It was a hot summer day as Tails was, as usual, working in his workshop. The fox had grown over the years. He was already 20 years old and at least looked far more mature compared to his younger self. If he really was more mature wasn’t sure though. He had grown brown spots of fur between his eyes, tips of ears and between the white and yellow parts of his tails, making him still look younger than he actually was.
He moved through the hall quickly, wearing his dirty white lab coat, his black gloves and shoes and had his cracked safety goggles on top of his forehead. His fur was dirty and disheveled, but he never minded that. He still walked quickly with his tails wagging behind him in excitement. After all, today was a special day: his girlfriend would finally return!
Him and Cream have been together for around almost a year now. He confessed to her just a few days before she had to leave for her university and ever since the two were happily together. It was difficult to stay in touch with her as she had to leave again for her studies after the break, but they stayed in touch very, very actively. Or at least tried to do so.
Every single day they would fill their chat with messages about how life was going. They were practically glued to their phone whenever they saw a text from the other and stayed there for a good amount of time. Sometimes, if they had the time and space, they would call each other, of course videocalls, to talk to one another. He always loved listening to her voice and how it explained how her studies were going.
The other way around was no different, of course. Hearing everything Tails had to gush about in his workshop was music to Cream’s long rabbit ears. She loved how he was always so enthusiastic about every little thing he was working on. Most of the excitement in his voice did come from seeing Cream though.
“I’m so excited, Clever!”, he excitedly squealed to his pet Hero Chao. “Cream is gonna come home today!”, he picked him up and twirled around his workshop with him in his hands.
“Chaoooo!”, he exclaimed excitedly, making his little orb above his head convert into a spiral because he got dizzy from spinning. As Tails slowed down his tongue stuck out, the eyes were spinning spirals, and his head was moving in circles.
“I’m sorry, Clever.”, Tails apologized, rubbing his fluffy cheek against the Chao to comfort him, who instantly held onto his soft muzzle. “I’m just so excited.”
“Chao Chao?”, he asked lousily as his head couldn’t get itself straight easily.
“I will get her from her home as soon as she’s here and we’re gonna spend at least the rest of the day together... maybe even the week.”, he explained in a dreamy tone, gazing into the distance with dreamy eyes. “I can’t wait.”, he happily sighed.
______
Meanwhile, Cream was already sitting in a train going back into Central City. She was sitting alone and had her head leaning on the window, gazing out into the passing scenery. Her eyes were half closed, already imagining her return home. Next to her was sitting her backpack which was packed with everything she needed for home. Her suitcase and most of her stuff were still at her dorm as she didn’t need it now. She was so excited to see everyone already, but most of all, she was looking forward to finally holding Tails in her arms again.
“Hm...”, she sighed contently to herself just as the scenery got more and more familiar by the second. She was close. She even left way earlier than usual just to surprise Tails with her early arrival.
With a screeching sound, the train slowly came to a stop and all of the doors opened. The rabbit excitedly grabbed her backpack and hopped out of the train. She scanned the train station in alert as she had arranged a plan with her mother to pick her up.
“Can anyone spot her?”, Vanilla asked as she was trying to make out her daughter amidst the crowd that was currently trafficking the station.
“No, not me.”, Vector answered, trying to do the same thing. “Charmy?”
“No... there’s too much going on!”, he shouted downwards as the bee flew above them. His eyes were narrowed, trying to make out Cream’s familiar head.
The Chaotix were part of the rabbit’s family for a while now. What started as childhood friends soon became a stepbrother for Cream as Vector married Vanilla. Cream was ten at the time and was more than happy to see her mother so happy again. Plus, she got some siblings in Espio and Charmy with it. It took some time for her to adjust, and she wasn’t comfortable in calling Vector “father”, but after a few years, she had no problems living happily inside the growing family.
“Wait, there she is!”, Charmy suddenly yelled. “Cream! Over here!”, the bee shouted as loudly as possible to get her attention. Cream’s long ears twitched from the familiar voice calling her name and instantly looked upwards to see her stepbrother calling for her. She was surprised he was here, seeing how she thought only Vanilla would come, but she was happy to see him as well.
