Chapter 18: The Speed of Love
"Your tea, sir."
"Why thank you, ma'am."
"My, my, what polite manners, Mr. Bokkun!" Cream exclaimed as she poured her robotic friend a cup of the soothing beverage from a warm tea kettle. Unlike the tea parties she hosted for Cheese and her stuffed animals back on Mobius, though, the young bunny was given the privilege to make her own tea, with a little help from Amy, to make her first date with Bokkun even more memorable.
"Why, it was nothing, really," Bokkun replied as he ran a hand behind his head, a blush appearing across his face.
"Mr. Bokkun," Cream said as she placed her teacup on the table and crossed one leg over the other, "if you're a robot, why do you blush?"
"Why…do I blush?" Bokkun placed a gloved hand on his chest, his teacup shaking in his other. "Was I…blushing?"
"You sure were, Bokky," Cream replied with a bright smile. "It was rather cute." This complement only made the messenger robot blush even harder.
"Well," Bokkun stammered, "I'm…not just a robot, per say. The Doctor gave me sentience and other Mobian-like qualities, too. Like…I can eat!" As if to demonstrate to the young bunny, Bokkun placed his cup on the table and grabbed a slice of vanilla cake. Instead of eating it like a gentleman, however, he plucked it from its plate, threw it up in the air, and caught it in his throat. "See? I 'an surbive on bood 'nd elebrical bower." The sight of the robot trying to speak with his cheeks full of food made the young bunny giggle.
"How do you feel after last night?" Cream asked as Bokkun took a long swig of tea, which helped him swallow the entire slice.
"Honestly, I feel great!" Bokkun replied, raising his fists in the air. "I miss the connection I used to share with Decoe and Bocoe, but besides that, I've never been happier!" The messenger robot leaned back in his small, plastic chair. "I no longer fear Eggman controlling me from far away, and I feel I'm truly where I belong!"
"Where you be-belong?" Cream asked, this time stammering herself as a blush appeared across her muzzle.
"Yeah, with my friends!" Bokkun sat up straight and grabbed his teacup, sticking out his pinky in the process. He cleared his throat, preparing to emulate his gentlemanly accent once more. "Having tea and cake with a beautiful lady such as yourself is much better than putting up with Eggman berating me day in and day out."
"If you're happy, then I'm happy!" Cream grabbed a slice of cake for herself, electing to eat it politely with a small fork and even smaller bites.
"Chao, chao!" Cheese added from atop the umbrella shielding the sun for the two socialites below.
"This cake is very yummy!" Bokkun declared as he worked his way through his second slice.
"Thank you! Well…I shouldn't take all the credit. I only helped Helen and Amy bake this morning."
"The fact you helped makes it extra sweet!" Bokkun replied as he reached for his third slice.
"You re-really mean that?" Cream asked, a sparkle in her eye as a blush returned to her muzzle. Bokkun stopped mid-chew, admiring the adorable bunny as his heart pumped a million times a minute.
"Mr. Bokkun, are you okay?" Cream asked, tilting her head in concern as the messenger robot stared at her, sweat starting to form across his brow. He remained frozen however, his hands wavering as a half-eaten slice of cake started to slide from his plate.
"Oh no, your cake!" Cream cried as she lunged forward, hoping to catch the pastry before it fell to the grass. Unfortunately for the young bunny, however, she tripped over the leg of her chair, causing her to careen into the messenger robot instead, sending them both rolling to the grass like a tire. Finally, as they made their final tumble, Cream ended up on top of Bokkun, her head just above his.
"Bokky! Are you o-okay?" Cream asked as she stared into the messenger robot's beady eyes.
"Y-yeah," he replied as he stared back at the glistening orbs above him. The two blushed profusely, frozen in place for several seconds.
"Okay, what is going on here?"
Cream rolled to Bokkun's side in surprise and looked up to find the menacing glare of Amy Rose staring back at the young robot.
"Just what are you up to with Cream?" Amy asked as she pulled out her Piko Piko Hammer.
"W-what do you mean?" Bokkun asked as he crawled away backwards, his eyes focused on the devastating hammer he'd prefer to be kept at the pink hedgehog's side.
"I look away for ten seconds and you two are in the grass together…" Amy approached the terrified messenger robot until she was within inches of him. Finally, she dropped to one knee. "Just what are your intentions with Cream?"
"What, intentions? I don't know what you mean, I swear!" Bokkun replied frantically, waving his hands forward in protest.
