Chapter Text
"But Vectorrrrrrrr!" Charmy whined as they approached the Rabbits' house. "I wanna come with youuuuu! I could totally help investigate!"
Vector sighed. "Charmy, we've been over this. The place we're investigating doesn't allow children, so you'll have to stay with Vanilla and Cream until tomorrow."
"But why's Espio allowed to come?!"
"Because I'm not a child," Espio interjected. "The establishment clearly stated that patrons must be over the age of 16, which I am."
"Yeah, and don't worry, we'll tell you all about it tomorrow, so you're not really missing any of the investigation." Vector added reassuringly. Charmy didn't seem very assured, ceasing his arguments but still grumbling under his breath all the way to the door.
The 7-year-old bee settled on the ground next to his guardian, knowing Cream would probably be at the door when Vanilla opened it and wanting to be at the same height as her.
Sure enough, Cream was there, hopping in place next to the older rabbit and ready to welcome her friend. "Hi Charmy!"
"Hi, Cream..." the bee responded sullenly, still too grumpy to return her cheerful greeting.
The young rabbit frowned at him, noticing his lack of enthusiasm. However, before she could mention it, Vector was already turning back to Charmy for a final goodbye and a reminder to behave. Much sooner than Charmy would have liked, his teammates were gone and the door was shut, trapping him in with the Rabbits.
Vanilla smiled down at the children, "Now, what would you two like to do first?"
Cream perked up. "Oh, Mama! Can we build a fort in the living room and sleep there tonight?!"
Vanilla considered it, turning to look at Charmy, who had at least stopped pouting (He wasn't pouting!) to pay attention. "Is that all right with you, Charmy, or would you rather sleep in a bed?"
"A pillow fort sounds fun, I guess," he reluctantly agreed, though it was clear he was finding it hard to keep objecting the sleepover idea as much as he had at first.
Vanilla smiled at the bee, then turned to her daughter. "Cream, why don't you start bringing the pillows and blankets from your bed, and I can help you two get set up before I start preparing dinner."
"Yes, Mama," the small rabbit cheered, already turning to run to her room. Charmy stared after her as she left, a thoughtful expression on his face.
Vanilla busied herself with picking up the small duffel bag Vector had left for Charmy and carrying it to the living room, as the little bee followed her absently, still thinking hard.
"Ms. Vanilla?"
The rabbit turned around at the boy's hesitant question, realizing he wanted to ask her something. "Yes, what is it, Charmy?"
"Why does Cream call you by a different name than everyone else does?"
Vanilla raised her eyebrows, studying the bee's earnestly confused expression. "Charmy... do you know what parents are?"
"Parents?"
"Yes, like a mom and dad. Have you not heard those words before?" When Charmy shook his head, she frowned gently, considering how best to explain.
There was a soft thwump from the doorway of the living room. "Charmy, you don't know about parents?!" Cream exclaimed, hands coming up to cup her cheeks.
Charmy's confused face was edging closer and closer to 'upset' as he realized this was something he was expected to know. He was a detective and ninja-in-training; he was supposed to know everything! Or almost everything, since he wasn't fully grown yet like Vector.
Vanilla, noticing how anxious the children were by Charmy's buzzing wings and Cream's twitching ears, clapped her hands to get their attention. "All right, both of you sit down on the couch, I'll bring you some juice and then we can try to figure this out, okay?"
The children complied, pulling the blankets Cream had brought onto the couch and curling up under them. Vanilla returned quickly with two glasses of carrot juice, then settled into the space the kids had left for her.
"Now then, Charmy, how much do you know about families?"
The boy puffed up indignantly. "Of course I know what families are! They're groups of people who look kinda the same and live together and care about each other and stuff."
"Families are sort of like a team!" Cream chimed in.
Vanilla smiled at them both. "That's right," she praised, "and like a team, each member has their own role in a family. Most of the time, a family has a mom, a dad, and a son or a daughter."
Charmy's face scrunched up in thought. "Oh! I've heard some of those words from people we've helped! But I dunno what they mean."
"Hmmm… well, a mom and dad together are called parents, and they're like the team leaders. They take care of their children and teach them everything they need to know while they grow up."
"But what's the difference between a mom and a dad?"
Vanilla tilted her head consideringly, tucking both children under her arms. "There's not really any difference, except that a woman raising a child is a mom, and a man raising a child is a dad. Does that make sense?"
