A/N: Enjoy.

I Just Wanted To Be Cute

When she collided with the ground, sinking a few inches into the warm soil for what had to be the fifth time, the pain was familiar. It zipped through every inch of her being like lightning, a dizzying, paralyzing sensation. She could feel warm blood pulsing from her nose as she lay there motionless and the burning that followed, she couldn't be sure if it was broken or not.

"AMY! Eggman, you bastard! Amy—please—just run away! I'll handle it!"

A weary smile spread through her lips when she heard that. Ha. He was so adorable, of course he'd handle it. That's just what he did, wasn't it? Handled things, got the job done. Finished the mission.

Welp.

Not this time.

An enervated grunt left her as she planted her palms flat and began to push herself up, her arms trembling with a longing to give in. And boy, did she want to. Getting smacked around like a ragdoll and eating the ground wasn't exactly how she liked to spend her Sunday's.

Normally, her Sunday's began pretty smoothly with her morning meet-up with Cream over a cup of coffee, mostly just to gossip and see what her long-eared bestie had been up to. Which she did. Then came helping Tails battle his crippling fear concerning talking to Rouge, the winged seductress who was spending a noticeably large chunk of her day around the two-tailed fox. Which she dutifully did because Tails was just the most adorable thing when he was flustered. And after that? Since it was Sunday, she usually liked to hover around Sonic and watch him train out here in the rolling plains of the Green Hill. She had left her infamous hammer behind and even packed a little picnic, taking extra care to cut her homemade sandwiches into hearts with some cute little squid-shaped sausages, just little touches that she knew Sonic would neither notice nor care for, but still.

Now though, the remnants of her meticulously prepared meal had been strewn over the hills, hopelessly upended when a monstrous, egg-shaped robot exploded up from underneath them. She didn't even have the chance to be rightfully upset, watching all her hard work going flying through the floor, before she, too, was sent soaring.

And from there, the battle began.

C'mon, girl… up and at 'em…

She had to mentally will herself to keep climbing to her feet, to never mind the desire to just lose consciousness. Her heart hurt just as much as it pounded, because while Sonic predictably didn't give one hair quill about what she had done for him, she had. If nothing else she wanted to take pleasure in watching him eat it, savor the fruits of her labor while he zipped back and forth between training and taking a hearty bite of whatever he randomly picked up.

"So… it would appear as though you have quite the dedicated little girlfriend," blasted a voice through some sort of microphone, a familiar snide tone rife with manic glee. "Your life is already forfeit, Sonic, but I'm an understanding man. It's a tense situation, I get it."

When Amy finally managed to stand upright, she wavered like a derelict tower, but she held, glancing a ways over in the direction of that voice that itched her in the worst way. Even though her vision was blurred beyond reason, probably due to the concussion, she could make out that baldheaded canker sore, Dr. Eggman, that ridiculous mustache of his twitched up into a nefarious smile through the windshield of the mech he was piloting. It was different than his previous ones, sporting an oval shaped chassis reinforced with a material that not even Sonic's spinning ball attack could penetrate; it was loaded to the teeth with armaments and carried none of the weaknesses of the previous versions.

It might explain why Sonic was currently entwined by a slew of tentacles made of that same impregnable alloy, each one gripping a limb and keeping him stretched out. The infamous blue hedgehog looked beaten, battered, and bruised as he struggled, calling on all the strength he possessed to no avail.

"Go on," Eggman urged tauntingly. "See if you can reason with her. If you can get her to run, I'll let her live to see the birth of my new world order."

The snarl Sonic aimed at Dr. Eggman was one of the scariest Amy had ever seen, one that exuded a loathing dredged up from Sonic's very soul. It really had no right gracing his handsome face, but then his lips parted in a threat that was just as sincere as it was scary: "I'm not telling her anything, but I'll tell you this, Eggman: you touch her one more time and this will be the last round."