"Mr. Bokkun didn't do anything wrong!" Cream protested as she pulled herself up and helped him off the ground as well. "It was my fault, honest! I tripped and pushed him over. He's not trying to kidnap me or anything!"
"Riiiiiight…" Amy eyed the young bunny and the messenger robot suspiciously, changing focus between the two before her site was set back on Eggman's creation once more. She pointed at her eyes before pointing her fingers back at the robot. "I have my eyes on you, mister. Any funny business, and we'll have Tails and Chuck disassemble you. Got it?"
"Y-yes, ma'am," Bokkun replied slowly, tears starting to form in his eyes.
"Great!" Amy's demeanor changed on a dime. "With that out of the way, I can finally start preparing for my date."
"You have a date?" Cream asked as she tilted her head in confusion.
"Why, but of course!" Amy replied enthusiastically. "Sonic finally, after all these years, asked me out on a date! We have the entire afternoon and evening all planned out!"
"Wow, congrats, Ms. Amy!" Cream replied cheerfully.
"Chao, chao!" Cheese added from her side.
"Thanks!" Amy giggled like a giddy schoolgirl, her pitch even higher than normal and her blush on full display. After regaining her composure, the pink hedgehog peered around the backyard. "In speaking of which, have you seen Sonic anywhere? I need him to try on this suit." She pulled a black tuxedo with a blue bowtie from her hammerspace.
"I haven't seen him, Ms. Amy," Cream replied, "but you'll be the first to know if I do."
"Thanks!" Amy gave Cream a wink before giving Bokkun one final stare down, pointing at her eyes before rapidly pointing her fingers back at the young robot. The pink hedgehog stepped away, turning around to enter the house.
"Sonic?" Amy walked through the small kitchen, freshly cleaned after her baking session with Helen, and knocked on the human girl's bedroom door.
"Come in!" Helen said, moments before the pink hedgehog entered her bedroom.
"Hey Helen, have you seen Sonic around?"
"I don't…think so?" Helen replied as she twirled a pencil between her fingers. "I've just been doing homework. I need to get this math assignment turned in by Monday."
Amy sighed. "Okay, thanks anyway, Helen." The pink hedgehog left the room, closing the door behind, before approaching the spare bedroom. Knocking, she didn't hear anyone, so she made herself welcome.
"Sonic?" The pink hedgehog crept into the small bedroom, pinching her nose in the process. "Yuck! It smells like old gym socks and chili dogs in here!" She was about to head out when she noticed Tails in the upper level of the bunkbed. Amy jumped and pulled herself up from the side of the bed, startling the orange fox in the process.
"Whatcha up to, Tails?" Amy asked as she peered down at the device in his lap. "Hey, what's that thing?"
"Oh, I'm playing human videogames!" Tails replied as he removed his earbuds. "Helen really wanted me to try this game called Pokémon, so I'm giving it a go! You get to set off on a quest to collect these monsters to train and battle with other Pokémon masters to gather all the gym badges and make one's way up to the Elite Fo—"
"Yeah yeah, very fascinating," Amy replied as she rolled her eyes and loosened her grip, allowing herself to gently drop to the floor below. "Have you seen Sonic around? I need his tush in this tuxedo for our date!"
"Oh, Sonic?" Tails scratched his chin in thought. "Well, have you tried the roof? If he isn't running around, he's probably taking a snooze up there."
"Oh, of course!" Amy smashed her fist into the open palm of her other hand. "Thanks, Tails!"
"Don't mention…" The pink hedgehog was already gone, slamming the door behind her and running to the backyard. "…it…"
As Amy was about to step outside, she collided with a blur of blue, causing her to get launched across the room. Happening in a literal instant, she had no time to scream, and before her mind could catch up with what occurred, she was safely in the gentle arms of the azure hedgehog.
"Sonic?" Amy shook her head in confusion. "What just happened?"
"We ran into each other, silly!" Sonic placed her on the nearby sofa. "Are you okay? I think I might've hit your arm."
"Oh, well, now that you mention it…" The pink hedgehog rubbed her right arm. "It is a bit so—" She gasped as Sonic rapidly sped to the kitchen, returning seconds later with an ice pack. Setting it to the side, Sonic sat next to her and lifted her arm. Blushing profusely, Amy watched as Sonic got to work, placing the pack on her arm before wrapping it with a kitchen towel.
"There we go! All better." Sonic gave Amy a wink. "Sorry if this messes up our date today."
"Our…date?" Having to take a few moments to remember, the pink hedgehog peered over at her ice pack. "Oh yeah…my dress won't go over this."
