Chillax, My Guy, It's Just A Spa Day
It was strange. Tails rarely wore anything other than his plain white gloves and his red and white sneakers; he was no stranger to being essentially naked, and yet, when he actually was naked, he felt the way most people did when they were completely unclothed: Exposed. Indecent.
Vulnerable.
Even the fluffy blue bathrobe the fox boy currently had wrapped around himself did little to alleviate this uncomfortable feeling that plagued him at present as he sat there on the edge of the massage table in the small, dimly lit room in the back of Pamperus Peculiarus, the 'salon and spa extraordinaire' that his kooky cat friend Xalonis proudly ran. The narrow bench on one side of the room was lined with plastic bottles and containers, many of which had pump dispenser lids. A vertical row of drawers and two cupboard doors were visible beneath the bench, each bearing an ornate, polished handle of painted gold. A small lamp was positioned on one side of the bench, currently the room's only source of illumination save for the light filtering in through the outline of the closed sliding door - the room's lone entrance and exit. Even now, Tails wondered if he should just open that door and walk out of here while he still could.
This wasn't the first time he had considered Xalonis' offer to give him any sort of massage. She'd given him a scalp massage numerous times while washing his hair at the shampoo basins in the salon part of the building, and she'd even managed to talk him into letting her give him a pedicure complete with a foot massage at one point… but the idea of a full-body massage was one that Tails had been sitting on for quite some time now, ever since Xal had casually suggested it to him in a joking manner:
"You need to pay another visit to my salon, Tails. A nice massage and a deluxe facial will set you right."
In truth, Tails had known even at the time that Xal hadn't been completely serious. That said, he didn't doubt that she'd have been willing to go the distance if he had taken her up on her offer right there and then… but even now, as he sat here, borderline nude, on the precipice of an honest-to-goodness spa massage, he wasn't sure if he himself was willing to go the distance. The thought of lying face-down on some glorified hospital stretcher, some stranger touching his bare back, his bare body while he just lay there, not even able to see exactly what was going on, what the masseuse was doing to him… It was at once oddly fascinating and absolutely terrifying.
Now, granted, Xalonis Peculiarus was hardly a stranger to Tails at this point; it was all but official that the two were dating, but there was still that little bit of uncertainty in Tails' mind when it came to the whole 'boundaries' angle - personal space and all that. The fox boy could still vividly recall the words Sonic had once said to him:
"If someone tries to touch you in a place or in a way that makes you uncomfortable, that's no good."
"Maybe I'm overthinking it," Tails murmured softly to himself as he sat there, glancing at the closed door, beyond which Xal was busying herself out in the hallway somewhere, getting ready to provide her friend and hero with the pampering experience that, he reminded himself, he had signed up for, that he had come to her seeking in the first place. "I know Xal would never do anything to hurt me. I just…" He sighed, glancing down at the floor. "A massage… It's just so… I mean, it's a big deal, isn't it?" He bit his lip and looked up at the ceiling. "Maybe this was a bad idea."
Little did Tails know that Xal was listening in on his every word from afar, thanks to the omnipotent nature she had within the walls of her signature place of business.
"Don't you worry, my guy," she whispered to herself as she fetched a neatly folded towel and a few other items from the supply closet. "I'll take good care of you today. I promise."
"If she doesn't come back within the next minute, I'm gone," Tails decided, glancing at the little wicker basket in the far corner of the room, in which his shoes, socks and gloves were currently stored. He sighed again. "Can't keep my composure in the presence of Chaos 0, can't go five minutes without needing Sonic to bail me out of a jam… I can't even commit to a spa day. A spa day!" he exclaimed aloud. He then shook his head. "It's no wonder I'm always the sidekick and never the—"
Knock, knock, knock.
"Tails?" Xal called softly from the far side of the door. "Are you ready?"
