A merry Christmas present for y'all. Don't celebrate it? Too bad- you're still getting this present and you're gonna like it. And for fun, I actually made a relevant reaction video on my main Youtube channel: Sonic Fan Reacts To The Super Mario Bros Movie. Naturally, I first spruced up my Sonic movie reviews in preparation. I also made an improved trailer for the original Sonic movie that's actually still getting hundreds of views per day several weeks out so I guess I did something right.
In other fun news, I've watched Discotek's awesome new Japanese Sonic X release. So THAT'S where Rouge was 18. I know the Heroes manual said 17, and pretty much everywhere else is 16. That doesn't really change my timeline though since I never nailed down an age for her in Angels in the first place. I just know Tails was at least 11 and Rouge was 5-7 years older (to have a sufficient age gap to tease over.) I am leaning towards older though because of, you know, the fact she's a femme fatale.
I did some late changes on the AO3 side, so I MAY have accidentally left something out or in on this side. Let me know if something doesn't fit.
He was absent-mindedly fiddling with his phone when Agent Topaz came into the recreation room and asked, "Tails? You haven't forgotten what today is, right?"
"No, I remember."
"Just checking. When is the party supposed to start?"
"I was just about to leave now," he replied, being true for a given definition of 'now'.
The human agent smiled warmly. "Oh man, she's gonna be SO happy."
"I sure hope so," he responded with far less confidence.
"Are you kidding? She's gonna absolutely FLIP." When he didn't say anything back, she caught on to his mood. "What? Are you nervous or something?"
Bingo. "A little, yeah." He left it at that, figuring his issues of social anxiety were common knowledge to everyone by this point and not eager to bring it up if not.
"Well, don't be. You're about to make her the happiest girl on the planet. Now get going already." The human started pushing him out of the break room. "Don't you DARE stand her up."
He did not want to even think about what the consequences to doing that would be. "Okay, I'm going." Despite his assurance, Agent Topaz followed him out the door. He had only just passed through the doorway when he almost collided with Rouge, causing him to let out a startled yip.
She kept her composure much better, as usual. "Whoa there, you need to watch where you're going, sweetheart."
"Sorry," he apologized.
"No problem, but where are you going in such a hurry?"
"Uh... I'm..." While he desperately racked his brain for a less-than-truthful answer, Agent Topaz less-than-inconspicuously slipped past and left them alone. "I need to do something real soon," he lamely answered.
"Something work-related?" she inquired curiously.
"Yeah." Fortunately, her choice of wording made his answer technically not a lie. Okay, I can do this...
"What'cha need to do?" Unfortunately, that question required lying.
"Uh... I can't tell you that... it's... classified," he bluffed.
Rouge looked intrigued. "Ah... I noticed you and Westwood talking in secret. You can't tell me?"
"No... That's kind of what 'classified' means. You know how it is."
"Yeah," she said, not looking disappointed. "I know."
"Sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but I really DO need to get moving now..."
She stepped aside. "By all means. I wouldn't want to get you into any trouble with Westwood."
He winced. "Yeah." He didn't look back as he walked away. Once outside the base, he spread his tails and took flight. Both he and Rouge had previously made the mistake of skirting the rules of signing in and out, only to find that the government took knowing when people came and went on their bases VERY seriously. His flight ended at Oakbrook Estates, a nice little suburb.
He touched down at the corner of an intersection short of his ultimate destination. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, willing himself to be cool. He was still nervous, and more so now than ever. It went beyond mere discomfort; his canine senses were outright TINGLING in alarm as if... Realization hitting, he wheeled around and caught a flash of movement on the roof of the nearest house. I know I saw something... He kept staring at the spot. A white head bobbed up only briefly before promptly dropping back down. With only a short list of suspects, he called out, "Rouge?" Of course she wouldn't just let me go... There was no answer. Several seconds ticked by. "Come on Rouge, I KNOW that's you up there."
She peeked once more, folding at the sight of him standing with arms crossed. She flew down to the sidewalk. "You got me." She didn't seem the least bit remorseful at being caught.
"What are you doing here? Are you stalking me?"
"Oh no, I'm just following you."
"Why?" He was confident what her answer was going to be.
"I was just curious as to exactly what this top-secret mission you're on could be... but since you're in a hurry, I'll just skip over to the obvious fact that you're lying and say I know you're going to a party."
Strangely, her already knowing that part of the secret was ALMOST a relief. "You overheard, huh?" Nothing got past those ears of hers.
"Yep. I was wondering if I was also invited to this party?"
His ears drooped. "Afraid not."
