Aw, no reviews last chapter? I didn't think it was THAT bad... but here's a chapter I'm proud of for the redemption. While I'm not ashamed of the last chapter, it ultimately really ended up being all about the joke. Speaking of redemption, my A/C situation has been resolved. Dunno what their deal was- they came out for warranty repairs twice promptly, so I don't know why their communication suddenly broke down so hard. I'm guessing somebody got chewed out for them having to come back several times for free repairs- I get that they would want to take a moment to assess before just sending someone out to try again but the lack of any information was just bad.

Also, I now have the Knuckles show on home video... boy do I have thoughts for my YouTube review coming soon- first I need to finish the one I'm already working on. But I've got tons of other reviews to watch in the meantime, including the movies and several games! I'm stickghost over there too. The plugs will sporadically continue until I gain traction (but don't subscribe unless you're actually gonna watch my stuff- it might seem like you're doing me a solid but it actually does more harm than good.) Anyway, I guess the show establishes GUN as a multinational force if they have an HQ in England- presumably the HQ of the ENGLAND/UK branch.

"...once in the lungs, the oxygen is then converted into helium." Tails paused in his explanation and assessed the small audience of GUN agents in the break room, who all looked skeptical.

One dubiously asked, "So kitsune can just fill themselves up with helium when they want to fly?"

Somehow maintaining a straight face, he replied, "Yes."

"No, kitsune are actually just full of shit," Rouge piped in from just beyond the doorway where she had been subtly watching- and waiting for him, he knew.

"Hey, I'm the only scientist here," he countered, already taking advantage of the excuse to leave the room, and by extension finally go home for the day. "Sorry, but it looks like I'm needed."

She started walking away from the room, either because she was summoning him for a reason or just going along with it. "Regardless, that was my favorite explanation you've come up with yet."

"Yeah, I'm pretty proud of that one." He had no idea what the current count was on the question of how exactly he could fly.

"So, got any plans for tonight?"

"Nope. Just going home."

"And Sonic's still off on one of his 'vacations'?" Technically speaking, could one have vacations when they didn't have any defined workdays? Perhaps if they just decided to take a day off when Robotnik was in the middle of a new plot?

"Yeah."

"So you're gonna be all by yourself tonight?"

"Yep." It was hardly an unusual occurrence.

"Well, I've got no plans either, so can I come over?"

"Sure. When?"

"How about in just a bit? I'll swing by whenever I'm done here."

Short notice, but acceptable. "Sure."

"It's a date then."

He had been lounging around the house for somewhere around an hour later when she had arrived. "Hey," he started before being caught out by something about her appearance. It took a moment to place: there wasn't really special about her makeup than usual, except it looked like it had been freshly applied or touched up. While it wasn't exactly out of character for her to do, as she put a lot of care into appearance, it was surprising that she bothered this late in the day, especially since she had no need to impress him. Maybe she had to clean up after a little mishap?

"Hey. So, what are we having for dinner?"

Ever the host, he asked, "Was there anything in particular you wanted?"

"No. I'm good with whatever you can make."

That was vague. "Like a pizza? Or..."

She gave him a disappointed look. "No. I mean REAL food. You said you were going to show me how to cook, remember?"

He blinked. "I did?" He quickly corrected himself. "I mean, yeah, I know I said I'd help you learn, but I just didn't mean that I would actually be the one teaching you..."

"Who would?"

"Well, I was thinking that Amy would-"

"Oh no, I asked YOU for help."

He took a breath. The two girls hadn't gotten off on anything resembling the right foot but had eventually learned to coexist within the same circle of friends, even if the hedgehog still didn't necessarily approve of everything the bat did. "But you've helped her out with makeup so-"

The suggestion of reciprocity was quickly cut off. "No." The response came out quickly and a little forcefully.

He put his hands up in defeat. "Okay." The bat's biggest flaw was having a little too much pride; she would NEVER ask Amy for help, especially not when it involved getting a guy. He'd have to ask on her behalf subtly (or more likely just ask openly and tell Amy to keep it secret.) "But I don't know much about cooking myself.

"What are you talking about? You're a genius. If you can make a plane, surely you can cook some food too."

