Tails and Cream's Date at Twinkle Park

by Silver Arctic Wolf

Tails has tickets to Twinkle Park, so he invites Cream. But it turns out the tickets are a bit questionable. But as Cream's trying to figure out how Tails really feels about her, she's met by interruptions, setbacks, and misunderstandings aplenty.

1. Tails and Cream's Date at Twinkle Park

Tails and Cream's Date at Twinkle Park

A piece of toast in her mouth, Cream ran for the door after breakfast. Her face was flush with excitement for the day ahead. Cheese, her Chao, was happily flying circles around her head, just as eager. Sitting at the table, Cream's mother watched the two with a smile that belied her worry.

Crunching down the last of her toast, Cream's hand wrapped around the doorknob and she looked back to her mother to announce, "I'm going out now, Mother!"

"Cream dear, where are you off to in such a hurry?"

"I told you last week, Mother!" Cream said, still smiling. "Tails invited me to go out with him to Twinkle Park!"

Her mother cocked her head to the side. "Oh, did he? Just you two?"

Cream nodded, but added, "Cheese is going with us too."

"Hmm…" Her mother thought it over a moment. Cream got a little worried she wouldn't be allowed to go, even though she'd already gotten permission when she'd first told her about it. But when her mother smiled, Cream knew everything would be okay. "Well, Tails is a very responsible boy, so I suppose it will be alright for you to go."

Cream's smile lit up her face. "Thanks, Mother! We're going to have lots of fun! I'll tell you all about it when we get back tonight!"

"Don't stay out too late," her mother warned. "Be a good girl."

"Yes, Mother!" Cream was halfway out the door.

"Is Tails picking you up here?"

"We're meeting him at the train station!"

"Be careful walking on your own."

"I promise we will!"

As Cream hung in the doorway impatiently, waiting to see whether her mother was going to ask any more questions, Vanilla just sighed and then gave a wave. "Alright, have fun, dear. I love you."

"We will! I love you too, Mother! Good-bye! We'll see you later!"

Cream shut the house door behind her, then, feeling a bit overwhelmed and exhausted from the exchange, she leaned against the frame and exhaled deeply. She was really looking forward to Twinkle Park. Going with Tails was going to be fun. But at the same time, there was something else on her mind. A tinge of anxiety sparked in her as she reached for the envelope in her dress pocket. It was sealed with a little heart sticker. As she held the envelope in both hands, Cream's face flushed scarlet. But her determination was not undermined. She'd give the letter to Tails and she'd tell him how she felt.

"Chao chao chao!" Cheese said, cheering Cream on with a fist pump.

"You're right, Cheese!" Cream said. "We can do this!" With an adoring look, she hugged the letter to her chest, then carefully placed it back in her pocket. Excitement bubbling inside of her, she dashed away from her peaceful home in the woods. With the wind whooshing by, she felt like she was going as fast as Mr. Sonic.

Cream made it to Station Square's train station and sat on a bench. A train arrived, but as Cream scanned the people disembarking, she didn't see Tails. As she continued waiting, she fidgeted nervously. Before long, the crowd cleared and Tails finally showed up. With a cheery smile, he waved at her. Cream hopped off the bench to greet him.

"Hey, Cream!"

"Hello, Tails. We've really been looking forward to today, haven't we, Cheese?"

"Chao chao chao!"

"Heh heh heh! Well, I hope you both have lots of fun… Um… Cheese… Isn't going to need a ticket, right?" Tails scratched his head as he thought about that. After a moment, his eyes lit up. "Oh, speaking of that, here's the tickets…" He produced two tickets. Keeping one for himself, he held the other out for Cream. As Cream reached out for it, Tails pulled his hand back and his cheeks flushed a bit. "Um, the thing about these tickets is… um… Well, I got these tickets, so I thought it'd be a waste not to use them, but it's not like…"

"Tails!" Cream puffed out her cheeks and pouted at being teased like this. When she did, Tails apologized and proffered the ticket again. Still, why was Tails acting so strange? His stammering wasn't making much sense. As she reached out to take her ticket, Cream could already see hearts printed on it. Her heart skipped a beat and her mind was awash with confusion. At once, she snatched the ticket away from Tails and held it close to her face so she could read it. "Cute couples get in free…?"

Cream's heart thumped against her chest. Did this mean Tails wanted to go as a couple? Her face flushed red, and a smile crept across her lips, a smile she moved quickly to hide from Tails with the ticket and her hands. She felt happy, confused, and scared all at once.

Trying her best to hide the flush in her face, Cream peeked over her hands at Tails. He was blushing too, and looking away from her with a sheepish expression as he rubbed the back of his head. "Tails?"

"Y-Yeah, ha ha ha!" Tails gave an awkward laugh in response. "I, um… I didn't mean anything weird by it. Someone happened to give me these, so I thought I shouldn't let them go to waste. When I was thinking of who to invite, there was Amy, but I don't think she'd be too happy going with me with these tickets, since she'd rather go with Sonic. I'd rather not risk making her angry."

"Oh, I see…" Cream felt her heart drop, but she hid her hurt behind a smile. So Tails had thought of inviting Amy too. That meant he hadn't meant anything special by this after all. Unless, maybe… he was just too shy to say so. Cream decided to keep her spirits up. After all, he had thought of her in the end.

"A-Anyway, Amy's always going to Twinkle Park, but I thought you might want to go. I didn't know if you'd gone before?"

Cream responded in a polite tone. "I've gone twice before. Once with my mother and once with Amy."

"Oh, you have? Um… So, t-the park runs this weird promotion all the time." Tails's face lit up again as he fought through his embarrassment. "Oh! Hey, did you know Twinkle Park used to just have a day where they let couples in for free? They'd put a sign outside and let in everyone who came. But the park always got really crowded, so it was never any fun for anyone. That's why they started giving out these tickets instead! That way, they can stagger the visitors over a longer period of a month, so it doesn't get so crowded."

"Wow, that's so interesting." Cream went on smiling politely, but inside she felt her heart fluttering again, and what she really wanted to say was, "You're so smart, Tails."

Tails's tails swished behind him. "W-Well, shall we go?"

As she stared at the hand Tails held his ticket in, an idea came to Cream. If the promotion was for cute couples getting in free, couldn't she use that as an excuse to hold his hand? She decided to go for it, but she was feeling bashful, so she spoke hesitantly. "If these are our tickets… I guess we should pretend to be a couple…?"

When Tails heard that, it looked like an electric shock went up his spine, making his fur stand on end. He forced a laugh again and waved her off. "N-Nah, I don't think we have to do that! I mean, it's not like they're going to have a couples inspector scrutinizing everyone who shows up!"

Drat! Cream internally cursed the lost opportunity, and felt melancholic at Tails turning her down like that. Not one to give up, Cream reached for his hand anyway as he turned around to go. Yet, Tails moved just as she did and her hand closed on air.

"Well, we should get going!" Tails said. "There's so much fun stuff to do there, we don't want to waste a second! Ooh, Cream, they fixed up the Twinkle Circuit bumper car race track! I bet you'll like that!"

"That sounds fun," Cream said, mustering all the enthusiasm she could. With a sad smile, Cream followed behind Tails as he led the way to Twinkle Park.

It wasn't far from the train station, so they didn't have far to walk. A woman was at the entrance, checking tickets and letting people in. When Tails and Cream gave her their tickets, her eyes widened in surprise, and she squinted at the tickets and then at the two of them, scrutinizing them.

"You two are a couple?"

Tails's back stiffened. Face flushing red, he rubbed the back of his head, looking awkward. "W-Well… Eheheh…"

With a rush of happiness, Cream saw her opportunity. She cozied up to Tails, took his hand in hers, and leaned her head against his shoulder. With a sweet smile for the ticket lady, she answered, "Mm-hmm!"

"Awww, how sweet!" the ticket lady cooed as she raised a hand to her cheek. Her face flushed from seeing just how cute Tails and Cream were together. "You two are an adorable couple! Alright, go on in!" As Tails and Cream passed through the spinning gate, still holding hands, the ticket lady called after Tails, "Treat the little lady right, alright?"

Tails waved at her and said, "I-I will!"

Cream lifted her head off Tails's shoulder, but she didn't let go of his hand. Tails didn't stop holding her hand either, but clasped it with a gentle grip. The two of them walked in silence and took the elevator up to the gate of Twinkle Park. Both of them were too embarrassed to look at the other, but still, Cream wished they could go on like that forever. Tails's hand was so warm, and she didn't want the pleasant sensation in her chest to go away. Yet, once they were inside the park proper, Tails pulled his hand away.

"Hehehe… Sorry about that." Tails donned an apologetic look as he rubbed the back of his head. His cheeks were still a bit flushed. "I didn't think they'd take the whole couple thing so seriously… I guess that was kind of embarrassing… I hope you're not upset with me…"

Cream almost said, "I didn't mind holding hands, since it was with you." And she wanted to tell Tails he didn't need to apologize either. But she couldn't find the strength to speak those words. Instead, she donned a faint smile, and said, "It's alright. Now that we're in the park, we should just focus on having fun."

"I guess you're right." When he looked around at the park, and all the people visiting attractions, Tails got excited. "Alright, Cream: I promise, this is going to be lots of fun! Is there anything you want to check out first?"

Cream looked around, her head tilted as she looked at the rollercoaster a moment and then looked back to Tails. She couldn't make up her mind, and she didn't have a good knowledge of the place. "What do you recommend, Tails?"

As they walked, Cream wondered about how Tails had acted when he'd let go of her hand. He'd been so apologetic, like he thought he'd done something wrong, even though Cream had been the one to take his hand. Maybe Tails thought she didn't like him, and that she'd just been pretending. The thought worried Cream. She liked Tails a lot, and she wanted him to know that. But there was another, more worrisome thought. What if Tails didn't like her, and never would? That would explain why he didn't want to hold hands.

"Then do you want to check out the castle?" Tails asked. "It's pretty cool. They've got all these crazy mirrors in there too. Oh, but don't worry! It's not scary or anything."

Cream smiled as Tails unknowingly brushed away her fears by showing such consideration for her. Visiting the castle didn't sound like something he'd want to do—it wasn't exciting enough. Surely Tails liked her at least a little, otherwise he wouldn't have asked her to come with him, and he wouldn't be trying so hard to find an activity she'd enjoy.

Tails showed Cream around the park. First they visited the castle in the center of the park and looked around in the mirror room, and next they rode on the swinging boat. It was fun. The pitter-patter rollercoaster of emotions of Cream's heart was forgotten for a time, and her heart beat only to the exhilaration of the rides and attractions of Twinkle Park. Tails was smiling and laughing too, and seeing that made Cream extra happy. Cream was so caught up in the fun of it all, when she heard a rollercoaster zooming by, she got excited and called out to Tails.

"Tails, Tails, we should go on the rollercoaster next!" Cream said, pointing at the rollercoaster track overhead that went around the castle.

"You sure?" Tails asked. "That one's kind of scary. And really high up."

"Hee hee! It shouldn't be scary for us, since we can both fly," Cream teased. "And Cheese can fly too!"

"Chao chao chao!" With a fist pump into the air, Cheese chirped in agreement.

Tails laughed. "I guess you're right."

The queue for the rollercoaster was on the other side of the park, and as they walked that way, they were hit by the wafting aromas of the food stands and eateries around. Smelling all that tasty food, Cream's mouth watered a bit and her tummy rumbled.

"I'm getting kind of hungry now…" Tails said.

It wasn't yet noon, but they had been running all over the park since they'd gotten here. Cream wondered if it would be proper to eat now when it wasn't lunchtime. Her mother might disapprove of eating lunch so early, but a small snack would probably be okay.

As Tails and Cream were looking at the food stalls and wondering what to do, someone in the crowd caught both their gazes. In front of a stall spinning cotton candy was a pink hedgehog in a red dress. The pink hedgehog bought her cotton candy and munched on it, but her shoulders slumped and she was sighing heavily a lot. When she turned around to leave the stand, Tails and Cream saw she wore a melancholic look.

