/ctt/: Gen/SNES - A Burning Fire In Her Sega Heart

>Contains: Cute stuff, thinly veiled video game references, girls loving girls, hand holding.
>7160 words



	Bzzzzt! Bzzzzt!

	Genesis paused her game, setting her controller down as she leaned over to pick her phone up from the floor. It was her rival SNES calling her. Genesis cleared her throat and answered, “Hello?”

	SNES' cheery voice responded, “Hey Genesis! Do you have any plans tonight?”

	“Um, not really, I was just gonna play through Phantasy Star IV mostly.”

	“Well there's a carnival in town this weekend, and I wanted you to come with me!”

	Genesis scratched her head, “Oh, a carnival? Those are so dorky, only kids go to them.”

	“Oh, come on! It'll be fun! Please?”

	“Ugh, do I have to?” Genesis responded, laying back and staring at the ceiling as she spoke.

	“If you go with me, I'm sure there'll be chili dogs to eat!”

	Genesis scoffed, “You can't just bribe me with food every time you want me to go somewhere with you.”

	“There'll be a bunch of games too! I guess if you don't go, I'll have to win a bunch of them on my own and take all the prizes--”

	Genesis immediately shot up to a sitting position, “What?! No! I'm going there right now, where is it at?!”

																* * * * * *

	A cool, gentle breeze swept across the open lot, bringing with it a dozen scattered leaves of varying red, brown, and golden shades. Children were screaming with joy, various clanks, dings, and splashes could be heard throughout the fair grounds, and the gentle murmurs of a hundred different conversations filled the air. The two rivals were standing in line, waiting to buy their entry wrist bands.

	Genesis blew a stray hair away from her eye, “So what kind of games are there that I can win?”

	SNES crossed her arms, “Hm, not sure exactly what. Maybe some ring throwing games, some ball throwing games, stuff like that.”

	Genesis groaned, “Those all sound like boring kids games!”

	The line shuffled forward.

	“Oh, come on, I'm sure there'll be other fun games that you'll like. Besides, there's also some cool rides like the Ferris-wheel and whatever the heck that spinning one is. That one should be fast enough for your tastes!”

	Genesis rolled her eyes, and the line shuffled forward again. “Nothing is fast enough for me, do you forget who you're talking to?”

	SNES giggled and mocked her rival, “Yes, yes, the amazing blast processing Genesis, all bow down to her magnificent speed.”

	“That's right! You know how quickly I made it here just by running?”

	“No.”

	“Well I don't either, but it was fast!” Genesis exclaimed, then thinking to herself, “And I didn't even break a sweat.”

	The line shuffled forward, and SNES handed the ticket lady some cash in exchange for two entry bands. The two rivals put a wrist band on and entered the fair grounds. Children and their parents were moving one way and the other, groups of teenagers were scattered about, and the cool autumn breeze blew across the concrete ground. Both consoles looked around, seeing what might be fun to start with; SNES pointed out a fishing game, to which Genesis insulted it for being too childish, and when she suggested a bean-bag tossing game Genesis simply groaned. But then something caught Genesis' eyes, something that would allow her to show off how much stronger than SNES she was; the Strongman.

	“Look, SNES, a Strongman! Let's go!” She declared, rushing off in its direction. SNES quickly followed behind, holding on to her hat as she tried to keep up with her rival.

	The two ladies stood around, waiting for the current player to finish; the man lifted the large hammer above his head, took aim, and brought it down on the target with a loud slam. The metal bullet shot up, rising past 400, 600, now 800... And stopped just below 900. The man took a few prize tickets from the game operator, set the hammer down, and walked off.

	SNES spoke up, “Maybe you should do this on your own, Gen, I don't think I'm strong enough for this.”

	“Ha! Of course you're not! Watch and behold the awesome strength of a Sega!”

	Genesis marched forward and the operator handed her the hammer. She firmly grasped it, getting a good feel for how heavy it was; this was a legitimate sledge hammer, not a rubber-headed one. She stepped in front of the tower, took a deep breath, and lifted the hammer above her head, taking careful aim of her target. She leaned back slightly more and lifted her forward foot off the ground, intent on putting as much force and momentum behind her swing as she could. Her eyes were locked on the target, “I can do this,” she thought to herself, she took a deep breath and prepared herself as she slowly began tipping backwards and-- wait, tipping backwards?!

	Thunk.

