The Walk

[A Sonic FanFiction]

Chapter Two – The Party

Saturday, 6:15 AM.

In the early hours of the morning, much of the city was still at rest. It was this time of day that Vector had enjoyed the most. The sun had not fully risen, a light gray fog lingered around the city streets, and the sidewalks and stores were much less populated.

So it came as no surprise to him when he'd realized he was the only one in his local general store. He grinned slightly, finding enjoyment in the fact that he'd had the whole store to himself. Vector enjoyed being alone. Sometimes. Not all of the time.

"Okay, I need three things: A gift for Cream, a gift for Vanilla, and...breath mints." The croc mentally took note of everything on his list, beginning his trip with a beeline to the oral hygiene section. Past the toothpaste and under the wide selection of mouthwash, a shelf filled with various tablets and capsules stood. Each mint claimed to be stronger than the last. Vector chuckled to himself, carelessly grabbing the one that best suited his price range.

As he held the small plastic container in his large, scaly claws, unwanted thoughts began to surface in his head.

"Maybe you should get the name-brand stuff if you're planning on making out with Vanilla tonight," a voice in his head whispered. The croc violently shook his head, as if trying to expel the thought physically. "Goddamn it...I haven't even seen her in years. She probably found a boyfriend or something. Hell, I'd be surprised if she didn't! We're...we're just...kind of friends I guess."

Vector began to zone out, his body taking him around the store and obtaining the other objects on his list with no thought behind them. Mentally, however, he was having an intense debate.

"Okay...okay...Maybe there could be something. Maybe. Even if it's a possibility, it will take time. Play it cool, idiot. Reconnect, as friends. Then see where it goes."

The croc dumped all the items on the counter, tossing his credit card to the clerk.

"I can do this."

Saturday, 4:50 PM.

Espio rang the doorbell for Vector, as he was frozen in place for the last few minutes.

"I can't do this," He shuddered.

"Calm your nerves. It is merely a party," Espio deadpanned.

Vector adjusted his dark blue button-up shirt and straightened his back.

"Y-yeah, you're right."

The door opened. His heart nearly stopped, as for a second he thought it was Vanilla. In actuality, it was merely Cream who opened the door.

She'd grown tremendously over the years, and she'd now had the overall height and physical appearance of her mother. She didn't dress at all like her, however. Cream sported a red flannel and light blue jeans, sunglasses resting on her shirt collar. It was apparent the rabbit had grown rebellious in her later years, transitioning naturally into a tomboy.

"Hap-Happy Birthday, Cream!" Vector stuttered out, shoving forward his wrapped gift into her arms.

Cream nervously grabbed the box and set it on a nearby table. Brushing her red-dyed ears aside, she grinned and leaned into a quick, greeting embrace. Vector felt nervous and smothered, but it didn't last long. Cream quickly transitioned into hugging Espio beside him.

Vector sidestepped the two, stepping anxiously into the main living room. Light soft-rock music played from the neighboring hall. Streamers of various bright colors adorned the walls of the house. Pastries and deserts were piled on several coffee tables. Light chatter filled the room, as Vector looked around and saw many faces from his past.

Knuckles, Sonic, Tails and stood out among a crowd of people. He mentally debated greeting them, but they seemed to be engrossed in conversation with one another.

"I shouldn't bug them. They look happy. I wasn't exactly the best-est of friends with them anyway."

The croc waded into the kitchen. It was empty. Delicious treats and pastries adorned the tables, and an organized mess of ingredients covered the counter-tops. Clear signs that an experienced baker was here.

"But where is she now?"

A warm object bumped into his back.

Vector turned to see that the object in question was a tray of freshly-baked cookies, a warm heat rising from them. The tray was being held by two mittened paws – the Croc's line of sight trailed upwards along the apron-wearing curvy figure, as eventually, his light orange eyes met a set of deep hazel ones.

It was her.

Vanilla was standing there, holding a tray of her desserts, gazing endearingly at Vector.