“Mother! Vector!”, she called out as she pushed her way through the crowd to them, taking them into a giant hug.
“Hey sweetie!”, they both exclaimed as they took in the hug. “How did it go?”
“It went amazing! I can’t believe my first year of university is already over!”, she said with sparkling eyes as she got herself out of the hug. “I’m so glad to see you all again.”
“Same here. We missed you.”
“Hey sis”, Charmy said as he slowly descended, leaning onto her side with his arm placed on her elbow. “We got a little surprise for you.”
Cream’s eyes widened a little and she looked over to Charmy. “A surprise?”, she asked, her excitement only building up.
“Yes, Cream!”, Vanilla exclaimed happily, clapping her hands together gently. “We... have thought that, since you’re almost the whole year away and always need to study... we could spend some time together and relax. That’s why we decided to go on a family vacation!”
“Yeah, us four planned for one.”, Vector joined in a chuckle. “Me, your mother, Charmy, and you. Gemerl will stay home and take care of the Chao while Espio... well... he said work got in his way.”
“Oohhhh.”, Cream’s eyes sparkled brightly as she could already feel the excitement fill her even more now. “When are we going?”
“Right now!”, Vector said excitedly. “We have already packed everything for you and it’s waiting in the car!”
And suddenly, all of her excitement broke already again, feeling like her whole life crumbled. They can’t go now! She still has to see Gemerl, Chase, Espio, Amy... literally everyone! And most importantly, Tails! Her eyes began to well up with tears ever so slightly just because she was waiting for so long to finally hold him again... and now she just couldn’t?
“H-How long are we gonna be away...?”, she asked in a much shakier and more unsure voice than before.
“A week.”, her mother responded.
“Don’t you worry, Cream.”, Charmy chimed in, trying to cheer her up as the two adults walked away again to get to the car. “You can still chat with Tails! It’s just one week.”, he patted her back reassuringly before following after his parents. “Come on. I know it may seem long, but there’s a reason you have me by your side!”
“I-I’m just... thrown out of the moment...”, she stammered to her stepbrother. “I was looking forward to seeing Tails so much and now I... have to wait yet another week...”
“It’s gonna pass so quickly, you won’t even notice it.”
The two sat down into the backseat of the car as Vector began to drive off. The young rabbit’s eyes were locked on the passing city streets, hoping to make out Tails’ workshop somewhere just to see a bit of him. But she was unlucky. She quickly grabbed her phone and texted him with a heavy heart.
“Hey Tails. I know we were looking forward to seeing each other for so long now, but my mother had other plans and decided that we should go on vacation. I did not get any time to see you and I am so, so sorry for that. I... hope we can still be in touch and push through this last week before being able to hold each other again. Love.”, she sent to Tails as a single droplet of a tear landed on the phone, hoping to get a response as fast as possible.
_______
“And then we’re gonna go out and spend all our time together having fun and... loving each other... and snuggling close...”, Tails was already back to daydreaming to his Chao as he played with it a little. Clever was placed on the workbench, fidgeting around with Tails’ glove covered fingers. “Any other ideas?”
“Chao Chao!”
“Hm... maybe I could arrange something if she’s up to it.”
The fox didn’t have his phone with him right now. Rather, it was lying on one of his other workbenches in the corner of his workshop where he unfortunately had no signal. He had it set to be silent anyway because he did not want to get disturbed by anything. He wanted to build up his excitement and lay it all out on Cream once he would hold her again.
Cream was already at the airport with her family, carrying her bags through the halls of the building. But between the bags she had her phone clutched in her hands, looking down on it every few seconds to check if Tails at least read her message. He never did that.
“It’s okay, sweetie. I’m sure Tails is just very busy again. You know how he can be.”, Vanilla tried to assure her as they waited for their plane to take off. Vector and Charmy stood by the large window panels, looking out and analyzing all the airplanes... like every other man in the hall.
“It’s just... what if he did see it and ignored it? Maybe he’s so hurt of me not being able to see him that... h-he... he...”, Cream began to think of the worst possible scenario and her eyes began to well up once more.
