Archive of Our Own ^beta

It was a quiet, rainy afternoon in Seaside City. The Chaotix Detective Agency sat in near silence—broken only by the steady patter of raindrops against the windows and the loud snores of Vector, the head detective, coming from the other side of the office.

Espio sat cross-legged on the floor, eyes closed, deep in meditation (and trying hard not to doze off).

Everything was peaceful. Almost too peaceful. Peaceful enough that Espio reluctantly cracked one eye open, looking for their youngest member.

Charmy was not known for being quiet. The little bee was so noisy that he even talked in his sleep!

If Charmy was silent, it meant one of two things: either he was asleep… or he was up to something. And Espio had no desire to find out which.

The chameleon frowned when he realized the bee was nowhere in sight. The last time he’d seen him, Charmy had been sprawled out on the old couch, flipping through a book they’d borrowed from the city library.

Maybe he’d gotten bored and flown up to his room to play—or crashed in bed for a nap. Either way, Espio knew they’d be stuck later dealing with a sugar-high bee full of restless energy.

He sighed softly, whispering a quick prayer that Charmy wouldn’t do anything stupid today.

Closing his eyes again, he tried to refocus on his meditation.

Buzzzzz.

Great. Espio opened both eyes this time.

There he was. Charmy hovered right in front of him, wearing his usual wide, radiant grin. His wings created a faint vibration in the air, the source of that irritating buzz.

In his tiny hands, he held a children’s book.

“…What do you want from me now?” Espio asked flatly, his voice as expressionless as his face. He let his arms drop to his sides, already bracing himself for Charmy’s childish antics.

The bee didn’t answer. Instead, his grin grew wider, and the buzz of his wings grew louder. Espio felt his patience start to fray.

“…What are you doing?” he pressed, keeping his voice calm and his gaze steady—but the noise was making it harder and harder to maintain his composure.

Charmy pulled a funny face before quickly returning to his smile, gripping the book tighter. His wings beat faster, the buzzing growing louder, drilling into Espio’s concentration.

“…CHARMY!” Espio snapped. “Will you stop already?!" When Charmy ignored him, the chameleon turned toward the office. “VECTOR! Charmy’s being annoying again!”

No response. Just more snoring.

“…Vector? VECTOR!” Espio tried again, only to be met with louder snores.

Charmy let out a mischievous buzz that sounded suspiciously like laughter. Espio’s eye twitched.

How could one tiny bee make a trained ninja so completely lose his calm?

The buzzing didn’t stop. If anything, it got worse.

“くそ…” Espio muttered in his native tongue, too frustrated to hold it in. “Fine, Charmy. You win. You’ve broken my focus. Now—what do you want?”

Before Charmy could say anything, Espio raised his hand sharply.

“No buzzing,” he ordered firmly. That was a tone Charmy knew well—the one that meant don’t push your luck.

Charmy landed lightly on the floor. His wings stilled. Blessed silence.

“I found a book!” Charmy chirped, shoving it so close to Espio’s face that the chameleon had to snatch it away to keep from getting smacked.

“How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?” Espio muttered, setting the book in his lap.

“Umm…” Charmy tapped his chin as if deep in thought. “…like, a whole bunch of times!” He beamed proudly. Espio sighed in defeat.

Looking down, Espio inspected the book. “…Charmy, why do you have a book about bees?”

“Because I’m a bee!” Charmy buzzed excitedly, pointing to himself with both hands as if Espio needed reminding.

“Yes, I’m aware,” Espio rolled his eyes. “What I mean is, what do you want with this book?”

Charmy leaned closer. “I wanted to see what other bees are like!”

“…Without even reading it, I can tell you they’re probably less annoying than you.” Espio shrugged, then frowned. “But what does that have to do with your little buzzing act just now?”

Charmy perked up, flinging open the book so suddenly that Espio flinched, half afraid he’d tear a page.

“Look! It says here that bees can sometimes talk to each other using the vibrations from their wings!”

Espio gave the page a brief glance, then sighed for what felt like the hundredth time today.

“…So I wanted to see if it really worked!” Charmy admitted, slumping dramatically into Espio’s lap, ignoring how stiff the ninja went at the sudden contact. He hugged the book to his chest. “…But I guess it didn’t.”

“Of course it didn’t,” Espio replied, rolling his eyes again. “That’s something bees do with other bees. You can’t expect me to understand your wing noises.”

“…So you’re saying… you don’t understand me?” Charmy whimpered, lower lip jutting out in an exaggerated pout.

Espio pinched the bridge of his snout, regretting all his life choices. “…I’m saying only another bee would understand that. According to the book, it’s mostly for warning each other about danger. Right?”

Charmy tilted his head, considering. “…I guess so.”

“Exactly. So we can conclude that bees communicate that way—for each other. Not for chameleons.”

Charmy stared at him silently.

“…Which means no matter how hard you try, I’m not going to understand your buzzing.”

“Ohhh, got it!” Charmy sing-songed, grabbing the book again. “But, y’know… I don’t really like this book. The bees in here don’t act like me at all!”

Espio huffed. “That’s what happens when your own kind doesn’t raise you, and instead you grow up with a lazy crocodile for a boss.” He folded his arms. “So, what were you even trying to tell me with all that buzzing?”

Charmy shrugged. “I dunno. I can’t actually talk in buzzes. The book just said I had to flap my wings a lot.”

Espio bit his tongue to keep from snapping. He took a deep breath. “…So you came here just to test if you could buzz loudly enough to ‘say’ something?”

“Yup!” Charmy nodded enthusiastically.

“…Why not try it on Vector instead?”

“He’s sleeping. Vector hates being woken from naps,” Charmy said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Espio’s eye twitched again. “And I hate being interrupted while meditating. Yet here you are.”

“Not the same thing,” Charmy countered, already flipping the book open again. His eyes sparkled. “Ooh! It also says bees can talk through dancing!”

“…First of all—don’t. And second, it’s a specific type of dance you don’t know. So stop trying to ‘talk’ without using words.”

Charmy frowned slightly. “…You’re no fun.”

“Not trying to be,” Espio replied dryly. He glanced at the wall clock. His meditation session was officially ruined. “…Wouldn’t you rather draw for a while instead?”

Charmy blinked, then lit up again. “Draw? With you?” Espio gave a single, silent nod.Charmy let out an excited squeal before buzzing off toward his room. “I’ll go get my stuff!”

Espio exhaled, shaking his head. At least now they’d both have something to do—and truthfully, he didn’t mind drawing with Charmy. Not that he’d ever admit out loud he cared for the little bee like a kid brother.

Snore.

Espio cursed under his breath. Does NO ONE in this place understand the meaning of silence?!