Tails' eyes widened slightly and he swallowed. "Uh, y-yeah," he managed to respond, the words tumbling out of his mouth automatically in a nervous stammer. 'As ready as I'll ever be, I guess,' he then added in his private thoughts, 'Which probably isn't saying much.'
The door slid slowly open with a soft rattling sound, Xal standing there, her bubblegum pink hair tied back in two pigtails. The cyan-furred, cat-like entity was dressed in a deep black tank top with the words 'Flower Power' written on the front in bright pink letters, both words having a round pink flower in place of the letter O. A short skirt of bottle green donned the girl's waist, her feet bearing her usual green and black shoes. She looked a little surprised to see Tails sitting so rigidly on the edge of the massage table, practically having hogtied himself with the bathrobe, so tightly was it wrapped around his torso… and then she smiled reassuringly at him.
"Chillax, my guy," she said in a hushed voice, moving to set the items she was carrying down on the bench and clicking her gloved fingers, causing the door to gently slide shut all by itself. "Xal The Gal's got you in good hands - literally."
"R-Right," Tails stammered, still keeping the bathrobe wrapped around himself like a straitjacket. "I mean, I know," he went on, forcing a chuckle. "I'm just… a little nervous, y'know? I mean, I… I've never done this before," he admitted, averting his gaze as he spoke.
"I'll let you in on a little secret, Tails: Neither have I," Xal told him as she came over and put a hand on the fox boy's right shoulder, giving it a very gentle squeeze. "You're the first client I've had in my massage parlour, but you needn't worry; I've watched at least a dozen online tutorials for this kind of thing, and let me tell ya: I know what methods I won't be using today because yikes," she exclaimed with a knowing chuckle. "You should see some of the remedial massage practices they've got going on over in Chun-Nan. Hoo, boy." She gave another chuckle before letting it fade. "Seriously, though, we're gonna keep it nice and simple today," she assured the modest fox cub. "Nice and gentle. Relaxation is the name of the game today, Tails, and if anyone deserves to be in relaxed bliss, it's you."
Tails sighed gloomily. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm as deserving of special treatment as you think I am, Xal," he mused. "I mean, look at me right now - I'm supposed to be second only to Sonic, the guy who has saved the world, like, a billion times, and here I am, trembling at the thought of one of the coolest girls I know rubbing a little massage oil on my bare back." He sighed again, casting his gaze downwards. "I'm kinda pathetic when you really think about it."
"Hey," Xal said gently but firmly, placing a hand under Tails' chin and gently lifting his head up to have his blue eyes meet her purple ones. "You are not pathetic, okay? Don't ever think that about yourself, Miles Prower. If you really were pathetic, Sonic wouldn't keep you on as his best friend and sidekick. Knuckles wouldn't respect you. Amy wouldn't adore you as a little brother figure. I wouldn't be wrapping my arms around you right now," she went on, indeed wrapping her arms around the highly intelligent fox cub as she spoke, "To give you a hug worthy of champions. You are my champion, Tails. My hero. My inspiration. You're the reason I use my powers for good, as opposed to how I used to use them: Luring people into my domain and scaring the absolute heck out of them just for a cheap laugh."
"Xal, could you… Could you let go of me, please?" Tails pleaded, sounding like he was struggling to get the words out.
"Oh! Sorry!" Xal said, quickly releasing the fox boy from her hold. "Too tight, yeah?"
"It's alright," Tails assured her. "I know you mean well." He then smirked lightly, a cheeky look in his eye all of a sudden. "It's good to know that your hair still smells like raspberries. It suits you, my gal."
Xal's jaw dropped in response to Tails' sly comment, and then she laughed and gave her friend and hero a playful slap on the back. "Oh, you and that cheeky mouth of yours!" she exclaimed. "Definitely been hanging around Sonic too long… You gonna start calling me Kitty McPinkHair or something like that next?"
Tails snorted with laughter at that. "Why, d'you want me to?" he asked cockily before beginning to laugh even harder, Xal following suit.
