SONIC

Man, that last battle was a doozy. I don't often doubt myself, as I always get out of stuff okay. Tussles with Egghead? No problem. Intergalactic battles vs. aliens? Been there. Time travel? Old news.

This time though - dunno what happened. Egghead had really stepped his game up, or somethin'. Maybe I'd received one too many smacks from that giant robot of his, and those thrashings against the ground had left me bruised all over. Every part of me hurt, and not just the normal after-battle soreness - I messed myself up somehow. Not sure exactly how, as I'd need to get home and do some self-checkup.

Couldn't let anyone know, though. I'd simply given a thumbs up as I waved bye to Tails, Amy, and Knuckles to go on my way. I figured I'd just have to get my legs pumping again and run off the pain, but I found I couldn't keep moving without burning, shooting pain all over. Each step felt like my legs were on fire, like my bones were cutting into my bruised skin. And when I tried to go faster to get home quicker, it just increased the pain.

I made it inside my house, nearly collapsing as I closed the door behind me. Darn, this really hurt. I rubbed my legs as if I could erase the pain from my aching calves. All I wanted to do was sit down and take a nap, but the pain kept me from relaxing - my mind was wired. It kinda goes without saying that I'm not used to being hurt. My injuries typically healed pretty quickly, and I could usually run them off. But the thought of running right now just reminded me of how much it hurt just to come here. What am I supposed to do?

A knock on the door made me jump as I was pulled from my musings.

"Sonic?"

I sighed as I recognized the voice behind the door. I didn't want her to see me like this - Amy looked up to me as a hero, and her faith in me kept me going most days. For her to see me as weak would ruin all that.

"Not now Ames, not a good time."

"Please let me in."

Better see what she wants; besides, she was stubborn as a mule and could break the door down without even trying. I winced as I limped over to the door. I forced a smile onto my face as I opened up, leaning against the frame to ease my pain.

"Hi - "

"You're hurt."

It was a statement, non-negotiable. The bold girl pushed right past me to let herself in, and immediately looked me up and down. Her pretty lips turned into a frown.

"Oh, that Eggman, he really got you this time…" she continued to pout. Her hands started to reach for my arms, but I jumped back, trying not to cry out from the shock of pain electrifying my lower half as I landed. My knees buckled for just a half second.

Of course, she noticed. She always did. "Oh my gosh, you're limping, Sonic, let me help - " She reached for me again, but I pulled back, raising my arms.

"Ames, I'm fine, really. Just a bruise. I'll just shake it off and be back to normal in no time!" I gave her my trusty wink and thumbs-up combo that made her squeal everytime.

...almost everytime. Her hands fell to her hips and she scowled at me. "You're not fine! Look at you! You can barely stand! And you're bleeding too. Oh, Sonic…"

I looked at the ground and just now noticed the trail of blood on the floor. I noticed a few red patches on my legs, and some cuts decorated the bruises that lined my arms.

"Just a scratch, Amy." I shrugged dramatically, but she was having none of it.

"Here let me get some ice! And I'll get some alcohol for those cuts, and some bandages - " she took off in a fury to gather supplies.

"No, no, you worry too much - ahhhhh! " I tried to follow her into the kitchen but let out a yelp as my legs protested my speed.

"What was that?" She peeked from behind the freezer door to scowl at me again, but her expression softened when she met my eyes. "You really need to be more careful."

"I'm plenty careful," I said as I limped into the kitchen. Amy was digging around in my freezer, gathering up some ice cubes into a towel.

"No, you're reckless. You don't take care of yourself enough. So that's why I'm here, Sonic." She gave me a sudden sweet smile. "To help you feel better. Now, go sit down and put this on your legs. I'll go get some bandages."

There was no point in arguing with this girl once she made up her mind. I took the frozen towel from her with a small pout and some reluctance.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow," I grumbled as I made my way to the couch. I let out a gasp as I finally took the weight off my legs.

"You okay?" Amy shouted from another room.

"Yeah, doesn't hurt at all!" I laid the large ice pack against both of my legs. It felt both more painful from the cold, yet relieving as it numbed the soreness. I laid back and closed my eyes, letting my quills soften as well. I opened one eye to look at my arms again - they were still bleeding, leaking bright red liquid onto my furniture. Oh well.

