#and tails also has the little black belts (?) around his gloves and sonic and amy dont have black on their clothes but whatever who cares

[sonknuxadow]

i think its cute that the color palettes of sonic tails and amys outfits are the same. amy changed her style so drastically in the transition from classic to modern so her and her besties could match :)

[cutegirlmayra]

PLEASE continue that pirate au because it is awesome!!!!!!!! Seeing all the sonic girls work together 😍😍

They are a bunch of sirens, aren’t they?

PROMPTS ARE ON SHUTDOWN! That means don’t send any more in until I’m done, okay?

Prompt:

Upon one summer’s morning, I carefully did stray~

A torn-up ship, covered in the mist of the morning, finally drifts to dock upon a gloomy-looking dock… 

Down by the Walls of Wapping, where I met a sailor gay~

A silhouette of a familiar girl hedgehog suddenly steps up as a shadow from a dock boy’s lantern, as he gapes at the faces of her and her crew.

Conversing with a young lass, who seem’d to be in pain~

The Red Roses’ crew began their way through town, their emblems dangling, swords and guns clanking against their belts fashioned with steel. The thugs around the pirate port, legendary for its legends, watched the girls with leering eyes.

Saying, William, when you go, I fear you’ll ne'er return again~

The shadow of Amy Rose, the captain over the all-girl crew, suddenly stops by a picture of Sonic’s ransom flyer. She rips it off, looking for clues on his last whereabouts… Port Angel.

“Knuckles’s fallen island?” Rouge steps forward, her face now revealed, looking up as though to Amy.

The shadow looks to a nearby pub.

She swings the doors open, as the crowd inside, once merry with boisterous loud laughter, suddenly quiet and gaze towards her and her wandering crew…

They stand, full of purpose at the door’s way.

“ My heart is pierced by Cupid,” Amy begins to sing, walking forward. “I disdain all glittering gold…”

The rest of the men in the room seem superstitious, eyes widening at the siren’s song.

“There is nothing can console me,” She stabs a table, making a bar maid flinch. “But my jolly sailor bold~” she slowly sits down, lifting her feet up onto the table.

At last, we see her face. Scorned.

“Come all you pretty fairmaids, whoever you may be.” As she continued to sing, the girls began to unhood some of the pub’s men, who waved their arms violently to such brutish grabs.

“Who love a Jolly Sailor, that ploughs the raging sea…” Amy tips her captain’s hat up, gesturing for a drink as the frightened bar maid hurriedly goes back to work and starts to fix one up for her.

“Fated Captain of the Red Rose… You must know, the sailor whom you call with such a lovely ditty… he flies the free winds, and has never once tried to tame the ocean’s wrath.”

Amy sat up then, scowering the pub then for the voice that spoke.

“It is within its nature to rage… quite like your love unrequited.” There was a brown, dirtied hooded man by the bar counter, placing his drink down.

The girls all looked to each other, then held their sabers and rapiers, moving towards him slowly and looking to Captain Amy to give them the word…

She grinned, but only for a moment, getting up. “If you knew the siren’s song… you wouldn’t call it a little ditty… it’s meant to strike misery into the listener… a cursed song indeed.” She summoned her hammer, as a few more hidden figures suddenly began to form around the group of girls.

The hooded figure turned around, his long nose now showing through. “But alluring is its purpose. Does despair and love go hand in hand? Is that why you can’t seem to end this pointless pursuit?”

“I’m just addicted to the chase.” She pulls out a lady’s pistol and shoots out a light.

The figure smirks.

“I’m here to find out why Sonic needs those blasted emeralds… then take them from him.” she looks to her crew, who know they’re about to be ambushed.

The figure’s gloves fashionably sway a moment, very animated, as he moves them up to rest on his chin. He’s clearly curious of her intentions… “Then how interesting! Tell me, Red Rose Captain… how have your searches fared you?”

“Very well.” She nods and her crew begin to spar. They immediately turn to those behind them, as their hoods and disguises come off, revealing Knuckles, Shadow, Tails, and even Silver.

“Took you long enough to find me.” the hooded man shrugs, before hopping off his stool and pulling off the hood. “Though I have to say, this is rather faltering but flattering.”

“It’s a strong superstition that women upon a ship are a curse…” Amy slowly raises her hammer to him, but he continues to smile in confidence, smug as anything. “They used to throw them into the sea if found onboard… and legend says those drowned girls turned into the mermaids who sing to lure men to their drowned dooms…”

“Pity. If they only knew how strong a woman’s sword could be. Or in this case, a pretty intimidating hammer.” Sonic complimented, speaking with a hand gesturing a bit. “A round on us, ladies?” he then moved his long hooded cloak to address the rest of the crew, but they were frozen in their first strike stances.

Tails suddenly jumped to his hands and revealed his twin tails held twin swords, swiping out two more lights as the pub went dark.

