a/n: This is a story I wrote a while back, during a particularly slow day at work. It's a short Sonic and Amy thing, part internal monologue by Sonic and part thoughtful conversation with the two hedgehogs. I'm debating whether to just simply make it a one shot or add some more chapters, since this has the potential to be something longer than it already is. If anyone has any input on that, I'd appreciate it.

Hopefully, you'll all enjoy the story. Questions and comments as always are welcomed.

This is the second version of the story, after taking some tips and suggestions. Again, I hope you'll enjoy it.

Even though he didn't say it out loud, he wondered about her.

It wouldn't be so obvious in the grand scheme of things - to a lot of people, it might seem insignificant in many ways. But looking back, she somehow had done something with her words to change people, places, and things of importance. Though seemingly weak and pleading, those words had changed people, and...people who weren't exactly people, either. Getting a robot to change its mind about something was no small feat.

And yet, all of that remained quiet. Was she oblivious to it? Or was it that she didn't care about it much at all? Did it seem casual, trivial to her? He didn't think it was the case. Maybe she knew, but like everyone else, thought it was a small thing. But it wasn't like that at all.

Or...maybe it really was a small thing, but it made the difference when it came down to the wire, which these recent adventures had certainly accomplished. When all was said and done, she was mainly to be a cheerleader (well, if you could even call it that). Not that he particularly wished that for her, but it was what it was. Of course, knowing her, it often wasn't.

He kept thinking about this, as the sun started to beat down on the city streets. He was leaned casually against a tree, immersing himself in the shade of the leaves and taking in the crisp air that came with the breezes that rolled in. It had a certain taste to it…one could say it felt clean, in a way – as opposed to the bitter smog that he hadn't ever adjusted to. It served to keep the gears in his head turning, and he made what seemed to be a meditative sound.

"Hm."

The blue hedgehog wasn't supposed to be this thoughtful or contemplative, if reports of his character were to be believed. But here he was, silently observing the girl some distance away, tending to some flowers in a city garden. She had dragged him out for a 'date' as usual, and this time, she got a surprise when he gave a firm 'yes' and left her to prepare a day prior. This was a far slower pace than what he was used to, but these days were also needed.

Her soft hands sifted through the dirt, gently moving blooms and removing the troublesome weeds with simple strokes of her fingers. A smile crept across her face as the sweet smells of the flora reached her. It was as if they were thanking her for her support. She then thought of her guest, whose eyes were closed as he stood silently. Oddly, without a sound, she realized.

"You're not bored?"

He shook his head at the question softly, already understanding why she had asked it.

"That can't be right," she said, rising to her feet while giving him a querying look. "You're always on the move, to and from some place or another. I thought this would be torture for you. I didn't even expect you to say yes to this."

"...I guess...if I had to put it in some way, it's like music."

"How so?"

"You've got notes and rests," he gestured, as a visual aid. "Rests are silence, you know? But they're needed as much as notes are. It all falls apart without the right balance...something like that."

"Mm." She nodded sagely after hearing that. "You've got a point. I normally wouldn't expect that from you, though."

"First time for everything, I guess." He shrugged.

"I suppose." She went back to kneeling in the dirt, looking for more weeds to pull up. She noted that he had been less 'himself' after his recent return from the theme park in space. At first, she wondered if it was about his near-death experience, but dismissed that after recounting the many times he had flirted with that saucy mistress. Deciding to ask about it later on, her thoughts turned to herself, and her relationship with him. She felt it necessary to raise a question.

"I've wanted to ask this for a while, Sonic."

"What is it?"

"How much of a burden have I been to you?" she said, waiting for his answer. Her hands stopped moving, waiting with the rest of her body to receive the next response.

If there was any hesitation in him, it was extremely short-lived. "...Not much of one."

"I don't mean recently, you know."

"I know. You've done a lot for us all, Amy," he said with sincerity. She shook her head in disagreement.

"I spent half my time getting kidnapped, Sonic. I don't see how I helped out much, if at all." The spade in her hand scooped out fresh dirt as she spoke. "I broke up a fight or two, yeah, but..."

"It's the little things."

"The little things..."

"More or less, yeah. You've always been good with the little things, Amy. Being able to talk to people, or calm them down. You manage to give everyone a little something to get happy about. It's a beautiful thing, really."

He had made this observation on a few occasions, looking at the bonds she had formed with the ones she knew. She was protective of Tails to an extent, never smothering him but always thinking of his well-being. There was a deep affection for Cream, and a fondness for Big. She shared a wavelength or two with Rouge and liked to inquire about Shadow, despite the latter's objections to it. She was lovingly blunt with Knuckles (blunt being the only way you could deal with him, most of the time), and was quite creative with her numerous insults for the mad doctor they regularly encountered.

