Note: Thanks Pybro2 for beta-reading this fic

As Sonic continued exploring the forest, he eventually came to a particularly large tree. Sonic proceeded to use Tangle's tail to shoot to the top. From there, Sonic took a look around, marveling at the vast forest.

While looking, he noticed what appeared to be brief blue flashes in the distance, stopping suddenly each time. That looks like me running alright so that must be Tangle in my body. Better see if I can meet her. Sonic used the tail to slingshot back to the road. He made it just in time, as Tangle in his body hit yet another tree before collapsing. "Not easy being the fastest thing alive, is it Tangle?"

Tangle, dazed, shook her head back into lucidity. Upon her vision clearing she saw, well, herself. "Oh, hi Sonic. It's freaky seeing myself like this, like a mirror without any glass."

Sonic giggled, "You can say that again! I'm guessing you've been having fun crashing my body?"

Tangle answered embarrassedly, "…You're not wrong."

Sonic then said, "Hey, I don't blame you. My speed is awesome and it would be hypocritical to criticize you after using your tail all day. But, I don't remember where you stay, could you show me?"

Tangle replied, "Sure thing. Need a lift?"

Sonic gave an uncomfortable smile. "As much as I already miss my speed, probably not."

Tangle, embarrassed, laughed. And so the swapped duo walked to Tangle's home.

On the way, Sonic teased, "How many trees did you run into on your way here?"

Tangle scratched the back of her head, "…You don't wanna know."

They began their run back to Spiral Hill. Tangle made sure to run at a pace she knew her body could handle. When they got to Tangle's home, she asked, "Well, since we're in this mess together, what do you suspect caused it?"

Sonic smirked, "Isn't it obvious? It was The Meteor."

Tangle laughed, "Makes sense, except not really. Even compared to the Chaos Emeralds, that is weird."

Sonic answered, "I know, sounds like a cartoon, doesn't it?"

Tangle replied, "Yep. Wonder if we'd be believed if we told anyone?"

Sonic then wondered, "So you haven't told anyone either?"

Tangle shrugged, "Just didn't seem worth the trouble, especially when I want a chance to cut loose with your speed safely. What about you?

Sonic smirked, "If Knuckles ever found I was suddenly in a girl's body and that I didn't immediately want to reverse it, he'd never let me hear the end of it!"

Tangle wondered, "I haven't gotten to know him much besides that he protects that Emerald. It would be nice to visit Angel Island again sometime. Speaking of which, how weird is this for you considering all your many adventures?"

"At the top, but only barely." Sonic replied.

Tangle did the star eyes with Sonic's face, "I tricked Tails into explaining a bit about that, but I badly want to know what could rival this from the man himself!"

Sonic teased, "You're the man here currently!"

Tangle chuckled, "You know what I meant."

Sonic then proceeded to explain various weird adventures to Tangle to kill time, such as meeting Knuckles, the Chaos Incident, the missing moon chunk, and the werehog.

Tangle then asked, "Wait, 'Werehog'?"

Sonic explained, "Long story, but due to dark energy I became bigger, stronger, and gained stretchy and stronger limbs at night."

Tangle asked, "So like a werewolf? Does it still happen?" Then it hit her and stars appeared in Sonic's eyes, "Could we be stretchy buddies?!"

Sonic chuckled, "No. Sorry."

Tangle pouted, "Why did I have to meet you so late?"

Sonic answered, "I've seen the world. It's easy to miss a fortress on a hill on one island. Anyways, care to tell me how your day went?"

Tangle answered, "I got up early this morning. I would have grabbed your phone with my tail, but since it wasn't there I quickly realized I was in your body. Tails didn't suspect a thing as I ate breakfast and left. I ran around the island, including meeting Amy, Big, Sticks, and Cream."

Sonic smiled, "So all of Amy's friends? What are the odds? I should mention I saved Cream's mom from Eggman."

Tangle added, "Wonder what he wanted with her? When I saw Cream, she was confused why I couldn't remember her name. I told her I was coming to 'hang out with Tangle'."

Sonic narrowed his eyes with an annoyed expression, "You really could have worded that better. She's probably going to tell Amy about that."

Tangle tilted her head, "And what's wrong with that?"

Sonic facepalmed, "Because you made it sound like we were going on a date!"

Tangle blushed awkwardly and scratched the back of her head, "Ohhh…Heheh. My bad. But if it is, I think we can confidently call it the weirdest date ever."

Sonic laughed, "Tell me about it. Ugh, imagine going on a date in an opposite gender body. That would be incredibly awkward."

Tangle snickered, "Indeed. Did you do anything besides swinging around the forest?"

Sonic had a neutral expression, "I met my old friends Mighty and Ray I hadn't seen in a while."

Tangle grinned wide, "So you have even more friends I haven't met. But you seem oddly disturbed talking about it."

