Amy sported her biggest grin, arm laid easily around Tails' shoulders as the two of them stood in front of an applauding crowd, in a matching tattered gown and scorched tuxedo. She looked as boisterous and happy as he did tired and self-conscious.

Amy rubbed the back of her neck, peering up at the muted screen with growing embarrassment, which was something of an achievement given that she was currently standing in the middle of a Gourmet Burger in the same shredded outfit and should have reached maximum embarrassment awhile back.

"Excuse me, Miss?"

She turned back to the counter in surprise, staring up at an older woman - the manager? - peering down at her.

"Welcome to Gourmet Burger! What can I get you this evening?"

"Oh, sorry! I'd like two Gourmet Cheese Regals with the works, two "Regret" size fries, a vanilla milkshake, chocolate milk and…" She glanced over at the tuxedo'd fox slumped at a table in the corner. "Four chocochunk cookies, please."

She slipped her wallet out but the woman held out her hand with a smile.

"It's on the house tonight, sweetie. Hero's discount."

"Ah! Uh- um- Thank you!"

"Why don't you go take a seat? I'll have someone bring it over to you in a minute."

"Thanks again!"

Amy retreated, feeling more than a little flustered. 'Heroic duo saves hotel' scrolled along the bottom of the silent news screen - she had persuaded Tails to accept credit for disarming the bomb, at least. So… it… wasn't a total lie, right? Even if her gut was screaming at her otherwise. She really had saved people. Like, actual people this time. And a lot of them. And she'd taken on badniks - even if it was with a lot of help from Tails' mecha following her around like a murderous puppy.

And now she was up there on the TV with the hero of Station Square, getting a free meal and people were staring and maybe it wasn't because of that video this time-

"Everything okay?" The real hero of the hour asked, the tears and cuts in his jacket revealing tufts of orange-yellow that had been scrapes - or worse - before the ring infusion. Deep red stains marked the white fabric of the shirt poking from beneath.

He could have just taken it off and looked perfectly normal, but he'd "wanted to match". Obnoxiously sweet and considerate as usual.

"Uh, yeah." Amy slid into the seat opposite. "They're bringing everything over."

"Alright." Tails tapped slender fingertips together, not looking at her. "Sorry you're just getting fast food now."

"Are you kidding?" Amy grinned, even if she didn't quite feel it. "Best birthday ever, right? We're totally the best dressed people here and I don't even have to keep my elbows off the table."

Tails snorted, still staring down at his hands.

"Are you okay?" Amy leaned closer. She'd tried to clean him up as best she could afterwards, but there could be some internal injuries-

"Fine." He glanced up with an empty gaze and shallow smile. "Just… thinking."

He trailed off. Amy's smile faded.

Tails didn't fight. She'd forgotten that, somehow, when he'd saved her, when he'd been going toe to toe with Metal Sonic. It made her heart race with excitement to remember it. That explosive force as he'd gone blow for blow with a robot that could take out an army. She felt almost bad for helping, like she'd stepped in at the last moment just to steal some of his glory. It wasn't like he'd needed her, after all. And if she hadn't knocked Metal away wouldn't they have been able to stop it getting away with the emerald?

But of course, she'd always known he could fight. He'd been fighting since she met him after all, taking on the worst things Eggman could throw at them at half her age. Well, she'd thought they were the same age at the time, and that had been impressive enough.

But talent and temperament were different things. Tails was timid, sweet, calm and thoughtful, happiest when he was learning something new. A born creator, rather than a destroyer.

She glanced at him as their food was delivered by a starry-eyed teenager, his passive face animating for a moment as he thanked them.

The fox who didn't like crowded rooms and trembled at fireworks but had charged right in to save her without hesitation, without even a hint of fear.

That smile hadn't been empty. Confident, reassuring, the kind of look a hero should have when he saves a girl, like the old Tails never left in the first place.

"Thanks." Tails murmured, a fry disappearing into his mouth as he neatly arranged his food in front of him.

"Huh?" Amy jerked out of her musings, cheeks growing hot as she realised she'd been staring at him, but Tails hadn't even looked up at her. "I didn't-"

"For not telling." He kept his eyes on his meal, slipping back to that neutral, safe smile between mouthfuls.

"Shouldn't I be thanking you?" She also remembered the frightened, guilty expression he'd had afterwards, when he'd begged her not to tell. "You saved my life back there, and I took all the credit."

Tails shrugged.

"Why shouldn't you? You were amazing back there."

"Yeah, I was doing a great job." Amy stole one of his fries with a sigh. "Caught by Metal again."

"So?" Tails' tired blue eyes flicked to her for a moment before he snapped out a lightning quick hand towards her own tray. "That thing is brutal." He rubbed the back of his head, a little higher than usual where his skull had cracked. "Take it from me." He grinned, two fries between his teeth.