"Just because I know how to build stuff doesn't mean that I also know how to make great meals. Those are two entirely different fields of expertise!"

"Can't you just look up a recipe on your little computer and follow the instructions?"

"Well, I could, but I don't have any real ingredients in the house right now. Amy is the one who does all the real cooking."

"Come on, what do you guys eat when she's not around? She doesn't have to cook EVERYTHING for you, does she?"

"No, but..."

"But what? You can make something more complicated than pizza or macaroni and cheese, right?"

He shuffled in place. "Well, I can fry up a mean steak with fettucine alfredo..." It was the fanciest dinner he ever made, either for himself or sometimes Sonic as well. The (distant) second fanciest dinner was fish and rice.

She slapped her hands together suddenly and startled him slightly. "Sounds good enough! Let's do it!"

"You want-"

"Less talking, more teaching! Go!"

"Okay!" Fortunately, he did happen to at least have some steaks and pasta in the house. "It's still pretty simple though," he admitted.

"Gotta start somewhere." There was clearly no argument to be had with either that logic or Rouge. Putting all the required ingredients on the counter, he considered how to tutor. He handed the package of pasta directly to her. She seemed disappointed somehow. "You've only got the cheap ready-to-make stuff?"

"Well, I'm sorry, princess. If my help's not good enough, we could we call Amy."

"Don't you DARE." The glare quickly faded. "What do we do?"

"It's actually got the instructions written right on it. Since the best way to learn is to just do it, I think I can let you do that one yourself. I'm sure you can handle it."

"Yes," she not-quite snapped, face turning somewhat red, ostensibly from a sense of insult over any doubt that she could do the basic measurements, but he suspected she was also quite embarrassed about receiving a rudimentary cooking lesson from someone several years younger. Reading it over, she asked, "It says to use butter or margarine? It's a choice?"

"Yep."

"What difference does it make?"

That was not a question he was prepared to answer. "Uh... butter is what everyone uses. Nobody uses margarine."

"Really?"

He shrugged. "I don't know." Maybe Amy does... "Anyway, I only have butter. Oh, and since there's two of us, we're gonna be making two packs at once, so therefore we will need to..." He left the sentence unfinished to allow her to answer.

"Double the required ingredients?" she ALMOST managed to say as a statement rather than as a question.

"Correct." he said in a hopefully approving rather than patronizing manner. It seemed to work. He helpfully (though not exactly discreetly) pushed the ingredients over to her as she measured. When time came to add water, he interjected, "Oh right... in my personal experience, I find you should use a little less water than it says because I find the sauce ends up too soupy otherwise."

"What? You mean the instructions on the package are wrong?"

"Well, I guess it's really up to preference and not outright wrong, but I have no idea who actually wants it like that."

"This is the way the creators intended you to make it, but you know a better way? So you're saying you're smarter than them?"

Normally, he'd probably be modest and back down, but nobody messed with his fettucine alfredo. "Yeah, I am."

She eyed him skeptically but with a smirk. It faded as she alternated between looking at the instructions and the stove. "It says to bring this to a boil before adding the pasta to it... but how exactly do I..."

"You don't know what boi-" He shut up when she glared back his way, then said, "Just turn the knob all the way to the max." She reached out to do so. "Not that one." She let out a loud and deep grumble. He quickly clarified, "The one to the right." She turned the proper knob this time. Then they just silently (and slightly uncomfortably) stood around waiting.

Once the liquid mixture started bubbling, she announced, "We have boiling." Holding the package of pasta, she paused and looked over as if for confirmation, so he gave a subtle nod.

Once she dumped it in, he stepped up and pushed the buttons to set the timer. "Okay, both steak and pasta should take about the same amount of time to cook... Unless you have a preference for having yours well-done or rare."

Her response was as expected. "What?"

"I didn't think so. Basically that means how long you want to cook meat, but we'll just do it medium-ish this time." Medium-ish in his case leaned on well-done, but the poor girl was already confused enough right now. "Now we just drop these in the skillet and have 'em both going at the same time. Set the steak for about halfway on this." He helpfully just pointed to the appropriate knob.

"How the hell do you know what to put these at?"

"Um... personal experience?"

