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It was a warm summer night. The stars shone above the vast grassy fields as the cool wind blew through them. Atop a small hill sat Amy Rose, cheerful as ever, who was stargazing as she hummed to herself. She was always in awe of the beauty of the sky, and tonight was no different.
Next to her sat the love of her life, Sonic the Hedgehog, who, unlike Amy, wasn’t as focused on the sky. Amy had asked him to come stargazing with her a while ago, and after putting it off for days he finally agreed. It’s not that he didn’t want to spend time with her, he just had a lot on his mind, particularly about his last adventure on the Starfall Islands.
The memories kept replaying in Sonic’s mind. Unfortunately, not the good ones. All he could think about was the fact that he almost lost his friends. There was a little voice inside of him that kept asking questions, each one getting louder and louder, with answers he didn’t want to hear. “What if you didn’t save your friends in time?”, “What if you lost, what would’ve happened then?”, “What if you never got to see them ever again?”, “What if—“
“Sonic?”
A voice cut through his inner turmoil. He turned to face Amy, who had a worried expression on her face. He knew she could tell something was bothering him, she just had that sort of power that he didn’t understand. He admired her for that, though he’d never admit it.
“Is everything okay? You’ve been kind of quiet all night..”
“Uh— yeah, just… uh— hungry. But I’m fine!” He said with a forced laugh. Though his signature smile wasn’t as bright.
Amy wasn’t convinced, but she knew Sonic didn’t like talking about his feelings, so she didn’t push him.
“You know I’m always here if you need to talk”
“Yeah… I know..” He smiled at her, and looked away.
Silence. Both hedgehogs looked up at the sky, not saying a word. All you could hear was the gentle rustle of the long grass. That was until a single thought popped into Sonic’s mind, one that made his heart drop.
What if you never got the chance to tell Amy?
(Stop). He thought to himself. (It’s over, I don’t need to worry about that).
But his mind kept going. “It may be over, but you never know what’ll happen next. She might be gone one day, and you’ll be left with nothing but regret that you couldn’t make up your mind sooner.”
He looked at her. She was still looking at the sky, a peaceful smile on her face, her rosy quills painted in a soft glow from the moonlight. She looked beautiful, like a perfectly captured photograph. Sonic couldn’t help but keep staring, longer than he’d expected.
She felt a gaze on her, and turned. Sonic and Amy’s emerald eyes met. Her heart skipped a beat, cheeks turning slightly red. She didn’t expect to be staring into her crush’s eyes. Then she frowned, noticing the worry in his expression.
“Sonic… you’re not okay. What’s wrong?” She said gently.
Sonic, realizing he’d been staring for far too long, quickly turned away, hiding the slight red on his face. He didn’t say a word. Amy sighed, wishing he’d be a bit more open, for his own sake.
“It’s just…” Sonic started, “I’ve been thinking about what happened on the Starfall Islands.”
Amy listened, relieved that he decided to talk.
“I’m glad everything worked out in the end, and I’m glad you, Tails and Knuckles are fine, but…” He hesitated. Did he really want to tell her this? Did he really wanna explain himself to her?
“…What if things didn’t work out?” He blurted out without thinking. He didn’t try to stop himself, though.
“I didn’t wanna admit it to anyone but.. I was terrified. Not for me, but for you guys.”
He paused. Amy kept quiet.
“I kept thinking to myself.. What if I didn’t make it this time? What if I was too slow and couldn’t save you… or Tails… or Knuckles? What if I came back and you guys were just…. gone? I mean, I’ve dealt with tons of nonsense before. You know, big bad guys, worlds almost ending, whatever. But this time.. it was you guys at stake. I hated it, feeling like it’d be my fault if you guys didn’t make it out. I kept telling myself we’d figure it out like always, but the doubt never left.”
Sonic looked up again, trying to think of what to say next. His voice dropped to a near whisper. “I guess.. I was scared… I’d never see you again…”
Amy’s expression softened. Her hand inching closer to his, but not touching. She didn’t want to interrupt him.
“You’re always there for me, Amy. Despite how much I’ve pushed you away in the past, you stay by my side, always supporting me even when I don’t deserve it. Always being your sweet, annoying, stubborn, patient self.” He chuckled.
“I don’t know when it happened.. but I started liking having you around, to the point where I looked forward to seeing you every day. I didn’t wanna think about living a life without you. It made me realize how much..
I like you..”
Amy’s eyes widened, unsure of what she just heard. She couldn’t speak, she couldn’t think, she just stared at him, stunned.
Sonic blinked, and immediately became frantic, realizing what he just said without thinking.
“WAIT— THAT CAME OUT WRONG!! or— no, I mean, it didn’t, but I wasn’t planning on— (sigh) dammit.” He covered his blushing face, then ran his hand through his messy quills, avoiding Amy’s gaze.
“S-sorry.. I didn’t mean to dump that on you, I just… I don’t know. I was thinking about everything. And when I thought I might lose you, I realized how much I care about you. How you make everything feel different— in a good way.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, giving up trying to make himself stop. He couldn’t stop. He didn’t want to stop. “You make things feel brighter, even when they suck.”
He finally glanced at her, and froze. Tears were running down Amy’s face. She hadn't even noticed. Her wide eyes were still locked on his.
“Ames..?”
Snapping back into reality, she blinked and touched her red cheek, surprised to find it wet. “I-I’m sorry,” she gave a small giggle and started rubbing her eyes. “I don’t even know why I’m c-crying…”
But Sonic could see it through her trembling smile. It wasn’t sadness.
It was pure joy and relief.
“You idiot,” She whispered, covering her face, still crying, “You have no idea how long I've waited to hear you say that..”
She moved her hands from her face, and - despite the tears rolling down her cheeks - gave him the brightest smile he’d ever seen, one that made his knees weak. If he was standing he knew he’d probably fall over. He gave her a small, sheepish smile in return.
“Sorry for making you wait so long”
Tears were still running down Amy’s face, but she didn’t try to stop them.
“I’d wait a thousand years if it meant you’d say that..”
Sonic chuckled, still a bit overwhelmed with the situation. “Okay, now you’re being dramatic!”
Amy laughed through her tears. “Says the one who just poured his whole heart out to me!”
She leaned forward, and wrapped her arms around him. Sonic froze for a second, then relaxed into the hug, wrapping his arms around her in return. This was different from one of Amy’s normal hugs, this one felt more real. Even he could feel it.
Amy rested her head against his chest, closing her eyes. After a moment of silence, she spoke again, in a bit of a sassy tone.
“You know, for being the fastest thing alive, you really took your time.”
Sonic rolled his eyes playfully. “Oh whatever. I finally caught up eventually, didn’t I?”
“Took you long enough, slowpoke!”
They pulled back from their hug, Amy wiping away the water on her face. Her hand gently resting atop of Sonic’s. They didn’t say anything right away. They didn’t need to. Just enjoying the moment was enough for them. Eyes lingering on each other a little longer, they then turned up to the stars.
Sonic let out a breath he didn’t notice he was holding. He felt at ease. He didn’t have to dwell on the past, no matter how scary it was. The past is in the past. And right now, he was happy to be in the present.
Amy rested her head on his shoulder, and Sonic didn’t flinch away like he used to. In fact, he leaned a little bit in too, resting his head slightly on hers.
“I’m glad you’re still here, Ames” He whispered
Amy smiled, still looking up.
“Me too, Sonic.”
At that very moment, a shooting star zipped across the sky above them. Sonic watched it, the corner of his mouth lifting into a peaceful smile.
Sure, they didn’t know what the future would bring. But they didn’t need to. As long as they had each other — and their friends, of course — they knew everything would be fine.