Amy flipped the sign on the door to 'closed' and grabbed a cleaning cloth to wipe the tables.
It'd been a hectic day at the diner. Normally, she would close up early on Saturday so she could spend the rest of the weekend with Dash. But since he was out of the city with Sonic, Amy decided to extend her stay at work to cash in some extra profit. She was exhausted, but she didn't mind. She let her staff, including Tikal, go home early while she handled the rest of the day herself.
They were all worried for her, she saw that- but Amy covered her dilemma up with a smile. She didn't need to worry them. That wasn't her job as their boss.
Even though Amy tried to hide from Tikal's curious gaze, she gave up on being discreet and texted her what happened after she sent her home. To say that her friend was the least amused was an understatement.
"You two just need to say you love each other and get married already."
"That's easier said than done. And I don't think he feels that way about me anymore. He's probably just confused."
"Amy, I love you. I really do. But sometimes you can really be blind."
She laughed. "What do you mean?"
"I've seen the way he looks at you. You can't tell me he's still not in love with you."
"Maybe he is. Still, that doesn't make up for the fact that he neglected our relationship before and when I was pregnant with Dash."
"People change, Amy. Maybe Sonic's gotten better at managing his time and taking your feelings into account. Isn't he always calling you to get your opinion on something?"
"Yeah, but…"
She could hear Tikal laughing. "But what? But nothing. I'm going to let you figure it out yourself. You'll get there. You both will."
Amy wiped the sweat off of her forehead as she had just gotten done cleaning the tables. If there was one thing to keep her mind off of the things she was dwelling on, it was increasing the workload for herself. For her diner, there was nothing better than cleaning the tables and mopping the floor so everything looked pristine. It was wonderfully therapeutic.
Her phone pinged and Amy craned her head to see a text from Rouge.
Amy rolled her eyes, already knowing that the bat was trying to set her up on another blind date. Usually, Amy wasn't one to go out with people she hadn't met before but this time, Rouge said it was another amazing put-together rich kid who had no problems. After the first blind date she had set her up with, who was rude, condescending, and absolutely snobby to the core, Amy vowed to never go through it again.
Another ping came from her phone and she saw that Rouge sent her a picture of the supposed blind date she was suggesting. Amy sighed and looked at the photo of the guy. He was okay and looked nice. Nothing too dazzling about him that really caught her eye. She shook her head and texted Rouge that she wasn't interested and left it at that.
She respected herself enough to the point where she knew dating someone else wouldn't be appropriate, especially not appropriate in front of Dash. She knew her little boy would feel confused and… sad. Because the person wouldn't be his dad. Only just a stranger he wouldn't want to replace Sonic with.
And Amy understood that completely. Especially after finding herself in love… with the person she swore to never love again.
What now? How was she going to act around Sonic when comes back? Did he even know? Maybe he did and wasn't going to say anything until she did something. That sounded like him. He wouldn't push her until she was ready.
But…
Amy closed her eyes and imagined the little odd scenarios of Sonic looking at her and then looking away once she caught him. Or finding himself sneaking a few glances at her expectantly, in a silent plea to say something to relieve their situation. Yep. That's exactly how it was going to pan out.
It was ridiculous how much time would pass when she kept thinking about him. How did he feel right now? Was he thinking about her? Did he have anything planned on paper on what he was going to do with her?
Amy felt her cheeks heating up and vigorously shook her head. Stop that, Amy!
She remembered when Sonic picked Dash up the other night like he said he would. She could barely make eye contact with him let alone say anything. He greeted her with his usual smile, but Amy sensed the caution in his voice. She never let it escape her. He had been unsure and timid throughout their awkward exchange with each other. It was quick. Dash said his goodbyes to her and Sonic only nodded before they headed into his car and drove off.
She couldn't remember how long she was standing at her doorstep and she didn't even realise she was until her neighbour came out to ask if everything was okay. Embarrassed, Amy replied saying yes before going back inside and sliding her back against the door in slight distress.
Amy wiped the last of the tables and headed down to her office. Since Dash wasn't with her, she decided to clock in a few more hours to handle the administration for the diner. With a cup of coffee, she sat down at her desk and began sorting everything out on her computer.
