Chapter Text
While Sonic and Tails were out on a week-long adventure, Amy had been asked to house sit for them. Amy was more than pleased to adopt this task into her routine after all, acts of service are one of the pink hedgehog’s most favorite ways to show her friends love! In the short time she had been there (about two days), Amy had swept and mopped the floors, washed the windows, and organized Sonic's extensive CD collection by color. It was the least she could do.
On day three, Amy had decided to make the house more like a home. Even though it had been lived in for many years, this seaside bungalow was quite drab. The walls and shelves, though clean now, were bare. Minimal decor was displayed, aside from the refrigerator. The fridge had travel magnets and polaroids from all of the heroes past journeys (so cute!~). The decor wasn’t the only thing missing. There was hardly any furniture. In fact, the only furniture pieces in sight while walking in are the TV and two bean bag chairs that lay crumpled in front of it, sheesh! Amy had big plans for this space but needed a moment to relax before getting down to business (she had been go go go-ing since her two friends left her with the house keys), and what better way to do that than open a few windows, brew some tea, turn on some tunes, light a candle, and pull out a good read.
The floral hedgehog was getting settled into her spot on the floor (absolutely nowhere close to those crusty beanbags) with her copy of The Plus One when she felt something was off. What could it be, though? She had her book, her tea, her sunny window spot. Oh, and how lovely the sun was at this time of day. The sweet breeze that wafted through the casement and the warm beams dazzling down on her soft rose-colored fur were divine and worth sharing. That’s it! Amy was feeling lonely… oh, Amy was feeling lonely. Her first choices of company would have been Sonic or Big. Sonic was unavailable for obvious reasons, and Big was on a month-long fishing trip on a far-off island. Shoot. Well, there was no point in moping. If she wanted company, Amy was gonna have to make her own, and the only other thing she could think of that would enjoy this beautiful weather as much as she did was a house plant.
~@~@~
On her way back from HomeGoods with her Bird of Paradise in tow, Amy couldn’t help but take in all the sights. It was spring teetering on summer. All the fragrant wildflowers were in full bloom, and the little pollinators were going absolutely bonkers over the sweet smells. Friendly smiles from neighborly townsfolk blossomed from open screen doors, cozy porches, and grassy front lawns. These greetings tapered off as the bright-eyed heroine skipped towards the coast. Getting closer to Sonic’s cottage, the salty sea air pleasantly hit the green-eyed mobian in the face like a hammer full of love and compassion. Lapping waves playfully splashing the rocky shore perform a lulling melody that’s easy-to-get lost in. This symphony of stimuli eases Amy into a sense of calm and safety. This is most likely the reason the usually alert hedgehog overlooked the open front door that had definitely been closed before she had left.
Waltzing into the open living room, Amy couldn't help but sing out, “I’m home!” Afterwards, opening her jovially shut eyes to truly take in the space in front of her, Amy let out a surprised gasp as she realized she wasn’t alone. A sharp blue figure stood in the center of the television room…Sonic must be home early! With that in mind, Amy pranced over to give the familiar body a hug.
Thunking into the restrained entity, Amy could almost instantly tell this was, in fact, not Sonic The Hedgehog. Not by sight, however. Looking up at the fuzzy figure, it still looked like Sonic, but Amy was never really good at telling her quilled friends apart without her glasses (man, she really needed to invest in contacts or something; this was becoming a problem). This person was cold to the touch. With sharp edges and a heart made of gears that reverberated off the hollow metal walls and ticked ominously in her ear. Metal Sonic, oh crap! Trying to keep her cool, Amy loosened her grip on the robot and tried to act casual. “Ha, ha, hey there! Are you looking for someone?”
Amy was doing a pretty bad job of keeping her cool. She was sweating bullets, praying that Eggman's creation wouldn't gut her like a fish. Not that he would be able to, though. Amy could have her Piko-Piko hammer out in a second to bash him through the nearest wall before he raised a claw, but Amy wanted to give him a chance to be civil and to reduce the threat of property damage. Seeing as Metal didn’t continue the line of conversation Amy took initiative, “What uh, what are you doing here…so..soon?” This surprised both hedgehogs. ‘Soon’? What had she been thinking? There was no time to scold her dicey choice of phrase. Amy had to commit to the bit. “Yeah, uh, Sonic, what are you doing here so soon? Aren’t you supposed to be out with Tails for the rest of the week? Well, that doesn't matter, I'm just glad you're back home!” Amy couldn't manage to make eye contact with the looming threat, so she had no idea if this string of bs was doing anything to help her case until a clawed hand landed on the crown of her head, patting her with pseudo comfort. That worked?! Fully losing her grip on Metal now, Amy stepped back to get a better look at the intruder.
Amy had met Metal before, but he was always a little different whenever they ran into each other. Usually, these changes stemmed from repairs made after fights; this time was no different. Last time the robot had ambushed her group of friends, Sonic had put a stop to it by spin-dashing straight through Metal’s chassis, ripping him clean in half. Amy had felt somewhat bad for the machine but knew it wouldn’t be long until he would be back. She just hadn’t expected him to be back this soon. The cold mechanical being had a new torso and a fresh coat of cobalt paint. He was staring down at her intensely with his perpetual scowl. His broad stance, intimidating even to Amy’s standards.
After a long wave of uncomfortable thumb twiddling done by Amy and hard glaring done by Metal, the latter seemed to have made a decision and started signing, “ Yes, I am Sonic. Tails is not here currently and will not be for the foreseeable future. I have lost my voice from…my outing you were describing. I will be using Sign Language for the time being.”
Wait, wait, wait, was Metal playing along? This was insane! Amy couldn’t give this up; maybe if she convinced the robot to stick around, she could figure out what he was doing here in the first place. Also, deep down, a part of Amy was glad she had someone other than a plant to talk to, even if that someone was her best friend's number one biggest hater.
Feeling reinvigorated by this strange turn of events, Amy couldn’t hide her excitement for the new company. Grabbing at her new acquaintance’s hand and the cart she was using to pull her plant baby, Amy made a start for the door she just came in through, “well Sonic, since you're back so soon, you’ll just have to help me finish all the house chores till Tails gets home!”