~*Capriccio*~

Shadow the hedgehog sat cross-legged upon pale cushions in thought. The triple mirror mounted towards the center of the room captured his contemplating expression as he patiently waited. 
A soft click caused his ear to flick as a door down the hall opened. Ruby eyes eagerly looked down hardwood halls to see a voluptuous bat adorned in satin, silk and lace. 

Smirking at the speechless expression on her typically stoic friends face, Rouge carefully sauntered toward the mirrors  in the room to personally assess herself. Stepping upon a small pedestal, turquoise eyes took in the fitted pnina tornai gown that hugged her curves. The door mouse that had helped her hold up her train and custom fit her gown marked, gathered and pinned bunches of fabric to give the bat a sense of the finished gown before departing to set up  the final appointments to alter and pick the dress up.

“So Shadow, how do I look?” The glamorous bat teased cocking her hip on the pedestal as she waited. With the most earnest sincerity Shadow met her gaze through the mirror.

“You look perfect.”     

Rouges playful sparkle faltered as a wave of emotion struck her. Tearing up at the corners of her eyes she watched the utmost compassion in Shadows eyes as the dark hedgehog gave a rare soft smile to her. 

Rouge stopped before wiping  her eyes, finding that she did not want to ruin her long white satin gloves. Shadow delicately handed her a tissue provided by the bridal service and watched her dab her eyes and laugh.
“I told myself I would never break down about getting hitched... but look at me now.”

“I am to blame. I apologize.”  Shadow softly spoke as he stood behind her to adjust the glittering veil upon her head. 

“ No Shadow, it’s not your fault I could barely keep myself together. And to think, at one point I thought matrimony was a sign of weakness.” Rouge sniffled as a few giggles escaped her. 

“Now I see that it requires a lot of strength.”

Shadow simply nodded in fascination finding the bats emotional state to be out of it. The ex-thief usually kept herself together even in dire situations but now she could hardly keep herself from fully crying.
 “I wish the best for both of you Rouge.” The dark hedgehog spoke humbly as he looked at one of his closest friends in admiration. Even though he didn’t approve of the groom (She deserved better) He respected her love for the echidna. 

The teary bat nodded and whispered back. “ I wish the best for you too. I hope you find someone who cherishes you.” Shadow barely kept himself from visibly grimacing. 

“I am fine Rouge.” 

Rouge simply rolled her eyes. She knew Shadow and she wasn’t that easy to fool. 

~O~

After Sonic moved his car closer to the apartment complex we made our way to our destination. I found myself walking down the street with one of the most handsome charismatic hedgehogs I had ever met. As we walked and chatted I couldn’t help but notice the suns rays illuminate cobalt fur, those bright emerald eyes, and infectious smile.
 
That smile was disarming.

We arrived at a small cafe hidden in an outdoor shopping center. Despite the stellar reviews on “Howl” the place was empty. Opening the door with my powers we stepped in and made our way to the empty counter. A small silver bell was placed next to the cash register and Sonic had the forethought to ring it.

As we waited I took in the kitschy pop art decor that was so different from “Nautical Nonsenses” seaside theme. After a minute a lumbering polar bear fitted in an apron moved to the register.  Sternly, he took our orders. Taking our seats we waited in the eerily silent coffee shop. Finding it odd that a highly rated coffee shop was empty on a holiday morning I started reading reviews on “Howl” through my phone as Sonic leaned back in the booth and soaked up the sun filtering in through the window. 

Scrolling through the comments I noticed some peculiar reviews. Multiple reviews ended with “BoB on Thursday”

Who’s Bob? I wondered as I scrolled further down.

The sound of glass shattering jolted Sonic and I as we looked towards the kitchen in unison. The kitchen door was closed but more shattering glass could be heard.

“ Latte Macchiato and Americano.” The polar bear drawled once the kitchen grew silent. Sonic quickly stood up and picked up our orders with a “Thank You” before settling down and taking a cautious sip of his Americano.

Out of nowhere a bang was heard from the kitchen. Smoke streamed out of the kitchen door as the fire alarm went off. Sonic and I watched as the polar bear casually walked to the back and dragged out a green duck by his red handkerchief.

“Stay.” The bear commanded as he presumably went to clean up the duck’s mess. Before we knew it the odd duck came bounding towards us animatedly. 

“Ooo! You two are cute!” Placing his elbows on our table and his beak in his palms the intrusive duck leaned forward to stare at Sonic. 