"I thought you said this was simple."

"It IS simple... once you learn how to do it."

"If you say so."

"Now we just wait. Simple." In retrospect, he shouldn't have used THAT particular word again. After a minute or so he sheepishly admitted that wasn't quite true. "Okay, so you should flip the steaks over partway and stir the pasta every so often to make sure it doesn't stick to the pot."

She looked to the stovetop with a blank stare. "Cooking is so complicated."

He supposed that she wasn't really wrong. "Don't worry, you're a complicated girl."

She rolled her eyes. "I don't know if that was smooth, stupid, or both." He supervised while she did the motions. The steps of letting the pasta sit and getting everything onto a plate to the table went smoothly. While heading back to the refrigerator, she asked, "Got any wine?"

"Sadly not," he replied in an equally sarcastic tone. "Just soda and Gatorade. Are you in the mood for cherry or grape?" Appropriately for a bat, she liked drinks that had a fruity flavor.

"Cherry." Deciding that sounded good at the moment, he grabbed a can for himself too. "Got any candles?"

Now he rolled his eyes. "Nope." That was a lie: he actually had a couple for emergency lighting- in the event an EMP hit his house or something- and the most basic of candleholders. He never used them otherwise, choosing to avoid open flames whenever possible on account of his fur being slightly flammable. Naturally, he wasn't so keen to humor the obvious joke (since Rouge just might actually go through with it.)

They dug into their food. With mouth still closed, Rouge made a probably exaggerated (but still polite) vocalization of satisfaction. Once the food was safely down the hatch, she said, "Tails, this is great."

"Thanks."

"You're absolutely right." He gave her a curious look about what statement he had made in the past that she had chosen to agree with at this precise moment. "I think you just found a way into my heart. I could go for a guy who can cook..."

He chuckled bashfully. "I said it was an effective way."

Thankfully, she did not continue that particular line of flirting. Talk was limited; it seemed neither of them were big on talking and eating at the same time. Only when they were finished did the bat prompt a more involved discussion. "Okay, so what are doing for the rest of tonight?"

"I don't know... I guess we could watch a movie or play a game?"

"Oh, nonono... Tonight is a date, remember? You gotta do something special."

"I just cooked dinner."

"Yeah, but you were teaching ME how to cook. Now it's my turn to teach YOU how to date a girl."

"So then shouldn't you be telling me what to do?"

"I could, but a guy has to be creative with what he has, and I wanna see what you can come up with."

He looked down. "That a girl would actually be interested in?" His interests were widely considered, in Earthly terms, to be stereotypically: nerdy, geeky, dorky; maybe some others too. Not the kind of things girls were usually into, and he didn't know ANY anthropomorphic girls into technology at all (although that was sort of a given with the rarity of any technology even remotely advanced on their home planet.) "Probably nothing."

"What are you talking about? You've got a plane. How many guys have their own plane?"

Not that she mentioned it, that was uncommon, even on Earth. "Yeah, but... is that something a girl would actually be interested in?"

"Well, I guess it doesn't seem as impressive for those of us who can naturally fly, but not everyone has that ability. Even I enjoy a ride in your plane. I can only imagine what someone who can't fly would feel. Plus, a plane ride through a star-filled night could be quite romantic." That seemed to make sense: sitting under the star-filled sky was a big romantic trope; perhaps a plane could enhance the experience. This line of pondering was interrupted. "Well?"

"What?" he asked in confusion at the prodding. "You actually want to go for a ride right now?"

"Of course, silly. How else are you going to practice?"

He had thought this would be purely a hypothetical lesson. She'd been in his plane numerous times. And it wasn't like this was an actual attempt to woo a girl. Plus, gas cost money. But telling Rouge no was a doubtful prospect. "Okay." They walked into the hanger, where he split off to grab the keys while she beelined to stand by the Tornado. With the press of a button on his keychain, the Tornado let out a pair of chirps and opened its cockpit. The bat and fox exchanged looks. The former looked very expectant.

"So where am I going to sit?"

"Um..." he began uncertainly, "in the backseat?" There weren't any other places logically for her to sit, yet somehow he suspected this would be a wrong answer.

"Now Tails, that's not very romantic."