Amy, a little shocked by the sudden pitch blackness, heard the wood creak and the rest of the people scatter from the pub, not wanting to be caught in the middle of a pub showdown.

She breathed a moment to calm herself and looked around, trying to hear through the scrambling footsteps before a gloved hand looped around her throat, pulling her head back.

“Ah-!” she was cut off mid-cry as Sonic’s sword gleamed from a window…

“Enough of this hunting, Amy. We should team up, you and I! Why steal when we can join forces?”

“I won’t fall for another empty proposal again!” she remained still, though she could hear her crew fighting now.

“Proposal? Haha! I’m talking about a union of the crews! Not of hearts. Or does that enrage your ‘seas’?” he suddenly, very tenderly, lowered his sword to skim her figure.

“His hair it hangs in ringlets…His eyes as black as coal…” he lightly sang in her ear, causing a strange sensation to come over her. Danger and seduction… seemed to also be part of the siren’s allure. “My happiness attend him…” he whispered, “Wherever he may go~”

She suddenly closed her eyes, fighting back against the song’s powerful temptation, and the roughness of his voice… the gentle touch of his blade’s blunt, flat metal against her dress…

“From Tower Hill to Blackwall!” she ducked and swung her hammer to his legs, feeling him get thrown off. “I’ll wander, weep and moan!” she charged him, “All for my jolly sailor-!” Then something sharp stabbed into her arm, pausing her downward assault…

Bar maidens turned on the lights with flickering glow, as Amy saw his sword had pierced her to stop the attack… but missing her heart.

Sonic’s eyes looked guilt-stricken but also serious… he wasn’t going to let her conquer his crew again.

She looked to her girls… all having been tied up or pinned down by the sheer numbers now.

Wave… the traitor… had given them contact lenses to see in the pitch-black dark, where only the light of the windows could reveal anything.

“Until he… sails home…” she pulled out of his sword.

“Amy!” he cried out, throwing the sword down by his side and reaching for her.

She fell back, “ My heart is pierced by Cupid, I disdain all glittering gold…” she closed her eyes, feeling the cold wood slam against her back, the pain spiking through her being.

“There is… nothing… can console me,”

Sonic embraced her, pulling her up to him, crying out her name as the room spun and grew dizzy. 

“But my… jolly… sailor… bold…” She fainted.

When she awoke, she was on the Babylon Jewel. Her crew had sworn loyalty to Sonic if he’d save her life. Which they did, they infusing Chaos energy through the Master Emerald into her, an instant healing agent.

When she came too, he agreed to let her still govern her swashbuckling ladies, but in return, help him stop Eggman’s fleet and save the waters below and skies above.

Eggman was planning to wreck the very nature of balance and conquer the world, he had to be stopped, and the Chaos Emeralds–along with the Master Emerald–had the power to stop him.

Begrudgingly, she agreed…

But he must also promise… to marry her.

Engaged, or so it seemed, the two set off as one united fleet… the Red Rose below trailing the Babylon Jewel above…

However… Amy still held ‘captain contests’ as much as she could… and this time- something stabbed her heart more powerful than any sword.

PART 1: (x)

[jouska-the-deer]

A Short Quiz

Chapter 24: A Thoughtful Gift

Glass doors gently shut behind Amy as she slowly stepped forward, making her way further into the community center she received directions to a week ago. In her hands was a small box covered in shiny red wrapping paper that was neatly tied together with a yellow ribbon. On the top, there was a tiny label reading “to Sonic, from Amy.” The ‘to’ and ‘from’ were already printed on the label, while the names were written in easy-to-read cursive with a red pen. Above the “i” in Sonic’s name was a little heart instead of a dot.

In stark contrast to the near emptiness in the lobby, the liveliness of a party could be heard through a set of doors to her right, so Amy made her way over. Just before she pressed on the metal bar that would allow the door to open, Amy took a deep breath, noticing that her heart was racing. “It’ll be fine,” she quietly assured herself. “I’m sure he’ll love it, even if it’s nothing fancy…” Her arm gently nudged the bar, her feet refusing to push further. “Maybe I should also get him another gift. He is my boyfriend now, so-” Suddenly, a jumble of thoughts raced through her mind.

‘Wait, he never actually said he was my boyfriend now. It kind of sounded like it, but I don’t think he made it anything official. Would he even be comfortable if I brought it up around people? I can’t exactly ask him now, though. But what if-’

Suddenly, the door swung open, a burst of noise flooding through.

“There you are! I was wondering when you were gonna show up!”

Amy’s heart pounded, taken by surprise not only by the onslaught of movement and noise, but the sight of Sonic happily smiling as he looked down at the gift in her hands.

“Cool, you got me something. Well, I guess that’s kind of expected at my birthday party, but it’s the thought that counts, right?”