He mentally chuckled at the 'moustached monkey' line she had apparently given him (rather, his fake) during the Metal Sonic incident. Sounded like something that he would think up.

"You mean like you usually do, right? Though you do it all on a much bigger scale…"

"I don't think I'm that good at it, 'specially not compared to you. It looks easy when you do it, Amy." He paused for a moment, remembering something. "Shadow told me that he talked with you on the ARK. I didn't know that."

"That was ages ago. It couldn't have been anything important," she said. She reached for a nearby watering can.

He severely doubted that it wasn't anything important – the timeframe between her talk with him and the Biolizard's appearance meant that she said something significant - but he left it alone for the time being. "Maybe."

"You know, I never thought that I'd say this, but you look a bit pensive."

He slid down to a sitting position underneath the tree, giving a small chuckle at her statement. "That's a new one."

"Well, that's what it looks like. What are you thinking so deeply on?"

"Something of interest."

"...I'll take your word for it. Just don't keep this up, okay?"

"Isn't this what they call maturity, or something?"

She turned and placed her hands on her hips. "You know better than that," she frowned.

A bit taken aback by the response, he shot another question at her. "What do you mean?"

"Maturity isn't a matter of slowing down or being careful. It's about speed, speed, speed. We move faster when we mature. We move slower when we hesitate, obviously. You and I know better, Sonic. Hesitation isn't a sign of maturity. Especially not for you." She turned back to her work as he chewed on the words for a moment.

"...Huh. You know, I never thought of it that way. I always thought that I'd have to slow down someday." A smile. "Good to know that I don't have to."

"The most mature people are themselves through and through," she replied matter-of-factly.

"You'd know that, wouldn't you?"

She almost snorted at that. "I'm far from mature, Sonic."

"Well, I strongly disagree."

"You do...?"

He hadn't said it just to say it, nothing like that. Sonic thought back to the times that they had shared – either willingly or unwillingly – and had concluded, at some point, that there had to be something more to this girl that met the eye. She was confident, thoughtful, persistent, and loving. Those traits, combined with an unbreakable spirit that rivalled (and maybe even surpassed) his own made her a real force for good. Beyond the fan-girlish squeals and pseudo-stalking that happened, there were those moments like this when she showed her growth, and her strong character. To do the things that she did, to say the things that she said…well, it was a given that she had grown up, and quite beautifully.

"Yeah, I do."

The compliment, as did any that came from Sonic, made her heart speed up a bit. He thought that she was mature...?

"Anyone who can get me to sit in a flower garden like this has gotta have something, right?" he said with a smile. "And you've definitely got something, Amy Rose."

That felt good to hear. Really, really good. Her mind flashed back to the times that he would run away from her, always seeming to escape from her grasp or leave her behind. The thing that hadn't occurred to her was that each time, he always glanced back at her as he left. Not just out of worry, but out of a sort of unspoken trust, a feeling that they would always be connected somehow. An understanding that each was going to do whatever they could to make a difference.

Amy still thought of marriage and spending the rest of her life with her hero, but this kind of connection…well, it would do for now, she supposed.

"Thank you for saying that...I didn't know that you thought of me that way, you know."

A shrug. "Giving credit where credit is due, that's all."

She smiled and went back to her work as he sat, observing again. It was amazing, she realized, how he could take the smallest things and make people so happy with them. The way he spoke and acted, along with that confident smile of his, tended to win a lot of hearts. It was hard to be in despair whenever he was around.

Amy thought about earlier, when she felt that he wasn't his usual self. Perhaps she was looking at it the wrong way. He was himself, just slowed down for the moment, controlling his speed instead of letting it loose all the time. The capacity for deeper thought wasn't ever beyond him, but she figured that he didn't like to spend too much time on such things. Sonic wasn't one to be so into himself in that way.

As for Sonic, he had meant what he said, that she had something in her. Whatever that something was, he hoped that she held on to it as she always had.

"I feel kind of…old."

Amy caught his comment, not turning from her work. "How so?"

"I dunno. All this deep thinking and stuff, it kind of feels weird at times."

"Telling me I'm mature counts as deep thinking, now?" she responded, somewhat sardonically.

"Well, more or less. I've never had to come to any…what was the word…conjectures about things. Tails is smart, Knuckles is strong, Rouge is crafty, and you're mature. To me, you just were. To me, you still are." Another shrug. "That's what it is."

Amy felt her cheeks redden a bit more at that as she smoothed the dirt around the last flower. She sat under the tree beside Sonic, basking in his words for as long as she could.

"So it just is…as you say?"

"Yup. And I wouldn't have it any other way."

She laid her head on his shoulder, a smile coming to her face as she closed her eyes. She felt the cool wind brush against her, and the sweet smells of the flowers nearby once again reached her, filling her with a sense of peace and contentment.

No other way, huh? Fine by me.