Sonic
The car ride from Freedom HQ Museum was vastly a silent one. The two was still caught in lost years and lost times. Antoine was in a bit of a better mood, just looking back at the good times they had but Sonic was aching a little more; so many lost dreams and disappointments after he left Knothole. It was as if time wouldn't let him go after seeing his old home and reliving all these memories. He was seriously regretting coming back to Knothole at all. He would have much rather stayed in his apartment, slaving over files and reports for the weekend than have to go through the torture he was going through. He saw himself a failure, rising to the heights of Hero of Mobius, and falling to just another owner of a cubicle.
"I don't feel like calling it in too early." Antoine finally said, breaking the somewhat awkward silence of the still air that consumed the car. He looked over and saw Sonic motionlessly staring out the window. "Want to hit up a bar or zomething?" He suggested.
Sonic looked up and figured he could probably use a stiff drink right about now. "Sure." He turned to the coyote. "But I'm buying. You've given me enough free stuff this weekend." He said with a gentle and comforting smile.
Antoine smiled back and pulled out his yPhone to search for the nearest one. There was one that was close by and had pretty decent reviews, The Boothill. So they decided to head over to it. They pulled into the parking lot and by judging from the amount of cars there, the reviews were not too far off. It wasn't cram backed but a half-filled bar is much better than an empty one in any case.
They walked in and saw it was an entirely southern styled bar. They should have figured from the name but that didn't make a difference. Country music was playing from the speakers and the walls resembled wood from a barn or something. They approached the bar and took their seats, glancing up at the television to see the news probably because there were no sports games on that evening.
"What can ah get for yer?" The bartender asked the two new customers when she got the time to do so.
'At least the barkeeps are keeping the theme up.' Sonic thought to himself, noticing the southern twang in the female's voice and the cowboy hat she wore. "I'll take a 3 Wise Men." Sonic said sternly.
"You got it sug. Rough day I reckon?" She asked making conversation about the intensity of the drink he just ordered.
"Something like that." He wanted to say 'rough life' but didn't want to draw attention to himself.
"And for you?" She asked Antoine.
"I'll just take a beer for now." He responded. He didn't go to bars very often and didn't really know all the names and ingredients like his friend.
"Any in particular?" She asked, seeing how 'beer' can be pretty vague.
Antoine turned to the woman and smiled. "Surprise me." She turned and left to fetch his drink.
"Well this is a good change of scenery." Sonic spun in the bar stool to have his back and elbows rest on the bar behind him as he looked out into the rest of the bar to see such liveliness and good spirits around. It was somewhat of a pick-up for the melancholy hedgehog.
"Oui. And I'd 'ave to say, zis music is not bad either." The Frenchman responded while tapping his foot to the floor lightly in juncture with the beat of the music and the rhythm of the fiddle in the song.
Sonic smiled when he noticed the small bouncing of his friend's boots. "You know, I never really knew what kind of music you listened to but somehow, I'm not surprised.
The song ended and an older one began playing. It wasn't a really country one but Sonic recognized it from Uncle Chuck and one of his classic rock songs. He figured the harmonica in the song gave enough of the country feel to be presented in this scene. The bartender came up and handed the two their drinks. "Here ya go gents." She said, handing Sonic his concoction and Antoine a Red Moon.
"Thank you." They responded almost simultaneously, grabbed their drinks and took a swig.
The bartender walked away humming the tune of the song currently being played and over the loud buzz of the chatter that was going on in the room, they could barely hear her singing some of the lyrics of the song, '…honey put on that party dress. Buy me a drink, sing me a song, take me as I come 'cause I can't stay long…'
"You know Ant, the bartender's kind of cute. Maybe you'd be into country girls." The hedgehog incited playfully, showing that the jesting beast he used to be was still in there somewhere.
Antoine let out a small blushed but quickly covered it up. "Non." He said seriously but let a smile show to indicate the good intent in the fun. "I did not come here to 'get ze tail' as someone like you would put it." He teased equally with the hedgehog.
