Taiream Forever

Race For Love

This a request for @TAIREAMlover44!
This is based on Sonic Free Riders, but I've changed the plot a little!

The Second World Grand Prix had been going great. Team Sonic had made to the final race, and so had the Babylon Rouges, Jet, Wave and Storm and Team Rose. Well, all but one of them. After a particularly tough race before the awards ceremony, Cream, one of the racers, withdrew from the race. Most unhappy about this was Tails, who, as much as he tried to deny it, felt strongly attracted to her, and it had eventually developed into a crush over the course of the event. He'd even complimented Cream's extreme gear, to which she'd replied "Well, of course! That means a lot coming from you, Mr. Tails!" Now, he had to finish the race in order to see Cream again.

Even now, after a battle with Dr. Eggman during the awards ceremony, Tails was considering withdrawing, but since he'd come this far, he couldn't back down now.

While waiting to leave, he heard a familiar voice behind him. It was Eggman's E-1000B robot, and it was talking to Sonic.
"You've done well, my loathsome copy! But now, get ready for the reboot. Before you leave, I've prepared a final track to test your skills. And oh, Eggman. I stole the data you collected for myself!"
Eggman was furious, and his reaction gave Tails confirmation of who 'E-1000B' was.
"Metal Sonicccc!" Eggman screamed.
"Follow me, or be stuck here forever. Tails jumped on his extreme gear and raced after his teammates, Sonic and Knuckles. Team Rose stayed behind.

Metal Sonic lead them to a suitably deadly track. There were flame jets streaming from pipes, saw blades to jump over, spears that would thrust up from below, and even swinging blocks at the end. In short, a potential death trap.
"Alright Metal, what's the deal?" Tails said, a little bitter that he'd been prevented from expressing his feelings for Cream by this.
"To win, you must all outpace me and ultimately win in three laps. If you fail or otherwise die to my traps, you'll be trapped here forever," Metal Sonic informed the Team. "Live or die. It all depends on how well you perform."
"This should be fun," Sonic said.
"Let us begin!" Knuckles added, and Tails made his way to the start line.
"Go!" Metal Sonic shouted, and instantly all four racers raced off the line. Tails couldn't take it slow, and timed his jumps exquisitely- and instantly found that the jumps had to be done dangerously close to the traps he'd set, resulting in a burn mark on his leg from the flame jets. He was already severely hampered, as he had to use his legs to move his air board.

In addition, Metal Sonic attempted to knock the team from their feet and into a pit of spikes several times.
"That's cheating!" Knuckles cried indignantly, but Metal Sonic simply replied "That's the one rule of this track. That there are no rules!" Tails' air was knocked out of his lungs when the robot hedgehog rammed into him, though his attacks were focused mostly on Sonic.

As for the saw blades, Tails jumped them perfectly fine, but then had to manoeuvre over the spinning blades to get to the other side of them. It made him slightly dizzy, but he carried on. He had to see Cream again. At the same time though, Metal Sonic seemed unbeatable. His boost could keep up with Sonic's board thanks to the data he'd stolen, and Tails could hardly keep up himself. The spears, however, proved extremely difficult to traverse. Tails breathed in to avoid getting impaled in the stomach. Just when he was about to suffocate, he landed on the other side and raced again. "So close," he said to himself.

Metal Sonic was most displeased by the team's performance. But if even one player lost, the whole team would lose. And the swinging blocks were capable of knocking out a racer for a time. Sonic easily dodged them, Knuckles punched them back, and Tails left his board and flew over them, before dropping back onto his board.

In the final lap, however, the unthinkable happened. Metal Sonic had just passed the saw blades, and only Tails needed to make it. However, at the moving blocks, Tails didn't jump high enough, and slammed straight into one of the blocks. His air board continued onto the other side. The impact was so intense that Tails felt like he was going to die. His pain and injuries were so severe and his muscles were weak. Sonic and Knuckles exchanged worried glances, while Metal Sonic cackled with glee at Tails. He saw the race as being his to win.

However, Cream crossed Tails' mind, and he pushed foward, flying over the blocks and to the finish just before Metal Sonic streaked over it.
"Arghhh!" Metal Sonic exclaimed. "Why... why can't I destroy my copy?"
"For the last time dude, I'm not your copy! I'm the real deal!" Sonic told him.
"Whatever..." Metal Sonic said, before being forced to flee.

The team left with victory, but Tails said "I think we should see Cream. She'll probably be worried about us."
"Alright. Let's go see her!" Sonic agreed. It was time for Tails to tel Cream how he felt.

When they turned up, Tails was relieved that Vanilla, Cream's mother, was with her in their garden. She clasped all of Team Sonic in a tight hug, which they accepted happily. Tails felt how his fur ruffled up when Cream embraced him. When she let go, Tails made his move.
"Cream... there's something I've been meaning to tell you," he began.
"Yes?" Cream replied.
"It's just that... I think that you're... so funny, pretty and cute... and, I... I... I love you, Cream, and I was wondering if you'd go out with me... sometime?" Tails said at last. The fox boy closed his eyes, awaiting rejection. Instead, he got tackled and hugged, a huge squeal coming from the young rabbit.
"Ohhh Tails! Yes! Of course I will. I'd be so happy to go on a date with you!" Cream said.
"Ok. I understa... wait a minute. You said yes?" Tails said, before doing a double take. "Yes! Wohoo! Thank you so much!" he exclaimed.

Vanilla had tears in her eyes, as did Sonic, and Knuckles simply looked at the two and smiled. Tails hugged Cream back, and could feel the heat building in his whole face and then blushed a deep crimson when he felt Cream's lips press against his. He kissed back, caressing her neck slowly, his inexperience making him slightly nervous, but he did his best, feeling Cream rub his arms, his back and tails. They eventually parted, and heard crying. Vanilla was overjoyed at her daughter settling down with someone who loved her a lot, and Sonic was also tearful, having seen his best friend confess to Cream and kiss her.
"You're such a shy fox, Tails!" Cream laughed. "But that's just how I love you.  I knew you wanted to kiss me. You just needed a push."
"Do you want to stay over with Tails?" Vanilla asked, having seen Cream's love for the fox boy firsthand.
"Sure!" Cream replied a little quickly. "You can do a livestream with me, Sonic and Shadow, as I've bought a second PC for my home," Tails said.
"What game?" Cream asked.
"Lethal Company!" Tails replied, before getting into Sonic's car with Cream and Knuckles. Tails offered to sit in the back seat with Cream, and they hugged each other on the way back, with Tails kissing her deeply.

One-shot done! Hope you like it! Next time, a triple date to a Chao garden with 3 different ships. See you soon!