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I'm back for the Sonic Big Bang #3, hosted by the lovely mods at @sthbigbang!

HUGE thank you as always to my awesome artists this year!! Go check out @real-duck-bacon [ART], @peacefulbutterflynaya [ART], and @yowannecandraw [ART]!! You all did amazing, thank you for sticking around <3 And of course a thank you to my beta readers, @starzdeath and @selendred!

Okay, here we go:

You Should See Me in a Dress

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Summary: Contrary to popular belief, Sonic the Hedgehog is not a party person. He’d say he’s justified, given his notably bad track record with them, but it’s not even that. Once the fun with friends fades… the crowd, the music, the dancing, the touch, the almost-dying, the everything, it tends to take more out of him than he takes out of it. He'll make an exception to his distaste for informal, small parties among just friends… which is decidedly not what he’s invited to. Who sends invitations with gold-trimmed paper?

…He can’t decline now, can he?

Sonic the Hedgehog does not like formality. But Sonic the Hedgehog is a good friend. Unfortunately, those are mutually exclusive right now. So for his good friends, he’ll endure one party, one occasion, one night. He ends up gaining some unexpected insight while he's there. Or in other words, has some sense knocked into him. Maybe it wasn’t the party he disliked. Maybe the problem was just himself.

[AKA: A journey of genderqueerness and self-discovery, told through parties and dresses]

Chapter 1: One Does Not Simply Wear a Dress (11.4K Words)

There’s nothing quite like flying the Tornado through clear skies.

The hum of the engine, the rhythmic tut-tut of the propeller, the wind whipping through his quills… reminds him of why he’d flown the plane in the first place. Of course, the only thing he likes more than actually flying the thing is standing on the wings. He gets everything nice without the responsibility of not crashing and burning.

Unfortunately, he’s pretty sure the person he’s picking up would murder him with her hammer if he soiled his suit with activities like standing on a moving plane. He picks at his tie with a sigh. Tails isn’t here to pilot anyway, so Sonic had to make do with his hands on the yoke, just the voice of his brother in replacement.

At least it’s fun to hear Tails’s maddened rambles about Soleannan design quirks. “...Sonic, they somehow have channels to carry live fire to light this place, but no electricity cables built in! Do you know how tedious it is to lay down wiring here? I’ve recommended some electricians to the palace staff and done a patchwork job in the meantime, to get things running for this party. I’m hoping it works, at least for tonight… I’m no expert in architecture. I just don’t know how they thought they could have a light show with no lights! I mean—”

A sudden, sharp interference through the speaker nearly has Sonic sending the plane in a startled dive. He yanks on the throttle to right himself, heart skipping with adrenaline in a way he smirks at. “Buddy? What was that?”

“Oh Gaia…” came the reply, followed by a hissed “Knuckles, what did you do?”

Sonic snorts. “Broke something, duh. Quite inevitable when he’s around, dear brother. Alas! You can only hope that he doesn't break anything too important. Better go check on him before he makes it worse trying to fix it with his fists.”

There’s a muffled giggle and shuffling at the other end of the line. It takes a few seconds and an indignant Knuckles “Hey!” before the telltale sound of the mute button comes through. No entertainment for Sonic, he supposes. Whelp.

He sighs softly, looking off the side of the cockpit. In the distance, he can see land approaching. It isn’t to say that he’s surprised— he knows this world very well, he could probably name the exact beach he was approaching— it’s just that he thought he’d been stalling for longer than that.

He wiggles in his seat, nearly considering just playing around in the sky for a few before picking up Amy. If he didn’t have such a big heart, maybe he would have. Just a little. But Amy had been so excited for the party; he’d feel too guilty if he dragged it out any longer than he had already. He had to attend the event anyway. No use in making things worse for someone else for nothing.

There’s a pop of static as Tails unmutes. “Okay! Resolved. Kind of. It was just one light, no one will notice. Probably.”

“That’s the spirit!” Sonic laughs. “You’re going to make this the greatest ball Soleanna’s ever seen, huh?” He could practically hear Tails’s smile at that.

“Uh, yeah! Hopefully everything works out.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. When hasn’t it been?”

“Well—”

Amy chooses that time to call him. Perhaps it’s good that he hadn’t stalled any longer, apparently she was getting impatient. He hums quietly as he maneuvers the plane into a controlled descent. “Buddy? Amy’s calling me. And I'm going to land soon. You know how I am with those, yeah? I’ll call you back or meet you at the party!”

“Oh, okay. See you later! And don’t crash, I can’t pick you up.”

“Ehhh, worst comes to worst, I can run back. Bye, buddy!” He clicks the comm off before Tails can comment on how Amy would murder him if it gets to that point. Or before it gets to that, he can't read minds. He takes a breath in the momentary quiet before picking up Amy’s call.

“Where are you?”

“I don’t know what you mean, Ames.” Sonic quips, ever so glad that she couldn’t see the smirk forming on his face. He leans over the side of the cockpit, spotting a small pink car lined up along the road. “Look up!”

The blurry figure beside the car shifts slightly. “Oh!”

“Tornado Air, coming in for a landing. Are we clear?” Sonic announces in an overly posh voice. His performance is ruined by the snicker that decides to tag along at the end. Pity.

“...Sonic, are you landing on the road?”

He huffs. “Where else?”

“There are cars coming by! What do you think you’re doing?”

“I can handle ‘em,” he says calmly, knowing full well that he can’t.

It’s not like Tails is there to dissuade him from making bad choices like landing on an active road, no matter how country it is. This is his plane again, for the time being, and he can do whatever he wants.

“Sonic!”

“It’ll be fine! Trust me. I’m going to hang up so I can concentrate, alright? See you down there!”

“Wait—” Too late. Now it’s just Sonic and himself. Peaceful!

There aren’t any cars at the moment that he can see, so he moves to merge into the right lane like any vehicle does. The fact that he was coming in from the top shouldn’t matter that much.

There’s a screech of tires that cuts through the plane engine’s rumbling. Oh, now there’s a car. In his lane. Sonic stifles a laugh and shifts gears, pulling hard on the throttle to send it climbing before the propellers shred the poor approaching car like paper.

Maybe this was dangerous. Maybe this was stalling. He deserves to have a little fun, he thinks. Something to brighten his mood for the rest of the day. He wouldn’t want to greet Elise while miserable. That wouldn’t be fair to her.

Though this wasn’t very fair to Amy, either. He sighs as he falls back into a descent. Nothing of her fault, really. Just because he detests the dress code doesn’t mean it isn’t valid. He scratches the back of his neck, futzing with the shirt tag when he brushes against it. He should probably cut that before he has to spend the whole night with it.

He makes sure that there are really no cars this time before taking the final step. Mentally, he sends a thank you to Tails for teaching him how to land a plane properly. He might not be good at it— as displayed by the bounce of the Tornado as it touches down— but at least there isn’t a risk of engine combustion or something like that anymore. He finds that a win.

He barely has the time to pat himself on the back for a job well done before Amy marches up to him with fury in her eyes. “Woah, c’mon now, I came to pick you up!”

“Why did you think that was a good idea in any way?!” Sonic can tell that the only thing keeping her from putting him into the ground is that he’s sitting in a cockpit too high up for her to do that easily.

“Look,” Sonic starts, putting his hands up, “it worked, didn’t it? Would you rather have to walk to a proper landing space?”

