There was so much beauty to discover about the universe. Amy thought a trip out to space— like, one that had nothing to do with saving the world— would be awesome, though going to a museum wasn't so bad, either! There was a space museum near her home she never got around to seeing for herself, so what better time than now? Even better, she managed to turn the visit into a date with her boyfriend.



Amy excitedly dragged Metal by the hand as they went through the museum entrance. Amy wore a cute outfit for their date: a black dress with holographic accents and a matching black beret with a holographic rim. Metal looked the same as he always did: sharp, menacing, and according to Amy, super cute.



"I'm so happy you agreed to go with me!" she beamed. "Maybe you'll learn something new. If not about the stars... then about me, maybe?" She lightly blushed and passed him a grin.



Metal gently brushed his free hand under her chin. Her tail excitedly swished.



"You're so sweet," she purred. "Let's see what this place has for us."



To get to the actual exhibits, they had to pass through a few gates with their admission tickets. Amy went through without a problem, while Metal...



Some alarms blared the second Metal walked through the gate. Amy sighed and walked back over to him; his arms went limp and he glared ahead.



"Sorry, I forgot this place had metal detectors," she mumbled.



Two guards walked over and cautiously stared at Metal. One of the guards stammered: "Uh, sorry, we're gonna have to ask you to--"



Metal flashed his admission ticket in front of them. They seemed unsure of what to do, nervously looking at each other, then focusing back on Metal. They didn't have to check him for weapons, considering he was one.



"Hey, he's my date! We're just here to see the exhibits. He can't just detach parts of his body to go through," Amy huffed. "No one's here to cause trouble." Amy tugged Metal by the hand over to her side. She glared at the guards, indicating there would be trouble if they protested her.



One guard whispered to the other. After a brief moment, they both looked at Amy. "... You're one of the people who helped a lot with restoration efforts, right?"



She proudly puffed her chest and nodded. "I did!"



The guard checked over both Metal and Amy's tickets again. "We'll take your word for it, then... Go on ahead."



"I appreciate it," Amy said, then walked ahead. Metal shot his fist up towards the guards with his middle finger about to extend— Amy hastily grabbed Metal's hand and pulled it back down. "Relax!" she whispered.



He rolled his eyes, but shifted his hand so their fingers could intertwine.



Amy smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Causing trouble already, huh?"



He made a beep that sounded like he was exhausted. Amy giggled.



"It'll just be me and you now, Metal. We'll have a nice time!" They walked to the main lobby, which was a massive white room with pathways to different exhibit rooms. There was a one-to-one scale model of a space shuttle hanging above the center of the room, then a staircase leading to another exhibit upstairs. "Man... Memories are already flooding back. I've been to space before, didja know that?" Amy asked.



Metal shook his head.



"I went to Space Colony ARK with everyone in a space shuttle that looked just like that," she said, pointing to the model above. "I wasn't a part of the big battle or anything, though... Geez, that was forever ago."



They figured the best point to start was the room to the right. The exhibit took them through the history of technology that brought denizens of the earth to space and beyond.



Amy hummed in thought. "Now that I think about it, you weren't really around, were you? That's one of the few times we worked with Eggman. I bet you would've been a great help."



Metal shrugged. Amy knew he wasn't too enthused to help Sonic, so missing those events probably wasn't a big deal.



"Were you offline for a while? Babysitting the base, maybe? It's hard for me to imagine Eggman just making you sit around with the threats we faced."



Amy felt a vibration from one of her pockets. She took out her phone; she had a text message from Metal! 'I was upgrading myself at the time,' the text read.



She blinked. "Ohh... An upgrade?"



He nodded.



"... Oh, right! You went Neo soon after that. That makes sense," she replied. "I know you miss your Neo form... Maybe you'll get to turn back into it someday."



Metal nodded again, then gently bumped his head with hers.



"I'll always love you no matter what form you take," Amy purred. She smooched him on the cheek again, then put away her phone. "Okay, let's see what this place has."



They saw the earliest spacecraft ever made for travel, various tools and parts of machines up for display. Amy read through the plaques describing when each vehicle was made and what it specialized in. Metal took more time looking at the displays themselves.



"Hey, can you tell which ones are fake and real?" Amy asked.



He nodded.



"Ooh. Okay, is this thing real?" She pointed at an engine to a shuttle on display.



He nodded again.



She pointed to a space rock.



He shook his head.



"Wow, they'll fake a rock?" She huffed.



