Chapter Text
Sonic had come rather used to the joys living in a house. Tv, couches, beds, ac… Which is probably what he missed the most right now. He huffed and his tongue lolled a little. Being covered in fur had its advantages, but it also had its disadvantages. As in, the sun is currently blasting down on him, melting him with its rays. And he couldn’t even hide in the shade because he was in the middle of the lake. Trapped in some little boat that could sink any second. The only upside was that he was stuck with his favorite person ever, Donut Lord.
However, that ‘favorite person’ is being thoroughly tested. Sonic glowered at the back of Donut Lord’s back. ‘Oh, it’ll be fun Sonic’, ‘You need to spend some more time outside Sonic.’, ‘We’ll get lunch after.’ Admittedly, that last point did win him over. But if he could go back in time and tell his younger self to not accept, he would. And the worst part is that they haven’t even caught anything yet. Sonic will forgive himself because it was his first time fishing with a rod. But Tom? Sonic shook his head as once again Tom reeled it back in without getting a bite.
“Sonic buddy, I think you're scaring the fish away. Maybe try being a little bit more quiet.” Sonic’s glower deepened. He’s all for making jokes and everything. But with the sun’s oppressive heat blaring down on him. Nothing was funny, and Sonic didn’t know if anything would be funny ever again. He had to squash the urge to attack Tom, as he responded. Though, the thought of sinking his teeth into the shoulder of the unsuspecting human did cheer him up a little.
“I’ll tell you what’s scaring the fish away. The sun! It’s probably turning them into fish sticks the second they reach the surface.” Which was not an exaggeration by any means.
“It’s not that bad. Tell you what though, if you actually cast your reel, time will go by faster.” Sonic rolled his eyes then looked out across the water. He has cast his reel or whatever a couple of times. But every time there was nothing. So he got bored pretty fast and gave up. Just electing to complain and ask to leave every couple minutes.
The water shimmered all around him like diamonds, it was quite pretty, but it would be even better if he didn’t feel like roadkill. The boat rocked ever so gently and once again, it would be nice if he didn’t feel like he wasn’t melting.
“But I’m dying… You’re gonna turn around there’s gonna be a puddle where I’m at. And on my gravestone, it’s gonna say, ‘Here lies Sonic. Melted because Donut Lord forced him to fish.’”
“Now hold on a second. I didn’t force you to come. You wanted to come fishing with me.”
“Because you tricked me with lunch!” Sonic does suppose he wasn’t actually tricked. But he is willing to try anything to get off this stovetop of a lake quicker.
“I did not trick you… I just bribed you. A big difference. And look, aren’t you having fun?” No. He was having the opposite of fun. If fun was traveling in a spaceship to a distant planet, then he was traveling in a spaceship straight into a black hole.
“Ugghh… No…”
“Tell you what… Go ahead and cast your line out one more time and if you want, we’ll leave after that.”
“Deal.” He might have moved faster than he has ever moved before. He cast the line and it’s a testament to the quality of the rod that it didn’t break with how fast Sonic reeled it in. His hands moved till they looked like a blur, and he wouldn’t be surprised if the water got friction burn. “Can we go now? Can we go now?” Really it’s not fair. Donut Lord is only human after all and would need like… a couple of seconds to turn the boat on. But that didn’t stop the tap-tap-tap of his foot against the boat floor.
“Yes-yes. You need to learn some patience. You know,-” Sonic gave a big ole eye roll as Tom began his lecture. Yet despite that, he didn’t tune Donut Lord out. He hung on to every word, even if they were unsolicited life advice, because he knows all too well the emptiness of having no one to talk to. “- I was hoping that maybe you could learn to slow down a little and have some patience. Cause if there’s one thing fishing requires, it’s patience.” A little quieter, almost a growl that a human wouldn’t have heard, but he could, “Lot’s of patience.” Sonic will just pretend he didn’t hear that.
“I hear you. But uhm… It’s still boring. And besides, you’re talking to the most patient alien hedgehog in the world….” Sonic’s lips slowly turned upwards at Donut Lord’s back, “And the most handsome, smart, funny, awesome, fastest, coolest… just take all of those and multiply them by a million percent. That’s me.” Sonic leaned back the best he could without going overboard. As he did not want to get his fur all icky from the lake water. Also, he didn’t want to drown.
