Chapter Text
With New Years approaching soon Amy had wanted to ask Sonic on a date to watch the fireworks and maybe get a kiss right at midnight. She knew that last part was wishful thinking on her end but hey a girl could dream, right? As Sonic’s number one fan she knew his regular hangouts so when she couldn’t find him anywhere she got worried. Did he get kidnapped by Eggman and it was up to her to save him? Maybe she could leverage a date after rescuing him and he’d say yes to that.
Those thoughts were dashed when she arrived at Tail’s workshop, waking the boy genius up with her incessant knocking. After being let in she had asked him where Sonic was, and when he became very hesitant it annoyed her so much she threatened to smash his equipment if he didn’t tell her. He caved easily then, not knowing that she had no actual intention of breaking anything, even if she was tempted.
He told her that Eggman had been spotted across the country and that Sonic got wind of it and left to stop his latest plot. When she asked when he’d come back Tails didn’t know the answer. With a forced smile she thanked him for letting her know and left, returning to her apartment defeated.
Heaving a sigh she sunk into her cushy couch, staring up at the ceiling. She knew Tails was going to leave soon as well and just wasn’t going to tell her. All so she wouldn’t be able to beg him to take her with him. It made her feel unwanted and worthless and the worst part was she could kind of see why from their point of view. How often had she just gotten kidnapped or they had to come to her rescue, diverting their attention from what was really important?
That was why months ago she went out on that journey with Big and Cream. To prove that not only could she catch up to Sonic but that she could also take care of herself and others. Which she did, she took charge and Cream and Big were able to rescue their little friends. Maybe that’s why this bothered her so much now, that even after that whole scene they still treated her like an annoying kid.
Amy took one of the cute pillows on the couch and pressed it against her face as she loudly exhaled. What was she doing moping at home? She should go outside for some fresh air, maybe at the new park that just opened. Yeah, that sounded like a much better idea, she thought.
With that new goal in mind she quickly changed out of her comfortable pants and fuzzy slippers and into her red dress and boots. First step to feeling better was to look the part, especially when heading out. It was a lesson her grandma taught her that Amy took to heart.
As she messed with her quills she dialed Cream’s number just to see if she’d like to go with her. When she got the answering machine she didn’t bother to leave a message. She must’ve been out with her mom. And with Big not having a phone and not living in the city it looked like she’d be going solo.
Satisfied with her appearance she rushed out of her apartment and made her way to the park just on the outskirts of the city. The warm air felt nice on her skin and already she could tell this was a much better use of her time. It wasn't long until she arrived and looked out at the families playing with their kids, the young couple holding a picnic, and two older men playing chess on one of the tables.
Amy found an empty bench and sat down, basking in the sun and feeling more relaxed. She thought about her actions towards Tails and did feel a tad guilty. It wasn’t his job to tell her whenever Sonic leaves. She was just upset because despite her supposedly being Sonic's friend the blue hedgehog either didn't think to tell her or purposely decided not to.
Frankly she didn't know which one was better or worse.
She mentally screamed at herself, she came here to stop moping! Getting up from the bench she decided then and there to take a walk along the trail. As she walked further along the path, the trees covering most of that path in shadows, she heard a familiar chirp from her left. Coming to a stop she turned and her face lit up at the sight of the blue flicky bird with a pendant around his neck.
“Birdie!” Amy exclaimed, coming closer to the bird. “I’m so happy to see you again! Is your family here as well?”
Birdie nodded and flew into the woods, slow enough for Amy to easily follow. Before long they stopped in front of a massive oak tree where two other birds flew down to greet her, the pink one flew closer to her while the gray one stayed back and watched.
Amy laughed and softly rubbed the top of the pink bird’s head. “It’s so good to see you all! Looks like you settled here quite nice. Next time I’ll bring some seeds with me.”
