Extra Disclaimer: The image for this story is not made by me but by catnaro on DeviantART. And I do not own Le Cordon Bleu from real life.

Thanks so much GummyGal, luckyleafs, and ShinyShiny9 for reviewing and for the rest of you for following/faving. I hope I can keep up the standard. ^_^


Mouth-watering smells wafted throughout the Rose apartment as Amy deftly maneuvered through all her Christmas decorations to reach the oven. Most of the décor were left in the boxes and on every piece of available furniture for weeks since she used to be busy with managing her diner. Her stereo blaring about the most wonderful time of the year helped her block out all the pain and initial shock of last week. Part of her wished that she hadn't finally got that Sonic really didn't want to know her, but the other part, the more reasonable part, knew that it was just about time.

"Okay..." she murmured, opening up her oven that released a wave of banana, "The banana bread looks about done. Next, I'll put in the pumpkin pie, and after that I think that Christmas cookie dough will be ready for baking." Amy slipped on her oven mitts and managed to set her delectable gift on the counter. Then, she wrote on a small sticky note: To Knuckles. From Amy.

"He always liked banana bread, right? Or was that Espio?" The lively ringing of her doorbell interrupted her small dilemma and set her into a fretful flurry of nerves. "Oh, I wonder who it could be?" she questioned aloud, swinging her door open, "Oh, hello, Tails!"

Tails, the adorable munchkin, stood outside her door bundled up in what looked like five layers of winter coats. "Hey Amy," he mumbled behind his clothes, "May I come in?"

"Sure, come right ahead! Make yourself feel right at home! I even have something for you, anyway," she said, beckoning the fox in cheerfully. Tails complied to her welcome and slowly seated himself in one of her ornament-covered chairs while Amy hurriedly grasped the treat she had baked for him. "See, it's candy cane-flavored three-layered cake!" she announced.

Tails' cerulean eyes became as wide as the stove's burners when he saw the fancily-iced red and white cake. "I've never heard of that, but it sounds delicious," he grinned, reaching for it eagerly.

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, it's something new I tried. Merry Christmas, Tails!"

Amy half-expected the young two-tailed fox to head on out and forget his order of business, but he remained, looking a bit more awkward than before.

"Erm...Amy..." Tails bit his lip, "Thanks for all that you've done, and I just wanted to apologize for what Sonic did to you, whatever he's done to you. I wanted to make sure you were okay, y'know, staying here all alone in your apartment."

"Oh, I'm all right, Tails, really," the pink hedgehog assured, collapsing into a chair of her own, "All this Christmas baking can keep a girl busy, y'know!"

At this time, her crush's best friend had taken the liberty to dig in to his home-cooked gift. Amy remained silent, a secret happiness rising in her as the fox's eyes lit up at the bite.

"Does it taste good?" she inquired politely with a growing smile. To her joy, he merely nodded, his face stuffed with cake.

Once Tails gulped down the rest of his food, he said, "Yes, I think this just might be my new favorite dessert. I wish I could have more!"

Amy sprung up from her seat, her mind rejuvenated.

"Right away, Tails!" she answered merrily, heading towards her kitchen.

This took the little fox quite off-guard, and he half-scampered, half-fell out of his chair. "Hey, you don't have to do that, Amy. You already have a lot on your plate as it is!" he cried, throwing out a hand in her direction. Amy giggled, taking his hand and pulling the fox to his feet.

"I want to do this, Tails," she said simply with a reassuring pat on his arm. The fox remained where he stood as she returned to her baking. Everything was silent for a second save for the booming upbeat Christmas music and the hissing of pots and pans.

"Do you want to cook for a living? 'Cause you really are that good," Tails muttered, causing the pink hedgehog to blush.

"Aw, you really mean that?" she said as she faced him, her eyes glittering with affection, "Well, I was thinking about applying to Le Cordon Bleu, this really prestigious, super-talented culinary arts school. I mean there're so many famous chefs that came out of that place, and I was wondering if I could really do it or not, so I don't-"

Tails placed a gloved hand on her shoulder. "Do it," he stated bluntly, and Amy nodded, smiling sincerely towards him.