Tom turned to look at him with one of those dumb smiles that he makes before a very unfunny joke. “Also the most whiniest hedgehog on earth.” Sonic’s smile fell almost instantly. However, before he could point out everything wrong with that ‘statement’. Which was more like the most deceiving lie that was ever lied. Tom turned back and started the boat, the motor drowning out his very strongly worded response.
Sonic crossed his arms and tried to focus on anything else. He knew that Tom was just joking, but for some reason. The slight pull on his chest didn’t go away. What if Donut Lord wasn’t joking? He doesn’t complain that much but… He does suppose he did spend the past hour non stop complaining. (even though his complaints were completely valid). Whenever Tom or Maddie ask him to do something, he usually grumbles and complains. Even easy stuff like sweeping. After all, they take care of him, feed him, they gave him a place tAo live. And in return? He does whine. Sonic’s ears tilted down some. Tom is right, he is the most whin-
“Hey.” A sudden voice and a large hand on his shoulder took Sonic out of his mind. He looked up at Tom who had a small smile, “I was just teasing, you know?”
Sonic looked down, his cheeks burning with shame, “Maybe. But you aren’t wrong. I do complain about the smallest thing. And I shouldn’t be allowed too. Especially since you and-”
“Hey-hey-hey. Slow down buddy. What are you talking about?” Great, Donut lord wants him to humiliate himself and talk about how he whines at doing the simplest chores. Sonic considered staying silent, but he thought that that could be seen as a silent way of complaining. So still looking down.
“You just do so much for me but I still whine about doing easy stuff like chores and just now-” He felt the hand rub small circles on his shoulder as he was interrupted by Tom.
“Sonic buddy. You might not know this, but you’re still a kid.” Sonic blinked before he looked up with questioning eyes, his ears flickered once.
“What? I know that..?”
“Well, kids are supposed to complain about stuff they don’t like. If you didn’t complain then I would be concerned.” The pull in his chest left but the confusion stayed. His brow raised.
“You want me to… complain?” That didn’t make any sense at all.
“Not really, but what I’m trying to say is that it’s normal too. I mean hell. You know Maddie's sister, Rachel?” Sonic nodded, “She has been complaining about me and you- Maddie for as long as we’ve been together. Which is longer than you’ve been alive. And it’s like, give it a break already, you know?” Sonic’s brow furrowed as Tom kinda looked away near the end and he got the strange feeling that the human wasn’t really talking to him near the end.
Sonic shrugged, “I guess.” Maybe that did make sense. If it’s normal for human kids and Rachel to complain, then he should be allowed too. Though, another thought quickly entered his head, “If you’re over here then who’s driving the boat?” Tom did not look nearly concerned enough for Sonic’s liking. Because the last thing he needed was a Titanic reboot.
Tom started to speak as he looked behind himself to see where the boat was heading. “Don’t worry about it. We’re just moving in a straight li- Holy Crap!!” The yelling startled Sonic causing his quills to raise a little and fur to poof out a little. Sonic was going to demand what was that for? But he soon saw. Dead ahead, were a bunch of children splashing around in the lake. Right where the boat was heading. Tom reached the steering thingy and shouted over his shoulder, “Hold onto your butt!” Sonic had little time to decipher if he was supposed to actually grab his butt, or if that just meant to brace himself before the boat very suddenly changed its course and he almost went flying off.
…
Sonic put his hands on the table and leaned forward. “I can’t believe you almost ran over all those children!” Perhaps he sounded a little too excited for what he was talking about.
“I did not-” Tom was addressing him, but then turned to the people who were sitting next to them in a different booth. Who had quite the questioning look on their faces, “I didn't do that.”. Sonic caught the eyes of one of them, which caused them to quickly turn away. But before Sonic could think too much about it. Tom turned back to him and lowered his voice. “You just have an over-active imagination. I wasn’t even close to hitting them." Sonic took a big sip of his mountain dew before he responded.
“Yes you were. You were like 2 feet away from hitting them.” Tom ‘psshhdd’ and leaned back. Which let the ambient sounds of the cafe flood his ears before Donut Lord spoke again.
“I was like 200 feet away from them- not even close. Besides… I was doing my due diligence as a sheriff by making sure everyone was okay.” Sonic had a sly smile form.