“Uh, huh.”

Sonic gave her a confused look.

“Well uh, anyway, there’s a gift table over by the corner. You can set it down there while you go chat with everyone. Manic and Sonia are opening their gifts first, then I’ll open mine- Oh!” Sonic smiled widely. “I’ll have to introduce you to them! And my mom. But first, how about I show you where the table is?”

“...Okay.”

Another confused look, then Sonic was by Amy’s side with an arm on her back gently nudging her forward.

“It’s over here,” he said, both of them making their way through a bunch of familiar and unfamiliar faces. Cheeks growing redder, Amy couldn’t stop thinking about Sonic’s hand on her back, or the whole boyfriend/girlfriend situation. Since the middle of a birthday party wasn’t exactly the best time or place to talk about it, she tried pushing the subject out of her mind.

Once the gift table was in sight, Amy felt a small amount of relief, mostly from Sonic no longer holding his hand on her back. As nice as it was, it still made her heart race faster than she could handle at the moment.

Knuckles was leaning on the wall to the left of the gifts, glancing at them occasionally while chatting to Espio.

“Just set it with the rest.” Sonic gestured to the stack of presents on the right side of the table, and Amy promptly set his gift down with the others. To the left, Amy could see another stack of presents mostly covered in elegant wrapping paper and ribbon, and past that a smaller stack of gifts that looked more cheaply decorated, but equally wrapped with care. In both piles were a couple odd gifts out that looked wrapped in more moderately priced looking decorations. Amy hummed with curiosity, the party drowning out the sound.

“Alright! Stay right here for a sec. I’ve gotta find everyone before I can introduce you to them. I’ll be right back.” Instantly, Sonic was out of sight.

With a glance back to the left wall, Amy noticed that Espio walked away, leaving Knuckles alone while he continued looking at the gift table. She walked over.

“Hi, Knuckles.”

“Hey, Amy! It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you.”

“It has. Anything new happen on Angel Island?”

“Not really. Well, Rouge has been trying to take the chaos emerald I hid, but she’s definitely not finding it anytime soon. Other than that, it’s been peaceful as always.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Amy couldn’t help but notice that Knuckles was continuing to glance at the presents every so often.

“So, what are you doing?”

“Guarding the gift table.”

“...Why?”

“Uh…” Knuckles scratched his head, looking down in thought for a second. “Well, I’m not sure if I should be telling you this, but there is someone here that could steal them.”

“Rouge?” Amy asked.

“Maybe. Sonia’s gifts do look like something she’d like, but I don’t think even she would sink low enough to steal somebody’s birthday presents for fun.”

That was the only thief Amy could think of that would be at the party.

“Then… who?”

Again, Knuckles looked down in thought, an uneasy expression on his face.

“Well, don’t go telling everyone this, but it’s mostly Manic that I have to worry about.”

“Manic? Isn’t he Sonic’s brother? Why would he want to steal the presents?”

“Sonic said he’s kind of got a problem where he feels like he needs to steal stuff. But he also said not to worry about it too much because he’d probably return everything if he was caught. His friends don’t have very clean records either, but Sonic said he knows they wouldn’t do anything.”

“If he said you don’t have to worry about it, then why are you here?”

“It would sorta sour the mood if people heard about someone trying to steal presents, and I’m just here to make sure nothing messes up the party.”

“But, don’t you find it boring?”

“I’m doing fine. Plus, everyone keeps coming over to me to talk. I’m still having a great time.”

“Well, okay…”

Knuckles began to look concerned.

“...Uh, just ignore what I said about Manic and his friends. I’ve met Manic, and he means well, even if he looks pretty shady. I’m sure his friends are nice too. Sonic probably wouldn’t have helped organize this whole thing if that wasn’t the case.”

“Um, alright.”

Amy suddenly felt a quick tap on her shoulder. Her heart raced again as she turned around.

“Sorry that it took so long. I can’t exactly rush through the crowd without running into someone. I know where Sonia, Manic, and my mom are now.”

“Okay.”

Sonic’s ears lowered a bit.

“Are you, doing alright? You’re kinda not saying much…”

Putting on a smile, Amy nodded her head.

“Sorry. I’m just, spacing out a bit. I’m fine, though.”

“Alright... Say something if you need anything, okay?”

Amy nodded again.

“Cool. Now, follow me. You’ve gotta meet everyone.”

After Amy waved ‘goodbye’ to Knuckles, they both began to make their way through the crowd. Every few seconds, Sonic would look behind him to make sure Amy was still there.

“Just a little further. They said they’d stay over by the snack tables for a bit.”

Sure enough, as the tables came into view, so did a group of three hedgehogs that fit the vague descriptions Sonic gave Amy a while before the party. Sonic walked ahead.

“Hey guys! This is- Amy.”

