Finally, after a long wait, here is Sanctuary, requested by Crystal Persian


All of it wouldn't fit into a oneshot, so I decided to make it a multi-chaptered oneshot. Hows that? lol

Enjoy! 3

Sanctuary
sonicxtails brotherly

Chapter 1:
Promises

For the third time that week, Sonic the Hedgehog awoke to muffled sniffs and whimpers from the opposite side of the room.

He opened his tired emerald eyes and listened for a moment to the sounds of quiet sobbing coming from the opposite wall. All he could hear was the soft, muffled sobs, and this made Sonic's heart twist painfully, and make his blood boil in anger once more.

Without a sound, Sonic raised from his small bed, holding his throbbing head in his hands. Lately, he had been feeling under the weather, and he hadn't been getting much sleep the last week or so. For a moment, he simply held his heads in his hands, just until the throbbing died down, and he stood, crossing the room that was covered in shadows, the only light that from the moon, pouring through the window.

When he reached the opposite wall, the sniffs were louder, and in the shadows, Sonic saw the figure of a small fox, huddled against the mattress, arms wrapped around his legs. Feeling his heart crack in sympathy, Sonic sat down on the bed, and reached for the foxes forehead, gently ruffling his hair in an attempt to calm him down.

"Shh...it's okay, Tails," he whispered in the darkness, and the fox looked up, his blue eyes drenched in tears. He raised up from the bed, and wrapped his small arms around Sonic's neck, pulling him into a hug. Sonic returned the gesture, his heart breaking for Miles 'Tails' Prower as the two tailed fox cried into his shoulder.

"It's okay, little buddy," he soothed, patting Tails on the back as he hugged him. "I'm here...I'm here..."

Three weeks earlier, Tails had watched as he father, James Prower, walked out on him for the second time in his life. Since then, Tails had reoccuring nightmares, most he awoke from in tears. Sonic had stayed at his younger brother's side since James left, but lately, Tails had become distant toward Sonic, and hadn't once told him what the nightmares were about. And with each passing day, Sonic grew more worried about the welfare of his young companion.

It wasn't long before Tails had fallen asleep with his head against Sonic's shoulder, and Sonic carefully picked him up and placed him on his bed. The small kitsune hiccuped slightly in his sleep, and Sonic tucked him in gingerly, his blood throbbing through his veins in anger. He stood up, gently ruffling Tails's hair, and walked over to his side of the room, lying down on his bed with a sigh.

All of this was James's fault.

Even if Sonic lived to see 100 years, he would never forget the way Tails looked the night his father left. The young fox broke down that night, his heart and dreams broken all because his father didn't have the courage to raise his own son. Tails hadn't been the same since. His blue eyes, which were once so bright with childlike happiness, were now dull and almost lifeless. James had taken the spark of life from Tails that Sonic had always taken for granted.

And for that, Sonic would always hate James.

James had stripped Tails of his childish innocence by leaving like he did. By not wanting him, he had destroyed Tails, and for that, Sonic would never forgive him.

Sonic lifted his head to look over at the bed on the opposite side of the wall. Tails was making no noise now, and was sleeping soundly, but Sonic doubted it was a peaceful sleep. He sighed quietly, his head falling back down on his pillow. He felt he was slowly losing Tails, and Sonic didn't know what he would do if he lost his best friend. He rolled onto his side, closing his eyes.

Tomorrow, he would talk to Tails.

And then he would go from there.

-x-x-x-

The next morning, Sonic was the first awake, his eyes opening almost with the sunlight. He stood from his bed, nearly tripping as dizziness overcame him, and he held his head in response, gritting his teeth in pain. Then, shaking his head slightly, Sonic walked into the living room.

When he looked at the clock, it read 9:53. Tails wouldn't be asleep much longer, Sonic decided. He sat down on the couch, turning the T.V. on with the remote lying on the table. He flipped through the channels for awhile, not really concentrating on the shows. His mind was occupied, with the concern for Tails strong in his heart.

It wasn't long before footsteps from the hallway broke Sonic from his trance.

He looked torward the hallway, his emerald eyes blinking slowly. Tails stood in the doorway to the hallway, looking toward the T.V. with tired and dull eyes. Sonic felt his heart fall for his younger brother, and he watched as Tails, without looking torward Sonic, walked past him and into the kitchen.

The T.V. blared on in the living room, but Sonic payed no mind to it, and instead watched Tails as he disappeared into their small kitchen. Ignoring the way he left the T.V. on, Sonic picked himself up off the couch and walked slowly into the kitchen, his head throbbing painfully.

When he emerged into the kitchen, the first thing he saw was Tails sitting at their small table, his chin in his hand, looking out the window. Sonic simply watched him, leaning against the counter. His mind raced, wondering what he could do to help Tails out. Nothing came to mind, and Sonic felt his stomach churn in anger again, James's image flashing into his mind. After another moment of watching the motionless Tails, Sonic turned toward the cabinets, opening them loudly and pulling out a box of hot chocolate. Tails made no movement at the sound of the cabinet slamming against the wall, as if he hadn't heard any noise at all. Sonic attempted to brush that off, and began to prepare the hot chocolate. Neither Tails nor Sonic spoke as Sonic finished the hot drinks. He approached the table, placing a steaming mug in front of Tails before sitting down on the opposite side of the table. Still, silence stretched between them.

