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Dappled autumnal sunglow polished the manmade path drawn to the fields like pencil to finished watercolour art, creating a magnificent marble effect. Beaming in gold and darker orange and conquering red, it glinted to the ground like reflective glass, or a delicately crafted mosaic. Leaves were plastered to the road bumping up at rogue ridges, damp from the night of rainfall and slapped down like it were cold salted glue.
Trees neighboured the road, breached in a neat row as one bonded with the other via branches but were distanced at the trunks, evenly. They were thin, like lines inked in a frail dash to an undamaged body of blue paint, soaking into the canvas and growing brighter by the moment. The pathway was mystical, and would ultimately lead anyone with the courage to take their feet pumped at the sole with adventurous energy to it into a ripened paradise.
Sonic sniffed, feeling the chill of the crisp fall air tickle his nose. He scrunched his muzzle up, creating an unintentional face of disgust, but with contrasting reactions crossing his mind. Honest to his heart, he thought the landscape poured before him was breathtaking, and his ears twitched from every crinkle beneath his scarlet sneakers fracturing the frail leaves. He shuffled them intentionally across the ground, thrilled to hear the autumn breakage. It was a satisfying sound that sent a blip flying through his heartbeat.
He kept his emerald orbs lightly attached to the pathway, the smooth grey material dyed gold from the early morning shimmer. Through the strips of sun, it was like the heavens had sprinkled entire caps of glitter down into the sky, drifting across the brightness in patterns that borderlined perfection. It was bliss creeping from the lateness of the year, this season soon to click round to the last of the timeline. Sonic nestled one gloved hand into the pocket of his vermilion coat for extra warmth, as the other remained embedded in another.
(Y/n) strolled alongside him, the face of who donated her little hedgehog friend that coat glancing ahead, the route planned out in her head and etched in like antique pen to a treasure map. Mittens weaved themselves around her hands, hugging tightly to the heat caved inside, and a scarf cuddled her neck. Her coat was so long compared to her body, screaming with an unexpected sense of style yet hanging below her knees varnished in a slate black. Sonic could see the admiration twinkling in the corner of her (e/c) eyes, and it made a smile shiver to his muzzle.
He felt the wind battle with the creamy fur of his face, and he ducked his head down into his own woollen scarf wrapped at least three times over around his tiny neck. His nose scrunched up higher, and he felt the dampness tickle the fluffy material from the inside. Sonic had no clue where this pathway lead, the suspicious amount of trees flowing on for what seemed like the rest of the planet, like this road was plastered all the way around and you could find yourself back where you started unbeknownst. Even under his coat, he felt the cold growing, and he clenched his hand tighter to (Y/n)'s.
He felt the same gesture squeeze back, and his face was engulfed in his scarf right up to his glorious green eyes. He blew out a minute sneeze, muffled mostly by the wool, but via a little laugh from (Y/n), Sonic could identify she'd heard it. He sniffed softly, a hint of embarrassment choking up his cheeks with overwhelming warmth. However, this sparked a place for an abandoned conversation to reconnect, (Y/n) taking in a light breath to say those words.
"Bless you."
Sonic brought his loose wrist up to rub his nose.
"Thank you."
(Y/n) giggled at his manners, while the hedgehog's curious mind ran wild to think of a way to pronounce the question he craved an answer to that burned to his brain.
"Where are we going?"
(Y/n) smirked.
"You'll see."
That was it. Those words were like a lighter to Sonic's highly flammable eagerness to claim a more specific answer. His tongue flopped out to the corner of his mouth, absentmindedly, and sucked back in suddenly from the staggering chill from just a few seconds left exposed. He respected the refreshing fall scenery spread out ahead for only another moment, before the speech leaving his lips felt natural and weighted down by no input of his own.
"Is it for Halloween?"
(Y/n) heard the excitement pound through that concluding word, the sound of the holiday shimmering into the air like a firework ready to launch. She could sense it sparking in Sonic's head, his thoughts darting all over the place in big rainbow bursts each striken from the endless possibilities. She giggled faintly from the shine glazing over those captivating emeralds, erupting with hope and flaming up with expectation. She could sense why, the little cerulean hedgehog explaining before his admiration for the spooky holiday as he watched celebrations from afar for ten years, that made her heart ache.
