sranks | ROLLING AROUND AT THE SPEED OF SOUND

[Sonic's experience with these kind of games is limited, but once he figures out the controls, he puts his all into shooting down the targets as best he's able. It's mostly a matter of timing that gets Sonic, sometimes a little bit too quick for the game to register, but he laughs and has fun with Neo and keeps bringing down target after target, also hitting a few things he's not supposed to...

And while he lags a little behind Neo in terms of performance (16), he manages a pretty decent score of his own, and when Sonic looks over at Neo's score, he's quick to pull his boyfriend in by one of his shoulders and give him a one armed hug.]

Well, would you look at that! Neo, you absolutely kicked butt out there!

[LOOK AT ALL OF THESE TICKETS WE'RE BOTH GETTING, THERE'S SO MUCH--]

You're a real natural at this!

[Victory! As expected, of course, though he didn't beat Sonic nearly as bad as he thought he would... Well, a win is a win, and it's one of the few he has over his rival, so Neo will take it. He allows Sonic to pull him in, tipping his head a bit to gently nuzzle Sonic. Neo's already warm, with the usual soft hum of his internal workings proof that he's still a bit flustered from earlier. He pulls back to retrieve their tickets after a moment. Huh, look at all of these... Maybe they'll be able to pick out one of the nicer prizes at this rate.]

I am built to have perfect aim. I would be disappointed in myself had I lost to you in this game.

[But it's obvious he's pleased anyway.]

You can choose our next game.

[Awww, Neo's so warm...Sonic chuckles a bit when Neo nuzzles into him, and Sonic returns the gesture easily, giving Neo a small kiss on the cheek as his reward. His boyfriend is too cute when he's smug...]

Don't expect to have an easy time with the rest of these! I'm gonna give you a real run for your tickets here!

[Sonic will gladly take Neo's hand and lead him over to one of his personal favorite machines--good old Legally Distinct Mario Kart. Give him a second to plop a squat in one of the two player machines here, he'll wait for Neo to take the other while he gets the coins in.]

You ready to eat my dust?

[What a nice reward... better than the tickets, even! Neo squeezes Sonic's hand as he follows to their next game. This one certainly looks interesting, though it's Neo's first time playing Legally Distinct Mario Kart.]

I look forward to crushing that confidence of yours.

[Though given the chaotic nature of Legally Distinct Mario Kart, he's nowhere near as prepared as he sounds. In fact, despite doing well with the race itself, Neo isn't even hitting the top three by the end. His luck is abysmal; he is absolutely suffering from the good ol' Mario Kart luck stat.]

Edited 2024-12-27 16:55 (UTC)

Bring it on, then!

[...So it was absolutely a mistake to instantly go to 150cc,,, (7)

Sonic's absolutely played some variant of this before, given that this is absolutely as chaotic as one would expect of Mario Kart: They're Out For Blood Difficulty. Sonic definitely remembers how to drift and takes first for a little bit, but one too many red and blue shells ensures that Sonic is also not hitting top three. He barely manages to squeak the place higher than Neo, but it's definitely not by much...]

...Y'know, I forgot how absolutely brutal these guys get when you crank up the difficulty. I'm gonna have to get practicing this game for next time.

[he may be stupid, bottom text,,,]

Not a bad showing out there though, Neo! This your first time playing?

[Here, we can talk while Neo goes and picks out the next game. The score being tied is honestly making Sonic even more excited, because there's still so much to do--]

[That gets a sound from Neo that's a bit too static-y to properly make out, but it's either a scoff or possibly a laugh given the amusement in his tone when he responds.]

Then we'll have to return here until we've mastered it.

[Which means more dates!!! Is it obvious he's having a good time on this one so far??]

It is, yes. I thought racing games would be more straightforward, though this one has the added challenge of utilizing the items in an efficient way...

[Strategizing is also fun, so he's definitely having a good time.]

