A/N: So, guess who's off to visit her family that she hasn't seen in five years? Well if you guessed me then, congrats, you know the obvious! So I'll be gone until August, and my school year should begin only a few days after I come back. As such, I can't promise posting any continuation of the fics I have for a bit, but I will try to get Soaring And Crashing chapter 2 up if I can. I was extremely surprised by the fact that people actually left comments! I've become unused to that after leaving the Minecraft fandom, so it's a comforting thought that I now have a place with people to critique my stuff! Thank you guys! With that out of the way, here's a one-shot I thought of through my incredibly dull graduation ceremony. I knew that I couldn't get another chapter out, so I decided to work on this instead. Came up with three story ideas during it all, and this was by far my favorite. Proud Sonic makes me extremely happy. He kinda caught my pride, I guess? My brother got first place in honor roll in his graduation, so maybe that has something to do with how utterly mushy he is in this. But I think I'll let you decide if that's the case! By the way: the title is based off of a song I believe fit Sonic and Tails well, and it ended up matching up with certain things in this story.
{ i wanna start by letting you know this,
because of you my life has a purpose.
you helped me be who i am today.
i see myself in every word you say. }
He didn't understand why anyone would like wearing clothes. Sure, everyone had a right to an opinion and all that, but his own point of view just didn't align with that of so many others. Clothes are tight fitting and restrict at least a bit of mobility, and when you're the fastest hedgehog to walk—excuse me, run—on the planet, you need every little bit of it you can get. Even the smallest squeeze of pants or the slight rub of the material could prove disastrous when moving at supersonic speed.
So, as was to be expected, Sonic was usually grumpy when forced into any type of clothing out of doing someone a favor, fancy clothing in particular. They were twice as tight and, apparently, getting them dirty was seen was disastrous. Where was the fun in that?
But today was different. Today, the same blue hedgehog, who would normally be fidgeting with the collar of his white undershirt, walked out of the hotel he had slept in last night rather cheerfully. Well, hadn't slept in as much as he had on. As in, he had slept on the roof. But that didn't seem to be much of an issue, it never was for him. It had been out of his own choosing.
The sun in the sky shone brightly, but not as bright as the smile on the blue blur's face. He planted his feet firmly on the green grass he would soon be running on, his hands on his hips as he let out a sigh. It wasn't an upset sight, but a content sigh. He breathed out every bit of it until he practically deflated, and sucked in enough air to breathe correctly. Not even the constricting suit he was forced to wear could dampen the twenty-four year olds obvious glee.
Considering himself lucky that his status as hero allowed him a few privileges, such as being allowed to wear his bright red running shoes rather than black elegant ones, Sonic took off through the streets of Spagonia, letting out a delighted laugh as he did. Bystanders looked in his direction, or the direction where he was headed towards, with confused expressions. It was no rare occurrence to see Sonic the Hedgehog running through the city by now, nor to hear him cry out so elated, but there had been something different about that cry. Not in a bad way, just different.
What was a long drive and an even longer walk took the hedgehog ten minutes to clear, even with the issue of being clad in tight clothing. Nonetheless, his smile was still there and refused to fall from his features. A glint was in the cobalt hero's eyes, though it went unnoticed by anyone. He was going too fast to be looked at closely, much less to make eye contact. Maybe Shadow had a chance, but why would that Faker be looking for eye contact with him of all people? The black hedgehog would probably roll his eyes at the goofy expression on the other's face if that had been the case.
He kicked his right foot into the air, scuffling against the ground while he had the chance. He spun in mid-air quickly and landed gracefully on both his feet, skipping twice in order to get a firm foothold. Once his run had been stopped I the rather show off-ish manner he was known for, Sonic dusted himself off with a twitch of his ears. His smile turned into a grin, picking up a tad of cockiness before falling back to his happy smile. He hopped his way up the stairs of the marble building he had yielded in front of, emerald green orbs wandering up and down the establishment. He had been here plenty of times in the last couple of years, but he had never stopped being at least somewhat amazed by the structure of the place. It was tall, much taller than he was (though, then again, he was pretty small) and it seemed to rise high into the sky. It made him think of a certain someone, how high it was and how it reached for the clouds, and his smile widened. Sonic looked around, meeting the eyes of people who were walking in through the building's wide arch. Their reactions ranged between 'oh, it's Sonic the Hedgehog?!' and 'oh, it's Sonic the Hedgehog.' The latter were the group of people who were as frequent visitors as he was, and some of these smiled at him as if they knew each other. Sonic returned the gesture, and even waved at some of the ones with the 'oh my Chaos' looks.