Amy doesn’t answer, an almost exasperated expression on her face that doesn’t nearly look as nice as her outfit. She did a great job dressing up. Would be a shame to let it go to waste by staying here, hm?

“Yes, Sonic, it would be a shame. You win. Can we go now?”

He blinks. Amy stares him down. “...I said that out loud.”

“Yes, you did,” she agrees. “Help me up?”

And because Sonic is so nice, he swings himself over the side of the Tornado and jumps. If it startled Amy when he hit the ground, he pretends not to see it. He bows with a flourish and offers her a hand. “Of course, my lady. Allow me to help.”

Amy snorts, then slaps a hand over her mouth. Sonic winks at her with a cheeky grin. Victory.

The moment she moves to take his hand, he steps closer, hooks his arms around her, and sweeps her off her feet. “Let’s go, princess! Onward!”

Before Amy can smack him for any number of the things he just did, he moves in one fluid motion up the side of the Tornado and between the wings, unceremoniously depositing her into the back seat. “Buckle up, you’re gonna need it,” he grins.

Amy can only shake her head, barely concealed amusement behind the hands covering her face. “And why didn’t Tails fly instead?”

“Hmph. Ignoring the insult to my talent, you see, the palace of Soleanna is a bit outdated in terms of technology. Well, really, all of Soleanna is a bit behind. It’s got a charm to it, but for the party organizers, it’s turning out to be a pain in the butt.” Sonic sits himself back in the pilot seat and goes to start the plane up for the trip back. He pauses. “Uh. Your car is going to be fine out here?”

He doesn’t need to turn around to know that Amy is levelling him with the most deadpan wry smile. “No, Sonic, I wouldn’t have thought of that during the hour that I was stuck here. Of course it’ll be okay! Belle is luckily nearby, and she’s offered to come over to look at it and take it home. Now, can we leave before we’re late?”

Sonic shoots a thumbs-up in the air. “Okay! Welcome to Tornado Air! Our destination today is the wonderful Principality of Soleanna, home of… uh, Soleannans. Lovely people. Also the home of Princess Elise the Third, otherwise known as just Elise, who invited us to her birthday ball today,” he rambles while he makes sure that everything’s ready for takeoff. He… really wishes Tails was here right about now. Kid was the one who checked all this before he left Soleanna. He doesn’t think he’s ever checked them properly in his life.

The distinct sound of a car horn beeps behind them. Apparently them being in a biplane on the road wasn’t enough to stop angry drivers from being angry. Alas. Amy calls back a sheepish “Sorry!” that may or may not be swallowed by Sonic deciding that everything should be fine with the plane and blasting down the road.

Hopefully, the car wasn’t too close. That would be bad.

Whatever the case, the Tornado successfully peels off the road and climbs into the sky, so Sonic considers it a victory. He hasn’t lost his touch!

After a few minutes of scenic calm, he’s sure that it’ll be fine and breathes a sigh of relief. “Next stop, the Royal Palace of Soleanna!” he announces to his one passenger.

Amy chuckles. “Well, you seem excited. What happened to Sonic ‘I will actually cry if you make me go’ the Hedgehog?”

Sonic gasps in mock offense. “Excuse me, it was ‘I will actually cry if you make me go in this’—” he hooks a thumb under his shirt collar and flicks it— “not for no reason. I’ve got nothing against Soleanna.”

“Yeah, well, Soleanna’s the one with the dress code, so,” Amy sighs. Despite the joking manner of her words, she sounds… down.

Sonic puffs his cheeks and lets out a pop of musing air. “What’s up?”

“Huh?” Amy pauses. “Me?”

“Well, unless you hid a stowaway on this plane, probably you,” Sonic quips lightly. He peers over the windshield. Safe altitude, nothing in sight. He ducks his head and scrutinizes the dashboard. Which button was the autopilot again?

“I… it’s nothing, really,” she replies, still sighing. Sonic engages autopilot and swivels around in his seat, leveling her with a knowing expression. Amy blinks in surprise, looking out at the sky then back.

“Autopilot, no need to worry,” Sonic assures, giving her a sly grin as he tilts his head in prompting.

Amy snickers and shakes her head. “Alright, I’ve just been having a bad day in general.”

He nods slowly, gesturing for her to continue. “Well, there was my car breaking down, as you know. And before that, I couldn’t find my backup hammer, so I had to take my heavier original. And before that, I couldn’t find my rose pin,” she reaches into her quills to touch a decorative rose, “so I was running late. It’s all a mess…”

Sonic considers this for a moment. “Well, everything got resolved, yeah? You found your pin, and you look great, by the way. Your car might have broken down, but you’re safe, and still on your way where you need to be… practically on time. And you might not have your backup hammer, but having your main one makes you more prepared, no? …Unlike me”— he kicks his legs up, completely forgetting that he’s supposed to be piloting a plane.

He knocks into the throttle by accident and Tornado suddenly jerks forward, throwing both hedgehogs back. Sonic coughs on impact and immediately scrambles to right the plane and lower their speed. After the initial shock, Amy starts laughing.

“Yeah, yeah. I can just hear Tails yelling at me for this stunt,” Sonic mutters. He can’t help but smile, though Amy can’t see it since he’s not going to turn around again, for both their sakes.

“Anyway, I was saying. As far as I’m concerned, the worst thing that’s happening today is you making me wear pants.” He spits out the last word like it personally offends him.

Maybe it does.

He can practically hear Amy rolling her eyes behind him as she hums. “It can’t be that bad.”

“It pains me, Amy, it pains me,” Sonic snivels dramatically. “Why even invent these? We had perfectly fine… what did ancient people wear?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t know either,” Amy muses. Sonic feels her adjust his shirt collar from the back. “Look, Sonic, I think you can endure one night in proper, formal dress. …but if you really hate it, you can exercise the thing you call free will and just go as yourself. They’d probably excuse you, anyway, since you’re… you.”

“Huh,” is the only response Sonic could give. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t thought of going as plain him, but the idea that he would be excused hadn’t crossed his mind. He supposed he was famous enough to do whatever he wanted.

“Wish I’d thought of that before I got into this thing,” he finally settles on, a slight grumble to his tone, “I put too much effort into getting it on to take it off now!”

Amy snorts. “Well then, why complain, you?”

“Just because I’m in it doesn’t mean I can’t voice my opinions on it,” Sonic quips back. “I’m tolerating this thing, so in my humble opinion, I deserve the right to whine about it.”

He can hear a fond sigh behind him. “Fair enough.”

He smiles in victory, although Amy can’t see it from her angle. She’ll just have to picture it, because looking back wouldn’t bode well after the previous incident. Shame.

They end up chatting about other things to fill the time. Where Sonic’s been since the last time they saw each other. What hopes Amy has for Soleanna. Who they’d see there. When they think Eggman’s going to crop up again— it’s been a while, Sonic needs to break something!

It isn’t long before they spot the famous City of Water, its distinct shape and canals standing out against the lagoon it rests on. The Tornado swoops right past New City, closing in on Castle Town. They pass it too, aiming instead for a small island just offshore from it.

The Royal Palace of Soleanna, a proud thing with many arches, a lush garden, spiked towers, et cetera. By now it is lively with more than frantic staff, as the guests of the ball begin to arrive in droves, forming little clusters on the castlegrounds as they mill about and hold what’s probably formal conversations. They looked like tiny bugs from the plane.

Amy looks down at them too. “...Where are you going to land?”

