The holiday has inspired me. Enjoy.
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The kitchen smells amazing. Assorted delights ranging between chocolates and baked goods are littered across the table. Pink and red frosting is smeared on various cookies and various areas of the counter. Heart-shaped cookie-cutters are caked with dough. A red apron bears a Picasso painting of flour and smears of chocolate.
Thankfully, Amy herself is untouched by the mess. She would hate to have to primp herself again. Her hair is done up, her eyelashes are curled, a layer of pink dust coats her eyelids, and her lips are a shimmering red. Her coloring is perfect for the holiday.
Casting her eyes over the counter, she does a quick mental count. Ten sugar cookies and twelve chocolates for Tails, fifteen peanut-butter cookies and five dark chocolates for Knuckles, seven oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies for Cream, three chocolate-covered strawberries for Cheese, an assorted box of delights for Shadow and Rouge, and...
Amy's fingers brush against a red box with a white bow on top. For the thirteenth time, she wonders if she's doing the right thing. A batch of chocolate-chip cookies lie next to the box. She still has a chance to switch them. The fingers close into a fist. No, she's already made her decision. She has to do this. She had to be brave.
Grabbing a basket, she carefully slides the desserts inside. Satisfied that nothing will be crushed, she drapes the apron over a chair, and checks her reflection one last time. She does a mental check to make sure she has everything she needs. Her eyes slide to the chocolate chip cookies on the counter, and hesitantly slides them into the basket as well.
"Just to be safe," She mumbles to herself. She catches her expression in the mirror and forces herself to brighten up again. "Today's going to be great!" She exclaims aloud, and quickly exits through the door.
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"Wow, thanks, Amy!" Tails exclaims as she presents the box of cookies and chocolate to him. Amy smiles at his genuine affection.
"You're welcome, Tails," She laughs, "What are you doing, anyway?"
"Oh, I'm helping make a fireworks show this year," Tails explained. Tapping the side of the Tornado, he indicates several parcels attached to the underside of the plane. "I'm going to drop these over the ocean so that the nearby islands can enjoy them."
"Isn't that dangerous?"
"Nah," Tails shook his head, "I'll be flying pretty high. I've tested the detonators for bugs, and they're all clean. I've got it all planned out."
"Well, okay," Amy said skeptically. "By the way... do you know where Sonic is today?"
"Sonic?" Tails frowned. "I'm not sure. I haven't heard from him since a few days ago. He mentioned that he was traveling to the tropics to escape the cold for a while."
"Do you think he's still there?"
"Maybe. You know how he is."
"Yeah..." Amy smiled wearily. Tails caught her expression and shot her a worried one of his own.
"Are you okay?"
"Oh, yeah," Amy quickly put a cheerful expression on her face, but Tails still looked worried.
"Amy-"
"Oh, that's right! I need a favor!" Amy interrupted him. "Can you fly me up to Angel Island? I need to give Knuckles his cookies too."
"Uh, sure," Tails agreed. "Just give me a minute to prep the Tornado- I need to make sure I won't drop these fireworks by accident on the way up.
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"Oh, wow, Amy. You didn't have to," Knuckles grinned awkwardly as he opened his box. He sniffed the cookies appreciatively. "Mmm, peanut butter."
"Those are still your favorite, right?" Amy checked. Knuckles nodded.
"Yeah, they are. Thanks for remembering," Knuckles grinned again. "You really didn't have to."
"Don't be silly. I'm just sorry you're going to be up here by yourself today."
"Yeah," Tails agreed, "You're welcome to come topside and spend the day with me."
"Oh, I actually like being here on this day," Knuckles countered, "The Master Emerald always does something very interesting. Here- I'll show you." Putting his box of cookies down, he lead Amy and Tails up to the giant emerald embedded in the top of the shrine.
"Does it always glow like this?" Amy asked.
"Sort of, but it's always brighter on this day," Knuckles shrugged. "But if you wait for a minute, it should- there!" He pointed excitedly at the gem. At first, Amy couldn't tell what he was talking about, but soon an image became clear within the gem. Several small lights swirled around in the Master Emerald, and a low humming sound emanated from the gem.
"Is that... music?" Tails realized.
"Yeah, it's nice, isn't it?" Knuckles asked. "I'm not really sure what causes it, but it does this every year. I think it might be reacting to the emotions of everyone down below."
"It's pretty..." Amy said softly, watching the lights dance around. Slowly, the lights and sound faded away, and the Master Emerald was back to normal.
"It comes and goes throughout the day," Knuckles explains, "But I never get tired of it."
"I see... oh! By the way, Knuckles," Amy suddenly remembered, "Do you know where Sonic is today?"
"Hmm, I'm not sure... do you have food to give him too?"
"Uh- yeah!" Amy quickly agreed, "Last year I couldn't track him down, so he had to pick it up a few days later, but I'd like to try and find him today."
