Track 14
Morning came much too fast as the sound of a nearby rooster woke them both from a peaceful sleep. They both sat up quickly and looked at each other. It didn't take long for either of them to remember where they were or what had happened the night before. Hikari couldn't help but laugh at how ruffled his hair was. He had little pieces of hay sticking out everywhere!
He chuckled as she started picking the pieces out. It wasn't the first time he had fallen asleep in that barn, so he was used to waking up with hay in his hair. When she finished, he took her hand and pulled her close to plant a small kiss on her cheek.
Crow took the blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders as he searched around for her clothes so that she could get dressed. He looked for his after and packed the blanket back in the bag.
"I know it's pretty early, but we might want to go ahead back. If you're still tired, you can take my bed," the hedgehog said as he helped her up.
She smiled. Without saying a word, she leaned into him and just held him close to her, wanting just a few more moments alone with him. She honestly didn't care if she got to go back to sleep or not. He looked down at her, a little surprised at the sudden affection but hugged her close to him.
When she was finally ready to let him go, he grabbed his hand and smiled up at him. "Okay, let's go."
The moment they walked through the door, they heard the sound of Crow's mother's voice as she walked out to the hallway to meet them. "And where have you two been all morning?"
At first she was only teasing until she saw the one stray piece of hay in Hikari's hair and picked it out. "Oh Crow.. You didn't make this poor girl sleep in that dirty barn of yours did you?" She looked to Hikari and put her hands on her shoulders. "I'm so sorry dear. You are welcome to go up and wash off in the tub."
Hikari chuckled at her motherly reaction. "It's really okay, ma'am. But I might take you up on that offer. A bath would be nice."
After getting a couple towels from his mother, Hikari made her way up to the bathroom and soaked in a nice hot bubble bath. She sighed as she relaxed into the water. She couldn't believe it was the end of the week already. They only had one night left before they had to head back to Midi City. While she was glad he was okay with keeping their relationship to themselves for a while, she hated the thought of not being able to spend as much time with him. Between work and their two bands.. it didn't leave much time for them to be alone together.
There just had to be a way. She couldn't lose what she had with him. Surely, Kamiko would understand.. Somehow, she had to talk to her about him. It made her so nervous. Hikari had never been with anyone before. So that on its own would make the lioness go crazy.
She took some water in her hands and washed her face. She had to tell her. If she could just tell Kamiko, it wouldn't matter if anyone else found out. He already said he didn't care what his friends thought, so why should she?
But then again.. Kamiko had a way of getting too excited over such things. What if she scared him away..? Was that even a possibility?
Hikari stared up at the ceiling. Keeping it a secret at first shouldn't be too hard. Kamiko spends nights in Aion's room quite a bit. She could always sneak to Crow's room on those nights. Then, once she felt like she is ready, she will tell Kamiko.
She let the water drain from the tub and wrapped herself in a towel. She stared at herself in the mirror and smiled. She was happy. That was the important part, right? She really wanted to talk to her about him.. Maybe she still could. She didn't have to give any names, right? As far as Kamiko knew.. she didn't know this guy, right?
Hikari got herself dressed and walked down the stairs. She could smell food cooking in the kitchen. Crow's mother must be making breakfast!
She stepped foot into the kitchen to see Crow placing plates of food on the table.. but only two. His parents must have already eaten. How sweet of him to wait for her. The more she paid attention, she realized that Crow was wearing an apron.
She gave a little chuckle. "What are you wearing, Hoglet? Is this because you made such a mess eating lunch yesterday?"
"Hm?" He looked up to see her smiling at him. Even if she happened to be judging him, her smile was contagious. "Wha? No! I.. uhh.. I made breakfast."
Hikari paused. "You.. did?" Was this the same Crow? She had no idea he cooked! Was he the perfect boyfriend or what? She took a seat at the table with a huge smile on her face. The pancakes he made looked amazing! She thought she might cry!
He took a seat next to her and watched her closely. Even if he was really hungry, he really wanted to see the look on her face when she took the first bite. It was his first time cooking anything from scratch.
She cut a bite off and dipped it in her syrup before sticking it in her mouth. The moment she did, her eyes popped open. She looked up to him with a hand on her mouth.
"So? It's great isn't it?" Did he really have to ask? Of course it was! But he was excited to hear her say it.
