"Ughhhhhhhh…"

Sonic's loud groan floated heavily through the bustle of an otherwise-mirthful Twinkle Park. The hedgehog sat at a table set up near an array of food vendors, some of whom had set up here specifically for this occasion. Sonic, unlike the rest of the people at the park that day, sat slumped over in his chair, his chin resting on his crossed arms.

He had to question how he let Amy drag him out to Twinkle Park on Valentine's Day, of all days.

"Oh, Sonic!"

And there she was. Sonic huffed slightly, scanning the crowd for the pink hedgehog. He then caught sight of her, approaching him with two treats in hand. They looked like pink chocolate lollipops, shaped like hearts and decorated with red sprinkles.

"Here! For you!" she proclaimed, holding out one of the lollipops to him.

"Thanks," he droned, barely trying not to sound like he'd rather be anywhere than here. He reached out and took the lollipop, sitting up slightly.

Basically, Amy had caught him in a trap. A month ago, she'd asked Sonic to go to Twinkle Park with her, saying he didn't have to go with her until a month from that date. Sonic had agreed in haste to get her to stop asking, not realizing that she'd intentionally approached him on January 14th to trick him into agreeing to a Valentine's Day date.

By then, he couldn't back out of it. For as much as Amy's romantic persistence annoyed him to no end, she was still his friend and he'd made a promise to her. Backing out would mean betraying her trust in him and he couldn't bring himself to do that to her.

…no matter how uncomfortable it made him.

"Isn't this great?" Amy asked, sitting down next to him and looking over the other couples traversing the park. Sonic let his eyes wander as well. Both human couples and Sapient couples littered the park around them, some holding each other close as they walked and others seated at tables near Sonic and Amy enjoying the park's fare. His gaze landed on one Sapient couple sharing a single ice cream cone, their noses touching as their faces grew closer.

Sonic rolled his eyes, looking away from him as he felt his stomach churn.

"We have to ride the carousel!" Amy then exclaimed. "We can ride together on the same horse! Wouldn't that be so romantic?"

Sonic sighed heavily, taking a bite out of the lollipop. It had that sickeningly sweet strawberry flavor that seemed to perfectly embody Valentine's Day. It only served to deepen the pit in his gut, the sugary aftertaste lingering to dance on his tongue a little longer.

"Aw, come on, Sonic!" Amy whined. "Don't act like you hate me!"

"I don't hate you," Sonic asserted, spinning the lollipop's stick between his fingers. "I wouldn't be here if I hated you."

"You won't even talk to me," Amy pointed out. "What's your problem?"

"Gee, I wonder," Sonic muttered under his breath.

"Come on, Sonic! Smile! We're the cutest couple in the park!"

Amy then snuggled up to Sonic, wrapping her arms around him lovingly. Sonic inhaled sharply, his quills bristling as a chill ran up his spine. He had to grip the lollipop tighter in his hand to keep from dropping it.

"We're gonna have a great day, Sonic. Don't worry," Amy crooned. "Then, by the end of the night, we'll be a real couple for sure. We'll kiss on the ferris wheel as the sun sets and I'll finally know you love me."

"Stop!"

Amy gasped as Sonic nearly involuntarily shoved her off of him. The frazzled blue hedgehog scooted to the far side of his chair to keep his distance. Amy, however, gave him a broken look, her shoulders tensing.

"Sonic?"

Her voice cracked as she spoke, jabbing an arrow of guilt through Sonic's chest. People were starting to stare at the two of them, wondering what the commotion was about. Sonic bit his lip. What was he even supposed to say?

"Amy, you…I mean, I…"

He couldn't find the right words, leaving him stuttering nonsense.

"It's not you, it's me."

That was not the right thing for him to say.

"Are you breaking up with me?!" Amy snapped.

"We were never dating in the first place," Sonic pointed out with a sigh.

"Then what's this?!" Amy retorted, gesturing to their surroundings. "We're here at the most romantic place on the most romantic day of the year?! How is this not a date?!"

"Amy, you tricked me into being here."

Amy gasped sharply, causing Sonic to realize what exactly he'd just said.

"Wait, I–"

"So you don't even want to be here?!" Amy shouted, starting to tear up.

"Amy, that's not what I'm–!"

