Chapter Title: Something Different

AN: Here's a long chapter for you all and I hope you enjoy and let me know your thoughts!

Chapter 3

Within days, the Feral had shown signs of healing and slept constantly which might have been the reason for his quick recovery. Because of this, Amy never saw him awake since their last encounter when he was dying and she saved him. For that she was thankful but today that was not the case.

Amy's shoulders dropped as she entered the shed and found Sonic standing by the window, looking out. He seemed lost in thought and oblivious to her present as she stood by the door unsurely. She took this time to observe him.

He looked dirty.

His quills were a shade of dark blue but were shaggy and messy. His fur covered in dirt and dried blood. Whenever she had to get close to him she could even smell his horrible stench of dead animal. He resembled the type of Feral she had always heard about.

She shivered at the thought, hoping the rest of the things she'd heard were not true, especially since Shadow had gone into town for supplies. Feeling brave, she cleared her throat, "I'm here to change your bandages." She said as his eyes snapped to her.

The regret of her actions immediately overpowering her as he began making his way over her and she froze. Even his movements were animalistic; weary, hesitant, and prominent in his stance. It was almost like he was sizing her up to seem more threatening than he really was and testing how she would react.

She gulped, suddenly feeling a tad bit intimidated by the larger male hovering over her. He towered over her at least a whole foot. The cobalt hedgehog gave her a few sniffs on her neck, ticking and sending shivers down her spine and making the beautiful maiden to flush at the contact. Evenso, Amy remained perfectly still as he rotated around her and continued sniffing. She felt too afraid to do anything else but that quickly ended when she felt her something sniff her rear.

She stiffened. "What do you think you're doing?" Amy snapped, smacking Sonic on the nose as she yanked the skirt of her dress away from him.

Instead of growling out like she thought he would, Sonic withdrew and lowered his ears back like a confused puppy being scolded. He had even retreated to hunching over so she now was the one towering over him (by a mere centimeter that was). In a way, it gave her more confidence as she swallowed her pride and stood proudly before him and held her ground

"That is not how you treat a lady," Amy said sternly as she lowered a pointed finger at him though with flushed cheeks. "You're lucky I didn't hit you on the head with my hammer!"

Sonic tilted his head in confusion. "Ham-mer?"

Amy blinked, not expecting him to try and imitate her words. She bit her lip as she turned away. In a way it was kid of cute...

"Yeah, it's a hard metal that—gosh! Why am I explaining myself? You probably don't even understand." She shook her head and turned back to him. "May I?" Amy asked, gesturing to the right side of the big dirty jacket he still wore where he still had his wound.

Sonic seemed hesitant again but pulled the jacket to the side for her to see his wound. With delicate fingers, Amy brushed her fingers through the bandages around his lower rib. Though she couldn't help but still feel flustered as she could feel Sonic's closeness. It's not like he was doing anything really but glancing down at her as she examined him but if she were to look up they would only be inches apart. It seemed he knew nothing about space but she tried to ignore this and focused her attention at the scar on his skin. The wound was no longer bleeding and it seemed that he did not need to wear bandages for much longer.

Even so, she took a cloth from a nearby self and drenched it with a warm bowl of water she had brought in when she walked in and carefully washed the scab that had formed. She didn't want an infection forming from this so she disinfected and wrapped him again.

While she did this, Sonic watched her with confusion with how delicately she treated him. No one had ever been so kind to him other than his mother so he felt sudden shyness overwhelm him as he looked away. These people were quite kind and he was very lucky to have found them.

"Here's a cookie for being a good patient," Amy said, getting his attention as she took out a wrapped chocolate chip form her skirt pocket and holding it out to him.

Sonic sniffed it briefly and took it in his hands, inspecting it curiously as he flipped it around. He found it strange. He had always seen these baked goods through window shops and could even smell it from homes but he had never really known what they were or what they were called until now. Not only that but he also found it odd that she was being kind to him.

He had considered the whole situation earlier and now that he was feeling better he was having difficulty accepting the possibility of strangers aiding him. He had always been used to being treated differently by Normals so he found it strange for them to be so kind to him. Especially this pink maiden, who he had remembered meeting in the kitchen, and was certain looking back now that she looked nothing but pleased when she first met him.

He eyed the pink maiden wearily. "Go on," Amy instructed with a warm smile that added to his confliction but he followed her orders and nibbled on the cookie only for his eyes to light up at the taste.

A satisfactory crunch lingered by his ears as they entered his mouth, only to crumble and melt on the inside, so deliciously tasty that his taste buds tingled. Indescribable pleasure pulsed through him. They were an Angel's creation. They were incredible.

Amy watched him sympathetically as he hurried and swallowed the cookie. He ate like a wild animal like he was but he didn't seem so dangerous. Looking closely now, he seemed quite young, probably twenty two or twenty three at most, not far from her age of twenty. He had even leaned his head to hers for what she assumed was for her to pet him and she did hesitantly and quite unsure.

"Thank you!" He said happily, shocking the pink hedgehog that he was able to actually speak.

She smiled. "You're very welcome."

