I worried my movie theater idea might've been a one-time stroke of genius... There weren't a whole lot of places where Metal could have some kind of disguise if we went anywhere with people. Then there weren't really that many options of more isolated dates... And Metal couldn't eat food, so that knocked out, like, all secluded picnics and obscure cafés.



I did love just spending time with him alone, doing nothing particularly important. Giving him a fortune reading, cuddling him on the couch, cooking with him... It was all so fun, so natural. But... I wanted to make him feel as special as he made me feel, and I would start to feel pretty lame if all we did was sit around a room.



Metal craved movement; he loved combat, he was competitive, he enjoyed racing. We'd fight if Eggman wanted us to and I was too slow to race him! What kind of date-sized competitions would be romantic?! This sucked!



He already took me to Little Planet the first time and then we went to the beach together afterwards... Those were the most romantic ideas ever! Ugh, he really was so effortlessly romantic. He didn't even know, and even worse, that just made him even cuter. The scales were tipping too far in one direction and I really needed to up my game!!!



I groaned to myself as I sat in the back of Belle's carriage. She was taking us to a party for Team Chaotix at the park, also helping me carry this absurd amount of food.



"What's wrong, Amy?" she asked from the front.



"... Belle, I have a hypothetical," I started. "Say you have a person you really want to please by taking them someplace nice."



"Mmhm?"



"They, uh, don't like going out to eat. And actually they're really bad in places you can be seen by people. Also, you'd be wearing a super cute dress. Where would you take them? ... Other than a movie theater."



Belle giggled. "I was given a hypothetical similar to this a while ago..."



"Well, don't leave me hanging!" I huffed.



"What is this hypothetical person's personality?" she asked.



I sighed. "Hypothetically, uh... pleased to do anything. Active, strategic, competitive... As sweet as they can be bitter. Observant, always seeking to improve... Hot..."



"Not sure that last one is a personality trait," Belle said.



"Always seeking to improve? I dunno how else to say it. Perfectionist, I guess?"



Belle giggled again. Ugh! She clearly didn't have any ideas! "You could always think of something fun that isn't about going to a specific place... Or maybe you could go to a lot of places," she said.



"That's too cryptic!" I huffed. "Mm... I don't know what to do."



"I meant like traveling somewhere together with no destination. That's what I do!"



"I think that'd be fun, but I don't know if I could guarantee that much time together," I sighed.



"Hmmm... Maybe you could do something like going to a racing course?"



I gasped. "That's... perfect! It's fun, it can be competitive... And I can still wear my cute dress!" I sat up fully. Metal didn't even have to be in a disguise if we played our cards right! But... I collapsed again. "There's too many people around, though," I sighed after a minute.



"When racing is out-of-season, some places are closed off and used for practice. I've passed by a few in my travels. Maybe you could rent access for a day or something similar?"



"You're the best, Belle!" I said, sitting back up. "H-hypothetically!" I'd have to look around and make some calls.



She laughed again. "You've been hypothetically cheerful..."



"Man, Sonic said the same thing yesterday. Am I just that obvious?" I sighed, throwing my hands in the air.



"Your spirit lights up every room you enter, Amy! I think it's refreshing."



"Okay, well, I'll rip the bandage off and just tell you why. I'm involved with someone that isn't Sonic. I'm not gonna entertain any guesses on who it is."



"That's okay!" Belle beamed. "What matters is that you're happy."



...



I crawled up to the front and climbed into the seat beside Belle. She glanced at me, smiling warmly. I stared at her.



...



She averted her eyes and began fidgeting. "... L-Lovely day, isn't it?" she squeaked.



"You know, don't you?" I asked.



"Kn-know what?" she muttered.



"You accepted what I said too fast. There was no, 'Aw Gears, Amy! Didn't you say you loved Sonic when we last had some girl-talk?'"



"Gears...!" Belle mumbled, then coughed and cleared her throat. "I-I don't sound like that!"



"Yes you do! You know!" I exclaimed.



"I don't want to be in the m-middle of this! I don't want anyone to be mad with me!" Belle stressed.



I studied her closely. "That all but confirms it," I said with a confident nod. "He didn't strike me as the type to share... But you're, like, his only friend..."



"There are plenty of people that descriptor can apply to. S-so..." She nervously turned her head away from me.



I let out a longer, more dramatic sigh. "Okay...~ I'll stop messing with you," I said. "But you totally know." I kicked my feet a little and watched her, smiling. "... You're happy for me? You don't think I'm being stupid?"



"Of course I'm happy for you. And you're not being stupid," Belle said. "Following your heart is never stupid."



