Chapter 18

Seeing her running towards him that night, lit up so stunningly for the first time in weeks, broke his heart. The feeling was so much worse than he could have ever anticipated. He had known hurt many times before, but never had he known a heartbreak like this.

As Amy ran forward, Sonic stood from where he had been huddled with Tails and Knuckles. He was familiar with this scene - had lived it with her before - but this time something in her eyes was different, and she seemed to be running through the infinite. Her quills flew around her face in slow motion; the movement of her lips as she called to them was mesmerizing. That image of her stayed frozen in his mind even as she closed the distance.

Blush crept up his neck, and Sonic smiled at her despite himself. It made him feel so disgustingly guilty, being happy to see her. He was filled with a nostalgic kind of melancholy watching her. Like he was seeing this moment after it had already happened. Remembering it fondly. Looking back.

Because he knew deep down that he had already lost her, and that this would be one of his last untainted memories of her and her beautiful, shining smile.

Then he realized he was in the present, and Amy's hands were reaching out for him, taking his face in her warm, kind palms.

For one infinite moment when they connected, Amy had him there, chest to chest with her, pulling him in. They stumbled blindly toward the edge of something they could never return from together, and the moment of decision - of whether to fall or not - lasted eons. Sonic saw her eyes flutter closed and felt the pull in his stomach to lean in with her. Yes, his body begged, he wanted to go exactly where she wanted him to, wanted to forget everything but this moment. His brain fritzed off in her arms, and desire took over for one heart-stopping beat. He leaned in; let her pull his face down towards hers.

But then they went tumbling to the ground. Lucky for him, Amy's momentum was greater than his self-restraint, and she toppled them over before he managed to forget the world entirely.

Sonic landed on his back and gasped in renewed agony, the pain down his spine a cold awakening from the cosmic moment of connection that he had almost let happen without even putting up a semblance of a fight.

He couldn't help but wonder when he had gotten so… lost. When things had gotten so tangled. He couldn't see who he was anymore and couldn't control anything he did. He felt like a living disaster, careening from one bad decision to the next leaving nothing but wreckage as he went. And god, he didn't want to wreck her.

"Oh!" Amy gasped and pushed herself off of him, her hands hovering worriedly over his torso. "I'm sorry! I didn't - are you ok?"

She pulled him up to sitting carefully, suddenly self-conscious. Her hands shook slightly as she touched him, unsure how to be anything but totally, madly, obviously enamored with him.

"... All good Ames," Sonic lied, and it sent his mind crashing back into reality. Another fucking lie, he cursed himself. How many would there be? How many more could he stand to utter while looking at that smile?

"Come off it, Sonic that was not -" she stopped abruptly as she saw his hand, wrapped in a bloodied bandage.

Knuckles and Tails ran to them, and Amy watched them carefully bend over to help Sonic to his feet slowly, moving around him like he was made of glass and could break if he took another fall.

"Something happened?" Amy guessed, her heart stuttering in fear as she suddenly realized that they were all sporting the same melancholic expression.

"No," Knuckles said definitively.

"Oh, ok great. I'll just drop it then," Amy said, rolling her eyes at him. Then she noticed that Sonic was not wearing his doublet even though it was truly frigid out.

"Where's your -" she began, and Sonic waved a hand to stop her.

"It uh, got shredded. And this," he gestured with his bad hand, "same situation. We ran into a noble on the road who wasn't thrilled he was being robbed and… dangers of the job, though - nothing we couldn't handle!"

The three of them looked at her, rigid and cold, like she was something volatile and explosive that they had to handle carefully - had to keep their distance from. Amy looked to Tails for confirmation of the story, for comfort that the three of them were ok. Instead, Tails pressed his lips together and shook his head, looking down and away from her without saying a word. She shivered reflexively at his reaction.

"Well, I actually brought you all something that'll help," Amy said, her eyes still on Tails as she tried to figure out what his sullen look could mean. She turned slowly, aware that they were all watching her, and went back to her horse to retrieve her gifts in the hopes that they might lighten the mood.