A full fifteen seconds went by as Sonic awkwardly watched our uninvited guest stare back at him.“So who’s the wifey?” The duck finally piped up looking between the two of us. 

“Hey pal, we are trying ta’-“ Sonic started but was cut off as the green bird all but lunged in my direction. “Oh! You are!” I jumped as he practically yelled the exclamation in my face.

“Aww... you are the sensitive shy type huh?” He leaned close without lowering his voice.

“Between you and me your date here seems like a playboy musician.” He turned and addressed Sonic. “No offense.” 

“None taken” Sonic answered and chortled at my shocked expression when the duck leaned closer. “If you want to keep him you need to be good at fadoodling.”  Put off by the inappropriate duck I tried to shift away from him. 

“Bean!” A sharp voice snapped from behind the counter. Jumping out of his skin, “Bean” scrambled away from us and turned to salute a purple weasel behind the counter. 

“Don’t stand there looking like a numbskull! Take out your trash!”  The weasel snapped. 

“Yes Sir!” The green duck left but not before giving us finger guns and accidentally slamming into the corner of the main counter on the way back to the kitchen. 

Without a word, Sonic and I slipped out of the coffee joint. Before I closed the “Howl” app I read one last review that finally made sense.

Beware of Bean on Thursday

 “Well, that was a dud. The coffee was great though. Can’t help but feel like I’ve seen that duck before...” Sonic commented as we began walking back to my place.

Taking a sip of my latte I had to agree. That duck was way too much. I wondered if what he had said had any truth to it though.

~O~  

Sonic stayed over for the weekend. After my shift on friday he picked me up and we went to a movie. I realized that even with his charm he had some flaws too.  He had a habit of talking during movies, speaking with his mouth full, and leaving messes behind everywhere he goes. But, even with his flaws I loved him. I realized how much I cared for him and it sort of scared me. 

After the movie he took me to his place to meet his “family” before he was to go work. I could tell he was excited for me to watch him perform at the gig he had lined up. Sonic didn’t live in what was considered “the bad part of town” like I did, nor did he live in the upscale downtown district like Shadow. Sonic lived in a little middle class town not far from downtown called “Green Hills” in a small one story house. Stepping out of his car parked in the driveway I took in the well kept front lawn and large planter filled with herbs and flowers. The white paint on the house itself was peeling and the windows were slightly tinted. As we passed the garage and moved to the porch I could hear a steady beat.

“Looks like Knux is in the middle of his routine. Oh Careful, watch your step.” Sonic commented as he unlocked the door and opened it.  Carefully stepping over a twisted rug and some shoes I got a glimpse of “the bachelor life” Sonic was referring to at my place previously. 

The place was an absolute mess. 

Clothing was everywhere. What resembled a couch in what I assumed was the living room was completely covered in shirts, jackets and jeans.  Drumsticks, pencils, a pair of dumbbells, various guitar picks, and books littered the carpeted floor. Pushed in the corner was a dusty treadmill that was somehow set to incline even while being off.

Guiding me to the dining room we moved to sit. Surprisingly both the kitchen and dining room was relatively clean.  The beat from the music in the background stopped and I heard heavy footsteps coming down the hallway. A ripped red echidna emerged from the doorway  and was wiping his brow with a white towel that was draped across his shoulders. Without looking in our direction, he pulled a protein shake mix out of a cupboard and dove into their refrigerator. All the while he was speaking to Sonic.

“It’s about time you showed your face around here again.” I watched as the irate bodybuilder pulled out various types of fruit and some yogurt before closing the refrigerator and moving to wash his fruit in a strainer. “The gig is in three hours! Tails and I were thinking we’d have to drag you home by your ... Oh.”  The echidna was wide eyed taking notice of my figure.

Smug as ever Sonic soaked up his bandmates shock.“Yeah, we have company Knux.”

“Well you could have said something!” “Knux” shot back before looking me up and down. “I’m Knuckles kid. I’m guessing he was bumming around at your place.” 

“Um,Yes. I’m Silver. It really was no trouble.” I gave what I hoped was a warm smile but Knuckles kept looking at me funny. Standing up and stretching Sonic gave me a wink as he gave his two cents. “Yeah! You hear that Knux! It was NO trouble for my bf. ” 

 Knuckles head snapped to Sonics direction, his dreadlocks swaying. The echidna’s gaze hardened as he stared Sonic down. Strangely Sonic didn’t even flinch at the stare. The toned hedgehog merely crossed his arms behind his head and gave the echidna a smirk.

