Amy put the dirty dishes from the dinner she made for Dash and herself into the sink and began cleaning them.

She was exhausted. As usual, the diner was bustling with locals and guests, but business had been ramping up a lot more lately. It turned out that her appearance at the Gala did cause some sort of stir and traction as her name and pictures were all over the newspapers and on social media. It didn't help that Tikal also being there gained some attention for her too, as the echidna began getting bombarded with phone numbers from men who didn't know any better. All it took was Shadow coming into the diner one day, sending them each a death glare, and it stopped for good.

Amy shook her head at the memory of it. She even had a sum of reporters outside with their huge cameras trying to get an interview with her, all because she was seen with Sonic at the event. It wasn't she was a stranger to them either. They all knew her because of her past with Sonic and were asking personal questions about whether she was back together with him.

It didn't take long for her to call The Chaotix, who were more than happy to escort the nosey reporters out of her diner through Charmy's yelling and Vector's… very violent threats. If Espio hadn't been there to calm the situation, things would've definitely gotten bad.

Well, her hammer was locked in a vault somewhere and had been for years. It would've made a nice comeback had things gotten even more ridiculous.

Her diner still had been busy though. More and more locals were coming in day in and day out and she eventually had to set up the process of hiring new people. It wasn't easy, and many sleepless nights proved that. In the end, she did end up bringing in two lovely kids who were fresh out of school and they were at it right away.

Business was booming, and it wasn't anything for her to argue about.

Before she could delve any further into her thoughts, her ears twitched when she heard something scraping on the floor. She looked to see Dash putting down a step stool, standing on it in front of the sink next to her.

"I wanted to help you out with the dishes, Mom!" Dash said, smiling at her as he took the wet plate from her and used the cloth to wipe it.

Amy laughed. "Thank you, baby," she said, leaning down as she kissed his head, "But won't you miss your cartoon?"

"It doesn't start until another five minutes, I think! Plus, it's no fun watching it without you!"

Her heart swelled at her son's enthusiasm and appreciated his willingness to help. It was moments like these that made the challenges of managing a busy diner and dealing with unwanted attention a little easier to bear.

"Alright, my little handsome helper," Amy said, handing Dash another plate to dry. "Let's get these dishes done quickly so we can enjoy a bit of your cartoon together before bedtime, yeah?"

"Yeah!"

As they worked side by side, Amy went back to thinking again. She hadn't spoken to Sonic in almost a month. They talked through text, but nothing about the events that occurred between them back at the Gala and after. They were just texts about when he was going to have Dash over and whatnot. The only time she ever saw him in person was when he picked up Dash, and the gestures between them were short and… slightly awkward.

He had been maintaining his distance and so was she. Whenever in that second she'd meet his eyes, she would immediately think back on their kiss and conversation before looking away.

She was in love with him again and this time, he knew that.

Regardless of their situation, Sonic seemed to have been busier than she remembered him ever being. From what she heard from Tikal and little parts from Dash, the merger with Niyaga Enterprises with Hedgehog Holdings was taking up a lot of his schedule and he barely had the time to relax at his home. Dash wasn't too impressed with what was going on, and being so young, he didn't understand much as to why he hadn't been spending a lot of time with his dad recently.

Amy did her job and explained to Dash why Sonic was so busy. Dash understood that Sonic wasn't doing it on purpose but… the longing for his dad still settled into his eyes and she couldn't help but sense the familiarity in them, taking her back to a time when she felt the exact same way.

She wasn't going to resent Sonic for it, no. She had no right to. He was busy, he let her know he was going to be busy for the next couple of weeks and it couldn't be helped. She trusted his word that things would calm down by the end of next week.

Even though that edge of insecurity still seeped in her at the thought of him working closely with Mariko, Amy wasn't going to let that ruin it. Sonic knew her feelings and that was all that mattered for now.

After the last of the dishes were dried, Amy turned off the kitchen lights and followed Dash into the living room, just in time to see that his cartoon had begun playing its intro. She sat herself down on the sofa with Dash and leaned back comfortably against the pillows as they tuned in.

Dash was engrossed in the colourful characters and lively storyline on the screen, occasionally laughing when a funny scene came on. Amy watched him with a tired but soft smile, running her hand down his quills affectionately.

It was simple but, just seeing Dash enjoy himself was so therapeutic and she was glad he was happy. It made her happy, despite all the internal conflict and stress going through her head lately.

If she could just lie down, close her eyes, and picture a moment of her, Dash, and Sonic all snuggled up together… She would've really felt like she was in her genuine place of sanctuary.

Suddenly, she was at a moment's peace.

"Mom?"

Amy opened her eyes, blinking several times as she focused her gaze on Dash. "Hm?"

Dash smiled at her, leaning down to look at her with doe eyes. "You fell asleep!"

