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It's been a week.
A week have passed since Sonic had been running around saving his friends, helping Kocos, and stopping Eggman and the Titans in Starfall Islands. But those 7 days felt like a century after what he himself had to go through. It felt like countless days and nights having to run around the islands trying to save his loved ones from what was being thrown at him by Sage. What was supposed to be a normal adventure turned out to be one of Sonic's most life-threatening experiences yet, to the point where he was running on little to no sleep.
And the worst part... It almost actually costed Sonic his life as he put so much strain on himself, he was caught in a corrupted limbo between the real world and Cyber Space. He couldn't talk, walk, breathe, or even blink. It only took Tails, Knuckles, and Amy's energies to knock him back into reality. After that, it was kicking the Supreme Titan's butt and teaming up with Sage to defeat The End that it was finally over. Even though Sage wanted Sonic dead as much as Eggman did, she saw how much he cared about his friends and slowly discovered that he was the key to defeating The End and saving existence. And Sonic was able to reunite with his friends with everything solved.
To say it took so much out of everyone involved would be an understatement, but thankfully, that was all in the past.
In the present day, nightfall would begin to shine upon Emerald Town and the street lights were turning on their bulbs one by one. That was when a blue streak would speed by within the roads of the town as Sonic the Hedgehog was taking his usual runs of the day. He wasn't one to remain in one spot most times, and being about to freely use his speed fully explains this. But tonight, he seems to be in a good mood.
Tonight was movie night with his friends at Amy's house, and it was his turn to pick the movie. This set off some alarms because with Sonic, he always went for action-adventure movies that may or may not have a good plot to it. That was why Tails and Knuckles asked their blue blur friend to pick something different for once, just for their sanity. Sonic tried to scoff at it, but would later follow along after Tails promised to bring chili dogs as part of their snacks. He just can't help it, can he?
In Sonic's hands was a movie called "Good Cop, Chad Cop", a comedy movie about 2 cops trying to co-exist with both their jobs and egos on the line. Tangle the Lemur, one of Sonic's friends and a huge help to the Restoration, was the one who suggested it after she saw a trailer about it online following the whole Zombot crisis. Sonic didn't like how the trailer was, but figured that it would be a good movie for tonight.
As Sonic was making his way to Amy's house, his wrist communicator starts to sound off. He saw that Tails was calling him, so he picked up and saw a projection of him on Angel Island.
Sonic: Yo, Tails! What's up?
Tails: Hey, Sonic! Sorry if this seems last minute, but Knuckles and I are gonna run a little late to movie night tonight.
Sonic: Really? Did Rouge try to steal the Master Emerald again?
Tails: Not this time. But he's been dragged into an argument with some of the Chaos. I think he's becoming too enthralled with what's going on.
Tails would move the camera to show Knuckles trying to act as mediator with a Hero Chao and a Dark Chao. They've been arguing over the fruits, with the Hero Chao wanting to share with everyone and the Dark Chao wanting it all for himself.
Knuckles: Now, I understand where you're coming from, little one. But you have to understand that without sharing, you'll have your fellow Chao go without food. Now do you really want that?
The Dark Chao merely turned away from the red echidna and tried to hold one of the fruits away, much to Knuckles's dismay.
Knuckles: Come on! There's gotta be something that can convince you to give the fruit to your friends!
The Dark Chao, not content with trying to let his words get to him, would look back at Knuckles and give him a kick to the face, making the echidna warrior fall backwards in hilarious fashion. This made Tails snicker a little bit to see this parental, yet hilarious event playing out.
Tails: We might need some more time to sort things out.
Sonic: Hehe! That's Knuckles for ya! I'll let Amy know that you two will show up later.
Tails: Great! Catch ya then!
Sonic: Deuces!
The call would end and Sonic would continue to make his way around town with the movie in hand. A couple of minutes later, he would find himself in the grasslands of Green Hill Zone and noticed a nice-looking house up ahead. It was the house of Amy Rose, one of Sonic's closest friends and former leader of the Restoration. He had known her for years ever since they met on Little Planet. Amy was determined to marry him back then, but she slowly grew to become her own independent person and help with Team Sonic and stopping Eggman and his forces from unleashing war upon the world, nay the universe. Though Jewel the Beetle took over her duties, that lingering burnout was still visible in some form. Though, her romantic feelings for Sonic didn't exactly fade away and he knows this. Some kisses here and there, some dates as well. Though he doesn't know how to return the feelings, they've grown comfortable to chill as friends and even help with restoring the world from the damage that it had suffered.
