Amy arrived almost as soon as Sonic had put down the phone. And, the second he saw her, and despite how he currently felt about the elder rabbit, he was relieved that Vanilla had already left. If she hadn't, he was certain that the pink demon would have been unleashed. He could practically feel the rage emanating from his fellow Erinaceinae*.

Somehow, that rage simultaneously flared and faltered as her eyes landed upon the young fox, still crying and clinging to his boyfriend. It was as if a switch flipped in her brain, turning her from I'm-going-to-kill-the-next-rabbit-I-see mode, to protective-big-sister mode in a matter of seconds, as she ran over and joined the huddle.

Eventually, once Tails had sufficiently calmed down, they moved over to the sofas and started the talk that none of them were really looking forward to.

"I still can't believe that Vanilla could be such a monster. I mean, she's usually so nice. I've even lived with her for a time!" Amy was still fuming, and was most certainly going to have a few choice words for the rabbit the next time she saw her (not that she was going to tell her present company).

"Believe me, Ames, it was quite a shock for us, too. If that wasn't already obvious."

"Yeah, I can see that. But seriously, who does she think she is?! She's dating a crocodile, and I personally think a rabbit and a croc getting it on is a lot weirder than two dudes!" That had the desired reaction, as Tails let out a sad chuckle. It was forced, obviously, but it was something.

"But, what do we do now? If that's how Vanilla reacted to the news of us being a couple, what about Knuckles, or Rouge, or even Shadow?"

"You two shouldn't worry about that. Knuckles is too focused on his Emerald to know or care much about the romantic affairs of others, Rouge is… Rouge, and that kinda speaks for itself, and Shadow, well… ok, I don't know about him. In any case, who honestly cares? Does it really matter what others think of you?"

"Amy, as much as I want to agree with you, I don't want to lose all of our other friends in the same way we just lost Vanilla. It'd be too messy, and eventually word would spread to the rest of Mobius, and then to Eggman, and we all know that that wouldn't end well." The two hedgehogs cringed at the thought.

It was at this point that Tails finally spoke up, for the first time since Amy's arrival. He didn't say much, but the impact of his 6 words was almost too much for him to bear.

"Sonic, we have to break up."

Sonic's reaction was immediate, as he tackled the fox into another tight hug.

"Don't you dare, Miles. Don't let them get to you. If we want to be together, then by Chaos, we're going to be together!"

"But, you're right: if the public find out, you'll be ostracised, and if Eggman finds out, then I'll be his primary target, solely to get to you. I don't want that life for either one of us. It's better for everyone, inside and out of this room, if we stop seeing each other."

"Miles, listen, we already live that life. Well, the Eggman part, at least. Eggman's always gonna come after us, relationship or not. And, since when have I cared about how I'm perceived? I'm not a hero for the thanks, you know."

"I CAN'T GO THROUGH THIS AGAIN!" Tails' shout echoed through the small room. "When I first met you, I was bullied. Constantly. Because I was a nerd; because I was an orphan; because of these!" He gestured to his namesakes. "I don't want to add 'because I'm gay', or 'because I'm ruining your reputation' to their list of excuses! I don't want to make you go through that either!" he had started crying again, and both hedgehogs had to dab their own tears as well. "It's not fair to you. It's better for both of us if we just stop." He stood up, and began walking towards the door.

"Wait, Miles, where are you going?"

"I-I don't know. I just know I can't stay here. Being with you without being with you would just be too hard."

He kept walking. Sonic tried to get up to stop him, but with his ankle in the state it was, it wasn't happening.

"Amy, help!" She nodded.

"Tails, just wait! Let's just talk about this." She reached for his arm, but he jolted it out of her reach.

"There's nothing else to say." He stopped for a second, before turning around, locking tear-filled eyes with Sonic.

"I love you, Sonic the Hedgehog, and I probably always will, but this can't work between us. Not if the reactions are going to be like… that." He nodded once, before turning back around, before almost breaking down again. Through choking breaths, he managed to eke out one last sentence.

"Maybe our paths will cross again one day. Goodbye, Sonic." His tears had become full-on sobs as he ran out through the door, not even bothering to close it.

The fur on both hedgehogs' faces was growing ever more damp with the tears of their own. Amy initially ran to the door to chase after Tails, but he had already taken to the sky with his tails, so she couldn't follow. And the news got worse as she looked down to her feet: Tails' communicator. The only conceivable way they could have found him was lying in pieces on the doormat, so the hopes of them finding him were slim at best. She salvaged what she could of the broken communicator and closed the door behind her as she went back inside. She could already tell that Sonic would need company, now more than ever.

She wished she wasn't right.