Amy came into my living room a moment later, carrying an armful of everything from my bathroom.

"Ames, all that's not necessary - "

"Are you kidding? This is barely enough. These are the only supplies you have? I didn't even see painkillers."

I shrugged and rolled my eyes as Amy let her armload fall onto a tray. She organized it quickly and sat next to me.

"I don't need painkillers. I can handle this; it's nothing."

The girl just smiled as she began pouring alcohol onto a cotton pad. "While I'm flattered you're acting macho to impress me - "

"Uh, what? I am not!" I protested, pulling back from her.

"...if you want to, you can hold my hand and squeeze it as much as you want to deal with the pain."

"No way," I said immediately, a bit harsher than I meant it. I knew she just wanted to hold my hand, I wasn't about to let her get ideas.

"Fine. Then stay still. This is gonna sting," she scolded and then gently grabbed ahold of my wrist to steady my arm. I noticed just how small and delicate her hand was as it clasped mine - how could such small hands hold so much strength? It was so warm, too, as her thumb gently caressed my wrist. Maybe holding her hand wouldn't be so bad. I looked over at her with a raised eyebrow and immediately noticed her blush. But before I could comment to tease her, more choice words exited my mouth.

"Sonofa-" I clamped down on my tongue and lower lip as painful stings that felt more like electricity raced down my arms. Amy was rubbing the cleaning alcohol over me. I twitched my wrists but Amy held onto me firmly.

"I told you it would sting. Hold still."

"Argh," I winced, closing one eye as the antiseptic liquid filled each and every one of my scrapes.

"So what made you think running into the robot the same way over and over again was a good idea?" Amy asked. She'd let go of my wrist to instead wrap my arms with clean bandages, and I had to admit I missed having her hand so close to mine.

"It wasn't the same way over and over. I was chipping away at it. You guys were taking too long." I frowned, trying not to pay too much attention to how close she was, how good it felt as she gently tended to my wounds. I could totally get used to nurse Amy… I had to cut my thoughts off from getting too weird…

"Why are you blushing, Sonic?" She suddenly demanded, her adorable green eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Nothin', no reason!" I protested, surprised at how flustered I was. These jumpy feelings were odd, and I didn't like them. Amy was the only one who could make me feel this way - anxious and not my typical ultra-confident self.

"It's okay, I know you love being so close to me," she grinned, and I said nothing. No way I was admittin' she was right. She finished up wrapping the bandage around my bruised bicep and gave it a cute little pat.

"There we go. Now, your other arm." Amy stood up to make her way to my other side.

I internally cursed, and adjusted the ice on my legs. I could hardly feel them now. Now if only I could get an icepack to calm my heart down. As she went to work mopping up my blood and gently massaging my bruises, it took every bit of me not to stare at her. She looked so concentrated as she cared for me, even gently biting at her lip and sticking her tongue out just a bit. I had to watch her out of the corner of my eye, silently observing her cheeks tinting a darker pink. She was so pretty, despite her disheveled quills and her own scuffs and bruises. She'd been in the fight too, but instead of tending to herself she came right to me. Maybe I'd been a bit annoyed earlier that she'd butted into my house, but I had to admit it was nice to be cared for. I'd been really hurtin' earlier and now my pain was diminishing by the minute. She was so caring and sweet - I'd been in a pickle earlier, wondering how to take care of myself, and Amy had come at just the right time. What would I do without her?

"What is it?" She'd paused to look at me, her blush deepened.

Oh - I'd been actually staring. Crap crap crap. Think of something, quick - "I-I, A-amy, I noticed you, um, you're hurt too!"

I pointed to her arms, and the bloodstains on her dress. Had those been from my cuts? Wait, there was more blood running down her arms and back - where was it all coming from? I'd been so distracted by her face and how she was making me feel, I hadn't noticed just how beat up she was.

I leaped up, ignoring the shock of protest from my legs and undoing the bandaging she'd begun on my left arm. I had to get a better look at her - my eyes flew open. The back of her dress was torn open thanks to a large laceration that was oozing blood. She hadn't even attempted to tend to it. She didn't even take care of herself or patch up any of her wounds, she'd just come straight to me.

"Ames, you're hurt bad!"

