Movies in the AM

Sonic awoke to the sound of incessant buzzing. He glanced blearily to his side where his phone was flashing in the darkness and shielded his eyes from the glare of the screen. Glancing at it blearily, still half-asleep, Sonic frowned as he tried to figure out what was going on.

"Any Pose? What the-" he muttered, pressing answer before rubbing at his eyes. "Hello?"

"Sonic! Oh … sorry, did I wake you?" a girl's voice said breathlessly down the line.

"Amy?" he said slowly, a light bulb flickering to life in his mind. "Are you okay, it's like two am or something?" he said, glancing at his wrist comm to get a more exact measure of the time.

"I just needed to hear …" she started, her usually light voice rooted in panic. Whatever she was about to say next, Sonic never heard. What he did hear was something clattering loudly down the phone as the girl shrieked, the call cutting off instantly.

"Amy"?" Sonic called back, realising futilely that he'd lost connection with her. Why had she called him so late, why did she cut the call and why was she shrieking? Flashes of every danger she could be in tortured his vivid imagination and the next thing he knew, he was at her door.

He knocked frantically against the wooden door, glad that Amy didn't have any close neighbours to overhear the racket he was making. He waited agonisingly for any sound of movement from within, and when he heard another crash, Sonic's patience snapped.

Without another thought, Sonic curled into a spiked ball and rushed at the door at full speed, intending to knock it off its hinges. He would have managed it too if it hadn't opened at the last second. Losing control, the blue hedgehog he went flying right through Amy's hallway. He rolled into her kitchen, losing momentum and crash landing against a cupboard door.

Sonic was up in an instant – raising his hands defensively as he rushed back into the hallway. He spotted Amy stood by the now closed door and rushed towards her, pulling her into him as he surveyed the area for threats to neutralise.

A soft breath of relief flooded out of him as he found nothing out of the ordinary, his muscles relaxing and releasing the girl in his arms. "Are you okay Amy? You had me worried that Eggman was up to no good for a second there."

Amy stared up at him, her green eyes wide and flickering with confusion. "Sonic, what are you doing here?"

Sonic's brows creased in concern. "I thought that you were … you sounded really panicked over the phone and … something seemed …" he said, trying to explain himself as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Wait, why did you call me again?"

"Oh! The phone call, it was nothing. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called you so late. You were probably sleeping anyway. It could have waited till morning …" Amy trailed off as she caught sight of Sonic's no-nonsense stare.

"You screamed and cut the call Amy," he stated simply, arching a single brow in challenge. He knew her well enough to know that she was over talking to hide something, but she couldn't hold out forever.

"I screamed when my phone slipped from my fingers, that was all. I didn't mean to worry you."

Sonic blinked at her calmly and reached out a finger to tilt her head up and meet her gaze. He cocked his head to the side with a frown as he noticed the red rimming her eyes - much later than he probably should have.

She'd been crying.

"Amy," he said seriously, running his thumb across her warm cheek. "What happened?" The gesture seemed to break whatever hold she had on her emotions, as suddenly the dam broke and she collapsed against him in a mess of mumbled words and sobs.

Sonic held her through it all, making out enough of her ramblings to realise that she'd had some sort of nightmare and that he'd played some dark part in it.

"Did you call me as soon as you woke up?" he asked, rubbing her back as she began to calm down, sniffling quietly. She nodded, lifting her head to look at him

"Oh Sonic, I just panicked, and I was scared that you were actually gone. I just … I needed to hear your voice," she said softly.

"It's alright Ames, I'm right here. I haven't gone anywhere," he soothed. But even as the words left his lips, he felt her hold on him tighten involuntarily. Amy almost never let her fear show, so she must have had a really terrible kind of nightmare to be so shaken up.

"Yeah, thank you for being here. You should probably go and get some rest though," she said, pulling away from him and rubbing her arms. Sonic worked his jaw, reluctant to leave her on her own.

"Actually …" he started, scratching the quills at the back of his head. "I know it's late, but do you mind if I stay for a while?

"Would you?" she asked, her eyes alighting with hope.

"Of course. If you're not tired, we can watch a movie or something," he said, shrugging casually. She nodded subtly and Sonic grabbed her by the shoulders, marching her into her own living room.

"Wait here, I'll be right back," he said, rushing out of the room before Amy had the chance to object. He returned only a moment later, draping a soft comforter over the girl before pushing her playfully onto the sofa.

Her giggle cut right through him and Sonic couldn't help the smile that found its way onto his face as he dropped down beside her.

"Ugh," he remarked as the television flickered to life. "Are we watching something slow and boring with," he paused for dramatic effect and made a face, "romance?"

Amy didn't respond directly, but she did smile knowingly before curling up beside him and dropping her head into his lap as the movie started. Sonic sat there frozen for a time, watching the movie play out rigidly until he came to the realisation that she was not going to move.

His shoulders relaxed at the thought and he let himself sit back and actually pay attention to the images flashing before them. Without thinking, he absently ran his fingers through her soft quills, stopping in embarrassment as he caught what he was doing.

Amy made a quiet noise of protest, and hesitantly, Sonic continued the motion as he returned to the movie. If he was honest with himself, it wasn't a bad movie. In fact, he'd even go as far as to say he was enjoying it, romance and all – although he was partial to the sword fights himself.

It was over before he knew it and by the time the end credits rolled across the screen, a bittersweet feeling overwhelmed Sonic. He was about to tell Amy as much when he glanced at his lap to see her eyes were closed, her breathing slow and even as she lay curled beside him.

She'd fallen asleep in his arms and he'd been so preoccupied by her favourite movie that he hadn't even noticed. No wonder she had been so quiet through the second half of the movie he thought with a smirk.

He didn't want to risk waking Amy by moving her, so instead he used the remote to turn off the television and flicked the switch on the lamp beside him. He shifted a little to get comfortable, stretching his legs out before settling into the sofa with Amy's head still in his lap.

Even in the dim starlight that flickered in through the window, he fell in love with the peace on her face. A part of him was glad that he'd stayed the night with her. After seeing her face earlier, he hadn't wanted to leave her alone at all. If any of her nightmares came back to haunt her now, at least he'd be right here to reassure her that everything was fine.

Sonic leaned back and let his eyes shutter closed, keeping a protective hand on Amy's shoulders to remind her that he was there for her if she needed him, as he too drifted into the darkness.