Metal pointed to a different rock; the plaque by that one indicated it was an asteroid recovered from one of many space missions. He gave a thumbs up.



"This one definitely looks more real…" Amy leaned over to better examine it.



Metal tapped himself and proudly lifted his head.



Amy giggled. "You're the most real, of course. Are you made of similar, uh, stuff?"



He nodded, then wrapped one of his arms around her from behind. They walked together to see more of what the exhibit offered.



They came across a model of the very same space colony Amy mentioned before. "Man... We get so wrapped up in our adventures that it can be easy to forget we were also a part of history," she muttered. "I never gathered the courage to ask Shadow what Space Colony ARK was like when it was active. I wonder if he'd ever share that kind of information," she said as she read through the plaques. "A museum is only going to have surface-level information on that kind of thing..."



Near the Space Colony ARK display was also a small diorama of the moon before and after it was blasted. Amy crossed her arms.



"I remember when that happened... You know, Eggman's lucky the world didn't go into total imbalance because of that stunt. He could've killed everyone, including himself."



Metal shrugged. He twirled his index finger in a circle by his head.



Amy snorted. "Okay, at least you agree with me that Eggman's crazy. I bet you were impressed he did it, though."



He gave a confident nod, his eyes blinking into horizontal bars. If Metal was given a similar grand way of asserting his superiority, Amy felt like he wasn't above similar actions. Of course, that was before he lost the need to do such a grand display at all. Metal would never admit it, but he calmed down some since they started dating. He was still the same as ever... but maybe a little less bloodthirsty. Just a little.



They wandered through more information about spacecraft and space stations, then eventually came across a giant shuttle that they were allowed to climb into and take pictures of. Amy got out her phone and ushered Metal into taking pictures with her. She gave a wide, eager grin as she took several selfies of him in the shuttle. Metal heard several more pictures being taken as he climbed out. He thought he'd be used to her photo-loving nature by then...



"Ooh! Ooh! Metal, get some pictures of me here." She gave her phone to him and posed in front of the shuttle. It was hard to be annoyed when she posed so cutely...



Satisfied, the two moved on. Amy's tail wagged as she swiped through the new photos on her phone. "You are so cute," she eagerly said. "Oh— hey, let's find a bathroom before we explore the next exhibit too much."



Metal gave her an irritated beep.



"I forgot to go before!" she exclaimed. "Anyways, it'll be fine. Just a few minutes!"



A more resigned beep. Amy smooched him.



"Thank you~ Look, we're at the end of this exhibit anyway! We're about to go back into the main lobby."



She was right, thankfully. They looped around to the main lobby, which was where there were a few available restrooms. Amy lovingly touched Metal's chest before leaving through one of the restroom doors... So, Metal had to wait.



He crossed his arms and stood by the doors, watching other people walk in and out of the museum. There were plenty of people, but luckily, it wasn't so busy that Metal felt too irritated. They got to check out the exhibit at their own pace and--



"Whoa! Look at this display!" a feline kid shouted, pointing right at Metal.



Four cat children eagerly ran up to Metal and examined him. He lowered his head down and glared at them... That didn't seem to register to their little wonder-filled faces.



"A space robot!" another kid shouted. "That's so cool!"



Strangely, some of Metal's irritation vanished. He went from a glare to something more akin to curiosity.



"Uhh... its eyes are following me around," a different kid muttered. "Kinda creepy."



Back to irritated. Metal squinted at the child. He was not creepy, he was magnificent.



"Hello, Mr. Robot," the youngest of the group said.



... Metal dropped his vision lower to look at them. He uncrossed his arms, then slightly raised his hand at the youngest. The whole group of kids exclaimed excitedly.



"Mr. Robot, do you have laser guns?"



Metal nodded. Answering their simple, annoying questions would do nothing drastic, he guessed.



"Have you ever made cool explosions?"



Metal nodded again. He squinted; the answer should have been obvious.



"Whoaa! Cool! I wish I could make cool explosions but my mom yelled at me the last time I tried."



These children did not seem incredibly smart.



"Have you fought bad guys from other planets?" another asked.



He thought for a second, then nodded.



One of the kids touched one of Metal's legs; he nudged them away and let out a more cautious beep. As soon as he made a sound, all the kids looked at him in complete awe again. He wasn't exactly sure how to feel...



"Ohhh-kay! Show's over. Let's go, Metal," Amy said, grabbing Metal by the hand and leading him away from the kids. They all enthusiastically waved at him. Amy blinked, then looked at Metal. "They seemed excited to see you. There wasn't any trouble, was there?" she asked.



