Author's Note: This theme is loosely based on a panel from one of the IDW comics where Sonic is touring Blaze around the world for her vacation. This, however, does not mean it is interconnected to the comics. Another cover for IDW has that Blaze also definitely purchased that dress from the shop Sonic took her to, so this is how this idea spawned. Also I just wanted some shameless fluff, sue me.
Thank you again littleaipom for beta reading and listening to me ramble about my cat x hedgehog agenda. Also thanks to her for drawing the new cover for "I'd bottle the feeing you give me!"
Also, if you are looking for something cool, check out this fan animation for Sonic Rush, it's so good! Just insert the last part into a Youtube url to see it: watch?v=SQ_cq_jLWRQ&t
Theme 5: Dress
Sonic was enjoying taking Blaze to his favorite places around the world. He had sped into his role as her tour guide as easily as he could run fast. It was rare Blaze ever took a break for the sake of just doing nothing, it wasn't like her due to her position as Imperial Princess.
The sheer fact she chose to hang out here in his universe as her ideal vacation spot made him absolutely giddy. It touched him a lot that Blaze thought of his world so fondly. This Blaze was so different from the harshness he'd once known, back when she had closed herself off. Now, she sought him and his friends out for the mere desire of want.
It really could bring a tear to his eye, having witnessed how far Blaze had come.
The occasion to have fun with his old friend was one he relished. It wasn't often Sonic and Blaze just got to fool around. Usually their coming togethers was bound by some danger or will of fate. Sonic planned to take advantage of the good graces the universe handed him.
He'd taken her to get ice cream at his favorite parlor in Apotos and then to Holoska to play in the endless snow within the view of its beautiful aurora borealis. There was more Sonic wanted to show her, feeling excitement and warmth at just watching Blaze shake off the shackles of duty to let loose. Freedom looked good on her.
Their current pitstop of the world tour found the counterpart duo in Empire City, the home of towering buildings, sports games and broadway shows. There were also beautiful parks to explore, as well as a medley of different cultures and traditions that made Empire City so unique. He knew Blaze would enjoy experiencing and learning about them, so it was a reason he thought she'd enjoy the sights here.
Key word here was thought. Sonic remembered Blaze as a real history buff back in their last seafaring quest but yet again he found that their little adventure around the city instead brought them back to this familiar street. It was a part of the shopping district and lined with many different stores. He'd expected Blaze to pull him down another street, perhaps closer to the museums and libraries in Empire City but that was far from the case.
He glanced at the little boutique that was fast approaching. Well, it would start fast but then Blaze would drag her feet as they passed by.
Blaze thinks she's so sneaky about it too, Sonic thought to himself as he looked at her.
He smirked at his feline companion, yet again catching Blaze's poor attempts at hiding her interest. It was precious, honestly.
He lost count of how many times he'd caught her. Sonic had hoped she would make the choice herself. Instead, Blaze in all her typical Blaze-like way, kept denying herself the simple pleasure of treating herself to something nice. It seemed it was time to take action in his own hands.
As they say, Apotos wasn't built in a day. Blaze had a lot of conditioning to break still and Sonic was more than happy to help her.
"So!" Sonic began, dragging the word out. He threw his arms behind his head and started walking backwards as he faced Blaze with a grin. "Enjoying the sights, Blaze?"
"O - oh! Um, yes!" She looked distracted at his voice, her golden eyes widening at him. Blaze quickly composed herself. "Your world is beautiful, Sonic. Thank you for showing it to me." She was admiring the city. This section of Empire City was old and sprinkled in history, but it was evident she wasn't really seeing it right now.
"Heh," Sonic chuckled jubilantly before he swung his head at the passing shop Blaze had kept eyeballing inconspicuously. "If it's so beautiful, why is it that we've been stuck on this city block for the past hour?"
"Huh?" She blinked owlishly and stopped in her tracks at his statement. "There is no way that we did not stray from this route for an entire hour!"
"Yes way!" He told her with another snigger and the heroic hedgehog started to lean his back against the shop display window. "I've been waiting to see if you'd pick a new block to explore forever now."
Blaze looked aghast in her embarrassment. When Sonic tilted his head a little, he could see Blaze's reflection on the glass as she once again looked at the assortment of outfits out on display.
He remembered a time when he couldn't read Blaze at all but now she was as easy to flip through like a newspaper. Her longing was poorly disguised. Sonic gestured with his thumb behind him.
"I know you've been eyeballing that shop, Blaze." He grinned wider at her mortified face.
"I have not," Blaze defended herself huffily.
"Sure you haven't," he teased her. "And I don't like chili dogs. C'mon, we have kept ending up on this street since we got to Empire City."
