Amy Rose had learned to love shopping.
Not necessarily the act of buying things. No, that part was a letdown, especially for a part time patisserie chef with not insignificant travel expenses for going to visit her boyfriend. And making sure that he didn't have any other romantic partners in the various parts of the globe he visited. But the act of shopping itself? Of seeing all the things other people had made, finding the best bargains, the finest quality, and, of course, the upcoming fashions was a joy, and the act of selection an artform.
An artform her friends lacked in opposite directions.
"Miss Amy! Miss Amy! Look at this, isn't it pretty?" Cream held aloft an overpriced plastic trinket with shining eyes.
"Wow, Cream, that's beautiful!" Amy held it aloft, admiring the light sparkling through its clear surface in glittering rainbows. Even something like this had something special to appreciate, after all. She returned it with a bright smile. "Have you seen that one over there?" She pointed. The rabbit gasped and scurried off, leaving the knickknack forgotten on a nearby shelf for Amy to quietly return to its proper place.
She'd like the one Amy pointed out better anyway. At least before she got distracted onto something else.
At least Cream was having fun. Unlike some people. Amy glanced at the blank-faced fox hovering at her elbow radiating misery from every hair on his fluffy body. He perked up instantly, looking up at her with that unreadable blue gaze.
"Something to put in?" He held aloft one of the four baskets with a tight smile.
Amy rolled her eyes, dropping a tray into the basket with a huff and turning away. He made a wordless sound of surprise at her reaction but scurried after her quietly nonetheless.
Stupid sidekick. He hadn't been more than a few feet from her this whole time. Wasn't he supposed to spend time with the girl he had a crush on? Or at least buy things? All he'd done the whole time they'd been out was grab a few dozen cartons of eggnog. What did he even need that much eggnog for?
Sure he was, as much as it pained her, probably on closer terms with Cream already than she was with Sonic. She couldn't imagine Sonic voluntarily riding alone with her somewhere, but wasn't this a great time for him to show Cream his manly side? His... kinda manly side?
Or- wait, was this a tactic? He was a smooth operator, could this whole thing be the "playing it cool" she'd heard about? She glanced at him again, he perked up once more, basket raising before she turned quickly away.
Ugh. So attentive.
At least him being here had made security leave them alone. Human stores tended to be on the wary side when it came to a species that could slip something into hammerspace on a moment's notice, a major reason why "self-service" never really caught on in the mobian territories. And something Amy had strongly considered taking advantage of herself during some of the tougher periods of her life here on Earth. But one glance of those twin tails and security had lost all interest. Surely the saviour of Station Square could be trusted, after all.
Well, that and he was rich enough to simply buy the store if he wanted, something that would have occurred years earlier if someone had thought to inform the fox what a "patent" was when he was younger and cheerfully tearing into the various scientific fields like he was in a henhouse. More than a few of the humans crowding around them sent glances their way despite the black coat and boots he'd presumably worn to at least partially disguise himself.
Hopefully it wasn't because of that video.
A business man on a cellphone brushed between them, not even looking down as he sent the basket-laden Tails into a spin and almost stepped on Amy's boot. She glowered up at him as he strode on, his giant steps carrying him swiftly away as he peered up at shelves, carrying on a conversation with a voice on the other end of the line about Rainbow the Pony mini figures that would have seemed out of character at any other time of the year.
"Ugh. Rude! Are you alright?" Amy rubbed her hand over her knuckles as she glanced at the fox beside her.
Tails didn't reply, eyes locked on the departing human. The fur on his tails was puffed out and silent tension trembled in his bare legs like he'd start running any moment. Amy stepped closer, placing a hand on his padded shoulder.
"... Huh?" Tails' body relaxed like it had never happened, blue eyes blinking up at her blankly before a smile slipped onto his face. "Sorry, just a bit dizzy from that spin!"
"Ah huh." Amy glanced around them. No sign of Cream, she'd probably already found those Rainbow the Pony things that guy had been looking for. "You okay?"
"I'm fine." Tails glanced to the side.
"Tails."
"It's just... a little crowded is all." A basket twitched. He probably went to rub the back of his head. "I really am fine. Really."
Of course. Amy frowned, kicking herself mentally. It was all too easy to forget sometimes how turbulent the placid little fox was under the surface, something she'd only recently glimpsed the full extent of herself. It was like he was in a constant state of tension, stretched taut like a wire that even the slightest thing might set him off. Was this why he was sticking close to her? She'd told him to let her know in future when things got too much for him. Had this been his way of asking for help? Or did he not want Cream to see him like that? Amy understood all about wanting to keep up appearances after all.
Or maybe he really was fine? It was hard to tell. For all his timid nature, Tails followed Sonic into the most dangerous of zones with rarely a word of complaint, even if he wasn't taking part in the fighting anymore. And he'd made it pretty clear that he'd do the same for any of his friends even if it wasn't about saving the world. How could she expect him to admit he was having trouble over a shopping trip? And how could she help him without making him feel like she was patronising him?
Tails still stared up at her, slowly raising an eyebrow as he met her lingering gaze.
"Are… you okay?" He finally broke the silence between them.
"Shut up!" She turned away, cheeks growing hot. "I was just thinking, okay?"
"Uh… fine?"
Amy huffed. Being a good friend was hard work.
Wait, that was perfect. She turned with her hand cupped around her mouth.
"Cream!"
The rabbit popped around the end of the aisle in moments, arms predictably wrapped around three containers wrapped with Rainbow the Pony packaging.
"Hi, Miss Amy! Thank you, Mister Tails!" She dumped them into the fourth of Tails' baskets, the one for her use, burying them beneath the layers of other arcane items she had collected during her frenzied dash round the store. "What's going on?"
"Cream!" Amy lunged forward, hooking her elbow under Tails' chin as he turned away from her and holding him fast. "Our brave porter here has been wounded in battle and has earned sorely needed respite! Let us fair maidens whisk him away to yon couturier and treat him to visions of loveliness by parading our finery for the ball!"
"Um… what?" Cream tilted her ears up at Amy with a blank expression.
"Amy wants to go play dress up with you in the clothing section to pick out your party outfits. She also reads too many fantasy novels and is misusing the word cou-eep!" Tails' squeaked into silence as Amy tightened her grip, baskets wobbling dangerously in his grasp.
"Oh! Dress up!" Cream clapped her hands in excitement. "Let's go!"
The perfect scheme, Amy mused as Cream led the way towards the clothing section. Even in the Christmas rush the area for mobian clothing would have little in the way of traffic, mostly human parents with young children willing to make the necessary adjustments to turn something cut for a slender limbed mobian into an outfit suitable for their thicker human proportions. Better yet, this store had "boyfriend seating" near the dressing rooms, giving Tails somewhere nice and quiet to sit and relax for a bit without hurting his pride.
And, of course, gave Cream an opportunity to show off in some cute outfits with a captive audience. If the two of them weren't going to spend time together naturally while shopping, Amy could find plenty of reasons to give them some privacy to give the young Casanova time to work his magic. Right on time for some heart pounding romantic confessions under the mistletoe at her party!
Yep, Amy mused as she picked out a few dozen outfits for the two of them to try on, Tails was going to thank her for this later.