"Come on! Flash that little card of yours and they'll be lining up!" He slapped his knee in his humor as he let out a chuckle.
"I wouldn't doubt it." Antoine agreed with a similar chuckle. He looked over at the bartender though, dwelling on Sonic's previous statement about her looks. He never really took note of her appearance and was curious if she was just as cute as Sonic said she was. The bartender turned around and Antoine noticed a little fluffy tail sticking out of the back of her jeans and underneath her hat were curved back, long rabbit ears. "Non." He said under his breath in disbelieve.
The rabbit caught Antoine in the act of staring at her. He didn't realize how gawky he looked when trying to figure out if she was who he thought she was. She took it as just another man drooling over her. She came over a bit more aggressively than she normally would. "Excuse me but I don't take it too kind of folks staring over at me. If ya need something, just holla okay?" She said with a firm tone as she rested one hand on an extended hip.
"My apologies mademoiselle. It's just, you look like someone I used to know." Antoine explained.
She rolled her eyes. "It's not like ah ever heard that one before." She mumbled sarcastically but loud enough for Antoine to pick it up. Sonic was sitting there, minding his own business and trying not to laugh at his friend's predicament.
"No, you got me all wrong. I–" He tried to explain but figured that might just make things worse. So he decided to be blunt with it and ask. "By any chance are you Bunnie Rabbot?"
She stopped and stared at the coyote. Her face didn't change except for a single raised eye brow. After a short pause her lips moved in her speech. "If ah was Bunnie Rabbot, would I really be working in a bar?" Antoine's face slowly changed from eagerness and hopeful excitement to lowness and disappointment. "And besides, didn't she 'ave like weird limbs and stuff?"
"Ah. I'm sorry mademoiselle." He stumbled to say.
"'at's alright." She said, cooling herself down a bit from the attitude she held while instigating her customer. "Can ah get you anything else?" She asked, noticing Antoine's beer was running pretty low and Sonic just took the last drink of his shooter.
"I think I'll be good." Antoine said a bit lowly. He turned to Sonic and he gave her a head shake saying he was good.
"Okay. One tab or two?"
…
"Man, Ant. I thought you really had that bartender with the whole 'You look like someone I know' act." Sonic taunted as he pulled back the bed sheet to his bed. They were staying in a two bedroom room in a decent hotel. The air conditioning was blowing colder than Sonic usually wanted but he didn't speak up and just prepared to sleep with all his sheets encasing him.
Antoine poked his head out of the bathroom with a toothbrush in his mouth. He withdrew the stick so he could speak. "For ze last time, I was not hitting on her! She looked like Bunnie." He said, returning to his post where Sonic could clearly hear the bristles of the fibers from the brush in amongst the coyote's carnivorous teeth.
"She had a point though. Bunnie was partly roboticized." Sonic added. He heard the water from the bathroom sink turn off and Antoine came out, shutting off the bathroom light as he did.
"Well I don't know. So much has changed already." He explained, giving a very valid point. He moved to the other side of the room and get into his own personal bed.
"Yeah. It has." Sonic stated.
"I'm sure tomorrow we'll ze what all hasn't." Antoine ensured.
"I guess so." And with that, Antoine turned off the last remaining light that illuminated the room.
*o*
Sonic looked over at the clock. 6:42. He couldn't sleep. He only had many things on his mind and Antoine's snoring from across the room wasn't helping him sooth his wandering thoughts. So many thoughts, but only one that was eating at him like no other. He reached back into his quills and pulled out the picture he swiped from the museum. His eyes had adjusted enough to see pretty well in the hotel room and the slowly lightening sky from the sun that has yet to show its face made everything pretty visible. He stared at the picture. Not only did it speak a thousand words for the hedgehog, it spoke a thousand phrases, emotions, and even more words that Sonic wish he would have said. 'Why were all these emotions coming back now?' He thought. Was it just the fact that he was here to relive it all? He didn't know. He gently slid open the drawer to the nightstand next to his bed and placed the picture in it. He threw his arms behind his head and closed his eyes, trying to accomplish the impossible task of getting at least a little bit of sleep.
