Espilver Flufftober 2021

1. Winning a Teddy for the Other

When the advertisements for the yearly carnival had begun popping up a few days ago, it had not taken Espio long to decide that maybe Silver would like to pay it a visit also.

"You just... have fun here," he had explained to his beloved as they entered the terrain with their hands intertwined, the hedgehog gasping at the colours and the hustle and bustle the usually-empty grass field contained now. "If you see something or want to do something, just tell me and we will." The intrepid time traveller had wasted no time in taking him up on that offer, all but dashing away immediately to look at the rollercoaster, and things going along from there. They had been wandering about for hours now, partaking in the occasional game or ride while eating a sugarcane and the psychic kissing the residues away from around the chameleon's lips, but despite Silver's enthusiasm to experience the whole event in full they still hadn't seen everything the place had to offer-

"Oooooohhh!"

Turning around towards his enthusiastically-gasping boyfriend Espio chuckled at the stars in Silver's eyes, the hedgehog staring up at the plethora of stuffed animals hanging along the roof of a nearby stall with his mouth right open. "That one looks like you!! See?!" he pointed out with a beaming smile.

Gazing after Silver's pointing finger Espio hummed... only to frown a bit more concernedly as his eyes fell on what was indeed a replica of an entirely normal, non-anthropomorphic chameleon with a rather derpy look on its face, as if its creator had attempted to replicate his species' ability to move their eyes independently but went somewhat overboard in that regard. "That's indeed a chameleon, yes," he agreed nonetheless. His beloved was correct, after all, despite how he would consider the toy to be an affront to anthropomorphic chameleons everywhere.

Silver's tail was happily wagging behind him, the marvel in his gaze not having dissipated in the slightest as he looked up at the creature as if it was the most adorable thing in the world. "It's so cute! It's the cutest of all of them!"

"...Yeah," Espio hummed with a slightly-quirking eyebrow, not seeing the appeal of the toy in the slightest. But Silver seemed to have lost his heart to it already... Sighing deeply at his own weak-heartedness regarding the hedgehog the chameleon shot him a grimacing smile. "Would you like to have it, perhaps?"

The happy squeak resounding from beside him made everything right immediately. "I can? How?!"

"You need to play the stall's game," Espio explained patiently. "Here you need to throw balls at the cans to knock them down, and the more you knock down the bigger the price is you can pick- without using your powers, that would be cheating," he added as Silver grinned confidently with cyan-shrouded hands, the ninja chuckling as it faded down again and the hedgehog pouted instead.

"Awww, Espio... But if I lose, I won't get the toy, will I?"

With a fond shake of his head the chameleon reached out to give Silver a pet over his quills, guiding him to the stall's counter. "How about I do it for you, then?" he offered, studying the game in the back of the stand. Though his skill laid more in throwing sharp pointy metal ninja murder weapons Espio would be lying if he said he didn't feel confident with the small plastic balls as well, and even if he were to mess up somehow – which seemed unlikely – he could use how cute Silver was to haggle with the cart's owner for sure. "It's not a hard game if you have good aim, which we both know I have. It'll be easy as can be."

Immediately the hedgehog perked up at his suggestion, that adorable smile coming to life onto his face once more as he nuzzled Espio's wrist. "Please?!"

"Anything for you, tenshi." Placing down some money on the counter - nothing in life came free, not even making your beloved happy - Espio accepted the balls handed to him by the clerk, closing one eye as he took in the stack of metal cans that formed his new adversary. Letting Silver down was no option; all his concentration and skill was required here to win the hedgehog nearly vibrating with excitement at his side his gift. The chameleon grinned smugly and his beloved cheered in delight as one can at the bottom got knocked down, a few placed on top tumbling down also in a clatter. A second can in a different pyramid came down in one fell swoop as well, but Espio missed the third as Silver squeaked too loudly next to him. "Ah, oops," he permitted himself, taking a moment for a deep breath to recollect his bearings.

"Careful..."

"No worries. Just stay put, alright? I got this," Espio smiled at the concerned time traveller warmly, wrapping his tail around Silver's wrist to keep him grounded; the psychic had proven overly distracting in all the best ways on multiple occasions, but in this way he could keep the other calm while retaining his focus. Though, it almost felt like the derpy eyes were staring down at him from where the stuffed chameleon hung from the ceiling. Forcing the silly thought away Espio turned his attention to the game once more, and steadily the pyramids of cans decreased; one by the other came tumbling down, until the last one standing got hit right in the middle and Silver erupted in a loud cheer as the ninja handed the one ball left back to the smiling clerk. "May we have the, uh, chameleon, please?"

"But of course," the man agreed, and Espio grew soft all over as the green-striped creature got put in the delighted psychic's hand. "Enjoy it, you two!"

"Thank you," Espio hummed back as Silver echoed the words next to him, though it was clear his beloved's attention was only on the plush toy in his hands as the chameleon took him over to a small wooden bench to sit. Those eyes peeking at him from two entirely different angles were mocking him... "Do you like it, small one?" he asked all the same; as long as Silver was happy, he could deal with any number of off-model chameleon toys and silly carnival games.

With a warm purr Silver looked back up to him, soft lips getting pressed against his cheeks only moments after. "I love it, Espio. Thank you so much." The stuffed chameleon was being held close to him so protectively, and Espio couldn't help but smile at how fond the hedgehog already seemed to be of it, despite its... questionable appearance.

"You're very welcome, tenshi. I'm happy you're happy."

"Love you, Es. You're the best," Silver beamed at him, and the chameleon chuckled as he wrapped one arm around the other to hold him close and kiss his forehead also. Vector and Charmy probably would have some things to tease him with once they came home with that toy... but it made Silver content, Espio conceded as he moved to stroke soft quills and his beloved petted the stuffed chameleon in his lap, and in the end that was most important to him by far. Luckily Silver seemed to like him best still when it came to the chameleons in his life...

Even if Espio was certain those eyes would be mocking him quite a few times more often still.

Author's notes:

Hi everyone ^-^ A while ago I was wondering if there was an Inktober challenge (where you write/draw one piece a day throughout October following a specific prompt) I would like to participate in, however there was no Sonic-themed one this year. But I came across the Flufftober prompt list yesterday, and I thought it would be fun to do that with ~my favourite ship~, Espilver! I might add some Gold and Silver sibling fluff later, but that'll really depend on my inspiration for a story, so I have no guarantees for that yet. We'll see! ^-^

Things are a bit chaotic right now in my personal life, not helped by the fact I came across the prompt list already on October 2nd; as such I cannot guarantee I will be able to finish one story per day, but I'll try to keep up. I hope you like the first story!

The prompt list should be here, by the way! https://flufftober2021.tumblr.com/post/657097345362804736/hello-and-welcome-to-the-first-annual