Or.. was it? She made herself swallow the bite. As much as she hated to admit it.. it was terrible. "Its.. wow, Crow. You made this?" she asked, avoiding telling him what she really thought of it.
"Yes I did! After you went upstairs, Ma and Pa left to make some milk deliveries, so I thought I'd surprise you!" He gave her a smirk as he got a bite on his own fork. Hikari watched nervously as he put the bite in his mouth. The moment he did, he scrunched his face up and spit it into his napkin. "Um.. You don't have to eat that if you don't really want to."
Hikari gave him a sad smile. She felt so bad. He was being so thoughtful. "I didn't want to tell you.. We can make more, though! I'll help you this time, okay?"
He smiled. "Okay.." Damn it.. The one time he wanted to make her something and he messed it up. At least they were going to be making them together this time.
Of course, making them "together" turned into her mixing all of the ingredients while the two of them teased each other. Before everything was said and done, Hikari flicked flour in his face, resulting to him dipping a finger in the batter and trying to wipe in on her face. He practically had her pinned against the wall when he finally got the goop on her cheek.
She growled at him and gave him a pout. "I can't believe you did that!"
"Oh come on.. It's really not that bad. Besides, now I can do this!" Before Hikari could question him, he licked the batter off her cheek and laughed.
"Gross!" She shouted, her face burning from embarrassment. "You can't do that!" She pushed away from him and went back to stirring the batter.
With a smile on his face, he wrapped his arms around her from behind and spoke into her ear. "Oh come on. You liked it. Admit it~"
She blushed a deep red and shivered when he spoke into her ear. "I never once said that.. Now go sit down while I finish these." She had an idea in mind, but he couldn't watch her while she did it. Something Hikari loved doing while making pancakes, was making them into little shapes. She knew exactly what to do for his.
"Oh, come on! I can see it on your fa-" he started, until she turned to him with a glare and pointed at his seat. "Alright, alright.." He sat down and drank his milk, silently pouting to himself.
It took a little longer while she made the little shapes in the pan, but finally she was finished. She brought his plate over to him and sat it in front of him. The pancakes on his plate were shaped just like his guitar, Red Tamohawk! How did she do that? Hers were made into cute little hearts, which he thought was adorable. "Hikari, these are awesome!" His eyes lit up as he dug in. They tasted so much better than the ones he had made.
"I'm glad you like them!" Hikari told him with a smile on her face. She watched him in admiration as they ate. It amazed her that in the course of only a week, she had fallen this hard for him.. Before the trip, they had grown to be the closest of friends. Besides Kamiko, she had never had that with anyone.
He was so much different than anyone she had ever met before. He was fun and a bit loud at times, but when they were alone working on music he was a little more serious. But coming home to his farm, she saw yet another side of him that never had the chance to come out at BRR.. She learned that he could also be very sweet and caring. Of course on top of that, he was very attractive.. He had just the slightest bit of muscle from working on his parents' farm and the cutest hair. And then there were his eyes.. They were a bright crimson red.. Her favorite color.
Once Crow finished his breakfast, he looked up to see the leopard staring at him. "Hikari..? What's up? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Hikari quickly swallowed her bite of pancake and looked away. How embarrassing to be caught.. After a few moments of silence, she looked at him again. "Thank you."
"Huh? But you ended up making breakfast for me.. I didn't do anything." He sighed at the realization that his surprise for her had turned out to be a failure.
"I'm not talking about that. I mean for everything, Crow. You have been absolutely amazing to me this week. It's really going to be hard going back tomorrow. I love it here.. Who knows where I would have ended up if you weren't at the bus stop that day.." She took his hand under the table. "I feel like I owe you so much."
He chuckled. If only she knew how much having her there actually meant to him. They were already so close before the trip. At that point, Crow realized he liked her more than just a friend. He was happy that now they were more than that. "Hikari.. You owe me nothing. It was nice to have someone with me all week. Not only that, but to have someone like you with me all week.. So thank you for being here."
Hikari felt tears filling her eyes. The thoughts of how things would be when they return to the city began entering her mind again. She sighed and shook those thoughts from her mind. They still had one night left. There was no sense in wasting it by worrying about going home.
Since Hikari turned out to be the one who made breakfast, Crow told her he would clean up if she wanted to relax somewhere. At first, she wanted to say no, but knew how disappointed he was over not making the perfect breakfast for her, so instead she agreed and went up to his room.