“Great question,” Sonic replies. There wasn’t an official runway or anything, so they’d just used the largest flat surface available. Tails was the expert pilot here and had managed. Now that’s causing problems for the not-expert pilot.

…Especially with the people landing where he needs to land. He swings the Tornado back around to circle the island, getting low enough to be noticeable but staying high enough not to be a hazard to the tallest peaks of the palace. “...Call Tails?”

“When in doubt, call Tails,” Amy snickers. Sonic hears her moving in the back, then a familiar ringtone. They both hum along as they wait for their resident genius.

They aren’t kept long, thankfully. “Hey Amy! Are you and Sonic here?”

“Buddy!” Sonic butts in. “It’s an emergency. We’re circling the palace right now, but there’s nowhere to land.”

“What…?” There’s jostling on the other end of the line, telltale of quick movement.

“What he means is, there are too many people walking about where he wanted to land,” Amy amends, affectionately exasperated. “Is there somewhere safer?”

Sonic shakes his head, affirming Tails’s answer: “There isn’t anywhere on the island that’s better suited than that strip. I knew I should’ve added a seaplane mode… uhm, I’ll see if someone can usher the guests inside so you can land.”

There’s a click of being put on hold, then silence. And the sound of the plane engine, and the propeller. It’s hard to make out the details of the people milling about, but it was pretty easy to see a yellow figure walk out from under the main-entry arches of the palace, flocked by two taller staff members.

They get right to work, going up to people and pointing them inside. It’s tedious even to watch, however, and Sonic gets bored pretty quickly.

The sun is dropping in the west now, almost aligning with the peak of the center tower when they fly in front of the palace. It’s aiming to meet with the ocean… well, not really an ocean, despite its name.

“Y’know, Wave Ocean is a terrible name for it,” Sonic begins absentmindedly.

“This place? Nowhere near an ocean. It’s connected to things that are connected to the ocean. But it’s not an ocean. It’s not even a sea! It’s a lagoon. It’s separated from the sea. It’s landlocked. ‘Wave Ocean’ who? Why did they call it that?”

Amy didn’t say anything for a few beats, startled at the seeming suddenness of his outburst. “...I don’t know. That’s kind of…”

“It’s kind of stupid, that’s what,” Sonic grumbles.

He fiddles with the yoke, steadily gliding the plane to circle a little lower. Still no risk of crashing and burning, but easier to be nosy. He could tell Amy was glad, seeing her lean over just over the side to watch the people below, the wind messing up her quill-do.

He liked them better natural, anyway. Amy was adamant on straightening them, though, and he wasn’t going to deny her free will.

Sonic feels his own quills idly. Tail had helped him style it before coming to Soleanna, the first time. No doubt they’re messed up now, he muses. Are they better this way?

“I think Tails is signalling you,” Amy interrupts, and not a second later, said fox pinged her communicator. “Yep, he says you’re clear to land where he did.”

“Tell him he’s bold to assume I can land as cleanly,” Sonic jokes. Perhaps he should tell that to his passenger. Too late.

Really, it wasn’t a super difficult maneuver. Decline, swing around, line up where the plane’s supposed to go, et cetera. Not too different from his landing on an empty road, he could afford himself some credit. Amy didn’t complain about being jostled as they came to a halt, at least, so he couldn’t have done a terrible job!

Tails came running up as soon as it was safe— or as soon as he deemed it safe for himself, he was about as daring with the Tornado as Sonic was with just about everything. “Hey! You didn’t run anyone over!”

“Oh, c’mon, I try to be humble once, and you dump it all over me?” Sonic reaches over to ruffle Tails’s bangs, but thinks better of mussing them up and instead flicks the kit’s nose.

Tails rolls his eyes playfully. “Well then, I hope Amy’s alright.” He looked past Sonic at her, who was brushing herself off and straightening her dress.

Before Sonic can quip back, she responds, “It was absolutely terrible, Tails, but thank you.”

“Hey!”

Amy laughs. “You landed on an open road! Imagine if a car came by— oh wait, one did, and you took off while they were a not-safe distance from you!”

“I’m never taking you anywhere ever again,” Sonic grumbles. She sticks her tongue out at him, then gets busy adjusting Tails’s dress shirt. Something about the collar not being folded right, Sonic gleans from her scolding whispers.

He rubs his own collar, catches himself, and slides into putting his hands behind his head.

Unfortunately, Amy has a psychic sense, and when she’s done fussing over Tails, she turns on him. “Come here.”

Sonic chuckles, fiddling with the hem of his jacket. “Uh, maybe we should get inside? Wouldn’t want to keep anyone waiting, y’know.”

“Wouldn’t want you walking in like this, either,” Amy rebuts, and then she’s smoothing out his sleeves, and buttoning his cuffs, and taking his jacket out of his fidgety fingers and straightening it out. And she reaches up, for his quills… and pauses when Sonic pouts at her.

“Alright, alright, good enough.” He cheers at her verdict, a pep in his step as he pulls ahead, stopping underneath the arches at the entrance to wait for her and Tails to catch up.

It was a nice place. He’d only ever seen it from Castle Town before today, but the combination of the palace being built for humans and the classical style of making everything super long and tall for maximum intimidating regalness meant this place was wonderfully, beautifully big.

It also means that everything inside would be set for humans, who are typically much taller than Sonic, unless they were a child. Alas. At least Tails could hover to get to anything he needs; he’ll have to suffer a little indignity. Or just not interact with human things, but that means no food from the human-sized tables, so.

Amy shoos at him once they’re close, and Sonic mock-salutes. He doesn’t go inside though, instead moving to stand right next to the entrance, in front of a guard, and point the way forward as his friends walk up, bowing his head like he was their door-opener.

He can hear Tails giggle before Amy grabs him and pulls him inside along with them. He makes a dramatically indignant noise, winking at his little brother cheekily. Amy rolls her eyes.

The inside of the castle is about as grand as the outside, only in more than shades of gray. There are so many arches, decorated by smooth Corinthian columns, the high ceilings lined with elaborate cornices. If there weren’t so many people getting situated in here, Sonic would bet that his voice would echo down this hall… or is this a really big room?

The floor itself is patterned, he notes, the more colorful surface to the monotone stone walls and ceiling. There are paintings of royals, and places, among other things, some of which Sonic recognized. The most familiar are the symbols of Solaris. Statues, carvings, sigils, at one point the floor tiles, all depicting the god of Soleanna.

“The staff were saying that this used to be a church,” Tails offers, and Sonic realizes he’s been too obvious in his staring at the statues. He feigns interest in the story, pretending that he was curious and not put off by the prominence of the god only he remembers fighting.

The kinds of situations he gets himself into…

“The old castle was in Kingdom Valley, which is— was an apt name. They say something or another happened, and the Royal Family decided to move out. This island and the church were renovated to be the new palace.” Tails goes on, his tone the same evenness he uses to talk about mechanical engineering. “Some parts didn’t get modernized, though, so they don’t have proper electric wiring…”

Sonic’s attention wanders off right around then. He wonders, since the flame was blown out before the destruction of the old castle— and everything else— could happen, what had caused the move to this church-turned-palace? Was it just that Time needed the least amount of things to be disturbed?

He supposes it doesn’t matter now, looking around. Nothing’s on fire… nothing uncontained is on fire— so who would he be to disturb the peace? He’d rather not go through that situation again, anyhow.

He slides a thumb under his lapel, running his fingers along the inner seam. Tails is still rambling about the schematics of the palace. Amy’s talking too, actually. Sonic reels his brain back in and listens to her.