"What? Where else would you sit? Are you suggesting you want to... uh... sit in my... lap?" Rouge clearly lit up at the suggestion. He tried to look even further down than he currently was. "I don't know if that's such a good idea..." When her expression changed, his course did likewise. "I don't know if I could safely fly the plane like that..." Among other things, he was also bit embarrassed to admit the fact that she was still taller than him even when not wearing anything high-heeled despite having closed the gap in the intervening years.

She looked him over and sighed. "Fine. I don't normally say this to a guy, but you can sit in my lap this time."

His eyes went wide. "What? Why?" She was really treating this lesson as seriously as a live-fire training exercise.

"It's part of your lesson. Now, I was going to ask how you'd help a lady into the plane, but considering the circumstances, I'll just show you."

As she approached, he instinctively backed up and nervously asked, "Show me what?"

Her only answer was to suddenly slide around behind him using a combination of her naturally smooth movements and GUN close-quarters combat techniques. That was disconcerting enough, but the feeling only intensified when her hands went underneath his arms. With a spreading of wings, he was lifted off his feet and carried into the pilot's seat... or more accurately, Rouge's lap. The hands lowered down to around the waist. "And that's how you help a lady get into your plane."

Blushing furiously, he simply said, "Thanks."

After just sitting in silence, she prompted, "Now buckle us up." Her mouth was so close to his ear that her voice sounded like it was being transmitted directly to his brain.

"Okay." He uneasily but compliantly secured the restraints, which forced their bodies together even more uncomfortably snug. The bat definitely did not have the ideal shape for a substitute chair, but was at least soft and warm.

He started to reach for the controls but stopped when she went, "Nuh-uh-uh! Think romantically."

He thought really hard for a minute and ended up with no clue as to what he was supposed to have been thinking about. "Think romantically about what?"

She sighed. "Simply riding in a plane can be fun, but a girl might want to get to fly one."

"Really? You think so?"

"I do. Show me how it's done."

Okay, that was admittedly a little bit of a sexist assumption, but generally girls weren't interested in flying planes. He was pretty certain Rouge had no interest herself. "Okay then, first you-"

His hand retracted as she interjected, "Not like that. Think romantically." Now he just sat cluelessly. I am not cut out for this... There came another sigh. "Show me... like this." His heart skipped a beat as Rouge put her hand over his. Entwining their fingers, she began to move his hand towards the control panel, stopping just short of it. Then she released his hand, only to slide her arm underneath so that his hand now rested atop hers. "What do I push?"

"Well, first, we start the ignition," he explained while doing so. As soon as the plane's power came on, so too did the stereo system with a blast of big beat with harsh vocals that made them both recoil in surprise. PLAY MY GAME AND I'LL TEST YA! PYSCHOSOMATIC! ADDICT! INSA- He quickly punched the knob in and cut off the system. "Sorry," he meekly apologized.

"Real romantic, Tails."

"Anyway, moving on..." He picked up where they left off. "Uh... this... and this... and that too..." Despite having made hundreds of flights before, he couldn't actually recall what specifically the buttons and switches he pushed or flipped were for in the current maelstrom of his thoughts. His hand simply moved on pure muscle memory, though he wasn't entirely sure he could trust that either. Nonetheless, when he finally set their hands upon the yoke, he simply said, "And we're cleared for takeoff." Any doubts about the plane not crashing horribly at some point in the near future were outweighed by the prospect of disappointing Rouge right now. The takeoff was smooth. The plane climbed and leveled out. "And that's about it... You just keep it steady now." After a few minutes, he was about to say that she could let go when he realized that HE was actually holding her hand. "So... how long did you want to actually fly for?"

"I don't know. Twenty minutes?"

He wondered if there was any reason for that specific duration. "Okay."

They had flown for maybe about half of that time quietly before Rouge said, "This is really nice."

"Yeah, it is." It was a pretty clear night. With no clear boundary between the sky and space, it seemed like they could fly directly to any star they wanted. With this plane, it might have even been possible, though the occupants would not survive the trip.

She sighed. "I think you're all set."

"All set for what?"