"Lucky I'm a thief now," she joked half-heartedly. "I had to steal these from the assorted trunks and cases of the dignitaries in town - but you need them more now that it's so cold."

She turned, arms full of lined overcoats of varying sizes.

"I think I stole a few too many, but I thought you could take the extras back to camp - give them to the smaller kids as blankets…" Amy trailed off, aware that they were all standing stock-still, watching her with such intense forlornness.

"What?" Amy asked, her heart sinking, afraid she had offended them somehow. "I'm sorry if this is… wrong or something, I just wanted to say thank you for all you've done. You all are - well, there are no words for how grateful I am to all of you for what you've risked for me." She looked at Sonic meaningfully, and he gave her the limpest smile she had ever seen.

"Come on," Amy beckoned Tails to her sweetly, hoping to coax the young man into a better mood. "I grabbed this one special for you, Tails. I don't want you to be cold even a minute longer."

Tails nodded quietly and stepped forward without a word, his eyes still cast down. Amy deposited all the coats in a pile and pulled out one in a deep brown with a dashing collar and gold buttons. The cuffs were embroidered in gold, and the length of the coat tapered off like a tailcoat in the back. It was a coat for a young man - an apprentice. Amy had been so excited to see Tails in it. To her, the coat represented the start of his new and more hopeful life where he, like her, could look exactly like he was meant to.

She held the thick garment out for him, and he turned to let her help him into it. She was right, it fit him perfectly.

She came around and smiled as she buttoned the coat up for him and brushed the collar down smartly.

"Perfect," Amy said quietly, looking happily at the sweet fox. It was then that she realized Tails' eyes were shining, and she wasn't sure why.

"Are you… alright, Tails?" she asked with real concern, hands still on his shoulders as she inspected his unreadable, pitiful expression. "I know I should've brought you more earlier, and I'm truly sorry. There's no excuse, I just had a lot on my -"

Tails lurched forward and hugged her around the waist. Amy could feel him breathing heavily, almost heaving, and she thought she felt him shake against her.

"Hey, hey, it's ok," Amy soothed, her hands coming down on his back as she shut her eyes to try and keep herself from welling up instinctively, too. "Tails, is everything alright?"

"Yeah," Tails said, muffled in her shoulder. "Yeah I just…I'm so sorry I - I don't know why, but I…" he couldn't seem to finish his thought, or if he did Amy couldn't hear it.

"It's ok," she said again, pressing him closer in hopes that she could bring him some comfort. Behind her, someone shuffled in the grass loudly. She let go of Tails to see who it was, and the fox turned from her almost immediately, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand furiously. Amy watched in confused shock as Knuckles marched away from them, muttering angrily. He disappeared into the trees, and soon enough Amy heard the crack of a sharp mitt against wood.

"What's going on?" Amy said, her elation fading rapidly.

"Maybe we - you and I - should…" Sonic rubbed his neck uncomfortably, "go on a run."

"A… run?" Amy asked.

"With… me," Sonic nodded. He offered his good hand to Amy.

"Sure," Amy said, not quite sure how that would work. "I'd like to talk to you anyway… just us," she admitted quietly, flushing.

"Alright then," Sonic said, moving toward her.

"Wait!" Amy said with a playful smile, holding up her hands to stop whatever he was going to do. She returned to the coat pile and pulled one out for Sonic. "I don't want you to be cold in the wind."

"Oh, hey, you don't need to -"

But she was already behind him, holding out the coat to help him into it as well. Before he could turn away, Sonic heard Amy gasp softly and knew he had been made.

Amy looked stricken at the line of dark color staining the back of Sonic's shirt. Most of the blood was brown; old. But some was a fresh, bright red staining his shirt anew even as she stood and looked at him.

She reached out instinctually and touched his back tenderly.

"Is this why you're all so upset tonight?" Amy said gently. "Was the fight this bad for… all of you?"

Amy moved like she might pull his shirt up, but Sonic turned and grabbed the coat from her, shrugging it on quickly.

"I'll… tell you all about it, I promise," he said, then scooped her up in his arms.