Unfortunately, it’s only enough to catch the last bit of her sentence. “...meet you two in the ballroom?”

“Sure!” Sonic answers, a tad too quickly to have really listened to anything, which is true. Amy doesn’t seem to notice, though, simply smiling at each of them before waving and walking off, her heels tapping on the floor.

“Guess it’s just us, now,” Tails says, rubbing the back of his head. His fur has grown long, Sonic realizes— there’s a little ponytail tied there. Huh. makes him seem more grown-up. When did he do that?

He plays with the button on his cuff as he hums. When it’s clear that Tails isn’t going to start rambling about the pipework in the palace or whatever, he speaks up instead. “Wanna go find Knuckles? Make sure he didn’t break anything else?”

Tails laughs. “Have more faith in him! He doesn’t usually break things more than once. Let’s see…” he spins around, his brows knitting in concentration, “I think I left him in that wing. I was with him just before you called about the plane.”

“Eh,” Sonic shrugs. “If he isn’t there, we can always ask around. Can’t be hard to find the guy when nearly everyone here’s a human.”

Everyone they’ve seen besides their own group, at least. It makes sense, considering that Soleanna is mostly human-populated and would be affiliated with other human nations. Sonic’s been in many places like this.

…It’s just that this particular scenario makes him uneasy. He feels particularly out of place. Probably the poshness.

He taps a nonsensical rhythm on his arms as he follows Tails’s hesitant guidance. This wing isn’t too different from what he assumes was the main hallway. The arches lining either side were just pillars now, which made the smaller space seem just as open. Interesting.

As suspected, it isn’t hard to spot Knuckles at all. The bright-red echidna is currently engrossed in a conversation with a human man, who’s leaning over to slightly balance out their height difference.

“Oh, Knuckles!” Sonic calls, catching both their attentions… and then some. Half of the people in the room must have turned to look at him. He tries his best to ignore them, picking at his pockets as they walk up.

Tails saves him with his adorableness and waves. “Hi Knuckles! And hello, I don’t think we’ve met.”

“Good evening. I don’t believe so either,” he replies, a distinct accent about him from… Spagonia? He moves to shake Tails’s hand. “I’m Lord Fontana. You are young Miles Prower, if I’m not mistaken?”

The kit blinks. “Yeah! Everyone calls me Tails, though.”

“I see… It's an honor to meet you. I’ve heard stories from Professor Pickle.” Sonic raises his brows, and Tails lights up at the same moment.

“You know him?”

“He is the head of the history department at the University of Soleanna,” Knuckles interjects, looking quite proud of himself.

“I am. Pickle is a close friend of mine, given our professions,” Lord Fontana adds, then gestures to Knuckles. “Your friend here is very knowledgeable on ancient civilizations, I must say.”

Ah. Must be why he’s grinning. Sonic rolls his eyes, then shuffles closer to him as Tails and Lord Fontana begin eagerly discussing the merits of technological advancements of Soleanna in isolation. Or something like that. “So, how’d you run into this guy?”

Knuckles grows serious, then holds out… a bracelet?

No, the cuff that was around one of his spines. “He noticed this and asked me about it. It has my tribe’s symbols on it. I told him. He was interested. And respectful about it.”

“Huh. That’s nice.” Sonic doesn’t know what to say to that. It’s sweet, the kind of thing that makes Knuckles connect to people.

He futzes with his tie while watching Knuckles slide the cuff back on. In a way, it makes the echidna seem more like himself. A piece of home, to accompany the one who cherished it so much. He, too, looks out of place in such a formal setting. It didn’t quite feel right for him to be in a suit and tie.

“What.”

And Sonic realizes he’s been staring again. “Nothin’! Can’t I admire your looks now?”

Knuckles huffs, but Sonic could tell that he flustered at that— it wasn’t that hidden, with the guy’s tendency to flush as red as his fur. “...you look nice too.”

“Aww, I’m flattered.” Sonic sticks the tip of his tongue out cheekily, rocking on his heels. “To be honest, I’d rather not look this nice. Surprising, I know.” He brushes his pants, shoving his hands into the pockets.

“You would rather it feel nice,” Knuckles guesses, correctly. “Hmph. Just like you. …I understand.”

“In the same boat, huh?” He watches Knuckles adjust his sleeves, his thick mitts making his movements more clumsy.

“I do not usually wear… this.”

“Or much of anything, yeah,” Sonic nods. “I guess you’d be even more not used to it since you’re on the island all the time.”

“...” Knuckles humphs, feeling at the ornate cuff. “This is not… for echidna. It does not fit me. But my tribe’s formal traditions are lost to me, and I do not think everyone would appreciate them as much as Lord Fontana does.”

“Well, for the record, I think it would’ve been cool.” Sonic nudges him, giving a lopsided smile of encouragement. Knuckles smiles back.

“Ha. Maybe one day I’ll figure it out, and show you. …Now what about yourself?” He brushes the stiff shoulder seam of Sonic’s suit. Sonic sighs, a short, tired puff.

“Well… you know me, Knux, I’m not built for the posh, fancy life any more than you are. Tails seems fine with it, at least. Guess he has to do that for his fancy scientist meetings or something.”

There’s a staff member making their way around the room, Sonic notices when he looks over at the two nerds. When they get closer, he hears them ushering people to the Grand Ballroom for the princess’s entrance.

Knuckles notices too. “We should go,” he says, loud enough for Tails and Lord Fontana to hear. Sonic’s already looping his arm around Tails’s.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I think something important’s happening.” He cocks his head at the other people leaving for the ballroom, joining a steady stream of others from the other wings.

Lord Fontana straightens. “Oh yes, the princess’s grand entry will happen soon. We wouldn’t want to miss it.” He shakes hands with Tails one last time, then shakes Knuckles’s hand as well. “It was nice speaking with you two. If we don’t meet again tonight, you are welcome to find me at the University.”

“We will!” Tails responds happily as Sonic starts to pull him away. “It was nice to meet you too!”

They lose the professor in the sea of people also heading for the ballroom. Sonic weaves about, dragging Tails with him and hoping Knuckles doesn’t fall behind. They get a few— a lot— of weird, or surprised, or judgemental looks. Sonic twists his tie with his free hand.

The High Priest had already begun his speech by the time they get close enough to hear. Something about the princess coming of age and bringing prosperity to their lands, guided by the eternal light of the Sun of Soleanna.

It’s hard to make out some of his words, among the numerous murmurs and other noises, and the tall, echoey ceiling reflecting everything off-time, and being half the height of most people in the room didn’t make it any easier.

It’d be worse for Tails, though. Sonic looks down at the kit, who was enraptured anyway. After a brief consideration, Sonic lifts him up and sits him precariously on one shoulder, much to his delight. A move Sonic had picked up from Knuckles. The guardian was much better at it, but alas, he doesn’t know where they’d accidentally left him.

Maybe the shock yellow now peeking above the crowd would signal him back. Who knows?

“Sonic, Sonic,” Tails whispers, catching his brother’s attention. “Look!”

Sonic adjusts his grip on Tails, trying to peek through the crowd. The person in front of them notices, and with a small apology, lends them a clear view.

The priest is standing on the landing of the center stairs… or is it a balcony? Either way, he’s turned around, ushering someone forth. There’s something akin to a cauldron with him, Sonic notices. It’s quite a familiar scene. Like the Festival of the Sun. All that’s missing now is…

Princess Elise the Third, Ruler of Soleanna, comes down the upper flight of stairs, slowing to a stop in the archway in front of the priest. Sheer white fabric flutters behind her: a cape, like dove wings. She carefully cradles an ornate torch. It throws warm light across her serene face.

