"We've looked everywhere, Tails! I just don't know where she could have gone." Sonic huffed as he slowed his run through the vast and greenery filled forest of the Mystic Ruins with Tails following behind him his two tails swishing behind him all the while.

Tails shrugged. "I'm sure she's gotten home safe and sound, Sonic. She just needs some time alone probably."

Sonic sat down on a large, slumped rock embedded at the corner of a low rise creek they stood in.

" I guess."

"Sonic, it's been hours we've searched for her. We should go home. We're doing nothing but making ourselves tired."

"You go on home, Tails."

Tails looked over at Sonic as if he had spoken another language or something though pure English had escaped his lips. "What? What's gotten into you, Sonic?"

Sonic shook his head. "Nothing. I just need time to think."

Tails was about to interject, but seeing the burning determination in Sonic's eyes which were gazing out into space, and from this Tails knew the hero was in deep thought, he simply backed away, and flew himself back to his small workshop near the train station. As he entered, and brushed his teeth with the full intent of going to bed afterward, his phone rang. The young fox went to answer it, and was much surprised by the voice of the caller.

"Amy?" He said, his previously sleepy voice awakening a bit from the surprise.

"Are you alright? You made it home safe?" Tails was honestly worried for her safety, despite his attempts to soothe Sonic's nerves earlier.

"Okay. Good. Son— uh I mean I was real worried about ya." Tails bit his lip for his near slip up. Mentioning the blue hero wouldn't make Amy feel any better, and it might have even caused her to hang up the phone.

"A favor? What kinda favor?" Tails raised an eyebrow. Amy didn't usually ask him to do things, unless it involved him tweaking with something mechanical of hers.

"You can't tell me over the phone? Well, is it that bad?" Tails felt a little nervous honestly. But if it was for a good friend, he couldn't say no.

"Well alright. You just bring whatever it is over here tomorrow, alright? I'll take care of it. Get some sleep, okay? . It's been a long night. For all of us." Tails heard Amy laugh. It made his heavy heart lighten a bit. He was still concerned for her, but hearing her laugh, he remembered she was a strong girl, and would make it through this in no time.

"Goodnight Amy. Seeya tomorrow." And with that, Tails hung up the phone, and headed for his bed for some much needed rest.

xxxxxx

"Save it, Sonic! I've heard this all before, and I was a fool to think you'd actually show up for the date in the first place. Sonic the Hedgehog is just too cool and too busy to spend an entire night with little ole' clumsy and free time having Amy Rose."

Sonic stood still, feeling his eyes lower in guilt and regret, the bright green in his orbs dimming with it. "I… I don't know what to say Amy… Eggman decided to wreak havoc with a few of his robots and I had to go take care of it… it's not like I wanted to not come to meet you, otherwise I wouldn't have agreed to the plans… but I just… what was I supposed to do, Ames? Ignore Eggman's evil plots? Let Station Square be burned down and its citizens in harm's way?"

Amy began to sob again. A few rolled down her cheeks as she stood her hands at her sides balling up into fists as she tried to fight back the tears. But it was to no avail. Sonic noticed this, and took a few steps toward her, his gloved hand reaching out for her.

"Amy… I'm so, so sorry… please don't cry… I promise I'll fix this… I'll make it up to you, I swear I…" He trailed off.

Sonic's eyes stared straight into her own, and she saw his hand reaching for her. Amy couldn't take it. She felt her heart shattering in her chest all over again as he got closer. In desperation, Amy ran past Sonic, and for the door, and out the door she went.

"Amy!" Sonic yelled, and he ran after her.

Amy's words rang through Sonic's head over and over and over again. And her tear-stained face was engraved in his mind. And each time, he felt his heart drop in his chest further. He was surprised his heart was still placed steadily in his chest and beating normally. He had broken the beautiful rose's heart. All in the span of one lone night. He felt terrible to say the least. He felt like a monster. He might as well have been working for Eggman seeing as the kind of pain he had instilled on Amy Rose. Why did he have to go and deal with Eggman the one night they had a date planned? Why hadn't he called Tails? Or Knuckles? Or any of his other pals? They would have been more than happy to help him out given the situation. But for some reason, he heard what was going on, and without so much as a word or a blink, he was off to deal with it. Was he committed to his job as a hero like a husband was to their wife? Probably so. But was that okay when he had friends who loved him and wanted to spend time with him every once in a while? Seeing and hearing Amy's distress all over again, he got a very clear cut "No" of an answer to his question.