Metal shook his head.



She sighed. "Well, sorry anyway. Where are those kids' parents?!" she huffed. "... I guess I was kinda wandering around by myself at that age, too. Still!"



He closed his hand around Amy's and lovingly gazed at her.



She smiled too. "Thank you for waiting... And thank you for keeping your cool. I won't leave you for the rest of the date, promise!"



He pressed his muzzle to her cheek, making her giggle.



They went to the next exhibit on the ground floor, which had them pass by a few smaller displays. There was information about different astronauts, some alive, some memorialized from decades past. They eventually wandered to a much darker room, moody lighting, galaxies printed on the walls and ceiling.



Amy giggled again. "You're so glowy in this area," she teased, holding up one of his arms. The lighting reflected off of him with an array of beautiful colors; he looked like he was part of space itself. Metal touched the reflective hem of her dress, just as colorful as him. She warmly smiled. "I guess I have a bit too, huh?"



They held hands again and put more focus on the plaques describing the cosmos surrounding them. They came across displays about the solar system, other notable planets and astral bodies...



"There's really so much out there. I bet you could go anywhere you wanted, Metal," Amy breathed out in awe.



He tightened his hold on her hand and gave a beep Amy knew was a 'no'. From the context, Metal told her he wanted to be right where he was.



Her smile softened as she looked at him. "I am a little more interesting than space, aren't I?" she joked.



He gave a confident nod, making her giggle again.



"You're too cute for your own good. We'll have to go on an adventure out there together, then. Do you think I'd look cute in a space suit?"



Another beep that Amy knew as a 'yes'. He leaned in and gave her a look she knew well. Without the ability to speak, there was a lot for Amy to interpret.



She blushed. "We're in public, don't look at me like that!" she whispered. She had a bit of a vivid imagination.



He tilted his head.



"Don't play dumb with me!" she continued, blushing more. She playfully pushed him and looked away.



Metal turned her head back to look at him. She shyly wiggled in place. He pressed his muzzle to hers; she leaned in much more enthusiastically than she meant.



He let out a very specific set of beeps when Amy's lips parted from him. Amy learned what they meant a long time ago.



"I love you too," she murmured. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a loving embrace... They were in their own little world. She let out a soft, airy sigh...



Her eyes widened. She snapped out of it.



"S-stop distracting me!" She let go of Metal and pushed him again.



He pointed at her and made some accusatory beeps.



"I didn't start it!"



He crossed his arms and glared at her.



"We'll settle this later," she huffed back. She grabbed his hand again and continued to look at the different displays.



They went to an equally dark circular room with a diorama of the solar system above them. Each planet moved at different speeds, rotating around the bright, illuminating sun...



"Sometimes it's so easy to forget how small we actually are. Our whole planet is just that little sphere," Amy said, tilting her head. "Everyone's lives on a rock orbiting around a flaming ball of gas. But... Isn't that what's so beautiful? That's our home."



Metal patiently watched her.



"To think so much can change and be impacted on such a small celestial body. We're just one part of the universe, but we exist and we get to learn and catalog all that beauty around us. I wonder if people from other planets feel the same way."



Metal let go of her hand and held her from behind instead. They continued to watch the diorama together.



"I do love seeing new places... But I think I love home more. I'll always want to return to this silly little rock," she sighed. "It contains everything I want to protect."



They quietly settled in the moment together... Amy eventually took a deep breath and pressed her back against Metal.



"Okay, let's keep going."



A small, affirming beep. Metal unraveled his arms, then held her with one arm to gently usher her forward. Amy gently kissed his muzzle before they continued on.



The rest of the exhibit showed some planets not considered a "core" part of their solar system, but were still notable enough to include. One of them was something a bit close to home:



"Metal, look! Little Planet!" Amy eagerly pointed at the next display. There were a few different models of Little Planet, one of them more mechanical, while the other one looked more as it did in the present day. There was a giant glass case that displayed Never Lake, the mountains surrounding it, and the curious Little Planet floating overhead.



They both checked out the plaques... Interestingly, there wasn't any mention of Eggman. Either information of his meddling was lost to time as well, or whoever was in charge of the museum didn't want to spread fearful information.



Amy used to have mixed feelings about Little Planet, but inevitably, it's what introduced her to her best friend and the adversary who eventually became her lover. Little Planet was the real beginning of her adventure, one that never stopped, only growing and evolving and changing into new, wonderful experiences.



