Her mind never fully rested. Instead, she tossed and turned all night, unsure if it was the bumpy ground below her, or the thoughts that billowed through her mind. It was irritating her just how much she was being affected by her feelings. Six months had gone by with no problem, then suddenly she's sleeping in a forest with a socially inept wolf and an oblivious hedgehog. Why couldn't she just focus on the one thing she had been trying to do this whole time?

She woke feeling exhausted, her hair a complete mess from the constant moving around. Maybe she hadn't revisited the cliff when they went back to HQ, maybe that memory was too raw to have gone back. The (a/t) had felt like she needed to, but now she was regretting it. She just can't seem to let it go.

(Y/N) grunted to herself, whether from her sore body, or her frustration, her sleepiness made it unclear. She was so to finding and rescuing her family, the last thing she needed was to be distracted by a boy.

She stretched her arms, feeling her stiffened body attempt to relax as she let out a yawn. Sleeping outside wasn't exactly a hobby of hers. The (a/t) sighed at the discomfort and turned her attention to the figure next to her, Sonic still being very much asleep and snoring. The sun was barely peaking out through the trees, barely over the horizon. She watched him for a moment, the rise and fall of his chest, his ear twitching occasionally. He seemed so peaceful, she craved for that kind of peace.

(Y/N)'s ears lowered slightly, before turning her gaze away and back to the scenery, to the orange eyes that sat not too far from her. The (a/t) jumped, not expecting their wolf host to be up at this hour, sitting closer than she would like, staring at her. She realised she was gripping onto her sleeping bag, and doing her best to calm her startled nerves, releases the material and tries to flatten it out.

"Sorry." The wolf mumbled, her ear twitching, "You were talking in your sleep, so I waited for you to wake up."

"O-Oh uh... Sorry." (Y/N) said, taken back by the other's forwardness, "I uh, I have a lot on my mind."

"Of course, I can tell." Haven shifted, glancing over her shoulder and then back to the (a/t), "I find it better to talk about it, even if it's to no one."

The (a/t) blinked, wondering if Haven talked to herself a lot, what she might talk about, before she shook her head. Obviously, this wasn't about the wolf, but about herself, and though Haven was right, (Y/N) wasn't so sure she felt comfortable enough to talk about it with her. If that's what she was even implying.

"I agree, I probably need to talk about it but..." The (f/c) (a/t) held her arm now, "But, well, I barely know you and Sonic... He's... Kinda the cause of the problem..."

The wolf's ears perked in interest, and she moved closer. The (a/t) tried to shift back, but being so close to Sonic, she didn't want to disturb him, especially right now. Haven noticed her move back, and it was clear she got the hint. She moved back, giving (Y/N) her space,

"It's still good to talk about it, whether to Sonic, or just to yourself. Gets your thoughts in order." The wolf tapped her head, a distant gaze in her eyes. She went quiet for a moment, before seeming to snap out of a thought and focus her attention back on the (a/t), "I'm leaving for now, and won't be back until late."

(Y/N) gave a small smile, nodding towards their host, "Thank you."

Haven nodded back, before she grabbed her bow from her back and took off into the trees. The (a/t) watched as she disappeared, wondering what the hell just happened. She let out a sigh, glancing back at Sonic for a moment longer; wondering if she should talk to him or not; wondering where it would get them, if it would make it worse. What could go right? What could go wrong?

The (a/t) looked up to the sky, the darkness slowly fading as the sun rose, turning the sky a strange purple blue. The stars were starting to fade, and the shadows of the trees began to stretch towards the two sleeping bags. She took a deep breath, turning back to her sleeping friend. Hesitating for a moment, she placed her hand on his shoulder and gave him a little shake.

"Sonic, it's time to get up." She mumbled, shaking him some more, "We need to get ready."

Sonic let out a groan, rolling over onto his other side, now facing her. His emerald eyes peeked out from behind his eyelids, and he yawned.

"I don't wanna..." He mumbled, closing his eyes again and wrapped his arm around her waist. The (a/t)'s cheeks turned red, aware that he was probably too tired to realise he was hugging her.

"You came up with this plan." She stated, now going to poke his head, "You gotta stick to it, right?"

The blue hedgehog huffed, taking a moment to sit up and rub his eye. He was completely unaware that he had even touched the (a/t). Sonic stretched, letting out a sigh as he finally got himself up. His quills were a mess from sleeping on the ground, something he seemed somewhat used to, but not entirely adapted to.

