Sorry not sorry... more Frontiers content - thought this one earned a solo story post. Just started playing update 3 - they went IN, though. Anyone else finding it hard?!

Since playing as Amy (yet to get past her stage, lol), I was thinking up a lil' idea of what could have happened after it all. Assuming in a version where Sage had never come to help them and remained the enemy figure. Hope you enjoy, for anyone reading! x

'It's over... he lost...'

I couldn't see her, but I could hear her. Just. It's like she was getting further away, fading. Or was that me?

'No...'

I tried to scream it, but I couldn't speak above a whisper. Everything came out strained, forceful, with next to no pay off. I couldn't see, either. Everything was dark - were my eyes closed? My eyes flew open but just a red, fuzzy haze was all that was around me for what seemed like miles and miles. Nothing but endless red. Wait, there was... something? Hovering in front of me... and a little to the left. A figure, glitching, fading.

'He won't be back for you...'

It's her, the voice. She's wrong. He's coming. He'll find me, he'll find us. Us. Where's Tails? And Knuckles? I'm alone. I'm trapped. I'm- I'm- I'm screaming. I'm screaming and screaming until my throat is hoarse but no sound comes out. I feel like I need to be out of my body, I reach up to claw at my chest, rip my soul outside of myself but- my hands. My arms. They aren't there? They are but, barely... I try to brush one hand over the other but it goes straight though. It makes what little left of my being I can feel repel against the horrendous sensation.

'Fascinating...isn't it?'

I could barely hear the feminine voice snicker as she undoubtedly watched me try to look down at my transparent figure. Was I naked?! No, there's something, but it isn't my dress. It's a red babydoll, my pyjamas, but I can barely see it. I start hyperventilating, but I can't feel the air go in and out of my lungs, can't feel my knees hit the ground as I collapse, can't feel my hands squeeze the sides of my head as I curl over and rock back and forth. Can't-

'SONI-'

.

Screaming and panting fills she room as the fuchsia hedgehog flies up to a seated position in her bed, heaving air into her lungs with one hand painfully grasping her chest. Her quills were tangled with sweat, it beading down her chest and making her red, satin babydoll stick to her body. She looks over to her open window, moonlight streaming in as a spring breeze drifts her light curtains back and forth. Her throat is dry, painfully dry... had she been screaming? She looks over to her nightstand for a glass of water and sees her clock - 2:16am. Two and a half hours sleep? Personal best, so far.

She finally loosened the death grip she held on herself and ran her fingers through her quills. Messy, but soft. She could feel them. She ran her hand slowly around the hem of her night gown, allowing the satin and lace to trace over her fingertips...soft, rough, soft. She could feel them. She fell back into the pillows and cursed under her breath, she was desperately sleep deprived and had been for weeks. No going back to sleep now, she was completely wired. Accepting defeat early, she turned on her bedside lamp and got to her feet, headed for the kitchen.

She was so tired she could cry, but with what energy? Her feet dragged as she approached the kitchen bench, turning on a little lamp as she went, before starting the kettle. Yes, because tea will fix it. She buried her face in her hands as she waited for the kettle to boil, focusing on the air entering her lungs before leaving again. The feel of every outline of her face in the palms of her hands. She could feel them. The doctor said this was normal - feeling this way after something like that.

She hadn't realised before that she'd never really had anything to hide from her friends... until now. Well, she didn't have to hide the fact she was suffering from debilitating PTSD, but she did. If not for for their sanity, then for hers. She couldn't bare to burden them with her problems. She chuckled a little to herself at the thought of Rouge or even Knuckles cracking it at her for keeping this to herself, but eventually they'd understand.

The kettle clicked off as steam boiled out of the spout, signalling for her to make the same chamomile tea she had been at this hour every night for weeks. She reached up to a shelf and pulled down her favourite pink mug before throwing in a tea bag and picking up the kettle, beginning to pour. Even blinking felt like an effort as she held the kettle steady over the mug, losing focus and drifting away into her thoughts just as a knock came from her front door.