"Winning over any girl that catches your eye. You certainly don't need any more of my help. "

While he was honestly grateful to hear that if for no reason other than avoiding future lessons, he was surprised. "You think so?"

"Well, you managed to win me over, didn't you? You're a real catch. You're cute, nice, smart, funny, and hell, just plain FUN. Knuckles and Shadow are always so serious and uptight. You're way more enjoyable company."

In his own experience, he had found that Knuckles and Shadow, while by no means unpleasant to be around unless provoked, were certainly not people he'd ever specifically choose to hang out with for lighthearted times. Being more 'fun' than either of them was thus a very low bar to clear, but he had always thought that she was just politely humoring his interests whenever they hung out. Then again, Sonic shared his interest in video games, and HE was a fun person to be around. "You really think I'm a fun person?"

"Of course. Why do you think I hang out with you so often?"

"Uh, because we're friends?" Wow, that was the dumbest answer ever, on several levels.

"Not just friends; very good friends. In fact, I'd even have to say that you're my best friend."

He was floored by the declaration. "I am? Me?"

"Yes. Don't worry, I won't ask you to change who your bestie is."

"Well, if it's any consolation, right now you're currently tied for my best gir-" Stopping himself, he reconsidered the wording. "...female friend..."

"Does that mean I'm tied with Amy?"

"Yeah. Hope you're not offended."

"I'm not. I must have pulled ahead of Cream, huh?"

"Yeah." I wonder if Cream would be mad if she knew... "But I would have expected you to say Knuckles or Shadow was your best friend."

"I wish. But neither of them has your personality."

He suspected the answer but asked anyway, "How so?"

"Well, you're more welcoming, for one. I just feel like I can actually talk to you about things, you know?"

"That's not true. Knuckles acts all tough, but he's actually very nice when you get to know him." Not unlike you... "He'd hear you out." After a moment, he added, "I'm sure Shadow would, too." While the black hedgehog remained somewhat antisocial, the bat had nonetheless made some inroads, certainly more than anyone else. Perhaps it was because they were both reluctant to talk about themselves to others. There was no scientific evidence to back up the theory that two people who kept their guards up would choose to lower them around each other, but it seemed like a trope you'd see in a story. It seemed no less plausible than 'loser nobody liked ends up befriending a beautiful girl', except it rarely came in the tame PG version- not that he was complaining.

"Maybe, but I wish Knuckles would meet me halfway already." The omission of Shadow was duly noted. After all, the bat had been pursuing the echidna long before the hedgehog was in the picture.

"Rouge..." He reconsidered the question he was about to ask, but forged ahead. "I'm not sure how to go about asking this, so I don't mean any offense, but... how do you act around Knuckles?"

"How do I... act?" She seemed quite confused by the question.

"Well... no offense, but you know how you didn't initially get along with the others because of your..." He struggled for the right word. "...attitude?" The question fortunately remained rhetorical. "Of course, that was because they didn't really know you. Like I did. You know?"

"You mean that I was a jerk?"

That... wasn't quite what he really wanted to say. "Well, you had your rough edges back then, but what I really meant was... the whole femme fatale act wasn't really winning them over." Especially Amy...

"Fem-what?"

"Femme fatale... Uh... You know..." When he saw that she did NOT 'know' that particular Earthly nomenclature, he grit himself. "How you often make flirty comments to other guys... but not with me... as much... You're much more casual around me. And..." He stopped himself.

"And what?"

Too late to go back now. Reddening, he re-grit himself. "You're more... sweet and affectionate."

There was a beat. "I've been called many things before, but nobody's ever called me sweet."

"That's because you don't act that way around them. Do you act the same way around Knuckles now as you do around me?"

"Knuckles doesn't really strike me as the sweet and affectionate type."

"No, he really isn't," he admitted. "But he responds to kindness and... uh... goodness..." Quickly trying to right ship, he stated, "That's how me and Sonic became friends with him. We fought due to a misunderstanding, but then we helped each other out when Robotnik made his move." When Rouge remained quiet, he thought of more to say. "You know, when I first met you- or, uh, met you again without knowing it, I was... a little scared of you."

"Oh? Just a little?" she teased.

"Just a little," he joked back. "But there was something that struck me about you."

"What was that?"