"You're the sweetest, Belle... So, does he talk about me? What does he tell you?" I nudged her.



"Amy...!"



"Ugh! I'm not getting you to spill specific details!" I said. After a moment, I blushed a little. "Can I talk about it, at least? I don't have anyone I can gush to."



She shyly nodded.



"Yay!" I kicked my feet again. "I never thought I could feel this way about someone else..." I wistfully sighed, bumping my head with Belle's. "I've had a blast, Belle... Even the secrecy is a bit exciting. I like that there's a special side only I get to see..."



"Yeah? This is different from when you were sad about Sonic not being romantic, then?" Belle asked.



"Oh, way different. He's so lovely in private... there's multiple romantic things between us and not just something I have to interpret." I giggled. "And-- even taking into account interpretations-- his fortune said we'd have a long, happy life together. I'm very optimistic."



"Fortune? Oh! The cards you use?"



My eyes brightened. "Yeah. It's been a long time since I've read you, huh? We have to fix that sometime!" I clapped my hands together, grinning. "I gave him two fortune readings about his future, one about him and the other about us... it was so fun."



Belle giggled. "You do seem happier than when you fawned about Sonic before..."



I rolled my eyes with a smile. "Okay, look, I'm fully aware I'm in the puppy love phase," I sighed out. "It's helped we haven't really had to seriously fight... But I'm just going to enjoy it while it lasts. I hope I can handle him when we're at odds again."



"You'll be fine," Belle said back. "Maybe it's all new to you, but M-- uh, s-some people had to go through fighting people they admire for ages. I imagine it's exhausting to have to face two conflicting desires all the time, but I guess it's possible."



"Hm... I never thought about it like that. That's fair..." I fell back in the carriage, keeping my legs in the front seat. I glanced at all the food in the carriage. I giggled to myself. Metal was so cute in that apron... I'm so glad he let me put it on him. He was pretty tolerant of me messing with him, so I think he liked the attention.



"We're almost there," Belle said.



Oh! I popped my head back up to see where we were.



The party was because Team Chaotix solved a huge case from their detective agency. The case supposedly took months to solve, so, naturally, they wanted to celebrate a hard-earned victory! I thought it'd be nice to give them some free food, but admittedly I also didn't want to starve at a party I knew they weren't gonna cater for-- not out of any sort of greed, but because the money they earned from the case would probably go to them paying all their bills. I didn't really want them to worry about having to feed a bunch of people, anyway.



There were gonna be a few friends showing up that I haven't seen in a little while! I really needed to catch up with so many of them. Because Belle and I were gonna help set up the party, we got to the reserved section of the park a little early.



Belle found a place to stop the carriage as I took in the scenery. It was such a beautiful day! Bright blue skies, pillowy clouds, vibrant grass, plus some huge trees that provided the perfect amount of shade. Charmy Bee, the youngest of the detectives, was so excited he was zooming around the nearby playground. Looked like my girl Cream and her adorable chao, Cheese, were playing with him, too! Charmy and Cream were about the same age and they were growing up pretty fast, but at least they were still young enough to enjoy a carefree lifestyle. Espio-- the ninja of the Chaotix, I guess-- and Gemerl, an advanced robot acting as Cream's guardian, were watching them both. Wow, I really was around a lot of robots. Cream's mother, Vanilla, and the Chaotix's proud leader, Vector, were chatting about something by the tables.



I opened the back of the carriage to get out, and suddenly, Vector, Espio, and Charmy were all standing in front of me.



"F...Food?" Charmy asked. "You brought food?"



"Pie? Apple pie?" Vector asked with a gulp.



Espio briefly glared at his teammates and paused like he was about to speak, but instead, he looked at me with a resigned sigh. "Forgive them Amy. They're just excited," he followed. "But...d-did you bring the homemade rolls?"



"Hahah! Hi to you too, guys," I said with the roll of my eyes. "I know Vanilla feeds you, so stop acting like you're starving. You're not eating anything until everyone's here!" I huffed.



They all let out disappointed groans, Charmy and Vector slowly leaving us. Espio helped me and Belle unload all the food and get it set up at the tables. I mostly focused on dishes that wouldn't need to be eaten hot, though we brought some hot plates to warm up anything that needed it. I'd take care of that when everyone got here.



In the meantime, I got Cream and Charmy to help me decorate the area and set up some streamers and balloons. Cream was telling me about her studies, while Charmy repeated the story of their last big case, like, eight times. When I was off saying hello to our arriving friends, Espio managed to give me his version of their big case, and then finally, Vector gave his version, which became a lot more macho when Vanilla was in earshot. Hah!