Ah.

She looks exactly where she’s meant to be now— much more sure of herself— and for that, Sonic is glad.

The priest bows to Elise, and she does the same in return. The whole room holds its breath, fixated on her as she steps toward the cauldron, flame in hand. Sonic is mildly aware of a journalist or two in the crowd recording her actions. The press never changes…

“I thank you all,” Elise starts, “for being here today, to wish me well on this special day.” Her voice is much clearer than that of the priest’s, the echoes much kinder to her than the old man. “Many of you are from this kingdom, and others who have traveled for the purpose of attending this ball, and I am grateful to all of you. Truly.”

The torch highlights the teary shimmer in her eyes, but she smiles, and hefts it in front of her. “May the light of our Sun shine over us all, and continue to guide my hand through the challenges and opportunities our Soleanna will face.”

Slowly, she dips the torch into the cauldron. There’s a faint crackle before fire blooms from it, out into intricate patterns guided by the special channels Sonic figures Tails was talking about. Accompanying the flickering flames are electric lights that circle the whole ballroom, casting false warmth over the people crowded in.

“I set those up,” Tails whispers into his brother’s ear, grinning proudly. Sonic chuckles and sets the kit down now that all the talk is over. “Having fire is cool, but it’s highly unsafe with the number of people here wearing flammable fabrics and such. In fact, after the initial burn, they’ll turn on false lights for the effect without the danger, also installed but yours truly.”

“Someone’s proud of their work.”

“Oh, what, I’ve never done something like this before! Old stone palaces aren’t exactly as nice to work with as metal circuitry.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m not doubting you, buddy. You did great!” He pats Tails’s shoulder reassuringly. “I just hope Knuckles didn’t miss the whole lightshow. He needs to know that he didn’t ruin everything after all.”

Tails snorts and Sonic winks cheekily at him, a punchable smirk stretching across his muzzle. They both take to scanning the room for that familiar face… it’s Tails who finds one first, but not of Knuckles. “Amy!”

She’s too far away to hear him above the plethora of other chatter among the gathered guests. Tails takes Sonic’s hand and drags him along, weaving through the humans with confident politeness that makes them puzzledly move out of the way, and makes Sonic so proud of his little bro.

“Amy!” Tails calls again when they’re closer. The pink hedgehog looks over and her smile grows wide.

She did say she’d meet them in the ballroom, didn’t she?

“Hey!” She pulls the two into quick, light hugs, her skirt swishing at her speed. When she let go, she gestured wildly. “That was so… y’know!”

“Did you like the lights?” Tails bugs, eyes shining. Kid and his need for validation had taken to twisting praise out of people. Good for him, if Sonic had any say.

Amy clasps her hands together. “They’re beautiful, Tails. Everything’s so beautiful. I don’t know what to say.” She spins around, as if taking in the ballroom for the first time. “All that’s missing is…”

On cue, the orchestra starts up. They’re a small group, all sat in a niche, framed by an arch decorated with Solaris’s eagle. They aren’t quite playing music yet, just running through scales, warming up and tuning, but people start moving.

A growing empty space carves itself in the middle of the room, opening the floor for couples to prepare for the first dance of the night. The three are on the inner edge of the space, standing out among the pairs of humans.

Amy isn’t phased by this at all, instead grasping Sonic’s wrist excitedly. “Dance with me!”

“Ah?”

He can see Tails hiding his amusement at his confusion. Amy just moves to hold his hand instead. “I would like to dance with you,” she reiterates, as if he just hadn’t heard her the first time.

“I dunno, Ames,” Sonic laughs nervously. “Not quite feeling up to dancing tonight.”

She looks at him weirdly, jade eyes very skeptical. “It’s… a ball. Why would you come if you didn’t want to participate?”

He tugs at his shirt collar. Oops. Yeah.

“Well…” Sonic glances around the room for something or someone to save him, but comes up dry. “Uh… look, Amy. I just need to adjust to this place a little. I’m going to find some food?”

She gives him a deadpan stare, and Tails can’t hold back his snicker. “The uh. The Grand Hall is down that wing,” the kit points out helpfully, gesturing at an archway. “Do you need me to go with you?”

“No need, thanks buddy! And Ames,” he squeezes Amy’s hand before she lets go. She looks a little crestfallen in a way that, unfortunately, makes Sonic feel guilty. “I promise I’ll dance later.”

She huffs fondly, shaking her head. “You better!”

Sonic grins, then turns around, and with a quick “Bye!” and “Bye Tails!” he… jogs out of the room. Admittedly faster than the average sprint, but for him, this is painful.

He would be so glad to get out of this fancy suit… he can’t understand people who could stand how restraining this felt.

The so-called Grand Hall is indeed grand, with an impressively high ceiling hung with chandeliers. The tables are arranged in neat rows, covered in miraculously stainless white cloth, lined buffet-style with snacks and hot foods, some waited by caterers wearing nametags and chef’s hats. There are vases with arrangements of budded flowers placed methodically around.

There’s also a round table in the center that holds a pyramid of champagne, with a large base that has the ones free for taking. Sonic makes a mental note not to touch it lest he pulls a Knuckles and shatters all the glass.

Looking around, Sonic finds someone unexpected hanging around in the Grand Hall, among all the other people who had about the same idea as he did— get food. She wasn’t here for that though, as far as he could tell.

“Rouge.”

Like Amy, the bat can’t hear him from this far away, especially not when he’s basically whispering to himself. He isn’t sure whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, considering she currently seems to be flirting with a guard.

They have turned a wonderful shade of flustered pink, though whether they’re angry or embarrassed is yet to be determined. Either way, they were trying their absolute best to ignore a very noticeable lady. Sonic stifles a snicker and walks up to the pair.

“Hey, Rouge,” he chirps, looping his arm around hers and pulling her to the ground beside him, saving the guard from any more of her teasing or cheeky touches.

“Blue! My, I didn’t expect you to show up to such a fancy event,” she says, sing-song.

Sonic just sticks his fingers in his pockets and shrugs. “I usually wouldn’t be here, to be fair. You’re better at the whole fancy thing than me, hm?”

“Aww, I’m flattered,” Rouge coos, brushing her cheek coyly. She leans in closer to his face, squinting ever so slightly. “What is it you want from me, hun?”

“For you to stop harassing the guard, actually,” Sonic smirks, winking up at the human. They flush pink again. …He can see why Rouge had picked them to flirt with.

Rouge just sighs dramatically. “Alright… Why don’t we go over there?” She waves at a nondescript part of the room, though a quieter place, at the moment, without people clustered there yet.

Sonic nods and starts moving, pulling her along. She obliges, but not without blowing a kiss to the poor guard first.

A snort escapes Sonic before he can help it. He quickly hides it under a cough. There’s a certain delight in Rouge’s eyes that always seems to spark when she’s around him.

“...You haven’t pickpocketed them, have you?” Sonic asks quietly, raising his eyebrows at Rouge. She lets out a sharp laugh.

“Oh, they’ve got nothing worth stealing, hun,” she assures, smiling in a way that says ‘I checked’.

He supposes he couldn’t expect anything less.

Suddenly remembering that he came here for food, Sonic reaches for the nearest thing that catches his eye— some sort of pastry, with crisp layers and apple slices baked on top. It smells sweet.