She gave a weary smile as she pulled her hand out of his dirt filled quills."Maybe it's time you took a bath."

—•—

Amy ran the tub full of water and tested it warmth with her fingertips. Content with the temperature she turned and smiled at the azure hedgehog who stood by the doorway looking uneasy as his eyes wildly observed the strange room. Never had he seen a bathroom before.

Her smile softened and she coughed to get his attention. It worked. In an instant his eyes were on hers and he tilted his head at her expectantly. "Your bath is ready." She said simply, gesturing to the tub.

Sonic shifted his eyes to the tub and he looked at it with utter curiosity. Unsure what she expected him to do. He dipped his hand in it and turned to look at her as he ran his hand in the water.

"You're supposed to get inside of it and clean yourself up." She explained, motioning him to enter the tub. He looked uneasy but with another nod from her in encouragement he raised his foot to get into the tub, stopping midway when he heard her giggle.

Amy held a hand to her lips, hiding the tint of a smile. "You have to take off the jacket then go in and wash up."

In seconds, Sonic dropped the dirty jacket to the floor and with that he was completely exposed to the pink hedgehog. Luckily, he entered the water immediately. However, Amy was already undergoing sudden shock.

The young beauty's cheeks flushed pink as she yanked her hands over her face to shield herself from the sight. It was the first time she had seen a nude male body that was not her husbands so she couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Sonic on the other hand seemed completely indifferent. Not that she could blame him. Feral were known to prowl in the nude. They didn't believe in clothing and simply wore their birthday suits.

"Here is some shampoo for you to wash up," Amy said, grabbing the toiletries from the side of the tub and trying to avoid eye contact. "Use them to wash up."

"How?" Sonic asked, holding out the shampoo cofusely and with a tilted head.

That's right. Ferals didn't take baths so th cobalt hedgehog would have no idea how to take one. Amy gave a sigh as she went behind him and took out some shampoo onto her hand.

"No worries," she said with a smile. "I'll help you.

After a while, Amy was glad that she made bubbles foam in the water since it covered his member but she was also surprised how easily entertained the young male was overall. He had been playing with the bubbles for almost ten minute straight now as she removed the shampoo off of his body. It was actually quite adorable to her seeing him act this way.

Amy paused as she ran her fingers through his soft quills, noticing the scratches and scars that were hidden between his fur. A tight frown spread across her lips as she traced the outline of the scars in wonderment. It was evident that Sonic had fought many times before.

Could it be possible that Ferals were really dangerous like she had always thought? A shiver passed through her as she felt a familiar tickle of fear overwhelm her body. The Feral must of been very violent for it to be so marked and scarred.

"Madame Robotnik?" Sonic's voice echoed in the room, breaking her away from her thoughts.

"Oh, sorry," Amy said, shaking her head and drying her hands with a nearby hand towel. "I was spacing out. I'm sure you can do the rest, right? I'll leave you the towels right out the door and a new pair of clothes."

He nodded, quills shagging over his face messily as he watched the pink maiden leave the room.

—•—

Amy gave a low sigh as she sat on her living room couch deep in thought. So far she had been proven wrong with all her assumptions but she still couldn't help but feel doubt. She wasn't sure if she should trust the Feral but he seemed so innocent. If anything, he resembled a lost puppy by how he acted constantly. It sort of made her want to protect him since he seemed so lost. Maybe in a way it was her motherly instincts kicking in. She frowned.

Motherly instincts.

How would she know anything about that?

A slight pout formed around her lips. That was the one thing she had always dreamt to have as a young girl so when she was married off to Shadow everyone expected her to bear children by fifteen like all the other girls her age but here she was twenty years old with no child.

The laughing stock of the whole town that criticized her role as a women. It had taken a toll on her and her marriage and even after countless tries with Shadow nothing worked and it seemed like their marriage was even completely loveless.

Then again, from the start it was an arranged marriage, but since she had often dreamt of becoming a bride she was quite happy to get married. Also since Shadow was the heartthrob of the whole town she was considered quite lucky when she was to marry him and many girls even were quite envious.

Now they all considered her a burden to Shadow for not conceiving him a child.

It's not like it was her fault though.

She would be more than glad to give him one and welcome motherhood if it was in her control. If only things were different. She shut her eyes for a moment until a sound in the house interrupted her thoughts.

The creaking of the wooden steps caught her attention as her eyes drifted to the young male coming down the stairs with water drops still dripping down his body. Not to mention that his quills were not in his face but styled nicely and he looked clean. Though this time he was half dressed, shoes and pants but no shirt which drew the young maiden's attention subconsciously.

Amy gaped openly as she observed his sharp jaw, chin, and cheekbones. On either side of his straight nose were two blazing emerald eyes. His muscled back was bare. She couldn't see his chest. Part of her wished she could. The other very small part said she should get ahold of herself.

She let out a shaky sigh.

He didn't even look Feral at all anymore.

When he had bathing, due to the bubbles and her being behind him, she had been unable to really look him over. Especially since he was still covered in dirt and blood when she had left him in the bath. Her cheeks flushed, she had ran her hands over that body only a few minutes ago.

