Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog, Amy Rose etc belong to Sega.

Rating: K+

Summary: One-shot. SonAmy Week on Tumblr prompt: Chao. Having noticed strange things moving and disappearing around her house, Amy needs Sonic's help in capturing the intruder.

A/N: I really struggled with writing this prompt! Many times I re-wrote parts of it. But I don't think I could possibly edit and re-touch it anymore before I become fed-up with it, so I'm leaving it alone and sticking my middle finger up at my perfectionist part of my personality. I hope you enjoy it! :) Love! x

Home Invasion

Amy Rose was freaking out.

Not in the, 'Oh look, new shoes!' kind of way. Or the, 'Crap, Eggman's attacking!' It was more of a slow burn kind of freaking out from little things she'd noticed that had been moved or left out around her house; an odd sock missing from her washing line, a window open she couldn't remember unlatching. Just peculiar little occurrences to go with the weird scratching in the night that woke her up and played on her mind for the rest of the day.

Yes, Amy was freaking out over something, she just didn't know what it was. Having looked all over her house for the third time that evening, calling a couple of friends just to see how they were and finally drinking some herbal tea to relax her, Amy decided that her intuition was a bit rusty recently and she just needed a good, undisturbed night's sleep. But that didn't stop her from wondering why the biscuits she was sure had been put back in the cupboard after lunch were strangely placed on the kitchen counter.

Those were the little things that worried at her mind, causing that slow burn to grow hotter and hotter.

It's not as if she can't take care of herself, she's proved herself again and again to her friends when battling Eggman. So the idea of a little thing like miss-placed biscuits or bumps in the night was absurd. If she had an intruder - which it definitely seemed like - she could take them on easily! One little flick of the wrist and that hammer would be there raining down justice on whoever had the nerve to disturb her serene, tranquil home.

Of course, puffing up with all of that bravado did nothing to settle her nerves. Because let's face it, its one thing to take on a robot out in the open, usually in broad daylight. But to take on someone who's been sneaking around your house day and night, stealing your socks and eating your chocolate is enough to make even the toughest most independent girl give a little quake and shiver at the possibilities. She might be tough but she's still a single female hedgehog living alone. As the last few weeks' nerve-wracking building tension in her body and home proved to her.

"I'll give it one more night and then I'm calling re-enforcements," Amy muttered to herself as she made her way around her house shutting windows and double checking door locks. "It's just one more night, I'll be fine." she assured herself, making her body stand a little taller. She pictured Sonic giving her his thumbs up with his cocky smile and relaxed a little more. Enough that once she was deeply burrowed under her covers all the restless nights leading up to this one vanished and sleep took her over at last.

But it didn't last all night. At some point a prickling in the back of Amy's consciousness was making her aware of something - enough to rouse her from her sleep. Eye's still closed she focused on keeping her breathing even, still hopelessly trying to keep a hold of her dream drifting away from her.

That's when she felt it. The movement on the end of her bed, the slight weight pressing her covers down near her feet and making her blood turn to ice in her veins, her breathing suddenly halting in her chest as fear took her over and she stared into the blackness of her bedroom.

Whatever it was that was there had sensed her fear because the next thing she knew the weight was gone and her bedroom door was creaking as whoever - whatever - it was disappeared out of her room. That's when her breathing came back to her in deep, shuddering gasps. All the freaky little moments, the sleepless nights, the nagging tension in her home was real. It wasn't her imagination, she wasn't just sleep deprived. Amy Rose had an intruder and it scared her senseless. Enough to keep her paralyzed in her bed as she tried her hardest to work through her own demons, her hands shaking as she slowly reached out to turn on the bedside lamp, light flooding the room and illuminating all the dark shadows so she could see she really was alone.

At-least, she was in her bedroom.

With shaking hands and shuddering breaths, Amy slipped out of bed and summoned her hammer. Then before she could be paralyzed by her own terror she walked from the room, turning on every light along the way, each time making her heart thump wildly in her chest as she did so. It wasn't until she'd checked every room, every cupboard, closet and crawl space did she collapse to her couch, the hammer disappearing with a thought and she allowed herself to cry. Part in relief that the intruder was gone and part because of how shaken she was.

Her tears dried up at some point before dawn and Amy stayed on the couch while she watched the sun rise out the window, the morning bringing with it a little hope that today she would get this problem resolved.