"And you weren't going to at least bring me along as a date?"
"It's... very closed circle."
"Oh, is that just it? You're not leaving me out because of another girl?"
Was THAT what this was all about? Oh, of course it was. Knowing where this was all heading, he skipped straight to firmly stating, "No. She's NOT my girlfriend or anything like that."
"But there IS a girl who's a good enough friend that you're going to be something of a highlight for her." He groaned. How much did she overhear? "Why is that? Did you get her a really nice present? What did you get her?" Her excitement about possible gifts at least seemed to be genuine; she had much interest in nice things.
As it should have been plain to see, he was empty-handed. "I didn't get her anything."
She cocked her head curiously, clearly confused by this. "You didn't get her a present? What kind of party is this going to be?"
Now he cocked his head in confusion. He sensed the trademark slyness in her tone but didn't know what she was getting at. "A birthday party?"
"You're going to a birthday party without bringing a present?"
"Yeah, about that..." There was an explanation, but he didn't want to provide it.
"Wait... are you the present?"
He fidgeted. "You could say that, but you make it sound so... weird. It's not what you're thinking!" Probably...
"Sweetie, up until five seconds ago I was thinking there was absolutely NO way you had a secret girlfriend, so now I just don't know what to think. You're not jumping out of the cake, are you?"
"No!" He facepalmed in equal parts exasperation and embarrassment. "Are you just messing with me here? You overheard everything, didn't you?"
"Pretty much everything except for who the lucky birthday girl is," she admitted. "What's her name?"
There was no point in trying to stonewall now. "Amber," he answered simply.
She mulled the name over for a moment. "Amber... Is she related to Cream?"
Why would she have thought that? "No." With a sigh, he dropped another hint. "But her last name is Westwood."
There was a beat. "Westwood? You mean, like, as in Captain Westwood?"
"Yeah. THAT Westwood."
"Is she his sister?"
"Try again, Rouge."
There was another beat. The bat's eyes went wide. "Westwood's MARRIED?"
"You didn't even know that?"
"He's never mentioned it," the bat said with some embarrassment. Well, not to you... The two were still not exactly casual conversational buddies, but he was surprised that someone of her skillset hadn't at least learned that much. Are wedding rings or bands not a thing back home? She looked back up with the sly face again. "So... what are you doing hanging out with Westwood's wife?"
He facepalmed again. Was Rouge just acting dense right now? "Try another familial relation."
Another beat. The bat's eyes went wide again. "Wait... Westwood has a DAUGHTER?"
He couldn't resist a sarcastic round of applause at this point. "You catch on so quickly."
"Oh shut up." Her spunk quickly returned. "How old is she?"
He shrugged. "I dunno... I haven't actually met her yet. Seven, eight, maybe ten, tops..."
"Okay, NOW this is all starting to make sense... And I see why Westwood wanted you to keep it a secret." Indeed, the captain clearly did not relish asking Tails a favor for his daughter's birthday. He imagined that the high-ranking GUN agent would probably be at least a little embarrassed if word got out around the office. "So his daughter wants to meet you, huh? Just you? Not Sonic too?"
"No."
She leaned in close. "Ooh, sounds like you've got yourself a real big fan."
He blushed at the teasing implication of exactly how far the little girl's interest might run. "Apparently. Guess she found out that her dad knows me." He had no idea how that happened; the captain must have slipped up at home or Amber noticed her father coming home with fox fur on his clothing.
"Aww... That's so cute AND sweet. Both for you and Westwood. Did he ask you to do it because he's out of town on her birthday?"
"Yeah."
"Aww... I would have never guessed he had a soft spot." There was a pause. "So why were you just standing around here?"
"I, uh..."
She sighed. "You're a little nervous?"
"A little," he admitted, feeling a bit foolish.
"Why? You already know that she really likes you! She's probably gonna run right up and hug you!"
"Probably," he agreed, far less enthusiastically. Being fawned over for his cuteness by humans was one thing, but he hadn't dealt with children before in a more one-on-one setting.
"So what? You've been hugged before. Just imagine that I'm the one hugging you." He closed his eyes. That would only make it worse... "Now c'mon, get going already! Don't be late!" She put her arms on his shoulders and turned him around, then began pushing him down the sidewalk. This again?
"Okay, okay!"
She transitioned to walking alongside with a single hand on his back to keep him going forward. "Do you know which house it is?"
"Yeah." He'd already done a scouting run in advance a few days ago. He pointed out the house in question. "That one."