"Wait, you'll hurt yourself!" Amy protested, looking to Tails for backup. But the fox seemed lost in his own mind. He still had his back to them, rubbing his eyes and shaking his head miserably. "Put me down, Sonic - you can't seriously mean to run with me like this in your condition."

Sonic smiled down at Amy. She had no idea. The stinging in his back felt like a dull ache compared to the unbearable roiling tearing his insides apart. He would choose to feel the physical pain of his wounds forever if it meant never again having to feel his own heart ache so.

"It's nothing at all. It doesn't matter," he assured truthfully. "Now, hang on!"

Amy had never experienced anything like running with Sonic before. She gasped for air, but her breath was ripped from her lungs as Sonic rocketed through the woods. The cold pricked her fur like needles, making her eyes water and cooling off her nervous, flighty body. Sonic felt warm holding her, and she watched him for as long as she could, amazed to experience the world flying by her so quickly. She couldn't imagine living like this - like he did. He must have been so used to everything passing by him in such a blur.

Eventually, she had to shut her eyes to the wind and trust him to carry her wherever he was taking them. She focused on the feeling of his beating heart. Hearing it scared and comforted her. It reminded her of how fragile they both were - how both of their lives were innumerably dangerous. She herself likely had limited amounts of life left, and she faced that reality with less and less fear each passing moment.

They were fragile beings. Temporary. She listened to every beat of his heart and grew more determined to make every moment with him count.

Finally, he slowed, and when Amy opened her eyes she thought they might've run all the way to another universe. Perhaps, she thought with a sad smile, in another world they could've just run away from everything like that. Packed up and left it all behind easily.

Sonic set her down on a cliffside farther up the mountain, overlooking parts of the Kingdom and the vast night sky.

"Woah," Amy breathed as she found her footing again with Sonic's help.

He chuckled as she stumbled a bit. "Yeah, first time running can leave you a little wobbly."

She blushed as he held her hand to steady her, and didn't let him go even when she felt stable. Instead, she pulled him toward an open spot near the cliff's edge, where a felled log invited them to sit and look out over the Kingdom.

"Come, sit down," she said, chewing her lip. How to tell him? she wondered. How to let him know that she cared so deeply for him that she knew she would fight in a million tournaments if it meant they could still know each other when it was over.

Sonic obeyed, but instead of sitting next to him Amy moved behind him to pull down his jacket and push his shirt up, inspecting the long wound running down his back.

"Someone's handsy tonight," Sonic said with a stiff laugh, trying to hide his shock at her boldness. He cursed himself for still joking when everything was so dire. Acting normal felt impossible. 'Normal' had been so far from him for months now that he didn't even know what it was anymore.

"Oh, hush," Amy scolded tenderly as she pressed around his bruised back, worried at the amount of blood dried in his fur.

"Gentle, gentle Ames," Sonic winced.

"This can't be from some noble, Sonic…" Amy said with a knowing sigh. "This wound isn't deep, and it's too precise - it's like someone did it just to spite you… Scourge?" she guessed correctly.

Sonic almost chuckled at the telltale anger in her voice.

"Scourge," he admitted with a nod, looking out at the sky. He wished that the run had soothed him like it usually did, but nothing could rid him of the horrible burden Scourge had placed on him the night before.

"I hope I never meet him - I honestly might kill him. He can't get away with that!" Amy said angrily.

Sonic heard the venom in her voice and hung his head. Here she was protecting him when he had failed to do the same for her.

Amy pulled his coat back on and moved to sit next to him on the log, holding his hand with both of hers in her lap casually. Sonic's pulse raced. How naturally she touched him, and how right it felt… They sat close, and it came as easy as breathing for him now.

But Amy didn't feel like she was breathing. She felt like she was holding her breath, waiting for the moment when they would both lose the fight against the other's gravity and tip over into the beautiful, wild unknown.

"Tell me what happened," she said.

She rubbed her thumb absent-mindedly over the back of his hand. He swallowed down the emotion rising in his throat at the gesture. He, her would-be kidnapper, came to her for comfort because she was the only one he wanted it from, and she - of course - gave it freely.

