Clereen's Story

Chapter 6 - One Big Family

After resting for a few hours, Clereen woke up. She tried to pull herself up but it felt like gravity was twice as strong and she quickly put her hand to her head as she realised she had a bad headache. Clereen could hear shouting outside the bedroom. She tried to ignore it but her ears couldn’t help but hone in on the conversation.

“We can’t leave this any longer! You saw what she did with that robot! That is incredible power, she could destroy towns in an instant with that!”

“But you told me yourself she did it to destroy the robot holding you prisoner! She was trying to save you! How the hell can you call her a spy when she saved your life?!”

A spy?! Clereen curled up in her bed. I’m not a spy. I would never do that to them. Knuckles saved my life and no-one else had done anything wrong. Why would they think that? Clereen grew scared. If they think I’m a spy, what would they do to me? Would they try to hurt me? Clereen remembered the night of the gunshot once again and everything was still crystal clear as the day it happened. What if they kicked me out? I can’t survive out there on my own! They will catch me! Clereen’s eyes began to water but then she remembered what happened earlier today.

“You were looking straight at the robot and you didn’t do anything” “you didn’t do anything” Amy’s words echoed in her head. “What the hell are YOU going to do”. I can’t let them think I am a spy. I can’t tell them anything else. If they find out about what I can really do then they will kill me for sure. This is no time to cry. I can’t let them know. I’m not a spy. Clereen had made her decision just as Tails barged through the door with Knuckles not far behind her.

“Alright, you!” Tails said pointing at Clereen accusingly. Tails came right up to Clereen’s face before yelling at her.

“Who are you? What are you? What are you doing here?” Tails fired questions at her but Clereen said nothing.

“Give her a break! Her- you know what happened!” Knuckles screamed at Tails, trying to reason with her but to no avail. Clereen was trying to hold in the tears until now but then she realised that this could be a good time to cry so she let go.

“SEE!! She’s still grieving Tails!” Knuckles yelled. Tails stepped back a bit and thought for a second.

“Well how do we know she isn’t faking it?” Tails said and then she stared Clereen dead in the eyes. It wasn’t working. She needed to cry more. Clereen didn’t want to do it but she thought hard about what happened and how much she loved the professor. All those moments they had together. It worked and soon Clereen was balling. Tails took a step back and looked over at Knuckles for confirmation. Knuckles just glared at her with great hatred. Tails looked down with shame.

“OK” she said in a sad and quieter tone, unnatural for Tails, before leaving without another word. Knuckles looked at Clereen a little while and thought about talking to her but Clereen turned away in her bed. Knuckles then closed the door to leave her in peace. It had worked! Clereen didn’t feel happy about it though. She hated trying to trick them but in the end it wasn’t a lie. She did miss her father terribly and she did hate to think about it. She couldn’t stand it but perhaps obscuring the truth would be enough to keep her safe, at least for now.

After a while Clereen found herself feeling hungry and bored. She wished to get up and wander around as normal but the thought of the others judging her every move made her anxious to even move a muscle. Clereen’s stomach reminded her that she didn’t have much choice. She got up and peeked around the doorway. Seeing no-one, she went down the corridor trying to be as quiet as possible. Unfortunately, it was pretty obvious to Knuckles, who had been keeping an eye on her bedroom for a while now, that she was acting strangely.

“Clereen”

Clereen squeaked and jumped at the sound of a voice amongst the quiet.

“Calm down, Clereen. It’s just me” Knuckles reassured her. Clereen didn’t feel quite that comforted by the thought this time.

“Clereen, what are you doing?”

“D-doing what?” Clereen answered nervously

“Come on, Clereen. What’s wrong?”

“I” Clereen was about to confess but she told herself she mustn’t.

“I’m hungry” Clereen said, trying to change the subject.

“You have never felt nervous about going to get food before” Knuckles said with a great deal of suspicion. He was onto her like a shot. Clereen tried to think of what to say but she struggled to think of anything reasonable.

“Is it because of what Tails said?”

Oh no. He’s got it. Clereen hung her head in shame. She was about to beg for forgiveness when Knuckles put his hand on her shoulder.

“It’s OK. She just doesn’t understand. Don’t let it upset you, OK” Knuckles looked so honest and sincere that Clereen felt like she couldn’t interrupt. However, she also wasn’t too sure whether he was referring to what she was thinking. He didn’t seem to hate her. He must be talking about the part where she made her cry. Not about being a spy, surely. Clereen took a little sigh of relief at the thought that her cover hadn’t been blown. What Knuckles was saying wasn’t too far from what she was worried about so she figured that maybe she was trying too hard. It would be a better act the more casual she was so Clereen tried to put on a brave face.

