Gossamer Love

by shizuumi151

Amy chases Sonic. Sonic is as free as the wind. Strong and independent as can be, these hedgehogs are so dauntless in their convictions that the delicacy of their affection is hard to perceive. Yet, when the stars and storm clouds align, their gossamer love glows brightest in the gaps between what they say, what they do, and the way they feel, as the two spend a rainy day together.

Author's Note:

Alternative title: Chilli Dogs for the Soul and the Storm

Please enjoy my love letter to one of the first pairings I ever shipped, who still remain so near and dear to my heart.

---

Gossamer Love

The tarot cards promised Amy Rose the most wonderful day ahead.

The sun through her bedroom window cast perfect blocks of light over her desk, making the wood glow where her cards laid in a love reading. Her hands swept over her cards, her gaze flitting over them once more to check that, yes, she had read them right the first time.

Her chair clattered and the longest squeal bubbled out of her.

Though their edges had been scrubbed to a feathery white by the years, the illustrations on each card face were as rich as ever. And they would stay that way. She took the utmost care in handling these cards: her first and only tarot pack, the one that brought her to her soulmate when it dealt her an upright Wheel of Fortune.

She packed them away like it was second nature with a lovestruck sigh. But she did spare a moment to pick up the highlight of her morning.

"The Star arcana… Your efforts will pay off," she murmured, the words she knew by heart flowing from her grin. "He'll notice me and fall in love with me all over again…!"

Saying it out loud sent a frisson up her spine, her cheeks twinging with how brightly she beamed. Humming merrily, she got up, pirouetted, and danced down towards her living room, daydreaming about all the kinds of things she and Sonic would do today.

First things first, a wonderful day had to start with a tasty breakfast.

"Ooh, I can't wait…" She caught her bread as it leapt from the toaster, no more than two strokes away from having delicious jam toast. "What outfit should I wear? I better check the weather!"

She turned on the TV to the morning news, letting it play in the background as she poured herself a glass of juice. She almost never used her TV otherwise, but it turned out to be a great way to hear about Sonic if he'd disappeared for a while, or about another one of Eggman's attacks. Today, though, neither heroic nor villainous headlines topped the news before it segued to the weather report.

Suddenly, a thunderstorm warning dominated the television, flashing a warpath to her area, where all her friends lived.

She had to blink at the warning to stay indoors.

"Today?" She took in the sunbeams lighting up her kitchen and living room, which made even the dust motes on the TV screen shine. "It can't be…"

Amy turned to her windows. Sure enough, over the baby blue skies, grey clouds clustered on the horizon.

She chewed on her lip. If the news was right, the only outfit she would be wearing today would be her pyjamas. But her love reading flashed in her mind, making her brow furrow.

"Was that not for today, then…?"

Muttering to herself, she looked at the TV again. The freak storm could last until the next day, the reporter concluded, and her hand contained her gasp.

"Oh, gosh… I better make sure I have everything I need." She hurried to change into her dress, thinking about what groceries she would have to get. "I should call the others to let them know, too."

Sonic flitted into her mind once more. She worried the inside of her cheek. He was the only one of her friends she wouldn't be able to check up on with a phone call.

"I hope he doesn't get caught up in the rain…"

She looked to the idyllic weather, hoping it would last a while longer.

---

Sonic blinked awake to a butterfly perched on his nose.

Bleary-eyed, he sniffed once, then watched it flutter away.

"Hm…?" He sat up on the stocky branch he had made himself comfortable on the night before, glancing past the shade of the leaves above. "Huh. Been a while since I last slept in…"

The skies glowed a brilliant blue that morning. Slipstreams of sunlight slid through the foliage, dappling the branches and grass below.

Sonic hopped to his feet, stretching out the sleepiness weaved into his limbs. With a reach of his arms, a yawn parched for air, a shiver then a scratch of his stomach, he dusted himself off and looked for his final stop.

"Let's see…if the mountains are there and the trees are there…" He traced the horizon with a hand, recalling his runs, matching up his memories to the view before him. "…Right." A decisive nod. "Should be over that way, then."

He hopped off the tree and stuck the landing by the trunk. Straightening up, he surveyed the grassy clearing that laid ahead.

A picture of the place would never have captured how bracing the air was. But it was all the better to keep Sonic alert as he drank up the gorgeous landscape. Sprays of candy pinks, purples, and yellows scattered themselves along the expansive prairie, among the wild grass and the bluebells and orchids. So did littler flowers that Sonic didn't know the names of, but loved to look at all the same.

He sped over fast enough to take a closer look, but not enough to uproot any of them. The grass was soft, barely brushing his sneakers. The blades gently folded underfoot as he walked closer, kneeling in front of a vibrant patch of flowers that grew taller than the grass surrounding it.

Their scent laced into the morning air, traces of their pollen gleaming in the sun. He shut his eyes, taking a deep breath, feeling the pillowy soil underneath. The wind hummed in his ears. He breathed in a good lungful, his mind clearing as he breathed out, a satisfied smile wreathing his lips.

Nothing could bottle a smell like this.

When he opened his eyes, blinking to adjust to the sunlight, one flower beckoned his attention: a sprig of delicate white flowers, arranged on a tiny ladder of a stem, glimmering with morning dew. Sonic's fingers were drifting towards its roots and plucked it before he could even think, the stem neatly breaking without complaint.

"…Oh, yeah." After bringing the flower to his face, letting its aroma tickle his nose, his grin grew wider. "This one's perfect."

Its petals kissed the back of his head when he tucked it between his quills.

"Hm." He pouted as he stood upright, scratching his chin. "They mean what I think they mean, right?"

The morning breeze carried away his question. The sun's reign towered ever higher in the sky, suggesting a warmer noon incoming.

"I'll start out slow," he muttered, planting his hands onto the ground, making starting blocks out of the grass shoots. "Let these little guys grow well."

Like a clearing of the throat, a rumble of thunder caught his attention.

His brows shot up. A storm brewed, low and dim over the skyline behind him. The rain painted the view in smoky white sheets while approaching. Fast.

Sonic grinned to himself. "Or not."

The typhoon fumbled his way. Whispers in the grass grew louder, the winds tousling them with the encroaching storm front. But Sonic bolted off towards the plains, faster than any of the gales tugging at his back.

---

"Phew! It's so much colder than it looks out there!"

After kicking off her boots by the door, Amy put down the paper bags she had been cradling the whole way home.

"That should be all the groceries I need in case the storm goes on for a while…"

The moment she finished the thought, a thick droplet splatted onto the window pane behind her.

She whipped around. Raindrops started batting at the window glass, drawing rivulets down to the grass. She hugged her elbows, her sigh slipping out into the darkening room.

"The others should be fine," she murmured, thinking to the calls she made to Cream, Tails, and some of the others. Yet her frown failed to waver. "I hope he's alright out there…"

A roll of thunder rattled her once more.

"Oh! I have to put everything in the fridge! …Maybe I'll have a hot shower afterwards, too."

---

"You know, if I didn't know any better—!" Sonic yelled, grinning wild and wide. "I'd almost think you had a mind of your own…!"

He flashed a glimpse back to the towering hurricane on his tail. But even as nature's armaments pounded after him, the rain trampling through his wake, it deigned him no response.

"Yeah, well," he chuckled, eyes ahead again. "Serves me right for talking to myself."

The moisture from the rain weighed down the air behind him. The wind tried to catch him, drag him back into the maelstrom of thunder and lightning hurtling his way, but nothing and no one would drag Sonic down—even if he gave it the fun of trying.

But he bit the inside of his cheek. As lively as it was being storm-chased, the last thing he wanted was to get caught up in the rain.

I'd prefer Egghead's bullets, he thought to himself. At least I could dodge those.

Just as the thought occurred to him, he spied another army of clouds advancing in the sky ahead of him. Skidding to a halt, he looked around, and storm clouds flanked him on all fronts.

"Ah, shoot—"

He didn't even finish blinking before he was drenched all over.

There went his socks, now. Each step he took made them dribble in his sneakers, making him wrinkle his nose in a wince. Water really was the worst.

He wiped away at the rain clinging to his eyelids, keeping a hand on his brow as he looked around for shelter. But then he spied a modest cottage in the distance, the very one he had been aiming for in the first place. He could spy beacons of warm, orange light, glowing like pinholes in the blustering gloom. His hope took its example, with how it flickered in his chest.

It would be slow-going, but he could make it in a few minutes if he jogged.

"Hopefully she's in…"

He could barely wonder that aloud before he had to spit away the rainwater sluicing down his face. Shaking off the cold, he shielded his eyes with both hands, the earth squelching beneath him as he set off for the cottage.

---

"That was perfect."

Steam lingered in the bathroom as Amy hummed to herself, content to her bones as she put a fresh towel around her nape. With her red bathrobe, she was all wrapped up in a velvety cocoon of comfort.

The gales kept rattling her windows like a prisoner scorned, their howls dulled to hisses that whistled through the frames. The honey yellow light of her house was the only thing keeping the growing murk at bay. Cosying up for a quiet day inside was more in the cards tonight than what her tarot reading had claimed in the morning.

She had thought that, at least, until a fist came rapping at her door.

"Hm?" Her face slipped into a frown. "Who on earth could that be?"

She hurried to the front door, readjusting the neckline of her bathrobe before opening it. Because whoever it was, she wouldn't leave them waiting in the pouring rain if she could help it.

It was like the lightning knew when to strike. The moment she opened her door, she had to squint—to shield her eyes from the white flash that swallowed the world whole.

She almost had to blink again when she saw Sonic. Who stood on her welcome mat while hugging himself in the rain, dripping wet as he shot her a well-meaning grin.

"Hey, Amy," he said, grinning wider, hand up in a wave. "Great weather we're having, huh?"

Warmth flooded Amy's face. Her heartbeat hiccuped when his smile went lopsided, and she clapped her mouth shut. She hadn't even realised it had been hanging open.

"Sonic?" she blurted, gaping. "What are you—" She then noticed the flecks of rain hitting her face, before gasping at how it was pummelling Sonic as he kept standing by her door. "Oh my gosh, you're soaking wet! Get in here before you catch a cold…!"

"Uh," he said, blinking at how fast Amy had grabbed onto his arm. "Great!" he remarked with a grin, because the absence of a bear-hug was as good a start as any. "I was hoping you'd be—whoa!" He nearly tripped on the door frame as she pulled him in, the door slamming shut behind them.

With all his speed, it took a while for Sonic regain his bearings before there was nothing but dark pink in his vision and a new, fluffy weight on his head.

"Um. Who turned off the lights?" He blinked, his voice muffled by the fluffy weight. Which then started rubbing at his head. "Wha—! Oh…"

He startled once, before he found the motions strangely soothing. Because the towel ended up soaking up a lot of rainwater. It was also surprisingly gentle, with how firmly they were stroking his quills.

"We have to get you dry, first. Oh, the storm's absolutely awful outside!" Amy lamented, unstoppable now as she ruffled her towel over his head. "You couldn't have had any idea, but I only just heard on the news this morning. I was just hoping you wouldn't get caught up in it…!"

As much as the towel kneaded at his ears, the sympathy pouring from Amy's every word stayed unfailingly clear. He could feel the outline of her hands as they held and pushed the towel over him, sliding over his head and face. With every stroke and shift she gave it, Sonic's lips pursed that much tighter.