"Why do you need a dress when you look fine the way you are?"
"Sonic…are you…saying I'm…beautiful?"
A blush appeared across the blue hedgehog's face, turning away as his pink counterpart stared at him with glistening eyes.
"Well…ummm…" Sonic's voice trailed off, the blush across his muzzle growing all the wider, noticed instantly by the pink hedgehog.
"I'll take that as a yes." The pink hedgehog pulled Sonic's tuxedo from her hammerspace. "If I'm not going to be dressing up, then it'd be weird for you to wear this, huh?"
The blue hedgehog pondered Amy's thought as he brought a hand to his chin. "Well, you know, Ames…maybe I could, I dunno…try it on? Just for you, before we go out?" This lit a spark in Amy's eyes.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes!" She proceeded to drag Sonic to the spare bedroom, where Tails was peacefully still playing Pokémon in the top bunk.
"All right, Tails, we need a bit of privacy here," Amy called as the orange kitsune shifted his focus from Helen's Nintendo Switch to the pink hedgehog at the door. "Sonic's gonna get dressed for me."
"Wha, but, ummm…why do I need to leave?"
"Just…cause, all right?" Amy's voice rose. "Sonic's gonna show me what he looks like in that tuxedo, and it's impolite to change in front of other people."
"Except…what about you?" Tails tilted his head like an Earth dog hearing food dropping on the floor.
"I don't count, Tails!" A vein near Amy's ears visibly pulsated as her eyelids twitched in annoyance.
"Hey, bud," Sonic whispered from behind the irate hedgehog. He flicked his hand in front of his neck, signaling to his little brother to drop the argument before it escalates further.
"Okay, fiiiiine…" The young fox slipped off the bed. "I'll go see what Helen's up to. Good luck, Sonic."
"Thanks, buddy!" The blue hedgehog gave him a thumbs up as he walked past. Moments after Tails left the bedroom, Amy shut the door and threw the tuxedo at the blue hedgehog, a bundle including the jacket, white undershirt, bowtie, black pants, black socks, and leather shoes. Sonic peered down at the outfit in confusion before Amy, sighing to herself, grabbed the clothing and neatly arranged them along the lower bunk.
"First, the shoes need to go," Amy said. Sonic complied, kicking them to the side. Amy was too excited to even notice the odor emanating from his feet. "Next, the undershirt!"
"Oh man, I hate clothes…" Sonic pulled the shirt over his quills, but…
"Uhhh, Amy? The shirt's stuck." The blue hedgehog tried pulling it down, but it was caught by the sharp ends of his quills.
"Oh Sonic, you're so hopeless, but that's why you have me around!" Amy smiled as she approached Sonic and carefully pulled the shirt back before using her hands to stretch the cloth, allowing it to travel along the quills more freely. Encountering further resistance, however, Amy yanked the shirt down, but as she came to find out, she applied a bit too much force, so much so that Sonic fell forward, grabbing hold of the pink hedgehog in the process.
The two yelped as they fell to the floor, the blue hedgehog on top of his pink counterpart.
"Ames…" Sonic slowly pulled himself up, his hands along either side of Amy's head. "You okay?"
"Y-yeah…" Amy blushed as she locked eyes with the love of his life, who just so happened to be blushing as well.
"Ms. Amy! Mr. Sonic!"
Turning their heads, they froze as they saw Cream standing at the doorway, holding Bokkun's hand. She was blushing nearly as hard as the two hedgehogs.
"What are you doing?" Cream asked.
"Oh, n-nothing! N-nothin' at all!" Sonic replied as he pulled himself up, shreds of his shirt still stuck in his quills.
"Yeah, I was just helping Sonic here try out some clothes!" Amy added as she joined Sonic's side, equally flustered.
Cream eyed the two suspiciously, raising a hand to her chin in thought as her focus continuously shifted between the elder Mobians. Finally, her frown was replaced with a beaming smile. "I'm sure you'll look really nice in that outfit, Mr. Sonic!" The young bunny turned to the door. "Want to go play somewhere else, Bokky?"
"Sure!" Bokkun replied with a smile of his own, pleased to be led to the living room.
As the messenger robot closed the door, Amy and Sonic sighed in relief, wiping the sweat from their brows.
"That was a close one, right Ames?" Sonic asked as he sat along the side of the lower bunk.
"Y-yeah…" Amy sat next to the blue hedgehog, observing the tattered bits of shirt which found their way into Sonic's quills. "Here, let me get some of that out for you."
