Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Midnight moon lit, they sat low, silent, and patient. Eyes through the grass they watched intently. It ate in peace, munching at the same grass that concealed them. A late night snack, here for the same reason they were.

Despite his immense size and mass, he was able to crawl silently, weightless across the endless brown pine needles. They squished and contoured under his clawed paws. Past trees and bushes he made his way around, taking his time as needed.

She remained poised, hand on hammer. Her thumb drew circles on the forged metal centring the handle. The metal she always used to strike flint against, and would no doubt be doing in just a few seconds.

A crunch of his paw sent reverberations through all, perking and alerting the ears of the unaware creature. Had it a moment to escape, it would surely sprint, but it had no moments left to spare.

With a roar greater than a viscous tiger, he leapt from the bush and descended on the helpless animal, razor sharp claws and fangs at the ready to bring it down. His great weight flattened the deer and in seconds it was all over, and dinner was caught.

Hand tightening around the handle she stood from the bush and jumped out, congratulating her husband and his magnificent work. Now to make camp.

Chapter Text

The morning sun lit the grass, illuminating a perfect spot for her to use as a table for her cards. A few feet away her husband boiled water on the fire she had made the night before, preparing for them the coffee they had purchased at the market. He used the two tin cups that often jingled together as they walked through the forest, hers painted green and his red.

Tossing an inquisitive glance her way, he inquired as to what her cards were showing her. Returning his look, she harboured a smile with a sigh. She sees good news and she sees bad news, the same she saw every morning. The journey would be arduous, but it would be fun. They may suffer a bruise or a cut, but in the end they would find his cure.

A bite of venison and a swig of coffee pulled out a sigh of his own, equal in comfort to hers. A hand raised to cover his eyes from the sun, he inspected the day and thought of all it might contain. With the sun up he felt at peace, yet still apprehensive of what occurred when it descended. But, with his wife at his side he needn’t worry, life was swell regardless of how much fur coated him. Finding the cure would simply save him from the pain of transforming into that beast. However he would miss the warmth it allowed him to wrap his wife in on these cold autumn nights.

Chapter Text

Her hands provided little warmth as they rubbed up and down her arms. The rain pelted her quills and sunk deep to chill her. Every exhale ended with a shiver, making her teeth chatter as she inhaled. With a gasp, a weight landed on her head and shoulders, a wash of warmth following. Sonic had wrapped the deer hide around her and fixed it to cover her.

She protested, claiming he needed it, but with a hand raised and a smile for an answer, he assured it belonged on her. In just a few hours he’d have a coat of his own anyway.

Tightening the fur around her with an arm around her back, he kissed her cheek and wished her well. She meant more to him than anything.

It wouldn’t be far now to their next place to camp, at least according to the map. But when night came she could count on being able to ride on his back. The thought gave her a smile, she always felt like a knight riding him into battle with her hammer. Racing through the trees on her ravenous were-hog.

The giggles caught her and she glanced at him, his loving, protective demeanour so impossible to compare a savage beast with. Dark blue or bright, he is everything.

Chapter Text

Pushing leaves and branches aside, she took large bounds to get through to the sun shining through the trees. The first hand pushed through and felt the warmth of day, and as the rest came through into the light she gasped. Being held in place by a wall of amazement, her husband came through blindly and tripped on her foot, rolling to a stop next to her.

They both announced their shock and helped each other up. They’d landed in a Chao garden surrounded by orange tinted trees. Amidst the groups of Chao was a stream of crystal clear water, delivering life to them and the many fruit trees dotting the grounds.

There was time left in the day to sit and rest for a while, and they’d be hard-pressed to find a more perfect place. As Amy sat with them they crawled all over her, pulling at her quills and cooing in her ears. She lacked enough hands to pet and cuddle them all, but she tried her best. Her giggles filled the garden, pulling even more of them her way.

With her playing, Sonic walked to the stream to refill their bottles for the journey ahead. Several curious Chao joined him and took sips too, and with a free hand he pet them. Glancing back to his wife he laughed, she was now hidden away within a mound of the cooing kids. She seemed fine, despite several protests to their attempts to grab her nose.

Chapter Text

Amy cheered as her Chao crossed the makeshift finish line next to the tree and she turned to Sonic with her tongue sticking out. It didn’t win often so she had to make the most of it.

Huffing and crossing his arms, he questioned the meaningfulness of the race. Thinking of ways to get back at her, he proposed a more appropriate competition. Seeing they needed to bathe anyway, why not go and see how many fish each could catch?

Giving her chin a tap she considered, but it was only for show. Her answer was yes before he even finished speaking. She always enjoyed teasing him when she could.

Dropping boots and tunics on the water’s edge, they jumped into and rushed to where they’d spotted a fish or two. Free and having fun they splashed each other to slow them down, taking every advantage to get ahead. Grabbing a hand or foot and pulling them back was a common attack but regardless Amy had the advantage, she could actually swim.

Sonic used his speed to grab the fish straight out of the water, but she was creative. She’d brought along part of her tunic and used it like a fishing net. One, two, three points for her! A random jumping fish stole her attention only to land on her ear and latch on, making her fall back into the drink in a frenzy of frightened hollering.

