Set after Sonic X. Sonic and Amy are already together, as are Knuckles and Rouge. Originally meant to be a sequel, but it's blossomed into it's own story. Hope you all enjoy this!

Chapter 1: All Wet

It was one of those days where the rain was just coming down in buckets. Dark clouds eclipsed the sky, causing a sullen mood of depression and uneasiness over an otherwise happy and safe world. Any outdoor plans were canceled in favor of vegging in front of the TV or curling up for a good book. Puddles filled up the streets and turned the otherwise hard ground to squishy mud.

This was why Sonic hated water. Not only was being submerged in water a speed trap, but rain made the ground slippery and made it harder for him to grip the ground when he was running. Not to mention the fact that running in rain made him soaking wet. Lightning flashed across the sky, and Sonic took off across the jagged landscape, trying to catch up with the complementary boom. He loved to race thunder, running right a long with it, listening to the boom until it faded. Thrilling. And the one redeemable thing about rain.

Sonic skidded to a halt when the last roll of thunder was merely an echo in his ears. The lack of friction from the lubrication of the rain made it difficult, and Sonic cursed the whole idea of water under his breath as he tried to take refuge under a tree. Unfortunately, the drops fell right through the canopy of leaves and branches and plopped right onto the hedgehog's already soaked nose, quills, and bright red shoes.

"Just great."

There was no one to complain to but himself, however, and the sudden burst of bigger drops that stung his fur further confirmed Sonic's hunch that it'd be a good time to take some refuge. Letting out another sigh, Sonic changed direction towards the one house that was getting all too familiar for him.

Ah, yes. Amy. Life was sweet now that he'd stopped resisting the girl. She still followed him around but she wasn't clingy. It was probably because she now knew that he really did care for her. She made him happy, and Sonic knew she'd always be there for him, ready to comfort him after a tough fight. Or even just a rainy day.

The familiar chime of the doorbell came as no surprise to the owner of the house in question. Amy put down her book (for the first time in a while, not a romance novel) and bounded up to answer it, knowing full well who it was and that he would not like to be kept waiting any longer than he had to.

Amy opened the door to a shivering, soaking wet blue hedgehog. He was pouting and his ears and quills were drooping, the rain weighing them down as well as Sonic's feelings concerning it.

"Oh, you poor thing!" Amy exclaimed as she backed inside to allow her distressed boyfriend to enter.

Sonic walked into her house, dripping water all over her carpet. "Sorry, Amy."

Amy just hugged him in response. "You're welcome at my house any time, Sonic!"

"Hey, now you're getting wet!" Sonic protested, though he gladly accepted her warm embrace.

"I don't mind the water, if it means I get to hug you. Now, let's get you dried off." Amy disappeared around the corner to grab some towels, leaving Sonic hanging and with nothing to do but inhale to try and detect if she was cooking anything yummy.

Amy's voice echoed from deeper in the house. "I actually expected you to come earlier, as soon as I saw raindrops. I made you some hot cocoa." He knew he smelled something.

Amy appeared again, and Sonic smiled before grabbing the towels to dry himself off. "Hey, thanks."

The pink hedgehog smiled sweetly and disappeared againg into the kitchen to grab a steaming mug. Sonic sat down on her couch to wait and glanced at the TV. News. Since when did Amy watch news?

"See Sonic, this is why you have a girl," Amy told him as she handed him the warm drink and offered an even warmer smile. "So that I can take care of you."

Sonic smiled in return. "You're right." He sipped the cocoa. "Without you I'd be left to standing out in the rain, hoping Tails lets me into his workshop, which isn't likely after the last incident." Sonic paused to chuckle, then continued, "Or just racing thunder."

Amy cocked her head. "Racing thunder?"

"Yeah. It's the only thing that gives me some competition!" he laughed at his own wit, then looked back at Amy. "Maybe I'll take you with me next time…"

"It's a date," Amy said firmly, and sat down next to him. "So…any luck finding the Chaos Emeralds?"

Sonic shook his head. "Nope. We only have 3 in account now. I have two, Knuckles has the other. I was going to look for the rest of them, but it decided to rain, and that gets me in a lazy mood."

A loud roll of thunder halted the conversation. Amy jumped a little, but was steadied by Sonic's sure and loving gaze.

"Where do they all go? The Emeralds, I mean."

Sonic shrugged and downed the rest of the warm drink before setting the empty mug on her coffee table. "They repel each other, I think. I don't know. Tails explained it once but I didn't follow any of it. All I know is that they have a lot of power and we have to keep Eggman from getting them. But who cares about that right now?"

