Just as she was about to head down to the gym, the doorbell rang.
"Coming!" Cream called, as she skipped to the front door and swung it open. There, standing in the doorway, were two of their closest friends, Tikal and Knuckles.
"Oh, hi, guys! What's up?"
Knuckles laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. He had to admit that he was still a little intimidated by Cream's size; while he was pretty muscular in his own right, Cream made him look like a small child in comparison. With that said, he was a little worried about her, and wanted to make sure that there weren't any adverse side effects to Eggman's experiments.
"Oh, you know, just wanted to see how you and your mom were doing," he said. "Can we come in?"
"Sure!" said Cream. "Mommy's downstairs in the gym if you want to talk to her."
Tikal nodded and walked downstairs to greet her, while Knuckles stayed behind.
"Can I get you anything?" Cream asked, as they walked into the living room. "Some lemonade or iced coffee? Or maybe you'd like a protein shake, so you can get big and strong like me."
She giggled as she bounced her soccer ball-sized bicep in front of Knuckles' face. He looked down at his own biceps, as he was hit with a pang of self-consciousness.
"T-thanks, Cream, but I'm not that thirsty," he said.
"Suit yourself," she said. "It's funny, you know? When I was little I used to be a bit afraid of you, because of how strong you were. But now you're such a little cutie."
She scopped him up and put him in a warm (but nigh-unbreakable) hug. Knuckles felt a bit uneasy, knowing that she could easily squish him like a bug (not that she would ever want to).
"Itsy-bitsy-cutesie-wootsie-Knuxie," she sang, rocking him from side to side. After giving him a big, wet kiss on his cheek (and leaving his face scarlet red), she put him down.
"So whaddaya wanna do?" she asked. "We could play a game, or we could go downstairs to work out, or..."
What does Knuckles choose?