Anything for You: A Sonamy Birthday Story🎉
Sonic was completely out of ideas by now.
With no one else to turn to, he resigned himself to the very last option. His feet felt heavy as he trudged to the outskirts of the village and up a flight of stairs. It took overwhelming effort to raise his hand to knock on the door. But before his hand could meet the wood, the door opened with a rush.
“What are you doing here?” asked Shadow with a scowl.
“Not sneaking up on you, apparently,” Sonic quipped.
“You’ve never been able to do anything quietly,” came the scornful reply. “What do you want?”
Sonic heaved a great sigh. “Can I come in?”
The dark hedgehog was obviously surprised by this question, and moved to allow Sonic to enter his apartment. The inside of the abode was sparingly furnished. There was only one chair near a desk, which was soon occupied by Shadow himself. That was okay - Sonic didn’t want to stay any longer than necessary.
“I need your help,” Sonic said, picking up a pen from the desk and fidgeting with it.
“How could I possibly help you?” Shadow replied, snatching the pen from Sonic’s hand and laying it back on the desk.
Sonic began to pace. “It’s Amy. She’s asked me to plan something romantic and memorable for her birthday, but I’m at a complete loss. I just can’t think of anything to fit the bill!”
“Why the hell would you come to me about that?” Shadow seethed.
Sonic gave a sheepish grin. “Rouge suggested it.”
The look on Shadow’s face darkened. “So what do you want me to do?”
“I dunno,” Sonic shrugged. “Rouge said you’ve been all over the universe and studied all kinds of people, so you might have some good ideas.”
Shadow eyed him skeptically. “I know I wasn’t the first person you asked. What ideas did your friends offer?”
Sonic shrugged. “Just run-of-the-mill things like flowers, jewelry, and gift certificates. I even asked Eggman, who suggested a poem!” He snorted, then continued to give more details about the ideas he’d been given.
“And Aurora?” asked Shadow with a strange glint in his eye.
Sonic smacked himself in the forehead. “I didn’t even think to ask Aurora! I guess I figured she might give away whatever I had planned.”
“Hmph…” the dark hedgehog sniffed.
“Is there anything you can think of that would be special enough?” Sonic pleaded.
Shadow sat in silence, staring off into space. Then he turned and began writing in a notebook on his desk. Sonic knew not to derail his train of thought; this was the closest he’d been to a breakthrough all day. Shadow wrote silently for so long that Sonic jumped when he spoke again in his usual deep tone.
“Maybe you can use their suggestions in a new way. With a twist.” He jotted down a couple more lines, then got up from the desk.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Shadow said finally, crossing his arms. “I have a few ideas, but you’ll have to travel. A lot. Expect some information from me at six o’clock this evening.”
Shadow all but kicked Sonic out the door of his apartment. Bewildered, Sonic walked down the stairs and back toward the village.
On his way to the nearest cafe for a chili dog, he remembered all the thoughtful things Amy had done for other people. Parties, gifts, special recognition… there was no end to the wonderful ways she had encouraged her friends and helped them feel special. So why was it so hard to give back? Every thought that traversed his mind didn’t seem good enough for his Ames. And the thought of stooping so low as to ask for help from Shadow made him feel about three inches tall.
He sat at the cafe table for the next two hours, munching on chili dogs and fries, licking the sauce from his fingers, and wondering why the Hero of Mobius couldn’t come up with a satisfactory plan.
All of a sudden, Sonic’s communicator went off and jolted him out of his reverie.
“Sonic?” came Amy’s concerned voice from his wrist. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, huh, I’m fine Ames,” he replied, steadying the drink he’d knocked over. “What’s up?”
“Where are you?” she asked. “I thought you’d be home by now - it’s almost six o’clock!”
Six o’clock?! That was when Shadow said he’d be sending information. But he didn’t say how. “Knowing that old man,” Sonic thought to himself, “he’ll snail mail it, and put a one-thousand dollar stamp on it to be delivered at six p.m.”
He couldn’t let Amy intercept that envelope!Sonic took off, speaking into his communicator.
“Ames, I’ll be there before I can even…
…finish this sentence,” he said, dashing through the door.
Amy turned around surprised. “Well, that was fast!”
“Fastest thing alive,” Sonic replied, winking. He hastened over to her and took her in his arms.
Amy returned his hug, and brought her lips to his. “I hope you’re hungry. I made chili dogs!”
Sonic’s stomach did a slight churn as he remembered the plate full he’d just eaten. “Oh…um… great!” he said with a strained smile. “Ames, you haven’t noticed a package or envelope come in the mail, have you?”
“No,” she said, looking at him quizzically. “Are you expecting something?”
“No,” he responded too quickly. “I mean, I was just curious, that’s all.”
“You’re up to something,” said Amy with an arch of her brow. “I can read you like a book.”
Just then, Sonic’s communicator went off again. “Uhhh, I gotta take this,” he said, scooting into the bathroom.
“Sonic?” came the brusque voice of Shadow through his communicator.
“Yeah, I’m here,” Sonic whispered, hoping Amy hadn’t followed him. “So where is it?”
“Where is what?” Shadow demanded. “And why are you whispering?”
“I’m hiding from Amy. Where is the package, or envelope, or whatever?”
There was a pause on the other end of his communicator. “Sonic, what the hell are you talking about?”
With some impatience, Sonic responded, “You said you’d have information for me at six o’clock! I’ve checked the mail, but nothing has arrived!”
Shadow exhaled roughly. “You buffoon! Why would I send information to your house when you said you were trying to surprise Amy?”
“Oh yeah…” Sonic mumbled.
“Meet me at the Tasty Tidbit in five minutes, and I’ll brief you on everything.”
Sonic left the house giving Amy a lame excuse, and arrived a few minutes later at the Tasty Tidbit, a local smoothie shop. A flash of green light indicated Shadow’s arrival, and he handed Sonic a neatly stacked packet of typed papers in a Manila folder.
Leafing through it, Sonic felt panic begin to rise up within his chest. “What is all this?! How do you possibly think I could pull this off in one week?!”
“I told you you’d be traveling a lot. Maybe you’re not fast enough…” Shadow retorted mockingly.
Anger flashed across Sonic’s face. “Oh, I’m fast enough-“
“Then you’ll get the job done,” Shadow interrupted. With a tone of finality in his voice, he palmed the Chaos Emerald to make an exit.
Sonic continued to read. “Wait, so I have to have a location AND a gift? For every clue?” he asked, bewildered.
“Of course,” said Shadow with a smirk. “This is Amy we’re talking about. She’ll know if you cut corners.”
And with another flash of green light, Shadow disappeared.
Sonic finished the packet, but one question lingered in his mind: How had Shadow sculpted an idea so quickly that included Amy-related items and places he should know nothing about?
