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The light of the moon spanned over the forest not too far from Tails’ abode, the gentle waves from the lake providing a soothing ambience for what was to come.
“We’re here,” Tails said as he gestured one arm in the direction of the lake, a short grass clearing separating the trees from the beach. The orange fox held a picnic basket with his other hand.
“Oh Tails,” Amy swooned as she emerged from the forest, her gloved hands clasped as her eyes glistened at the romantic sight before her. “This is even better than I could’ve possibly imagined!”
“Glad you like it,” Tails replied with a chuckle, scratching the back of his head as a light blush appeared across his muzzle. The brightness only intensified, however, as the pink hedgehog reached in for a kiss on his forehead.
Satisfied with the reaction, Amy simply smiled as she took her turn to lead the way, grabbing the picnic basket the fox dropped moments earlier. She opened it to reveal a professionally folded, checkered picnic blanket.
“You gonna just stand there or what?” Amy asked with a smirk across her face, peering up at the fox who was simply watching his girlfriend set up the blanket.
“Oh, I’ll help,” Tails replied as he wiped away a cartoonishly large sweat drop from his forehead.
“You can lighten up, ya know,” Amy said as she slapped Tails’ shoulder. “We’ve known each other for years. You don’t need to be so awkward just because we’re a couple now.”
“Sorry,” Tails chuckled as he scratched the back of his head once more. Amy simply sighed peacefully in response; contrary to her words, the pink hedgehog was not annoyed by the fluffy boy. In fact, she found the fox’s shyness cute and adorable. Of course, she always considered him a lil’ cutie, but a new side of him seemed to emerge the day he abruptly showed up to her doorstep to ask her out on a date. Having been blown off by Sonic for the zillionth time only a few hours prior, Amy accepted, and since then, the two had grown closer, spending much of their free time together.
And free time they had; after their last adventure on the Starfall Islands, Eggman was radio silent. Was he hatching up his latest evil scheme? Was he building some sort of monstrous mech or conjuring up an evil, supernatural force beyond his comprehension for the purpose of world domination? Or was he spending some quality time with his daughter Sage?
The answer didn’t truly matter, for regardless, Tails and Amy had plenty of free time to spend together, and when Tails offered to take Amy on a romantic picnic date on a cool summer evening not far from his workshop, the pink hedgehog simply couldn’t refuse.
Tails grabbed the corner opposite Amy as they flattened out the blanket. He then removed his shoes, and Amy her boots, before crawling into the center of the blanket and reaching their arms into the basket.
“W-what’s this?” Amy asked as she pulled out what appeared to be a capsule.
“Check this out,” Tails replied with a smirk, gently plucking the capsule from the pink hedgehog’s hand, pressing the button atop the capsule, and letting it drop before them. A cloud of smoke quickly materialized, soon dissipating to reveal a nice table, two chairs, and a full, multi-course dinner all organized on their respective plates, ready to eat. “Pretty impressive, huh?” Tails wore an almost smug smirk, but in this case, it was well earned.
“I just have one question,” Amy replied as she pulled herself up. “Why on Gaia did you even bring picnic supplies?”
“For the surprise,” Tails replied.
“Well, you had me at the surprise,” Amy replied with a smile as she approached the table. Her eyes glistened once more at the sight before her: a full course of quinoa salad, twice-baked loaded potatoes, steamed vegetables, homemade bread, red wine, and strawberry shortcake. The pink hedgehog simply stared at the food offerings, surprised at the extent her fluffy boyfriend went to make this picnic date extra special. What brought her out of her daze was the feeling of the handkerchief Tails used on her lower lip.
“You were drooling a bit,” Tails replied with a smirk.
“Oops, sorry.” It was Amy’s turn to chuckle softly, blushing in embarrassment as she scratched the back of her head.
“Your seat, madam?” Tails gave his best Spagonian accent as he pulled out one of the chairs for her. Amy obliged the fox’s chivalry, taking the seat offered by the polite gentleman. Tails took his seat on the opposite side of the table.
“This is so delicious!” Amy exclaimed, stars in her eyes as she shoved bites of various dishes into her mouth simultaneously like a chipmunk with acorns. Tails simply gave a warm smile in response, eating his meal at a normal rate as he watched the pink hedgehog chow down. “And to think I scored a man who knows his way around a garage and a kitchen.”
Taking a sip of wine, the glass slipped from her gloved fingers, the beverage spilling all over her lap.
“Are you okay, Amy?” Tails exclaimed as he shot out of his seat and ran to her side.
“Yeah,” she replied. “Not sure what got over me…” Amy peered down at her ruined attire. “Oh no, that was my favorite skirt!”
“I’ve got something for this…” Tails reached into his namesakes, pulling out a small spray bottle.
“I appreciate the thought,” Amy replied, tilting her head in disappointment, “but water isn’t gonna get this out.” She studied the stain once more, the dark red spot only growing in size.
“Just trust me,” Tails replied as he got on his knees, scooted closer to the pink hedgehog, and began spraying Amy’s lap. The cold sensation caused her to blush.
“Really? You could’ve warned me first! Now I’m all cold…”
“Would you have preferred removing your skirt?” Tails asked as his focus remained trained on dousing the stain.
“I guess you have a point,” Amy replied, “but I don’t see how water’s going to fix it.”
