ALPHABET SOUP (01)

K

is for
✧ 𝐊𝐈𝐓𝐄 ✧

If there was a top ten list of things Sonic extremely disliked, he would have to say windy days were number three on that list. A gentle spring or summer breeze was fine, or a cool zephyr on a brisk winter morning, but Mother Nature blowing high winds that nearly knocked someone over were not acceptable. Running incredibly fast was one thing, but standing still with that pressure on his face was another, and he despised it. Not only did windy days make him stuffy, but they were just lame. The loud drumming in his ears as the winds smacked him and just how cold a breath of wind was, in general. To summarize, Sonic stayed in on windy days.

Luckily, though, Thomas Michael Wachowski (you know, Donut Lord?) had a solution. It was his day off and the weather was absolutely gorgeous: strong winds, not a cloud in the sky, mild temperature, and stunningly sunny—so why not go outside and enjoy it with his space hedgehog son?

"It's a beautiful day, why aren't you outside?" Tom's stance went akimbo as he looked down upon the space hedgehog snuggled in his beanbag chair.

"Too windy," Sonic grumbled with a sniff.

"You kiddin'? It's perfect weather!"

Sonic rubbed his little nose, which was an angry shade of red from all the rubbing he had done all day. "No way."

"Yes way! Don't you know what we do on windy days for fun? Have you never seen anyone fly a kite?"

"Fly a what?" He tilted his head in question at the human.

"A kite," Tom then pouted. "That's it. Get your shoes on, we're going out."

Sonic's face only lit up for the fact that Tom was going to spend time with him and show another human concept, not the idea that he wanted to be outside, because he didn't, but for the Lord of the Donuts, Sonic would withstand the brutal winds of the windy afternoon. Giddily, Sonic became Tom's shadow, following every step he made to see what the human was going to introduce to him, and the more he watched, the warmer his chest felt with happiness.

Tom fished some sort of thin package out of the garage and opened it, checking if the parts were all there. Indeed, all the pieces necessary for kite flying were ready to rock and roll. The human rushed back in the house to leave a note for his wife and then hightailed over to the truck, where he and Sonic drove to the park for an open space; their home in the woods would not work for kite flying.

Upon reaching their destination, Tom took the space hedgehog of three feet over near the baseball field where they'd be alone and without obstacles. He got down on his knees and began putting the kite together, showing Sonic how it was done, and not even seeming to care at the brisk, harsh winds that were violently smacking the two of them; Tom was unfazed and Sonic was impressed as he shivered, stuffing his nose in his sweater.

"Ready?" Fervently, Sonic nodded, and Tom handed him the string to hold. "Don't let go or you'll lose it."

"I-I'll try n-not to," Sonic was frozen and his pretty green eyes were watering with the rude wind.

Mother Nature calmed down a bit much to Sonic's relief, and he got himself ready, holding on tight to the string of the star-shaped kite. The wind hushed violently again and flung the thin plastic up into the sky, catching Sonic off-guard and jerking him forward.

Quickly, Tom grabbed Sonic by his waist, and then held him against his chest, hugging from behind. "Don't blow away!" he laughed.

Sonic was warm being so close to Tom, yet his cheeks heated and his heart skipped by their close proximity; he had yet to get used to being so loved and cherished. He smiled at the thought and relaxed in Tom's embrace.

"Is this all you do?" he queried as he let loose a little more string, the kite flying higher in the blue sky.

"Yep."

"It's kinda fun."

"Just kinda?"

"It's not boring. I dunno, it's peaceful, I guess... if I pretend the wind isn't making me sound like I have a donut shoved up my nose."

Tom chuckled, "It happens. Windy days aren't my friend, either. I'm only here for this."

Suddenly, the kite took a nosedive and crashed into the grass several yards away. Sonic gasped dramatically and rushed over, shouting with his stuffy voice, "Man down! Man down!" He checked for damages, found none, and then threw the star towards the sky, watching as it fell to the grass again.

"You gotta run with it—not fast, either!" Tom told him with a chortle.

"So, like—" Sonic (more or less) jogged away, the kite behind him— "this?" And soon enough, the star took back up to the sky, soaring high. "Wow, I did it!" Sonic jogged backwards through the grass, keeping Tom in sight and careful not to run too far.

Donut Lord clapped, and shouted, "Yes, you did!" with a huge grin. Currently, he was soft.

"Thomas?"

Said human whipped around with a gasp and a hand to his heart. "Jesus, Maddie, you scared me!"

"Boo!" she giggled and joined his side, giving him a quick kiss. She then turned forward at Sonic leaping and running around the grassy area with the kite, and she smiled, "Little Boy Blue is enjoying himself."

"I know, I know. Isn't it great?" Then Tom whispered, "I'm so soft right now."

"Yes, I know," Maddie whispered back. "You can be soft. I won't tell anyone," and she added a wink.

After a brief silence only filled by the harsh wind and Sonic's laughter in the distance, Tom looked at the grass below him, quietly admitting, "I'm so happy, Maddie. I know some people do, but honestly, I don't regret this becoming-a-parent thing at all."

"I'm glad you feel the same as I do."

"GUYS, IT DID A LOOP-DE-LOOP! DIDJA SEE THAT?!" Sonic shrieked from his spot at the other end of the park. His onomatopoeias of crashing and explosions echoed as the kite plummeted back down to the ground. He used his namesake and tied up the string again, picking up the kite and rushed over to join his humans with sniff. Promptly, he asked, "Can we go home now? I'm cold."

In actuality, Sonic was ashamed to admit his short attention span had initiated, but who could blame the speedster?

"Yes, but be honest: did you enjoy that?" 

Smiling, Sonic make eye contact with Tom's pretty blue eyes, "Yes, Donut Lord, I did." And with that, Sonic leapt into the arms of the sheriff and hilariously demanded to be carried home.

inspired by Sandrastar1's suggestion