Clereen’s stomach growled, reminding her of what she got for in the first place. Knuckles smiled

“Well go on then, get yourself something to eat you idiot” Knuckles said playfully. Clereen smiled and wandered off to the fridge. Clereen passed Tails and she instinctively cowered and ran as fast as she could past her view. Knuckles came down the stairs soon after her and stared Tails down. Tails looked away anxiously and when they were gone she breathed a deep sigh.

Clereen decided to spend the afternoon watching TV. Hell, it is pretty much all she knew. She felt most comfortable when watching the TV and eating snacks. Anna soon passed on her way to another room and noticed her lying on the couch.

“Oh, Clereen. You’re up!” She said with a joyful tone.

“Yeah” Clereen responded rather slowly.

“I haven’t spoken to you a lot. Do you mind if we talk?” Anna said rather friendly.

“I’d rather not”

“Why? Are you upset about something?” How come everyone in this house could understand how she felt so easily?! Was she that easy to read?!

“No, I-I don’t want to talk about it” Clereen honestly felt tired and just didn’t feel bothered enough to go through more stress with trying to be social.

“Are you sure?” Anna said in a sweet comforting voice. Clereen turned to her to see her smiling back at her. Great, now she felt bad. Clereen wasn’t bothered to talk but she was even less bothered to argue or put up with upsetting someone. She has had enough with being upset recently.

“OK” she sighed while still watching the TV. She tried to give every signal she didn’t want to talk, in the hopes Anna would go away but she didn’t. Anna sat down quietly next to her and waited, patient for a response. Clereen tried not to look at her but she felt guilty when she didn’t.

“It’s OK. Don’t mind me. We can just sit and watch TV if you want” Clereen liked the sound of that. To be honest, Clereen barely knew anything about Anna so there wasn’t any reason to be scared of her. She hadn’t been saying anything against her, in fact, she was the only one to defend her from Amy’s ruthless verbal attack.

The rest of the day actually turned out rather enjoyable. Anna made some conversation about the show that came on the TV and Clereen and Anna had a good chat about it. Then Clereen shared some snacks with her and they talked about that until, in the end, they were laughing and joking and feeling rather comfortable in each other’s company. Anna got to cuddling and petting Clereen again. It was so fun for them both the first time and Clereen didn’t have to stop her foot from kicking this time.

“The way you cuddle me is so gentle!” Clereen remarked

“And you are so fluffy and soft” Anna chuckled. Clereen’s stomach growled once again and she grabbed a crisp packet to satisfy her cravings.

“Clereen, why do you eat so much? How do you get it in that little belly of yours?” Anna asked inquisitively. Clereen remembered her promise to herself and tried to keep it brief.

“I dunno. I have always been like that. I guess it was just the way I was born” Clereen said, trying to shove more crisps in her mouth than she could hold in her hand.

“You know, I barely get to see my parents anymore” Anna said, suddenly sounding much sadder. Clereen froze in her tracks and looked at her.

“Ever since they left me I haven’t had very good self-control. I have been getting pretty fat.”

“What?! You’re not fat?!” Clereen retaliated. Anna looked over at Clereen with a solemn expression.

“I am!” Clereen said slapping her belly, trying to lighten the mood. Anna chuckled a bit but then frowned again.

“No really, Clereen. I am overweight. I worry about it sometimes. I don’t want people to think I am greedy”

“I don’t think you’re greedy or fat!” Clereen said, starting to worry about where this conversation is going.

“I can show you my belly. Then you would agree with me” Then Anna pulled up her shirt a little to reveal a slight roll of fat.

“But that’s nothing! If I didn’t notice then no-one else is gonna notice!” Clereen said

“Do you really think so?” Anna said with pleasant surprise.

“Yeah” Clereen said.

“My parents have been gone so long” Anna whispered.

“And ever since they left I have been eating and eating” Then Anna turned to Clereen

“But now that all this has happened, although it has been scary, I feel more excited and happy again” Clereen noticed her eyes starting to water but she couldn’t take her eyes off her.

