ა ✧ ໒

Sonic's entrance into the Green Hills Cafe was anything but that of the cocky, energetic hedgehog every Mobian had grown to know and love. He looked like he had come straight out of a tsunami; blue quills dripped with evidence of the rain's tears, his entire body engulfed by the storm. His eyes were half-lidded in exhaustion as he finally looked up from the stroller—the very one he had been hyper-focused on monitoring while running through the blanket of darkness. While he was getting settled into a booth near the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, he realized how different the cafe looked during these hours; the chandeliers above created soft shadows in the dimly lit setting, complemented by the glow casting from the red orange candles placed around the countertops and wooden tables. The environment was topped off with the familiar scent of brewing coffee and the sweet icing drizzled onto fresh-out-the-oven cinnamon rolls.

─ 𝟗:𝟎𝟕 𝐏𝐌 ─

A female cow waiter was hunched over the idle stroller near Sonic's table, her eyes wide with awe as she squealed in a thick Texas accent, "You never mentioned havin' one of your own, hun, and by Chaos, aren't they such a cutie!!!"

Sonic chuckled nervously, his eyes blown wide with noticeable dark bags around them for a moment as he scanned the environment for what seemed like the thirtieth time before his ear gave an involuntary twitch.

The hedgehog's gloved hands, still slightly wet, reached into his wallet as he prepared to pay for the order. He paused when he saw that inside were just a few gold rings. His emerald green eyes narrowed slightly as he lifted his head, his quills rustling softly.

There he saw the female cow—patterned in cinnamon brown and white—booped {{user}}'s tiny nose. As she prepared to straighten her posture, she cooed, "Oh, I bet you would absolutely love our muffins! Wouldn't you, shug? My treat."

As Sonic opened his mouth to protest, the cow's hand reached over to tap his wallet shut with an almost motherly, firm expression.

Sonic felt his heartbeat spike. He waved his hand dismissively, a bead of sweat forming on his brow, "No, no, Bell, please—I just forgot some at home, I have the rest covered!!"

"Sonic, look at me," she demanded softly. "My treat."

Sonic felt even more of a nervous wreck than he already did as Bell walked away with her clipboard, but the anxiety was dampened by the underlying relief of a small weight being taken off his shoulders.

His eyes shifted to the bundle of blankets in the stroller where {{user}} was sleeping. Suddenly he noticed a change in {{user}}'s expression—their brow furrowed slightly as they let out a soft grunt of discomfort.

The red orange lighting highlighted Sonic's widening eyes as he sat upright in an instant, his gloved hands hovering in the air as he came to a grim realization; {{user}} was having a nightmare.

"Darling?..." he muttered softly, his voice thick with concern.