"Then what are you saying?!"

Sonic opened his mouth, but his throat closed up on him.

"If I asked you plainly to come to Twinkle Park with me on Valentine's Day," Amy asked, tears streaking down her muzzle, "would you have said yes?"

Sonic grit his teeth. He knew exactly what the answer was, but saying it would just make him look even worse. He had to be truthful, though. He couldn't lie to her.

"...No."

Amy gasped sharply, hiccuping slightly. She stayed frozen where she was for a moment. Then, suddenly, she bolted up from her chair, racing off in tears.

"Hey!" Sonic called after her. "Amy! Hold on!"

As Sonic vaulted out of his own seat to try to catch her, though, he ended up tripping over Amy's now-vacant chair, causing him to yelp as he tumbled to the ground. His face hit the pavement, the chair clattering next to him. As he pushed himself back up, he frantically scanned the crowd for Amy. Despite the dozens of faces staring directly at him though, he couldn't see Amy anywhere.

"Crap…"

He could hear the mutterings of the people surrounding him. Some called him a terrible boyfriend. Others expressed sympathy for the heartbroken girl. Either way, Sonic was the villain in this situation.

He had to do something about this.

He inhaled sharply, vaulting to his feet and shoving through the crowd to escape them.

"Amy! Where are you?!"

"Amy!"

It felt like no matter how many times he shouted her name, it only served to make him feel more guilty.

He'd been searching the park for a good twenty minutes. He wasn't zipping around at top speed because of how crowded the place was, but he was running where he could and, even then, it already felt like he'd scoped the entire perimeter of the park three times.

"Amy, come on! Lemme talk about this!"

Sonic had his hands cupped around his mouth, trying to amplify his voice however he could. He wasn't sure if Amy was just avoiding him or he was missing something obvious.

"Really, Sonic?"

The hedgehog jumped. That was Amy's voice. He whirled around, spotting the pink hedgehog. She was standing behind him with a disgruntled look on her face, her hands on her hips. Tear trails still stained her muzzle, so it was obvious she was still upset.

"I've been sitting on that bench over there the entire time. You ran past me three times."

Sonic gasped, glancing over at the bench Amy had mentioned. His face turned bright red.

"Amy, I–"

"What do you want?" she huffed, making her way back to the bench before slumping back down onto it.

"I want a chance to explain myself," Sonic answered, approaching the bench and sitting down next to her. "I'm sorry about what I said."

"You're not sorry," Amy growled. "You'd do it again and you know it."

"I shouldn't have said it the way I did, though."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?"

Sonic's brow furrowed, his shoulders tensing.

"Amy, I don't hate you," Sonic started. "I don't want you to think that."

"What am I supposed to think, then?" Amy retorted, starting to cry again. "You don't ever want to do anything with me."

"Because you always make everything into a date," Sonic argued. "I want to hang out with you, not date you."

"Because you hate me."

"I don't hate you," Sonic asserted. "You're a great girl, Amy."

"A great girl you don't want in your life."

"Amy, quit it!" Sonic snapped. "That's not what I'm trying to say!"

"Then what are you trying to say?"

The pink hedgehog was shuddering by this point, trying her hardest not to break down sobbing. Sonic felt that guilty feeling well up in his gut again.

"I don't want our relationship to constantly get dragged into romantic territory," he said, relaxing slightly. "I just want us to be friends…the normal way."

"Why?" Amy asked, sniffling a bit. "Why are you so against dating me?"

"Because I just don't feel that way about you," Sonic admitted, "and that's nothing against you at all."

Amy gave him an incredulous look.

"I just don't feel that way about anybody," Sonic continued, crossing his legs, "and that's kinda something I had to figure out about myself over time."

"Hm?" Amy hummed, her expression softening as she gave Sonic a curious look. Sonic sighed, stiffening up a bit.

"I used to wonder about it a lot," he began. "I used to think it was just because you…uh…come on a little strong…"

He tried to phrase it in the nicest way possible. Amy's brow furrowed a bit, but Sonic was relieved that she didn't try to argue.

"It's not just you I feel that way around, though," Sonic continued. "It's everyone that flirts with me. I'm just not into it."

Amy hummed contemplatively, leaning forward a bit.

