Linked fate

ch 10; tea-time

Silver looks confused around in the pretty feminine house.
Pink, pink, pink and flowers.... And more flowers. And other house decorations as decorative pillows on the couch and on the cherry red armchair.
And right now Silver sits down on the couch with a white pillow with cherry flowers as pattern, behind him.

Amy walks toward him with a tray in the hands.
Then she places the tray down on the coffee table.
The small clinking sound from the cups and the teapot, startled him and he made a small jump.
"I'm glad you agreed to come over for tea~..." Amy smiles widely, and places a small white cup, with blue flowers as pattern, in front him at the table. With a small plate with blue edges, underneath the cup, where a teaspoon lies next the cup on the plate.
Silver let's out a nervous laugh.
"... I-... I'm just surprised... Y-you invited me..." he fidgets while Amy placed the second cup on the short edge of the table in front the armchair.
Amy giggles.
"Of course Silver!-... Why wouldn't I?... I'm friends with Shadow and Rouge, who are your friends as well... Therefore I would naturally be your friend too... Don't you think?" She says while pouring up fruit flavored tea in the cups. With flavor from the forest fruits; wild berry, blue berry, and raspberry.
Silver gives her a shy nod.
Only the thought of her being friends with those two, confuses him... They weren't on good terms few years ago... How could they start as 'enemies' and then ending up as friends?! ... Weird...

Amy smiles friendly at him.
"... Sugar, or milk?-... Or maybe both?" She asks since she gets the feeling he might prefer something sweet than bitter.
Silver gives her an unsure smile.
"... Sugar?"
Amy nods, and grabs the sugar nippers where she picks up a small cube of sugar.
"Alright-... How many lumps of sugar do you want in your tea?... Two?... Three?... Or more?" She asks while dropping the first in Silver's cup, where the hot tea immediately starts deforming the cube until it's dissolved.
Silver looks curiously down on the brownish water.
"... Three?-... Maybe..." he blushes, and looks worried up at her. Afraid she might tease him.
But-... Instead of flinching over his answer, she starts dropping two other cubes in his tea.
Then she replaces the nippers in the hand with a small plate with cookies.
"Cookie?" She asks smiling while holding the plate in front his face.
The white furred hedgehog blinks surprised.
"... T-thanks-... " he gulps, and grabbed one biscuit with chocolate chips.
Amy puts the plate back down on the tray.
"You are welcome~" she says and sits down on the couch where she takes her cup in the hand.

For a short while, it's silent and they start drinking the tea carefully. Since the flavored water is still pretty hot.
Silver starts thinking back at the situation where he and Tikal got caught red-handed in her room at Shadow's place.
He lowered the hand with the cup.
"... I-... I'm sorry..." he starts saying while the ears started laying down a little.
Amy hums asking, and starts lowering her cup as well.
"... For what?"
Silver looks ashamed away.
"... For p-playing in your room-... Without asking..."
At first Amy was confused... Then it clicked in her mind, and she starts playing the situation in her mind few times.
She starts laughing, and makes Silver's heart to skip a beat.
"Oh?-... That!... Don't you worry... I'm not angry at you... -If you are afraid of that... Afterwards-... I actually thought you were very sweet..." she explains.
Silver tilts the head, while raising an eyebrow.
"Sweet?...-H-how?"
Amy shrugs.
" First of all-... You were playing with Tikal, and were alright with putting on makeup and female clothes... Second-... Men who aren't afraid of letting their inner child out... Are kinda charming..." she tells him, and looks a bit flushed away.
Silver blinks confused at her.
Then he takes a bite of the cookie.

So-... Amy thinks he is kinda charming, and sweet?
Suddenly the mind starts thinking about Manic...
Which makes his heart to pound painfully, and the eyes tear up.
The throat also feels tighter than a few seconds ago...
No matter how much he tries swallow the piece of cookie, he can't without swallowing a lot tea.
Silver looks at Amy.
"A-are-..." he starts asking to get the mind off from Manic.
Amy jolts where she looks asking at him.
Silver smiles nervously at her.
"... - Are your name short for Amelia?"
Amy blinks a few times.
Then she shakes the head.
"No-... My name isn't a nickname for something else... Though-... Amelia is cute... Maybe I could name a future daughter that?..."
Silver nods.
"... Are you dating someone?-... I mean-..." Silver stiffened.
"...-Now when you don't have Sonic anymore..." he adds in low voice, and looks guilty down.
The smile on Amy's lips turned into a sad one.
"No-..." she answers.
Silver looks asking up at her.
Amy inhales deeply, while placing the cup down on the coffee table, at the plate.
"... No, I don't-... But I am not giving up on the idea of having my own family one day... But-... Right now I can't... Since I'm helping Knuckles and Shadow with the children...And therefore pausing my own life due living theirs..."
Silver looks confused at her. She seems so... Mature?... Compared to when he saw her few years ago.
And the mature side of her, makes her seem-... Pretty?