No sooner had they had stepped out in front of the house when the door burst open. A stampede of kids ran out yelling several variations of, "IT'S TAILS!" Both animals froze as the small mob surrounded them, causing even Rouge to look a little unsure. The girl leading the charge announced, "You came!" and wrapped her arms around him in what was possibly the tightest grip he had ever experienced outside of the mechanical claws of an Eggman robot. Unsure what to do, he kept his arms raised over the girl that only came up to his chest. Rouge's prediction was correct- he didn't have to look to know that she was amused.
The little girl had the right color hair; add a pair of sunglasses and she would certainly look like Captain Westwood's daughter. When the hug finally ended, he asked, "You must be Amber, I presume?" and extended a hand for a more 'professional' greeting out of habit.
"Yes!" She clasped both hands over his and held tight once more.
His free hand went to scratch the back of his head. "Well, happy birthday." The children's eyes soon all tracked to his escort. He took the initiative to preempt the question. "Oh, this is my friend Rouge. We also work together."
Taking the cue, Rouge extended a hand as well. Amber stepped forward, a trifle cautiously. "Hi Rouge."
"Hi Amber." They shook hands. When their hands separated, Amber promptly followed up with a hug as well, much to the bat's surprise. She just might have looked even more awkward than HE had. He smiled at how karmically appropriate it was.
The thing about karma though: it swung both ways whenever it wanted. He stiffened as one of his wagging tails were grabbed. He looked back to see one of the other girls feeling the fluffiness of the appendage. He honestly couldn't blame her, but it was a little uncomfortable, invasive even. Another girl grabbed his other tail. Someone else reached out to run a hand through the fur on his side. He knew he should put a stop to this but had no idea how to politely-
"Hey!" Rouge snapped, making everyone jump. "Now girls," she continued, noticeably softer now. "Hugs are fine, but we're not pets. Be respectful." Everyone went quiet, the children releasing their grips and looking at the ground from the chiding.
Several meekly apologized. "We're sorry." He resisted the urge to say that it was okay to take the bite off a little, because Rouge was absolutely right, and clearly felt quite strongly about the matter. While she had backpedaled, he could tell from her original outburst that she had been VERY peeved.
Fortunately, the uncomfortable silence was interrupted by someone else yelling, "Okay, everyone come back inside!" The owner of the voice was a woman standing in the house's front doorway, presumably Mrs. Westwood. The tone was oddly familiar, almost as if one side of the marriage had picked it up from the other. The previous chastening immediately forgotten, the crowd began their migration to the house... except for one.
"Have fun kids," Rouge bid farewell in what seemed to double as a tease to him.
Amber stopped. "What? Aren't you coming too?"
"Oh... I... wasn't... going to..." The normally confident bat stumbled when put in the crosshairs of a disappointed child.
Amber turned to appeal directly to him. "Come on Tails, I really want your girlfriend to stay too!"
His namesakes shot straight out behind him in shock at the mistaken assumption. "Rouge? She and I are..." he sheepishly began.
A hand on his shoulder stopped him as Rouge quickly closed in and whispered, "Don't disappoint them." To the others she announced, "Okay, I'll accept your invitation." Keeping her hand in a grip, she began to push him onward again.
Once inside they were led by the birthday girl to a couch. Amber sat down first; Tails took his cue to sit next to her, and Rouge plopped down on his other side. Her presence simultaneously made him more nervous while also feeling less alone among the reverent crowd of humans, although he still remained the sole contributor of Y chromosomes to the gathering.
Talk was rapid fire. Despite being the far more socially adept of the two, Rouge remained uncharacteristically quiet and let him field any questions that were not specifically directed at her. Admittedly, he WAS the one with global celebrity status here. The questions were mostly simple, but growing curiosity for Rouge's credentials as a member of Team Sonic resulted in the pair telling an abbreviated account of their first mission in alternating fashion. They simplified the story and toned down the amount of violence and the... less kid-friendly content. It went smoothly until Tails reached the part about removing the bomb and an attentive child pointed out a plot hole. "Where did the bomb come from?"
Oops- they had also left out Agent Batgirl's less-than-honorable origins of GUN employment. "One of the bad guys had secretly put it on her during the fight," he lied and promptly carried on with the story. The kids didn't question it. The story soon hit another snag when he was explaining the concept of 'elasticity'.
Rouge sighed. "Tails, NOBODY has any idea what you're talking about."
The rest of the story was told in far less scientific terms. They had just about finished when Mrs. Westwood intervened. "Now everyone, let's give them a break, okay? Maybe they would like to have some of the cake."
