Chapter 4: Kind of, Sort of

Sonic didn't need to be there. He shouldn't have been there. There were plenty of things he could be doing instead of sitting in the back of the auction hall, drumming his fingers so fast that they were a white-wave blur. The Restoration likely needed errands run or some scouting done. Tails reached out earlier that morning, asking if he could drop by the lab when he had a minute. If nothing else, it was a bright, sunny day, perfect running weather from here to the coast and back. The kind of warm, lazy afternoon that begged to be enjoyed outside.

Instead, he planted himself firmly in the dark corner at a small table by himself, watching the stage warily as each new piece rolled out for the auction. Several paintings, an antique cabinet, and another hand-crafted appliance, courtesy of Tails' genius. Sonic's eyes glazed over at each one, losing interest until he heard Jewel mention the final prize for the day.

"I want to thank you all for how popular you've made these auctions," Jewel said. "I'm delighted to announce that our final bidding today is for yet another day with a well-known individual. Many of you in the Restoration are familiar with her. Our former director, Miss Amy Rose!"

The pink hedgehog stepped out on the stage, waving to friendly applause from around the room. She handled the attention a lot better than Sonic did. Calm, confident, and a genuine smile. When Amy had told him about it yesterday, she was as surprised as Sonic.

"Jewel asked you to? Why?" He quickly realized how that sounded and backpedaled quickly. "N-Not that you're not great to hang out with, Ames. But it's a little out of the blue."

"Yeah, I was taken aback when she asked too. She said that a lot of people looked up to me when I was in charge of the Restoration and that I was the 'face of rebuilding' after Eggman's war." She shrugged sheepishly at the description. "Not sure I would say that."

"Nah, I'd agree," he said. "You were all over the place, making sure things ran smoothly after ol' Knucklehead up and headed back to his floating rock. You'd definitely be popular enough to bring in bidders."

She hung her head, her cheeks dusted a rosy color, and picked at her bracelets. "Thanks."

Seeing her like that, a strange sensation had awoken in Sonic that he hadn't felt since their own little outing. That he wanted to see her like that more often. She was a clear-cut choice and would be a sensation at the auction, drawing quite the crowd after all.

Then he mulled on that for a while once she left. She would draw quite a crowd. Hoards of people that all wanted to bid on her and take her out for the day. On dates, most likely. And as he dwelled on that, it turned into an obsessive nagging thought for the rest of the day. One that he found intolerable and directed him to the auction promptly the next day. Why, he wasn't exactly certain. To make sure nothing untoward happened to Amy, he told himself.

Sonic's chest rose as the spotlight focused on her, highlighting her with a sheen that he didn't remember being present on the other bidding items. Was it his imagination?

A sharp bang resounded throughout the hall and Sonic snapped out of his musings. Jewel held her gavel high over the podium, ready to strike again, and pointed to Amy. "Let's start the bidding at ten rings! Do I hear ten?"

Several voices yelled for attention, calling out the price and higher numbers. Sonic swiveled back and forth in his chair. Like he expected, plenty of takers.

"Alright, alright," Jewel raised a hand to settle the commotion. "We've got forty so far. Do I hear fifty?"

Fifty? It had already jumped that high? Sonic bounced his foot impatiently and clasped his hands together, bending the individual fingers to the point of breaking. He couldn't stay silent. No, a powerful urge to call out a number whelmed up in his throat. But why? He didn't have a lot of rings on him.

"Fifty!"

"Fifty-five!"

"Sixty!"

Sonic slammed his fist on the table, drawing a few curious looks. "Seventy!" he shouted.

"I hear sixty!" Jewel said.

She couldn't hear him. He needed to make her hear. He had to win. Sonic climbed onto his table and cupped his hands to his mouth. "Seventy!"

Jewel shielded her eyes, staring out into the crowd. "I think we have seventy in the back."

Amy perked up on her tiptoes, straining to see who placed the bet too. Suddenly, Sonic felt very exposed and he hovered in a half-crouch, unsure if he should stay on the table or slip back into his chair.

