"Hey! You gotta get up. We have a code pink."
Sonic turns away from the intruder with a groan. He doesn't know what time it is, but it's definitely too early.
"Come on! She's going to be here any minute! You can't say I didn't warn you!"
The intruder - Tails, apparently - shakes Sonic by the shoulders until his eyes open groggily. His brother looks anxious and annoyed. Sonic is trying desperately to get a grip, but just can't. Sleep just feels so good. He catches Tails frowning before he's sprayed in the face with water.
"Tails! The water bottle? Seriously?"
"Yeah, yeah, whine about it later. We have a code pink."
Sonic sits up and rubs his eyes. Code pink. What's that mean, again? "A missing child?"
Tails smacks him on the back of his head. "No! What's wrong with you? Amy. Code pink is Amy."
Sonic leaps up and out of bed, scrambling to get on his clothes. Suddenly there's just flashes of blue as he runs to brush his teeth and grab his shoes.
"You've got less than a minute. I don't you're going to make it." Tails hangs his head in defeat.
"How do you even know she's on her way?" Sonic's grateful, but curious.
"Oh, it's a new project I've been working on. I put a tracker in her hammer that emits a signal once she's breached our perimeter."
Sonic places hands on his hips, disapproval oozing from the pose. Tails crosses his arms and huffs, flicking his namesakes in annoyance.
"Don't look at me like that. She always ruins my lab chasing you around. I'm tired of having to clean up her messes. Plus, she's like super desperate."
Sonic... doesn't like that. Tails has a right to feel the way he does, but Sonic also feels like he needs to defend Amy. This is Amy they're talking about. Past the whole crush things she's one of the coolest people he's ever met.
"Be nice! She's... a lot, but she's still our friend. You know she doesn't mean to cause trouble. She's not as destructive now as she was in the past. And it isn't right for you to judge her on how she expresses her emotions, you know that."
His brother's face scrunches up in disgust. "I totally can! What she does isn't normal. And you never see me acting like that."
Sonic places his hands on his hips. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that when I have feelings for someone I don't get all stalkerish. I have a life outside silly crushes."
Sonic scoffs. "Since when do you have feelings for people? I didn't take you for the type. And no offense, but you're not exactly someone who I'd come to for advice on normal."
Oh no. That was wrong. That's bad. Oh no nonono. What is wrong with him?
"I'm so, so sorry I'm just tired and last night was weird and its Amy and I always get so weird when it comes to her and--"
The fox's muzzle grows red before he runs out of Sonic's room, slamming the door behind him. Geez. He should not of said that. What is wrong with him lately?
Sonic leaves to catch up and properly apologize to Tails for being a total jerk, but he doesn't make it past the stairs. By the time he gets to the bottom, he suddenly has arms full of soft pink.
"Sonic! I missed you!"
Amy cradles his face while kissing both cheeks, nuzzling him after. "You will not believe the week I've had! I definitely need this date as a pick me up."
Sonic's stomach drops. He doesn't have time for this. He needs to apologize and then he needs to get ready so he can head to Shadow's. Besides, a date with Amy sounds even worse than usual today.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Ames. I kinda have some stuff I have to take care of though, so maybe we can push things back to tomorrow or something?"
"Don't be silly! I can run any errands with you, I don't mind." She says this with a sweet smile, bringing a hand down to grip his.
"Well, I sort of... already maybe made plans tonight."
There's a beat of silence that makes Sonic's skin crawl. Green eyes flash with disappointment. Amy is mad. She squeezes his hand almost painfully tight before releasing him all together and stepping away.
"Oh. I wasn't aware there were things more pressing than your loving girlfriend." She narrows her eyes and turns her head, making a show of her disappointment.
"Don't be like that, Ames. You know my friends are important to me."
She glances back, still frowning but with less heat to her glare. "Yes, I know. To make up for it you better take me on the best lunch date ever!"
"Sure, you got it!" Sonic agrees quickly, nodding just as rapidly. Anything to keep her from insisting. But man, this sucks. He really doesn't want to go anywhere with her. Not right now.
"But first I have to talk to Tails, ok?"
"Ok! I need to say hi to him anyway, so let's go."
Sonic frowns at that. Tails always greets his guests. He made the kid really angry, then. This is not good. Tails is terrifying when he's mad. He takes a breath while Amy leads him to the lab, reciting apologies in his head.
"Hi, Tails! How have you been? It's been too long!"
The fox looks up from his main computer monitor, pulling goggles over his head. He reveals eyes furrowed in clear hostility. They dart between the two hedgehogs, lingering on joined hands.