Blaze crossed her arms stubbornly at his playful prodding. She swerved her body away from him and the boutique, tapping a foot on the concrete. It didn't take long for her to slowly turn back around, first staring at him like a guilty puppy before letting that molten golden gaze of hers fall back upon the window.
"Okay, maybe I have been… just a little bit."
"Just a little bit?" Sonic arched his eyebrows, smirking. He stretched casually to try muffling a giggle at her expense.
"Fine," she sighed so heavily it shook her slender frame. "Perhaps more than a little bit." Blaze rubbed at her elbows as she clutched them.
"Why don't we go in?" Sonic offered her.
"Go in?"
"Yeah! You know that thing where we open the door and—" He made a gesture to reach for the door, wiggling his fingers in an exaggerated way.
Blaze lightly pounded his shoulder with her fist, a pout on her face and her ears swerving back. It roused a laugh out of Sonic who knew the gesture was all in good fun. "I know what go in means, Sonic."
"Oh good, that'll make this way easier then." Before Blaze could think to protest him, Sonic spun on his heel and grasped the handle to swing open the door, a bell chiming loudly in announcement. He braced his weight against the door to keep the store in Blaze's eyesight, grinning at her as he did so. "C'mon, princess! Live a little! You are on vacation!"
He continued to grin at her as he held the door open. Blaze's gaze jumped between him and the doorway before with a sigh, she timidly stepped across the threshold into the shop. Sonic followed her inside not long after, hearing the bell chime as the door swung shut behind him.
Soft classical music permeated through the boutique. It wasn't his style but it was hardly offensive on the ears. The shop had a homey kind of vibe as well, with wooden furniture and other vintage knick knacks scattered all around. A kindly old woman at the store register waved at them and Sonic shot her a two finger salute in acknowledgement.
Sonic quickly found his favorite princess, Blaze, seemed to look out of her element as she stood like a lost fawn. Sonic chuckled to himself as he approached her from behind, throwing an arm over her shoulders playfully.
"Sonic—!" Blaze stiffened in surprise and turned to face Sonic who beamed at her merrily.
"Alrighty! What have you been eyeballing in this joint?"
She tried to look inconspicuous but Sonic followed her eyes towards a dress that was on display in the window. It made sense, considering how much she'd been gawking at it each time they'd pass the street on their tour.
"Nothing in particular," Blaze said but the cheeky smirk on Sonic's face meant that she was caught red handed. "What?"
"Blaze, you don't walk a city block for over an hour with nothing in particular on your mind!" He playfully knocked the knuckles of his free hand against her temple gently. "You never waste a thought."
Blaze opened her mouth to defend herself but then seemed to realize there was nothing to defend anyway. She knotted her brows as she stewed.
"Okay, fine… I really like that sundress and hat over there," Blaze told him, looking adorably flustered as she pointed at it.
"See? That wasn't so hard, now was it?" He squeezed her shoulder affectionately before shoving her in the direction of the dress. "Go get it!"
Blaze stumbled in her astonishment as she caught herself. "I can't pay for it! My dimension's money isn't usable in yours!"
"It's on me, now go on!"
"But you already paid for the sundaes when we arrived at Apotos!" Blaze stopped to look at him, frowning. "I couldn't in good graces keep taking advantage of your generosity without giving something back."
"If you want to owe me so bad, we'll just say you getting yourself a gift is payment enough for me," Sonic told her, winking as he pulled out a few crumpled bills that he hid in his sneakers. "You are allowed to want things, Blaze. It's more than okay to treat yourself."
Her stiff stance relaxed at his reassurance. "Thank you, Sonic. I suppose I needed the reminder more than I thought."
"You are very welcome." Sonic's grin softened at her and idly he fixed his shoe once he had the money. "Is that why it took you so long to just come inside here?"
Blaze shyly looked away from him. "...yes," she confessed. "I'm still not used to this."
Progress was progress and Sonic was glad to see the milestones Blaze hit since they first met. He knew this was hard for her sometimes, it leaned into the realm of vulnerability and self-care that she was still learning. A lifetime of putting her own needs last was a challenge to overcome.
"Hey, you're doing great, Blaze." Sonic approached her to fondly bump shoulders with his friend in encouragement. "The fact we're even in here says a lot."
Blaze smiled at him but said nothing, just looked content in his presence. Sonic grinned back at his friend, feeling happy that she was also feeling happy.
Sonic gestured with his thumb behind him towards the clerk. "I'm gonna go pay for the dress and I'll meet you outside, you cool with that?"
Blaze nodded her head. "Yes, that sounds ideal. I will make sure to be quick."
