Inevitably, they were pulled away from each other later on in the day. Sonic, Amy, Bunnie and Tails were assigned to another supply run, Sonia going with them, while Shadow went with Antoine and his group. This time it went much more smoothly, and on the way back, Sonic and Sonia led the way home, the others lagging behind with their crates of produce. Sonic still hadn't told her about him and his new… partners? That word felt too familiar, too intimate to use just yet. He still wasn't sure what to call them as a unit, but that wasn't what mattered at the moment. Sonic bit his lip. He knew his sister wouldn't like what was going to come out of his mouth, but he wasn't going to keep secrets from her, especially not one that felt so huge.

"So…" he said. "You know how I told you Shadow offered that… err, three-way, kind of thing with Amy and I?"

Sonia nodded, raising an eyebrow. "What about it?" she asked.

"Well, I… Kinda sorta… accepted it."

Sonia was quiet for a moment, and she looked away, focusing on the path ahead. "Okay," she said.

"Okay," Sonic repeated awkwardly. "Just… thought you should know."

"Just to be clear, I don't agree with this decision," Sonia said. "But it's yours to make. And maybe I'm wrong about them, who knows. But don't expect me to be all buddy-buddy with them."

Sonic sighed. "Try to be polite at least, please?" he pleaded. "I don't want you guys to fight all the time."

"Fine," Sonia said. "For your sake."

Sonic nodded. "Are you okay?" he asked. "You're…"

Sonia took a deep breath. "I'm fine," she said. "I just need some space." She pulled ahead of the group, walking a little faster. Sonic didn't try to keep up with her. He just watched her go, feeling somehow both lighter and heavier at the same time. At least it was out in the open now. And maybe she'd warm up to them eventually. Though chances of that seemed slim.

He sighed and shook his head.

Later that afternoon, Sonic and Amy were hauling crates of produce into food storage. They tried to act like they always did, same boundaries they had had before, but now that the boundaries were blurred, it was much easier said than done. He couldn't help but notice how Amy would lean in towards him sometimes when they leaned against a wall to rest, her eyes flitting back and forth between his eyes and his lips, and he wanted to close the distance so badly. He'd kissed Shadow, and he'd wanted to kiss her for even longer, but the timing was always terrible. Someone walked by, or was already there.

It happened again just as Bunnie walked by, and she raised an eyebrow. They smiled awkwardly as she shrugged and walked away.

Amy sighed, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry," she said. "I know you want to keep this quiet, and I'm not helping much with that."

"Eh," Sonic said. "I mean… Yeah, but… Maybe not forever. I think she should know at some point. Maybe not now, but, ya know, maybe after we settle into this?"

Amy nodded. "Fair enough," she said. Her smile was fading. "Maybe… I'm being a little impatient, and… I'm a little jealous that you've kissed Shadow and not me, but I'm not going to–"

"Whoa, Amy," Sonic whispered. "You're fine. Just… relax, okay? You don't need to be jealous. That… will be fixed soon." He smiled at her, his cheeks turning red, and she giggled quietly. "I didn't know it was bothering you that much," he said, his smile fading just a little.

"I was trying not to let it," Amy admitted. "I don't want this to be ruined just because I get jealous, and I don't want to be jealous. It's not fun, and it's unfair to you guys."

"Amy, it's–"

"Woo!" came Bunnie's voice just before she left the storeroom. "That's too much like work. I think I'm ready for a nap," she said with a laugh. "Y'all come get me when Antoine comes back though, okay?"

"Got it," Sonic said. "See ya later, Bunnie!"

"Bye!"

Sonic turned back to Amy, who was looking away. He gently reached out and took her hand in his. "Amy, look at me," he said, and she did. "It's not a question of me wanting to kiss him and not you. I… really like both of you, and I want you to know that. And don't… don't be afraid to talk to me. I… might be a little clueless sometimes because, well… I've never been with anyone before you guys. But I promise, I'm not trying to ignore you, okay?"

Slowly, Amy managed a smile. "Okay," she said. "Thank you."