"You could say."
That didn't help. Sonic pouted roughly, a beam of early sun crossing his muzzle as he slumped through it and projecting a light dazzle to his damp nose. An ear popped out from beneath his donated earmuffs positioned to trap the heat into them, the frame slipping from the loosening of his head in frail annoyance. (Y/n) ruffled his forehead and pulled them back, taking a turn to the pathway that appeared like it were latched on to the smooth road by darker asphalt stitches. Innocently, Sonic followed her, pout smashed into a perplexed frown and his eyes varnished with glistening intrigue.
She seemed to know where she was heading, the crunching of the leaves beneath Sonic's shoes crinkling close beside her maintaining her smile. She peeked around the next tree, the amount stabilised by one another and blanketed in burgundy and aureate shades polished to the branches withering away. It was more open ahead, the thickness of the forest deceased by the time they had taken the full bend to their shoes left soaked from the grimy midnight rainfall. Sonic's head tilted at the fields glossed with morning flares, but his lips soon broke into a gasp.
Harvested meadows poured until they ceased into single lines of saturated wheat hue so far into the distance they became unrecognisable. The hedgehog was stunned at how far they flowed on for, the sun polished across it with no intrusion of overhanging leaves and with a stronger burning incandescence. Blue embodied the sky entirely, cloudless, but with the dabbing of dry white to include the moon in broad daylight that gave a sensation of autumnal vibes. Sonic admired the fields, carved into direct and beautifully organised rows, vegetation exploding in each but never overflowing.
Seritonal crops made the immaculate soil their home, mushrooming over the ground in vibrant orange to their polished skins kept cleansed from the grains of moistened soil underneath. Sonic squinted, the seemingly millions of vivid spheres clicking in his mind through identification they were indeed pumpkins. He grinned wider than the beams of light and brighter than the moon watching over him from the other side, these wrongly assumed vegetables being the face of Halloween through his practically glowing eyes. (Y/n) felt his hand tingle in her own and his knees jolt up and down like a delighted toddler.
She could sense he wanted to run out and explore, those veins of his pumped with adventurous blood as his breaths rumbled in enthusiasm. His muzzle was back out from his scarf, and his face didn't feel the chill of the air ready to collapse into the icy rhythm of winter while overwhelmed with heated energy. He felt (Y/n)'s hand slip away from his, and it made Sonic's fluffy little body snap around so sudden it were like her removal of the touch broke a spell. She nodded softly, wandering back to the stalls anonymously passed upon their entrance to grab a festive drink.
Sonic chuckled at her suggestion, his yearning to run wild and her subtle confirmation that felt created for only himself to understand smashing together like mental puzzle pieces. (Y/n) wiggled her thumbs up as she vanished into the crowds roaring at their strongest around the offerings of harvested goods and snacks themed around this heartwarming time of year. He bolted around the fields, taking to the ridges curved alongside the dips for the pumpkins to thrive as carefully as his adrenaline powered body could. He vanished as a blue streak, the eyes of intrigued citizens stopping to take a glance.
Sonic skidded to a halt soon enough, his eyes enlivened harder by shivers of electrifying chartreuse over the luscious green mimicking the grassland behind the pumpkin harvest. They were snatched from a tunnel vision by the bright and bold colours varnishing over these showpiece worthy crops - brave orange, valiant red, lighter yellow, ghostly white, monstrous green, and even deathly grey - and his heart bounced in his chest every time one caught his drilling interest. He paused at a particular line, holding a real variety, and he ruffled his coat still feeling caught by the breeze to crouch down.
Sonic swivelled his feet into the soil, refusing to pathetically battle the winds to stay up and admire these pumpkins with a widened starstruck mouth. He could feel the chill slithering down his throat, making him wish to cough, but he held the urge back so as not to disrupt the calm aura plastered over the harvest. He took a deep and more sturdy breath, closing his view for only a moment to absorb the events. It felt incredible, to at last be able to come out into the open, exploring somewhere public with no need to hide from fellow citizens, and brought here in the hands of someone who truly loved him.
