Chapter Six: Beach Breeze
It felt like a lot of time had passed, but Summer came upon Mobius once again. Flowers and weeds were blooming, warm wind blew through the bright green trees, pools were opened up, fishing season started. Yep, it was Summer alright. But there was one thing that everyone had in mind - the beach.
Ah, yes. What better way to kickback and frolic in the Summer heat than spending a whole day at the beach in Sunset Hill? People laughing childishly as they splash water back and forth, playing volleyball and doing other various Summer activities, or just relaxing in the shade. But best of all was the hill that lurked above the entire beach, which made a perfect view for watching the sunset…and sneaking in a little kiss or two.
Tails awakened one hot and humid morning to see what was on the agenda for today. He opened his front door, and took a deep breath of fresh Summer air. "Ahh…good morning, Mobius." He greeted the heat-risen world with a yawn, and headed back inside to look at his calendar. The calendar read "June", along with all of the days within it. On the page was a circled "7" with the words "BEACH DAY! (Ask her!)" - plus, added doodles of an umbrella, a beach ball, a sun, and a few water droplets - written inside the provided square.
"Oh, that's right! I forgot the beach opens up today!" Tails said excitedly. "Hmm...I hope Cosmo wants to go..." He then immediately switched to a more worried tone.
Tails slowly started to approach the phone, and as he was about to grab it, it rang. He picked it up, and answered it nervously. "Cosmo!? Oh…heh. H-Hi, Sonic." It turns out it was only Tails' best friend, Sonic.
"Hey…buddy? Did you know the beach at Sunset Hill is opening today?" He asked the little fox. "Yep, I sure do! I can't wait!" Tails answered with excitement. "Yeah, Amy seemed pretty excited, too…for some reason." Sonic said, not knowing the real reason why Amy was as ecstatic as she was. "Oh, yeah. I bet she's real excited, Sonic…" Tails said like an imp.
"Well, yeah. I mean, we're just goin' to the beach to have some fun. I can't swim, but I can at least play some volleyball or somethin'." Sonic replied. "Uh-…Never mind." Tails started to tell him why the pink hedgehog wanted to go to Sunset Hill so badly, but changed his mind to see if Sonic could figure it out himself.
"Hm. Well anyway, is Cosmo coming along, too?" Sonic changed the subject. "Uh…well, I, uh, h-haven't asked her yet, but…i-if she does want to go, I'll let you know! Heh…" Tails replied nervously. "Okay, then." Sonic said with a cheeky smile. "Well, see you at the beach, buddy!" He added before hanging up. "Okay! See you later, bye!" Tails hung up as well, and placed the phone on the counter.
He then took off his slippers, put on his shoes, and flew off to Cosmo's house.
Eventually, the little fox landed to his destination. He walked up the stairs, and knocked on the door. Cosmo unlatched and opened the door from the other side. "Oh, hello, Tails! It's been a while!" She greeted him with a warm, welcoming hug. "Y-Yeah! Heh…it sure has, hasn't it?" Tails chuckled nervously as he started to blush. "Ahh…I forgot how much I missed her hugs…" He thought dreamily to himself.
"Why don't you come inside, Tails? It's pretty hot out here." Cosmo let go, and invited him in. "Oh no, it's okay! I-I just wanted to ask you something…" Tails replied. "Oh? Like what?" She asked.
"Well, uh…i-it's just that the beach at Sunset Hill opens up today, and I, uh, just figured that, uh, y-you wanted to go with me…?" The nervous fox offered. "B-But you don't have to if you don't want to! I-It's just that Amy, Sonic and I are going, and well…w-we haven't seen each other in a while. So…heh." He added. "Why, that sounds lovely, Tails! Of course I'll go with you!" Cosmo accepted the invitation. "Oh! Alright, then! Whew…" Tails let out a sigh of relief.
"Yeah, you'll love it there, Cosmo! There's this really nice view of the sunset, and there'll be lots of fun stuff to do! Like play volleyball, or go swimming. It'll be great!" He then started listing all of the entertaining activities that Sunset Hill has to offer. "Oh. Yes, i-it'll…be great." Cosmo replied in a lower tone.
"Wh-What's wrong, Cosmo?" He asked, worrying that he might've done something to offend her. "…Hmm? Oh, nothing! Nothing at all! I-It'll be quite fun." She replied, faking a smile, almost as if she had something to hide and didn't want Tails to know. "Hm…okay, then." Tails said, feeling a bit concerned for the girl he cared so deeply for.