"Well, in that case, we can use the Master Emerald," Knuckles suggested. Amy gaped.
"Are you sure?" She asked. She had never heard of Knuckles using the Master Emerald's power for such a casual request.
"Yeah, it's alright," He affirmed. Placing his hand on his beloved emerald, he chanted softly under his breath. Amy watched the center of the stone eagerly. Slowly, an image of a large structure appeared. Amy had to squint to realize that there was a small, blue figure standing in front of it.
"Where is this?" She asked aloud.
"I'm not sure, but that's the logo for G.U.N." Tails pointed out.
"One of their bases, maybe?" Knuckles asked.
"Oh, I know!" Amy clapped her hands, "We can ask Shadow or Rouge! I know where they're stationed right now- I was going to give them their sweets today anyway!"
"I'll take you there," Tails offered.
"Okay!"
"Alright, I'll see you guys later then," Knuckles waved them goodbye.
"No problem," Amy called back as she ran towards the Tornado, "Enjoy the cookies!"
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"I can't believe they took the whole box," Amy pouted.
"Well, we are a military facility, Dear," Rouge pointed out, "They never know when someone is going to walk in here with a bomb disguised as cookies."
"I'm just saying that if you get the box back and all the cookies are gone, I'm going to blow up."
"Don't worry, they just need to pass them through the scanner. It won't take too long," Rouge assured her.
"I hope not. Where's Shadow, anyway?"
"Oh, he's gone off with Sonic somewhere."
"He's with Sonic?" Amy exclaimed, "Where are they going?"
"Mmm, that's technically classified," Rouge pointed out.
"Oh, come on, Rouge, please?" Amy pleaded, "I'd like to try and see Sonic today."
"Alright, alright," Rouge sighed. "I can't tell you the specifics, but it seems Sonic found something rather strange out in the rain forest south of here. He reported it to a nearby G.U.N. base, and they called Shadow out there to help him investigate."
"So they're both in the forest somewhere right now?"
"As far as I know."
"Can we go out there?" Amy asked.
"I could go, but you're technically a civilian. Again: military facility."
"Oh, come on," Amy sighed exasperatedly, "I fight Eggman's robots all the time! I can handle myself."
"True... alright then, I'll see if I can pull a few strings.
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"What is she doing here?" Shadow asked flatly.
"Amy was kind enough to bring us some sweets to celebrate the holiday," Rouge explained before Amy could angrily retort. Shadow snorted.
"And she came out here to deliver them in person?"
"I could have, but your stupid security took them before I even got inside!"
"It is a military facility," Shadow said. Amy sputtered angrily.
"Forget it," She groaned. "More importantly, where's Sonic?"
"Gone," Shadow answered simply.
"What! Where?" Amy demanded.
"I don't know. We finished our business here, so he left."
"How did that go, by the way?" Rouge cut in.
"Nothing we hadn't already confirmed so far. However it seems that..." Shadow's gaze cut briefly to Amy, "He has found the artifact we spoke of."
"I figured as much," Rouge nodded. Amy looked back and forth between the two.
"What are you guys talking about?" She asked.
"Don't worry about it," Rouge waved her hand in a shooing motion. "Sorry that Sonic wasn't here."
"Oh, that's okay..." Amy slumped a little. Then perking herself up, she added, "I have to go see Cream and Cheese anyway."
"Alright. Well, Shadow, are you done here?" He nodded. "Perfect. Come on, Amy- we'll give you a ride back to base."
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"Oh, Amy, thank you very much!" Cream exclaimed. "This is very thoughtful of you!"
"You're welcome, Cream. Oh, and I have some for Cheese, too," Amy pulled out the second box for Cheese.
"Chao, chao!"
"Oh, look, Cheese!" Cream exclaimed. "Amy got you strawberries! Make sure you say 'Thank You'!"
"Chao, chao chao!"
"Oh, wait here- I'll go get yours, Amy," Cream exclaimed, jumping up and dashing out of the room.
"Thank you so much for coming, Amy," Vanilla beamed.
"My pleasure. Cream is a kind friend."
"You are too," Vanilla humbled her. "So, making the rounds today?"
"Yes, but I think I'm almost done," Amy said.
"Who's left?"
"Just Sonic."
"Oh, are you meeting him later?" Vanilla asked.
"No, I actually don't know where he is," Amy sighed. "It's okay. If I don't see him today, I'll just give them to him later."
"Oh. Well, good luck finding him today," Vanilla wished her.
"Thanks."
"Here you go, Amy!" Cream came running back into the room carrying a large folded piece of white paper. Assortments of hearts and glitter adorned the front.
"Oh, Cream, this is so pretty!" Amy gushed over the card, admiring the curved letters of her own name.
"Mom helped," Cream admitted shyly.
"Cream only told me what to write," Vanilla pointed out. Flipping the card open, Amy smiled at the drawing of herself Cream had done and quickly skimmed over the message.
