Chapter Text
Sonic had always run from his feelings.
Always.
It seemed like the wisest thing to do, or maybe the most cowardly. It was natural. Run to escape your feelings — it always worked.
Maybe also because it was easier than stopping and thinking about it. It was easier than trying to confront the question that terrified him.
That question was sometimes ambiguous or direct, always coming from the same person: Amy.
The hedgehog had been in love with him forever. She was fun, kind — and extremely beautiful.
He didn’t understand why he was always afraid to face her feelings and say that maybe he didn’t feel the same.
When he rejected her gently — not openly, afraid of hurting her feelings — Amy’s eyes would stop shining for just a second. A flicker of disappointment and silent acceptance. All of it made his heart ache for some reason.
But maybe it was because he himself wasn’t even sure if he didn’t feel the same.
He had always admired her more. He had always noticed that she shone brighter somehow. Her kindness and patience seemed to stand out in any room. He had always admired her, but only lately had he begun to notice more.
Her strange little habits. Like how she loved tarot and sometimes spoke about it with enthusiasm. How her green eyes always seemed to shine whenever she saw him. How her smile sometimes echoed in loops inside his mind.
But it was strange, because he had never felt like this before.
Why after so long?
With time, being near her became frequent. Sometimes he tried to make their meetings seem accidental. Just to have something to talk about. It wasn’t something that appeared out of nowhere. It took days. Months.
Ridiculous, right?
For the guy who had always gently turned her down. Who always tried to leave his answers ambiguous so he wouldn’t have to face the truth.
Yes, it was ridiculous.
But he couldn’t stop. Not when her smile seemed so much more genuine around him. Not when she said his name so naturally that it made his heart beat faster for some reason.
He felt so pathetic because of it.
Not because of the feelings — it was something good. As good as the feeling of his heart racing and butterflies in his stomach. He felt angry at himself every single day he woke up and the first thing he could think about was her.
But he was afraid she wouldn’t like him anymore. Afraid he had broken her heart so many times that she wouldn’t accept him now.
He began to think about it with a sad frequency. A routine, practically. A personal punishment he gave himself. The park became his favorite place to think, especially on a spring afternoon.
Amy’s favorite season.
Just thinking about that made him bury his face in his hands, cursing himself internally.
No matter what he thought about, it always came back to Amy.
Amy, Amy, Amy.
Amy Rose.
A name so blessed that it was cursing him at that very moment.
"Hey… sir?"
Sonic blinked in surprise as he removed his hands from his face and found himself staring at a child. It was a rabbit child with almond-shaped eyes.
When the child looked at him, her brown eyes widened and she stepped back as if she had seen a ghost. But she didn’t seem scared, just nervous.
"I’m sorry, I’m sorry!" She stuttered while holding the edge of her worn dress. "I thought you were alone and I wanted to call you to play because I thought you wanted company, but I didn’t know you were—"
Sonic raised an eyebrow, confused, as he crouched down to her height.
"You’re Sonic, the hedgehog! I… I had no idea. I’m a huge fan! But I bothered you, I’m sorry." She seemed clumsy with her words, almost tripping over them while trying to look anywhere but at Sonic.
Sonic started laughing — no, laughing loudly. The girl seemed to grow even more nervous, almost wanting to run away, but when Sonic noticed that, he smiled sweetly at her.
"Hey, don’t worry about that!" He replied, looking at the little girl. She finally looked at him, and suddenly she didn’t seem nervous anymore. "You know, I love talking to my fans." Sonic laughed a bit more, and even though his tone was playful, there was honesty in his voice.
"Really? So… I didn’t bother you?" She asked uncertainly.
"No, but…" Sonic paused as he looked at her. "Don’t talk to strangers on the street, okay? You seem like someone really cool, but it’s very dangerous." He warned her, his face now slightly serious, yet radiating care.
"Okay…" The girl smiled, now happier.
"So, what’s your name?" Sonic asked gently with a smile.
"Stella," the girl answered, finally smiling back.
"Hey, Stella. How about we buy some ice cream for you?" The hero asked as he spotted an ice cream stand nearby.
He offered because he had noticed the girl staring at that stand when she avoided looking at him. Her expression said she really wanted it, but judging by her clothes, she probably couldn’t buy it.
Sonic had always loved helping people, after all. Especially children. So he took the little girl’s hand and they walked toward the stand.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Sonic!" The little girl replied happily, her big eyes watching Sonic with excitement as she now held a strawberry ice cream.