Hearing those words leave Sonic's lips like that, growled out with everything that he was, it frightened and enchanted Amy in equal measure. Because she could tell he was serious, as serious as a heart attack. A fatigued smile of adoration tugged on the corner of Amy's lips and she felt herself swooning, figuratively and literally, so much so that she stumbled sideways, almost tipping over but firming her wobbly knees at the last second.

"Pity," replied the spherical doctor, nonplussed by Sonic's declaration. "A pity that for all your speed, you're just now crossing that particular finish line. It's always been the last round, you blue rodent, but your fire for life has proven exceptionally difficult to snuff out. Still, failure after failure has taught me lessons that your victory-fueled hubris has blinded you to. And here we are."

Barely listening to a single word out of that egg-shaped menace's mouth, Amy glanced down at her red dress and sucked her teeth, her brow furrowed with a bleary annoyance. There were so many rips in the fabric, condiment stains here and there, and a rather large tear going up the side that would have been daring were it originally supposed to be there, but it wasn't and all it served to do was reveal the band of the underwear she had specifically chosen for this day. Not that she had planned on Sonic seeing them—the very thought nearly caused her to black out—but just to help her feel cute. Because that's what she loved exuding. Cuteness. From her hair, to her clothes, to her mannerisms, to the food regretfully wasted all over the place….

And this? Her savaged attire, the bruises, the blood still dripping from her nose and off her chin, her disheveled hair flowing out of its perfectly crafted style, buoyed by the gentle breeze sweeping the hills and rustling the grass….

This wasn't cute. Not at all.

Her lips parted, a ghost of a smile playing over them. "Sonic, I… I'm sorry," she started with a shuddering inhale. "I… just f-for today, I just wanted to be cute…."

Hearing her say that, the bedraggled undercurrent to her words, it seemed to physically drain Sonic. That unflinching fire that nothing else in the past had been able to extinguish, even in the most dire of situations, was dosed with just a few simple words. And they both knew why. Because Sonic's earlier threat held no weight. Because this time, he was well and truly trapped; those tentacles looked to be seconds way from either breaking a limb or crushing it to a grisly pulp altogether and the way he kept wincing indicated they were squeezing steadily tighter and tighter with each passing second.

A tender smile broke out over Sonic's face and he leaned forward as best he could. "Naw… you were always cute, Amy," he told her, and her eyes widened. "Today you were cute, yesterday you were cute… everyday you were cute." He hunched a shoulder, chuckling through a grimace when the tentacle withholding him clenched harder. "S-sorry I never told you before now…."

The wind blew harder, jostling the tattered remains of Amy's dress as she stood there, her heart running laps around her ribcage and struggling to breathe properly. He… he had actually noticed her? All this time? Every time?

"Oh, the romance of it all," Dr Eggman crowed with a snide smirk. "Fine, I understand my role here. This is the part where the hero sacrifices himself for his love or whatever hooey right? Okay then, up you get," and he pressed a few buttons on the console before him that caused the tentacles to tug Sonic higher, hefting him directly over the mech and straightening him out. "I'll give your pretty pink pin cushion a front row seat as I tug off your limbs one by one."

Even with his face screwed up in pain, Sonic's eyes found the little pink hedgehog who revered him as the greatest hero of all time. "A-Amy… I'm sorry I… that I won't be able to eat anymore of your tasty food, but, uh… just run, okay? Like, as f-fast as you can… I don't want you to see this."

"And I never wanted you to s-see this," Amy choked out, her trembling voice carrying over the wind as she motioned helplessly at herself. "I always w-wanted you to see me a certain way, to—I dunno—to think of me as cute, a-and you did! You did and it… for a moment, I was happy…"

She could tell that Sonic was beyond confused, the distress growing ever prominent over his swollen face. He couldn't figure out why she wasn't running, trying to get away, to save herself—

"Get on with it, pinkie," Dr. Eggman urged impatiently, his finger hovering over a particularly menacing looking red button, one with a skull and crossbones painted on. "Preferably while we're young."

Visibly steeling herself, Amy reached for one of the golden bangles around her wrist. "So… please forgive me while I do something entirely uncute…."