Carefully, Sonic blew on the hot drink, the steam rising through the air before it disappeared. After a moment, Tails turned away from the window, staring at the cup as he gently stirred his with a spoon. Sonic watched him, frustration growing in his chest. The silence was killing him, and Sonic decided if it was going to be broken, more than likely he would be the one that did it.

Sonic took a sip from the hot drink, the warm milky substance immediatly warming his body and easing the throbbing in his chest. He placed the mug down, and looked directly at Tails. "So, anything planned for today?" Sonic asked casually, realizing how awful his voice sounded. He hoped he wasn't getting sick...

For a moment, Tails didn't respond. Then, as if coming out of a trance, he looked up at Sonic a moment before looking away, and shrugged. "No..."

Sonic narrowed his eyes, then grinned. "How about we go do something? A run around the ruins, hmm?" he offered, a grin on his face. But Tails shook his head, and, without even touching his hot cocoa, slipped off the chair.

"Not today," he told Sonic, started to shuffle into the living room. "I don't feel like it."

With those words said, Sonic got out of his chair, his eyes narrowing further. "Wait," he said, a little firm, and Tails, his fur suddenly raising in surprise, stopped in his tracks, not bothering to turn around. So Sonic went to him, his green eyes studying the form of his young brother. "Somethings wrong with you." The statement was blunt, and when those words formed from Sonic's lips, Tails looked over his shoulder at him. The look in Tails's blue eyes stopped Sonic in his tracks. His sapphire blue gaze was a mixture of anger, grief, and the wall of emotionlessness that attempted to keep them from showing. But Sonic could see through it, see into the emotions that plagued the young fox.

"There's nothing wrong, Sonic," Tails said, his voice rising. "I mean, my father just left me because he didn't want me. But I'm fine!" The foxes voice rose in anger, his tone full of sarcasm. His fists were clenched at his sides, and his teeth were gritted together. Angry tears filled his eyes as he looked directly at Sonic, who instinctly stepped back in shock at the sudden change in Tails. The twin tailed fox shook his head, the tears dropping to the floor. "Everythings fine, Sonic! Just because I can't keep a damn person in my life, that doesn't mean I should get my hopes down!" Sonic narrowed his emerald eyes, his own fists clenching in sudden anger as he took a step closer to Tails, who continued to stare at him angrily.

"It's not my fault your father left!" Sonic shouted back, and this time, Tails didn't even flinch away like he would have before. Sonic's head pounded painfully, but he ignored it. "I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't stay, Tails! You know that! And not everyone leaves out of your life! I'm still here, Tails!"

"In the end, it doesn't matter!" Tails shouted back, looking away from Sonic. His voice lowered this time, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the floor. "In the end, you know you'll leave, too."

Immediatly, the mood in the room switched and the anger dropped from the atmosphere. Sonic stared at Tails in shock, his green eyes wide, staring at Tails as the fox stared at the floor. For a moment, Sonic couldn't fully take in what Tails had said, but when he did, he finally understood what was plaguing Tails in his nightmares.

After several moments of silence, Sonic looked away from Tails, looking down at the floor. "So...thats what you've been having nightmares about," Sonic said, almost whispering. Tails said nothing, and Sonic didn't bother to look up, already sure of the answer. A few more moments of silence stretched out again before Sonic lifted his head and looked at Tails, who continued looking at the ground, his eyes full of sadness and guilt. He swallowed the growing lump in his throat before speaking again, looking directly at Tails.

"How could you say that?" he said, blinking slowly. Tails said nothing, so Sonic continued. "How could you say that, after 8 years of having you as a brother, I would drop you and leave? How could you actually believe I would do that?" A pause before he continued. "You've been my best friend for 8 years, Tails. 8 years." Sonic blinked, his eyes narrowing. "I'm not about to leave. And I never will." A few long minutes of silence followed his words, and Sonic finally looked away, his head pounding hard against his skull. "And I can promise you that."

For a moment, Tails said nothing, remaining motionless after Sonic's words. Then, without looking at him, Tails responded to his words.

"You know, my da-- ...James...said that too," he said, his voice just above a whisper. "He promised he was here to stay too." Then he looked at Sonic from over his shoulder, tears swimming in his sapphire eyes. "Words only mean so much after awhile, Sonic." He turned toward the living room. "Now...you have to show me that you mean it." And, without another word, Tails walked into the living room, disappearing into the hallway, slamming the bedroom door behind him.

Sonic was left in the kitchen, Tails's words running over and over in his head. And after a moment, he slumped into a chair, sighing and dropping his pounding head in his hands.

He had no idea how much he had lost Tails. He had no idea that the young kitsune expected him to leave any day. Being dropped from his father scarred Tails, and now the kitsune believed no one wanted him. An image of James flashed in Sonic's mind, and he gritted his teeth, opening his eyes in anger.

This was all his fault. Tails was gone, and it was all his fault. And if he ever saw the twin tailed kitsune again, Sonic would be sure to let him know that. But for now...Sonic looked toward the back bedroom, flinching as his head throbbed painfully...he had to help Tails.

But how was he ever going to get Tails to believe in him again?

--End of Chapter--