The three birds became excited at the thought, Birdie pushing Amy from behind to show off their home. “Honestly I think you guys have it better than I do,” she joked. “No rent or annoying neighbors, along with all this space to yourselves!”
As Birdie played with her quills his two siblings glanced at the other before flying upwards and looking around, on alert. She couldn’t blame them for being so cautious, they were the ones captured by Eggman to be turned into his badniks. While thankfully she had never gone through such a process she understood the constant paranoia and looming anxiety of being kidnapped again. To be suddenly taken away from your safely boring life and wonder if you’ll live to see the next day.
She tried to get past that kind of thinking, and for the most part she thought she did. Although sometimes her nightmares took her back to those unpleasant times.
Birdie flew to her hand to touch his pendant. Flickies were unable to speak like Mobians so she had to guess what he wanted to say. She opened it and saw the photo of him and his siblings along with an empty spot opposite of the photo. “Would you like a photo of me?”
Birdie nodded with his entire body. Amy giggled, “Of course you can have one! How about one with all four of us?”
He happily chirped and Amy made a mental note to ask Tails to borrow his camera. No doubt he had a high quality one he made himself along with a development room. It’d save her a pretty penny and she could bake him a cake as a pseudo-apology. Maybe even Sonic would be there.
Her face must’ve gone sullen since Birdie seemed concerned. “I’m alright!” Amy stated, forcing her tone to be cheerful. “It’s a deal, next time I come here I’ll bring a whole bag of variety seeds and a camera!”
A loud frightened chirp ripped from the pink bird, making the gray bird jump up and rush towards Birdie, pushing him into a hiding spot. Thinking that it might be one of Eggman’s robots, Amy took out her Piko Piko Hammer and held it over her, ready to strike. “Listen creep!” Amy yelled as the pink bird flew to her. “You’ll have to get past me if you’re after them!”
When she still couldn’t see or hear whatever was out there she did start to feel freaked out. Badniks typically didn’t have the thought capacity advanced enough to wait. “I-I mean it! I’m stronger than I look!”
A black mass began to emerge from the darkness, and when the rays of sunlight revealed who it was Amy was stunned. She couldn't believe her eyes at first but the black and red highlighted hedgehog could only be one person.
“Shadow?” Amy exclaimed, lowering her hammer. “What are you doing here?”
He was exactly how she remembered him, serious and intimidating. The last time she saw him was on top of the Egg Carrier when Metal Sonic transformed into a giant metal monster to defeat Sonic. She didn't have time to ask him how he survived or chat at all since Sonic left as soon as Metal Sonic was defeated so she had to chase after him.
Shadow scoffed as he crossed his arms. “I could ask the same of you. It's not wise to leave the path to go deep into the forest alone.”
“I'm not alone,” Amy replied quickly. “My friend wanted me to see his home. Also, aren't you here by yourself?”
“It's different for me,” he stated as a fact. Which she could begrudgingly see, arrogant as it sounded. He could go toe to toe with Sonic so hardly anything would be a threat to him.
She heard Birdie fly out his hiding spot and flew behind her. The pink bird turned to Amy, as though asking if he could be trusted. Amy nodded which seemed to calm the older bird as it perched on a branch, waving a wing over to the gray bird.
Shadow watched all this with curiosity as Amy walked to the side so he could see Birdie. “This lil’ guy is my friend. I once found him being chased by a badnik so I became his protector until we found his siblings.”
Birdie chirped his hello as Shadow came closer. “Why would the doctor be so determined to have them?”
“They're flickies,” Amy said. “Eggman uses them for his robots, to power them up. It's awful.”
There was a flicker of distress when she mentioned the robots, but it vanished so fast that she thought she was seeing things. He straightened his back and turned his gaze to her, concentrating.
“Is something wrong?” Amy asked.
“Do I…know you?” he asked, sincerity coating his voice.
She was taken aback by that but then remembered what Tails and Knuckles had said about their encounter with him. That he didn't remember them and most likely had amnesia. He only seemed to feel as though they'd met and some lingering annoyance towards Sonic.