"Just call me Sonic." The speedster replied while giving his signature thumbs up. "Are those your friends?" He pointed to the children playing in the park.
"Yes," the girl answered after a pause. "Do you want to play with us?"
Sonic’s gaze swept across the park. He thought it might be a good idea, since he had nothing else to do anyway. But his eyes caught a pink figure approaching the park, the characteristic red dress that made his heart flutter. A familiar feeling. Comfortable and selfish.
"Another day, okay?" He smiled brightly at Amy before turning his attention back to the child. "Give this money to them to buy something later."
The little girl refused the money at first, but after Sonic insisted she accepted it and ran to play with her friends. He hoped that money would make a difference in her life somehow.
He approached Amy before she even noticed him, and Amy smiled back. They sat on a nearby bench, and in the short time it took him to walk there, Sonic wondered if he could hold her hand.
All the feelings from before seemed to intensify in Amy’s presence. Her natural scent filled his senses, making him feel dizzy.
Amy talked about small things. Her smile seemed almost… wrong. Her body language didn’t seem right.
And he noticed it.
"Are you okay?" He asked while observing her, watching her smile falter slightly before she forced it to look real as she said she was fine. It didn’t work.
That smile didn’t irritate Sonic. But it made his heart sad. What could he do to make her smile like she always did?
He raised his hand without thinking and touched Amy’s face, bringing it closer to his and making her look at him. Their faces were extremely close, allowing him to see Amy’s sad expression clearly. But now she seemed almost shocked by his actions.
Sonic felt his hands trembling, even as his feelings dominated his actions. On that spring afternoon, in that moment where children played around them, he thought, not for the first time in those recent days, that maybe he should stop.
Not stop in the literal sense. But stop running. Admit what he felt — even if he himself didn’t completely understand it.
What he understood was that it was Love. It was a strange love. Not a love of friends — something more. Deeper. More genuine.
His hand on Amy’s face sent a spark through his fingers, that moment seeming to come from his deepest imagination.
"If you’re not okay, feel free to talk to me." Sonic’s eyes shone, showing his determination and honesty, trying to make her see that he was telling the truth. Not to doubt for even a second that he was lying.
To believe him. That he would be there.
"You’ve always been someone special to me." He made a small pause, almost imperceptible. Was this the moment? Later, tomorrow, nothing else mattered. He just wanted to see that smile again. "Lately, it’s become more. So don’t feel pressured when you’re not feeling okay."
That last sentence was simple, but it came from his whole heart. His heart ached with fear, yet at the same time it felt light.
He leaned in, and with trembling lips, he kissed her cheek softly. He felt it — his mouth against her cheek. That moment seemed to last years and seconds before he pulled away.
"What…" She managed to say after a while. "What was that supposed to mean?"
"It means I’m ready this time. I don’t want to run from you anymore." He lifted his hand to her cheek again, the touch soft. His mind raced through every moment they had shared. From when she was 12 years old running after him declaring her love, to the Amy of now. "I want to stop and see what could happen. See if we can make it work. What I’m trying to say is…"
He paused. This was it. This moment. Whatever he said might change everything — in a good or bad way.
"I like you. I don’t know how it happened but it just did—"
He tried to explain himself. Tried to find words like in those romance movies she said she loved. Tried to say how he realized it too late, but that none of that canceled the feeling.
But his words died when he felt something warm against his lips. Something that tasted like strawberry.
His brain short-circuited when he realized what was happening. His face heated up, but he gently returned the kiss, holding Amy’s face with both hands delicately.
In that moment, happiness struck him like lightning. But something so good. So happy. So genuine.
He startled when he felt something wet, and when he opened his eyes and pulled back, Amy was sobbing.
Her eyes were blurred with tears. Sonic felt desperate. "Amy— did something happen?" He asked while still trembling with nervousness, his heart dropping at the torturous thought.
She didn’t want to kiss him?
Was it an impulsive action and he misread it?
What if she—
"I’m happy, Sonic." She managed to say between sobs. "So, so happy right now."
And she gave the most beautiful smile in the world.
A smile covered in tears. But so bright, especially in the twilight.
The world around Sonic seemed to stop in that moment. She looked like the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her smile was so genuine that his heart hurt.
He loved her so much.
How could he have realized that only now?
She had always been there. For him.
He kissed her again on the lips, the kiss more delicate than the other. Full of love.
"I love you, Amy."
"I love you too, Sonic."
And Sonic was certain it was the best spring of his life.