author's note: It's blistering cold outside. But I definitely fell into this with Max (Miles) in mind, so I can't help but dedicate to her. Hoping things are looking up for you by this point. You'll always be warmest at your very core.
disclaimer: No profits being made.

temperature
written by: kaz miller

chapter 1 - holistic healing

"Yikes! I really underestimated the cold today," a rosy-cheeked hedgehog said to herself, trudging through the snow in her adorable winter boots. Amy Rose just completed the last bit of her grocery shopping before Station Square's anticipated "storm of the century." The weather reports insisted that it would be a big one and urged residents to stay inside. Instead of being afraid of the potential boredom, she would relax, drink hot chocolate, and catch up with all her soap operas during this time…it would be marvelous!

As always, her thoughts drifted to her dreamy, blue hero. They always seemed to find their way to him. She wondered what he would do since she knew he hated staying still in one place for too long. It wasn't likely that he would enjoy soap operas with her either, but a girl could dream. He always found a way to infect even her most juvenile thoughts. But she didn't mind so much—the thought of him always brought a pleasant smile to her face and warmth to her numb cheeks. The sun just began to rapidly set, and she suspected it would be dark by the time she reached her apartment door. Just three more long blocks.

A few minutes of snow-trudging passed and a striking blue against the white was caught her peripheral vision. It was her favorite shade of blue, so naturally she decided to observe the item a little closer. Was it a nice piece of discarded furniture? Who could throw away such a thing? It was almost as blue as…

"Sonic?" Amy cried as she ran over to the edge of the sidewalk where the blue hedgehog was face down in the otherwise pristine blanket of snow. His almost resnowed sneaker-prints led straight to where his body lay from the main sidewalk. What on earth was he doing?

He seemed to have sort of melted in, and she shivered when it looked reminiscent of a bonafide murder scene (sans the blood). She promptly dropped her bags and pulled him out of the snow pile with all her might. She did not like what she saw. He was out cold, no pun intended. She shook him violently.

"Oh no! Sonic! Are you OK? Say something, please!"

His eyes fluttered partially open, flinging snowflakes from the creases of his nearly frozen features. Sonic started shivering the minute his body detected movement. He instinctively wrapped his numb arms around his core, realizing that someone had been helping him up. It hurt to move. A pair of incredibly concerned emerald eyes came into view amidst the white haze of winter. He recognized that bright pink exterior and sugar sweet scent anywhere.

"A-Amy...?"

"Goodness gracious!" Amy yelped whipping the beautiful, red winter coat off of her back and slinging it over his back. "You're so pale! You might have hypothermia! You're coming with me. Not taking no for an answer," she commanded as she grabbed one of his arms and flung it behind her head. "Come on. Keep moving. Hold on."

"Where..." he droned through his cold-induced stupor.

"We're going home—not too far! Speed it up, fastest thing alive."

It was painful, but he was reacting more to the urgency in the pink hedgehog's words than her bossy instructions. He couldn't remember what he was doing earlier. Just how long had he been out?

"You passed out after trying to run through the city like an idiot," Amy explained softly. She had him sitting on her plush couch with a cup of hot cocoa on her coffee table. He was clutching a ridiculously bright yellow thermal blanket that she draped over his shoulders. She didn't even let him take off his socks before she shoved his feet into a bucket of hot water. He was too exhausted to holler in pain. It was better than the frostbite, after all.

He sneezed loudly.

"Thank goodness your spikes are long enough that they were poking out of the snow like that!" she continued. "It looks like it snowed at least an inch after you fell face-first into the pile!"

Sonic shivered in response as he lowered his head. He found it hard to believe that he would let himself succumb to his little cold from earlier, despite the fact that each and every one of his joints were aching. And his head was spinning. And his vision blurring. And his ears freezing. And his body uncontrollably trembling...the tips of his fingers burned as they adjusted to the room temperature of her cheery apartment. He did not like this one bit.

"I'll be fine," he said defiantly. He was miserable.

"Oh no you don't!" Amy quickly stood and pushed him down onto her couch as he tried to get up. It was almost like watching a baby bird trying to learn to fly. Adorable, but absolutely pathetic. The blue hedgehog mustered a frustrated and incredulous frown.

