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“You promised!”
“Well, you did promise...”
Sonic blinks at his little bro and Amy, both looking at him with various levels of exasperation. His natural response to Amy saying any sentence with the word “date” in it is to deny everything, but now when he thinks about it he vaguely recalls agreeing to a lunch and a movie after Eggman accidentally ruined the pink hedgehog’s more romantic plans for the anniversary of their meeting. Something... less intense than what she originally planned.
He takes a proper look at his pink friend for the first time since she’s stormed into Tails’ workshop. It is her usual dress, and her usual boots, and the very same headband, but she’s wearing a crop jacket so white it seems to be shining, and there’s something else different about her that Sonic just can’t quite put his finger on.
“Do I also need to dress up?” he asks suspiciously.
Amy puts her fists on her hips but answers more or less patiently:
“No, you don’t. I dressed up because I wanted to. For the sake of Chaos though, wash off all this plane grease! It isn’t a fancy restaurant, but I won’t have my boyfriend walking in there looking like a mess!”
He still scrunches his face at being called her “boyfriend” but obediently leaves the shop and heads for a first-floor bathroom. He thinks he has such an aversion to the word these days that he isn’t sure he’d be okay with being called that even if he was someone’s boyfriend. Another topic on the list of things to plan to talk to Amy about but never get it done he supposes...
After cleaning himself up – relatively quickly, too, since thankfully none of the grease got into his spines – Sonic comes out to the pink hedgehog already waiting for him outside and holding the door open. Tails shouts something over the sound of the welder, that vaguely sounds like “Have fun!”, and the door closes. Amy flips her phone open and pulls up a map of the neighbouring city.
“It’s that one,” she points at an outline of a building. “Forty to fifty minutes if we walk.”
“And if we run?” Sonic asks, grinning, starting to stretch.
His friend puts away her phone and says, almost a snarky quality to her voice:
“I don’t know, you show me.”
This is familiar. This is something they did many times before and undoubtedly will do again. So Sonic scoops Amy up in a princess carry, her arms secure around his neck, effortlessly avoiding deadly spines, and leans forward a bit. That’s when he finally notices what else is different about Amy’s looks today.
“Is that red eyeshadow?”
She blinks a few times, making the red coat on her eyelids catch the light and shimmer prettily. And he expects her smile to be pleased because of his observation, but it’s small and shy.
“Yeah-h, it’s new. I’m still not sure I like it.”
“It’s sparkly,” the blue hedgehog says before he has a moment to think, and she rolls her eyes a bit, smile getting wider, so he snaps his gaze forward, barely containing his own grin, and they’re off.
The road is known to Sonic, so he doesn’t even need to look where he’s going, and usually, it means enjoying the scenery as they’re passing by the mountains covered in lush green forest, a shallow river weaving in and out of the view, but today the Blue Blur is distracted. The wind is rushing through his spines, and while he isn’t running as fast as he could – it’s a leisure run more than anything – the speed is still not something to laugh at. However, Amy is as unbothered as he is. There’s a faint upturn to her lips; her eyes flicker, watching the trees move past and disappear behind them. For a moment, it reminds Sonic of that one time Shadow carried him, when being the one held and just experiencing speed turned out to be as good as running by himself. For a moment, he wishes hanging out with the other hedgehog was an occurrence as common as his and Amy’s outings. He shakes his head a bit and puts on speed causing the girl in his arms to let out a startled laugh, surprised but still content with their pace.
Maybe they could run like this forever, never to arrive.
Amy points out a building to him when they’re in the right part of the city, having swept through it so fast no one has probably even noticed them.
“Should be just before the lunch hours,” her flip phone is out again as the pink hedgehog looks at the time.
“Wouldn’t it mean a lot of people?” Sonic asks, stretching his arms above his head and looking at the sign on the front of the cafe. It is new and shiny. In spite of it though, a glance at the windows confirms that the newness of the place doesn’t mean locals don’t know about it.
“Yes, but there’s a cake I wanna try that they serve only for lunch, and...” she makes a pause, “I heard they make a new batch of chili for lunchtime, too, so the chili dogs are the freshest.”