"I'm sure she's gotten home safe and sound, Sonic. She just needs some time alone probably."

Sonic wondered if Tails was right. Sonic hoped Amy did get home safe. And he also hoped that some time to herself would help her in hearing him out on his apology and making it up to her. Perhaps it would. But either way all he could do was wait and see. Even so, he felt absolutely horrible. He needed to go somewhere; someplace he could clear his head for a while. Well there was always his apartment in Station Square. He was hardly there and if he was it was only to sleep and then he was back out the door for a run or food or to go deal with Egghead. Maybe it was time he took a chance to breathe and enjoy the city. He got up from the rock and made a run for it out of the greenery infested forest and headed for the city.

xxxxxx

Amy opened up the door to her guest room. "Here you are. I hope you like it." She said, and stepped aside so Metal could enter the room. He walked in, and scanned the room from left to right. There was a full sized bed with cream embroidered sheets and pillows, a window with cream curtains, and a nightstand with a lamp.

"Looks… cozy." He commented.

She smiled. "I know you probably don't sleep, but I figured having a space of your own to relax in would be appropriate."

Metal turned to her. "I can actually enter sleep mode if I wish. I don't have to. But if I wish to, I can."

"And no… don't apologize or explain yourself. Your kindness… I'm not quite used to it, but I do appreciate it. Thank you, Amy."

Amy's smile only grew at this. "It's not a problem."

Amy took a few steps toward the door. "I'm gonna take a bath. Make yourself at home, Metal."

She left the room, closing the door leaving just a cracked just a bit, and headed for her medium sized, pristine bathroom. She ran her bathwater in a lukewarm temperature, and poured a bit of her Rose Garden bubble bath as the water from the running faucet filled the square tub more and more. As it neared close to the top, she turned the faucet off, and took off her clothes, dress first, then her gloves and bracelets, and finally her socks and boots. She removed her headband from her quills and then got into the bubble foaming, lukewarm bath, feeling a sense of relief the moment she lowered herself into the water. She leaned back, laying her head against the cream colored wall, closed her eyes, and began to lather herself in her Rose Garden body wash followed up by rinsing it off with a few splashes of water from the tub. As she does, a memory plays through her mind clearly as when it happened the first time.

Amy was psyched when she saw her speedy blue hero running past her. She was always happy to see him. His very presence filled her heart with a faster tempo and warmth and her stomach with fluttering butterflies. She went weak in the knees, and felt all her previous troubles and worries dissipate into thin air. She began to run after him, calling his name out as her legs strained in attempt to catch up to him.

"SOONNNIIIICCCCC!" She yelled behind him happily, eagerly.

Realizing what was going on, Sonic put his feet out in front of him so he could come to a stop, holding out his slender arms to keep his balance all the while. He shook his quills to recover from the sudden halt, and turned around to face…

"Amy." Sonic said, putting his hands at his sides.

"Hey Sonic!" Amy cooed, throwing her arms around his neck as she embraced him. Sonic tensed up, but put his arms around her anyway, though Amy was the one doing most of the hugging. She let go of him, a smile tugging at her lips still.

"Hey Ames." Sonic responded casually, a breath of relief escaping his lips the second she let him go and he had his personal space back again.

"I miss you, Sonic! You're always busy, running around, or dealing with Dr. Eggman. You never spend any time with your friends. Like me for example."

Sonic scratched his quills as he felt sweat beading on his forehead. He had certainly heard this before. Not just from her, but from Tails, Knuckles, and his other pals. Amy seemed to have a knack for bringing the particular subject up though. And he must admit, it made him the most nervous when she brought it up.

"Well, uh, ya know how it is, Amy. I've got a job to do, for the city, for citizens everywhere! If I don't deal with Egghead, we'd all be his evil robots by now. And that wouldn't be good for any of us, now would it?"

Sonic tried to laugh it off after he said it. But Amy did not laugh along with him. She didn't even smile. With this, he felt his own smile fall into a serious frown.

"Well, I know you're a hero, Sonic. That's part of the reason I admire you so much. But you need to take a break every once in a while. It's only healthy to do so."

"But I do take breaks. Running is the biggest break of all for me. Running is in my blood, and even with Egghead always cooking up some crazy scheme, I'm sure to go for a run every day, a few a day actually. And with that, I'm perfectly fine. No need to worry about me, Amy."

Sonic winked and gave his trademark smile, but Amy's serious demeanor did not break or fade. Sonic felt his confident glow dissipate again upon noticing this. Something must have been really bothering the young rose.