"... Why?-... Why do you help them?..."
Amy gives him a more sincere smile.
"... Since I love the children... And Shadow and Knuckles have become my friends... I also love having company... Since Sonic disappeared, I've felt so lonely... I could barely fall asleep in my own bed... But-... The more days and nights I spent at their house... The easier I could fall asleep in my own house..."
Silver exhales.
"... I think I understand..."
Amy nods, and picks the cup up again.
"How about you?-..."
Silver grunts confused.
"...Me?... W-what about me?"
Amy starts drinking.
"... Are you dating someone?"

The question starts hunting his mind, and he frozen.
Of course she would ask him back!-... Why did he had to ask if she dated someone in first place?!
The eyes get glossy in few seconds, and the tears start falling silently down.
The hand who held the cup, starts trembling.
So, he starts with fumbling movements placing the cup down on the table, and makes a thudding sound with the cup.

Amy grunts surprised, and looks up at him.
When she sees Silver's tears, and the sorrow in his face, she puts the cup away and stands up.
Within few moments she wraps the arms around him by standing in front him, and leaning toward him.
So yeah-... His face gets buried in her chest.
"... I'm so sorry Silver!-... Is it a she?-... Or he?"
Despite Silver was shocked of the sudden comfort from the other, he gratefully takes it.
"... He-..." he mumbles.
Amy rests the chin on top of Silver's head.
"Oh-... I'm sure you are in pain over that man-... But-... Don't worry Silver... The pain will fade away for each day... And one day, you won't think back at him with pain in the heart... And when that happens... You will fall in love with another man-... Or woman, for the matter..." she hushed, and strokes the hand over Silver's quills.
Silver nods.
The thought of opening up for someone else, feels so strange... Could he really fall in love with someone else?!

For a few moments, they are frozen in that position.
There Silver keeps crying silent tears who fall down on Amy's dark pink dress on the part around the chest.
And Amy keeps shushing while stroking the hand on his quills.

Soon-... Silver starts getting relaxed, and loosened up.
And without thinking about the awkward position, he leans away from her.
"T-thanks Amy..." he sniffles, and wipes the remaining tears away.
Amy smiles, and starts letting go of him.
"You are welcome-... I'm all ears, if you want to talk about it... And I do suggest you will start talk about it... Maybe not now-... And maybe not with me... But you shouldn't keep those things for yourself... It's always easier if you talk about your feelings... And sharing them with your friends..."Amy tells him, and sits back down on the armchair.
"... Feelings like that-... Usually get worse, if they get bottled up..." she adds.

Silver nods slowly.
Yeah-... She might have right... It already feels a lot better... Maybe it would feels even more better, if he starts telling her everything?
He inhales deeply.
"O-okay-... It started when I wanted to buy an ice-cream-..." he starts telling her, and starts filling her in with the rest. Except the part where Manic wanted to see the master emerald.
A while later Silver inhales deeply, and worried.
"... And now-... I'm afraid he only da-... D-dated me as a summer F-fling..." he adds in the end, and looks sadly down where few more tears starts falling down and landed on his thighs.
He let's out a shaky cry.
"... I feel so filthy-..." he sniffles with the hands over the eyes, and the head tilted down with lowered ears.

Amy's heart breaks apart over the sight of the devastated hedgehog.
Why would someone hurt Silver?-... Who is one of the kindest persons she knows.
If she could only repair some of the damage...
Amy jolts.
"Oh-... May I look at your phone?" She asks with increased heartbeats... Should she really do it?!

Silver grunts confused and lowered the hands while looking up.
"M-my... Phone?-..." he asks, and takes out the phone, and hands the phone over to her.
Amy takes the phone and starts clicking on the screen until she could read the conversation between Silver and Manic.
"Yeah-... I wanna help you... So, wait..." she says while eyeing the texts. Especially the ones from Manic.
A while later she nods, and starts erasing the whole conversation.
Then she does few other things on the phone.

Silver raises an eyebrow.
"What-... A-are you doing?" He squirms a bit uncomfortable.
Amy shrugs, and hands the phone back to him.
"Don't worry Silver-... Manic didn't saw you as a temporary summer fling... He obviously cared about you... And no matter what-... You aren't filthy... Only in love" she smiles.
Silver's heart skips a beat.
"Y-you r-read our t-texts!!!" He stutters with a completely red face from embarrassment.
Amy giggles.
"Sorry~"