Sonic then put hands to his face as he blushed awkwardly, "Because Mighty was crushing on me as you! Do you have any idea how awkward that is?!"

Tangle laughed, "You could have told him 'you're' a lesbian."

Sonic awkwardly said, "I couldn't be that mean to Mighty and I didn't know if you were. Are you though?"

Tangle raised her finger, only to realize she didn't have an answer, "Huh. Never been on a date before so I've never had to think about it."

Sonic then continued, "I did give him an invite to the Restoration. Maybe you could meet him later. He's also a fighter type wearing fingerless gloves, you'd probably get along great!"

Tangle smiled, "Noted. Anyways, after today, I've learned just how hard it is to control your speed. How do you do it?!"

Sonic tried not to laugh, "I dunno. I've just had that speed for as long as I remember. Never had to question it."

That was when the door rang. Sonic ran over to answer it.

Whisper had awoken with an hour before the dinner with Tangle, only to find Jewel's text. Whisper sighed, but thought, She was just shocked unconscious by a mysterious meteorite. I should probably cut her some slack. She texted Jewel, "Thank you for notifying me, I'll be sure it gets back to her."

Whisper went out for a walk, going to Jewel's to retrieve Tangle's phone. Once she made it to Tangle's house, she rang the doorbell.

Shortly thereafter, Whisper saw Tangle answering (Really should have seen this coming...), "Oh, hi there Whisper."

Whisper…whispered, "You broke this at Jewel's earlier. I'm here to give it back to you."

Tangle, embarrassed (Oof, sorry Tangle), replied, "Oops…my bad. Thank you for bringing it to me."

Whisper, however, glared and pressed, "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Tangle replied with an awkward grin (If a glare could kill…But what am I supposed to say? 'Hi, I'm actually Sonic inhabiting your crush's body'? Would she even believe that?), "Maybe? I'd explain, but I'm unsure you'd believe me. I guess I'll see you around later. Bye Whisper!"

As the door closed, Whisper insisted, "But Tangle we-" Whisper then noticed the door was closing and slipped her boot in to stop it. "Tangle, it took me weeks to get this far."

Tangle reluctantly reopened the door, "To do what?"

Whisper clarified, "To ask you out to dinner, you silly lemur!"

Tangle's eyes shrank (You have got to be kidding me!), "Couldn't it wait for another time? I'm not in the right headspace for a date and I kind of have a guest over right now…" As she gestured towards Sonic.

Whisper then looked over at Sonic, raised an eyebrow, and insisted, "Sonic, I don't know what you're doing here, but I don't know when I'll muster the courage again. Could you please let me proceed on our planned date?"

Sonic noticed Tangle mouthing "Help me out here". (Wait…she wanted to take me out on a DATE?! What luck then for it to be now, isn't it? I'm not sure she'd ever forgive me or Sonic if I stopped her this suddenly. Think Tangle, think, what do I say?…)

Sonic then said, "Uhhh…Just go ahead with it Tangle and be yourself. I'm sure it'll go just fine."

Tangle immediately shot him a death glare (Be MYSELF?! Are you Serious?!) as Whisper nodded, "Thank you for understanding Sonic." And so the duo left for their date.

This left the actual Tangle alone in her house, I'm sorry for that Sonic, my friendship with Whisper is too precious to test. But maybe you'll find it surprisingly enjoyable if you just give it the proper chance. Love works in mysterious ways after all…

Whisper took Tangle, who unbeknownst to her was Sonic in her crush's body, to her planned date spot: a local dine-in restaurant. The two sat down. Whisper was taking a look at the menu. She then looked up at Tangle and it looked like she had a lot on her mind at the moment (Congratulations, Sonic, your first date is as Tangle with her lesbian friend. Just when I thought Mighty crushing on me was as weird as this day could get…), leading to Whisper asking, "Is something troubling you, Tangle?" 'Tangle' didn't answer, currently looking at the menu. Whisper tried again, "Tangle, is everything all right."

Sonic, startled, answered, "Huh, sorry Whisper, I'm just not feeling like myself today." Because I'm literally not. He remarked in his head.

Whisper looked concerned, "Sorry to hear that. But now I must know:" She glared as she asked the awkward question, "Why was Sonic at your place today at such an odd time?"

Sonic couldn't find the words to explain it, "Sorry, that's our secret."

Whisper frowned at the dodge but decided to ask a different question to avoid ruining the date right away, "Maybe tell me about your day then instead."

Sonic smiled, "Good idea. I went into the forest swinging around and ran into some of Sonic's old friends Ray the Flying Squirrel and Mighty the Armadillo."

Whisper was intrigued, "How did that go?"

Sonic confidently boasted, "I really impressed them with my abilities." He then scratched the back of his head, "Mighty started crushing on me too…"

Whisper smirked, "You have a magnetic personality, I hardly find that surprising." She quickly noticed that Tangle looked uneasy at the remark, "It's nothing to be ashamed of."