	The head of the hammer was firmly planted on the ground and Genesis' body was arching backwards, one leg grounded and one raised in the air while she was still holding the handle. A few of the spectators giggled at the sight, but the only thing that Genesis heard was a single, high pitched laughter; SNES was laughing at her! She looked over to see SNES giggling to herself, who then called out, “Come on, Gen! You can do better than that!”

	Genesis felt embarrassed, but something else was quickly washing over that feeling; a fire came to life inside of Genesis' heart, a fire that demanded victory. A sudden rage burned inside of her, how DARE she be humiliated in front of her rival in such a way! She couldn't stand it, all the time she was trying to one-up SNES and yet here she was barely able to hold a damn hammer!

	Genesis grounded her foot and picked up the hammer once more, this time with much more vigor, raising it above her head and taking her striking stance from before. She let out a battle cry into the air and brought the hammer swinging over her head, slamming it down on the target with a thundering boom; the metal bullet rocketed skyward, zooming past 300, 600, 900!

	DING!

	The bell rang loudly, reverberating throughout the air for a few seconds before dying down. Genesis let go of the hammer and pointed at SNES, “HA! Sega does what NintenDON'T!” She walked away without even collecting her prize tickets from the operator, who was checking to make sure the target base wasn't broken, feeling much more satisfied with herself as she approached her rival. “Next game,” she calmly stated.

	“Er, how about we go get some cotton candy instead, thunderhead.” SNES replied.

	Genesis exhaled through her nose, but agreed. A strong wind blew against them, causing the end of her signature yellow scarf to fly with the wind as well as her standing tuft of hair. The two girls walked over to a snack stand, handed the clerk a dollar, and got a stick of cotton candy to share. They walked off and stood in an opening, picking fluffy pieces of the cotton candy to eat while they looked around at the various stands, games, and attractions.

	“SNES? Genesis?”

	The two turned around to see their friend Atari Jaguar, who was wearing knee-high heel boots, a knee-length skirt, and a pink sweater to match her hair.

	“Jaguar!” both of them responded in unison, with SNES sounding more enthused than Genesis.

	“Why are you here?” Genesis inquired.

	“Well it's not like I'm not allowed to enjoy a nice carnival,” Jaguar began, “besides, I'm here with my sister Lynx as well. She's off riding one of the attractions.” She lazily gestured to one of the various large machines with her hand.

	“That sounds nice,” SNES said, “have you two been having fun?”

	“Yes, I suppose. Lynx was feeling quite morose lately and I think the fair has been helping her feel more ecstatic.”

	Genesis butted in with cotton candy in her mouth, “Oooh, 'morose', how elegant. I've seen the Dead Poets Society too, y'know!”

	Jaguar furrowed her brow, “I'm sure you have since it came out in 1989!”

	Genesis took another fluff of cotton, “That sounds like a bad set up for you to say 'do the math'!”

	Jaguar squinted her eyes in irritation, “Quiet, Sega.”

	Genesis stepped forward, putting the fluffy sugar in her mouth, “Make me, tuna breath!”

	Jaguar threatened Genesis with a very authentic hiss, to which Genesis responded with a poorly imitated hiss of her own. The two consoles stared each other down, invisible bolts of lightning shooting from their eyes and colliding midair; SNES stepped between the two, her head and hat obstructing their view. “Stop it, you two, no need for a mad cat fight in the middle of the carnival.”

	The two crossed their arms and faced away from each other, silently settling on a cease-fire. Jaguar spoke after a second, “So what are you two doing together anyway? Are you on a date or something?”

	Genesis' eyes grew wide at the suggestion, but before she had a chance to retaliate SNES answered the classy cat girl.

	“No, we're just enjoying the fair together as friends! Nothing wrong with that.”

	Jaguar turned back around to face the two, “Hm, I suppose... Well, anyway, I should probably go back to get my sister. See you around, girls.”

	With that, Jaguar took her leave and walked away, her boots clicking on the pavement as she left. Genesis turned around and quietly spoke, “Pfft, a date, who does she think she is?”

	“Oh, come on Gen, let it go. Honestly, I don't know how I survive when you two are around each other, you always start something with Jaguar.”

	“With good reason!”

	“Hardly. And besides, what's wrong with us being on a date? Are you afraid to hold my hand or something?” SNES questioned in a teasing manner, looking at Genesis with a smile.

	“What?! Shut up, SNES!” Genesis retorted with a faint hint of red on her cheeks.

	SNES giggled and ate the last of the cotton candy, “Come on, I saw one of those knock-the-bottle games, let's go try it out!”