Sonic’s sentence dropped awkwardly in the middle like he was about to say something but didn’t. He quickly gestured in her direction as she walked closer. Amy waved.

“I’m Sonic’s sister, Sonia. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The dark pink hedgehog stepped forward, extending her hand. As she shook it, Amy immediately noticed her firm handshake, along with her long, lavish, purple gloves. Her whole outfit was fancy. She appeared to be wearing a short dress divided into two colors. The red top half was sleeveless and open backed to accommodate her quills, while the bottom was purple and ended around her mid thighs. Dividing the two halves was a golden belt with a small oval-shaped white gemstone in the center.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Amy replied. Sonia had the same green eyes that Sonic had, and a similarly shaped but slightly shorter nose too. Some of her quills appeared to be pulled forward to form bangs, similar to Amy’s, though they were longer and fuller.

As Sonia stepped back, the light green hedgehog that was standing next to her pointed to himself with his thumb.

“I’m Manic,” he said with a grin, “Sonic’s brother.”

He was similar to Sonic in appearance, in that he had a bare peach chest and long head quills, though the similarities ended there. Like Sonia, he had some of his quills sticking out to form bangs, but they were very messy. His eyes were gold in color, similar to the two piercings in his left ear. For attire, he wore a loose red vest, white gloves with black spiked wristbands, and red shoes with white tips and laces. Amy briefly thought to herself that Manic looked like someone you’d see in a punk rock band.

“Hi,” she said, waving to him cheerfully.

Suddenly, a familiar voice could be heard through the crowd.

“Sonic!”

He looked up, seeing Tails flying above everybody while trying to get his attention.

“Uh, keep talking,” Sonic said quickly, “I’ll probably be back soon.”

With that, he disappeared again.

When Amy returned her focus to Sonic’s siblings and mother, she noticed the remaining lavender colored hedgehog calmly stepping forward.

“Hello. My name is Aleena. I’m Sonic’s mom.”

Like Sonia, she too had bangs, but they were longer and kept out of her face with a gold-colored headband. Aleena’s quills were noticeably long, their length reaching well below her waist. Her eyes were golden like Manic’s and her nose was the same shape as Sonia’s.

“Hi. It��s great to finally meet you.”

When it came to Aleena’s outfit, it stood out against Manic and Sonia’s in that, it didn’t really stand out. While Sonia’s clothes looked very regal and Manic’s very punk, Aleena’s looked more plain and unassuming. An off-white long-sleeved turtleneck shirt and a long white skirt. Her outfit did have some nice looking accessories though. Along with her gold headband, was a gold necklace, bracelets, and a yellow belt.

“So, how long have you known Sonic?” Aleena asked.

“I’ll place a bet on eight years,” Manic commented.

“Nobody would be foolish enough to bet against you on that,” Sonia replied.

Amy stood in surprise for a moment. “How’d you know?”

“Easy,” Manic said. “Pretty much everyone we’ve asked said they’ve met him around seven or eight years ago, and since Sonic talks about you like you’re one of his oldest friends, it’s obvious it’s been eight.”

“Oh.” Amy looked back to Aleena. “Why did you want to know?”

“Well, to be honest, none of us have any idea what his life was like before he became famous, and he won’t tell us.”

“Really? That’s kind of strange…”

“I’m assuming you know nothing either?”

“No. I’ve never really thought about it. All I know about is that he didn’t meet you guys until a few years ago. Sorry.”

“That’s okay. I’m sure he’ll tell us one day.”

Manic crossed his arms. “Or he’ll just keep trying to be all mysterious while leaving us in the dark.”

“Stop being so pessimistic,” Sonia scolded.

“I’m just saying, it’s kinda freaky how nobody knows what happened to him between eight and fifteen. Not even his best friend. It’s like he’s trying to hide something.”

“Wait. ‘Eight and fifteen’?” Amy said. “What happened when he was eight?”

“He ran from our foster home after Manic was adopted,” Sonia answered. “He was still too fast to chase after, even when he was young, so it’s not like anyone could stop him from leaving. We know he took flying lessons at fourteen, but before then, nothing.”

Aleena sighed. “I shouldn’t be asking you about his life anyway. There’s probably a good reason why he won’t say anything, and I really should respect that. It’s just… it would be nice to know how he was all those years. I may not have been there most of his life, but I still want to know if he was okay.”

Amy stood in thought for a moment, trying to think of something meaningful to say.

“Well… I’m sure he’ll talk about it someday. It may take a little time, but he’ll open up to you if you’re patient with him. He doesn’t like sharing personal stuff too much, so he’ll only talk if he’s comfortable.”

Sonia chuckled. “It sounds to me like you have personal experience with that.”

Cheeks becoming bright red, Amy tried coming up with a response. “W-Well- you know- I’ve been his friend for a while, so- so um…”

“I’m back!”