"Oh, I can't even…!" Xal exclaimed, reaching up and wiping a tear of mirth from her eye. "Looks like you're a little more at ease now," she commented more calmly. "What d'you say we get you settled down comfortably on this here table?" she said, lightly tapping the edge of the padded massage table with one hand. "No need to worry," she went on, once again speaking in a hushed, gentle tone of voice. "I'm gonna get some soothing ambience going to help you feel more chillaxed." On that note, she walked over to the bench and turned on the portable radio on one side of the counter. She and Tails were both taken aback, however, when jarringly loud rock music began to blare into the previously quiet atmosphere of the small room.
"WILL THE WHOLE WORLD KNOW YOUR NAME
WHEN WE DANCE WITH destiny…"
"Sorry! Sorry!" Xal cried in misplaced panic as she quickly turned the radio's volume down. Way down. "Forgot I had it set to that station… and turned up that loud."
"Well, that… certainly woke me up," Tails said after a moment, putting on a meek smile, trying to make light of the situation; the sudden blast of deafening music had nearly made him jump up and cling onto the ceiling in fright.
"Pretty much the exact opposite of what I was going for," Xal could be heard muttering, annoyed at herself for causing such unrest in her friend. She changed a setting on the radio and then very cautiously began to raise the volume, relieved when she heard soft piano music rather than over-the-top electric guitar riffs. "That's more like it," she said approvingly before opening one of the drawers under the bench, beginning to rummage around in it. "Now, where did I put my…? Ah! Here we go!" she said, holding up a miniature, motorised fountain. "Just what the doctor ordered, and I don't mean Eggman."
Tails rolled his eyes, but allowed himself a mildly amused smirk. "That guy wouldn't know relaxed if it grew from between the hairs of his moustache," he declared cheekily, causing Xal to snigger.
"Tell me about it. I've watched the guy's evening routine through my time-space windows a few times - out of morbid curiosity, you understand," she added quickly, catching sight of Tails' raised eyebrow. "He tries to do yoga before turning in for the night. Key word, tries," she stressed, causing Tails to snort at the mental image of Doctor Eggman of all people trying to awkwardly balance his distinctly rotund body in elaborate positions without falling over like an overturned turtle. "It's like watching someone play Twister by themselves… and lose to the mat."
That did it: Tails utterly guffawed. "Oh, man!" he exclaimed, chortling as he sat there, the bathrobe he wore now hanging more loosely around his torso.
"He actually ripped the back of his pyjama pants once while I was watching," Xal went on, catching Tails' eye and grinning at him, having just finished setting up the miniature fountain, flicking a switch on the side, causing the continuous sound of trickling water to accompany the gentle piano music, "And get this: White underwear patterned with little images… of Orbot and Cubot's heads."
"Pfft! GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!" Tails howled with mirth, sliding off the table and stumbling forward, throwing out a hand to break his fall, leaning against the closed door as he continued to laugh and laugh. "Oh, I am so bringing that up the next time me and Sonic fight him! I'll bet his moustache will tie itself in knots!" On that note, he fell to the floor and lay there, laughing like crazy. After a full minute of this, the fox boy finally started to settle down, Xal having watched him all the while. "Whew!" he exclaimed as he picked himself up off the floor. "I think I need a glass of water after that."
"Gotcha covered," Xal said, snapping her fingers and causing a glass of ice cold water to appear in Tails' hand. He was so surprised that he almost dropped the glass, but managed to maintain his grip and drain about half of its contents, letting out a little refreshed noise as he moved it away from his muzzle.
"That's better," he gasped. He then chuckled again. "Oh, man, wait 'til I tell Sonic about Eggman doing yoga! He'll crack up harder than I just did!"
"Okay, bring it down, my guy," Xal told her friend, once again placing a hand on his shoulder, clicking the fingers of her free hand to vanish the glass of water. She then used that same hand to take hold of the bathrobe fabric and gently pull the garment off of the two-tailed fox.