"Isn't that Amy? What's she doing here too?" Tails wondered.

"Doesn't she look kind of sad?" Cream's eyes frowned sympathetically when she saw how miserable Amy looked. With both fists balled up and held up to her chest, she looked to Tails. "She's our friend! We should go and cheer her up!"

Tails nodded. "Yeah, you're right."

Tails and Cream chased Amy through the crowd, and got close enough to hear her mournful sighs. By the time they got that close, she had already swallowed half of her cotton candy. She didn't seem to hear Tails when he called her name.

"Ohhh, Sonic…" Amy whimpered like a lovesick puppy. Yet, in the next moment she was yelling with the ferocity of an angry bear. "Cute couples get in free, so why couldn't you take me on a date?!"

"Amy, are you alright?" After getting within an arm's reach, Cream called out to Amy again.

"Waaah! Soniiiic! Why aren't you here with me?!" Amy failed to hear Cream due to her own belligerent yelling. It was one thing to mutter to oneself while walking, but everyone around was staring now. Yet, Amy seemed oblivious, lost in her own world.

"Hey, Amy!" This time, Tails shouted.

"Huh?" Amy looked over her shoulder and finally noticed Tails and Cream following her. She quickly rubbed away her tears and rushed over to greet them. "Tails? Cream?"

"Are you alright, Amy?" Cream asked again. "You looked really sad, even though Twinkle Park is supposed to be fun…"

"O-Oh, I'm fine!" Amy replied, brushing off Cream's concerns. "A-Anyway, what are you two doing here?" She put her hands on her hips and gave them each an accusatory glare. Cream and Tails didn't like where this was going.

Looking away, Tails scratched his cheek. "We're visiting the park."

"Together? Why didn't you invite me?!" Amy demanded.

Tails cowered under Amy's glowering gaze, and could only stutter out a weak apology in reply: "I-I'm sorry."

When she saw the distress Tails was under, Cream stepped in to defend him. "It's not Tails's fault, Amy! He only had two tickets!"

"Two tickets? Wait, did you use the promotional tickets? You two are here as a couple?"

"W-Well, yeah, but it was just because…" Tails's voice trailed off.

Amy scrutinized the two of them. Was she gearing up to tease them? Cream and Tails both felt their cheeks redden, but in the end, Amy seemed to lose interest, perhaps concluding the two of them couldn't possibly be on a real date, and she instead got lost in her own dark troubles. "Haha… I could've gotten in for free too if Sonic would've gone with me… Ooohhh…" With her head tilted to the side and her eyes listless, she moaned pathetically.

"Amy, are you really okay?" Cream asked. "My mother says you should tell your friends what's bothering you so they can help."

"Well, whatever!" Amy said, cheering up all of a sudden. "We're all here now, so let's go around together!" Laughing, she put an arm around Tails and Cream and pulled them close. As a result, some of the cotton candy in her left hand got stuck to Tails's fur. "It'll be so much fun to be here with friends! Just what I need to take my mind off of…"

Cream furrowed her brow, feeling worried. She did think hanging out with Amy would be fun. She was Cream's best friend after all, and hanging out with her was always fun (as long as she wasn't obsessing over Sonic). And yet… Cream had been enjoying spending time with just her and Tails, so she hesitated. Amy was sad though, so it wouldn't be right to abandon her. Cream supposed she was just being selfish wanting to spend more time alone with Tails. Though when she stole a glance at Tails, she saw he wore a distressed mien over Amy's pronouncement as well. Still, as he picked cotton candy out of his hair, he forced a smile and agreed to Amy's suggestion.

"Sure thing, Amy! That would be tons of fun!"

Cream folded her hands over her dress and addressed Amy politely. "Yes, you're more than welcome to join us, Amy."

"Of course we're going to go together, Cream!" Amy rubbed her cheek against Cream's. "Besties forever!"

Cream giggled and returned Amy's affection by giving her a hug.

"Well, let's go!" Amy said. "What are we doing first?" When she heard Tails's and Cream's tummies rumbling a moment later, she grinned. "That cotton candy wasn't nearly enough to drown my sorrow—er, I mean… We're all hungry, so let's stop somewhere to eat!"

Without any discussion on the matter, Amy took the lead and pulled Cream and Tails along, forcing them to match her tempo. She chose one of the fancier venues at the park and they all sat down for a meal. Not only did Tails and Cream not get any choice in the restaurant, but they didn't get a choice in seating arrangements either. Amy pulled Cream close and had her sit next to her, while Tails was forced to sit across from them. While they waited for their drinks and food, Amy domineered the conversation as well. Tails was mostly left out, and Cream couldn't find any opportunities to talk to him. Actually, Amy was talking to him more than Cream.

"Here, Tails, you've got to try these! They're delicious!" Amy said as she passed over the basket of complementary breadsticks.

"A-Alright…" Tails took a breadstick and nibbled on it while he waited for his entrée—which was a soup Amy had recommended when he'd tried to order the place's pizza.

Cream supposed there was no helping how Amy was so much more personable than her, though it made her feel sad she wasn't getting to talk to Tails as much as she wanted. Though as soon as Amy had finished saying something to Tails, she always went right back to chatting with Cream.

"So, what attractions have you two seen already? Ooh, what should we do next?"

"We've been to the castle and to the bumper cars and the swinging boat and the merry-go-round—" Cream counted off the rides they'd gone on. After glancing over at Tails, Cream told Amy, "We were thinking we'd go on the rollercoaster next."

"Ooh, yeah, that'll be fun! You can ride with me, Cream!" Amy said.

Cream blinked. She'd wanted to ride the rollercoaster with Tails. But she couldn't tell anyone her secret desire, and she couldn't refuse Amy without giving a reason. Cream looked worriedly at Tails, but he wasn't even looking their way. He was nibbling his breadstick and staring off into space with a bored look. He wasn't going to be any help here. Cream really did worry he was being left out.

Cream gave Amy a cheery smile. "Alright, Amy. Though I worry Tails will feel left out…"

"Nah, don't worry, he'll be fine. We'll all still ride in the same coaster."

Lost in thought, Cream watched Tails nibble on his breadstick for a while.

"You want one too?" Amy asked, following Cream's gaze and concluding she wanted a breadstick. She took the basket back and offered it to Cream. "I'm watching my figure, so you two go ahead and have all of them. You eating alright, Cream? You know, you're way too light, so I think it'd actually be good for you to put on some weight."

"I'll have one…" Cream said. She was really hungry since they'd been waiting so long for their orders to be brought, so she took a breadstick and nibbled on it. It wasn't long after that a waiter brought out their entrées. Amy was distracted for the moment, and it was then Cream noticed Tails staring at her with a kind of sad look. Cream smiled at him and said, "There's still lots of fun stuff we have to do before the day's over, right?"

Tails returned her smile and gave a nod. "Yeah."

It was a pleasant meal. Cream chatted lots to Amy, and it was fun, but… she wanted to talk to Tails. Amy was a bit slow eating too. Cream and Tails were both impatient to get back to the park, but Amy conducted herself with perfect decorum and table manners. Seeming to be in no rush, she carefully used her silverware to cut her food and chewed each bite. It was only thirty minutes, but to Cream it felt like three hours. Nevertheless, eventually their meal concluded, Amy squared up the bill with their waiter, and they went back outside, where the park greeted them.

"Finally! Come on, let's get in line before it gets too long!" Tails said.

"The rollercoaster, right?" Amy asked. Smiling happily, she took Cream's arm. "You're riding with me, right, Cream? It'll be so much fun!"

Hesitating, Cream's gaze fell on Tails a moment as he ran ahead of them. Yet, in the end, she looked up at Amy's bright smile and couldn't say no. Forcing a smile, she answered, "Right…"

They queued up in line for the rollercoaster. It wasn't too bad. The waiting area was an outdoors space with metal guiderails guiding people back and forth until reaching a staircase that took them up to the ride. Only about thirty people were lined up inside. According to the signs, it would only be a fifteen minute wait, though Cream suspected it would be a few minutes longer than that. Even with the wait being short, Cream found herself getting impatient. Amy was chatting with her, but Cream could hardly concentrate on whatever it was she was saying. The whole thing felt a little pointless if she wasn't riding with Tails anyway…

Wait, I shouldn't think like that… Cream shook her head to banish the mean thought.

"You alright, Cream?" Amy asked, noticing the gesture.

Cream felt a little self-conscious now, but did her best to hide her embarrassment. "Y-Yes, I'm alright, Amy. I just got a little sleepy." Cream yawned and rubbed her eyes to sell the act.

"Okaaay. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, swimsuits! I've got this red with white polka dots one. You've seen it, right, Cream? I look adorable in it. They say you should be able to wow any guy if you wear a really cute swimsuit to the beach, but, well… Apparently some hedgehogs don't know cute if it hits them in the face with a hammer!"

As Amy rambled, Cream's gaze wandered, until it fell upon Tails standing in front of her. But something wasn't quite right with him. Cream couldn't see his face, but his posture was stiff and his whole body was trembling. Concerned, Cream furrowed her brow. Was something wrong? She used the next bend in the line to steal a glance at his face. His eyes were wide open and twitching and his lips were tightly pursed. He jolted when screams rang out overhead, from people riding on the rollercoaster, and his gaze remained trained on the sky afterwards.

Now, Cream could not hide her worry. Tails was clearly upset, though Cream didn't know what she could do to help. She sure didn't want to embarrass him in front of all these people and Amy. Whispering to Cheese, she said, "Cheese, go keep Tails company for a bit…"

"Chao chao!" After giving Cream a confident grin, Cheese floated over to Tails and poked him on the back of the head.

"Wah?!" Upon being touched, Tails jumped.

"Cheese…" Face palming at the failure, Cream sighed and shook her head.

"Whoa, why're you so jumpy, Tails?" Amy asked. "You alright? Don't tell me you're scared."

"Ha ha ha…" Tails faked a laugh, even while his hands continued to tremble. "N-No, of course not. But, hey, I just thought of something. Should we really be getting on this ride after we just ate? Isn't that going to make us throw up?"

Amy laughed. "Come on, Tails. It's already been like twenty minutes since we ate, so it'll be fine. And the coaster they have here isn't that high intensity anyway."

"It's not? Oh, good. Yes…" Tails nodded, but did not seem reassured at all. He folded his hands together, but still couldn't control the trembling. "But it's so high up…"

"It'll be fine, Tails!" Amy said. "Jeez, don't get so worked up!" Under her breath, she added, "Anyway, you can fly, so what's the big deal?"

"Y-Yeah. I'm sure you're right."

Tails seemed to settle down for the time being, though Cream kept watching him out of concern. The line moved along until it was their turn to ride the rollercoaster. When the park employees managing the ride came to inspect their heights, Cream straightened her back and made sure to have her ears stand up a bit. She passed the minimum height, but someone else with them didn't.

"Miss, you can't take your Chao with you on this ride," one of the employees said. He was a man with the acne to prove he was barely out of his teens. "He can wait for you over there." He pointed to the platform on the other side of the track, where they had a cabinet for storing possessions people didn't want to take on the ride.

"Chao chao!" Cheese chirped indignantly.

Cream hugged Cheese and urged him to sit this one out. "It's alright, Cheese. You'll get to ride when you're older."

Still pouting with crossed arms and puffed out cheeks, Cheese floated over to wait by the cabinet. Cheese didn't even turn around to look at Cream. Cream supposed she was going to need to do something to cheer Cheese up after this. One more problem keeping her from giving Tails the letter in her pocket… More pressing right now, however, was whether Tails was doing alright.

