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Amy had known about Sonic’s nonsensical hatred for all things strawberry for a couple of years now. It had all started when she mentioned how strawberry shortcake was her favorite dessert. Sonic had looked her dead in the eyes and told her seriously that he hated it. When she asked him why in disbelief, he responded with only an emphatic, “Strawberry shortcake sucks!”
After that, Amy learned that it wasn’t just the specific cake that Sonic didn’t like. He disliked strawberries as a whole with a fiery passion. Amy tried several different things to get him to try her favorite fruit, and each one was met with rejection. Chocolate covered strawberries? Sonic said they looked gross. Freeze dried strawberries? Sonic gagged at the sight of them. Amy even tried putting strawberries on top of a chilidog and still he wouldn’t try them.
Amy was at her wit’s end. She couldn’t understand why Sonic hated strawberries so much. So she finally decided that if she couldn’t get him to try them willingly, she was just going to have to trick him. Sure, it wasn’t the nicest way to go about this, but Sonic didn’t know what he was missing! Amy was determined to open Sonic’s mind to the wonder of strawberries no matter what it took.
Amy started by inviting Sonic over to her house for a little taste testing party. She asked him to do this with her every now and then, so it was nothing out of the ordinary. She often tried out new baking recipes and liked to have someone to try them and let her know honestly if they were any good. Since Sonic had tried food from all over the world, he had a very expanded pallet and was a very good candidate for this.
Sonic accepted Amy’s invitation and she set to work baking. Her plan was to make a strawberry shortcake, but disguise it with white frosting all the way around, hiding the berries on the inside. She’d tell Sonic that it was a mystery cake and that it was his job to guess what kind it was with only his tongue. She’d blindfold him too so he couldn’t see the inside of the cake once he’d bitten into it.
Amy finished frosting the cake and sent Sonic a text that she was ready for him to come over. A few seconds later, there was a knock at her door.
“Hey Ames!” Sonic greeted as she opened it.
“Hi! Thank you so much for coming over.” Amy stepped aside to allow the blue hedgehog into her home and shut the door behind him.
“Course! I love trying your baking experiments.” Sonic clapped his hands together and rubbed them eagerly. “So! What are we trying today?”
“I’m not telling,” Amy giggled. “Today’s subject is a mystery cake.”
“Ooooo, the suspense!” Sonic grinned. “So you want me to guess what it is?”
“Exactly,” Amy nodded. The two headed into the kitchen, whereupon Amy grabbed the blindfold from the table. “Now turn around,”
“Aw, come on. Isn’t that kinda overkill?” Sonic asked.
“Absolutely not!” Amy insisted. “I don’t want you getting any clues by looking at the inside once I cut it!”
“Alright, fine.” Sonic shrugged in defeat and turned around.
Amy tied the piece of cloth around Sonic’s head and then guided him to the table where he sat down. After cutting a piece of cake and setting it on a plate, she brought it over to Sonic with a fork.
“Okay, here it is!” Amy announced. “Go ahead.”
Sonic made a mess of the cake trying to get a bite on his fork without being able to see what he was doing, but in the end he got it. The two of them laughed at the state Amy’s ‘work of art,’ as Sonic put it, was now in. Finally, Sonic took his first bite.
“Hmm . . .” Sonic hummed as he chewed. “Just a regular white cake base. It’s got some kind of fruit filling I think.”
“Yep! What kind?” Amy asked excitedly. He hadn’t immediately spit the thing out. Clearly, Sonic didn’t hate strawberries as much as he said he did.
Sonic took another bite. “It’s not bananas . . . or blueberries . . . What other fruit can you put on a cake? Ummm . . . It’s not lemon . . . Peaches? No . . .”
“You give up?” Amy asked.
Sonic took one more bite. He sighed. “Yeah, I have no clue, sorry, Ames,” He laughed sheepishly. “I give up. What is it?”
“It’s strawberry shortcake!”
Sonic’s smile immediately dropped away. “O-Oh.”
“I’m sorry, it wasn’t nice to trick you,” Amy apologized. “But I knew this was the only way I was going to get you to try strawberries! And look! You didn’t spit the cake out or gag or anything! You have to admit that they’re at least edible.”
Wordlessly, Sonic slipped the blindfold off and stared down at the mashed up slice of strawberry shortcake. Amy couldn’t read his expression.
“Sonic? Is everything okay?” This was weird. He looked so serious. Why?
“Amy . . .” Sonic finally spoke in a low voice. “This is . . . Ohhhhhh crap. Crap. ” Sonic brought his elbows up to rest on the table and then buried his face in his hands. He swallowed uncomfortably.
“What? What’s wrong?” Amy was starting to get really worried now. Did she do something wrong?? She came over to Sonic’s side and got down on one knee, looking him over.