Seeing these many Mobians and humans walking in told Sonic what he already knew: he had arrived with enough time to spare. With a twitch of his nose at a small kid who looked at him in wonder, the now adult hedgehog walked inside. Yes, walked. Even he knew running like he could inside buildings was not a good thing to do unless that building belonged to Eggman.
Remembering what he was told by some teacher a few days ago, and guided by the people herding towards a large door, the blue blur made his way into another room, one that was much larger than what he called the 'welcomingly empty and boring room that leads to the entrance'. It was almost as big as tall as the building in general, and Sonic wondered for a second if half of the establishment was only this one room. Again, tagging along with the long line of people, he walked at an agonizingly slow pace behind them with his arms crossed. Though it was clear he was a bit irritated by the siting he dreaded, his smile was still there. It seemed impossible to bring him down today.
A few people offered with fervor to have him take their place in front after noticing his identity. It seems like he had gotten caught between a couple of the 'look celebrity' people. Or the ones that looked surprised back at the entrance. Sonic rejected the offer continuously, knowing it wasn't fair even though he did want to cut the waiting by half or entirely. He was practically pushed after the fiftieth refusal on his part and the hundredth offer, which hardly took him by surprise he had been squabbling with Eggman for years now, and could practically predict what the public would do to repay him. He could also predict the moment when whomever was pushing him pulled back suddenly and stuck a blue quill out of their finger. He couldn't help but holding back a chuckle before asking if the person was fine.
Thanks to the ushering and distraction, Sonic found himself at the counter they were all filing at relatively soon. Glad of the outcome though not necessarily the means, the hedgehog walked up to said counter and rested his hands on top of it, supporting his weight. His smile everlasting, he greeted the elderly woman seated in front of him. "Hiya!"
At the upbeat voice, the blinked and looked up. Readjusting her thin glasses to sit closer to her eyes, their green irises lit up with recollection. "Ah, Sonic! Lovely to see you made it."
"Ya kidding?" Sonic chuckled. "I'd never miss this for the world!"
"But of course!" the woman, who was in fact a senior teacher, smiled gently at him before pulling out a piece of paper. She handed them over to the hedgehog that matched the color of the card he was given. "This card has your designated seat. The letter indicates the row, and the number the seat itself." Even through the cracking and aging voice, the white haired instructor lowered her glasses and winked at Sonic. "I may have arranged a couple of things here and there to get you a seat up close to the stage."
The blue blur's ears pricked and his eyes widened. "Really?" Grinning now, he spared a glance at the paper and caught the writing scribbled on it. B30. He turned to get out of the line and let it move along, so as to not make it stop for long. He didn't like waiting, so why would he want others to do so?
"Thanks Marge!" the speedster thanked the elder, stretching out his hand so the other could shake it.
The teacher chuckled quietly, handing the next person in line their corresponding card and seat. "It's no problem, Sonic. My pleasure." She quirked her cracked lips into a small smile and shook his gloved hand.
The addressed blinked at the woman and switched what direction he was facing again, now intending to walk to his seat. Waving over his shoulder and accompanying the gesture with a glance, he directed his green gaze back to his path in time to narrowly avoid colliding with a ferret. Quickly swerving to the right, Sonic shook his head and concentrated on where he was going. Swift reflexes or not, he couldn't dive left and right abruptly in a heavily populated room without causing some inconveniences.
"B30, hm?" Sonic hummed to himself as he walked along. His eyes landed on the seats placed at either side of him, coated in plush red felt. Spagonia University was no cheap place, that was for sure. Though Sonic had been in this room once in the years he had run back and forth through the halls, it had been enough to discover how comfy the chairs were. A cranky teacher had found him and scolded him, claiming how he should act his age. Sonic had called out a fake apology with a hidden roll of his eyes then, and he did the latter again at the memory. Curiosity killed the cat, what could he say? What everyone else thought twenty-four year olds were supposed to act like wasn't his way of rolling. He'd act just as if he was fifteen again if he so wanted, age was insignificant in that regard.