Amy wondered what he felt towards her, only for her to recall their first interaction and then she didn't wish to know. “Not…really,” she eventually said. “Well, we only met twice and honestly it's probably good that you don't remember the first time.”
Shadow hummed and Amy instantly felt bad as he looked just as he did back at the ARK: despondent.
“Hey,” she said softly. “Do you have any plans for today?”
Confused, he shook his head no. She then smiled brightly, clasping her hands together. “Why don't we just hang out for the day?”
“Hang out?”
“Yeah! I don’t have anything important going on so why not?”
He looked to the side as he thought about it, which struck her as funny from how seriously he was taking this. Eventually he shrugged. “Sure.”
And that was how Amy found herself spending the entire day with Shadow.
To her surprise the day flew by while in Shadow's company. When they returned to the park after she told Birdie and his siblings goodbye she found herself unsure what he would like or if he'd even stay long. So she decided to go to the ice-cream vendor with him. Since having a delicious treat would help her brain come up with ideas on what he’d even like.
As she ordered one strawberry flavor she looked to her side and saw Shadow intensely looking over the menu. By his expression it was like he didn’t know what he wanted, but he did eventually choose chocolate. When she saw him take a cautious bite she spoke up, “Don’t tell me you’ve never had ice-cream before.” He didn’t respond to which she gasped. “No way!”
“I don’t need to eat often.”
She shook her head fiercely. “It’s not about needing, it’s all about enjoying! Like, these are super unhealthy but it makes me feel good to eat every now and then.” Amy had to wonder what else he missed out on. If he spent most of his waking life up in space maybe all he ever had was just boring healthy meals.
That train of thought led her to drag Shadow to the skating rink. After all, being stuck inside that place meant a real lack of authentic air and sunlight along with hardly a place for any kind of sports. There was a section for extreme gear, hoverboards and air skates that had been growing in popularity in the last few years. Amy sometimes practiced with the hoverboards and found it extremely fun, hopefully he did as well.
It didn’t surprise her one bit that he chose the skates, so much like his regular air shoes. It must have showed on her face as he asked her what was so funny to which she declined to answer. Just like each time she came over there was a mini competition to see who could get the best score for the prize of the day. Today’s prize was a standard $100 gift card that could be used in most shops. Better than the last time she was in, which was a poorly made bag.
Amy wasn’t good enough with the board to ever win, she certainly got better but she accepted being close enough to win. Shadow, she thought, would pick it up easily and maybe get a high placement but not actually win. Boy did she underestimate him.
Had she not known he’d never done this before she’d think he practiced every day. He crushed the competition and even seemed to show off more just to get as high a score as possible even after coming first. It was the first time she’d ever seen him enthused and it reminded her of Sonic whenever he joined a competition. Guess they were more alike than she thought.
“That was so cool!” Amy exclaimed once he returned to the lobby, his air skates replaced with his regular shoes. “You almost broke the scoreboard!”
“Hmph, it was easy,” he said with a smirk, his quills and fur puffed up from the complement. When the receptionist gave him the gift card he instantly handed it towards Amy to take.
“You don’t want it?” she asked.
“I don’t need it.”
She took it with a smile but still felt conflicted about taking it. Instantly the mall close by came to mind and with as many stores inside she was bound to find one that he’d be interested in and use the card on that. Amy blurted out that she wanted to go and he followed her lead.
The sun was already descending so she knew this would have to be the last trip they’d make before she went back home. She kept a close watch over him to see if he was looking at anything in particular. As they went further in and the more people came she couldn’t help but notice how uncomfortable he looked. His eyes darted around as though at any moment they’d be attacked.
She instantly regretted not thinking about whether he was comfortable with crowds and in hindsight she should’ve known he wasn’t. The few times she’d seen him before he was typically by himself and didn’t make much effort socializing. She saw ahead of them a clothing store she didn’t go to often due to the higher prices, figuring that not many people would go in for the same reason.
