Sonic: REMgaged

Chapter 11

They played in the pool until the sun dipped below the tree line and it began to grow cool. Alex put on her dress and then it was time for cake. At her insistence, they made do with a single candle, as she claimed that to replicate her father's age would require too many. Everyone sang happy birthday to David Parker. And with tears in her eyes, Alex made a wish and blew out the candle.

Mighty's cake was a huge success, soft and moist with buttery whipped frosting. If Mighty ever wanted to stop being a wandering Zen guru, it seemed he could easily become a professional chef, and Alex told him as much. Even if the Enlightened Ones warned against being overly prideful, Mighty couldn't have been more pleased. But it was okay, so long as he took his pleasure from the happiness of others. And right now, nothing pleased him more than Alex's happiness.

With the sun on its final descent towards the horizon, everyone returned to the pool house for more karaoke and DDR. In the midst of the activities, Alex made her rounds passing out presents. First, she went to Charmy and handed him a cheese platter sampler.

"I remember you said you love cheese, Charmy. So, I thought I'd get you a sampler of Earth's best cheeses."

Charmy's goggled eyes seemed to grow big. "WOW! So much cheese! I've never seen so much in one place! Thank-you-thank-you-thank-you-THANK YOU!" The small bee gave Alex the biggest hug he could manage before zipping off with his platter.

"Just try not to eat it all in one go," Alex called. "Okay?"

Vector grimaced. Just because Charmy liked to eat cheese, didn't really mean he should. Alex indulged the little brat too much, in Vector's opinion, but he wouldn't tell her that, since he knew how much it meant to her to give them each a gift. Still, he leaned down to Espio and whispered, "Not lookin' forward to those dairy farts later."

Espio shuddered.

To Vector, Alex presented a small stereo with a built in CD player and tape deck as well as a plethora of old CDs and mix tapes. "This isn't really the most popular way to consume music anymore," she admitted. "But it was my Dad's and I'm really not sure how much I could get for them if I tried to sell them. And they meant something to him, so I don't think I could give them to just anybody. So, I'd like to pass them on to you, Vector. I know you really appreciate music, and my dad was into the best that Earth had to offer. Here."

Vector's eyes lit up with excitement. "Hey! Hey, that's really thoughtful of ya! I really do like music." A single thick, muscular green arm looped around Alex's shoulders as he pulled her in for a big ol' crocodile hug. "I'll take real good care of these. Promise."

Alex smiled a big smile. The first time she'd seen him up close and in person, she'd found Vector intimidating. But now, he was a big softy, and she loved hugging him. After all, how many people could say they'd hugged a crocodile and lived to tell the tale?

As Vector went off to listen to the beloved tunes of the late David Parker, Alex's eyes met those of the antisocial ninja chameleon from across the room. She curled a finger, motioning him towards her with a grin.

"Don't worry," she assured him. "I won't kiss you this time."

"I don't require anything, Alex. You needn't have gone through the trouble." Yet, even though he said this, it didn't alleviate his curiosity.

Alex shook her head, still smiling. "It's a little late for that, Espio. Now get your camouflage butt over here." When he finally approached her, Alex began shuffling around in her straw bag. "So, my dad used to be, like, hardcore into ninja stuff. There's this thing called Teenage Mutant Ninja... Uh, well, never mind," she said embarrassedly. "That's not important."