“They wouldn’t have been if you ran them over.”
“Well good news. I didn’t. Enough about me though. What about you? Anything exciting happening?” Sonic leaned back against the booth.
“Besides being awesome and cool? Not much. Although, I finally got top 10 in a fortnite match. First time that happened and the only reason I died was because of hackers. Actually, I keep losing because of hackers. They’re targeting me.” Yes they were, Sonic was absolutely sure of that otherwise, he would have won so many matches by now.
“Of course… Is fortnite the dinosaur game you have?” Sonic’s ears folded back almost instantly.
“No!” Tom brought his hands up in defense.
“Okay-sorry… Sheesh.” He did not over react, and Tom should be sorry. He’s only ever told the human the difference between his games like a thousand times. Sonic sighed and rolled his eyes for good measure before correcting Tom.
“Ark is the dinosaur game. Fortine is the uhh- the-uhmm… The shooting game where I have to kill everyone else. And you can build, but I’m not that good at it to be honest. Probably my only flaw.”
“Sounds pretty violent.” Sonic groaned. There’s nothing violent about shooting and killing a bunch of video game people.
“It’s just a video game. And there’s not even any blood in.”
“Okay… I guess. Anything else?” Sonic shifted in the booth, and took another sip of his drink. He didn’t think of anything right away. Well, anything that he could say out loud. But he eventually remembered something else he could complain about.
“Yeah actually. Since we’re talking about it. I think the hackers are following me from Fortnite into Ark.” Sonic frowned when Tom blinked and he had no understanding in his eyes. It’s literally the most simple thing ever and the hedgehog doesn’t get why the human can’t understand it.
“That must be uhm… That must be rough.” Sonic nodded, quills naturally swaying with the motion. It was about time Tom said something true. It was rough.
“Yeah it is. I guess it’s not that bad since all they seem to do is move stuff around and mess with my base… Though, the other day, I spent like ten minutes farming metal and I put it in the forge to smelt it into metal ingots. But I had to log off and when I logged back on, they were gone! Someone stole them.” And he didn’t want to point fingers but the only person in the house was Tom! So maybe he would confess to his crimes.
“Hold on a second. You said you farmed metal? Aren’t you supposed to mine it?”
“No!!! Oh my gosh.” Sonic ran his hands over his head in frustration so he didn’t see Tom’s baffled expression. “ Obviously I’m not farming farming it. Like I would rockcarrots or longgrass.”
“I guess? Couldn’t someone have stolen them? That’s a thing right?” Has Tom actually listened to him at all? He has said multiple times before that he only plays ark on singleplayer. Honestly, Sonic couldn’t see why Donut lord couldn’t remember something as important as that.
“Like I said many times in the past. I only play ark on singleplayer so no one else, besides the hackers, could have stolen it.”
“You probably just misplaced it and forgot about it.”
“That’s impossible. I have an amazing memory.” Sonic leaned back in the booth and brought his hand to his chin. He was mostly just doing it for Tom’s benefit, to show the human that he was thinking.
“No offense Sonic but you kinda have a… forgetful mind.” Sonic let his hand fall and his mouth fell with it. He leaned back up against the table.
“That’s an outrageous and very untrue accusation. You will be hearing from my lawyers.” And the real ones too, not just him in a silly costume.
“It is, is it?” Tom raised a brow, “Can you explain the dishes in the dishwasher when you were asked to empty it last night?” Uh-oh.
“I plead the fourth.” Tom opened his mouth but paused and tilted his head slightly.
“You mean the fifth?”
“That’s basically what I said.” So what if he was one number off? It’s literally the same thing.
“Not really.”
“Whatever. When is the food gonna get here? We’ve been waiting foreeeeveeerrr.”
“We’ve literally been here for like ten minutes.”
“Maybe 10 million minutes and don’t forget that I just spent all day on the water. So forgive a hedgehog for being hungry.”
“We were on the water for like… thirty minutes.” Not true. And even if it was true, it didn’t matter. Since it felt like forever.
“Yeah, maybe thirty minutes times a million minutes.” That was a pretty big number so it should get his point across. Sonic looked at the windows for a second and the world seemed to fade away. Across the street was a park. Which was in the middle of the little town called Green Hills. Which wasn’t anything new to Sonic, of course. He knows all about the parks and buildings and creeks and streams and everything else this town has to offer. So the park itself didn’t make his mind wander but what was happening in it.
