"You're taking a shower?" Sonic raised an eyebrow as he wandered into the bathroom, crossing the space to the mirrored cabinet to pull a toothbrush from within.
"Just a quick rinse," Miles responded, ears flattened against his head as the steaming water slowly permeated his thick fur.
"What," Sonic sniffed. "With soap? You been rolling around in the oil again, little buddy?"
"No." Miles stuck his tongue out at the hedgehog. "You'd need to wash up too if you ever helped me tune up the Tornado."
Sonic's only reply was a poorly suppressed snigger as he gave up searching for his toothpaste and stole Miles' instead. The fox rolled his eyes with a half smile before turning back to the laborious task of working up a lather in his tails.
Generally speaking, mobians didn't need to bathe, though as with clothing many that lived near or among humans had picked up the habit by cultural osmosis. Unlike humans, however, mobian fur was largely impervious to water. This particular quality didn't much help them much - mobians who could swim like Miles were vanishingly rare - but this did make their fur hard to stain and easy to clean with just a little brushing here and there, something Sonic was happy to take advantage of, given his own disdain for water.
But engines didn't oil themselves, and Miles' life amongst the grease and guts of his machines routinely introduced him to plenty of substances that could stain his fur on a regular basis.
Not that he'd actually done so today. Well, not more than unusual at least. A spot here and there was only natural. Police wore badges, mechanics wore stains. Made sense.
He sighed, watching pink foam swirl away down the drain, leaving his fur smelling of whatever floral disaster the soap's manufacturer had used, and assuredly devoid of any marks that would offend his…
Date? It seemed to be stretching the definition. Miles had no illusions about where Amy's romantic aspirations lay, and they were firmly on the hedgehog currently hawking a green toothpaste loogie into his sink.
Would she be happy? Beat him around the head with her hammer? That was how their last social engagement had started, after all. Better than destroying his workshop at least. Miles wasn't the most sociable person - he left that to Sonic, who seemed to meet someone new every time he lapped the world - but there weren't many things he cared about more than making his friends happy.
"You okay, bud?"
"Huh?" Miles looked up. Sonic was staring at him.
"You've been staring down the drain for awhile now."
"Oh!" Miles smiled, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm fine. Just started thinking of a new engine design using a contraindicative series of twinned hydroelastic centrifuges to provide the actualisation matrix with sufficient propulsive torque!"
Sonic blinked at him, the light fading from his green eyes as he smiled and nodded. "Sounds cool, little buddy! Looking forward to seeing it!"
He had no idea what Miles had just said. And that was fine. Miles handled all things technology - and technobabble - with a smile. That way he was useful, and being useful was why Sonic, unlike his parents, had kept him around.
"You listening?"
"Huh?" Miles shut off the water with a quizzical look, popping his ears back up with a wet spray. Sonic snorted.
"When you get wrapped up in this stuff, you really go all out, don't you?"
"Sorry, Sonic." Miles twisted his tails around one another, wringing the wet from them before flicking his hand up over his face, scraping the water - and his fuzzy forelock - away from his eyes. "What's up?"
"I said I'm heading off for a work out. You want anything while I'm gone?" He held up a towel.
"That's alright. I'm going out myself later anyway."
"Sure thing, catch you later!" Sonic left fast enough to create a small sonic boom with his departure, probably to find a chilli dog vendor. Opening times didn't matter much when you were jogging at Mach two. Worst case he'd cross time zones until he found one.
Miles wandered from the bathroom in thoughtful silence, letting his fur finish air drying in the warmth of his lab while gazing out at the chilly hills outside. Another clear autumn day, perfect for getting out in the Tornado and getting stuff done.
Yeah, that was probably a more accurate way to put it. He had an errand with Amy Rose.
… And that still made him uncomfortable.
Sonic was easy. From the day they met he'd understood what Sonic needed from him, and he was happy to provide it. Amy… Well, he knew what she wanted from Sonic. But him? Sure, he'd saved her life a few times, and given her tech support like he would any of the other heroes in his life, but as far as he could tell she didn't need him at all. The two of them were just bound by Sonic, twin satellites that happened to share the same orbit.
For most of his life that had been equal parts reassuring and terrifying. No pressure to be useful, but no control over when she would eventually leave him.
Miles shook his head as he located a clean pair of gloves. And now she wanted things. Like going to concerts and going somewhere nice and being clean and he now needed to make her happy without having any idea what she wanted and-
Wait. It was that time already?
"Ahhh! I'm going to be late!"
Miles zipped around the workshop almost as fast as Sonic as he gathered his things and burst out of the door.
What had she been thinking?
Amy watched herself twirl in the mirror. Simple black dress, yellow sash. Would makeup be too much? She wore it last time.
Of course last time…
No, no makeup. Rouge had helped her with it before anyway, she didn't think she could replicate the achievement and she certainly wasn't going to swallow her pride and ask for help again for this. There'd be no end to the teasing. It wasn't as though she needed to go all out to impress anyway.
She did look cute though.
Ugh. Not like Tails would care. Not that it would matter that he didn't. Why had she even wanted to do this? It certainly wasn't Tails' idea. He never liked going out in the first place, all he thought about was his machines unless the world needed saving. This would be the second time she'd dragged him out of his lair to go out with her and she didn't even know why.
Bored? It's not like she didn't have other friends. Or hobbies. She hadn't even been mad at him. Ans it wasn't like she didn't have someone else she'd rather ask. She'd been Sonic's girlfriend for over half a decade at this point and still getting a date was almost impossible.
Well, sort of girlfriend. He didn't agree. But he was just shy. She was his damsel, after all, and he, her heroic saviour, it was destiny. And he still saved her. Sometimes. When he wasn't busy saving everyone else. Or avoiding her.