Sonic slipped out of the crowd back into the sight of Amy and his family. “Did I miss anything good?”

“Not really, but I think we have,” Manic said with a smirk. “It seems like you and Amy are a lot closer than you made it sound.”

“Uh… what?”

“D-Don’t worry about it!” Amy blurted out. “I-It’s not like what he’s making it sound like! He- he’s taking stuff out of- out of context! I- I mean unless- I mean- u-uh…” With her breaths heavy and cheeks red, Amy’s physical state wasn’t helping her with whatever argument she was trying to make.

“You alright, Amy?” Sonic asked, paying no attention to his siblings.

“Huh? Um, yes. Yes. I’m fine. I just… I need something to drink. Like, water.”

“We’ve only got sugary stuff in here, I can help you to the water fountain in the hall if you want.”

“Yeah. Sure.”

“Okay, just, follow me.”

Amy turned to Sonia, Manic, and Aleena and waved ‘bye’ as Sonic led her back through the crowd.

Once they were at the set of double doors leading into the hallway, Sonic opened a door for her.

“You should be able to see it from here,” Sonic said as he pointed down the hall.

Sure enough, Amy was able to see the water fountain as she stepped into the hallway.

“Thank you.”

“No problem.”

“Hey! Sonic!” another voice called from the crowd.

Sonic glanced behind him for a second, then back at Amy.

“I could just ignore him for now, and just wait until you’re back.”

With a gentle smile, Amy nudged him back into the party.

“Go. It’s your birthday party, your friends are going to want to talk to you.”

“You sure? I wouldn’t mind waiting here for you.”

“Sonic! Over here!” the voice called again.

“I’m sure.”

“Alright…”

Sonic stepped back into the party as Amy began moving closer to the water fountain. Once the door closed and Sonic was out of sight, she leaned back against the wall with a relieved sigh.

The confusion behind how Sonic saw their relationship loomed above her at all times, and his family bringing the subject up didn’t help to ease her mind. What also didn't help is that they had to bring it up while Sonic was around, possibly making him uncomfortable. Now she wasn't even sure if it would be a good idea to be near him with other people around, considering there was always the risk of someone figuring out that something was up and trying to get them to talk about it. She knew she had to talk to Sonic regarding everything soon, but for now, she’d just have to remain in the dark.

With a deep breath, Amy opened the doors and walked into the party again. Instead of walking back into the crowd, she stayed beside the walls as she looked for somebody more familiar to talk to. Hopefully, someone that wouldn’t question her and Sonic’s relationship.

“Amy! Long time no see.”

She looked up, noticing Vector hanging out in the corner with a can of soda.

“Hi, Vector. It has been a while, huh?”

“Yeah. How have you been?”

“Great! How about you, and the detective agency?”

“Good and good. Great for the second one, actually.” Vector began to pull something out of his hammerspace. “Look, we’ve got new business cards!” He held up the card to Amy, which had a phone number neatly typed on it along with other forms of contact.

“Cool.”

“You can keep it if you want, I’ve got plenty.”

“Oh, thanks,” she said as she took the card from him. “So, you’ve been getting more cases then?”

“Yep! Cards aren’t the only things we’ve got letting everyone know we exist. Espio set up a website, and now we’ve got people from all over asking for help! Sometimes the police will even give us a call when they’re stumped on something.”

“That’s impressive.”

“What’s more impressive is all the money we’ve been getting from all these cases! I’ve been getting enough to get my landlord to stop complaining and then some!”

“Vector,” Espio said to get his attention, appearing out of nowhere and surprising Amy. Vector didn’t seem fazed whatsoever.

“What’s up?”

“Charmy is about to drink ten cans of soda and he won’t listen when I tell him he shouldn’t.”

“What?! Why does he want to do that?!”

“I’m not sure, but I think someone may have dared him.”

“Ugh. I’ll get to the bottom of this.” Vector turned to Amy. “I’ve gotta go. Give me a call if you need something!”

“Okay. Bye.”

Quickly, Vector and Espio stormed off to put an end to whatever Charmy got into. Amy was about to continue walking along the wall, but curiosity got the best of her and she began toward the snack area to see what was going on.

Sure enough, Charmy was there chugging a can of soda, with Vector trying and failing to take it away from him. His ability to fly definitely made Vector’s efforts more difficult, but thankfully, Tails was able to fly up and take it from him.

“Well, his behavior sure hasn’t seemed to have changed at all,” Amy commented to herself. “But he definitely looks a lot older than when I last saw him…”

“You sound a lot older when you say that,” Cream abruptly commented closeby. Amy jumped in surprise.

“Cream?! When did you get here?”

“I’ve been at the party the whole time.” She chuckled. “I’ve been standing here longer than you too.”

“Huh. I must not have noticed.” Then, Amy crossed her arms. “Wait, what do you mean by ‘I sound older’?”