Charmy nodded. "So does that mean you're a mom? And that's why Cream calls you 'Mama'?"
At this point, Cream, who had mostly been watching the conversation silently, piped up. "Yes! Mama and I make a really good team!"
"But you said families have a mom and a dad. So where's your dad?" Charmy asked innocently.
Cream's cheerful expression dropped and she glanced up at her mother. A sad smile crossed Vanilla's face. "My husband, Cream's father, died before she was born. So it's just the two of us," her smile turned more genuine as she turned to her daughter, "but we manage just fine, don't we, Cream?"
"Mmhm!"
Charmy looked back and forth between the mother-daughter duo, going over what Vanilla had told him and connecting it with memories of other families he'd observed on past cases with the Chaotix. As he did so he also compared those families to him and his teammates. Something still didn't quite line up.
"Ms. Vanilla? If families are like teams then why do they all act different from me and Vector and Espio?"
Vanilla turned to face him again. "Well, that's because your team has a different goal than a family. The Chaotix are a detective team, right? So your team goals are related to that. But a family's goals are just to support each other and care about each other while they find their own separate goals. Does that make sense?"
"Yeah… so a family is different from a team because they do different things?"
"Exactly! Though, sometimes a team can become like a family when they all care about each other very much. Not all families have to look similar or have been related since they were born; sometimes it's enough just to want to be a family."
Charmy thought about it before slowly nodding. "Yeah, I think I get it. Thanks, Ms. Vanilla!"
The older rabbit smiled warmly at him. "You're very welcome, Charmy. Now, how about you two build your pillow fort while I start making supper?"
"Yeah, pillow fort!!!"
Suddenly energetic, the children jumped off the couch, consulting each other quickly before running off to get the rest of Cream's pillows.
Later that night, long after they'd eaten and watched a movie and destroyed their fort with a pillow fight, Cream and Charmy lay snuggled deep in a mound of pillows on the living room floor. The rabbit's tiny snores filled the room as the bee stared at the ceiling, thinking about the conversation from that afternoon.
Vanilla's comparison of teams and families kept running through Charmy's head, causing him to reflect on how he felt about his teammates.
"Sometimes a team can become like a family when they all care about each other very much."
Were they like a family? Charmy couldn't remember a time before he came to live with Vector and Espio, but when he thought about what it would be like to no longer live with them… well, he didn't want to think about it, actually.
Charmy rolled over to face Cream, poking her back. "Pssst! Cream, wake up!"
The girl mumbled something before turning and sleepily opening her eyes. "Hm? Charmy? What is it?"
"Do you think my team is like a family?" He asked, amber eyes wide in the darkness.
"Hmmm… I think so. Mr. Vector raised you, right?"
"Yeah…"
"And Espio acts kinda like Sonic does to Tails, sometimes."
"So… you think Vector is like- like my dad? And Espio is my brother?"
"Mm-hm!"
"Huh…" Charmy was silent for a moment, thinking it over.
"Thanks, Cream," he whispered, "good night."
"Good night, Charmy."
I don't want things to change, Charmy thought as he burrowed back under the blankets, but maybe… maybe it's okay if I think of Vector as my dad, just in my head.
When Vector arrived the next morning to pick up his charge, he was treated to a flying tackle-hug and a cry of “Vector!!”, before Charmy abruptly remembered that he was annoyed at his dad teammate, despite any revelations from the night before. “I mean, hmph, I bet you ‘nd Espio had loads of fun without me,” the bee grumbled, hovering backwards with his arms crossed.
“Aww, c'mon, kid, you know it wasn't the same without you! And besides, you and Cream probably had plenty of fun without us boring adults around, right?”
Charmy's pout faded as Cream chose that moment to begin regaling Vector with stories of building their pillow fort, and the epic pillow fight that followed. Soon both children were talking over each other, each trying to argue that they won.
Eventually, Vector reminded Charmy, who was suddenly reluctant to say goodbye to Cream, that Espio was waiting for them at home. Finally out the door, they waved goodbye to the Rabbits and set out for the Chaotix Detective Agency.
“So, Charmy, did you have fun?”
“Hmmmm…” Charmy paused, pretending to think about it, then grinned mischievously. “Yeah! I bet we had more fun than you did, ‘cause I wasn't there with you!”
Vector laughed, pulling the kid down into a gentle headlock. “Sure, sure. Let's just get home, you little brat.”