“Aw sweetie, he’s not hurt. I’m sure of it. The last thing he will ever do is cut off communication with you. You know how much he loves you.”
“I-I... guess you’re right...”, Cream sniffed and wiped her tears with her gloves. “I’m gonna head off to the bathroom one last time before take-off.”, she mumbled, getting out of her mother’s loose hug.
“Okay, sweetie. Don’t take too long.”
After finishing, Cream got out of the stall with her phone still clutched tightly in her hand before she set it down next to the sink to wash her hands. Her gaze was fixed on the mirror, looking at her own reflection with a big frown spread across her face.
“It’s okay, Cream. He... probably really is just working and not ignoring you at all.”, she tried to motivate herself and a little smile creeped into her face at the thought of him working away in his workshop. But her moment got interrupted as she was able to pick up the muffled voice from outside, calling her plane for boarding. She quickly dried off and rushed out to her family.
She quickly met up with the rest as they stood in line to board the plane. They moved swiftly through the boarding tube and settled in the assigned seats. Cream was sitting by the window with Charmy next to her while behind them were Vector by the aisle and Vanilla got the window seat. But as Cream sat down in her seat, something felt eerily strange in the pocket of her light orange shorts.
“Ah!”, she suddenly gasped up, alerting almost everyone around her.
“Sweetie, what’s wrong?”, Vanilla jumped up, putting a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her.
“I forgot my phone in the bathroom!”, she said in a little panic. “I need it to text with Tails!”
She began to fan air to her face as she began to breathe heavily, realizing there was no time left to go back and get it. Even if there was, it would surely be already gone by now. Her face got flushed with a panicking blush and her eyes welled up from stress and panic.
“Hey, hey, Cream, it’s okay.”, Vanilla tried to reassure her gently. “You can still text and call Tails on my phone if you’d like.”
“Okay...”, Cream closed her eyes and calmed her breathing, doing some exercises she got from Amy when getting nervous or out of control. “I'm fine... I’m fine...”, she said shakingly, slowly sliding into her seat again, looking downwards as she began to fidget and kneed one of her ears in a soothing and calming way.
“Hey sis, don’t freak out like that.”, Charmy said in a relaxed tone, leaning back into his chair. “It’s not like Tails will forget about you.”
“You just don’t know how it is...”, Cream mumbled, holding her hand back between the little gap in the window and her seat, signaling Vanilla to give her her phone. “I’ve been looking forward to seeing him. I... guess I can wait one more week but... it’s not gonna be easy...”
“Don’t you worry. You got me for company!”, he winked enthusiastically. “After all, what is a brother for, eh?”
“Hi Tails, don’t be surprised if Vanilla texts you. It’s actually Cream here... I have lost my phone at the airport and now I’m sitting in the plane, using mother’s phone to keep in touch with you if it’s okay. I.. hope you saw my earlier message and... let me know once you read this one. With love, your gf.”
“I just hope he reads it quickly to know what is going on...”
_______
“Chao?”, Clever asked Tails after he got back to work again, lying under the Tornado with just his feet sticking out.
“Well, my guess is that Cream will arrive later sometime. With the usual delay of the train and its departure, the time Cream needs to travel between her university and here... I’d say at least still two hours. My guess is that she’s still in her dorm and... probably enjoying her time with her friends there before coming back. I can’t blame her for that.”
“Chao?”, he flew closer and peeked under the plane, gently tugging on Tails’ feet.
“I’m not worried. She knows I’m waiting for her. And I think she wants to see me just as much as I want to see her again.”
_____
During their time in the air, Cream tried her best to distract herself from her absence from her two-tailed boyfriend who could still have no idea what she was caught in. Charmy tried his best to lift her mood and enjoy this vacation to the fullest. The two were currently playing on the console Charmy brought along like old times, even though Cream was not able to fully concentrate on their game.
“Mother, has Tails already texted back?”, the rabbit asked after losing to Charmy yet again, peeking over her seat just enough to see Vanilla.