"I, uh… couldn't meet the quota again," Sonic lied, and the weight on his chest grew heavier.

"You need to tell me next time," Amy said with a sigh. "I'll bring you anything that you need to keep you three safe. I'd -" she took a breath and smiled softly at him. "I'd do anything for you."

She stood, feeling giddy like a girl, and took a step away from him to try and find her cool - regain her calm and gaze at her Kingdom. But Sonic didn't let her go, and she turned back to him in surprise, still gripping tight to his hand.

"I got your… gift today," she said.

"Gift?" Sonic asked, truly unable to remember what he had given her.

"The armor you asked Blaze to make for me. She finished it and… when I put it on, Sonic I-" Amy shook her head and smiled at the memory and the warm, pleasant feeling blooming in her chest again.

"I've never been more myself than I was in that armor," she confessed. "And I have you to thank for that feeling."

Sonic looked up at her from where he sat, holding her hand, unsure of what he was doing as he pulled her just a bit closer. How ironic, he thought with a regretful smile. How unfair. He had shaped her so that she could be fully herself, and she had shaped him so that he was like a stranger to himself, at war with his own body and mind. She had molded him into something entirely different and almost unrecognizable, something more beautiful and complex than she had first found.

And now they would both be bruised. They were both still clinging to each other when he knew that it was time - it should be time - to let go.

Amy took a deep breath and pulled away from him silently and slowly, turning to look out at the world so far from them as she gathered her courage.

"I was thinking about…the ball, and what happens next," she said tentatively.

"What about it?" Sonic asked, his heart quickening. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. She wore a long coat as well - one of deep blue that made her look like she could be a commander. She stood gazing out at her Kingdom, and her silhouette was striking in the moonlight. She was a force that he couldn't get away from. A force that he simply couldn't let go of.

"Well, at the end of the week, Shadow returns -"

"Goody," Sonic said sarcastically. But he had forgotten about that problem, truthfully. He frowned thinking about what it would be like to come face to face with the mysterious knight at the ball that he now had to attend.

"And I… find a fiancé," she said, ignoring him. "And we… you and I…"

His heart dropped for a moment. "I already told you. I'm seeing you through to the tournament," he said. "You can't shake me that easily."

"I… would never want to," Amy said, looking over her shoulder at him meaningfully.

He met her eyes.

"…I know," he said quietly. She smiled at him and turned back toward the Kingdom.

"I was thinking…" Amy wrung her hands. She didn't want to scare him with her feelings, but she had never done something like this before. Never felt something like this before. "I don't want us to… I don't want to lose you after everything. The armor - Sonic, you don't understand, it changed everything for me. For a second, I thought that it was the greatest gift you had ever given me, and then… I realized that wasn't true. It didn't even come close. The greatest gift you've ever given me is just… your presence in my life."

She turned to him, her eyes welled up with gratitude and love. He sat in awed and afraid silence, horrified and heated to hear what she had to say. He could stop this - he should stop this. But she looked so sweet, so happy. And her words made him feel like he was floating inches off the ground. As long as she kept talking he could ignore the weight boring down on him.

"I… have lived among ghosts for all of my life," Amy confessed, shaking with the effort it took to acknowledge the hurt she had repressed for so many years. She took a step toward him - one agonizing, tentative toe in the ocean that she wanted desperately to just dive into and be swallowed up by.

"My mother, my father…" Amy continued, taking another step. "They were and are just husks of people driven to grayness by each other; by their privilege. I've spent my whole life fighting - trying to prove to them and to myself that I'm not a ghost. That they couldn't make me be like them. I thought I had succeeded, and that I could fight forever on my own until I met… you. And from the moment that we wrestled that first evening," she laughed warmly at the memory, "I realized that I hadn't been living like I thought I was."

She stood at his feet again. Like she had done for so many people in her life, Amy got on a knee before him and pulled her whole heart out of her chest. But this time, to bare her heart for him - to offer it up for him and him alone - felt like such a deep and dear privilege.