"I'm fine. I'm busy." He returns to the screen before him, typing away at his keyboard.
Amy shoots Sonic a look of confusion and he feels guilty. She must see that because her expression morphs to one of disappointment. She cocks her head in Tails' direction. Sonic rolls his eyes. He knows he messed up - he doesn't need Amy to scold him into apologizing. He was going to do it anyway.
"Hey, little buddy. I'm sorry about earlier, I didn't mean it like that. I know--"
"Save it. I don't want to talk to you right now." Blue eyes are cold before they're covered by goggles once more.
"Go have fun with your girlfriend."
It's said mockingly and Sonic feels a rush of rage. He knows Tails is hurt right now but what the heck? That was totally uncalled for.
"Well, I guess I'll see you later then." Sonic turns to leave and Amy grabs his hand again as soon as he's close. She waves, smiling despite the fact that the fox is actively ignoring them.
The two walk in silence until the house is out of view.
"What was that?" Amy says, looking up at him in concern, a pout on glossy lips. Sonic sighs and closes his eyes for a moment. This day sort of sucks so far.
"I said something stupid before you showed up. He has every right to be mad at me right now. He just needs time and space and I'll apologize when he's ready to speak to me again."
Amy nods, seemingly satisfied with that answer. "I don't remember being that moody when I was that age. Maybe he's been hanging around Shadow too much."
Sonic grunts. "You're only a few years older than him. I said something messed up so it's not on him. Or Shadow."
Amy visibly flinches, and tucks a loose quill behind her ear. "Alright, I'm sorry. No need to get defensive. They're my friends too, you know."
She swings their arms for a bit before glancing at Sonic expectantly. "So... where are you taking me?"
Sonic furrows his brow. "I thought you had somewhere you wanted to go?"
"No, silly! You were supposed to plan this date, remember?"
Sonic doesn't remember, but then again he's pretty sure he never agreed to go on this date. Amy is dragging him wherever she wants. He's not sure why this keeps happening.
"I... I guess I just spaced it."
Amy tightens her grip slightly and huffs. "Fine. I know a place we could go to. We can try somewhere new together!"
Sonic nods, feeling himself slip into autopilot mode. Amy guides him to the Rainy Day Cafe, oddly enough. It's charming, the sign painted in bold yellows and reds. The lights inside are shaped like clouds, and plants sprawl along the walls and sit upon each table. No wonder Shads likes this place.
They sit and make small talk, and Sonic orders the same sandwich that Shadow ordered him last time. Amy looks betrayed when he tells her about it. She mumbles something about wanting a considerate boyfriend, and it only makes Sonic hate this whole thing even more. He's not even hers. He never was, never will be.
He'd rather be here with Shadow.
His phone vibrates and without thinking he pulls it out. Shadow has texted to confirm their dinner plans - again - and it makes Sonic grin. At least he has something to look forward to. He texts back quickly, but has his phone snatched away before he can send more than a yes and smiley face.
"You got a phone? When? Why didn't you tell me?" Amy is excited, bouncing in her seat as she scrolls through Sonic's phone.
"Um, not too long ago. I just haven't gotten around to it, so..."
She looks up for a second with a frown before returning her attention to the screen. "Well, I should've been the first to know, don't you think? Here, I texted myself so you don't have to worry about it."
She holds his phone high for a moment so she can take a selfie. She takes a few before squealing as she finishes saving her contact. "I'm so glad you finally got a phone! We can text, like, all the time. And I can send you photos whenever you miss me!"
Sonic nods weakly as he grabs the check from their waiter. Last time Amy got his number she was an absolute monster; she texted him day in and day out, calling multiple times a day as well. He's pretty sure she's the reason his number leaked too.
"Yeah, sounds good. I really need to get ready for tonight, so I can walk you home now."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to get rid of me!" Amy giggles while Sonic feels like smacking his face onto the table. He wishes she knew better.
They walk hand in hand again, and Sonic wishes he was able to convince her to let him run. But no, she wants to take the long way to spend time together. When they make it to her house she tries to convince him to come inside, for tea or maybe to watch a movie. He declines firmly, which is a first. Amy looks disgruntled but sees that her protests are getting nowhere.
"Well, have fun with Shadow then. I guess he's more important than me!" She slams the door and Sonic just stares at it in confusion. How did she know that? It takes him a second before he groans, annoyance fuelling his run home.
