"And then Jet asked me 'What about Tails?" I say.
"What about him?" Cream the rabbit replied.
"That, was my exact answer." I said next.
Cream and I are at Station Square's Twinkle Park, just messing around. It is kinda weird: I never had many female friends. Because of my line of work, I mostly surrounded by males, so it is a nice change of pace.
It is also good to know that she is around 19, instead 14 like she is supposed to be. It makes it easier to be with her, since we are closer to age. But this leads my mind to a certain other anthro who has dealt with time traveling nonsense. A yellow fox that has grown quite a bit. In height, age... muscles...
I shook my head. My mind wanders too far whenever I think of that fox and whatever our relationship is supposed to be.
We kissed in the party and have a good time whenever we meet, but we haven't talk about it. Like, are we something? Just friends? Less? More? Like, a kiss is just a kiss, nothing that meaningful. There is some chemistry there, but that is not much to go by.
I need to think of something else. "Do you want a soda?" I ask Cream. She nods as a reply. I go to a vending machine and got the two beverages.
I look for Cream with my eyes, but she is nowhere to be found. "Cream?" I ask.
"Over here." I follow the origin with my eyes, and notice that she is not alone. And I know I look surprised.
I deflate a little, as I see the yellow fox alongside the rabbit and an orange echidna woman. Wait a minute, Cream was with me, which means...was the fox with the echidna? Alone? As in... A date?!
No, easy Wave. There is no reason to think they are going on an actual date. I mean, knowing how awkward Tails is, they are not going to be an item any time soon. Just chill. You are not upset about this. Plus, you took the initiative with Stilts over there. There are very little chances he has gone that far with her. Not like kissing is that far and I could be overthinking it. Brain. Stop.
Cream waves me to come and I comply. And I notice his pupils turn tiny the second he recognizes me. "Umm, hey Wave." He says, with a hand at the back of his neck.
Come on dude, you are basically screaming 'you make me nervous'. But is it because you are here with your little echidna friend and you don't want me to meet her? Are you ashamed of me? Are you two timing us?!
"Geez. Put a little emotion behind that. It almost sounds like you don't want to see me." I try to mock, just to mess with him, but I know there is an edge to my voice that, betraying that I am genuinely upset. I hope no one notices it.
The fox, on his side, just turns away, with red on his face. "Not my intention. And I am happy to see you." He says that, but his tone is coarse and on guard.
"Oh, so you are the famous Wave the Swallow." The echidna girl's voice was high and sweet, which hits a nerve, for some reason.
"And you are?" I ask. I would like to cough, to then try to tone down the anger on my voice, but I am not sure I can do that in a believable way.
"Tikal. My pleasure." She offered her hand. I scanned it, before accepting it.
"Likewise." I reply, but my tone is not friendly. "So, you and Tails. Is this a date or what?"
"No." Tails shot quickly. "We are just hanging around." He adds, like trying to fix something.
Yeah, right. "Friends of opposite sex don't just hang around in Twinkle Park."
Tails was about to answer back, but Cream broke in. "Yeah, this place is well-known for their couple policies, like the cute couple free entry." Cream, what are you playing at? I shot her a glare, but she only closes her eyes and her smile widens.
"Oh, what about that new attraction?" Tikal asked. At that point, Tails face palmed and I am even more confused.
"You mean the new love tunnel, right?" Cream added.
"Supposedly, any couple that rides it falls madly in love with one another. We should totally try it." Red flag! She just said she wants something with him without explicitly saying it.
"So Tails That's why you and Wave have to try it." Cream and Tikal said at unison.
"What!?" I screamed, looking at them. What just happened?! Where did that come from? And... Tails was nowhere to be found? He had actually flew away with his twin tails for a decent while. Seriously, does he hate the idea that much?
Apparently, that is not going to matter one bit, because the little orange girl flies toward him and stops him and drags him back to us. Seriously, what is going on here?!
Tails even grabbed a wood bench, and managed to stop both of them for a second, only for the bench to break once Tikal applies more strength. Whatever, if he wanted to leave, I am not going to stay here, so I try to turn around, and... Cream is blocking me.
"Out of my way Cream."
"I am doing you a favor! It's me or Tikal." She said, pointing at the Echidna girl. Seriously, Sonic's gang has always being crazy, but this is just too dumb!
Tails sighed. With a harsh movement, the fox broke free from the echidna girl, but then he grabbed my wrist and pull me to the attraction.
