Title: Chase the Sky: An Alternate Universe Love Story in 50 Sentences.
Characters: Miles "Tails" Prower, Amy Rose.
Canon: Sonic SatAM, with some tidbits of SegaSonic thrown into the mix.
Pairing: Miles "Tails" Prower x Amy Rose
Warning: Slight spoilers for Tails' Adventure? Run-on sentences? AU? References to Tarot and the occult (due to Amy's hobbies)? Also, my first story in this style.
Note: Originally this was supposed to be a set of oneshots based on my other fic, "God Save the Children". Partway through I said "Fuck it", and then rewrote most of it to have a universe all its own. The only remote similarity that stayed was that Tails and Amy first met on Cocoa Island and then went to Knothole after the Battlebirds blew its shit. But no Chaos Emeralds, no Angel Island, no nothing. This is completely unrelated, peoples.
Soft – "Eeeeeee," The pink hedgehog squealed, jumping at the fox out of the blue and clinging to his namesakes for all she was worth, "They're so fluffy!"
Comfort – Their first meeting had been entirely Amy's fault (though the girl would argue that it was his fault for being born with such fluffy tails), but Tails didn't realize until years later that the girl who seemed so social and with so many friends was actually just as lonely as he was.
Death – The loss of a beloved grandmother, the loss of a family; the three-year-old young hedgehog sobbed in the arms of her friend of only a few months, mourning a death that he didn't understand but still sympathized for just the same.
Clouds – The days after the tragedy had been a blur as Amy started to grow used to her new surroundings and 'family', but her tears slowed and her eyes widened in surprise as her vulpine friend, eyes sparkling with childlike secrecy, asked, "Di' you know that some foxes c'n fly?"
Name – "Miles" was the Tower, the card of endless misfortune; "Tails" was the Hanged Man, the card of sacrifice, selflessness, knowledge, and illumination; Amy doubted that the fox knew Strength from the Ace of Cups, though she was certain that he appreciated her insistence in referring to him as his nickname rather than his much-loathed given name all the same.*
Melody – "Taaaaaiiiiiiils," Three year old Amy whined, kicking her feet against Rosemary Prower's old Grand, "How c'n I practice when you're sittin' on th' piano?"
Chocolate – It was strange that an island called Cocoa Island would have so little of the stuff, and even stranger, Rosemary noted, to see her three-year-old son willingly share it with the now sated and satisfied girl hedgehog sitting at his side.
Happiness – ...was a pair of small children, caked with sand and the remnants of pella fruit, laughing together and ignoring the insistent announcement of the lunch they had, only minutes before, so dearly craved.
Market – Poloy Market was always a bustling and exciting place; the perfect location for a fox who could fly and a hedgehog who could level boulders with a single hammer-strike to play hide-and-seek in the morning sun.
Sky – His 'home' had always been in the sky, off the ground that he'd never truly been comfortable with; she, earthbound, had always envied that, grabbing branches and doing somersaults off trees in an attempt to emulate the dreamlike feeling of flight.
Blood – Rosemary Prower was her second mother, no doubt about that—though confusingly Amy never wanted to refer to Tails as her brother.
Life – Religious people often said that God Giveth and Taketh away, but Amy could not think of one God who could willingly find himself leaving a young fox abandoned with no mother, and two four-year-olds left with a home and workshop to maintain with no real way of knowing how to do it.
Tears – "'M not crying," he insisted, even as that accursed salty water fell from his eyes and Amy touched his shoulder reassuringly, refusing to let him see her own.
Devotion – He stood in front of her with his best imitation of a snarl, though the four year old really just made it look like a pout to the bigger kids standing in front of the fox and very confused hedgehog, "L-leave Amy alone; she didn't do anythin' to you and if you don't go away, y-you'll be sorry!"
Wind – It had come as quickly as Fate had dared, the Battlebirds' fire and machine guns spraying upon the poor citizens of Cocoa Island like a Death Wind, five year olds left to fend for themselves in the workshop basement as they scrambled for an opportunity to escape to the mainland aboard Tails' still rather faulty Sea Tail.
Weakness – The hammer slammed down on the bird's outer layer, crushing it under its weight as the five-year-old pink hedgehog glowered down at the others approaching, shielding the battered, barely-conscious kit behind her from their assault.