Maybe it was a good thing her towel was covering his face at the moment. Because, with the towel blocking his vision, he was surrounded by her rose-scented soap as she kept talking.

He cleared his throat. "Uh, Amy?"

Sonic blinked. The colours of the house and Amy's face were in full view now, as her lips kept moving and her hands kept towelling.

"—So I made sure to call everyone!" she said, moving on to drying the sides of his head and the tops of his shoulders now. "You know how Tails hates lightning, and I can't help but worry about Cream sometimes…"

A small, if complicated smile crept onto his lips, as Amy simply kept watching where she had to dry next, chattering her worries away.

"Amy…?"

"Luckily, Vanilla was in, and Tails was hard at work on another one of his inventions," she said. "I just wish I had a way to reach you, then maybe I would've been able to let you know about it…"

Her actions had long started shooting tingles through him, but he still had to bite back a laugh.

"…Amy."

She stopped not at the sound of her name, but the feel of Sonic's sopping hands softly taking hold of her wrists peeking out beneath the sleeves of her bathrobe.

Amy blinked, and suddenly, she started noticing so much. Like how only a towel laid between her hands and Sonic's head. And how it laid just behind his ears, spilling off the top of his head and pooling onto his shoulders. And then how it served to frame his eyes. Which were so green. And barely a foot away from her own, when they twinkled in a smirk sent right her way.

A thunderclap struck, and air rushed back into her lungs.

"Y—" She gulped once, her throat now dry. "Yes?"

"Thanks for the towel," he finally said, full of mirth as he smiled wider. "But I can handle the rest."

"O-Of course!" Amy stepped back like she had been electrocuted, her arms plastered to her sides as she nearly choked. "I wasn't thinking, I—!" Her words trailed off. "I just thought I had to get you dry no matter what, and…"

"Don't worry about it." He dried himself off while looking aside. "I appreciate it. Really."

She couldn't see his expression like that, but he had sounded sincere. Even reserved, almost. Like maybe—just maybe—he was as affected in that moment as she had been.

Amy's hands flew up to her cheeks, which were quick to heat up. She couldn't believe herself. She had towel-dried Sonic's head. And he had let her! And then they had looked into each other's eyes, their faces so close together while he gave her his lovely, winning smile.

My fortune must've been true, then! I never would've expected this! she thought, barely able contain her fluster, her giggling. Sonic's actually here! In my house! And—!

Amy froze with a singular thought.

Sonic was in her house.

"You look as snug as a bug, there," he quipped with a chuckle, snapping her out of it. "Ready to spend the day inside, huh?"

She looked down at herself. She had stepped out of the shower mere minutes ago, now in her bathrobe and fluffy pink slippers, while her quills stuck out in every direction imaginable. All while standing in front of the love of her life. Who was in her house.

If Amy had been blushing before, she was as red as a stoplight now.

"Oh," she whispered, shattered in utter dismay, "my god."

"Come again?"

With her towel still at his ears, Sonic cocked his head. Then reared back when hers whipped up.

"Whoa," he stammered with surprise. Then concern, when her face crumpled up ferociously tight, looking red enough to power a siren. "Hey, you okay there—?"

"Don't look at me…!"

Sonic shrunk back, almost forgetting how Amy's screeches held all the force of a slap to the face. He gave his head a quick shake.

"H-Hold up, what's the matt—?" He blinked, seeing dark pink. Because Amy had tugged the towel over his eyes again. "…Uh."

"I said don't look! I…I'm gonna go get changed!" she cried, her words jetting out of her like a waterfall. "You stay down here and put on some slippers! Leave your shoes, socks, and gloves at the door, and I'll dry them when I'm done…!"

Baffled, Sonic then heard her stomping upstairs. Or more like walking very fast with soft pats for steps, thanks to the slippers she was wearing.

The patting steps had stopped. Sonic's ears perked up hearing her going down the stairs again.

"Would you like a fluffy blanket?!" she yelled. Quite suddenly, and not nearly far away enough to warrant any yelling. His cheeks ballooned with a snort.

"Yeah, sure," he snickered. He gave a thumbs up, hoping it was in her general direction. "That'd be awesome."

"A fluffy blanket it is!"

That was all she huffed before pat-stomping back upstairs.

He heard her shuffling and sorting things upstairs before a door went shut. Then, slipping the towel off his face, Sonic chuckled to himself. Taking off what few wet clothes he had, he wondered, as usual, what plane of thought Amy was operating on. As far as he had noticed, it was often one he couldn't figure out a lot of the time.

Though, hearing the commotion upstairs, he decided that the way she presented herself was up to her. She was particular with her outfits and looks, after all, unlike him.

"Coulda just stayed like that, though," he mused, thinking of how endearing her rumpled, freshly washed quills had looked. Almost the same as when they were younger, he thought with a smile. "I wouldn't have minded."

---

"Okay. Okay!" Clapping her cheeks lightly, Amy balled her hands to tight fists. She lasered in on the outfits she had laid out on her comforter, intensity radiating from her in waves. "Pull yourself together, Amy Rose! This is not a drill…!"

The decisions she would make right here, right now, in her bedroom, would be crucial. Because Sonic the Hedgehog was waiting downstairs. In her house. For her. After he had looked so handsome, windswept while in the rain, smiling at her after he had arrived at her door at the end of one of his long adventures. And he had done all that just to see her.

She was so happy she could faint.

"…Wait, no!" Amy shook her head roughly, her growl taking her out of her daze. "Focus! We're indoors, falling back, and under time pressure, but this is your home turf." She whisked up one ensemble, eyeing it critically in her wardrobe mirror, before summoning her other one up next. "You can still cut your losses with a good outfit and choice refreshments! Just stay calm, and you'll be alright…!"

---

"Wonder if she's alright up there…?"

The occasional shriek or military bark that leaked from Amy's bedroom drew a fleeting look from Sonic. After a pause, the sounds stopping, he opted for a shrug.

"Probably just excited."

Despite having slippers on, his feet felt oddly bare without his shoes and socks. The sound of window-tapping rain accompanied his footfalls as he went deeper into the living room, taking a better look around.

Amy had a cosy, natural-looking home—made of light-toned, wooden floorboards and tawny oak support beams. A rounded, brown stone made up the two windowsills, with a modest table positioned by one of them. Every part of the cottage looked well-loved and decorated. Even the light fixtures were fitted with candle-warm bulbs, accentuated with simple, linen lampshades that had embroidered lace lining their edges.

It had been a good while since Sonic had last visited. Even then, he had never stepped foot into her home like this. He had only made up his mind the night before that he would visit Amy in her house today.

Still, I didn't think there'd literally be a storm coming. He threw a quick look to the rain smearing the view outside. Not that this should go…too badly…

Amy's animated chattering came to mind again. The feel of her hands, firm yet tender through her towel, still itched at his head. The smell of her rose-scented soap persisted in his senses. So did the way she had stared back at him, too, when he had finally caught her attention.

Clearing his throat, Sonic reached for the back of his quills, feeling for the flower he had tucked away earlier.

"…Yup. Still there."

He nodded, satisfied that he had checked that. Even though he didn't have to. It didn't do anything for how overly warm he felt. Nothing really did, when he got like this.

Only this time, there was no running from it.

"Okay, that's enough thinking." His sigh came short. "Besides, it's about time I address the real elephant in the room here."

He turned around to the imposing, downright tempting sofa in the living room, set between the TV and the way to the kitchen.

"…She wouldn't mind if I made myself comfortable, right?" He gave the sofa a sweeping glance. "I mean, this is Amy we're talking about."

He found himself studying it a little longer, regardless. Which looked no less inviting as the seconds passed. But there was something about the heart-embroidered throw pillows on it. All the aspects that screamed that it belonged to her. That the one and only Amy Rose lived here.

He was in Amy's house.

"…So what?" He crossed his arms, frowning again. "I've known her for ages. I can sit on her couch—no sweat."

With that in mind, he vaulted over the back of the sofa and plopped right onto one of the cushions.

"See? Nothin' to it." he scoffed. Then stopped a moment. "Ooh…" Then checked how the sofa cushion had finished bouncing beneath him. "Okay…"

The give of the cushion felt a lot more supple than it had looked. Almost perfectly so. The feel of the cottony fabric and the throw pillow, plus that unfailingly rosy scent, practically put him under a hypnotic trance, giving all his senses the loveliest massage on the planet.

"Wow, that feels good." Blurting that out, he laid back, sinking further into the slice of heaven that Amy's sofa had to be made of. "Must've needed a break from all that adventuring more than I thought…"

Propping an elbow up on the armrest, he picked out the flower from his quills, studying it once more. He could feel its fibres better with his gloves off, like this. Each dainty white flower hung from the end of a small stem, each small stem growing from a long, larger one. Like two neat columns of bells, swaying with each twitch and roll his fingers gave.

Maybe she could put it by one of her quills, if she felt like it. She could even tuck it by the headband she liked to wear so much.

"…Ahh, whatever." He waved his hand up, as if to brush the idea away. "Up to her what she does with it."

He gave another look at the flower, like he had tried to avoid its attention. Sure enough, the feeling of being put under a microscope made his insides hot to the touch. Pressing his mouth shut, he put the flowers against his forehead.

"…It's not that hard," he muttered. It was more like they tickled his forehead, with how delicate the petals were. "S'really not."

"What's not that hard?"

Not that Sonic would ever admit it even on pain of death, but he very much made a noise that could, in theory, have been considered a squeak.

"—Amy!" His spines could have torn open the sofa when he twisted around. "Nothing! I just…"

Bathed in the warm glow of her home, the light captured in her eyes like a dazzling sunset, something in Sonic's heart grew three sizes bigger, encroaching on his lungs for one, short-lived moment.

He noticed, then. Amy wasn't wearing her usual dress.

Or even her usual hairband, which was a glossy, toffee brown this time.

Her turtleneck sweater must have felt as cosy as it looked, cupping her neck in a cloudy white. And her skirt happened to match her headband. It was a nice, warm-looking brown, cut off just above her knees, covered by woolly grey tights.

She did look nice. There was no doubt about that.

But what had really caught Sonic's eye was how she carried the fluffy blanket she had promised, tucked neatly under one of her arms, for him. And how, with all this, she was wearing the same well-loved, candy-pink slippers as before.

"Well, what do you think? Do you like my outfit?" Amy tittered, her grin peeking out from between her fingers. "I was hoping you would."

Sonic's jaw clacked shut.

I don't care about the outfit, was the first thought that raced through his head. But that wasn't true, so he didn't say it. Maybe it was because she carried down a blanket for him that he had forgotten about already. But that wasn't what he wanted to say either.

Maybe, at the end of the day, it was because he had never done anything like this before that he didn't know what to say at all.

"Sonic?"

Amy started to sound worried, her smile fading. Which made him chew the inside of his cheek, his head kick-starting again. Yet nothing came to mind that could give him a boost, even now.

But whenever he had something in his way, he had a tried-and-true, last resort: speed past it.

"…I got you something," he said, looking to the flower in his hand. "Figured you would like it."

He held it out to her, his other hand busy scratching the itch that didn't exist at his cheek. But he didn't even have to look to know what her squeal must have meant.