The crocodile was astonished. Time had passed since they'd last met – they'd both gone through so many changes, both mentally and physically. Vector has gotten more level-headed and stable, and had gotten a large, hefty, muscular form to him over the years. Vanilla appeared to be the same gentle, kindhearted soul as she always was. And her appearance...Vector had trouble catching his own breath. She looked simply stunning. Curvaceous as a supermodel, and her face gave off an inviting and seductive warmth. The croc's eyes soon trailed back down to her figure, noting her voluptuous curves before a voice brought him back to reality.

"Vector! It's been so long, how have you been?" A sweet, melodic voice echoed in his ears.

He realized that the woman he'd been gawking at was now speaking to him.

"H-hey, Vanilla! Do you need help with that?" He asked, motioning to the tray she was holding.

"Could you?" She replied, warmly smiling.

Vector immediately grabbed the tray with both hands and placed it in on a nearby table. Turning back to face her, he was met with her open arms pulling her into a soft and friendly embrace. Although merely amicable, an intense blush soon arose to his cheeks and a pink tint lightened his soft green scales. Before Vector could figure out what to do with his arms, the hug had ended.

Vanilla brushed past him on her way to the kitchen stove, even furthering the croc's nervousness.

"How've you been, darling?" the rabbit playfully asked, "Other than dressing sharp, as per usual, of course!"

The two of them shared a laugh.

"Well..." the croc started, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "You know, same old stuff. Working nine to five, drowning in paperwork. Detective work ain't all that flashy action you see on TV."

Vanilla chuckled.

"Really?" her voice trailed off, her voice's pitch reaching...flirtatious levels. "Because you definitely look like you've been doin' more than pencil pushing, my dear."

Vector's blood ran cold, as he let out a nervous chuckle.

"W-well, yeah, I go to the gym every day, that's-yeah...that's just something I do..."

The rabbit chuckled again – that harmonious, soothing, bassy, joyful sound both intimidated and warmed his heart.

"So you live in the city, correct?" She asked, her voice slightly humming.

"Yeah."

"How is that? City life?"

"It's, it's pretty cool. Um, kind of...lonely, ironically."

"Lonely? How do you figure that, with millions of folks running around down there?"

"It's uh...It's complicated."

Vanilla gazed at Vector with a confused look in her eyes.

"When you're on a schedule- a work routine, the days seem to fade into one another, and, you forget about things like making friends or having fun..."

"Well, now that doesn't sound very nice."

"M-Maybe I'm overstating it, over-exaggerating, It's really not that bad."

"Oh...well if you say so."

"How's life here? Suburban life must be a lot more peaceful."

"Yeah, kind of. Working at the bakery can be pretty hectic – especially around the holidays, but life here has a nice rhythm. A wonderful flow, if you will."

Vector nodded, a genuine smile forming on his face for the first time in a long time. His nervousness and discomfort gradually wore away as he continued talking to the woman before him. The way she nodded and listened to him speak made him feel actually heard. Her actions made him feel special, important, and worth talking to. As she replied and spoke herself, Vector was charmed by her word choice and tone – he found it to be...sweet.

So the day continued forward. With the ice being broken, Vector loosened up and allowed himself to relax a little bit, and engage in more conversation with the party's guests – but for the most part, stood near Vanilla for the duration of the night. He became more outgoing as time passed and grew closer to the aged rabbit. He noticed a difference in the relationship forming between them. It wasn't the quirky, one-sided awkward crush-friendship as they had in the past. Now it was something more...mature. They'd both aged over the years, and Vector wasn't the same young adult he'd used to be. He was now a fully grown man with responsibilities, a job and much less of his brash quirks that he'd used to have. The more they conversed, the more the croc learned about Vanilla's current lifestyle. He'd learned that she'd grown a bit more independent after Creme had moved out, and her life became much more revolved around a schedule – much like Vector himself. As the night progressed, he'd learned that they also shared a lot of other things in common.

As the party came to an end and the guests began to leave, it had just begun to sink into Vector that he'd actually been having real, genuine fun with a friend – and that it was now going to end soon. Not wanting his time with Vanilla to stop, he decided to track Espio down and let him know that he wasn't going to leave with him.

"Really, Vector? How will you get home?" Espio asked.