She sat down at the piano and took the cover off the keys. She took a deep breath and sighed before starting a soft tune. She couldn't explain it, but it had been a melody that she heard in her head all morning. She stopped immediately to write the notes down in her notebook. Before she knew it, she had a decent amount written.. Something that usually took her weeks to have done.
When she finished writing those down, she played it again, this time adding to it. She continued to play, slowly building up to a full length song. It was amazing! Never had she ever written a song that she was already so happy with that quickly. She almost felt as if the song was coming straight from her heart.
Down in the kitchen, Crow was just finishing up when he heard the piano in his room. Was she playing? As he walked up the stairs toward his bedroom, he noticed that his door was open and the music was in fact coming from inside. Quietly, he poked his head inside to see her sitting at the piano, playing with her eyes closed. Her Melodesian Stone was floating in front of her chest and shining brightly. Whatever song it was that she was playing, it seemed to be one that she was super passionate about. He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe as he listened.
When she finished, the shining faded and her stone returned to her chest. She let out a happy sigh as she opened her eyes to see Crow watching her. At first, she was embarrassed, but then it hit her. It was all him. He was the inspiration she needed to start writing music again. She stood up from the piano and met him at the door.
"Hikari.. That song was beautiful," he told her. Just as he opened his mouth to say more, Hikari grabbed his tie and pulled him into a kiss. He couldn't help but blush as she did this. It seemed to be her new favorite thing to do, and it flustered him every time.
She pulled away from the kiss and looked up to him, her teal colored eyes sparkling. She felt like the luckiest girl in all of Sound World. With Friday being the day of the week that his parents were out all day delivering milk to local businesses, she had him all to herself all day with none of his housework getting in the way, not that she had any problem with that.
He closed the door behind him and held her hand as she lead him back to the piano. With a big smile on her face, she picked up the acoustic guitar that was on the stand next to his beloved autographed guitar. She then took her notebook and turned to the page with the song she had just written and sat it in front of him. "Play this part," she said as she pointed to a line on the page.
Slightly confused, he did as she asked, followed by her playing another part on the piano. When she played before, he was most definitely impressed, but after hearing what it sounded like when they both played, he loved it even more. He felt so connected to her through that song.
When they finished playing, Hikari let out a happy laugh. "It worked.. That's exactly how it was supposed to sound!" She turned around and wrapped her arms around him. How amazing would it be to perform a song like that with him one day? She was determined to make that happen. She rested her forehead against his and just held him close. She felt so drawn to him, and couldn't get enough of his presence. It was like she was addicted to him…
"I love it, Angel. It might be the best song I've heard you write. What brought all of that up?" he questioned, while keeping her close to him.
After a few moments of silence, she started twirling his tie with her fingers. "You.." she responded. "You inspired me. I wrote this song for you, Hoglet. I've even titled it." She paused before continuing. "I'm calling it 'Red Addiction,' because.. well you are-"
He didn't let her finish, because in a way, she didn't have to. He knew where she was going with what she was about to say and if he was honest, it was the same way he felt about her. In the middle of her sentence, he lifted her chin and kissed her again. He rested his hands on her hips as she placed hers on his face. As the kiss grew more passionate, he leaned into her, causing her to sit on the piano keys, which made them both jump and pull away from each other. They laughed together at how ridiculous they looked. They were certainly going to enjoy the rest of this day alone together.
The day Hikari had been dreading for the last 24 hours had finally arrived. She was very excited to go back to the city to see their other friends, Kamiko in particular, but her time on the farm was probably the happiest time of her life. They both said their goodbyes to his parents, who told Hikari she would always be welcome back. It was the nicest feeling.
The bus ride that seemed to take so long on the way to the farm seemed so much faster on the way back. Neither of them said much on the way there, due to the fact that they weren't sure what to say without feeling emotional. Crow simply took Hikari's hand in his and was sure not to let go the entire ride back.
As they made it to their stop, they both stood in silence. They agreed to take different routes back to BRR, so that they would make it back at separate times, but neither of them were ready to do so. Hikari was the first to break the silence by throwing her arms around him and hugging him tight. "Thank you for everything," she said, struggling to hold back tears.
He held her close, feeling himself choke up at the sound of the sadness in her voice. "Don't be sad, my Angel. Besides.. I have something that might make this a little easier on you."