'Shit!' She cursed, the water narrowly missing her hand as she jumped. 'C-coming!'

It's almost 2:30 in the morning, who could possibly be at the door? She put the kettle back in its place and threw a tea towel over the boiling water that spilled over the kitchen counter before hurrying to the front door. It hadn't occurred to her to wrap something around her tiny pyjamas other than her arms, too tired to think much less care, as she twisted the handle and yanked the door open... suddenly feeling so exposed she might as well have been naked. Despite the warm, spring breeze that drifted through, she suddenly felt every hair stand on end as if ice had touched every ounce of her body.

'Ames? You ok?' The cerulean hedgehog all but whispered to her as she stood there in silence.

'What are you doing here?' It came off more harsh than confused.

'I... I saw your light on. I was out for a run.' He tried to explain.

'Oh...' It was all she could get out as she pieced his explanation together, seemingly unable to make her brain think straight. 'Come in, it's cold.'

It really wasn't.

'Sure?' Sonic responded as he crossed the threshold and followed her cautiously to the kitchen after she locked the door behind him.

He wasn't sure if she was just tired from the early hours of the morning or something was genuinely wrong, she was uncharacteristaclly quiet. Maybe it was both. She slowly and silently made her way back to the kitchen bench and continued to make a half made tea, boiling the water for seemingly the second time as she mopped up something that had been spilled on the counter before tossing the towel over the sink. It's like he wasn't even there. She remained silent as he watched her from the kitchen doorway, leaning against the arch with a concerned expression etched on his muzzle he wouldn't let her see.

He felt the urge to reach for her, walk over and hold her, soothe her and tell her everything was going to be ok. That nothing could hurt her while he was here. But that wasn't true. She had been hurt, she had been scared, and he'd been able to do nothing. Is that why she wasn't... her? The silence between them was deafening. He couldn't stand it. He wasn't one to talk about anyones feelings, much less his own, but something was wrong and he had to know what it was. He had to fix it. He had to be able to fix something.

'Amy?' He spoke only loud enough to get her attention.

'Hmm?' She answered, craning her head around only enough so he could get a glimpse of her profile.

'Are you sleeping?' He asked after a moments hesitation, chickening out of what he wanted to ask.

'Of course,' She responded after a beat before turning around to lean on the counter and face him with a plastered on smile, 'why do you ask?'

'I...'

Because she looks tired, because he's tired. Because he's worried, because the smile she's giving him he's seen before and knows it isn't hers - merely one she puts on for show when she doesn't want someone to worry. He can see through it, though. He knows better than that. Ironically enough, it only amplifies his concern into full blown anxiety. His sentence trails off and is blown away with the breeze coming through the open kitchen window. It picks up the hem of her babydoll and brushes it around her mid-thigh. Gods she is beautiful. He would give anything to see her smile. A genuine smile.

Her facade drops slightly as she turns back around, the kettle clicking off, steaming spewing from the spout. She pours herself a mug in silence before reaching up to the top shelf for another, rising her pyjamas up to the base of her backside. He hated himself for staring, but he couldn't tear his eyes away. Her mature frame hadn't gone unnoticed by him in their adulthood, but he'd never seen her this exposed. She grasped the mug and came back down, pouring another tea then turning around with them both before passing him one. He hadn't realised he'd taken a few steps away from the doorframe towards her, a few paces from her feet.

'Why do you ask?' She prompted again before taking a sip of her tea.

'I...' he started, 'You look tired.'

'Christ.' Sonic thought to himself.

'Gee, thanks?' She cocked a brow, but through a genuine smirk this time.

'Sorry,' He chuckled as he stared down at his own tea, 'I just... I was worried about you.'

'Was. Nice save, man.' His inner voice taunted him.

'Was?' Her smirk disappeared.

'Am.' He couldn't bring himself to look in her eyes as he said it.