"Oh, Sonic! It's so pretty…!"

And with her gushing, the stem all but vanished from his hold.

Looking back at her, Sonic could see her direct her sparkling smile and the entirety of her light towards the flower instead. Her voice lowered to hushed whispers, delight sprinkled in every gander and gasp of awe that left her. As dreary and fierce as the storm was outside, she was like a pocket of sunshine that warded off even the worst of the downpour.

Sonic found himself smiling at the comparison.

"A lily of the valley…" Amy murmured. She looked to Sonic immediately, who raised a brow. "Did you get it from an actual valley?"

At that, his laugh overtook him.

"Nah, 'fraid not," he said, smirk pinching at his cheeks. "Just found it in a prairie."

"They mean that you wanna wish happiness for the person you give it to, you know." The words spilled out of her like they couldn't leave her mouth fast enough. Still smiling, Sonic glanced aside.

Guess I wasn't wrong about that, then.

"Do they now?" he pondered, rubbing his nose with a knuckle.

"Uh-huh," she sang, pride and pleasure in the notes of the word. Sonic rolled his eyes, still amused. "But…"

She bit her lip. When he shot her a curious look, the lily of the valley was up at her lips, her shy face, making for the poorest hiding place in the world.

"You already make me happier than flowers can say."

The words came out no louder than a whisper, and her eyes flitted away right after. But she might as well have knocked the wind out of his chest with her hammer, and maybe that would have spared him better. The way she peeked back at him, the way her eyes softened with her little smile, made for a knock-out punch that even he couldn't recover from.

"…Thank you, Sonic," came the quick follow-up as she went pink in the face, just as soft-spoken as before.

A slew of thoughts set off in Sonic's head.

It wasn't the deafening shrills or crushing hugs he still received and long came to expect. It wasn't like he had never seen her act in such a way either. But there was something about how rare it was. About how much he felt like acting unlike himself, too, that he didn't know what to do with himself. His mind was turning into a mess.

But then she had ducked out of sight into the kitchen, and Sonic could finally feel himself inhale again.

He trained his eyes back ahead, sinking down, down into the couch. If his dazed reflection in the TV screen was anything to go by, things hadn't gone so badly, just then.

"…She liked it." He nodded once with satisfaction. "Nice."

But, man, does she have me beat, he thought finally, a lofty sigh coming over him. …Maybe I can do her one better anyway.

He did his best to sit up straight again. Soon enough, Amy returned to the living room with her blanket in tow.

"I just wanted to put it in a vase," she explained, sitting next to him on the couch. Right next to him in fact, Sonic noted, his smile indulgent. "You…wanted a blanket, right?" Amy fidgeted. She held her red, fleecy blanket out to him with both hands, not quite meeting his eye.

If this was how she was being, Sonic could afford to go against expectations as well.

"You do, too, you know."

Mustering all his confidence, he kept his gaze steady on hers. Watched her stare blankly back, the words sinking in.

"I…" Amy blinked. She frowned down at the blanket, then back up at him. "I mean, I didn't say I wanted one, but I wouldn't be against it?"

Sonic blinked.

He didn't think she would have forgotten what she had just said to him before. Though the timing was off, come to think of it.

"…Hm." He looked aside. Might as well see if she caught on later. "Never mind."

"Huh? Wait, what are you talking about?"

"Nothing," Sonic insisted, innocent, looking at her blanket now. Which looked lush enough to earn a low whistle from him. "Man, that blanket looks like somethin' else!"

"Sonic," she whined, bopping her lap with her fists, to his endless delight. "What did you mean by that…?"

"I wonder," he hummed, helping himself to the blanket, unfolding it onto his lap. "Say, you only got one of these around?"

"I probably—" Amy stopped mid-sentence, before looking away incredibly slowly. "…Don't?"

Sonic had plenty of smiles he used for plenty of occasions. On this particular one, his smile at her said, really? And in Amy's case, her smile, as she pointedly looked up and away, didn't have a clue what his one was talking about.

"…Okay, fine," she grumbled. Sonic's smile stretched as hers flattened to a pout. "I have others."

"Oh. Shame," he said, sing-song. "Thought we might've been able to share the one if you didn't. Oh, well."

His gaze wandered as he let the words dance off his lips. When he eventually let it float back to Amy's face, seeing her dropped jaw was entirely worth it.

"R-Really?!" she squeaked, desperation colouring her cheeks, her hilariously wide eyes. "I mean, can't we still…?!"

Sonic sucked in a sharp breath, fighting not to laugh his tail off.

"I dunno…" He pushed up his chin in what was surely deep thought, hemming and hawing so his mouth would be too busy to grin. "Just wouldn't be practical, y'know…?"

"Forget practical!" she cried, her knees nearly on the sofa, her hysteria mounting. Sonic's guffaws were slipping out now. "I don't wanna be practical…!"

He couldn't contain himself any longer. He might as well have spin-dashed backwards with how he rolled back, his snickering rupturing into full-time cackling. Even as Amy complained loud and long, knocking at his shoulder half-heartedly with her fists, he couldn't do a thing about it. Not when her reactions were just so entertaining.

Maybe it was the fact that he held his sides so hard that his stomach started growling like a jet engine.

His laughter and her protests screeched to a halt. His stomach, unheeding of this, continued its long, wet gurgle until it puttered away into obscurity. Only its final snarls came quieter than the rain assailing the windows.

Sonic could feel the ensuing silence pulse in his ears. He watched Amy blink at his stomach, and suddenly, the blanket on his lap was doing its job too well.

"…Ah. Haha…" His head whipped aside, a hand hiding his face. "Guess I forgot to eat earlier…"

"Oh! Why didn't you say so? " Amy straightened up, her pout tainted by a frown. "I would've made you some food, then!" Standing up, she had another gasp carry her to the front door. "And your clothes! Ugh, I just completely forgot—what sort of host am I?! Alright, you just wait here, Sonic. I'll take care of everything for you."

She couldn't be deterred as she scooped up his wet gloves and socks, adjusting his sneakers so they could dry out better, all while muttering to herself about where her head was at.

Sitting up further, Sonic blinked. The heat of his embarrassment eased off. Instead, it settled into a warmth pooling in his cheeks and chest, seeing Amy motor around her house in her new outfit and fluffy slippers, the look of utmost concentration on her face.

"…Well," he tried, already smiling. "You don't have to do all that for lil' ol' me."

"Don't be silly! You just came out of the rain and must be starving!"

Amy whirled on him, rounding her cheeks in that stubborn, determined way she usually did. His eyes scrunched with silent laughter all the while.

"Now, I do need to make some proper food, but that might take a while," she continued. "I'll make you some porridge to tide you over till then. That'll be quick. I think I'll top it with honey, apricots, a dash of nuts…" She put a finger to her cheek. "…And some cinnamon?"

"Oh, wow." Sonic had to lie back on the sofa with how he almost swooned. "That would be…wow." His stomach grumbled its assent before he shot it a glare. "Hey. You pipe down there."

With Amy's giggle floating up from behind him, a unique feeling of defeat, but one he recognised regardless, washed over him with his half-grin.

"Good to know," she hummed, heading to the bathroom with his wet clothes. "Just stay put and make yourself comfortable. I'll get these washed and dried."

"Aye-aye, Miss Rose."

He gave a finger salute to the air, hearing it land with the twinkles of her laugh before she went up the steps.

With a long sigh, a pat of his rumbling belly, Sonic let the cottony throw pillows lull him into unwinding properly. His limbs, the spriest things to ever exist, felt like they were melting to stone beneath the downy blanket, with how deeply he sank into the sofa cushions.

I really do need to eat, he thought, sighing. That warm, rosy scent still wafted in the air. So low on energy I could just fall right back to sleep again…

He closed his eyes for a few moments, settled by the rhythmic pitter-patter of the rain outside, purrs of thunder interspersing the drone. It was like the storm was a living, breathing thing that made itself at home, batting at the door as it swallowed the region whole.

Sonic could feel his breath stream in and out his nose, deeper and quieter. The smell of roses and the crackle of lightning quilted his senses, thick and warm in how they stitched themselves into the air.

Then he perked up. To the sound of those now distinctive pat-steps of Amy's.

She must have come back down. Her slipper-steps grew audible enough that, even without opening his eyes, he knew she was by the sofa. He didn't feel compelled to address it, though. So he kept his eyes shut, wondering what she would do next.

To his surprise, he heard her let out an impressive sigh.

"He's so cute… And he looks so snug, too. He's just so dreamy." She chirruped with a hushed, giddy laugh. "I am the luckiest girl in the world…!"

With a happy hum and a skip of her slippers, she went into what had to be the kitchen. Where, sure enough, the sounds of running water and clinking utensils drifted over as Sonic still laid on the sofa.

Where, when he covered his forehead with his hand, his nerves had piled the most relentless heat onto his face.

"Geez…"

But his powerful grimace might have transformed into a helpless little snicker as he covered his face, his eyelids growing heavy as he directed his focus back on the depth of his breaths. Streaming in, and out.

---

"And a dash of…cinnamon…"

With her tongue poking out from her lips, tapping out the powder over a steaming bowl of porridge, Amy stood back to check her handiwork one last time. "And, done! The tea should be brewing nicely, too…"

She took a look at the honeyed chamomile in the mug by the kettle. With its promising, leafy yellow sheen, she tossed out the tea bag and arranged everything nice and neat on a breakfast tray, not wasting a second before she took it with her to the living room.

Where she found Sonic, still dozing on the sofa.

He must be sleepy… But he sounded really hungry, earlier. It'd be better if he eats, at least.

A snore teased the edge of his breath, and her heart melted in her chest with a sigh.

Any movements Amy made were now on tip-toes. She set down the tray on the coffee table and slowly snuck towards the sofa. Eventually, she brushed down her skirt as she crouched by Sonic, turning her attention to his sleeping face, his soft exhales having parted his mouth.

The small, sudden smack of his lips startled Amy. His head then turned over, his fingers twitching on top of the blanket on his legs, only a trace of his well-known smirk tugging at his mouth.

"Can't catch me, y'big…clownfish…" With a brief frown, his head knocked aside, his mouth mashing shut again. "Mmph… Gonna make…sushi…outta you…"

And just like that, he descended back into gentle snoring.

Meanwhile, Amy's forehead made a home on her knees as she trembled silently.

Oh, no! Oh, no, he's so, so, incredibly adorable—I love him so much—he's so perfect—oh, nooo…!

Her cheeks were close to bursting with the loudest coo of endearment and she shook her head, hard and fast. She couldn't wake him up with her squeaking now, but Sonic tested her limits every day.

Her sheer affection was almost certainly going to tumble out of her mouth, so she covered it quick with her hands. Squeezing her eyes shut, she focused keeping her breaths low and even. The spice of the cinnamon on the porridge she made for him wafted close, the tea still hot and soothing in its flowery notes. The rain spilling onto the window pane then made for a good, steady sound to concentrate on, next to her calming heartbeat.

Looking up, her hand on her chest as she righted herself again, she took in a deep, smooth breath. Then opened her eyes before shimmying closer to him.