“I’m just saying. Usually, it’s somebody’s grandparents that talk about how big kids have gotten.”

Amy was silent for a moment. “Still, I haven’t seen him for years, so I’m allowed to say that.”

“I know. I just think it’s funny.”

They both watched as Charmy flew down with crossed arms and a pout, getting an earful of Vector telling him how sick he could have gotten if he drank any more.

“I wonder why he did it,” Amy pondered.

“I’m sure Vector will find out eventually. Maybe you could ask him once he does.”

“Yeah.”

Cream turned her attention to Amy.

“So, has Sonic figured out his feelings yet, or are you guys still awkwardly saying nothing about what happened.”

Amy stood frozen for a moment, not expecting that question so abruptly. Since she still wasn’t even sure if Sonic considered her his girlfriend, she didn’t have a good answer. “Um, well, I um…” Plus, they technically resolved the whole kissing thing, but again, nothing was official, and Amy had no clue if Sonic wanted anyone knowing about what happened the night before. “Um…”

“Amy?”

“Um, the noise… it’s… making it hard to think.”

Cream crossed her arms and smirked. “Sure it is,” she remarked sarcastically. “So, are you going to tell me what’s going on, or will I have to guess?”

“I… don’t know.”

“Alright everyone!” Tails called from above. The room became slightly quieter. “Sonic, Manic, and Sonia will be opening their gifts now. Walk over to the gift table if you want to watch. Make sure to leave them some space though.”

Amy tried to slip away but was caught by Cream immediately.

“Where are you going?” she asked incriminatingly.

“Um, to the… gift table.”

“You mean the one that’s that way,” she said while pointing in a completely different direction to where Amy was headed. Amy chuckled nervously.

“Whoops. Heh heh, forgot where it was.”

“While everyone was walking to the same place?” Cream asked rhetorically.

“...Yes?”

Cream rolled her eyes and stepped over to Amy.

“What’s going on with you? And be honest this time.”

Amy whined quietly but complied.

“I… don’t know what’s going on between me and Sonic. Let’s just say, some stuff happened, things are a little different, and I’m not sure how Sonic is feeling about everything right now.”

Cream tilted her head. “He seemed pretty fine when I saw him today.”

“It’s complicated.” Amy sighed and looked away. “Also, I’m a little worried that he won’t like my gift…”

“Why wouldn’t he? Didn’t you put a lot of work into it?”

“Yeah, but… I mean… I feel like I should have done more. It’s not really that much…”

“Amy, I’m sure he’ll love it.” Reassuringly placing a hand on Amy’s shoulder, she hoped she could get her point across. It didn’t appear to be working, though.

“I’m sorry, but, you don’t understand. I… I can’t explain it though, but, it was too late to get him another gift, a better one, but I feel like I should have. I can’t say why, but, well, I think I owe him a gift more special now, and, um…” Amy looked at Cream, who appeared deep in thought. “Cream?”

“Are…” She paused for a moment but continued. “Are you two, together now?”

“What?!” Amy’s cheeks went bright red and she backed away. “What makes you- I mean- why do- how-” Ears back, posture more closed off, breathing heavy, she again wasn’t doing a great job of conveying what she wanted.

Quickly, Cream walked forward to calm her. “It’s okay. I’ll keep it a secret if that’s what you’re worried about.

“I- I- Well, he um-” Lost for words, Amy completely gave up at trying to continue whatever her scrambled thoughts were trying to say. She let out a defeated whine.

“Amy,” Cream put her hands on Amy’s shoulders, “Sonic will love your gift, and everything will be sorted out with you two eventually. You guys will just have to keep talking to each other, alright?”

Amy nodded.

“Good.” Cream looked at the guests gathering near the corner of the room, where one of the triplets had begun unwrapping gifts. “Let’s go watch them, okay? Everything will be fine.”

With a deep breath, Amy tried to calm her nerves, managing to do so a small amount. With a nod, they both made their way to gift table.

The crowd was very compact, so they had a difficult time making any progress in reaching the front where they could easily see. Cream offered to hold Amy above the crowd so she could watch the siblings unwrap, but Amy refused, stating that she didn’t want to be seen by Sonic. Once again, Cream insisted everything would be fine, but Amy was adamant at hiding this time. Reluctantly, Cream chose to fly above Amy so she could see while Amy would simply listen to what was being said through a microphone that was set up at the gift table.

Sonia unwrapped her gifts first, politely thanking everyone who gave her something. Next was Manic, who did the same, but in less formal manner.

When it was Sonic’s turn to open gifts, a looming feeling of dread was held over Amy with every consecutive present he opened. Each gift was one more gift closer to Amy’s, and she had no idea when he’d get to hers. She kept her head low as he read out his friends’ names and thanked them for the gifts, holding her breath each time she heard him pause to grab another present.

