Hi. I got this idea when I was thinking of how Valentine's Day coming up soon. The next chapter of "My Past is Not a Pretty Place" is still a WIP but I like to consider this special Valentine's Day one-shot to be connected to it.

And that's all I got to say. Onward to the story!

NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SONIC CHARACTERS (Except for my OCs). ALL RIGHTS GO TO SEGA.

Sonic's Valentine

It's 5:30 AM. And it is February 14 – Valentine's Day.

A gloved hand delicately places dozens of chocolate iced gems, each tiny biscuit topped with a swirl of red icing, into the plastic container on the table. Little pink candy hearts join the chocolate iced gems before the container's closed and wrapped in a picnic blanket.

Sonic pauses, his ears twitching, and breathes a sigh of relief. Tails hasn't woken up yet. He tiptoes into the kitchen and checks the fridge, pulling out a bag filled with mint candies. He leaves the bag on the dining room table along with a blue cardboard heart with a message dedicated to his little brother.

Closing the front door behind him, Sonic breathes in the crisp morning air. There's something he has to do before Valentine's Day well and truly begins for the rest of the world. Before the couples start coming out to go on their dates and before Amy comes in with a big bouquet of roses and an even bigger box of chocolates for him.

Sonic has to find jasmine flowers.

With the picnic blanket containing his precious iced gems and candy hearts tucked under his arm, Sonic runs out of Green Hill Zone. In just five minutes, he's at Mobotropolis' best flower shop. He helps the owner unload the fresh flowers from the truck and pays him for a bouquet of jasmines.

The owner, an elderly human named Jun, takes his time arranging them as the buds are still opening and he knows that Sonic wants the flowers to keep their fragrance. He doesn't add roses, as most customers would usually want, and he doesn't ask any questions. For the past ten or so years since he's worked at the flower shop, Sonic's special order every Valentine's Day hasn't changed: a bouquet of the most fragrant white jasmines, arranged right in front of him and picked up just before the shop opens. Jun ties up the bouquet in white tissue with a red ribbon and gives it to Sonic, who smiles and gives him a few extra bucks as a tip before racing out of the shop.

Flowers in hand, Sonic makes a beeline towards his favorite tree. It's just outside Mobotropolis, a solitary tree growing on top of a hill. There's a soft breeze blowing, making the tree's branches lightly sway as he approaches.

Sonic smiles as the first rays of the sunrise stream through the branches, dappling the ground beneath the tree with spots of yellow and making the leaves sparkle like emeralds. This is where he and his Uncle Chuck would go whenever they both need a break from their busy lives. They would sit under the tree, maybe with some chili dogs and two cans of soda, and just talk about what they've been up to and what they're planning to do next.

When they'd moved to Mobotropolis when he was only 12-years-old, Sonic found himself coming here a lot on his own. The tree was lonely growing all by itself on the hill and he, having just left the worst place on earth, had been a lonely child. It was the perfect place to get away from all the pain and sadness that constantly plagued him.

As the years went by, his pain lessened until it was only a tiny prickle in the depths of his heart and he could come here without shedding that many tears.

Every Valentine's Day since he left Christmas Island, he's always come here to celebrate it.

Now, he unties the knots in the picnic blanket and spreads it out on the grass. The plastic container's placed next to the bouquet of jasmine flowers. Sonic sits cross-legged on the blanket and opens the container. As he pops one of the iced gems into his mouth, memories come rushing in.

Of Valentine's Days past, of those cheerful afternoons making special iced gems with Fatima and her family. He remembers how her mother, Rosario, only added chocolate to the biscuit batter on special occasions. He remembers how they used to dip their fingers into the bowl when Rosario's back was turned so they could taste it and how loudly they would laugh whenever they got caught by Lola Elena, Fatima's grandmother. He remembers the impatience of having to wait ten whole minutes for the biscuits to finish baking. He remembers the riddle game Lola Elena made up for them as they mixed red food coloring into the royal icing and the joy of getting the answers right as they whipped the icing into stiff peaks. He remembers how he and Fatima would cheer after the biscuits had finished baking and cooling on the rack.

And he remembers the fun of piping the red icing onto the biscuits with Fatima and how her tongue would stick out of her mouth in concentration as she iced gem after gem with the precision and speed of a master confectioner. Compared to her dainty little bites, his always ended up looking sloppy. But Fatima never complained and happily ate each one.

Sonic pops a candy heart into his mouth next and he remembers how they would spend the rest of Valentine's Day listening to Rosario and Lola Elena sing old love songs while Uncle Chuck played guitar. In the middle of a song, Fatima would pull him to his feet so they could dance.

He remembers her hugging him as they swayed to the rhythm, the smell of jasmine from the little garland she always wore tickling his nose with its lovely perfume.

He remembers her smile as they danced together, so happy and filled with life, and the overwhelming urge to just hold onto her and never let go.

He remembers how much he loved her.

Sonic sniffles, eating another iced gem with a candy heart, and wipes away the tears wetting his cheeks. He takes the bouquet and holds it out in front of him, the delicate jasmine buds opening fully, presenting it to the sky as the sun rises.

"Happy Valentine's Day, angel…" Sonic whispers, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

I originally planned on Sonic going on a quick run to drop off little Valentine's Day gifts for all his friends in the wee hours of the morning of Valentine's Day before going off to celebrate it all on his lonesome at the tree. But my brain focused on the bittersweet angst and I could not stop it.

Let me know what you guys think by leaving a review.

Advanced Happy Valentine's Day, everyone. Make sure to tell your family, friends, and significant others you love them and mean it. In fact, let your loved ones know that you love them every single day… because you never know what'll happen.

Till next time!

-GuardianDragon98