“Let’s go in there,” Amy said as she grabbed Shadow’s arm to take him inside. She was surprised he didn’t move away but she wasn’t complaining. When they entered she could already tell he was more comfortable with the low lighting and few people roaming the store. “I’m gonna look at some dresses,” she told him before heading to that section, giving him the option to either follow or wander the store on his own. She didn’t hear him follow so she was on her own.
As she looked through the pretty dresses she started to wonder if Shadow even had money to begin with. Actually come to think of it she didn’t know if he even had a home. While she wasn’t too fond of Rouge she didn’t think she was a bad person who’d leave him to fend for himself.
Shaking her head she pulled out a green dress that matched the color of her eyes. She glanced around the room, finding the changing room and Shadow leaning against the wall next to the room and right across from the register. He probably didn’t even look at anything.
Amy went over and told him she was going to try on the dress, getting a nod in return. When she went inside and tried it on she checked herself out in the mirror, the dress was longer than her usual red dress, more formal as well. The green reminded her of her shirt as a kid, wearing hand-me-downs before she moved to the city. Even if she cringed at how clashing her clothing tended to be she couldn’t help but think fondly of it; remembering her time living with her grandma, learning to read tarot cards and how to take care of herself.
Going back to the task at hand she wanted a second opinion, and the only person who could give her one was Shadow. Normally Cream came with her for these types of outings, she never had a guy check if she looked good or not. She had to fight back her blush, there was nothing weird about this! She only had eyes for Sonic and Shadow wasn’t even interested in her.
Before she could lose her nerves she opened the door and walked out, catching his attention. His eyes widened but he regained his composure quickly, so that had to mean she looked nice. “Well, how do I look?” Amy asked as she did a slow twirl. “And be totally honest.”
“...It’s nice.”
“Just nice?” Amy asked more to tease him than anything. “You’re not just saying that?”
He let out a soft scoff, turning his head away. “Please. You don’t need me to tell you that you look good in it.”
That time she lost the battle and felt her face flush. If he noticed he didn’t comment on it, only glancing towards the accessories closer to checkout. He walked over towards the necklaces and picked out a necklace with a peach garnet gem.
He returned and held it up in front of her to examine. “Try this on,” he said as he handed it to her. Confused, she tried to do as he said but couldn't get it to clasp behind her head. After some struggling he moved behind her to help. As she felt his hand lightly hold her quills up she couldn’t help but notice how close he was behind her, so close that she could feel his body heat. It only lasted a few seconds before he got the clasp locked and moved away but in her mind it felt like an eternity. One that she couldn’t understand why she felt a tad disappointed it ended.
She turned to face him as he placed a hand under his chin. “Just as I thought, it complements both the dress and your color.”
“Oh! Um…thank you!” Getting the clasp off proved easier for her but her satisfaction turned to horror as she read the small label that held the price. “I can’t afford this, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be, I’ll pay for it.”
“What?!” Amy nearly screamed, causing some of the customers and employees to watch them. “No, you really don’t have to-”
“It’s no big deal,” he shrugged. “You paid for everything so far.”
“Yeah, but those aren’t nearly as expensive!”
“Relax, Rouge gave me some money should I need it. I hadn’t had to use it so why not now?”
Eventually she was able to form words, thanking him profusely before he told her to knock it off. She changed back into her red dress and they checked out with him using a black card. Amy was happy that she was able to persuade him to use the gift card first so she’d take that minor win.
Just as Shadow took the bag, the cashier, a middle-aged woman with many laugh lines around her smiling face, turned to Amy with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Amy didn’t know what to make of it until the cashier whispered to her, “You got yourself a keeper, dear.”
Amy tried to spurt out a reply, like ‘no we’re not together’ but Shadow was quickly heading out so she just rushed to follow. She hoped he didn’t hear her, that would be so embarrassing!