Almost an hour in, a ping sounded from her phone again. Thinking it was Rouge, Amy was ready to ignore her until she saw a message on her home screen that was from Sonic.
Well, it said it was from Sonic but she laughed once she read the message.
Hi Mom! It read. And next to the message were a bunch of hearts next to more cute emojis.
Just as she was about to respond, her phone started ringing for a video call. She set her phone down and answered it on her computer.
"I can see you, Mom!" Dash said with a beaming grin.
"Hi, Dash!" Amy noticed he was sitting on a desk with a pen in his hand, "Baby, what are you doing with your dad's phone?"
"Dad said I can talk to you like this if I finished some of my math homework," he explained, sticking his tongue out to the side in concentration as he scribbled down on his sheet of paper, "I'm almost done! Just a few questions left!"
She smiled in approval and leaned her cheek against her hand, watching him fondly. "How's your arm? Are you able to move around better?"
"Yep! I think I can take the cast off soon." He lifted his arm up for the camera.
"Don't get ahead of yourself now. Just wait a few more days, okay?"
Dash laughed. "That's what Dad said when he was helping me clean up!"
Amy concluded that Sonic was feeling guilty about Dash's arm and was doing everything he could to make up for it. She imagined him watching their son like a hawk and having him by the hip wherever they went.
Speak of the devil, Sonic's voice came through just then. "Dash? You talking to your mom?"
She saw Dash looking up and then a second later, Sonic came into the camera's view. Amy found herself straightening up against her seat as he carefully sat Dash down on his lap. He waved meekly at the camera. "Hey, Ames."
Amy stared at the screen in silence a little more than she would've liked, until she snapped out of it and waved back at him. "Hey," she said and cleared her throat quietly, "Have you both eaten yet?"
"Yeah, I called up room service," Sonic told her while looking down at Dash's homework, probably to check if the answers were correct, "Dash didn't like the food though."
"And let me guess, you ordered take-out?"
"Nothing beats the chili dogs, Ames," He winked at her, "But don't worry. We had a good chicken salad on the side!"
"Your cooking is the best, Mom!" Dash chimed in, "Nobody can beat it!"
She laughed, shaking her head. "I'm glad you think so," she said before stretching out her arms, "How was the conference, Sonic?"
He dragged his attention off of their son's homework and blinked at the screen. Amy realised just then that she was starting a conversation with him directly, instead of through Dash. She bit the inside of her cheek. Right. It was awkward between them right now. She had to remember that.
"It was what you'd expect," Sonic chuckled, scratching the back of his head, "Boring and sleep-inducing."
His eyes were avoiding the camera after he said that and Amy grew somewhat apprehensive by it, but she nodded and decided not to question it any further. Knowing how they were with each other right now, it was best not to dwell on it.
Still… she was wary.
Dash suddenly leaned forward as his eyes squinted at the screen. "Mom, are you still at work?"
"Hm?" Amy came back to focus, blinking, before giving her son a sheepish look, "Yes baby, I still am. Mom needs to finish a bit of her work."
"But did you eat yet?"
"I did, yes!" She laughed but felt happy with Dash's concern. He would always remind her to eat well whenever she'd feed him. "I'm going to head home soon, so don't worry about me."
Dash smiled, giving her a thumbs up. "Okay, Mom!" He carefully got off Sonic's lap, having done his homework. "Dad, can I go watch cartoons now?"
Sonic ruffled his quills, smiling down at him. "Sure, buddy! You did good today."
Once Dash disappeared off, to where she assumed the living room suite was, Amy found herself alone with Sonic again.
"Hold on, lemme switch this over to my laptop," he said, picking up his phone and heading off to the bedroom.
"Oh, it's okay. You don't have to stay on."
Once Sonic switched his view to his computer screen, he grinned at her. "Thought you might need some company with whatever you're doing. Your definition of going home 'soon' means you're staying there until midnight."
Amy hummed, reciprocating his grin with her own. "You're a natural at reading me."
"Never stopped being one."