The hedgehog would stop where he was to look at her house. It had been a while since Sonic stopped by here. Usually, he'd crash at Tails's place for relaxation, experiments, or something in-between. But for tonight, he was genuinely thrilled to be back here. He would walk to the doorstep and ring the doorbell.
Amy: Just a second! I'll be right there!
Sonic isn't a fan of waiting, but he has learned to have some patience following some fishing with Big the Cat, so he's got that going for him. After some seconds of waiting, he would see the pink door open up and he would see Amy with a cup of tea in her hand.
Sonic: Hey, Ames!
Amy: Sonic, my sweetie pie! You made it!
Sonic and Amy would share a brief hug, with Rose adding a kiss to the Blue Blur's cheek, as they would greet one another. After that, they would blush from their hug due to how much they've gotten closer over the years. That's when Sonic tried to get himself back on track as he brought out the box of the movie.
Sonic: H-how's it been? I've got the movie ready for tonight. Tangle recommended this cop movie that's gotten a lot of good reviews.
Amy: Oh, "Good Cop, Chad Cop"?! I heard so many great things about that movie!
Sonic: Well, seeing from the trailer, I won't be surprised if it's not what it turned out to be. I mean, I've had my share of adventures before, so a movie like this would see way less awesome than this.
Amy: We'll just have to see about that. Come on in! I've prepared some tea!
Sonic would enter Amy's house and would be greeted with several pictures of flowers and friends hung up on her walls. It was kind of heartwarming to see Amy have these hanging around since she's been a fan of creativity and nature. That's what he liked about her. She always loves the things that she holds dear to her heart, much like him.
Amy: Where's Tails and Knuckles? I thought that they were coming here as well.
Sonic: They are. But they're gonna run a little late due to some argument with Chao and fruits.
Amy: Wh- Again? I thought I told that Dark Chao the value of sharing! I swear...
Sonic: Hey, Knuckles is gonna get that covered soon enough. Don't worry.
Amy: I hope so...
Sonic would make his way to the living room where he saw some cups, some tea, cake, and other snacks on the coffee table. And since Sonic's appetite is as big as an anime protagonist's, he seems enamored with this amount of food on the table. He and Amy would then take their seats on the comfy sofa.
Sonic: Sooooo, what's been going on lately?
Amy: Well, Rouge took me shopping yesterday for some nice clothes. Honestly, I only obliged because I needed some new wardrobe for some of the remaining refugees at Restoration HQ. There's some that still need some donations after what they went through.
Sonic: Right, right. Man, to think that they're still without a home is pretty scary to think about.
Amy: Yeah... Not to mention what happened a few days ago.
Sonic: That whole thing with Cyber Space and all that? Yeah, I can probably understand where you're coming from with that...
Amy: It was... a rough time for all of us. But more for me...
Well, there goes the mood. When Sonic, Tails, and Amy flew to Starfall Islands to investigate the disappearance of the Chaos Emeralds, they were caught in a wormhole that brought them to Cyber Space and trapped most of them in a digital plane that prevented them from interacting with the physical world. Though Sonic was lucky to escape this fate with ease, the same wasn't said for Tails and Amy, as well as Knuckles some time prior to them arriving to the islands. It was there that Amy expanded on her desire to help others, especially when it came to reuniting them with their true loves. Even if it means taking some time for herself, she, as well as some help from Sonic, was able to see how much she was determined to get the job done. That's what she's been about for years: if she wants something done, she was gonna put her mind to it and see it through to the end.
Sonic: I remember that you wanted to reunite those Kocos with their loved ones. If I'm being honest, it was heartwarming to see.
Amy: Yeah, but... to be stuck in-between worlds and not touch anything just... scared me. To not touch anything felt so off-putting... nor to be able to hold my own self...
Sonic: Hey, don't be so down on yourself-
Amy: And what?! Try to put a smile on my face while being stuck?!
Amy's sudden outburst caught Sonic off-guard as she was letting out what was being held from that week.
Amy: Sonic, you don't understand it. I couldn't feel anything! Not the flowers, not the wind, not even the people. I was caught in limbo and wasn't even strong enough to get out myself. It was hard to even move without having to struggle nor letting anyone notice.