She waited until it was an acceptable time to call people when she finally lifted her phone. Without hesitation she dialled Tails' number, drumming her fingers on her knee in a habit almost mimicking Sonic while she waited for him to pick up. Maybe he's still asleep, she thought as she glanced at the clock that read 8am. "Who am I kidding, this is Tails," she reminded herself; sighing in annoyance that she forgot how much Sonic's younger brother isn't much of a morning person. His habit of staying up way late tinkering usually causing him to be grouchy and irritable until at least 10am.

About to give up and try again later she was surprised when he answered, his voice a little breathless. "Tails' workshop?" the young Kitsune answered with a tinge of formality.

"Hey Tails, its Amy, Did I wake you?" she asked, relief flooding her body that she was finally able to voice what was going on.

"Oh hey, Amy! No, I was already up. In-fact I haven't been to bed yet. I've been working on my latest invention all night. What's up, do you want Sonic?"

YES!

That's what she wanted to say. Of course she wants Sonic; it's her life's greatest desire. It's been tamed and matured since she was a teen, but it never went away. Just grew to the point of often leaving her emotionally swept away just by being around him. It's not as though their fleeting kiss they shared a month before hasn't made those feelings sharpen to the point of blades against her heart. He was the one who kissed her after-all! Ever since she's been in a whirlwind of confusion and hope. Because now she's had a taster of what could be and it's damn near driven her crazy with wonder.

In-between the minor freak-outs of her intruder any-way.

But this time she knew it was Tails who could help her more. He must have some way of alarming her house, keeping surveillance or just plain catching the intruder in his workshop of doohickeys. When she told him it was he who could help her he sounded surprised. "Me? Um, OK, shoot, what do you need?"

Biting her lip nervously, Amy swallowed once before answering. "Tails, I'm pretty sure I have an intruder coming in to my house - "

"WHAT?"

Pulling the phone away from her ear, Amy winced at the bellow that sounded suspiciously like Sonic down the handset. "I - Sorry Amy, what did you say?" Tails' irritated voice came back to the phone and Amy sighed annoyed, the lack of sleep catching up to her.

"I said I've been getting an intruder in my home, it's been happening for a couple of weeks now but I just brushed off the little things, made up rational explanations for them," she laughed nervously, ignoring the small crack to her voice she was sure Tails had heard. "Except last night they came in my room and were on my bed. I, I don't know what to do so - "

"Sonic, wait!" Tails yelled, cutting Amy off.

"Tails, what is going on over there?" she snapped impatiently. After-all it wasn't like she wasn't bearing her soul to him for help or anything. Before she got an answer out of him though there was a rapid fire knocking on her front-door that made Amy jump and then relax again. There was no mistaking who that person was. She should've guessed he'd been eavesdropping over the phone. "Never mind; I'll call you back, Tails." Amy told the younger Mobian, finishing the call before Tails foggy mind could catch up with what she'd said.

The rapid knocking was getting more persistent and louder as Amy approached the front door, throwing off the locks. Once it swung open Sonic the Hedgehog came barrelling in, took one quick sweep of the living room as if he was expecting the intruder to be there right then before resting his eyes on Amy. Again he gave her a sweep of his eyes before reaching out and grabbing her by the shoulders in a grip so tight Amy flinched a little.

"Are you OK?" Sonic's question was laced with so many different under-tones Amy didn't know what to do other than nod her head and stumble back as Sonic let her go. "I heard everything. Why haven't you said anything?" Sonic babbled, pacing back and forth in front of Amy in a way that almost made her dizzy, his rapid questions coming one after the other. Sure Sonic can be protective of his friends, sometimes, mostly Amy more than the others. But all Amy could do was gape at him as he vented his own clear frustration.

Eventually her very fraught patience wore thin as she placed her hands on her hips and stared him down into submission.

"Good morning to you too, Sonic. Would you like some breakfast?" she asked mock-politely, turning away from the blue blur and heading towards the kitchen whether he chose to follow her or not.

Wincing Sonic watched the pink hedgehog he was rapidly falling harder and faster for walk away from him. Since their kiss he hasn't really known what to do with himself when he's around her. It might not have been spoken about between the two of them, but they haven't avoided each other either. It just made each meeting between them, especially when alone, a super charged thrill that both excited and terrified him to his core. More than once since their first Sonic has wanted to kiss her again, for much longer - to feel that incredible feeling again he got the moment her lips touched his. He didn't understand himself why he hadn't yet.