“Anywhere else you’d like to look?” Shadow asked, stopping in front of the door to look behind him.
She shook her head. “Nah, I’m beat.”
The two left the mall where Amy saw the sun descend even further down, casting the city in orange tones. She sighed, “Guess I should be heading home soon.”
“I can take you home,” he stated.
She smiled at that. “Well aren’t you a gentleman! But you don’t have to, I can call a cab.”
“Like I said before, it’s not a big deal. Besides, I'm much faster than any car, just give me the directions and you’ll be home before dark.”
“I guess that’s fair,” Amy relented with a giggle before offering her arm. “Alright then, take me home Mister Shadow.”
He grimaced slightly at that but did take her arm in his. “Don’t call me that.”
Amy made no promises as this was great ammunition to tease him.
Just as he said it didn’t even take ten minutes before she was in front of her decorated apartment door. “Thank you, Shadow!”
He grunted, turning away which Amy took as him being a tad bashful. Just as she was about to put her key into the lock she paused. The thought of the day ending was too upsetting, a far cry from earlier. She even had forgotten her woes while in Shadow’s company. Amy didn’t want to return to those ugly feelings and she genuinely enjoyed introducing new things to him. Well, she could invite him in, but she’s never been alone in her home with a guy. Would her neighbors be like that cashier and think he was her boyfriend?
“Amy?”
She swiftly turned around and her startled look seemed to concern him. So she tried to defuse the situation by laughing. “Right, uh, key got a bit stuck…” She then cleared her throat as she returned to face the door so she didn’t have to face him when she asked. “Actually, uh, would you like to come in? We could watch a movie or play a game?”
The lock came undone right as she heard, “Why, Amy, that’s a bit forward of you.”
Once more she looked back at him only to see a slight grin that meant he was just joking. And that he did overheard that cashier. She shoved his shoulder for that. “You’re the worst!” She said while smiling. “Just for that I should be revoking my invitation!”
That got a small laugh out of him that nearly made her jump. Because he doesn’t laugh, she knew he wasn’t the type. Which was a shame, it was a very nice sound.
“Well,” she began. “What do you say?”
He placed a hand on his hip as he stated. “I don’t have anything better to do.”
She smiled and entered her apartment with Shadow behind. Her decor for the living room wasn’t as pastel and full of hearts and pink like her bedroom was but it still held a lot of tells that a young lady lived there. From the many small pillows that littered the pink couch to the many photos that covered the walls that were either of her or her friends. A far cry from what she imagined Shadow’s aesthetic tastes fell.
“Make yourself at home!” She told him as he looked around. “I’ve got some DVD’s below the TV if you want to look through them. I’ll bring out some board games I have in my closet.”
She walked into her room which was an explosion of various shades of pink and red; with heart shaped pillows littered on her bed, and a picture of Sonic on top of her dresser. Yeah Shadow would combust on the spot if he set foot in here, she thought with a laugh as she grabbed the games and headed out. When she came back she found him still looking through her, admittedly small, collection. Most of them rom-coms but she did have a few like Moulin Rouge and Pirates of the Caribbean.
“See anything that calls out to you?”
He shook his head. “I’m fine with whichever you’d pick.”
“Cop out,” Amy stuck out her tongue as he didn’t fight the accusation. “Fine, I’ll think about it while beating you at Clue.”
“We’ll see about that,” Shadow said with a quirk of his brow.
“Oh, you’ll see alright.” Amy was a pro at this game, but wasn’t going to show her hand so soon.
They played three rounds, using house rules for two players and banning rolling to move room to room. The first round she gave him the instructions to read and explained some of the rules as they went along. He won that round but she wasn’t deterred as the next round she took off the training wheels and won. She barely contained her laugh when he demanded another round which was the most intense game she’d ever play with anyone. When she got the final clue she locked in her answer and won two to three, standing up from pure excitement at winning.
