Bluey bounced on her feet in anxious anticipation as she waited for Tails outside the hotel. She had decided to wear some of her fancier clothes for the occasion, clad in a flowing mint-green blouse with a red skirt, black socks and flats. She was wearing her bone necklace again to complete the look. Finally, she noticed Tails approaching as she quickly ran over to meet him.
"Where were you?! I've been waiting here ages!" she demanded as Tails checked his watch.
"Uh, Bluey, it's two minutes after eight," he responded as Bluey blushed, a bit embarrassed by her own eagerness. Tails was a little more dressed up as well with a pair of brown canvas pants, a black turtleneck, and a brown bomber jacket with white faux-fur lining. His jacket was emblazoned with an emblem of his twin tails over the left pocket.
"Oh, right, I guess...Uh...Shall we be going, then?" Bluey asked awkwardly as Tails chuckled and took her hand.
It was another beautiful summer day, and the city thankfully seemed relatively peaceful without any sign of Eggman or any of his robots. Tails showed her around, seeking out some of the more interesting stores, including many of the electronic and hardware outlets where he got the materials for many of his inventions. He also showed her a few arcades where they lingered to play some games, though the highlight was definitely the large public library, Bluey being an avid reader herself.
It was as they were leaving the library that Bluey's stomach growled. It was early afternoon at that point, and the better part of the morning had been spent walking around the city after all.
"I'm getting a bit hungry," she voiced as Tails nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, I'm a bit peckish myself, there's a few good places nearby I know of we could..." he started before they were interrupted as a blur of blue and red sped towards them as Sonic suddenly appeared before them as he came to a stop in front of Tails. Bluey let out a startled yelp, holding her skirt down as the wind Sonic's momentum generated blew past them, but Tails didn't flinch as the wind whipped his bangs and jacket back, seeming used to it.
"Hey, Sonic," he greeted his best friend, grinning.
"Hey Tails, what's up?" Sonic asked as he grinned back before noticing Bluey. "Who's your friend?"
"This is Bluey, she's here with her father visiting for a few weeks," Tails introduced. "Bluey, this is my best friend Sonic,"
"Um, hi..." Bluey greeted a little shyly. She'd heard a lot about Sonic ever since she'd come to the city, though now that he was standing in front of her, she wasn't sure what to think.
"We were just about to go get something to eat, I don't suppose you'd want to join us?" Tails proposed with a touch of sarcasm with those last words that suggested he already knew the answer.
"Aww yeah, NOW you're speaking my language!" Sonic agreed, chuckling. "So, the usual place, then?"
"Er..." Tails hesitated casting a glance at Bluey. "Actually, I was thinking we could let..." he started before Bluey herself quickly spoke up, not wanting to impose on the dynamic between the two.
"I don't mind, I don't know that much about American food anyway, so whatever you guys like would be fine," she assured her new friend.
"You're sure?" Tails asked as Bluey nodded her affirmation.
"All right then, chili dogs it is, I guess," Tails sighed.
Soon enough, the trio came to an open lot with a small, ramshackle food stand made from aging wood planks with peeling red paint. A crudely-lettered sign reading "Chuck's Dawg House" was painted on an uneven wooden plank nailed over the top of the service window. Inside, a plump brown-furred hedgehog with bushy quills silvered with age sat, much of his facial features obscured by bushy gray eyebrows and a mustache. Sonic immediately zipped over to the window, casually leaning against the counter inside the window.
"Hey there, Chuck, how's it going today? We'll have three of the usual, please!" he told him. The old hedgehog mumbled something unintelligible, seemingly used to the energetic young hedgehog's enthusiasm as he waddled out to a prep area behind a long wooden service counter. He set three buns inside their own long cardboard containers before pulling open the lid to a hot water vat and pulling out three hot dogs one by one with a pair of tongs. He then pulled the lid off a large metal tureen, stirring the contents before ladling a generous portion of chili over each dog and finishing them off with shredded cheese, onions, and chopped jalapenos.
He set each container on a long wooden service tray that he brought over to the counter, mumbling more unintelligible things. The tray had barely touched the counter before Sonic sped up, the tray seemingly disappearing and being replaced by the money Tails had given him.
"Thanks, Chuck, you're the best!" Sonic called over his shoulder as he arrived at the nearby picnic table where Tails and Bluey were waiting. Bluey had been a bit unnerved with how fast Sonic moved all the time even when he didn't need to at first, but she was starting to get used to it. Sonic set a chili dog in front of each of them before eagerly sitting down and picking up his own, taking a huge bite. Tails chuckled, shaking his head slightly as he picked up his own and was about to take a bite when he noticed Bluey looking down at hers uncertainly.