Though, in others, it made all the difference. Sonic glanced swiftly at the stage in the middle of the room, surrounded by crimson curtains.
Getting back to present times after that brief distraction, and remembering from said daydream that the rows began in alphabetical order from the bottom up, the hedgehog descended by way of using the stairs until he came to the second to last line of perfectly kept seats. He easily slipped his way in front of the seats and walked while keeping an eye on the golden plaques on each seat. They all had a different number, and the one he was looking at was… a hundred and twenty.
Surely he was allowed to trot, right?
Even if he wasn't, Sonic shrugged and did just that. Able to walk with plenty of room thanks to his size, it wasn't long before seat thirty was sitting in front of him. With the same smile he had started the day out with, the hedgehog plopped down on the seat without much of a second thought. Well, except for his self-reminder to adjust his quills so they wouldn't poke holes through the fabric. He reached behind his head and pulled his quills to the side, pushing the smooth side of the two spines on his.. well, spine, against the seat. Not the most comfortable position to be in, but he had gotten used to it.
And, now settled down on his assigned place, Sonic noticed that he was positioned almost directly in front of the stage.
The blue blur grinned and chuckled to himself, thanking Marge for a second time in his head though he knew she couldn't hear him. Letting out a rather loud sigh, which no one surrounding him caught, Sonic fluttered his eyes closed. What he was here to do, or attend, had never left his mind, but now that he had come to a stop and was sitting down rather than on his feet and walking, the sensation flaring up in his chest was more prominent than it had been before.
Before he could get pulled into his thoughts, he realized with a flick of his ears that most of the seats around him were occupied now. Well, guess he wasn't the only one who liked to get things moving along.
The theater's previously golden lights started to fade the smallest bit, mostly for the sake of ambience and to let the people in the audience now that something was going to happen and they should be quiet. They did as silently told.
It was silent for a minute, and Sonic was shocked at the utter lack of noise. Not a shuffle, not a peep, not a cough, not a sneeze.. He knew for a fact that kids were in the room. Sonic expected they had been very harshly talked to or ordered to be quiet, since no young kid he knew was able to keep quiet for this long. And he should know, he's known two and taken care of one (the word 'raised' had always been an odd way to describe it). Though, admittedly, the one he was responsible for had always been better behaved than most.
But, to be fair, he shouldn't talk much. He himself was hardly the calm or patient type.
The curtains were drawn back in what felt like slow mo, the previous sensation Sonic had felt when first sitting down returning at speed that could rival his own. A wide level of wood, which was a lighter color than the normal floor, was revealed with yet more red curtains as a backdrop. Sonic scoffed to himself, thinking that it was unecessary to remove one set of curtains to reveal another identical pair. He could only guess it was to give the man now standing stiffly in one corner of the stage a dramatic presentation. His head was raised high and proud with dignity, his chest puffed out and his hands resting on a tall desk that reached his abdomen. What made Sonic snort was the fact that the man was so comically small that the table was even more so.
But then again, he was, what? Three feet and a half?
The diminutive person standing in such a wide stage cleared his throat into a microphone, making static boom from the speakers from how close he was to the mic. Everyone winced and made to cover their ears, but the animals with sensitive hearing seated along the rows were the most affected. Sadly, Sonic was amongst them. Though his ears were small, that didn't mean they were poor at their job. The hedgehog cringed and plugged his ears just as he swore he heard a familiar yip from one side of the backstage area. Or he assumed it was a backstage area, anyway.
"A wonderful morning to you all, esteemed guests," the man with a nose as red as Knuckles' fur and round as Big's belly continued, not bothered in the slightest by the static. In fact, it seemed as if he hadn't noticed.
"Lucky," muttered Sonic crossly, blaming the fact that he had accidentally embedded the couch with stiffened quills on the elderly man. Not that he was wrong.
"As you are all aware of," he announced in a noise that Sonic could only describe as snooty, "we are gathered here today to commemorate the…"
And then began the long winded speech that Sonic wasn't all too keen on listening to. It was easy for the hedgehog to tune out, swiveling his ears back and letting eyes close. He never fell asleep, and he made it obvious by fluttering his eyes open now and then. He didn't want to make it look like he didn't care about the ceremony in general if a certain someone was peeking at him, but it was practically part of his nature to shut off his brain whenever a dragged on lecture reached him.