	The two consoles walked across the fair grounds towards the proper game booth, and the entire time Genesis couldn't help but think to herself. “Me and SNES dating? Why would she even suggest that? It's not like we were holding hands or something, we were just sharing some--” then Genesis was hit with realization as she thought, “it was because we were sharing the cotton candy! We must've looked like some kind of lesbian couple!”

	Genesis was staring at her rival as they walked together, with SNES slightly ahead, thoughts of the two of them ran through Genesis' mind. “What if we actually were dating? SNES is pretty cute, and even if we always pick on each other it's usually just some friendly rivalry. Would it really be so bad...?” Genesis shook her head, her jacket felt a bit tight so she unzipped it slightly as she thought, “Stop it Genesis! She's your rival! You can't be dating a Nintendo!”

	The consoles reached the booth they were searching for and stood in one of the two lines, watching the people in front of them throw rubber balls at the small pyramids of metallic milk bottles. The line slowly moved along moment by moment; one energetic child managed to knock all the bottles over and win, choosing a generic looking super hero prize.

	SNES called for Genesis' attention, “Gen, look!”

	She was pointing to two characters hung on the wall: a Mario and Sonic plush! The two girls gazed at the plush characters, both intent on winning the last prize of their respective mascots. It was finally their turn, with SNES going first, but then the two of them both recognized a familiar friend standing behind the counter.

	“Toasty!” the two girls enthusiastically called in unison.

	“Well if it isn't Super Ten and Gen!” Toaster replied, with two pieces of warm toast happily popping from his head.

	“Did you sign up to be a game operator, Toasty?” SNES inquired.

	“Yup! I needed a bit of extra cash and I wasn't busy, so I decided to work here for the weekend. Even PC came along!”

	Genesis snickered, “PC is here? What is he operating?”

	Toaster answered as he set up the pyramid of metal bottles, “Well he was here with me taking charge of the other set of bottles, but one of the attractions broke so now he's manually operating it for some extra cash!”

	The two girls raised an eyebrow and asked at the same time, “Manually operating?”

	Toaster carefully balanced the topmost bottle, “Yup! You know the one that spins around real fast? Well he's hand cranking that thing! In fact, I think he's having to hold back to keep it from going too fast!” Toaster walked over and handed SNES two rubber balls, “But if anyone can keep that machine spinning at a smooth frame-rate, it's PC!”

	The two girls shrugged at the analogy. SNES gripped the first ball, taking careful aim for the center of the two-tier pyramid, hoping to hit all three bottles at once. She reeled her arm back and tossed the ball, knocking over only the top bottle with a satisfying 'dink'.

	“Yes! One down, two to go!” SNES said as she grabbed the other ball.

	“Psh, don't get too cocky, Nintendork.” Genesis taunted.

	Ignoring her friend's taunt, SNES gripped the ball tightly and eyeballed the two remaining bottles. She brought her arm back, threw the ball, and one loud 'dink' was heard; one bottle went clear off the table, but the other was spinning around on its base, teetering near the edge as its momentum decided whether it would stand or fall. After a brief few seconds of spinning, the bottle slowed down and the base replanted itself on the table. SNES' face was filled with sorrow as her chances of winning the Mario plush had slipped through her fingers, all because of dumb physics.

	Toaster scratched his head as he went to set up the bottles, “Dang, sorry SNES, better luck next time!”

	“Thanks, Toasty.” SNES replied with a gloomy tone.

	Seeing SNES suddenly so sad was making Genesis' heart heavy. Her rival was always so cheerful and energetic, she was always the one to keep her head up when others had their heads down. Was this plush doll really worth that much to her?

	Genesis stepped forward, grabbing the first rubber ball with a look of determination; when she looked to her side, she saw Toaster had given SNES a piece of toast to make her feel better, and her friend gave her a thumbs up for good luck. She turned her attention back to the bottles, her sight locked on to her target. She lifted her leg up slightly as she shifted her body back, reeled her arm, and pitched the ball with great force; the ball soared straight over the bottles, bounced off the back prize wall of the booth, and flew straight back to Genesis!

	She swiftly caught it, surprised by her own strength as well as the fact that she had missed. She looked over to Toaster, who held up two fingers to say that she was allowed a redo. This time Genesis would put less force into her pitch to avoid missing again. She brought her arm back and tossed the ball underhand, hitting the bottles dead center but not with enough force to knock any of them over. Genesis groaned with displeasure.

	“You still got one more ball, Gen.” Toaster told her.