…
It was already late morning and Sonic and Antoine were finishing up their morning tasks. Sonic entered through the door with hands full of fruits and pastries from the continental breakfast while Antoine was making his bed. "About ready to head out?"
"I think I'm going to do my own thing today if you don't mind Ant." Sonic subtly declared while tossing an apple in the air, catching it as it came down and repeating the process over and over again.
"You sure?" He asked, fluffing the pillows and placing them under the sheets. Sonic didn't know why he was making the room so presentable, they still had another night in the place.
"Yeah. I'm sure we have our own versions of memory lane we want to travel down."
Antoine smiled at the truth of his statement. "Want me to drive you anywhere?" He offered.
"Nah. I think I'll feel a bit more at home if I was running around this old town. Just like I used to." Sonic added with a grin.
"Alright then. You 'ave my number if you need me." The coyote said as he left the door, leaving Sonic in the room to finish his free breakfast. A few seconds after he left, Sonic pulled out the picture from the nightstand and studied it.
Sonic ran down the streets of Knothole remembering how life was so magical when he was younger. No cares in the world, just their lives to live. Maybe it was a mid-life crisis he was going through. Maybe he came to the point in his life where he starts to ask, what will he leave here if he's gone? He already left a legacy but where has that taken him? He ran down through the parks and streets slower than he did when he was younger. Not only could he probably never reach that speed again, he for once wanted to take in the world around him. Study it, remember it, live it. It was a bit in the afternoon by now and he was coming across the other end of the city where the Castle resided. He had one mission that day and that was to see her. But it seemed his thoughts were a bit off track in his trek to the castle.
He remembered playing tag with his old friends. Tails would try and cut everyone off by flying ahead. Rotor, not being the athletic type, liked to hide so he couldn't be seen by the others. Sally and Antoine just ran and laughed all the way. Sonic was never the one to stay 'it' for very long if they even managed to tag him. They were so carefree back then, full of hope of what this world had to offer them. But the more he looked at it he figured it did offer everyone something. It seems like Sonic was the only one who didn't take it. He moved too fast to let life catch up to him and now he was too far ahead for it to matter.
He couldn't face his parents either. Not being home for so long, and not able to tell them his big and bright future remains a dull lamp in a cave. Everyone saw him as being this big never failing hero. He could still hear the voices of the people say when he left Knothole, 'wow, he's going to go far.' A tear came to the hedgehog's eye but quickly vanished in the air as it whisked by his speedy figure.
He remembered seeing Uncle Chuck's diner on the drive from the airport and the old playgrounds they played at. Time passed all his memories and consumed them. The past was gone and never to return and now he had to live with what he was given and the torment of all the regrets he had between the good times and now.
His friends were his family. There was no better way to put it. Of course most of the Freedom Fighters were reunited with their families after Robotnik was taken out but it was his friends they slept in the ditches with, fought alongside, and endured all their hardships with. They were the reason he called this place home and now they all went their separate ways. He hasn't spoken with any of them in what seemed like a lifetime and he still thought it a bit abnormal to be hanging around Antoine after all these years. He wanted to see all their happy faces again, to see their childhood smiles without all the problems being an adult brings. According to Freedom HQ Museum and Antoine, it seems everyone turned out alright except Sonic. He wanted to believe that – he could do anything to believe that. But deep down, he felt that things were just as gilded as the others as they were for him.
He then thought of Tails. He was his best man at his and Mina's wedding. It was weird for him to think his 'little bro' stood a good foot taller than him now but that's what growing up does to people. And now the happiest couple he knew was divorced.
He came up to the castle and froze at the sights of the guards. "What am I doing?" He said to himself. He wasn't the chipper little tike he once was. He wasn't practically the consort to the princess as he once believed he was. He couldn't just come up to the guards and expect to be let in because he was the best friend of Sally. He was an older, broken down hedgehog that had no business in the castle of the head of the entire kingdom. He plopped down on a bench that coincidentally rested behind him and faced the castle gates in the distance. He sat there with his head resting on his chin in deep thought and remembrance of what used to be. He saw Sally and him in their late teens, holding hands and walking through the Castle Courtyard.
