Cream fidgeted in her seat, going from soothing down the wringles of her orange dress to checking her reflection in the glass window besides her, making sure not a single speck of her fur was out of order, her white sandalls clicking on the floor with an impatient rythm. Cheese sat on the table, letting out a loud yawn as he leaned on his back.

She took a deep breath and leaned back into her chair, trying to calm down her beating heart. The now adult heroine didn't know why she was so tense. Sure, she hadn't seen her friend in quite some time, only hearing from him through letters or short phone calls, but they KEPT in contact. So why did she feel like her anxiety might swallow her up.

The waiter cleared his throat, looking a bit annoyed as he watched the rabbit snap out of her reverie and the Hero Chao jump a bit at the sound.

„Miss, I'm afraid that if you don't order something know, I'll have to ask you to leave."

„O-Oh, I'm sorry!" Exclaimed Cream a little flustered as Cheese stared back annoyed at the waiter. She immediately picked up her menu and shot a look at her options. „I'll take a carrot smothie and the Fresh fruit mix for my Chao." She said as she handed the menu to the satisfied waiter.

„Thank you. Your order will be delivered shortly." The rabbit woman let out a sigh of relief as she watched the waiter leave.

Cheese flew up to her and nuzzled against his friends' cheek.

„Chao?"

Cream chuckled softly as she petted him.

„Yeah, I'm ok. Just... I didn't think I'd be THIS nervous."

Sensing her friend's curious gaze, she raised her hand, prompting Cheese to land on it. She then brought him into a hug, looking out the window with an un expression on her face.

„Ever since Eggman quit villainy, things changed. There weren't as many world ending incidents which made everyone focus on different things. Sonic with his adventures, Amy with her restaurant, Knuckles with guarding the Master Emerald, Silver ensuring everything goes well in the future... everyone seemed to have something planned for them." She stopped, searching for a way to say what came next.

Cheese frowned slightly noddging Cream's stomach.

„Chao?"

She responded by petting his little head.

„And so did I. It's why I left for the engineer college in the first place." She let out a soft sigh. „If only it wasn't so taxing on my time with my friends. I didn't have many occasions were I could meet everyone and tell them all that's been going on. I really missed a lot. Especially Tails. He really started to remark himself into a plethora of sections on a global level, but that left him with even less time to breath, let alone hang out."

Memories of her childhood friend flooded her mind, a small smile gracing her lips.

„But then again, he was always an overachiever. Anyone could see it coming a mile away." She then laughed a bit, startling the Chao. „Maybe not to THIS extend, but still."

She then took Cheese in her hands and gave him a bright smile.

„But now I managed to open up my first workshop here in Central City! It's not that far away from Tails' lab either, so we could meet eachother much more often. And then things... may start to go back to how they used to be. Even by just a little bit."

Cheese chirped happily in agreement.

At that moment, the waiter came with her order. Once he left, Cream raised her smoothie to her Chao's smaller cup.

„To a happy future!"

„Chao!" Cheered Cheese as he dawned the fruit mix juice.

Cream took a sip out of her drink, gratefull to feel its fresh and delicious aroma. But then an uncomfortable sensation shook her entire body. Years of feeling the icy glare of the menancing robots took over her, causing the rabbit to turn towards the one spying on her, battle ready.

And came face to face with a child. No older then 4, from what she could tell.

A small gray wolf with his left eye a dark shade of purple and his right one a light shade of pink with a small ahoge.

He was wearing a black barret, a white T-shirt with blue stripes and black shoes.

And he was staring at her. Quite intensly as his tail wagged from one side to another at a fast rate, his mouth agape.

Cream sweated a little, waving her hand at the strange arrival.

„Hi?"

„PIÈRRE!"

The shout was followed by a figure cladded in a white lab coat barging into the café and scooping the little wolf into their arms.

„I told you not to wander off without at least telling me where you'll go-„

Their sentence was cut short, their eyes making contact with a pair of familiar brown eyes.

Cream herself got up from the chair on instinct, Cheese spilling his juice in surprise.

The newcomer looked at a loss for words, the tiny wolf in their arms darting his eyes from them to the equally astonished rabbit so fast, his head became a blur.

„Cream?" He managed to squeak out.

„Tails?"

Then the child in his arms, Pièrre, let out the most excited gasp the world has ever heard.

„I-I'm really sorry it took me so long!" He blabbered almost immediately, setting Pièrre down. „Some things came out at the last minute and-„

As he droned on and on, Cream's eyes drifted to his appearence. His fur was all sorts of messy from his head to his namesakes, no doubt from working so much he probably didn't brush himself properly. On a closer look, he'd even grew some fur on the back of his head ending at just above his shoulders.

His three bangs had grown in length, but not enough to defy their original style.

His baby blue eyes still shined with the same kindness and wisdom she'd come to know all those years ago.