Sonic's little heart jumped beneath his frosted chest, and he pulled his coat in further and pressed it closer behind his raised knees to insulate his body. He adjusted his earmuffs and sniffed deep into his scarf, holding it up from hanging too close to the soil to avoid its bold white wool from being massacred by distasteful brown. His vivid green eyes scanned the area, not many people gathering to this aisle, thankfully, the enticing scent of food dragging them elsewhere to the hedgehog's benefit. He felt a jolt through his fingers, and his palms patted a pumpkin.
His eyes glistened like a child admiring a toy in a cute mannerism that suggested a desire to take it home, caressing the smooth face and playing with the ridges. This one was rounded, but perhaps not enough, Sonic wishing for it to have a fattened front and a soft yet tight texture that would be prefect to apply a carving. It felt too flat at the head, and the stalk had practically vanished, torn rather than snapped carefully from its roots left strewn over the ground. He positioned it to the soil so it would stare at him from behind, like a reminder, as he kept scuttling up the line.
Another snatched his attention, and his heart leapt dramatically and built a breath of amazement up in his throat. He blasted into a burst of blue to reach it as soon as possible, his hands meeting its skin in a flash. This one was more plump, and held a longer face that shone out the ability to dig in a scary or silly expression. Its skin was tightened at the right places and left soft in others, and its stalk was thick and succulent. Its hue of orange was illuminated, like holding the core of the Earth, but with a cooler touch.
Sonic nodded with a smirk beneath his scarf, stuffing the pumpkin under his arm with a foot raised and his hands ready to keep looking. Alternate colours appeared out of place, dotted within the ripe orange in bizarre bundles, but with another little sniff Sonic took to the soil as they pulled him closer through a chain of interest. Some sat in the corners dusted with creamy whites and pure shades untouched by any other hue, and they reminded him of ghostly creatures that already fired carving ideas making him crouch down again.
He patted a chubby white pumpkin in his hold, rubbing over its smooth face and uninjured bottom from growing within the vine-like roots. It was smaller, but left stout enough to fit decoration in easy sight. Its stalk was a paler shade to the one of the more default colouring, and more dry, but good enough. Sonic wanted to take the two of them into his care, and the need to make a harsh decision burnt away in his mind. He glanced between them, the pros and cons practically engraved to their tense skins as he narrowed his eyes.
Oh what's the use! I don't need to pick!
He smirked harder under his scarf, his sneaky expression ghostly to the anyone in shot of his presence. He loosely juggled them atop one another, balanced so as not to wreck their stalks or caps awaiting the chop to reveal the stringed seeds and creamy flesh inside. With risk hanging around if he pelted to the market at super speed, Sonic reluctantly strolled at a more sophisticated pace. He carried those pumpkins like they were babies, cradled in the crooks of his arms with fingers eager to hold them from the bottom in case of an emergency slip. They were heavy, and he puffed out enough air to create a cloud before him with almost every step.
(Y/n) could see him coming, his signature blue explosive compared to the grey and orange and white and beige he laid against. It was like nothing but his head was coming her way, his body camouflaged through his coat that toppled across the line splitting the orange that varnished those pumpkins from red. His face was spread wide, and he gave a glow of pride as he waddled across the ridges dug into the fields to separate the rows of large festive fruits. She knew he'd always wanted some involvement in Earth's yearly celebrations, and it was joyous to see him indulged in one after ten years.
Sounding tired already, Sonic plopped the pumpkins at her feet, crossed via her lounged position to one of the many hay stacks cornering the gathering away from the neighbouring houses. He breathed out drearily, standing up firm and straight to recollect his energy with the back of his wrist brushing at his forehead. Frustrated his earmuffs skidded down again, he fixed them with a cute huff that left (Y/n) thawing away inside. She sipped from the coffee cup warming up her palms and spreading out the creases from the cold, the spice of pumpkin embedded in the latte.
"Got the ones you want?"
Sonic nodded and sniffed a little lighter than before, the winter blockage striking his nose early eventually relieved.
"Yup!"