Sonic: Amy, I... I didn't think that it'd eat you up that much...
Amy: It was just horrifying to witness. I thought that I was gonna die in there. I didn't really say anything because I didn't want people to see how much was hurting, both on my body and in my mind. Heck, I'll even go as far as to say that it hurt worse than anything that Eggman tried to do before all of that.
To Amy, this was no scoffing matter as she's learned to become her own person, stronger and more independent. But to say that she's had to deal with the amount of stress that came with it is undermining it. Not only did she and the others have to go through the amount of shenanigans during the whole war with Eggman, as well as other foes like Starline and Surge, but she also had to deal with her team without any form of rest whatsoever.
Amy: I couldn't even get to hold you... But I didn't want to risk looking like a damsel-in-distress yet again...
That's when the pink hedgehog stared to show some tears from her eyes, which made Sonic feel very worried.
Amy: It was so hard to even do anything without feeling that pain... I just didn't know if we were gonna make it out alive or not... And even when we did, the thought of that alone still kept me awake at night...
Sonic: Ames... Ames, I... I'm shocked that you didn't tell me this sooner.
Amy: You wouldn't understand... You'd just run it off and pretend like it never happened...
Sonic: ... That's not wrong, but in a case like this, I was in a similar spot like you...
Amy: Huh?
Sonic: Even when I was, you know, trying to stop Eggman's plot and destroy the Titans and whatnot, I was also caught in feeling this amount of exhaustion. Nothing would have prepared us for something like this. I couldn't even sleep without thinking about how much I'd lose you and the others...
Sonic would sit up and rummage his hands on the side of Amy's quills.
Sonic: I didn't really know if we were gonna see another day... Heck, you saw it too when I was corrupted by Cyber Space. So we're practically on the same boat in terms of "are we or are we gonna die?" scenario.
Amy: ...
Sonic: But that's over with now. And we're all still breathing, right?
Amy tried to hide her tears away, but this left Sonic more concerned about her. If this was making her this depressed, then imagine if they were to have stayed there longer.
Sonic: Look, it wasn't easy to be there for as long as we did, but you were still strong enough to help those Kocos find one another. Remember that?
Amy would simply mod in remembering those Kocos being helped around, which made her wipe off some tears a little.
Sonic: And you also helped me escape that corruption phase before things got worse, right? So everything that happened was... sort of a necessary evil... But what I'm saying is... I was just as scared as you are...
They would soon look at each other with similar looks of concern in their eyes and mind.
Sonic: I was afraid that I'd be seen as weak, cold, scared... But I didn't want to show it because a hero's gotta stick to his code. Plus, we've been through enough damage with the wars as it is. I'm not willing to see someone die. Not by a long shot. So it's okay to be scared. it's a part of who we are...
Amy: Sonic...
Sonic: You've taught me that a while ago, right?
The tears on her face were growing much larger that she was gonna cry at any second now. So it was no surprise that she leapt onto Sonic and hugged him like there was no tomorrow. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her tears flowing like a giant waterfall. She really wanted to let her anguish out, didn't she?
Sonic: It's alright, Amy... I'm here...
Amy: Sonic... I don't want to lose you... I refuse to die without seeing your face ever again...
Sonic: You won't lose anyone. I promise...
That's when Rose looked at her hero, the one person who she had been friends with and had a crush on since she they first met at Little Planet, and stared at him like he was on death's door. Acting on instinct, she came close to his face and kissed his lips right then and there. This caught Sonic by surprise and caused the both of them to blush hard. He didn't expect Amy to kiss him lip for lip.
Sonic: MMPH!!
Amy held onto that kiss for quite a long few seconds and held her arms around her loved one's neck. He didn't know how to react to this, but he slowly closed his eyes and let this kiss sink in. After that was done, she would let go of him and realize what she had done. She would then burrow her face into Sonic's fluffed chest as she was embarrassed with what she had done.
Amy: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry-
Sonic, still somewhat baffled by Amy's kiss, held Amy's head close and had a smile on his face as he wiped her tears.
Sonic: Don't worry, Ames. If you need anything, you'll always have me to talk to.
Amy: I-I'm sorry, I just... needed to let all of that out. I don't know what came over me and-
Sonic: Ames, chillax. It's fine...