"Eighty!" another bidder shouted and that sealed Sonic's decision. He stood up tall on the table, planting his dirty shoes on the nice white tablecloth. No way he was going to lose this.

"Ninety!" he called back.

"Oh, wow, ninety. Do we have any more?" Jewel scanned the crowd, searching for any hands.

"Ninety-five!" someone yelled.

This was getting ridiculous. He needed to shut this down before someone with deeper pockets outbid him. Leaping off the table, Sonic zoomed through the auction hall, rounding tables and chairs. He zipped onto stage next to the podium, scaring the daylights out of Jewel, who toppled off her little footstool.

"What, what is it?" she asked, covering the microphone for a moment.

"One hundred rings," he said simply, glancing at Amy several feet away. The pink hedgehog's eyes widened at his appearance and her mouth drooped open a fraction in surprise. He couldn't help the smile that slowly spread on his face at her reaction.

Jewel snapped her fingers in front of him, calling him back to the situation. Sonic took a deep breath. "And as an extra incentive, I'll volunteer to be your little cash cow again."

Jewel's eyes sparkled like her wings at the lucrative offer and she slammed the gavel on the podium. "Once, twice, gone!" she quickly yelled before any protests piped up. "To Sonic the Hedgehog for one hundred rings!" Leaning away from the microphone, she whispered to him, "Next week, okay?"

"Next week." Already, the regret set in and he wondered if he should back out. However, when Amy approached him and put on a hand on his shoulder, all his misgivings vanished into thin air. She gave him a bemused grin, looking between Jewel and him for an explanation.

Jewel offered nothing other than a "Thanks for your patronage to the Restoration. Have fun on your day out." The way she said the last part struck Sonic and she wore an expression that indicated she knew what he was up to. That she could read his thoughts better than he could himself. He wished she'd tell him, because he could barely make sense of his own thoughts at all.

"What was all that about?" Amy asked.

He shook his head, forgetting all about the auction and his promise for now. "Nothing. So," he offered his hand and she gladly accepted it, "ready to spend the day with me?"

"Always."

He scooped her up easily and she wrapped her arms around him. Despite her practice many times over the years so that she neither held too tight nor too loose to fall off, his throat felt tight as her arms slid around his shoulders. Choking, even though he breathed deeply. An overwhelming floral scent that was nice and pleasant filled his lungs. Had she always smelled like that?

"Sonic?" She shifted in his grip and he noticed that he had his nose half-buried in her quills. "You okay?"

"Fine," he said, coughing and shaking his limbs. "Let's go." He revved up his feet and she leaned into him, her face close to his. He did his best to focus on the auction hall and sped out of the building, down the street, and off into the distance.

Running usually cleared Sonic's head, the thrilling wind ripping away all pesky concerns and worries, scattering them carelessly to the open air. Unfortunately, that was nigh impossible when the object of those thoughts was nestled in his arms, her head buried in the crook of his neck. If anything, Amy cemented her presence in his mind with every little breath she took, the warm puffs tickling his nerves, shooting shivers of icy warmth along his spine.

As he left the city far behind and ran through open fields and pleasant scenery, it dawned on Sonic that he had no idea what to do. He'd been so dead set on winning the auction that he hadn't planned where to go or how to spend his time with Amy.

"So, uh," he slowed a little, the whipping wind quieting enough to hear each other, "got any place in particular you'd like to go?"

"Not really," she said. "I'm fine going wherever."

By his estimate, they were nearing Windmill Village. Quiet Windmill Village and the forest around it. Perfect for him. He needed a second to cool down and think.

He eased to a stop and set Amy down. She immediately stretched her legs and spine. "We've been at it a while."

"Yeah," he said, leaning against a tree and watching her.

"So," she spun around. "What did you have planned?"

He shrugged, still unsure what to do. "How about a walk?"

"A walk? You? Sure you can keep your feet under control long enough again?" she asked teasingly.

