Sunlight
Tails felt exhausted.
He felt slightly guilty about that. True, he'd flown all over Westside Island, tagging along behind Sonic. True, he'd taken to the sky above the island, sustaining damage to the Tornadobut getting enough juice back in the old girl to give Sonic a lift to Robotnik's shuttle. True, he'd had to take the bi-plane down to the ground immediately afterwards and repair it in time so he could rescue his new BFF from falling to his death. But he still felt guilty. Because exhausting,as nerve-racking as all that had been, it hardly compared to what his friend had been through. The Death Egg, Silver Sonic, the Egg Mech, the explosion that followed…Tails could only imagine what the full story might have entailed. What it was like to fight a robotic duplicate of oneself. To fight something four times your height and hundreds of times your weight. It had been no wonder that as soon as they landed back on Westside Island, Sonic had hit the hay.
But even so, Tails felt tired. So that was why he was asleep in the Tornado's cockpit. Wind was coming from the west, the sun was rising in the east, and the seagulls were already starting their infinite cacophony of "food! Look for food!" Or something. Locky was the translation expert, not him.
"Food food food food food!"
You'd think they'd have actually found food by now.
"Food food food food food!"
"Gah!"
Tails sprung up. The seagulls were still overhead. What "food" there was Tails couldn't see, but then again, he wasn't a flying feather duster. Well, he had become one at the Oil Ocean, but that was an experience he'd rather not reflect on right now.
Would Sonic though?
Sitting upright, Tails looked at his workshop on the far end of the beach. Sonic was there, still sleeping. He'd hit the hay hard, and while Tails couldn't begrudge him for it, his snores had driven the fox outside. Sleeping in the Tornado had been the logical choice, and until the seagulls showed up-
"Food food food food food!"
…it had been quite pleasant.
"Food!"
Squawking, the seagulls flew out to sea. Supposedly they'd found some "food." Or it could be a chop-chop, Tails supposed. Right now, he was too tired to care. All he wanted to do was-
"Hey bro."
"Eeep!"
Tails shot up into the air. Thanks to his twin tails that had provided the source of his nickname, he was able to stay there.
"Sonic?"
And in turn, his bro remained on the ground. Looking up at him while jogging on the spot.
"Sorry kid. Did I scare you?"
"I…wh…what?"
Tails didn't like being called "kid." Not that Sonic did it much – he'd gradually used the term less and less as they made their way across Westside Island, to Metropolis and the sky above. But even if he had still used the term regularly, it wouldn't have mattered to Tails. Not when his friend was standing there on the sand when by all rights he should be resting.
"Um, Sonic?" Tails asked. "You okay?"
"Course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"
"It's just…well…"
Tails bit his lip. He didn't want to state the obvious, that only yesterday, Sonic had destroyed an orbital death station and the machines guarding it. But peering at his friend, he could see that "okay" was perhaps too generous a term. Scratches and scars still covered his body, and dark circles were under his eyes.
"Shouldn't you be resting?" Tails asked eventually. It wasn't the most subtle way to phrase the question, but his mind was still in neutral gear. And the cries of the seagulls in the background weren't making things any easier.
"Resting?" Sonic asked. "Hardly. Not missed a morning run before, not going to start now."
"Huh? You didn't do a morning run after Casino Night."
The hedgehog smirked. "As far as you know kid."
Tails frowned. Again with the "kid." And the knowledge that Sonic had left him alone before heading up the Hill Tops, leaving him none the wiser.
"Always done it," Sonic continued. "First light, first run. Old habit. All the way back to Christmas Island."
"Really?"
"Oh yeah. Started when I heard about the speed of light. The sun…well, inspiration and all that. Told myself I could beat its land-speed record."
"Which is?"
"299,792,458 metres per second."
"…oh."
Tails felt sheepish for asking. Sonic looked sheepish for telling. Tails wondered if in the event he ever met a sheep it could explain the origin of the term "sheepish," and how the sheep felt about such a term being used. But he also wondered why Sonic was telling him this in the first place. A slip of the tongue? Or had he earned the hedgehog's trust to the extent that he was willing to impart such situation?
"Food food food food!"
"Yeah…I'm thinking the same thing," Sonic said, glancing at the seagulls. "But hey, breakfast later. Got a record to beat."
Sonic went to zoom off.
"Wait!" Tails called out.
Sonic stopped.
"Um…"
Tails wondered what he should say. That he didn't think Sonic should go? That he had to realize that for all his speed, going as fast as the speed of light seemed like an impossible task? That…that…
"Can I come?
It was another awkward proposal, and Tails felt like kicking himself for it. He wasn't a guardian. Or a nanny. Certainly not to Sonic. And to just 'tag along,' like that? Sonic had done this run before, alone. Why should he accept company now?
"Sure bud. Why not?"
Tails's eyes sparkled. And not just because of the sun's rays.
"Really? I can? Really?"
"Well, I guess you'll be flying rather than running. But hey, semantics."
Tails didn't know what "semantics" meant. But he didn't care.
Right now, flying under the rising sun, he didn't have another care in the world.
A/N
I'll be honest and say the seagulls were inspired by how they're portrayed in Finding Nemo. I did originally consider having Locky take the role, but not only would that provide a character distraction, but chances are most people don't even remember who Locky is.
Sigh...I miss the 90s. Meh. Can still write I guess.