His enthusiasm glistened and made him twinkle violently like a gentle star through her eyes, glossed (e/c) and shining harder from her widening smile. Sonic clambered up the bale, the faintly moist hay crunching under his knees and fluffy shins louder than the leaves plastered to the pathway. He brought the pumpkins up to ensure their safety, petting them like domesticated animals by his side with his legs stretched ahead. He wiggled his feet happily, and the moment felt like it was soaking deep into him all over again.
It was like an emotional whirlwind, or a raging tsunami. Sonic took a minute to process the amount of people spreading away from the market and evaporating across the fields, taking aboard the same adventure he had done himself as they left the stalls like bees abandoning a flower naked of nectar. Humans, other than (Y/n) and her family; felt insane to be right in front of him, conversations buzzing all around and taking unique routes to each. It had been decade since he'd managed to talk to someone other than woodland animals dormant to the talent of speech and himself, and to be welcomed to society still felt surreal.
Sonic's mind wandered off, leaving a dazed expression to his face until a scent caught his irritated nostrils off-guard. It smelt warm, and oddly he could taste it like it flowed through his nose and channelled to his tongue naturally. It was refreshing, and made him imagine that silky pumpkin flesh. Although the hedgehog had never tasted one, he could just sense it was the flavour the fragrance belonged to. It felt altered, packing more of a punch than in the core of the fruit, and Sonic sniffed aggressively to reach the source in time.
His nose dabbed the rim of (Y/n)'s paper cup, the scent at its strongest through a sniff to the opening suitable for drinking. It was magical, the crisp tumbling of leaves and soft collision to the damp ground implanted to play in his mind as soon as the smell shot through his whole body. Those pumpkins - fresh in his mind, most certainly having sprung from their cold yet succulent texture. Sonic wanted a taste, but after opening his eyes from their closure to indulge into the minute he recognised its origin as something he knew to belong to (Y/n), and his heart painted in liquid gold knew not to be selfish.
"Sorry..." He mumbled, mildly embarrassed.
(Y/n) laughed softly, and Sonic's ears twitched beneath those earmuffs so faintly they didn't fall. Clicking of a cap rumbled over, and she removed the lid from the cup and gestured it towards him. Heat swamped to Sonic's fluffy face like the opening of a sauna, steam puffing up his nose but engulfed by that festive scent that drew him here in the beginning. He leant closer, taking a deeper sniff, and watching the fresh wooden shaded seasoning float over the foam whipped atop like miniscule boats crossing a lake. His glossy emeralds met (Y/n)'s (e/c) gems as if he wanted more of a hint he could take a sip, but her smile was enough.
Sonic gently tipped the cup in his direction, the creamy heat boiling inside the drink meeting his muzzle and leaving a thrilled buzz to each strand of peachy fur it touched. He swallowed the tiniest of offerings, but that was enough to receive the full experience. (Y/n) could see his eyes twinkle with pleasure and widen every time the spice traced his throat. He appeared to be over that very moon that watched them from above, still glowing in a competitive threat against the bold blue of the sky with its mystic white, and with his fingers pinned all around the cup, (Y/n) let it go.
Sonic noticed the removal of opposing pressure, glancing up with a plead in his irises eliminated by his begging pupils.
"Have it. It's okay."
He looked back into the cup for a moment, the cream almost gone and the coffee visible beneath.
"Okay..."
He sounded reluctant, but that shimmer across his eyes told a different story. Sonic slowly drank the rest of the coffee, the added spice feeling like a fantasising transportation to heaven from the moment it hit his tongue to the minute it was finished through his throat. (Y/n) rubbed his forehead, a tender caress that made the hedgehog's flow slow down just a little, a hiccup in his enjoyment but with a bump he always loved to feel. What she loved to feel was that childlike energy bundled up inside him, awaiting to burst for so long and at last having that chance.
She planted a soft kiss to the side of his head, her lips warmed up from the latte electrified from the chill of the autumnal air embedded in Sonic's quills.
"Happy Halloween, sweetheart."
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Author's Note - Phew! Halloween special in time! 🎃 Based off of my pumpkin picking experience a few days ago, actually! Okay, next oneshot book has one complete chapter, and another two planned before I post it (because you don't want a book to ever just have one part, huh?) so it WILL be out soon!! 🙏
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