Sonic blushed and pinched the back of his neck. "No problem," he said. Then he looked around, and though there was no one else near them, he gestured for her to follow him. "Let's go someplace… quieter. We'll wait for Ant and Shadow to come back and help them out."

"Okay," Amy said, finally beaming again.

Sonic led her to the place where he'd pulled Tails aside to talk the previous afternoon, but even further into the tunnels, where no one was likely to come by for a while. Not that they would be going very far, but they weren't ready to take any chances of being caught. It was dark, so they couldn't stray too far down if they wanted to be able to see. But they didn't need to even just to not be seen.

"Why didn't you show us this earlier?" Amy asked.

"Because I wasn't thinking about it," Sonic replied. "You know, my brain was in, 'spending time with my…'" he faltered, still unsure of the right word to use for them.

Luckily, Amy seemed to understand, and she laughed. "Are we that distracting?" she teased.

"Yes, actually, I'm not sure how I survived on that ship."

She laughed again, and Sonic could feel her shifting closer to him, slowly closing the distance between them. Her breath from her nose puffed softly against his face, and he closed his eyes and closed the last tiny bit of distance.

Kissing her was a little different from Shadow. Then again, he'd caught Shadow off-guard. But Amy was soft. She tasted sweet, like honey, and when she started to pull away, Sonic gently touched his hands to her cheeks and pressed another quick kiss to her lips.

He opened his eyes and Amy smiled. "Not too bad," she giggled.

Sonic smirked. "I could do better," he said. "I'm a fast learner."

"I bet," Amy said, and her lips were on his again.

About an hour later, Antoine and his group came back, and Sonic and Amy hurried to help them haul their prizes down to storage. They had even more than their group had managed to get earlier that day, and it took a little over an hour to get things all squared away. And right after that, Sally called them into a meeting, this time including Amy.

"We're heading out tomorrow to get to Manic," Sally said. "Espio has intel that if we don't start now, we won't get to him before Kintobor has him and all the mages at that camp rounded up."

Sonic nodded, his foot tapping impatiently underneath the table. "Alright, then who all is going?" he asked. "And you'd better not be thinking of leaving Sonia and I behind."

"Definitely not," Sally agreed. She turned to Shadow. "Antoine tells me you would be indispensable on this mission, and from what I've heard I am inclined to agree. I'm going along as well to make sure things go smoothly. That, and I'm not letting this one–" she pointed at Sonic "-run off on his own again."

"Hey!" Sonic protested. "I'm not running off on my own and I was fine!"

"My point still stands," Sally said firmly. "I'm coming with, and I think Miles would be useful as well, though I don't want to endanger a twelve-year-old."

"He can handle it," Shadow said. "He's a tough kid."

"And if there's anything mechanical involved, he'll be really helpful there too!" Sonic added. "The kid's a genius!"

Sally nodded reluctantly. "Alright," she said. "But we'll need to make sure to keep him out of harm's way as much as possible."

"Much easier said than done," Shadow said. "If this is anything like last time, there will be an army of humans within. He might be able to help us break into the camp, and that means putting him in the danger zone. But if we're talking about bringing members of my crew along, I would prefer that Miss Rose here also comes with us. She's a good fighter, and she can help watch our backs."

Sonic looked at Amy, who smiled at Sally as the latter looked at her in consideration. "I have seen you wield your hammer," Sally said, "and I agree. I do want to stress though that we can't take too many people with us. I'm not chancing losing so many again."

"Alright, then so far it's me, Sonia, Sal, Shads–" Sonic held back a laugh as he saw Shadow's quills bristle with annoyance. "-Amy, and Tails. Anyone else?"

"I think you should take Rouge with you," Rotor piped up. "She'll be useful for infiltration."

"Agreed," Sally said with a nod. "But I think that should be it. Any more and it gets risky."

"I'll go let Sonia know what's goin' on,'' Bunnie said, pushing herself to her feet. "When are y'all leaving?"

"Tonight," Sally replied. "Be ready."

