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Sonic always went out running whenever he had to think seriously about something. The wind blew through him, clearing his mind, and the steady beat of his sneakers on the ground beneath him helped him focus. And he certainly needed that focus now.
Amy was coming back from her trip today.
Sonic put on a burst of speed and once again checked the text she'd sent yesterday on his wrist communicator. I'm finally coming home tomorrow! My trip has been so good 😊 😊 😊 I have so much to tell you! Hope to see ya soon! followed by a bunch of heart and smiley face emojis.
Normally Sonic would've immediately shot back a Can't wait to see you! or maybe a smiley and a thumbs up. But the realization that Amy was finally coming back-- and right away-- had caused him to freeze up in panic.
Not that he wasn't excited to have Amy back. He was super excited. He'd missed her a lot while she was gone, especially with Tails off on his own adventures as well and Knuckles back on Angel Island for the time being. Amy had been gone on her trip for a while now. Sharing her love with the world.
He had gotten a few chances to see her, their paths crossing as they both traveled their own paths across the globe. Like in Chu-nan, where they met up to watch the New Year's fireworks together. A fun, perfect night. But besides those brief encounters, Amy was out doing her own thing.
And Sonic missed her.
But now she was coming back! Which meant that really important thinking-- which he'd promised himself he'd do over the many weeks that Amy was gone (and hadn't done)-- needed to be done NOW. He couldn't push it back any more.
He had to figure out what his relationship with Amy was going to be like moving forward.
It was only a decision that would affect literally the rest of his life. He could definitely get it all figured out on just one run. Heh.
After everything that had happened on Starfall Islands, he knew there was no way he could risk going forward without having this figured out. He'd nearly lost her. There were so many times as he traveled the islands, trying to find what he needed to free her, that he'd regretted not making his decision earlier. Wishing he could have just one moment with her. Knowing he'd do whatever it took to free her, no matter the cost. And now that she was safe, he had the opportunity to actually make that decision. Before something else happened. He didn't want another world-threatening disaster to take away his chance.
Until recently, it had always been so simple. He wasn't ready for a romantic relationship, and so he ran. Ran away from Amy, ran from commitment, ran from his feelings. Running was simple. Easy. Hard decisions left behind in the dust, blowing away in the breeze he created. Running wasn't scary.
Love was scary. Well, maybe not scary. But it was a big word. A strong word with so many things attached. Especially in romantic connotations.
Eeghhhh. Romance. That was an even bigger word. Love he could handle. It had so many forms, and just meant you really cared about someone. He was perfectly willing to admit love for his friends.
But romance? It was so... gushy. All sappy and emotional. He never really got the concept of romance. Like, he could tell when other people were interested in each other, usually, and it was cute. Knuckles and Rouge, Silver and Blaze, Vector and Vanilla. They seemed happy, and that made him happy for them. Mostly he enjoyed teasing them. But it was just never something he was interested in himself.
What was so special about it? What would make you change everything about yourself and tie yourself down? He didn't want to change who he was for someone else. That was kinda his thing. He was free like the wind. He was Sonic the Hedgehog. No one changed that.
Except... Amy didn't want to change him. He used to think she did, and maybe she used to. But as she'd grown, as her feelings towards him became less of an attack and more of a gift, he could see she didn't want him to change for her. As she'd matured, so had her love.
"It's just who you are, and it's all the reasons I love you. I can't change you."
"I don't want to change you."
Her words echoed in his ears like the wind rushing past him. That moment. That moment was a turning point for him. A chance to see Amy and her love in a new light. It wasn't about forcing him to be someone he wasn't. It wasn't about holding him back, tying him down. It was just... love. A free gift from her to him.
If she was willing to accept him as he was, without change, then he could certainly do the same for her. Accept her wild, passionate affection, her varying moods, her... emotion. All of her crazy, beautiful emotions.