This prompts him to perk up eagerly, now staring at the cafe with newfound excitement. Amy looks satisfied about it, clearly having planned to surprise him and then managing it. And when she grabs onto his arm, she doesn’t even need to pull to get him into the door. Once inside, Sonic is relieved to see they’re being seated at a normal-looking booth. Sure, there’s a frilly tablecloth and a dried flowers bouquet on the table but it seems to be a running theme for the establishment because all the tables are decorated similarly. The walls are painted in pastel pink and beige, and a huge mural on one of them depicts a flowering field. In comparison, when the server brings them their menus along with the lunch card, it is all over the place. No focus on a specific cuisine or a common theme for the dishes whatsoever.
Well, so long as there are chili dogs...
Surprisingly, his companion orders one for herself, too. It is not entirely out of this world – while she doesn’t share his taste for them, she’s never refused to try before. Still.
As they wait for their order and Amy tells him how she’s found the place, it fills with people. And by the time the teapot and cutlery are placed between them, there’s not a single table vacant in the whole cafe.
The chili dogs turn out to be good. Not the best he’s ever had but really tasty. He scarfs down two of them and picks up the third, but instead of eating it right away, he subtly watches Amy eat hers. She eats dauntingly, taking the smallest bites, all slow, refined and composed. She's so truly ladylike in that moment she reminds him of Nimue, the Lady of the Lake.
Sonic gets so distracted by comparing them that he doesn’t notice the girl finish her food. Unfortunately for him, she reads something specific into his gaze that he definitely hasn’t intended to be there. Amy places her elbows on the table, puts her chin atop her joined palms and bats her eyelashes.
Oh no. This is where the worst part starts with Amy trying to make him talk about feelings or compliment her. And he knows there’re a lot of good things that could be said about her but not when she expects him to just... say them out loud.
He looks thoughtfully at his last chili dog, wondering if he could stuff his face with it now and somehow make it last for the rest of the lunch so he doesn’t have to talk, when something catches his attention. A familiar-looking black hedgehog walks into the fully-packed cafe, stops in his tracks and almost turns around, but Sonic jumps up waving his whole arm and, ignoring the other patrons’ glances, shouts:
“Shads! Over here!”
It looks for a second like Shadow is still going to leave, but then he seems to exhale and turns his steps to their table. Sonic sits back down and notices Amy’s look that’s more a glare than a glance.
“Would you have just let him leave? He’s clearly here for lunch,” he whispers with his own determined expression. She huffs at him in a way he’s used to, and at that moment the other hedgehog reaches their table. He probably couldn’t see Amy from his place at the door, and now he stops again, hesitating, but she smiles pleasantly – like she wasn’t just making small angry noises both at Sonic and him – and scoots farther into the booth, offering the space to Shadow, leaving him no choice but to sit.
“Hedgehog. Miss Rose,” he greets, his eyes flicking between both hedgehogs, finally stopping on her. “You look good. These colours always worked for you.”
The pink hedgehog thanks him softly, a hint of blush on her face, and Sonic realises it accentuates her new eyeshadow even better and he watches her eyelids lower a bit, mesmerised by the faint sheen on them. He catches himself thinking that if she asks for that compliment now, he might just figure out what to say. Instead, he shakes himself up and teasingly raises an eyebrow at his rival.
“Aw, no ‘you look good’ for me?
Shadow almost completely ignores him, only slightly rolling his eyes. And it’s a normal reaction from him, so why does Sonic suddenly feel upset? Did he expect the black hedgehog to sing praises to his looks out of nowhere? He keeps the grin on his face until he picks up the chili dog and bites into it. Amy waves to the server, asking for a menu, and apparently can’t resist pointing out a few things she thinks Shadow might enjoy. The guy’s responses are somewhat awkward, and Sonic is elated on the inside, ready to tease him about it later. For now though, he’s glad to have this buffer between him and his pink friend. It’s nice, not to participate in the conversation and just observe the two. There’s something aesthetically pleasing about seeing them together. Black and pink, and the shared red... Sonic gulps down the last piece of his meal, trying to hide his flushed face behind his cup of tea. That’s it, red is his favourite colour, that’s clearly why he wants to look at both of them, case totally solved!