"Sonic, stop, sit back down. I'm okay. Don't worry about me." She turned around so I was facing her front, and pointed me back to the couch.

I swiveled my head again to stare at her wound that cut deeply across her shoulder blades. "How can I not, you're bleeding - " I felt terrible, laying back like a prince while she waited on me, and I hadn't even considered she might be hurting, too.

"I'm not hurt that bad, I'll be fine."

"Hey, if you wouldn't let me get away with that, I can't let you either." I took the rubbing alcohol and bandages from her, and it was my turn to point at the couch. "If you think I'm gonna let you do stuff for me and not repay it, you don't know me very well." I tapped my foot in impatience.

Amy just shook her head. "No, Sonic, stop. I didn't have time to fix myself up, but I will later. You're more important."

"I'm not more important, Amy. I don't want you to be hurtin' on account of me."

"But I had to come help you. You don't have anyone to take care of you, and you won't take care of yourself. So I had to. And I don't mind, really."

I sighed. "But then, who's gonna take care of you?"

She didn't respond and instead looked at the floor. "I can take care of myself. You, on the other hand, cannot." Her eyes met mine again. "You're always getting hurt and being so careless with your safety. Someone has to watch out for you, and I'd like to do it. For you. If you'll let me."

More guilt struck me. It was true I wasn't used to tending my own wounds, but the last thing I wanted was for Amy to sacrifice her own well-being and safety for me. I couldn't get her to stop chasing after me and running head-first into danger. I couldn't get her to stop worrying and fawning over me.

But here was where I drew the line.

"Look, if you're so stubborn about taking care of me, why don't you let me return the favor? You take care of me, and I'll take care of you. Sound like a deal?" I offered her a warm smile.

We were at a stand-still for a few seconds, before Amy finally gave in. She had to bite back a smile, but her sparkling eyes betrayed her. "Oh Sonic, you really are my hero…"

She sat down cross-legged on my couch, her back to me. I hesitated before applying the antiseptic, knowing first hand how much it hurt, but I had to stop the bleeding. She'd already lost so much. The last thing I wanted was to hurt Amy, but this had to be done.

"Hey," I said, my voice soft. "I know this is gonna hurt, so, you wanna, uh, you know…" It was suddenly hard to talk, but I swallowed and pushed the words out. "Hold my hand?"

I offered her my left glove, and she turned her neck to smile at me before grasping at my fingers. Once again, her gentle strength astounded me. Even beneath her gloves I could tell how soft her hand was. We'd never actually held hands like this before, had we? Our fingers weren't quite intertwined, but her thumb caressed my palm.

Ah, I was getting distracted. I took a deep breath and then gently, carefully applied the soaking bandage to her back. Amy's body immediately convulsed from the pain. She didn't yell out though, but instead clamped on my hand like a vice grip. Yes, definitely stronger than she appeared.

"Ow," she finally let out a small whimper as I mopped up the blood from her shoulder blades. I followed it up with some cream ointment thing, and then clean gauze to seal up the wound. I kept my hands gentlemanly, despite her ripped open dress. Then again I only had one hand to work with, as she was clutching the other one so tightly it was probably purple under my glove.

"There," I muttered. "Your dress is in bad shape but I think this is the best we can do with this wound for now. It still looks pretty nasty. Want me to take you to the hospital?"

"Nah, you're all the help I need." She turned around to look at me, her eyes clouded with dreaminess. "Thanks Sonic. You really are my hero."

It warmed my heart when she said that to me; it'd never get old. Still, I merely shrugged my shoulders as I put down the supplies. "Ah, no biggie - it's the least I could do for ya."

I was suddenly very aware that she was still holding my hand as she raised it up to her face. What was she doing? I was frozen to the spot, yet my face and ears felt so warm. My hand was next to join in the warmth, as Amy rose it even higher before planting a soft kiss on my knuckles. She followed it up with several more pecks on the back of my hand before releasing it - but I kept it right where she'd left it, unable to move. My head was in a daze from the feel of her soft lips. Soft skin, soft lips - was any part of this girl not soft and sweet and wonderful?

"Oh, did you still wanna hold my hand, Sonic?" she giggled and took it in hers again, this time letting our fingers intertwine. For the second time today I felt sparks race up my arm - but pleasurable this time, not painful from my wounds. I swear, the only part of me that had moved in the past few minutes was my heart - and lemme tell ya, it was beating up a storm.