No sooner had the door closed when the blue hedgehog let out the singular most heart-breaking yell she had ever heard, followed by a loud crash. As she turned to look at him, she saw him sobbing face down into a cushion. A quick look around revealed the remains of the mug that he had thrown at a wall, and the smell of tea quickly told her that it must have been the mug that Vanilla had chosen for herself. A brief flicker of anger and hatred returned to the pink hedgehog, but that was immediately pushed aside. She had more urgent matters to deal with right now. She approached the devastated Sonic slowly, before gently reaching down to nudge his shoulder. The sight that greeted her when he looked up was not pretty. His eyes were already puffy and red, and his face was damp with the tears. Even his quills had messed up, which was a new and worrying sight for her. She sat down beside him and, much like he had done for Tails earlier, embraced him in a tight hug.

"Oh Sonic, I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Amy. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I know, but I still wish I could have done more."

"You being here is enough, Ames. Honestly, these past couple of weeks have been nice. It's been cool to get to know you without you trying to date me!" He laughed, trying and failing to break the tension. "Though, I guess I'm single again, so—"

"I'm gonna stop you there, Sonic. First of all, as much as I've wanted to date you, I don't want to be a rebound relationship. Second, I wouldn't want to go out with you knowing that it's not me that you truly love. And third, I was the one who encouraged Tails to tell you how he felt in the first place. He's my friend, and dating you wouldn't be fair to him, or me, or you. It's not your fault that it hasn't worked out. It's not his either." This brought Sonic's crying to a screeching halt, the sadness quickly replaced with anger.

"You're right, Amy. It's hers." That last word was said with so much venom, it was pretty obvious who he was talking about. "If she had just been civil and reacted like an adult, then none of this would have happened." He was growling now. Amy had never been scared of Sonic before, but that was no longer true. She could have sworn she saw his fur darken.

"I'm going to kill her." Then she was sure; his fur was definitely darker, and his voiced had dropped about an octave. His ankle was apparently fine now, most likely due to the rapid healing which was usually linked to the invulnerability of his Super form. So, she made the assumption that this form could have that same effect. He stood up just as his spines twisted upwards, just like his Super form, and began his walk to the door.

For once in her life, Amy was faster than Sonic, as she quickly grabbed his arm.

"Sonic, calm down. This isn't you."

"Amy, let go."

"No! I won't let go until you talk to me."

"We've talked, Amy. But, all she's done is ruin everything! She'll probably be happy when she learns of the breakup. Of course, she won't be around long enough to enjoy it."

"Sonic, that's enough! Since when do you go after revenge?"

"Since today, apparently. Look, Ames, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but you can't talk me out of this."

"What about Cream? She's already lost her father. Are you seriously about to leave her motherless, too?!" That made him stop, and (much to Amy's relief) his fur and spines returned to normal. Of course, with the anger gone, that gave the sadness the chance to return. He turned back to Amy, tear-filled eyes locking with hers.

"Then, what would you suggest? That I just accept it and move on? Amy, you know that's not my speed."

"I know, I know, but I'd be much happier if you'd just take the time to calm yourself down. I know it's hard, losing Tails, but going after Vanilla isn't going to make him suddenly come back. If anything, it might drive him further away."

"But, I can't accept that, Ames. I can't just let her carry on enjoying her life after she managed to ruin mine and Tails' in a matter of minutes!"

"Then let me deal with her. She knows me well enough that she might listen to me." Sonic was silent for a moment.

"Fine, but I'm not staying here. With my ankle no longer keeping me confined here, I'm going for a run. I need to clear my head." He was out the door before Amy even had a chance to respond.

Another difficult chapter to write, but again, I hope it's at least enjoyable!

First things first, I just wanna clear something up: in the last Author's Note, I mentioned my parents being 'less than supportive' when I came out as bi. I just wanted to clarify that they were not against it either. It just wasn't what either of them expected for me. It took them some time, but they did eventually accept it, so the story does have a happy ending! (Even though I am still single…)

In other news, you'll all be pleased to hear, my 'story idea' catalogue is getting quite crowded, so there will be no shortage of content from me! I still have The Lonely Dragon ongoing, which I will be continuing after this story is finished, along with a lot more stories based around the various facets of the Sonic franchise (including my first crossover). If any of you have any franchises that you would like to see me tackle, feel free to send them my way through a PM, and if I know the franchise, I'll consider it!

Also, I also want to remind you that I'm also open to answering questions, so if there's anything you wanna ask me, ask away, and I'll add it to my bio!

Also, in case you're confused, "Erinaceinae" is the scientific name for the subfamily of creatures that includes all species of hedgehogs!

Anyway, I think that's enough rambling for one Author's Note, so I'll end it here, and I'll see you all in the next chapter! Ciao for now!

OnTheSpectrum