Moonlight Gift

A faint tapping disturbed Amy's pleasant dream.

The pink hedgie sat up in her bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Had that tapping been just a dream?

Tap. Yet, there it was again. It was faint, but it didn't cease. There was a pause of about two seconds before another tap came.

Amy impatiently pushed apart her curtains and cranked open her window. It was almost impossible to see in near darkness. A pebble just narrowly missed her.

"Oh, sorry, Ames. Thought you weren't awake yet." It was the only voice that she'd never forget, no matter how long he'd been away. Her heart leapt eagerly into her throat.

"Sonic?!" Her eyes swelled with tears. What a romantic time of night! Despite his frank stupidity, this proved that Sonic could be very, very sweet if he chose to.

"Hiya, Ames."

"What are you doing here?" She questioned as his blue form alighted beside her, perfectly balanced even on the slanted rooftop.

"Couldn't sleep. But, Amy," the childish look of energetic joy told her this was something momentous, "you've got to see this!" His hand stretched out for her, gloves off. In his hurry, she guessed, he'd had no time to put them on.

There it was, a tan hand outstretched, an invitation waiting to be answered. Sonic's hand was trembling from his hyper mood, and maybe from nervousness, too.

Amy delicately placed her hand in his, accepting the invitation. "All right," she teased, "I'll humor you."

"Good." Sonic's grin was mischievous, impossible to miss. "Then, let's go!" And, with the romantic and determined air of Romeo himself, Sonic skillfully pulled her out the window and rested her bare feet on the rooftop.

"Um, Sonic?" Amy tittered nervously, attempting to hide her flush. "I…I don't have shoes on…"

"That's okay, Ames. I promise I won't let your feet touch the ground." Sonic imitated a "boy scout's honor" sign over his heart and, still grinning madly, took her up in his arms and leapt down the roof, paying no attention to her long pink nightgown playing about his shoulders. No sooner had they touched the dewy grass then they were off, Sonic making his way through the forests and grasslands as if they were merely laps around a gym.

But Amy was amazed by the spectacle, of which she'd never seen before. It was like swirls of watercolor on paper, like art she used to do when she was a child. When she wasn't chasing after Sonic, or fighting Eggman, that is.

Just to think: the boy she'd always chased, always ran after and never caught…was now carrying her easily in his arms. She leaned against his shoulder, only the slightest of pressure, and he tilted his head to look at her. "Amy?"

The pink hedgehog wiped a tear from her eye. "This scenery…it's so beautiful. It reminds me of paintings I did when I was a child."

"Really?" Wondered Sonic, gaining a pensive look as he glanced about. "I don't see anything special."

"Yeah well…you see it all the time." Amy reinforced, swatting at him.

Sonic chuckled, but remained thoughtful. Perhaps he could do more with his sleepless nights then compose and listen to music, singing softly in the comforting darkness of his own room, or the venturing out into the world, running around until he was tired enough to sleep…and by then only getting a few hours or minutes before it was day. "Hmmm." Was all he said after a while.

Amy was confused by his silence, but let it be. When Sonic was silent, he was thinking. And though he took little time to do it, silence was something he cherished and enjoyed. Friends were nice, but Sonic was a loner at heart, no different than his red rival Knuckles in this way. Only Knuckles went out of the way to state the obvious, while Sonic enjoyed a little company in dark times.

Finally, they reached a little clearing in the middle of no where, with a few pine trees closing in to make a sort of comfortable dome around it. The ferns were soft here as Sonic navigated slowly through the underbrush and arrived in the center of it all. "There." He announced proudly. "Now, look up."

Amy humored him…and got the best surprise in her life.

The moon was just a crescent, but you could see its dark side clearly and it looked like a most beautiful shadow. Amy lost her breath at its beauty. "Sonic…" She finally breathed, eyes still wide in simple childish wonder.

"Yeah, sorry for waking you to see a boring moon, but I thought it was sorta pretty tonight, so I…" But he couldn't go on, as Amy had caused his breath to halt by her strangling hug.

"It's wonderful, Sonic!" She gushed, pressing her face against his in her excitement.

Sonic laughed, pulling away as he tried to catch his breath. Heh. Sonic the Hedgehog had to catch his breath, and just from a girl's hug! "Glad you like it," he panted, glad that she enjoyed his little "gift".

"Ooh, Sonic you are nice, really!" She squealed.

Sonic coughed in surprise. "What?!"

"Well, Rouge was telling me that men ought to shower you with gifts, but I argued that there are all kinds of men, and she asked me to prove it, but I didn't have any proof, so she wouldn't believe me, but I think she will now after I tell her…"

Sonic sighed. "I was hoping you wouldn't tell anyone, Amy."

Green eyes locked green eyes, one set determined, the other nervous. "Why not?!" Amy demanded.

"I just…well…" Sonic bit his lip as he looked up at the moon. "I was just hoping that you'd understand that…"

Amy's lips pressed gently against his cheek. Sonic felt all the heat in his body rise to that one spot of contact, and his heart began to thump in his ears. A sublime smile crossed his face as he sighed in contentment. Her kiss was enough to warm a body so cold, to relax muscles so tense, to put to sleep eyes that were hard to close, to bring contentment to a chaotic body…Amy was the only one who affected him like this.

And this wouldn't change at all.

Her hand touched his cheek to make sure he was listening. "Sonic, if you don't want me to, I won't tell." She promised without a hint of regret.

Sonic's last taut stress line in his body melted at her words. "Thanks, Amy. That means so much."

"Anytime, Sonic." Amy answered as they spent a few more moments together under the perfect moon and stars.

~O~

When Amy awoke the next morning to start her day, a package wrapped in sparkling blue paper, (albeit in a rather hasty, inexperienced manner), awaited her, standing sentential by her dresser.

Excited, she opened the package…only to find therein a canvas with the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen painted onto its surface.

It was what she had seen while in Sonic's arms last night.

A taste of her only love's true world.