	She wasn't going to slip up this time. Genesis grabbed the ball and took a dozen paces backwards, putting a puzzled look on her friend's faces, then took the stance of a baseball pitcher. She tightened her grip and raised her leg high into the air, almost until her leg was pointing straight up to the sky, she reeled her arm back, brought her leg down, and pitched the ball; it zoomed over the counter, too fast for Toaster to keep track of, and slammed into the bottles with a cacophony of metal crashing together and falling to the ground.

	Genesis stepped forward, swiping her hands together with a smug look on her face, satisfied with her victory. Toaster was staring at the knocked over pyramid in shock, he had clearly underestimated Genesis' strength.

	SNES sighed, “Well, it looks like you won that Sonic plush fair and square, Genesis.”

	“So what prize will you be choosing, Gen?” Toaster asked.

	Genesis crossed her arms and calmly answered, “Give me that Mario.”

	SNES had a shocked expression on her face, “What?”

	Toaster shrugged and grabbed the last Mario from the wall, then handed it over to Genesis.

	“Genesis, are you really gonna take the Mario prize and rub it in my face all day?” SNES pouted.

	“No,” Genesis replied, “Come on, SNES, I'm not that mean! Besides...” Genesis offered the Mario plush over to her rival, “I got it for you.”

	SNES' face washed over with joy, she happily took the plush and hugged it tightly while squealing like a child. “Ah! But why?” she asked, looking at Genesis, “Why didn't you get the Sonic one for yourself?”

	A loud 'dink' and the sound of crashing bottles came from the second set of pyramids.

	“Well,” Genesis began, “you looked so sad that you didn't win the prize yourself, I thought I'd be nice for a change and win it for you.”

	SNES had a wide smile on her face, and without another second to spare she leaped forward and wrapped her arms around Genesis in a tight hug. “Oooh! Thank you Genesis! Thank you thank you thank you!” she cheerily exclaimed.

	Genesis couldn't help but blush from the sudden affection, she hadn't expected this kind of reaction from SNES at all. Seeing her this cheerful made Genesis feel warm, like for once she had actually done something to make SNES genuinely happy. She patted her rival on her hat-topped head, “Alright, alright, stop hugging me. Besides, I planned on winning myself the Sonic plush next anyway...” She looked up to the wall where the Sonic plush was-- wait, where was it?

	Genesis turned her head to look at the other side of the booth; Toaster had just handed a little girl her prize. And she chose Sonic.

	“Oh... Well, maybe I won't be winning it after all...” Genesis sighed, feeling rather disappointed.

	SNES had a slightly guilty look on her face, feeling partially responsible for the situation at hand, “Oh, I'm sorry Genesis...”

	The two of them began to walk away from the booth, waving goodbye to their friend Toaster. “Well, I guess I can't be all too sad,” Genesis stated, “after all, that little girl won and chose my blue hedgehog! She deserves it.”

	SNES smiled as she hugged her Mario, “Wow, Gen, that's very nice of you to say.”

	The two of them walked around for some time, seeing what games they might try out next. After entering a game tent, Genesis spotted two skee-ball machines and immediately challenged her rival to a duel; the two took their places, inserted a few quarters, and grabbed their first ball. Overhead, a speaker was playing a familiar high-energy hip-hop video game song, and the two consoles took their cue to start when a voice in the song exclaimed 'Turn it up! Get down!'

	Genesis didn't hesitate to send her ball dashing down the lane with Sonic-fast speed, however such speed proved to work against her favor when the ball shot straight past the holes and slammed into the ceiling of the machine cabinet, falling and rolling down into the 10 point hole.

	“Easy, Gen, you're gonna break the machine and get in trouble!”

	SNES took a more careful approach, taking steady aim and rolling the ball down the lane at a more reasonable speed, the ball leaped off the ramped incline and landed straight in the 30 point hole. SNES gave her rival a smile, but Genesis was having none of that now that her fire for competition had been sparked to life. She grabbed her second ball and, while holding back, dashed it across the lane; it jumped into the air and landed safely in the 50 point hole.

	“Ha!” Genesis cheered, pumping her arm with a sense of accomplishment, but she looked over to SNES' lane just in time to see her score in the 50 point hole as well! Genesis grabbed two more balls and sent them down the lane one after the other, one scoring 40 points and the other 20, while SNES managed to score a 40 point shot and then a 10 point shot with the next ball.

	Genesis gritted her teeth as the game continued like this, she would score shots all over the board whereas SNES scored more consistent shots. They were both down to the last of their nine balls, SNES had 300 points while Genesis had 250; she was furious, how could she let her rival win like this?! Her only hope was to take the risk and try to score in the 100 point hole.