He knew what words to listen for that would let him know he could pay attention fully again, at any rate. At the thought, he smiled wider. Sonic had never been good at explaining his feelings, but if he had to do so now he'd say he felt soft and mushy inside. His heart swelled and a shiver of anticipation ran up and down his spine.
He sat relaxed like that, submerged in his overjoyed thoughts for what he thought was ten minutes. Sonic, even though he was mostly ignoring the words spoken, picked up 'honored', 'overjoyed' and 'delighted.' The man's tone was unbefitting of any of those words. Sonic snickered.
"...announce the graduates of this generation."
Emerald green eyes shot open and he sat upright.
While he had been zoned out, he hadn't noticed the students that had started to make their way from the opposite corner of the stage. The one at the front, a bunny with a brown coat, was standing proudly. Though Sonic could see the obvious shaking of her gloved hands, that look in her eyes told him that it wasn't a problem. He could admire that.
Alike the rabbit standing in front, Sonic spotted both humans and Mobians standing in a line behind the stage and out of sight from the public. The hedgehog assumed there were other seats behind the stage where the graduating students had been waiting, and now they were standing and waiting for their name to be called.
Sonic was probably just as excited as they were.
"Emily Hopper," the old man whom Sonic had ignored for who knows how long droned out. The rabbit Sonic had spotted jumped in surprise, and scrambled to regain her bearings by dusting off her blue gown before walking out for all the audience to see. Clapping erupted throughout the theatre as the young woman took her diploma from a teacher that Sonic had not noticed before. They shook hands and shared a smile before she walked down a small set of stairs that led to a row of seats Sonic hadn't noticed before. They were hidden in the dip between the height of the stage and the floor, and it ran all the way around the circular theatre. Sonic assumed she sat down, since he couldn't see all that far, regardless of teh fact that he was pretty close to the stage himself.
The old geizer went on to announce the names of the remaining students one by one. The procedure was the same: step up to the stage, grab the diploma, shake hands with the instructor, and take a seat to wait for the rest. It was all agonizingly slow for Sonic, and not because he was used to extremely high speeds. Rather, the anticipation for a certain someone to finally step up and accept such an honor was both widening the smile on the hedgehog's face and decreasing his already short patience.
The hedgehog didn't pay much attention to the names of the Mobians or humans who stepped up to accept the piece of paper, shaped into a cone and closed off with a golden ribbon that matched the tassels on the graduate's navy blue hats. It may have seemed silly, but the colors of either just made Sonic more impatient.
Hurry up before I blow up! We've been waitin' five years for this day!
Finally, after what Sonic would've bet both his legs was all the roll call, the short man standing at the desk cleared his throat again, though farther away from the mic.
"Miles Prower."
From the same side that everyone had walked out from, an odd figure emerged. Two long ears twitched in the dark of the curtains and there was a pause that only Sonic caught. He saw the shadow's chest grow and shrink once, the head that the ears were placed atop of being shaken once before the owner walked into the spotlight.
It was an odd being in more than one way, and neither was more noticeable or alarming than the other. What many would notice first while not within the confines of the university would be the odd two tails sticking out from under the blue gown, both appendages twitching and waving at the same time. However, seeing as how they were in a graduation ceremony for university students, the fox's diminutive stature and general young look to his features also drew a lot of attention.
Sonic hadn't meant to cry out as loud as he did, though he had no doubt he would've been heard enough by the vulpine at any volume. But his excitement and anticipation had been bottled up for so long, he couldn't hold it back. He let out a loud 'WOO HOO' that resonated throughout the entire theatre. The fox on stage turned to look at Sonic as soon as the noise had left him and the crowd started to cheer. Regardless of the oddities linked to this fox, who was clearly still in his teens, everyone present knew who he was. Not necessarily because of his twin tails or his occupation as a university student at such a young age, but because of his heroic deeds that had aided Sonic so many times in the past. One way or another, they had come to terms with at least one abnormality about the vulpine.