Cream snickered cutely, causing Tails to stop his ramblings and stare bewildered at his old friend.

„Did I say something funny?" He asked as he scratched his head.

The cream colored rabbit just shook her head as she subdued her snickering.

„No, no! You're just you. That's all." She explained with a wide smile. Tails laughed a bit awkardly, not fully understanding.

Cheese then launched himself into the older fox's chest, almost making him topple over. Grunting, the fox petted the small Chao.

„Glad to see you too, buddy, heh."

„Don't forget me!"

And then the young genius was again almost knocked back when a certain rabbit joined the surprise hug, the trio dissolving into a laughing mess.

Then a small cough broke the immersion. Everyone stared at the small wolf, who was all but bursting with joy.

„Oh, right! Got a bit carried away." Tails cleared his throat.

Cheese and Cream stepped away and shared a confused look.

Tails then put a hand on Pièrre's head, giving it an affectionated pat.

„This is Pièrre. My son."

It took a few seconds for that information to fully sink it. And then came the panic.

„WHAAAAAAAT!?"

Cream finished her drink at the same time as Cheese, both taking a deep breath right afterwards. Tails shifted uncomfortably in his chair while making sure Pièrre wouldn't fall off his lap from how much he was bouncing around.

Cream then leaned back on her chair, bringing her hands together as she thought about what she had to say next.

„...I have questions." She finally said, Cheese nodding and crossing his chubby arms together in agreement. „But I'm not sure how I should go about asking them."

Pièrre's ear picked up, causing the pup to turn his head and gasp.

„Dad! Dad! Dad!" He repeated as he grapped Tails' hand and jumped in his lap. „It's Mr. Dark Commander!"

The two adults and Hero Chao followed where the child was pointing to see a big Dark Chao cosplayer right outside the café. Seeing the opportunity, Tails smiled down at his son and ruffled his fur.

„Want to go say hi?"

„Yes yes yes yes yes!"

„Then let's make a deal: You can go meet the Dark Commander as long as you stay in front of the café where I can see you." He gestured towards the glass surface of the small boutique. „How does it sound?"

Tails got a fluffy hug in response.

„Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!"

And with that, Pièrre ran out the door and went straight to the Chao mascot. Everyone watched as the small wolf started to jump around the mascot, his joy infectious to those around him.

They stayed silent for a couple more minutes before Tails turned towards his friends.

„I adopted him a couple of years ago."

Cream felt herself relax as Cheese stared incrediously between her and the fox.

„Oh." And then her eyes widened, her mind racing at the implications. „What do you mean YEARS? Why didn't anyone tell me anything?!"

„Chao!" Agreed Cheese.

Tails raised his hands to calm down the bewildered duo while glancing at Pièrre. He was posing side by side with the Chao mascot, the bystanders „aww"-ing and cooing at the sight.

„I know how this sounds," he continued as calmy as he could, „but hear me out." Once the two gave him to the „go ahead" sign, he started explaining. „The decision was made a bit hastly on my part. It took everyone by surprise when they heard about it."

„You make it sound like they were left out of the entire process." Joked Cream, still a bit shaken. The smile faded from her face as soon as she noticed Tails cringing and looking away. „TAILS!"

„Not really my brightest idea, I know." He sighed putting his head in his hand. „I thought I would be able to handle it all on my own, not have them worry about it since, well, we were all grown-ups with their own problems."

Tails looked out the window, staring as the small wolf who gave a high-five to the mascot.

„And I don't regret it. The process may have taken a long of time, but it was worth it."

Cream tilted her head, frowning.

„But that still doesn't explain why I only found out about this until now."

„Chao." Nodded Cheese.

Tails scratched his head looking away in embarrasment.

„That might have to do with how little they heard of me until I finally reached out."

Cheese gasped.

„Chao!"

„I made sure to let them know I'm ok!" He attempted to calm the Chao down. „It's just that they... didn't hear much from me besides that."

„Tails." Continued Cream seriously. „Please don't tell me you've barely communicated with your family until you've finished the entire adoption process."

„..."

„Tails!"

„I know!" The genius fox leaned into his chair, complet ashamed. „I shouldn't have been so secretive about it."

Cream heaved out a sigh and rubbed her temples.

„And how long did it take for the adoption to end? Surely it didn't take that long to fill a couple of papers, right."

Tails gulped, pulling at the collar of his lab coat.

„About that..."

„18 MONTHS!?"

„I know it's bad-„

„CHAO! CHAO! CHAO! CHAO!"

„Exactly! How are you even ALIVE right now? Why did it take so long in the first place? Why didn't anyone suspect something might be up with you?And why wasn't I informed of all of this until now?"

„J-Just one question at a time please." Muttered pathetically Tails.

He took a deep breath and then began answering the questions one by one.

„Ok, to be completely honest, I may have been spared cause I now had a child to care for, so I mostly had a lot of yelling to deal with." He then scratched his head, wincing at the memory. „Not to say I didn't deserve it."