Sonic stretched his long, tan arm around Amy's shoulders, and she cuddled up closer to him, wrapping her own arms around his chest and sinking her nose into his chest fur. She caressed the quills on his back, knowing Sonic liked that, and Sonic kissed the top of her head and her ears. The two hedgehogs cuddled and snuggled for a little bit, and then Sonic readjusted his muzzle to lessen the distance between their lips, ready for some more intense cuddling. His lips were about to meet hers when-

BOOM! The whole house shook, and both hedgehogs jumped apart in alarm until they realized it had just been thunder. Amy let out a breath, and Sonic sat back down. The explosion had propelled him across the room by pure reflex, and he wanted to give Amy comfort again.

"It's okay, Amy." Sonic gathered her into his arms again, loving how she fit so perfectly in there. It was amazing, every day he seemed to be falling more and more in love with this girl. At first he was shy, and not used to being unsure in any situation. Sonic did things fast and impulsively, but Amy had always gave him pause. She was the only thing that caught his eye, made him want to stop and enjoy the roses once in awhile.

Amy sighed as she rested in Sonic's embrace. It seemed to good to be true that he'd finally given in, and was now hers...but it had really happened. He was really getting over his shyness, too, just like she was becoming less clingy. They were growing as a couple, and neither one could be more happy.

Suddenly Sonic's wrist communicator buzzed, breaking their tender moment. He frowned and untangled himself to open it.

"Hello?"

"Team meeting, Sonic. Now." Knuckles' gruff voice and stern expression greeted him, a definite contrast with the cuddle he was in.

"What? Why?"

"Tails noticed something that's a big deal and he wants us all together. And he won't tell us until we're all here."

Sonic glanced out a pink-curtain bordered window at the rain, which hadn't let up a bit. He'd have to run in that again. Wonderful.

"Alright. Amy and I will be there soon." Sonic closed the wrist communicator and sighed. "Well, Amy, looks like we're going on that date sooner than I thought."

"Not a problem. Are you sure you can run out there, though?" Her ever present worry was unmistakable, but Sonic's confidence was unshakable.

"Psh. Of course."

They reluctantly got up from the couch, and Sonic picked Amy up and jetted out the door. The rain pelted them hard, soaking both within only a few seconds. Sonic kept one eye on the sky, searching for a streak of lightning. He figured he had to do this for Amy at least once, and they had time before the others would expect them anyway.

Now shivering, Amy gave Sonic a gentle squeeze. "Forget the thunder, Sonic. We're both soaking wet."

Honestly, Sonic just wanted to get indoors, too, but he also really wanted to run along with the thunder again.

"I thought you didn't mind getting wet." His tone was light and teasing. No surprise there.

"It's you I'm worried about. We're going a million miles an hour and you're about to slip any second." Amy pouted, wincing as she felt Sonic's gait falter a bit. He just never knew when or how to be careful.

"Oh c'mon, Amy. I got this."

All of a sudden, Sonic's feet were slipped out from under him, and both hedgehogs went tumbling to the ground. Sonic tried desperately to break the fall, but his hands were full. They both landed in the mud, although Amy got the worst of it. Sonic realized he was right on top of her, and he jumped off, a little flustered.

"You alright Amy?"

Sonic felt horrible for slipping like that, especially since she'd just warned him about it. And now Amy was covered in mud. Sonic bit his lip, waiting for the hammer to appear, realizing she was probably going to kill him for this. But as he studied her expression in mild fear, Sonic noticed she looked kinda funny with mud smeared on her face.

Amy groaned and looked down at herself. Her favorite red dress was now streaked with a very unlovely brown. Great. She tried to wipe it off, but all that did was rub it in. "Oh…"

An amused chuckle escaped Sonic's lips, but realized his mistake as soon as daggers flew out of Amy's eyes.

"Sonic, it's not funny!" she hissed at him.

"Oh, no, its not," Sonic said, putting his hands up and hoping her hammer stayed put. "I'm sorry. Look, I'm covered in mud, too. I didn't mean to slip-"

"I told you to be careful, but no, you have to go and be a show off and race thunder -" she paused, her eyes suddenly growing wide and losing their anger. "Hey, Sonic, look."

"What?" Sonic turned around, and spied a shiny green Chaos Emerald on the ground about 20 feet away. "O-kay. Nice find, Amy."

Sonic started heading for the Emerald that was embedded in the mud. The rain must have washed it up. It really was odd that these all important Emeralds just randomly showed up in the weirdest places.

A flash of red and purple!

All of a sudden, where the Emerald had been, stood a female purple cat.