"Um…I-I'll go get my stuff!" Cosmo giggled nervously. "Okay. I'll grab all my stuff, too. See you in a bit, Cosmo!" He waved her farewell as he flew back over to his house. "Bye, Tails!" Cosmo waved back at him. "See you later…" She then said quietly to herself. Cosmo closed the front door, and went back inside to get her stuff packed up and ready for the beach.
"Oh, what am I going to do? I can't hurt his feelings! I can't let him know…I'm gonna go with Tails, and I'm going to have a good time, because…I love him." She thought.
A FEW MINUTES LATER…
Tails grabbed an old empty suitcase from the attic to pack all of his necessities into. Inside were his swimming goggles, some sunscreen, and a couple of aqua-colored towels. He then put on his red swim shorts and yellow-framed sunglasses, grabbed his suitcase with one hand, put his yellow and green-striped umbrella in the other, and proceeded to head off to the beach with his friends.
While walking, he saw Sonic and Amy up ahead, and catches up with them. Sonic wore a light blue, purple shape-patterned dolce, and had his blue-framed sunglasses perked up above his eyes. Amy wore a red bikini set and had her pink heart-shaped sunglasses over her eyes. "Hi, guys!" He greeted the two hedgehogs. "Hi, Tails!" Amy replied. "Hey, buddy!" Sonic added. He then stopped to get a better look at Tails' current attire.
"Well, look at you lookin' all stylish over here!" He smiled. "Yeah, I bet Cosmo will love that! Girls like a guy with a sense of style, you know." Amy leaned over on Tails' shoulder, and giggled. "Guys, cut it out!" Tails blushed as everyone chuckled at him.
"Oh! Speaking of which, I think we're coming up on her street now." He added. "Aww…he even knows what street she lives on. Isn't that cute?" Amy gushed. "Yeah…" Sonic giggled. "Well, yeah! I mean, she's literally a few blocks away!" Tails said, sounding a bit miffed. "Okay…whatever you say, buddy…" Sonic replied tauntingly with a cheeky smile. "Hmm…" Tails grumbled to himself, blushing harder.
Eventually, the trio make it over to Cosmo's little humble abode that lurked around the corner. "Well, this is the place!" Tails said as he walked up the stairs and knocked on the door once again. Sonic and Amy followed suit. Cosmo opens the door to reveal her wearing a light green one-piece swimsuit, patterned with red roses that went around the waist. "Oh! H-Hi, everyone." She greeted. "Hiya, Cosmo!" Amy replied. "S'up, Cos!" Sonic added. Tails didn't say anything, as he was too amazed. His face was bright red, and his eyes were widened from the sight of the seedrian.
"I'm ready for the beach!" Cosmo giggled. "Mm-hmm…Uh-huh, yeah." Tails gulped nervously. "Is there something wrong, Tails?" She questioned. "Well…-" Sonic started to say something, but then got cut off by Amy. "Oh no! Tails is just really excited to go to beach! Isn't that right, Tails?" She peered over his shoulder with a grin. "Uh-huh, yeah." Tails repeated while being still as a stone, sweat dripping down his face.
"…We should probably get going now." Sonic put his hand on Tails' back. "Uh-huh. Yeah, we should. Mm-hmm…" Tails replied nervously once more. "You're so funny, Tails!" Cosmo giggled. "Yeah…Well, you're pretty, Cosmo…" Tails replied dreamily. "Wait, crap! I didn't mean to say that!" He thought nervously to himself. "Eee…!" Amy exclaimed gleefully within only Sonic's earshot. "Oh…well, uh, you look…really nice yourself, Tails." Cosmo complimented him as she started blushing. "Aw, gee. Thanks…" Tails giggled lightly.
Amy leaned over next to Tails, and put the back of her hand alongside her mouth. "See? Told ya!" She whispered.
TEN MINUTES LATER…
Tails, Cosmo, Sonic, and Amy stopped at an orange sign that stood in-between an upward path, which led to the top of a hill, and a downward path, which led to sandy ground. The sign read "Welcome to Sunset Hill!" in all capital letters, followed by a white sign below it that read "Beach is now open!".
The gang was ecstatic. Each of them raced down the hill, and gazed at the sights of the sun-lit beach. "Wow…there sure are a lot of people here." Cosmo said in awe. "Mm-hmm." Sonic agreed. "There sure are!" Amy added.