“...Sonic hasn’t watched the previous movie though,” the blue hedgehog tunes back in to the sound of his name. Amy is cutting into her cake slice with a small fork, and Shadow now has a plate in front of him, filled with what looks like finely chopped vegetables, meat, eggs and peas mixed in with some kind of creamy salad dressing, – something from Holoskan cuisine maybe? Or from whatever that small area by it is called? Shadow pokes at his food and hums.
“The plot is simple enough that even you would understand,” he says, turning to Sonic who decides to ignore the insult in favour of gaping at the hedgehog sitting opposite from him.
“You mean you’ve watched it?!” the other bristles, and he scrambles to continue. “I just didn’t think it’s something you’d enjoy, dude, that’s it.”
“Hmph. It’s rather well made, the characters are relatable, the plot is simple, but it’s self-aware enough that I actually enjoy the humour,” the dark hedgehog sets his ears back a bit, suddenly bashful, “and I can’t deny I’m curious to know how they resolve the love triangle.”
Sonic giggles. The airy sound makes his companions look up, and he can admit to himself giggling is something he does sometimes. He isn’t ready to admit he does it in Shadow’s presence more and more often. He reminds himself of Amy in these moments, and the implications are... weird.
“Do you want to go with us?” he blurts out without thinking.
Amy throws a sharp gaze at him, clearly displeased with his suggestion, and Shadow seems to catch on, unsure. But unexpectedly it is the pink hedgehog who breaks the short silence, and she’s still looking at Sonic while she does it.
“Come to think of it, Shadow... It will be fun to be able to discuss stuff with somebody who knows what they’re talking about!” she blinks innocently, and the blue hedgehog really doesn’t get what she’s playing at. Neither does Shadow, it seems, because his face wears an expression of an utter surprise. But in the end, he agrees.
A feeling starts to creep up on Sonic as they pay for their lunch and leave, unhurried since it’s another half an hour till the screening. One thought plagues him even as he bickers with both Shadow and Amy about the best route to take. Is he usually such a bad company that she’s alright with the black hedgehog joining their “date” just so she can talk to somebody interesting...?
It doesn’t go away. The hedgehogs get to the cinema on time, they pay for three tickets, they take their seats with Sonic sitting in the middle – and the thought is still there. It only starts to fade when Amy curls up more comfortably ten minutes into the movie and hugs his right arm so she can lean on him, one pink ear flicking against his shoulder once in a while.
The movie turns out to be quite interesting. The hedgehog has never been too willing to watch the kind of movies Amy chooses, but this time it’s something equally romantic and full of action. There’re battles and there’s hard rock soundtrack. He can’t say he’s that invested in the characters, but the lore behind the story gets him curious and he makes a mental note to ask one of his friends about it. It is a bit frustrating though to listen to the dialogues and not understand half of what is said. Maybe it is an annoyed sigh he releases in the middle of another lengthy talking scene or maybe Shadow remembers his lack of knowledge about the first movie, but all of a sudden there is warm breath tickling his ear as the dark hedgehog explains the artifact being discussed. He casually presses their shoulders together so he doesn’t have to reach too far, and Sonic is flustered. His body feels warm, being touched on both sides, fur standing on end for no reason he understands.
The rest of the movie goes like this with Shadow explaining things, Amy commenting sometimes and him being stuck in-between, somehow uncomfortable and the most relaxed he’s ever been at the same time. With both of them so close... Once he swears he hears the hedgehog on his left laugh, and he’s never heard Shadow laugh. It lifts his spirits, and by the final scene, he even becomes brave enough to turn to the other to ask him questions.
To everyone’s chagrin, the plot wraps up without even a hint at which of her love interests the main character chooses. Amy rants about it the whole time they’re moving to the exit in the crowd of leaving moviegoers. It’s pretty obvious the creators don’t want one of the turning points of their trilogy unveiled too soon. From that conclusion, they move on to the personal opinions and fandom theories.
“Every time I see an attempt at prediction on the Internet, I always have a thought they’re rather picking whoever is more attractive to them than who fits better with Feather,” Shadow says musingly. The trio is still walking together, even though Sonic would have expected the black hedgehog to leave by now. The night has settled while they were at the cinema, the air is fresh and the stars are twinkling high above despite the light pollution. Sonic is walking backwards in front of the other two, and he can’t help but look Shadow right in the eye and tease:
“Oh? Who would you have picked for her then?”
