Disclaimer: See Summary.
A/N: So, it came to my attention this morning that Tangle made her debut in Sonic IDW #4 on this day in 2018. Which means that today is technically her birthday. Which I find interesting because today happens to be my birthday as well. Tangle has been my favorite character since her introduction, so I figured I'd get this out there as a tribute.
Also, random question, why is Whisper listed twice under the character list? There's a listing for just "Whisper" and there's one for "Whisper the Wolf." Is there some obscure character from the early days of the Sonic Franchise simply called Whisper or is it an error on the part of whoever is in charge of adding new characters to the list?
Anyway, on with the Story.
Tangle woke up with a wide grin. Today is going to be a good day, she thought. With a skip in her step, she sprung out of bed and made her way downstairs. As she made her way to her best friend's museum, she couldn't help but wonder what sort of things Whisper had in store for her today. As the energetic lemur burst open the doors Jewel the Beetle was already up, hovering around the museum and performing maintenance on her collection.
"Good morning Jewel!" Tangle shouted happily as she skipped over to her best friend. The beetle, caught off guard by the unexpected entry, jolted in surprise, dropping her clipboard in the process.
"Oh, hey Tangle." Jewel replied, descending to the floor to pick up her things. "Sorry, I didn't hear you come in."
Tangle slapped Jewel on the back gently and smiled. "No, it's my fault. I'm just in a good mood today."
"You're always in a good mood, Tangle." Jewel replied. "But yeah, you seem to be in a better mood than usual today."
The lemur shrugged. "Well, I mean, today is a very special day."
"It is?" Jewel replied, turning to face her childhood friend.
Tangle snorted. "Ok, I get it." She smirked. "You're a very busy woman, so I'm not gonna fault ya for not remembering. But it doesn't bug me anyway. I'm gonna see where Whisper is. She said she had something special planned for me today. You haven't seen her today have you?"
"Oh, uh, I think I saw her at the other end of town." Jewel shook her head. "You could try there."
"Thanks Jewel." Tangle smiled. "You're the best. See ya later."
"Okay, bye." Jewel waved as Tangle turned and left the museum. As the door closed, Jewel's brow furrowed. "What could make today so special that could put her in such a good mood?"
She spread her wings and hovered upstairs to her flat, inspecting the calendar on the wall next to her fridge. She squinted at the day marked April 25, and her eyes widened with realization as she read the memo scribbled in the box. "Oh shoot!" She yelped. "It's her birthday today!" Then, more memories came flooding back to her. "Oh, no." She gasped, as she zipped downstairs to grab her phone. Frantically she dialed Whisper's number. As the phone buzzed, Jewel frantically tapped her foot.
Finally the line picked up. "Jewel?" Came the soft reply.
"Hey, Whisper." Jewel said. "Did you know about today?"
"Yes." Whisper answered. In the background, Jewel could hear what she could only assume were the Wisps playing together. "Tangle's birthday is today."
"I just remembered that I was supposed to help get her surprise party together." Jewel answered frantically.
"Don't worry," Whisper replied reassuringly. "Knew you'd be busy. Decided to get things going ahead of schedule."
"Oh thank goodness." Jewel let out a loud sigh of relief. "You know, she's looking for you by the way."
There was a pause, before Whisper returned. "Stall her. We're not ready yet."
Jewel nodded. "I'll do what I can. Keep me posted." She ended the call and flew out the door to catch up to Tangle.
As Tangle skipped through town, she thought about what Whisper might be planning for them that day. The two of them had gotten closer since their encounter with Mimic. Her smile dropped at the thought of the treacherous octopus. She'd heard that he had recently escaped from prison during a riot, which meant that he out there somewhere. Whisper had obviously been more concerned of the two of them, but thankfully they had friends this time who could help them if that walking lump of sushi showed his beak anytime soon.
She shook her head of the thoughts of that mercenary, and refocused on what Whisper could be planning. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Jewel's voice.
"Tangle! Tangle!" Jewel shouted as she fluttered up to the lemur.
Tangle turned to face her and smiled. "Oh, hey Jewel. What's up?"
"I just wanted to help you find Whisper. You know, four eyes are better than two, right?"
"Aw, shucks." Tangle smiled. "Jewel, you didn't need to do that."
"Well, as your friend, I figured that I could spend some time with you today. And if that involves helping you find your girlfriend, then so be it."
