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Sonic didn’t know much about this side of the island. He wasn’t sure how he ended up at this party, nor what they were even celebrating. The one thing he definitely knew? It was always so much more trouble than it’s worth. He definitely considered himself outgoing, but Sonic felt out of place at parties—or at least these ones. Why was he even here again?
“I can’t believe I have to call Sonic the Hedgehog a stick in the mud,” Amy giggled, smiling softly at him.
Right. He was staring at the reason why he was there in the face.
“Parties can be… Dangerous, I guess?” he ran his hand through his quills awkwardly. He always felt a flicker of anger thinking about how guys always hit on Amy at these events, but he’d never tell her so. I’ll protect you, Ames.
“Eggman won’t be showing up to rain on our parade, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Amy argued. “It’s kinda out of character for you to not live it up a little…”
“I know, I know,” he rolled his eyes. “Tell you what, I owe you a song on the dance floor.”
“Noted,” Amy laughed, pulling him by the wrist into the club.
It’s only been an hour… Sonic thought to himself, flashing the display on his communicator on and off to amuse himself. Amy had gone off on her own somewhere, leaving him to his own devices. If he was being honest, he was bored. I bet some cooler guy is gonna try to whisk her away, he grumbled to himself. That was, until a familiar beep sounded from the speaker.
“Code brandy,” Amy whispered in a hushed, panicked voice. His head cocked to the side, trying to process the warning as he darted off to search for her.
Without a second thought, Sonic began to speed through the crowd as quietly as he could manage, looking for that familiar pink.
To say Amy was always prepared is a gross understatement. They had code colors for just about every situation: Lavender—the color for every time the ice cream cart catches fire. The cable bill went up again? That’s turquoise. But brandy? Could brandy even be called a color? It definitely wasn’t something they had agreed on.
“Hey, there‘s Sonic!” Amy pointed out to a tall, male bear who was more than a little too close for comfort.
“Sorry it took me a hot second to find you,” Sonic said, interrupting the conversation. He gave the guy a look over, raising an eyebrow. “Did I miss anything?”
“You forgot to say hi, babe!” Amy said with a fake smile, gripping his hand so tightly she could cut off circulation. “No worries, you were right on time.”
Babe? Sonic kept his face neutral as she nuzzled her head under his chin. Quietly, the most he could manage was a, “Hey, Amy…”
“Aw, this scrawny guy your designated driver or something?” the stranger grumbled.
“Something like that,” Amy said, giving Sonic a peck on the cheek. Typically, these type of creeps were never this forward.
“He isn’t taking the hint…” Sonic whispered in Amy’s ear through gritted teeth. She nodded slightly, trying to be discreet.
“Sorry,” Sonic said, with a heavy amount of snark. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”
Instead of responding, the bear lunged forward, hurling a balled up paw towards Sonic’s face.
Sonic yanked Amy out of harm’s way, held her tightly, and flashed a signature smirk. “You could probably pack a punch if you could land it,” he snickered.
Yawning, Sonic sidestepped another swing, grinning as it failed to connect.
“Then again, you shouldn’t try to hit the fastest thing alive.”
He swung a few more times, failing to even graze the blue hedgehog. After giving Sonic another look over, the stranger huffed and backed away, realizing whatever he wanted to try wasn’t worth it at the moment.
“So much for introductions,” he mumbled.
The moment he was out of sight, Amy pulled Sonic into a hug.
“Thank goodness he didn’t hurt you, Ames.” In his relief, Sonic had returned the hug without thinking too much.
“Sorry,” she said quietly.
“No, no, it’s fine,” Sonic assured her, removing his arms from her waist, suddenly aware of the uncharacteristic affection. “It’s why I like to come to these things, so you can have fun.”
“So, uh, new code. Brandy,“ said Amy, looking away to hide her blush.
“Is that even a color?”
“It’s what he tried to make me drink,” she explained, making Sonic grimace. He wasn’t a huge fan of alcohol to begin with, much less coming from suspicious strangers. “The color is like, a brown, maybe?”
The way she asked made him smile again. “And it means…?” Sonic trailed off, giving her the opportunity to explain. Amy liked making decisions so much more than he did, so he reserved the honor for her whenever he could.