The fuchsia heroine narrowed her eyes a little at him as he stared at his thumb tracing the outline of his mug. He wasn't bashful or playful, maybe a little shy but... no, this is genuine stress. She reached out with her finger and boldly tilted his head up by his chin so she could look as his face properly, his features illuminated by the glow of the kitchen lamp. Neither of them said anything as she held her hand there, subtly scanning his face - she couldn't help but find some solace in the black rings under his eyes, the exhaustion coating his features. After a few seconds of silence he huffed out a smirk but said nothing.

'You were out for a run.' She wasn't really asking, more confirming... he was burning off every last shred of energy. Desperately trying to sleep.

'Mm-hmm.' He nodded in answer.

'Come on.' She demanded.

He said nothing as she walked out of the kitchen and into her living room before turning on her tv and plopping down onto the lounge. He silently joined her, too exhausted to ask questions as she flicked through the streaming service and landed on an old sit-com. She crossed her legs, mug of tea in hand, before pulling a blanket off the back of the couch and draping it over the both of them. Comfortable. Intimate, but comfortable. Sonic thought for a moment about how he hadn't spent time like this with Amy before. Alone, that is. They remained in a comfortable silence as laughter filled the room from the TV.

Sonic watched her out of his periphery, noting her slowly sipping her tea and focusing on the show. If he remembered correctly, she didn't need to do much focusing, she'd seen this enough times to be able to recite it backwards. Maybe that's why she turned it on, a definitive form of comfort. How often was she doing this? Was it like this every night? How long had it been since she slept properly. He thought he probably knew the answer - she has probably gone as long without sleep as he has...weeks. They'd both been on countless adventures, toppled countless enemies and faced challenge after challenge, but something about this hit different. Something about coming home this time had-

'I can't sleep.' The bubble-gum beauty beside him said unprompted, her gaze not leaving the TV, cutting off his racing thoughts.

'How- How long has it been?' He asked after a moment.

She only turned to him with a knowing look in answer, one that said he knew exactly how long, before turning back to the show.

'Two a half hours, give or take. That's what I got tonight. New record, actually.' She smirked.

'Hmm, I've got some catching up to do then,' he chuckled in an attempt to continue the joke, 'I'm yet to crack an hour.'

Her eyes ripped away from the screen to lock on his, no joking evident on her face. 'Why?'

He turned to give her the same knowing look... nightmares... before turning back to the screen. He didn't think they'd ever been this candid before.

'You first?' She asked both if he'd would go first and if he would go at all.

'I don't want to worry you with-'

'Sonic.' She cut him off forcefully.

'Well,' he began after a few seconds silence and a loud sigh, 'it's usually more or less the same. Just blurry red for as far as I can see, sometimes it glitches in patches, sometimes it doesn't.'

'Sometimes I can see her and sometimes I couldn't find her if I tried.' He continued after a beat, gathering his thoughts. 'But I can always feel her, watching me, taunting me. Sometimes it's soft and subtle, whispers of how I'll only fail. Then other times...'

'Other times?' Amy prompted, barely above a whisper after he went silent and vacant.

'Other times she shows me you.' He said, turning his eyes away from the TV to finally face her, making her start a little. 'Once or twice she's shown me Tails or Knuckles, but it's almost always you.'

Now that they were looking at each other, face to face, Amy suddenly felt herself become hyper-aware of their proximity. Their legs touched ever so slightly beneath the blanket, their arms only a finger's space apart and had they not been so locked on each other's eyes, they would have noticed their noses almost touching. The woollen cloth draped across her legs did next to nothing to warm the ice that spread through her veins at the mention of her in his nightmares. It took most of her concentration just to swallow the growing lump in her throat, terrified to ask what he could see of her in those dreams but wanting him to continue to open up.

'Tell me...' She whispered, as if anything louder might make the nightmares real.

'Amy-'

'Who knows,' she cut in, 'maybe it'll help you sleep.' She tried to smile through a shrug, make light of it. A weak attempt.