She blinked again before realising that the cartoon was finished and was now showing advertisements. "Oh. I guess I must've been really tired, huh?"

"Mhm!" Dash replied, giggling as he cuddled closely next to her, "But it's okay. You looked like you really needed it."

Amy rubbed her eye before putting her arm around him. "Sorry, baby. I didn't mean to sleep on our cartoon time."

The little blue hedgehog shook his head. "I don't mind it, Mom. You were smiling in your sleep so I didn't wanna ruin it."

"I was?" She laughed gently, bumping her nose against his, "And for the record, young man. You could never ruin my smile."

Dash grinned at her before humming. "You kept saying Dad's name," he said, his face beaming a little, "I think you were dreaming about him."

Amy instantly felt mortified. She knew she was dreaming about Sonic, but only Chaos knew what actually happened in that dream, and she hoped she didn't dream anything so… explicit. And right in front of her son? She would never live that down.

"When Dad fell asleep on his desk the other day, he said your name too!" Dash continued on, oblivious to what she was thinking. He rested his chin against his hand. "I think he misses you, Mom."

Turning slightly red in the cheeks, Amy couldn't help but smile again at her son's innocence. "You think so?"

"I do!"

Again, Amy's mind drifted off back to the night after the Gala. There hadn't been a day where she didn't think about it more than once. The truth was, she wanted to have that talk with him now. She really did. However, she'd chicken out when she wanted to message or call him. Now that he was busy with his company duties, he would've probably been too exhausted to have such a heavy conversation with her. And Amy didn't want to do that to him. Even though Sonic looked eccentric and energetic to others, she could see through that easily.

But…

"And Mom, I saw the pictures of you and Dad when you were at that party!" Dash exclaimed, cutting her off from her thoughts, "You looked really pretty!"

She tilted her head. "Eh, you saw them? Who showed you?"

"Dad, of course!" He laughed and hugged her tighter, "He had so many of you saved on his phone!"

Amy blinked at him, and then another blush started cascading over her face. Darn. How many times was she turning red today? And why was it such a surprise that Sonic had pictures saved of her? It wasn't like she wasn't any different after that night either…

She chuckled nervously, trying to regain composure. "Well, it's nice to know your dad thinks I look pretty," she said before grinning at him, "And it's also flattering for you to say that I look pretty too, Dash!"

Dash laughed again from her soft tickles and it was so contagious that it made her laugh as well when he did it back to her. He scooted closer to her, looking up at her with wide curious eyes. "Do you miss Dad, Mom?"

Amy smiled at Dash, appreciating his concern. She gently tousled his quills and sighed softly, considering how to answer him. She wanted to be honest without burdening him with the complexities of her emotions.

"Yeah, sweetie, I do miss him," she admitted, her eyes drifting to a distant place for a moment. "We had a lot of great times together, and he's an important part of my life. But sometimes, people need space to figure things out and focus on what's best for them and their responsibilities."

Dash nodded, trying to understand. "So, like how you focus on the diner and taking care of me?"

"Exactly. Just like how I focus on you and making sure our diner runs smoothly, your dad has important things he's working on too. And that's okay."

"You and Dad were always friends, even when you were apart. Mom, are you sad that you're not together anymore?"

Her son's perceptiveness was unmatched and she couldn't help but be just slightly taken aback by it. Even if she tried her best to let Dash not get caught on with her situation with Sonic, she understood that he was growing up and forming thoughts and questions of his own. It was natural for a child to wonder, wasn't it?

"It's… A little complicated, Dash," Amy said after a moment of thinking. She didn't want to give too much away, even if her feelings for Sonic were out there now. She didn't want to give Dash hope and hurt him if things went south. That was something she'd never forgive herself for. "But… yeah. I do miss him." She sent him a smile, "...Would you be happy if your Dad and I got back together?"

It was a risky question, and Amy knew the answer already. But she just wanted to hear it from him herself.

Dash's eyes furrowed in concentration as he looked at her. "I would be! I like it when you're both happy and if being together makes you both happy, then I'd be happy too."

Amy felt her heart swelling at his words. Chaos. Dash deserved the whole world. She left a kiss against his head. "I love you, Dash."

Dash hugged her, a loving and understanding gesture beyond his years. "I love you too, Mom. And I think Dad does as well. I see it in the way he talks about you, ya know."

"Seems like your Dad couldn't stop talking about me to you, huh?" She teased, feeling a little accomplished by that small fact.

"Uh huh," He laughed before letting out a yawn, resting his head against her, "It's always nice to hear him talk about you, Mom."

With Dash nestled against her beginning to fall asleep, Amy switched off the TV and carried him upstairs. She tucked him into bed, leaving a kiss on his forehead, and left his room door ajar. Stretching out her arms to let loose the knots in her muscles, she went inside the bathroom and took a shower before brushing her teeth and heading into her room.