"Oh it's so easy to get you flustered, you're adorable."

"Stop it," I protested, turning aside to hide my red muzzle. "Any other part of you hurting? That I can help with?" I asked the wall I was staring at.

"My hammer arm is a bit sore, but I think it's just bruised, so not much we can do there." I risked a peek back at her, and sure enough, her right arm was gashed and bruised dark purple.

"Darn. Lay off the hammering for a bit. Guess you'll have to rest up," I said with a wince, as my legs were starting to ache again. Hopefully they healed quickly, because I was not about to sit around all day - I had places to go.

"Hmm, you don't happen to have a spare dress in your closet for me, do you?" Amy asked, frowning as she pawed at her torn outfit.

I chuckled. "You know I do, lemme go check - " I let go of her hand and raced towards my room, only to let out a yelp at the sudden force I'd put on my legs. They ached in protest, and I had to slow down to what was basically a crawl, and favored my left leg as I walked.

Amy laughed at me. "Aww, you still can't go fast, and you're limping. Heh, you're gonna need a cane soon - you're going to be like 'oh, just gimme a second Eggman… oh, let me get my cane out'," she teased, making a wobbling motion as if holding a cane.

I growled at her indignantly. "Hey! What about you? How will you swing your hammer with that arm how it is?" I mimicked her underhand swing in slow motion, being overly delicate. "Ehhh, I'm just a weak little girl, ehhh."

"That's not how I swing my hammer! Stop it! And I'm not weak." She pouted.

"I know, just teasing. You're the strongest girl I know," I said, and it was worth it to see her face light up from my compliment.

I sat down on the couch with her, and we laughed for a bit more, holding hands nonchalantly. I was glad things had turned out like they did. Despite some of the romantic tension between Amy and I, which I couldn't deny or repress much longer, I was glad we could still be friends. I cared about her a lot, and probably had feelings for her; we both knew that. I was curious about a lot of things, and had felt something magical when she'd kissed my hand. Part of me really wanted to take her out and let her get closer to me. She was one of the few people I trusted and could keep up with my wild lifestyle. If I were to ever have a girl… I had no one else in mind but Amy.

But I still wasn't ready to have a girlfriend. Especially since Amy had reminded me first hand how dangerous it was to be close to me. She was already targeted enough by Eggman and been captured too much. I hated the thought of her getting hurt because of me, and if we were together, official - she'd be targeted even more. I wasn't a fan of having such an obvious weakness to exploit. I'd watch out for her and keep her safe as best I could, but as her boyfriend…? - Just didn't feel right.

"You seem deep in thought," Amy prodded me, squeezing my hand.

"Ah, it's nothin'. Just thinkin' about us."

"Oooh?" She snuggled in closer to me, her eyes huge. I could only imagine all the romantic thoughts and wishes swirling in her brain.

I pulled back, but only a little. "Ames, look, I - I care about you, 'kay? And seeing you like this, beat up and hurt, I just want you to be safe. I know if we were to get closer, you'd only be more at risk, and I can't handle that. I'm not lookin' for anything serious. You understand, right?" I winced, half-expecting her hammer despite her injury.

But she just nodded calmly. "I know, Sonic. I wish we could have more, but it's enough to know you care about me. And that we can share little moments like this one. I just wish it didn't have to come at the expense of us both getting hurt."

"Well, maybe we can spend more time together, if you want. And not in this decrepit state we're in."

She smiled wide. "I'd like that. I am your girlfriend after all - "

"Amy, I just said - "

"Shush," she teased me. "You may not want us to be official, but I know how you really feel. It's okay, Sonic. I wouldn't change you for the world."

And I wouldn't change her, either. I squeezed her hand, and she played with my fingers.

I spoke again. "Seriously - I know I said this before, but take care of yourself, 'kay? I don't like to see you hurting." I frowned at the scar on her back.

"Hmph. Only if you promise to."

"Hmph yourself. You know that's not gonna happen."

"Then I'll just have to keep following you into battle and patching you up afterwards," she said with a wink at me.

I did her one better - a smile and a wink. "And I'll have to keep my eye on you and take care of you, too."

Special thanks to MissEcchi for her ideas in this story!