'A few times...' He finally began after a chuckle and placed his mug on the coffee table, 'you've been standing in front of me. Not quite close enough to reach, and I can't move, so I can't get to you. I can't speak to you, I don't think you'd hear me anyway. You're just staring at me, but you're not you. You're blurry and glitchy and so vacant you might as well be on the other side of the planet. Once or twice, I've tried to reach for you, take away any pain, but I can't.'

It all came out in a quiet rush, like a dam burst and once he started talking about it, he needed it to be out of his system. She watched him take a heavy breath or two, pacing himself... no, restraining himself. She didn't need to hear more, she already knew what he was thinking, what he would feel in those dreams. What he seems to be feeling now. For a split second, she was mad at him - he did get them out, in the end. How can he tear himself up this way? That rage was quickly replaced by the heaviest sorrow she'd ever felt. What she wouldn't give to take his pain away.

'Sonic-'

'Your turn.' He cut her off.

Not so harsh as to make her think he was mad, but he was done, that was enough. She wanted to tell him that she was here, he had saved her - them - and he is everything to their friends and more. He must have seen the pain and internal battle in her eyes before he replicated her movement from earlier, bringing his hand up to place a finger beneath her chin so she would look at him while he scanned her face. He took note of the same black circles beneath her normally bright, jade eyes before staring at her long enough for her to break, move on and start talking. She let out a defeated sigh and, reluctantly, turned her face away from his gaze and touch.

'Almost always the same...' She shrugged, knowing that wasn't going to be enough.

'Mm-hmm.' He chimed in, encouraging her to continue.

'Sometimes I can't see anything. Sometimes I open my eyes, it's just red and glitching everywhere. Sometimes I don't. She's always around, though, whether I can see her or not. She almost always talks to me, tells me...'

She trailed off and looked at him, sad, but he nodded at her to continue.

'Tells me you're not coming back, that you left us. I can never find Knuckles or Tails, though. Sometimes she tells me you didn't want to bring me back, that she could see into your thoughts and what they really were of me. Sometimes she-' Amy cut herself off, thinking better than to tell him that the voice tells her he failed, and sometimes... tells her he doesn't love her, because how could he?... she decided on: 'Sometimes she's just cruel for sport.'

The pink hedgehog hadn't realised a single, exhausted tear slid down her cheek until Sonic reached over to brush it away with his thumb. She couldn't bare to look at him, couldn't bare to let him see her like this - she hadn't even seen her like this, said any of this out loud until now. The gentle spring breeze drifted in through the few open windows in the house, picking up her breath that hitched in her throat and drifted it away, leaving only goosebumps on her skin as it left. He didn't know what came over him, but he shuffled closer and wrapped a muscly arm around her petite frame, pulling her into him, using his other other hand to take her face and make her look at him.

'She's not here anymore,' he told her forcefully but quietly, 'she's gone.'

'Yes,' she agreed, just as forcefully, 'she is.'

They stared at each other with a soft intensity, like they were both saying, do you hear me? Even in a moment like this, their respective stubborn streaks never dimmed, not wanting to be the one that backed down. As the hand that held her face began to caress her cheek, she couldn't help but think about how she was sure they had never been this open, this honest and raw... this close. She quickly felt that now familiar pang shoot through her stomach at suddenly feeling so exposed, her hair standing on end, in her tiniest pyjamas, this close to the only man she had ever imagined being this close to. That didn't mean she was sure he'd-

'I'll never leave you.' He whispered a promise.

'I know.' She said almost into his lips.

It was so simple, two sentences and six words between them was all they needed to hear. Those words seemingly unleashed a light kept at bay for what felt like a lifetime, because he stopped holding back. He pressed forth to kiss her firm but not forcefully, wanting to be sure this made her happy, as he cupped her face and took the arm wrapped around her shoulders to slowly slide down her waist. The few seconds that passed felt like a lifetime before she kissed him back, with more need and passion than he'd expected. As each millisecond passed, the binds they held on themselves broke and allowed them to forget about everything and anything that wasn't here in this room.