And with that, the meeting adjourned. As they all dispersed, Sonic followed Sally out of the room. "Hey," he said.

Sally turned, raising a questioning eyebrow. "Hey," she replied. "Is there something I forgot?"

"No," Sonic said quickly. "I just… Kinda gotta talk to you in private is all."

"Oh," Sally said. "Is something wrong?"

Sonic shook his head, then chuckled nervously. "Nah, just… Thought you should know that… I took Shadow up on his offer."

Sally smiled, then pulled him into a hug. "That's great!" she said, squeezing him tight. "I'm proud of you!"

"Thanks, Sal," he said. "And thanks for listening yesterday."

"Of course, Sonic," Sally replied. She pulled away, still smiling. "I hope you guys are happy."

Sonic grinned.

Sonic showed up at the Knothole entrance a few hours later with a satchel slung over his shoulder just as Sally reached the entryway, Rouge right behind her. Sonia was already there, aiming a poorly disguised glare at Shadow as he handed Amy a pistol. "Are we ready yet?" Sonia asked, her tone cold.

Amy frowned at her as Shadow turned to glare at Sonia. "Let's get one thing straight," he said. "You do not get to hover over me and tell me or Rose what to do. I am not going to cow to your tantrums either, so wipe that nasty look off your face."

"Whoa whoa whoa," Sonic said, hurrying over to them. "Guys, we need to work together here. I know you're not the biggest fan of them, Soni, but you've got to calm down. We're doing this for Manic."

Sonia scowled, but she nodded and turned away. When she was out of earshot, Amy whispered, "What was that about?"

"I don't know," Sonic said with a helpless shrug. "I told her about us earlier and she seemed… I mean, she wasn't happy about it, but I asked her to try and get along. I don't get why she doesn't like you guys so much."

"No idea," Shadow said flatly, "but given that we haven't even done anything to her, it seems likely that it's more of a problem on her part than on ours."

Sonic nodded. "That kinda tracks," he said. "But she still won't tell me what's wrong."

"Just give her time," Amy said. "She'll get used to us eventually."

Sonic nodded. I hope you're right, he thought.

"Is everyone ready?" Sally's voice called. She had a large bag strapped to her back, and everyone nodded as she looked at them individually. "Alright, then let's head out," she said, opening the entrance to Knothole and ushering everyone through before emerging herself, closing it behind her.

The sun had barely finished setting, the sky still blue and green with twilight. Tails kept close to Sonic, his tails raised high and puffed out to almost twice their usual size. "Nervous?" Sonic asked quietly after they had been walking for a little bit.

Tails nodded. "I don't like the forest at night," he said. "It feels like everything's watching me, waiting for me to get close enough to grab me."

Sonic chuckled. "I don't think you have to worry about that, kiddo," he said. "Just stick close to us."

Tails nodded, but he still stayed practically glued to Sonic's side, his hackles raised. Maybe the kid was still afraid of the dark? Well, if it made him feel safer being close to him, Sonic didn't mind. It was nice to know the kid trusted him. Sonic reached out and ruffled the fur on Tails's head, and he felt the kid relax just slightly.

He felt Amy come up on his other side. "Everything okay?" she whispered, and Sonic nodded. "We're going to keep going for a while," she said. "One of us might have to carry him at some point."

"I can keep up," Tails said. "I don't need to be coddled, I'm not a toddler."

"We weren't saying you were, bud," Sonic said. "But you still need more sleep than the rest of us. You're still growing."

Tails sighed. "Fair," he said, though he flicked a tail in irritation. "But I can totally stay up."

Suffice to say, after a few hours, he was practically falling asleep on his feet, and Sonic ended up carrying him on his back while Amy carried his satchel. Shadow was up front with Sally, his keen eyes scanning the undergrowth around them. Sonia and Rouge were lingering behind, watching their rear.

A little while after that, they came to a clearing, and they all stopped to set up camp. It was late, but they had to get at least some sleep. "We can get to the camp late tomorrow if we keep going the whole day," Sally said. "We'll try to take as few breaks as we can. Amy, do you mind helping me with cooking tonight?"