"If you hadn't-"

Tails popped one of her own fries back into her mouth to silence her.

"If you hadn't saved those people they would be dead." He brandished his cheese-saturated burger for emphasis. "You were brave, and heroic, and super cool. It's about time everybody else got to see that."

"You helped." Amy frowned, feeling a bit overheated from the merciless barrage of praise.

"What, you thought I was useless?" Tails raised an eyebrow at her. "I help Sonic all the time."

Amy fell silent, retreating behind her own burger in thought.

Was it really the same? Tails and Sonic saved each other plenty of times during their adventures together, and Tails was more often instrumental to victory than not. Did he really not see any difference?

"Then… what about you? Don't you deserve credit?"

Tails stiffened, his tails bristling. They'd even slipped away early, just in case Sonic was on his way there to help.

"Sure, I disarmed the bomb, remember?"

"You did a lot more than that though."

"I… shouldn't have."

"You shouldn't have saved me?"

"No I-" He rubbed the back of his head, voice lowering. "I shouldn't… be fighting."

"What?" Amy chomped on another stolen fry. "Tails, I know you don't… like fighting, but-"

"No. Sonic said." He fidgeted uncomfortably. "He didn't need me fighting anymore. That it was better if I just focused on... other stuff."

Amy blinked in astonishment.

"You stopped… just because Sonic told you to?"

"Wouldn't you?" There was the faintest accusatory note in his voice.

Amy took a bite of her burger, the uncomfortable silence between them punctuated by the soft murmur of the other diners and calls of kitchen staff.

Of course she would. In a heartbeat. If Sonic gave her any hint of what he wanted from her, what she could do to finally earn his affection, how could she do otherwise?

And Tails, the number one sidekick, someone who had managed to hold his own with and against the strongest heroes and villains the world had to offer. Who used to be one of the coolest people she knew... had become completely passive. Never fighting beyond a badnik or two, the occasional trickery, but mainly waiting for other people to save him, helping other people fight for him.

All because he'd been told to.

No wonder he had seemed like the old Tails. The old Tails had never really left in the first place, he'd just been hiding, somewhere behind that quiet smile, and thinking how brave she was to be able to follow her heart when she'd never really had to deal with that kind of pressure in the first place.

"Tails…" Amy frowned, still at a loss. "I don't… think Sonic-"

"He doesn't need someone who fights." Tails replied flatly.

"Tails, you're his best friend, he..." Amy trailed off. The idea Sonic only kept him around because he needed him seemed laughable, they had been inseparable for years, an unbreakable bond, but... She couldn't even reassure him otherwise, because Tails was somehow the only person Sonic never left behind. Whatever he was doing was working infinitely better than her own best efforts. It would be like a frog telling a bird how to fly.

She breathed out through her nose, flailing for the right words.

"I'm sure he just doesn't want you to get hurt." Like he was always shooing her away because she was too weak, or getting Tails to take care of her while he left her behind to go save the day... Was she the reason Tails thought that way?

"Amy-"

"Relax, I'm not going to tell him." Amy brushed a hand across her quills with a smile. "You were my hero today though. In lots of ways. I hope everybody else gets see how great you are, soon."

"...Thanks, Amy." Tails gave her a shy smile that brightened his weary expression.

"No, thank you." Amy stole the last of his fries with a cheeky grin of her own, provoking an exasperated cry of protest as she peered back up at the TV to enjoy her stolen prize.

It had hardly been the birthday dinner she'd been hoping for, with heart pounding moments and love's first tender kiss. Or even the far more modest birthday dinner she'd been expecting, but... maybe it wasn't so bad? There was still one more chance ahead, even if she was already thirteen. And her date might technically be a borrowed one, but he hadn't left her behind, hadn't shooed her away, and even if she still wasn't sure how necessary she'd been in the end, the two of them had saved the day together. She was a bona fide hero now. Maybe that would impress Sonic? It would give them something to talk about, at least.

Their televised selves were replaced with muted images of Sonic and Shadow fighting their way across a zone full of robot ninja.

Looked like he never even bothered to come after all.

Amy shook her head, turning back to the table. It was fine. He was saving the president. He just... had faith in them. Or Eggman had been lying and never told him. The vague urge to break something bubbled up in her stomach.

"You okay?" Tails peered up at her with a puzzled frown, cookie clutched in both hands mid-nibble.

"I'm... Hey, you want to go catch a movie before you head home?" She pushed anger away with a smile.

He gazed at her half-lidded. "You know I'll just fall asleep, right?"

"Yep." Amy stood, holding her hand out with a grin. "How else would I make sure you didn't just stay up all night?"

"Hey!" He pouted. "Now I have no choice but to stay awake the whole time out of spite!" Tails grinned, fingers threading through her own before they marched out to conclude Amy's very first 'dinner and a movie'.

He barely made it past the previews.