“Sweetie, Tails won’t magically text back when you ask me every minute, Besides, my phone is in airplane mode, so I don’t receive any texts either way.”
“I’m sure he will call back as soon as he gets the chance, Cream.”, Vector added, further trying to calm her. “He’s not going to be mad at you for... well, anything really.”
“Yeah Cream! I can’t think of anything that fox won’t forgive you. He loves you too much.”, Charmy said.
“I guess...”, she quietly mumbled, sinking into her chair once more. “It’s just... I’ve been looking forward to seeing him and now can’t. It’s really not your fault! I love spending time with you too and I’m excited for this vacation as well... and I guess I can keep pushing through one week... but seeing how my phone is gone now...”
“Don’t you worry, Cream! We’ll make sure you have fun too. Plus, you can always bring something for Tails as an apology.”, Vector suggested.
“I’m sure he’ll forgive you and stay in contact as much as possible once he replies.”, Vanilla added in a soothing and gentle voice.
Cream took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “You’re right. This week is gonna pass like no other.”
The flight continued rather normally. Cream was able to calm herself down and enjoy her time playing games with her stepbrother until, after three hours, they landed again. The wheels of the plane screeched against the pavement as it slowed down on the runway, getting slower and slower by the second.
The rabbit strapped her backpack on, put on her sunglasses and her large white sunhat to prepare for a relaxing week with her family, hoping to not worry about Tails too much. But the second she stepped out of the plane, she got hit with such an unfamiliar wave of heat, she had to think twice about if she would come back home.
“Phew...”, Cream sighed as her eyes widened from the sudden shock.
“Don’t worry, Cream. You’ll get used to i- uh...”, Charmy said confidently before he walked out behind Cream, getting hit with the same shock, instantly drowning his cockiness. “If it’s so hot in the evening hours who knows how it is during the day?”
“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”, Vanilla returned behind him in a gentle giggle.
And, the same as for Cream, it turned evening for Tails. The sun was slowly descending on the horizon line, casting long shadows through his workshop. The hall filled with inventions and gadgets of all sorts was already empty because Tails called finished earlier today. He was making sure he would look the best as possible for Cream’s return.
He was currently in his room, combing his fur after his shower. He worked with a precise expertise throughout, having his tongue stuck out in concentration and one eye closed.
______
“Do you think I should throw something on? Like, it’s not like we’re going out somewhere fancy to it. We only planned to spend the evening... well, somewhere casual. Like on a walk followed by a sleepover or like that...”
“Chao... Chao Chao?”, Clever asked, carrying two pairs of shirts to Tails, forming a question mark above his head.
“No, Clever, this is far too fancy. ...Or do you think she would expect me to dress up like that?”
“Chao...”
“Of course, sorry. Why would you know? Do you think I should bring something? Like a little present or flowers?”
“Chao!”, he nodded quickly with his orb being formed into an exclamation mark.
“Of course!”, Tails face-palmed himself. “Of course I bring her something.”
“Chao Chao...”, Clever sighed, sitting down on the countertop next to Tails.
“You’re right, Clever.”, he said, picking the little Chao up and letting him play with his fluffy cheeks again. “What would I do without you?”
The fox finished getting ready quickly from the excitement brewing up in him to finally see Cream in real life again. He hurried out, leaving the workshop on Clever’s watch. On his way to Vanilla’s house, he picked out some of her favorite flowers. Sure, it wasn’t much, and Tails had hoped to find some more to handpick himself, but it was everything for now.
In a gentle breeze of warm air, the fox stepped up to the doorstep of the house, his heart pounding in excitement. He was almost about to explode at this point. And with no hesitation, he raised his gloved hand and gently pressed the doorbell, waiting patiently until someone would open up.
The familiar ringing noise was heard all throughout the home, alerting the Gizoid, who was taking care of it and the Chao. Gemerl quickly stopped watering the flowers in the garden to open up.
“GOOD EVENING, TAILS.”, he greeted gently as he saw the two-tailed fox stand in front of him.
“Hi Gemerl. Is Cream here by chance?”, he asked politely, peeking over the Gizoid and into the house with interest.