Amy and Cream were lined up to take one of the middle seats and Tails was to take the one in front of them. There was just one problem: Tails was all by himself. None of the people waiting in line wanted to ride with him for some reason, and the fox seemed a bit sad about it. Watching over Tails, Cream felt a mix of worry and disappointment over not being able to go with him. Was he going to be alright by himself? Though his solitude was soon remedied by the arrival of a big, purple cat via the fast pass lane. Amy and Cream were both shocked to see their friend Big the Cat show up so suddenly.

"Is this where Froggy is?" Big asked nobody in particular.

"Yeah, dude. Please step right this way." The ride attendants were on Big in an instant, and since it was their job to make sure all the seats were filled, they led him over to the carriage where Tails was.

"Whuh?" Tails said. His surprise turned to a bit of trepidation when he saw the attendants were trying to load him and Big into the same tiny cart.

"Hey Big!" Amy said, waving.

"Hey Amy," Big replied.

Amy clapped her hands together. "Oh, this is perfect! Big can ride with Tails."

Pursing her lips, Cream looked uncertainly from Big to the seat. It looked like it was only meant for two people at most, so it would definitely be a tight fit. And with how big Big was, would the safety bar protect Tails? "I don't know if that's a good idea, Amy…"

Regardless of Cream's concerns, Tails and Big got in the cart together. There really wasn't much room for Tails in there. The safety bar wasn't much of a problem though, because Tails was squished between Big and the seat. Mien twisted with worry, Cream's gaze was locked on Tails, and it took Amy calling out to her to snap her back to her senses.

"Alright, let's go, Cream!"

Taking Cream's hand, Amy pulled her onto the cart, and when they'd both taken their seats, she pulled the safety bar down and it got locked in place. The cart jolted forward and Cream heard the clicking of gears. She couldn't tell what was happening though. Big was in front of her, and she couldn't see a thing. Thus, it came as a surprise when the coaster turned upwards to start climbing a hill.

"Whoo-hoo! We're almost at the top!" Amy said, having no problem seeing over Tails.

"Ahh! Oh no! Waaaah!"

Cream was scared about the drop, particularly because she couldn't see it coming, but once she heard Tails's cry and saw him trembling so bad he was practically in hysterics, her overwhelming worry for him was the only thing in her mind. She reached out a hand diagonally, trying to tap his shoulder, but he was too far away. And then Amy mistook her gesture, and took Cream's hand in hers. Just as the ride started to tilt over the hill, Amy cheered and threw both her arms (and Cream's) into the air. Cream kept her gaze firmly on Tails.

"Frooogy!" Big howled out against the wind whipping all around.

Cream was worried about Tails, but what she saw changed everything. Her mind went blank, and her emotions were quelled—or rather, smothered—as confusion took their place. And then something else. As the coaster raced down the hill at high speed, Tails, still screaming and crying, threw his arms around Big and hugged the big cat as tightly as he could, holding on for dear life. Tails buried his face in Big's belly. Acting out of fear and desperation, Tails snuggled against Big.

A dead look entered Cream's gaze. Horrible disappointment, alongside sadness and deadly envy filled up her whole heart as she watched Tails hugging Big. That could have been me… If Amy hadn't shown up, if she hadn't butted into their date, and if she hadn't insisted on riding the rollercoaster together… then she and Tails might've…

"Alright, the safety bar will disengage, so please disembark and don't forget to collect your belongings when you leave."

After the park employees told them to disembark, Cream was faintly aware of her body moving as she got out of her seat. And Cheese rejoined her.

"Whoo-hoo! That was so much fun, wasn't it, Cream?" Amy said while stretching after the ride ended.

"…Yeah, it was fun," Cream said, her gaze distant and her voice listless.

"After we've looked around the park some more, we should ride it again later."

"Yeah, that would be fun." Cream's eyes moved towards Tails as he staggered off of the ride and moved past them, towards the exit.

Amy put her hands on her hips and looked at what a mess Tails was. His hair was standing on end, his eyes were wide, and his gait was full of stiff movements. He was also still holding onto Big's arm as the cat walked alongside him. "What's with you, screaming so much? It wasn't really that scary, was it?"

"I don't know…" Tails said, still in a daze, and not even looking at Amy. "Urgh… I'm having flashbacks of Chaos… and the Biolizard…"

"You didn't even fight the Biolizard, Tails…"

"Did Silver fight it? That's what I'm seeing…" Shaking his head and looking a bit dizzy, Tails placed a hand over his eyes as if his vision really was going haywire at the moment.

Amy put her hand to her forehead and sighed. "Oh, jeez… You're a real lightweight, Tails. You should be more like Cream: she wasn't scared by a little roller coaster like that at all. She didn't even scream. I guess we better keep off the more intense stuff." She grinned. "Oh well. There's still plenty of fun stuff here."

Upon hearing Amy say her name, Cream was snapped out of her daze. And seeing Tails still looking to be shell-shocked, all her worry came back. At once, she ran over to his side, across from Big, and took hold of his right arm.

"Are you alright, Tails?" Cream asked. "Was it really that scary for you?"

"I'm fine…" Tails said, growing quiet all of a sudden. Cheeks flushing, he kept his gaze trained ahead, not looking at Cream.

"That was real scary, little buddy!" Big the Cat said to Tails. "And we didn't even find Froggy!"

A smile crept across Tails's lips. "You said it, buddy! Boy, was that way scarier than I was expecting! Ha ha ha!"

Big joined in, laughing along with Tails.

"Hmmm!" Seeing how Big cheered Tails up when she couldn't, Cream puffed up her cheeks. That raging jealousy bubbled up inside of her again. She glared daggers at Big. Cream didn't want to be this angry at a friend, and she knew it wasn't Big's fault, but she couldn't help it. She wanted to hold Tails's hand again. Cream poked her fingers together. "Y-You know, Tails, if you're scared, I don't mind if you hold my hand."

"Ha ha… Alright, that's enough, Cream. Leave Tails alone," Amy said, chuckling and waving her hand, calling Cream to come back to her. "He'll be fine, so don't worry."

"Hmmm!" Cream puffed up her cheeks even more as the subject of all her irritation shifted to Amy. Why was Amy acting like she was being a nuisance to Tails? She just wanted to hold his hand again. Was that so wrong? Amy was always like this though. Just like that time…

Regardless of her irritation, Cream complied with Amy's order, and let go of Tails's arm. Wearing a sulky look, she stomped back over to Amy, who greeted her with a wan smile in spite of Cream's obvious irritation.

As she walked alongside Amy, Cream fell into thought. I'm not a nuisance to Tails, am I? We're friends, right? He wants to hang out with me like I want to hang out with him… right? Languishing under her worries, Cream could only continue watching over Tails whilst wondering what he really thought of her.

"Well, I've gotta find Froggy now," Big the Cat said as he pulled out a fishing rod. Tails had finally let go of Big's arm, and the cat now made his intent to be off clear.

"Alright, have fun!" Amy sent Big off with a smile.

"Um… He's heading over to where the dolphin show is…" Tails said. "It's going to cause problems if he tries to fish in there. Shouldn't we stop him?"

"Nah, it'll be fine." Right away, Amy waved off Tails's concerns. She soon turned giddy. "Ooh! The dolphin show! We have to go to that later! When is the next one?"

Tails was not assured, and his brow creased with concern. With Amy being no help, he turned to Cream. "Cream… Don't you think we should do something?"

Cream was so caught up in her own worries, she didn't care about Big causing trouble at all. But having Tails talk to her so suddenly brought a flush to her face. She folded her hands over her dress as her eyes darted to the side. "I-If Amy says it'll be alright, maybe we shouldn't worry…"

Tails scratched his cheek. "…Alright, if you say so, Cream."

"If Big causes trouble, someone else can handle it! We don't need anything spoiling our fun today," Amy insisted. Eyes clouding over with a darkness that made her smile look creepy, Amy turned her gaze askance and muttered, "Don't ruin it… I need this, Tails, otherwise I'll start thinking about how Sonic wouldn't take me here on a date and get depressed again…"

"O-Okay, Amy, I'm sorry! We'll just leave it to someone else!" Tails said. Under his breath, he added, "Big's pretty strong though, so I sure hope they've got someone who can handle him."

"Alright!" After her moment of depression, Amy perked up again with a cheery grin. "Anyway, where to next? I'm okay with anything, so you two can decide! Cream?"

Seeing Amy look so sad again, Cream's sympathies for her friend had been stirred for a moment, but now that she was better, the resentment Cream felt returned, and she didn't really feel like talking to her. She didn't want to risk saying something mean and hurting Amy's feelings either. It wasn't as though she had an idea of where to go anyway. She supposed what she really wanted was a chance to ride the rollercoaster with Tails, but after the rough time he'd had, it would've been mean to suggest it. Thus, Cream had only one choice. With a coy look and her closed fist covering her mouth, Cream looked to Tails. "I'm not sure. What do you think, Tails?"

"Um…" Tails checked the park map he had, then scanned their surroundings. "Let's see… What's nearby?"

"Oh, how about that?" Amy pointed out a nearby attraction. It was a building with a tunnel-like entrance. There were some white ghosts painted around the place, and spooky mist was pouring out of the dark passageway. "It's a haunted tunnel ride!"

"Er… I don't know…" Tails said, shifting on his feet uncertainly. He looked to Cream to gauge how she felt about it.

"It's one of those spooky rides?" Cream perked up at once. If it was spooky, with ghosts and vampires and creepy animal animatronics, Tails might get scared like he had on the rollercoaster, and then… "I think we should do that!"

"Really?" Tails seemed surprised at Cream, but in the end he shrugged. "Well, if you both want to do it, I guess…"

"Alright!" Amy cheered. "So that's settled! Let's go! I can't wait to show you this one, Cream!"

Amy's planning on making me ride with her again, isn't she?! Cream knew she had to do something. Donning a cute look of worry and consideration, Cream said, "But Amy, it's a spooky ride, so Tails might get scared again if he's on his own. Maybe I should ride with him so he'll be alright."

Amy's left eye twitched. "Um, Cream…"

With a bright smile, Cream hopped over to Tails and took his arm. "Do you want me to ride with you, Tails?"

Tails was taken aback by Cream's smile and by her question. Ears flattening and eyes darting away from her, he looked a little dismayed. "I… I don't mind…" Then, poking his fingers together and donning a strange expression that was a mix of hurt, confusion, and embarrassment, he said, "B-But, just so you know, I'm not usually scared by stuff like that, so…"

Confused by Tails's reaction, and by how he wouldn't look at her, Cream blinked several times.

Amy raised both her hands. "Guys, it's alright. This one sits more than two people, so we can all ride together. Cream, you can be in the middle so you're sitting by both of us."

"…Alright," Cream replied.

"Sounds good to me," Tails said, his voice shaking. As he walked, he still wasn't looking at either of them, and his gaze trailed downward. His lips were quivering and there was confusion behind his eyes as though he was trying to figure something out.

Seeing Tails hurting like that, and from something she'd said, Cream arched her brows in a deeply sympathetic look. She didn't understand what she'd done, but she wanted to help him. "T-Tails…?"

"Hey, before we go, I have to use the ladies room," Amy said suddenly. "Cream, why don't you come with me?"

There was something scary in Amy's eyes, and Cream could only cower under her gaze, and give a meek reply in the affirmative. After that, Amy took her hand and dragged her off to the bathroom. Once they were inside, Amy put her hands on her hips and gave Cream a scolding look. Her tone wasn't harsh, but her words still stung.

"Why'd you say that, Cream? You know Tails used to get bullied a lot, don't you? He's really sensitive, so you shouldn't make fun of him like that."

Cream was struck by the accusation. She still didn't fully understand what she'd done wrong, but the more she thought about it, Tails really had seemed upset by what she'd said. "I-I wasn't trying to make fun of him, honest, Amy. I just didn't think Tails was having a good time being left out by us, s-so I wanted to be with him on the next ride."

