"Yeah, but you're gonna have to find out there." Zooey told him, hugging him tightly. "I've got a feeling you'll be gone for a while, so…" She leaned in to kiss Tails and met him halfway.
The foxes kissed for a short while before Tails went upstairs to get his loose shorts on. He got another hug from Zooey before leaving. Tails did not want to let her go at all.
"Don't want to leave, huh?" Zooey teased.
"No." He groaned, rubbing Zooey's back. Zooey did the same for him, making him sigh in relief.
"You like that?" She asked.
"It feels so nice." Tails whined with the implication he had to leave. He let go of his girlfriend, not wanting to let her go for even a second.
"Bye, cutie! I'm gonna miss you!" Zooey said, waving.
"I'll miss you too, sweetheart." He replied, blowing her a kiss.
Tails went out the door and drove himself to Amy's house, where she was waiting behind her door. For a day in early March, it was freezing.
Tails shut off his car and sprinted to Amy's door. She opened without Tails having to knock. Clearly Amy had been waiting for Tails.
"Hey, honey!" Amy greeted, pulling in Tails for a hug. It seemed everyone wanted a hug from Tails on his birthday. Tails hugged her in return, setting his head on hers.
"You know, you're really getting so tall." Amy judged. "Four years ago, I could do the same to you. Now look at you! You're growing up really fast."
"The clock's ticking." Tails remarked sadly.
Amy didn't like that. "Don't think of it like that." She told Tails. "Each year, you can look back on all you've accomplished and the fun you had. If there's something you didn't get done, you've always got the next year." She kissed him on the nose.
Tails blushed at that, although from Amy, practically his sister. Sure, he didn't feel the same way to her as he did Zooey, but it was nice. Amy grabbed his hand and took Tails a few rooms across her house into a back room, dimly candlelit, but extremely warm. As he entered, he spotted a bottle labeled "Aromatherapy: Lavender Massage Oil." He liked the sound of that.
"Zooey told me you've still been feeling tense." Amy said. "Let's get you feeling better."
"This is…" Tails began. "A unique opportunity."
"Consider it my gift to you. Before we begin, I'm gonna need you to take your hoodie and shirt off and lie face down on the table."
"Yes, ma'am." Tails teased. He did as ordered as Amy generously applied the massage oil to her hands.
"Any areas of concern?" Amy asked. "I know Sonic caused you some damage yesterday, so I'd guess upper back to shoulders?"
"Yeah." Tails answered. "We were wrestling yesterday and out of nowhere he grabs me, jumps off his bed, and piledrives me on the floor. It isn't fair." He complained.
"I hear ya." Amy concurred. "Sonic's gonna be hearing it from me."
"Let's keep it between us. I don't wan- … mmmmmph…" Tails sighed as Amy started working on his left shoulder.
This indication told Amy that she immediately found a spot of high tension. She assessed the area by applying pressure with her wrist before kneading his shoulder. "I found a good spot, didn't I?" Amy guessed.
"Mhmm." Tails mumbled as he felt his body being pushed into the cushioned table. Amy slowly worked some of the tension and stress from the tendons in his left shoulder. She continued in the same spot for two minutes until the audial feedback from Tails stopped.
"Let's try the other one now." Amy suggested. Tails was already looking forward to what happened next. She felt his right shoulder from his neck to the center of his back. "This is devastating. Even more stress in the right shoulder." Amy told him. "Might wanna take it easy on your shoulders to upper back the next few days."
"But what if I don't want to?" Tails whined.
"Then you're just gonna have to deal with the pain. It's all the best for you, Tails. This is one of the fastest solutions to the soreness." Amy responded. She worked on weaving out the strain in his right shoulder. Tails didn't talk much, but his mumbles, moans, and sighs were all the feedback Amy needed to understand what was where.
Amy continued applying rising circular motions to Tails' sore shoulder for three minutes, until she wasn't getting much of a response. "You seem to be feeling much better already after my working your shoulders. Do you mind if I search for other tense areas? It's okay if you say no." She asked.