She delicately tore the blanket away from her their legs, so there was nothing in her way, before lacing her arms around his shoulders and her fingers through his quills. His grip on her tightened at the sudden friction before he pulled her into his lap so she could straddle him, allowing him access to her jaw, her neck, her collarbone. She was certain she'd stopped breathing for a second when she felt a little light-headed, suddenly remembering she would sporadically need air. That went out the window as quickly as it came when she felt his hands grip above her knees and slowly make their way up over her hips, taking her babydoll with them slightly.

There wasn't a single thing that wasn't completely perfect about her, he thought to himself. She was soft but still strong beneath his touch, the way she felt, the way she smelled, the way she looked in the dim glow coming from the kitchen lamp and the TV behind them, which he quickly and expertly shut off. He felt every hair stand on end as she dug her nails into his quills, his lips making their way down her neck. He took his time, leisurely nipping and sucking his way down to her shoulder, her soft pants making him smile before he stopped at the strap on her dress.

'We don't have to do anything. If this-'

'Sonic,' she cut in, taking his face in her hands so she could look at him with all seriousness, 'do you want to stop now?'

'Gods, no.' He answered, a little too quickly for his pride.

'Then shut up and kiss me.' She smiled, taken aback at even her own boldness.

If for just the night, a few more hours, even a few more moments would suffice, where she wasn't thinking about anything else other than this, then she'd take it. Something told her, he felt the same. She knew better of herself, knew that tomorrow she would fear the worst, like maybe this is all it would be... but she needed this reprieve, with no one other than him. She could feel him growing restless, restraining himself, beneath her before he stood up and wrapped her legs around his waist as he went. She giggled lowly at the rush of air leaving her lungs as he walked them to her bedroom.

He let her slide down his body, excruciatingly slow, onto her bed until she was sitting, only held up by leaning back on her hands and staring up at him. He took a step back only far enough so he could see her fully, her petite frame, her half-lidded eyes and small smile looking at him through the glow of the bedroom lamp. The sight physically made him fall to his knees in front of her, so she could look down at him as his arms rest either side of her thighs on the bed.

This wasn't how he'd imagined the night would go when he saw her kitchen light on from the path outside, but for just a second, he thought maybe something as life-changing as what they were experiencing together had all but catapulted them toward each other. And there wasn't a part of him that wasn't happy about it. She leaned forward only enough so she sat up straight, and effortlessly let the straps on her shoulders fall to the side and down.

Ironically enough, she didn't feel exposed like this. Something about it felt very right, comforting... safe. When he leaned forward to kiss her again, more hungrily this time, she felt him smile into her mouth, pull every inch of her closer to him in the most fierce but delicate of ways. He reached over to turn off the bedside lamp, his strong frame now hovering above her before he stopped short.

'Who knows,' he imitated her, 'maybe this'll help you sleep.' Her laughter was quickly replaced by a loud moan...

Quiet. Peaceful. Tranquil. No rough sounds of hyperventilating or screams, no grasping at the sheets or her chest to come back to reality. Nothing but a bright light from behind her closed eyes as she inhaled a deep breath, taking in the smell of fresh flowers.

Amy slowly opened her eyes, blinking sleep away as her gaze focused on her open bedroom window, the sound of a gentle breeze and birds fluttering past filling her room. When her sleepy haze began to subside, she registered how bright it was. Morning?

She turned her head to look at the clock on her bedside table but was met with a mass of royal blue quills on the pillow beside her. Suddenly she could feel every hair on her body touching her silken bedsheets, the only fabric covering her bare form beneath. She breathed out a shy smile before finally looking at the clock.

11:52am

Seven hours. She'd slept almost seven whole hours for the first time in what felt like her entire life. It might have even been more had Sonic not had more energy to burn a few times over at all hours this morning. Despite the gentle ache all over, she didn't mind. Hell, she welcomed it. She could feel every part of it, something she'd never take for granted again. It made her thoughts linger to the night before, relishing in everything she'd felt both physically and emotionally...