"Yes, I'm sure I can keep them under control long enough again," he said, mimicking her tone. She swept her arm to him, letting him lead the way, and they set off in the direction of the village.

They were quiet at first, which Sonic appreciated. He needed to sort his thoughts out. Unfortunately, just because Amy now walked alongside him rather than curled into his chest, that didn't calm the tumultuous storm of emotions crashing through him.

"You know," Amy said after a while, "if you wanted to go on a walk, you only needed to ask." She smiled at him and his stomach did a somersault seeing it up close. No, from seeing it meant for him and him alone. Not like the general friendly one she wore back at the auction.

He tried to play it off casually. "Yeah, well, you know. You were a little busy up there."

"Uh-huh. Do you even have a hundred rings?"

He put his hands behind his head, hiding his sheepish grin behind his arms. "I have about a hundred rings."

"Right. Why were you even at the auction to begin with?"

The very question he'd been asking himself the whole day and one which he still didn't have an answer to. He quickly tried to change the topic. "If you're that interested in twenty questions, you gotta give me a chance to think of a person or thing, yeah? Or are you that bored?"

"No, I'm not bored." She moved closer, now within his space.

Sonic needed to keep her at a distance, as she was distracting him. However, he couldn't very well put his arms down naturally, not without hitting her head or awkwardly scooting her aside. Truth be told, he didn't want to. That floral scent pricked at his nose, soothing him.

The question remained though. Why had he been at the auction for her and bid on her? Why was he more protective of her than usual? Why did he care enough to put himself in this unusual situation, especially when it wasn't like last time? Last time had been light, casual. A simple trip to the city that he easily could've repeated instead of the forest.

"You're awful quiet," she pointed out and stepped in front of him, walking backwards. "Got a lot on your mind?"

"The usual." He quickly dropped his hands, feeling a little safer. Like he had rebuilt a wall to keep his mind hidden from her. This was starting to feel too heavy. He wanted to run, to leave this behind. But he'd promised her a walk and he wanted to stay with her.

Amy's disbelieving eyes cut right through that newly built wall, leaving him exposed once more. Searching for the truth, but unsure what they were looking for. The sense to run climbed higher, needing to hide whatever those sparkling green eyes hoped to find.

They suddenly softened and she reached out a hand, curling the tips of her fingers underneath his. "Sonic, it's me. The usual for you is that you can't shut up. Now come on, what is it? Do you need help with something?"

She was good. She was very good. Or she knew him too well. Either way, maybe she could help somehow. "Have you ever had something bother you, but you don't know why? Something you can't put it into words?"

"You mean like when you're anticipating a trap?"

"Sort of, but not anything dangerous. More a problem that you can't figure out."

"And what sort of problem is that?"

He hesitated, not wanting to explain the exact issue. "Let's say it's something you did."

She shrugged, confused by his vague description. "You mean a wrong decision or something embarrassing? And you're asking yourself later why you did that?"

He snapped his fingers and pointed excitedly to her. "Yes, something like that."

She considered his question, looking up at the lazy clouds drifting through the sky. "Well, if I did something wrong to someone, I would try to apologize. But I'm guessing this isn't that." A single nod from Sonic confirmed that for her. "So something that was just embarrassing to me. Well, I would try to forget it and not do it again."

Easier said than done in his case. If Amy happened to volunteer for the auction again, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from attending and trying to outbid everyone. He'd barely managed it today and if Jewel hadn't accepted his little bribe, where would Amy be now? And what would he be doing? Worrying for her well-being, he supposed. Perhaps even following her to make sure she was alright.

"And if you can't really forget it?" Sonic asked.

"I would tell your friend slash therapist some more details so they would make a better assessment. Sonic, what is it?" She stopped in front of him, crossing her arms and looking at him with concern. "If it's something serious, I'm happy to help you."

He tried to wave off any notions that it was a dire problem. "No, it's nothing like what you're thinking."