With her night light on, Amy sat on her work desk beside her bed and began writing her to-do list for tomorrow. Even though she was tired, there was barely a night where she didn't do it. It got her prepared for the busy day ahead after all.

As she was writing, she kept mindlessly glancing over at her phone. Amy kept tapping her pen against her desk, biting her lip in contemplation. Should… she send Sonic a message? Ask how he was doing? She hadn't done that yet, the fear of not getting a reply back haunting her- or worst of all, nothing that would carry any sort of conversation to really continue it.

Knowing him, he was still probably awake and would be for a couple more hours into the night.

She sighed and grabbed her phone, hovering over the call icon next to his name. It wouldn't hurt, right? After what Dash said to her, making the first step to amend everything with Sonic was the right direction, wasn't it? That was what she wanted. Even though they would just be the first baby steps.

Oh, Amy! Stop being such a chicken and just do it!

She was brave enough to initiate that kiss, she was brave enough to tell him that she still loved him. Why was she being such a wuss about calling him? It was just Sonic!

Under more and new… awkward circumstances, but still!

She anxiously bit the corner of her lip and went ahead to tap on the call icon.

Before she could even take another breath or hear the first ring, his voice had already come through to the other line. "Hey, Ames."

Amy shrieked and dropped her phone on the floor. She scrambled as she picked it back up, startled.

She heard Sonic laugh. "What was that?"

"Nothing!" Amy paused, feeling her face burn, "N-Nothing. It's just… just-"

"Just?"

Embarrassed, she nervously laughed off her clumsiness. "I, uh, just dropped my phone. Sorry. I didn't expect you to pick up so quickly."

Seriously, why did the most embarrassing things have to happen with him while they were on call with each other? She was such a klutz.

"Well, I'm not one to keep a lady waiting, y'know," He teased, "What's up?"

Despite her initial flustered state, she cleared her throat and gathered herself. "I… I just wanted to check on you…"

"Huh," he just said, but she could hear the smile in his voice, "Thanks, Ames. I've been swamped with work and this merger, but it's starting to wind down now."

"Hm? That's good. Dash's been missing you."

"Yeah? I miss him too," Sonic sighed, letting out a yawn, "Just another day of this and I can finally get my schedule back on track."

Amy pressed her lips together, picturing the blue hedgehog disheveled at his desk. "You sound exhausted. M-Maybe this was a bad time to call?"

"What?" He piqued a little, "No, no. It's not a bad time, Ames. To be honest, I kinda wanted to hear your voice. It's relaxing. Puts my mind off of things for a bit."

Even though he couldn't see her, she couldn't help but shyly avert her eyes away from her phone. His comment made her heart flutter without effort. It was those kind of comments that assured her that he still had something for her.

"Well, your voice is pretty nice too," Amy admitted with a small grin.

"Aw, shucks. I'm flattered."

It went quiet for a moment, save for the sounds of Sonic's typing on his computer. Amy leaned back in her chair, sighing as she closed her eyes. It was strange how easily they fell back into this rhythm, yet the silence was much more welcoming and comforting this time. With their feelings out, there wasn't much to… dwell on.

"By the way…" He naturally broke the silence between them, "I'm taking Dash to the beach this weekend."

"The beach?" Amy blinked, surprised before she giggled, "Wait, I thought that'd be the last place you wanna be at."

"How so?" He asked, and then groaned, "Ugh, wait! Don't say it-"

"Sonic the Hedgehog hates the water and he can't swim," she teased playfully before breaking out into another laugh.

Sonic chuckled in response, clearly taking her teasing in stride. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Amy. But Dash's been bugging me to take him to the beach, and I figured, why not? I can just run on the sand, keep my distance from the water."

"And be Dash's designated sandcastle builder, I assume?"

"I'll have you know, I am great at building sandcastles and he's going to see the best one yet," Sonic declared, feigning offense, "I'll prove it to you this Saturday."

Amy rolled her eyes but still laughed nonetheless. "Mhm," she hummed, sighing before his sentence finally processed into her head, "Wait, what?" She blinked at her phone, "You want me to come?"

"Yep," he said simply, "I know your diner is super busy on Saturdays, so I spoke with Tikal in secret and got it paid off for the weekend."

"You what? You're joking, right?"

"No, Ames. I'm dead serious. When was the last time you took a proper day off?"

Amy stayed silent, trying to find an answer to his question. Damn it.

Sonic scoffed. "Aaaand I take it you can't remember. Which is why you're coming along, Miss Rose."

She pressed her lips together as she tried to find an excuse. "Wouldn't there be a lot of people? I don't know if I can handle a bunch of eyes on us…"

Which was true, though the other half of her could've really cared less.

"Eh, I wouldn't worry about those people. Plus, I rented out a beach house for the weekend, so it's just going to be the three of us for the most part."

