.:In the Middle of a Storm:.
The leaves shuffled in a rustle of movement as the winds howled through the branches. A small fox kit shivered as he heard the rain beating against the walls like gun-shots. Another flash of lightning illuminated the room. The fox winced,
"Uwaah…" he whimpered as he wrapped his tails around himself protectively. A sudden rumble of thunder made him jump up, "I…I want D-Daddy…" he whispered. Suddenly he mentally slapped himself, 'No' he thought, 'I've gotta be strong! For me and for Sunflower!'
This fox's name was Xavier. He was the adopted son of Tails and step-brother to the last seedrian in the world, Sunflower.
Right now though, Tails was at the City Council for an important meeting regarding new ways to deal with Eggman, so Cream had come to watch over the two while he was away. Even though he didn't mind Cream's company, he felt sometimes that she babied him. He was 5 after all! He didn't need to be tucked into bed or told bedtime stories (he blushed at the thought…although he didn't mind when Daddy told him the heroic stories of him and the Sonic team).
Cream was in the guest room right now. Probably asleep. Xavier turned to the glow in the dark clock on his desk,
"10:08" Xavier sighed, it was 2 hours past his bed time and he still couldn't sleep. Wincing at a particularly loud rumble of thunder, the fox quietly slipped out of the bundle of covers and tip-toed to the door. The door creaked slightly as he opened it, and he quickly looked around, making sure that Cream hadn't heard him (she heard a lot with those giant ears of hers).
After triple checking first that the coast was clear, Xavier let out a breath that he hadn't realized that he had been holding and began to weave his way through the abundance of hallways in the house. After making two lefts and a right, he was at his Daddy's (and Sun's) bedroom.
Xavier opened the door as slowly as possible so as not to disturb Sunflower.
The baby seedrian was asleep in her baby carriage, snoring softly, ignoring the storm that surrounded her. Xavier felt a pang of jealously (how could she just sleep through everything like this? He hadn't been able to sleep once he heard the first loud plunks of rain on his fall).
Xavier shook his heads free of the jealously and found what he was looking for: Tails's bed. He began to climb up, using the bed sheets as a makeshift set of ladder rungs (Xavier had no clue why his Daddy's bed was so high off the ground since he was pretty short himself).
After a few more minutes of struggle, he managed to reach the bed and fell instantly into its soft covers. Xavier let out a small hum. Daddy's bed was so big that he always felt safe in it. Not even the harsh howls of the storm outside could dampen his spirits now.
In fact, he was so comfortable that he didn't even notice the door creak open a second time
.:Back at the Front of the House:.
Tails wearily rubbed his head, sensing a head ache in the works. The city council always wanted at least one of the members of the Sonic Team at the council meetings (and since no one else had the patience to deal with the obnoxious group) Tails always had to step up to the plate.
This particular time, the council just wouldn't listen to reason. Eggman had been suspiciously inactive for the past few months and Tails had suggested sending out a group of people to spy and check up on the doctor.
The council members had been very adamant in their stance though (much to Tails' chagrin). They were completely convinced that Eggman, had decided to not take over the world. After all, he had been inactive for the past twelve months, so why would he attack now. It was pretty obvious to Tails that Eggman had either died or was creating his most massive scheme ever, but no one wanted to listen to reason, since Eggman never claimed that he had changed only to end up tricking everyone and taking over the world once more.
"Fools…" Tails muttered as he walked towards the guest room where he knew Cream would be sleeping when he got home. Even though he felt slightly guilty for having Cream watch his kids so late into the night, he couldn't say that he didn't mind coming home to see her beautiful face…
Tails nearly slapped himself, 'Get it together man! She's with Bokkun! She's always been with Bokkun! You can't possibly go after her!'
Tails ignored his internal conflict as he opened the door to the guest room. His intuition had been right. Cream was asleep in the guest bed.
Tails let a soft smile play on his face as he walked up to the sleeping rabbit and nudged her shoulder,
"Hey…wake up sleepy head," Tails said teasingly, 'She looks so beautiful when she's sleeping…' Cream opened her eyes slowly and made contact with Tails' clear blue ones,
"G…Good Evening Tails," Cream yawned as she stretched out her arms. Tails chuckled,
"Hey Cream. So, how were they?" Cream gave Tails a sleepy smile that made his heart melt,
"Fine…dandy…I put them to bed at 8 so they should be sleeping. Xavier didn't eat his carrots though," Tails laughed,
"He wouldn't eat them even if you put peanut butter and jelly all over them," Peanut Butter and jelly sandwiches were Xavier's favorite.