Home – It was during a rainstorm when the pair of children were found, frightened, mud-caked five year olds from a small place called "Cocoa Island", shivering together and sobbing so quietly in fear of a threat long-gone hearing their voices and coming back to finish what it was they had started.
Lightning/Thunder – Tails denied up and down that he was frightened, even as Amy crawled in bed with him and stroked his fur, calming his shivering sobs down to quieted, sleepy hiccups.
Bonds – During their first two weeks in Knothole, neither hedgehog nor fox dared to leave the other's side, hands usually tightly clasped and bodies so close that there were times when Sonic was certain that they had been grafted together somehow.
Fear – Sometimes Tails would peek over at her when she slept, looking over the hedgehog in hopes that at least she was having pleasant dreams, even when he had just run away from the nightmarish world of his own.
Rain – Gramma had always told her that it wasn't polite to laugh at someone else's misfortune, but Amy couldn't help but giggle as a soaking-wet Tails sauntered into their shared hut with a grimace, mumbling something about downpours...only for her to shriek in surprise as he stood right in front of her and shook all of the water off in a flurry of fur and rain and eeeww.
Ears – Tails had a very sensitive spot behind his ears, and if Amy scratched just so, he would fall asleep in minutes, leaving her to try to find Sonic at her leisure.
Potatoes – Sally wasn't quite sure how the impromptu food fight between those two kids started, but she had a sneaking suspicion that it happened right around the time when Tails plopped his untouched pile of Mashed potatoes on Amy Rose's plate.
Waves – Sonic may have been aquaphobic, but the kids sure weren't, their lack of understanding shining through as together they conspired to rid True Blue of his fear, usually with comical results.
Heaven – "Hey, Amy," Tails had asked one night, both children on their backs on the roof (it was past their bedtime, but neither cared—some traditions went beyond bedtimes, beyond promises of groundings and punishments and adults) staring up at the canopy of stars above them, "It'd be way past cool if your Gramma an' Mom were up there right now, watchin' over us...though if they were, I'm sure they'd prolly get all mad at us and tell Sonic and Aunt Sally that we stayed up past bedtime again."
Forever – A friend may have been for life, but family was forever; Tails was sure that Amy understood that, even when he found himself spending more and more time with the Blue Blur and the Princess, rather than the pink hurricane who had been his constant companion years before.
Jealousy – The two kids glared at each other from across the empty room, one demanding if Amy's Darling Sonic had ditched her again, the other asking with equal venom if his Aunt Sally was quite finished giving His Majesty Prince Miles the Royal Treatment for the day.
Star – "Hey uh," A six year old glanced to either side before he stared back up at his skyward counselor, "d'you think you could give me the old Amy back—you know, before she got all weird and started chasing Sonic and everything?"
Hell – Amy scuttled against the bed and stared at the bowl of...something held out in front of her, and Tails, hands on his hips and glowering at the girl, informed her in his best know-it-all tone that Aunt Sally had told him that this was the best way to take care of a cold and stop bein' dumb and eat it already—who cared if it looked a little sickly green, anyway?
Hair – Hairbrush and ribbons in hand, Amy Rose leapt towards the young fox, even when he tried to hide behind Sonic in terror of having his tails used as styling victims again.
Technology – Amy had always wished she had a talent for something like Tails had for mechanics...but after three failed machines, ten explosions, and one panicked fox later, the hedgehog had decided that maybe it was better to stick to tarot cards rather than gyros and spinning gears.
Completion – Just as always, the Three of Cups sat in the center of the desk, with the Hanged Man on one side, and The Fool on the other; though for the life of her she could never understand exactly what that meant.**
Speed – When he heard her scream, he found that he could not run fast enough, whirring his tails behind him for an extra boost; their first mission without Sonic and already things were not going well, no thanks to a traitor in their ranks who had led them into a SWATBot ambush.
Sensual – Her cheeks burned as his hand slipped into hers, even if it was for the sake of helping her up; that firm and gentle grip had always been there, but as time went on it seemed to feel different somehow.
Gift – Getting away without being captured was a testament in itself, though Amy knew that in normal circumstances this would not have happened, battered and bleeding bodies notwithstanding.