“I’m just so lonely” Anna started to sob. Clereen shuffled uncomfortably, not knowing what to do. After a while of looking around, trying to think of a solution or hoping that someone would come in and help, Anna grabbed Clereen in a tight hug. Clereen put out her arms around Anna and closed her eyes. She sort of understood how she felt and could feel her pain deeply. It wasn’t long before she too started to shed a few silent tears. No-one came to see the couple during their sad moment and that was probably for the best. The two quietly held each other in each other’s arms until they were both ready to let go.

“I’m sorry I upset you. I know you have been through a lot recently but I just had to-” Anna tried to explain herself but Clereen interrupted her

“It’s OK. Don’t worry about it. I don’t mind” It even surprised Clereen that this was true. This was a moment that, despite the bad last few days, she didn’t want to miss.

“Thank you” Anna smiled

“For listening and-” Clereen put her hand on her mouth.

“Shut up” Clereen said before smiling

“Too much?” Anna asked cheerily

“Too much” Clereen confirmed.

“Let’s watch some more TV” Clereen said as she noticed the electronic box glowing in front of her. Anna agreed and they continued as they were. Clereen watched with a smile. She felt like she had done a good deed. She hadn’t tried to but she felt good for it nevertheless. Today hadn’t been too bad a day after all. At least she had made someone else’s day brighter. Then Clereen thought of something. Anna had clearly shared something very close to her heart. Perhaps it was time to expose something that hurt her to.

“D-Do you think I am a bad person?” Clereen asked while trying not to look at Anna.

“Oh! Of course not! Why would you think that?!” Anna said cheerfully, as if it was a joke.

“Well, I...” Clereen wasn’t sure how to put it. Anna saw her face and realised she was being serious.

“Awww come on, Clereen. You’re not a bad person. You rescued me, Tails and Amy earlier today!”

“But Amy said...”

“Oh! Forget what Amy said!” Anna dismissed the notion like it was as ridiculous as an icecream during the coldest winter.

“She’s just a bully. She’s been picking on you and she hasn’t been very nice to me either”

“Has she?” Clereen said with genuine pleasant surprise.

“Yeah. I don’t know what’s wrong with her but she just doesn’t seem to like anybody”

“Yeah” Clereen agreed in deep thought

“I’m glad it’s not just me” Clereen was happy to find someone she could so openly talk to about all these things that had bothered her recently. She wasn’t used to not having people to talk to. The professor was always there to talk to about anything and everything. She never felt like she needed to hide anything other than the occasional stolen cake from the fridge or little prank. It had been very taxing on her to hide all of this inside her and it felt like a million weights had been lifted from her shoulders.

“Besides, everyone has flaws. It’s natural” Anna continued

“Yeah” Clereen agreed. Just then, Clereen got an idea.

“Like this!” Clereen let out a loud fart. Anna couldn’t stop laughing

“Oh, Clereen!!” Anna was barely able to say due to her cries of laughter. Then just when it seemed things would calm down a little, Knuckles entered the room.

“Oh god! Did someone just-” Knuckles was cut off by bellows of laughter exploding from both Clereen and Anna. Then Sonic entered the room.

“What’s going on in here ARGH!” Sonic quickly covered his nose with both hands. Clereen and Anna laughed even harder and then Clereen continued to fart again.

“Oh god. I think I need to go to the toilet” Clereen said. Clereen then rushed off towards the bathroom while trying not to laugh anymore from worry of relieving herself a little too much. Anna continued to laugh so hard her eyes started to water once again.

“Glad to see you two are having a good time” Knuckles said sarcastically while trying to wave away the smell with his large white glove.

When dinner time arrived, Clereen was nervous but her nerves were easily dispelled when Anna offered to sit with her. Knuckles had made an effort to go around and make sure everyone was aware that Clereen had had a bad day. No-one reacted or talked to her over dinner except Anna. Clereen was glad there was no more drama throughout the day and she finally got the chance to relax a little. She had even made a new friend. Clereen slept very soundly that night as soon as she hit those soft white blankets. Tomorrow was another day.

The next day, Clereen woke up to deep thoughts again but she tried not to let it bother her. It didn’t matter what she was worried about. For now things were fine and she should enjoy it while it lasts. Clereen got up and had breakfast with everyone else. Everyone was starting to get a little more used to Clereen’s eating habits and didn’t seem to mind. Anna was there to greet her in the morning to so Clereen didn’t feel so uncomfortable anymore. Clereen was shining with a newfound confidence. Since she was in such a good mood, Clereen offered to tidy the bowls and plates from breakfast. However, just as she was about to do so and everyone had left the room, Amy approached her.