“Just watch,” Tails replied with a nod as he placed the spray bottle to the side. Amy’s eyes glistened in disbelief as the dark color from the stain began to fade and the wetness dried itself.
“But…how did…”
“It’s another new invention of mine,” Tails replied with a warm smile as he pulled himself up. “I figured the probability was low that you’d spill on yourself, but I wanted to be ready all the same. I have other contingencies in place, too, in case of unexpected circumstances.”
“Oh really?” Amy smirked, placing her hands on her hips as she folded one leg across the other. “Such as?”
“Well…” Tails raised a palm to his chin in thought. “I brought a special balm that specially contours to your lips, in case yours were a bit dry. I also brought a weather-changing apparatus for a rainy day, a first aid kit complete with a portable defibrillator, an epinephrine autoinjector, and inhaler…oh, and an entire missile defense system protecting a three mile radius of our picnic site.” To demonstrate, Tails pulled out his Miles Electric, showing several counter missiles ready to launch with a mere press of a button.
“Do you think you maybe overprepared?”
“Overprepared?” The thought sounded foreign to the young kitsune.
“Yeah, like…sometimes things just happen, you know? We can’t control everything, so we’ve gotta go with the flow.”
“You’re starting to sound an awful lot like Sonic,” Tails replied with a grin.
“Yeah, well…” Amy shrugged. “That’s what happens when you chase after him for years. He just kinda rubs off on you.”
“I can relate to that…” The two peered up at the twinkling stars above, only the faint ambience of the lake’s waves could be heard…that was until Amy slipped her fingers into Tails’ palm, clasping his hand.
“I bet you don’t have anything prepared for this…” Amy wrapped her arms around Tails’ body as her face slowly approached Tails’ muzzle. Acting on instinct, Tails closed his eyes, allowing the pink hedgehog’s lips to come into contact with his own. As they shared this long, single kiss, Tails took his turn to wrap his arms around Amy’s back.
Finally, as they concluded their kiss, Tails said, “Yes, I do have something prepared for this.”
“Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me…” Amy facepalmed as the orange fox reached into his namesakes once more. “I’ve got an extra-large blanket with a built-in battery to keep us warm, a copy of Kissing for Dummies, and…”
“The only thing you need…” Amy approached the table, returning to the fox moments later. “…is this.” She uncorked the wine bottle and poured a glass. “No more contingencies. No more backup plans. Whatever happens happens.”
Tails wrapped his fingers around the full glass and gulped nearly the entire serving, returning it to the pink hedgehog whose mouth was agape. “Damn, that was impressive.”
“Water, I need…water!” Tails clasped his throat and coughed profusely before pulling a tall glass from the table and pouring it down his throat before falling to his knees, continuing to cough.
“You okay?” Amy asked as she kneeled beside him, running her gloved hand down Tails’ back.
“Y-yeah…” The fox coughed a few more times. “I’ll be fine. Just burned going down is all.”
“I take it you don’t drink much?”
“Not really,” Tails replied as he wiped his lips with his furry arm. “Well, there was that one time at the casino back in the day, but not much besides that.”
With a smile, Amy pulled herself up, took a few sips of wine, and unfurled the electric blanket. “Here, wanna enjoy the stars together?”
“Sure,” Tails replied with a nod, now fully recovered from his coughing fit. The two laid down together, wrapping themselves together like a burrito, only their faces sticking out one end.
“It’s so beautiful,” Amy said, her eyes glistening once more. “You chose the best night for this date.”
“Yeah, I totally didn’t study weather patterns religiously the past few weeks to pick the most optimal day within a month’s timespan,” Tails replied with a nervous chuckle. The chuckle ended, however, as Amy stole a small kiss on his cheek, causing the orange kitsune to blush once more. The pink hedgehog proceeded to worm her way closer to him underneath the blanket, eventually snuggling against him on her side. Amy’s face rested against Tails’ fluffy chest, his arm serving as a convenient pillow for the tired hedgehog.
“Gonna fall asleep on me already?” Tails asked as he peered down at Amy.
“And what if I do?” Amy asked before burying herself deeper into her boyfriend’s chest floof.
“That’s more time for me to watch you sleep…” Tails paused for a few moments. “But, like, in a romantic way. I’m not a creep or anything like that.”
Amy snorted. “Yeah, good save.” The pink hedgehog yawned once more, forcing the fox to yawn as well.
“And what if I fall asleep first?” Tails asked, returning the question.
“I’ll steal your Miles Electric and set off some of those missiles.”
Tails’ eyes shot open, and his heart rate immediately spiked, instantly noticed by the hedgehog resting her face against his chest.
“Relax, that was a joke.”
“Oh, right…” Tails’ heartrate slowly returned to normal.
“I should probably apologize for nearly giving you a heart attack…” Amy pulled her face toward Tails’ muzzle, giving him a kiss on the lips.
As Amy pulled herself away, Tails replied, “Apology: accepted,” giving her a nod and a warm smile.
The pink hedgehog nestled herself against the orange fox once more, her eyes getting heavier by the second until she eventually fell asleep, the sound of her gentle breathing filling the quiet air as the fox felt her chest raising and lowering against his own.
The orange fox placed a gentle kiss on Amy’s head and slowly closed his eyes.
“Good night…my pink rose.”