Kiss – It was fast—much faster than it had any right to be, but as those lips brushed his cheek, Tails wasn't sure if he should wipe it off with disgust or grin like an idiot; he settled for something between the two, which only earned him a knowing smirk courtesy of Sonic that sent his fur on edge and his mouth at the ready to throw a denying retort to any assumptions his brother might toss his way.
Sun – The tallest treetops were always the best place to watch the sun rise; once his favorite spot, and now theirs, finally deciding to take the girl he'd grown up with and invite her to share in a moment that used to belong to brothers, and brothers alone.
Sex – Tails had never seen Amy as a girl, not really—she was his first real friend, after all—she liked climbing trees and sports and pillow fights; though that didn't stop the eleven-year-old from noticing—with the weirdest warm-hot pangs gargling in his stomach—how her quills would fall just so over her face in the morning, or how her green eyes would sparkle when she was excited about something.
Sickness – "Oh, my stars, honey-pie, Amy isn't making you sick—you've just got a little crush on her, that's all!"
Taste – She'd always imagined that her first kiss would feel magical, like chocolate or strawberries (as well as with a certain blue hedgehog that danced across her childhood dreams like snow did during Solstice time)...but as her body fell and her lips crashed down onto the surprised fox's below, she found that it didn't taste of either of those things; just of mint candy and wet fur.
Confusion – Both stood and backed away from one another, but it was Amy who moved first, a pink streak trailing behind her as she dashed out as quickly as her legs could carry her, leaving Tails to touch his lips with one hand and wonder just what in the world happened with the bits of his brain that still wanted to work.
Freedom – "So when are you going to stop chasing me," Sonic asked with his usual carefree grin, "And finally tell the Big Guy that you like him, already?"
Innocence – "Aunt Sally, is it possible to love two men at the same time?" The question was out of the blue, straightforward but so typical Amy—just the simple innocence of her tone was enough to have the Princess nearly choke on the herb tea she was drinking.
Touch – As a small child, Tails had always been a tactile little kit, grabbing hugs and affection from his family and friends whenever he could...but even the thought of touching Amy these days sent him into nervous fits, and the eleven year old tried to deny any such feelings when the girl demanded, again, that he tell her what was wrong before she drove a hammer into his skull.
Smile – To some, it was an innocent thing, sweet and pure with only the best of intentions; but Miles Prower knew better, he knew the true meaning behind that honey-sweet look: Miles Prower, you are dead.
Pain – If there was one thing that Miles Prower would learn in his young life, it was this: never ever even hint that a girl gained weight, especially when she had deadly accuracy with a hammer that was bigger than she was.
Moon – The Power ring pool was always the best place to watch the full moon; though still, Tails's sleep-addled mind couldn't understand why Amy had dragged him out of bed and nearly carried him by the tails just to fulfill her demands to watch it together.
Hands – When she'd doted on Sonic, this stuff was easy—just grab and don't look back—so why was it that with Tails, it felt so awkward just to try to hold his hand?
Supernova – He wasn't sure how it happened, but suddenly his world erupted into an explosion of color and feeling as Amy, letting out a loud growl of frustration grabbed him by the shoulders and kissed him, hard, the two of them bathed in the moonlight shining over the Ring Pool.
Telephone – The rumor had spread fast, but the weight of it hit Tails like Robotnik had been dropped on his head: Amy Rose, eleven-year-old hyperactive tomboy and Sonic Fangirl Extraordinaire, had 'broke up' with her hero in a dramatic flourish, crying false tears and speaking of her 'passionate love for another man' before dashing off into her and Tails' shared hut as fast as her legs could carry her.
*—This was written based on the numerological values of Tails' various names. Miles' name actually is the same number as "The Shattered Citadel", which is equivalent, in tarot terms, to The Tower (which is the worst card you can get in the Tarot, in terms of bad luck), while "Tails" had the same meaning as the "Hanged Man" card numerologically.
**—Numerologically, Amy's full name's compound number is 22, which signifies The Fool, while Tails' nickname (and the name he associates with) is represented by the Hanged Man, as stated in one of the other drabbles. The Three of Cups stands for 'completion', 'unity', and 'joy'. The way the spread is meant to be read, the middle card is the binding force between the two entities, pulling them together into a single message that answers the question of the querent.