Amy sighed. That was why.
Because Sonic would have said no. And she knew Tails would say yes.
That was just the way he was. Tails was too nice. She'd known he'd agree to go to the concert when Sonic had been… too shy to go with her. And even if she'd asked to mess with him - he had drooled on her head, after all - she'd still known he'd say yes to a second date. Even if he didn't want to, even if he didn't care if she looked cute.
And once she'd asked... now she couldn't back down. Even if she felt bad for making him treat her to this weird pseudodate when everything was all her fault anyway, wouldn't backing out just hurt his feelings at this point?
Well… she'd be lying if she said that she hadn't been looking forward to it. A little. Tails was so serious and smart, what did he think was a good date? Lunch at some fancy restaurant? Some highbrow opera? Did Sonic know? Would he be jealous?
Hopefully she wasn't underdressed. Amy checked the mirror again, adjusting the hairband that played a largely decorative role rather than actually doing anything to keep her stiff spikes in place. Would she look out of place at an opera? Would people stare for the wrong reason? Would she embarrass them both?
Amy took a deep breath.
No, this wasn't Sonic. She'd dated before, kind of. If she counted disasters and getting stood up then she was experienced and worldly in matters of the heart, and knowing Tails he'd already thought ahead to fix those problems. Some high tech holodress to make her fit right in? A private booth away from judging eyes while they ate the finest of foods? She'd just maturely laugh away any problems together with him and it would be fine because Tails wouldn't leave and pretend he fell in a dimensional portal to make her feel even more pathetic for getting ditched.
A knock startled her out of her thoughts. She rushed to open the door, revealing a fluffy two-tailed fox smiling at her from her doorstep.
"Hi! Ready to go?"
"Wh- what are you doing here right now?"
Amy blinked down at him in surprise. He looked alert, clean, and far more composed than she was. He was even wearing a stylish, if slightly oversized, black coat and shoes. Was he wearing a shirt and tie underneath? Formal event?
"Huh? You said to come get you at one?" Miles' ears drooped, smile dimming. "Sorry, did you want me to come earlier?"
She hadn't been expecting him to arrive on time at all. Dates showing up in the first place wasn't something Amy had much experience with, but she was pretty sure arriving "early" for a date wasn't normal, even if it was just by a few minutes.
No, she was the mature one, she could deal with this gracefully. "It's fine." She waved her hand airily. "Let me just put my shoes on and I'll be right out, okay?"
The smile resurfaced, and Miles turned away, breath misting into the air.
Okay, no sign of his plane, so he'd probably run here. That was fine, she only had two pairs of shoes that weren't running shoes. Probably meant it was going to a few zones away. Maybe grab a jacket-
A resounding crash sounded from outside. Amy poked her head out to see a massive bipedal robot lumbering out of an impact crater, weapons bristling from its metallic chassis as it stomped towards the house.
"Tails!" Amy extended a hand, hammer warping into her hand from nothingness as she stepped in front of the smaller fox.
Seriously? Why now? What was with the forces of villainy messing with her social life?
"Uh, Amy?"
"Just stay back, Tails. I got this." As far as Eggman mechs went it was on the small side, a good whack to its legs and-
"That one's mine."
"Are you trying to be macho, Tails?" Amy turned to stare at the sheepish fox with a smirk. One date and the timid little guy was suddenly ready to start fighting robots again? She should have done this a year ago.
"I mean literally." Tails rubbed the back of his head with a grimace. The robot stomped to a halt in front of them and settled back on its mechanical haunches with a hiss.
"Seriously?" Amy stared at him, dropping her hammer to crack on the ground beside her. "Tails..."
"I sort of pressed the wrong button. I can fix it!" Tails waved his hands frantically before poking the palm of his glove with a finger. Amy glanced back as cannons telescoped into the robot's torso, legs folding down to accommodate wheels as metal plates flipped and rotated. Within moments a sleek green and white sports car with tinted windows had taken its place at the roadside.
"There we go." Tails' smile turned sunny, if only for a moment.
"... Tails?"
"Yes, Amy?"
"Is that our ride?"
"Uh, yeah?" Tails snapped his fingers and the car's doors popped open with a beep to reveal a surprisingly spacious interior within. There was even a pair of fuzzy dice hanging from the rear view mirror. "I'd have flown it over, but I didn't want to be late so I ran."
"Why is our ride a transforming combat mech?"
Tails tilted his head at her in confusion. "Because it's cool?"
"You are such a dork."
"What? You know it's cool. What if there aren't any parking spots?"
"You are not using it to clear out a parking space."
"Fiiine." Tails rolled his eyes in a huff. "Shall we go?"
"... Alright." Amy sighed, slipping her hammer into its pocketspace once more before starting towards the passenger side. "But if this thing transforms into anything weird this afternoon you are going to be in trouble, mister!"
Tails flinched.
Was she really that scary? Amy settled onto a fluffy seat and Tails shut the door behind her - such a little gentleman. Except for the chance that this thing might then go haywire and start rampaging through the streets of Station Square with her still inside.
Wait, did these seats have a holes for spikes? Wow. She almost wished she hadn't had her back spike sawn off so she could try it out. Less so her head spikes. She didn't miss the screaming humans who walked into her when they weren't paying attention.
"So you really don't think it's cool?" Tails swung up into the driver's seat, his slightly lowered ears betraying what his smiling demeanour didn't..
"Mmm…" Amy tapped her lips, suppressing a smirk at the fox's expense. "You get five points."
"Is that good?"
"Hm." Amy leaned back in her seat cushion with a grin. "C-minus."
Tails' groan was echoed by her laughter as they set off.