"O-Oh! Uh…" Tails managed nervously, letting out an awkward chuckle as he found himself standing there, completely nude. "Did it, um… Did it just get a little brisk in here?" he asked, a light blush forming under his whisker-like facial fur.
"Chillax, my guy," Xal told him. "You won't be chilly or exposed for long." She hung the bathrobe on a nearby hook and put an arm around Tails. "Just breathe, my guy; you'll be okay. I promise."
"Right. Yeah," Tails managed, indeed taking a deep breath, holding it briefly and then letting it out as he stood there. "Okay. Let's, um…" He glanced at the massage table, giving it one last wary, apprehensive look before adopting a more confident expression, a determined look in his eye. He took a step forward, his confidence immediately faltering. Xal gave him an encouraging nod, a gentle, reassuring smile on her visage, and Tails finally found it within himself to approach the massage table and clamber up onto it, where he then remained poised on all fours, like a non-anthropomorphic dog looking for an opportunity to jump off the veterinarian's examination table and make a run for it. Xal giggled at the sight of him.
"Seriously, chillax, my guy," she told him once again, stepping up to Tails and gently running a gloved hand along the fur of the fox boy's bare back. "C'mon, just lie down and take it easy," she went on, tenderly coaxing him into finally lying down with his head resting in the opening at one end of the table's padded surface, leaving him staring down at a curious semi-rectangular device with a polished white surface that was positioned almost directly adjacent to his face. Before he could ask about it, he felt Xal gently tousle his head fur. "There you go. Nice and comfortable, yeah? Head rest need adjusting or anything? No? Good," the kooky cat girl declared, reaching under the table and flicking a switch on the side of the white device, causing a faint, wispy vapour to start slowly and gently emanating from it. The vapour reached Tails' nostrils and he instinctively sniffed at it, finding the scent to be quite pleasant. "That's my new aroma diffuser," Xal told him. "I filled it up with lavender oil earlier. Thought it might help you to—"
"Chillax?" Tails finished for her knowingly, indeed already finding the fragrance to be somewhat soothing to his senses. Xal removed her white gloves and set them down on the bench, which she then picked up a small pump bottle of massage oil off of. She frowned slightly as she held it, then clicked the fingers of her free hand. The container was suddenly radiating with a gentle warmth, causing the anomalous cat girl to smile in satisfaction.
"If you're ready, Tails, I'm going to get started now, 'kay?" she said, dropping her voice to a whisper. "I'll begin by applying some of this oil to your shoulders and upper back," she continued, gently tapping her fingers rhythmically against the bottle's surface to create an ASMR effect. "I'll then spread it around a bit, and that'll help my fingers to just glide over that soft, snuggly fur of yours once I start massaging. Sound good?"
"Yeah…" Tails mumbled, his voice as hushed as Xal's now, the fox boy's posture making it seem as though he had sunk into the padded fabric of the massage table somewhat. Xal made a mental note that lavender essence had a decidedly profound calming effect on her hero as she went about gently squirting a few pumps of oil onto Tails' upper back. It was a sensation that he found odd, yet pleasantly warm, so he was able to remain at ease as Xal prepped him for the main event. She soon set the bottle aside and began to smear the oil all across Tails' exposed back with her fingers, gently covering his torso in the slippery substance. Tails didn't even react; the combination of soft music, gentle water sounds, aromatic vapours and Xal's tender, accomodating touch had him wrapped up in a veritable spell of calm, and when Xal's fingers found his shoulders and began to firmly yet gently caress them, he sank even deeper into the fabric and let out an audible sigh of contentment, which utterly delighted his masseuse; she was doing her job right, it seemed, and such pleased her like nothing else could. Xal always aimed to please with her salon and spa services, doubly so where Tails was concerned, so knowing that he was deeply content made her content on a veritably rapturous level.