Amy sighed and shook her head. "Yeah, I thought you probably hadn't meant to. You're way too nice for that." With her back straight, Amy leaned in and wagged her finger. "Listen, Cream… I know you didn't mean anything by it, but you can't go clinging to Tails like that. He's kind of shy, you know? And he's a boy, and they get finicky and embarrassed about that kind of stuff."

"B-But Amy…"

"I get that you want to be friends, but you have to be more mindful of how Tails is going to feel if you're teasing him for being scared and clinging to him. He still doesn't really know you that well, right?"

Cream fumed at that last remark. She wanted to cry out, "Getting to know him better is what I'm here to do, if you'd let me!" But she kept her silence and merely nodded solemnly, agreeing to everything Amy said.

"Just try and be extra nice to Tails, alright, Cream? And leave the talking to me."

Cream writhed on the inside. "Grr…" Just because she's older, doesn't mean she knows more than me… Not about any of that stuff… or Tails…

Cream left the bathroom ahead of Amy, since it seemed she really did have to go. She found Tails sitting on a bench, playing with Cheese by poking the Chao's cheek. As Cream approached, Cheese flew over to her, and she caught the Chao in her arms. Cream smiled at Tails. He smiled back, but there was something odd. He wouldn't meet her gaze directly, and there was a strange look in his eyes, something akin to fear. But what was he afraid of? If Cream really had done something to hurt him, she wanted to reassure him right away, but she didn't know how.

Weakly, Cream asked, "This is fun… right?"

"…Yeah," Tails answered. "I'm glad you're having fun."

Why had he phrased it like that? It made Cream worried. Tails shouldn't have to worry about her and everyone else all the time. "Are you… having fun?"

Tails nodded. "Of course!"

Tails gave a big smile to try and reassure her, but Cream saw right through his act. She didn't know how he was feeling, but she knew if he was miserable, he wouldn't tell her. He was always putting everyone else's feelings before his own. He was just too nice.

"Um, Tails… If I said something that—"

"Whew! Alright, I'm ready, so let's go!" At that moment, Amy showed up, interrupting Cream. Tails and Cream followed Amy towards the haunted tunnel, but after a moment, she spun around with her hands behind her back and leaned in towards Tails with an apologetic look.

"Hey, so, you know, I'm sorry for teasing you earlier about getting scared on the rollercoaster, Tails. You know I was just joking, right?"

"Yeah, I know, Amy," Tails replied. "You don't really have to apologize for it…"

"Alright… Hmm…" As she thought, Amy scratched her nose. "And, uhm, you know Cream wasn't really trying to make fun of you or anything. She was just worried about you. Right, Cream?"

"…Yes."

Tails was quiet a moment, and when he answered, he sounded less sure. Facing forward as he walked, he said, "Mm-hmm."

Did Tails not believe her? He really did think she was making fun of him. "I…" Cream clasped her hands together and looked to Tails with pleading eyes. "I would never make fun of you, Tails!"

"I… I know that." Tails smiled again and waved his hands dismissively. "You don't have to worry. I'm not angry or anything, Cream."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really!"

"Alright, good." Amy clapped her hands together, looking pleased everything had been resolved. "Now, onward! I promise you, this one's going to be really fun, you guys!"

When they got through the line for the haunted tunnel, Cream took the middle seat of the carriage, as they'd decided earlier. Cheese sat on her lap, and Amy and Tails were on either side of her. Soon enough, the carriage was slowly carting along the track, through the mist. Plenty of spooky ghosts and vampires popped out. They surprised Cream, but Tails didn't get scared at all. Whenever Cream glanced over at him, he was squinting at the animatronics with a discerning eye, studying them and probably trying to guess their inner workings.

"Chaooo!" Cheese shrieked in horror.

Cheese, on the other hand, was another story, being utterly terrified by every new demon, and cowering on her lap. To Cream's dismay, she found herself preoccupied the whole ride tending to her frightened Chao, and thus was unable to get any closer to Tails.

"Cheese, if you're so scared, just don't look," Cream said. After she'd had enough of Cheese trembling on her lap and jumping at everything, Cream held her hands over the Chao's eyes. Cheese, unhappy with only the removal of ocular stimulation, turned around and hugged Cream tightly, burying its face against Cream's stomach. "There, there…" Cream stroked Cheese's head, trying to calm the little Chao.

While she was comforting Cheese, all of a sudden, Cream got a shock when a rabid werewolf popped out, and she let out a cry of "Eeeeh!" The thing truly was horrifying, with its giant teeth and razor sharp claws that could rip a little bunny like her to shreds, piercing yellow gaze, and its half rotten torso with its ribs exposed on the left side. For a brief moment, Cream felt a rush of terror, and in her panic, she clung to someone for support. But things happened so quickly, and in Cream's confusion, it was Amy who she hugged.

Amy laughed and petted Cream's head. "It's alright, Cream. Nothing to worry about. There, there."

"Grr…" Cream's fear faded at once. Peering over her shoulder whilst still clinging to Amy, Cream looked remorsefully at Tails. Tails cast only the most perfunctory of concerned glances her way before returning his focus to studying the animatronic werewolf. Cream really wished she had hugged Tails instead, and cursed her misfortune at the lost opportunity. Sure, it would've been embarrassing, but it would have been worth it!

To Cream's frustration, the ride ended uneventfully, with nothing happening between her and Tails. When they came out of the exit back under the sun in the park, Amy was the only one in a cheery mood. Cream was sulking and Tails wore a contemplative look.

"Hahaha! That was so fun, wasn't it?" Amy asked. But when she saw her friends' expressions, her tune changed. "Come on, did neither of you enjoy that ride? Were you even paying attention, Tails?!"

"Huh? Sorry, I was thinking about something, Amy."

"Oh, jeez…" After sighing in exasperation and slumping over, Amy popped back up with a grin. "Hehehe! Jeez, Cream, what about you? You got so scared when you saw that werewolf, and after you were making fun of Tails and saying he'd be the one to get scared! Hehehe!"

"I-I wasn't making fun of him, and I wasn't saying Tails would get scared," Cream insisted, feeling a bit agitated at the accusation. "I just meant, if he did, I would…"

"Tails, did you see her face?" Amy asked, holding her hand over her mouth to suppress her laughter.

"Um… Yeah… Hehe… I think she just got surprised since she was looking after Cheese," Tails gave a reserved chuckle, but both of her friends laughing at her still made Cream mad.

"I don't know… I think that werewolf scared her good. Hehehe…"

Puffing out her cheeks and shaking her fists in a pout, Cream blurted out, "T-Tails! Y-You should've held my hand! I would've done the same for you if you'd gotten scared!"

Hearing that, Tails's cheeks flushed red and he turned his head away from Cream. Confusion gleamed in his eyes, and as if taking Cream's words seriously, he frowned and spoke in an apologetic tone: "R-Right… I'm sorry, Cream…"

"Cream…" All the mirth drained away from Amy at once. With a grimace, she put her hand on her forehead and shook her head in exasperation. Cream got major scolding vibes from her, and grew very still and quiet out of fear. Amy looked to Tails with a grin and said, "Don't worry, Tails. If Cream gets scared, I'll hold her hand."

Cream's eyes widened. If Amy did that, she'd never get a chance to hold Tails's hand. Why was Amy saying that? And why was Amy acting like she'd done something wrong, anyway? She hadn't hurt Tails's feelings or anything. Cream was sure of it.

"…Okay… If you say so, Amy," Tails said.

"T-Tails! I…" Cream's gaze shifted quickly between Amy and Tails, before landing on Amy again. She didn't know what to do or say. "Amy, I just…" As panic coursed through her, Cream struggled desperately for the words, though she was cut off by Amy anyway, when she pressed her finger to her lips and silently shushed her.

"Yeah, don't worry," Amy said. "The two of us are best friends, so I can take care of her."

"Y-You… Grr…" Cream's fists trembled at her sides and she wanted to scream. But she held her anger in. Cream took a deep breath and thought happy thoughts about Chao gardens, like her mother had taught her. Amy was her friend, so it would be bad to get mad at her.

"But that stuff was seriously freaky, wasn't it?" Amy asked, laughing. "What was with that two-headed dragon thing? And I'd hate to run into anything as gross as that gory werewolf!"

Tails winced at Amy's remark and seemed a bit skittish for some reason. "You really think they were that bad, Amy?"

"Are you defending the monsters, Tails?" Amy raised an eyebrow, looking puzzled.

"N-No! I just… I just don't think that werewolf was all that gory. There wasn't any blood or anything, you know."

"Alright… I guess you have a point…" Amy admitted.

Amy kept on walking ahead, but Cream noticed Tails lagging behind a bit. Wearing an anxious mien, he took one of his tails in his hands and stroked the fur. He must have been worried about something, but what? Cream worried about him worrying. Though she didn't mean to, she couldn't help but watch him with a sympathetic expression.

Maybe what Amy said made Tails remember how he was bullied, Cream thought. He was staring at his tail a lot, so she thought he must be feeling self-conscious about that. Cream really wanted to cheer him up. So after mustering her courage, she hopped in front of Tails and faced him.

"T-Tails! I think your two tails are cool!"

"Whuh?" Tails blinked, surprised by Cream's sudden proclamation. Yet, rather than being comforted, a pained grimace slowly spread across his visage.

Amy spun around and yelled out, "Cream! Why would you say that?!" She shook her head and sighed. Under her breath she murmured, "Jeez, what lousy timing…"

"Cream… I thought you said you weren't going to make fun of me?" Tails said in a quiet voice, looking and sounding quite dejected as he did.

"Wha…?" Cream was shocked. With big, teary eyes, Cream looked back and forth from Amy to Tails.

"Tails, you're not like any of those monsters in there, alright?" Amy said. "That's not what Cream meant. Right, Cream?"

It dawned on Cream then. Her complement had come out of the blue, and Tails hadn't any way of knowing why she'd said it. Of course Tails would think she'd mentioned his tails because they were talking about the monsters. He didn't know she'd watched him and been trying to cheer him up since he looked upset. In a small voice, Cream said, "I wouldn't make fun of you like that…"

"Oh… I'm sorry, I know you wouldn't, Cream…" Tails quickly smiled and waved his hands around to try and reassure Cream not to worry. "I just… got lost in my own thoughts, that's all. Sorry."

"I just… think it's really cool how you can fly by spinning your tails…"

"Um… thanks, Cream. I think your ears are cool too." Donning a sad look, Tails added, "But my tails are… kind of weird…"

"They… are not…" But Cream's words were spoken too softly to be heard over the din of the crowd around them. Though Amy must have seen her muttering.

"Cream." With a harsh glance, Amy spoke sharply, telling Cream not to say anything more.

Amy's chastisement stung, and made Cream really mad. But Cream was upset with herself more than anyone else. How could she have made a mistake like that and ended up making Tails feel even worse?! Cream again felt like screaming. Maybe she would've, except she was distracted when she felt something touching her side, and she saw Cheese rummaging through her pocket. Cream didn't think much of it at first, until Cheese grabbed the heart-sealed envelope and slid it out.

Cream's heart leaped out of her chest. "No, Cheese! I don't have any candy in there today!" In a blind panic, she grabbed the envelope from Cheese and shoved it back into her pocket, praying all the while Amy and Tails hadn't seen it. At the same time, she pushed away the Chao. Cheese grumbled at her. To Cream's relief, Amy and Tails didn't give much attention to the incident, and they didn't seem to have noticed anything. Cream had to keep pushing Cheese away from her pocket though, as the hungry little Chao kept trying to rifle through them.

Though Cheese had distracted her for a moment, Cream was still feeling a little upset. All her agitation with Amy was really getting to her. Then there was Amy and Tails laughing at her for getting scared, and her upsetting Tails when she'd just been trying to cheer him up… It was all getting to Cream. The best thing would be to get away for a moment, before she said anything mean to her friends. She looked around at the stalls and saw a vendor spinning cotton candy. Seeing Amy eating it before had made her want to try some, but she hadn't gotten a chance. "I'm… I'm going to get some cotton candy!" Before Amy or Tails could stop her, she ran off on her own, with only Cheese tagging along.