[...d-doki, okay, that's kind of cute, just ignore the slight increase in heartbeat there--]

Y-Yeah! We're definitely gonna have to. You name the time and we can definitely come and get some practice in! [Thankfully, Sonic recovers easily in the face of his boyfriend being cute, shut up he's okay--] But yeah! That's one of the things I've always liked about these kind of games; racing's definitely fun, but it makes you keep an eye out for how chaotic the field gets. There's a couple tricks too, to get yourself to go faster, but I'd be happy to teach you all about it!

[Sonic looks around the arcade briefly. The more traditional racing machines are open, but the DDR's just gotten freed up too...Sonic gathers his tickets into a pile in his arms.]

What's next? You wanna try a more traditional race, or maybe something a little different?

[He's not absolutely chomping at the bit to go play DDR. But also: it looms on the horizon.]

[Oh, Sonic's heart rate increased... Did he like that? Something to keep in mind, certainly...]

I'll look forward to it, then. But for now.

[His optics follow Sonic's gaze. DDR is a game he knows of, but Neo hasn't actually played it before. It's not hard to see that his boyfriend is eager to play though, so Neo takes Sonic's hand again and tugs him toward the machines.]

You seem interested in this one. I won't keep you waiting.

[Though... Hmm. Given his weight and the nature of the game, there is a very real chance he will slam his foot straight through and break the machine. Not that Neo has difficulty controlling his strength or anything, it's just that this form is suited for battle, not games like this... He inclines his head a bit as he thinks, before Neo lets go of Sonic's hand. He doesn't explain what he's doing, but Sonic likely recognizes the usage of Neo's shapeshifting powers - the way his body ripples and distorts, seemingly almost melting before reshaping into something very familiar.

Metal Sonic now stands next to his boyfriend, absently checking over his appearance as if to make sure that he got it right. Of course he did; he knows this appearance just as well as his Neo version. Did you know he could still do this?? Because he sure as hell hasn't mentioned it before now and never takes this form.]

This should be more suitable for this game.

[Thankfully, he's kept his voice, so at least he doesn't have to communicate with beeps and boops.]

[You know, it kind of hits Sonic while he's thinking about it that Neo might have a harder time with this than he imagined; the machines are usually pretty durable, but if they do a more difficult song, this could be a problem for Neo especially. He knows Neo will be careful, but it makes Sonic almost want to change his mind...

And then Neo lets go of his hand, getting Sonic to tilt his head before it finally hits.

Sonic...kind of got so used to seeing Neo in his other form that he forgot the other hedgehog could shapeshift like that. It's been a bit since he's seen the original form of his boyfriend, and it kind of hits just how much Eggman tried to emulate Sonic himself in making him. Honestly, he didn't think he could ever actually shapeshift back, and he wasn't sure if Neo would ever want to. Neo's been himself for so damn long, and it's...

Sonic smiles a bit at Neo's original form, and perhaps the biggest worry of them all was made moot by Neo speaking; the last thing Neo wants to lose is his voice, Sonic assumes. But Sonic grins a bit, going over and giving his boyfriend a kiss on the cheek in this form, too.

May as well let him know he's loved no matter what form he takes, right?]

I wasn't sure you'd ever wanna go back to that, if you want me to be honest. But hey, you ain't gonna find me complaining; you were always faster like this, right? It'll make for an even more fun match. I'm looking forward to it.

[Thankfully, Sonic says that a little quieter, and it's lost in the cacophony of this place; he imagines Neo doesn't want the whole damn world to know about it all, and Sonic is for once using his brain. Be thankful.

Anyway, Sonic's happy to hop on the machine now, and he'll start pressing through the song list...]

So, how difficult do you want your first try of this to be? We can do a best two out of three on this one--maybe more, if you're feeling up to it?

[...]

Unless you want to start at the most difficult song, but I am gonna warn you: you might end up hitting the floor if we go for that one.

[Sonic is, in fact, already on that song. You know it, you love it, it's Pluto Relinquish.]

I wasn't sure I would want to.