"I'm curious, Metal. Do you look back on Little Planet a bit more fondly now?" she asked, turning her head his way.



He nodded. Such a simple action made her tail excitedly wag.



"I'm glad!" she beamed. "Same here. Is it weird to say I miss it? Little Planet was my first adventure outside of my hometown... Sometimes I have an itch to see how different it would be if I went there again."



They took another moment to admire the display, then kept walking on. Eventually, their path led them back out to the lobby.



"Aw, man... We went through most of the major exhibits. I think there's still something upstairs," Amy cheerfully told him. Without protest, the two of them went upstairs to the second floor. From there, they went inside a large entrance through the center of the path.



The long hallway before them contained plaques about famous constellations and artistic depictions of what they represented. They took their time reaching the end; Amy absorbed the information of each plaque, humming or nodding to herself. Metal was happy to move forward whenever Amy felt ready to, signalled by the gentle tugging of his hand.



Eventually, they went to the end of the hall, which opened up to a huge dome: a planetarium. There were rows of comfortable seats that reclined back to look at a faux sky above. At the farthest end of the dome was a platform, currently occupied by a man and his presentation about the stars. A small class of children were near the platform, while the rest of the area had been sparsely dotted with people quietly looking above. Amy went for the most secluded area she could find, then finally sat in one of the seats.



Metal sat beside her, claws still intertwined with hers. They reclined back in their chairs and watched the sky above. Trillions of stars dotted the sky... It all looked so real. Shades of blue, green, and purple swirled with the stars, just barely visible but definitely there. They saw the galaxy they were a part of...



"Breathtaking," Amy sighed. "Maybe we could see something similar if we went out into the middle of nowhere."



They had another quiet moment together, only broken by Amy shifting up with a grunt. She motioned Metal to scoot over, then climbed into his seat and squished herself beside him. He repositioned himself to hold her as they looked up together.



"Ooh, look." She pointed at a cluster of stars. "That's you. I'm making that your constellation. See the red stars? They look like your eyes!"



He made a beep in protest.



"There's bright stars that make up the outline of your head, too. That's totally you," she giggled.



He beeped to get her attention, then pointed at a nearby section of stars.



Amy scoffed. "That doesn't look like me," she mumbled.



He traced an image... There was a cluster of stars with a vertical line of stars under it. Amy's eyes widened.



"A flower? Oh...! A rose? I kinda see it!" She grinned. "We're close together, then. Just like now."



He put his arms down, then gently squeezed her in his hold. Amy wrapped her arms around him and turned to her side to better cuddle him. He heard her tail patting the seat.



The stars were beautiful... Both of them wondered how they compared to the real thing.



They relaxed there for so long that Amy dozed off. He eventually nudged her before she completely fell asleep.



"Wh... Hnn?" She wiped her eyes and yawned. "Sorry, I'm just so comfy..." She yawned again. "Let's go to my place so I can cuddle you more. Also, I'm hungry."



He gently fixed her hat as they sat upright. A small, reassuring beep.



Amy softly kissed him. "Will you help me with some dinner~?"



He gave a single nod, then slightly tilted his head as he watched her.



"Yay~! Let's go, cutie."



They ended their visit to the space museum and continued their date back at Amy's house. As promised, Metal and Amy made dinner together, then they spent the remaining hours of the day with one another.



Unfortunately, Metal had to leave at some point. Amy wished he could stay forever, but getting him to live with her was a step she was working towards. She was happy he visited either way and he looked cute blasting off into the distance, so it wasn't all too bad.



They weren't able to see each other every day because of their separate lines of work. Amy still had a duty towards her friends; while they weren't enthused about her relationship with Metal, he was a part of her life that they simply had to get used to. She wasn't any less motivated to help her friends either way.



Days without Metal did get lonely, though. She found herself waiting for him to show up, sent him sappy texts in hopes he would be in a good spot to read them. She hoped she could pry him away for another date... Maybe somewhere out in the wilderness. Camping? Ooh, then she'd get multiple days with him. His turbine would also be good to roast marshmallows with if they couldn't get a campfire going...



Amy lay in bed one night and reread some of her past conversations with Metal. He wasn't afraid to be sweet; he declared his love and sent her plenty of sweet nothings. After their date at the space museum, they talked about stars together. Amy teased him about the kids he dealt with and admitted how cute she found his patience towards them. She sent him some of the pictures they took there and he sent some unique pictures of his own. One major upside to getting a machine boyfriend was that he automatically saved all their moments together. The pictures he sent only showed more how much he loved her... She could tell by the way he looked at her.