Cream giggled as she got out of the bed and began to fold the sheets. Tails noticed this and began to help her,
"Cream, you know that you can always stay here for the night if you want. I'm sure Bokkun wouldn't mind," Cream nodded sadly,
"No, it's alright. I wouldn't want to be a burden," Tails winced at the words. Cosmo would always say that…
Cream's eyes widened as she realized what she had said,
"N-not that I think I'm a burden to you or anything T-Tails! I really enjoy your company!" The rabbit stuttered. Masking his emotions, Tails began to laugh,
"It's alright Cream, I get it," Cream had finished folding the sheets, "Same time next week then?" Cream nodded,
"Yes," she gave Tails one last comforting hug. The fox instantly melted into her form at her touch, "See you…"
And with that, Cream picked up her purse and umbrella and began to walk to her car. Tails remained immobile in that position a moment more, feeling his face heat up and tears stream down his face at the same time,
"Cosmo…" he choked out in a whisper, "Cosmo I don't know what to do…I hate this…" his voice cracked, "Why can't you be here with me Cosmo…being a single parent…" Tails let out a shaky sigh and ran his hand through his bangs, "And the fact that I really love Cream…I love you to Cosmo, but…" he paused, "Why does this have to be so hard? Cosmo…"
A sudden flash of light snapped the poor fox out of his trance. Tails's eyes widened, how could he have forgotten one crucial detail?
Xavier was afraid of thunderstorms.
.:Back in Tails's Bedroom:.
Xavier snuggled deeper into the pillows. If he thought hard enough, he could pretend that the pillows were his daddy, comforting him through the storm.
"Daddy…" he whispered as he clutched the pillows tighter to his chest, "Please come home…" Xavier hated when this happened. His daddy was the only one that could successfully comfort him in the middle of a storm like this. Tears leaked from his eyes as he heard the wind howl some more. The fox tightened himself, it was a reflex.
.:With Tails:.
Tails rushed through the hallways, (cursing himself once more to why he had built such a large house). He didn't need to check Xavier's room to know that he wasn't going to be in there.
There was only one place Xavier would be during a storm like this,
Tails's eyes softened at bit as he caught sight of his bedroom door. He silently opened the door and glanced at Sunflower, who was peacefully sleeping. Then his gaze turned to the bed and the green fox whimpering in it. Tails rushed to the bed and gathered the fox in his arms (feeling the wetness of his tears on his hands).
"D-Daddy?" Xavier whispered. Tails rubbed his back soothingly (a trick that he had learned from Amy when she was trying to coax him out of a ball during a thunderstorm). Tails began to hum as Xavier snuggled closer together, wanted to be as close to his father's warm and comforting form as possible.
How could he have been so selfish to pine over a taken woman when his son needed him here? Tails felt a wave of guilt wash over him as he thought of how terrified Xavier must have been as he was shocked frozen in his bed. He knew that Xavier felt the need to act tough, so Cream must not have noticed it. Tails cursed the meeting once more. Next meeting he was going to get Sonic or Shadow to go.
"It's okay…Daddy's here and the big bad storm isn't gonna get you…" Xavier looked up and Tails felt a wave of mixed emotions as he looked at his son's big teary eyes.
"It's…it's not?" Tails gave him a warm smile,
"Not while I'm here Xavier," Tails patted the spot on the bed next to him, "Why don't you stay with me tonight?" Xavier quickly scampered next to Tails and relaxed once he felt his dad's tails wrap around him in a comforting gesture. Xavier laid his head on his dad's chest, listening to the storm rage over their heads and Sunflower's light snores.
After a few moments of silence, Xavier spoke up,
"H-hey Daddy?" Tails turned to face Xavier,
"Yes Xavier? What is it?" The green fox's face flushed in shame,
"I…I was just wondering how Sun can sleep through this…" the fox mumbled. Tails held back a chuckled,
"Well I guess it has to do with Sun being a plant and all. Since she has that connection to nature rain probably doesn't bother her as much. She's a lot like Cosmo that way," Tails said as his eyes gained a faraway look, "Cosmo loved the rain. She was always out in the rain…onetime we even went dancing in the rain…" And as Tails began to reminisce, successfully distracting Xavier from the storm, he thought back to his earlier conversation,
'Cosmo…about what I said before…about Cream and being a single parent…I guess…as long as I have Xavier and Sunflower here…' Tails left the rest unsaid. He was sure that wherever Cosmo was, she understood. She always did,
And as the two sat together braving out the weather, the storm cleared.
.:End:.
A/N: I wrote this a while ago but only decided to type it and post it today! I was thinking with my lack of updates for Blast to the Past, that you guys deserved a small little one-shot
I really, really love Xavier! And I really love delving into the lives of the Prower family. I think my next oneshot will be about Sun's first day of school…or something like that. I want to make one about Sun since I'm always going on about Xavier…or maybe something about the Hedgehog-Echidna family, just because I'm always writing about the Prowers, xD. I can't help, it! I love them all :3
Anway, the tensions going on with Tails and Cream will be explained as the story goes on…heheheh…
Oh and kinda late, but if you wanna really get a surreal effect while reading this, play a loop of the Verdanturf Town music from Pokemon Emerald(specifically search the re-orcestrated version, it sounds really beautiful). That makes this story really pull at your heart strings, xD The song by itself is wonderful too…
Chao for Now!
~G
PS. Anyone get the minor symbolism? xD Add it in your review if you did!