Wishing a wonderful friend
A wonderful day
Love,
Cream and Cheese
"Oh, did you sign this, Cheese?" Amy asked, pointing at the red blob next to Cheese's name.
"Chao!"
"He wanted to help, so we dipped his hand in paint!" Cream exclaimed.
"Well, thank you," Amy exclaimed, and hugged the rabbit girl. Cheese fluttered around and hugged her back, and the three of them stood there for a moment, enjoying each others friendship.
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Later that night, back in her kitchen, Amy finished cleaning up the last of her mess. She glanced up at the news channel that she had been watching for most of the evening, hoping that someone would report having at least glanced at Sonic. Sadly, everyone seemed preoccupied with the holiday, and there wasn't a blurred photograph to be seen. Amy sighed and fell into one of the chairs at the table, staring at the red box with a white bow in front of her.
"Well, Amy," She said to herself, "You made a deal. If you saw Sonic today, you were going to give him that box. But you didn't see him, so you can't give it to him. Simple as that."
Amy slumped further in the chair. It really wasn't fair. People were supposed to be happy on this day of the year. She was supposed to be happy. But here she was, sulking all by herself. Well, she refused to be so sad on a day like today.
Standing up, she grabbed a coat and strode out the door. A second later though, she came back in, swooped the box up from the table, and left.
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Leaning over the fence that narrowly kept people from falling off the cliff and into the ocean below, Amy studied the box in her hands. She could technically hand onto it, but it felt wrong. This present had been chosen specifically for today. It seemed wrong to keep it.
Raising her arm, she poised to throw the box off the cliff and into the water, when suddenly a flash of light and a loud BANG sounded above her. Looking up, Amy saw a magnificent firework explode and then disappear, leaving behind a wispy trail of smoke. Another soon took it's place, and then another. Slowly, Amy dropped her arm, content to watch the fireworks. Tails had really done a beautiful job. She was just admiring a red firework he had managed to fashion in the rough shape of a heart when another sound startled her.
"Amy?" Her head jerked towards the noise, and her mouth dropped in disbelief. Sonic looked equally surprised at her presence. "What are you doing?" He asked.
"I- I'm..." Another BANG sounded above her. "...enjoying the fireworks."
"Oh, right." Sonic scratched his head awkwardly. "I came to check them out too. Tails really outdid himself, huh?"
"Yeah, it's beautiful," Amy agreed. Looking back up, she continued to watch the fireworks. She heard Sonic shuffle closer, but didn't dare look him in the eye. She was thankful that the loud fireworks hid the loud thumping of her heart. They stood side-by-side, watching the lights explode in the sky for a while. Then, in a fantastic finale, countless fireworks illuminated at once, and then everything was still.
A moment of silence passed. Amy's grip on the red box tightened, and her mind and heart were racing. For the fourteenth time, she reconsidered. It wasn't too late. She could tell him that she had the chocolate chip cookies for him back home. She could just give them to him, and he'd be on his way. It would be easy.
But she'd made a deal with herself.
"Here," She said, offering Sonic the red box with a white bow. "I was hoping I'd see you today. This is for you."
"Oh, thanks," Sonic smiled. Amy forced herself to stay put and not run off as he quickly undid the white ribbon. Popping the lid, his eyebrows shot up, and he glanced at Amy before staring at the box. "Uh..."
"You don't have to say anything," Amy blushed, looking at the ground. "I just... wanted to give it to you. You don't have to take it." Sonic glanced at her again, then pulled the chocolate heart from the box. Pressed into the front of the heart were two short lines of text.
You'll always be in my heart
No matter what.
"It's rude not to accept a gift," Sonic said simply. He stared at the chocolate heart for a moment before glancing up. "I'm allowed to eat this though, right?"
"Uh, y-yeah!" Amy grinned nervously. "Of course."
"Good, 'cause I'm starving." He declared, and took a giant bite our of the corner. A thoughtful look came over his face as he chewed. "It tastes like a s'more," He said.
"I baked marshmallow and graham cracker into it," Amy explained.
"Seriously? Wow, this tastes awesome," Sonic declared, taking another bite.
"There's also some chocolate-chip cookies at my house if you want any," Amy offered.
"Thanks, but I should probably get going," Sonic said, finishing the rest of the chocolate heart.
"Yeah, me too," Amy glanced at the ground.
"Before I go though, here," Sonic suddenly pulled out a flower from seemingly nowhere. Amy gasped, her fingers immediately flying to grip it.
"Oh wow, this is an adenium flower!" She said in awe. The petals were white, with a tinge of pink at the edges. "Where did you get it?"
"I was in a rain forest earlier and noticed it. I thought you might like it."
"I love it," She sighed happily, hugging the flower to her chest. "Thank you, Sonic."
"You're welcome. Happy Valentine's Day, Amy."
"Happy Valentine's Day, Sonic."
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Have a Happy Valentine's Day, everybody! Spread some love.