"Thanks." Sonic smiled as he allowed the pink hedgehog to run her gloved hands through his quills, gently plucking out the remains of the white shirt as he sat patiently. "Looks like the tuxedo was a bit of a bust, huh?"
"Yeah," Amy replied with a sigh. "I suppose there's a reason why you don't wear shirts…the tuxedo would look weird without something underneath, and I don't think Helen has anything else suitable."
"That's too bad," Sonic replied with a sigh of his own. "Any way I can make it up to ya?"
"Well…" The pink hedgehog blushed once more as she removed her hands from Sonic's quills, placing her palms on her cheeks instead. "I know of one thing…"
"What is it?" Sonic tilted his head as he lifted one leg across the other.
"Maybe…ohhhh, I don't know…I've never had a kiss before…can I have my first kiss?"
Sonic fell over.
"Sonic?" Amy pulled him off the floor. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah…" The two faced each other, but they looked away awkwardly, both running their hands through their quills. "So, like…" He slowly approached the pink hedgehog, bending his knees slightly so he was at eye level. "Ummm, on the cheek?"
"That's…a good start, yeah," Amy replied, a million thoughts running through her head. She gulped in anticipation as her blue boyfriend's face slowly approached her cheek. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she felt the warm sensation of Sonic's lips against her pale muzzle. She closed her eyes, cherishing the moment before Sonic pulled his lips away, a bright red blush across his face once more.
"Like that?" Sonic asked with a smirk. "Actually felt kinda nice, ya know?"
"I think I'm…gonna…catch me, Sonikku…" In traditional Saturday morning cartoon fashion, Amy swooned, twirling in a semi-circle before falling back, allowing the blue hedgehog just enough time to catch her.
As Sonic stared at the unconscious hedgehog, a lightbulb went off in his head. Grinning, Sonic gently placed Amy on the bed and rushed to the kitchen, preparing the most romantic luncheon the blue hedgehog could think to share with his girlfriend.
While Sonic was making preparations, Tails was lying in Helen's bed, peering over at the young girl at her desk as she plugged numbers into her calculator.
"How are you feeling after yesterday?" The orange kitsune asked.
"I'm…fine," Helen tersely replied as she was drawing out her equation on her homework assignment. The led tip broke, however, forcing her to flip her pencil around and aggressively erase her entire answer.
"Are you sure?" Tails asked as he pulled himself up, sitting on the side of her bed. "It seems like something's bothering you. If you want to talk about it, I'm all ears." Helen put her pencil down and stared at the wall. "It's about Chris, isn't it?" Tails approached the young girl and sat on the side of the desk. "About how he's teaming up with Eggman now?"
"How'd you guess?" Helen asked sarcastically as she turned her head to face the concerned kitsune. "It's just that…well, I feel like I could've done more, you know?"
"What do you mean?" Tails asked as he pulled one leg across the other, resting his palms on his knee.
"Chris and I have known each other since kindergarten. Sure, he's always been spoiled, and I've tried to be friendly, but despite showing him kindness, he always got worse and worse. Maybe if I did something differently, he wouldn't have turned out the way he did?"
"No way, Helen," Tails slipped off her desk and gently grabbed her hands. "Some people are just too far gone to reach. If you couldn't convince him to see the error of his ways, then nobody could. You tried your best, but he's not your responsibility. In fact," Tails gently let go of her hands and approached the open window, staring into the sky, "his resources will make Eggman that much harder to stomp out. If we're going to defeat Eggman, we're going to have to defeat Chris as well."
"What are you saying?" Helen asked as she stared back at the orange fox, his fur glistening in the late morning sun. "We're not…going to hurt him, are we?"
"Physically, I hope not," Tails replied as he spun around once more, returning to Helen's side, "but he'd rather have his money do all the work for him anyway. Cutting off his ability to support Eggman financially would really stifle whatever the evil doctor has cooking up. Unfortunately…" Tails brought a finger to his chin in thought. "I'd get us all in trouble if I just hacked into his family's bank accounts, and the government's going to need to gather enough evidence before they can freeze their assets and investigate every Thorndyke-owned property spanning the U.S. and the rest of the world. In the meantime, we'll need t—" Tails turned to face Helen, whose head was tilted. "Oh, sorry Helen, I was just rambling there…" The orange kitsune ran a hand behind his head.
"It's fine," Helen replied. "I enjoy your rambling. Makes me feel better."
"Glad I could help!" Tails replied with a thumbs up.
"I just…don't want to hurt Chris. Let's go fight Eggman and let the authorities go after him when they have the evidence."