[It's an easy admission because Sonic understands why. This isn't the form he chose for himself, and in many ways, this form is representative of his life before he became Neo. A life that was strictly tied to Eggman's orders and plans, and one that couldn't even voice his objections if he'd had them. Though he could have taken on this form at any point, it was difficult to even consider it early on, for reasons he didn't understand.

But here and now, it's an easy decision to make. The only hesitation he had at all was in seeing Sonic's reaction - and the kiss from his boyfriend makes it clear that Sonic doesn't mind it. It feels like a weight's been lifted from his shoulders.

Neo steps onto the second pad, optics flicking to the song selection screen before returning to Sonic.]

You'll regret saying that.

[So yeah. Let's Pluto Relinquish. There's no way in hell this can possibly go poorly, right!!]

[As long as it's Neo's own choice, as far as he's concerned--then there's no problem with it at all. Sure, he's more attractive with the other one, but he's plenty cute like this, too.

And plenty competitive, it seems. Sonic laughs, bright and unrestrained as he stretches for a brief moment before clicking the song.]

Alright, alright! Don't say I didn't warn you, though~

[The song begins, and were it pure speed, Sonic would almost certainly have this in the bag. It's those changes in speed that come up at different points that see his combo breaking a little bit, though; for what it's worth, he actually does manage to keep his feet where they should be, and Sonic's extremely focused on making sure he can keep up. He's doing pretty well, and is at no risk of failing the song at least. (11)

How's Neo doing? Sonic does take small glances at him while they play, which...probably also contributes to the losing of combos, but he wants to make sure he's there in case Neo falls--]

[The advantage of being a machine built for speed is that you are able to process things very quickly. While DDR in general - particularly with the hardest damn song - would be overwhelming for most people coming at it for the first time, Neo handles it quite well. In fact, his combo is perfect... up until the sudden drop in speed. It takes him a moment to catch onto what's happening and then he recovers quickly. Unfortunately, those sudden changes in speed are quite frequent in Pluto Relinquish hell, and Neo's score is absolutely suffering as a result. He's not at risk of failing either, but he is definitely lagging behind Sonic.

...He's also noticed his boyfriend is keeping an eye on him, so as the song comes to a close, he lands the final notes and then slips on the last one, purposefully losing his (otherwise very easily maintained) balance just so that Sonic will have to catch him. He's thankfully much lighter in this form, so the weight shouldn't be a problem for Sonic at all. If his boyfriend wants to worry over him, then who would Neo be to say no?? After all, this is a calculated move to distract from his loss.

And okay, sure, maybe he just wants his boyfriend to look out for him, shut up.]

[Sonic's almost got his focus back--they're practically neck and neck here, and it's exciting to finally be able to go all out even if it's clear he's gonna need to practice a little more. They're almost there, they just have to get through those final notes--

And Sonic's heart practically drops when he sees Neo begin to slip out of the corner of his eyes, heart picking up in pure panic, as he abandons those last few notes of the song to dart over and catch his boyfriend gallantly in his arms, holding him close and practically in a bridal carry (though. closer to the ground) and just taking a sharp breath as he checks Neo over. He's okay, he's--]

You alright, Neo? You didn't go and hit anything, didn't you? Do I need to check your knees out or anything like that?

[...he has not quite realize that he is, in fact, being punked, but he's holding Neo very close in his arms and fretting very hard, leave him alone,,,]

[Maybe he should feel a little bad about punking Sonic, but no, his boyfriend is cute and worried over him and how could he not enjoy that?? Let him bask in being worried over for once in his life!!]

You do know you don't need to worry so much over me, don't you?

[And he will absolutely take this opportunity to nuzzle his boyfriend. The proximity is so nice...]

I knew you'd catch me, though. Why do you think I let myself fall in the first place?

[He absolutely sounds smug about it. He may have lost the match, but this totally counts as a victory!!]

You--

[...Okay, no, Sonic can't even be mad about that because that was expertly played. Sure, the anxious beating of his heart hasn't exactly gone down entirely, but he finds himself chuckling as he nuzzles right back into Neo, sighing gently as he gets himself together.]