She hugged her phone to her chest and closed her eyes, weary from another long day...



…



She felt a gentle touch. Amy opened her eyes.



"M... Metal?" She drowsily looked up at him. He stood at the side of her bed, then carefully scooped her into his arms. "I'm happy to see you, but it's..." She checked her phone. It was nearly midnight. "I'm tired, cutie..."



He wrapped a thin blanket around her and resettled her into his hold. She giggled with a light blush.



"Do you just want to hold me~?"



He began walking.



"Metal...~ Where are you taking me?"



He opened the front door. Amy's ears twitched.



"Metal," she said, her tone more firm. "What are you—"



His turbine started whirring. He blasted away with her in his arms.



"METAL!" Amy screamed. "I didn't consent to this!! Let me go right now! Rrrgh— you— Take me BACK!"



She tried to wiggle herself free, only to realize he wrapped her pretty thoroughly. She attempted to pry her arms free, but she couldn't—



She growled again. "This is low, even for you!" She yelled. "My house is a safe zone! We had a truce about this!"



He tightened his hold around her and used his head to help brace her face from the wind.



"What the hell are you doing?! I have half a mind to bite your head off! Don't make me try!"



Metal let out a kind of beep that told her he was amused.



"You think I won't?!"



He nuzzled her.



"No! I'm mad at you!" She tried bumping his head, though her actions only met with more affectionate nuzzling. "No! Stop it!"



She heard a sound that she could only compare to a purr. Metal was too entertained by her outbursts... And she was even angrier that she thought it was cute!



"Is this an Eggman thing?! It can't be, right? He's not that much of an idiot?"



Metal shook his head.



Her ears twitched again and she slightly settled. "Well, it's still stupid that you just snatched me like this! You should know better! You DO know better!"



He nuzzled her again.



She scowled, though her cheeks reddened more. "I'm not falling for it, whatever this cute act is! You made me think you curled me up so I could be comfortable!"



He nodded.



"N-no you didn't! It's so I can't break out!"



He made a beep and nodded again. She felt like he confirmed both.



"One's clearly more calculated!" She exclaimed. "And it's not sexy! At all!"



Metal unraveled one of his arms and gently stroked the back of her head. He kept her close as he flew through the night sky.



"Ugh...!" Amy sighed, her face completely red then. "This better be good or you're toast."



Another purr. She instinctively leaned her head closer to him so she could better hear it. She hated to admit how much it comforted her. Not like she had many options while being carried over a hundred feet in the air.



After a while, Metal slowed down and landed on a grassy incline. Through the middle of the night, the moon bathed everything in a soft, silver light. Amy focused ahead... She saw more than silver light. There were reflections from a body of water in front of them. Small cliffs surrounded them. The sky above... Boundless, all scenery untouched by man.



...



"Did you just want to take me out here?" Amy asked.



Metal nodded, then sat down in the grass to face the lake in front of them. He held her in his lap and hoped to protect her from the chill of the night.



"... Okay, maybe I'm a little less mad," she mumbled. "It is really pretty out here... What a gorgeous lake. It looks almost like a mirror..."



... Her eyes widened.



"Wait... Is this...?"



Metal beeped for her attention. She lifted her head more.



The water began to ripple and shake... It rumbled seemingly without a cause. Water swirled... Some of it lifted upwards, reaching for something...



The water splashed back down. There was a bright flash of light—



A massive structure appeared above the lake. No— it was more than that. It was a near-perfect sphere, several biomes on its surface visible from the moonlight. Lights— electricity— dotted the sphere and concentrated in different areas.



Little Planet. It appeared for its month-long visit to Never Lake, where it would linger until it vanished to another location for the rest of the year.



"Holy..." Amy stared in awe. "It's... Wow..."



Words weren't needed. Amy leaned back against Metal and admired every detail she could see from Little Planet. Even in the dark, she saw the upside down clouds on the bottom side of the planet, the colors of the neon signs, the stoplights and the endless nature that bordered it all.



Amy sniffled. Metal tilted his head forward and tried to look at her face— she abruptly turned her head away and attempted to wipe her face with her blanket.



He nuzzled her again. This time, she nuzzled him back.



They admired Little Planet and the surrounding scenery for a while longer. Above Little Planet were two newly viewed constellations: one with two piercing red stars, and one that blossomed with a cluster.



This time, they were real.