I got to catch up with Rouge when she showed up... despite how we didn't live far from each other, it's been ages since we hung out. I stuck around her as we talked about our boys for a bit; she was catching me up with Shadow and Omega's affairs, while I told her about Sonic and Tails. I felt refreshed just yapping with her for a while; she was one of the few people who matched my fascination with style and similarly one of the few people I could complain to and not feel exhausted afterwards.



I didn't expect Shadow or Omega to show up, but Sonic and Tails eventually did. Of course I was happy to see them and I took the time to say hello. Hanging around them too much made me think of Knuckles, though... I wish Knuckles accepted invitations more often, but that was kind of a rarity. I hadn't seen him in forever because he took his duty as the Guardian of the Master Emerald so seriously. I needed to visit him on one of my free days... I missed him. He was kinda like a brother to me. I took a mental note to make him some of his favorite food and say hi to him at Angel Island later.



Some of the people Team Chaotix helped also showed up to the party, which I thought was awesome! Team Chaotix could be silly, but they really did positively affect the lives of everyone around them. They deserved to sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor once in a while. On that note, just about everyone was here--



I gasped.



"Big!!!" I saw my favorite Big! I ran up to him as he leisurely strolled towards the lake at the park, then tackled him to give him a full-body hug. Cream saw him at the same time, because when I looked up, she was on the other side of his fluffy chest.



"Mr. Big!" she beamed. "Are you here for the party, too?" she sweetly asked.



"Hmmm?" Big returned our hug, then hoisted us up on his shoulders. Cream and I giggled, happy to go along with wherever he was walking. Froggy was comfortably perched on Big's head as he always was. "I'm here to fish... You can join if you want. There's a party?" Big asked.



"Mmhm! I made some of your favorites," I said with a confident nod. "When you want to take a fishing break, come by and see us, okay?"



"Yeah!" Cream added. "But... we can spend some time together first! How do you do, Mr. Big?"



The three of us enjoyed catching up together. I would kill for another huge adventure with them, seriously! Maybe one that didn't involve our other friends going missing, though... And also one that didn't lend to Metal turning into a dragon. Hah... It's funny that Metal was indirectly responsible for grouping me up with two of my favorite people.



I was thinking of Metal again... Ahh, I did so well at distracting myself. I blushed as I wondered what he was up to. I hoped he wasn't too lonely...



"Amy?" I heard Belle's voice from behind. I got off of Big's shoulder, hugging him one final time before going over to see what Belle wanted.



"What's up?" I stretched and yawned. I was starting to get hungry, so it was time for me to grab something, probably... When I looked at Belle again, I saw her expression was very serious. "Uh... Everything good?" I asked.



She walked closer to me and whispered: "We have a... unique visitor." The look she was giving me implied who it was.



I blinked. "... Here? How do you know?"



She gestured to herself.



"Oh, right. Um... where?" I looked around. Metal was good about giving me space when he could help it... He just had to be told the boundaries. He knew we weren't going to hang out today, so why was he here?



Belle looked around us cautiously, then took my arm as we walked away from everyone together. "I can't tell you exactly where because I'm bound under a pinky promise," she whispered.



"... You taught him how to do pinky promises?"



"L-look! The point is, he's not responding to my messages... I'm worried he might be here on Eggman business, but he also hasn't moved since I saw his ping. Just check the other side of the park. Maybe you can resolve things peacefully before anyone else catches wind?"



"Not sure things can be peaceful if he's here because of Eggman," I said back, frowning. There were many more trees along with a few recreational buildings on the other side of the park; not too many places to hide, but there was still a lot to check. "I'll be back."



People were walking around normally... clearly Metal hadn't disturbed anything or caused any terror. He might've been gathering information, but if he was, I'd still try to shoo him away. Eggman might've wanted a lot of his enemies in one place for one reason or another, and knowledge of that would not be great...



I looked around; the park itself was fairly flat and there was nothing particularly interesting I saw. I checked some of the buildings, then crossed my arms as I tried to think of where Metal would be.



A lot of the trees around the park were in bloom, light green leaves dotted between beautiful flowers and various berries. In the middle of the park, there was a gargantuan tree blossoming with huge pink and white flowers... Huh. I brought out my hammer and used it to launch me up into one of the higher branches.



I saw something red poke out from a branch a little bit away and above me. Quietly and carefully, I climbed up. But... When I climbed up to an adjacent branch, it was gone.



SLAM!



I was suddenly pinned against the tree trunk! Metal was in front of me, fury in his eyes, but it immediately vanished. He just as quickly let me go and averted his eyes.



