006. Baking

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It was relatively quiet at the sweet shop. Customers came in and out, gathering what they wanted with no fuss. Little conversations and thank you's echoed across the store, children happily buying all the sweets they wanted before being scolded by their parents for picking too many.

Halloween wasn't too far off so Amy understood their need to gaining so many chocolates. However, she was concerned for their teeth so every time the children would enter the store without their parents, she'd give them a lecture about it and sell them a healthier alternative. They were reluctant about it of course, but they were obedient which she was grateful for.

She sighed with content, stretching her arms out after she had served another customer. Looking at the half empty sweet jar to her right, she decided to fill it up again with more chocolates.

"Hey Ames!"

Amy squeaked and her grip on the sweet jar loosened as it went sliding down from her hand. Fortunately enough, another pair of hands came to the rescue and caught it with ease. She sighed in relief before quickly snapping up her head to shoot a glare at her customer. "What?!"

"Weeeeeell, it's nice to see ya too!" Sonic said with a laugh as he gave back the jar.

She shook her head before walking to the back of the counter. "Aren't you suppose to be at work?"

"I'm on my break and besides," he clapped his hands together and beamed with whole hearted eagerness, "I missed you!"

"...You're two minutes away from me," she pouted.

Sonic seemed unbothered as he tilted his head. "And?"

Amy slumped down against a chair and squinted at him. "You wouldn't just come in here without a real reason."

"Woooow," Sonic held his hand against his heart, "So I can't see my beautiful girlfriend during my breaks?!" he sniffed wiping his eye, "You're so cruel, Ames..."

She'd genuinely feel bad if he wasn't faking it. With a huff and a hand on her hip Amy sat there unimpressed, a slight twitch of her eye showcasing her irritancy. "What do you want?"

He stood there for a second before dropping his act with a sigh. "Okay, okay," he swallowed, "...I kinda need a bit of... cash."

"Why do you need-" Amy paused as an assumption built in her head, "You're not planning something stupid, are you?"'

"No, no, no!" Sonic came quick to object the idea, "It's... Well..."

"...Well what?"

The blue hedgehog cleared his throat as he brought his hand up to the back of his head. "It's a... surprise?"

A hesitant response only meant something to Amy. "No."

"But Amy-!"

"I said no!"

"Why not?!" Sonic complained.

"Because," Amy stood up and pressed her hands against the counter desk, her lips curling in distaste, "Last time, the surprise was my kitchen covered up in flour. For goodness sake Sonic, I couldn't even see the floor!"

"Okay, fair enough but that was only one time!"

She scoffed. "Let's not forget the fire you caused because you couldn't even be bothered to check the muffins!"

"Tails needed me though!"

"And the time you broke our cooker because you couldn't find the switch and decided a freaking spin dash would solve it!"

"That was purely not my-!"

"No means no!"

"Amy!" he whined.

"Sonic, I'd rather stick needles in my eyes than to see my kitchen destroyed by you!"

"But then you wouldn't be able to see my own charming set of eyes..." Sonic stated, then grinning nervously with his hands up in surrender when he saw death radiating from his girlfriend.

"Sonic..." Amy seethed.

"All right, fine!" the male gave up and backed off, not wanting to anger the young woman further, "I... I won't make anything..."

"Good!" she chirped and walked over to turn him around. She began pushing him out of the store, "Now go back to work!"'

"At least give me a kiss!" Sonic stopped and turned around, leaning down slightly so she could.

Amy rolled her eyes, biting the corner of her lip. Thank Chaos her boss was out of town. She leaned up to leave a kiss on his cheek instead, ignoring the light pout her boyfriend was giving her. "That's all you're getting since you rudely interrupted me from my work!"

"So mean!" Sonic grumbled as he walked out.

She rubbed her temple and greeted the next few customers at the door. "Hello! How may I help you?"

...

Amy locked up for the night, her watch reading a vivid 7:30pm. She walked down the plaza until she stopped in front of the coffee shop. She blinked when she saw Tikal coming out of the store and then turned the key against the lock. "Sonic left already?"