Xal's fingers reached the back of Tails' neck and he tensed slightly, the fox boy's ticklish nature no doubt coming into play, but Xal made sure that her touch was as firm as it was gentle. She began to make circular motions with her thumbs, gently kneading the sides of Tails' neck before working her way inwards, soon reaching the centre of the back of his neck and making her circles smaller before bringing her thumbs to a stop, her digits meeting each other in the middle. She then proceeded back outwards, slowly but surely easing any tension out of Tails' neck, his head positively slumped where it rested now, the fox cub's eyelids starting to droop, a lax smile on his face, the aroma of lavender starting to make him space out just a little. His breathing slowed, his torso visibly reflecting such with longer, deeper rises and falls.
Xal continued to work on Tails' neck for another minute, then she gave his shoulders some more attention for a couple of minutes, finishing by giving both of them a firm but gentle squeeze, and then she went about working on his upper back, using a series of motions akin to karate chops with her hands, albeit much more rapid and far more gentle, to gingerly knead the tension from her friend's torso. This seemed to cause Tails to stir from the veritable stupor that he had evidently been sinking into, but he soon settled once more as Xal disengaged from the chopping motions, instead gently taking hold of Tails' ungloved left hand, gently bending his fingers back, careful not to bend them to the point of causing Tails pain, and giving each digit a gentle squeeze in turn, allowing Tails' hand to fully relax as she let it hang limply over the side of the massage table once again. She then moved around to the far side of the table and did the same for Tails' other hand, the fox boy letting out another little sigh of contentment as she did so, causing his self-appointed masseuse to smile; her guy was indeed thoroughly chillaxed.
Xal gave Tails' back a quick once-over, making sure that there was no oil just sitting loosely on his back like spilled liquid. The lukewarm substance had made his fur glossy and smooth, her fingers gliding across it as though it were butter. The anomalous cat girl then began giving Tails' legs some attention, soon working her way down to the fox boy's feet… and even before her hands reached the latter, Tails very noticeably tensed, and he was practically rigid this time, and Xal knew exactly why; if the back of Tails' neck had been a little ticklish, that was nothing compared to just how sensitive the soles of his feet were. It was hardly an exaggeration to say that the lightest touch would send the two-tailed youth through the ceiling, especially if it came without warning.
"I'm going to start on your feet, Tails, my guy," Xal whispered, making sure that he could hear her. "I'll be as gentle and tender as I can be. Are you ready?"
Tails swallowed nervously. "Y-Yeah," he managed, closing her eyes and preparing for an experience that might very well make him jump off the table and go onto orbit.
Xal began to gently caress Tails' feet, the fox boy instinctively trying to yank his feet from the cat girl's grasp, the tickling sensation already getting to him, but Xal was ready and managed to maintain her hold, shushing her friend and hero as she continued to massage him. "It's okay, my guy. Just relax. I've got you." Tails responded by letting out a little moan of apprehension, and Xal realised that there was no getting around the fact that her client was as ticklish as anything where his feet were concerned. "If you need to giggle or laugh, just let it out, my guy; I won't think less of you, 'kay?"
Tails just moaned again in response… before he indeed let out an involuntary giggle as Xal gently caressed the sole of his left foot. Her cheeky side getting the better of her, she decided to do the same that she had done with the fox cub's neck and began to make firm but gentle circular motions along his sole with her finger, causing the fox boy to let out an involuntary yelp.
"Xal!" he exclaimed, his cry coming out peppered with light laughter.
"Just testing your reflexes, my guy," Xal responded, unable to keep the devious grin off her face as she lay his foot back down and proceeded to work on his other foot, being just a little more vigorous with her circular motions, causing Tails to chuckle out loud, his fur arched and his namesake visibly bristling.
"Xal, plehehease!" the fox cub whined, or rather giggled, his mouth forming an involuntary smile as he spoke.