His jaws flew open again, about to say something else, until piercing beeps sounded from the microwave and jarred his thoughts. He quickly sealed his lips back together as Amy fled from his reach to correct the machine.

"Well, I better get going now," Tails muttered, watching the pink hedgehog arrange her cooking projects, "I have a new experiment that I've started that might help us against Eggman, and I'm really psyched about finishing it. So I gotta go. Bye, Amy!"

Amy grinned and waved as her friend edged to the door past the box of Christmas ornaments. "Bye, Tails! Merry Christmas!" she called cheerfully.

"And a merry Christmas to you, too!" was the last words he said before her front door shut behind him. With an exasperated sigh, Amy flopped back into her chair, feeling quite taxed now after the surprise visit as if someone flipped the off switch on her energy meter. She closed her eyes for a minute while her finger twirled a loose strand of pink hair from her head in an absentminded manner.

It really warmed Amy's heart that Tails had taken the time to care, but she was slightly disappointed if not aggravated that Sonic wasn't the one to come and apologize to her. It was his fault anyway.

She clenched the arm of the chair. It boiled her blood to hear he hadn't even mentioned the event to Tails, his closest friend, as if he thought he didn't do anything wrong. The nerve of that hedgehog!

Abruptly, the pink hedgehog stood up and brushed herself off. "Don't you worry about him, Amy," she told herself, "You need to focus on getting all these treats done for your friends, and then you can figure him out later."

With that, Amy returned to her kitchen Christmas work, blending in with all the season's greetings and holiday cheer as if nothing was going on.


"Hello, sir, what would you like at Eggbert's Coastal Shack?" the waitress pressed with an overbearing smile. Sonic grumbled, skimming through the menu in his gloved hands as a boisterous bar song played throughout the restaurant.

Then, giving up on finding anything he wanted, he murmured witheringly, "A chilidog."

"Oh, you mean the Sonic Special?" the waitress winked and scribbled it on her notepad, "Coming right up!" Sonic rolled his eyes. Someone thought they were clever coming up with that one. "Would you like a refill of your water, sir?"

"Sure, why not?" Sonic said but immediately wished he didn't. His waitress leaned down nice and slow to grab his cup in a highly suggestive manner, revealing what best shouldn't be revealed. He averted his lime orbs in hidden disgust, scooting closer to the window of his booth, while the overpowering waft of spring flowers mixed with melting wax of the perfume reached his nostrils and mouth. It almost made him lose of what little he had for an appetite; that's for sure.

Once his flirty waitress had left, it wasn't even two minutes before Sonic felt his patience ebbing away. The rowdy conversations in the 'shack' and kids sporadically screaming, "It's Sonic the Hedgehog!" didn't help.

Around three minutes, he began to curse irritably about the way the diner was built, as he was seated by the uncovered window that had the sun shining right in his eyes. When he shifted his weight to look at the diner's interior, he viewed cheesy, dingy-looking Christmas décor that almost appeared provocative and somewhat insulting. And despite all the mud and dirt he usually tracked into buildings after a run, he despised every fiber of the dust that clung to his cherry red sneakers on the floor.

Compared to Amy's diner, this place was a pigpen.

Amy. His eyes narrowed at the thought of her, which soon trailed back to thoughts of the event that happened a week ago. In his mind, he could vividly picture the image of her staring back at him with those wounded eyes. He had no intention of hurting her. He wasn't thinking what would happen if she actually found out.

His finger tapped against the table, creating a mellow sound that Sonic could tune his ears into.

All he really wanted was to get away from her, to be free, and he had rushed himself into messily coordinating something to solve that problem. Perhaps he had gone too far? Perhaps he was too paranoid? Sonic gazed at the swirling murky water in his glass. Was this...regret?

He shook his head and scowled. No, no regrets. He was Sonic the Hedgehog; he wasn't supposed to have those! At least, that's what everyone else said about him.

In frustration, he slammed his fist down on the table, causing the unstable top to rattle. He didn't go too far. She went too far. She hit way too close to home by using his weakness, chilidogs. Why did she use those? To get him to fall in love with her, that's what, he rationalized.