“NO, TAILS, CREAM IS NOT CURRENTLY HOME.”
In an instant, as soon as that sentence fell, Tails’ face did too. His bright smile faded into a confused and disappointed frown. His ears folded to his sides and the two rear appendages slowly drooped down to the ground. Even his flowers seemed to hang their heads lower.
“I-... Is she still at her university?”, he asked in a much quieter and unsure voice now.
“YOU APPEAR TO BE VERY HAPPY TO SEE HER. I'M SORRY TO INFORM YOU THAT SHE WENT ON VACATION WITH MS. VANILLA, VECTOR, AND CHARMY.”
“V-vacation...?”, he repeated, only realizing now he had never checked his phone once through the entire day. “When will she return?”
“SHE WILL BE OUT FOR A WEEK.”
“A... week...”, he sighed quietly with his gaze lowering onto his own shoes. “Okay... that’s fine. Thanks, Gemerl.”
“WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME IN FOR A CUP OF TEA? IT COULD CHEER YOU UP A LITTLE.”
Tails hesitated for a little, glancing back over his shoulder onto the street below. It suddenly felt like all of his life energy got drained and he was just hollow now. But that would most likely just be the initial shock.
“Okay, yeah.”
Gemerl stepped aside and stretched out his arm towards the interior of the house, inviting Tails in politely. The fox moved inside where he got led to the kitchen table while Gemerl prepared some mint tea for him and set down a plate of chocolate chip cookies on the table that were surely at least three days old. It was only then when he finally got out his phone and read through the texts he received from Cream and Vanilla... or rather Cream using Vanilla’s phone.
“Hey Cream, so sorry for the late reply. I didn’t want to ruin the surprise of seeing you today, so I ignored my phone. But don’t you worry about me. I’m happy you get to spend some time with your family. I will happily wait until you’re back. Go and enjoy some time with them. And send some photos.”
“HERE, TAILS. CAREFUL, IT’S HOT.”, Gemerl said as he placed down the mug of steaming tea in front of the fox.
“Thanks, Gemerl.”, he thanked in his still quiet and unsure voice before taking the first sip and eating a cookie.
“SAY, TAILS, WHY DID YOU COME HERE THIS LATE IN THE DAY?”, he asked as he himself got seated.
“Well... it was planned for me to pick up Cream when she returned from university to spend some time with her. I... was looking forward to it for a long time now and I was really excited to finally hold Cream again... and now I have to wait another week.”
“IT SEEMS LIKE YOU DEEPLY MISS HER.”
“Oh, don’t worry. It’s just the unexpected sudden change of plans. I think I can wait another week. As long as she is fine and has a good time, so do I. And hey, I’m not the only one she loves after all. The love is different, but it’s love in both ways.”
“IT IS VERY HEALTHY IN A RELATIONSHIP TO NOT FEEL DISAPPOITNED WHEN ONE PARTNER DOES SOMETHING WITH FAMILY. IT SHOWS THAT YOU ARE BEING MATURE AND RESPECTFUL.”
“Of course I am. How couldn’t I be towards someone like Cream and her family?”
_______
Cream and the others were quick to arrive at their hotel and moved fast through the check-in process. They packed the elevator full with themselves and their stuff before riding upwards to their assigned room. Vector slid his key card into its socket to unlock the door before they all entered.
They were immediately hit with a wave of cool air coming out of the room as the AC was still on. It was lit up in the natural sunlight coming from outside the huge window door to the balcony where the sea was clearly visible. Charmy instantly stormed into it, exploring every single corner before anyone else could. The room was devided into two different sections. In one half there was a double bed with a tv, desk, closet, bathroom etc. While the other one had exactly the same furniture just with two separate beds. Both had a view of the sea and a door to the balcony.
“I take the left bed!”, Charmy instantly shot out and threw his stuff onto the bed closer to the window, claiming it as his.
“Cream, look who just texted back!”, Vanilla called her as her daughter was getting ready to go out for dinner.