"Sooonic…" A lilt carried her whisper. "Wake uuup… I made you porridge…and teeea…"

He seemed to stir a touch, but to no dramatic effect. Rearing back, Amy rested her cheeks on her fists, studying his face again. With the way his eyelids fluttered like he was dreaming, his expression so at peace as he slept, she found herself wishing she could give him a kiss.

That wouldn't be fair on him if I did that, though, she thought, her sigh silent. Plus, I want him to be awake when we do kiss, eventually.

Watching his lashes shiver a moment, then the large breath he took in through his nose, she gave another longing sigh.

"What I wouldn't give to get to kiss you awake…"

After whispering that, she hadn't realised how closely she was looking at Sonic's face. Nor his now undeniably open eyes.

"…Yo."

"Eep—!" Falling back, she barely noticed her butt planting squarely on the rug as she blinked up a storm. "Y-You're up!"

Blinking, Sonic gave a sheepish, if dozy grin.

"That I am…" He sat up straighter, groaning as he stretched his arms out the ceiling and the sides. "Didn't expect to fall asleep, if I'm honest," he mumbled. Then he sniffed at the air. "But something smells delicious."

"O-Oh! Right! I made you that porridge. And some tea! Chamomile!" She transferred the tray to him in a hurry. Putting it on his lap, she then patted down her skirt, standing up in record time. "I, um…hope you like it."

"I'm sure I will," Sonic said, giving her a quick wink and a thumbs up.

Amy had been occupied recovering from her slip only seconds ago. She thought, at least, with the way he was acting, that he couldn't have heard her. But with the easy, effortless way he grinned, she had to cover her cheeks again, in case they gave her away.

"I'm really glad," she mumbled. "I'll…go get some more food ready! To prep for later! Um." Shifting on the spot, her joints robotic in motion, she pivoted on her heel. "Be right back…!"

With that, she fled towards the kitchen with her face in her hands. Watching her go, Sonic turned back to the tray on his lap. Steam whirled from the sumptuous-looking porridge as well as the mug of tea beside it.

The moment from when he had just woken up came to mind again.

"…Hm." He smiled, somewhat at a loss as he picked up the spoon on the tray. "Probably dreamed it."

Drizzles of honey, pumpkin seeds, apricot chunks, and cinnamon were sprinkled in an island on the oatmeal. Yet, as much as he wanted to try all of it in one go, he could only manage so much with the size of his spoon.

"One thing at a time…"

As hungry as he was, he lightly blew on the bowl of porridge, making it cool enough for him to eat.

---

"Okay, so…" Tying her apron behind her back, Amy assessed the ingredients she had laid out on the countertop. "Just need to chop the bacon, onions, and garlic first…"

She made sure to turn on the vent in the kitchen to air out the smell. The last thing she wanted was to smell like food when talking to Sonic next. And the windows would have to stay shut. With the storm buffeting against the glass, even the water in the small vase on the windowsill, which now housed the flower Sonic gave her, shivered in time with the cracks of thunder.

But the next thing to make it quake was Sonic's yell of her name, which was abrupt enough to make her nearly drop her chopping board.

"Amy!" he called out, sounding for all the world like he was on the most exhilarating run. "This porridge…is absolute heaven…!"

After hearing audible snuffling, no doubt from him scarfing down the oatmeal she made, Amy raised a brow with a grin.

"I'm glad, Sonic!" she called back, joy nipping at her cheeks. "Don't eat so fast you choke, though!"

"I won't!" came the garbled, oatmeal-stuffed reply. "Promise…!"

Amy rolled her eyes, a huff in her smile as she got ready to prepare their food.

---

Sonic let out a small, if a bit of an unceremonious belch while sat on Amy's sofa.

"Whoops." He covered his mouth with his fist, whistling out a breath laden with hints of honey and cinnamon. "Guess I coulda slowed down a bit eating that…"

He considered the possibility for a second. Then scrunched up his face. "Nah."

Kicking back, he carried his mug of chamomile tea close, warmed to the touch with how his palms wrapped flush against the ceramic. Each honeyed sip warmed him to the core, travelling from his mouth, down his neck, to settle and spread from his sated belly.

With the rain ever-falling in the background, his legs nice and warm with his cushy blanket, he could feel his quills sink into the cushions as the sounds of light chopping sounded from the kitchen.

"…Yep." With a sure nod, he took another sip of chamomile. "Life is good."

Not a sip later did Amy slip out of the kitchen to the stairs. Sonic looked up, curious.

"Hey, Amy," he said. Throwing an elbow over the back of the sofa, he noted the heart-patterned apron she was wearing. "Sure you don't need any help with anything?"

"Sure as can be! I told you I'd take care of everything for you." Without skipping a beat, she marched over, adjusted Sonic's arm back to his side, puffed the throw pillow at his back, and tugged up the blanket higher up onto his belly. "So you just sit there and look handsome. You deserve a good, long break!"

With a beaming grin, she skipped back upstairs while singing a little song to herself. Meanwhile, Sonic blinked dumbly at her retreating figure.

He didn't know what to expect when he decided to visit Amy today. She either acted shy or unnaturally bold with him, but she never seemed to be happy acting one way for long. And not once did she appear to be troubled switching on a dime between some version of the two either.

Running through loop-de-loops was less dizzying than this.

"…Man." He turned back around, still dumbfounded. "She's something else."

Meanwhile, as the smell of her rosy soap faded around him, something else had accompanied it. Something peppery, if he had to put it into words, that he felt he recognised somehow. That he wanted to savour.

Sonic held his mug with both hands and took another sip, far from needing any more warmth from it.

---

"Hmm… What did he mean by I do, too…?" After putting Sonic's socks and gloves in the dryer, Amy put a fist on her hip, pulling a face. "What do I do, too?"

She cocked her head as she selected a quick cycle. It wasn't about wanting a blanket. Under no circumstance was she going to get any of the other ones she had stocked in her bedroom now, though.

"Ugh, he's so confusing. And just so shy with these things," she pouted before giving a shrug. "Oh, well. I'll figure it out eventually." She watched the drying machine buzz to life with a grin. "I always catch up to him in the end!"

---

"Hmm…" After reaching the end of the page he was on, Sonic rubbed his chin, pulling a face. "So he turned around in the end, huh? That really sucks."

With his stomach filled and his mug emptied, light reading always helped him wind down after a long few weeks. He flipped to the book cover: a compendium of Greek myths he picked up at random from one of Amy's shelves.

"Oh, better put this one down. I don't think she'd be any more likely to believe me if I disappear on her now." Cautiously, he gave the cover one last glimpse. "…I'll check it out later."

Shelving the book back in a flash, he made a little pillow out of his hands as he settled back onto the couch, letting his mind wander once more.

Amy was still upstairs. The sofa was comfy, and he didn't feel like moving about too much for now. Even if he could, the squall that kept throwing itself at the windows would make him think again. But, ultimately, it wasn't his style to sit around and idle for long.

"Could take a look at what she's making," he considered, mumbling. He wasn't hungry, but he never said no to any snacks. Not that he could let Amy find out. "…Just a peek."

After some good old self-convincing, he grinned to himself before speeding to the kitchen, immediately scrutinising the ingredients spread out over the counter.

"Bacon-garlic-onion-cheese-tomato sauce-spices-sausages-hot dog bu—wait a second." His rapid-fire muttering ground to a halt. "…Hold up." He darted his eyes over the ingredients again, his revelation dawning. "No way… She couldn't be…!"

"Oh, Sonic!" With her squeak, he turned around to Amy balking at the kitchen door. "I didn't notice you'd come in here."

"Amy." He sped up to her, hands clasping her shoulders with meaning, desperation, and a feverish energy. "You have to tell me." Even with her yelp of surprise he barrelled on, his expression direly grave, his swallow reaching deep. "Are you really—"

"Making chilli dogs?" Amy supplied, her smile droll. It melted into a light-hearted laugh when Sonic tried to nod his head off. "Yep! I had a feeling I might be seeing you today, so I decided to make some! But way to go," she sighed, playing up her disappointment. "Spoiling the surprise I was hoping to give you."

"Oh, wow…" Sonic staggered back. "First, you make me porridge and tea, which was easily delicious." His hand planted onto his forehead, his eyes searching the floor, which made her blink. "But this…this is my favourite food in the whole wide world we're talking about." Shell-shocked, he finally craned up his neck. "Do you have any idea what you're getting into here?"

"Oh, come on. You're just exaggerating." Amy crossed her arms on reflex, his beseeching gaze bringing a traitorous flush onto her face. "Plus, you just ate! You're being peckish!"

"Nah, I don't think you understand, actually," he continued soberly, mirroring her crossed arms like she had missed something critical. "Chilli dogs are serious business, you know. Now, I might be a pretty laidback kinda guy, but I got my tastes for the perfect chilli dog down to an art—nay, a science, if you will, and—"

"I know how you like your chilli dogs, Sonic."

He froze. "You do?"

"Why wouldn't I?" She gave a quizzical little smile. "It's your favourite food."

"Oh… Well." He sniffed before jabbing a thumb to his chest. "I think I'll be the judge of that."

"I guess you will," Amy giggled. "If you really want, though, you could make us some sandwiches? The chilli dogs will only be ready in time for dinner."

"Oh, great—I was hoping for something to do." Sonic sagged with relief before he stood at attention, heels knocking, hand in a firm salute. "What's your first order, Miss Rose, ma'am?"

"Sonic." Amy lowered a brow. "Have you never made any food before?"

"Well…" His salute was quick to crumble, all hangdog as he scratched his head. "Not in a kitchen, I s'pose? Or…ever? I've eaten enough to know what's tasty, though!"

His trademark thumbs up took on a different meaning with his transparently awkward grin. But it was enough to win him Amy's bell-like laughter chiming throughout the kitchen. And with the thunderstorm outside making for a surprisingly nice backdrop for her open-mouthed smile, Sonic found himself smiling a shade softer, too.

"Well, points for enthusiasm!" she giggled. "Okay, just check the bread box and then the fridge for some fillings we can use. I trust you know how to use a toaster, at least?"

"Amy, please." With a hand on his chest, Sonic already got out all bread, meat, cheeses, and vegetables they could use in the blink of an eye. "I'm inexperienced, not incompetent."

"Right," she smirked. "My mistake."

"Uh-huh. Now, you might be the best cook around the block, but I'm Sonic the Hedgehog," he declared. "And I don't lag behind anyone."

Flexing his fingers as he stretched them out with his arms, he gave her a quick wink, just to buoy the blush that rose nicely on her cheeks.

Right, he thought, planting his hands on his hips while he studied all the food he had brought out on a whim. Now to pretend I know exactly what I'm doing.

---

"Okay, fine," Sonic relented with a toss of his arms after Amy gently told him how to slice the ham, the right side of the cheese grater he had to use for it to work, and that, yes, each mushroom had to be washed individually before they could be chopped. "So maybe I don't know exactly what I'm doing."

"Clearly," she said through a laugh, despite his grumpy pout and crossed arms. "But, hey, you're learning new things! That's always nice."

"Actually, I prefer being good at things on my first try, thank you very much."

"Sonic," she droned. "I know for a fact you run through the same areas over and over just so you can get through them even faster than you did the first ten times before."

"That's…" He twisted his lip, looking pointedly away. "An invasion of my privacy."