The crowd exploded a few second after Sonic had begun. Some whistled, some screamed, but they were all sending support to the fox. It wasn't in a negative light, like how Sonic knew the younger one was usually used to when standing in public. It was in an extremely positive light. He was the center of attention, he was at such an important point in his life, and everyone was on his side.
The smile that beamed on the golden genius' face (the color having been related to the tassels and ribbons by Sonic earlier) was brighter than the glow of anything Sonic had seen before.
Take in mind, the hedgehog has seen many bright objects in his life. He had become a being of pure light that was identical to the sun, stared directly at a flaming Space Station and eliminated it by way of an even brighter explosion of Chaos Control, been caught in the white flash after a black hole, and many others. He had seen many things that could rival the sun and stars.
But nothing could beat the grin on his little brother's face.
Said adopted little sibling walked towards the teacher, who smiled at Miles much bigger than he had with anyone else. He nodded his head, a gesture that the teen returned with what Sonic thought was a chuckle if the way his body shook was an indication. He grasped the diploma and stared at it for a while, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. His smile never faltered.
"And now," the old munchkin who had started the ceremony interrupted the crescendo of applause. "Miles Prower will say a few words on behalf of the student body."
The young fox stiffened slightly, and Sonic saw a shiver make his friend jitter. Whatever had gone through the teen's mind was gone in a split second. He straightened up quickly and turned towards the podium, dipping his head at his elder with a spark of determination amongst his eyes. Sonic felt his smile grow subconsciously.
We did it, Tails.
The addressed, by Sonic's mind that is, replaced the graying old man much to the hedgehog's delight. The encouraging cries of the crown, which had started once it was announced that Tails would speak, stopped and silence reigned again. But Sonic wasn't wondering how the kids were getting distracted now. The one he considered family and helped grow was the only thing in his mind.
"Hello," began the yellow fox, his fur glimmering in the bright light casted upon him by the spotlight. "It's an honor to be standing here today in front of you, especially since I don't think I'm exactly the norm for what you'd expect as a graduate of Spagonia University." Tails chuckled lightly, but it wasn't out of awkwardness of nerves. It was legitimate humor that laced his tone and made the sound make others do so in turn, but in no ill will. Sonic laughed along with.
"I was up late last night thinking of what I'd say today. I mean, it's not everyday you get to speak to millions of people in this setting. I've had my fair share of public speaking, but whenever I did, it was mostly under the stress of getting possibly squashed by an evil robot or invention. I guess without the threat of possible death it's harder to write inspirational speeches."
The crowd hummed in amusement, and Sonic was smiling. He could agree with that.
"So here's my best attempt. I don't want to bore you with my life story much, but I guess a bit of background would help prove my point. Sparing details that I'd rather not reflect on, I was an orphan for a majority of my life. I lived and was born in Cocoa Island up until I turned four. It was pretty deserted, so there wasn't much a kid like me could do other than try to make it, ya' know? The few people that were there were awful, and they didn't help much. Since luck seemed to hate me back then, Cocoa Island ended up getting invaded. Long story short, I managed to get the culprits out and left for West Side Island, since living amongst charred remains wasn't a good idea.
"Turns out the people there were awful too. It was more populated, but not many cared. Well, I thought so, that is. I found someone there, whom I had to chase because apparently Mr. High-And-Mighty was too good for me," Tails shot Sonic a teasing smirk, to which latter responded with a shrug. Blame it on his relatively quiet past self.
"But despite of that," continued Tails, breaking eye contact with his best friend. "I think following him was one of the best decisions I ever did. I'm a hundred percent sure that, without him, I wouldn't be here now."
Sonic blinked in surprise and felt other people pry gazes at him, but he didn't mind. He wanted to make eye contact with the fox now, but he assumed Tails had broken it for a reason. He felt his smile soften, but also twitch at the edges as if forming a smirk.
"But I knew that I had to eventually earn the ability to act on my own. I needed to not be so dependent on another, I needed to grow up. I wanted to, because I felt like I needed to. I mean, like I said, a kid building planes and other machinery isn't exactly normal. Much less one with two tails.
"It was hard," he breathed out, shrugging. "I didn't have much confidence growing up, what with growing up being ostracized. It drills into your skull from how repetitive it is, especially since I was a kid. It changes your mindset and makes you believe things that aren't real. So I believed I was a mutant freak of nature who's machinery wasn't much to bat an eye at for a while.