"I want you to be excited to see me, but not that excited! Damn," I groaned, popping one of my shoulders. That hurt!



He scanned around me, as if to make sure we were alone, then he gently brushed off a random wood chip from my other shoulder. I would normally hug him, but I honestly wasn't a big fan of seeing him so close to the party.



"Why are you here?" I asked him.



He let out a machine-sounding trill and pointed back at me. I thought he was returning the question back to me.



"I was already around! You didn't follow anyone here?" I asked with a huff.



He shook his head, then squinted at me.



"Hey...! You can't blame me for being cautious," I sighed. "... So you're not here on Egg business?"



He shook his head again. He picked a flower from one of the tree branches and showed it to me. I leaned in to get a better look, but then he put it behind one of my ears.



I blushed. "Y... You're just hanging out?" I asked, touching the flower on my head. "Do you like to come here to relax?"



He opened a panel on his arm and showed me a few seeds. Oh! I was surprised he was looking around here and not Little Planet. "You're here for flowers?" I asked.



He nodded.



"Ah..." I grinned and touched the flower on my head. "Well, don't let me ruin the surprise. I can't say I imagine you growing a huge tree in that base, though..."



He didn't move his head this time. His eyes averted again and he crossed his arms. I think he was figuring out how to reply. I was also giving some harder things to respond to, so uh... That was my bad.



"Sorry, don't mind me. I don't have a pen and paper on me," I said. "The point is... I misunderstood why you were here."



He shook his head again and waved one of his hands in dismissal... But then he made an aggressive beep at me, pointing at me again.



I had to think of a way to phrase an explanation on how I found him that honored the technicality of the sacred pinky promise... "Belle got your signal in the area, but she didn't tell me where, so I went to go find you to make sure you weren't causing trouble."



He didn't look very impressed, but he also didn't look angry anymore. I smiled, taking one of his hands.



"I had no idea you were here if that makes you feel better... But I'm really happy to see you." I smooched him on the muzzle. He perked up a lot from that!



He pulled me closer to him, then picked me up. I giggled, wrapping my arms around him and nuzzling the side of his head.



"No one can see us from up here... And no one's gonna care I'm gone for a few minutes." I let out a wistful sigh, closing my eyes as he sat down on the branch, still holding me. "We saw each other last night, but that still feels like too long ago."



He made the cutest beep ever. Oh, I loved every sound that came out of him! His machine sounds were so cute, and he was cute, and...!



The cute aggression was starting to kick in, argh...! I kicked my legs a little as I nuzzled him harder. "How's my Metal~?" I giggled.



He let out a soft trill, nuzzling me back. I wanted to stay this close to him forever.



"I have some good news. I think I know where our next date will be, and I don't think you'll have to wear anything annoying." I opened my eyes again to gaze at him. His eyes looked closed too, aw...!



He lifted his head to look at me, his eyes back to normal. He tilted his head a little.



"I'll give you more details later since I gotta figure it out. You have to promise to hang out with me before that though, okay? I don't think I can wait that long," I said as I played with one of his hands. I brought my focus to his palm, then examined his claws. He didn't mind my touch at all.



He beeped again, then kissed me. I was caught a little off guard since I wasn't looking at his face. Ahh, I was burning! I returned his kiss. I wanted to stay there, but then I think it'd be hard for me to return to the party...



"Aaaaamy!"



That was Sonic's voice. Metal held onto me tighter; he clearly didn't want me to go.



"I have to leave, cutie," I whispered, giving him another little smooch. "I'll see you later."



He held me even tighter... and then he slowly let go of me. I gently rubbed the top of his head.



"Thank you," I softly told him.



His focus went towards the ground, likely watching between the leaves and petals. We could see Sonic approaching the tree. I stood up and held my hammer for balance as I hopped down from branch to branch.



"Oh! There you are," Sonic beamed, waving me over.



"H...Hey!" I ran over to him. He glanced at my head... oh! The blossom. I blushed a little as I fixed it further behind my ear. "Need something?"



"Vector wants to do a big speech, so we're gathering everyone up. C'mon!" Sonic took my arm as he guided me over back to where everyone was.



Oh, I felt an intense stare. I quickly broke our arms away, which made Sonic look at me with a raised brow. I blushed a little more. "Uh... I know the way! You don't have to drag me around!" I huffed.



"Uh... Sorry," Sonic said with a sigh. "... You're not mad, are you?"



"What? No," I replied. Sonic didn't know his biggest hater watched him put his hands on me. We still hadn't really worked on that.