“You pretend to be my boyfriend to scare off guys?” Amy asked.
Sonic could feel a lump in his throat form. Pretend…?
“Only if you’re okay with it, I mean. I could’ve brought out the hammer, but I didn’t want to cause a scene, so…”
His instincts made him panic every time “Amy” and “dating” were in the same sentence. Then again, he was a goner after seeing Amy’s sheepish smile; there was no way he could say no to her.
“Y-yeah,” he stuttered. “Okay.” Sonic forced himself to smile, though he felt his heart sink with a familiar heaviness.
She blinked, confused and hurt by his hesitancy. “Are you sure it’s okay?” He knows he’s way too cool to be dating a girl like me, she thought to herself.
“Yeah!” Sonic nodded vigorously, trying to keep her happy. It’s not like she’d ever actually date me…
“Oh, and, before I forget…” Sonic looked to the dance floor before turning back to Amy with a formal air. “May I have this dance, princess?” He bowed, barely able to hold a straight face as the electronic bass blasted.
Amy bust out laughing. “Of course!” she agreed, holding him by the hand to the dance floor. At least some things never change.
One song. One moment dancing together was all it took for them to enjoy themselves. Every time Amy laughed, Sonic felt as if he could fly.
“I wish we could do this forever,” Amy commented, her eyes shining.
“What, dance?”
“Together, yeah.”
He felt his heart soar. Sonic smiled, unsure how to proceed. “I wouldn’t mind.”
Amy froze. Sonic held her tightly as the song ended. It wasn’t anything slow, so the sudden stillness surprised her.
He coughed to clear his throat, trying to combat the lump forming out of nervousness. “I’m a bit thirsty, wanna go grab something?” That was stupid, she just said this is what she wanted to do…, he realized.
“Sure.” Agh, I scared him, she thought to herself.
Then, he grabbed her hand as he made his way to the bar, making her completely oblivious to just about everything else.
“Hey bartender! You got juice or something?” he asked, leaning over the counter. Amy giggled.
“They’re a cute pair,” the bartender whispered to a certain bear sitting at the other end. “Isn’t spiking their drinks a low blow?”
“Hell yeah it is.”
“Well, the money doesn’t lie, I guess,” he replied in a hushed voice.
“Just make sure to pour in some of what I gave you.”
Nodding casually, as if taking an order, the bartender acknowledged the demand and walked towards the two hedgehogs.
“On the house,” the bartender shrugged, sliding two cups their way. “Pineapple juice.”
After the first sip, Sonic’s ears pricked, suddenly aware of an expectant, malicious chuckle. Every sense felt like it was warning him. Without thinking, he slammed the cup down, smacking Amy’s out of her hand and onto her dress.
“What in the world was that for?!”
“Hold on,” was all he responded with, teeth bared.
The same bear from earlier stomped towards them, taking a swing at Amy, of all people. Sonic was not prepared for the pain that came with intercepting that blow head on, but had no regrets as his body skid across the floor. Amy was safe, although both of them were absolutely pissed.
“This chick claimed you’re her boyfriend, but you mess around like it’s your first date. What loser excuse of a bodyguard are you?”
Maybe it was the single sip of whatever was in his drink, the blunt force trauma he just received the brunt of, or a combination of both, but Sonic’s senses were beginning to blur. He didn’t quite yet feel inclined to fight back.
Feeling the adrenaline coursing through him as his fight-or-flight response kicked in, Sonic groaned. His mind narrowed in on doing exactly one thing.
“Code brandy,” he muttered, before grabbing Amy.
“Wh—”
Without a moment’s hesitation, he pulled himself closer to steal a passionate kiss from her as if it was his dying wish. One arm was secured around her waist, the other—a crude finger right in the onlooker’s face. Amy’s entire body tensed for a second, but she leaned in to return the gesture. Amy hated the circumstances of her first kiss with Sonic, but it would have to do. She couldn’t help but smile for a brief moment after breaking away, then turned towards the bear with the coldest glare.
The last thing anybody was expecting was a hammer to the attacker’s face.