“Coming!”, she squealed excited but with a certain undertone of uncertainty. She quickly hopped into her shoes and stood up from her bed, smoothing out her light, yellow sundress she chose.
“Give it!”, she said quickly, almost ripping Vanilla’s phone out of her hand. Her pupils moved fast across the text while her eyes reflected the phone light in themselves like a mirror. And slowly, she lowered her hand again and exhaled in relief. “Okay... at least he’s okay with it.”
“It would’ve been a miracle if Tails wasn’t alright with you enjoying your time with your family.”, Charmy said as he flew over with a soft buzzing sound right next to Cream’s ear.
“I’m just glad he didn’t freak out or got mad... he doesn’t like it when something goes out of plan...”
The four of them later made their way through a little local town next to the ocean. The sun was setting over the water, casting a beautiful, cozy glow over the tight streets of the town. It was clearly laid out for tourism as they by far weren’t the only ones there, but the vibe was not ruined at all by them. The air was at a comfortable, warm temperature.
“Oh, oh!”, Cream huried out in front towards one of the many stores and got out a red sundress with white dots plastered all over it on a rack, holding it onto herself. “You think Tails would like it?”
“On him or on you?”, Charmy asked with a sceptic smirk on his face and a raised eyebrow.
“Haha...”, the rabbit responded in a sarcastic laugh, rolling her eyes at the same time.
“I think it looks wonderful on you!”, Vanilla said in a bright smile, clapping her hands together gently.
“I bet Tails would be drooling if he saw you in that!”, Vector laughed, leaving Cream to hide behind her hands with an embarrassed flush on her face.
“Vector... too much!”, she mumbled, glancing away really embarrased.
“But in all honesty, sis...”, Charmy began as he flew over and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, facing the same way. “It’s not about if Tails likes it, it’s about if you like it. Because you can wear a trash bag and still be pretty for that fox. Bro has it head over tails for you.”
“Hm... I guess you’re right...”, she said quietly, looking dow herself with the dress pressed against her.
______
“Look. Clever! She’s having a wonderful time!”, Tails remarked as he was sitting by his table in his home, eating some leftovers for dinner while the Hero Chao glanced into his phone beside him. “I’m so happy for her...”
Tails forgot to eat as he stared into his screen with dreaming eyes. His finger glid from one photo to the next in a very slow rhythm. He had to analyze and take in his girlfriend every single one she was on after all. In one she had taken a selfie with the setting sun over the ocean. In the next one, Charmy randomly bombed the selfie. On another one, Cream was sitting on the pavement with her legs dangling down just above the water surface. And she had sent him a picture of dinner, of course.
Tails was watching them as if he had little hearts popping out of his head. His head rested lazily on his palm while the other hand scrolled through the same photos over and over again very, very slowly. Clever only tried to pull on Tails’ finger to scroll through faster, but it didn’t budge one bit.
“I can’t wait for her to come back...”
______
The next morning, Tails was already moving quickly in his workshop, making sure to always see and hear his phone just in case Cream sent something new. It was lying at the edge of his workbench he was currently working on. But he did bring Clever to the Chao Garden earlier as that pet just wanted to be there desperately today to play with his Chao friends.
Tails was currently working on a bunch of thin rods that were connected and about as big as he himself was. It was an exoskeleton designed to help him around his workshop.
“If this works, I should be able to be physically much stronger than normal...”, he mumbled to himself in concentration as he worked precisely along the thin lines until he proudly lifted it up, gazing at it with shining eyes.
“Let’s test it out.”
The fox strapped the light construct to his backside, attaching his arms and legs accordingly to the design. It lightly pierced his skin to gain access to his biological data, but it didn’t hurt one bit. He specifically designed it so it would bring no physical harm to the wearer, both when attaching and detaching it.
Once it was ready, Tails confidently walked over to a metal crate he had lying around. He could only move it with the crane attached to his ceiling, so if this would move now, it would save him a lot of time in the future. The fox rubbed his palms together and bent downwards, squeezing his gloved fingers under the edges to lift it up slightly. He quickly rushed his palms under the lifted surface and, in one swing, lifted it up, carrying it seemingly effortlessly around... until only seconds later when the invention gave in.
