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“I do not like her.”
Amy could hear her partner enter the kitchen and pause in the doorway. When she didn’t stop her task, he moved to set the dishes he’d grabbed from the table in the sink. The sound of laughter from the patio was only slightly muffled by the glass door he’d closed behind him, and despite the strange tension between them now, she was thankful the rest of the evening seemed to be going well.
Her college friend's visit was just like every other visit before: unannounced and leaving Amy feeling underprepared. But she hadn’t seen Sonic’s siblings or her old housemates in so long, that the extra work was worth it. Even if she did have to pay for the food.
And mix the drinks.
And give up her bed.
Shadow had been such a prince through it all, setting up the extra chairs, fetching ingredients and stopping her every few hours so she could take a breath. He’d listened to every whispered worry without complaint, and filled every request without hesitation. Her boyfriend had taken his thanks in the form of kisses and promises that this type of social event would be rare.
“You don't like anyone.” she recalled, returning to her task of pouring the drink she was working on. It was a complicated thing with several ingredients, some of which she had bought specifically for this. She adjusted the screen on her phone to better read out the instructions, only for Shadow to lock it.
“Hey!”
“I know I can be rather socially inept, but I am serious about this Amaryllis. She is not to be trusted.”
She set the bottle she was holding down and braced her hands on the counter. “Shadow you're not exactly the most trusting of people so I don’t think your opinion is-”
“Fiona made a pass at me.”
Those six words caused her stomach to drop. With every shaky breath her heart climbed into her throat. Heat flashed across her face, humiliation, anger, shock, all building into a familiar cocktail of emotions she struggled to choke down.
Amy started clearing off her little drink station of various empty bottles and citrus peels, tossing them into the recycling and the compost respectively, hands shaking. A warm wall of soft quills and muscles pressed to her back, pinning her in place and pressing a kiss to her shoulder as his arms curled around her waist.
She turned in his hold to wrap her arms around his shoulders and bury her face in his neck. One of his hands came up to rub the small of her back as he pressed his lips to her forehead.
Amy pulled back, gently cupping his face in her hands, running her thumb over the scar tissue. “Are you okay? What happened?”
A pause from Shadow as he looked away, the way he often did when he was trying to ensure his meaning was correctly conveyed. “Do not worry about it. I care not to repeat what was said.”
“What did she say, Shadow?”
Shadow sighed, clearly choosing his words carefully. “She complimented my appearance the way Manic does. And she said things about you that were degrading and belittling, none of which were true. If she was trying to endear herself to me, she failed horribly in that. If she was trying to sway my opinion of you, it was a futile effort from the start.”
Amy wasn't blind. Shadow was a stunning specimen of a man, and it wasn't out of the ordinary for Fiona to hit on anyone who caught her eye. That included the blue speedster currently sitting with his feet up on the table who had formerly held her heart, as well as a host of others who caught her eye at parties and functions. Scourge never seemed to mind, but that was probably because he was just as guilty.
She’d brushed it off at the time. Of course anyone would rather look at the supermodel fox than at her; too pink, too loud, too much as she was. Fiona barely even had to try for all the attention she wanted.
But to go for her partner? A man she had gushed about trying to start a life with? Surely there were other factors at play. Her old friend wouldn't do that to her, would she?
Amy rubbed her face, taking a deep breath. “I’m so sorry. That’s awful, she’s been awful to you, and I made you stay and help.”
Shadow shook his head. “I was insulted, both on your behalf and my own. But she is being far more cruel to you. I wanted to stay to make sure you had someone in your corner.”
“She isn't that bad, to me.” the pink hedgehog dismissed.
“Fiona treats you the way Ivo treats the buckets of bolts he calls assistants. Worse, possibly - Ivo seems himself as their father. She treats you as a maid.”
As if summoned, a muffled call for a refill could be heard through the glass. Shadow glared in its general direction, bristling.
“So what do I do then?” She asked, drawing Shadow’s attention back to her.
“Stop taking orders from her.”
Amy sighed. “I can't do that. It would be rude to go back on what I said I would do.”
There was a sparkle in his eye, the kind she always caught before he swept her off her feet. “Then I vote that we make her wait for it, at the very least.”
Her lips parted to ask what he meant, only to be silenced by his own setting a feverish pace to their kiss.
A distraction, she knew. But an effective one as she melted into it, kissing back eagerly and curling her fingers into the white chest fluff he was always so proud of. As it always did, a shiver rattled through him, quills bristling under her touch as he pressed into her for more. She felt him push in closer, picking her up to sit her on the countertop as he changed the angle of their heads ever so slightly to deepen their embrace.
A burst of laughter from outside startled her into pulling away and glancing to the doorway. Her lover paid no heed to those gathered outside. Instead, he lavished her cheeks with feather light kisses, slowly moving to tuck his head under her chin.