With a annoyed huff Knuckles simply turned to resume making his smoothie before addressing Sonic over his shoulder. 

“Just get your ass to the garage and practice before we get to Mighty’s.”

“Yes Sir.” Sonic saluted mockingly before rushing to me. After a quick but heartfelt embrace and a deep kiss he rushed out what I assumed was the back door of the house calling out a “Be nice to Silv while I’m gone.” as he left.

Stunned I realized I was left alone with the seemingly irate echidna. A heavy silence settled until Knuckles turned on the blender. I wanted to make a good first impression. I had dressed up well to meet them and I was minding my manners. Why did I feel like the echidna was judging me. What had I done wrong? THIS was Rouge’s husband to be?

Just as I was about to make some form of small talk the front door opened and a small bright golden yellow fox stepped in. His bright baby blue eyes met mine and a warm smile bloomed on his face. 

“ Oh! You’re here! It’s great to finally meet you!” 

His voice was so light and young. I thought I sounded like a child. Crossing through the living room he deposited a laptop bag down on the floor and a tray of four coffees he had obviously purchased on the way home at the dining table.  I took a glance at his what Sonic called “legendary” tails. They were large and full, curling around his frame as he distributed the coffee to the kitchen table and deposited the tray in a recycling bin. 

“Sonic has told me so much about you! You have no idea how happy you have made him! He says you have powers too! He said you pick things up with your mind so I’m guessing it’s some kind of psychokinesis. So, you work for Vanilla and you know Rouge?” Tails held out the coffee cup towards me as he rambled.

At the mention of Rouge Knuckles interest peaked and he looked at me differently than before. Taking the offered cup of coffee I smiled at the excited fox and nodded. 

“Vanilla’s peppermints are the best! He said you are a student at a University. You don’t happen to be studying at MZU?” 

Shocked I placed my cup down. “Yes! Wow! Whats your major?” 

“I knew it! Mine is Engineering! Yours?” Tails was beaming as he took a sip of his coffee.

“Pre-med!” Feeling comfortable with Tails company I feel the tension from before dissipate.  

“That’s amazing!” Tails praised and I could feel myself blush. To be honest the only reason I wanted to be a doctor was to honor Blaze. It’s what she would have wanted and no one should ever have to suffer like she did.

“Oh! We need to leave early to set up! Sonic and Knuckles will meet us there okay?” Tails glanced at his phone quickly and moved to the front of the house motioning for me to follow him. Pressing a button mounted on the wall, I watched as he opened the side garage and led me to a large silver van. It was obviously a mismatch conglomeration of different car parts from different manufacturers that were painted over but you could tell it was well loved.  
“She’s a bit banged up but she runs like a charm. Watch your head.”  Minding the mess of buckets, cans, and various boxes in the garage I stepped into the passenger’s front seat of the van. The interior of the van was meticulously clean. The seats  were custom and matched the shiny dashboard complete with a computer monitor and operating system that was obviously lovingly installed by hand.  After buckling up we pulled out of the garage. As we left the house Tails made conversation.

“Sonic lied about his age and skipped school just to get a job to buy her. As soon as he turned 18 he came back to the orphanage to adopt me...” Tails turned up the air conditioning as he spoke causing a blast of cool air to ruffle my head quills. 

Sonic was an orphan? He never even mentioned it. 

“We lived in her for quite some time, until Sonic had just enough to make a downpayment on the house. You remember the earthquake of 06’ ? It was because of it we could even afford the property! We rented out a room to help pay for the mortgage and Knuckles was our second tenant. They both decided that we should start a band and now Sonic is using his earnings to pay off the house and pay for my education.” 

I was speechless. Sonic never told me any of this. I had no idea how admirable he was. He truly loved and cared for his family. His family, just like mine, consisted of those we loved and cared for. My respect for him grew and I wondered what had caused Shadow to break up with such a loyal, kind, person. 

We arrived at “Mighty’s” which was a dive bar in a flashy touristy area at the edge of  the downtown district. Tails parked in the back just as the sun was about to set and  I watched as the neon lights of multiple signs and advertisements switched on. I could tell it was going to be an amazing night. 

~O~

If you’re rusty and you know it clap your hands,

If you’re rusty and you know it clap your hands,

If you’re rusty and you know it and you hope that you don’t show it,

 If you’re rusty and you know it clap your hands.