"If it wasn't obvious enough currently, though, I think I can say with all the belief in the world that I managed to break through that barrier," sky blue eyes, blue like the wide and cloud scattered areas the fox adored to explore, burned alike flames, determination and pride within them. "So what if I have more than one tail? As far as I'm concerned, that only gives me an advantage. Name another fox who can fly without the need to use an airplane!"
Though Tails was not looking at the general crowd with that blazing gaze, Sonic smirked as if he was making eye contact again. That smirk gave way into a grin, one that beamed with pure happiness and pride.
He was all pride at the moment. He had been all pride on his way, and he still was. This fox, the vulpine he called a brother and had spent so many years with whether physically or not, was now standing with so much strength in his voice and spirit that Sonic rarely saw. He knew this meant a lot to Tails, it meant so much to him. Independence, intelligence, the ability to barrel through the shadows of his past that had restricted him into growing into an amazing person. The person he was today.
"I used to think that what made me unique and special made me a bad thing for everyone. I thought these two would only lead me to an awful life, but look where I am! If I were to go back to my past self, that five year old who hadn't even seen that streak of blue race by, I don't think he would believe me if I told him where he'd end up today. He'd doubt my promises that he'd have a home again, that he'd have friends, that he'd have a family, that he'd have a purpose. That he'd be happy."
Tails' gloved hands were gripping the dark wood of the desk where the microphone was. He was leaning against the desk, his eyes closed momentarily. When he spoke again, his optics never left the tall table, and his voice wavered with emotion.
"What I'm trying to say is.. things change. Things get better. Things do eventually play out the way the world has them planned, and the world has great things planned for everyone. If I, an orphaned fox cub with no self-esteem and no companions but destroyed robots I tinkered with, can end up as the sidekick to a world famous hero and graduate university at the age that most would start it.. Then I don't think anything is impossible."
The fox raised his head again, his eyes scanning the rows of people seated in front of him. They were all silent, staring at him with wide eyes and opened mouths. They were intrigued, they were moved, they were touched by the teen's words.
Sonic the Hedgehog was no different. The only difference was his expression. Rather than being slackjawed and bug eyed, his face held what was the epitome of happiness and pride.
The past five years that Tails had studied at Spagonia U had been tough on them both, especially the first. With the fox's tight schedule, however, he hardly had enough time to visit Sonic and his friends, if at all. He had been restricted to campus and Spagonia in general, having to settle for communication via phone or video call.
Tails in particular had taken the hardest blow. Even though he had been twelve at the time, he was still Sonic's best friend and little brother. Not seeing the blue blur for such a long amount of time, coupled with the stress he hadn't expected to carry while enrolling, Tails hadn't had such a good take off. He had fine grades, the best of his class in fact. But it required a very big push, both physical and emotional. He had to try and live without Sonic practically at all for more than a few weeks.
And, sure, the hedgehog was never around all the time. He wanted freedom, he needed freedom and was selfishly fond of it. He spent most of his time just running through half of the world and back, even though he had seen most of it by now that he was in his twenties. But he usually came back at least once a month for a week or so. He always came back; because, even if he was dependent on freedom, he was also dependent on not being completely alone.
Those five years had made him realize how much he actually relied on the company of his friends, especially his little brother.
But even though he had earlier thought how they had made it, looking up at Tails now made him realize it wasn't the case. He hadn't done much compared to Tails. He was alone for a while, but he visited whenever he could and never had to deal with the overbearing workload. Tails was seventeen now, twelve back then. Even if he was a genius prodigy, he was still young. He had been too young, and for a bit back then Sonic had thought about telling Tails that this had been too much for him. A small bit of his need to change the fox's mind was his own selfishness, but his intentions were also in Tails's favor.
But Sonic knew better. Sonic had known Tails for years, and knew that, like himself, Tails would not back down from a challenge. Tails would take that challenge and beat it if he so wished. Sonic somewhat blamed himself for passing his stubbornness down.
Tails had wished and he had done it. Not Sonic, Tails had.
He was absolutely bursting with pride, and it was obvious by the look on his face. He felt like crying out again and pulling the fox along with him into a run, to celebrate and simply talk. They hadn't done it in a while, and certainly not in person for.. how long again?