"You regularly announce to everyone when you broke one of your own records," she deadpanned. While he kept looking away. "You had Tails help you keep track of all your times. You told us how good an idea that was. I was there." Her hand planted onto her hip as Sonic, somehow, looked away even harder. "You came up with your own ranking system for each place you've gone to, with the highest rank being S, which you said stood for Sonic Speed."

"Hey, sonic speed is what it takes to get an S rank, alright?" He pointed at her with the rebuke. "Nothin' to sneeze at when I nab one of those."

"Of course," she obliged, rifling through her spice cabinet. "And it'll be nothing to sneeze at if you managed to learn new things you can get even better at now, too, right?"

"I guess," he grumbled, arms crossing again. "Still…"

"If you want…" Amy turned around, batting her eyelashes at him, a bottle of cayenne in her cupped hands. "I could teach you more personally."

"Yeah, no," Sonic deflected with no trouble, getting back into the swing of washing mushrooms at record speeds. "Not while I'm gonna be handling knives, thanks."

"Hmph. It was worth a shot."

Amy blew her bangs out of her eyes before going back to work. Sonic, meanwhile, flicked some water onto his face before shaking his head, his hands braced on the edges of the sink right after.

His gulp did nothing for his dried throat.

If he were being honest, it was hard, controlling himself at the moment. He had tried making a move earlier, but now, in a cruel twist of fate, Amy was the one to tell him that it was too fast, too soon; he would just have to be patient.

Truth be told, it was a little thrilling, seeing Amy put her no-nonsense, take-charge attitude on it. But he couldn't see himself being a passive agent in all this. Not anymore. Not when he saw how much care she put into this, with a confidence that Sonic wished that he had himself.

Most of all, being in such close quarters like this was taking a toll on him. The scent that had been haunting him since earlier now all but flooded the kitchen, driving him out of his mind. So much so that he had to try and do something about it. At least one more time.

"…So." He licked his lips, sending a coy glance over Amy's way. "You're positive I can't—?"

"The chilli sauce is off-limits, buster. No touching it till it's done."

Stirring the pot of chilli bubbling on the stove, she cut him off without mercy, and Sonic only wilted in response. Not that she bothered to look while he did.

"What about the taste-testing, huh?" he wheedled, animated by hope again. "Won't you be needing to do some o' that?"

"I'll be in charge of that," she stated, thoroughly dousing said hope again. "Because you'll just eat it all up before we even get to serve it."

"Boo," he sulked. "Your sense of snacking-based mischief is lacking. And no fun."

"Snacking ruins your appetite," she said matter-of-factly. "You'll just have to look forward to it when you're properly hungry again."

"I'll still leave a scathingly honest review of your work once it's done! Even if you try to starve me to sway my tastes!" he exclaimed, transferring the washed mushrooms onto a chopping board. "Hunger will not be the best spice!"

"I won't starve you, Sonic." Amy rolled her eyes. "Quit being silly and focus on your own cooking. You still need to assemble your first sandwich."

"For the record, I still think being in the presence of delicious-smelling chilli makes for a perfectly understandable if not criminal distraction—but sure!" He plastered on a grin, hands up in surrender at Amy's sharp look. "I'll get to my chopping instead!"

"Good," she huffed, stickling even after he had folded, finally.

He held back a smirk as he went back to readying his own food. As delightful as it could be, he had to time when he poked fun at Amy Rose for it to be thoroughly enjoyable.

---

Sonic the Hedgehog, gagging on a choked breath, could barely right himself as he clung to the kitchen countertop.

"Amy, I'm…not gonna make it…I'm…" He hacked once, clutching his side, as his other hand feebly reached out to her. "I'm so…bored…!"

"Oh?" She afforded him a curious smirk. "And here I thought you were jumping for joy at how you made so many sandwiches so quick."

"My enviable sandwich-making skills…are a thing of the past…" he heaved, on his knees, his body slumped against the counter for the support he couldn't muster for himself. "The only thing that could save me now…is—!"

"A true love's kiss?"

"—A jumbo-sized…!" He raised a fist to the stove vents, then shook it her way. "Chilli dog…!"

"Yeah, well, think again," she said evenly, putting a lid on the pot of chilli. "This won't be ready for at least half an hour."

Sonic gasped. Hard. Like he had been shot in the chest.

"No… But…" He gaped at his own hands, like the powers that be had forsaken him. "That's…so long…to wait for…!"

"Wow." Her smile came drier than his fake-wheezing. "And people call me dramatic."

A snap of thunder brought Amy's attention to the window. The storm showed no signs of improving anytime soon. Which made her think.

"Hey, if you want, you could grab your gloves and socks from the dryer? And I could set us up with a fun game to play while this simmers!"

"Aw, yeah!" Just like that, Sonic was up on his feet, brightening already. "That'd be great! And maybe provide enough of a distraction for me to sneak a sample or two while you're not looking."

"What was that?"

"Nothing in the least, Amy dearest. Now, if you'll excuse me," he said primly, ignoring her vigilant squint as he stepped towards the living room with his most charismatic grin. "I have some precious cargo to go pick up."

He ran off in a flash, after which Amy heard distant, mild rattling. Then a pause. Then further, weaker rattling. With crossed arms, she tapped her foot. Then barely smirked when Sonic sped right back to the kitchen.

"Um, just so that I don't break it with my freakish strength," he mumbled, tapping his forefingers together. "How do I open the drying machine?"

"There's a button you press," she sighed, her smile patient. "Top right, to the left of the big power button."

"Top right, left of the power button…" Murmuring that to himself, he dashed off impossibly quick again. Glancing up at the ceiling, Amy waited a beat longer while untying her apron. "…Easy!"

"There we go," she chuckled.

---

As they sat by one of the living room windows, Sonic was so tickled that he had to hold back a scoff, which he then let out anyway.

"Really, Amy? You wanna challenge me?" He almost seemed sly with the brow he raised at her, his cocksure grin only spreading wider. "To a game," he gestured to the tabletop between them, "called speed?"

"Sonic, you said you didn't know how to play."

"Yeah, sure, but think about it." He gestured dismissively with a cheek on his fist, heedless to how flatly Amy regarded him. "What do I say, and say often, at that?"

Her eyes fluttered from how hard she rolled them. She then made sure to train her attention on her playing cards as she shuffled them, and not on Sonic's smug smile aimed straight at her.

"Amy…"

She knew. She knew, regardless of her love, that Sonic was being unbelievably insufferable right now. So the way that she found it adorable deep down, instead getting goosebumps with the expectant way he said her name, frustrated her to no end. She stuffed her giddiness away with a huff.

"Do I have to say it?"

"I think since you've very much thrown the gauntlet between the two of us at this juncture…" Sonic pretended to think about it until his grin came back full-force. "Yes, you do."

"…What you see is what you get, just a guy that—!"

"Up-bup-bup," he tutted, wagging a finger at her. "Nice try, but I think we both know which one I'm talking about."

"Fine," she groaned. Her posture sank in a long-suffering sigh. "Sonic's the name—"

"And?" He cupped a hand around one of his ears, the picture of innocence while he leaned in. "What, pray tell, would this Sonic's game be?"

"Speed," Amy finished, voice clipped as she dealt the cards between them. "Sonic is your name. And speed is your game."

"Botched delivery, but I'll take it." He shrugged. "You'll see, though, that the point stands."

"You're only acting cocky now because I just told you what the game's called."

"It's a founded cockiness, I'll have you know," he countered archly, crossing his arms, his nose upturned. Amy had to hold in a laugh at the sight. "I have a very strong track record on these sorts of things."

"I don't think you'd let me forget that even if I tried," she said with an upward glance, half-joking at most. Seeing him open his mouth again, she chimed in: "You wanna keep bragging before or after I teach you the rules?"

Sonic paused. Then looked up to think about it as Amy readjusted some card piles to pass the time.

"Let's go with after."

"Great." She clapped her hands together, starting off with a grin. "Okay, so! You play with one hand for this…"

Gesturing to their hands of five cards each, and the two central, face-down cards between the two outer draw piles, Amy explained the mechanics of the game. Sonic, while fiddling with his hand of cards, let his gaze wander to the onslaught of thunder and lightning outdoors during her occasional, drawn-out examples of the rules. Throwing a knee over a leg, his heel bouncing without rhythm, he idly wondered how recklessly he should trounce her at this game.

I'll probably need to go a little slow on her at first. Amp it up later, he decided, nodding along to her explanations. Don't wanna crush her too badly in the beginning when she's excited to play.

"Then, at the end, the person who gets rid of their hand and their draw deck slaps the smaller of the two discard piles to finish the round, which they then start with for the next round." Rounding off the explanation, she promptly re-organised the cards she used for her demonstrations. "And we keep going like that until one of us wins with no cards left!"

"Sounds simple enough," he remarked mildly. "So, we flip over one of the middle cards each to start?"

Amy nodded. "At the same time."

"Alright, then." Sonic gave her an encouraging smile. "How 'bout you count us in?"

They reached over to the centre to prime a hand on one card each.

"Ready…" Amy poked out her tongue, focus narrowing. "…Go!"

Flipping his central card, Sonic gave the other a quick once-over.

"…Wait." He frowned back at his own hand. "I don't have any that—"

Card after card slapped and shifted on the table. Blinking, he looked up before recoiling, because the speed at which Amy put down her cards had each one generating its own gusts before it met the hardwood.

"Whoa, hold up—" He looked hastily at his hand again, before spotting a card he could follow up with. "Oh, perf— Wait, huh?!"

The moment his fingers graced his card, she put down another one that rendered it useless. Which happened twice more right after. Then another three, as Sonic's eyes dried out from how long he was gawking.

"Aw, Sonic, you're going easy on me," she cooed, snapping up his attention. Her adoring smile was at complete odds with how her hands were nothing more than blurs, drawing and dealing more of her cards. "You're a sweetheart."

"I am no sweetheart!" he yelled, knee-jerk in his panic. He felt a sweat coming on before the perfect set-up of a card flashed, and the trajectory of Amy's arms became crystal clear. "Oh no you don't…!"

Finally, Sonic managed to slot in his first card, brain kicking in at the do-or-die juncture, his playing hand getting to work. But the deficit was huge, and only growing. So-called fated lovers or no, Amy wasn't letting up on him for a second.

Mere seconds later did her hand slap onto the smaller discard piles, claiming the round. Which was when Sonic realised that, in his streak of successful card dealing, both her hand and draw pile had disappeared an instant ago.

"So, did you wanna get to your bragging now?" Amy blinked prettily at him. "Or later?"

"Hnrgh," he responded as his head hit the table.

"You know," she wondered, tapping at her own cheek. "Maybe I should be introducing myself like… Oh, how does it go again?"

"Ugh." Sonic clutched at his head, groaning miserably. "No."

"Amy's my name…"

"No."

"…And speed's my game!"

"Please, stop," he whimpered.

"Why?" Angling her head, she sounded as sweet as sugar. "Because you did for some reason?"

The cards hiccuped at Sonic's resounding, dual slap of the table. Fire blazed in his eyes.

"Alright, that's it!" He snatched up his obscenely larger pile of cards and started shuffling them ferociously. "We go again!"

"You know that's what supposed to happen next anyway?"

"I will not have your lip, Amy Rose!"

