The Great Thanksgiving Adventure
"Sonic, are you going to help at all, or are you going to just sit there and watch TV?"
Sonic stretched and looked up at the fuming pink hedgehog, arms full of grocery bags. "Am I? Yes. Will I this second? Well…" he smirked. "That all depends."
"On what?!" Amy wondered, placing the bags at her feet and taking off her warm brown jacket with the faux fur hood and removing her red scarf.
"On if you're going to say 'please'." Sonic tapped his foot impatiently, obviously smug.
Amy blew her bangs furiously out of her eyes. "Fine. Sonic, are you going to help me please?"
"Sure thing! What am I doin?" Sonic offered a thumbs-up and Amy rolled her eyes.
"Can I let you anywhere near the food?"
"Why do you need to know?" He raised an eyebrow as Amy dumped the grocery bag into his arms and led him into the kitchen.
"Because we've got three hours to pull this thing together. Luckily, Cream and Tails and Vanilla are handling the desserts, so there's no danger of you devouring that before anyone else has a taste, but…"
"Hey!" Sonic interrupted her angrily, placing the bag on the table. "I resent that! A whole lot!"
"You're fasting for dinner just like everyone else. That means you're three times as likely as any of us to chow down on something super tasty." Amy raised a brow at him, noting that he flushed and kicked at the floor with his sneakers.
"Well…so what if I'm a little hungry, huh? It isn't fair to judge a hedgehog by his stomach." He trailed off and gazed pleadingly into Amy's eyes.
"I guess it isn't." Amy conceded. "But, is it fair to judge him by his superpower?" She laughed, as Sonic had no response for that.
"Ummm…maybe." Sonic surrendered. "But, only if you think this certain hedgehog has no self control. Can you put me on food duty? You can sure try. I'm not as good of a cook as you are, but I'll do what you tell me." He bowed jokingly, and Amy sighed deeply.
"Fine. Go prepare that cranberry sauce. Just stir it up a little and heat it. I'm making the stuffing, and then I'm going to work on the turkey." Amy went off to do that, keeping an eye on Sonic stirring the cranberry soup. She had to admit that she'd been waiting all day for this, and that she was pretty hungry. Her legs were trembling under her weight! Which was why she was worried about Sonic.
The intentional fast had not altered his daily routine. And he had burned up innumerable calories in the process. Calories that he wouldn't get back until three hours from now. Maybe it would even take longer than that.
She was drawn from her thoughts by Sonic's voice. "Don't you think you should do the turkey first?"
"Why?" Amy was guarded. She knew Sonic was not incapable of eating an entire turkey, if he was ravenous enough. And, by his drooping ears and slowed reflexes, he was.
"Cause it'll take longest to cook. The stuffing only takes a few minutes." He shrugged, and turned around to look at Amy's reaction. "What? I was paying attention to my nose last Thanksgiving! Cut me some slack, all right?"
"No, no, I do, it's just that…that demonstration of knowledge was amazing! Good going, Sonic!" Amy clapped excitedly. "You learned something!"
"Hey, I guess I did!" Sonic laughed, even though that insult should've probably made him angry.
Amy slipped the turkey into the oven and went to work on the vegetables and mashed potatoes. Sonic took to kneading the squash and cutting the bread into slices. There was a lot left to be done.
The two worked in silence for a few moments, until the smells of turkey began to fill the house.
"Mmmm," Sonic sat back in his chair from cutting the bread and closed his eyes in ecstasy. "I'm hungry. That smells delicious!"
"Just remember to leave some for the rest of us." Amy warned him, prepared to protect her turkey if Sonic decided to have a taste.
The blue hedgehog shrugged, opting for a small slice of bread instead. "Fine, I will! But you guys better leave me some pie, okay?" Sonic had been forced to skip the pie last year…because there hadn't been enough for him! Sonic loved pie, especially apple pie, and making him miss out on an adventure of taste wasn't very wise. Not usually one to hold a grudge, it had taken a large amount of chocolate to make Sonic talk to the group once again after that fiasco.
"Heh, who cares? As long as we all have fifty pounds of chocolate…" Amy taunted.
Sonic snorted. "Ha! Well, we all learned something from that venture. You learned not to ever deny me pie, and I learned that I can eat that much chocolate, but it does make me a bit sick…"
Amy giggled. "Well…that, and chocolate doesn't go with turkey."