Sonic looked up at Amy, panic in his eyes. “Amy. I’m allergic to strawberries.”
Amy’s eyes widened. Oh. Oh no. “Wh-what?? All this time, you-! Why didn’t you say anything???”
“Was embarrassed. I-I like strawberries, but then I found out-” Sonic cut himself off with a wince. He put a hand on his collar bone and Amy realized he was struggling to breath, his mouth gaping open for air.
“Sonic!” Amy leaned forward in a panic, trying to get him to look at her. “Sonic, what do I do??? Do you have medicine you could take? A-An epipen?!”
Sonic struggled to meet her gaze, his eyes clouded. In fact, he was slumping in the chair and Amy had to catch him and hold him upright. He tried to wheeze out a word but was interrupted by a coughing fit, which did absolutely nothing to help his breathing situation.
“Sonic!!!” Amy shouted. She immediately clamped her mouth shut. Screaming wasn’t going to help anyone.
If Sonic had an epipen at all, it was probably stashed in his quills somewhere. It would take too much time to find it, time Sonic didn’t have. Amy hauled the hedgehog into her arms and ran outside. She lived close enough to the hospital. She could call ahead on the way to the ER to let them know she was coming and be there quickly. Sonic wheezed as Amy loaded him into her car and she noticed he was starting to develop hives.
“Just hang in there, Sonic,” Amy told him firmly. “Focus on breathing. You’ll be alright.”
Sonic closed his eyes painfully and did as she said. Another set of rough coughs forced their way out of his swollen throat.
Once Amy was in the driver’s seat and the car was started, she punched the gas. Gripping the steering wheel with one hand, she pulled out her phone. Amy tried to ignore the guilt that was gnawing at her stomach. She did this.
Just hang in there, Sonic.
Honestly, everything was a blur. Just a messy soup of sights and sounds. All Sonic could comprehend was pain and discomfort. His throat was unbearably itchy and his chest was far too tight, like he was being squeezed by the hand of one of Eggman’s mechs. He couldn't think. He clung desperately to the last thing he had properly heard before all his senses dissolved.
Just hang in there.
Focus on breathing.
You'll be alright.
Breathing was an immense struggle. All the forces of the universe had seemed to unite against Sonic to deny him access to air. The swelling, the coughing, the air becoming much . . . too . . . thin . . .
And then there was a sharp pain in Sonic's arm as something was stabbed into him. And everything instantly felt so much better. It was bliss and peace and comfort and relief flowing directly into him through whatever had been injected via what must've been a needle.
Sonic wasn’t sure if he fell asleep or if it just took a while for the fog in his brain to clear out. The next time he was properly aware, Sonic found himself lying in an unfamiliar bed in a small, unfamiliar room. His eyelids still felt heavy, but he tried to look around. It didn't take long for him to spot Amy sitting on a chair in the corner, staring at her clasped hands.
“Ames . . .” Sonic croaked. His throat felt very raw.
Amy looked up instantly and rushed to his side. “Sonic! Are you okay? How do you feel?”
“Better . . . ‘M sorry Ames. Shoulda told you.”
“No, I’m sorry, Sonic,” Amy shook her head. “It was stupid and mean of me to trick you into trying strawberries. I didn’t even consider you might be allergic to them and now I feel absolutely horrible and-!”
“Amy,” Sonic interrupted, gathering as much strength into his voice as he could manage. Amy fell silent, and looked up at him with tears in her eyes.
“It’s no one’s fault, okay?” Sonic smiled at her reassuringly. “We both kinda messed up and now we’re dealing with the consequences. But I didn’t die, so we’re cool.”
“But what if you did die?” Amy returned.
“Buuuut I didn’t,” Sonic said.
Amy sighed. “I still feel bad.”
Sonic shook his head with a chuckle. “Amy.” He sat up. Oooo, okay, so his arm was a bit sore. “I get that you were worried about me. And thank you for that, really. But if I say I’m fine, then I’m fine. I forgive you. It’s water under the bridge.”
Amy smiled sadly and dove in to give him a hug. “You’re either the sweetest or the dumbest hedgehog I’ve ever met.”
“How about the coolest?” Sonic suggested.
That finally coaxed a giggle out of the pink hedgehog.
“So . . . we good?” Sonic asked tentatively.
“I guess so. We’re good,” Amy replied. “But don’t you ever scare me like that again, Sonic the Hedgehog!”
Sonic laughed. “I won’t.”
“No more hiding your allergies.”
“Deal.”
“And you’ll carry an epipen wherever you go from now on.”
“I promise.”
“And . . . you’ll let me bake you a new cake as an apology?” Amy looked up at him nervously.
Sonic smiled. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”