DANG, IT HAS BEEN A WHILE! so yeah, Future-Gamefreak here! i haven't posted up anything here in forever and i decided, after leaving this to fester in my fanfic folder for a year, that i'd publish it outside of AO3!
So yeah, this is a (ONESIDED, MIND YOU) sontails fic, a pairing that i've always loved that just has... really bad fic attached to it for the most part, and even reading this a year later, I think it holds up!
Unfortunately, it remains unfinished, but please send me concrit about how it was so far!
Disclaimer: Sonic belongs to SEGA and Sonic Team.
Your name is Miles "Tails" Prower, and you've really missed this.
The cool, evening wind whips against your face as you continue jogging alongside your friend, the smell of fresh, clean air and the sounds of ocean waves hitting the shore as they kept time against your short puffs of breath. It sounds like such a goofy thing to miss, but three straight weeks of motor oil and musky, gross lab-stink could make even the most common "Station Square-brand Ocean Breeze" seem like a godsend. You breathe in the clean air with a little smile.
Your friend- always the perceptive one- seems to notice.
"You... holdin' up alright, Tails?" he asks between exhales.
"Y-Yeah," you say with a bit of a start, looking at the older teen. "C'mon, I'm not THAT out of shape, Sonic!" You can't help but let out a little smile.
You quickly go back to looking ahead, but you can hear Sonic chuckle next to you- that deep, warm, inviting rumble that makes your gut drop in a really pleasant yet familiar way- before he reaches over between strides and ruffles your orange, shaggy mop of hair.
"Dork."
And no, your pale, freckled face doesn't light up to a shade of red not unlike The Tornado.
... It does, but still.
"But Amy-"
"But NOTHING, CREAM! The poor kid's been cooped up in his house for THREE WEEKS! THREE! I don't even know how anyone could even THINK, nonetheless be doing plane stuff for THAT LONG!"
"I don't know... he still has some things to sort out on his own."
"Well, he can do that another time! I can't STAND to see Sonic moping around like that for any LONGER!"
"But-"
The door to your workshop slammed open and with a startled yelp, you jumped up from the puddle of drool forming on your desk to see Amy, (and a very flustered looking Cream) at your door. Along with her hefty, toned build, pale and sickly complexion, Amy's absolutely disgusted expression never looked more terrifying. (Not that you could blame her; your lab was a gigantic, gross mess, after all.)
"H-hey... ladies..." you said with the smoothness and suave of an incredibly sleep-addled twelve year-old boy.
"Don't mind me just... hard at work... on things..." you said as you vaguely gestured towards your desk... before yelping in surprise when you saw how soggy your blueprints and notes were at the moment.
"So, Tails..." Cream started, nervously running her hand through her short, brown hair as she surveyed the room.
You stopped desperately fanning at your notes with your hands to look at her.
"Me and Amy have been talking, and we both think that-"
"You need to leave the lab. Like... right now."
"Yeah..." Cream's almond-shaped eyes glared pointedly at the older girl as she continued.
"You've been cooped up in here for a while, and spending this much time in your lab isn't healthy."
"Well... I've been... really busy," you muttered, scratching the back of your head. You realized that... wow, that was a pretty blatant lie, and Cream (obviously) looked skeptical.
Amy snorted.
"You can go back to your "important work" later, Tails. Sonic's waiting for you."
"HUH?!"
And suddenly, your face lit up and your heart dropped and your eyes honed in directly on Cream, her equally panicked expression roughly translating to a very clear, i didn't say anything, i SWEAR!
Amy however, didn't seem to notice either of your mutual mortification.
"Well... not right now! I mean, I still need to find Sonic, and make YOU look presentable and not like a gross SLOB!"
She proceeded to lift you up by the scruff of your t-shirt, with Cream nervously skittering past the both of you with a plastic bag in tow.
"I mean, you need to be un-quarantined and all, but the LAST thing I would want is for poor Sonic to die of sadness or something! Hanging with Shadow or Knuckles for THAT LONG can't possibly any good for his health…"
Tsktsk-ing impatiently, Amy started to carry you out of the lab, taking a quick whiff of your visage before scowling in disgust.
"Cream," she called out to the other girl, who suddenly stopped her trash-gathering frenzy to look back at her.
"Hmm?"
"We're finding the hose as soon as we get outside."
"Aye-eye," she replied, nervous titter still present in her voice. Cream quickly glanced at absolute squalor that was your lab, and with a deep, shaky breath, she sped past both you, flashing you a brief, apologetic smile.
You waved the flat of your hand dismissively at her, offering a nervous grin of your own.
"Heh... needed the fresh air anyways..." you muttered. (More to yourself, actually.)