"That's not what I mean, Sonic. It's great that you do something you love, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. But you see, what I was talking about… I was talking about taking the time to smell the roses, have a chili dog, enjoy time with people who care about you…you know, like… like me…"

Sonic stayed quiet. And his cocky smile did not return either. His eyes gazed straight into hers, his emerald ones into her nearly identical green ones but with a lighter and gentler hue to them.

"You know, I've been wanting to go to Twinkle Park with you since it opened. It's been nearly a month now. I've been trying to build up the courage to ask you… but you always seem so busy. Always running off before I can ask you."

Sonic broke his gaze from her after she spoke again. He felt bad, he really did. He could see the yearning for his time, and the pain in her eyes. He could have sworn he even saw tears budding in her orbs. He looked back up eventually, their eyes locking again.

"Ya know, Amy, you're right. I don't take enough time to enjoy things. And it's time I changed that. And I'll start by taking you to Twinkle Park Thursday of next week for a date. How's that sound?"

Amy blinked, her mouth parting slightly. Had Sonic the Hedgehog really just said that…? Him? Her? Twinkle Park? Next Week? Thursday? Date? Realizing Sonic had spoken and he was now waiting for a response, she shook her head a little to awaken herself from her trance, her cheeks reddening from embarrassment as she choked out,

"I'd love to, Sonic!"

Sonic chuckled heartily, and gave a thumbs up. "Great! Seeya then, Ames."

With that, he was off into the distance, just a blue blur until he disappeared behind some of Station Square's tall buildings. Though Amy was always sad to see him leave, she felt a sense of happiness and hope fill her remembering his last few words to her. She began to walk down the block, all the while thinking to herself,

Seeya then, Sonic…

Amy sighed as the memory came to an end in her mind. She was a fool to think it would be any different with him. Sonic would never change. Not for the world, not for himself, and not for her either. She just had to learn to accept that despite the burning feelings she held for him inside. Sonic would never slow down. And it wasn't just her. Sonic hadn't dated anyone to her knowledge. He just wasn't the type to be tied down. By anything or anyone. He was a free hedgehog, and he liked it that way. The only commitment Sonic the Hedgehog had was his commitment to saving the world. He had chosen his fate, and was sticking by it. As much as it hurt her, she had to respect that.

Having washed herself clean, she exited the tub, grabbed the stopper from the drain to empty the bathtub, and dried herself off with a pink, laundry soft towel. She dressed in a red long sleeve button up with pink roses up, down, and across its fabric, matching red pants, and plain red slippers. She exited the bathroom and headed toward the living room where she heard the TV going. Just as she suspected, Metal had turned on the television and was sitting aimlessly on the couch watching it. She smiled. She was glad he was making himself comfortable as she had told him to do. She sat next to him on the couch, and pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around herself.

"This TV… it's quite interesting." Metal said.

Amy noticed Chao In Space 2 on the TV screen and laughed lightly. "It is, isn't it? It's got some pretty cool stuff on it. Something for everyone, I'd say."

"You smell nice." Metal said, looking over at her. Amy stiffened. She wasn't used to hearing that. No one ever noticed when she put on something to smell good. And he was a robot… he wasn't able to smell, was he?

"Metal, you can smell?" Amy said, feeling a bit silly after the question escaped her lips. It sounded really dumb once it was out in the air and it echoed back through her ears.

Metal nodded. "Eggman wanted to make me as close to Sonic as possible, and so, he gave me senses. I can smell things, hear things, and even taste things."

Amy's eyes widened. "Really?"

Metal nodded his head once more.

"I'll have to cook for you then!" Amy said with a giggle.

"If you'd like."

The two sat in silence, watching Chao In Space 2 until Amy fell asleep, her head laying on Metal's lap. Metal let her sleep peacefully, figuring she could use the rest. As he gazed down at her slumbering face, he remembered two things. Her tear-stained face when he was awakened from his stasis tube. And the picture of herself and Sonic laying in the grass on a sunny day placed on her nightstand near her bed which he happened to see as he curiously browsed through her comfortable and pink apartment. Both memories were opposite each other in mood, one being Amy at her happiest, and the other being Amy at her most down and upset. Metal wondered what it was that left Amy so blue, but figured it had something to do with his human counterpart, Sonic the Hedgehog. He wouldn't push the issue, as it wasn't his problem to deal with, but because of her kindness, he would be sure that she wouldn't be left crying as he had found her upon his awakening again. He let himself go into sleep mode, leaning his back on the couch, and a shutter window sliding down covering his glowing red eyes.