There was a collection of kids. Playing a game, not baseball but kinda like baseball. They were in the same spots but instead of a bat and well, a baseball. There was just a big rubber ball that they kicked. Sonic scooted a little closer to the window almost unconsciously as the pitcher rolled the ball towards the kicker. And just when it looked like the kicker was about to make contact, Sonic’s view of the game got completely cut off as a car drove by. Which caused his lips to turn down into a deep frown. Stupid car and stupid driver… Sonic shook his head slightly as he missed the kick entirely though it was pretty clear that the kicker did connect as he was running to first base.
And he liked to imagine that he was there, running to first and then second and then- actually… Sonic wouldn’t claim that he’s an expert at kicking balls but he is super talented and awesome. So he would probably kick it right out of the park every time and enjoy a nice slow victory jog around the bases while his team cheered and his opponents groaned. That was a common theme with all his imaginary scenarios. He would always end up being the one to save the day and everyone would want to be his friend and love him. And he would never be lonely ever agia-
“Hmm?” He turned away from the window and away from the ‘what-if’ to look at Tom, who had said something but Sonic was too lost in his mind to hear anything but white noise.
“I said, why don’t you go join them?” A small frown formed on Sonic’s lips. Was Tom being serious? Because that isn’t funny to joke about.
“But we’re about to eat?” That was true, they were about to chow down on some greasy but undoubtedly yummy diner food. But that wasn’t the only reason; far from it.
“It’s not gonna grow legs and walk away,” It did bring some joy to Sonic imagining his plate containing his burger and fries actually growing legs and walking away. Leaving Donut Lord confused and quite possibly scared, “And I don’t mind sitting here and watching you kids play through the window.” Sonic raised a brow and Donut Lord must have caught its meaning, “ Non-creepily watch you play through the window.”
Sonic looked down as he thought of what to say next. He wouldn’t say the real reason he didn’t want to go. “Well… I’m hungry- and it’s hot outside. Plus they’re already in a game so I wouldn’t be able to join anyways.” He brought his hands together and tapped his gloved fingertips against each other. Surely Tom would believe that or at least accept that.
“Fine, fine,” Sonic breathed out in relief, “If you don’t want to tell me the real reason that’s okay, you don’t have too.” Sonic stopped tapping his fingers together. That was the real reason… for the most part, kinda. And how would Tom even know that he wasn’t telling the truth? It didn’t matter. He doesn’t care that Tom thinks his listed reasons aren’t real. He does not care at all. His ear twitched.
“But those are the real reasons and perfectly valid reasons too, I might add.” Extremely valid if he says so himself.
“If you say so.” He does say so. Sonic says so very much.
“I do…” Sonic looked away as he spoke.
“Okay. My apologies then.” Sonic bit his bottom lip. He knew Tom didn’t believe him and he hated it. The human had that tone, facial expression and just- just… Sonic just knew he wasn’t telling the truth. And he did not like how it made him feel one bit.
“I shouldn’t have too…” He really didn’t mean to say that; it just kinda slipped out of his mouth. Hopefully Tom didn’t hear tha-
“What did you say?” Sonic clenched his hands tight under the table. He should just ignore it. Tom can’t pester or lecture him if he doesn’t talk back… But he has too, he needs to spin a lie so that he can tangle everyone in it including himself.
“I said I shouldn’t have too- I’m the alien here-” Sonic pointed to his own peach furred chest. Tom looked absolutely lost as to what that could mean so perhaps a little emotionally, Sonic continued, “They should be the ones coming up to me and asking me if I want to play. If I want to be their friend. Not the other way around. I-I” Sonic snapped his mouth shut and looked at the window. He didn’t dare turn to look at Tom after his little outburst. He knew Tom wouldn’t believe what he just said and it was clear he didn’t either. It was kinda funny in a way. Despite the fact that he’s living with two humans and the town knows about him. He felt more distant and so much more aware of how different he is from humanity then all the time he spent alone. At least in his fantasies no one looked at him like he was a freak or shuffled their kids away from him or stayey away like he was some kind of disease.