"I had one foot in the grave and you…" Amy took his hand and looked at him, so sincerely in love. "You pulled me out and you brought me back to life, Sonic, I need you to know that I -"

"Ames," he whispered to stop her, turning his head so he could deny what he already knew she was about to say. "Don't do this to me, please," he begged.

Amy's heart stopped at his protest.

"What do you…?" she stuttered fearfully.

"I am not who you think I am," Sonic said, desperately trying to keep her warm, passionate words from infecting him and lighting him up inside. He took her face in his hands and looked her in the eyes, hoping she could see how serious he was. How it hurt him to deny her, but that he had to for their own good.

"Amy, you don't want to say it… you can't say it. We aren't… we won't work because I am nothing and you are…"

Everything. She was everything to him. And he, the same man who brought her to life, was doomed to steal it away. She couldn't say it. He wouldn't let her, so that he could spare her even a little bit of heartbreak when it all fell apart for them in just under a week.

"Hush," Amy said firmly, cradling his hands in hers. "Who told you this? And how many times will it take for you to hear me instead? You have been so wrong about yourself for so long, Sonic. You are the whole world! You are the heavens and the earth! You are every great force that has ever existed, and the exception to every rule. The universe has never met someone so confoundingly, intoxicatingly indefinable as you are," she said, her smile so, so bright. Amy couldn't help it - love overflowed from her heart, and a tear slipped down her cheek.

"Ames," Sonic tried to stop her again, but he choked on the lump in his throat. Her name came out a gentle whisper. A plea in one word.

"If you won't let me say it, Sonic, then… at least agree to be my second at the tournament," Amy begged. "I need to know that you'll be with me then. Please."

Fine, she would abide by his silly rules; she wouldn't say that word. But she would have the next best thing. She would make sure that he stood by her side as she proved herself to the entire Kingdom. She would keep him as close as she could for as long as she could.

"Ames," Sonic tried again, "you should ask Shadow, he -"

"No," she refused flatly, still locked in his hands. "It has to be you. I need to know that if I don't make it… it's you carrying my body off the field. I'd like to go - if I do go… in your arms. I need someone I trust and… I trust you with my life, Sonic," she smiled and moved closer, pushing between his legs.

Sonic fought to keep his eyes from squeezing shut as he listened to her. He tried to pull away as she moved closer, but she had him trapped, his hands still gently framing her face. Too much. It was all too damn much for him. Trust? She trusted him, and he had made her think that she could.

"Amy, please," he begged again, shaking her in his hands just a little, as if it might wake her to his true nature. "You're… you're too good, you deserve -"

"It's not about what I do or don't deserve, Sonic," Amy said resolutely. She looked deep into his eyes and spoke from her heart straight into his. "I want you."

Her breath hit his lips, and Sonic's pulse stuttered. When had they gotten so close? And how long had they been staring at each other? Had the world gone completely still around them? He could do nothing to quell his impulses, and his eyes flicked to her lips for only a second. But she was watching him so intently, and she caught him. She could read him so easily that it scared him.

She smiled just for him and closed her eyes. His breath hitched in his throat. When had his hands moved into her quills? If he just followed her over the edge, just let it happen this time - would the pressure on his chest go away? He worried over a million things as time slowed and they entered that infinite pause right before a first kiss. His split mind and heart tore him into pieces as he searched for the 'right' choice. His heart cried for him to close the distance, to honor his feelings and give in to what Amy clearly wanted, too. His head was disgusted that he had let it get this far to begin with.

Then, he looked at Amy, and painfully tore himself out of her grasp.

He simply couldn't let himself do this to her.

Amy tumbled back onto the dirt in shock as Sonic broke free from her orbit and stood abruptly. She looked confused and embarrassed, trying to make sense of how she had ended up on the ground when only moments ago she had been in the warmest embrace she had ever felt. Sonic ducked his head so she couldn't see how shaken up he was. How afraid he was of what could've happened.

"I… I would be honored to be your second," he forced out. He smoothed his quills back and took a shaky breath, holding a hand out for her.