"Come on," Sonic protested tiredly. "It's not like I haven't been sick before. I'll be fine," he repeated as he tried to lift himself up again. She grabbed his wrist firmly, partially to stop him from treading more water on her already ruined carpet. Sonic didn't fully understand why he was always surprised by her persistence.

"No way, buddy," Amy said in an unyielding tone. "To the bed. It could've been worse if I didn't find you."

He could barely make it off of the couch. She kneeled down to remove his damp socks and pushed him to her bedroom.

This was going to be a long night.

"You stay here. Get under the covers and hand me that yellow one. You need to warm up. I'm making you some noodle soup right now!" she winked at him and shut her room door to try to preserve as much warmth in there as possible. The irritable hedgehog slumped in his caretaker's pink, comfortable and fuzzy bed. He sneezed again, the pressure feeling like a vice on his skull.

Sonic knew he never had it this bad before. After a couple of moments, he couldn't decide if he was sweltering or freezing. The blue speedster's body just kept shaking, but he just felt so darned hot. His mouth pursed with absolute displeasure with his nervous system's indecisiveness. Before he knew it, his eyes slid closed against his will as his head drooped. Just two seconds of shut eye and off I go...

The pink hedgehog came in soon after she left. Her hasty entrance jolted him awake. He wondered how long it took him to get his wits about him. She lifted his head up.

"Drink this," she said as she placed the bowl on her bed. He had one leg hanging over as if he were ready to jet at any given moment. The steam from the soup looked a lot more comforting than the darker sky and heavy blankets of snow that lined her window sill.

"Um…thank you," Sonic barely got out, throat burning. "Can I go after this?"

"Uh, no! Where are you gonna go in this blizzard?" she pouted, placing her hands on her hips. "You need to rest."

"It's not even snowing that badly," Sonic said. "I'll take some medicine or something and I'll be good as new, right?" Amy shook her head and wagged her finger as Sonic sat back a bit. Was she going to keep him hostage?

"I recently got into this whole holistic healing stuff. It's like magic!" Amy grinned, swaying from side-to-side excitedly. Sonic tilted his heavy head.

"So that means…no medicine."

"Exactly! Just rest, relaxation, and love!" she beamed.

"I am outta here," he declared, forcing himself out of bed. He picked up the warm bowl of soup and placed it on her nightstand, ignoring the fact that the bowl's warmth felt undeniably pleasant in his cold hands. Instead of stopping him this time, the pink hedgehog folded her arms across her chest and left him to his own devices. Her skeptical eyes followed his every feeble movement as they both exchanged disapproving glares. Sure, everything was spinning for the blue hedgehog, but...he wasn't going to...let...that stop...

Amy caught him before he stumbled at her room door's entrance. She could feel his whole body shaking violently after he shut his eyes despite his tense efforts to control it. She almost felt sorry for him, but knew she had to continue being stern to curb his reckless behavior.

"Bed," she simply said. Sonic just went limp in her arms and groaned in defeat.

Amy brought in a small table to put the bowl of soup on this time. The pink hedgehog was suddenly afraid he'd burn himself. She realized soon after that she was going to have an awesome week—Sonic would be over, influenza and all! And she would be the one to nurse him back to health! It would be glorious. She hummed a little tune to herself while Sonic raised his brow. What could she possibly be so happy about? He sneezed.

Sonic fidgeted when she placed her hand on his forehead. His fever returned, which thankfully meant no more hypothermia. Sonic didn't like her concerned reaction. Surely he wasn't going to die?

"Calm down, sicky," Amy teased as her expression eased up. "You're not going anywhere until you're 110%. Now eat your soup. You'll need something in your stomach—and I made it a little spicy since I know you like it that way."

Sonic pouted, and he quickly learned that he could become quite childish when restrained. But Amy was also very stubborn. He lifted one of his crossed arms to scratch the side of his foggy head. He had to find some sort of excuse up there.

"Where are you going to sleep tonight? All I'm going to do is germify your bed and then it'll be a vicious cycle of flu, right?"