"Okay, okay," Xal assured him, bringing Tails' right foot to rest, much to the young inventor's relief. "I've had my fun." On that note, she moved away from the massage table, which piqued Tails' curiosity for a moment, but then his eyes widened as a worrying idea occurred to him; was Xal about to come at his foot with a feather?!
"Huh?" Tails murmured aloud in puzzled surprise as he felt Xal gently place something very smooth and distinctly warm… no, distinctly hot against his upper back; not enough to burn his skin though his fur, but definitely hot enough to notice. Another smooth, heated object was then placed down in the very centre of his back before one more came to rest on his lower back at the very point where his back ended and his posterior began.
"Hot stones," Xal explained softly. "The online videos I watched said that these were really good for working out the hard-to-knead tension. Thought it might help after teasing your soles just now. They're… not too hot, are they? I heated them up to the recommended temperature and all, but…"
"It's fine, I… I guess," Tails said, sounding a little uncertain. "I'm just not used to having heated objects against my back back, I guess."
"Well, if you feel like they're burning you at all, let me know and I'll vanish 'em with a snap of my fingers," Xal told him. "The last thing I want is to cause you any pain, my guy."
"I know, and thank you, Xal," Tails said sincerely, his kind words reassuring the kooky cat girl as she went about moving each hot stone in turn along Tails' back in circular motions, pressing down moderately firmly as she did so. Tails winced slightly at first, but soon seemed to relax somewhat, though not completely; it was clear that while he did not outright object to the ongoing process, it wasn't exactly soothing him into sleep or anything like that, so after giving each section of his back a quick once-over with each stone, Xal quickly removed them and placed them aside, hissing slightly in a decidedly feline manner as she did so.
"Wow, they really are hot stuff, aren't they? Heh," she said, chuckling weakly at her bad joke.
"It wasn't too bad," Tails tried to assure her. "Like I said, I'm just not that used to hot stone massage therapy."
"Maybe we should stick to regular old massage therapy from now on," Xal decided. "I'm almost finished, anyway." On that note, she oiled up her hands anew, gave Tails' back, neck and shoulders one more fairly quick round of caressing and kneading before doing the karate chopping motion along his torso again, almost as though she were patting him down, and then finally, she placed a warm, fluffy towel over the fox cub's bare back and actually did pat him down somewhat, drying his fur while soaking up any excess oil. "Alrighty," she said aloud once she was done, "How you feeling, my guy?"
"Pretty good," Tails admitted, lifting his head up slightly. "That was… really nice, actually."
"Yeah? Well, I'm not quite finished yet, my guy." Xal said as she gently removed the towel from Tails' torso. "Can you turn over? I wanna make sure you're well done on both sides before I add the paprika."
"Hardy har," Tails said knowingly, rolling his eyes at Xal's cheesy joke. He obliged her request, the kooky cat girl placing a pillow under his head as he did so. She then clicked her fingers and was suddenly holding a folded blanket in her arms, which she proceeded to gently drape over Tails, much to his puzzlement. "You tucking me in for a nap or something?" he asked half-jokingly.
"Well, if you do fall asleep, it'll mean that I'm doing my job better than I hoped," Xal told him somewhat slyly. "Remember when I said that a massage and a deluxe facial will set you right next time you're at my salon? Well, guess what?"
Tails' face fell. "A facial?" he repeated, sounding both apprehensive and a little distasteful. "Isn't that kinda… girly?"
"Says the fox who purrs like a kitten when I wash his head fur with a sweet-smelling shampoo and loves to sit under the dryer with a lifestyle magazine afterwards," Xal answered, her words now dripping with sly knowing as she leaned down and switched off the aroma diffuser.
"You promised you wouldn't make fun of me for that!" Tails exclaimed indignantly, prompting Xal to laugh at the fox boy's adorably pouty expression. After a long moment, Tails sighed. "Alight, fine, I'll… I'll give this facial thing a try, just this once," he said at last. "Amy tried to talk me into doing something like this once, and given a choice, I'd rather have you smear a bunch of goopy… stuff on my face than her," he admitted. "At least you probably won't prattle on about how 'dreamy' Sonic is while you're doing it."
