Disclaimer: I do not own anything except my OC's. Sticks the Badger is owned by SEGA. Also, a song I feel would be appropriate for the interactions in this story is "You'll be in my Heart" by the legendary Phil Collins. You'll see why as you read.
All was silent in the night. Nothing but the midnight chorus of crickets outside made noise. The silence was only broken by the distressed sounds of a young badger, murmuring and whimpering in her sleep. Suddenly, she awoke with a scream.
She sat, bolt upright in bed. Her orange and brown fur was beaded with a cold sweat, and she was panting. A minute later, a gray furred wolf rushed in, sword in hand. He looked around the room before his eyes fell on the badger's.
"Hey, Sticks," he said, sheathing his blade and walking over to her. He caught sight of the tears in her eyes. "I heard you screaming. Is everything okay? What happened?"
Sticks stammered, her voice quivering with emotion. "I-I-I had a n-nightmare." She sobbed. The former bounty hunter placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey," he said to her, cupping one hand to her face. "Look at me, Sticks. It's okay. Can you tell me what happened."
Sniffling, the young badger managed to wipe the tears from her eyes and said, "Well, I was with Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy. We...we were fighting Eggman, like we usually do. But then Eggman..." She had to pause for a minute to avoid crying again. "...He got the advantage, and the others...the others..." She didn't feel like she had the strength to continue.
Cody, knowing exactly what she was talking about, put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's alright. I understand how you feel, Sticks."
"You do?" Sticks asked, a bit of her angst replaced with curiostiy. She wasn't entirely sure what he meant.
"Yeah," He sighed. "More than you may realize. Sometimes, to this day, I still have nightmares about when my old mentor, Ben Monomi, died. In my nightmares, I'm reliving that day when Riplak killed him. I just felt so helpless, watching him die. He was the closest thing I had to an actual family."
Sticks already knew about Ben's death, and she'd already had some understanding of how badly it had affected the young wolf. But she didn't realize that Cody still suffered from the aftermath.
"But when I wake up," Cody continued, "I remember the family I still have today. My friends, like Sonic and the others. Alexa, who's like a little sister to me. And of course, you."
Sticks smiled a bit. She felt better knowing that Cody cared a lot about her. "And besides, you don't need to worry about Eggman destroying any of us any time soon." He added.
"Why not?" Sticks asked, confused.
Cody chuckled and replied, "Because A: he's not that lucky, 2: We're too good at what we do to let someone like him beat us, and D: I love you too much to let something like that happen."
Sticks giggled a bit, having recognized the joke Cody was making. "So don't worry," he told her. "It was just a bad dream anyway."
Sticks wiped away the last of her tears and hugged him. "Thanks, Cody." She said. "I feel a lot better now."
The ex-bounty hunter smiled as he welcomed the hug. "You're welcome." He replied. "Would you like for me to stay here?"
Sticks thought for a moment, then smiled. "No thank you, Cody. I think I'll be okay."
Cody tucked her in and kissed her forehead. He said, "Alright then. See you in the morning." He got up and walked over to the door.
"Wait, Cody." The wolf stopped and turned to back around to look at her.
"Good night." She smiled.
The wolf smiled back, and replied, "Good night, Kireina." With that, he opened the door and left.
As he closed the door behind him, he paused for a moment. He closed his eyes as he remembered something that had happened to him when he was around ten years old.
Ben had just rushed into the room, looking around before turning his attention to the young wolf. He hurried over to the boy, kneeling at his bedside. "Hey, kid. What happened?"
Sobbing and sniffling, the young wolf managed to reply, "I...I had a bad dream. I thought...I thought I could see my parents. Then...sniffle...then there was...fire. Just fire everywhere. I remember...I remember...being outside, and...and...the house collapsed." That was all the youngster could manage before breaking down in tears again.
The old Echidna put a hand on his apprentice's shoulder. "It's alright, Cody. I'm right here. Don't worry. You're safe." The 27 year old Bounty Hunter comforted the young wolf as if he were Ben's own son, which in a way was true.
Cody looked up at his mentor with hope in his eyes. "Th-thanks, Ben. I guess I'm just still worried about my parents. Did I really lose them in a fire? Did they survive? Where are they?" Ben thought for a moment before replying.
"I don't know, Cody. But you can be sure that we will find the answers together, and maybe even find your parents."
"But-but what if we find them and...I don't get to see you again?" The young wolf asked, sobbing. Ben hadn't expected to be asked that question. He once again thought for a moment to consider his answer. "Don't worry," Ben replied after a moment. "I'm sure that should we find your parents, I will still be your teacher. And your friend. I promise you that."
At first, he was caught off guard when the young wolf gripped him in a big hug. "Thank you, Ben."
Ben smiled and returned the hug. "You're welcome, kid. Now, get some sleep. I promised you I would teach you how to wield a sword when you turned ten, and that promise is long overdue."
Young Cody smiled in anticipation and said, "Oyasumi, Ben."
"Oyasumi, my young pupil. Sleep well." Ben replied as he left.
Cody opened his eyes and smiled. Thank you for everything, Ben, Cody thought to himself. I've come so far because of you, and I can tell deep down that I've made you proud. As he left to go back to sleep himself, the spirit of a purple furred echidna stood in the hallway, arms folded over his chest and a proud smile on his face. "You have indeed, kid." The spirit said, not minding whether or not he was heard. "You truly have done well. I will always be proud of you."
A/N: I will not approve of interpreting the relationship between Cody and Ben as homosexual. I have nothing against homosexuality, but to be clear, Cody sees Ben as a mentor, and a father figure, or a brother. But as this story has shown, Cody does have some developing romantic feelings towards Sticks. In my head canon, bringing Sticks out of the realm of Sonic Boom makes her somewhat less paranoid, but she still behaves somewhat like she usually does.
Also, props to whoever catches the reference Cody makes. And for those who speak Japanese, I hope you can forgive me if I goofed up Cody's Japanese. Cody learned some Japanese from Ben while the Echidna was still his mentor. For those who don't understand, Kireina translates to "Beautiful", and Oyasumi translates to "Good Night".