Amy: Look, just... If anything were to happen to you or Tails or Knuckles... Heck, even Shadow if this is stretching it, I wouldn't know what to do with myself.
Sonic: Oh, come on, Ames. You know I won't go anywhere. Not by a long thread!
Amy would softly chuckle at the hero's comments as her smile grew back on her face. She laughed a little harder and held her hero close.
Amy: I needed that calmness... Thanks, Sonic.
Sonic: No problem.
Amy: And I know that you have a hard time trying to feel a similar way, but... just know that I love you. I really do in every way possible...
Sonic and Amy would share a wholesome hug together on the couch, but when Sonic was ready to grab his cup of tea, Amy would stop him with several kisses to his cheek.
Sonic: Oh, come on! That tickles!
Amy was raining Sonic with kisses all around his face. He's grown used to it, but he didn't expect a rapid fire of these kisses coming at him. She was smooching him a new mask of lip marks and after a couple more seconds, she would hold his cheeks on her palms and gave an innocent look.
Amy: You know how to make someone crack a smile, Sonic the Hedgehog... Now then, how about you return the favor?
Sonic: Oh, a kiss from me? I-I, uh, don't do romantic stuff.
Amy: It doesn't have to be romantic. I know you're not into romance, but... just this once, okay?
Sonic saw that she was getting in a light mood again, and he's known her for so long. But that kiss she gave him almost felt... nice. So to answer her question, he shrugged and...
Sonic: Oh, alright. But just because you're smiling again.
Sonic would lean forward and give Amy a slow kiss on the lips. This made the pink hedgehog blush and the blue one seem like this was all she ever wanted in life, as if she were melting like ice cream on a hot day in Emerald Coast. He would let go of her mouth and both of their noses would meet once more.
Sonic: Feeling better now?
Amy: Yeah. Thanks, Sonic.
Sonic: Anytime, Ames!
That was when the front door would suddenly open up and startle the 2 hedgehogs to their core. Turns out that it was Tails and Knuckles who brought their own snacks to the table, one of which was the chili dogs that were promised to Sonic.
Tails: Sorry for being so late! The whole Chao thing took up more time that we hoped!
Amy: Tails! Knuckles! You made it!
Knuckles: And in due time as well. I suppose that Sonic brought a good movie this time around?
Sonic: You bet! And I'll have you know that I always pick the best movies, thank you very much.
Everyone around him laughed at Sonic's comments, which made Sonic pout a little at how true this was. Tails and Knuckles would put down their snacks on the table and prepared themselves for a good evening.
Tails: So did anything happen while we were away?
Amy: Oh, uh... Nothing! Nothing important happened, really!
Amy was flustered to try and hold her side of the story. Sonic tried to cover up his blush by hovering his hand over his face so that no one can raise suspicions.
Sonic: Yeah, n-nothing really happened. Just talking about stuff.
Knuckles: Uh-huh... And I supposed it didn't involve anything to do with romance?
The two tries to shake their heads in denial as both Knuckles and Tails tried to figure out what was going on.
Tails: Ooooookay, whatever you say. But I'm still pretty pumped up for this movie tonight! It better be a good one!
After taking his spot on the rug, Tails would place down the chili dogs on the table, which made Sonic look like he hadn't seen them in many years. He would waste no time in grabbing one and taking a bite out of it.
Sonic: Mmm mmm mmh! That is delicious! You always know how to make a best friend happy, Tails.
Tails: Hehe! I try!
Several moments later and everyone would have their eyes set on their movie. With "Good Cop, Chad Cop" playing on the TV, Team Sonic were enjoying this time with sitting back and being able to spend some quality time without anyone like Eggman or any other villain trying to run roughshod on their peace. Sonic would be munching down on another chili dog, but he notices that Amy was resting on his shoulder and her head nuzzling on her cheek. Sonic would simply chuckle from Amy resting on her hero and he looked at the others before he and Amy would look at each other.
They would share a small laugh before Amy gave Sonic a brief kiss on the cheek. Making him blush this many times was quite the feat as she rested her arms around him. Sonic was kind enough to let her rest on him as she really needed this, and he'd be darned if he didn't let her see it through.
Sonic: So cute...
He would turn his eyes to his movie as this night was being enjoyed for all involved. But now, Sonic was thinking to himself...
Should he finally say it back the next time that they meet?