Xal guffawed at that. "Oh, indeed not!" she exclaimed, chortling as she moved out of Tails' line of sight, soon gently wrapping another warm, fluffy towel around the top of his head, covering his triangular ears, though not to the point where he couldn't hear anything. "Yeah, Amy's… pretty hardcore when it comes to Sonic, huh?"
"That's one word for it," Tails muttered, allowing himself a small, knowing smirk. "So, um, what exactly does this 'deluxe facial' involve besides—?" he then started, but Xal shushed him gently.
"You just chillax, my guy," she told him. "When you walk outta here, you'll feel like a new fox."
"Yeah, but I won't actually be a new fox, right?" Tails asked somewhat childishly, prompting Xal to giggle.
"Why would I want to change what is already perfect?" she asked, leaning forward and planting a quick, light kiss on Tails' right cheek, causing him to blush profusely, his entire face turning bright red underneath his facial fur. "Seriously, chillax, my guy - it's just a spa day."
"Yeah, but with 'Xal The Gal' on the job, literally anything could happen," Tails pointed out, smirking once again. Xal, on her part, grinned.
"Can't argue with that," she said, raising one hand and snapping her fingers. The world around Tails suddenly slipped away, quickly being replaced by an incomprehensible blur - a veritable whirlwind of sounds and colours that he could scarcely focus on, let alone make any sense of. He suddenly found himself soaring through the air - not by the grace of his twin tails or his beloved plane, the Tornado, but rather by holding his arms out at his sides, his outstretched limbs somehow carrying him through the sky without him so much as flapping them. He was drifting on the breeze… only there was no breeze. There was no sky. There was no anything that could be considered logical. There was no up, no down, no how, no why. There was only Tails… and this wondrous floating sensation that had him wrapped up in total bliss.
Sometime later, from what seemed like trillions of miles away, Tails heard someone softly call his name. He became aware of the fact that he was lying down, his mind starting to reconnect with reality. He felt incredibly deeply relaxed, so much so that he didn't want to move. There was a curious gentle weight resting atop each of his closed eyelids, suggesting that something had been placed there. His face also felt pleasantly cool and kind of… damp? Actually, no, it was more… mossy.
"Tails, my guy, can you hear me?" Xal's voice came from his left in a tender whisper.
"…Mmm?" Tails managed in response. He didn't want to open his mouth to reply properly; he was far too comfortable right now.
"I just finished applying the masque to your face, my guy, and I've placed cucumber slices over your eyes," Xal explained softly. "I'm gonna give you a few minutes of alone time while the masque opens up your pores underneath your facial fur. When I come back, I'll gently clean it off and you can sit up and get dressed. Sound good?"
"Hmm," the fox boy replied, raising one hand to give a thumb's up, a smile visible amidst the citrus-scented green paste that covered his furry visage. Xal couldn't help but giggle at the sight of her friend and hero; he looked silly, adorable and deeply content all at once.
"Okay. I'll see you in a bit," the kooky cat girl told him. On that note, she quietly opened the sliding door and filed out of the room, gently closing the door behind her, leaving Tails alone in the quiet, tranquil atmosphere. He sighed contentedly.
'Well, I know what I'm gonna be doing same time next week,' he found himself thinking, a grin slowly but surely spreading across the two-tailed fox's masque-adorned face. 'This is the life.'
"Heh. You got it, Tails," Xal said quietly to herself with a knowing smile out in the hallway, again listening in on the two-tailed fox from afar, able to hear even his private thoughts. "Anything for my lo—" She cleared her throat, suddenly finding herself blushing profusely, her face growing hot. "A-Anything for m-my guy," she corrected herself, chuckling nervously.