"You are on a well earned break, take as long as you need." Sonic meant every word as well, he didn't mind slowing his stride a little if it meant Blaze got to enjoy herself.
Sonic left her to her own devices after giving Blaze an upbeat nudge with his elbow, wanting to give her more support. When he approached the counter, Sonic informed the elderly lady running the store of Blaze's purchase and handed the money over.
"She will look lovely in that dress," the clerk said, dropping the change into his big gloved hand. "And you are a kind gentleman for encouraging your friend to enjoy herself, my ears are old but I can hear everything clear as crystal still!"
"Heh," he chuckled, rubbing at his nose to mask the sheepish feeling the compliment brought him. Sonic saw Blaze out of the corner of his eye by the display window as she admired the dress, her hands gently running over the white fabric over and over again. "Well, she deserves it. I never say things I don't mean."
Blaze was an Imperial Princess but Sonic knew that didn't mean she always got what she wanted.
When Sonic found himself outside the shop waiting on Blaze, he leaned his back against the wall and cushioned his head behind his arms. He was thinking of where he wanted to take Blaze next, his gaze looking up at the sky.
Maybe we'll hit Spagonia next, I know a really nice scenic route I think Blaze would like…
His contemplation was soon interrupted and his attention now roused at the ringing of the boutique's bell. Sonic twitched a sensitive ear as he turned his head, seeing the door open. Pushing himself off the wall with his palms, he faced Blaze who stepped out of the shop.
Blaze set a paper bag down on the sidewalk that carried her usual outfit. She clutched the edges of her new dress, grinning shyly at him as she gave a little twirl to show it off. On her head was a large sun hat as well that shadowed her delicate face.
Was she always this short? Sonic suddenly realized the high heeled boots she always wore were gone and on her feet were sandals.
"What do you think?" Blaze asked him, evidently trying hard to mask her nervousness.
Sonic blinked dumbly for a moment, not sure what was going on in his head right now. It was like white noise on a television and no matter how many channels he swapped through nothing made sense.
His heart was suddenly in his throat and it felt fast like after a good hard run. He glanced down at his feet without thinking about it. Two big red shoes were standing still upon the pavement. Sonic idly pounded one down into the grit.
Nope, he definitely wasn't moving enough to justify the heart rate. That's weird…
Feeling Blaze's expectant eyes on him, he suddenly remembered what he was supposed to be doing right now.
Words he couldn't say around kids popped in his mind's eye insistently. Sonic scrubbed a hand down his quills as he looked at his friend. Hurry up and say something! She's waiting, you moron!
Sonic said the first thing that hit his thoughts like a freight train and rolled with it.
"Like the choicest chili dog I've ever seen!" Sonic blurted out, he even threw in a thumb's up for extra good measure.
There was a brief moment he thought he might panic when Blaze just stared at him with an unreadable expression. It made him wonder if it had been the wrong thing to say as they just locked gazes with one another. Sonic played it as chill as he could despite the sweat he knew was collecting in his gloves. The moment stretched on in its awkwardness before finally he could relax when Blaze's face broke into the widest smile he had seen yet from her today.
Blaze looked away with a quiet little laugh. She toyed with the edges of the dress in her fingers to relieve her giddiness. "Thank you, Sonic. I think it's the choicest as well."
Relief swelled inside his chest and it made the odd feeling there fade away but something else replaced it, a fondness he was both unfamiliar and familiar with all at once warming his blood.
Nailed it! Even Shakespeare couldn't compare to that eloquence and Sonic should know, he got sucked into more books than the average author ever had.
Sonic just grinned widely, leaning his shoulder against the wall being all cool and comfortable as he crossed his arms. "See, what did I tell you, Blaze? It feels good when you treat yourself, doesn't it?"
He could tell Blaze wanted to pretend this had been like ripping teeth out, her face contorting thoughtfully as if she even wanted to let him have any chance of a 'I told you so!' to hold over her. Giving Sonic one of those could be a dangerous thing, he never let his friends live with them down peacefully.
"Perhaps I could make this a new habit of mine," Blaze replied at last as she did another little twirl in her new dress happily, it reminded Sonic how much of a ballerina she really was. "Occasionally, at least. I cannot allow myself to become too spoiled, Sonic."
He shook his head, chuckling to himself as Blaze was back to business as usual. Ah well, nobody ever said change was an instant kind of thing. He'd just need to keep working on her. They had a whole vacation together for Sonic to fix that workaholic mindset of hers anyway.
"Alright, princess, whatever you say." He rolled his eyes in amusement at her before Sonic gestured with his thumb behind him, pointing in a vague direction of his next idea for his world tour to take Blaze. "Hey, what do you think about making our next pitstop be at Spagonia? I know a great scenic route I know you'll love…"