The beauty of the ocean at night always took her breath away. It was not something she normally saw, as the love of her life avoided it at all costs. He hated it, and she respected that, but as she matured she began to venture out on her own. At regular intervals, she would leave her hometown apartment and explore the farther reaches of the land. Within the last week, she had seen Chun-nan's waterfalls, Apatos' windmills, and now the crystal clear shores of Adabat. All were places near water, and while her love had visited them, she had not been allowed to accompany him, and he refused to go now, even after the danger had passed.

She lay down on the longest dock, watching the stars twinkle as white pinpricks of light in a thick velvet curtain above. It was inspiring how much easier it was to see the natural beauty of stars here in Adabat than in Empire City. In fact, she had not seen a single star while in the "melting pot" of cultures. She much preferred the dim torch-lit docks of Adabat's capital village than the concrete jungle of the city. Even in comparison with Station Square, she preferred here. Yet she knew what moving here would mean: she would hardly see her love. He feared water, although he denied it, and would never have gone near Adabat if the last Gaia Temple had not been there.

Sparkling innocently and quietly, the stars shined down upon the young rosette hedgehog. She took a slow, deep breath of the fresh sea air, closing her eyes and allowing the sensation to overwhelm her. When she reopened them, she could have sworn she was flying amongst the stars. They twinkled happily at her, seeming to smile and wink with joy and mischief. She returned the smile, floating among them with slight reluctance. If only her love could experience this! No city he visited could ever have such stars as Adabat's, could it? Would his fear of water keep him from experiencing the beauty of Adabat's violet sky?

As the pang of sorrow pierced her heart, the sensation of flight with the stars dissipated into nothingness. She lay again on the dock, her aquamarine eyes gazing at the far-away stars as she stared blankly at them. She was awake again; missing him. "Why? Why do I chase after him like this?" she whimpered, rolling over to watch the waves through the cracks in the dock. A fish glanced up at her and dashed away, fear apparent in its eyes as it darted back to its family. "He doesn't love me. Why does he control my life? Why does everything I do depend on his approval?"

Now all she desired was to return to the stars. They replaced the emptiness that was his absence, and now even they had abandoned her. She returned to her back and glared at them, as if they had betrayed her. "You jerks!" she snapped. As expected, she received no response from the emotionless stars. Why would she? Everything else had abandoned her, betrayed her, and denied her love, why not them? Tears pressed against her eyelids, and for once, she did not fight them. As they streaked down her muzzle and into the salty water below, she realized just how much she pined for him. The only thing she wanted in life was his arms around her, to keep her warm when Adabat's stars failed to do so. Alone in the night, she cried herself to sleep, thinking only on how much she wished he was with her.

Green grass and the scent of palm trees whipped by his face in the wind; the harsh island breeze off Adabat's coast. The cobalt hero lay propped up against a palm tree, watching the last shard of the sun sink below the flat ocean horizon. The sky was still light blue at the base of the ocean, before fading into fuschia, amethyst, and finally velvet blue. A few pinpricks of light began to pierce through the blanket of darkness, and he could not help but smile. Even in the clutches of Dark Gaia, Light Gaia still managed to come through. "It's nice, isn't it, Chip?" he whispered.

He glanced over his shoulder, where the Envoy of Light Gaia normally hovered. Like every day over the past week, his heart sunk to see the absence of his companion. Resigning to the fact that Chip would not return to him, he fiddled with the bauble the envoy had worn around his neck. He desired more than anything to say something, to whisper to some other being about the subtle beauty of the sun over the sea, or the wonder of stars in the darkness. But whispering takes two.

With a sigh, he returned to his stargazing, smiling softly. The silence was not that bad, really. It was relaxing. Only relief had come when he did not have to listen to Chip's constant chattering about food and the fluttering of his tiny wings. While noise had its place, silence did, too. He would have to accept that. Yawning, he moved his hand behind his head, and immediately regretted moving. His gloved hand looked extremely empty, and his memory flashed back to when Amy had found him not too many days ago. She had looked somewhat sorrowful, before grabbing his hand in hers. His first reaction, as usual, was to jerk away, but she held fast. Painfully, he recalled her telling him she was going on an extended vacation far away from him to think, and she did not want him to follow her. She had released his hand reluctantly, and ever since, he had missed the feeling of her fingers intertwined with his. They fit so perfectly.

Rising to his feet, Sonic looked out over the ocean before walking back to the jungle village he was staying at. He avoided the capital, since it was far too close to water for his taste, but the inland village was perfectly suited for him. He yawned and blinked a couple of times, trying to stay awake until he reached his destination. How long had it been since he had had a decent night's sleep? He counted mentally, landing on two days. Two days had passed, and he was absolutely exhausted. Yet he still could not sleep at night. Either Chip or Amy was constantly on his mind, plaguing what little sleep he managed to grasp and making it rather pointless. It scared him to think that their absence affected him so much.

When he arrived at the village, he did not enter his host home. Instead, he sat on the front porch and watched the sky again. He was not quite ready to deal with squealing children demanding stories of his heroism and parents discussing Adabat politics. No, the sky was far more serene. He could stay out here for another hour or so before being discovered, he was sure. Yet the second he sat down, he was flooded with thoughts of Amy and Chip. He missed the little envoy's presence, as annoying as it might be, and Amy's clear cut rejection, albeit temporary, truly hurt him. "Why does she control so much of my life? She never bothered me before… except within fangirl reason."