"You don't think you'd get used to romance if you just let yourself do it?"

"You think I haven't asked myself that question?" Sonic responded. "It just doesn't work out, no matter how much I try to force myself to be fine around you."

"What?!"

Amy sat up straight again, staring at Sonic with wide, furious eyes. It was obvious that Sonic had hurt her again. The blue hedgehog grimaced, scooting back a bit.

"I didn't mean it that way!" Sonic yelped. "Hear me out!"

"You get one minute."

Sonic exhaled through his nose, sweat running down his furrowed brow.

"Amy, you gotta be fair here. This whole thing is suffocating. It's like you don't even want to try to just be friends. It always has to be romantic, no matter how many times I tell you I don't want that. I like hanging out with you. You can come over to Tails' place with Cream and bring homemade cookies for us and it makes me feel really happy…until I learn the cookies are actually for me and not Tails…and you're calling me 'darling' as you shove them into my hands."

"H-huh?"

"Just once, I wanna be able to come over and hang out at your place without it being weird…like if I willingly come within ten feet of you it's suddenly a romance thing."

Amy grit her teeth, tears spilling down her face again.

"I don't wanna see you cry, Ames," Sonic sighed, reaching forward to wipe her tears away with his hand. "I want to have fun with you and come to places like Twinkle Park with you. I just want to do that as friends, not as a couple."

Amy sniffed loudly, grabbing Sonic's hand to press it firmly against her face. Sonic shuddered, his quills bristling up. He quickly found, though, that the vibe coming off of Amy was very different than usual.

"Sonic…I love you…"

"I know you do," Sonic admitted. "Just because I don't love the same way, doesn't mean I don't still like you. You're sweet, you're kind, and you kick butt. That's cool."

Sonic paused, trying to gather his thoughts.

"I just get uncomfortable with romance, like it's this suffocating thing that makes me feel like I'd rather drown than be in love. It's not just you. It's just that you bring it up so often that…it kinda feels that way sometimes."

"I…"

Amy trailed off, sobbing quietly. She kept Sonic's hand pressed against her face but, at this point, Sonic let her keep it there.

"I'm so sorry," she finally whispered.

"You're allowed to keep loving me until the day you die," Sonic reassured her, "but I'm not going to return those feelings. You'll always be my friend, though. I promise."

Amy hiccuped quietly, nodding her head as she shook.

"I…want to be friends with you too."

Sonic relaxed, smiling as Amy looked back up at him again.

"Tell you what," Sonic began, pulling his hand away from Amy. "Let's ditch this place and watch a movie at Tails' house. I'll even let you pick the movie."

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Amy admitted, calming down a bit as she wiped away her own tears with her arm. "All I watch are romance movies."

"I'm down for a romcom," Sonic chuckled. "I'm sure you know all the best ones, after all."

"You sure?"

"Of course," Sonic said, giving Amy a warm smile. Amy paused for a moment, tears streaming down her face again as she smiled.

"Why does it hurt?" she muttered, shoulders tensing. Sonic took a deep breath, placing a hand on her shoulder. He was about to speak, but didn't feel like that would be appropriate.

Instead, he let Amy come close, resting her head on his shoulder as she sobbed. It wasn't a romantic gesture. He knew she knew that too. That was why Sonic allowed it.

Amy would be okay. She just needed time.

Sonic felt a weight lift off of his chest. For the first time, this kind of close contact with Amy wasn't bothering him.

What had started so bitter…

…had turned sweet.

"Okay, come on," Sonic said once he sensed Amy calming down a bit. "We'll grab some chili dogs on the way home and crash on Tails' couch for the rest of the night. Sound good?"

"Yeah," Amy whispered, allowing Sonic to help her up off the bench.

Leaving as friends…

A grin spread across Sonic's face.

Who knew breaking up could feel so good?

A/N: Another writing contest prompt for the Sonic Fanfiction Discord server! This one was love and, well, I interpreted this one in a way that was really important to me.

I'm actually aro/ace, and I headcanon Sonic to be aro/ace as well. That's why, when the prompt came up, I thought to turn it on its head. I wanted to use this opportunity to reflect my experiences of being aro/ace as well as show that friendship can be an extremely valuable relationship as well. Here's hoping you like it!