They were joking about something, he couldn't remember what, but all he could remember was her beautiful laugh because that's all what mattered to him. She clung onto his arm and leaned onto Sonic's slightly taller shoulder. They walked through the flowers as bees and butterflies commuted between each bud. They came up to King Max and Queen Alicia who were also making a casual stroll through the yards.
"Ah Sonic, how has your day been?" The king asked, seeing as it couldn't be any better with how he and Sally were at the time.
"It's been good sir. How about yourself?" He asked. He normally wasn't the most polite person even to the Royal Family but he was in such a good mood he didn't feel like displaying his normal gaudy attitude.
"Good as well. I'm glad you asked." The king responded.
"It's wonderful to see you two together like this." The queen stated with slight giddiness. But since she was queen, she had to be able to control herself and hid the emotion pretty well. "It won't be long before we'll be seeing you two behind the alter I'm sure." She smiled. Sonic's blue fur and tan cheeks blushed so red they could have mistaken him as the purple hedgehog.
Sally chuckled at the sight while Sonic stood frozen in awkwardness. "Come on mother, you're embarrassing him. I'm sure whatever happens it will all just work out fine." She said giving her mother a signal with her eyes as she pushed Sonic aside to continue their stroll in privacy.
"I'm sure you're right my daughter." The king said as they too continued on.
Sonic and Sally came up to a bench and sat down. "What was that about!" The hedgehog shouted in slight nervousness once they were clear of earshot from the king and queen. He never usually got nervous or embarrassed but Sally loved it when he did. Showed he was not always the macho tough guy/smart-ass he played off to be.
"Don't worry about them." She said. "They just like to be parents sometimes." She said with a light chuckle as she leaned in and gave him a lavish kiss.
The scene faded away and now Sonic was the only one remaining on the bench. The bench moved out of the courtyard and to where he was sitting right now. He looked back at what he's done and what he failed to do. He sat in regret of all those things, wishing if none of them had taken place, if none of those fond memories existed than he wouldn't be feeling what he was feeling right now. He never thought about his life so much before this. Grant it Sally was another story, he never stopped thinking about her, but he just kept of keeping on with the rest of his life before this weekend but now, it all was coming back to him. All the times and memories he had with his friends and never being able to see any of them ever again would all be worth it if he could only have one thing one more time: waking up next to the he lost. Smiling at each other and holding each other close in the growing morning light as they did many times before.
And while Sonic prayed to every god imaginable like a pagan on his deathbed, it seemed his prayers were answered. For outside of the Castle gates, he saw a familiar auburn haired chipmunk leave the castle grounds. She looked just like how Sonic remembered her except with a little more age than when they departed in their late teens. He sat mesmerized by her every movement but what froze him to his seat was the fact that he knew nothing would change. He had her and screwed it up with hopes to be big and now, she was probably set to rule the kingdom at any time and he sat on the thirteenth floor of an office building in the big city, pushing papers to documents.
"I have to talk to her." He concluded as he got up and began to stalk her. He followed from a distance, acting as casual as possible – stalking a political figure and heir to the throne is usually not a smart move to take.
She came up to a coffee shop and entered. This was his chance. He entered a bit later and tried to conceal himself from her view as she was receiving her beverage at the time he entered the small café. She took a seat near the window and began reading a book when Sonic approached. He stopped in nervous hesitation, took a deep breath, then sat down across from her without even an invitation.
"You know for normal people, it's considered a bit creepy to just sit down with a–" The princess said arrogantly before being interrupted.
"–complete stranger?" Sonic said finishing her statement. She looked up and immediately recognized him. "Hey Sal." He said modestly with a small smile.
Sally's face lit up for a moment then dropped to slight disappointment. "Sonic. So what brings you all the way back to the place you once called home?" She picked up the arrogant tone again.
"Believe it or not, some unexpected events. How have things been?" He said still pretty modest as anyone would be if they were in his situation, not having talked to her in years.