"Alright!" Tangle replied enthusiastically, before her friend's words clicked. "Wait, she's not my girlfriend!"
"Yet." Jewel added with a smug grin. Tangle pouted, her tail digits curling into a fist. "Oh, come on, Tangle. We both know you like her."
"Well, y-yeah." Tangle retorted, her face still red. "But I don't, you know, like like her. We're just two close friends who happen to have fought a dangerous assassin together."
"Yeah, well, from what I hear, she was devastated when you fell to the Metal Virus." Jewel countered. "You guys would have to be real close for her to react that way."
"Huh." Tangle realized. "She did tackle hug me on Angel Island after the Metal Virus disappeared. And she has been on my thoughts a lot lately. Like it almost feels like I'm..." Her purple eyes widened as it started to click into place. "Oh my gods...I think I do like like her."
Jewel nodded as if that were the most obvious thing in the world. "Yeah, you have it bad, my friend."
Tangle's tail curled around her body as her face turned bright red. "Oh my gods I have a crush on one of my closest friends." She muttered. "Oh beans, what do I tell her? Does she like me back? How is she gonna react? Oh my goodness, what if she doesn't like me that way? Is she going to still be my friend? Is it going to be awkward between us? Oh nuts, what do I do? What do I do?"
"Hey, Tangle." Jewel reached up and put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Take a deep breath." The lemur obliged, unwrapping her tail around herself and taking a deep breath. "I promise you she isn't going to like you any less if you confess your feelings to her."
Tangle sighed and shook herself off. "You're right. If she cares about me enough to hug me the way she did after the Metal Virus incident, I'm sure she'll handle me telling her how I feel about her."
"That's the spirit." Jewel praised. Then she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Pulling it out, she noticed the message Whisper had just sent her.
"Everything's ready. Bring her to the park."
"Speaking of which," Jewel smiled as she put her phone away. "I think she's ready to see you."
"Is this absolutely necessary, Jewel?" Tangle asked, as Jewel led her forward, her hands over the lemur's eyes.
"Just a little further, Tangle." Jewel replied. "Okay, now."
She took her hands off of Tangle's face, and the lemur opened her eyes.
"Surprise!"
Tangle's eyes widened at the sight before her. All of her friends had gathered in the park around a large table, which had been covered in a festive tablecloth. Balloons were tied to each of the chairs. After a moment, confetti burst up from cannons placed around the party area.
There were stars in Tangle's eyes as she took it all in. Everyone was here. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Cheese and Gemerl, Belle, the Chaotix, and even Team Dark were there. And of course, Whisper and the Wisps were at the center of it all.
"You guys..." Tangle said. "You all did this for me?"
"I didn't initially want to take part in this." Shadow replied tersely. "I was busy looking for leads on Dr. Starline." Rouge elbowed him in the side. "But in the end, I was willing to compromise with my teammates and allot some time aside for this."
Rouge smiled, content with that answer, and added, "And besides, she's the one who put this all together." She pointed at Whisper, who blushed slightly.
Tangle walked up to her and wrapped her arms around the quiet wolf. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Without thinking, she planted a kiss on the wolf's lips, much to everyone's surprise. Especially her own.
"Oh, my!" Rouge exclaimed in faux-surprise. "I didn't know you were that forward, dear~"
Whisper stood still, unable to process what had just happened. Her eyes peeked open slightly, blinking several times. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" "I-I didn't mean to do that. Please for-"
Her ramblings were cut off by Whisper cupping her face with a hand. As the lemur looked up at the other Mobian's face, she saw that the wolf's eyes were fully opened. "Tangle," She said softly. "Do you love me?"
"I..." Tangle stuttered. "Yes."
To Tangle's surprise, the wolf smiled. "I love you too."
Tangle smiled as she reached up to cradle the wolf's hands. As they looked into each other's eyes, Tangle drew her into another kiss. As they pulled apart, the lemur pressed her forehead against her girlfriend's. "Thank you for doing this for me." She said softly.
"Of course." Whisper replied.
As they pulled out of their hug, Tangle turned to the rest of her friends. "Now, are we gonna party or what?"
A/N: Honestly, if I'd realized that I actually share a birthday with one of my favorite Sonic characters, I would have made this story longer. But as it is, I needed to make sure I had this posted before the day ended. Happy Birthday, Tangle.