Amy nodded. "Of course," she said, setting Sonic's satchel down carefully and walking over.

Sonic shifted his grip on Tails, trying to make sure he wouldn't drop him, though he was getting heavy. "Need some help?" asked Shadow, who had come up behind him.

"Can you help me set him down somewhere?" Sonic asked, relieved when Shadow gently grabbed Tails from underneath his arms.

"Huh?" Tails asked groggily, whipping his head around, his hackles shooting back up.

"Calm down, Miles, it's us," said Shadow, and Tails slumped in relief. "We're stopping for the night."

Shadow set him down on his feet and Tails grumbled a little as he stumbled towards the fire Sally and Amy had lit. Sonic chuckled as he flopped sleepily onto the ground. "And he was insisting he could stay up," he said.

"He was trying," Shadow said. "But he's still a kid."

Sonic moved his arms in circles, stretching out the muscles. "He's heavy," he noted.

"Well then he'll be good for your arm strength," Shadow replied.

"Oh shut up."

"Make me."

Sonic turned to Shadow to find him smirking, and Sonic snorted a laugh before leaning in and closing the distance between them. Now that Shadow had been expecting it, he felt more alive, more animated against Sonic's lips. He caught Sonic's lower lip in his teeth, startling Sonic as he scraped them gently along, but the action sent a pleasant shiver down Sonic's spine.

"Ahem," said someone behind them, and they pulled apart hastily. Sonia stood behind them, glaring awkwardly at them. "The food's ready," she said. "And just a reminder that I'd rather not watch my brother making out with his boyfriend."

Sonic's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and he smiled sheepishly. Sonia just turned around and went towards the fire without another word.

"Well that was rude," Shadow remarked. He gave Sonic one more slow kiss, as if savoring the taste of his lips, then started heading over towards the fire. Sonic followed, his cheeks flushed and his brain feeling fuzzy. The only clear thought in his mind was, more. I want more.

He sat down near the fire, between Shadow and the sleepy Tails, and Sally handed him his portion of food. Sonic dug in quickly, much hungrier than he had thought. He caught sight of Amy from across the fire, hiding giggles behind her hands as she looked back and forth between him and Shadow, who kept smirking at him. He glared playfully back at them.

Though he couldn't help but be irritated by Sonia's interruption earlier, her cold tone when she'd come to get them for the meal. He could understand her not wanting to see him kissing Shadow; Sonic would feel strange if he saw her or Manic kissing anyone too. But the passive aggression she was directing towards Shadow wasn't okay. Heck, the fact that she was directing it at him wasn't okay.

After the meal, everyone settled into their sleeping bags for sleep, Sonic keeping to his own not too far away from Sonia's. He'd cuddled with Shadow and Amy before in a survival situation, but he didn't feel like now was a good time. As much as he wanted to sleep next to them, it felt a little awkward now, a little too intimate.

They had both seemed to understand, and they set up next to each other a little ways away.

It seemed they all fell asleep quickly, even Sonia, but now that it was quiet, Sonic's thoughts turned to Manic, images from his nightmares coming to the forefront of his mind. What if they didn't make it in time tomorrow? What if they got there too late and Manic was going to be executed at the palace? What if he never saw him again?

It was a while before Sonic finally moved his sleeping bag over next to Amy's, careful not to wake anyone, and laid down next to her. She must have heard him shift, because she stirred and opened her eyes to look at him sleepily. "You okay, hun?" she murmured, reaching out a hand to brush his cheek as she sat up.

"Can't sleep," Sonic whispered. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

Amy shook her head. "It's okay," she said. "You wanna talk about it?"

"No."

"Okay." She grasped his hand softly and laid back down. "Come here," she said. She held her arms open, and Sonic hesitated before laying down and scooting closer, letting her wrap her arms around him. Immediately, he felt himself relax into her touch, and she pressed a soft kiss to his cheek before she smiled and closed her eyes, leaning her head into his chest.

Sonic could feel his heartbeat slowing, her warmth comforting as he slowly fell asleep.