"Good. Very good actually. My father tells me he plans to hand over the Kingdom to me soon." She said very factual.
"That's good to hear!" He said, and then stopped not remembering hearing about this on the news or anything. "When did this happen?"
"He hasn't released it to the public yet."
"So I'm getting the special treatment?" Sonic said trying to play off his old attitude, a more familiar one with the chipmunk he was talking to but she was not playing into his games and still sounded like she wasn't enjoying his company too much.
"No. I just thought you'd like to know." She said, raising her head up a little. "He plans to step down from king at my wedding."
Sonic's eyes grew and his ears dropped. "Wedding?"
"I'm getting married. In about three months actually." She responded almost coldly.
Sonic froze. He wanted to shout out in a vacant black about how his life crumbled at that moment but he was able to crack a fake smile. "That's…great. Good for you."
Sally now sounded a little sorrowful. "Yeah. It is." She saw how he took the news and figured she could drop the cold shoulder attitude. She leaned onto the table and began questioning the old hero. "What about you? What are you up to, what do you live for right now?"
Sonic tried to keep up the fake facial expression. "I, uh, got a job in East City. I live there now."
"Well that's good to hear. What brings you back here then?" She retold a previous question of hers with different wording.
"I wanted to see how everything was." He said.
"And?"
She wanted him to go on but truth be told, Sonic didn't like what he saw. "Things have changed. This definitely isn't the same place I remember as a child." He explained the saddened truth.
"Yeah, you're right. Everyone kind of went their separate ways and the town seemed to leave with them." Sonic could feel that deep down, she felt the same thing he was feeling.
"Yeah. Visited the museum yesterday. Rotor probably did amazing things with that scholarship and program he got into. I heard about Tails and Mina, that's a shame." Sonic said, pulling back memories of his little brother and how he hasn't seen him in ages. He continued. "Ant's doing well. Bunnie probably is still kicking but I assume." Sally's face dropped a little but Sonic just kept going. "And Amy. I can totally see her with a fashion label." He chuckled a little bit but saw that the notion didn't transfer over to his friend across the table. "Something wrong?"
"Sonic…Amy's dead." She explained. Sonic couldn't hold it anymore. He threw his face into his hands and suppressed the tears and whimpers that begged to be released. He dragged his hands down his face and looked at her. "How."
"Activists formed a mob outside one of her fashion unveilings and well, they got a little more aggressive than they usually do and someone had a gun." Sally explained cautiously.
Sonic couldn't take it. "Sal, what happened?"
"Huh?"
"What happened to us? Us kids, the Freedom Fighters. We were the best of friends and had eyes as big as the moon. We talked of the places we would go but never went there."
"I don't know about you but some of us did what we were to do." She said a little defensively.
"I didn't." He finally confessed. "I have nothing. I never picked up the life everyone expected me to pick up, I never did anything great." He looked up at her and grabbed her hands. "And worst, I let you go."
Sally felt the moment for only half a second, then quickly withdrew her hands from his and placed them in her lap. "Sorry Sonic but you left with hopes that only you could fill."
"I know but I screwed up."
"Yeah, you did. What are you really doing here?" She said beginning to get suspicious.
"I– I wanted to see you. I haven't let you go. I've written you letters but you never responded." He was going to keep going but she cut him off.
"I never received any letters. Even if I did, I don't know how much it would have changed." She stood up and pushed her chair in. "I asked you to stay where we could be happy together but you left with that big head of yours. 'I can't slow my life down.' You told me. You left me." Sonic looked for any sign that she still cared for him, a tear, a wrinkle in her facial expression, anything but received none. "Listen, sorry if you screwed your life up. Sorry if everything isn't as bright as it was when we were kids but this is life now and the only thing you can do it live it. If you failed to see that those years back, that's your mistake. Craig and I are getting married so this petty attempt to win me back is pretty insulting. If you'll excuse me, I have to get going."
She began to walk away but Sonic grabbed her arm. "Sal wait!"
