No hook.

"Why?"

His question hovered in the thick air between them, two sets of emerald eyes staring into each other intimately.

The summer heat lapped up the abundant moisture in the air, though it did not succeed in draining the atmosphere dry. An electric fan swayed its head from side to side, half-heartedly pushing a cool breeze towards the young couple. One a male hedgehog with blue fur, long quills, and shoes adorned with golden buckles on the outsides. The other was a female hedgehog with pink quills and a shirt entirely too big for her hanging loosely from her shoulders. Soft lips pursed in minor frustration at her companion's question, watching him as he slumped into the cushions of her sofa.

Why? Why what?

"You say that you're upset that I don't understand you completely. Why is that?" he asked again.

"That's obvious, isn't it?" she replied, now remembering the conversation they had started.

"No...it isn't. Not to me, at least."

She sighed and waved a makeshift paper fan near her face, the ribbons of cool air slowing drops of sweat as they ran down her cheeks. Her free hand took to the fabric of her shirt and pulled it off of her skin briefly as moisture soaked through it.

It had been like this for months now, this sort of standoff between them. Uncertainty, insecurity, suspicion...all of those and more had made their way into the middle of their hearts, and now he couldn't move too far or else she'd feel something tugging at her heart, telling her that something just had to be wrong. And he hated making her upset, but she was always like this for some reason. Far removed from the girl of yesterday that would scream 'mine, mine, mine!' whenever he was within the shadow of an arm's reach, this Amy Rose was trying to bring them to an understanding of the hard work that had to go into a loving, fulfilling relationship. It was a stark reminder of why he kept himself away from love affairs for so long, as he tired of the weariness brought on by the thousandth fight over how he put on his socks in the mornings. He hated the filters he had to put his words through, the hoops he had to dance over and under in order to make things work in some stupidly elaborate progression.

Simply because of a change of status.

In a relationship, that's what it was. You had to follow convention because it was the only way, supposedly.

"We're a couple, Sonic."

"So?"

"So that means that we should understand each other, know what the other's thinking or feeling. We should strive to do that all the time."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because that's what couples do."

"Why?"

"Just...because. It's complicated."

"Why does it have to be complicated?"

She flicked her wrist, cool air washing over her with each back and forth motion of the folded piece of paper. Her eyes regarded him for a second, taking in his body language and expressions. The way he spoke carried an air of curiosity, of a struggling to understand why things the way that they were. Why love was so bittersweet, why obstacles had to arise during every run of good and pure feelings. He wasn't trying to be obnoxious, he was merely attempting to grasp the concept of a relationship as it was. As it always had been and was supposed to be.

At least, she thought it was supposed to be like that.

He was trying to challenge it all, wasn't he? It seemed foolish, but when it came to love, he was innocent and lost. She knew her way around the ins and outs, the bitterness, and the trials. She had walked, run, dove and immersed herself in the tangled web of love, lust, longing and desire. She realized that she could only interpret the world of love through these 'rules of engagement' that had been drilled into her head by daytime talk show hosts and autographed books. The romantic novels and feature films that her psyche devoured were the ropes that bound her to those emotional train tracks, and she was convinced that she would be either run over by the doom train of heartbreak, or rescued by her shining, noble prince.

But what if...what if it didn't have to be that way? There was surely another way, but she just couldn't see it through all of the vines that she was tangled up in.

"I don't know, Sonic. It just is."

"Can it be another way, then?"

She stopped her fanning, letting the sweat run freely from her brow in the summer heat. She stretched her arms out wide for a moment, unable to give him an answer.

"I don't think so. I don't know."

"You're probably sick of all of these questions."

"Not really. I just don't know what you're trying to get at."

He nodded. "Sorry. I...I guess I should come right out and say it, then."

Amy tilted her head, looking down at him curiously.

"Why can't love be easy?" he asked; a simple question that felt more like a scream for mercy in its context.

She smiled, his innocence still tickling her heart. "I wish it could be easy, too. But...things don't work out that way. Love is complicated, it's a hard road, and there isn't always happiness."

"Why not?"

"Because-"

And she stopped.

"Because," she started again, but she froze.

There was no answer to that question.

Amy had chased Sonic for more than a quarter of her life, through wind and rain and snow and whatever had been thrown in her way. She finally had him, and she was convinced that they would have a normal, happy, healthy relationship. She didn't want Sonic to run around the world like he usually did, or hang out so much with his other friends that he'd lose time with her...but he had asked her such a simple, yet mundane question in the moment of this sweet summer heat.