	SNES and Genesis both took their stances and at the same time they rolled their last skee-balls down the lane. SNES' went straight down the center of the lane, but Genesis had tried something different; she gave her ball a spin as she pitched it, and it drifted down the right side of the lane with great speed, spinning like a top as it bolted down the smooth wooden surface. Both of their balls shot off the ramp at the same time, Genesis' ball curved through the air while SNES' went straight forward; Genesis' ball was on a direct path for the 100 point hole, swiftly landing on the edge of the hole-ring and spinning quickly inside its edges before falling in the hole.

	“Yes!” Genesis cheered. She looked up at the score counters: 350 points for Genesis, and... 350 points for SNES.

	“A tie?!” Genesis shouted. She stomped her foot on the ground, “Dammit, no! I want a rematch!”

	“What? Come on, Gen, it was just a game.” SNES said, plucking her prize tickets from the machine.

	“I don't care!” Genesis exclaimed, ripping her tickets from the machine, “I can't lose to you! I can't even be allowed to tie with you! We're rivals!”

	SNES blew a strand of hair out of her face, “Come on, Gen, we can't always be competing and trying to beat each other at everything.”

	“I'm a Sega, and you're a Nintendo! We're born rivals, you know that!” Genesis put her hands on her hips and let out a long sigh to cool down, “I can't help it, SNES. Every time there's some kind of competition, I always want to win. I'm naturally competitive, and you've always been a great rival for me.”

	SNES' pale cheeks gained a faint pink tint, “Well, I've always had fun being your rival and all, but I always saw it more as a game. I never really took it to heart all that much. Besides, I can't compete with you sometimes because you've always been better at sports and other physical activities than I was.”

	Genesis raised her eyebrows slightly, “Wait, did you just say I was better than you at something?”

	“Well yeah, it's pretty obvious that you're more athletic than I am, and I don't have my head so far up my own butt that I refuse to say someone's better at something than I am.” SNES verbally jabbed.

	Genesis took a guilt-filled blow to the chest. She nervously looked down and put her arms behind her back as she quietly spoke, “Gee... I'm sorry, SNES. I didn't mean for my competitive nature to become so bothersome.”

	Genesis felt a hand placed lightly on her shoulder, and looked up at SNES; “It's okay, Gen. Honestly, I really like being friends with you because you're always just so fun to be around, especially when you're all fired up. Even if you do get out of hand sometimes.”

	Now it was Genesis who was blushing. She smiled at her friend's reassuring words, “Thanks, SNES. I really like being friends with you too.”

	Genesis stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her slightly shorter friend's body, embracing her in a hug, much to SNES' surprise. SNES returned the unexpected hug happily, and the two of them parted.

	“Come on, let's go get some prizes.” Genesis suggested.

	The two of them walked to the prize counter with their tickets; SNES picked out a squeaky pink rubber elephant, while Genesis picked a pair of glow-in-the-dark vampire fangs. Afterwords, the two decided to get some food and left for the food court. The sun was getting close to setting, so the meal could count as an early dinner.

	The two consoles ordered a small cheese pizza, with one half of it topped with pepperoni; taking their meal to their table, the two of them enjoyed the freshly hot, cheesy pizza together. The court was bustling with a dozen different conversations between friends and families, and overhead a low-volume classic rock song was playing. The two girls ended up casually discussing the early days of their rivalry and when they first met years ago as younger consoles.

	“... And remember when Jaguar was the new girl on the block?” Genesis said, with a mouthful of pizza.

	SNES laughed at the thought, “Yeah, when we first met her she was always boasting and showing off! She really wanted to impress everyone with her '64-bit' powers, then when the others paid less attention to her she started hanging around with just us two more. Honestly, she's a nice girl once you get to know her.”

	Genesis scoffed, “Please, with how bratty she is? She's fun sometimes, but she's a pain in my butt.”

	“Awh, come on, Gen. You just need to be nicer to her and she'll be nicer to you! I'm sure you two will get along eventually.” SNES replied, biting a small piece off of her pizza slice.

	“Yeah, maybe, but she's so stuck up that it gets on my nerves. And she's always saying--”

	“Do the math!” SNES interjected with a mouthful, finishing Genesis' sentence.

	“Exactly! She thinks she's so great at math!”

	SNES giggled at her friend's ranting, “Well hey, I'm gonna go use the restroom, I'll be right back.”