“Alright. This one’s from… Amy!”

She felt dizzy for a moment as her name was called, her head sinking lower.

“Where is she, anyway? Amy?”

“Over here!” everyone heard from above. Amy looked up in horror at Cream, who so willingly gave away where she was.

The crowd parted a small amount so Amy could make her way to the front to watch Sonic unwrap her gift. Feeling obligated to, she nervously stepped forward.

“What’s up? How’ve you… been.” Sonic’s smile faded as he saw the timid behavior Amy was displaying. He set the gift back down and walked over to her.

“Amy,” he said softly, “are you alright?”

She looked away. “I’m, okay,” she quietly responded.

Sonic tapped on her shoulder, getting her to look at him. “I don’t know what’s going on, but try to cheer up, alright? It’s a birthday party. We’re supposed to be happy.”

“...Okay.”

Smiling to lighten the mood, Sonic managed to get her to smile as well. “See. That’s the spirit.” He jogged back over to the gift table, picking up her gift once again and beginning to open it.

Once the yellow ribbon and shiny red paper were removed, he opened the box to get a look at what was inside. Once he did, he could really tell the hard work that went into its creation. It wasn’t something bought from a store, it was a lot more personal and thoughtfully crafted.

What he found inside was a bracelet, comprised of many unique little trinkets attached to a sturdy white string. Each trinket was red in color and shaped like one of his favorite things. There was one shaped like a chili dog, another like a guitar, another like a flower, another like a pair of his favorite running shoes, and the list could go on for a while. From what Sonic could tell, they were all made from a type of sturdy plastic that was red itself, instead of painted that way. For a moment he wondered how Amy created them, but then figured he could ask her later. In between each trinket were a few normal beads, which complimented the rest of the bracelet.

Sonic looked from the gift to Amy, his smile fading a small amount. She was looking away, appearing to be upset about something. Looking back down at the bracelet, Sonic’s smile grew again.

Amy felt a tap on her shoulder, soon noticing Sonic standing in front of her with a gentle smile.

“Thanks, Amy,” he said with a thumbs up, revealing the bracelet around his wrist. “It looks great!”

“I-I’m glad you like it,” she quietly said as her cheeks went red.

With that, Sonic walked back to the table, grabbing the next gift to open.

Cream flew down and landed near Amy, giving her shoulder a nudge.

“I told you he’d love it.”

“Y-Yeah.”

They continued to watch Sonic open gifts until he was done, then separated afterward. Cream went off to find more people to chat with, and Amy went back to sticking near the walls and talking to any familiar faces she saw. This went on for a while, and she had the chance to talk to many people she hadn’t seen for ages. She had a pleasant conversation with Blaze and Silver before feeling a little parched, heading to the snack table again afterward. Thankfully, it appeared that Sonia, Manic, and Aleena were no longer standing where they were when she last talked to them, so she wouldn’t have to worry about them seeing her as she went to get a drink.

As Amy reached into the cooler sitting on the floor for a can of cherry soda, she overheard a conversation going on not too far away from her. Both voices were familiar. One of them made her freeze.

“Have ya seen Amy anywhere around here? I can’t seem to find her for some reason.”

“I think I saw her talking to Silver a little while ago, but other than that, no. Sorry, Sonic.”

“That’s alright, Tails. I’m sure I’ll find her eventually.”

“Want me to fly up and see if I can spot her?”

A jolt of fear ran through Amy’s head, causing her to dive under the closeby table in a panic to evade Sonic’s sights. Thankfully, the tablecloth covering it stretched pretty far down, leaving only a couple inch gap between the fabric and ground. She heard Sonic pause before giving an answer.

“I think I’ll be able to find her myself. Thanks anyway.”

“No problem. See you later.”

“Later Tails.”

Amy tried her best to keep her breathing and heart rate under control as she set her can of soda down and lowered her head to the floor, trying to see out of the small gap under the cloth’s edge. She saw the familiar set of red shoes on the floor making their way to the snack table, causing Amy to panic once again. Sonic went to the cooler, the sound of ice being pushed around for a moment before he was moving again. What Amy expected was for him to just walk away with his drink, but of course, that didn’t happen. Instead, those red shoes made their way to the back of the table, the side facing the close by wall.

Everything that’s happened in Amy’s life told her to expect the unexpected, but even then, she couldn’t have possibly expected to hear a couple knocks on the table leg. She looked over at the noise, seeing the tablecloth lifted a small amount so Sonic could peek under.

“Mind if I join you?”

Amy shook her head, partly frozen as Sonic slid under the table with her.

Sonic’s voice was soft, but still loud enough to be heard by Amy despite the noise of the party.

“Heh. I haven’t hidden under a table like this since I was a kid. Feels cozy in here.”

All Amy could do was nod, finding no words for what was going on. She focused on the can of root beer in Sonic set down by his feet, not feeling the strength to look at his face at the moment.