“You know Sonic,” Sonic didn’t turn to look but his big ears tilted to the voice, “Have you considered that maybe they’re nervous to talk to you too?”
Sonic tried to keep his cover and turned to look at Tom, “I’m not nerv-” The words died in his throat. There was no point in denying it. “Well it doesn’t make sense for them to be. I’m shorter and there’s more of them than me so there’s no reason they should be nervous to talk to me.” Sonic nodded along a little as he spoke. That was a good thought. He could use that in the future.
“I don’t know…” Sonic was ready to write off whatever Tom was about to say next but he spotted the little upturn on his lips he made when he was about to tell one of his ‘jokes’. Which would really only make the hedgehog more upset now as now was not the time for jokes. “Did you forget that they would be talking to the most awesome, coolest, fastest hedgehog around? I think that’s plenty of reasons to be nervous.” Sonic stared at Tom for a couple of seconds before he spoke; while also trying to fight the smile forming on his lips.
“You forgot most handsome and intelligent but it’s okay. No one's perfect.” The feeling of shame and the twisting force in his gut slowly vanished. He leaned in to take another sip of his drink. Donut Lord was right, maybe he was looking at this all wrong. And it makes total sense. Of course the humans would be nervous and in awe around him. Sonic swallowed the last sip of his drink and leaned back against the booth. Tomorrow, because he was totally busy later today and not because he was still nervous about the entire thing, he would go up to them and demand that he can play with them and kick their balls. Well, maybe he would phrase it a little bit differently…
“Well, I’m glad that you still accept me despite me not being perfect. And besides, it’s not like a friend is just gonna fall out of the sky. And you’re a good kid so I know for sure that anyone would be lucky to have you as their friend.” Sonic looked away as his cheeks burned a little and his heart thumped in his chest. He’s still getting used to actual compliments and what he assumes is affection. And every time he received them it made him feel so light that he could just float away. His feet, which didn’t even touch the floor, kept swinging back and forth bouncing off the booth.
“Thank you, Tom.” Sonic had a small but true smile on his mouth as he stared at Donut Lord. Until he replaced that smile with a mock stern expression and pointed at the human across from him, “But don’t think that you’re off the hook for trying to melt me earlier today because you most certainly are not. Although… Perhaps a milkshake could make me forget?” Sonic touched his fingers together and kinda made a pyramid with his hands as he raised a brow.
“For braving the heat… I’ll say you derve one.” Which was the exact answer he was looking for. Now to decide on what flavor he wants… Which was a long and quite difficult process but ultimately Sonic decided to be basic and go for vanilla. Nothing too complex but will do a good job at making him forget the horrors he faced on his fishing incursion earlier in the day.
Feeling quite on top of the world, Sonic decided to announce what flavor he wanted to the one and only, Donut Lord, “I think this little hedgehog wants va-” He stopped speaking as the waitress pulled up with their food. Two plates, two burgers, and two sides of fries. Not the most diverse or healthy lineup of meals but oh well. Not like he’s counting his calories.
The waiter put down Tom’s first, right in front of him. Nice and smooth which wasn’t really a surprise or anything just a small observation that Sonic made. There was a hesitation, a slight pause as the waitress began to put his own plate in front of him. And Sonic, being a mix of hungry, kind, and impatient, decided to lend her a helping gloved hand. By that, he just reached out to grab the plate from her hand. And in the next moment Sonic really wished that he just kept his hands to himself. To save himself from the feelings that he would feel when the waitress dropped the plate on the table like she was feeding a snake that would lash out and bite her if given the chance.
The clang of the plate hitting the table echoed through the diner and Sonic didn’t know what made him feel worse. The way the women took a couple small steps back or the way every eye in the place turned towards him. His ears tilted down and he almost unconsciously glanced around. He didn’t really get a good look at the faces in the diner but he didn’t have too. They were filled with disgust and fear and hate because why would they be filled with anything else? And all of Tom’s prior words just went straight into the trash. He wasn’t cool or awesome, he was a freak. And the other kids didn’t talk to him because they were nervous but because they thought he was just some little monster.
The hunger Sonic felt in his stomach was replaced by something else that made the idea of eating make him feel queasy. He just wanted to disappear but he also didn’t want to leave Tom’s presence. So he just put his arms against the table and rested his forehead against his arms. He tried to block out the sound of the world but it wasn’t like he could just turn off his ears.