	SNES wiped off her hands, stood up, and walked off towards the restrooms. Genesis continued to eat the rest of her half of the pizza, simply enjoying the music while she was left to her thoughts.

	“Hm, I have known SNES for a long time.” Genesis thought, “She really is my best friend, despite our rivalry.” She took a bite from her pizza, and then bit a chunk of the crust off as well. “Hm... And we've been rivals for a long time. Ha, I wonder what our scores would look like between all of our competitions.” Genesis giggled at the thought. Then a very serious look washed over her face; “Wait, what would our scores actually look like? How many times has she beaten me? Let's see...”

	Genesis stared into her pizza, counting in her head all the competitions she could think of. “Let's see, we tied in skee-ball, I beat her at the bottle game, she didn't play the Strongman game, she got the crown in 3D World way more than I did, we're pretty evenly matched in Mario Kart, she's beaten me at chess... Every time, shit. I always get a higher score in Streets of Rage, and then there was Catan, she always won that... She's better at cooking cause I have no patience for that...”

	Genesis continued to count in her hand, extending and curling her fingers to keep track on each hand. The realization slowly crept up on her that she wasn't always the winner of their competitions; as a matter of fact, SNES had won quite often. “Am I just that bad? No, of course not! I'm a Sega, and I've got the powers of blast processing! Then it must be that SNES is just as good as I am... As much as I hate admitting that...” She took another large bite from her pizza, chewing away as she contemplated, “Maybe she really is a better rival than I thought... Yes, of course! What kind of rivalry would it be if I weren't constantly being tested to do my best!”

	Genesis dropped her fist on the table with a light 'tap' as she thought to herself, “Yes! She must have been trying to beat me this entire time, but she's so cool headed that she never shows it! And if she's always trying to beat me, then she must think I'm a worthy rival!” Genesis smiled from the thought, “Yes, it's perfect! Best friends and perfect rivals! Yes, she's... She's...” Genesis began to blush, “I guess she really is pretty good...”

	Genesis began to twiddle her thumbs, “She is a really good cook, and she's really smart... And she's actually pretty good at playing games, too. Huh...” Genesis sat there with a slight blush on her face, looking at the Mario plush on the table as she came to realize just how much she actually liked SNES, beyond just being friends or rivals. She wiped her hands off with some napkins and squirted some hand sanitizer that SNES carried around into her hands, cleaning them off as she looked at the last slice of the mostly-eaten pizza. Suddenly, Genesis felt someone tap on her shoulder.

	She turned around to see her light-skinned companion, with her pail lilac hair and puffy hat, her slim waist and wide hips... Genesis shot her eyes up to SNES, trying not to focus on her body. “H-hey SNES!” she stammered.

	“Hi Gen! I'm, uh, back from the restroom!” SNES replied with a smile.

	Genesis raised an eyebrow, “Wait, how long were you gone for anyway? And why do you have your arms behind your back?”

	SNES giggled, “Well, I guess I shouldn't hide it any longer...” She brought her arms forward and presented something to Genesis: the Sonic plush!

	Genesis sharply inhaled in excitement, “Oh my gosh!” She took the plush from her friend's hands, admiring it for a few seconds before hugging it. “How did you get it though? I thought that little girl got the last one?”

	“Well, Toasty mentioned that he would have to restock some of the prizes while he was giving me his toast, and so I just thought that maybe I should repay you for getting me the Mario plush.”

	Genesis leaped up to her feet and wrapped her arms around SNES tightly, “Oooh thank you SNES! Thank you, I love you!”

	Both of their eyes widened and their cheeks grew rosy, before SNES could say a word Genesis broke the hug and corrected herself; “IT! I love it! Thanks, SNES.”

	SNES smiled and covered her mouth as she giggled, “It's no problem, Gen. It's the least I could do after you won the Mario plush for me! Besides, this kinda stuff is what best friends are for.”

	Genesis smiled, “Yeah, best friends... Uh, hey SNES?”

	“Yeah, Gen?

	Genesis hesitated on her words, “... Ah, never mind. Come on, eat your last slice of pizza and let's go do something.”

																* * *

	Genesis walked across the empty concrete lot alongside SNES, both of them holding their prized plush characters in their arms. The sun was setting, the chilly winds of the oncoming dusk were blowing across the fair grounds, and colorful lights on the attractions and booths began to light up all over. Most of the children were too tired to be loud, and the teenagers were still keeping to themselves in each of their independent little groups.