"It's fine, don't worry about it. I-I could walk." Vector quickly stammered, backing away into the kitchen to resume conversation with the rabbit. As the croc pushed open the door, he was surprised to see that the entire kitchen had been cleaned – a feat accomplished by Vanilla in a surprising amount of time.

"Woah. You really clean up fast, heheh." Vector chuckled.

"Oh," Vanilla started, spinning around from the sink to face him, "Well to be fair I have had a lot of practice in cleaning up after others, dear."

Vector smirked. He took a step back and pulled up a chair to a small table in the kitchen that happened to be nearby. Sitting down, he motioned to the empty seat next to him, signaling that he'd like for her to join him.

"I've been meaning to ask – how are you liking life here, ya'know, living alone? Now that Creme has moved out."

Vanilla pulled off her dishwashing gloves and tossed them to the side. Gracefully, she walked by Vector and sat across from him. She slowly brushed some stray furs out of her eyes and slowly crossed her legs in an effort to get more comfortable. Vector found both acts to be incredibly attractive.

"It's...nice. Fewer worries, I suppose."

"I can imagine."

"Yeah, but...," Vanilla sighed.

Vector blinked as she saw her warm smile begin to falter, growing concerned.

"I...enjoy being alone. Sometimes. Not all the time. And being here...alone. It just gets a bit...too lonely, is all." Vanilla finished, looking up at the croc with a forced, fake smile. He could tell she was hurting.

"Yeah, I'm no stranger to that feeling."

"B-but don't you live with Espio?"

"Yeah, but I meant it in more of a romantic way."

Vector blushed, realized what he had just said.

A deafening silence lingered between them for what seemed like ages.

"I did too," Vanilla added.

Vector looked up to see her, noting that her expression was completely unreadable as she gazed at him.

More silence floated over them like a thunderous cloud.

"Shit, shit, shit! Why did I say that? I made things weird. Why is she looking at me like that? She's probably pissed. Shit, I gotta go."

Vector grew uncomfortable and quickly stood up from the table.

"W-well it was really nice talking to you, Vanilla! E-everyone's gone home already so I guess I should to-" Vector began stuttering, attempting to exit the kitchen while maintaining eye contact with the rabbit. This act failed, as he walked snout-first into the closed door. Embarrassed and frustrated, the croc pushed the door open with an excessive force and quickly stomped to the front door. Placing his hand on that doorknob, a warm presence graced his left bicep. He turned to see Vanilla, gently placing a soft paw on him.

There was silence once more.

"I, I really should be going, Vanilla."

"I know. Just...Have a safe trip home, Vector," She said in the silkiest smooth, seductive, teasing, sultry voice that the croc had ever heard in his entire life. His cheeks burned red in combination with her alluring voice and her graceful touch.

"What is she doing?"

She took a step closer.

"I'd love to see you again."

Vector froze.

"Yeah, I'd like that-LOVE that. I'd love that too."

Vanilla smirked at him.

"Maybe we can set something up, later in the week, or something, yeah."

Vanilla gently nodded, moving ever so slowly closer to him, nearly pinning him against the door.

"Um, yeah your number is on the invitation- I still have that invitation it's at home- I forgot to bring it, heh! So, yeah I will call you, Vanilla"

Vanilla's smirk widened into a vicious smile.

"Please do, Vector."

"Okay, Bye!" He shouted, for some reason, quickly turning the doorknob and dashing out the front door.

Vector stood on her porch, panting and wheezing. Putting his hand on his scaled head, he found that a large amount of sweat had accumulated.

"She definitely saw me sweating and shit...damn it."

The croc began his long walk home in the cool, dark night. Over the long duration of time that he had to think, he made some very startling discoveries.

For the first time in years, the croc felt happy and pleased to be around someone. For the first time in years, the croc felt a sense of wonder and attraction.

Vector soon reached his apartment building, took the elevator to his floor and entered his room, flopping down onto his bed. His mind still raced.

He and Vanilla had discussed how much their lives had changed – but that feeling he had near the end of the night with her was all too familiar. His nervousness, his excitement, his...feelings.

"I haven't felt that in years. Have...Have I been avoiding it? Avoiding her?"

Vector's eyes shot open.

"Is that what love feels like?"