Rouge is smirking at him as he lifts the thing to his mouth. He eyes her, brows raised, as if to ask what she’s looking at. She laughs quietly and takes a flute of… champagne? She takes a flute of champagne from a different table.

“Don’t think you’re supposed to have that,” Sonic comments with false snark, biting into his pastry. It’s as sweet as it looks, slightly tart and crumbly. He blinks and grabs another one.

Rouge takes a long sip of her drink and smiles coyly. “I can have whatever I want, hun. Care for a taste?” She holds the glass out to Sonic, the platinum liquid inside sloshing and fizzing tantalizingly. Unfortunately, Sonic proves immune and makes a face, proceeding to then shove the rest of his pastry into his mouth.

“Oh, well, your loss~”

“Don’t start with me, Rouge.” Sonic sticks his tongue out playfully. “You know how I feel about drinking.”

She laughs, eyes twinkling, and reaches out to brush something off the corner of his mouth. “You’re simply adorable, Blue.”

“I beg to differ.”

“Opinion rejected,” Rouge quips back. “Sorry, but it’s just the truth. You’re a cutie.”

“Can’t I at least be cool?” Sonic adjusts his tie and stands up straighter, attempting to look big like a threatened insect.

Rouge hums, barely disguising her rumbly laughter. “Not dressed like this, no.”

“I couldn’t help it! There’s a dress code, y’know,” Sonic pouts. “‘sides, isn’t a suit supposed to make me cooler?”

“Well, perhaps for other people,” she teases. “Suits don’t fit you at all.”

“Yeah, yeah. Well, don’t get used to it, I’m never wearing this thing again. It’s so uncomfortable.” As if on cue, he gets an itch in his legs, to which he awkwardly shuffles to stamp out.

“Really, now? And there weren’t other options that didn’t require a suit?”

He shrugged. “No? Well, I could have gone as me, but I don’t know how much anyone would appreciate that.”

“Ah,” Rouge nods, but Sonic suspects she doesn’t really take that answer seriously. “Blue… finally developing self-consciousness? Never thought I’d see the day.”

He snorts a little too loudly to not draw attention. “As if! I just… I dunno, I don’t want to come here as plain Sonic, that’s inconsiderate?”

Rouge sets down her empty glass, switching to cupping one of her cheeks. “...I think I see your problem. Hm…”

Sonic doesn’t like what’s in her smile.

“You should find Shadow.”

To say that was startling was an understatement. He’d expected something like terrible advice. He’d expected anything but what she said. “I… okay? Like, the Shadow? He’s here?”

“The Shadow, yes. They’re here.” She looks so smug about it.

“Why…” Sonic lags, still switching gears. “How’d you even get him to come?”

Rouge giggles, winking like she’d revealed anything. “A magician never reveals her secrets, Blue. Ask them yourself, if you’re so curious.”

“...Fair enough,” he sighs. If this ball wasn’t a Sonic place, it was even less a Shadow place. He had come here due to a personal reason. For his friend. Shadow did not have that kind of obligation. Shadow was broody at best and an antisocial asshole at worst. Shadow did not like crowds. Shadow should not be here. Did he lose a bet or something?

“Aw, don’t worry your pretty head about it.” Rouge flicks Sonic’s chin, pulling him out of his thoughts. He leans into her touch playfully.

“Mhm… I’ll see you around, then, my lady?” Emerald eyes spark with his typical mischief, drawing a sharp laugh from Rouge before he twirls around dramatically and bids her a farewell with a pompous flutter of his fingers.

He grabs a pastry for the road.

The ballroom was less packed by the time he got back. Some guests had taken the liberty to fan out through the halls and the nearby courtyard again, now that there was no need to be clustered unless one wants to revel in the orchestra.

That isn’t to say that there wasn’t still a tangle of people there. Sonic laments his short stature and he scoots through the mob of humans like his life depends on it. He’s pretty sure he didn’t accidentally step on the ends of the long gowns spilling onto the floor.

Unfortunately, not everyone is so considerate as to look down. Someone jostles him as they pass, and Sonic nearly trips. He manages to recover at only the loss of his pastry, which had smeared slightly over his breast pocket and was otherwise falling apart.

He probably would have still eaten it, but that would be under normal circumstances that was definitely not a posh party. Alas…

“Sir Sonic!” He looks up, bewildered. The title— The person who’d crashed into him is looking down with something like horror or panic in their eyes. “Oh, please pardon me. I am so sorry.”

Sonic blinks, and just stands there awkwardly.

“Sir…?”

He snaps out of whatever freeze that was and cheers up. “Don’t worry about it! ‘S nothing.” He waves nonchalantly, offering them his signature smile.

“You are very kind, sir,” the person smiles back tentatively, adjusting their glasses. Everything about them seemed to radiate awkwardness. Sonic rubs the back of his shirt collar.

“Aw shucks, none of the sir business, okay? It’s just Sonic.”

They look surprised. “Are you sure, sir— Sonic?”

“Yep.” Sonic brushes himself off, trying to remember where he was supposed to throw trash. “I’m not a sir. That makes me sound old.”

No need to explain everything revolving around his feelings about the title to a stranger.

He spots Amy while scanning around the ballroom. She, Knuckles, and Tails have all found each other and are giggling in their corner of the world. They’re fulfilling Amy’s plea to dance— though, at a glance, it seems more like she’s teaching both boys the proper steps.

He supposed he shouldn’t go bother her then… he very much didn’t want to be roped in.

Sonic realizes too late that he was still being talked to. “...if that’s okay?” And now those doe-brown eyes are looking at him with a request he hadn’t heard. Oops.

“Sorry, run that back?” Sonic picks at his dress shirt through his jacket. Ugh, this is too many layers.

“Could… Could I have an autograph? For my daughter? She’s a big fan.”

Ah. “Sure! Got a pen? …And something to write on?” Sonic beams, wholly used to this song and dance. He never got what was so important about a paper with his name on it, but it made people happy, so! And he’d never turn down a kid, present or not.

He pauses as he watches the person fumble in their pockets for what they need. He still has a trashed pastry in his hand. Unfortunately, he doesn’t get the chance to run off while they’re not looking and throw it out. Whelp.

He not-so-eloquently pulls one of his gloves off with his teeth once presented with a clean notepad. Better to look weird now than leave grease stains on the thing? It’s not like human culture was weird about showing paws or hands.

A little heartfelt note, a scribble of a signature, and he caps the pen and hands the pad back with as much a smile as he could manage with his glove still in his mouth.

Then he ditches them.

Luckily, Sonic doesn’t have to go all the way back to the Grand Hall to find a trash can. There’s a convenient, too-fancy restroom close by! Small victories. He can even clean himself up a little… not that sopping wet was much better than dessert-splattered.

He doesn’t bother putting his damp gloves on, instead leaving them dangling from his pocket to dry, and shoves open the door.

…Were the lights always that annoying? A wave of something tired rolls over him. He shakes it out, but it stubbornly creeps around the edges of his thoughts, riding on the rise of voices from the ballroom as he gets closer.

“Yeah, no,” Sonic mutters to himself. Not dealing with wading through the crowd right now. He turns and takes an unplanned detour down a side corridor, trusting that he won’t end up somewhere he isn’t supposed to be. It’s a 50/50 shot, he’d say.