"I agree." Sonic laughed, quickly resting his ears against his head as his stomach rumbled uncomfortably in his chest.
"Your tummy's growling up quite a storm. Can you make it?" Amy wondered, embarrassing him by her use of that word "tummy".
Sonic rolled his eyes. "Can I make it? Yah probably. Can I make it and still be nice? We'll see."
Amy went back to preparing the stuffing, and Sonic turned his attention once again to the bread. But, the intoxicating smells of the hot turkey being cooked aroused him in some ways, forcing his mind to envision the bird fully cooked. "I hope it's fat bird this year!" He said brightly, probably directed at Amy. "I'm feeling hungrier this year than I was last year!"
"That's cause you broke your fast last year, remember?" Amy raised an eyebrow at him.
"I hope the kids are bringing those soft sugar cookies again this year." Sonic dreamed, ignoring her. "The ones that melt in your mouth? Mmmm."
"Focus, Sonic!" Amy stomped her boot. "We have to get this finished up!" She opened the oven to take out the turkey, but found it heavy. "Sonic, can I trust you to help me?"
"I'm insulted!" Sonic swallowed down a few bites of bread crust anyway, to be sure. He didn't want to be lightheaded. Swiftly, he lifted the turkey and went in to place it on the dining room table.
And it took much strength on his part to not sit there and devour it whole.
;& ;& ;&
Dinner was lively. Every one of their friends was there. Even gloomy Shadow had decided to make an appearance. And, for a moment, even he dropped his self-absorbed attitudes to compliment Amy's cooking. ("I helped!" Sonic protested, but no one paid him any mind.)
While the girls fussed over last-ditch preparations, the boys lazed about and talked about the football game, and who wanted to be on who's team. Sonic called Shadow, to which Knuckles vehemently protested until the MVP in question broke them up. "I will be the ref." He said, to which both boys let out a groan. Tails later complimented Shadow on his revolutionary idea.
When the food was finally served, the boys clamored to the table and the girls sat daintily in their places. Rouge picked a spot nearest to Knuckles, while Amy sat near Sonic. Cream sat near her mother, and Tails picked a spot near Amy. The Chaotix, loud and obnoxious as usual, scrambled into place. Sonic wondered randomly if Eggman was plotting their doom, or if he actually took a break to enjoy this holiday.
When he voiced this query to Tails later on, the fox laughed and replied: "Have you seen old porkbelly lately?!"
"Mmm, good point." Sonic agreed.
Exhausted by his or her fast, everyone ate heartily. The boys scarfed down food, while the ladies tried their best to eat delicately. Sonic declared an eating contest, and Knuckles and Vector eagerly accepted. In the end, Sonic won. But, his two opponents suffered more of a bellyache than he did.
When it came time for dessert (that was, after everyone had finished the main course and was left to vegetate for a while), Sonic declared that he wanted the first piece of pie. Everyone, remembering the drama of the year before, quickly gave in. The dessert of cakes and pies and cookies went quickly, and when every last plate had been cleaned, the friends were satisfied.
Full and sleepy, most of the guys (excluding Sonic, miraculously) chose to nap before the annual backyard football game. Tails, who gave up on sleeping amongst the roar of snores from Vector and Shadow, decided instead to strategize with Sonic while the girls cleaned up.
With Shadow as its referee, the football game went smoothly. Girls and boys tackled each other for the football in the first two quarters, but by the second down of the third quarter, everyone found it more fun to play keep away, and the game dissolved into giggles, and the occasional "ow" whenever Vector tackled someone too hard. After a dogpile on the naughty crocodile, everyone voted to have some hot chocolate and snack on some leftovers. The day ended with everyone slowly departing for home, until only Amy and Sonic were left.
Lazing on the couch, Sonic yawned and scratched his belly. "Arrgh, man I'm so full!" He chuckled in amazement. "It's quickly pullin me to Nod…" He rubbed his eyes and yawned again, burping rather loudly in the process.
Amy, tired for different reasons, smiled in reply. "I'm glad you had fun today, Sonic."
"Me too, Ames. Hey, y'know what I think?" Sonic bolted upright, his eyes glittering.
Amy giggled. "No. What?"
Sonic grinned one of his famous grins. "Next year's gonna be even better."
END
Woo, not one of my bettah ones, but…eh. I thought it was sorta fun. Hope you had a happy thanksgiving! Anyone still living off of leftovers? ;p