You jerk! I was actually worried for a sec, you! [WHAT IS HE GOING TO DO WITH YOU.........] Cut me some slack, would ya? I only worry cause I love you, y'know.

But of course, your dashing hedgehog savior's always here to help, even if you put yourself into peril, like the bully you are. What am I gonna do with you...

[O-Oh, Sonic said it... Of course he already knows that Sonic loves him, just as Sonic knows that Neo feels the same way, but hearing it always does something to him; he's already heating up again and his optics dart away for a moment before he corrects it. The L word is such a big deal now that he knows how important it is.]

A fall like this would only cause minimal damage, you know. Besides, I am built to maintain high speeds and severe impacts; there was never truly any danger.

[In other words: he's perfectly fine pulling a stunt like this when he isn't going to risk any serious harm, don't worry. Neo nuzzles against Sonic again, which is sort of an apology for worrying him, at least.]

You truly don't need to worry so much over me. [...] Though I suppose I can't stop you from doing so, and it is... nice.

[That someone will worry and care about him, should something happen.]

[There are a couple of blissful seconds where Sonic still doesn't realize that he's finally managed to actually say it to Neo. He's more distracted by the fact that he absolutely got positively got by Neo and chuckling over that, and then it hits.

...Yeah, Sonic's face is going a slightly impressive shade of pink here and his heartbeat is picking up while he chuckles a bit--a little nervous, but not as much as he could be. Because it's fine? Neo knows how much Sonic loves him, and Sonic really does adore Neo in kind, but verbing the noun has always felt like a hurdle. It feels...

It feels nice, honestly, and Sonic moves to take one of Neo's hands and lace their fingers together, kissing them gently.]

I know, I know. I really should give you a little more credit. [Sonic chuckles again, bright and chipper.] I like...caring about you, I think. I try to look out for the people I like, and while I'm not always the best at it, it's just how I show I care, y'know? 'Cause you are precious to me. Even if you give me a heart attack, sometimes.

[Sonic will help Neo up after that--he sadly can't carry his metallic counterpart very well at all, but he can manage this much.]

Did you enjoy the game, though? Do you wanna go another round, or did you wanna try something else?

[They should probably pick up their tickets when they have a second...]

[Cute... He really is quite lucky to have such a kind and caring boyfriend. It... sort of makes him wonder why Sonic would even be with someone like him in the first place, but that is a crisis for another day, thank you very much.

Neo gets back to his feet at that, still holding Sonic's hand. He's really reluctant to let go, but their date isn't quite over yet.]

I did enjoy it. Let's try an easier one; I want to see if we can get a perfect score.

[Not because he wants to beat Sonic this time, but because this game requires skills they both have. And if it's easier, then maybe this time he can watch his boyfriend instead of the other way around!!]

[Sonic grins brightly at that, getting up along with Neo and grinning brightly as he wills his stupid heartbeat down. God, he loves Neo, he loves him so much, he loves his stupid princess of an overcompetitive boyfriend so much he can't stand it--]

Alright, you're on! I know just the song we can do, too--this one'll be a piece of cake!

[Sonic picks another song, and perhaps thankfully, it's still enough to be fun while being much easier to focus on getting the perfect score. Sonic absolutely locks in on this one; his eyes focus on each of the notes and making sure he can hit every note perfectly, and it's as if he's in his own little gamer world.

This is absolutely child's play for the fastest thing alive, after all, but he's excited to see them both hit a perfect score, at the rate they're both going.]

[He finally lets Sonic's hand go so that they can take on this song - it's a good choice, as it requires speed, precision, and some amount of focus to keep them both on pace to get a perfect score. Neo sneaks glances at his boyfriend whenever he can, admiring how focused and intense his boyfriend is. Clearly this game was the right decision, as Sonic seems to really enjoy it. But then, of course he does, as he's really good at it.