And yet Sonic couldn't will himself to smirk at this conclusion. Why did this girl make his simple life seem so convoluted?

Run, fight Eggman, eat chilidogs, run, fight Eggman...that was true freedom. If she hadn't been there when he gave the Mega Mack to Tails, none of this would've been happening. But her heart was now broken, and he was made out to be the bad guy.

Why does she have to go and ruin everything?

"Here you go, sir, Sonic Special, extra special," the thick, flattering voice gushed. The blue hedgehog quickly shook himself of his despair. Desiring to avoid a repeat of his waitress' overdone display of promiscuity, Sonic snatched the cool metal platter from her hands with a smile before she had a chance to stoop down.

"Thank you, ma'am," he said brightly. Even Big the Cat would've been able to see through his outward show. But the waitress put on a seductive smile, one that obviously wasn't working on the hedgehog, and strutted away from him, trying to display every natural and unnatural curve possible.

Sonic sighed, shaking his spiky blue head, and turned to his dinner. Eagerly, he picked up the chilidog, trying to avoid thinking about the fact that eerie six-legged insects buzzed around him and that the chilidog looked like its mother was the sewer. He took a giant bite into the imitation of his favorite food and tactlessly gagged.

Sonic Special? What a disgrace! The chili's acidic flavor burned his throat, and the rock hard raw pork rested like a frozen log upon his tongue until he gargled down the remains.

The flies can have it, he grunted, standing abruptly from his booth, I can't take this anymore. A wave of sickness- -something that could render Sonic useless more than the perfume ever could- -suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks, and he fell back into his seat.

Not again.

Several pairs of eyes bore holes through him, and he wished he could ward them off like the flies. Feebly climbing up from his seat, he sped off to the safest place that crossed his mind, Tails' workshop in Mystic Ruins.

Immediately, he headed for the bathroom, firmly locking the door behind him. After Sonic flipped on the sink and the creaky air conditioning that Tails had somehow never bothered to fix, another wave of sickness much stronger than before hit him. The effects were far more brutal as Sonic keeled over the bathroom's toilet and let the return of the chilidog's rancid flavor come back much more powerful.

All the while, his throat screamed at him in pain, begging him to stop this burning sensation that was continuously scalding it. However, Sonic was frozen to his spot, knees bent, back arched, mouth opened like a shark. A gloved hand squeezed the side of the bowl as if enough force on the object could get him to cease this despicable process. His breath would falter, paling him instead of reddening his face, and his tongue was stuck to the bottom of his mouth, drowning in gastric acid.

Must stop...c-can't stop...

He heaved and heaved in repetitive rhythm with his stomach, the chilidog's filthy remains spilling out in front him, as the droning of the ventilation masked the spastic garglings of the hedgehog.

Why couldn't he stop?

This had been happening every time he ate a chilidog, and he just couldn't control it. He was helpless, utterly vulnerable. Did chilidogs suddenly hate him? Because no matter how he had tried to conquer it by, stupidly, eating more chilidogs, the result would always be the same.

Finally, his stomach was at rest and so was the cycle...for a while. Sonic's entire body shuddered violently as he reached for the trigger to hide the evidence of his sickening failure. Succeeding in his small mission, he collapsed on the floor, feeling like a shell of what he once was.


After what seemed like hours, Sonic managed to muster his little regaining strength to get up. The bathroom stunk of rotten chilidogs and acidic stomach fluids, and the taste, still freshly sordid in his mouth, threatened for more to return. Groggily, he sprayed the small room with cheap air freshener to blend with the pungent odors and stumbled over to the sink. He splashed himself repeatedly with its running water and attempted to look somewhat decent for the outside world.

He scowled at his reflection; he still looked like a ghost trying to imitate Shadow's dismal countenance.

Because his ears grew weary of the ventilation's constant whining, Sonic switched it off as well as the sink before heading out.

A nice brisk run could shake things off. After all, it worked in the past. Why not now? However, before Sonic could even get out of the house, he was met with a furry surprise.