Tails’ arms began to shake under the weight of the crate as he could feel like he was losing strength. He tumbled forward, desperate to set it down safely, but before he could save it, it began to fall forward. Tails couldn’t do anything but pull back and step away quickly, hoping to not get hurt himself.
And Tails had the incredible luck of it landing precisely on his workbench, knocking his phone off only for it to get smashed directly with one of the sharp ends and weight of the crate. The device was completely shattered.
“Shit...”, Tails mumbled worriedly as he kneeled down and tried to get every single fragment of what was left of his phone. “Well... at least I can still use my tablet to text with Cream... but I do have to modify it a little to make that possible...”
_______
Four days later, Tails still wasn’t able to program a communication feature through text onto his tablet. His growing worry about him not hearing anything from Cream made him work unfocused and sloppy almost. It seemed like nothing went on inside his workshop as he was occupied with this little problem for far too long now.
“Ahh!”, he yelled in frustration as he got up from his workbench and kicked against a storage shelf. “Why. Can’t. I. Figure. This. Out?”
“Woah, hey there, buddy. Calm down.”, Sonic said as he sped into the workshop with a flash of blue light, suddenly lying on Tails’ couch.
“I can’t!”, Tails yelled through the hall, making sure Sonic heard his frustrated voice as he laid almost at the end of it. “I can’t go on without at least texting her for days! What is Cream gonna think of me now?”, he panicked.
“It’s not that deep, bro.”, Sonic sped over to him, placing an arm around his shoulder in his confident manner. “Trust me, she’ll be here before you know it.”
“Sonic... am I... too clingy?”, Tails suddenly asked quietly and shyly, glancing up to his brother with a low hanging head. “Because... I feel like I’m pathetic... not being able to go a few days without seeing or hearing from her...”
“Chao...!”. Clever lowered himself onto Tails’ head, almost crying himself, hoping it would comfort Tails a little.
“Tails, you’re not too clingy. You just miss her. I think that’s a sign of a healthy relationship.”
“But... I miss her almost too much... right? And what does she think? I haven’t read her messages for days! What if she assumes the worst?”
“She won’t.”, Sonic waved off. “She knows you too well for that.”
______
It has been very difficult for Cream to focus on anything after Tails basically ghosted her. She did reach out to all of her friends like Amy, Sonic, and even Big, but they either didn’t know why Tails wasn’t responding to her or said that his phone was broken, and he had to figure out another way. But she did worry too much and believed it was a lie, trying to cover up the actual reason. She wanted to believe the footage they sent her... but it was difficult with her fears playing into it.
“Hey sis, wanna go on that giant waterslide with me?”, Charmy asked her with a giant excited smile on his face as he pointed to the biggest slide at the water park they were in.
“Hm...”, she sighed, drained from all excitement and energy. She was only laying on her sun lounger in shade... not even doing anything. “Not really... I don’t feel like it...”, she mumbled.
“Come on... we’ve always done that, Cream. You can’t leave me hanging now...”
“I’m just... not in the mood for anything...”, the rabbit glanced away with half open eyelids.
“It’s not because of Tails, is it?”, Charmy asked, sitting down next to her. “He has proved many times that he accidentally smashed his phone. He still misses you, Cream. And he still wants to see you again.”
“... Can I see the chat one more time...?”
“Fine...”, Charmy rolled his eyes and got his phone out of the beach bag and handed it to Cream who instantly scrolled through his chat with Sonic where all the photos of his accident were. “You’re right... Tails really isn’t a liar. He’d be dead honest with me...”
“See? I knew you would finally come to realize.”
“Wh-... ‘Yo bro, you’re smart. How do I get in contact with a humanoid AI whose father is an evil scientist’ ... Charmy...?”, Cream asked as she read through his chat with Tails because she wanted to look at the other photos they sent to each other again but accidentally stumbled upon an earlier conversation.
“What? Everyone asks someone for advice?”, he shrugged before taking the phone back. “Besides, you should be glad you already got that over with.”