The deepest, most endearing notch embedded itself between Sonic's brow as he scowled. The sight of which almost had her snickering.

"Bring it on, then!"

---

Time flowed on as Sonic settled into silent, single-minded playing. Rounds passed, with Amy claiming the first victory before Sonic demanded an immediate rematch. The most noise he made for a while was an intermittent gasp, growl, or a hiss of victory as he grew faster at finding and dealing the right cards. Amy was, by comparison, much calmer as her pace stayed at a practiced, breakneck speed.

But Sonic, ever the fast learner, was gaining on her. When he first slapped a pile of cards faster than her, soon after nearly winning their previous round, his gloat of triumph rivalled the volume of the storm outside.

When Amy pointed out it was actually the bigger pile, though, said gloating devolved into a steady wail of agony.

Yet sure enough, after his initial mistakes, Sonic was starting to win the smaller rounds more consistently. It served to keep Amy alert, drawing out the lead-up to the conclusion all the more exciting in one of their last, nail-biting stand-offs.

Last one. She bit her lip as she dealt her final card, her hand launching towards the smaller pile. Got it—!

While Amy's hand did reach its destination, Sonic's now gloved hand had landed firmly on top of hers.

Blinking, they then looked each other. Before her surprise switched to a pleased grin.

"That's my win again," she chirped.

She could feel Sonic's hand twitch on top of hers, to her deep satisfaction. But then she felt him clasp her hand firmer, to her sudden, rocketing confusion.

"Um." Her triumph was thrown into disarray, her stomach flipping as she looked down again. "Huh?"

She couldn't string two thoughts together. Not when the rhythm of the rain and the warm lamp light permeated the room, or when Sonic leaned forward with a spellbinding grin, which she could do no better than stare at.

"Have I ever told you, Amy…" With his eyes half-lidded, his voice turned velvety, nearly mooning in its quality. "Just how gorgeous I think your hands are?"

A hot flush billowed into her cheeks.

"What? Huh? I—"

"They're so strong, yet still so…delicate." Drawing out the word, he picked up her hand more properly. The distance that laid between his lips and her fingertips turned positively teasing. "I get worried you'll hurt them one of these days, you know?"

"Oh, Sonic…" she swooned, the stars in her eyes, her free hand on her cheek. "You really mean that?"

"Oh, but I do. You shouldn't have to work them so hard, fighting, hitting, or slapping silly things, like cards," he insisted in silken, dulcet tones, while his hand inched towards the smaller pile of cards beneath hers, which he kept raised. "They should get the rest they deserve, and—"

Her Piko Piko hammer materialised in the hand by her face, and his debonair smile went wooden.

"…And I think we should move on to our next round after your rightful win," Sonic grumbled.

"Thank you."

With that pointed huff, she dismissed her hammer before slipping her hand out of Sonic's. Whose free hand then changed course to the larger pile as she took hers.

For a moment, the only sounds in the living room were the ever-churning storm and the clean riffles of cards being shuffled and dealt. With their next round nearly set up, the two of them made eye contact. Then, Amy inevitably broke the silence with:

"You really are a sore loser, you know that?"

"You finish what you started, Amy," he declared, not a trace of guilt in his actions as he rearranged his own deck. "I'll stop at nothing to win."

"Maybe try doing it fair and square next time?"

"That was gonna be my next strategy." He tapped his nose knowingly at her with a grin. Amy shook her head, smiling even as her hand remained tingly.

"You're lucky I'm a gracious winner."

"You are?" Sonic made a face, recalling her hammer from a moment ago. "I mean, 'course you are!" He shot up his hands, his grin strained at the glint in her eye and said hammer-summoning bracelets. "Silly of me to think otherwise!"

---

With the chilli sauce simmering longer for extra flavour, a late lunch was in order at their table, cleared of all playing cards and set for sandwiches for two, before Sonic nearly choked.

"You learned how to play from Shadow?" He almost blurted out his sandwich with the words. "How come you're out playing card games with him?"

"He said he was in the area for some…long-term recon? That what's he said at least." Pulling a face, Amy shrugged before she kept eating. "He said some G.U.N. agents taught him! Then he beat them all, and then they wouldn't play with him anymore. But he still found it pretty fun to play."

"Figures," Sonic chuckled. "So, what, he took you under his wing?"

"He went easy on me at first, but it took a long while for me to be able to beat him properly!" Recalling the encouraging little nod Shadow gave her after she'd finally won brought a smile to her face. "It was fun. And nice to see him after so long, too!"

"Sure…" he hummed. The rhythm he was tapping on the table with his fingers drummed a beat faster. "He can't be that good, though."

"Oh, no, he's seriously impressive," Amy insisted, wiping her mouth with a napkin as Sonic frowned. "He taught me, after all, and I wiped the floor with you how many times?"

"Yeah, well. I bet I could beat him now anyway."

Amy studied him. Studied the way he had grumbled that, the way his arms were crossed before he took another bite out of his sandwich. Even his chewing sounded grumbly. She bit her inner cheek, making sure Sonic wouldn't take any accidental smile of hers the wrong way.

"…Yeah," she eventually crooned. "You're probably right."

Amy pretended to think as Sonic shot her a glance.

"I am? I mean—" He shuffled in his seat to sit up straighter, his smile quick to come back. "O'course I am."

"Of course," she insisted, nodding with ease. "Besides, I wouldn't want to play with him again if I had a choice."

"Oh? And why's that?"

"Because I much prefer playing with you." She leaned forward, beaming. "I find it way more fun."

"…Well, you know how he likes to brood, and how I don't." He flicked his nose, a grin slinking onto his lips. "What else would you expect?"

"Nothing less!" Amy said, pampering as she weaved a basket for her chin with her fingers, now. "And the sandwiches Shadow makes are so yucky compared to yours."

"Hold up—" Sonic whirled towards her. "He made you sandwiches?"

The look of shock on his face was almost enough to make her break the act. But she fought valiantly to keep up an innocuous little smile, even as her heart started to race.

"So what if he did?"

"That…" His brow creased. "Wouldn't matter," he said finally, before munching on his sandwich again. "I was just surprised he even could."

When Sonic crossed his arms again, he turned his body away so much that Amy could only see how his cheeks were puffed full of food as he chewed. Despite the hilarity of the situation, her heart was busy doing jumping jacks with the butterflies in her stomach.

I can't believe it! He's actually jealous! Oh my gosh, I didn't know he could be this cute…! Sitting back, Amy took a measured drink of water, calming herself. This is so incredible…! Oh, but… Her swallow hid her little frown. I also hate seeing him sulk like that… Okay, time to reel it back in a little!

"It would be funny if Shadow did that," she supposed, before Sonic snuck her a peek. "But he didn't really."

"…Sure." His shrug came exaggerated. Belated, as well, with his aloof pout. "That's cool, too."

"And even if he did, it wouldn't matter so much. I'm much happier you made some for me," she continued, smiling as she caught his gaze with hers. "Because you're really special to me, Sonic."

Amy grinned sweetly at him. All Sonic did was blink back at her. Nothing but white noise buzzed in his brain.

But then the last bit of his sandwich deflated in his grip, and he realised the remaining filling was about to slip out.

"—Oh!" He quickly swallowed up the rest of the sandwich, chewing what he could before he coughed out a gasp. "Gah! That was close… I'd better get some water." Glancing at Amy, he gave her the slightest grin. "How about I go refill yours, too? Be right back!"

After he blasted off with their glasses, Amy was left blinking at his empty chair, the pattering rainfall at the window ending her reverie. When the sound of running water from the tap carried from the kitchen, she slumped back into her seat.

"I wish he could be a little less shy," she muttered, nonplussed. "But it's so adorable when he's like that, too."

Hugging herself, though, she couldn't help the wistful sigh that left her.

---

"Ooh, you're gonna make hot chocolate? And popcorn?"

"Uh-huh," Amy said, nods small and encouraging. "Doesn't that sound great?"

Seeing Sonic's curious excitement started to rally her spirits. And it did, for a moment. Until he paused. And she bit her lip. And then he narrowed his eyes when she had bitten her lip.

"Hold up a minute…" With the slow cross of his arms, Amy decided the best thing to make up for the lip-biting was to pout. Very innocently. "Why popcorn?"

"…Well," she mumbled, interested in how much dust she could kick up off her immaculate living room floor. "It can be a nice snack at times…"

"Oh, don't you give me that. You hate snacking," he frowned, finger-wagging now. "You even said it makes you lose your appetite."

"I mean, I'm not a one-note girl, Sonic," she countered, even as she was busy rocking her weight from heel to heel. "I can be a complex hedgehog, with…" Trailing off, she fiddled with one of her quills, mumbling. "…Changing tastes."

"You," he spoke with a scowl, "want to watch a movie."

"…Ugh, fine, it's true! I do wanna watch a movie…!"

All pretences fell apart with her little stomp and a shake of her fists. But when Sonic ended up looking resolutely away with very crossed arms, she put her hands up in an imploring ball.

"Oh, come on, Sonic! Can't we please?" she pleaded. "I know you don't like movies—you never agree when I suggest we watch one together—but it'll be a great way to pass the time until dinner! And I wouldn't ask if we had something better to do!"

"We could play s'more speed," he said, sulking. "That was fun."

"You nearly flipped the table a moment ago, Sonic. My table. We aren't playing again tonight."

"It was stimulating," he insisted, huffing again. "Unlike movie-watching."

"Some of them can be! Stimulating, I mean. I just think you should give it a shot!" she reasoned. "Please? I just want to watch one with you!"

"Nuh-uh."

"Please?"

"Nope."

She angled around to try and meet Sonic's eye. But then he turned away from her, prickly as he sulked, not even cracking an eye open. Undeterred, she tried again. And he turned again. And then she kept trying again as he kept turning again, and they pivoted together in a circle.

"Just once," she bargained finally. "Then I won't ask you to do it ever again!"

He stopped turning. So did she. Mindful, she watched him tilt an ear her way.

"…Ever?"

"Ever!"

"Well…" Sonic would give himself wrinkles with how hard his nose was crumpling up.

"Please?" Amy cried, holding her hands extra tight now. "Oh, pretty please, with all the cherries in the world on top…!"

A reluctant noise crawled from his throat. He did make a point to slant away from her, his crossed arms and deep grimace his last lines of defence as she leaned in. But then he made the mistake of chancing a look back at Amy. Where he then took the brunt of all her pleading and clasped fists and puppy-dog eyes. Though he tore away his own just as fast, he was pulling another face, the damage already done.

"…Okay," he said, relenting, his sigh summoned from the depths of his patience. "Fine."

Dictionaries would have to revise the definition of 'jumping of joy' to include the way Amy then bounded around, her squeal entirely thrilled, and impossibly long, while she grabbed a hold of his hands. Sonic, whose eyes held less expression than those of a fish, let her bounce them around only because experiencing losses rendered his arms entirely slack.

"You really, really mean it?!"

"Yes, Amy. For some reason, I really, really mean it," he groaned, making sure to make a show of it with how she cheered in response. "But!" He raised a firm finger, making her go quiet. "Infinite toilet-slash-I'm-getting-bored breaks. And I get to choose the movie. And trash-talk said movie as part of the getting-bored breaks."