Past the eagles, past the torches, past the pillars, he finds himself wandering… outside. The night air is welcome, the slightly salty breeze brushing away his tiredness. Soleanna’s not the best place for stars, but he spots the few that peek through the dark.

Nothing quite like nature to bring a smile to his face.

He remembers there being a courtyard that somehow connected to the ballroom. If he’s to get back in there, Sonic reasons with himself, he’s going around that way. And since he’s talking to himself, there’s no argument with this plan.

The palace is big. Which, duh. But he had only seen it from Castle Town before today, and the view from there didn’t do it justice. It was grand. It was towering. It’s hard to believe that this wasn’t always a home for royals; it seemed built for that purpose.

Though he supposed being dedicated to a god would do that.

This all to say, it was quite a trek to find the courtyard he was looking for, even though by his calculations, it wasn’t much around the palace perimeter at all. Or, maybe it just felt that way, given that he would have crossed the length in seconds if he wasn’t hindered by the threat of his stupid fancy getup getting ruined.

The walk was nice, he tells himself. And it was true. He at times just stopped and took in the view, watched the grass ripple in the night. There were some garden beds where flowers had been planted in neat rows, budded heads bowed toward where the sun would rise, waiting for the light to show their faces.

He nearly crashes into someone when turning a corner. That someone isn’t pleased, though whether they’re offended by the mistake or offended because it’s Sonic is unclear.

“Hey, Shads,” Sonic chirps, suddenly remembering that he’d been told to find Shadow. Lucky shot! Here was the hedgehog he was looking for, conveniently hiding outside and doing his brooding schtick, rather creepily watching people dancing about the courtyard.

“Leave.”

He rolls his eyes, crossing his arms melodramatically. He has to stop himself from cracking a smile when the orchestra inside floats a crescendo through the walls. “Not even a hello?”

“Hello,” Shadow says in the most deadpan voice. “What do you want.”

Sonic makes a show of contemplating this, taking the time to settle against the wall right next to Shadow, much to the latter’s chagrin. “Well… what you have,” he decides on. “Peace.”

Shadow huffs, and goes back to staring into space. Oh, well. Sonic tilts his head at them, studying them quietly while they study the crowd.

…He can see what prompted Rouge to tell him to find Shadow, at least.

They are decidedly not wearing a suit, but they follow the formal dress code just fine— in a dress that reaches down to their ankles, the same shade of vibrant red as their stripes.

It isn’t quite as elegant as some of the floor-length, trailing gowns Sonic’s seen around the human guests, nor as lace-and-ruffles as the one Amy chose for tonight. Not quite something he imagined Rouge wearing, either— she was more the… showy type. But… it suited Shadow?

It’s weird, but not in a bad way. Sonic isn’t actually sure what he thinks about the matter. Would it be wrong to say Shadow is pretty?

Whatever, he looks away before he gets caught staring.

There are couples dancing on the trimmed grass, ruffling it with their steps. They keep time with the soft music of the orchestra inside as they spin, and spin, and spin. Sonic finds himself tapping the rhythm on his elbow, in the threes of waltz.

“So…” he starts. “Why’re you here?”

Shadow doesn’t answer. Sonic stares at the side of his head until he begrudgingly turns. “Should be asking you that.”

“Eugh.” Sonic rolls his eyes dramatically, earning a tch from the other. “Elise— the princess— invited me. She’s an old friend. Now can I ask?”

“...Rouge brought me along,” Shadow relents. “I owed her a favor.”

“Of course you did,” Sonic mutters under his breath with a twitching smirk. Unfortunately for him, Shadow has keen hearing and is not amused. He avoids those smoldering red eyes and changes the subject. “Did she pick that out?”

Shadow falters. “What.”

“Did she pick out your outfit?” Sonic gestures at them for good measure.

“...No. This is mine.” They seem rather offended at the thought, uncrossing their arms to brush off their front pointedly. Sonic’s split between amusement at their defensiveness and curiosity at their actual answer. So, of course, he digs himself deeper.

“Hey! No need to get worked up, Shads. Just didn’t really think you’d be the type to wear dresses, okay?”

Shadow bares a single fang at him in warning. “Didn’t think you’d be the type to wear suits, either.”

He’s so painfully deadpan in his delivery that had Sonic not traded insults with him so regularly, he would have missed the snark. “Yeah, yeah. So I’ve heard. Why is everyone pointing this out?”

“It’s true. You don’t hide it.” They look down, and Sonic realizes he’s been idly undoing his tie the whole time they’ve been. He pauses, holding the strip of fabric, and tries to remember how to put it back properly.

“...Can’t deny that.” He gives up and lets the thing fall in its tangled mess against his chest. He could pull it off. Probably. Shadow’s vicious eyeroll says otherwise, but it’s Shadow. “I’m never wearing this again.”

Shadow scoffs. Violins crescendo from inside like a laugh. Sonic looks away, at the spinning waltzers, as their dance progresses and their steps get more lively, around and around and around.

He fiddles with his button. He’s never worn a suit before. Never saw the need to. He thought it’d be fine. He didn’t expect such a normal thing to bother him this much.

Perhaps he should have expected it, given that he’s anything but normal, but alas…

“Rouge, she… It didn’t occur to me that I could have worn a dress, I guess, I dunno.”

Shadow levels him with a characteristically flat stare. “Didn’t you come with Rose?”

“Okay, well, she didn’t—! Look, Shadow. Amy’s Amy, and I’m me. She’s basically always wearing a dress, and I’ve never…” he trails off because that’s a lie, isn’t it? Years ago, in his unbridled childish glee, pulling whatever chaotic tactics came to mind, he remembers. That’s a lie. “...I have, actually. I…”

Shadow’s expression doesn’t change, still flat and fixed on his face. Sonic scowls at him, but can’t manage to keep up the angry facade. “But it wasn’t for serious things! I just… I’m not stupid!”

“Didn’t say that,” Shadow finally offers, a smug smirk crossing his face that said he thought that.

“I hate you,” Sonic spits childishly, pouting at the trap he’d set himself and stepped in.

The other is expectedly unfazed at this. “Then leave.”

Sonic folds his arms and steps away from the wall, walking closer to the ballroom. He stops before the closest window, tall and glistening in the night.

…It’s not more than six paces away from where he’d just been. Shadow scowls at him, and he smirks back. Technically, he’d left, hadn’t he?

Turning his head slightly, he’s surprised to see jade green eyes peering through the window at him. He can feel the vibrations of the orchestra from where he stood, starting a new song, rumbling and sweet. Amy smiles mischievously and gestures past him.

He turns around, seeing new dancers take the floor, dark suits and pale gowns, black and white. They find their rhythm slowly. He looks back at Amy, who is now miming even more enthusiastically.

What?

Tails catches onto her plot, helpfully signing, ‘dance’. Sonic nods sarcastically and mimes dancing with air. Amy is decidedly not amused, puffing her cheeks out like she does whenever she’s mad enough to bring out the hammer.

Sonic sighs, and signs to wait for him. He glances back at Shadow, who’s once again doing his brooding thing, then makes to walk across the courtyard, where he thinks there’s an entrance that connects to the ballroom.

He’s stopped suddenly by Tails’s voice through the glass. “Wait!”

“What now?” Sonic asks, leaning in to hear better.

“Amy says to tell you to dance with Shadow,” Tails relays, his namesakes twisting behind him. Sonic can’t tell if the kit’s smile is amused or sheepish. Or both.

He glances at Shadow, who is discreetly paying attention. “I’m not doing that.”