And she snapped it off.

Having prematurely recoiled as though expecting an explosion to go off, Eggman blinked when nothing happened, when the passing seconds yielded nothing but Amy continuing to stand there, letting the broken halves fall from her hands. He started to chuckle, and that quickly became a ridiculing laugh. "And just what was that supposed to—GRK!"

It felt like the entire world shuddered when Amy's bracelet pieces touched down, cracking and rupturing the earth so violently that the good doctor almost bit his tongue off.

Sniffling a little, Amy broke her other bracelet with that same painfully reluctant motion and let it drop, causing another seismic disturbance to quake the nearby trees. She looked up, bypassing the way Dr. Eggman's jaw had completely dropped, and focused in on Sonic, on the way he gawked at her like she had grown a second head. She almost couldn't bear to see it, that disgusted bewilderment, he was probably appalled to see this side of her.

But what choice did she have…? She remembered well the day Rouge suggested she take up some strength training, an idea that Amy was vehemently against in the beginning because it didn't sound or look cute at all, yet the seductive bat reasoned that it allowed her to fight alongside the likes of Shadow and Omega—

"And wouldn't you like to assist Sonic in more ways than simply being his energetic cheering squad of one, dear? He may well need you one of these days…."

Being able to help Sonic even a little bit was quite honestly all the motivation Amy needed to dive headlong into all sorts of power aerobics and she quickly found her calling with weighted clothes, which worked wonders because she was able to see monumental gains while still keeping things as cute as she liked.

It was a secret she had never expected to one day reveal to Sonic, so strong was her trust that he would be able to handle anything thrown at him, but this now… this situation was too dire, too grave—what would be the point in looking cute for the one hedgehog she adored if he was no longer around?

"Wh-what in the world… what are you?" Dr. Eggman blustered, struggling to reaffix his jaw back in place.

Frowning now, Amy bent down, unlaced her shoe, slid it off, and stood, hefting it in one hand. "That's a rude thing to ask. I'm just a girl," came the curt response and she chucked it over her shoulder where it landed with all the force of a meteor, sending a cloud of debris everywhere, "a girl who just wanted to be cute."

She undid the other shoe. "And I was doing so good—really thought I'd take this with me to the grave…." Now barefoot and several pounds lighter, Amy fixed Dr. Eggman with a heated glare, tossing her shoe up and down as though it weighed nothing. "You ruined that. So now I gotta ruin you. Catch."

"I—"

The rest of whatever Eggman planned on saying was drowned out when Amy's shoe crashed through the reinforced windshield of his mech and struck him full on in the face, damn near caving it in. "AGH!" He toppled out of his command chair, an agonized yell piercing the air as he cradled his bleeding face.

"Yeah, that's about how I feel," Amy uttered stoically. "Just wanna scream and scream and scream some more. It's just so uncute…." Sweeping that signature crimson band from her head, she grunted as she cracked it into four pieces, then proceeded to toss each one with the precision and speed of a snipers bullet.

Four red blurs took out the four tentacles keeping Sonic aloft and he fell, bouncing off the hood of the mech below. He scrambled to grab onto something, found he didn't have the strength to get a good grip—

"Crap!"

—and rolled right over the edge. He braced for a painful collision with the ground, but it never came, only the odd sensation of falling onto a particularly firm pillow. He cracked open an eye, confused beyond measure to find himself in Amy's arms. Because how did she move fast enough to catch him in time? Furthermore, how was she even strong enough to be holding him like she was?

"Wuh…? Amy… b-but those tentacles—how did you… I don't—"

Remaining silent, she gently set him down but the moment he put pressure on his right leg, his face contorted with an agony that suggested a sprain or a fracture at the very least.

"That one's probably broke," Amy told him despondently, lowering him fully to the ground. "And… I'm sorry," she whispered, and miraculously, she was still heard even over the curse-fueled screams echoing from the mech as Eggman continued to thrash about, "this, um… I n-never wanted you to see me like this"—and she gestured at her less than stellar personage—"it's—nothing about this is cute…."