"I have a very comfortable couch in the living room," Amy answered. "But I'll be fine! As long as you get better."

Sonic sighed and he took a sip of the soup. It was good, but he had no appetite. Amy did feel bad for him. It was like he wasn't used to being down for the count. He was always on the move, she knew, so maybe he was just taking this a lot harder than any "normal" sick person would…

"You don't have to eat it all if you don't want to," she said gently, lifting her commanding demeanor. She just had to make sure that he didn't suffer the effects of hypothermia before she could finally relax. Who knows what could've happened if no one else found him? Sonic seemed a lot more sleepy now, even though she knew that he was not all that hungry to begin with.

He opened his mouth to say something, but instead lay back in her bed again out of sheer exhaustion. His body was definitely fighting the battle as his labored breathing suggested. His forehead and neck were now dripping with sweat and he had absolutely no more energy to protest anymore. He figured that if he rested a little bit, he could...resume...tomorrow...

His eyes closed without inhibition for the third time that day. He might not've been ready to shut down, but his body sure was. He quickly succumbed to a dreamless slumber of recovery.

"Finally," Amy whispered to herself triumphantly. "He's sleeping! He's going to wake up in a few hours with that fever, I'm sure," she said as she gently laid a cool towel on his burning forehead. "I'll make sure he's OK..."

Not too much later, the pink hedgehog heard the involuntary moaning again. Poor thing. She couldn't help but grin as she poked her head through her bedroom door. She could get used to this.

"Sonic," she sang. "You're awake!"

He opened one eye to look at her. He was frustrated because he hardly felt any better than he did a couple of hours earlier. Thankfully, he stopped shaking. That was tiresome in itself. His eyes started to close again before they shot wide open.

She snuggled up against him once she entered her bedroom. Now that his fever was lowering, he needed as much cuddle heat as possible. Sonic felt his heart begin to pound without mercy at Amy's proximity.

"H-hey! What are you doing? You're gonna get sick!" he exclaimed, trying to mask his utter embarrassment. On the bright side, it was the most alert he'd been since she found him.

"No I won't," Amy replied, rubbing against his cheek. "My immune system is invulnerable."

"What does that even mean?" Sonic struggled out of her grasp.

"The holistic healing, I tell ya! And this is part of it—close contact with another person. You're just going to start shaking again if I don't do this," she smiled sweetly at him. The mischievous look in her eyes suggested otherwise. He had to snap himself out of staring at her in what he convinced himself was disbelief.

"I hate this," Sonic admitted to the ceiling, his phrase coming out like more of a whine than he wanted it to. "N-not you, I mean. Just the not feelin' so great…" Amy smiled sympathetically, pulling away from him.

"I know you don't like feeling helpless. But even the strongest of heroes get sick sometimes," she said, gently stroking between his ears.

"Why this now?" he asked, giving in. She was right—he didn't like feeling so helpless, but dang it—this felt really good. Her attempts at soothing him were working. He quit tensing up and relaxed at her command.

"You've gotta calm down," Amy stated plainly. "You'll never recover if you keep being all riled up. You want to get out of here, don't you?"

A couple of hours earlier, he would have said yes without hesitation. Her alarm clock read a few minutes to midnight, and he could see the heavy flakes falling outside even in the black of the city's night. The dreaded blizzard-of-the-ages must have begun. He swallowed painfully and looked back at her to answer.

"You'll get better in no time," she said sweetly as she touched her forehead to his. The worst of his fever was over. He blinked at her as she pulled away.

"Now try and get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning?"

"All right, Amy..." Sonic sighed with exhaustion as opposed to exasperation this time. "Good night...and thanks. For everything. I don't think I said it before."

"It's my pleasure! Anything for you, Sonic," she said genuinely. "Sleep well," she said as she grabbed her pajamas and closed the door gently behind her. He could hardly believe to this moment that another individual could be so...dedicated to him. He exhaled deeply and let his head fall bank against her pillow. How could someone think so highly of him even when he was at his worst?

He was out like a light.