"I thought that there was no way a truly bad person would wear a giant pink heart on their suit so openly."

His seat shook as a giggle ran through it. "Really? That was your big scientific hypothesis on me?"

"It was a little thin, but I was right."

"I was also mean to you."

"Yeah, but then you started showing your kind and compassionate side." There was somewhere he was going with this; he just didn't know how to get there. "That's the real you, but you only show it to me. Why can't you show that side of you to Knuckles?"

"It's... different with you."

While he understood the difference between 'just friends' and 'boyfriends', he had to ask the next question to get the point across. "How so? You like me, and you like him, so what's different?"

"I... don't know..."

There was a silence. This was something she had to figure out herself, so he wasn't going to push. Letting it drop for now, he instead asked, "Should we turn back around now?" How long had they been flying? Probably more than the original twenty minutes.

"Yeah," she said simply.

"Ready? We're turning." He (and by extension, Rouge) tilted the stick and gently banked the plane until they were on a return vector. After straightening out and leveling off, they once again were flying in silence. If she didn't want to talk about it anymore, he wouldn't push it, but he wondered if he could at least get her mind off it. An idea coming to mind, he slowly removed his hand from the stick.

"Tails?" the bat asked, concern evident in her voice.

"Don't worry, we're safely above land. Just keep doing what you're doing."

"That's all I need to do?" There was the same lack of confidence in her voice as when she was learning to cook, though with a lot more shakiness.

"Yes. You just need to keep from tilting the stick too much suddenly."

"I need to keep it steady?" Her worried tone suggested that she feared this was a task on par with balancing a stack of plates on a pole.

"Relax. If the plane starts spiraling out of control towards the ground, I'll take over."

"Tails!" she weakly snapped, not the least bit amused by the attempt at humor.

"I'm sorry," he apologized half-heartedly and with an uncharacteristically wicked laugh. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that while her face bore a fiercely annoyed look, her flattened ears betrayed the real emotion that gripped her. She clearly wasn't nearly as sure at handling planes as boys. Conjuring up a sincere face, he turned to fully face her for placation. "But seriously, you can do this." The peeved features of her expression evaporated, leaving just the unease. Her eyes gave her a very vulnerable look. She HATED looking vulnerable. He put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I'm right here if anything goes wrong. You're completely safe in this thing with me. Trust me."

Something changed slightly in her eyes. "I know that... I trust you, Tails... You're always there for me... There's no one else I feel safer with on missions..."

He blinked. Was she trying to make HIM feel better now? First bestie, now most trusted? "Really? Even more than Shadow or Omega?" As much as he loved to hear someone acknowledge his graduation to full-blown hero status, he wouldn't even pretend to be able to stand on the level of Shadow or Omega in a fight. Or Knuckles. Or Sonic. Or maybe even Rouge. Unless he had some Chaos Emeralds; then he'd totally be able to do some serious stuff.

"Well, yeah, you've actually already saved my life before. And not only that, you risked your own to do it."

"I'm not the only one who would have..."

"Maybe, but... I KNOW that you would do anything for me." She had looked away but returned her eyes to his now. "Maybe that's what's different with you... When I'm with you, you always make me feel... so..." From up close, her beautiful eyes seemed like an abyss he could fall into. Perhaps they were the secret to her appeal: the vulnerable look practically screamed that she wanted somebody to hug her tightly. Maybe he was staring and should stop, but breaking eye contact seemed like the wrong thing to do at the moment. At least not until she finished whatever she had been about to say. Maybe he should lean back though, not that she had ever seemed to be bothered by close proximity. In fact, she actually may have leaned closer. He was suddenly aware of her breath upon his muzzle...

A sudden series of shrill beeps startled them both. If they hadn't been buckled in, they probably would have jumped and hit the canopy. "OHCRAP!" He whirled back around and instinctively grabbed the yoke to pull it back and send the plane upwards in the logically safest direction.

"What is that!?" the bat shrieked, her free arm wrapping tightly around his stomach.

The beeping ceased a moment later. Everything looked fine: the plane was operating properly and their flightpath was wide open. "I think... that was a mountain." They both just sat for a minute, completely silent except for their heavy breathing, their grip remaining tight on the shaft between his legs. He relaxed his own white-knuckled grip so as not to crush her hand. He let out a nervous chuckle. "See? I told you I'd keep you safe."