Tails planted his umbrella and towel near the front of the ocean that surrounded the entire beach. Sonic did the same, only further away, since he doesn't like being too close to the water. "Alright, Tails. Amy and I are gonna do a little one-on-one. We'll be over here if you need us." Sonic pointed over at the court that was meant for volleyball. "Okay. I think I'm just gonna swim for a bit, and then sit in the shade." Tails replied. He opened his suitcase, and went to reach for his swimming gear, when he got interrupted by Cosmo.
"Hey, Tails!" She said. "Hi, Cosmo! You wanna swim?" He kindly offered. "Uh…um…uh…" Cosmo got nervous as she looked at her surroundings to try and come up with something different to do. She then saw Sonic and Amy playing volleyball. "H-How about we do that instead?" Cosmo pointed to the two hedgehogs. "What? Play volleyball?" Tails asked. "Mm-hmm." She nodded. "Um…okay, sure." He replied, feeling a bit confused. He didn't think much of it, though, as he didn't ever mind going where Cosmo wanted to go. Tails got up and put Cosmo's hand in his, and started walking.
Sonic and Amy were huffing and puffing as they kept running left and right, hitting the ball over the net. Amy turned around to see Tails and Cosmo walking toward their game. "Oh, hey, guys! Oof-!" She then gets hit on the back of the head by the ball that Sonic threw in the air. "You're too slow, Ames! Three-zero!" Sonic taunted, as the ball started to roll away without anyone noticing. It stopped at the edge of a miniature sandhill that went down to where ocean waves could pick it up.
"Hey, that's not fair! I got distracted that time!" Amy shouted back at him. "Oh! We're so sorry!" Cosmo needlessly apologized. "Yeah, heh…we didn't mean to distract you." Tails chuckled. "It's just that Cosmo wanted to play, too. Do you mind if we join you?" He asked. "Sure, you guys can play! And you don't have to apologize. I just so happened to get distracted for the third time!" Amy replied in a miffed manner.
"Nah, Ames. You just can't beat me! Since I am the master of volleyball." Sonic said dramatically, chuckling to himself. "Is that so?" Amy winked and giggled sarcastically. "Tails, you're on my team." She then got ahold of Tails' arm and spoke to him dryly. "Uh, o-okay…" He replied. "Alright. Boy/girl versus boy/girl. I can get behind this." Sonic said like his usual cocky self.
"Um, excuse me, Sonic." Cosmo tapped on his shoulder. "But don't we need a…ball to play this game?" She asked. "Huh? Where did the ball go?" Sonic questioned as he looked around the area of the court.
Eventually, Tails found the ball, still sitting atop of the little hill. "There it is, Sonic!" He pointed to it. "I'll go get it!" Tails ran to grab the volleyball, but then a gust of wind kicked in, rolling the ball down the hill towards the ocean. Then, waves started to form, which then dragged the ball further out into the ocean, tangling it in a pile of seaweed that was near the deep end.
"Aw, crap! Hmm…aha!" Tails ran back to his suitcase to put on his swimming goggles. "Well, now I'll at least be able to swim." He chuckled. "Be careful, Tails!" Cosmo warned him, but it was too late. He had already dived into the ocean to retrieve the volleyball.
Tails sees the ball, and attempts to grab it, but it was stuck. So, he dives under the water to try and rip some of the seaweed out, getting the mucky green vines tangled all over him in the process. He finally gets the ball untangled, and starts to swim back to shore, but now…he was the one who was stuck and tangled. Tails tried with all his might to get out, but didn't succeed.
Cosmo, Sonic, and Amy started seeing bubbles blow out from under the water, and occasionally a hand raising up and down. "Tails!?" Sonic and Amy shouted in worry. "Oh no!" Cosmo exclaimed. "I gotta go in after him! He might drown!" Sonic started to race out in the water, but Cosmo stops him. "No…I gotta do it. This is all my fault…" She says. "What are you talking about, Cosmo!?" Amy questioned.
"If I had just told him I had a fear of swimming in the ocean in the first place, then this wouldn't have happened! So, now…I gotta save him. He's certainly done it for me enough times. He's been my hero! So…why not return the favor?" Cosmo ran out toward the shallow edge of the ocean. "I love you, guys." She turned around, and spoke one last time before swimming out to where Tails was struggling. "Cosmo, wait!" Sonic reached out for her, but she had already started to swim out towards the deep end.