"Hey, what's the deal?" I scream and resist. Surprisingly, I do manage to difficult his journey, although he is dragging me away.
"Just come." From his tone, it was obvious he was tired of all of this, but just because of that doesn't mean I had agreed to this.
"STOP!" Oh, shit. That was Amy, pretty much roaring. As if things couldn't get any more complicated, it turns out Amy freaking Rose had followed us. She looks murderous and I know that is not directed to anyone but me.
Before, I can think of anything else, I get pulled by my arm, rather harshly, while intense winds surround me and my feet don't touch the floor anymore. But as fast as it came, it left, as my body just plummets to the floor, face to the ground.
"Onefortwo QUICK!" I don't think I have ever heard him talk that fast. And, before I had even finished standing up, he comes and picks me up, a hand at the back of my knees and the other at my back.
"Hey!" I scream, but it falls on deaf ears.
Soon enough, we pass through the heart shaped entrance and a metal door closes behind us. He let go a held air and then I smack him with my hand, returning him to reality.
"Put me down." I say. He freezes for a moment, his face turning progressively red, but puts me down eventually.
"Welcome." We see a robot with a design as if it wore a smoking, a half circle head with only one tire and a long vertical piece instead of legs. "Please, this way."
"Where is the emergency exit?" I ask. I didn't ask for any of this. I was just shoved into this machine without my consent.
"Wait." Tails puts a hand on my shoulder. "We are gonna take it."
"Hell no! At least ask me out yourself!" I snap at him.
"Look I have three reasons for staying on the ride: One, if we leave, Cream and Tikal won't leave us alone and try something like this again."
"Do you really think they won't leave us alone, unless we get lovey-dovey?" I squint my eyes. And there is doubt on his face.
"... For a week. Seven days without that mad duo." He admitted, like a sigh. "Second, Amy is out there. And I don't want to get an earful."
"She will do more. She is a freaking psycho!"
"Come on. You are exagge..." At that moment, a blow against something metal roared. The thing was, the blow shook my body, almost as if it was an earthquake.
Slowly, I look at the door and notice a massive dent on the door, shaped like a hammer. Well fuck it! "What are we waiting for?!" I say, taking the lead with rapid steps.
Look, I am not gonna live much longer if a girl like that is following me. So might as well enjoy as much as I can. Not that this ride should be that entertaining but it could be worse.
"Ok, first stop, the changing room." The robot guides us a pair of booths, one with a male symbol and one with a female.
The robot then hands us some clothing. Without much else, we change into them. They are scuba suits, covering everything up to the neck. From sound alone, I know that Shorty finished before me, so, an idea forms.
I open the door silently and just enough to see out of here, to take a good look at foxy. I take a look at his back, broad and good to the eyes. And, that sums his body neatly.
He looks lean and ripped, not packing big muscle, but I prefer it that way. I think it is because both Storm and Jet became bulky muscular, that I can't help but think much muscle makes someone stupid, even if it doesn't really make much sense.
Dammit! He turned around. I snuck right back in and stay there for a moment, hoping it is enough. Before long, I get out.
"Took your time." He says, not too excited.
"I am not up for your sass." I reply. Then, I took just enough lead to say. "And you better don't stare at my ass." I look at him, with a small glare.
"Wha. I wasn't. I don't... Um..." He awkwardly talks, red on his face. I look back at the front, aware that he can't see my face.
And, I am glad he can't, because I know I have an ear to ear smile. It never gets old.
Before long, we pass the next metal door. At the other side, there is this giant candy wonderland, with trees giving sweet apples, the leaves and grass are pink, red and orange, giving an autumn look and at the end, an orange dusk sun gave a warm, vibrant touch.
"Pretty." The fox said.
"Maybe, but it is a bit too much." I reply.
"Not much into candy?"
"Do you think a body like this is kept by eating candy?" To emphasize, I run my hands in front of my body, from my chest down to my thighs.
"Fair enough."
We just observe at the landscape. I think this is supposed to be romantic and all, but it doesn't really affect me.
"Oh." I say, getting his attention. "Now that I think about it, you never told me which was your third reason."
He winced at what I said. "I already paid. There was a sign that said 'no refunds'. And I didn't even wait for the change." He grumbled.