	SNES looked over to her friend with a smile, “Hey Gen, do you want to go on the Ferris-wheel together? We'll have such a nice view of the sunset on it!”

	Genesis could feel her chest tighten slightly at the thought, “Oh, uh, yeah! Sure!”

	SNES took off towards the Ferris-wheel, “Come on! I wanna be first to get on!”

	“H-hey, wait up!” Genesis called as she dashed after her friend.

																* * *

	SNES stepped inside the round cabin of the Ferris-wheel, and Genesis followed right behind her; they sat across from each other, both sides of the cabin had open window spaces allowing for the breeze to roll right in. The wheel shifted and the cabin rose from the ground, allowing the next group of passengers to enter the next cabin. Looking out the window, off into the distance opposite of the fair grounds, the sun was slowly setting over hills and an ocean of trees, with golden-orange rays burning across the sky as the deep, purple and black twilight slowly crept overhead.

	Genesis couldn't help but feel butterflies fluttering around in her gut; here she was with her rival, totally alone in a Ferris-wheel cabin, her mind was hazy with thoughts of... something, and who knows how long it would take before they got off. Thoughts of her getting extra close to SNES invaded her mind suddenly, and she nervously clamped her hands together. The Ferris-wheel shifted again and again until all the cabins were taken, then slowly began to rotate at an unbroken pace; as their cabin rose to the top, they both admired the approaching sunset together.

	“It's really pretty.” SNES quietly spoke, “I always preferred watching the sun rise in the morning, when everything is so silent and peaceful. If the wind isn't blowing and all the people and animals are quiet, then it's like the whole world has stopped around you. Just standing in the cool, dewy grass, watching the sun rise and seeing everything slowly come to life... But sunsets are nice too, for their own reasons. That's when you get to watch everything slow down and return to that peaceful quietness.”

	Genesis sat there with her eyebrows raised as she looked at SNES, unsure of how she should respond. She turned her head to face the sun, now seeing it in a new light that SNES had shown her, admiring her appreciation for such a minor thing that she had never considered before. “Yeah, it really is nice...”

	The two of them sat and enjoyed the view as their cabin slowly rose up and down, but a sharp, cold wind blew through the cabin; Genesis hardly noticed it, but it made SNES shiver and rub her arms to keep warm. Genesis took notice and thought for a few seconds. With her mind made up she unzipped her jacket completely and took it off, shifting over to sit next to SNES, and draped it over her shoulders.

	SNES looked to Genesis, not noticing that she had shifted seats, “Hm? Oh, thank you, Genesis. Are you sure you won't get cold though?”

	“Nah,” Genesis calmly answered, “I'll be fine. I kinda like the cold after wearing my jacket all day.”

	Another sharp wind blew through, much colder than the first one, and Genesis' spine tingled as goosebumps covered her arms. SNES could tell that Genesis was chilly, and she scooted closer to her and wrapped the jacket around the both of them. Genesis was caught slightly off guard, but smiled and scooted slightly closer in return. Their legs were pressed together gently, their bodies were close to one another, and they each held one end of the jacket on their shoulders.

	“Hey, SNES...” Genesis hesitated, “Can I ask something?”

	“Sure, Gen, go for it.” SNES answered, curious to what her friend was thinking.

	Genesis took a deep breath, looking down at the Sonic plush in her hand as she spoke, “Have you ever felt, um... I mean, have you ever looked at me and, and thought... Um...” The knots in her stomach were tightening with each word, and as the cabin reached the very top position of the Ferris-wheel... it stopped.

	SNES tilted her head to the side slightly as she looked at Genesis, trying to figure out what she was trying to say to her, “What is it, Gen?” She gently placed her hand on Genesis' free hand that was resting on her thigh, giving her a reassuring look even though they weren't making eye contact. “Don't worry, you can tell me whatever's on your mind.”

	Genesis slowly looked up at SNES as she gathered her thoughts, admiring the gentle curves of her soft, pale face, her faintly lilac tinted hair and poofy hat, her warm smile and the faint hint of red on her cheeks. She began focusing on the feeling of her friend's gentle palm resting on the top of her own hand, and the way her thumb slowly brushed across it as if to reassure her that everything would be alright. Genesis looked into SNES' deep, comforting lavender eyes, which seemed to speak every word she ever needed to hear. The whole world drifted away in this moment, left only with the sensation of weightlessness as she silently sat closely with her best friend, her rival, her...

	Genesis closed her eyes, leaned forward, and kissed SNES.