"Yes we would," bat and fox said in perfect unison. The cake was awesome- he couldn't turn down Amber's offer for another slice. However, the cake only provided so much reprieve before the Meet Tails event continued.
Amber asked, "What's it like to fly?"
"It's..." He hesitated, having lived with the ability for so long it was just a simple fact of life by now, eventually finishing with, "really awesome."
"It really is," Rouge confirmed.
"Can I fly with you?" The birthday girl beamed with hope.
"Um..." He looked around for some guidance on how to answer, focusing on Mrs. Westwood. "If it's okay with your mother?"
"As long as it's not too high," she answered.
"Of course," he assured. All the children cheered, leading him to suspect they would be expecting rides too, and followed Amber out into the backyard. Taking a breath, Tails and Rouge did as well a moment later. How to do this? After considering the options, he decided to just carry her in the same manner as he did Sonic since they'd be flying at a safely low height. "Okay, raise your hands and I'll pick you up." She did so as he lifted into the air and swung behind her, then grabbed her arms. "Hold on tight, too." She did. Satisfied with the grip, he began to ascend, climbing to a total altitude of only a couple feet.
"Higher!" the passenger requested.
"Sorry, your mother won't allow it." And your father would probably have me executed if you got hurt...
He ignored her further protests and began to fly a few laps at a safe speed around the decently sized yard. Amber was just enjoying herself now. A chorus of, "I WANT A RIDE TOO!" started to build. Without any OTHER mothers present to object, he probably had no way out of doing this a few more times. Eventually he set the birthday girl back on her feet. "A little more!" she protested.
"Maybe after everyone else gets a turn first," he offered. Before he could ask who wanted to go next, at least three kids made that request. He hesitated, then just chose of them and lied, "You asked first."
Several rides in he had calculated an exact number of laps that each rider would get. He overheard yet another request while flying that Rouge answered in his place. "Just wait your turn like everybody else."
The meek voice asked again. "But... I want a ride... from you."
"Me?" Rouge sounded utterly baffled by the idea.
"Yes, please!"
"Uh..." He detoured over to the bat on the next pass, who seemed completely out of her element with kids.
Pausing to hover, he encouraged, "Come on, Rouge. You can do it."
"Yeah, but I've never carried anyone like you have."
"Just imagine I'm the one you're carrying," he said with a bit of a tease.
She shot him a look, then turned back to the kid. "Alright. Same way as the others then." She picked up the girl just like he had been doing. Now they were both giving rides, flying the same circuit at a set distance from one another. This went on for quite some time. Fortunately, parents began to show up to reclaim their children. Nonetheless, everyone still got their turn in first. Amber was able to get a second ride from Rouge. She tried to weasel a third run from him again but her mother intervened, pointing out they should be allowed to rest.
Between the physical exertion, very warm weather, and coat of fur, he had worked up enough sweat to resemble a wet dog. Rouge likewise. She was lacking in fur, but her tight suit probably made up for it. "I need a drink," she said. He didn't know if she meant something cold or hard. Or both.
Honestly, he didn't care either way at the moment either. "Me too." A couple of eager kids immediately zoomed off to fetch them cups of soda with impressive alacrity. The flying pair went back inside the cooler house and flopped back onto the couch, letting themselves slump. Rouge gradually slid further and further until she was actually leaning against him. He glanced over to the invasive bat, who appeared oblivious to this. "You, uh, a little tired there?"
"Yeah. I'm not used to carrying so much around. Do you carry Sonic around a lot?"
"Not really. Only when I have to."
"I'm not surprised. I'm totally pooped out."
"Kids are a lot heavier than jewels, huh?"
"Yeah... heavier than you, too."
"Yeah... you too," he responded in kind. The children dwindled until only the birthday girl remained. They should probably get going soon themselves, but he wasn't sure how to best broach the idea.
"Amber!" Mrs. Westwood called from the kitchen. "It's your father!"
The girl jumped off the sofa and nearly ran out of the room to grab the phone from her mother instead of waiting for it to be delivered. "Hi Dad!" Judging from the way she held the phone, it appeared to be a video call.
"Hey, how's my little birthday girl?" Tails blinked in surprise. That recognizable baritone had never sounded so cheery before.
"Oh, my birthday was so AMAZING! I got to meet Tails and his girlfriend too!" The fox and bat looked at each other. The latter smiled. Amber swung the phone around so that her father could see them. It was too far to be able to fully make out the captain's expression, but Tails suspected that he was... surprised, at the very least. Now he knows that I told someone else...
Rouge brought a hand up to do a lazy salute without otherwise moving. "Hi Cap!"