I was about to laugh when a powerful lightning sound boomed on our ear. Accompanied with it, came a blinding white color, overwhelming our sight for a moment. When it returned, the whole landscape had morphed into a horror movie dark forest, with skeletal dry trees on each side of the road.
Next, came this unsettling music, starting with some bell sounds then some technological sounds and finally, some deep 'woohoohoos', a weird, but uncomfortable combination.
"What the..."
"Look out." I get interrupted by the fox, pointing at a branch swinging toward us! We barely have the time to duck, the thin and sharp branch missing us.
We stand up again and exchange looks. Then I go all out. "Oh. My white knight. What art thou going to do?" I put the back of my hand on my forehead and try to sound as an actress of a theater.
Sadly, foxy over there has not replied or said anything. I had to break the illusion and shot him an annoyed look to get a reaction.
"Oh." He lets go before clearing his throat. "Worry not, my lady." He deepens his voice, had a hand below his neckbone and the other extended forward, as if he was reciting a poem, or if he was on a theatrical play.
"Because I will protect thou with my life, until my last breath." He then turns the extended arm 90 degrees to the right, giving it more dramatism.
I don't know a thing about poetry or theater, but I think he has some... elegance in his movement. As I thought that, we exchange looks again, before bursting into a laughter.
I would feel like a dork if I did that with either Storm or Jet, but with Shorty, it is just fun. After that little bit of nonsense, we continue the trek. It is supposed to be scary, but let's be real: the only really unsettling thing was the music.
We just continue walking side to side, when a powerful gun shot sound that feels the room. It echoes away. I roll my eyes. These guys don't know a thing about fear or scaring people.
That being said, Stilts over here just throws himself at me, in a sort of awkward hug. And I can feel heat forming on my face.
"H-hey!" I shake him off out of shame. Then I turn around and look at him. "What was that all about?" I... Well this is not me talking. This is my shame of how much I enjoyed that bit of contact between one another, taken a little aback.
"But." Is all he says, before he is interrupted by the sound of another gun shot. He... makes a very weird expression: biting one half of his lips, while the other half curved downward, one eye closed, the other wide open and his ears shot upwards.
"Wait a minute, are you afraid of gunshots?! Are you kidding me?!" This has to be joke or just an excuse to get close like that. Not that I would not like it, but it doesn't feel alright.
"It is not so simple." He says. He is playing this up rather well. I should be willing to listen to him, but my inner voice says not to give an inch.
I just turn around. "Stop playing around."
I continue walking through the ride, and about three gun shots sounds passed before I notice he isn't at my side. "Scaridy fox, would you..."
My mind goes from annoyance to worry, as my eyes find the fox on his four, looking to the floor. "Stilts?" I ask, going closer to him. When I caught on his heavy breathing, I sped up, and then kneeled at his side.
I look at his face. His face looks in pain, the pupil gone, only the color blue present on his eyes. His breathing is rapid, but shallow, not getting him much air.
"Stilts, Stilts." I try to snap him out of that, but another gun shot comes and his breathing just became louder and faster. "Tails!" I shake him up.
He looks at me, but at the same time he isn't. I worry this won't work, but I say. "Follow my breathing." I start breathing just as fast as him, eventually slowing down.
Thankfully, he follows me, the light on his eyes returns. "Wave?" He asks. It is now that I realize how close our mouths are, enough to feel the others puffs of air.
"I-it is alright." I awkwardly stand up. "Come..." I am interrupted again by another gun shot sound, his face turning weird again. But before he can break down, I grab his hand.
I just hope that is enough to keep his mind on the present. "Relax. I won't be far." I reassure him, then, I softly pull him up.
He follows me, without another word. It is good that the gun shots stopped, or else the journey to the next attraction would have taken even longer. And I can't help but wonder what the hell was that.
Now, we reach to a river. On the water, there is a single canoe, with a robot on it, to row us.
"Do you think the water is real?" I ask.
"Who knows." He replies. "Hey, Wave." I look at him with curiosity. He looks ashamed. "I am not complaining... but can I have my hand back?"
I blink. I really don't want to confirm it, but I look at my hand. He has softened his grip on me, but I hadn't.
I just let go of him and look away. I know my face all red, and I need something to make me think of anything other than the fact I was holding his hand like a lovesick teenager!
"Why are you afraid of firearms?" Nooooo! Anything but that, brain! I wanted to see if I could play it out as a joke, but he beats me to it.
"... Not today." I blink. He is very serious about this. "It is not easy to talk about it. But someday, I promise."