"Everything all right?" he asked as Bluey cast him a sidelong glance, blushing a bit in embarrassment.
"Well, it's just...I've never had anything like this before, and it seems kind of weird putting chili on a sausage...I don't usually like spicy food all that much either," she admitted sheepishly, picking at a jalapeno.
"It's all right, you don't have to eat it if you don't want to, there's a few other places nearby we could," Tails started before Bluey shook her head, realizing she was being a bit ungrateful. She'd been the one to agree to try her new friends' favorite food after all, it would be rude not to at least try it. She knew her father wouldn't stand for such behavior if he were there either.
"It's all right, I said earlier whatever you guys liked would be fine," she reassured him as she carefully picked up the somewhat messy provision. She hesitated a moment as she got a close-up view of it, the chili dripping off the bun somewhat before she closed her eyes and tentatively took a bite. Her eyes widened as she took in all the flavors; the hot dog tasted a bit weird at first compared to the sausages she was used to, but combined with the heat of the chili and the spiciness of the onions and jalapenos, it created an amazing flavor experience.
She dug into the chili dog with great gusto, savoring each burst of flavor with each bite. All at once, there was a slight crunch and she let out a muffled squeal as she became aware of a sharp pain before she finally became aware of her surroundings again; Sonic and Tails were staring at her, Sonic still holding half of his chili dog, Tails' own dog paused halfway to her mouth. She then realized her own chili dog was gone, chili smeared around her face and a bit on her shirt and her hand that she'd just bitten into was still in her mouth. After another awkward moment, Sonic broke the silence as he burst out laughing.
"Wow, Blue, I know I eat fast sometimes but...Ow!" Sonic was cut off as Tails leaned across the table and punched him in the shoulder. He rounded on him, though stopped as he saw the pointed look on Tails' face.
"Right, why don't I go grab some napkins?" he suggested, zipping back to the counter and giving the two of them a moment alone. Tails turned back to Bluey as she blushed and looked away, idly licking some of the chili off a hand.
"Hey, it's all right, you're not the first one to get a little overexcited when trying a new food...Granted, chili dogs aren't exactly an easy food to keep tidy with," he tried to reassure her as Bluey slowly tried to turn towards him before she turned away again, blushing a bit deeper as she continued licking her hand and the slight bite mark she'd left in it. Tails looked away as well before he cast a sideways glance at her and a mischievous smirk spread across his face.
"Well, would you at least let me help you a bit with that?" he asked, taking her other hand by the wrist as he sucked the chili off a finger. Bluey looked back at him, her face redder than ever before at that action as she panicked.
"H-Hey...Get off!" she demanded, pulling her hand away before shoving his face away. She then gasped as she realized she'd forgotten her hand was still covered in chili, leaving a smear of it on his cheek. He slowly traced a finger through the smear and looked at it.
"Oh, so it's like that, is it?" he asked as he wiped more fingers in the chili and started trying smearing it on her face in return. Bluey shrieked as she tried to block his hand, giggling as she tried to playfully slap him with the chili still on her other hand. This soon devolved into what was practically a small-scale food fight between them before they heard someone clear their throat behind them. They paused, slowly turning to find Sonic holding a small stack of napkins as he grinned down at the two of them.
"Oh, right," Tails quickly grabbed one of the napkins, embarrassed as he quickly started wiping his face to hide his own blush. Sonic chuckled as he sat down and picked up his chili dog once more. There was a bit of an awkward silence as Sonic and Tails slowly finished their chili dogs before Sonic seemingly had an idea.
"Hey Tails, I know you're showing Bluey around the city, but how about the two of us give her the express tour so she can see things like we do?" he suggested. Tails seemed a bit apprehensive as Bluey looked between them, somewhat confused.
"Express tour? What do you mean?" she asked as Tails awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.
"Well, you know how you told me you saw the two of us doing our thing against Eggman and his robots when you and your dad got into the city? Sonic's suggesting trying zipping around the city like that...Just, you know, without the robots, lasers, explosions and stuff," he explained.
"I can easily carry you while flying if you want to try it, but it's sort of...Intense if you're not used to it, so if you'd prefer to stay on the ground..." Tails went on before Bluey shook her head, her eyes shining with excitement.
"No...That...That sounds amazing, actually!" Bluey admitted, albeit a little shyly. "So, how would we do this?" she asked as Tails stood up, spinning his twin tails and slowly hovering several feet above the ground before reaching down.
"Well here, reach up and grab onto my wrists, and I'll hold onto yours," he told her as Bluey stood up, reaching up and taking his wrists, her heart pounding as she felt his firm grip around her own wrists. Tails then pulled her up as he slowly ascended a little more until Bluey was dangling a short distance off the ground, kicking her feet a little as she looked down at her shadow on the ground under her.