The sound of pattering feet alerted him to his host family's awareness of his arrival. Hoping he could dash away before they confirmed his presence, he raced blindly into the jungle. He dodged the ruins as they came and only had eyes for the next obstacle. He had no destination, no set path. Rather, the wind dictated his running pattern, just the way he liked it. The wind whistled past his ears as he raced into it, screaming at him and urging him on. He knew he would have to watch his direction, as Adabat was an island and he could easily run off of it, but he did not particularly care. After all, it was barely after twilight and he could still see the ocean.

He blinked against the rush of the wind, and immediately his mind was filled with thoughts of Amy. Now Chip had been pushed out of the picture as he tried to figure out what was going on in his rosette fangirl's mind. Why had she suddenly left? Right before the world was restored, he had promised a date. Why the change of attitude right after their short-lived trip to Empire City? "Oh, Chaos… I miss her. I actually miss her."

Rushing ahead and lost in thought, the speeding hedgehog did not see that he had come to the end of the dock. At least not until it was far too late.

Amy gasped as a whoosh of air shot by her in a blue blur, before crashing into the ocean a good ten yards out. She leapt to her feet, knowing of only one who could launch themselves that far from the dock. Of course, the one she was thinking of wouldn't commit the previously described action. Curious, she watched the waves, wondering if it had been wishful thinking. No! You have to get over him! It was nothing. You told him not to follow you, he's not here. Get your head on straight, girl… walk away… She turned to leave when she heard splashing and a gasp from behind.

She whirled around, horrified to see the cobalt hero splashing rather comically in the water. There was no hesitation; she simply dove into the water and swam forward. Why am I doing this?! You're supposed to be getting over him, not rescuing him! However, she fought her logic and eventually reached the location where she had sworn she had seen Sonic. Yet he was nowhere to be found. Fearing the worst, she dove down with her eyes open, ignoring how they stung against the saltwater. She fought the urge to close them, desperately searching for the one she knew had been here. Just as she ran out of breath, she saw a glimpse of cobalt fur in the water.

After a quick trip to the surface for air, she dove again. Desperately she swam ever-downwards, ignoring the pressure in her sensitive ears and pounding against her chest. Just as she was sure she had lost him for good, she saw him again. Reaching for his limp hand, she snatched it and began the painful trip to the surface of the ocean again. Her lungs screamed for air, and her eyes felt like they were on fire. Under normal circumstances, she would have already reached the top; but the pressure from diving so deep and Sonic's dead weight kept her from swimming effectively.

I will not fail! She chanted to herself. Her head pounded and her vision faded to black, but she pressed on. After what felt like an eternity, she broke the surface and gulped for the precious, life-giving air. She squeezed her eyes shut and swam towards the dock, which she had seen from when she broke above the water. Struggling to keep Sonic above the sea, she barely made it to the dock to drag him back up onto dry land. His fur was soaked and pale, and his chest did not rise and fall as it should.

Oh, heck, no! She was not doing CPR now! No way! Yes, it had been her dream since she saw the hero, but not now! Not when she was trying to recover from him! Yet when he continued to remain motionless, she knew she had no choice. With a reluctant sigh, she pressed against his chest with the palm of her hands, counting under her breath. Come on, Sonic, wake up! Don't make me do this! Yet her silent pleas went unheeded, and Sonic remained just as motionless as before.

Tears streamed down her face, and she knew she had no choice. Toughen up or lose him forever! With a deep breath, she tentatively let her lips touch his. She knew he would never have let her do it had he been conscious, but she loved the experience now. Her heart fluttered and the dead weight that had kept her from the stars before was lifted. It was as if she was flying with them all over again, tasting the sky and living like never before. Reluctantly, she pulled away, and nearly cried out when she saw her efforts had not been in vain. After another pound on his chest, the hero burst to life in a bout of coughing.

She rubbed his back, just below his spines, and remained silent. That kiss, if she could even call it that, was more than she had ever hoped for. He would no doubt return to his flamboyant ways, and then she would painfully return to her attempt at keeping herself away from him. However, no matter how things turned out, she swore she would never forget that moment in her life, and would always hold it near and dear to her heart. Once Sonic was breathing steadily, she stood and began to leave, tears once again threatening to overwhelm her.

"Ames?"

Wincing, she turned around to face him. His emerald eyes were bright again; moreso than usual. "Yes?"

He smiled softly. "Thank you."

With a small smile in return, she nodded. "You're welcome." Figuring that was the end, she continued on her way, before she heard footsteps on the dock and a hand gently grabbed hers. She whirled around and gazed with shock into his eyes. He slowly let their fingers intertwine, and he gazed at them for a moment before returning to look at her. With a soft smile, he leaned in and kissed her, much to the rosette female's surprise. Her mind screamed at her to pull away, to not fall into his trap, but her body resisted. She fell to the kiss, and she wondered if he knew she had already "kissed" him.

He parted from her, but their hands were still together. With a smile, he motioned towards a shooting star flying across the sky; a mere flash of light before disappearing. It was soon followed by many other meteors, lighting up the sky and causing other villagers to step out of their homes to watch. Sonic ignored them all and leaned forward to her ear, whispering quietly: "I wish for you."

This is a random one-shot I wrote while on vacation. It's based on the song "Vanilla Twilight" by Owl City, a little bit. Anyway, this is just a cute little story made to make you feel warm and fuzzy. Don't take it too seriously. =)

~Wolf~