Why did it have to be this way?

Why did they have to be...normal?

"I don't know."

His intense gaze softened as he saw her eyes dart around in confusion. "Me either."

"I still don't understand," she said as the heat continued to fill the room. He looked impossibly cool, just laid back on the couch with barely a thin film of moisture on his brow. He must have been used to high heat, she figured.

He was used to most things. But love had always bothered him for some reason.

"I made up my mind that...we would be different. When I said that I wanted to be with you, I meant it, Amy. But not like this. Not with the questioning and-and the suspicion and the feeling that we're slowly falling away from each other. I didn't sign up for bullshit like that," he semi-whined, his voice going up a little in pitch near the end of his sentence.

"What did you expect that love was, Sonic? What did you think this could be?"

"Something different," he said forcefully. "Something without the drama and the loathing. I want to just put my faith in you and you would put your faith in me, and we'd love each other just like that. We'd love each other, we'd keep doing that, and everything would be all right. I could run a million miles and come back, you'd be waiting for me, and I'd be just so happy to see you. And you'd feel so good to hold after so long. And I'd be happy. We both would be happy."

"Sonic...things aren't that simple."

"Why the fuck not?" he screamed, irate. "Why does it all have to be so difficult? Why can't it be sunshine and lollipops all the time? Why can't you be the crazy in love girl from before? Why can't I be laid back and without these burdens on my mind? Amy, why?"

She shook her head. "I...don't know."

"There aren't any answers, huh?"

Amy gave him a sad smile. "No easy ones."

"That's what you think, Amy." He stood up and walked towards her. "It's all in your head."

"Yeah? You think so?"

"I can prove it."

A smirk crossed her face. "Oh? Let's see it."

"Just...hug me. Not like you usually do. Like you want to. Hug me the way Amy Rose would hug me, not the way Sonic's girlfriend would."

"But I'm both of those," she said with annoyance.

"No. You're not. I never wanted a girlfriend. Just hug me, and you'll get it."

She sighed and started to inch towards him.

"I'm all sweaty, Sonic."

"Doesn't matter. You're still my Amy, that's all there is to it. Sweaty or not."

Slowly, she wrapped her arms around his body, feeling the firmness of his back underneath his softened quills.

"Are you scared, Amy?"

"Scared?"

"Yeah...I don't know if you're scared that there are these 'rules' to follow, and if you don't follow them you'll lose everything. You think you'll lose me by being the same girl you always were, the same girl who loved me through thick and thin. I don't care if you're childish or stubborn or crazy. Stop worrying about all the rules. Let go. Love as hard as you can, Amy. Please...just try to love and don't stop."

She breathed in and nodded, her head brushing against his chest. "I was scared...but now...I..."

And she finally let go.

He let out a gasp as her arms tightened in a vice grip around his back, her body shaking in a nervous excitement. Endless waves of bliss ran through her, and she couldn't even feel the heat of the day as it continued to beat into her. Her heart raced and she giggled like the schoolgirl she still was, Sonic flashing a nervous and pained smile as her grip somehow tightened even more.

"O-oi...A-Amy...I can't..."

"Oh!"

She released her quarry, leaving the blue hedgehog to gasp for air and straighten his back. "I thought I told you to let go!"

"Eh? I thought you were being metaphorical, or whatever they call it...?"

"Whatevs," he coughed, a smile still on his face. Her green eyes sparkled in the light as it filtered in through the windows, curled quills stuck to her forehead in wet bunches. She felt her cheeks flush red with excitement, a strange sense of freedom that she remembered from what seemed like such a long time ago. The thumping of her heart when he looked into her eyes. She knew that she loved him. How could it be this easy and simple? It didn't quite make sense to her matured self, but it was somehow working.

There was...disbelief and an incredible surge of what she could only describe as feeling. He felt it too, his heart speeding up as she looked hungrily into his eyes, fixed on him and only him for eternity and beyond. He missed it, being able to soak up every ounce of her affection and just blast off with it down a stretch of the interstate because if he held it within himself for too long - if he held her within himself for too long - he felt that he might lose his mind for a long, long time. A sense of wanting and being wanted, just so simply and freely. He didn't feel insecurity or fear or anger or anything like that, and he hated seeing her wrapped up in that kind of world that dictated how and when and where to love.