First he heard a ‘Really?’ from Tom and a very quiet and muffled apology from the waiter before he could hear footsteps moving away from their table. The low drone of chatter was next as the other patrons got back to their conversations. While Sonic still stayed with his head pressed into the table. Where he just stayed like that for a little bit… It just wasn’t fair. He wasn’t gonna do anything but grab the plate. Why did the waiter have to act like he was going to attack her, that even accidentally brushing against his hand was so terrible enough it made her drop the plate out of fear and probably disgust and hat-
Sonic’s thoughts zeroed out as a large hand rested upon his small shoulder. Where it just stayed still for a second and Sonic soaked in the warmth it gave before the hand started to rub in small circles. Undoubtedly messing up his fur but Sonic will allow it this time. “Do you want to go ahead and leave? We can get lunch somewhere else.” Sonic just stayed with his head down a little longer. Because when he had to get up, Tom would have to pull his hand away and he didn’t want that. But for the actual question, he didn’t really want to as he really liked the burgers here. Sonic lifted his head up and as he feared, Donut Lord pulled his hand away.
“No… It’s okay. We already got the food and waited and-”
“That’s not what I asked, Sonic. I asked if you wanted to leave?” Sonic looked down and his brain which normally works at a very fast pace, seemed to be dead in the water. He was quiet for a couple of seconds and decided that he needed to answer. Even if it was one he didn’t really believe in because he didn’t want to keep Tom waiting or disappoint him. Because they were on the cusp of eating and just because he over reacted a little bit doesn’t mean Tom should get punished.
“It’s fine.” To stop any more questions or doubt, Sonic grabbed the ketchup bottle and squirted some on his plate. He then held the bottle out to Tom who grabbed it and did the same. And then the feast began. Only a couple of words got exchanged at the beginning but as Sonic ate more his mood got higher and higher till he was basically the only one talking as the earlier events faded away. However, they didn’t disappear as they left without getting a milkshake but Sonic was fine with that. They had some cookies at home. Which is where they headed off to next.
The hedgehog and human pulled into the drive way only to be greeted to the sight of Maddie, aka Donut Lord’s wife, aka Pretzel Lady! And Sonic, sensing a moment where he could get Tom in trouble, turned to the human, “I’m gonna go tell on you.”
Sonic barely heard the ‘wait what?’ as he zipped out of the moving car to run up to Pretzel Lady who was currently bent over in one of her many flower patches pulling out weeds.
“You two are back already?” Whatever Sonic was going to say was put on hold as he raised a brow? ‘Back Already?’ They were gone for like two whole hours!
“I guess..? Well anyways! Tom tried to kill me… Two different times! And then he almost ran over a bunch of children!” He did leave out their talks and to save Donut Lord some embarrassment, he left out the fact that he didn’t catch any fish.
“Wow… Sounds like you two had quite the exciting day.” Sonic nodded.
“Yuh.. Okay bye now.” Sonic gave a quick salute before he zipped off. Using his speed to run up the side of the house and summersault through the open skylight window and land on his pink bean bag chair which he had strategically placed under the light for maximum comfort for when he entered through his skylight. Sonic spread his limbs out like a starfish and just let the sun’s rays wash over him. He just needs a minute… Although he is pretty comfy… and he does have a full stomach… So he really couldn’t be blamed as he drifted off into sleep.
Sonic woke up some time later. He didn’t quite know when but it was dark outside. Which would mean he slept most of the day away. Whoops. Sonic’s grimace broke off into a yawn as he sat up. He rubbed his eyes and decided what to do next. A part of him kinda wanted to lay back down and go back to sleep. But his nose scrunched up as he caught a whiff of something… fishy. It was fish, grilled fish if his nose didn’t deceive him. Which it wouldn’t. Well, he better go investigate. Sonic got up and made his way down the stairs and towards the kitchen. Where he passed his two favorite humans who were both eating on the dining room table, without him. But before he could question them, Maddie spoke up.
“We made you a plate, it’s in the microwave. We just didn’t want to wake you.” Sonic narrowed his eyes but turned to walk to the kitchen. He’ll allow that excuse. His socked feet only made it a couple of steps before realization hit him like a train. Sonic addressed Tom and Maddie.