Sonic let a little time pass, Amy’s heavy breathing and pounding heart relaxing in the meantime. Once she looked up at his face, he gave her a calm smile.

“Have you talked to Blaze yet? I heard you talked to Silver and wondered if you got the chance before the party’s over.”

She nodded.

“That’s good. Have you been having fun?”

She nodded again.

“Great.”

It went quiet again. Sonic lowered his head and looked away awkwardly as Amy did the same. A distressed sigh left Sonic’s lips as he began fidgeting, absentmindedly occupying his hands while he tried thinking of something else to say. He glanced down at his hands, his attention being caught by what he’d been doing.

Instead of picking at the fabric of his glove and causing it to wear like usual, he was rolling one of the beads of his bracelet around its section of string. He let out a silent laugh, continuing to look over the gift.

“Thanks again for the bracelet, Amy. I really like it.”

Amy turned her head to look at Sonic, opening her mouth to say something, but shutting it soon after. Sonic looked at her again with a soft smile.

“You know a lot more about me now. It’s hard to believe that, not too long ago, I was mad at how little you seemed to know about me.” Moving the can of root beer off to the side, Sonic pulled himself a little closer to Amy. “I’m really glad you took the time to get to know me, and I’m glad that I got to learn more about you too. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Amy began to smile a small amount, her cheeks showing a hint of blush. Sonic continued.

“Amy… I know you’ve been trying to avoid me since after you talked to Sonia and Manic, and I just want you to know that I care about you a lot. There’s nothing that could change my mind. Okay?”

A shaky breath left Amy’s lips, and she nodded.

“And you know that you can tell me if something’s wrong, right?”

“...Yeah.”

“And, you know I’d do everything I can to help?”

“Y-Yeah. I know.”

“So… why have you been avoiding me?”

Bringing her head down, Amy turned away again. Sonic placed his hand on her shoulder, feeling her hand on his arm a moment after. Amy’s hand slid up until it was at Sonic’s shoulder, and they pulled each other into an embrace. Slowly, Sonic rubbed Amy’s back as she released a shaky breath.

“I- I just- Are we-? I don’t-”

Her words ended, leaving the air only filled with the background noise of the party. Sonic’s cheek rubbed against Amy’s as he briefly leaned up to plant a kiss on her forehead.

“It’s alright Amy. Just take a sec to figure out what you wanna say. I don’t mind.”

The arms around him held a little tighter. After a moment to breathe, and think, Amy spoke again.

“I don’t know… how you see our relationship. I didn’t want to assume you felt the same way as me… that you wanted it to be something serious.” Amy paused, the hands rubbing her back helping to soothe her mind somewhat. “I didn’t know if you’d want me next to you around other people. I… I didn’t want to risk ruining whatever we have so soon. I don’t…”

Sonic heard Amy inhale with a shudder. He leaned back to look at her directly, noticing that she looked like she was on the verge of tears.

“Amy…”

“I don’t- I don’t want you to break up with me before I know if we’re even really together.”

“Amy.” Sonic pulled her into a hug again, trying his best to console her as she tried her best not to cry. “I’m not going to leave you. I’ve said it already, but I care about you a lot, and I really mean it.” Hearing a relieved sigh, he pulled back to see Amy’s face again. “And… about the relationship thing…” Sonic took a moment to think.

“You want to be my girlfriend, right?” Amy nodded. “And I want to be your boyfriend, so we’re boyfriend and girlfriend. Does that help clear things up a little?” She nodded again, this time with a smile. “Good.”

The noise of someone reaching into the cooler reminded them of where they were.

“Look, I uh, I know we need to talk about this stuff a bit more, but if I don’t get back to the party people are gonna start wondering where I am.” Amy lowered her head, but Sonic gently raised it again with a couple fingers on her chin. “How about you meet me by the front entrance after the party’s over? We can sort some stuff out there. Sound good?” With a couple nods from Amy, Sonic smiled. “Cool. I’m gonna get back to the party, I’ll see you later.”

Sonic pushed himself back and grabbed his soda, turning to leave the way he entered, before stopping a moment.

“Actually…” He looked back at Amy. “Would you… uh, could I…” His cheeks went red. “Geez, this was easier yester- I mean technically, earlier today. Heh heh.” Amy tilted her head, and Sonic scratched his quills. “Could we, kiss? Maybe? Before I head back?”

Amy blushed as much as Sonic. “O-Of course.”

“Okay, cool.” Sonic took a breath, leaning forward and sharing a kiss with Amy. The corners of his mouth couldn’t help but curl into a smile before he pulled away. “L-Later. Amy.”

Sonic peeked under the cloth and then crawled out, walking away and merging into the crowd like he was there the whole time. Soon after, Amy crawled out as well, feeling a little better, but still confused about many things.