"Cream!" Tails called after her in a panic. Cream stopped in her tracks. Hearing him call after her was almost enough to make Cream turn back. What kind of expression was he making right now? Was he worried about her? Because he cared about her? She wanted to know. But she couldn't. Shaking her head, she took off again. It wasn't so far away.

"Just let her go, Tails…" Cream heard Amy say. "She'll be alright."

Cream got her cotton candy and took a bite right away. It had a weird furry texture, but it melted in her mouth and was so sweet her worries melted alongside it. The sweet treat put her in a better mood. Before she realized it, she and Cheese had eaten half the swab of cotton candy on the stick. After that, she hurried back to her friends, finding them right where she'd left them. To her surprise, neither Tails nor Amy made any kind of fuss over her selfishness. They just smiled at her and acted like everything was normal. Cream got the feeling they had talked about her while she was gone, but she didn't get a chance to figure anything out, as the topic soon shifted to where to go next.

With a cheery aura, Amy suggested they catch the next dolphin show. Tails seemed interested, and Cream would have agreed to it for that reason alone, though she had to admit watching cute dolphins do tricks sounded fun.

As they walked towards the aqua arena, Cream closed her fingers around the letter in her pocket. Her brow creased with distress as she wondered what she should do. "Hrmm…" Since Amy had shown up, nothing had gone right, and there probably wasn't going to be a good time for confessing. Now these feelings for Tails, and all these expectations, were just getting in the way of enjoying her time with him. Not to mention, all those frustrations had led her to being embarrassed and angry. She didn't want to be angry at Amy or any of her friends. If things were going to keep going this way, wasn't it best if she just gave up for today?

Cream closed her hand and crumpled the letter a bit, and gave a resigned sigh as she decided to just try and enjoy the rest of her time at the park. It made her a bit sad, but at the same time she felt relieved as the weight of all that stress disappeared. "Yep… Just enjoy Twinkle Park…" A genuine smile crept across Cream's lips as she thought of watching the dolphins.

Led by Amy, they all filed right into the aqua dome alongside a big crowd. The place was like a baseball stadium, except instead of a field, there was a giant pool in the middle where dolphins and their trainers were swimming. There were red-and-white rings suspended in the air for the dolphins to jump through.

"See?" Amy said as they took their seats up at a middle height, away from the splash zone. "Big didn't destroy the place or anything. You worry too much, Tails."

There indeed did not seem to be any trouble, as the trainers and dolphins stuck to their usual warm-ups without any indication of disruptions. Perhaps the trainers had been able to dissuade Big from fishing, or perhaps he had gotten lost on his way here and never made it.

"Hi, I'm Omochao!"

Amy jumped out of her seat when the tiny robotic Chao in the seat next to hers spoke. It smiled at her with a creepy expression. Though since it was a robot, perhaps it wasn't accurate to say it was smiling since that was the only expression it could make.

"Oh, Omochao…" Amy laughed nervously. "Are you the announcer here or something?"

"I'm not the announcer!" Omochao said. "I'm here to see the dolphins! I really like dolphins, don't you? To take your seat and watch the dolphin show, press X!"

"Ha ha ha… Alright…" Amy looked to Cream who had sat next to her, and Tails who took the next seat over. With a distressed expression, she murmured, "Don't suppose either of you would want to change seats? Or maybe find a different section? Well, never mind…"

Cream took her seat and trained her gaze on the dolphins below. The show hadn't even started yet, but watching the dolphins swim under the waters was mesmerizing. This really was fun. And it was even more fun since she got to watch it with Amy and Tails.

"I got some popcorn!" Tails announced as he came over, now holding a tub of popcorn. Cream was surprised, since she hadn't even noticed him leave. As he took a kernel, he asked, "You two want some?"

Amy turned up her nose and waved her hand dismissively. "I have to watch my figure, and I already had some cotton candy, so you and Cream can share it."

"Um… Cream?" Tails's mien twisted into a panic at Amy's refusal. It wasn't a giant popcorn tub, but he wasn't going to be able to finish it on his own.

At his call, Cream looked up at Tails. As she met his gaze, she felt her heart skip a beat, and heat flushed her cheeks. Cream blinked a few times, and then she screwed her eyes shut. No… She couldn't get lost in the moment like this. She'd given up and decided to just enjoy their time together. She didn't want to get flustered here.

"I'll have some," Cream said. She'd already finished her cotton candy, but she was still feeling hungry, so she didn't have a reason to refuse. Besides, Tails looked like he really wanted to share the popcorn with someone.

"Chao chao!" Cheese chirped in agreement.

"Oh, good. I was worried there…" Tails donned a relieved smile as he rubbed the back of his head.

When Tails sat down and proffered the popcorn tub, Cream plucked a few kernels, whilst Cheese stuck both arms in and hauled off a whole armful of popcorn, which the little Chao crammed into its mouth.

"Cheese, be careful…" Cream scolded. Whilst Cheese's cheeks were filled, Cream chewed on a single piece of popcorn. "You'll choke if you do that. And you're dropping popcorn everywhere."

"Omochao here!" Omochao cried out, scaring all of them and nearly causing Cream to choke. "To equip a popcorn kernel, press R! To consume an equipped popcorn kernel and restore health, press R again! But be careful! Popcorn is a junk food and you shouldn't eat too much of it!"

"Tikal save us all," Amy swore.

"Oh, it's starting! Check out that dolphin!" Tails pointed down below, where a dolphin had just leaped through a hoop. "Ha ha… I bet Sonic would hate this if he were here. He has a thing with orcas since they're always chasing him. Dolphins aren't orcas, but still, I don't think he'd like them."

"…Sonic?" Amy's eyes grew large and watery.

"Oops…" With a fearful look, Tails slumped down in his seat, as if trying to shrink out of existence.

"Oooh!" Cream watched, transfixed, as the dolphins performed all sorts of tricks. The four dolphins jumped through hoops, snatched fish out of the air that their trainers threw, and even bounced a beach ball between themselves. Cream's eyes widened from watching the majestic creatures, and her mouth hung open from seeing all the amazing things they could do.

"That trainer hitched a ride on a dolphin!" Omochao declared. "Wow! That beach ball got some serious height because of that dolphin!"

"Please be quiet, Omochao," Amy grumbled. "You said you weren't here for commentary."

This was so much fun. While she watched the dolphins, Cream nibbled on a few pieces of popcorn at a time. Around half the container was gone now. Cream reached inside to get some popcorn, but unbeknownst to her, Tails reached for some at the same time. Their hands brushed together.

At once, the dolphin show ceased to matter. It was like an electric shock went through Cream's body, and she pulled away her hand at once. Heat covered her face and her heart began to beat faster. She felt a mix of embarrassment and excitement. She didn't have any idea what she should do.

But how did Tails feel? Careful not to move her head, she shifted her gaze to try and catch a glimpse of his expression. Tails froze for a moment after their hands touched, looking a bit surprised. But after only a few seconds, he grabbed a handful of popcorn and shoved it into his mouth, then returned his gaze to the dolphin show. Cream wondered if she'd imagined his reaction, and Tails hadn't even noticed their hands touching. Heart pounding, she leaned down and turned her head ever so slightly to get a better look at him.

Tails seemed enthralled in the dolphin show below. His eyes shone with delight, and he wore a genuine smile. He looked so blissfully happy, and his expression made Cream's heart pound even harder against her chest. Tails was always hiding his pain, and that was painful for Cream, but right now, Tails wasn't sad at all. His smile was so cute, and it made Cream happy too. She couldn't take her eyes off of him. As Tails watched the dolphins, he continued eating popcorn, taking a handful at a time and pressing it into his mouth. Cream shoved a handful of popcorn into her mouth, imitating the way he ate.

"Wow! Cream, did you see that?!" Tails asked.

With a jolt, Cream returned her gaze forward and folded her hands over her lap. Her eyes darted all over until she found the dolphins swimming about. "Y-Yes! That was really amazing! I love dolphins!" She hadn't been watching the dolphins, so she didn't know what they'd done that was amazing, but she pretended to anyway so Tails wouldn't know she'd been watching him. Her heart palpitated anxiously for a long while afterwards, and her vision was so blurry she couldn't focus on the dolphins at all.

Cream fidgeted, and her hand reached for the letter in her pocket. She'd given up, but she was overtaken by overwhelming feelings of adoration, and she thought maybe she should tell Tails how she felt after all. Amy was distracted by the dolphins and Omochao, so she could just slip him the letter. Or would that be weird? What would he say anyway? If he didn't like her back, she'd make the whole rest of the day awkward for the both of them. Cream stole another look at Tails. He looked like he was having so much fun, Cream couldn't bear to distract him. She shoved her letter deeper into her pocket.

Cream turned her gaze back towards the water. Her teeth chattered and her hands trembled on her lap, but she did her best to enjoy watching the dolphins. Amy and Tails oohed and aahed at every little trick the dolphins did, but Cream was having enough trouble just holding it together, so she mainly just smiled and nodded along.

At last, the program came to an end, and the announcer wrapped things up by informing them how marine life was threatened everywhere by manmade pollution, what with oil spills, global warming, trash being dumped into the ocean, and being shoved inside of robots by certain evil doctors. He also briefly recounted tragic stories of how each of the dolphins had come to be in captivity. It was all so sad that Cream was crying by the end, and she was determined to be a more responsible and ecofriendly citizen and make a difference (not that it was really possible, given she and her mother were already living pretty ecofriendly lives).

Meanwhile, while Cream was tearing up listening to the message, Tails was hunched over, picking up the pieces of popcorn they'd dropped on the ground and throwing it into the now empty container.

"You know they have a janitor for that, right?" Amy asked. "Plus, since we're outdoors, birds would probably eat it. It's not really a big deal."

Donning a sheepish smile, Tails chuckled. "Well, I know it's not that big a deal, but we really shouldn't leave a mess if we can help it. And it's not any trouble."

Cream watched Tails with eyes sparkling with admiration, and she pressed her hands together in front of her chest. Tails was so considerate and responsible. Of course, Cream wanted to help him, especially since it had been Cheese who had dropped most of the kernels, but by that time there weren't many pieces left on the ground, and she only managed to pick up three before the ground was clear again.

"Cream, the ground is dirty, so you should just let Tails do that," Amy scolded as Cream dropped the popcorn into the container Tails held out. Amy sighed and shook her head. "Jeez, you just shouldn't drop it in the first place…"

"Alright, I'm going to find a trash can to put this in!" Tails announced before dashing off. Most of the audience had filed out of the stadium during the public service speech, and they definitely hadn't stuck around to clean up after themselves, so Tails didn't have to push through any crowd.

"Um… Hey, Cream…" Pursing her lips with her hands on her hips, Amy looked like she wanted to ask a question. As the two of them stood facing each other, Cream felt nervous already, and she had a bad feeling. "Weren't you… staring at Tails a lot during that?"

The shock of the accusation sent tremors through Cream's whole body, and her pupils dilated as her vision went in and out of focus. She felt totally mortified. Amy had seen how weird she'd been acting, and she must've figured out all her deepest darkest feelings too! Cream felt her face grow hot from all the embarrassment. She didn't know what to say to Amy—or rather, she was so choked up and her throat so dry, she couldn't say anything even if she could think of an excuse. But then, Amy's next statements confused Cream.

"You looked like you felt really guilty…" Amy said. She smiled and clapped her hands. "You don't have to worry, Cream! Tails isn't mad at you or anything! I talked to him and explained everything!"

Cream had thought Amy had finally figured everything out, but it seemed she'd misunderstood again. All of Cream's end-of-the-world mortification faded away, but even so, this was agitating enough. Plus, embarrassing as it was, a part of her had been relieved to finally have someone know her feelings. On top of that… What did you explain?! Cream wanted to know exactly what Amy had told Tails about her. Knowing Amy, it must have been some embarrassing explanation that would sew even more misunderstandings between her and Tails!