Her spunk came back fast. "Hey, that wasn't my fault! You were distracting me!"

"I thought you were good at multitasking!"

"Yeah, but I've never flown a plane before!"

Several beats passed. "So how was it?"

"It was exhilarating," she flatly replied. A few more seconds elapsed, then he removed his hand entirely from the controls again. "Tails..."

"You've got it this time," he reassured, "but maybe I should just handle the landing."

"Definitely." The remainder of the flight was smooth. He didn't object when Rouge fully relinquished the controls to him for the landing. The landing, taxiing, and parking went as usual. As soon as the canopy opened he jumped out of the plane before the bat could get any ideas. That might have been unnecessary; she was only just standing up when he turned back around. He offered his hand. With a smile, she accepted it even as she climbed out on her own power.

"Good job, Tails." Before he could give a modest response she continued. "That was a good date. A little TOO exciting, but overall good."

"You're welcome." He turned to walk away but an arm planted itself on the plane and blocked his path. He turned again, only to be backed against the plane as Rouge leaned in.

"Hold on, I haven't said thanks yet." He made a few vague vocalizations of confusion as she gave him her mischievous face. "That was a good date, and you know what happens after one."

"Uh... there's several things that could..."

"I meant a KISS," she pointedly said. "It's only a first date."

Oh... "I knew that."

Before he could say anything else dumb, she closed the distance and planted her lips on his. She had kissed him a number of times by now, but nearly always on either the cheek or side of his muzzle. This was only second time it had been full on the mouth. The kiss was far gentler than the one on the rooftop that one night, though no less impactful. It was also much briefer, ending before he could even process what was happening. With another smile, she put a finger on his nose. "I think it should be your turn on the next date."

As she turned and walked away, he found his voice again. "The next date?"

DVD Commentary:

YES I MADE ANOTHER ADULT SIGHT GAG. Much less subtle than in chapter 4 because I have to actually EXPLAIN the image so I may as well just have said THEY'RE HANDLING THE COCKPIT!

And yes, Rouge expands her vocabulary due to hanging around Tails over the course of the story, though I keep forgetting to illustrate that. Was totally gonna have either Topaz or Amy (back when I wasn't sure where Girl Talk happened) point that out but I totally forgot.

Speaking of which, does anyone know a word for going "ARGH!" Grumbling? Growling? I find writing out specific actions in actual dialog (like laughs) to just look plain silly (muwuhahaha!) so I avoid that.

On a related note, this chapter should not be used as any sort of reference for flying planes.

A (highly) considered alternative to Prodigy was Primus: SO I KISSED HIM UPSIDE THE CRANIUM WITH AN ALUMINUM BASEBALL BAT MY NAME IS MUD! It just didn't cut as well.

Hmmm... I'm thinking my formerly homeless Rouge should at least know how to do basic cooking of meat with a fire or boiling stuff for survival. I don't really see her hunting, but maybe some fishing. She's just confused by more advanced stoves. To be determined another day- I'd need to amend the lead-in chapter as well. Y'all know I keep rewriting parts of my stories after publishing.

I also considered making a little nod to a certain Boom episode gag after the 'complicated' quip: "Tails, don't patronize me."

I actually had a little brainstorm about who would be who's bestie. Format is Person A considers Person B their BFF.

Sonic: Tails

Tails: Sonic

Knuckles: Sonic

Amy: Depends- technically Sonic but I'd say boy or girlfriends are a different class, and Cream would be the BFFbr /

Cream: Amy

Rouge (in canon): Knuckles or Shadow, depending on that whole boyfriend thing that SEGA's playing loose with- so our friendly open-minded Tails could still be that platonic BFF but whatever this is my story and I can do what I want

Shadow: Rouge- Maria formerly

That's all the important characters. I threw out a little bone for the Shadow/Rouge fans... because I might have Shadow do something y'all will probably hate soon. I haven't decided if it really jives yet. Don't worry, he's still got plenty of future to soften his edges.

EDIT: I removed an AO3-specific note.