Amy didn't bat him away, didn't lash out. But she didn't take his hand either. She was stone-faced as she stood, smoothed her blouse, and did her best to look casual.

"Good," Amy cleared her throat and nodded, turning her shoulders from him.

"Amy, I am sorry…" Sonic reached out, but she shook her head and took a small step back from him.

"Don't be," she said, waving her hand with just a bit too much rigor. "I shouldn't have... I'm sorry I just thought that…"

"No, no," Sonic said, useless when it came to offering heartfelt assurances. "It's really not that - I do feel… I… It's just a bad idea for us to… be anything other than what we are."

Amy wanted to be mad at what had just happened. She wanted to be annoyed or confused or even hurt, but she couldn't because deep down she knew Sonic was right. There was information Sonic still didn't know - information she was unfairly withholding from him because she feared his reaction.

He wouldn't be able to make a fully-informed decision about what he wanted with her without this information, and Amy had said that she trusted him. So she cleared her throat and discreetly wiped away an embarrassed tear, preparing herself for the worst.

"There's… something you should know anyway," Amy sighed, rubbing her face tiredly. "I shouldn't have done that, not when you don't know everything. Because…"

Amy looked up at Sonic, still hesitant. She had to tell him the truth about Greenhill. After all he had done for her, she owed him this closure, even if the truth did cost her a life with him. He deserved to feel whole - like she did - and so much more.

"What is it?" Sonic asked, not sure that he could take any more complications for one day.

"It's going to be hard for you to hear - maybe you should… sit down?" she offered.

"That bad, huh?" he said, suddenly bristling at her serious tone. But he did not sit.

"I know you didn't ask, but I wanted to know - for your sake - because I couldn't help but feel… responsible for you and for everyone. My father… was in power when Greenhill was burnt to the ground after all -"

"You don't have to do this…" Sonic said, suddenly afraid. "I mean it's not like you gave the order, Ames. That was some Lord who just - I don't know, lashed out." He felt exhausted and looked behind him, hoping that Amy could see he wanted to go before things got messier. He truly couldn't handle thinking about his parents at a time like this. All of that was long done. There was so much more for him to worry about now, in the present.

"But… I am responsible, Sonic," Amy said. She winced and shook her head as Sonic visibly froze at her words.

"What?" he asked in shock.

"My dad told me - when I asked - that the Lord took possession of Greenhill because his son was… my betrothed," she tried to explain, pulling at her quills anxiously.

"What does that mean?" Sonic asked. The stony tone of his voice scared Amy. The magic of their moment had dissipated entirely, leaving them both cold and far apart.

"It means that… my mom died," Amy tried to explain, "and I wasn't a suitable heir. So my dad broke the betrothal contract between myself and the Lord's son, and when the Lord found out his son wouldn't be the King he…"

"He murdered my family," Sonic finished simply and coldly. Suddenly, the weight became too much, the thin line tethering himself to his emotions snapped, and now all he could feel was numb.

"I… yes," Amy said, ashamed. "Sonic, please, I'm so sorry that my father did nothing - I'm sorry about everything. If I could change it for you, I would. I want to. When I'm queen, I'll find that man. I'll do anything to make it right for you. I would… I'd give my whole heart to you on a plate if it would make up for what I've done - I'd kneel right here and let you take my head off. Anything -"

"What you've done?" Sonic asked with disgusted confusion. "Tell me again what you've done?"

"I -" Amy hesitated as she tried to find a way to articulate for him just how 'her fault' his whole life was. "What do you mean? I was born, and I wasn't enough. I existed and your family -"

"Amy," Sonic said sternly, looking at her again for the first time since they had let each other go. "I'm not angry with you for existing. I would never -" he shook his head in frustration when the words didn't come and the feelings felt impossible to name. He raked a hand through his quills again.

"It's ok if you hate me," Amy said, reaching out to him. "Honestly, I can take it, and I want to be truthful with you, because I hurt you before and I couldn't bear that again -"

"Amy," Sonic snapped at her with annoyed disbelief. "I will never hate you, I -" he stopped himself before something foolish could slip from his mouth.