"Are you worried? I don't think he hates you or anything. Just because you annoy him sometimes, doesn't mean he thinks you're annoying, you know?"

How could Amy say that?! She still didn't get it! And why'd she have to go acting like she knew Tails better than her?! "Tails doesn't think I'm annoying!" Cream whined, shaking her fists off to her sides. "He doesn't!"

"Yeah, of course! I was just joking!" Amy said. "I mean, I think he probably likes you well enough. He wouldn't have invited you otherwise. Even though you were kind of mean to him today. Though I guess it might've been my fault… I set a bad example."

Tears welled up in Cream's eyes, as she clenched her teeth and grimaced. "I'm not being mean to Tails! I just want to have fun with—I mean, I just wanted to make sure he's having fun too!" Cream gasped for breath. After nearly spilling her heart with her gaffe, she fell into a panic, and flailed her arms about. "I… I don't want to talk about this anymore!" Cream dashed off down the stairs and towards the exit of the stadium. As she did, she found Cheese ruffling through her pocket again, but she was in no mood for it. "Cheese, cut it out!" She snatched her letter back from the little Chao, crumpled it up, and shoved it back into her pocket, and kept running.

"Wait, Cream! You dropped—"

Amy called for her, but Cream didn't look back. She kept on running down the stairs—until her foot slipped and she stumbled right into a fall. It happened so fast, Cream barely comprehended what had happened. All she knew was the feeling of weightlessness as her body was thrown right towards the bottom of the stairs. She had tripped five stairs from the bottom, but she was still high enough up that the fall would do some damage. Scared, she screwed her eyes shut.

But she didn't hit the ground. Instead, she was caught by something soft. At the same time, warmth enveloped her as someone's arms wrapped around her. Two lovely tails swished and grazed against Cream's cheek.

"Cream, are you alright?"

When Cream looked up, she saw Tails looking down at her, his brow furrowed in worry. He had rushed in and caught her. Cream felt embarrassed, but at the same time she felt a strange lightness and warmth filling up her heart. They were so close… Tails's arms were around her, and he still held her shoulders from when he'd caught her. Cream wanted to throw her arms around Tails and hug him tightly. But with the shock of it all, her arms were leaden and wouldn't move.

"Thank you…" Cream said in a quiet voice. "You saved me…"

Tails looked away, blushing from the complement. "Anyone would've tried to help…"

Tails was always so modest. "Y-You're always so nice to me, Tails…"

"I don't know about that… I think you're way nicer than I am." Tails averted his gaze at the complement and laughed nervously: "Hehehe…"

"Oh my god!"

Amy's voice suddenly rang out, and with frightened expressions, Cream and Tails separated at once. Cream felt heat flowing into her face from the embarrassment. Amy was definitely going to give her a lecture for running down stairs and tripping like that.

Yet, strangely, from what Amy said next, Cream wasn't even sure Amy had seen her fall. She came running down the stairs in a panic, but it didn't seem to be about that. She had something in her hand—a piece of paper. "Cream! I-Is this…?! S-So you two really were—?!" Amy's eyes lit up in alarm when she saw Tails, and she hid the paper behind her back. "O-Oh, Tails, you're here! Um…"

Furrowing his brow and looking confused, Tails scratched his cheek. "Uhh… So… where are we going to go next?"

"Bathroom!" Amy said. But she was in such a panic, she tripped over her next words and ended up repeating herself a lot. "Uh, I mean… I have to ask Cream something. I mean, I have to talk to her… We have to go to the ladies room… C-Cream, come on."

"…Um… okay…?" Tails wondered what was going on. "I'll just wait here with Cheese then…"

"Chao chao?"

Cream was also confused. Amy seemed to be in a real panic, but why? Did it have something to do with that paper she'd hidden behind her back? Cream hadn't gotten a good look at it, but now that she thought back, she remembered Amy saying she'd dropped something. Wait a second… A horrifying thought crossed Cream's mind, but it couldn't possibly be the case. Just to be sure, she slipped her hand into her pocket to check that her letter was still there. She felt around and… nothing.

Cream's whole world imploded. Her eyes slowly widened as her internal panic grew. Amy had her letter?! And why was it out of its envelope?! Had Amy actually read her letter to Tails?! Why would she do that?! As Cream remembered every word she'd written, the whole letter suddenly seemed a million times more embarrassing. In her panic, she waved her hands around, gesticulating wildly. "A-Amy?! Whuu?!"

"Cream. Bathroom." Amy grabbed Cream's wrist and dragged her off.

"Do you really need someone to go with you every time, Amy?" Tails asked. "Cream probably doesn't have to go…"

To Tails it probably looked like Cream was in trouble, and he was trying to help, but his help was the last person's Cream wanted just then. She couldn't even look at him.

"Of course she does. Right, Cream?"

Face flushed, Cream nodded. With her acquiescence, Amy continued dragging her along. The two of them trekked in silence until they reached the aqua dome's bathroom. Once inside, Amy made sure they were alone, then she showed Cream the letter and the envelope.

"Why'd you open that, Amy?!" Cream demanded to know as she snatched them away out of Amy's hands.

With a guilty mien, Amy shuffled on her feet. "Look, I didn't mean to, alright? It just kind of came open and the letter came out. Just look at it!" Amy pointed to the envelope.

Cream inspected the envelope. Amy might have been telling the truth. The envelope had gotten so crumpled up in her pocket, the sticker she'd used to seal it had fallen off. It was possible the letter really had fallen out.

"Sorry… I didn't know what it was, and I didn't really mean to read it… but, Cream… is that a love letter?"

Cream shook her head furiously. "No, it's not!" Her cheeks burned red, so she tried to hide her face behind the letter.

"Since when do you like Tails?" Amy asked, ignoring Cream's denial.

"I… I don't know…" Cream hesitated. Then, in a burst of anger, she cried out, "I don't know what you mean! It isn't like that, Amy! We're just friends!"

"Come on, Cream…" Amy's gaze softened. "You can tell me." When Cream was silent, Amy sighed and continued. "So you two really were on a date after all, and there I went and interrupted, and then I butted in every time you tried to get closer to Tails… I was just trying to make sure you two were getting along, but I really messed up…" Amy looked at Cream with pleading eyes. "I'm so sorry, Cream! I must've ruined everything for you!"

Cream was taken aback by the tears in Amy's eyes. "N-No, Amy… It's alright…" Holding her hand over her mouth, Cream looked aside. "Besides, I don't know if it really is a date or not… I don't know what Tails really thinks about me…"

"So you like Tails?" Amy asked.

Cream winced. After emitting a distressed whimper, she nodded. "Yes, I like him! He's always really nice to me! But…" Cream frowned and her eyelids drooped. "It's just that he's nice to everyone. He probably doesn't feel the same… He probably thinks I'm annoying…"

Amy grinned confidently and snapped her fingers. "Don't be ridiculous, Cream! How could he resist someone as cute as you? Besides, he invited you out, didn't he? He must be interested! I bet all you have to do is ask and he'll marry y—er, I mean, he'll agree to go out with you!"

Could that be true? Cream's heart leaped. But still, she was uncertain. After all, something told her she shouldn't take romantic advice from Amy, given her track record, or lack thereof. Besides, hadn't Tails just invited her because he happened to have those tickets? "I don't know, Amy…"

"Well, I do know! Tails would be lucky to have you. And unlike a lot of other guys I know, Tails would treat you right. You two would make an adorable couple!"

With big hopeful eyes, Cream looked up at Amy. "You really think so?"

"Yep!" Amy winked. But then she grew more solemn. "So… You didn't tell me… When did you fall in love with him?"

"Um…" Cream felt a little embarrassed saying it. "I think it was when you invited us to the park for a picnic that time… It was just you, me, Cheese, and Tails. I got tired from playing, and Tails was sitting under a tree, fixing one of his gadgets. Tails had played with me, and he was so nice, so I went to sit with him, and… his tails looked so warm and I was sleepy, so I… rested my head on them… They were so fluffy and soft, and the way they wrap around you like a warm hug… They made me feel so happy and safe and I had such a good dream…"

"I remember that…" Amy said. It evidently wasn't a good memory for her. With an exasperated look, she sighed and shook her head.

With a sheepish mien, Cream poked her fingers together. "Afterwards, you yelled at me, Amy… I guess what I did was bad…"

"Well… I thought it was kind of cute, but… you did fall asleep for over an hour. By the end, Tails was begging me to get you off of him."

"Hmm…" Feeling upset, Cream grumbled a bit. Tails must've thought she was really annoying back then. But still… "Ever since then, I've really liked his tails… and I… I wanted to nap on them again… And Tails is always so nice to me, so I… I started really liking him…"

"You like his two tails?" Amy asked sharply.

"I love his tails!" Cream declared. She puffed out her cheeks a little and pumped her fists and raised them in front of her chest.

Amy smiled, though there was a bittersweet gleam in her eyes. "That's good. Because of those tails, he was always bullied… So I'm glad… you like them…"

"I do…" Cream said. "I love his tails… And I want Tails to know that… so he doesn't have to feel bad about them anymore… He's always keeping all his sadness to himself, but I want him to share it with me. It always makes me feel better when I talk to my mother, but I don't know if Tails has anyone he can talk to about stuff like that…"

"Yeah, I doubt Sonic and Tails talk about their feelings a whole lot… Well, Cream, it sounds like you really do understand Tails…" Amy nodded. "So, you're going to tell him tonight? On your date?" Amy asked. Her eyes were twinkling with exhilaration.

Cream blinked. "What?"

"You have to go for it, Cream! There's so much love in your letter, when he reads it, I'm sure he'll fall head over heels for you! There's no way he wouldn't!"

Cream raised her hands and shook her head. "I wasn't going to give it to him! I… I just wrote it because… because I wanted to write down how I felt and…" She'd written the letter planning on giving it to Tails so he'd know how she really felt, but the whole thing seemed so foolish now. All the excitement of writing it and the anticipation of giving it to him was gone. The love in her heart remained, but… The whole thing was way too embarrassing! To think a letter was a good idea, she must not have been thinking clearly.

"You should give it to him!" Amy insisted. "It's so romantic!"

"H-Huh?" Was it really romantic? Would Tails like it? And would her feelings be conveyed to him?

"And besides, you can't let this opportunity go by!" Amy declared. "You're already on a romantic date at Twinkle Park with him, so when is there going to be a better time to tell him how you feel? When there's a boy you like, you've got to pursue him with everything you've got!"

Cream shook her head. "Amy, I… I don't know if I should listen to you about romance…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Amy pouted, shaking her fists up and down. "I know all about romance!"

Cream bit her lip. "But I… I don't know if I can…"

"Listen, Cream…" Amy put her hands on Cream's shoulders. "It's going to get dark in a few hours. When it does, ride the Ferris wheel with Tails. The stars will be beautiful, and the atmosphere will be just right."

"But…"

"Until then, you can enjoy the rest of your date with Tails. I'll leave you two alone. When we go back, I'll make an excuse to go on my own."

There was no denying that when Amy suggested she spend the rest of the day alone with Tails, a flicker of excitement shot through Cream's heart. But then she began to worry. Amy had been so upset about not being able to come here with Sonic. Was it really alright to let her go? Would she be alright alone? "Amy… What about you?"

Amy laughed and waved her off. "Oh, don't worry about me! I'll be fine! Just enjoy the rest of your date!"

"Okay… if you'll really be alright…" Cream smiled.

"Just tell me how it goes later!"

"Um… alright…" Looking uncertain, Cream poked her fingers together. She wasn't sure if she'd really tell Tails, but she was looking forward to spending some more time with him.

Shortly, Amy and Cream left the bathroom and hurried back to Tails. Right away, Amy made an excuse to leave just as she'd said she would.