Pulling up his good leg, Sonic rested an arm on his knee and just stared up at the fretting pink hedgehog before him. He didn't know what in the world he was feeling, words alone just didn't seem adequate enough to explain it anyway, so he started chuckling, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Wow. You… all this time, that's what you were worried about? Looking cute?" he said with a tired smirk, and she hunched her shoulders again, expecting him to start yelling. "I thought you were too scared to run at first!"

Shock flew over Amy's face. "Run…?" The word left her lips with a foreign inflection, like she couldn't comprehend the meaning. "Run from what?"

"Uh, from… here? From death?"

"But that would mean leaving you. Wouldn't it?"

"Yeahhhh," Sonic nodded slowly, "that was kinda the whole point of—"

"No, it wasn't," she interrupted plainly and simply, placing a hand on her tilted hip in a chastising manner. "There is no world where I abandon you in your time of need. None. If we both can't run, I guess no one's running. And that wasn't a question," she continued with finality when he showed every sign of arguing.

It was on the tip of Sonic's tongue to press the issue and explain how she was woefully yet adorably wrong, but he sighed it out, running a hand through his hair quills. Whatever. That conversation could wait until later; there were more pressing matters on his mind now. "If you've got weighted clothes on, which is ridiculous by itself… just how much does that dress weigh?"

Taken aback by the question, Amy blinked, glancing down herself. "How much does…? Um, around 113 kilos, I think."

Sonic's jaw dropped and his eyes grew comically wide in response. "Are you serious? That much?" When Amy nodded shamefacedly, he gave an appreciative whistle. "Dang. And your shoes?"

"Probably 45."

"Tch, probably, she says….What about the bracelets?"

"Only 21–wait, no… 22, or 23, one of those, I can't remember which."

"M-my nose! I think you broke my nose—AGH! There's glass EVERYWHERE!"

Ignoring Eggman's piteous groans, Sonic reached out, idly thumbing around the tattered hem of Amy's dress and sparking a slight blush in her cheeks. Was he about to insult it? He had to think it was a gaudy thing, a stupid color, not even worth—

"This is crazy, I can actually feel the weight," he marveled, astonished, and when those exuberant emerald eyes found hers she was stunned to see not revulsion, but pure excitement resonating there. "You mean to tell me that you've been running around here all willy-nilly wearing over four hundreds pounds of clothes like it ain't nothing? That's insane… and here I thought I was tough stuff, but you, heh. Do you realize how awesome that is? How strong you are?"

Pouting, Amy glanced off to the side. "Strong isn't… it's not cute…."

"Did you… is that my TOOTH? Did you knock out one of my perfect teeth?"

"You're right." Grinning, Sonic pulled her in closer by the leg, delighting when she blushed harder, clapping both hands to his shoulders to keep from stumbling over.

"S-Sonic, what're you—" she flustered.

"It's not cute," he reiterated, that debonair air returning despite his broken leg and swollen left eye, "it's freakin' sexy. You realize you moved dang near as fast as Shadow just now? While wearing that ridiculously heavy dress? That's like two steps away from my speed!"

Twiddling her fingers together, Amy didn't know what to say. She couldn't figure out what was worse, previously thinking he would be turned off by her show of strength in such an uncute way, or that he was somehow absolutely pleased by it, which was worlds more embarrassing than she thought it would be.

He gave her leg a teasing squeeze and she squeaked like a toy. "Hey, do me a favor..."

"Anything," she responded automatically, forgetting herself.

"Since I got a busted leg, mind sending Egg Yolk over there packin'?" he asked, jerking a thumb at the teetering mech next to them. "I know you can do it."

"You weren't supposed to know I could do it—that was the whole point," she fussed moodily and the sound of Sonic's laughter soothed her frazzled nerves despite best attempts at remaining peeved.

"Well, Amy baby, cat's outta the bag now," he shrugged, now tapping his fingers up the length of her leg, somewhat amused that she didn't tell him to stop or knock his hand away. "You're an odd one, you are," he started indifferently, finding some passing intrigue in the actual size of her thigh, at the newly discovered layer of muscle there, as he was essentially palming it despite the way she shuddered at his touch, "but you're definitely still cute."