The dark hedgehog sputters as Amy giggles, also looking at him with a teasing smile. However, after a pause he answers:
“Spear. He’s such an idiot, I can’t stand him whenever he starts talking, but... his heart is in the right place. And he always cares about everyone’s safety before his own,” he raises his eyes as he says it, and Sonic almost trips, captivated by the red in them.
Amy looks to the sky and presses her index finger to her lips:
“Hmm, I suppose I agree. But you know what opinion has been gaining popularity lately? That the chemistry between the rivals is there same as between her and any of them,” she giggles again. “There’re jokes about Feather having two hands to hold, you know?”
This time Sonic does trip over the curb, but before he can acquaint his back with the ground and probably damage a few spines in the process, gloved hands shoot out to stabilise him. Shadow’s hand is gripping his right wrist so hard it’s almost painful, and Amy is crushing the fingers of his left hand with both of hers. They release him almost instantly, and he laughs awkwardly, finally turning around to walk normally beside his friends.
“Oops, thanks for the save!”
He gets Shadow harrumphing at him and Amy shaking her head, and the conversation continues as if nothing had happened.
...Two hands, huh, Sonic thinks, flexing his fingers.
When they reach Amy’s doorstep, he expects the routine to be the same, and it is at first. She kisses his cheek, but then, instead of maybe waving at Shadow and leaving, she grabs the guy in a bear hug, and he flinches, unprepared. As she steps back the pink hedgehog gets out her phone and only when Shadow sighs and wearily reaches into his spines for his own, does Sonic understand what’s going on.
“Are you exchanging numbers?”
“Ah-ha,” Amy confirms as she types in the digits and dials. The black hedgehog’s slider phone trills with a generic melody, and he saves her number. “I’ll message you where I got the eyeshadow, too, I think you’d rock it!”
She winks, leaving one eye closed, and points at the slightly smudged red on her lids. Sonic thinks it is the most bizarre exchange he’s ever seen in his life, especially since it’s with Shadow. He doesn’t even remember them talking about make-up. Finally, Amy waves at them and she’s gone.
“I don’t have your phone...” the blue hedgehog murmurs, unreasonably upset over it.
“You don’t have a phone. Maybe if you’d stopped being stubborn and got yourself one...” Shadow trails off. This is probably where they part their ways, Sonic figures out. But Shadow manages to surprise him once again:
“Care for a race?”
“You bet!”
They don’t wait for a signal, they just shoot off down the street. The blue hedgehog laughs as he overtakes his opponent but is met with a razor-sharp smirk, and they’re neck-and-neck again. It continues like this for a while until it is not so much a race as just them running together, enjoying the wind and each other’s company. When Tails’ house comes into view, Sonic is even a bit disappointed. They slow down gradually, only now realising they’ve never set the exact finish line for their race. Shadow is patting down his windswept spines, and Sonic simply stares, thinking about today. That is, until his rival conversationally states:
“You look good, too, by the way.”
Sonic chokes on air, feeling a wild blush painting his cheeks.
“But I am... I don’t look any different; Amy was the one looking all pretty today! Not like she isn’t pretty on other days...” he stops talking, knowing the red has reached his ears now for sure. “Ugh. Why did you suddenly decide to entertain the joke hours later?”
Shadow tightens his gloves, checking if they’re tucked neatly everywhere under his bracelets, and says without looking up:
“Not a joke. You always look good.”
The blue hedgehog can’t help but gape at him for the second time this day. It’s real. He is being complimented by the Ultimate Lifeform, who is currently frowning at the ground like it forced this confession out of him.
“Thank you? You too? I mean,” Sonic groans, now also glaring at the ground. “It was a nice date— Day! It was a nice day! And very tiring! I think I gotta go.”
Before he can zip over to the house and hide in his room forever, Shadow materialises right in front of him as if he used Chaos Control. And maybe he did, who knows.
“Sonic. Get yourself a phone, will you?” he grumbles, arms crossed over his chest. He waits for a stilted nod and disappears without saying goodbye.
Left alone, the blue hedgehog slowly turns around and walks to Tails’ house. He can still feel the other’s breath on his face.
...Maybe he’ll leave his room after all. A phone won’t buy itself.