“Yo, security?” Amy called out loudly in a fake-innocent tone. She dusted herself off, cursing Sonic mentally for placing her on a rollercoaster of emotions. She was convinced that the kiss probably meant nothing—that Sonic saw an opportunity to prove a jerk wrong once again. More than anything, she hated how much she enjoyed it.
He still felt on edge, but Amy was alarmingly quiet. He swallowed, trying to speak through the lump in his throat. She absolutely hates me now, was the only thing he could think.
“Thanks.” Sonic threw into the silence. “I had no idea what to do.”
Amy glared, unimpressed by the obvious lie. “Dude, I’ve seen you fend off way worse than that,” she argued, her tone harsh. “Did you use me just so you could show off? You did not need me to look good to a creep.” You especially didn’t need to play with my heart.
“I didn’t mean—I…” He sighed, unable to finish the sentence. I’d give anything to kiss you like that again.
Amy’s face only began to soften as she noticed his lip slightly quiver—a second too late. “…Sonic?”
“You… don’t need me,” he mumbled, stressing the last word as if correcting her. He gripped the table tightly, still feeling lightheaded.
“You’re Sonic the Hedgehog,” Amy groaned. “The world needs you.”
He stiffened. “Don’t lie.” Hearing her parrot what the other villagers usually said back to him struck him in a way he didn’t expect.
“What is wrong with you?” she barely held herself back from screaming at him. Sonic was more wound up than she had ever seen him before.
“What about me isn’t good enough for you, Amy?” Sonic snapped, his eyes desperate.
“Excuse me?” She held the venom in her tone, unsure how to respond to his burning eyes. This was the first time she’d seen him so genuinely distraught. The longer the silence went on, the worse it felt. It just about broke her seeing him so… scared.
“…I just wanted to be your boyfriend, even if…Even if it wasn’t… real.” He paused between the last words as they fell from his mouth, utterly admitting defeat. “Even if it was just for tonight…” he continued, trying to assure himself, frustrated with the fact his head was pounding.
“You’re joking,” was all Amy could manage to say, her face utterly blank. Sonic the Hedgehog, the guy of her dreams, was beating himself up over impressing her.
His chest burned. To him, Amy was simply unimpressed and uninterested in being more than a friend. He had already messed up any chance at that happening. Sonic felt as if he was going to collapse. Maybe that would be for the better.
She threw herself onto him, crashing to the ground. Amy found herself babbling, scrambling to find the words. “Sonic. You’re an idiot, and I love you. I’ve always loved you.”
Nothing she’d ever seen could match the sheer shock on his face, especially when she leaned in to kiss him again. Suddenly, comfort. Her smile was warm, but everything around him grew cold. Sonic smiled as he lost consciousness.
&&&&&
“…Well, the good news is he’s not dead.”
“And the bad?”
Sonic groaned as the blinding hospital white filled his vision. He recognized Tails’ voice along with Amy’s, though his eyes refused to stay open long enough to confirm.
“He essentially drank poison,” Tails continued. “Thankfully not enough to do any lasting damage.”
“Ugh…” Sonic groaned, interrupting the diagnosis of sorts. “Hey Amy? If I wake up in a hospital after a party, it wasn’t a good party.”
“You’ve been asleep for a week, dude,” Tails commented.
“Good morning to you too,” she teased. “Please keep the dying for me to a minimum from here on out, okay?”
Tails’ jaw just about dropped as she leaned in to kiss him on the forehead. “You finally figured out you like each other.”
“We really didn’t know,” Amy said earnestly. She could tell disbelief was going to be the main response to the new relationship for a long while.
“I went in that night pretending to be Amy’s boyfriend,” Sonic started to explain groggily.
“Why’s that?” Tails asked.
“Same guy that tried to punch out Sonic tried to get me to go home with him.”
“Then, some dancing and one roofie later, I left unconscious, but actually her boyfriend,” Sonic clarified, a smile spreading across his face as he looked at Amy again.
“I’m glad,” Tails replied. “The dating part, not the drugging.”
Amy was all smiles too. “You’re getting discharged soon,” she said, turning to Sonic. “Let’s break the news to the rest of the team.”
He laughed, no longer paying mind to the headache he had. “Sure thing, babe,” he replied, sticking out his tongue.