The pink hedgehog woke up relatively early the next morning. She could have slept in on this day, but the bright outside of her living room window was beckoning her to observe the huge, white beauty. The plowing would be an absolute nightmare as the snow was still falling despite piling on over 10 inches overnight. On the bright side, Station Square was definitely the poster city for a "winter wonderland."

She pressed her face against the window to take it all in. She then quickly remembered what really had her excited to begin with. Sonic was here! He was sick, but he was here. Stifling her squeal out of fear of waking him up, she gently tip-toed to her bedroom door. Opening it slowly, she saw the blue hedgehog fast asleep under her pink covers. The juxtaposition of his boyish figure amongst her feminine spreads was enough to make her giggle.

Amy loved watching him sleep. She didn't know why, but seeing him so relaxed and harmless compared to his generally action-packed demeanor brought a warm sensation to her core. She ran her finger down the side of his face. It was a gentle enough action, but the blue hedgehog's eyes fluttered open. The rosette smiled because even though she thought he was adorable asleep, there's nothing more she loved than those bright, green eyes of his.

"Amy?" he croaked. He couldn't tell right away when she was near because the whole room was saturated with her pleasant strawberry scent—it was her mutual warmth that gave him the clue.

"How are you feeling?" she asked softly. "It feels like your fever's finally broken."

"I do feel a little better, thanks," Sonic replied, inhaling deeply. He then tried to shuffle out from underneath the covers with a strange sort of haste, but his body still ached terribly. The minute the air touched his skin, he began shivering. "Ugh..."

"I know you're not feeling your best Sonic, but if there's something you need, I can get it for you..." Amy said sympathetically, pitying his weak attempts at moving around. She was incredibly glad he didn't succumb to the hypothermia like she initially feared. The seemingly perpetual snowfall outside began picking up even more.

"Ah..." Sonic felt his face grow warm. It actually wasn't something she could help him with. "I'm actually about to go..."

"What? Go where?" Amy asked with disbelief, oblivious to his plight. She stood her ground in front of him as a deep frown came across her features. Surely he wasn't still thinking of going back outside in that awful blizzard!

"You know..." he mumbled as he avoided eye contact, swinging his legs and placing them on the floor. She continued to frown at him while her eyes narrowed before her features relaxed to that of realization.

"O...oh!" Amy covered her mouth. "Well, go on right ahead! Don't let me stop you! Move along!"

Sonic grunted in response and made his way out of the bedroom. She stood there, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

"Yeesh. Whoda thunk it? I guess I'd better whip up something warm for the both of us..."

Sonic since returned to the pink hedgehog's bedroom since the positively mortifying encounter with his caretaker. He was incredibly thankful to the girl, however. Now that he was more cognizant, he was trying to remember what he was doing in Station Square before the blizzard. He definitely knew it was coming. And that running in the snow always sucked. Amy found him and dragged her to her home. Perhaps he was…

"Sonic, I made some porridge for breakfast!"

"Blegh. That doesn't sound very appetizing," he said rudely. "I'm gonna hurl."

"Oh, excuse me," Amy responded menacingly, hand on her hip. He flinched. Hammers could come flying out at any time.

"You wouldn't hurt a sick 'hog, would you?" he tried to spin as a joke when he was in fact nervous as heck.

"We'll see about that..." she smiled, not being able to resist his awful charm. At least he was getting better. He tried to figure out what her likely decision would end up being. "Anyhow, as you can see, we've been totally snowed in," she said as she pulled up a chair next to him. "Which means you're not going anywhere today, either."

"Wonderful."

"Don't worry, though! It'll be fun. I'm going to show you what it's like to let your body do all the work," she said brightly. "You're doing so much better already!"

"If you say so," Sonic started, leaning back. "Not to be rude or anything, but I really don't have the appetite for...porridge. Blegh."

Amy's thoughts drifted back to the pleasant reverie she had just the day prior of being snowbound with Sonic during the blizzard. She was tickled pink(er than usual) when she realized how much it blossomed into a semi-reality. She was going to make the best of this situation. No doubt about it!

"Er...are you even listening, Ames?" Sonic wondered aloud. Judging by the farway look in her eyes, it was going to be a long day...