Amy looked at their messages. She had to. But that's not like her at all. She's never invaded his privacy to that extent before. But there's no other way. He didn't say anything about his plans being with Shadow. He deliberately avoided telling her. For as nice as Amy is, she's been... weird when it comes to Shadow. There's a quiet hostility that she bears towards the hybrid lately and it just doesn't make any sense.
Sonic's thankful that the location of Shadow's home isn't common knowledge. Sonic won't ever tell Amy, and even if he was willing to Shadow would kill him first. And there's no way Rouge and Tails would spill that info. They're too loyal. So Shadow's place is a safe haven.
When Sonic gets back, he sees that Tails is still in the lab. He heads straight upstairs, planning to get ready for the night before trying to confront Tails again. Usually the kid will migrate to the living room if he's feeling like talking. Sonic could wait, but he just feels so guilty. His mood has been all over the place and he took it out on his best friend. He feels so dumb.
Sonic was going to shower but decides against it, not wanting to comb through his quills afterwards. And thanks to that lunch with Amy he has less time than he wants to get ready. Instead, he opts for changing into a fresh pair of gloves and socks, spraying a light mist of a cologne he almost never wears. It should fade to a barely there scent by the time he gets to Shads, so it won't irritate the hybrid's sensitive nose.
Sonic adjusts himself in front of his mirror, flattening down stray stuffs of fur and rearranging his quills until he's satisfied. He looks good, and he knows it. He can't help but hope that Shadow thinks so too.
He bounds down the stair and finds his brother sitting on the couch, watching something. Awesome!
"Hey, little buddy."
Tails glances at him and turns off the tv. Sonic sits next to him on the couch, thankful that his brother isn't planning on making him grovel this time.
"I'm sorry."
The fox narrows his eyes but doesn't say anything. He just strokes the yellow fur of his tails.
"What I said was wrong and inconsiderate and mean. I never meant to imply that the things that make you unique are wrong. I've been... not at my best and it wasn't right of me to lash out."
"You hate how Amy throws herself at you, so why do you defend her?" Sonic is thrown by how calm Tails sounds, and the fact the the fox changes the subject entirely.
"I don't I just--"
"Yes, you do." Tails leans back into the couch, crossing one leg on his lap. For some reason Sonic is reminded of Rouge. "Everytime I say something even remotely negative about her you jump through hoops to defend her."
"No I don't!" Sonic's getting irritated and has to remind himself that he's not the one who's hurt right now.
"You only ever say mean shit to me when you're defending her!"
"Language!"
"Well it's true!" Tails bares his teeth, blue eyes boring into Sonic's. "You hate what she does but you still defend it. You get bothered by it but you don't let me complain about it. I just think it's fucking annoying! And honestly, you don't need Amy to make you feel like you're worthy of love. You are. You are just by being you. And you have plenty of people who care, one who's hopelessly in actual love if you just opened your damn eyes!"
Tails closes his eyes and takes deep breaths. Sonic is stunned. He's really just... overwhelmed.
"Look. I'm mad. Yes, by what you said because what the fuck. I know you're in your feelings and whatever and what you said was more about that than me. Whatever. You didn't mean it and I've heard worse. But mostly I'm frustrated that you're still letting Amy drag you around. Yeah, she's our friend, which is exactly why she needs to know that you aren't interested. Now more than ever!"
He rubs his temple, eyes opening just barely. The sliver of blue makes Sonic feel exposed. "I know you don't want to hurt her. But you kinda have to. She needs to have closure and live a life that doesn't revolve around you. If you want things to go anywhere with Shadow you need to cut her loose."
Sonic chews his bottom lip anxiously. "Why is this suddenly a big deal?"
"I've always had a problem with Amy's antics, you know that. But things are different now. We're older, our lives are changing, and you've developed feelings for someone else. It just seems stupid to let this craziness keep going."
"I don't want to hurt her. I love her just... not like that."
"You have to do something. It will sting but she's one of the strongest women we know! She'll get over it. There's plenty of fish in the sea. If she really wants a relationship she'll find someone for her."
Tails gets up from the couch, stretching. "I know you feel like that's the type of love deserve, but you don't. You deserve actual love, not obsession. You're going to hurt your chances with someone who can give you that if you don't break things off with her."
The kid walks away and to his lab, throwing up a peace sign and not looking back at Sonic once. "Tell Shadow I said hi."
With that, he's gone and Sonic feels like he's just been beat up mentally. He's just drained and tired and not ready to deal with the implications of Tails' words. It's too much.
After sitting in silence for a few minutes Sonic decides to get up and head to Shadow's. It's a bit early but he needs the distraction. He texts Shadow to let him know he'll be there early before setting off.
He hopes dinner goes better than this.