Cosmo swam and swam as fast as she could to rescue Tails. She kept untangling one rope of seaweed after another, and pulled him out. She held onto him, and swam back to land, gasping for air as she rose up out of the water, and started to hyperventilate a bit. Everybody, including the lifeguard, gathered around the four to see what was going on.
Cosmo then gently laid Tails' body down on the sandy ground. "…Tails? Speak to me!" Cosmo spoke sadly as her hands started to shake. "Come on! Wake up, Tails!" She cried as she kept shaking the fox to try and snap him back to reality. Eventually, Tails' eyes started to widen with him coughing up ocean water in the process. Cosmo, Sonic, and Amy all hugged him in relief.
"Oh, thank gosh you're okay!" Amy said, teary-eyed. "Yeah…we thought we almost lost you there, buddy." Sonic added, also being on the verge to cry. "…Hmm? What happened?" Tails said weakly. "Oh, Tails! How I thought I lost you!" Cosmo clenched onto him, crying ever-so hardly. "Cosmo? Why are you all wet? What happened?" Tails asked, still in his weak and confused state. "What happened is that this little lady saved your life!" The lifeguard spoke.
"…Huh? She did?" Tails asked wondrously. "She sure did! And while she was out there rescuing you, your blue buddy here told me everything." The lifeguard pointed at Sonic. "I don't know about you, but I would be lucky to have a girl who cares so much about you like she does. Be grateful." He winked at Tails, and started to walk back to the lifeguard tower. "Wait! What about the volleyball?" Tails asked. "I'll bring the volleyball back. You just stay here, and recover. Besides, we have a ton of them in our supply closet anyway." The lifeguard replied as he dove into the water, and brought the ball back.
"What you did was crazy, Tails." Sonic said. "Yeah, that was really dangerous! You could've drowned yourself!" Amy added. "I agree, but…that's just one of the things I love about him. His bravery." Cosmo gave Tails an affectionate hug. "Hey. D-Do you…want to go sit up at the hill?" She asked. "Yeah, sure." He smiled, and gave Cosmo a towel to wrap herself in. They both started walking up toward the hill where they could watch the sunset. "Oh…! They're going up on the hill, Sonic!" Amy whispered gleefully, hoping that he would get the hint. "Yeah…that's pretty cute." Sonic replied. He then looked at Amy to see her slyly smiling at him.
"…Wh-What?" Sonic asked, getting a bit sweaty. "You do know what that hill is meant for, don't you, Sonic?" Amy giggled, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Uh-uh-um-eee-ooh-uh-um-uh…" Sonic starting stuttering as his face turned bright red. "W-Well…maybe I get it now." He then started smiling slyly at her, and gave her a big kiss on the lips. They both giggled simultaneously as each of their faces were now red.
Tails and Cosmo sat at the edge of the very big hill, holding hands and gazing at the sunset. "I sure do love watching the sunset. It's very relaxing." Tails said with a yawn. "I know…" Cosmo replied. "Nature really is beautiful, isn't it, Tails?" She asked him. "It sure is…" Tails replied, starting to feel a bit drowsy.
"You know…love is also a part of nature." Cosmo said, starting to blush a little. "Mm-hmm…" Tails replied, half-awake. "Love is what makes the world go around. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is…is that you are what makes m-my world go around." Cosmo looked over at Tails to find out that he had fully fallen asleep.
"…Well, I guess I'll try again later." She smiled, and gave him a little kiss on the lips. When she went to lean her head on Tails' shoulder, he hugged her in return. Cosmo then fell asleep with her head on Tails' lap.
ONE HOUR LATER…
Everyone at the beach started leaving for the night. Sonic and Amy walked up the hill to find Tails and Cosmo still asleep. "Guess you got tired from the little adventure you had, huh, pal? Come on, up and at 'em…" Sonic said to the unconscious fox as he picked him up to put him to bed. Amy picked Cosmo up, and followed suit.
The two hedgehogs arrived back at Tails' house, got him changed, put Cosmo in one of her shamrock-green nightgowns, and tucked them both in bed. "Good night, guys." Sonic and Amy said before running off to their humble abodes to hit the hay.
Tails and Cosmo started moving around in their sleep, until they both hugged each other. "I love you, Cosmo…" Tails mumbled. "I love you, too, Tails…" She answered.