"Then tell me, run me through it. Maybe that'll help you piece it together."

Saying it out loud? He supposed it was worth a shot. He may've been too close to the problem to see it clearly. "I did something rash and wasn't really thinking straight, and ended up interrupting something."

"The auction?"

He winced, but nodded. "Yeah." He hated to admit it. "I kinda embarrassed myself in front of everyone and Jewel."

She giggled and Sonic's heart fluttered, hanging onto that sound. "Well, I'm sure nobody expected you to run up there like that. But you bid a lot, right?"

"Sort of."

"Sort of?"

"I, uh, promised Jewel that I'd volunteer for the next auction."

She raised a curious eyebrow. "Why? You hated it last time."

"I know. But I couldn't let you be auctioned off."

The forest around them seemed to fall silent, tree limbs stretching to listen in and critters watching from nearby bushes. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Because I didn't like the thought of it. No, wait. Hang on." He hadn't chosen the right words and racked his brain for how best to describe it. "For me, the thought of having to spend the day with one of those people is awful. And you helped me with that. So I wanted to do the same."

"Re-paying the favor?"

"Yes and no." He needed to just put it out there, however jumbled up it appeared to be. "See, I liked spending the day with you after the auction. Not just because I knew you. It was nice and I wanted to do it again. It was our thing, you know. Even if you went to another auction, I'd still do it. Cause I don't like the idea of someone else winning you and doing the same thing. That would feel wrong. You should be with me and I wanted to make sure we did this together. Not with other people."

He realized what he said and looked up at her. Amy's eyes widened to the size of saucers and her cheeks were as red as her dress. That came out all wrong and he sputtered to correct himself, but couldn't think of anything to say aside from babbling incoherent nonsense. "No, that isn't it. You see, I— what I meant was that you and I, uh…"

She took one of his hands, holding it between hers. "Sonic, answer me this. If someone else had won the auction today, how would you have felt?"

Angry. Depressed. Shocked. Numb. All those words came to him, but he couldn't choose just one. As he sorted through the mountain of responses, he unearthed the real reason, the one that Amy clearly saw too. Understanding it now, a tingling warmth coursed from her touch, up his arm, and spread throughout him, settling his thoughts down.

"I wouldn't have let that happen," he said with a smile.

"And why not?" Already, she was trembling, an excitable ball of energy that couldn't be contained much longer.

He held her arms, keeping her still lest she explode with joy, and shook his head. "Because, Amy Rose, I may, kind of, sort of like you," he mumbled.

His grip wasn't strong enough. She broke from it easily and threw her arms around him. Sonic stumbled backwards, struggling to remain on his feet. "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! Something told me you were acting weird the other day and I just had a feeling about it. I knew it."

Sonic should've been concerned about her arms cutting off all air or how she nuzzled her nose into his chest, tickling him. But he was surprisingly fine with all of it. In fact, he laughed and held her closer to him, causing her to tense up. Then he tipped her chin with his finger, her eyes shimmering brightly in the sun.

Bending down, he pecked her lips, intending to only give a simple, chaste kiss. But when his lips touched hers, he couldn't pull away. It was physically impossible, as his mouth seemed magnetically locked to hers, never wanting to let go. That warmth grew to a sweltering heat that surged through him and overwhelmed his head. In that moment, Sonic thought he had won the greatest prize the auction would ever have.

When they eventually parted, Sonic actually regretted that it seemed all too brief. He missed it and wanted to kiss her again. However, Amy's eyes were out of focus and her face was completely flushed. Another kiss so soon may have done her in altogether.

"Good thing I came to the auction, huh?" he asked.

Amy's mouth lolled and babbled nonsense. "Yeah, with the things, and-and the you and the me— yeah, and the auction."

"I'll take that as a yes." He scooped her into his arms again, which snapped her out of her trance and she looped her arms around him. "So, to Windmill?"

"Sure." She kissed his cheek and that gave him a burst of energy. He took off, excited to spend the rest of the day and more with her.