Clereen was suddenly startled by Amy staring her straight in the eyes “Don’t get too comfortable. I know what you’re doing” Amy accused with a snide tone. Clereen cowered nervously but tried to continue to clean up so as not to get too upset.

“You may have everyone else wading you hand and foot freak but you can’t fool me” Clereen grew ever more anxious but tried hard to ignore her and carried on pilling up plates and bowls. Amy slammed the desk which made Clereen twitch.

“Are you even listening to me?!” Amy roared with anger. However, Anna heard the commotion and wandered in

“Amy, Clereen is sorting the pots. Come along, we need you to watch the TV for news” Amy turned away from Clereen and left the room in a huff. It was decided a while ago that people would take turns in keeping an eye on the TV news for further information on the chaos emeralds.

Anna looked to Clereen with concern. “Are you alright?” Clereen looked up at Anna and smiled a fake smile.

“I’m OK.” Anna could tell she wasn’t but she thought that maybe this time it would be best to leave her be.

“Oh, alright but if anything upsets you then don’t hesitate to tell me, OK?”

“OK”

Anna then proceeded to leave the room. Clereen finished tidying the pots and went to find Anna. Anna was outside drawing. Clereen approached her and looked at the drawing. It was a pencil sketch of Cream picking the flowers in front of her.

“Wow. Did you draw that?!” Clereen said in true amazement.

“Why, yes. Do you like it?”

“It’s like a real artist!”

Anna chuckled at Clereen’s remark.

“I have been drawing for years. I guess I have gotten pretty good at it” Sonic was walking behind them about to pass when he stopped and listened in.

“My mum used to sit right here with me and teach me to draw the flowers”

“Oh I’m sorry. I don’t want to bring up your parents again” Clereen said sounding worried

“Oh, don’t worry about it. I sometimes get lonely but they are gone so often that I am also kind of used to it”

Sonic thought carefully. Where have I seen beautiful flowers before? He turned and wandered into the house, searching for something until he found a picture on the wall in the sitting room. It was a framed watercoloured pencil sketch of some red roses and yellow tulips stretching over a hill. In the corner it had the signature, ‘Diane Cherryblossom 1988 Wishing mountains’. Sonic took one of Tails devices and flashed himself in the face before then scanning the picture. A map appeared and Sonic ran off in full speed.

After a few hours of learning how to draw with Anna, Clereen decided to go back inside and watch some more mindless TV. All this talk about proportions and pencil strokes had exhausted her. However, Clereen wasn’t happy to find Cream using the TV. Cream was dancing in front of the TV, singing some made up song with a man in a purple dinosaur suit. Clereen watched for a while and grew increasingly irritated.

“What the heck is this?!” Clereen yelled with fury while throwing her arms out to emphasise her point.

“Oh that’s Bumbee the singing purple dinosaur. It’s a new kids show” Anna replied and turned to find Clereen looking rather angry.

“What kind of corporate rubbish is this?! Is this seriously how we are educating our kids nowadays?!” Clereen ranted to no-one in perticuler. Anna looked back at Clereen, surprised with how she suddenly sounded much older. Clereen turned to Anna

“Listen to it!” she yelled. Clereen and Anna went quiet to listen to the song.

“Happy happy happy happy friiiiiends!” It sang

“UUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!” Clereen groaned while pulling her ears. Anna was about to suggest something to calm her down but Clereen moved away to the TV remote and promptly changed the channel.

“Oh no! Bumbee! Please Miss Clereen, turn it back on!” Cream begged

“Trust me, it’s for the best”

“Clereen! Cream was watching that!” Anna said, surprised that her new friend could be so selfish. Clereen turned back to Anna with confusion, wondering what she was going on about. Then Holly came in with a bunch of warm homemade pies. Clereen immediately lost interest in the TV and bounced over to the food.

“Pie?! Is there some for me?!” Clereen cried excitedly.

“Of course there is, honey. You just pick which one you want on the table there” Holly joyfully replied before swaying her hips out of the room. Clereen continued to pick a pie she liked from the table.

“Clereen what are you doing?! Sonic needs to have the best pie!” Amy complained as Clereen picked up a pie from the table.

“He can have the other one” Clereen said while picking up the pie.