Sonic awkwardly chuckled, "I sent them to Jewel. Maybe we'll see them in the Restoration later."

Whisper teased, "Are you trying to create a love triangle around yourself?"

Sonic looked horrified at the idea, I just wanted to see him more regularly. But please no, badly do not want that. He then explained, "Nah, he just seemed cool and worth inviting."

Whisper giggled, but she knew Tangle well and could tell something was very off with her crush. Why is her tail so stagnant? Tangle loves using it to express herself, but it's just been sitting behind her barely moving. And yet she otherwise still seems as upbeat as ever when talking and her body shows no signs that she's Mimic. It's making my head hurt just thinking about it.

Sonic noticed Whisper was deep in thought, "Something wrong, Whisper? Did I say something to offend you?"

Whisper was about to answer, but then the waiter then came to take their orders. "Excuse me ladies, may I take your order."

Whisper offered a courtesy smile and said, "Could I have the hamburger and some strawberry shortcake?"

Sonic, meanwhile, looked incredibly uncomfortable and sighed, You're Tangle currently, get used to the female pronouns until you come clean. He then answered, "Could I have a Chili-dog?"

The waiter left to give their orders to the cook. Whisper was dumbfounded by Tangle's pick, "Chili-dog? We came to a diner and you ordered the Chili-dog? Are you trying to tell me something?"

'Tangle' pushed back, "It's just what I felt like, okay?"

Then the restaurant owner came out from the kitchen, "Is it Sonic that ordered the Chili dog! I'm a huge fan and would like to meet you!"

Sonic looked incredulous, Is he serious?! He was forced to answer, "Sorry sir, no Sonic here, it was just me who ordered the Chili-dog."

He frowned, "My bad ma'am. I will get back to preparing your meal."

Whisper glared at Tangle, who then opened her eyes wide and addressed Whisper's claim, "Ohhhhhh…You must think I'm signaling a preference for Sonic. If only it were that simple!"

Whisper then grinned with open eyes, "Try me."

Sonic then suggested, "You really want to know what's going on?"

Whisper smiled, "If it will make you feel better, absolutely, my dear Princess."

Sonic didn't seem to register the flirt, "Okay, here it is, I'm not actually Tangle."

Whisper asked, "Who are you then?"

Sonic then came clean, "I'm Sonic."

Whisper nodded, "Okay."

Sonic, seemingly relieved to finally begin dropping the Façade, asked, "You believe me?"

Whisper quickly answered, "Sure, 'Sonic'. You can be whoever you want to be."

His heart sank as it became clear that Whisper was treating it like some game of pretend, Tangle does that? He went silent in disappointment.

Their food came after a few minutes of awkward silence. They ate it joyfully. Mmmmm, that's the good stuff. Thought Sonic.

Then came the Strawberry shortcake. Whisper offered, "Would you like some?"

Sonic looked at it in horror, Does the world hate me today?, "I'll pass."

Whisper was confused, "I thought you liked strawberries."

He answered, "Sorry, I really don't like shortcakes."

Whisper was disappointed, I got this because it has what we both love. Guess I'll be eating it alone…

As it was finished and the two finished paying for food, they walked out, Sonic said, "Well, that went better than expected for how sudden it was."

Whisper frowned, "I understand. I got between you and hanging out with Sonic. It's clear he's been on your mind this entire date. I'm sorry if I got between you and your crush."

Sonic was internally panicking, Oh dear, this is really bad!, "Whisper, it's not what you think."

Whisper continued, "I get it. You've made it very clear to me that you want to be more like Sonic. You said it yourself that you want to see the world like he has. That probably doesn't leave room in your life for a stable relationship with someone like me. I'm sure he'll be happy to have you among his group of friends. I need to go home now, goodbye Tangle." She then began to walk very fast.

Sonic made one last ditch effort, "So, do you want to meet again next week?"

Whisper didn't respond, continuing down the road. And so they went their separate ways. I thought I wasn't doing too bad either. I'm sorry Whisper, you deserved better than this. He then walked back to Tangle's place, dragging the tail on the way.

Tails had been hard at work, doing everything he can to understand the meteorite that had knocked out Sonic and Tangle. He'd hoped that Sonic would come back by now, but that didn't seem to be happening. Amy was still waiting around Tail's lab, currently looking out the window.

Amy asked Tails, "Have you found out anything interesting about that gemstone?"

Tails said, "Yes. For one, this thing seems to have as much energy as 3 chaos emeralds."

Amy mused, "The Chaos Emeralds came from space, is it all that implausible?"

Tails snickered, "That's not the most interesting thing."

Amy wondered, "What would that be?"

Tails explained, "I discovered how much power it gives out changes by the number of places it's touched, transferring energy between the points."

Amy, curious, replied, "Meaning?"