"This isn't so bad so far," she relented as Tails smiled down at her.
"Then shall we try going a little higher?" he asked as his tails spun faster and Bluey let out a little squeal as he pulled her several feet up above the parking lot until it seemed Sonic was a little smaller from where he stood looking up at them.
"Okay, a bit higher than I was expecting, but this is fine," Bluey responded as her heart pounded harder and she was clearly a bit more nervous. "Just...Please don't drop me..." she pleaded as Tails chuckled a little.
"Relax, you're in good hands...I carry Sonic like this on a regular basis and haven't dropped him yet, and you've seen how he eats chili dogs now!" he assured her.
"Well, he hasn't dropped me this week at least!" Sonic called up to them as Bluey shrieked, squirming in Tails' grip.
"Okay, I think I want down now!" she panicked as Tails rolled his eyes.
"He's teasing you, I've carried him around for years and the only time he's fallen is when he literally jumped down on his own...I wouldn't recommend you do that, though, he knew what he was doing when he did that," he quipped, teasing her a bit himself.
"O-Okay," Bluey conceded, seeming to calm down slightly, though she still seemed a bit nervous.
"All right, now how about we show her a REAL ride?" Sonic suggested before he sped off as Bluey watched him, confused about what he meant.
"What did he mean by that?" she asked, looking up at Tails as he sighed before looking back down at her.
"He wants to race," he explained simply.
"What?! But it's so...That's...Wait, can you even fly that fast?" Bluey ran through a bit of an emotional roller coaster before her thoughts finally chose a certain tack.
"Well, I'm not nearly as fast as he is, but I can definitely keep up!" he told her, chuckling. "Here, let's get up a bit higher so I can see where he went," he suggested and Bluey's heart pounded upon hearing that, squeezing Tails' wrists harder as they rose further into the air. Once they were above the rooftops, her apprehension soon turned to wonder as her eyes widened, taking in the sights of the city.
She had thought the view of the city from the plane had been amazing, but hovering here just a short distance above it where she could see everything in more detail was something else. Tails himself didn't seem to be paying attention to the sights, instead seeming to be looking for something below them. After a moment, he noticed a telltale blue streak speeding around a corner on the streets below.
"Ah, there he is," he said mostly to himself as Bluey gave a surprised yelp as they suddenly dove down towards the street as Tails whipped around the corner in pursuit of his friend. Bluey was startled at first, but soon enough found the experience exhilarating as they flew above the streets, the wind rushing through her fur and past her ears.
Tails smiled as he looked down and saw this, starting to show off just a little as he started dipping and diving, swooping under street lamps and around signs as he slightly swung Bluey under him. He was careful enough not to actually get close enough that she was in danger of actually hitting anything, though it seemed real enough to Bluey herself. After a particularly steep dive, Bluey swung upwards slightly and found herself looking up at Tails' face. A slight grin played across his muzzle while his eyes seemed focused and determined, his bangs blown back by the wind.
Bluey blushed slightly as she admired him for a moment before he dived again as she looked down and saw they were closing in on a familiar blue blur. Although they were flying considerably fast themselves, it seemed Sonic was always several feet ahead of them. At this speed, she could make out some of his features rather than just a blue blur, although his feet remained a vague disc of red from how fast they were moving.
Sonic noticed them behind him as he turned back and grinned, flashing a thumbs up. Tails smiled and nodded, although he couldn't return the gesture while still carrying Bluey. Sonic then pointed up and suddenly veered to the right, running straight up a building. Bluey stared up in awe at the feat before she found herself ascending rapidly as Tails quickly followed right behind him.
Sonic came to a sudden stop on the edge of the roof, crossing his arms and waiting as Tails flew above the roof before carefully descending until Bluey's feet rested flat on the roof before letting her go.
"Whoa!" Bluey stumbled forward a bit, a little unsteady after suddenly finding herself back on solid ground as Tails quickly landed, coming to help support her.
"You okay?" he asked as Bluey slowly seemed to be regaining her balance and nodded.
"Yeah, I think so..." she acknowledged, seeming a bit more steady. Tails smiled as he took her hand, leading her over to the edge of the roof where Sonic stood as Bluey once again marvelled at the view of the city below sparkling under the sun.
She was beginning to appreciate just how wild and free the life of Tails and his best friend seemed from this short experience. It was unlike anything she could have imagined, and she couldn't imagine how much more intense it could've been like when they were fighting Eggman like she'd seen them the day she'd arrived. It made her wish she could do something like that herself.
She stole a glance over to Tails next to her, blushing again but smiling as she gripped his hand a little tighter, for the moment happy she could share this experience with him for now.