“Sorry but that pie is for Sonic!” Amy said as she suddenly grabbed the pie and pulled it away from Clereen. Unfortunately, she pulled with an unexpected strength that caught Clereen off guard and she flew into the TV, cracking the screen and breaking the TV in the process.

“Are you OK?!” Anna said running to her aid.

“I’m fine surprisingly, especially with that terrible music off” Anna was about to help her up but then she looked down at Clereen with a stern look. Clereen looked up at her completely oblivious to what she was upset about. Then Cream started to cry

“Now I can’t watch Bumbee!” Cream sobbed out loud.

“Oh for crying out loud” Clereen said with frustration.

“Look what you’ve done, Clereen!” Amy scolded but Clereen was in no mood to back down this time.

“What I did?!” Clereen stood up and pointed at her. Anna tried to defuse the impending fight by telling Clereen to calm down but she didn’t listen.

“You were the one who threw me across the room!”

“You were trying to steal Sonic’s pie!” Amy yelled. Clereen came closer till they were face to face

“All the pies were the same and since when do you get to decide what pie Sonic gets? Isn’t that HIS decision?!” Clereen yelled in her face.

“Clereen, Amy please!” Anna tried to get their attention but to no avail.

Just then Tails entered the room. “What on earth is going on here?” Tails said with authority. Clereen and Amy both yelled at Tails at the same time trying to argue their corner.

Tails then yelled at both of them “shut up, both of you! Now, Anna what happened”

“Clereen broke the TV and now Cream is crying because she can’t watch her favourite program” But before Anna could finish Clereen interrupted

“Amy threw me into it and all for a stupid pie!” Clereen shouted

“That pie was for Sonic and you know it!” Amy yelled back

“What the heck is all this yelling about?!” Knuckles wandered in.

Clereen and Amy began to yell at each other again before Knuckles interrupted.

“Oh no you don’t” Knuckles said while pulling Clereen towards him and further away from Amy.

“Good idea” said Tails and she pulled Amy back

“What the fuck are you doing? I can handle myself!” Amy screamed

“Watch your language, Amy. Cream is here remember” Tails scolded. Clereen just tried to struggle out of Knuckles arms.

“What the heck has gotten into you, Clereen? I thought you were better than this” Clereen took that to heart and stopped struggling. Clereen was quiet for a while before talking again.

“B-But it’s not fair!” Clereen cried to Knuckles but he just shushed her. Clereen obeyed and stood there quietly. Amy took a little longer to quiet down. Clereen started to feel insecure again once the initial anger had settled and she tried to turn and leave but Knuckles blocked her. Knuckles held onto her hand to reassure her. Clereen looked up at him and then looked down in shame before turning to see Amy finally cooling off.

“Alright, from the beginning. Clereen, what happened?” Knuckles looked at Clereen but soon realised she wasn’t in the mood to talk.

“Well, you fat pig! What do you have to say?” Amy taunted but Tails soon stepped hard on her foot. Clereen soon started to cry and curled up into Knuckles chest. Knuckles put his arm around her and glared at Amy.

“Amy, what the fuck?!” Knuckles responded

“KNUCKLES! CHILD IN THE ROOM!” Tails had to shout even louder with everyone already yelling to be heard.

“I think I will take her out” Anna said while guiding Cream through the door to another room, Cream still wailing as she left. Clereen hung her head in shame.

“Alright, Amy” Tails said with great authority and a willingness to get things done.

“Stay quiet and let Clereen speak. Either that or we will have to take you away and lock you up in a room to calm down like a toddler. Do you want that?” Amy just glared at the floor without another word.

“OK, Clereen. Do you think you can talk now?” Knuckles asked as he gently loosened his embrace.

“I-I...I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make Cream cry but it wasn’t my fault I broke the TV I swear!” Clereen begged.

“Carry on” Knuckles encouraged her and she continued

“I came in and Cream was watching her show. I didn’t like it and tried to switch the channel. Then the food came in. Holly told me to pick anyone I wanted so I picked the one I liked the most. Then Amy demanded she have it for Sonic. When I said that he could have the other one she grabbed the pie off me and flung me into the TV, breaking it and making Cream cry. Then the argument started”

“Are you OK?” Knuckles said with concern

“Yeah I’m fine...Somehow”

“Sounds to me like you were both inconsiderate. You didn’t think about how Cream felt and upset her even before the TV broke and Amy upset Clereen by snatching the pie instead of just talking to her and agreeing on something” Tails deduced.

