Blaze had been mulling over something Sonic had mentioned a little while ago. He'd compared her friendship with Silver to his own friendship with Tails, and while there was no doubt Sonic and Tails got along well, she felt that it wasn't a good comparison. But what did that mean exactly?

Sonic Tails were best friends, so did that mean she and Silver weren't? Off the top of her head, she couldn't think of anyone she was closer to, so that didn't seem right. Still, she couldn't really think too hard about this now. She'd agreed to teach Cream a little about the Sol Dimension

"As the princess of the Sol Dimension, I am officially in charge. Though my advisors tend to handle most matters, I still have to sign off on whatever they try to do."

"If your a In charge, how come you're a princess instead of the queen?" Cream didn't really get it. In the books her mom read to her, the queen or king was always in charge.

"Well, I'm still only 16, I won't be properly crowned queen until I come of age." She explained quickly even though she found it a bit pointless. "But frankly, I'm fine with this for the time being, If I were queen, there would be pressure to find a romantic partner"

"like Mr. Silver?" It was an innocent comment. Blaze knew it, and she could see how her relationship with Silver would look romantic to an outsider, but she still flushed a light shade of pink at the implication.

"Me and Silver aren't like that. We're close, but it's not a romantic relationship"

The young girl seemed surprised by that but accepted the answer. "What sort of person is Mr Silver to you then?"

That was rather a good question. She wasn't really sure. "I'm not really sure, saying we're merely friends doesn't quite do it justice…"

"Would the word be family?" Cream piped up.

"Family?"

"Well you make each other happy, and you're always keeping each other safe. That's what a family does, right?" Blaze paused Cream was making sense. Is that what Silver was to her? Family?

It seemed to fit more than best friends anyway, and in a sense, she could say she loved Silver… as family, of course. "Family…"

Blaze was pondering what the girl had said even as she left. "My mother and father were family… but me and Silver have a different relationship." She stopped for a moment gazing at the treeline "it begs the question, "What makes someone family?""

She mulled over this question for a short while until she ran into Amy. She remembered Vanilla had mentioned Amy was also visiting them today. "Oh, Hi Blaze, fancy meeting you out here."

"I was teaching Cream a little about my home, how about you?"

"Well I'm babysitting Cream, Vanilla is attending some night classes, so I volunteered to look after her."

"Oh, then I won't keep you" Blaze raised her hand to wave before pausing. "May I ask you a quick question?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"How would you define family?" She thought it best to get another opinion on this.

"Family? Where'd this come from?"

"Oh, I was just thinking about Cream and her mother." She lied. She wasn't even sure why this shouldn't be embarrassing.

"Well they're home life is certainly lovely, but if you want my opinion take on family, they come in all shapes, like… Team Chaotix, sure they're just a group of friends but they may as well be brothers. Family is just the people you care about most." Her take was rather simple, but it was clear she believed it. "Or that's what I think anyway."

"So then… could Silver and I be considered family?" Blaze thought outloud, not really expecting an answer.

"I always thought you and Silver were more like me and Sonic" Amy replied rather plainly had she been reading their relationship wrong?

Blaze felt her face heat up a little, Amy was the second person to make that mistake. Did she and Silver really give off that vibe?

Her thoughts were interrupted by an alarm on Amy's phone. "Oh right, I've gotta get going. Nice talking with you, Blaze!" Amy took off towards the house, not really giving Blaze the chance to respond.

By Amy's definition, She and Silver probably were family, but what Amy had said about them being like her and Sonic confused things. It was no secret how Amy felt about Sonic, so did Amy think that she loved Silver romantically? She'd never really thought to see him that way.

She did her best to shake off any thoughts of romance for the time being. She didn't want to make things awkward when she met up with him later today. She could just ask him how he viewed their relationship. Surely there was nobody better to ask?

As she arrived in White Park a little ahead of schedule, what Amy had said was still buzzing around her brain, what a ridiculous suggestion, Cream was right, any love she felt for Silver, was strictly familial.

She was cut off by Silver arriving at the park gate waving to her, and she immediately tried to calm down. With some success. They'd come here on a recommendation from Tails. Apparently, he'd been here before but was too distracted fighting Metal Sonic to go on any rides.

Blaze thought it was worth checking out anyway, An amusement Park on the top of a mountain was certainly unique. Though as the two of them sat down on the front of a roller coaster, she was swiftly reminded of her fear of heights.

Her claws dug into the cushioning on the safety bar as they climbed the first drop. Being on a roller coaster was one thing, but from up here, she could see the bottom of the mountain as well.

She could feel herself getting Dizzy, so she forced herself to look at Silver, who seemed… just fine, perhaps when you can fly, heights aren't all that scary. She tried to keep her focus on him until they were finally off the ride, and she shakily made her way to a bench.

"I don't often admit this… but I'm not the best with heights."

"Oh! I'm sorry, if I'd known I wouldn't have suggested the Roller coaster" He scrambled to apologise, but the cat shook her head.

"No, you had no way of knowing." She would take a few minutes to collect herself before speaking up. "Silver, would it be alright if I considered you a part of my family?"

"Y-You mean like marriage?" The young hedgehogs practically choked, not really understanding what she meant.

"No, not like that, it's just. I can be open with you, and we care about each other more than anyone. Isn't that what a family is?"

"Oh, you meant like that." She could have sworn he sounded a little disappointed. "Well, I never really had a family, so I don't have much reference, but if it's just being there for each other, then I guess you could say we're famil-"

He was cut off by Blaze pulling him into a hug, and he flushed deep red. "Wh-what's going on?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary. This is how family is supposed to act." She spoke confidently before pulling away. "But if it makes you uncomfortable."

"it's not that, it's just, in the future I was alone all the time so, I'm not really used to physical affection." He held swallow nervously before holding out his arms again "but we could try again." His cheeks were red, and he was struggling to meet her gaze.

But he felt his concerns melt away when she hugged him again. "Well you're not alone now, and don't feel nervous about asking your family to hold you, I'd do it anytime. After all, you'd do it for me."

To own Truth she still wasn't sure Family was the right word, but this did help her put her conflicted feelings aside for the time being, she didn't need to worry so much about labelling it, whether they were family or something more, she wasn't sure it mattered so long as they had each other to fall back on whenever they needed to.