"A friend told me once that you gotta live life without looking back, to enjoy every minute of it and do what you want to do. And I think that I managed to do that, finally. I only hope everyone else in here will be able to do it in the future or already accomplished it."
Tails closed his eyes and smiled, a peaceful smile that still held as much emotion as he had spoken with. Only Sonic was looking directly at Tails, so the hedgehog assumed only he was able to catch it.
For what was the millionth time that day, the fox's cerulean orbs were revealed again. This time, however, they made eye contact with Sonic, and Sonic looked back at him.
"Thank you." By the way the fox had said the words, it sounded as if he had directed it to the whole theatre. But regardless of the volume, it was clear to the viewers close enough to the two that the vulpine was looking at Sonic and only Sonic.
Sonic smiled and gave him a thumbs up.
The ceremony was given full disclosure after Tails hopped down the stairs and sat down. Sonic had zoned out again, breathing out and leaning against the seat.
The warm feeling still refused to leave his heart or chest.
The room was emptied without much racket. Parents raced to their children, relatives tagging along, and embraces went all around.
The blue hedgehog, now aware of his surroundings fully again, got to his feet and stretched. Emerald green ovals stared at the ground through azure eyelids. His smile was still there. He walked outside of the building, not wanting to get tangled up with everyone who was congratulating the graduates.
Sonic still skipped his way down the wide marble stairs, leaping off the last step and landing with a twirl on one foot, bringing it down to the one that had managed to land safely on the ground. Why? No reason, he just felt like it.
He stood there for a few minutes with either hand on his hips, his ears twitching and attentive for the fox he couldn't wait to see. Tails had been incredibly busy prior to the ceremony, so no words could have been exchanged between the two.
As if knowing the older of the two wouldn't be too keen to the idea of waiting much, the golden vulpine walked out of the university, stopping at the top of the steps. He was still wearing the blue robe, but his hat was now missing.
They stared at eachother for what felt like a lifetime, but for once Sonic didn't mind the long pause. A puff of air burst out of his black nose as he shifted his weight to one leg, letting the hand on the opposite side drop to his side. The blue blur felt himself smirk up at the young genius, his eye ridges raised ever so slightly as if asking him why he was looking at him with that unreadable expression.
In a flash of yellow that glistened under the sun's ray, Sonic was ambushed by a thick-pelted teen, stumbling back a bit at the force of the sudden movement and dragging Tails along. He was luckily able to regain his balance in time to avoid tumbling down a hill with the fox.
The two were now not that different in size, thanks to Sonic's hedgehog blood making him be stranded as a small Mobian and Tails having the chance to grow to a bigger size. But the vulpine had always been a late bloomer, so Sonic was still winning by a few inches.
He could only remember Tails hugging him like this when he was still a preteen, back when he could only nuzzle his nose into Sonic's chest. It took him by surprise, but he wasn't about to complain. In truth, he had wanted his just as much as it seemed Tails did if his grip around Sonic's back and shoulders spoke loud enough.
The hedgehog breathed out and returned the embrace, feeling very odd at the realization that his little buddy wasn't so little physically anymore, even if he would always be his little buddy in spirit. He rested his chin on Tails' shoulder and closed his eyes, feeling his heart blossom with warmth again. He subconsciously tightened his hold on his brother.
They were quiet and ever so still for minutes, which Sonic found he didn't want to end. When he finally thought he wanted to say what he hadn't been able to voice, his voice as genuine as anyone had ever heard it. "I'm proud of you, Tails."
Only now did the hedgehog notice the slight shaking that the fox's body was doing. He didn't have to pull the other away to investigate though, since the vulpine did just that. He looked up at Sonic with what the blue one recognized as tears that made his blue eyes glisten with moisture.
"Thank you," Tails repeated his past words thickly with a noticeable strain. His smile was content and full of unconditional love as he hugged his older brother once again. Sonic could feel tears stain the undershirt he was wearing, but he didn't care. "Thank you."
The hedgehog chuckled, wondering if the possibility of picking up the other and running off to somewhere where only the two best friends could be was out of the question. Sonic clutched Tails against his frame again, smiling against bright golden fur. "Anytime, bud."