"This is not at all how I planned this date going!" Charmy yelled over the screaming fans. He and Cream had decided to go shopping at the mall and get dinner in the food court. A simple, albeit more laid back and casual type of date. Unfortunately, not even fifteen minutes after them arriving at the mall, someone recognized Charmy and screamed with joy. Almost immediately, a small group started to form around him and Cream. It had gotten so bad, that he instinctively picked her up bridal style and started flying up to avoid being caught in a stampede. The young rabbit was taken aback, obviously, but was glad to be away from the crowd of people.
"It's ok!" Cream yelled back. "I'm sure that the same thing would happen if any of our other friends were here with us!"
Charmy smirked. "Are you kidding?! None of our friends got as big of a social media presence as I have!"
Cream rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure the fact they've saved the world countless times eclipses a big number next to your name a fair bit!" she said with a laugh.
The bee let out a sigh. "Fair point!"
Charmy landed on the third floor, setting down Cream back on her feet. The bee keeled over, hands on his knees, hyperventilating. Cream rested her hand on her boyfriend's back. "Are you alright?" she asked.
"Yeah…" Charmy panted. "I'm good… just need to catch my breath… phew." He stood up, stretching. "Why must I have small wings?!" he groaned.
Cream couldn't help but glance at the small set of wings that protruded from his back. "Does it hurt flying?"
"Not usually, it's only when I'm carrying something heavy." The bee's eyes shrunk. He turned to Cream and waved his arms defensively. "N-not to imply that you're unusually heavy or anything, no! Nothing like that at all! I just meant people in general are heavy for me! You're not-!"
Cream rested her hand on his shoulder and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. The bee couldn't help but blush as a calming sensation filled his body and he started to relax. As Cream pulled away, Charmy turned to face her, blushing a little harder as he saw the wide, loving smile on her face. "I know you meant, silly bee," she said sweetly. "No need to get so flustered."
Charmy scratched the back of his head nervously. "Ehehe…" he laughed awkwardly. "Sorry, I just don't wanna make you feel bad in any way. I know how hard that break up hit you…"
Cream shook her head. "There's no need to worry, it's all in the past now. Besides, you were there to help me through all that, weren't you?"
Charmy nodded. "Yeah, I know, it's just… sometimes I think it might've been better if Amy was the one helping you the most with all that. I've never even dated until now."
"She did help me, just not in person as much. You know how it is, she lives so far away from now. I'm honestly kind of glad she's there, I don't know if Tails would've gotten better without her help."
Charmy thought to himself for a moment. "Can I ask you something?" he finally asked.
"Of course," Cream replied.
"Have you spoken to him at all since then?"
The young rabbit turned her head and started fidgeting with hair. "Not really. Well… not at all, honestly. We haven't spoken to each other since the break up. Not directly at least. Sometimes we tell Amy to pass along well wishes to each other, but that's it."
Charmy nodded. "I understand that. I don't really know what went down exactly- and by no means do you have to tell me if you don't want to- but I think it might be a good idea to talk to him sometime. Maybe you'll get some closure out of it."
The young rabbit nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'll put some thought into that. You're probably right."
"It's not something you gotta do like, right now or anything, but it is something I think you should do at some point."
Cream smiled and hugged Charmy tightly. "Thank you," she said softly. "It makes me happy that you care."
"Of course I care," Charmy replied softly, stroking her hair softly. "I love you."
Cream snuggled up against him, enjoying her time in his embrace. The love struck bee sighed blissfully as he stared off in the distance. After a few moments, his blissful look slowly turned into one of dread. "Hey, you know what a good thing we should do right now is?" he asked.
"What's that?" Cream asked him cheerfully, pulling back to look at him. Charmy silently raised his hand to point in front of him and Cream looked over her shoulder to see what he was pointing at. The large hoard of fans from before were pushing and shoving their way up the escalators.
"Running away from the crazy people who think I'm their best friend because they watch a lot of my videos," Charmy said, his tone of voice slowly turning into one of panic.
Cream turned to face him again, a frightened look on her face. "I agree, that sounds like a very good idea. Come on!"
The rabbit grabbed the bee's hand and started running as fast as she could, dragging him behind until he found his footing and started running alongside her. The pair ran past other shoppers, doing their best not to bump into anyone. "Is this how it is for you all the time, Mr. Influencer?" Cream teased.
"W-well…" Charmy stuttered. "Not every day is nearly as eventful as this, I'll tell you that!"
Cream let out a giggle. "I guess the mall's a bust for dates then. Why don't we try somewhere else?"
Charmy nodded to her. "Yeah, I'm cool with that! Why we don't we ditch my crazed fanbase and catch a movie?"
"I like that idea! What movie?"
"Why don't you pick? Consider it repayment for all the trouble I've put you through today."
A devilish smile crept on the innocent rabbit's face. "Well, if you insist… I hope you like cheesy romcoms!"
Charmy smirked. "Heh! Are you kidding me? Those are my guilty pleasure!"
The two burst out laughing as they ran down a set of escalators, the mob not far on their tail.
"So this is our life now, huh?" Rouge muttered.
"Look on the bright side," Shadow responded. "At least we have all this time together."
The bat and hedgehog stood outside of Dr. Robotnik's private cell, working as the new day shift guards. Neither of them were really enthused about the new assignment, but they didn't really have much of a choice. "Ugh, this is so boring," Rouge groaned. "Even with you here. There's nothing to do other than stand around all day."
"Yes, that's what guard duty is," Shadow replied coldly.
Rouge shot him a glare. "What's your problem?"
The ultimate lifeform simply shrugged. "I just thought we were finally done with all of this. After the incident with the Black Arms, I figured the commander would be over it. I guess I was wrong."
Rouge crossed her arms. "I still don't understand what a girl who died over half a century ago has to do with any of this."
Shadow rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe he actually had to spell it out for her. "He feels guilty, Rouge. The death of Maria was a horrible tragedy. Mistake or not, after news of it became widely known after the Black Arms invasion, the press had a field day with it. 'The Guardin Units of Nations Darkest Secret: That Time They Murdered A Child on Space Colony ARK.' It was all over the news for weeks. The commander had to make a public statement in which he took full responsibility for something he didn't do that happened under someone else's leadership. Think about it, Rouge- he thinks that helping her last surviving family member is some form of repayment."
Rouge nodded. "Alright, that makes a lot of sense, actually. You win."
An awkward silence fell over the two. Neither of them could really think of something to say to each other. The soft pounding of metal was what finally broke the silence. At first, they didn't realize where it was coming from. As the pounding continued, however, they realized it was coming from the other side of the door.
"I'll go check on him," Shadow groaned, reaching for his Chaos Emerald.
Rouge turned to him with a seductive smile. "Aren't you going to give me a kiss goodbye, handsome?" she purred.
"No," the hedgehog replied instantly, not ever bothering to look over at her.
The bat frowned. "Why not?"
"I'm going on the other side of the door, not parting ways for the night. You'll live." With that, he disappeared in a flash of green light and a small gust of wind after activating Chaos Control.
Rouge leaned her back against the wall and let out a long groan of annoyance. "Why am I so attracted to overly serious men with attitude problems?" she muttered.
Author's Note: Sorry this one was so short, next will hopefully be a bit longer. Remember to leave a review and thanks for reading!