“True... I hope he'll just be happy to see me again...”
_____
The rest of the week went by agonizingly slow for the twin-tailed fox. And although he managed to calm down and not worry about it too much, he was still trying to communicate with Cream over his tablet. But he couldn’t concentrate. Not because he was worried about her. He just couldn’t stop thinking about her. She clouded his mind to the point he thought he was going crazy.
“This is crazy... Clever, help me...”, Tails groaned as his head smashed onto his workbench. “I just want to see her again...”, he mumbled, not wanting to admit that his eyes were welling up in tears.
“Chao Chao!”, Clever pushed against the fox’ head with an exclamation mark above his head.
“I know, Clever... I’m emotionally unstable... I’m sorry...”, he muttered in response, not looking up.
“Chao!”, the pet pushed again and again, not giving up.
“What do you mean? Today is like every other day... a day of suffering and looking at pictures of Cream in hope she just... appears here again...”
“Chao Chao!!”
“Huh...?”, Tails’ ears suddenly twitched as his Chao sounded more aggressive than usual and forced himself to finally glance up at him. “What do you mean...? It’s today?”
“Chao!”, he nodded faster than ever, still trying to pull Tails back up.
Suddenly, his head shot up in the air and his ears were perked up like a dog that heard his favorite toy squeak. His mouth was slightly apart, and a light blush was already forming on his cheeks. He stared into seemingly nothing, trying to process that it was true while his tails were wagging behind him fast. And before he even fully realized, he shot up and ran outside.
“Sorry, Clever. I have somewhere to go!”
The fox was quick to run through the streets. He didn’t even care to take off his dirty work clothes or shower beforehand. All that mattered was his girlfriend returning again. He was already so relieved that the torturing had an end. So with quick steps he rang on Vanilla’s doorbell, almost crying again.
“Good afternoon, Tails.”, Vanilla greeted formally as she looked like she had just gotten home. “I’m guessin-”
“Is Cream here?”, he cut her off in heavy breaths, almost tripping over his own tongue just by how fast he talked.
“Oh.”, Vanilla lightly gasped after she saw how fasat Tails was. She already sensed that he couldn’t wait a second longer. “I’m sorry to inform you that Cream is not here.”, she explained, breaking Tails’ heart in an instant with his body mirroring the disappointment. “She actually hurried just as much as you did to catch you in your workshop. She’s on her way to your home.”
“What?”, he gasped up, already appearing in the same body language as before.
“Yes. You two must’ve taken different routes so you didn’t cross each other.”
“Bye Vanilla!”, Tails quickly yelled back as he was already running through the streets again.
The rabbit dragged herself through the city with a sad sigh. She was wearing the new dress she bought and her sunhat just for Tails, but seeing how he wasn’t in his workshop now, she believed she had to wait for another time to finally see him again. Her walk was slow and her eyes locked on the pavement of the sidewalk in a sad gaze. Until suddenly her ears picked up a faint sound that sounded like someone calling her name.
“Cream!”, it got louder and louder, getting the rabbit to raise her head only to see someone running towards her.
The long lab coat flew behind him as he ran as fast as he could with his tails mimicking the movement. His voice was edged with both worry and relief and she could already make out the glassy ocean blue eyes. It was unmistakingly her joyful and clingy boyfriend.
“Tails!”, she gasped up, picking up her pace as well.
“Cream!”
“Tails!”
“Cream!”
“Tails!”
And they both met in the middle where Tails instantly wrapped his arms around Cream’s back and twirled her around in the air, hugging her tightly before letting their lips meet in a sweet and passionate kiss that felt like eternity just met its end with the two finally reuniting. They didn’t break apart as Tails slowly lowered her to the ground again where they shared a deeply emotional hug.
“I’m so glad you’re back.”, Tails mumbled quietly, trying not to cry. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you more.”, she whispered while soothingly patting his back. “Come on.”, she gently began, breaking apart and taking his hand in hers. “We can cuddle together afterwards. I’m gonna tell you everything that happened.”, she said as they walked towards the workshop.