"Hey, I just remembered a thing I have to do. You two have fun, alright?" Amy winked at Cream, then dashed off at top speed.

"What the heck?" Tails said, shell-shocked at the suddenness of Amy's departure. "First she drags you off, then she just leaves out of nowhere? Do you know what that's about, Cream?"

Nervously, Cream shifted her gaze and tilted her head to the left. "I don't know… It's Amy, after all, so maybe she sensed Sonic nearby…"

"That could be it…" Tails was quiet for a moment. "I guess it's just the two of us again."

"Yes…" When Cream smiled at Tails, he got embarrassed and looked away.

"W-Well, it was lucky we ran into Amy and the three of us were able to go around the park together. I bet you were really glad, Cream. It was fun while it lasted."

"It was lots of fun when I was with you too, Tails!"

"Hehehe…" Tails donned a self-deprecating smile. "Yeah, but Amy knows Twinkle Park way better than me, and… and you two are really good friends…"

Cream creased her brow, worrying. Tails seemed to think she'd rather hang out with Amy than him. Was there some way to cheer him up? "Hmm…" She wasn't sure if it would cheer Tails up, but there was something Cream wanted. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to ask. Feeling a bit embarrassed, Cream poked her fingers together as she worked up the courage. Then, with as cheery a smile as she could muster, she asked, "Since it's just the two of us, can we hold hands again?"

"Bwa?!" Tails flinched at the request, and his cheeks flushed red.

Cream felt her own face heat up. She hurriedly offered an explanation. "You know, since we're supposed to be a couple. It was fun pretending before." After the words left her mouth, she honestly felt even more embarrassed and wished she'd just said nothing.

Tails recovered after a moment, though he still looked confused. He donned a sheepish look. "I-I guess if you want to…? It's alright with me…" Looking away, he offered his hand to her.

"Yay!" This time, Cream carefully decided to respond with childlike innocence so as not be too transparent with how she really felt. Still, she felt a thrill when she took Tails's hand, and she felt so happy to be able to walk together with him like that.

Tails and Cream (and Cheese) spent the evening strolling leisurely around the park hand-in-hand, stopping at whichever attractions caught their eye. They got on the merry-go-round again, and Tails did a bowling-type game and won a stuffed Chao toy which he gave to Cream. The two of them even went on the rollercoaster again, though this time Cream promised to hold Tails's hand the whole time so he wouldn't get scared. She managed to sneak in some cuddles too. Tails was less freaked out on his second time, but he was still shaken up enough that his memory was shaky.

"Alright, it was fun, but I think I'm good on rollercoasters for today…" Tails said.

"Okay!" As the sunlight faded away, Cream looked up at the sky and saw the crescent moon and the stars were already out. "It's getting late anyway…" She frowned as a troubled look came over her, and she held her fist over her mouth as she thought. Should she do what Amy had suggested? She'd had so much fun these last few hours, she'd almost forgotten. But… maybe she shouldn't. Walking around the park with Tails like this, having fun… it was more than enough, wasn't it? Thinking of giving him her letter was so nerve-racking. And anyway, maybe it was selfish of her to try and force her feelings on Tails. All she really wanted right now was to spend a few more hours with him.

"Yeah, it is getting pretty late. Your mother will probably get mad at me if I keep you out too long. Anything you want to do before we have to leave?"

Staring at the ground, Cream rubbed her palms together. Nervously, she said, "The Ferris wheel?" Even if she didn't confess, it would still be fun, wouldn't it?

"Huh…" Tails glanced over in the direction of the Ferris wheel. Now that darkness was falling, the big spinning wheel was lit up by lights. It was so ostentatious it couldn't be missed. "Alright, sure. Let's head over there."

"Wait!"

When Tails made to leave, Cream rushed to his side in a panic and took his hand again. Though she did like holding Tails's hand, this time was because she was scared of losing Tails in the crowd of people. It was dark now, and Cream didn't want to end up on her own. Getting separated now would have been terrifying!

They'd been holding hands for the whole evening, so Tails didn't react much this time. Cream didn't feel so scared of the dark as long as she was holding his hand. As they walked, Cream double-checked to make sure Cheese was still with her. The little Chao had gotten tired after a day of exploring the park, and was napping in Cream's backpack.

They made their way over to the Ferris wheel, but found the line to be quite long. Evidently it was a popular attraction at this time of night. It seemed particularly popular for couples.

"Hmm… The line is pretty long. If we wait, this'll probably be the last thing we do today," Tails said. He looked to Cream to see what she wanted to do.

"That's alright…" Cream nodded.

The two of them got in line and waited for what seemed like hours, with the line coming to a complete halt for long periods of time, then moving in lurches. All the while they waited, Cream stuck to Tails's side and continued holding his hand, but it kept getting later and later, and as darkness closed in all around them, Cream got scared. In some areas, she couldn't even make out Tails's face. It was getting chilly too. Trembling, she pressed her fist over her mouth. "U-Um, Tails… It's kind of scary…"

Tails furrowed his brow. "Well, it is getting dark… I guess you're not used to being out this late, Cream. And I'm sure your mother wants you home before your bedtime. Do you want me to take you home?"

Cream quickly shook her head. She moved in closer to Tails so their shoulders were touching, and she linked arms with him. "I-I want to ride the Ferris wheel with you. Please just don't go anywhere and leave me alone…" She moved a little closer to Tails, leaning her head against his shoulder. Feeling his soft fur against her, she felt safer—and warmer.

Tails scratched his nose to hide the blush in his cheeks. "W-Well, we've come this far, so it'd be a shame to leave now…" He cleared his throat and spoke seriously: "But we'd better head straight back after this."

"Alright." Cream had to rub her eyes. She was getting so sleepy, and Tails's fur was so warm it felt like she could nod off at any second. But she didn't want to fall asleep. Ferris wheel… Just a little longer. Just a little… more time… with Tails…

"Hey, Cream!"

Cream awoke to Tails calling her name and gently shaking her. She shook her head. Wait, had she really fallen asleep? But she was still standing. Tails was supporting her a little, but… no, her mind had just gotten a little hazy for a little bit. She still remembered standing here in line with Tails, even if it had gone by in a blur.

"Guess you really do need to get to bed, huh?" Tails chuckled. "But look, Cream! We're almost up!"

"Wha?!" Cream sprung awake at once when she saw how short the line had gotten. They were right at the ride entrance now! One more rotation, and they'd get to ride the Ferris wheel! She could rest when she got home; she wanted to be wide awake for this.

In a moment, the line started moving again, as the Ferris wheel ride came to an end for the current passengers. One by one, each cart on the wheel was emptied and refilled as the excited new passengers replaced the contented old ones. And then Tails and Cream were up. Tails hopped in first, and offered a hand to Cream to help her up. The compartment was snug, with space for around four people, and big windows on all four sides so they could view the scenery from up high. Tails sat down, and Cream could have taken the seat across from him, but instead she squeezed in right next to him.

The door was shut and then the wheel turned so the next compartment could be loaded up. Cream folded her hands over her dress whilst feeling a bit embarrassed again at how close she was to Tails. To distract herself, she checked on Cheese to make sure the Chao was okay.

Tails jumped when the Ferris wheel rotated, causing their compartment to shake up and down like it was a teeter-totter. "…I don't like how this thing is shaking… it feels like it could fall down at any moment…"

"Tails, don't you fly your plane all the time? Isn't that scarier than this and the rollercoaster?"

"W-Well, yeah, but… but there's nothing scary about flying in a plane though! Rollercoasters are designed to be scary!"

"Isn't crashing scary?"

"I've never crashed, ever," Tails declared. Before Cream could even react, he hurriedly asked, "Why? What have you heard?"

Cream giggled and Tails made a face and grumbled, but after that, there was silence for a while. The ride hadn't actually started yet, since people were still getting on and off, but the wheel kept spinning and their compartment kept getting higher up. Cream kept her gaze trained on the park below. With all the colorful lights sprawled out, it was very pretty. Though the stars and the moon were pretty too.

"Isn't it pretty from up here?" Cream clamored. She looked up at Tails whilst wearing a big grin.

"Yep. Sure is," Tails agreed as he gazed outside.

Tails's eyes twinkled in wonderment as he looked up at the lights above and below, but… he wasn't looking at Cream. A pang of sadness struck her and made her heart ache. Her time with Tails was almost up. And it struck Cream that Amy's words from before had had a lot of truth in them: that she didn't know Tails that well. Well, Cream did know Tails, but how close were she and Tails, really? They weren't close enough that they hung out regularly. This park date was an odd occurrence; at best, they might see each other if Amy invited both of them to one of her parties.

Trembling from the cold, Cream screwed her eyes shut. She didn't have the courage to tell Tails her true feelings, but at the very least, Cream wanted to see Tails more often. She wanted to be real friends with him, so she could go on picnics at the park together, and hang out at her house, drawing pictures and playing board games. And she wanted to visit Tails's workshop sometimes so he could show her all the cool stuff he invented. So she gathered up some courage.

"Hey, um, Tails…"

Tails tore his gaze from his window and met Cream's eyes. "What's up?"

"Hanging out with you… was really fun. So, do you think… we could do more stuff together? It doesn't have to be Twinkle Park. We could go on picnics or draw stuff…" Feeling the intense awkwardness of her own words, Cream could only wince and poke her fingers together as she waited for Tails to reply.

Tails chuckled. "Sure, Cream. A picnic would be fun. And I'm pretty good at drawing blueprints!"

Hearing him say that, Cream's spirits lifted. Though her face felt warm, so for a moment, she turned back to the window and busied herself with taking in the sights again. But in the end, she couldn't rein in her excitement. She wanted to show Tails a little of how much she liked him. Inspired by the cold night air, she leaned in closer to him. Her words came almost unbidden. "Tails, it's kind of cold up here… Your tails… look warm…"

"Huh? My tails?" Tails hesitated. His gaze was full of uncertainty. The ghosts of his past reverberated in his dull eyes, of all the times he had been made fun of for his tails. Yet, meeting Cream's pleading eyes, Tails seemed to find a little resolve, and some light came back to his own eyes. He swished one of his tails in front of himself and held it with both hands a moment. "Um… like this?" He swished both his tails towards Cream.

Tails's tails swished back and forth in front of Cream, tickling her nose and making her giggle. Cream hugged both the bushy tails to her body, oblivious to the blush creeping into Tails's face. She was suffused with warmth and happiness. With a pleased sigh, she rubbed her cheek against the tails, and felt how soft and pleasant to the touch they were. As she did, she recalled the last time she'd felt this warmth.

In a soft voice, Cream asked, "Tails, do you remember when I took that nap?"

Cream wasn't sure if Tails would get it just from that, but he was quick to respond with a laugh. "Oh, I remember what you mean! When we were in the park that time? I didn't think you'd fall asleep so fast. Man, you were out like a log!"

Remembering back then, a bit of sadness crept into Cream's heart. She hid her face in the tails as she asked, "Did you think I was annoying?"

"N-No, not really!" Tails said hurriedly. "Th-though my tails did fall asleep with you lying on them, you know? But I wasn't mad or anything! Actually, when I saw how peaceful you looked sleeping like that, I, um… I felt kind of… I mean, I never thought anyone would… my tails…" As he fell into muttering, Tails stared up at the roof of the compartment. "Um… never mind."

Cream hugged the two tails against herself so she could feel their softness and their warmth again. "I really like your tails. They're so warm. And it's good there are two of them, because they're even warmer."

A deep crimson blush spread across Tails's face. Unable to look at Cream, he hurriedly looked out his window, with his elbow against the armrest and his head resting on his fist. Yet, Tails was not unhappy, as evidenced by the shaky smile reflected off the window.

