Chapter Summary: Sonic's in for quite a shock when he discovers the nasty secrets concealed underneath the fox's secured gloves.
What lies beneath
True to his previous claim, Sonic could really make, as directly quoted from the hedgehog's unabridged words, "a nice, wicked cup of hot coco..." for Tails had never tasted anything more refreshing and nerve-soothing than what he had just consumed, and in all honesty, he truly felt much better and calmer than before.
"So, what's the verdict, captain?" asked Sonic as he tried to maintain his serious bartender persona behind the counter in the small kitchen area. Something in his voice signaled to Tails that he had in fact already figured out what the answer would most likely be, but he preferred to hear it directly from his first and quite possibly lifelong patron.
"This is seriously, undeniably, absolutely, utterly, decisively, breathtakingly and quite addictively amazing, Sonic!" Tails replied almost instantly with a satisfied smile plastered on his face. On the table, one of his hands reached out and grabbed another handful of the delectable mint candies Sonic had promised and gleefully popped them into his mouth in one go, much to the host's amusement.
"Glad you enjoyed my homemade SSSSLCC" said the hedgehog with pride, chest puffed up and head held high.
"Pardon me, the what?" asked Tails, face scrunched up in confusion at the strange name.
"SSSSLCC" Sonic repeated with a grin at the sight of the bewildered fox, "That stands for Sonic's Super Special Steaming Loco Choco Coco."
"…Catchy…and nice alliterations there, I guess."
"Why thank you, I've had practice."
"With poetry?" asked Tails incredulously.
"Nah, with naming stuff" Sonic replied with glee immediately, "Now that I think about it, I believe I singlehandedly named most of Buttnik's badniks before I even realized what they're called. Good times…Good times…"
"Ah-huh…And is there anything you haven't had practice with?" Tails asked teasingly, the tone that the playful bartending hedgehog did not fail to detect. Thus, with a grin, he happily answered.
"Swimming, or at least floating."
"Figures…"
"Well, excuse you" the hedgehog snorted, albeit with a large smirk on his face, happy that his foxy friend was in the mood for a meaningless banter. His smile was apparently contagious, for Tails was soon wearing one on his own face, whose proportion could easily rival or overshadow Sonic's. "But seriously, how was the drink?" asked the hedgehog as he assumed a mock serious façade.
"To be honest, it was the best thing I've ever tasted" replied the younger being.
"Best?" Sonic asked, humored.
"Well yeah" Tails answered with great confidence and finality. After all, he had not tasted anything other than fruits, mushrooms and wild berries for as long as he remembered, so something as simple as homemade coco was seen as a great treat – a delicacy in his mind even. However, he was not about to admit that out loud to make Sonic worry any more than he already had.
"As much as I'm flattered by the compliment, but are you sure this is the best, kiddo? Surely you must have had something better before."
At this, Tails fell silent in retrospect before another item quickly popped up in his mind. Without thinking, Tails leaned forward and said with great enthusiasm, his index finger outstretched to further emphasize his point, "Oh right, beside those chilly dogs back then…" Suddenly, his eyes widened in a moment of realization, utterly and outwardly horrified to silence by his own lack of courtesy toward his host for, in his naïve mindset, indirectly insulting the hedgehog's culinary skills.
Unintentional or not, it was still a mistake, and a mistake always meant punishment as a follow-up – thus was the way he had grown up and had accustomed himself with for years.
Once again, Tails cringed and instinctively retreated back into his timid shell. His head was lowered to avoid eye contact. Even his excited namesakes soon slowed to stillness and the constantly twitching ears were pinned onto his head, giving him the image of a child expecting to be scolded at any given time.
To his surprise, though, no such reprimand came; instead, only the sound of a boisterous laughter was elicited by the hedgehog on the other side of the makeshift wooden counter bar.
"Too true, little bro. And congrats on the fact that you've got good taste. Nothing quite beats the good old chilidogs…Now that you mention it, I think I'm running low on supply. Gotta get some more piled up now that we're going to be housemates, right?" Sonic chuckled heartily in reply as he retrieved the empty cup and merrily refilled it. His hearty laughter and chatty, upbeat attitude were able to make Tails relax to a certain extent, as evidenced by the fact that the fox child soon uncurled himself, albeit with practiced caution and wariness.
"Here you go, and have some more candies, too. No need to be shy. We're all family here." Sonic said, acting like he had been completely oblivious to the younger being's tension only seconds ago. Tails, however, was not easily fooled by such a transparent and awkward ruse.
