Work Text:
Katie sat up from her sleeping position in her sleeping bag with a sigh. Her thoughts were keeping her awake again, and it was places like these, with their little light pollution, that kept her from drifting off. It also happened to be a very wide open space, this canyon, with lots of nooks and crannies for Robotnik and/or his lackeys to maybe hide a trap or two. So naturally, her mind was racing.
“Can’t sleep either?” she heard a voice from her left call out. Sonic sat several feet away, just above a steep, striped cliff. His head was turned just enough so the blue hedgehog could gaze at the pink cat. Katie shook her head in return. She rose up from her sleeping bag, grabbing her sketchbook and pencil. She walked away from the crackling campfire, which was currently working away at keeping the two fox cubs, Copter and Tails, warm this autumn night. As she gingerly plopped down beside Sonic, a chill from the wind racked her body.
“It really does get chilly out here. I got used to it, though,” the hedgehog quipped.
“How long have you been up?” Katie asked.
“I don’t know, maybe thirty minutes…” Sonic replied.
Katie nodded in response. She propped her legs up on the ground as an impromptu desk, flipping open her sketchbook to an empty page. She paused for a few moments, considering what needed to be created for her comic. She started sketching after a few moments of consideration. Some concepts for locations, maybe.
Sonic leaned back so the sketchbook was in sight, watching Katie draw her perspective guidelines. He always marveled at her skills that she had built since they were both children. They both had their talents; Katie her art, and Sonic his speed. Unlike Katie, Sonic was naturally born with his speed, which only had grown over time. Katie’s abilities took lots of practice, patience, and time, which Sonic could never wait for.
Sometimes he felt she worked too hard; sometimes Sonic would find her asleep at her desk back at home during the late hours, at which he would carry her back to bed. But Katie always said, if her comic got the complete green light, this could be a major source of income. Katie was always concerned about finances.
Sonic gazed back out to the canyon, admiring the cliffs and contours, the river that carved through the sandstone, the stars that dotted the skies above. It was times like these he appreciated the lack of buildings out in this canyon, making for practically no light pollution. If it were perfect, he thought, maybe he’d be able to see Rhombus all the way here from Mobius.
As Katie began sketching up the walls of a grand castle, she began to hum a tune that happened to be stuck in her head. Sonic caught on fast; it was Hey There Delilah, a song that they would often sing to Copter and Tails to help them fall asleep. Katie always had the most beautiful singing voice; he attributed that to both natural talent and her being from a family that was large on music. He believed that she and her siblings could form a band, if that was her forte. Sonic gazed back out to the canyon, taking in all the sounds of the area. The crackling of the campfire, the hooting of owls, the kids softly snoring, Katie’s humming.
He never wanted to leave this moment.
Katie decided to finally look up from her sketchbook, her eyes quickly lighting up at the sight of her wondrous surroundings.
“Wow…” she whispered.
“I know, right? Places like these are so beautiful,” Sonic mumbled back.
After a moment of brief silence, Katie placed her notebook aside. She moved closer to Sonic, leaning her head against him. Sonic was caught off guard for a moment, but leaned his head back on top of hers. He took in the rumbling sound of Katie purring.
Neither of them ever wanted to leave this moment. It was too perfect.