That is all he says, before continuing onward. I am thankful this didn't blow out of proportions, but I want to know more. And maybe even help with it.
Anyway, we reach the boat and we noticed that it has only one sit. "You better not let me fall."
"I will try."
But then, the robot drops the paddle and picks both of us up. "What?!" I don't even have the time to resist, when I get shoved into the seat. Violently too, as my body hurts.
And shortly after, the fox is thrown on me! The blow gets the air out of my body. Neither of us waits long, before we try to escape, becoming a tangled mess of limbs.
Finally I did manage to get of the boat and into the cold water below. While I was down, however, the robot's arm fished me by the waist.
Tails, still on the boat, resisted the other hand, but was eventually picked up too. And, soon enough, we were back in starting position.
"What the hell was that?!" I can't help but scream. And Stilts over here wince at my words.
"Let's try something else." He says, jabbing his ear softly.
What follows is a weird shifting, as he makes an effort to get below me, without moving out of the boat, or moving too much. And he does, but the robot again picked us up and put us right back where we started.
"Good idea." I could not help but mock him.
"This thing gotta be malfunctioning." He thinks
"That, or it thinks our genders are inverted." That was supposed to be a joke, but admittedly I am not your exemplar female specimen and Stilts over here isn't your standard male either. So, not joking this time, I say. "Holy shit, does this thing believes our genders are inverted?"
"Pretty sure it is not that." As he said that, I tried one last time to escape, squirming below him and managing to jump out of the boat, but the robot caught me before even touching the water.
I flail around but Tails over there is just there with his arms crossed, frowning. We are then put back at the start position.
I was ready to try one final time, but Stilts over here stops me. "Let's not. I am not that heavy either way."
"Um, yes. Yes, you are Stilts!"
"Whatever. The sooner we end this ride, the better." He says.
Soon, the robot picks up the paddle, pushes the boat further into the water, and only rows once. Like, we advanced a bit until we stopped, but it is not rowing again.
"What the hell?" I say. "Is this supposed to be this slow?"
"I doubt it." He says.
I think half a minute passes before it rows again. There isn't even all that much to look at, just land at the horizon, water everywhere else. I get that long boat journeys are romantic, but this too slow for me.
And it really doesn't help that Stilts over here is on me. I can already feel my legs getting tired of carrying him. I shift a little, but makes the robot picks us up again and repositions us.
"Oh for fucks sake."
"Wanna talk about something? It might kill some time." He offers.
I give it some thought. I knew what I wanna ask, but I don't know how to address it. I know it is delicate, so I need to dance around it. "About the gun shots..."
"Don't bring that up, period." I can hear feel the growl coming from his torse. He really hates this topic.
"No no no. What I wanted to ask, is that why all your weapons look like toys?" What comes to mind is the giant plug thingy he used in extreme racing, like half his size when he was a kid. Or bombs shaped like literal mice.
"... Yeah. Realistic guns...make me feel uncomfortable... Sometimes seeing them..." He didn't finish. There is a vibration in his tone and I can feel his body shaking above mine a bit. Seriously, he has it bad.
Here, is when I wrap him arms around him and holding him in a somewhat tight grip, and put him head on his back. He stiffens a bit, but it doesn't bother me.
"I am sorry. It was really hard, wasn't it?" I say. He doesn't reply, for who knows how long. This is comfortable, but it is nagging me that he is not replying, or reacting. He is just silent.
"Stilts?" I finally break the silence, only for it to return for a few more seconds.
"How was living with Jet and Storm?" I blink. Was he silent because he wanted to bring up a topic?
"Fine, I guess? Like, I got adopted when I was thirteen, with another idiotic thirteen year old and a nine year old that was already making sex jokes. Pretty sure that is not standard family stuff." I admit.
"So, no adults to tame them?"
"No. Jet's parents were always around us. But not all that supportive. They had their own problems and that affected us." I... could never quite gather the reason why, but mom and dad didn't seem to agree well on what to do with the 3 of us.
"But you had people taking care of you and giving you love." He really wants me to see the good side huh?
"Not so much love to begin with." I feel my heart sink a bit the more I think about it.
"Was it bad?" Was it bad? No? Yes? What is the point of comparison? What is a good parent? All I can think is...
"Kinda. Like, it could get difficult at times, but they adopted me. They gave me a purpose and somewhere to fit in."