"Oh, Tails! You didn't tell me you were here this whole time!" Sonic yelped in panic, jumping back from the collision.

"I just came home," the fox responded flatly. Sonic peered over him and found that he had just literally come through the front door. Then his eyes trailed down to the real predicament.

"...What are you wearing?" Sonic inquired. Tails shifted uneasily in his marshmallow-looking outfit, which billowed fuzzy garments ranging from fake leopard print to real sheepskins.

"It's cold outside," the fox mumbled, avoiding Sonic's amused gaze.

"Yeah, but you're a fox!" Sonic said, "Shouldn't you already have a bunch of natural furry layers as it is?"

"...I don't like the cold."

He chuckled openly, deciding to give his little bro a break. "Well, I was just about to go out for a run. It might be a few. Catch ya on the flip side, buddy!" he said, swinging an overly enthusiastic fist and edging ever so slowly towards the door.

Tails spun around to face Sonic with a smile. "Well, in that case, how about we go out for some chilidogs? We've rarely talked this week, and there're some things I'd like to discuss." Sonic's face immediately dropped along with his stomach and, paling rapidly, he staggered back against the wall.

"Ugh...no...just no..." he groaned. Tails who was once cheerful became quite concerned.

"Are you okay, Sonic?" the fox asked worriedly as the blue hedgehog tried to gain a hold of himself. Tails' eyes then narrowed in suspicion. "Does this have to do with Amy?"

Sonic felt himself about to go into another sickness spiral. Was Tails trying to get him to puke?

"I just went by her apartment, y'know. We could go back there again, so you could apologize," Tails innocently added, his eyes avoiding the blue hedgehog in an almost mischievous manner.

Sonic forced a glare at his little brother. "It wasn't my fault," he wheezed.

"Really? How so?" the fox pressed, but when the blue hedgehog obstinately swiveled his head the other way, he continued, "It doesn't matter what you did or how you did it, but you must at least apologize-!"

Sonic scoffed. "Absolutely not."

"And why not?" Tails asked, his voice increasing in volume and irritation.

"'Cause you apologized for me, lil' bro! That's why you came by her apartment today, right?" Sonic shot back smugly.

Tails blinked, at a loss for words.

Then the hedgehog's little brother sighed and walked further into the house. "Fine then, I guess you don't want to help out with fighting ol' Egghead."

Much to the fox's joy, Sonic immediately perked up. "Say what about ol' Egghead?" he questioned keenly. The fox shrugged in a haphazard manner.

"I mean that you won't be able to fight ol' Egghead this time 'cause, y'know, Amy's helping," he said casually, his eyes averting Sonic's gaze. His slow stroll was met stride by stride by the blue hedgehog.

"Well, that doesn't mean I can't help out, Tails. Besides, it's usually just you and me fighting against Eggman. Why can't we do that now?" Sonic offered, reaching out his hands generously.

"Uh, you know. Reasons," Tails answered vaguely, "Knuckles, Shadow, and Rouge are also helping out, too, so I think you can take a rain check on this adventure." Instantly, the fox was cut off from his path. Tails felt the urge to grin.

"Look, no matter how many socially awkward situations I'm handling at the moment, I will fight against the evil Dr. Eggman from performing his villainy plans on the world. After all, it is the fate of the world we're talking about, Tails," Sonic declared.

Tails rolled his eyes, using his best impression of being agitated. "All right, fine then, if it's for the fate of the world," he drawled unrealistically, causing his big bro to smile, "But, seriously, you gotta promise that you won't do anything stupid in front of Amy."

Sonic smirked and gave his little brother a thumbs-up. "Do I ever?" he chuckled arrogantly. Tails rolled his azure eyes flamboyantly once again in both mock and real annoyance. Getting to him was a lot harder than he thought it would be.

"And Tails?"

"Hmm?"

"Lose the winter coats. We're inside now."

"Oh. Okay."


If you didn't notice by now, this is kind of a really late Christmas story. Guess this is your healthy dose of Christmas in the middle of spring! So anyway, read, review, comment, criticize...any feedback is truly helpful, especially constructive criticism. Thanks!

-JD