.

'You're so beautiful.' He whispered down in her ear as he hovered above her, somehow both rough and gentle.

'I don't think I've ever heard you say that.' She admitted after a moment, sporadically pecking his lips.

'Because I'm an idiot.' He chuckled before nuzzling into her neck.

.

'Hmm,' she teased, looking down into his half-lidded eyes as she straddled him, 'if I'd known disappearing was what it would take for us to get here, I might have done it sooner.'

'Don't even joke,' he scolded lightly before flipping her onto her back and pinning her hands above her head, 'you'll be lucky if I let you out of my sight again.'

She laughed. And laughed, and laughed. Like she was remembering how...

.

As if her thoughts of him were loud enough to hear, she watched him stir a little beside her, his back cracking as he arched. It suddenly occurred to her this was probably one of the few times he actually deigned to sleep in a bed, and she couldn't help but feel a little rapt by the fact he'd stayed for her. As she looked down and daringly ran her fingers through his quills, he opened his eyes gently and looked up at her.

'Morning' He chuckled up at her.

'We almost missed it.' She smiled as she nodded toward the clock at the time.

She almost laughed at the sight of his eyes all but falling out of his head looking at the time. Sonic had never been one to struggle sleeping, always exhausting his body by burning off energy running at top speed, able to sleep just about anywhere from amongst the grass to up a tree. So, this long without being able to sleep was so foreign that when he's finally slept even just more than a few hours, he could scarcely believe the clock face.

'Wow,' was all he could say before he turned back to face her and readjust so he was sitting up, looking down into her eyes, 'I guess I was right.'

'Huh?' She cocked a confused brow as she secured the sheets around her stripped frame.

'I guess that did help us sleep.'

After the split second of shock washed over her, they both burst into a fit of laughter, like any joy that had been diminished these past few weeks was finally burst forth. Like the entire situation was being realised now and somehow laughing about it was the best way to let it all out.

After a comfortable silence fell over them, the fuchsia hedgehog felt a prickle of anxiety creep into her stomach - was that all it was? Pent up emotions that had burst forth, help them sleep and now... move on? That's it? She was, again, very aware of the only thing covering her being her sheets pulled around her.

'I, uh..' he began before trailing off, looking at his hands playing with the blanket, 'I should have told you sooner.'

'Told me... what?' she said as calm as possible. If her anxiety before had been only a prickle, it was now a full on stab.

'Before everything happened, I should have... you know I'm no good with talking about stuff.' He was so red he could almost envy Knuckles' shade.

'You did a pretty good job last night,' her nerves were evident now, 'what's changed?'

'No, no, nothing! I just-' he paused, looking at her now, 'I should have told you before how I feel about you. I was a coward and I'm sorry.'

Her nerves dissipated to be replaced with genuine surprise, which he clearly clocked, chuckling a little. She wasn't sure what she was more bamboozled by; his feelings or his confessing of them... or both and the fact he was telling her before she told him. If she didn't count when they were kids.

Despite knowing things would only go up from here, she could still see unease, tension, etched a crossed his features. Was he actually concerned she would reject him? She could barely believe the situation they were in. All she could think about was making him smile, joking with him the way their friendship allowed.

'Play with me.' she thought.

'Well,' she smirked, cupping his face with one hand so he'd remain looking at her, 'you still haven't really told me. So, you better clear things up unless-'

She cut herself through a small scream and laughter as he flipped her underneath him and pinned her down, hovering over her as she laughed. As she looked up at him, his smile melted away the earlier apprehension, and she almost audibly sighed at the sight. He was relaxed, he looked happy and it made the butterflies in her stomach fly around wildly.

'I love you, too.' She said for him before he leaned down to kiss her longingly before finally breaking away for air. 'Should we finally go out and face the world? I don't think I've ever known you to not run before midday!'

'Nah,' he shrugged before eyeing her mischievously, 'I can think of better ways to spend our day.'