"It doesn't sound like it was bad. Quite the opposite. You sound happy about it."
"I mean, I would probably be way worse without them than I am now." I admit.
I am not too sure what happens next, just that the winds increase harshly out of the sudden and now I am getting crush by the fox even harder and more thoroughly.
"I... need... air." I can barely speak or breathe.
But before anything else happens, I feel him holding me in a hug and then jump out of the boat, the familiar hit of the cold water against our warm bodies taking over.
Confused and disoriented, I break free from him and try to find air. I quickly do, taking a large gasp of air, but then an explosion roars, sending a wave of water on me and putting me under the liquid again.
"Wave!" Tails said, from the surface, but to me, it sounds more like "Wrreeiiivvvt."
I reemerge soon enough, and shake my body up. What follows is me coughing a bit and then watching the fox stare at me. "Hey, stop drooling."
He blinks before saying. "I am not drooling!"
I only roll my eyes and an island materializes right before our eyes. I go to the shore first and, the moment I am out of the water, I start squeezing the water out of my braids.
Tails follows me shortly. Then, a voice comes from the sky. "Attention, lovebirds. We apologize for the last malfunction. Please let us dry you up and then enjoy the rest of the ride." This was not a simple malfunction. Bet we can get Foxy's money back after this.
As they said that, a turbine noise filled the air, blowing the water away from my plumage and drying me up. It suddenly stops and I am mostly dry.
So is Tails, but then his fur just, expands. Most his body is covered, so only his head and his tails becomes this thick balls of fur. And he just looks so adorable I can't help but laugh will all my strength.
"Yeah, real funny." He isn't too happy about. Once my wish to laugh dies down, I grab his head and pull it to my level, to offer him a kiss on the cheek.
He turns a little red, but not too ashamed. He says. "N-no mouth?" It came out stuttering and high on his voice.
"You have to take it from me." I challenge with a smile, and I run my finger under his muzzle. It seems he really likes it.
We reach another metal door that slides open before us and, I gotta be honest, I think this is cute.
It is a metal tunnel, bland and white by itself but sprinkled left and right, are photos of the two of us from all the ride: from the moment he is carrying me bride style, to when I kissed him on the cheek just now, just about everything is here, good and bad, sweet or sad.
"Wave, the whole thing on the party... Was it something or just for fun?" He asks me.
"Way to bring down the mood." Is what I say. "Guess what, little boy?" I tease him a bit.
I thought he would go and turn red about it. Instead, he puts his hands on my shoulders, something I didn't expect at all.
"Wave, these days were fun. You are incredible. But, is it all just temporal to you? Are you going to leave for years? Is it all a game? Am I just another one of the bunch to you?" He is firm, but soft spoken about it.
It takes me by surprise. I wasn't expecting to say that. And I see the eyes. He has been hurt quite a bit in the heart. I know this. As good as him.
"...I like you." I say after a long pause. His face just lit up. "It helps how much you have grown to make me take you seriously, but I really like that sweet heart that you have. That just seems to get bashful with anything. It is adorable." I tell him.
"I noticed." He smiles. I haven't seen him lit up like this before. I make him happy, somehow. This guy is crazy but... I am so happy about it too.
"I love the way you look at me, making me feel special. Unique." I say. But then, the happiness on my voice diminishes. "I am not sure how much time we will be here. I don't know when I would be back. But I would love to enjoy this, no matter how short it is."
I look at him, with his hands on his muzzle. He is not angry or in shock, but rather, it seems like he is about to cry in happiness and is trying to keep some dignity.
Then, he just hugs me, picks me up like the other day and gives me a kiss on my beak. And God, it is even more exquisite than last time. So sweet and perfect. It is too short for both of us, but we just need to recharge air to get back on it again. And again. And again.
We eventually calm down and just hold together in a hug, my head against his chest. The silence is delightful, but I need to say what I am thinking. "So are we going to thank the girls for this?"
"...We should. But they don't need to know right away, do they?" Tails suggests.
I release a chuckle and just relax more on his chest. "Sounds like a plan"
This has been here as a draft since 2020. God. I was going to put this with the Two-Shots but it suddenly started to bother me that this was way later and that, I am thinking (Because I am just recently starting writing again) that other story as I go along the way and I don't think this two fit as cleanly as what I have in mind now, vs what I had 4 years ago. So, I decided to just post this as their own self-included thing. Hope you enjoy.