Tails answered, "It increases by 10 times the strength of a single touch."

Amy replied, "Oh dear! That would explain why it KOed Tangle and Sonic when they touched it simultaneously. Is there anything else to note besides the obvious 'nobody touch it' part?"

Tails shook his head, "Nothing I could find currently."

Amy then waved goodbye, "See you later then, Tails!"

As Amy walked to the door, she noticed Whisper walking down the street crying. Amy was concerned for what could have caused Whisper to do that. However, then she got a phone call from Cream, "Oh, hey Cream, what's up?"

"Hi Amy. I was out on a stroll with my mom when Sonic stopped by." Cream answered.

Amy was then curious, "What was he doing?"

Cream answered, "He crashed into a building. But then he said he was going to 'hang out' with Tangle!"

Amy's eyes widened, "He what?!"

Cream cheerily continued, "Yeah. And I think we know what he means by 'hang out' if you know what I'm saying. Isn't it great?! Sonic finally has a girlfriend!"

Amy however had very different thoughts, especially after seeing Whisper, "Not necessarily Cream…"

Cream then teased Amy, "Are you jealous, Amy?"

Amy, flustered, countered, "What?! No! I just saw Whisper walking crying down the street. I'm concerned for a friend. Thank you for telling me, Cream. I now know what I must do!"

Cream answered, "Good luck Amy. I need to get back to my chores."

Tails had overheard and asked Amy, "What was that about?"

Amy explained, "Sonic apparently ran into a building, was found by Cream, and then went to see Tangle in Spiral Hill."

Tails shrugged, "It's not my business. He'll be back if we need him."

Amy said, "But given that I also saw Whisper crying down the street, I do think it's mine. I'll see you later, call if you need me."

Tails waved goodbye, I do wonder what he's doing there. But I can't help but suspect jealousy might be at play with her interest in what Sonic is doing in Spiral Hill…

During that following walk, Whisper got lost in her own thoughts. Is it really just a coincidence? Every time I see them together they rush into danger without a second thought. And Tangle's known Sonic longer than me...

As she was walking, she heard something heading towards her. When she looked back, she saw it was Amy, running too fast to be escaped. "Whisper?!" Amy shouted. Whisper stopped at hearing Amy. Upon catching up, Amy asked her, "Whisper, I saw you crying. What happened?"

Whisper continued to sob, "Remember the dinner I was supposed to go on with Tangle?"

Amy already knew what the problem was, but chose to respectfully hear out Whisper first. "Yeah?"

Whisper then confirmed what Amy already figured out, "Tangle was hanging with Sonic when I went and seemed perpetually stuck thinking about him the entire date!"

Amy did her best to console her, "They were knocked out by that meteor last night, maybe that threw off Tangle's schedule?"

Whisper continued, "She was keeping a secret from me with him, ordered a Chili Dog, pretended to be Sonic, and snubbed my attempt at sharing a Strawberry Shortcake. Am I really off base to think there's something they haven't bothered to tell me?"

Amy thought about it and knew how to answer. "Trust me Whisper, I've been in love with Sonic for a while. If there's any truth to what you're speculating, I'll be just as devastated as you are. But I also don't think Sonic would intentionally interfere with a dinner plan. I need answers too, which is why I'll be heading to Spiral Hill after this."

Whisper was still sobbing, "Best of luck, Amy."

Amy winked, "You got it, Whisper. Do you want me to let you know how it goes?"

Whisper shook her head, "I only give my contact info when absolutely necessary. I just can't handle any more attention on me than that, sorry."

Amy sighed, "I understand. Hope you get through this fine, Whisper." Amy then departed to Spiral Hill as Whisper continued her stroll through the night.

During this long walk, Whisper eventually took a breather. Conveniently, Lanolin spotted her shortly after she did so. "It's been a week, Whisper. Where have you and Tangle been?"

Whisper looked up with a sad glare. Lanolin, having a soldier mindset, was unfazed but tried to be gentle, "If you don't want to say, then I won't make you. But, if it's not a problem, mind if I join you on your walk?"

Whisper obliged. They walked for several minutes in silence, Whisper clearly still crying. Lanolin was a bit frustrated at her reluctance to talk, "You know, keeping your feelings in isn't going to do any of us good down the line."

Whisper however refused to budge, continuing her silent treatment. Then they came across Silver's home. During that, a portal opened, and sure enough, out of it came the future hedgehog himself. Whisper, eyes opened wide in shock, immediately ran over to hug Silver.

Silver was surprised, "Oh, hi Guardian Angel. You don't look too great, what's going on?"

Whisper still didn't speak, sobbing silently. Lanolin answered, "Your guess is as good as mine. I'm sure you're here for a reason, but it's getting late. How about you come with us to Diamond Cutters HQ for the night?"

Silver nodded, and the trio went to do just that.