“Will one of you get it for me? It’s just the microwave is pretty high up and last time I-”
“Of course buddy.” Tom got up and walked to the kitchen which Sonic took as a cue to go over to the table and sit. Being short kinda sucked. Because he felt like a fool for asking them to grab his plate but in his defense. Last time he tried to get something from the microwave, he got on the counter which was apparently not the proper thing to do and he got in trouble!
“What?” Maddie had said something but he was still a little groggy so he really had no clue what she just said.
“I said, how are you feeling, sleeping beauty.” Sonic’s face dropped ever so slightly. That wasn’t even funny and there was no reason for there to be a smile on her face like she just told the funniest joke ever. He’s a growing hedgehog, he needs his sleep.
“I’m doing great. And for the record, I’m handsome, not beautiful.” Beautiful was for the princesses trapped in the tower and handsome was the strong dashing knight that always saves them. And Sonic was the knight, not the princess.
“Of course. My apologies Mr. Hedgehog for getting that mixed up.” Sonic sat a little straighter at the fancy title.
“Apology accepted Pretzel Lady… However, talk is cheap.” Sonic put on his serious face for these negotiations. “And you did cause me quite the emotional damage so I think I’ll need something more than an apology.” Sonic held his hand over his heart as he spoke for emphasis on just how much damage he took.
Pretzel Lady held a finger to her chin, “How about an extra hug? Does that relieve your mental anguish?”
“Hmm… I think I’ll allow that.” They only got a moment of peace before Tom walked back in with the plate of fish, fried potatoes, green beans, and of course, a buttery roll. Sonic did frown a little at the green on his plate but it’s better than nothing. Which he absolutely knows what it's like to have nothing.
“Alright Sonic, we have- well, you have eyes, you can see what it is.” Sonic debated informing Tom that he also has a nose and that’s how he knew there was food ready but decided against it. Of course Tom knows that he has a nose.
“Fish is an interesting choice, are you getting revenge from earlier?” The revenge being of course, how the fish completely avoided the human on the lake. Tom’s response was flawed so of course Sonic had to rectify it and time flew as the group of three ate dinner. But as with all things, it must come to an end. There was a pause that turned slightly awkward before Tom spoke.
“Don’t forget that you have that check-up tomorrow.” Sonic’s mood instantly soured and a small frown formed on his lips.
“That’s stupid. Why do I have to keep going? What else could they want from me?” ‘They’ being the United States government and their stupid general. Sonic hated it. Every week he goes and they pluck a quill and steal some of blood and hook him to machines and make him do stupid things. He didn’t get why they couldn’t just leave him and his humans alone. He’s not a threat or anything, he doesn't want to hurt anyone.
“I know sweetie but… It’s this or probably area 51 so some battles aren’t worth fighting.” Sonic turned his attention to Maddie. She was right, he knew that. As much as he hated those check ups. It’s better than being tied up and dissected. But Sonic just wished that he had a choice. He didn’t want to do either.
“I know… I just-” Sonic’s ears folded down as he looked down at the brown table. “I just want to be treated like I’m normal. No other kid has to go to some super secret government lab to get experimented on.”
“I know buddy. But at the same time no other kid can run at the speed of sound.” Sonic looked up Tom with a kinda hurt expression.
“Faster. Faster than the speed of sound but I guess you’re right. And at least I can be as mean as I want tomorrow.” Maybe it’s not the best idea to antagonize the person who does the check up but he just does not like Director Robotnik at all. And he lets it be known every time he has to be there. At least it’s fun to come up with new insults.
“That’s maybe not the best way to look at it but you do you.” Sonic looked over to Maddie. He will do himself. Very much so.
“Well I don’t care. They deserve it for being evil.” Sonic nodded along with himself. Yes they did and he would be sure to let Robotnik know exactly what he thought tomorrow.
His humans didn’t really have anything else to say so they just went back to basic conversation. Which was fine by Sonic. He would rather talk about his games or talk about how he knew the answer to that one jeopardy question without looking it up. And soon enough the evening turned into night and Sonic got his hugs and good nights and crawled back into his bed. And just like earlier, he faded off to sleep quite easily and quite fast. So fast that he didn’t catch the shooting star that didn’t burn out but instead burned brighter as it made its way to Earth.