And the thing was, he didn't want her to change either. Now that she wasn't trying to force him into anything, he had learn to appreciate, to even enjoy, her passion and enthusiasm. Her love, both for him and for life in general, was what made her, her. And he was finally ready to accept that love.
Yeah. That was it. He was ready to accept her love.
But the question still remained. Did he love Amy?
He knew that whatever he felt, it wasn't the exact same thing that Amy felt for him. He didn't feel flustered and shy when she was around; he felt comfortable and happy. She didn't set his heart racing; she calmed it. He didn't want to come racing in and sweep her off her feet; he just wanted to hang out, to chat together and go on adventures and stuff.
And he didn't want to be trapped. He still wanted to be free, to run and travel and explore. If a relationship trapped him, he wouldn't accept it. But he was starting to realize that maybe a relationship didn't mean being trapped. It just meant having somewhere to come back to. And Amy was the place he wanted to keep coming back to. She didn't feel like a burden.
She felt like... home.
If that wasn't love, he didn't know what was. Whether you called it romantic or not, he loved her. He loved her wild passion, her emotions that swung wildly in every direction but were never muted. He loved her sparkling teal-green eyes and neat pink quills. He loved her awesome hammering skills. He loved her fiery temper when someone hurt someone she cared about. And he loved how she smiled when she looked at him.
He didn't know if that was enough to build a romance on. But it was something a relationship could be built on. It could just be a different relationship from his other relationships. He already cared for all his friends in different ways. His relationship with Tails was a far different thing than his relationship with Knuckles, and both of those were different than his relationship with Shadow, or the Chaotix, or Big, or anyone else.
So of course his relationship with Amy could be its own thing as well. Something completely unique. Maybe that's really all romance was, a special type of friendship. And he was perfectly fine with that.
Would she be fine with that? He didn't know if he would ever be a romantic person. All he had to offer was, well, himself. Would Amy want a love that wasn't grand and gushy and traditionally "romantic"?
Well, only she could answer that question.
Sonic shifted his path, heading back towards the countryside. It didn't take long to reach Amy's house. A cute little cottage surrounded by flowers. He slowed his run to take a deep breath of their sweet perfume. Sunflowers, daisies, violets, pansies, and of course, roses.
His feet eased into a walk on the stone pathway as he made his way to the porch and sat on the front step. Today, he was willing to slow down and wait. He closed his eyes, feeling the breeze toy with his quills. Some flickies chirped nearby, and the windchimes hanging in the tree by Amy's kitchen window jingled softly. He waited lazily on the porch, watching puffy clouds roll by.
Sonic lost track of the time, but it didn't feel like too long before he spotted Amy's car coming down the winding road. He shook his quills out and stood up with a grin. Amy's eyes lit up as she spotted him. He waved.
"SOOOONIIIIIIC!!!!" came her familiar yell. The car had barely come to a stop before Amy flung the car door open and ran to him, and Sonic readied himself for her to jump on him. But she stopped just in front of him, giving him a wide smile.
Sonic gently opened his arms out, inviting her to go ahead and hug him. Amy beamed and flung her arms around him. Today, the physical contact didn't feel stifling. "I missed you, Sonic," she said.
"I missed you too, Ames." He went ahead and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her up and spinning her around before setting her back gently on the ground.
She giggled as she stepped back, brushing her quills back from her flushing face. "Wow, it looks like you really did miss me," she said, her voice half-teasing and half-hoping.
"Always," Sonic said.
The tips of Amy's ears went red and her hands started doing little excited motions at her sides, but she straightened herself and half-shook her head as if to clear it. "Oh, Sonic, I have so much to tell you!" she said. "I met so many great people, and it was all just-- amazing!"
There was nothing he'd rather do than hear all about it. "Wanna tell me over a bite to eat?" Sonic asked. "I found this great little café not far from here a couple of weeks ago. They don't have chili dogs (very sad) but the stuff they have is really good."