“Yes, yes congratulations,” Shadow dryly said but more teasing than actually upset. “I was going easy on you, next time I won’t.”
“Bring it on!” Amy said. “First rule of war is to never underestimate your enemy!”
“Hmph. I’ll keep that in mind with you.”
Was it just her or did that feel somehow…heated? He wasn’t glaring at her, actually he was pretty relaxed with an arm over the top of the couch. Whatever second meaning was behind those words went over her head and she didn’t know if she wanted to know or not.
She let out a cough as she looked through her movie and tv collection on the coffee table. Amy let out a squeal when she found one of her favorite tv shows. “Oh let’s watch this!”
Shadow leaned closer to read the title. “Pride and Prejudice?”
“It’s really good! We can watch the first episode in case you get bored. It’s a romance story about Elizabeth-”
“I read the book.”
Her face scrunched up from confusion. “Really?”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing! I adore the book, I’m just surprised since it…doesn’t seem like something you’d read.”
He smirked. “Well I’m just full of surprises. Although…” Shadow trailed off before muttering, “When did I read it?”
A loud pop rang throughout the room, startling Amy before she looked out the window and saw that it was night. Just people from her apartment playing with fireworks, even if it was against city ordinance. She was about to make a joke about that but froze when she looked at Shadow.
“Shadow?” Amy asked, concerned. His eyes were wide but unfocused and his body was tensed up. As she took a step closer she noticed that he was shaking. “Are you-”
Amy was interrupted by the barrage of noise, but that became the last thing on her mind as Shadow pulled her to the floor before she could comprehend what was happening. His body covered hers with some space between them, enough for her to see the panic in his dilated eyes and his body tense like a bow string, rapidly taking in air.
She didn’t understand what was going on in his mind, all she knew was that he thought they were in danger and was trying to protect her. “Shadow, it’s fine,” Amy said softly. “It’s just fireworks.”
He blinked at her before realizing they were safe. Shadow slowly rose to his feet, offering a hand to lift her up. When she heard the next firework go off she stormed towards the window facing the parking lot and lifted the window. “Hey!” Amy screamed out, half her body outside as she looked down at the preteens down below. “If you don’t stop I’ll come down there myself and make you!”
While these teens were against anyone telling them what to do, they’ve made the mistake of crossing Amy Rose before. And knew she wasn’t all bark, especially with her hammer in hand. They chose the wise tactic of running away to pop fireworks.
“Yeah you better run!” Amy closed the window with a frustrated sigh. “How completely rude and disrespectful!” As she calmed down she turned around only to find Shadow near the door. She let out a forced laugh. “Ah, don’t go after them. I’ll just tell their parents next time I see them.”
“I should go,” he said, refusing to look at her. “I’ve wasted enough of your time.”
“What?” Amy walked closer but stopped when she saw his hand reaching for the doorknob. “You didn’t waste my time, I had a lot of fun! Don’t leave if that’s the reason.”
He finally glanced at her and suddenly she was reminded of their second meeting onboard the ARK. How he had looked conflicted and melancholy just as he did now. “I know that I once knew you, that for whatever reason when I look at you I feel like I’m forgetting something important. I thought it would come to me if I spent time with you, and it’s frustrating that I can’t.” He gritted his teeth, his fangs more notable. “That no matter what I do I can’t remember anything save my name and-” Shadow shook his head as though trying to shake out that vision.
Amy looked down, her hands playing with the hem of her dress. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I wish I could help.”
She didn’t hear him respond. Only the sound of the door opening and closing did she raise her head up. Amy stared at the door silently for a few seconds before it was abruptly opened again.
“I…had fun as well.”
Before she could respond the door closed for a final time and she was left alone with her thoughts. Amy smiled unconsciously and hoped that they’d be able to meet again soon. A new year meant a new assortment of possibilities.