She pressed her lips together, playfully narrowing her eyes at him. "Don't get cheeky with me, Hedgehog. You're not all that difficult to read either."
Sonic rolled his eyes but laughed all the same. "Guess I'm not."
They stayed silent, the sound of her shuffling notes and papers and his typing on his laptop serving some sound between them. Amy wasn't sure if there was any real point in staying on. She could've easily made up some excuse and ended the call right there and then but… for some reason, she couldn't find herself to do that right now.
She tried her best to not look at her computer screen because if she got caught, there wouldn't be any way to deny to him that she was staring. She wouldn't be able to tell after all since Sonic was typing up something on his laptop, while she was writing stuff down on a sheet of paper.
However, on a whim, she subconsciously tilted her head up at her computer and saw Sonic's eyes quickly moving to one side of his screen. Amy flared up and immediately looked down at her notes, trying to act as naturally as possible.
But that became an ultimate fail as she heard Sonic snorting out a laugh followed by a, "Don't think you're that slick, Ames."
Amy squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment before meekly moving her gaze to see him. "I wasn't looking at you," she lied.
"Really?" Sonic raised an eye as he leaned back against her chair, "'Cause I was looking at you this whole time."
She dropped her pen. "What?"
It wasn't meant to come out like that, but it was impossible to hide her shock and fluster. Amy was definitely not prepared for what he just admitted.
She would've definitely thrown her pen at him.
"A-Aren't you meant to be doing work?!"
"I can do my work and look at you at the same time, ya know," he said, showing her that annoyingly toothy grin again.
Was he being serious? Did he just forget about the other day? Like it never happened? There was meant to be some sort of tension between them. Tension!
Or was it because they were on a video call that he felt confident enough to say whatever he wanted? Because he sure wouldn't say any of this if they were together in person!
"This…" Amy hid her flushed face against her hands and groaned, "This is the last time I'm ever gonna video call you. I swear it."
Sonic just continued looking amused, but rather than getting angry about it, Amy felt a bit of relief and her heart rate went back to normal. Which, thank Chaos, because it was like it was going to lurch out of her chest any second. She looked at him, letting out a brief dignified huff. Of course, he found it funny.
She couldn't stay a grump forever though and despite her conflicted feelings right now, her lips broke out into a small smile.
He seemed happy about it but Amy noticed that his own smile didn't reach his eyes.
…He seemed to look guilty.
But about what?
About their conversation from last time? Was that it? Did he want to talk about it here? That wouldn't really be ideal…
She wasn't ready for that. Not yet.
And whenever she was, she wanted to talk about it in person.
Sonic opened his mouth but closed it quickly. He then ran a hand down his face, a sigh escaping past him.
It was then Amy grew nervous. "Sonic?"
"No, no. It's nothing," Sonic shook his head, not even denying that he was acting off, "Sorry. Just a lot on my mind."
"Oh."
He wasn't going to tell her. Okay. She wasn't the one to pry unless it involved her.
Did it involve her though?
No, Amy. Don't be like this. Just leave it.
However, she was now uncomfortable because the tension between them came back again and it was impossibly thicker than before.
Amy cleared her throat and sat up against her chair. "I'm gonna go now. I gotta get these cheques done before I head home. Can I say bye to Dash?"
Sonic's eyes widened and she already felt bad for cutting things off abruptly, but it was getting too much and heavy. He quickly straightened up. "Ames-"
"Not right now, Sonic," she swiftly cut him off, deterring any conversation that would eventually lead to another breakdown. She decided to force a small smile to ease any of his worries, hoping he'd see. "Just let me see Dash. Please."
"Ames, I don't wanna go to bed like this again," he said adamantly, his voice soft, "Just say you're not mad at me right now."
Amy felt her chest clenching at the sight of him. He was worried and she was the cause of it. She bit the corner of her lip before shaking her head. "I'm not mad at you. It's just…" She sighed, "It's just me, Sonic. Not you. Just me."
Because I'm still in love with you, you idiot.
It was tempting to just blurt that out. Too tempting.