"Go ahead." Tails confirmed. She ran her hands down Tails' sides and back. This was actually kinda nice, Tails thought. He liked the feeling of it, minus when Amy gripped a certain area. It felt like he was being frisked.
After over a minute of that, Amy stopped at his lower back. "Just as I thought." She said. "You've got a small area of extreme pressure in the muscles around your spine."
"I didn't even know I had muscles there."
"Well, you do. The outsides of your obliques especially. You've been twisted and turned a lot. I'm gonna have to tell Sonic you're not a plaything."
Tails quietly chuckled at that as Amy started raising the muscles and tendons in his back to separate as many bundles as she could. For the next several minutes, Amy applied gentle pressure to the areas surrounding his spine, using extra caution when he whimpered. Finally, she got into a groove of relieving tension.
"That feels so good." Tails moaned, feeling the stress leaving his body. The candles in the room and the lavender scent greatly boosted this effect. He was in a happy place. He continued to decompress as Amy rhythmically worked her hands on his lower back. Tails soon lost track of time as seconds became minutes. After what seemed like forever, Amy quit there. Tails whimpered lightly as the rush of endorphins came to a halt.
"Aww, don't you cry." Amy told him. "You were liking that, weren't you?"
"Yeah, I guess so. There's this kind of balance that I'm feeling right now. It's like I'm not worried about anything."
"It's the scents and lights getting to ya." Amy explained. "Chamomile really puts the mind to rest and the dim lighting reduces visual input. You're probably also a little tired."
"You're right. I'm a little drowsy now that you mention it. Anything else?"
"We'll see. I'm gonna need you to roll over." Tails did as Amy said. She then ran her hands down from his neck to his waist, checking for any tense areas. She ended up finding none. However, Tails liked having Amy run a hand through his chest fur.
"Could you do that again? Please?" Tails begged.
"Go through your chest fluff all like this?" Amy guessed, doing it again.
Tails giggled and sighed, loving the sensations he was getting. Amy continued, happy that Tails found something that made him feel good. She continued going through Tails' fur for the next few minutes. She then switched to scratching between his ears and stroking the fur on his head.
Tails began purring, a clear indication that he was enjoying himself.
"Have you ever considered getting Zooey to do this?" Amy teased.
"When I was younger, Sonic used to put me to bed like this. So yes, I have." He responded.
Amy chuckled. "Is your back feeling any better?"
"Yes, quite a lot. Thanks, Amy. This is nice."
"It's the least I could do." Amy said, making him sit up to run her fingers through his twin tails. "Your muscles are gonna tense up easily, but that's fine if you're going for tone."
Tails sighed and let out a few happy whimpers as Amy continued petting him, even more so when she ran a comb across his fur. He hated to admit it, but he was loving every second of this.
"You are one spoiled little fox." Amy joked. "Happy birthday."
"Thanks. You're so nice. I didn't deserve this."
"Aw, nonsense." Amy switched to scratching his chin, getting him to lie down on his back. "You've been a good boy, haven't you?" She laughed, petting him like a dog.
"Mhmm." Tails mumbled in response. After a minute more of that, Amy stopped. She scooped Tails up in her arms and set him down on the floor, handing him his shirt and hoodie back. Tails put them back on and hugged Amy. To her surprise, he picked her right up.
"You're the best!" Tails exclaimed, spinning her around.
"Thanks, honey. I hope you enjoyed yourself."
"Sure did!" Tails replied happily, setting her down.
"Make sure to not make any jerky or sudden movements for the next few days or it might hurt, okay? Be careful and plan things a little."
"I promise." Tails taunted. "I think Sonic would like this treatment, don't you agree?"
Amy gasped and blushed. "Tails… how could you say a thing like that?" She scolded.
Tails snickered as Amy pushed him to the front room. He hugged her one last time before leaving, already putting his teasing aside.
"Bye, Tails! Glad you're feeling better!" Amy called, just before Tails left.
"Thanks! Makes me wanna get out and DO something." He responded.
"Then let's get down to business." A deep voice rang out from behind.
{End chapter 3. Amy's gift: Massage.}