"I had to stop avoiding this sooner or later..."
What were you even trying to avoid anyways?
You quickly glance over at Sonic, still jogging with as much confidence (and oblivity) as he usually did.
Oh yeah...
Your gut feels weird and cramped and you know it's not because of the run. ("Hiatus" or not, you could still make this distance in your sleep!) It wasn't because of your impromptu "shower", (even during her deepest, darkest 'Sonic Moments', Amy would NEVER risk you getting hurt,) nor was it because of your because of your binder, either. (Cream and her mother made sure you could always run comfortably in it when they were making it for you.)
So why did you feel so... queasy?
"Maybe it's because of WHO you're running with?" a very Cream-like voice interjected helpfully.
"That can't be it!" you mentally reply- and you KNOW that that wasn't the first time you've thought that, either- "It must be something else-"
"Yo! Earth to Fox-Brain!"
A dark, snapping hand fills your vision, cutting your thoughts short. You look over towards Sonic, who pulls his hand back with a worried grin.
"Are you... sure you're doin' okay, Tails?" He asks with a nervous laugh. The older teen stops jogging, prompting you to do the same.
"Y-Yeah... just peachy..." you reply with exasperation. You suddenly feel so frustrated and you can't place why.
Sonic's expression falters. He straightens up, lightly running his hand through his spiked, blue afro.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" He finally asks. He's squatting so that he's eye-level with you, and your stomach flips, that damned blush now lazily creeping back into your face.
"I mean... we can walk and talk if we need to!"
Sonic looks so much like a slighted puppy right now, his rich, dark-brown skin and stubbled face now sporting a troubled pout, and you would have found it so cute if it hadn't been because of you.
Wait.
...Cute?!
Now, feeling the blush at full force, you violently shake your head.
"Huh?!"
"N-No, we don't have to!" you blurt out.
"Have to what?!" Sonic asks in alarm.
Your brain stutters- why now of all times? - but you remember, (through some miracle unexplainable by modern science, probably,) what you wanted to say.
"Walk!" you continue. "I mean... we've barely started running; we'd be done WAY TOO EARLY if we slowed down now."
"Y'know what I mean, right?"
Sonic mulled it over.
"Yeah, I get that!" Sonic replied, face brightening. "I'll tell ya what: we'll go as far as the plaza and if you're still feeling crappy, we can talk about it there, okay?"
"Huh," you start with a smirk, feeling the prior tension melt away.
"That was surprisingly diplomatic of you, Sonic."
The older boy smirks right back at you... before punching you in the arm.
"Well slow-poke, we ain't got all night!" And he's off, jumping up from his squat with renewed energy as he starts to jog ahead.
"Hey, wait up!" you shout after him, Sonic's (stomach-flippingly perfect) laughter filling the evening air.
The run to the Station Square Plaza wasn't a usually long one; maybe a five minute run if you and Sonic were feeling particularly lazy that day. At the pace that the both of you were going at now however, you wouldn't make it to the plaza for another... 10 minutes at least.
You didn't mind though. Both you and Sonic were running together, a comfortable silence in the evening air, and the awkwardness of before was pretty much gone. However, you DID occasionally notice the older teen sneaking a few curious glances in your general direction. (Not... that you were looking in his general direction, mind you.) Other than that, it was just like old times.
Well... almost like old times.
Deep down, it frustrated you that you couldn't place what exactly changed between you and Sonic. You still always hung out together and beat up baddies; he didn't treat you any differently than his dorky, affectionate self usually did.
But now... everything he did or said had your heart racing and palms sweating! No matter what you did, no matter how many conversations you had with Cream, no matter how hard you stared at your workshop's wall, no matter how many long, tedious monologues took place in your head, you still couldn't find any answers.
You sigh a bit too strongly.
"You okay there, bud?"
Startled, you look over to see Sonic's concerned face.
"Yeah! I'm... fine!"
"You sure? You've been out of it this whole run! I... didn't pull you away from anything important, did I?" His expression went back to that worried smile.
"O-of course not!" you emphatically reply. "I've just been so busy lately; it's nice to finally get out of the lab!"
"I mean, I fixed up the Tornado,"
-you recalibrated the engine twice two weeks ago-
"cleaned up the lab,"
-you gave up tackling that disaster after only a few days-
"and worked on some new blueprints,"
-blueprints that had suspiciously Sonic-like faces doodled all over them-
"y'know... nerd stuff"!
-Like thinking non-stop about you...-
Sonic hums.
"Well. Sure sounds nerd stuff to me," he replied with a smirk.
You punch him in the arm, flashing a smirk of your own.