Sonic didn't believe me. I wouldn't have either, to be fair. "Just in case, uh... I might've gone too far with all the teasing yesterday. Whoever you're with, I'm sure they're great. No more guesses from me; promise."



"Did you think I was irritated because of that?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "I didn't care about you making guesses."



"Oh, uh..."



"I cared about how excited you were that I moved on from you," I emphasized. Okay, I kinda was getting mad again. But I wasn't mad until he admitted fault for the wrong thing!



"Why wouldn't you want me to be?" he asked.



We stopped walking and I crossed my arms, glaring at him. I no longer thought his dumbfounded expressions were endearing.



"Because... Rrrrgh...!" I clenched my fists, my hammer still in one of my hands. "With how fast you brushed my past feelings aside, you made it loud and clear that my love was a burden on you. And that hurts."



He stared back, shocked. Good!



"I get it, alright? I get I've not been easy to deal with. I get I've suffocated you before. And, truthfully, I'm sorry. It took me getting a massive wake-up call to realize I was so pushy. But I thought you would at least have the sense to be a little sensitive about my feelings."



"Amy, honestly, what do you want me to say?"



I put my hammer away or else I'd use it. "I just...!" I fought back my tears and clenched my teeth. He was not gonna make me cry again. Ugh... I didn't want to cry at all and I hated that my body wanted me to! I was just frustrated!



"You've always been important to me," he said, frowning. "I mean... You were there before anyone else, and you never left my side, for better and for worse. I'm not sure anyone knows me better than you do... I'll always treasure what we have, Amy. But..." He averted his eyes. "I'm... not gonna be sad that you're putting your energy towards someone else. Maybe you don't want to hear that... but I won't lie to you."



...



He scratched the back of his head. "You deserve all the love in the world, Amy. You deserve to be given back the energy you put towards others. It just wasn't me to give you the kind you were looking for, you know?"



His words gutted me, but I knew I was being selfish in my own way. No matter what, I couldn't change the truth and I was starting to come to terms with it. I wished at least a little bit of something was there, that Sonic missed me even a little. Anything that indicated my efforts, my love, weren't just... for nothing.



Your love is not a waste, Metal said to me so confidently. Metal had his own realizations as a person, and without skipping a beat, he told me my love wasn't a waste. I wouldn't be who I am if I figured out all my feelings sooner... as much pain as it brought me.



I took the flower from my head to admire its beauty, dark pink on the inside, light pink all around the petals, and the very tips a brilliant white. All my experiences shaped me... Maybe it was embarrassing that I took so long to understand, but...



"You're right," I said to Sonic.



I never saw him with such wide eyes. "Huh?"



"You're right," I repeated. "My own choices led to my own heartache, but I do deserve to be loved back. I could never convince or force you into feeling differently and I shouldn't hold it against you. I appreciate you staying honest with me this time." I put the flower back behind my ear and continued walking. "You have to stay firm when you say stuff, even when I'm mad and telling you to say the opposite. Don't be a wimp."



"Wh..." He followed behind me, somewhat dazed.



"And, you're important to me too. That won't change," I said, smiling back at him.



He eventually smiled too. I think he realized I wasn't going to kill him.



All of us went back to the main party area and I mingled with a few more people while eating some food. Vector did his grand speech, going over the case one more time, but to his credit, this was the best retelling yet. At the very end, Vector announced him and his team would work just as hard, if not harder, on their next case. We all applauded, then carried on with our celebrations. It was a blast!



The Chaotix teased about throwing another party with my help assuming their next case went well, but that was code for 'Can we have more food please, Amy?' I couldn't complain; everyone enjoyed the food and there weren't many leftovers to pack up! Of course I'd be happy to cook for those goofballs again... And maybe I'd have the same sous-chef!



Since the party was thinning out, I took Belle to the side. "Hey, I found him earlier. Everything's fine."



"Yeah, I learned that a few minutes afterwards... I'm sorry for causing a fuss," Belle muttered.



I laughed a little. "Seriously, don't worry about it," I said with a playful nudge. "He eventually messaged you back, then?"



"Yes... And he gave me quite a talking to," she pouted. "I wasn't sure whether he was disgusted or impressed that I used a technicality on our pinky promise..."



I grinned. "Likely a bit of both... Um, actually, can you send him a message for me?"



"Hm? Sure," Belle said, a little curious.



I cleared my throat. I couldn't look at her while I said it: "Tell him to visit me tonight, please. I want to talk to him." My face was so hot...



Belle's eyes turned red as she accessed her connection. "Sure, I can-- wow. That's the fastest he's ever replied to one of my messages!"



"What'd he say?" I wiggled a little as I stood in place.



"He'll be there."