Amber swung the phone back to resume talking. "Thank you, Daddy! You're the greatest father ever!" A pang inside kicked him. A sense from outside made him glance over to Rouge, who looked back. Their expressions were neutral enough and no words were spoken, but they seemed to read each other telepathically. It must be nice... The rest of the call was missed. Amber came back and sat on the edge of the couch right in front of him, practically in his lap, holding the phone up and out in what he recognized was a selfie pose. He put on a smile for the shot. After confirming the picture was good, she turned back to them and asked, "Will you guys come to my next birthday too?"
"Uh..." He looked to his new party partner, who seemed just as unsure how to answer. His brain said DON'T MAKE ANY PROMISES, but he'd always had a really hard time telling someone no. And children made it even harder. Mustering a smile, he answered, "We could, if you're a good kid until then."
"I will!" she promised. He suspected that she was naturally a good kid anyway. The commanding officer probably ran a tight ship back home.
"Remember, I know your father. He'll tell me if you've been bad..." he jokingly threatened.
"I won't!" Amber insisted.
"Glad to hear-" His act faltered when Rouge's head laid upon his shoulder. He glanced over to the nonchalant bat, who simply ignored the look. Amber got off the couch and wandered around while doing something else on the phone.
Rouge asked, "Do I also need to be good for you to come to my birthday party?"
"Of course."
"I don't believe you. I think you LIKE bad girls."
With a nervous chuckle, he managed to respond, "I definitely like good girls more."
"Oh? So you like Cream more than me?"
"I wouldn't say that. I consider you equal right now."
"Really? How did I manage to beat your bias against bad girls?"
"Because you're special."
She turned her head so that they made eye contact, a smile on her face. "Keep going. How so?"
"I'm willing to make an exception for the complex ones who struggle with their true inner goodness."
"Because you think you can get them to change?"
He smirked. "Haven't I?"
"Well... A little. But you'd still invite me to your birthday either way, right?"
"Sure. No sense in refusing free presents."
She made a cute little giggle. "A guy after my own heart. Even if you didn't invite me, I'm just a bad enough girl to sneak in through your cake." Her smile turned mischievous. The second stretched... until her eyes darted away as if drawn by a magnet. Following her glance, he saw Amber standing back in front of the couch, clearly not fully following the ongoing conversation. Oh right- she was also here. "Um... We're talking about some grown-up stuff here... You'll understand when you're older." The girl went HUH?
Spying a row of trophies on a shelf, Tails threw out a deflector. "Are those all yours?"
The distraction worked; Amber turned around and excitedly chirped, "Yes! This one is for..." He was too busy breathing a sigh of relief to start listening just yet.
Rouge whispered, "Good job."
He focused his attention towards being properly attentive as Amber proudly went over her collection of trophies. When she finished, he interjected, "Wow, you're pretty active." Taking advantage of the girl's resulting loss of breath, he turned to the bat on his shoulder and whispered directly into her ear, "Did you want to get going?"
She didn't even stir. "Well... Kinda... But I can stay a little longer." It wasn't the answer he really wanted, but he decided they could stay a little longer too.
DVD Commentary: Just a fun little chapter (except for one dark little backstory tidbit) I wasn't sure was really gonna work (especially since I already did a party scene) or have enough content, but the prospect of Westwood's daughter being a huge Tails fan (to his chagrin) was just too funny not to use. Readers of Angels should remember Westwood had a daughter... Fun little theme I realized: the earlier Sonic girls have color-based names: Rose, Rouge, Cream... so I decided on Amber.
This was originally planned to be a Rouge chapter but I thought it was time for Tails to get POV again because the next one will probably be Rouge again. Plus, using Tails led to a little extra bait-and-switch where a reader may have thought Tails had a surprise for Rouge...
And yes, I had to make Tails totally innocent in this one...
Also, Rouge is totally flip-flopping at keeping it PG with Tails, but I'm really just figuring it out as I go, up to and including reordering chapters after the fact.
Random note: not a full calendar year yet, but I'm settling in with swinging on both sides of the fence. I prefer AO3 as a reader (including to do additional proofreading after upload) but FFN as a writer. Though while kudos and favorites are the same basic idea, people seem a lot more likely to give kudos. Maybe it just feels like less of a commitment: well, I can't say this story is one my FAVORITES, but I'd give it kudos. No idea why everyone's so obsessed with tags and crossovers though. But c'mon FF, get the stats fixed already. Ironically enough, AO3 just started acting up right now too. My works page isn't working, so I had to find an alternate route in by searching for my stories themselves- somehow THAT works.