"It's Princess Sally." She jerked her arm away and left the store. And at that moment, he knew she did something he should have done long ago. By addressing herself like that, something she never did when they were younger, she showed him she put her past behind her and moved on. Maybe Sonic should do the same.
*o*
"Alright then, I'll see you tomorrow." A handsome and well-kept dog told Sally as they stood outside her door. He held both her hands in his as they stared deeply into each other's eyes.
Sally leaned in and gave him a deep and passionate kiss. After a few seconds, they broke away from each other. "See you tomorrow." She opened her door and entered as the dog left down the hallway to head home. Sally's gleeful and smug expression dropped down once the door closed. The day was done and what a day it was; spent it all with Craig. She was so happy with him and loved him dearly but that one running with Sonic plagued her mind nonetheless.
She moved over to her bed and pulled out from underneath it a small box. She slowly opened it to reveal a bunch of papers and a few pictures. She looked at one of the pictures which displayed Sonic and her walking down the street. It showed their back ends as it was secretly taken by Sally's mother when they departed from the castle one day. Sonic's arm was around Sally's middle back and her head leaned on his shoulder. She placed it down and picked up one of the pieces of paper.
'Hey, Sal. Made it to East City and it's bigger than we'd ever imagined! Maybe you can come down to visit sometime. – Sonic.'
She skipped a few and pulled out another one.
'Hey Sal! Just visited the Statue of Freedom. Took me a while to do so but I've been kind of busy. Here's a pic. Miss you girl. Can't wait to hear from you soon. – Sonic.'
She unfolded the next part of the letter and a picture fell out. It was indeed of Sonic with a big grin and his arms thrown out wide while the Statue of Freedom stood behind him. Sally let a small smirk escape her face when looking at it but soon dropped it and moved on. She could remember after this one, there was a long gap in time from when he sent his next letter.
'Sally, I haven't heard back from you. Is something going on? Would love to hear from you. Things are getting kind of rough out here. Need a friend. – Love Sonic.'
She again skipped a few and pulled out the last letter she received.
'Sally, you don't know how much I'm missing you right now. Write me back sometime. – Sonic.'
"I thought you said you never received those letters." A voice came from behind the princess in her room. She got startled, threw the letters in the box, slammed it closed and pushed it under her bed. She quickly stood up and spun around to see Sonic standing behind her.
"Sonic! What the hell are you doing here?"
"I wanted to talk. More than over coffee." He smiled but it wasn't a happy one.
"How did you get up here anyway?" She asked puzzled.
"That little route I'd take when I'd sneak up here when we were younger still works mighty fine. Some of the holes and crawlspaces were a lot smaller than I remembered." He chuckled lightly.
At this, she noticed some of his quills were bent and broken, probably from cramming into such small spaces. "You know you can get into some serious trouble if you're found here." Sally urged on, not wanting to hear the hedgehog out.
"Shows how much I care doesn't it." He said which caused a striking silence to follow. "Sally, I miss us. And I know you do too. Keeping those letters proved that fact."
But she was just blocking out his words. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Sonic. There is nothing you can do. It's too late. I know you can't take no for an answer and if there was something you could do to make things right, you would strive till the end to make sure of it."
"It's in my nature." He added with a grin before she could continue.
"But some things you just have to let go." She confirmed.
"Look, I know life's not as pretty and dressed up as it used to be. I don't know if you feel the same way but things suck for me right now. I have a dead end job, nowhere else to go but worst of all, I have to live with the disappointments of others. I'm Sonic the fucking hedgehog and I pinch papers for a living. I have all these memories of all the good times but I know life will never be as good as it was. It will never be good again." He moved closer to her and grabbed her hands but she quickly dropped them and crossed her arms.
Sally couldn't take much more regardless of how well she hid the notion. "So what are you asking, huh?" She cut in. "So that I can just drop everything I have to help support you? Leave Craig who I've been going out for nearly three years now so I can run off with an old childhood friend of mine?"
"Is that who I am now?" Sonic asked a bit more aggressively. "Just an 'old childhood friend'?"