She slapped her cheeks to get rid of such thoughts and watched the cobalt hedgehog step down the stairs unsurely as he put on the white collar shirt. He looked quite handsome. Ordinary. Were all Ferals this normal looking?

"Madam Robotnik?" Sonic's gravelly voice echoed as her eyes turned to him once more struggling with a fabric.

She giggled, a soft smile forming on her lips as she watched him try to button up the leftover buttons of his shirt with much fail. He really did resemble a child. It made her want to protect him. "How?" Sonic asked, making the pink maiden wonder if he only knew a few words as he held out the collar shirt she had left him. He really knew nothing about clothes. She smiled heartily.

"Here let me help you." Amy offered as she helped him place the collar shirt on him with blushing cheeks, accidentally feeling his muscles through the fabric but shaking herself out of it.

"Shadow, my husband, should be back by this afternoon. What should we do until then?" Amy wondered as she helped him instead and looked up at him expectantly.

"Um…" Sonic began when his stomach spoke for him instead and a hungry growl echoed in the room.

Amy broke out into giggles as she placed a delicate hand over her lips, watching him get flustered over by magus stomach as he held it with slight flushed cheeks. "Oh, my!" Amy said, slamming the bottom of her fist to her palm. "Actually why don't you give me a hand with something?"

Sonic blinked.

—•—

Shadow's heavy boots slapped across the pavement as he made his way to the shack. He had not expected to have taken so long in town and it was almost dark. He only hoped his wife would not be too angry with him leaving her alone so long with the Feral. Though it was not like the cobalt hedgehog would do anything since he slept constantly. Or so, that was what he had first thought before he entered the empty shed.

The Feral was gone so that only meant one thing.

A scream echoed in the wind which only meant one thing.

His wife was right. He shouldn't have entrusted a Feral into his home. Shadow was quick to sprint out of the shed and make his way up the steps of his home. His wife was in danger and it was all his fault. He only wished she would be alright as he got ready to slam the door open.

He paused, his hand hovering on the doorknob as he heard the voices inside with confusion.

It sounded like… giggling?

Much to Shadow's shock, he walked into the kitchen only to be greeted by the two hedgehogs enjoying their company with one another as Amy was giggling as she taught Sonic how to broom. The ebony hedgehog's eyes drifted to the floor. Broken glass?

Shadow coughed, capturing their attention.

"Shadow, darling, you're home!" Amy said uncharastically happy as she took out a tray from a cabinet. She usually was so grim, or she had been for a while now. So this was… different.

"I heard a scream…" Shadow trailed off, observing the two with scrutiny.

"Oh, don't worry about that, honey." Amy said, waving him off as she picked up the tray of broken glass. "Sonic just dropped a plate and I got surprised."

Shadow eyes drifted to the Feral and he almost didn't recognize the cobalt hedgehog who looked much more cleaner now and sharp. He looked like a complete different individual. It had even taken him aback to see him looking so well… normal!

Amy seemed to notice his confusion as she spoke up; "I gave him some of your old clothes that you don't wear anymore," Amy explained as she cut a few carrots and tilted her head over at Sonic who was helping her mix the pot of soup on the stove.

Shadow, although still quite astonished, nodded as he sat at the table and watched the pair of hedgehogs cook away. It smelled quite nice but he had to admit he did not expect the two to get along. Especially for her to allow the Feral to touch their food. Perhaps this was a bit of hope for them.

"Alright," Amy said sweetly as she finished mixing her ingredients and putting the broth into bowls. "It's ready so you can go sit down, Sonic." She instructed after recalling his name when they had officially introduced each other earlier.

Amy bit her tongue in contemplation, finding it odd for Sonic to be eating on the floor. Although he was a Feral, when he was bathed and dressed in Shadow's clothing, it was rather difficult to distinguish him from being a Feral or Normal.

The moment Sonic sat on the floor by the dinner table he was served an enormous platter of food. Rice, meat, piles of vegetables. A tureen of fruit sits in ice to keep it chilled. There's an nice glass of orange juice. The rich aroma of the dish wafting down and beckoning him.

Amy smiled at him as she set her own plate of food in front of herself and her husband as she stole a glance at Sonic's shocked expression. She watched him sympathetically as he hurried and swallowed the food. He ate like a wild animal like he was but he didn't seem so dangerous. She took this moment to observe him.

"Thank you!" He said happily, making this the first thanks she had gotten over cooking for someone.

She smiled. "You're very welcome."

As they all ate in silence, Amy couldn't help but feel rather at ease. Like a void was filling into her home. As if it seemed more vibrant and full of energy. Almost like she had a purpose now.

It was… something different.

Here's some SonAmy fluff for you all :) What do You guys think of Amy seeing Sonic as a kid? Or do y'all think she's confusing it for attraction? Who knows! Also about what you guys think about the whole mother thing!

CHAPTERS WILL BE BASED ON REVIEWS

PS checkout "Fever Pitch" by Nzul if you're into Amy Rose disguising herself as a guy and sneaking into a boys academy where there's SonAmyShad!