“Nuh uh! You,” Amy huffs, finally making it out from the crowd, “owe me a dance.” Sonic opens his mouth to rebut this, but Amy doesn’t let him get a word in. “You promised you’d dance! Now go do it with him. At least ask.”

“I can literally just walk inside—”

“Shadow needs to have fun too,” Amy says matter-of-factly. “Ask him, and if he rejects, then you’re off the hook for the rest of the night.”

“...Deal.”

And so Sonic turns on his heel and marches the six paces back to Shadow. He pauses in front of them to pull on his gloves as they watch. Then, with dramatic flourish— because if he was to do it, he’d do it well— he bows and offers them a hand. “May I have this dance?”

Shadow stares at him. Their face is blank. Bewildered? Sonic stays there for a few seconds as they buffer, waiting, before getting bored and standing up straight again. He mentally pats himself on the back for unlocking a new expression from the edgy hedgehog.

“Okay, just wanted to ask,” Sonic waves nonchalantly. That’s done, he supposed. What to do now—

“Do you even know how to dance?” Shadow interrupts before he can walk away.

He looks back. Grins. Offers his hand again. A challenge. “Of course. Who do you take me for?”

“Incompetent,” Shadow snips without hesitation, though he takes Sonic’s hand all the same, his other falling on Sonic’s shoulder. His face says ‘Impress me.’

Sonic places his hand where they are supposed to go and walks them farther away from the wall first— conveniently closer to the window, in case Amy is watching. Shadow matches him step for step, their dress swishing with every move, their eyes fixed on his face.

…Oh, this is more intense than Sonic had been expecting. He can’t even say he’s surprised, because Shadow was always this serious about everything. He doesn’t regret asking for the dance, never one to back down from a challenge, but as he counts out the rhythm in his head, trying to remember the steps from that one time Amy did this with him, he has to admit that he might be about to make a fool of himself.

Would please his dance partner, at least, to see him act as stupid as claimed, he smirks. On the upswing of the song, in time with the dancers in Sonic’s periphery, he eases the both of them into a simple waltz.

He’d say he’s not doing half-bad, if it weren’t for Shadow’s flat eyes boring into his soul with their stare. Not impressed. What’s a guy supposed to do here?

“You…” Shadow starts, pausing to look down at where their legs bumped into each other as Sonic tripped up. “You can do better.”

Six steps, just six steps, and somehow Sonic still can’t do them well. It’s a wonder how he can run perfectly without tripping at supersonic speeds… Alas, what he doesn’t have in skill, he’ll have to make up for in bravado. “Well, okay, can you?”

“Yes.” Shadow seems almost offended. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be asking, Hedgehog.”

“Ah.” He nearly steps on Shadow’s foot, and bravado fails him too. He can only hope that his palms aren’t sweating too much.

Sonic can do fighting, bantering, even flirting, but when it comes down to it, formality is something no bone in his body is built for. Waltz is not a dance he’s good at, with its closed position and square steps, especially in basic form.

Shadow’s trying to get him to make a quarter turn, he’s pretty sure. But they’re in the follower position— at least he remembered that term— and it’s not ideal for guiding Sonic to go where he should go. He doesn’t know where he’s supposed to step, and ends up taking two for every one of Shadow’s as he basically brute forces his way through the motions.

Forward, right, back, left, up, down, all around… He’s somehow fumbling more as the orchestra enters a different phase of the song. He’d think it would get easier, but no. This would be embarrassing if Sonic wasn’t focused on not making a bigger fool of himself.

Shadow’s face is pitched slightly in concentration, and likely frustration as well. Sonic smiles sheepishly and they hardly glance up, scoffing as they step forward, pushing him back. The two successfully make a turn… and Sonic freezes.

“What.” Shadow practically growls. Sonic looks right past his irritated face and at the sky. Something big, dark, and suspiciously rounded is descending rapidly, and it’s almost familiar.

It is familiar, actually. Smaller badniks deploy from the mech as it lands on the island with a fiery boom. And at once, the orchestra stops with a comedic screech, and the guests start panicking. A mob of them make for the entrance, but the ballroom is proven unsafe when Eggman walks up and blasts something out of his newest toy, shattering the glass on the windows and practically shaking the palace.

All while laughing maniacally.

“Party crasher extraordinaire,” Sonic mutters. Beside him, Shadow readies to jump the guy. He holds a hand out to stop them, earning himself a threatening glare that doesn’t work on him. “Wait a minute. Trust me.”

Eggman lowers his mech’s protective dome and leans out, leering at the panicking crowd. He spots Sonic and frowns, if only for a second, before going back to evil grinning. “You’re here… HA! Too bad— ACK!”

Amy’s red and yellow Piko Piko Hammer nearly puts a dent in the man’s skull before it swings back around, landing perfectly in the hands of its furious wielder as she steps through the broken window.

“Get. Out. Of. Here.” Amy seethes, pointing her hammer up at Eggman like it weighed nothing. The panicked yelling of the crowd wanes as a good chunk of them stare at her bold frame. “All I want is to enjoy one party without you ruining it. Go away. You have thirty seconds.”

From the sidelines, Sonic grins at Shadow and whispers without context, “Not finding her backup was useful after all.”

The doctor, to his credit, doesn’t show any fear at incurring Amy’s wrath, just continuing his villainous monologue with extra fervor— misplaced bravado, because not even Sonic wanted to face her when she’s at her angriest. She’s deceptively strong.

He pulls Shadow aside as Amy screams and charges, the loud CLANG as she puts a crater in the mech’s armor bringing a smile to his face. Eggman shuts up instantly and closes his dome, scrambling into battle mode.

Good timing for him, too, because Knuckles slams into his other side while he’s preoccupied, nearly throwing him off balance. The echidna had apparently taken his getup off before jumping in, which Sonic felt deeply.

“You’re not going to help them?”

He turns to Shadow, who’d asked the question. Their crimson eyes are less focused on him, though, and more on the badniks terrorizing the guests who’d not fled inside. A glance and a small explosion saw Rouge taking care of them, her expression one of distaste as she brushed herself off afterward. He shakes his head. “Eh, they’ve got this.”

Sonic pulls his undone tie off his neck and tucks it into his breast pocket before taking the jacket off himself entirely. Absentmindedly, he hands the thing to Shadow. “Hold this for me.”

He obviously doesn’t take it, instead throwing it against the wall and letting it fall into the budding gardenbed. “You’re revolting,” he spits. There’s hardly a bite to it.

“Well aware, thanks,” Sonic responds smoothly, rolling his dress shirt’s sleeves up. “Cover me! Or do whatever. I’ve got a date with the princess.”

He turns around and hops through the nearest window without elaborating. Still slower than he likes, but there’s a renewed energy that might be adrenaline lifting his spirits and making him feel better. He pauses briefly to give a thumbs up to Tails, who is getting everyone calmed down and away from the battle.

Then Sonic beelines for the grand staircase, taking the steps in stride. Elise walks out just as he makes it to the top, nearly bumping into him with her focus on the mech outside. “Oh— Sonic!”

“Heya, Elise!” He winks at her for good measure, and she smiles. “They’re taking care of Egghead for ya. Care for a run for old times’ sake?”

“You haven’t changed a bit,” she comments fondly. Sonic grins at her as he carefully swings her into a bridal carry, giving her but a second to get adjusted before he springs into a brisk run.

The cape on her shoulders flutters in the wind as they make their way to safety, almost as if taking flight.

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