She pulled away and tilted her head to the side in confusion. What could he mean? The leopard watched as he opened his bag and pulled out the little Crow plush. She laughed back tears when she noticed he had placed a little gift bow at the top of his head. "Crow.. You didn't have to do this. He's-"
"Yours now.." he said, finishing her sentence. "I don't need him as much as you do. I know how happy that little plush toy makes you.
She hugged it close to her and sniffled before kissing Crow's cheek. "Thank you.. You're the best." There was no more holding back tears for her. After kissing him, she wiped her eye with the hand that didn't have the plush.
"Oh, trust me, I know," he said with a wink, which made her smile. He was so adorable..
"Oh! I have something for you, too.." She opened her own bag and dug around for something before handing him a folded piece of paper. "I want you to finish 'Red Addiction.' The song needs lyrics so that you can sing it.."
He smiled and read the notes on the page before carefully sticking it in his pocket. "I will. It will be my greatest work, yet~" he half-teased. "Thank you, Hikari."
She smiled and placed the plush in her backpack before hanging it over her shoulder. She let out a sigh. "See you tonight at the ramen house?"
"Of course," he replied and kissed her on the top of the head. "See you then."
After a few moments of the two of them staring at each other, they finally went their separate ways, with Hikari taking the shorter route. As she started walking, she turned to look at him again as he disappeared into a sea of people.. Their vacation was officially over.
Inside Angelica's, Kamiko and Aion sat waiting patiently for each of their friends to make it back.. or one of them was at least. Kamiko might not have been the most patient lioness in the world. "Last I heard, she was on her way back.. but that was hours ago! Where is she?"
"You must learn some patience, my darkness. She will return shortly. Did she say where she would be coming from?" Aion asked with one hand on his face.
She pouted and propped her chin in her hands. "No.. All she said was she was staying on a farm somewhere with some boy.. Hiki actually ran off and got a boyfriend.. can you believe that?"
A farm... with some boy... On the other side of the cafe, a certain fox happened to hear most of their conversation. Yaiba thought over what the lioness was saying to Aion, when he recalled a certain member of their band telling him that he would be spending vacation on his parents' farm. He looked to Kamiko and Aion, about to bring this up, when the bell on the door chimed, signaling that someone had just arrived.
"Hello..?" Hikari said as she came in.. but was immediately attacked by her best friend.
"HIKARI~!" Kamiko threw her arms around the leopard. "You're finally home! I'm so happy to see you! ...now talk! You have a lot of explaining to do! Where's your new boyfriend!? Why didn't you bring him here to meet us?"
She couldn't help but laugh. She knew she should have expected something like this. "Kamiko, he has responsibilities of his own. It's not that big of a deal. You'll meet him someday."
Kamiko growled and pouted just a bit. "Well you still owe me details."
"Fiiine.. I had an amazing time. I'll tell you more when it's just the two of us," she told her.
"Oh come on!" the impatient guitarist whined. "At least tell me how you met him.."
Hikari struggled to find the right words. How could she tell her how they met..? Just then, the bell chimed again as Crow entered and Hikari felt her face grow red. "Oh! Crow is back too!" she said, changing the subject.
As the hedgehog entered the cafe, the group greeted him, with Yaiba eying him suspiciously. He looked up to his bandmates with a smile. He knew that if he greeted Hikari first, things might seem too obvious.. right?
"Good to see you, Crow," Kamiko said quickly. "I'd love to stay and chat, but Hiki and I have some catching up to do!" She grabbed the leopard by the arm and practically dragged her out the door. Hikari looked to Crow and shrugged. At least she would see him at dinner.
As the girls left with Aion not far behind, Yaiba turned to look at Crow again. "You two came back rather close together, didn't you?"
"Wha-?" Crow responded, trying to keep himself from saying the wrong thing. "Who?"
So he was going to play dumb? That was fine.. "Hikari's vacation sounded pretty interesting," he replied. "It turns out she went to stay with 'some boy' on a farm, somewhere. Where again was it you said you were going to be, Crow?"
Ah, crap.. He figured it out that quickly? "Yaiba... You can't say anything. She doesn't want anyone to know just yet."
The fox couldn't help but smirk. Ultimately, he was happy for him, but it didn't mean he couldn't poke fun at his small friend. "Your secret is safe with me."
Crow let out a sigh of relief. If Kamiko were to find out that quickly, he could only imagine what kind of stress Hikari would have been under already. He didn't want that. The next time they were alone, he would have to talk to her and try to get her to bring it up to her herself, before another one of his bandmates said something to her instead…