"Right!" Tails gave Helen a nod and a thumbs up, returned by the young girl with a smile. "Feeling better?"
"Yep!" Helen replied. "Thanks for the talk. It really helped!"
"That's what friends are for!" Tails replied, scratching the back of his head once more.
"And now I'll be able to focus on this math assignment." Helen sharpened her pencil before returning her focus to the paper below.
"I'll go see what Chuck's up to," Tails replied as he approached the door. "I'll see you later!"
"Bye, Tails!"
As the young fox approached the basement door, he felt the unforgettable breeze of Sonic running past him. Turning to face the Blue Blur, however, something wasn't quite right.
"Ummm, Sonic…is Amy okay?" Tails pointed to the pink hedgehog, who was being cradled in Sonic's arms with a picnic basket on her belly.
"Shhhhh…" Sonic brought a finger to his lips. "Long story, will tell ya later." He proceeded to reach his head down and bite into the handle of the basket. "Shee ya!" Moments later, Sonic was gone, bursting down the street to a location unknown to the young fox.
Tails blinked a few times, attempting to process what he just witnessed before shrugging his shoulders, closing the front door Sonic rudely left open, and heading to the basement to check in with Chuck.
"Ohhh, where…ahhh!" As Amy tried opening her eyes, she was blinded by the piercing sun above.
"Ooops, sorry 'bout that! Lemme fix the umbrella for ya!"
"Huh?" In an instant, the sun's rays were replaced by the refreshing shade offered by the umbrella promised to her by the blue hedgehog. Rubbing her eyes, she tried opening them once more. As her sight adjusted, she studied the sand seemingly all around, the small, snake-like lake a few yards away and nobody else in sight, save for Sonic sitting next to her in a matching beach chair. "W-what is this, Sonic?"
"It's our date!" Sonic replied. "I found this place during one of my runs, thought you'd enjoy it, too! I think we're in…Brazil? Oh yeah…" The blue hedgehog reached down to the sand below, pulling out his picnic basket. "They're still fresh! Here, Ames, catch!" The pink hedgehog nearly fumbled the tinfoil-wrapped food item, but she caught it before it could fall on her lap. Unwrapping it, she was greeted with the unforgettable sight and smell of a chili dog. Bringing the hedgehog delicacy to her lips, she took a small bite.
"How d'ya like it?" Sonic asked as he rolled to his side on the beach chair, one arm propping him up.
"This…this is…" Amy's eyes started to well up. "This is the greatest day of my life!" Throwing the chili dog to the side, the pink hedgehog dove to her blue boyfriend, giving him a big kiss on the lips before snuggling in next to him, leaving Sonic temporarily paralyzed and a crimson tint burning brightly across his muzzle. "The fastest thing alive finally slowed down to take me on a date like this…I feel like the luckiest thing alive."
"What can I say," Sonic replied with a chuckle, having since regained his composure, "even I need to slow down from time to time…and…" Sonic kissed Amy's forehead, almost making her swoon once more. "…this is nice, ya know? I guess being so far from home really puts things into perspective…"
"What do you mean?" Amy asked as she pulled herself up, resting her hand on Sonic's chest as she stared at the blue hedgehog, who was looking into the sky, deep in thought.
"It's made me think of all that I appreciate. Like…when Cream and I were in that military prison, and I couldn't run away, I learned not to take my abilities for granted. Being separated from my friends, it's made me realize just how lucky I am to have everyone in my life, ya know?"
"I'm lucky, too, Sonic…" Amy rested her face on Sonic's chest as she closed her eyes. "Lucky to be with you." The pink hedgehog slowly started to close her eyes once more until sleep took hold, the light breeze, the umbrella's shade, and the blue hedgehog's warmth making her feel comfortable, protected, and loved.
Lightly chuckling to himself, he used his left arm to reach for the picnic basket, grabbing a chili dog and skillfully unwrapping it with one hand, careful not to disturb the pink hedgehog's slumber. Instead of wolfing it down like normal, though, he ate it slowly, holding Amy in place with his other arm as he relaxed in the afternoon sun.
I hope you all enjoyed this romantic filler chapter! If you enjoyed the SonAmy goodness, as well as Cream and Bokkun's blossoming relationship, I can find ways to incorporate it a bit more into upcoming chapters.
The next chapter will return to the Chaos Emerald hunt: with five gems remaining at large, and Eggman hiding under the protection of the Thorndyke estate, Sonic and friends have a momentous task ahead…but will they overcome? Stay tuned!