"Thanks (Y/N)." He said, "I slept like a log last night, my whole body feels stiff."

"Yeah, sleeping on the ground does that to you." The (a/t) chuckled, not wanting to mention her lack of sleep to the hedgehog just yet, "Should we have something to eat before we head out to the base?"

"Nah, we can take some food with us." Sonic waved a hand, getting to his feet with another groan. He then began to stretch out his legs, his arms; and soon enough he was wide awake, "Let's go!"

"Y-Yeah, we should go." (Y/N) got to her feet, surprised by how easily Sonic was able to shake off his sleepiness. She wondered how she would be able to keep up with his enthusiasm today.

The blue hero was completely oblivious to the slow movements of his friend, already rummaging through their things and grabbing a few snacks and drinks to take with them. He hummed to himself, and the (a/t) could already feel her mind spinning, getting distracted. Now would be the perfect time to talk to him, get rid of it all before the mission, right?

She reached for his shoulder, "Sonic-"

"Alright, I think that's all we need." The hedgehog jumped to his feet, causing the other to flinch back, "You ready to go yet?"

(Y/N) felt her chest tighten. Dammit. How long would this go on for? She shook her head and gave him a smile. Whatever, this conversation is obviously being avoided for a reason, she'll just have to wait for a better opportunity... Right?

"Yeah... Let's go..." She mumbled.

Sonic gave her a thumbs up, and the two headed into the forest. They walked for a while in silence, Sonic now holding a map in front of his face and the (a/t) holding her arm sadly. It had been a mutual agreement that Sonic not run them to their destination, just in case Eggman had set up some weird speed-sensing device.

It didn't take long for them to arrive, and the two found a tree they were happy resting in while they stalked the base for the day; close to the front of the base, but out of view of any possible cameras. (Y/N) stared up at the branches for a moment, feeling herself freeze in distant thought. It took Sonic clearing his throat to startle her back into the real world and he raised his eyebrow at her.

"You all good?" He asked, she returned an awkward smile in response.

"Fine." She said, before making her way up the tree.

The blue hedgehog watched her, shrugging to himself as he made his way up the tree as well. The two found a sturdy branch and took their places, with the (a/t) sitting next to the trunk and Sonic further out on the branch. From here they could see everything, the front entrance to the base, all the cameras on top of the building, even the large satellite dish that sat on top of the building. Sonic held the map up in front of him, doing his best to match the outside cameras to the ones marked on the map, hoping to get a better understanding of the layout of this secret base.

He lines almost everything up perfectly when he comes across a singular camera just outside the door; on the map it's meant to the to the left, but it was clearly to the right. He shrugged it off as a fault in the blueprints, maybe something Eggman changed last second, or didn't even realise he had done, and he glances at the (a/t).

"You know, for a doctor, he seems to make a lot of mistakes, huh?" He chuckled, thinking back on his mishap with the Phantom Ruby.

When he didn't get a response, the hedgehog glanced over at the (a/t), finding her leaning against the trunk of the tree and staring at the base. Her eyes, however, seemed distant, like she was looking past the base and into something more, something further. The hedgehog tilted his head, shuffling closer to his friend.

"Hey?" He nudges her, and (Y/N) startles out of her thoughts again, "Mind telling me what's going on? You're not focusing on the mission."

The (a/t) blinked, biting her lip. She had meant to talk to him about this, obviously, but why here, and why now of all times? Right outside an unfamiliar base? She shifts uncomfortably, her mind searching for the words. How should she even begin this? Should she? Or should she push this back even further and risk another sleepless night? Another possibility that it will be avoided for days, weeks, leading onto months?

The universe was seriously boning her right now.

(Y/N) let out a sigh, "Here it goes..."

She glanced at Sonic, her chest tight with anxiety. This was happening now, and after so long, wanting to talk about it with him so badly, it felt like she wouldn't be able to. Even still, she managed to start talking, slow and awkward, unsure how to word things. And then it started to just fall from her lips. She told Sonic everything that was on her mind, how she wasn't expecting this at all, how she went from being alone for a few months, to suddenly spending every day with the blue hedgehog and how it's driving her insane. She mentions going back to the Resistance HQ and how tense it had felt, even if he didn't mean it. She tells Sonic that when he had gone off to check on the city, she didn't actually go to help her neighbours, but instead she revisited the cliff. It felt like it was happening so quickly and yet it felt as though she was moving in slow motion as she expressed her guilt for lying and not actually helping others, but how revisiting the cliff seemed to have made her feelings even stronger.