She smiled, clasping her hands behind her back and rocking back and forth. "I'd love that."
He held out his arms. "Shall we take the Sonic Express?"
Amy giggled again. She stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning against his shoulder. He slipped one arm around her back and the other under her legs, scooping her up and settling her form securely against his chest. She tucked her head against his neck, and he smiled. Yeah. This felt right. He held her close and took off running.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The evening was perfect. Amy had dreamed of nights like this; sharing a meal with Sonic, watching the sunset paint the sky with golds and vivid pinks and purples from their outdoor table under the awning, soft fairy lights reflecting in Sonic's eyes as he stared at her. She spilled out every bit of her trip, all the places she'd been and the people she'd met. And Sonic listened. It was strange role reversal; her the one rambling on in quick, jumbled sentences between bites; him the one hanging on to every word, chin propped on his hand and emerald eyes focused on her and only her. It had to be a dream. She pinched herself under the table, but didn't wake up.
They finished up their food and slowly strolled out through the moonlit streets. Sonic kept in step with her pace, for once not dashing off to look at random things before realizing that he supposed to be hanging out with her and coming back to skid to a stop beside her. While she loved this quiet, relaxed moment with him so much, weirdly enough, she almost missed his normal chaotic self.
As they strolled out over a small bridge overlooking a river, all her stories of her travels finally trickled to a stop. Amy took a deep inhale of the night air, realizing she was almost out of breath from all her talking. She glanced out over the river. When she looked back, Sonic was staring at her. Her cheeks warmed.
"You're so full of love," Sonic said softly. "There aren't many people who have that kind of love. It's special." He paused, his eyes drifting away as his face turned introspective. He walked over to the railing, leaning his elbows on it to look out over the river. Amy followed. Sonic wasn't normally this quiet and thoughtful.
The moon and stars sparkled in the darkness of the river, ripples on the surface causing them to dance and sway. Amy took one more quick look out at the scenery, breathing in the beauty of the night like a sweet scent and letting it fill her with peace, before turning her attention back to Sonic's thoughtful face.
"You know, I don't know if I can love you the way you love me," Sonic said quietly. He stared out over the railing.
Her heart fell slightly. Please, not on a night as perfect as tonight. But as much as she didn't want him to say anything else, she didn't feel herself starting to shatter inside like those words would have done to her years ago. She'd known for a long time that he'd probably never feel the same way as she did. And as much as her heart longed for him to reciprocate her affections, she didn't want him to feel pressured to feel about her in a way that wasn't real. "Sonic, I don't want you to--"
"But I can love you in my own way," Sonic interrupted.
His words froze her in her tracks.
"It's not gonna be all gushy and romantic," Sonic continued. "It's not gonna be flashy and mushy and cutesy. I don't even know how different it'll look from what we have right now. But it's there, if you want it. And maybe, if we try, it can still... work."
Her heart skipped a beat, her breath catching in her throat as she tried to process if she'd actually heard what she thought she was hearing. "Sonic, what are you saying?"
He shrugged and tipped his head towards her, giving her a grin. That charming, carefree grin that always made her weak. "I think I'm saying, do you wanna go out for ice cream with me tomorrow?"
She beamed. "Always."
Always and forever.
His grin grew wider. He glanced down, then, almost shyly, reached out his hand towards her.
She reached out and took it. Even now, after so long of growing closer, just taking his hand still sent sparks through her. He laced his fingers through hers, and they walked hand-in-hand along the riverside. Amy took a deep breath, trying to keep from screaming with excitement, enjoying the overwhelming feeling of joy and warmth flowing all though her.
"Amy," Sonic asked after they'd taken a few steps, "are you sure you'll be okay without, you know, 'romance'?"
Amy smiled. As much as she enjoyed romance and poetry and candlelight, she didn't need all the decorations and fancy stuff. She stared into Sonic's beautiful, sparkling green eyes.
"All I ever wanted was you."