“I’m sorry” Clereen said in shame.

Tails sighed “It’s OK, Clereen. I forgive you. This is the first mistake you have made and you did apologise but I think you need to apologise to Cream rather than us” Clereen nodded in agreement.

“You got to be kidding me!” Amy cried in retaliation

“As for you!” Tails said turning to Amy and standing on her foot again

“Did you have to stand on the same foot twice?!” Amy complained

“You not only were completely unreasonable and refused to calm down, you also insulted and psychically hurt Clereen. I am NOT going to take this lying down. You are definitely getting punished” Tails said sternly as a teacher would say the bully child in class.

“No spa treatments, no make-up, no hair dryer”

“What?!” Amy cried in disbelief

“You hurt Clereen again and you will see it can get much worse” Tails said before she finally let go of her and walked over to Clereen.

“Are you alright?” Tails said with her hand on Clereen’s shoulder. Clereen nodded.

“Are you sure?” Clereen thought for a moment before shaking her head.

“You better keep her company for a while. I think she is a bit shaken again” Tails advised Knuckles before leaving them alone. Clereen was still upset but she was surprised at how gentle Tails was. All she had seen of her so far was the aggressive and accusing side of her. It was nice to have her being nicer for once. Amy just stormed off into the garden to have some time to herself.

Just then, Sonic arrived back from his little trip. He held some beautiful red roses and yellow tulips in a bunch. Feeling rather pleased with himself and totally oblivious to the mayhem in his absence, Sonic wandered into the house looking for Anna. He found them in the bedroom and quickly noticed Cream’s face was pink from the tears.

“Oh, I-I’m sorry. Am I interrupting something?” Sonic said, turning to leave.

“No it’s OK. The TV broke so Cream couldn’t watch her show”

“Oh” Sonic sympathised. He proceeded to walk in with his bunch of flowers

“I brought some flowers. For...you...” Sonic said, getting more bashful as he spoke and beginning to blush.

“Oh, thank you” Anna said as Sonic split the bunch and gave some to Anna and Cream. Anna gasped when she took a closer look.

“Rose’s and tulips! They are my favourite!” Anna said with glee and she hugged the flowers up to her chest.

“Thank you mister Sonic” Cream said, also very happy with her flowers but before Cream and Anna could turn back again to see him Sonic was gone in a flash of blue. Sonic breathed a sigh of relief as he got a good distance away down the corridor. He wandered into the sitting room where he noticed Tails sitting on the couch. She was sitting with her head in her hands and she breathed a deep sigh. Sonic wandered in.

“Hey, Sonic” Tails acknowledged him as he came in. Sonic stopped and looked at the couch and then back at Tails

“It’s OK. Come and sit here with me” Tails said while moving aside. Sonic sat down next to Tails.

“It’s been busy the past few days, hasn’t it Thomas?” Sonic nodded

“Do you really have to call me that?” Sonic said, a little fed up.

“If I don’t call you Thomas sometimes then when can anyone call you Thomas? You must never forget your real name, you know” Tails said

“I know. I just wish I was...” Sonic went quiet

“I know Tom” Tails said with her hand on his shoulder.

“But don’t forget. You are not a bad person. You try your best and that is all anyone can hope for”

“But what if my best isn’t enough? Knuckles has his strong spiked fists and traveling skills, you have your devices but what do I have? I’m just a fat coward” Sonic said, staring at the floor.

“Oh not this again” Tails said with more concern that anger

“You can run at the speed of sound! Is that not enough for you?” Tails tried to persuade him but he just sighed deeply

“Oh now don’t you feel guilty about that you idiot!” Tails said, almost laughing at him getting so easily upset

“You’ve got to stop beating yourself up!” Tails continued in a very gentle softness as Sonic looked up at her

“I love you Sonic. Just the way you are. I told you this. You may not be the best when things need to be done but you always try to help. You are the kindest most gentle creature I know” Tails said as she stroked his back and smiled. Sonic couldn’t help but smile a little back, despite the tears in his eyes.

“I think you need some burgers and chips” Tails said as she patted him on the back and proceeded to get up off the couch and stretch her legs. Sonic smiled and also got up and stretched his legs.

As they wandered out the room, Sonic spoke “Can I have some chocolate cake for dessert?”

“Don’t push it” Tails said in a suddenly more stern tone.

“OK, OK!” Sonic quickly went back on his comment when he noticed the way the conversation was going. Tails just laughed.