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Tangle sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror.
In that reflection was the exact same lemur that Spiral Hill knows and loves, except with one added feature; one that she hated.
A scar. At the left side of her face, underneath her eye.
Not too long ago, Mimic let his guard down at the Restoration, causing his disguise to slip. And of course, it was right in front of the Neo Diamond Cutters.
During their battle, Mimic had lunged towards Whisper, fully intending to kill. Seeing this, and knowing there weren’t any other options, Tangle shoved Whisper out of the way right as he was swinging. And he got her good. They did manage to take him down, but Tangle and Lanolin had to physically restrain Whisper from bashing his skull open right then and there.
Thankfully, that was the only major injury Tangle made it out with. Still, she was ashamed of herself. If she was even a little bit more careful, like how she promised she would be, Whisper wouldn’t have to have that damn thing in her sight every time she looked at her-
“Tangle? Pizza’s here-“
The lemur jolted as she sprang up out of bed, and saw Whisper at the bedroom door. She hadn’t even realized she went out to get food. …oh no, did she see her…?
“What were you jus-“
“Oh, uh, food’s here??” Tangle interrupted, scrambling out of bed and trying to give her girlfriend her happy-go-lucky attitude. “Sweet! I’m starving!”
Shit…
-
As Tangle walked past her (a bit quickly, might she add), Whisper’s mind filled with concern.
She had only seen her staring into her hand mirror for a second, but she had a hunch of what it was about.
Yes, seeing that scar on her after the bandages were removed was shocking, and she… well, didn’t take it all that great when Mimic gave it to her. But despite all that, she was still Tangle. No scar could ever change that.
As Whisper walked down the stairs to catch up to her, though, a lightbulb went off in her head.
She’d speak with her about this later tonight.
-
“Tangle? Can you come in here a second?”
Tangle sighed as she heard Whisper’s voice coming from their room, and set down her comic book. She knew this was coming.
Negative thoughts filled her head as she went up the stairs. She was probably ashamed of her. Just the thought of Whisp looking at her in disappointment made her face grimace.
“What’s up, hun?” the lemur asked, opening the door to find Whisper sitting on the bed.
“Y’see, there’s… something I have that only the Diamond Cutters have seen,” Whisper tried to explain. “I haven’t shown it to anyone else… not even you.”
As Tangle sat next to her, she tilted her head to the side. “I’m not following.”
Whisper sighed, and reached down to her left boot. “You’ll see where I’m going with this.”
She took it off, and Tangle let out a small gasp.
There was a scar on her ankle. A huge one.
“When did…?” Tangle started.
“Got it on a mission where we infiltrated one of Eggman’s bases,” the wolf said. “One of his robots spotted me and had a sword for a hand. If I’d dodged a second too late I probably would have lost my foot.”
She couldn’t help but sigh. “I remember all of their reactions when they first saw it… Claire was panicking, Slinger came bursting in with a first aid kit, Smithy was all ‘my poor little sis!!’”
Her girlfriend just stared at her, amazed. “Whisper…”
“Oh yeah,” she realized, showing the back of her right arm. “There’s also this one.”
Oh my chaos.
A huge burn scar. Going all the way down to her elbow.
“A huge badnik was about to self-destruct behind me, and I was a bit too late in getting away,” Whisper said as Tangle held her arm, examining it in awe.
“I…” Tangle inhaled. “Getting those must have been scary…”
The two sat in silence for a minute, until Whisper broke it. “Listen, Tangle. About earlier…”
Tangle’s heart stopped.
“I can understand why you resent your scar so much. And I’m sure you’re aware that I… well, didn’t handle it all that great when you first got it,” the wolf blushed, looking back at her out-lash. “But I can assure you that I don’t hate it.”
“But…” Tangle started, letting out a shaky breath. “I got it from being reckless! I literally PROMISED you that I’d actually start being careful! But when I saw Mimic charge at you with the knife, I- I knew I couldn’t just stand there-“
“ Tangle. ” Whisper stopped her, and wiped a tear that was falling down her face. “Anyone with a brain would have done the exact same thing you did. I don’t blame you.”
“I know, but… now you have to see this thing on my face every time you look at me…“ Tangle said sadly, ears drooping.
“Do you hate my scars?”
“W-wha-?”
“Tangle.” Whisper put out her left foot and right arm. “Do you hate my scars?”
“O-of course not!” the lemur blurted out, flailing her arms. “I hope I don’t sound weird saying this but they look kinda cool…”
“If that’s the case, then why would I hate your’s?”
She opened her mouth, only to close it again.
“Exactly,” Whisper smiled, giving her a kiss where her scar is. “As Smithy told me, scars aren’t always a bad thing. They show that you’ve pushed through. That you survived. And whether you have one or not, I still love you.”
Tangle scrubbed her eyes with her arm and smiled. “Thanks, Whispy… I love you too.”
The wolf smiled back, rubbing her partner’s back. “Feeling better?”
“Definitely,” Tangle beamed. “But what I think what’ll really get me going is a movie night with you and the wisps!”
Whisper couldn’t help but giggle at her enthusiasm. “What movie were you thinking of?”
“Hmm… oh!” The lemur stood up. “Sonic’s been recommending that I watch this movie about a panda that learns kung fu. It sounds like something the wisps would enjoy a lot!”
“Guess that’s what we’re watching, then,” Whisper said, taking Tangle’s hand as she helped her up.
The couple walked out of the room and down the stairs, hands intertwined.