Tikal lifted her head up to the pink hedgehog. "Oh, hi!" she greeted her, "Yes, Sonic left a while ago. He said he wasn't feeling too well..."

Surely he would've texted her if that was the case.

"Oh..."

A black car pulled up in front of them, the window shields sliding down revealing Shadow. He looked towards Tikal. "You coming?"

The orange echidna nodded before glancing at Amy. "Do you need a lift?"

Amy considered giving Sonic a call and ask him what the hell he was up to this time and to come pick her up. However, she pushed down the thought. It was too cold to wait outside for him. "Sure," she looked to Shadow, "I hope you don't mind?"

Shadow shook his head. "No problem, hop in."

...

Amy waved a goodbye at the couple as she rushed up the steps to the house. The lights were on, so that probably meant-

Wait.

The kitchen lights were on.

She groaned. Oh no.

She scurried out her keys from her bag and unlocked the door, shutting it behind her as she dropped her things and slid into the kitchen. "Sonic?" Amy saw the blue hedgehog's back as his arms moved quickly.

Sonic turned around with his hands behind him, a beaming set of eyes shooting towards her. "Hey babe!"

Amy immediately turned suspicious, her eyes darting across the kitchen. It was clean but something felt... off. She settled her gaze onto him, crossing her arms. "Sick, are you?"

"Yeeeaaaah," he laughed nervously, a hand at the back of his quills, "Winter's coming so..."

Amy noted the spec of flour on his cheek and walked over to him to rub it off. Her lips thinned into a frown. "What did you make now?"

Sonic smiled and grabbed the tray to showcase it in front of her. "Cupcakes!"

"Cupcakes?" Blinking, the young woman gazed down at them. They were chocolate cupcakes, each with a blue and pink swirl on top. While they were a little messy and a little overcooked, Amy couldn't help but feel like her partner officially accomplished something.

"Here," he took one out of the tray and pressed it against her lips, "Try it!"'

Amy took a small bite and chewed on it thoughtfully. A burst of chocolate and the icing filled her mouth. "I... I like it!" she said and swallowed it down, "But where did you get the ingredients?"

The male scratched the back of his head and only said one thing, "Tails."

The pink hedgehog rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. "They're really good!" she giggled and took another bite, "I'm proud of you!"

"Phew!" Sonic wiped his forehead and set the tray back down, "I worked hard, ya know! For all those times I messed up... I wanted to make it up to you! So I followed this recipe on the internet and voila!"

"Aww," Amy leaned over to pinch his cheek before leaving a kiss, "You're cute."

A tint of red dusted against his skin as he grinned. "Thanks..."

Amy muffled a giggle again and set down the cake. "How about we enjoy these with a drink?" she asked, walking towards the storage, "What would you like? Orange or-"

The young woman was cut off and squealed when Sonic zoomed past her and blocked her from opening it.

She stood still, dumbfounded.

"Before that, how about I run you a nice bath, Ames?" Sonic placed his hands onto her shoulder and pivoted the female out the kitchen and up the stairs, "After all, you've gotta be tired and stressed out from those kids! Release that stress from your muscles, you'll feel muuuuuch better!"

Amy didn't say anything. Rather, she couldn't because he kept interrupting her with ridiculous compliments and asking how her day had been. "You get in and I'll set a pair of fresh clothes for you at the side!"

Sonic walked into the bathroom and ran the water for her. He laughed, albeit anxiously, as he made his way down the steps. "Lemme just do something real quick and I'll be back!"

After he disappeared, it took a moment for Amy to finally heave out a sigh and bury her face against her hands.

When she dipped herself into the tub, the clutter of pots and pans echoed across the house.

"Oh, god dammit! I got flour all over my hair!" Sonic cried.

Amy closed her eyes and exhaled, a quick laugh escaping from her lips as she sank deeper into the bubbles. "Stupid hedgehog."