Losing his focus as his wife exploded in a bomb of fish, he dropped his own and burst out laughing. The mess of pink limbs was enough to make him shed a tear and he too fell back.

Sitting up in the shallow water her annoyed eyes peaked out. She enjoyed his laugh but never when it was pointed at her, even if the mess was hilarious from his perspective. Leaping to her feet she lunged, landing on him and dragging him down into the water with her.

Their lips may have collided once or twice, but the water was there to conceal it. Collecting fish became an afterthought, pushed away by the sudden distraction.

Chapter Text

The crickets kept her up, but the beautiful night made for a decent apology. The moon shined above, and a thousand stars around it. They made for the perfect nightlight as she sat up against his great mass and glanced at old photographs.

Self portraits at the beach, the park, their village, but the most important was their wedding day. The dress she wore was gorgeous, she still had it back home. Just seeing the image again brought tears of joy to her eyes. He looks so happy, he loves her so much.

A glance over to his slowly breathing head and she was lost again, falling for him for the nth time. His eyes were closed, sound asleep. She didn’t want to wake him, knowing he much preferred to avoid the pain of transformation by allowing it to happen while he slept.

A careful hand moved to his face and she pet him gently, she knew it wouldn’t be enough to wake him. Quietly to herself she voiced her love, and went back to studying the image, this time with her face leaned up against him.

He’d be back to that form only very soon, and she couldn’t wait to cuddle him properly once again. She could only really hold him during the day, and as much as she loved being held within the warmth of his giant form, she couldn’t wait to fit properly within his arms again. She couldn’t wait for him to be able to wear his wedding band again, to wear that suit again.

Chapter Text

Panting as she took the final strides, they reached the summit and looked down over the valley below. Somewhere down there lived the life weaver, the woman who could cure Sonic.

Sharing a loving and proud smile, Sonic gestured her forward and they began back down the hill. The forest was fairly dense, but it was the final stretch, and that put some pep back in their step.

Sonic was ecstatic to sleep as himself again, to hold his wife properly again, to do all the things he’d be robbed of for so long. His smile was vivid and immutable.

The cabin peaked through the trees. Light through the windows and smoke from the chimney cooled their fears of her not being home. The daylight above was beyond half way now, they needed to hurry. The home itself was covered or even made of living trees and plants, every surface housing life of some kind.

A knock at the door announced their presence, and it quickly opened. The woman welcomed them in, having known somehow that they were coming. Having carefully planned all of this in advance, they had brought all she needed to begin and she quickly got to preparing the concoction. Inside was even more signs of life, a thousand plants, plants and bugs of every size and shape filled the roof and walls, no doubt all for a reason or two. Amy’s need for cleanliness flared, but they were in no place to be picky.

Sonic stood nervously, feeling excited but apprehensive. He was finally going to be free, but part of him would miss the beast. As much as it went against who he was and his need for speed, it was occasionally fun. Hurling the beast’s mass around was always a source of laughs, feelings more like a bear than a hedgehog. But no amount of fun was worth the pain it came along with, and that alone pushed him to be rid of it.

The clock round and the grass on the forest floor matted from his incessant pacing. Walking cross country with his wife was easy, there was a goal and objective, but having to patiently wait inside a shack was not his forte. But eventually it was ready, and they were called back into her cabin.

Taking the potion into his hand, he stared at it for a moment. This was it. This strange bubbling concoction was his salvation. Taking a final breath he brought it to his lips and tossed it back, chugging the liquid in one gulp. Letting it back down he licked his lips and cringed, complaining of the questionable taste.

Suddenly feeling both energized and faint, he fell back into his wife’s grasp and she held him up as he slipped toward unconsciousness. The woman assured this was normal and that it was simply a matter of time. Frightened but understanding, Amy carefully sat them both down and held him.

The woman had to compliment them, happy to serve such a pleasant couple. Amy thanked her, then again for giving her back her husband. Both admired his peacefulness as such a large undertaking proceeded within him. Despite a battle of morphology taking place before them he appeared at rest.

After a while the blue hedgehog woke, the cabin’s strange lighting first finding his eyes and helping him climb out of the daze. A blink or two and he looked at his wife with a smile, asking if it was done. The woman gestured for him to go see for himself, and standing up he opened the door and stepped out. The light of day had hidden behind the mountains and yet, he was still himself. It was done.

The sky was burnt orange and purple, the same way it was on the evening of their wedding. For a split moment he wondered if he’d gone back somehow. Having been unaware of the time as well, Amy gasped and grabbed him excitedly at the acknowledgment of the miracle. The beast was gone!

Stepping down onto the forest floor, dawning the same unbroken shoes he wore in the day, he took his wife into his hands. Standing together they watched the sun set, arms wrapped around each other tightly. The light fading away, they turned to each other, seeing the other in a way they couldn’t for so long.

With the whistling of wind through the leaves playing a song for them, her heels left the grass and her lips met his. The sweet sunset embrace a thousand days she awaited, that he awaited. Vibrating in excitement she went from tip toes to jumping, leaping into his arms and holding him. He was back, his beautiful true blue self. Her arms fit around him like they were meant to, like they always had and always will.