"I'm just... I'm confused." She said, lowering her head, "I don't know why I'm so caught up on it, or how you can act so casual around me considering that kiss we shared... It's like it never happened or meant anything to you. And then you dedicate all your time to helping me find my family?"

Sonic was quiet, a sombre look in his eyes as she continued,

"I... Still have feelings for you, even after months of not seeing or even thinking about you. I thought I had pushed them away, or-or moved on, but these past few weeks have only brought them back. It's... It's annoying because I want to focus on my family, but I-I can't... I'm too focused on you... On us..." She gripped her arms, turning her head away, "And this isn't the right time for this conversation, but when is? Apparently not every other time I tried. I... I should have never gone back to that cliff... Maybe I wouldn't feel so insane..."

The (a/t) collapsed against the trunk, wondering if her word vomit even made sense. Sonic was still silent, processing everything (Y/N) had just said. It was definitely a lot, and she was right, this wasn't the time for this conversation, but if it was distracting her too much then he knew he had to do something about it. For all they knew, Eggman could be watching them right now with some popcorn, but they weren't going to get anything done if they didn't talk about it. The hedgehog cleared his throat,

"I... Know what you're going through." Sonic said, rubbing his head, "I've been thinking about it all too. I wasn't sure how to handle it so I thought it would be best to just act normal and not awkward. You've come so far as a person, and I didn't want you to shy away from this, not that you would, it's clear you wouldn't."

He gave a small smile next, "And, I know you visited the cliff. I... Saw you there. I didn't go help the citizens either, didn't want to after how they treated you. I was going to revisit the cliff anyway, but you beat me to it. I almost got upset when you lied to me about it but then I'd be a hypocrite huh?"

(Y/N)'s ears perked in interest. He had visited the cliff too? She felt her cheeks warm, and she kept her head lowered, holding a hand up to her face sheepishly. She glanced at Sonic, the hedgehog seemed to be blushing too, but his eyes held a serious look to them. Her stomach turned cold, and she lifted her head, meeting his gaze.

"The thing is (Y/N)..." Sonic started slowly now, cautious, "I do really care about you, it's why I'm here helping you now; it's why I kissed you on that cliff."

"So why have you been ignoring it then?" The (a/t) pressed forward.

"Because... Ugh, how do I say this?" The hedgehog asked, now seeming frustrated with himself, he ran his hand down the side of his face, seeming to cringe, "I can't... Be with you..."

"I- What...?" (Y/N) blinked, "What do you mean?"

"It's like I said on the cliff, I'm a hero, I can't really... Date anyone." Sonic said, his ears lowering, "It would put your life at risk. I don't want that for you. Just look at your family, Eggman kidnapped them because they're a weakness to you. What would he do when he finds out you're my weakness?"

The (a/t) was completely taken back, his words were ringing through her head. Can't be with her? What about all she had gone through with him? And he was just going to shelve those memories? Because he was a hero?

"I'm a hero too you know, and I'm willing to take that risk." She fought, gripping her fist tightly.

"It doesn't matter." Sonic shook his head, "Because I don't want to put you in that sort of risk. As long as I can control it, I'll never be in a relationship again."

(Y/N)'s eyes widened, his tone cutting through her like a knife. How could she fight back against that? How could she get him to listen to her? And... What happened to him to make him rescind relationships?

"What do you mean by 'again'?" She asked quietly, not willing to give up on this just yet. Sonic hesitated, clenching a fist tightly, as if remembering a pain, he had long forgotten.

"It was something that happened a while ago. I'd rather not think about it now." He said, his voice now flat. The (a/t) had never seen him like this, so distant, closed off, distracted, "Anyway, we're here to stalk Eggman, so lets just do that so we can head back to the ruins."

The (a/t) fell silent after that, they both did. Sonic had turned his focus onto the base in front of them, his hands still clenched tightly, like he was battling something inside of him. (Y/N) simply watched him, looking for a sign that he didn't mean what he said, that he hadn't been avoiding this conversation because he wasn't nervous, but because he was sure. It was clear he was done with the conversation and her heart broke inside.

The forest around them seemed to grow colder the longer they sat there, the (a/t) not sure what was going through her mind, through her heart. All she was focusing on right now was keeping a poker face and ignoring the terrible ache that ran through her body. She watched the building; it was rather blurry right now, and Sonic's words circled through her head for the rest of the day.