an idea came to his mind. So he went to the other end of the bed and folded up the part of the blanket that was covering Cream's feet, so they were exposed again. « If you don't wake up tomorrow, I'll be your alarm », he explained.
That made her eyes lighten up. Having dad tickling her feet before she sleeps was fantastic, but the same thing in the morning to wake her up was even better. She hoped that she effectively won't wake up on her own... Vector saw her contemplating her bare feet, and proposed : « I think I have another idea. From now on, every time we'll both be alone at home, you'll get barefoot and we'll have some tickle fun together. But don't tell her or anyone a word about it, 'kay ? This has to be our little secret of father and daughter. Sounds good to you ? ». Cream couldn't wish better and she instantly accepted. « Oh yes », she said in excitement, and after promising she would keep quiet about it, she leaned on to kiss his cheek. « I love you, Daddy. Goodnight », she told him, and Vector caressed her cheek back, blushing in emotion.
Seeing that she had half-closed eyes, he stood up, kissed her a last time on her forehead to wish her sweet dreams. Just before he opened the door, he looked at her : « Hey Cream ? ». Using her last forces, she asked : « Yes daddy ? ». Vector answered with a grin : « I don't mind if your feet smell of Swiss cheese ». Cream giggled a last time, before finally falling asleep. Glad to see that his tickles method had brilliantly worked, Vector closed the door behind him and went to his room in glee, knowing that his beloved Vanilla was waiting for him. In passing, he could hear through the door of his room that Charmy was loudly snoring, much to his amusement. Finally, he arrived and slipped under the blanket. Vanilla stopped her reading and received him with a kiss.
He gave her kiss back, then he grinned : « Hehe, told you I wouldn't be long », which made Vanilla giggle. She nuzzled his chest to breathe his sweet fragrance, and he rubbed her back with his big reassuring hands. « Was it alright with Cream ? » she asked him smoothly. He nodded his head proudly : « Oh yeah. She's such an adorable girl ». Vanilla added : « How did you deal with her ? ». Vector didn't want to reveal their secret, so he scratched the back of his head and chose a partial truth : « I, uh, told her some fairy tales of my own invention ». Luckily, Vanilla believed him and eventually asked him if she was really asleep. « Like a baby », Vector swore, and Vanilla found him so funny that she chuckled again. She snuggled up to him and whispered : « I am so glad that you have the touch with her ». Vector blushed and winked : « I surely have ».
Then the two fell asleep, embraced in each other, and in the next morning, like both Vector and Cream hoped, this one delayed to wake up. So Vector came to her room and woke her up by tickling her feet, that were still sticking out of the blanket, and Cream's day started exactly as the previous one ended : with a moment of laughter with her dad. From this day on, at any time they were alone in the house, or had a moment for each other, they went to the living room's couch or the bed of Cream's room. There, Cream laid down, Vector took off her shoes and socks and tickled her feet, making her laugh in joy as he showed her no mercy, tickling her stronger if she begged for him to stop, because he knew and she knew that she wanted it to go on and on and forever.
These were moments of pure happiness, and they tried to multiply them. One thing casted a shadow though : Cream wore less and less often socks, and ended not wearing any more. She did it so that Vector would just have to take off her shoes to make her barefoot, letting him more time to tickle. But the main consequence was that she was now permanently barefoot in her shoes, and that made her feet very smelly. If she and Vector were amused, Vanilla was much less. She scowled regularly her daughter about it, and Cream couldn't justify why she didn't want to wear socks : she knew that if she did, she would have to give away the secret she shared with her dad. But this one knew how to calm things down between his two beloved rabbits.
He tried – and managed to convince Vanilla that it wasn't that bad it Cream's feet tended to smell, that maybe she felt more comfortable without socks, that there were much grosser things you could do with your body (and he knew what he was talking about with Charmy) and after all, it was just natural. Cream was glad that her daddy had supported her, though he knew that one day or another they would have to explain to Vanilla – and the others why they loved being together so much, and why they always looked like they laughed when they came back. But for now, they still could enjoy these moments while they were the only ones to know, and there was one thing they were definitely convinced of : this was the best way ever for a father-daugther relationship.
THE END