"DON'T… go there Sonic…" He could see tears were coming from her eyes now. "Sonic, I cried endlessly when you left. I loved you more than anything. I remember when the last plane left. I cried for you, I lied awake on countless nights, breaking myself." Her voice began to tremble now. "But you were gone. I wanted nothing more than to have you by my side. We could have ruled the Kingdom together. It could have been you that I would be kissing good night to every night."
"It still can be." He quickly added.
"No. It can't. You saw this coming when you left. I don't know what your plan was, trying to make a bigger name for yourself than 'Hero of Mobius'. Come back with all your success and swoop me up in your arms? But no, you came crawling back begging with nothing to give but the lost hope that what we once had might be relived." She plopped down on the bed that rested behind her and sniffled while never uncrossing her arms and not daring to look anywhere but a certain spot on the floor in an attempt to avoid his emerald eyes.
"Sally, I went through the whole city today. Revisiting everything." It was now Sonic's turn to shed some tears although his voice didn't quiver like hers did. "And no, it can never be how it was. We can never be those happy kids running around without a care in the world. We can never be those strong willed teenagers who overcame the odds and saved the world. We will never live up to all our hopes and dreams but at least we can do is get as close as possible." Again, that long silent pause. "Well?"
"I'm trying to do that Sonic. And I'm succeeding. Just not with you." She said ever so painfully trying to articulate those words and the meaning behind them.
"Sally." Sonic stepped closer but she stood up to his level and caused him to stand back a bit. He could tell she was going to start yelling at him or something but her face changed. The sight was agonizing to see as her face broke down involuntarily as she lost whatever little composure that remained. She burst into tears and crashed into Sonic. She wrapped her arms around him and clenched his quills trying to alleviate some of her pain. The hedgehog ignored the pinching she was giving him and wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. No words were spoken.
They stood there for a good few minutes. Tears were soaking up the shoulders of the two but went unnoticed until they finally broke apart. "I'm sorry Sonic." Sally said with a few sniffles. "I'll have a guard escort you out of the castle."
"Sally." Sonic reached his hand out to her but she turned away.
"Don't make this harder than it already is." She simply stated.
Sonic's arm dropped in sync with his facial expression. "Alright then." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the photo he took from the museum and placed it on her bed before she could turn around. "I'll leave you…" He walked over to the door, "Again." He whispered and left.
Sally waited a few seconds after the door closed and broke down again. She couldn't keep herself on her feet and fell to the floor, using the bed as a back rest but even that wasn't good enough. In amongst all the sobs, it was getting harder to breathe.
She replayed the memories the two spent together… Her jokingly shoving him after one of his snide comments on one of their many walks in the courtyard, causing him to accidentally fall into a fountain and getting completely soaked. Them laughing together with all of their friends. Them fighting together with the rest of the dissolved Freedom Fighters in the final push against Robotnik and how at an uncertain turn of events during the raid, she started to lose it but he comforted her. They celebrated together after the war was finally over and rested on a blanket on the top of a hill in the nighttime fireworks display. She remembered them busting into her room once, she was being held up by the hedgehog with her legs wrapped around his side while having their tongues wrestle widely as they crashed onto the bed. His smile and the joy they felt together when they would look into each other's eyes. And then she recalled them just sitting on a bench, looking out at the Lake of Rings on a beautiful summer evening. No words were being said, just mutual bliss as they sat next to each other. His arm was around her shoulder and pulled her close while she snuggled up to his chest.
She fell to her side and hit the floor of her bedroom hard. She reached up and pulled down the comforter from her bed to conceal her as she wept unlike she has in years. The photo Sonic left fluttered in the air when she pulled out the sheet and landed under the bed next to her box of letters, unseen.
On the back of the photo, Sonic wrote his last testament to her, "I know it won't be easy but that never stopped you in the past. I can do whatever it takes to be who you NEED me to be, and you know that is true. I'll be at Fastnight Park near the lake, hoping you will meet me at five. I will always love you. Your friend, Sonic."