Sitting at her kitchen table Sonic watched her fix breakfast as if she hadn't just dropped a bomb on him that had made his anger rear its ugly dark head, or his heart stutter to a stop in his chest at the sheer implications of what she was saying.

They ate in silence though the pink hedgehog mostly just pushed hers around her plate, mechanically taking the odd bite here and there. Half the time it was like she was unaware Sonic was sitting beside her as he watched her closely, upset to see the tell-tale signs of her crying with the dark circles under her eyes. This is really messing her up, he thought to himself, frustrated again that she hadn't said anything or that he hadn't noticed something wasn't right with her.

Though she hid it well, he smiled reluctantly.

"Come on Ames, spill," Sonic quietly coaxed, hating the twisting in his chest at seeing his bubbly, happy and beautiful pink Rose looking so down and unhappy. He ended up sitting back in his chair as he listened to her reel off the little things she had noticed over the last couple of weeks, the strain to her voice telling him just how tired she was by it all. Sonic did a damn fine job of stamping down on his flare of anger at whoever had the nerve to enter Sonic's girl's house uninvited, let alone her bedroom!

Once Amy was all talked out she sat back with a sigh, exhaustion plaguing her every movement. It didn't go unnoticed by Sonic.

"We'll get this sorted out, Amy. I'm the fastest hedgehog alive," he winked with a smirk, pleased as punch when he earned a sincere smile back from Amy. "If something sneaks in to your house tonight they won't be getting past me. I'll look after you," His smile dimmed down to one of reassurance and genuine care as he unconsciously reached across the table and squeezed her hand in his. The shockwaves to his body at the feel of her skin in his almost sucked the breath from his lungs, not for the first time. And although it wasn't normally something he would do, he couldn't seem to make himself pull away either. In-stead they stayed there in a fixed connection, neither looking away.

Squeezing his hand back, the first to look away Amy smiled. "Thank you, Sonic. I appreciate it."

"That's what friends are for!" Sonic blurted, inwardly wincing the moment it passed his lips. But it was either lost on Amy due to her tiredness, or she just wasn't as bothered hearing that term anymore. Sonic didn't want to look too closely at the latter. "Go get some sleep; you'll never make it to tonight otherwise. I'm not going anywhere."

Dragging her body out of the chair, Amy silently disappeared from the kitchen and left Sonic to finish her untouched pancakes, the long wait for the evening settling in.

xXx

By the time night came and Amy went about her usual routine getting ready for bed, her nerves were rattling again. Partly due to what might come and a lot to do with having Sonic the Hedgehog spend the entire day in her house, the sizzling tension between them frying her brain on more than one occasion. She was almost relieved to be heading to her room by herself, leaving the intensity between them back with Sonic in the living room, where he was sitting in darkness, not wanting to let the intruder know he was there.

They knew there was a chance whoever was breaking in already knew he was. But it was a chance they were willing to take if it meant Amy didn't have to experience the same thing she did the night before. So she slipped into another restless, fitful sleep with her hero down the hall, ready and waiting to protect her.

It was the sound of her bedroom door creaking open slightly that jolted Amy out of her nightmares.

By this point any and all sound was enough to jar her awake with bone-cracking precision. But it was the tall shadow that slipped in through the door after it that made her breathing go haywire again. For a split second Amy forgot Sonic was there protecting her, helping to catch whatever was scaring Amy senseless. In-stead all she saw was the red eyes of her bad dreams and a strangled cry escaped from her lips at precisely the same moment all hell broke loose at the end of her bed.

"Chaos!" Sonic yelped, followed by a thump and the sound of a breathless whoosh. "Gotcha!" he cried triumphantly, before the sounds of a scuffle happened again and a hiss of, "Ow!"

Hearing the sounds of the famous Sonic struggling to subdue and apprehend the intruder to Amy's house, she broke through her fog of terror and flicked her bedside light on, throwing the bedroom into stark relief as she traced the blurred scuffle rolling around on the floor at the end of her bed. Rubbing her eyes Amy blinked once, twice and then just for kicks a third time, trying to make sense of what it was she was seeing. Because really, if she had a camera on her right then she would definitely have been taking shots of this …

Sonic the Hedgehog being over-powered by the small, cute form of a blue Chao.