Her face lit up like a Christmas tree. "I… I am?"

Sonic nodded. "And your choice of underwear is spot-on, too," he chided, and Amy clapped both hands to her face in a futile attempt at hiding the furious red hue that flooded her cheeks. "Just… when you send Eggman over the horizon, take me to the hospital, yeah? I gotta get this leg set. Then we can try to start this picnic over again, y'know… if that's something you wanna d—"

Before Sonic could finish, he felt those muscles in Amy's leg flex with purpose—"Hey, Amy, uh… what're you—GAH!"—before she leapt, pushing off with such force that Sonic was nearly sent rolling backwards. She ascended like a rocket, hair whipping wildly, her dress threatening to be torn away from the wind force alone, and when she reached the apex of her jump she arched every so slightly into a graceful descent, her eyes narrowing with a hawks intensity at that stationary mech directly below her.

She could see Dr. Eggman scrambling, one hand clutching his bloody, swollen nose while the other fumbled for a lever that he hastily snatched down, causing all four bisected tentacles to launch themselves at her. "STOP THAT PINK MENACE!"

Normally, the sight of four short-circuiting tendrils bee-lining their way toward Amy hellbent on turnining her into a shish kebab would have dropped Sonic's heart into a cold abyss, but now, after everything he had witnessed, after what he had just felt… he merely scoffed, leaning back on one hand and lifting the other skyward.

"Go on, Amy," he encouraged, "this time… I'll watch you."

And he brought his hand down.

In the same breath of time, Amy flipped mid-air, extending her leg in a drop kick that effortlessly tore through not only the tentacles sent to greet her but Eggman's entire mech. She sliced through the top like a guillotine, as though it were made of cheap plastic, and burst through the bottom, slamming to the ground in a rather applaudable pose.

"Now that," Sonic began with an approving nod, "was truly badass. And you stuck the landing."

The bloodcurdling roar that ripped itself from Eggman's throat could have pierced eardrums it was so blistering and he started pressing all manner of buttons now, trying in vain to staunch all the ringing alarms and flashing red lights illuminating his bruised face, but it was no use and he knew it; he had built the damn thing after all—once that pink wrecking ball comprised the mech's structural integrity, namely by leaving a gaping hole from top to bottom, he already knew it was set to explode.

"Damn it… damn it, damn it, damn it! CURSE YOU AMY ROSE!"

"Hm." Sonic didn't blink, not even once, and still missed it when Amy zipped over to his side, effortlessly scooping him into her arms. "Looks like he finally got your name right," he joked, not at all used to being the one carried, especially princess style, but deciding he would let it slide just this once. Not like he had much of a choice anyway. "That's progress, eh?"

Now spattered in a fusion of blood and oil from tearing through Eggman's mech, the very last thing Amy felt like doing was talking. There was a fire in her eyes and her mouth was a thin line of resolution—she was determined to salvage what little she could of this day if it killed her. "Just… hang on."

Sonic smirked. "Aye, aye, captain."

When Amy sped off, her legs working themselves into a blur, she figured she had about three seconds before the machine behind her exploded, more than enough time to put some distance between them without needing to shed her dress for an extra burst of speed. She wasn't trying to make it any easier for Sonic to see her underwear, even though he already had and, darn it… she could feel her face burning hot as she skipped over the hills, unconsciously hopping from rock to rock like she could outrun her embarrassment.

"You're blushing," Sonic noticed, grimacing in pain but managing to smirk through it.

Amy had only opened her mouth to tell him to shut up when Eggmans mech burst into a rising tower of flaming wrath that shook the ground. She waited patiently for the good doctor's fading scream of defeat to taper off before immaturely sticking her tongue out at the hedgehog in her arms.

"Heh, that wasn't very cute of you, Ms Rose."

"It won't be cute when I drop you either, dummy…."

The End