Cream set her empty cup aside to stare more clearly at her friend.

„And as to why it took me so long, well..."

He swallowed and let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding in.

„They didn't consider me good foster parent material."

The duo was once again speechless.

„Chao?"

„Listen, this one made sence-„

„No it didn't." Dissapproved the rabbit. „Are you telling me they took a look at you and said you weren't good enough to be a parent? How does that work!?"

„I may have saved the planet a couple of times," continued Tails, but in the eyes of the law, „I was still barely old enough to make decisions on my own. The fact that I was a single parent and had no foster parent experience didn't exactly helped matters."

Cream buried her face in her ears.

„Tails..."

„I felt like this was something I had to do on my own. It was MY choice to go through with it and I had to see it to the end."

Cream sighed straightening up.

„I know that, it's just... Chaos above, Tails."

„Yeah..." the genius looked at his hands on the table. „The others knew something was up. They've reached out a couple of times, but I told them I'll tell them all about it when it's over, and that I just needed more time. They respected that." Then he chuckled smiling faintly at the memory. „But they sure wished they didn't after they found out."

Cream said nothing, staring intensly into his eyes. Even Cheese had his own little glare.

Tails gulped again before he went on to answer the last question.

„And why I haven't told you until now is cause, well, it wouldn't have been fair to you." Seeing her expression, Tails continued. „This was... a BIG change. Something I couldn't let you know through a text or phone call."

„...why do I have a feeling you're speaking from experience-?"

„And I couldn't just let anybody else give you the news like that." Ignored the question Tails. „It felt like I was passing the responsability onto someone else."

Cheese and Cream shared a look. It made sence, even if it was stil frustrating.

„I still wish I found out sooner..."

Tails shook his head.

„I wanted you to focus on your dreams and objectives. This would have only held you back."

„That's not true-!"

„What are the chances that you would have, at one point, dropped everything going on for you abroad and would have rushed to lend me and everyone else a hand?"

„..."

„I couldn't do this to you." He gestured towards the gray wolf outside, who was shaking hands with the mascot. „I wanted to let you know about everything when you were done with your studies and weren't burdened by anything. And when I heard you were coming back today... I knew I had to let it all out as soon as we saw eachother again."

He then bowed his head, looking as guilty as he felt.

„I'm really sorry it took me so long to let you know. I swear, I didn't mean to hurt you or anyone else."

He stayed like that, even after hearing the chair slide. He kept his head down, even as the smell of fresh carrots filled his nostrils.

And then he was bonked. Hard.

Tails yelped, rubbing his sore head while Cream crossed her hands.

„That's for being a dummy who's way too self-sufficiant."

„Chao." Agreed Cheese as he flew up to her.

Tails sighed, still massaging his throbing head.

„Yeah, I deserved that." He then glanced up at her, feeling slightly scared. „So... are we friends again?"

Cream pretended to think about it before leaning really close to his hands with her eyes closed.

„Of course we are!"

„Chao!"

Tails blushed a little at the proximity, his namesakes starting to swish up and down at a faster rate.

„Uhm-„

„But," she then bopped him, catching him off-guard, „I'll accept your apology ONLY if you let me help you out."

Tails jumped back, horrified at the suggestion.

„I can't possibally...-„

„...trouble me with your problems when I have my own life to take care of?" Interrupted Cream, still smug. „I regret to inform you, I have NOTHING stopping me from visiting you and looking after Pièrre when you can't."

„But-„

Cream put her finger on Tails' lips, effectively shutting him out. From the corner of his eye, he could see Cheese snickering at his predicament. That sneaky Chao!

„No buts. I owe you that much." Seeing him so lost, Cream looked away and played with her ear. „I was also too focused in my studies that I could barely come home for a short while before leaving again. Like, Chaos, I haven't visited my hometown for 5 years now. My mom was worried sick about me, especially since I couldn't find the time to come home, even for the holidays. It's about time I start making up for lost time. So..."

Cream locked eyes with Tails again, her brown eyes shining bright as diamond.

„...will you let me?"

Tails gulped, unsure what to say. And then a familiar scream broke the immersion.

They all turned towards the glass window, watching in horror as the mascot slowly lost their balance, the excited 4 year old on their head making things worse.

„To infinity and BEYOOOOOOOOND!" As he yelled that, the mascot stumbled out of view, a lot of sounds of crashing and breaking stuff could be heard shortly afterwards.

Tails jumped on his feet, looking every bit panicked and exasperated before he noticed Cream and Cheese staring at him. He then laughed awkardly, rubbing his back of the head.

„I guess I might take up your offer." He paused, really thinking it through." I-If it doesn't bother you to start right now..."

Cream responded by smiling, graping his hand and leading the way, Cheese flying after them just as determined.

„Chao!"

„We'll do our best!"