Amy couldn't help it, it was just too ridiculous a concept that she just burst into laughter. Great big giggles that tore through her slim body making her double over as tears leaked from her eyes like a torrent. This, this is the thing that's been tormenting her for the past two weeks? A sweet, little Chao?! The totally random and completely unexpected culprit was just too much for Amy and she cried so hard she went silent, losing her breath as she collapsed to the bed, still clutching her stomach as it clenched from her laughing so hard.

"So glad to see my protecting you amuses you so much, Ames," Sonic growled from where he was trying to keep the Chao from flying out of his hands.

Just about gaining her breath Amy wiped her eyes clear and sat up, seeing the mess of Sonic's quills and his small grimace of pain where the Chao had bitten him through his gloves. Wincing slightly at how roughed up he looked she gazed at the small Chao in his hands and instantly fell in love. How could anything so small and adorable looking possibly be of any danger?

So convinced by this she was that she got off her bed and approached the little Chao, cooing to it as she approached.

"Did you give Sonic some boo boo's?" Amy slowly reached out; ignoring Sonic telling her it bites - hard. The Chao, instantly recognising the girl he's been 'sharing' a home with simply chirruped at her as it let her scratch it under its chin, the little creature was burrowing into Amy's hand with contentment. If she wasn't a sure-fire goner before, then she was right then. Totally sucked in by the little Chao who had been unknowingly terrorising her all this time. Thinking back Amy could see the connections, even the slight weight on the end of her bed. It had been snuggled on her comforter for safety and reassurance. Amy's heart just about broke from how lonely the poor little creature must be.

Has it been abandoned, she wondered as she took it out of Sonic's struggling hold and let it snuggle against her.

"Oh Sonic, it's so precious!" Amy giggled, the little Chao all but purring.

His jaw dropping at the affectionate display - and maybe a tiny bit jealous of the Chao for being close to Amy in a way he couldn't be - Sonic threw his hands into the air and exclaimed, "Amy, it's been breaking in to your house and scaring you!"

"I know," she yawned, moving back to sit on the bed with the little Chao. "But he's all alone and just wanted some food and warmth. How could I be mad at this little guy for that?" Amy's voice had dropped so low Sonic had to strain to hear it. But that was all it took for him to drop his disbelief - this is Amy after-all, the girl who talked down the Ultimate Lifeform and has more than enough compassion than most people have in their little finger. Of course she would melt at the first sign of any creature's discomfort.

It's just part of what's made him fall for her in the first place.

Smiling at the way she laid down on top of the comforter, her hand barely disguising another yawn, Sonic moved closer to the bed too, his own tiredness starting to seep in. Amy's dazed stare looked up at him from where he stood watching her cuddle the Chao next to her who had fallen straight asleep. With the smallest gesture of her head, she indicated for Sonic to lay down with them.

A few months ago Sonic the Hedgehog would have blushed like mad and run from the room without so much as a, 'Goodnight.' But since their kiss things had definitely shifted; his normal shyness taking more of a back-seat than normal as a little confidence around Amy grew. He still blushed a little as he stretched out on the other side of the Chao, but it wasn't bright enough to shine like a beacon in the dark. Besides, a blush was better than running full-steam to the farthest corner of Mobius to escape his embarrassment.

The little blue creature opened its eyes once to chirrup at him before going back to sleep.

"I think he likes you," Amy whispered sleepily.

"He bit me." Sonic replied with only a hint of annoyance. "But, I guess he's kinda cute."

Locking eyes with Amy, Sonic's hand slowly reached out and let his fingertips touch hers in the slightest contact that sent bolts of lightening throughout his body. Her eyes widened slightly, telling him she had felt it too. How long they would be able to stay locked in their growing emotional connection without succumbing to some kind of physical reaction was anyone's guess. Sonic found he didn't mind the wait this time though. With Amy Rose, any kind of waiting is worth it. Would he be the one to make the first move again or would Amy? Who would give in first?

Grinning a little at the possibilities Sonic closed his eyes just before Amy did, vaguely wondering what they were going to do with her little 'intruder'. That, he decided, they would deal with tomorrow. When he could see how much damage its little biting had done to his hands.

For those few moments in time though they stayed that way on the bed; two hedgehogs and a cheeky, home and heart invading, Chao.