The song ends with their perfect scores, though Neo's attention is on his boyfriend instead of the results screen.]

It seems you're having a good time.

[Which is exactly what he hoped for. Beating Sonic is important, of course, but ultimately what matters most today is that Sonic enjoys himself. His boyfriend deserves to have a fun date, and it seems like this is working out very well. Neo's always been drawn to Sonic - by necessity at first, but slowly that has morphed into something else - but right here and now, he can't imagine being any more in love with his boyfriend than he is right now.]

[Once Sonic sees that perfect combo confirmation and puts his name into the scoreboard, he's practically jumping for joy at the amount of fun he's having. His laughter is bright, free, and genuinely the most ecstatic he's been in a very long time.

That he gets to share this moment with someone he cares about so much is icing on the cake, and Sonic's quick to pull Neo into a firm hug after that.]

You bet I am! This is the most fun I've had not holding back even for a second--how could I not?!

[Sonic laughs once again, and their tickets start coming out in droves. Sonic isn't focused on that for a moment, though--he's got Neo here with him, they're here, and he...

He winds up enthusiastically picking Neo up into the air and twirling him a bit with that stupid, bright grin on his face. He does put Neo down gently after that, though, catching his breath for a couple seconds while he laughs.]

This is the best date I've ever been on--thanks, Neo. Thank you, for making this so much fun--I can only hope you're having fun too!

[Up he goes!! Neo's hands settle on Sonic's shoulders, and the sudden twirl gets a sound of static from him again. It's soft, unexpected, and pleased.]

I am. I absolutely am.

[His hands slide up to the sides of Sonic's face and once again he finds himself annoyed that he doesn't have a mouth to properly kiss his boyfriend to make that clear. For now, he's content just to watch his beloved.]

You make me so happy. I'm not sure how to handle it, in truth. I never would have thought I'd be capable of feeling like this.

[Sonic feels Neo's hands on him, and god the temptation to take his boyfriend back home so he can just kiss his face again and again is so tempting. His heart feels light as air, beating fast but he's in no danger here. He's with the guy he loves, and...]

Heh, trust me, you aren't the only one. I feel light as air right about now, like I could glide through the sky on sheer will alone...I'm glad. I'm so glad you get to feel this too, Neo. You deserve it, you deserve to feel this so much.

[Sonic brings his face in close though, giving Neo a quick kiss--gentle, light, and held back just a bit because they're in public, but this truly is the greatest day he's had in a long time, himself.

And he's so glad to share that with Neo.]

So...what say you? Are you feeling up for a few more games, or do you wanna see what kinda prize we can get and cuddle up a storm at home?

[It's still such a surreal thing to think about: that he deserves to experience things like this because he's a person. Because he should have experiences like this too. Because Sonic likes him, and wants good things for him. It makes him feel just as Sonic described - light as air.]

As much fun as this is, I want to be close to you.

[Though they can cuddle whenever, Neo wants to do this right now. They can always return and play more games later, and he'd certainly like to, but right now all he wants to do is cuddle his beloved boyfriend.]

Let's go home. After you've chosen your prize, of course.

You've got it!

[With the tickets they've accumulated, Sonic's able to pick out something pretty cool--it looks like a mini model of a space ship from one of those little alien games that Sonic's never tried playing. Galaga was more Tails' speed, after all, but he's happy to spend his hard earned tickets on it, along with a few smaller things--he did at least insist that Neo pick something out, because he did such a good job too, but once they're out of there, it doesn't take them long to end up in the winter district and back in the apartment to unpack everything.

This is nice, honestly. It's so much nicer than he could've thought, and truly, he's excited for their next date. He feels himself starting to wind down from all of this, and yet he couldn't be more energized in this moment. He'll get the bed unfolded so they can both lie down and cuddle, but...]

Come over here, Neo. [It's Sonic's turn to do the holding today--he really wants to.] That was the best idea you've ever thought of--thanks for making this day unforgettable.

ROLLING AROUND AT THE SPEED OF SOUND

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