"You aren't at fault for… the ways the people around you have used you," Sonic said, and hung his head in shame. She had come here tonight to tell him so many scary things - how she felt, what she knew - all for his sake. He really and truly didn't know what to do with her; didn't know what to do with himself. All he wanted, more than anything, was the comfort of holding her tightly and smelling the wildflowers and the wind without having to hurt. All he wanted was to kiss her, and not feel like it meant the end of the world as they knew it.

Amy bit her lip and closed her eyes. "You… don't want me to leave you alone forever, then?" she asked.

"No," Sonic said, and almost laughed. Suddenly and simply he realized that was the truth. He did not want her to ever leave him alone.

He looked up and strode toward her until he could reach out and pull her to him.

Amy opened her mouth to say something as he took her by the waist, but found she couldn't even think coherent words.

"Ames," Sonic said, his hand on her cheek again. He looked her dead in the eyes and spoke from the very depths of his being. "You have to understand this: I am not a good man. I have done and I will do bad things. But I will never abandon you. I promised you I would be there, and I will never let you fall. At least, not without me. You trust me, right? Please, promise me you'llremember that when - if… things get hard."

"Ok," Amy said quietly, not quite hearing him. She was mesmerized by his bright green eyes and how they reflected the moonlight back at her. "I promise. But only if you remember that… that I -"

"No," Sonic said, using the last bit of his emotional energy to stop her from saying it one last time. "You don't. "

Amy's eyes began to water as he asked her for the second time that night to deny herself for his sake. She would do it, but oh how hard it was for her. She tried to keep her face from betraying her heartbreak as he thumbed away a quiet tear on her cheek.

"Do you think…" she whispered, "that out there, somewhere we… work? Do you think there's some world where it's easy for us? Where we're just Amy, and just Sonic, and we're… together?"

Sonic smiled, his hand absently brushing her bangs aside.

"No," he said regretfully. "I think that all the best things are hard won. I think that in every world, we have to fight for each other."

"I'll do it. Every time," Amy promised earnestly.

Sonic shook his head with bemused adoration. She was too much. She was wild and fiery and gentle and everything. He dipped towards her instinctively, intent on guiding her lips to his.

Then at the last minute, he groaned and turned her face in his hands so his soft kiss landed innocently on her cheek.

"Thank you," he said, lingering there with his face buried in her fur. Though he was a liar, Amy was not, and Sonic knew without a doubt that she would always fight for them. And he was so profoundly, eternally grateful for that truth. Her sincere declaration gave him footing - a solid ground to stand on - as the waves crashed around him.

Though they couldn't make the stars align, they could keep fighting. And as long as they did, one way or another their war would someday be over. Maybe they'd come out on the other side of it bruised and hurt and limping, but they'd come out of it together. He would make sure of it.


That night as Amy left the glen, she hesitated before finally mounting up and galloping away. Sonic was so unlike himself when she left - he had no joke, no quip, only quiet contemplation.

There was still time, she thought before leaving. There was still time for her to turn back, stride over to him, and take him in her arms just one more time. Her eyebrows furrowed and her breath grew heavy as she pictured exactly how his expression would turn from shock to satisfaction as she kissed him firmly. Heat rolled through her body as she fought against that future. The one where she did as she wanted. The one where she let herself be ruled by the storm of her emotions and desires.

But finally, she left to toss and turn alone in her too-big bed, the price of doing what was right steep, and the knowledge that she had made the responsible choice little comfort.

Her dream was familiar and sweet, and she awoke grateful but disappointed to have had it.

Her wanton mind took her back to the alcove, back to his kiss, like it was her home. The difference now was that Amy knew it was all a dream. His lips on hers felt light, like mist in the morning, and she craved the real thing even as her mind imagined it for her.

She wanted it all. She wanted to be pulled asunder by the tide of what they could be. She wanted to drown in him and be buried by the waves, never to see the shore again.


A/N: Damn... this one breaks my heart.