Tails asked me to watch Sonic while he went into town. If he's doing that, Sonic must be really sick. Tails wouldn't leave Sonic if he didn't have to.
I'm scared he's going to die now.
When I get to their house Tails is waiting outside. He greets me warmly and asks how I'm doing.
"Is he okay?" I asked him.
"He's doing alright," Tails said, "I just have to get him some medicine is all."
"Does he know I'm here?"
"No."
And then he turns around and waves and smiles at me.
Well.
That's great.
Does he even bwant/b to see me?
He doesn't usually.
I go upstairs to his bedroom and when I see him my breath catches.
He looks so sick.
He looks so small.
"Sonic?"
He turns his head to look at me.
"Hey," he said, and even though he doesn't look the same that's the voice I remember. "How ya doin', Ames?"
"I'm okay," I said.
"I shoulda guessed Tails wouldn't leave me alone," he said.
As usual, he was being difficult. Sometimes he made me so mad...
"Well, fine. I'll leave."
"Don't," he said. "Come here."
"Why?"
"So I don't have to talk so loud."
"It's not like it's bothering anybody."
"Yeah, me," he said. "My throat hurts."
The fact that he had admitted he was sick made my anger vanish, and I went to sit with him.
He stopped looking at me. His eyes faced the ceiling. He looked so tired.
"Are you trying to sleep?"
"I never stop trying to sleep," said Sonic, "but you can talk if you want."
"Well, if you're trying to-"
"Fuck that, that's all I fucking do," he said, but he wasn't angry. "I want to do something. Hey Ames, you play chess?"
"Not very well," I said.
"Me neither. Let's do that," he said, and I took the board off the table and sat on the bed in front of him. I realized his arms were still bandaged and asked why.
"They ain't healin'," he said.
I had been kind of nervous to be alone with him, I didn't want to upset him or end up playing the crazy obssessed girl again. I was trying to lay off him about being his girlfriend, but it was really hard. I loved him and I knew it was love and nothing else. I wanted him so much, even now. It was a little scary to see him, but he was still my Sonic. Still strong and brave no matter what. And it was really nice to spend time with him where neither of us were running anywhere.
After a while he said, "Ames, you wanna do something with me?"
"Sure," I said.
"I need one a those spiral notebooks, a nice one, and some coloured pens, dark ones."
"Why would you want those?"
"I don't have anything to give Tails," he said. "It's his birthday and I know he forgot about it, and no I'm not giving him those as a present. I need them for the present."
"When he comes back," I said.
"Also, gimme that thing," he said, pointing at a syringe on the table.
"What is it?"
"Adrenaline. I'm addicted to it."
"I gave it to him and he shot himself with it. Then he lay back down.
"Now I'm trying to sleep," he said.
I laughed and moved the board. He smiled and closed his eyes. When Tails came back I started to leave, but without opening his eyes he said, "Where are you going?"
"Uh," I said.
"Come here," he said. Then he made me sit down beside him and he sat up slowly.
"This is going to be disgusting for you, but I have to do it," he said, and even as weak as he was he moved fast at that moment, his fingers in my hair all of a sudden, and before I was able to get over the tingle left by his touch he was pulling down my head.
Then he was kissing me, and it wasn't disgusting at all, it was amazing, better than anything I'd ever dreamed and he broke it off too fast.
"What could have possibly made that disgusting?" I asked.
"I haven't brushed my teeth in God knows when," he said. "I know it's nasty in there."
"Oh," I said. I guess Sonic doesn't realize just how much I care about him. Maybe he hadn't brushed his teeth in a while but it didn't matter to me. He kissed me. Finally. After all these years.
I had to leave, so I got up to go.
But I had to do it.
Maybe he wouldn't let me later.
Maybe he would change his mind.
So I turned around, and I took his face in my hands and I kissed him back, and it was long and sweet and neither of us wanted to pull away.
"You sure know how to kiss a guy," he said.
"I'll teach you a few things if you want," I said.
He laughed and gave me a shove. "Get the hell out of here," he said.
I started to leave and he called me back. "I didn't thank you," he said.
"Thank me later," I told him, and he knew exactly what I was talking about. He winked and closed his eyes.
"I'll think about it," he said.
I never saw him again.