"Sure!" She nodded, putting her hands together again with a coy grin. "Anything to go on a movie date with you, Sonic."

"We're not exactly going anywhere, which, I'll tell you now, is why I'm even agreeing to do this," he deadpanned, gesturing wide at the storm that bore down on the windows. "You do get that, right?"

"Oh, I know. I'm just saying," she said, waving away his negativity. "Plus, you didn't deny it'll totally be a date."

"Hoh-kay…" Only able to toss his hands up in defeat, Sonic made an about-turn for the kitchen. "Look, how about you deal with getting a selection I'll pick from, and I'll take my routine, longing look at the chilli on the stove? Sound good?"

"Sure, but you still didn't deny it!" she teased, full of glee as he went out of eyeshot.

"Can't hear you! Too busy admiring my chilli dogs to-be…!"

"Hmph." She puffed her cheeks. "He can dodge it all he wants, but that doesn't make it any less true." With that, her beam was quick to return to her face, her hands muffling another happy trill. "Oh my gosh, we'll be watching a movie together…!"

She all but skipped towards her shelf of films before hugging all of them into her arms, readying everything to Sonic's liking. They could have watched a movie about rocks eroding for all she cared. So long as they would be watching it with each other.

"I can't believe he actually said yes…" she sighed to herself, filled with nothing but wonder. "This is a dream come true…!"

---

"I can't believe I actually said yes…" Sonic sighed to himself, filled with nothing but foreboding. "Tell me this isn't a nightmare…"

He should have been delighted, basking in the scent of scrumptious chilli sauce waiting for him later tonight. The imminent movie awaiting him, though, meant he needed something wondrous to counteract his all-consuming dread.

"Why watch a movie when I could just read a book? Listen to music? Or just live my life? Any one of those would be way more fun," he grumbled. "At least I can feel my brain doing something when I do one of those."

Ever since he tried and failed to attend a screening of a documentary made in his honour, Sonic found watching movies to be an unrivalled form of torture. Or the best way to fall asleep. The fact he would have to sit still and pay attention to some convoluted story being thrown at him, for more than an entire hour, made him gag on the air.

"But if I tell Amy that, she'd definitely take it the wrong way…" Crossing his arms, he sighed again at his quandary. "Well, she did yes to infinite breaks. Not that I'd be able to run much during them… But just doing it once will make her happy. Doubt she even cares what movie we'll watch."

Fighting back a third sigh, he put his hands on his hips, puffing his chest out to boost his own mood. As well as to take in some more of that delicious chilli smell for the long, arduous road ahead.

"Welp. Time to face the music. And watch this…" His aversion ran deep, then bled up onto his face. "Movie."

With a shudder, he then dipped back into the living room, surveying all the movies Amy had, quite helpfully, laid out on the coffee table.

"…I mean, points for consistency, but…" He looked up just so she could see the incredulity on his face. "All your movies are romances?"

"No! They just…" She twiddled her fingers. "Have romance in them."

"At least you know what you like…" He massaged his brow before admitting defeat to that final, third sigh. "No offence, Amy, but if we're gonna get through even a fraction of…this." He waved vaguely at the TV and the grid of movies taunting him. "I'm gonna need something a little more engaging than just characters talking-or-not-talking about their emotions."

"Okay, well…" Chewing her lip, she scanned her movies before lighting up with a spark. "How about this? It's probably the least romantic one I have, but plenty happens in it! I think." Frowning at the disc box, she flipped it to the blurb. "…Ohh, right, I never finished this one! It's a horror movie disguised as a romance."

"Eh, I'll take it," he conceded with a shrug. "Hot chocolate and popcorn first, right?"

"Right!"

The stone of concern weighing down his stomach loosened with a resigned smile. Because the way Amy beamed at him made him think that, maybe, watching one movie wouldn't be too bad.

---

"Okay, this might not be the absolute worst," Sonic yielded, holding back a yawn during one of their breaks. "But it's still pretty bad."

"You're taking it a lot better than I expected!" she beamed. "Is it the plot? The special effects?"

"Not gonna lie, the sofa's been doing most of the heavy lifting since we ran out of the popcorn." Smacking his lips, he looked to Amy. Whose side-eye gained from Sonic an eye-roll and the revision: "Fine—since I finished the popcorn five minutes into the thing."

Granted, past the delicious snacking, the fact that Amy actually joined him in his comments on the movie made things more entertaining. The plot and fake gore might have worn his interest out, but them making fun of the jump scares together was an unexpected treat.

"I didn't want that much of it anyway," she hummed, taking a sip of her drink. "You sure the hot chocolate has nothing to do with it, though?"

"Oh, it has everything to do with it." He raised his steaming mug in correction. "It's just so obvious I thought it didn't need saying."

"Right," she lilted, swaying her shoulders on the spot. "And you're sure the blanket we're sharing has nothing to do with it either…?"

"Well…" Sonic's head lolled along the top of the cushion, away from her kittenish smile. "You said you couldn't find your other ones."

"And you said we could share the one if I didn't have my others."

"That is something I said," he granted, his smile only a touch chagrined at her tittering. "You've been acting pretty stiff, though," he added, raising a brow when he looked back. Maybe it was the kick of cinnamon she added to his hot chocolate, but he felt comfortable enough to shoot her a goading grin. "Nervous?"

"Me?" she wondered. Sonic studied her more closely, resting his face on his fist. The slight crack to her voice already gave her away, but she continued regardless. "I mean… I'm not scared, or anything, if that's what you're thinking. I don't scare easily in the first place."

"I figured," he chuckled, recalling when she only laughed when the big bad of the movie came out wielding a hammer smaller than her own.

"But, I'm really happy just being near you like this…" She focused on fiddling with her sleeve, shuffling in her seat, a good foot of space resting between them on the sofa. "I never even thought I'd get to do this with you, earlier. So…"

Sonic pouted while watching her. Even with most of the lights off, only flashes of lightning illuminating the room with the glow of the TV, he could tell how she was blushing down at her own lap, how quiet she was being.

He huffed into his palm. She might have been a force that rivalled the hurricane outside much of the time, but at least when she was like that, he could tell what was on her mind. Often, when it was just the two of them, which was supposed to be what she wanted, that was when she retreated into herself like this. Which, while easier for Sonic to handle in a way, was that much harder to wrap his head around.

Then again, things like this were give and take, too, he supposed.

"If you think it's gonna happen only once, shouldn't you make the most of it, then?"

That made Amy look at him, finally. A blink of lightning let him see the surprise tinting her expression, in how her lips parted.

"Wh—" Her gaze flitted between their blanket and him. "What do you mean by that…?"

Sonic could hear the hope in her voice, the tiny, flitting thing that it was. But it was a nice, harmless thing, too. One he decided to lure out some more, with the arm he rested on sofa's backrest. Which happened to then end up behind Amy, opening up a newfound space at his side.

"You're the one that wanted to watch a movie with me so bad," he reminded, checking out the freeze frame the film was on, raising his mug to his lips. "You tell me."

The cinnamon hot chocolate was delectable with how the spice of it tickled his mouth, the mellow chocolate taste lingering on his tongue. And the warmth of the drink was a delicacy in and of itself. Around about now, he expected that another, more telltale warmth would be plastered to his side for the rest of the movie.

It surprised him, then, that Amy hadn't made that happen yet.

"I'll be right next to you, you know? Cuddling up to you," she murmured, cupping her mug tight on her lap. "And I'll wanna do that for the whole movie." Her voice softened by the word. "Is…that what you want, too?"

She peeked at him from beneath her bangs, cheeks florid as her eyes searched his. The uncertainty in them blared bright in the quiet, dark room. And Sonic couldn't help but think that he might not have looked too different in that moment, either. But he never wanted her to look like that, if he could help it at all. So uncertain. Subdued. Unlike herself. As if the only thing keeping the pieces together between them was that delicate, fragile hope.

A low peal of thunder called him to action.

"Hey. The flower I got you…" The beginnings of a smile crept over his face. "What's it called again?"

"Huh? Oh! Um," she fidgeted again, confused now. "A lily of the valley?"

"Right. And what's it mean?"

"It means you wish happiness upon the… Oh! You…? " With her hand at her mouth, her surprise took on a different shade than before. "Really?"

A smile budded on his lips. Her gaze flickered over it.

"And this…?" she continued, tentative like the smile that started sprouting on her lips. Which made his grow wider, unabashed and glad, as he gave her a shrug.

"What can I say? I'm happy when you're happy." Reassuring, he threw in a wink for good measure. "And being happy is pretty sweet, right?"

The tension from before began to ease up in his chest. His smile grew when Amy's lit up further and further. Into much more recognisable, comfortable territory for Sonic, as she even made little noises of contentment while scooting closer to him without delay.

"…You wanna resume the movie first, maybe?" he suggested, smirking.

"Oh! R-Right…!"

Stammering, she started fumbling for the remote beside her. There was a sense of gratification, odd as it was, that Sonic found in seeing her act like that. Especially with how it occurred to her to try putting down her hot chocolate first, so that she could fumble for the remote better.

With the film starting again, they kept commenting on its odd choices in lighting and what Amy told him were called smash cuts. Only this time, she didn't leave his side for the rest of the film. Their legs even touched, which Sonic credited himself on accepting by purely sitting as he was before. He had made himself comfortable, arm loped on the backrest, gradually draining his hot chocolate as Amy stayed beside him, not quite hugging him as he had expected her to, still.

What surprised him, then, during a quiet part of the movie, was when she eventually rested her head on his shoulder. With her smooth and soft quills pressing there. Dashes of chocolate and buttery popcorn laid within the scent of roses, now.

"You already make me really happy, Sonic," she whispered. "Really, really happy."

She was barely any louder than the rain sighing at the window. The thunder that rolled right after would have been enough to drown her out. Even the gloom meant that his eyes couldn't make her out all that well, either.

But he didn't need to be able to. Because even the nightfall storm couldn't shadow the important things. How her heart laid in her words. The smell of her shampoo and the chilli sauce she made for them. Her presence as she stuck close, all along his side, and he stayed at hers.

"Coulda sworn you said that already."

The thread of a tease in his tone was buried by the warmth weaved in it. Coupled with the palm he shifted off the backrest, resting on her head on his shoulder.

---

"You're killing me here, Amy. You are making me pass away."

"Oh, stop it." It wasn't ladylike to snort, but the sound she made was a close thing. "I am not."

The thunder crack faded to the whir of the kitchen vents, its fans running at maximum intensity. As Amy hummed a tune to herself at the stove, Sonic was a live-wire threaded entirely out of his own nerves. His after-images surrounded her from how fast he switched angles. With his bug-eyed expression, he looked like he was perpetually one shaky breath away from chewing on his knuckles as he watched her cook sausages with an agonising tranquility.

"Then you clearly don't know your own strength, as I often say." As evenly as Sonic said this, it was unnaturally smothered in volume. And by him finally chewing on his knuckle. "We can't start eating any of it until this is done?"

Amy hummed, seeming to consider his suggestion. With another sausage that she turned over on the grill, its greased, luscious sizzle had him choking back a sob. After patting it down with her tongs, she gave him a syrup-sweet smile.

"No."