…Of course.

Amy hesitated, weighing the idea in her mind. That meant she was going to stay with him for two days, right? It almost sounded so daunting due to the fact that… well, they were going to see each other in person after weeks of barely any contact.

How was she going to act around him? How was he going to act around her?

A nervous gulp went past her. Beaches meant… a very different wardrobe change for her. Showing more skin than she usually did would be apparent and… after what happened on the night after the Gala, the possibility of things getting a little heated would definitely be there.

Not that she was going to make those remarks and her thoughts of it obvious to Sonic anyway.

Seeming like he sensed her uncertainty, Sonic reassured her. "C'mon, Ames. It's just you, me and Dash. You deserve that break."

Amy chewed on her lower lip, thinking about the offer. A day off did sound tempting, and spending time with Dash at the beach would be wonderful.

And with Sonic there…

"Well, I suppose I could use a break," she admitted. "But you better keep your promise about those sandcastles, Sonic."

With a stifled laugh, Sonic replied, "You got it. I'll make sure to build the best sandcastle you've ever seen. Deal?"

She smiled. "You got yourself a deal."

Again, they went silent and the silence really stretched on this time. Every time Amy wanted to speak and had her mouth open, she would close it quickly without making it obvious to him that she wanted to say something. Hearing him whistle, shuffle papers around, and type on his computer made her rethink her choice of words in her head. They were whirling about, desperate to come out but they just couldn't. The words eluded her.

But… after weeks of no contact about it, she just needed to say something.

Finally, with a deep breath, she mustered the courage to break the silence this time. "Hey, Sonic?"

Sonic didn't say anything. She could feel the shift in the atmosphere on the other end of the line, the sudden seriousness that replaced the casual banter. He was listening, waiting for her to continue.

Amy bit down the nervous tremble against her lip before she continued. "I'm sorry, I-" She paused and felt her throat drying up as she gulped down the lump against it, "I just-"

She stopped again and looked down at her hands. They were shaking. Gritting her teeth, she shook her head and took another jittery breath. What was wrong with her?

There were sounds of him moving, but still no sound of him saying anything. He was waiting for her.

And while she appreciated that, it wasn't helping her growing internal conflict with herself.

Amy lightly smacked the side of her face and straightened up. "I'm sorry it's taking me so long to figure everything out," she finally said in a mere whisper, hoping that her tone reached him, "I-I'm still all over the place."

Sonic remained silent, and Amy felt contemplation on the other end of the line. She held her breath, waiting anxiously for his response, her heart pounding in her chest.

When he sighed, there was relief in her when he just laughed gently. "Hey, I'm not gonna make you rush into it. Take all the time you need."

Amy knew he was going to say something along the lines of that but… "I-I know and I am. I just don't want you to think I'm brushing it away."

"I know you're not brushing it away. You need time to figure things out, and I respect that. I just want you to know that I care about you, no matter what."

She blushed and fiddled with her fingers. "I care about you too. I just don't want to make you wait too long, that's all."

"Ames, you made me wait five years to kiss you again," Sonic said, his tone playful and smooth, "I think I can wait a couple more weeks."

Amy couldn't help but laugh, despite the nervousness that had gripped her moments earlier. "Yeah, well, I had to make sure you really missed me," she retorted, her voice laced with a teasing tone to match his.

"Well, you succeeded in that department. And I've gotta say, it was worth the wait."

Amy's heart skipped a beat at his words. Good, god. He definitely had his way of doing that, didn't he? "Thanks, Sonic," she said softly, "I appreciate it."

He sounded like he wanted to say something else, but there was a ring coming from his end. She heard him move and then groan in frustration. "Sorry, Ames. I gotta take this."

Part of her wanted to ask who else was calling him at such a late hour, yet the other part of her already had a feeling as to who it might be. But, no. Amy wasn't going to question anything, not when she just had a wholesome conversation with him, not when she promised herself to not doubt him.

"It's fine," Amy said, stretching out her arms before a yawn passed her, "I'm gonna head to bed."

She was happy when she could tell he was smiling when he responded. "Alright, Ames. See you later?"

"Yeah, definitely. Night."

"Night."

And the line cut.

Love you.

If the line had stayed on a little longer, Amy wouldn't have been able to stop herself from saying that. She rolled her eyes and wilted into her hands, thinking another douse of cold water would keep the temperature of her face down.

The likelihood of him speaking to Mariko right now still nerved her but she was just too tired for it to eat up her brain. Leave it to that woman to interrupt her conversation with Sonic even through a phone call.

Shaking her head, Amy got up from her desk and adjusted her night dress before climbing into her bed. She was in a sense of contentment that she hadn't felt in a long time, and that made her easily drift off to sleep without worry.

That night, she blissfully dreamt.