“Ah, we’re gonna get caught…” she whined, but with the way she slid her hands into his quills, she made it clear she didn't really want him to stop.
He paused his actions, only to mumble his defense against her neck before continuing. “This is
our
house, dove. We can do whatever we like.”
Ours.
Something about that little slip of phrase set her soul alight, and she pulled him into yet another kiss, rough and needy.
“I have. Been thinking. About this. All. Day.” he said in the spare moments when they gasped for air, punctuated by a low groan as she dragged her teeth along his lower lip.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. How can I make it up to you?” she teased.
“Mm… kick everyone out?”
He caught her in a kiss again as she laughed, a low purr rumbling from her chest. They would return to the party later, disheveled and without any of the drinks they’d been sent in for. Amy let Shadow pull her into his lap on one of the patio chairs and settled in against him as she listened to Sonia tell a wild story from their college days.
“Amy? My drink?” Fiona asked, gently shaking her empty glass.
“Ah, sorry. Slipped my mind.” the pink hedgehog shrugged. Normally she would have popped up and rushed back to the kitchen, but she could still feel the prickle of rage under her skin.
Scourge got up. “I gotta grab another beer anyways. I’ll get it for ya.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Amy watched Fiona. The fox was ever so slightly annoyed, tail flicking in agitation as she listened to Sonia’s story. Scourge came back with her drink, a fancy thing Amy knew had left a mess in her kitchen. The fox grabbed it and took a large gulp.
Amy jumped as Shadow’s hand skimmed up her back to draw her attention back to him. It was more PDA than she knew he liked, way more than even she was used to, but she certainly wasn’t complaining. When she saw the silent inquiry on his face, she melted a little.
“I’m okay.” she assured him, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
“Say the word and I can get us out of here in a split second.” Shadow promised.
She giggled. “This is our house, remember. It’s rude to leave your own party.”
“I can think of a million better places to be right now. Ivo’s lair. The cave. The red emerald’s temple. Prison.”
The pink hedgehog giggled, covering her mouth to muffle the sound.
“Ugh Gaia, Amy. I know you’re still in that puppy love stage but do you and your little boytoy have to canoodle the whole time?” Fiona groaned. “It’s pathetic.”
Amy bristled, and could feel Shadow’s grip tighten on her. His voice dropped as he let his lips brush against her ear. “Calm yourself. She is trying to rile you up on purpose.”
Sonia beat Amy to her own defense. “Lay off her Fi, Gaia knows you and Scourge were way worse.”
“Damn right.” The green hedgehog chuckled, pressing a kiss to his fiancee's cheek, even as she turned away from him. When he grabbed her chin to force her to face him, she huffed and got up, storming down the beach.
“Hey! What’d I do!?” Scourge looked at everyone present, and Amy simply shrugged.
“She’s probably just jealous that Amy's all cuddled up to her lovebird, and you’ve spent half the evening doing stupid stunts with the other two thirds of the dumbass squad.” Sonia suggested from her place leaning on the railing, gesturing to Sonic and Manic who were still icing their various injuries.
The green hedgehog scratched the back of his head. “Shit, You’re probably right. I don’t suppose you wanna go run damage control for me, Ames?”
“That is a bad idea.” Shadow pointed out, glaring.
Scourge sighed. “Nia?”
“Nope. Go clean your own mess.”
He groaned and jogged off to follow after the fox.
Amy smiled. “Thanks Sonia.”
The purple hedgehog sat on the coffee table in front of the couple. “She’s been nothing but trouble this whole trip! Jealousy is an ugly thing.”
“You think she’s jealous?” Amy asked
Sonia pointed at Shadow. “He’s stupidly pretty and only has eyes for you. She’s fuming that she can’t take the spotlight.”
“Not a hope in hell.” Shadow confirmed.
Manic laughed from his hammock, “Glad to see your boy has a backbone, Amy. The hickey was a nice touch too, you should have seen her face.”
Amy squeaked loudly, blushing as she rushed to cover her neck, fingertips hovering over the aching spot on her throat.
Sonia laughed, patting Amy on the leg “Oh don't be embarrassed, we’re all adults here. Besides, I’m pretty sure you’ve seen me in worse states. Remember when I let that pretty lioness borrow my law 201 notes?”
Amy huffed. “Yes! You locked me out of our room for two nights! I had to stay with Manic! I nearly died!”
“It wasn't THAT bad!” Manic called.
“YES IT WAS!” Amy, Sonic and Sonia answered.
While the triplets started fighting over just how much mold qualified as a health and safety issue, Amy flopped back into Shadow’s arms.
“You left that mark on purpose, didn’t you?”
He smirked, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. “If that is what you think, dove.”
Amy huffed before grabbing him by the chest fluff to kiss him again.