Sonic's hands flew up to cover his eyes, then tried to drag off his own cheeks. Amy moved the attractively scorched sausages into the oven to keep them warm while she resumed her humming.

"You're killing me." His inhale was laboured, his exhale emotional. "You are actually killing me."

"I told you to wait in the living room," she reminded, adding another sausage to the grill. "You insisted on being here to watch me do this."

"What do you wanna see on my gravestone, huh, Amy? Here lies Sonic, who died not doing what he loved." He clenched a fist, bit his lower lip, unravelling at the seams as she turned over the final sausage. "Eating chilli dogs."

"Have you ever heard of delayed gratification, Sonic?" she asked, her smile sardonic. "Or patience, even?"

"Sorry," he whispered absently, staring at the last few sausages on the grill, then the pot of stewing chilli sauce on the stove. "Those words aren't in any language I understand."

"Figures," she muttered drily. She turned over the last batch of sausages, eyeing them before satisfaction bloomed on her face. "Okay, great! The sausages are done!"

"Yes," Sonic groaned, sprinting on the spot, his fingers finally leaving his pulse point. "Yes, yes, yes."

"Now we just need to assemble them," she said, sliding the finished sausages out of the oven. "First, we just need to put the sausages in the buns—"

A whirlwind swept up the kitchen. Shielding her eyes on instinct, Amy recovered with wary blinks. Then she realised that all the sausages on the tray were gone, and that, behind her, Sonic had put every one of them in a bun each on the counter. With the ridge between his brows, he looked as serious as a soldier.

"Done."

"…Okay…" Amy stood up straighter. Taking off her apron, she gave a small, if cautious smile. "We need to set the table outside with the hot dogs," she took a look at the chilli pot, the stove now switched off, "and the chilli sauce, so—"

A flash-bang of blue went off, making her scrunch her eyes. The moment she opened them, everything they needed was cleared from the kitchen. Sonic looked like he hadn't moved; the only difference in his demeanour, perhaps, was the emotion churning in his stare.

Amy sucked in her bottom lip, trying her best not to giggle. "We'll need tissues as well."

Sonic blinked. Then, one gale-force burst of wind and a clatter later, he was back, the paper towel roll on the counter having vanished.

"Alright," she grinned. "All that's left is for us to eat it in the living room and—" A breath later, she was in Sonic's arms. "Wha—? Ah—!" The next, they were in the living room and Sonic was letting her down on her seat, gentle as a feather. "Oh," she mumbled, blushing before he teleported into the seat across from her.

"Amy Rose," Sonic proclaimed, his voice reaching a new depth in its pitch. His gaze, burning bright, made her blush on impact. "May I have the honour, finally—" He held a hot dog in one hand, a wooden spoon of chilli sauce in his other. "—Of eating your chilli dogs?"

"…Of course, Sonic," she said, all smiles. "I hope you enjoy it."

With a stately nod, he applied his liberal scoop of chilli sauce to the hot dog, all but slapping it onto the sausage. Oddly, the sight sent Amy's heart pounding, her palms even starting to sweat. She worried the inside of her cheek as Sonic, with a lick of his lips, took the first bite of her chilli dog.

For a moment, there was a pause.

Then came more munching. Then he had finished his first chilli dog. Then he prepared and all but inhaled his second. Then, after two more in quick succession, which left Amy blinking in disbelief, Sonic was patting his stomach, letting out the longest sigh of fulfilment she had ever heard from him.

"Finally."

"Um. So…" She willed her hands to stay still, balling them on her skirt. "You like them?"

"Like 'em? Amy," he scoffed, beaming impossibly wide. "I love 'em!"

With that, she let out a breath she didn't realise she had been holding.

"That's great," she murmured. Her smile came back easier now. "Extra cheese, onions and spices, right?"

"When I'm feelin' a bit fancy, yeah. Just the way I like it," he confirmed, breathless with how much he ate. "Oh, hey, let me!" He took the wooden spoon out of Amy's hands, preparing and serving her a chilli dog. "Can't let the chef do all the work, now, right?"

"Oh, well. Thank you." Amy's cheeks went tight as she pursed her lips, her happiness threatening to burst out of them otherwise. "What a gentleman you are," she teased.

"Well, hey." Sliding over her plate, the perfect chilli dog laying on it, he gave her a wink. "Least I could do for a lady like you, Amy."

"Oh, Sonic…"

Love was in the air of her sigh as she swooned, her hands on her cheeks as she shook her head. The way he said it with such ease, not a trace of deceit in it when he did, was something she would never be able to get over.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," Sonic said, his fingers dancing by the pot of chilli sauce as he smacked his lips again. "I'll help myself to, let's say, a billion more o' these."

"…Wait, you weren't done?!"

"Psh, no," he laughed, heaping chilli onto three more hot dogs lined up on his plate. "I've had a long adventure, remember?"

"And a bottomless stomach, as always."

It wasn't a candlelit dinner with rose petals strewn everywhere. It was, in truth, far from the picture-perfect romantic dinner Amy had always envisioned they would share. But this moment, where she was giggling at his utter delight at eating more chilli dogs as she made a start on her first, was incalculably more precious. One that she wouldn't have traded for the world, over their dinner for two, the rainstorm outside, with the chilli dogs they shared warming her soul.

---

When Amy came back from the bathroom, she bore witness to a spotless living room from the upper landing. Sonic was lounging on the sofa with his eyes closed. Her cheeks started to smart with how wide she smiled, like the way they did so many times earlier today.

"Thank you for cleaning up," she murmured, coming down the steps. "I really appreciate it."

"Hm? Oh. No prob. Did the kitchen, too," Sonic said, sniffing. "Man." His hum was as warm and thick as the blanket at his knees. "I could pass out."

"It is nearly bed time," she granted, sweeping her eyes over him lying along the sofa. "Are you okay with sleeping there?"

In response, Sonic puttered out a snort.

"Amy, I'm okay with sleeping on tree bark." He smirked before giving a scratch of his ear, a growing yawn. "Your couch feels heavenly by comparison," he murmured, rolling his head on the throw pillow tucked beneath his head. "Never slept so much anywhere else before."

"Oh. Okay." She held her hands to her chest, her cheeks without a doubt aching with her smile now. "That makes me really happy."

Like a flash of lightning, something clicked for Amy at his very next whisper. At the mention of her happiness.

"You make me happier than flowers can say."

At how she would have heard his exact tone of voice before, when he was up and awake, his eyes levelled on hers.

"You do, too, you know."

"M'glad…" His words melted as he strung them together. Quieter. "That's all I want."

With his sigh, her eyes went impossibly wide.

Sleepiness had weighed on Sonic's whisper. The black thunder outside had swallowed up its backwash. But Amy covered her open mouth like he had bellowed it from the rooftops.

"Oh my gosh." Tears sprung to her eyes. She glowed with an astonished grin. "Sonic…"

Seconds passed. All that answered her was a mumbling thunder, and Sonic's slumbering breaths.

Biting her lip, Amy took in a deep, steadying breath. Then she held it in, savouring the air soaking into her system.

After an exhale, a swallow, she crept over, making sure to step more on the rug where it would dampen her footsteps. She then switched off the main lights, leaving a lamp by the stairs, a beacon she would use to go back to her room.

Quieter than a mouse, she slipped the blanket higher up on him. Loose over his body, just up to his belly. Gazing on his sleeping face, his eyelids fluttering a touch at her whisper, she kissed her fingers before resting them on his slack hand.

"…Good night, Sonic."

It felt like an entire, newborn galaxy teemed inside her heart. Anti-gravity toddled with her every step, robbing her of weight as she went to the stairs, turned off the last lamp, and got ready for bed.

---

When Amy woke up to birdsong, to sunlight filtering through her window, she thought she had dreamed up everything.

I couldn't have, she thought, frantic as she freshened up and got dressed, racing down the stairs. I couldn't have.

For one, long moment, her heart sank. Because when she arrived in the living room, the morning sun lit up her empty sofa and the red fibres of her blanket, which was rumpled at the foot of it. The only hint that Sonic had been there was gone.

But then she saw his sneakers, dried to a polished shine by her front door.

"Wait." Her heart leapt into her throat, throbbing there painfully. "But that means—"

She heard clanging from the kitchen, then fell silent once more.

"…Amy? Hey, glad you're up!" Sonic's head popped out from the hallway, grin growing once he spotted her on the steps. "Didn't wanna miss you for breakfast. Feeling like havin' a bagel?" he asked, winking. "I'm on a roll from my sandwich-makin' streak."

He was talking about the sandwiches he had made yesterday. When he came to visit her in the pouring rain. When they spent the whole day together, playing games, making food, watching movies, and did nothing more than be together for one, wondrous day.

Heat welled in Amy's eyes again. Her cheeks squeezed tight with how boundlessly she smiled, her squeal growing higher and higher in pitch behind her fists.

"Uh." Sonic's smile took on an awkward hue as he raised a brow. "That a very enthusiastic yes I'm hearin'?"

She couldn't help it anymore—not when he was so adorable, the weather was so beautiful outside, and after their wonderful night together.

It burst forth from her chest like the way it did a countless number of times before. The volume was from her lungs, the secret to the delivery was her heart, when she took in the deepest breath she could take, and joyfully yelled:

"SONIIIIC…!"

"Whoa—" He flinched, having slapped his ear out of reflex. "I'm right here, Amy! …Uh, Amy?" When he looked up and saw her leaping off the steps, her arms stretched out wide as she fell towards him, his eyes nearly popped out. "Amy—!"

He ran forward to catch her. Then her tackle-hug winded him harder than a kick to the gut, and they toppled backwards onto the hardwood floor.

"Oof…" Sitting up, Sonic rubbed his head, glancing at Amy as her arms wrapped tight around his shoulders. "You couldn't have done that near the rug?" When she didn't say anything, her happy mewl reaching a falsetto, he rasped as she squeezed the air out of him harder. "Ack, Amy, time out! My lungs! My lungs—!"

"I know what you meeeant…" Pulling back, there was no end to the glee on her face as she regarded Sonic, who was busy inhaling again. "When you said I do, toooo…"

After coughing on a few rapid, deep breaths, Sonic took in her Cheshire grin. Then blinked once, before wracking his oxygen-deprived brain. Then remembered, with widening eyes, as she leaned in close enough for their noses to touch.

"…Oh." Looking away, Sonic found it was a miracle that he could muster up even a ghost of a smile. "Uh. Cool."

When he took a brief look back at Amy, her heart-eyes practically announced themselves with the sunshine reflected in her gaze.

"H-Hey…" Sonic gulped, his smile fraying fast with his composure. "How about we have breakfast before—ACK—! Amy…!"

She tackled him back onto the ground, the floorboards warmed by the morning sun, with her heartfelt hug and soprano laughter. Even as Sonic shoved weakly at her arms, insisting their bagels would go cold, he had to go say hi to Tails and the others soon, she only nuzzled into his chest with endless giggling and undying love.

Because after spending the most wonderful day of her life with Sonic the Hedgehog, she fell in love with him all over again.

---

"…Just so we're clear, Shadow didn't make you any sandwiches?"

"No, Sonic. He did not."

"Alright. Cool." Swallowing a mouthful of bagel, tickled at how Amy smiled despite herself, he gave her a grin and a wink. "Just wanted to double-check!"