He wanted her to be free because he was trapped if he couldn't love her with all that he had. And he couldn't do that if she was operating on some twisted principle of society. He wanted all of her, bubbly, awkward, annoying, obsessive, foolish, giggly, violent...everything was a vital, important, and most of all a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful piece of the Amy Rose he knew and loved. The girl whose love refused to wane.

"Sonic...I...I understand now. I know what forever means."

"You do?"

She took his hands in hers.

"I do. And I will love you beyond forever. I...want you so much."

"I'm happy, Amy," he said. "I really am."

"It was so simple...so right in front of us. In front of me, but I...thought that we had to follow patterns. Like everyone else did."

"It's never made sense to me. Can't we just take it all in stride? Just like, let things go and not be so uptight all the time?"

"I think that's a good idea."

"Me too. I mean, you weren't like that before we got together."

She pouted and playfully shoved him away. "What might you mean by that, Mister Hedgehog?"

"You know," he said with a shrug. "The usual. I'd run, you'd chase me, I'd be too quick for ya, and then we'd do it again the next day. No hard feelings, yanno?"

"Yeah...but back then, I at least had some sort of prompt."

"Easily taken care of," he said with a mischievous grin.

"What?"

With a cheeky smile, he smacked her on the behind and ran outside, a now semi-serious Amy on his tail.

"Hey! Get your butt back here so I can kick it!"

"Gotta catch me first, Amy the Slowhog!"

"You...!"

A playful growl sounded from her as she ran barefoot along the grass, chasing the blue blur as he ran backwards, his arms folded with a grin spread across his face. They ran around and around the house in the warm grass, taking in the cool air that formed around them as they moved as swiftly as the afternoon breeze.

"You're totally not getting away, Sonic!"

He beamed at her before slowing to a stop, letting his pink companion wrap her arms around him once more.

"Ha! Like I always say, you can't escape from Amy Rose!"

"Heh, you're right. I never could get away from you."

She looked up into his eyes, feeling the love pour into her like she had always wanted. Just so easily and freely, with no repercussions to speak of. The sunshine was at her back, but she felt so much warmer while in his arms.

"You said that you never wanted a girlfriend?" she asked him.

"That's right. All I wanted was you, Amy. There's a difference there."

"How so?"

"Girls come and go. But there's only one Amy, right?"

"Yeah," she said with a smile. "That's right."

"It'd be too complicated otherwise," he said with a playful grin. "I like us the way we are now."

Love without conditions, they realized. It wasn't all that realistic once you thought about it, but realism was just an unnecessary restriction. Unsavoury substance to something that never really had a need for it.

This fantasy didn't ever have to end, not unless they both wanted it to.

It could have been something shallow that they had, in this moment. A simple foundation of love and nothing else to bind it all together. But it was what they craved so badly over those weary months, just the way that they could stare into each other's eyes and see everything so clearly.

Nothing was missing after all.

Amy looked up into Sonic's green eyes, admiring the peaceful feeling that came from them as he stared into the distance. The anxiety and stress had melted away instantly, as soon as she squeezed him in that hug earlier. He had been waiting for that moment, waiting for her to simply be herself and to quit worrying about how to love someone.

His strong, steady heartbeat thumped against her hand as she pressed it against his chest. She remembered this feeling, the same pulse he had after coming back to her from his long runs in the evenings.

She had missed this.

It was a part of him, of who he was. Such a simple thing that flooded her head with nothing but his smiling face, taking in breaths of air as she clung tightly to him and asked him about his day. A warm blush crossed the girl's face as she recalled their conversations, silly as they could get at times.

"Hey."

He looked back at her curiously as she freed herself from his grasp, holding her hands behind her back with a sweet smile.

"Be back before dinner," she simply said, giving him his cue.

Sonic looked back into the horizon, ears twitching in anticipation.

"Yeah. I'll be here before then, Ames."

She nodded, watching as he sprinted forward. Her feelings of admiration only grew stronger as his form became smaller and smaller, eventually disappearing from her sight. The fervour of seeing her again drove him forward at an even faster pace, her warm smile feeding him with energy that he never figured was there before.

Amy slid to her knees in the grass, the warmth of the day slowly losing its strength. Closing her eyes, she simply let the Sun's rays wash over her as she waited for her lover to return.

Even as the distance between them grew in the daylight, the strange, simple, and wonderful bond they shared remained as strong as ever, made only of faith and affection.

As unrealistic as it all seemed, there was that and nothing else.

As impossible as it all seemed…they were happier for it.