In that moment, Cream's heart raced with joy and contentment as she leaned against Tails, with the warmth of his tails against her. Maybe it wasn't a confession, but she'd told Tails how she felt. She just hoped he knew how loved he was, and she hoped he wouldn't feel so lonely anymore. It didn't have to be now, but she hoped he'd trust her enough to share with her all the hurt he'd gone through, instead of trying to shoulder it on his own. Most of all, she hoped Tails knew just how intelligent and cool (and cute) he was, so he wouldn't doubt himself all the time.

All of that was definitely more important than telling Tails she loved him and trying to make him her boyfriend. As long as Tails could be truly happy, Cream didn't mind waiting on that. It wasn't like rushing wasn't getting Amy anywhere.

Besides, even though she and Tails were close in age, Tails was so mature and smart, he probably viewed Cream as a child. He probably didn't think about her in a romantic way at all. It was true he had invited Cream on a date to Twinkle Park using tickets specifically designated for couples, but Amy had the whole thing wrong. Tails had only invited her because he was really nice. He may have been smart, but he was oblivious to romance—a trait he'd probably gotten from Sonic. In that case, Cream just had to spend lots of time with him and make sure she grew into a rabbit he would be attracted to.

The start of the Ferris wheel ride distracted Cream from her thoughts for a moment, as did a loud popping noise in the distance.

"Cream, look! Fireworks!" Tails cried out.

Cream looked outside and saw the night sky illuminated by streaks of bright, colorful explosions. Cream's eyes widened with wonderment. As the Ferris wheel continued spinning around, more and more fireworks were shot into the sky. From up at the apex of the wheel, the display was breathtaking.

"I totally forgot Twinkle Park has a fireworks display at night…" Tails said. "I don't usually stay this late."

"It's really beautiful, isn't it, Tails?" Cream asked in a soft voice.

"Yeah… it sure is," Tails said.

That Ferris wheel ride was one of the most magical times Cream had ever known. Somehow, it seemed like the whole thing stretched on for a long time—yet, at the same time, it felt unbelievably short, and in no time at all, they were kicked off the ride so new patrons could get on. Tails and Cream found a spot and continued to watch the fireworks. Cheese even woke up on account of all the commotion, and took in the colorful explosions with a delighted chirp. Hand-in-hand, Tails and Cream stared up at the sky in silence until the last firework was fired off. Even afterwards, they waited for half a minute before either of them spoke.

"Well, that was really cool. I'm glad we stayed and saw it." Tails placed his free hand over his mouth to stifle a yawn. "But anyway, we should really be getting you home. And you don't need to worry, Cream. I promised your mother I'd walk you."

"Huh? She made you promise that?" Pouting, Cream puffed out her cheeks. "When I talked to her this morning, she acted like she didn't remember I told her we were going to Twinkle Park last week!"

"Actually…" Tails donned a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of his head. He held up a communicator device and explained, "She messaged me a couple of times asking where you were… I told her you wanted to ride the Ferris wheel and… I kind of had to make that promise so you could stay out so late."

Cream's eyes widened. She hadn't realized Tails had done that for her. He really was too nice to her. Still, she couldn't help but be annoyed by how overprotective her mother was being. So dangerous adventures with Sonic were okay, but staying out late at Twinkle Park wasn't? "Jeez, does she really need to worry that much? It's not that late! I can still make it home before bedtime."

"Maybe if we hurry… We better start heading back."

"Right. And I am glad you're walking me home, Tails…"

Still walking hand-in-hand so they wouldn't get separated, the two of them headed for the park entrance. It really was chilly though, so Cream used one of Tails's tails as a muffler—Tails hadn't objected so far. They made it without issue to the entrance of the park, but the trek took longer than Cream thought it would, and she had to reassess whether they would make it home before bedtime. Though she didn't have much time to worry about that, because when they departed through the exit, the park attendants again gushed over what a cute couple the two of them were. Hearing that made Cream happy, but also embarassed. But she also felt a tinge of regret at not having told Tails how she really felt. Maybe they really could have been a cute couple…

Escaping from the attendants, they continued their walk down the lamp-lit streets of Station Square. Tails stopped a moment. Cheeks still flushed, he gave Cream an apologetic smile. "I guess today was probably pretty embarrassing because of that couple stuff. Sorry, I won't make you do anything like that again."

"It wasn't embarrassing… Today was really fun…" Cream said in a quiet voice. Face reddening, her voice trailed off into murmuring as she added, "and I… want to do more stuff like that with you… I want you to ask me to…"

Tails blinked a few times, looking a bit embarrassed, and Cream wondered if he'd heard her after all. Her face felt really hot now. To Cream's relief, they resumed walking after a few seconds, and Tails didn't ask her about it. But it seemed Tails wasn't yet done talking.

"Hanging out with you today, Cream… It really was fun." Tails said. "I guess… I was always alone growing up. Everybody made fun of me because of my tails… But then Sonic and everyone else helped me out, and they were so much more than friends to me… They were like family… So, I don't know… I guess when I'm with you, I wonder if this is what it's like to have a sister?"

"No!" Cream cried out at once. She was truly shocked at the comparison. She didn't want to be like a sister to Tails. She loved him a whole lot and she wanted him to like her in the same way. Cream didn't mean to yell out like that, but she'd just been so shocked—as was Tails, at her outburst. He was so surprised he let go of her hand. Under the lamplight, Cream could see the horrified expression he wore, and the tears forming in his eyes. He wrapped his tails around himself—it was a habit of his whenever he was really sad, and Cream knew it meant he was closing himself off from the world. Cream was scared at how hurt he looked, and she wanted to reassure him right away.

"W-Wait, Tails! I'm sorry! I just meant, I didn't…" Not knowing what else to do, she ran over to Tails and threw both arms around him. "Tails, I just… want you to like me the same way I like you…"

Cream held Tails as tightly as she could and she hugged him for all he was worth, silently wishing all the while he would know how much she cared for him. But after the moment had passed, she separated from him, though she kept hold of his hand.

After the hug, Tails seemed to calm down, but he still looked quite confused by Cream's sudden outburst. "I'm sorry, Cream. I guess I said something weird…" He sighed. "Actually, I don't think I get it."

"Hmm!" Cream didn't have a choice except to tell him. Cheeks reddening, she screwed her eyes shut as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the crumpled-up letter. "Here, Tails, just read this!"

"Huh?" Tails took the envelope and stared at it. He turned it over a few times in his hand. "What is this?"

"It's a letter for you!" Cream declared.

"For me?"

Cream nodded. "It tells how I feel about you."

"Okay…" Tails removed the letter from the envelope and stared at it. He squinted at the letters. "But it's pretty dark, so I don't know if I'll be able to read it. Maybe if we get to that lamppost over there—"

"T-That's okay!" Cream smiled awkwardly and waved her hands dismissively. She felt so embarrassed, and she already wished she hadn't given it to him. She wanted to chicken out, but at this point all she could do was delay him. "You can read it when you get home!"

Heedless of her, Tails seemed to remember something. "Oh, wait! I just remembered I have a penlight with me! I made it myself, so it's bright enough to read by in the dark!"

"Gaaah!" After letting out a small shriek, Cream buried her face in her hands. She was screaming on the inside.

Tails retrieved a penlight and pointed it at the letter. The penlight looked high-tech, though it's metallic, patched-together appearance was likely just frills, since all it did was emit a bright light—a light which shone on Cream's letter. Folding her hands over her dress and turning her gaze downward, Cream fidgeted nervously as Tails read. Cream knew the whole letter by heart, in all its childish simplicity:

Dear Tails,

I like you a whole lot, and I really love your two tails. You're really nice to me all the time, and you're really special to me. I'd really like it if you'd go out with me, so we can do lots of fun stuff together.

Love,

Cream

Cream watched with a mix of apprehension and excitement as Tails took in each word, his face growing redder and redder. Cream felt her own face burning up in spite of the cold nighttime air.

Tails took way too long to read the letter for how short it was, but finally, he turned the penlight off and looked at Cream. He wore a worried expression, with his lips pursed and his brow creased. "Um… Cream… What does this letter… mean?"

Why are you asking me that, Tails?! Cream couldn't understand it and her mind was in turmoil. Tails was smart, so he must have understood perfectly well what the letter meant! It's because you don't have any confidence in yourself, isn't it, Tails? That's why you just can't accept that people really like you and think you're special. You can't see the Tails that I see. But why not?! How can I make you understand how much I like you?! Cream couldn't take it, and so, cheeks burning red, she cried out in a burst of anger, "It means I like you, Tails! Like, I want to get married to you some day!"

"W-Wha…? B-But Cream…" Tails looked away.

Tears filled up Cream's eyes. "Don't you like me too, Tails, even a little?"

After a time, Tails nodded, though he his eyelids drooped and he looked a little ashamed. "I… I do like you… I mean, I wouldn't have invited you out today with those cute couple tickets if I… if I hadn't been thinking something like that… in the back of my mind…"

"Really?! You do?!" Cream perked back up at once. She leaned in closer to Tails. She wanted to hug him right then and there, but she held herself back.

"But I didn't think there was any chance we could really be a couple… I didn't think you would feel like that about me…"

"Why wouldn't I? You're really smart and nice and cool, Tails!"

All of a sudden, Tails cried out sharply, "Y-Yeah, but, Cream!" Grimacing, Tails pulled away from her when she tried to get closer. "You're really sweet, Cream, and you're way nicer than me, and fun to be around. But how could you like me? I don't mean to sound like a realist, but… those kinds of relationships… they work better if there's at least a little physical attraction… and I've… I've got two tails, so… so no one could ever…"

"How many times do I have to tell you I love your tails?!" Cream cried out. She didn't waste any more time. She charged right for Tails, threw her arms around him, and hugged him tightly.

"Bwa?! Wha-What are you…?"

"I like your tails, alright?" Cream said again. "You're beautiful the way you are, Tails!"

"Waa…" Hearing that, Tails choked up, and tears flowed down his cheeks. "N-No one has… ever told me that before… You're not… lying?"

Cream buried her face against Tails's shoulder and shook her head. "I'm telling the truth. I like the way you look." Tears streamed down from her own eyes too. She just couldn't help it.

Tails hugged her back. "T-Thanks… You… Um… I think you're really cute too, Cream..."

"That's what my mother and Amy always tell me!" Cream said, laughing. "I guess you're lucky, Tails. But not as lucky as me, for getting to know such a nice, smart, foxy fox."

"Y-Yeah… Um, Cream, do you actually know what 'foxy' means?"

"…That you're handsome?"

Time stood still for a while as Cream felt Tails's warmth against her. It wasn't a busy night, and they were all alone on that corner of Station Square, so Cream could just feel happy that she got to hug Tails like this. But as everything sank in, the two of them realized just how late it had gotten.

Tails withdrew from their hug with a horrified expression. "Oh no! We really have to get you home fast, Cream, or your mother is going to be really mad at me!"

"Wh-what? How much time has passed? What time is it now?" Cream asked, feeling confused by her distorted sense of time.

"Chao chao?" Cheese woke up a moment, rubbing its eyes as it poked its head out of Cream's bag, and chirped a bit as if to ask why they weren't home yet.

"No choice!" Tails spun his tails around like a helicopter and hovered in the air. He extended a hand to Cream. "Take my hand, Cream!"

Cream held her arms up and took both of Tails's hands, and he airlifted her up high above the city. Cream could have flown herself using her ears, but Tails was a little better at it. Plus, this way, they got to stay together, so she wasn't complaining. Though she flapped her ears a few times to help out.

With their rushed departure, Cream hadn't actually got a chance to ask. Her arms were starting to hurt, so with a display of dexterousness in the air, she hopped up and made Tails carry her in his arms. Then she looked up at him with shining eyes and asked: "Tails… will you go out with me?"

"…" Tails smiled and nodded. "Yeah! And… um… Cream… I really like you a whole lot too."

It was a good thing Tails was carrying her now, because the sweet smile he gave her was almost enough to make Cream swoon. Cradled in his arms like that with her head nestled against his warm fur, and knowing Tails liked her too, she felt unbelievably happy.