As another Thursday morning began in Seaside City, people were rushing to get the final work days of the week out of the way, everyone exhausted and ready for the upcoming weekend. Slushie was among the ''second wave'' of working citizens, not the smaller wave of those cursed to get out of bed at an atrocious hour - not anymore, at least.

As usual, she walked with a small bounce in her step and a rhythmical tap on her bag, an uplifting rock song brightening her morning. Conveniently, the song ended just as she got to Café Chaotix, and she removed the earbuds, heading in. Some of her colleagues were already there and soon said their hellos.

''Mornin'! You seem chipper'', Vector grinned, going over some paperwork, a steaming mug of coffee in his hand.

''That's what walking with the best of Crunch 40 does to you.''

''Heh, can't argue with that.''

''Yoooo, they are so good for getting ya pumped at the gym!'' Mighty added, having heard the two. ''I'm always tryna make Knux listen to them but he prefers his dumb rap songs.''

''Pfft, dude's got no taste then. Anyway, baking, floor, or counter duty?''

''The morning crowd's on the move so we're gonna need ya on this side for now. Ray's at the counter and Espio is probably finishing up in the kitchen.''

''O-kkey, I'll be right back then!'' Slushie replied with a smile and headed to the back to get changed.

As she walked past the kitchen, she took a quick peek to see how Espio was handling things. It seemed like the last batch of cinnamon buns was almost done, and some croissants and bagels were waiting for their turn in the oven. Espio was washing the equipment as Slushie knocked on the door frame to announce herself.

''Good morning. There's some less presentable pieces if you'd like to try'', he smiled at her before nodding towards the table.

''There's no 'ifs' about that'', Slushie replied with a grin and snatched one floppy and slightly burned bun from the pan. ''Thanks, this is the best part of working at a café!''

''You better not tell Vector that or you might get banned from the kitchen.''

''Pfft, he's just as bad as I am. Worse, actually, if you count Vanilla's cooking, too.''

''True, true. Now shoo, there's been a few bell chimes and Mighty is alone on the floor.''

''Ah, right. Remember to leave some for the rest of us!'' Slushie waved and left with a laugh.

Espio waved back with a rubber-gloved hand and went back to polishing the cooking utensils, smiling softly.

Everything went smoothly at the café for the next few hours. Vector started playing the piano and the customers were fairly polite - it's not easy to be mad at Ray and his baby face and puppy eyes. He handled the counter well, and after a few moments of peace, lunch hour started, according to the number of people flowing in.

Among the crowd were two familiar faces. They joined the queue and soon claimed a table.

''I've seen you both here before but I haven't seen you both here before. What's up?'' Slushie greeted the two, stopping by.

''Joined forces to plan world conquest, the usual. Right, Zeph?'' Briar grinned.

''You do you, I just need some boiling black poison in me, stat. Exam season is gonna be the death of me'', deadpanned Zephyr, Slushie's younger brother.

''Riiight. You two continue whatever it is you're doing, I gotta move. Don't make a mess!''

Despite Briar's quip being an obvious quip, the two soon started sharing some very conspiratorial looks and words, huddling closer and whispering. After a while, they turned towards their sister/best friend with at least one pair of gleaming, evil eyes.

''It's still kinda gross but whatever. I'll blame you if and when she gets mad'', Zephyr shrugged, looking for a moment to strike.

The two observed the staff around the café, considering their options, until an opportunity showed itself.

''There!''

Slushie was walking past them with a tray of used dishes, and Espio was close by, cleaning a table. There was never going to be a better chance.

With Briar's commanding encouragement, Zephyr stuck his leg out slightly, ready for its victim.

Part of Slushie's field of view was covered by the dishes, so she didn't see the invading limb. Her foot was caught and she started to lose her balance, dishes beginning to topple. If it wasn't for Espio's swift and highly trained movement, they would have had to buy new tableware.

''Whoa! You okay there?'' A voice came from so close it shocked Slushie. She opened her eyes to see Espio holding her arm with one hand and the tray in another, steadying it against his chest. His visage held both surprise and worry.

Slushie was at a loss for words. ''Um... I guess? Thanks..?'' Her nearly white face began to gain colour as Espio still hadn't let go of her and was holding eye contact.

I never noticed he had yellow eyes.. That's so cool...

Laughing awkwardly, Slushie found her balance and stood up properly, finally breaking the eye contact and turning to look at his hand. That seemed to make Espio realize and let go of her arm. The two stood in silence for a second until some cheers erupted from the nearest table.

''I knew you were gonna catch her and the dishes! I've seen you save Vector's butt before!'' celebrated Briar with a smug grin and fist pumps.

Zephyr had the sense to look at least a little guilty. ''It was her idea but my leg. Sorry.''

''You realize Vector will not appreciate this, right?'' Espio asked the offenders.

''I...didn't think that far ahead, but.. yeah. At least the dishes are fine.. if that helps?'' Briar grinned apologetically.

''We'll let him decide that'', Espio replied sternly and pointed them towards the boss, who was already waiting for them, before turning to Slushie. ''Is your arm alright?''

She rolled her shoulder and moved the arm around to test it. ''Yeah, I think. Thanks. For catching me and, well, everything, heh. Also, sorry about these two. I don't know what their problem is.''

''Hopefully Vector will make sure they won't do anything like that again.''

''I've never seen him that serious. What's he gonna do?''

''Scare them a little and let them off with a warning, most likely.''

''I'll give them a piece of my mind when I can as well.''

''Now then, since everything's fine, let's get back to work. Here'', Espio said with a calm smile and gave her the tray she had been holding before the incident. Slushie gave him a grateful smile and went on her merry way towards the dishwasher.

Espio returned to cleaning the table, and while working, his mind kept going back to her icy blue eyes.

As the day drew to a close, Ray and Mighty approached Slushie.

''It's been a while since we've properly hung out with all of our friends, so we thought it would be fun to throw a party! What do you think?''

''Dunno where we could have it though, both our places are kinda sad.''

''I'm in, always ready to chill with some friends. Our place is a bit on the bigger side, so we could ask Briar? We got karaoke and Marxio Kart, too.''

''Epic. Would tomorrow be too soon? Gonna be the weekend and everythin'.''

''If everyone brings snacks and other stuff so we won't have to do everything, then, tomorrow's fine. I'm pretty sure Briar won't mind, either. You peeps are her friends too.''

''Double epic! I'll beat everyone in Marxio Kart even if it takes me until midnight!''

''Dude, you're gonna be the first one to drop. Both asleep and in game.''

''Pfft, guess we gotta wait and see. Who else did you have in mind?''

''At least everyone from the café, Charmy too! Cream and Silver as well since Briar's closer to them than us now.''

Oh she's closer to at least one of them alright.

''I don't think you don't know him but could Knux come? He might bring Rouge along as well.''

''Sounds good, the more the merrier. Should we make a group chat so we can plan this and more stuff like this in the future?''

''We'll do that! It's gonna be so much fun!''

''Is it okay to send memes to a group chat with your boss in it? Asking for a friend'', Slushie asked with a smug grin and the trio started to laugh.

''I'll go make sure it's fine with Briar before we get any more into it. I'll info you when you get the group chat going, alright?''

Both grinned widely before they exchanged goodbyes and went home.

It took Slushie quite some time before she realized what she just got herself into.

Guess I was gonna meet Espio outside work at some point, anyway. No need to get nervous. None.