He didn't seem too convinced by her answer but let it go as he nodded. "Okay," Sonic turned his head around and called for Dash, "Dash! You wanna say bye to your Mom?"
She heard some thumping before seeing Dash quickly coming into view on the screen as Sonic picked him up. "G'night, Mom! I love you!"
"I love you too! Sweet dreams!" Amy waved at him, "I'll see you soon, okay?"
She blew her son a kiss, to which he did back at her before he disappeared out of shot. Drifting her gaze over to Sonic, she smiled at him again with understanding. "Night, Sonic."
Sonic held up a peace sign, giving her a small grin. "Night, Ames."
Amy let out the breath she'd been holding as she exited the call. She buried her face into the palm of her hands and rubbed her eyes, feeling exhausted.
She hated speculating, but she knew something was up. It would only take one search on the internet to see what really happened at the conference. The press would do anything to get a good picture of Sonic with whatever he was doing.
Her fingers hovered over her keyboard in contemplation. It wasn't like it was going to be anything new. She saw Sonic in newspapers, social media, and TV. She would take a look but it wouldn't last more than five seconds at best.
Biting her lip again, Amy groaned and turned off her computer. None of it was her business. She didn't need to look. Whatever schmoozing was done shouldn't concern her.
But… But.
"Dammit!" Amy yelled out in frustration, pulling at her hair, and then grabbed her phone.
It was stupid. This was stupid.
She was going to do it anyway.
Searching up Sonic on the web, she was met with tons of recent news outlets from hours ago talking about the Hedgehog Holdings merger deal conference. Sonic was in every single thumbnail of all the articles. She skimmed through the information, eyeing the pictures to see if she caught anything… or anyone, that she would recognise. She saw Tails and Knuckles in some of them which was obviously a given. She could only see a little bit of Dash's face but he was skilfully obstructed by Tails, which she was eternally thankful for. The last thing she needed was her son's face all over the internet for people to stick their noses into.
Feeling like she was coming to the conclusion that there was nothing going on and that Sonic was just being Sonic because of their conversation on Wednesday, Amy stopped her scrolling down her phone and was about to exit the app when she caught a familiar face that was at the edge of a picture.
For a moment, the picture wasn't processing in her head until she slowly began zooming into it with her finger.
Her eyes widened.
It couldn't be… It couldn't be…
Amy felt her stomach drop.
Then everything suddenly fell into place. Sonic never specified what company he'd be doing the merger deal with. He intentionally left that part out and she recalled the hesitant looks he'd give her whenever she asked about it.
Mariko.
Why on earth was he doing a merger deal with the one woman who willingly tried to sabotage their relationship?
Just existing would cause that grey hedgehog to burst into fumes. Amy always knew and understood the reason why the woman hated her the first moment they met. She wanted Sonic and couldn't have him because he was with her. That wicked witch was a cunning one. Mariko Niyaga would take every single advantage and opportunity that presented itself in front of her.
Which included shamelessly forcing herself in between intimate relationships where she didn't belong.
It made her clench on her phone as she thought about it.
Amy continued to scroll down and was met with more pictures of Mariko. She was standing next to Sonic with a huge sign that had their signatures printed on it. And then another one where the both of them were smiling and shaking hands. Then another where the both of them were sitting on a table where they had dinner.
She refused to read the unnecessarily detailed captions underneath the pictures as she placed her phone on the table, away from her.
There was an awful feeling piling up against her body. It all felt too familiar. The insecurities, the images, the unwanted scenarios that kept playing in her head. She regretted giving in to the pressure. She shouldn't have bothered looking. She was sure this was a normal thing for him. To be surrounded by beautiful women who wanted a glimpse, a piece of him. It had to have been like that for the last five years, right? And she did not care.
She didn't.
Her feelings were already confirmed. She, Amy Rose, was still in love with Sonic the Hedgehog.
And yet…
The anxious emotions came flooding back in full force. The uncertainty. The absolute seething jealousy she didn't want to associate herself with ever again. It was back.
Though, Amy sat still. Unmoving. Not a single muscle twitching as her mind drifted off to Sonic.
This was all going to be tougher than she thought.