	SNES' eyes were wide in surprise, but as she realized what was happening she slowly began to close her eyes as well. The two of them sat there for a brief moment that seemed much longer than it actually was, their lips locked together in the warm embrace of love, completely alone in this moment. Genesis broke the contact as she slowly pulled her lips away, the two of them opening their eyes together and sharing a warm gaze between one another with their cheeks burning crimson red.

	Genesis suddenly felt her blood run cold after realizing just what she had done, “O-oh my gosh!” she stammered as she put her hands up to her mouth, “Oh my gosh, I'm sorry, SNES, I didn't, uh, please don't be mad or anything! I just, I was just acting on my feelings and I thought maybe I liked you and I just got caught up in the moment and--”

	“Shut up, Genesis.” SNES calmly replied, leaning forward and placing one hand on Genesis' thigh and the other on her shoulder. She closed her eyes as their lips met once more, locking together and sharing one more warm kiss, with SNES' tongue gently working its way into Genesis' mouth. Genesis' eyes were wide in shock, excitement, and a joy, but she slowly closed them as she embraced the moment, allowing her tongue to meet with SNES' own and gently rubbing them against one another, exploring each others mouths and letting their tongues and emotions do all the work. After another long moment of their passionate kissing, their lips broke apart once more and they looked each other in the eyes.

	“So... You... You like me too?” Genesis asked.

	SNES smiled, “Yeah, silly, I like you too.”

	The two of them slowly embraced each other in a long hug as the Ferris-wheel began to slowly shift again. SNES spoke in a low, hushed voice, “So Gen... Do you want to maybe...?”

	Genesis gulped, “H-hey, wait, you're not asking me out are you? I can't let you do that, that'd totally be like a victory for you!”

	SNES happily sighed as a smile grew across her face, amazed that even in this romantic moment her companion was still caught up with trying to win. “Well fine then, why don't you ask me out instead? Would that be acceptable?”

	Genesis's ears perked at the thought, and she suddenly felt very nervous again, looking down as she lost all sense of bravery escape her at the thought of actually having to ask her friend out. SNES placed a finger under Genesis' chin and raised it so she would look her in the eyes, “Come on, Gen, it's just you and me... You can do this.”

	Genesis took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, gathering her composure and courage. She looked SNES straight in the eyes with a burning fire in her Sega heart, and asked her, “SNES, will you be my girlfriend?”

	SNES smiled and happily answered her question, “Yes, Genesis, I would love that.”

	The two girls smiled and leaned forward, letting their foreheads meet and gently rest together. They both looked down at the plush mascots in their laps, and SNES slowly raised her Mario to hug Genesis' Sonic in a cute gesture of friendship; Genesis made her Sonic hug the Mario plush in return, and the two girls giggled together at their cute and silly actions.

	The Ferris-wheel slowly began letting off passengers one by one, and within a few moments SNES and Genesis stepped out of their cabin with their belongings in hand. SNES was wearing Genesis' jacket to keep warm, and the two girls walked side by side across the fairgrounds with their prizes held closely to their chests; Genesis had even put her vampire teeth in her mouth to show off their glow-in-the-dark capabilities, just to be silly for a moment. The two girls giggled as they walked together, and Genesis silently brought her hand closer to SNES' unoccupied hand, locking their fingers together and embracing one another in a simple yet deep form of affection.

	As they walked, they said their goodbyes when they came across Toaster and PC, both giving them a thumbs up of approval, and even came across Jaguar and Lynx. Jaguar kept going on about how she knew that they were dating, despite being told that they had just started dating not even half an hour ago, but ultimately she seemed happy for them. SNES and Genesis walked towards the exit to the fairgrounds together, both smiling and holding hands the entire time.

	“Today was really fun, Gen, I'm glad you decided to come along.” SNES quietly stated.

	Genesis gently squeezed SNES' hand in reply, “Yeah, it was a pretty amazing day. I'm glad you invited me, it was way better than just playing video games all day.” Genesis pondered a thought for a second, “Say, would you like to come over to my house and play Phantasy Star IV with me? I'm sure you'd really enjoy playing it, maybe we could play Streets of Rage, Altered Beasts, and Golden Axe as well.”

	SNES' smile grew wider and she gently kissed Genesis on the cheek, “I would love to, Gen.”

	Genesis smiled and gently tightened her grip on SNES' hand, not enough to be uncomfortable but just enough to show how happy she was. “And don't worry, I don't mind if you beat my scores this time. I'm just happy to be with you, and that's better than winning any game in the world.”

																End