His emerald eyes spoke volumes on their own without him saying anything at all, effective betraying the jovial mask of cheerfulness the hedgehog was so desperately trying to fix. Despite his realization, the young child opted to remain secretive and decided to play along. Thus, two slightly trembling hands quietly reached out to accept the proffered mug and a brief word of gratitude was exchanged.
Quietly gulping down the new mug of hot coco, Tails closed his eyes and relaxed his nerves a bit, allowing the hot liquid to run down his throat and at last land on his stomach. Letting out a content sigh, Tails placed the empty object back on the counter and picked up another handful of candies, chewing and swallowing them with rehearsed happiness.
Whether or not Sonic realized was beyond the fox, for the former was doing a very good job at concealing his thoughts behind that mysterious grin.
"…You really like mint candies, huh?" Sonic started, hoping to strike another conversation with his timid friend.
"…Yeah, I remembered eating them the first time I discovered them. After the first taste, I got hooked almost instantly," Tails replied with a happy beam. However, it was strained, and Sonic could clearly see it, but still chose not to press it, at least not at the moment. 'One problem at a time' he thought and forced his smiley façade to stay on.
"Yeah, I'll bet you did" the host chuckled again as he made his way for the cabinet in the further back to retrieve a bag of sweets. "You want some more? I've got plenty," he asked and turned his head around. At the invitation, Tails quickly crossed his arms in front of his chest and shook his head while offering his friend a polite and appreciative smile.
"Nah, I think I've had enough for one day. Good though it is, it's rather hard, if not downright impossible, to keep indulging it carelessly and not getting sick of it eventually."
"Okay then, your stomach, your call, capt." Sonic replied and put the bag away for later.
Tails got up and took the used mug with him to the sink nearby and rinsed it, despite Sonic's protests that he did not need to concern himself with such things as he was, at the moment, "a highly valued guest and soon-to-be brother in the house."
"The least I could do is help around" Tails had said decisively when pressed for the fifth time within the course of two minutes, and the dispute had been left at that.
"Alrighty," exclaimed Sonic once he had finished putting the leftovers away, "Now comes the second order of business. You, my friend, need a bath, and I'm going to give you one just in case you decide to whoosh in and whoosh out military style." he added, pointing at the kid, who instantly went stiff at the mention of the hygienic activity.
"B-B-Bath?" he babbled back, eyes one again widened and shimmering with weakly concealed terror and bottom lip trembling slightly. Sonic inwardly grimaced and admitted that the expression that now adorned his young friend's face was one that he never wished to see, ever again.
"D-D-Do you h-have to?" Tails continued to stammer, his words coming out a jumbled mess – a mixture of incoherent, shaky syllables and shaky breaths. Sonic, being much more perceptive than he was willing to admit, did not miss the way the small fox's fingers, which seemed to have grown a consciousness of their own without the owner's knowledge, instinctively grazed and traced the smooth surface of one of the dark-colored cuffs he normally had around his wrists to keep the gloves in place.
So there were more secrets yet to be shared, and Sonic was determined to at least flush this one out of Tails' system first and foremost. The kid really needed a bath for his own sake.
Repressing a sigh, the older creature cautiously moved forward a little, gauging the little one's reaction. Despite their relationship having grown beyond the point of ambivalence after their latest adventures together, during which Tails had always acted extremely jumpy and downright scared of getting on his older acquaintance's bad side, the fox child was still wary, deeply and irrationally afraid - terrified that any mistake he made would cost him his only organic friend, disregarding the triviality of that mistake if it could even be considered one in Sonic's opinion.
Like earlier, after he was certain that Tails would not enter another emotional roller coaster ride, Sonic got down to the child's level and spoke softly, voice warm and filled with absolutely no animosity, only genuine care and affection.
"You know you can tell me anything, right?" he began, making no move to reach out and touch his friend, who was at the moment vehemently determined to avoid eye contact. "Tails, could you look at me?"
Slowly and hesitantly, two widened sky-blue eyes returned the gaze.
"That's a good boy" Sonic smiled as he continued, "Now, could you tell me what is it that you have against baths? I promise I won't ridicule you. I mean look at me, I'm not exactly the biggest fan of water around, either in case you forgot, but even I have to clean myself...occasionally…Not fun, I admit, but a must is a must, pal. Personal hygiene is important, kiddo. I wouldn't want you to contract some kind of illness on the first day you move here."
"…I have nothing against baths, actually…" a timid voice replied, coming from the fox. Though it was nothing more than a whisper, Sonic felt a warm burst of joy and hope, knowing that getting the kid to speak was a good start. Now to keep the talking going – that was the hard part.
"Okay then, good to know there's only one aquaphobic in the house, at least" Sonic replied, making Tails smile a little, "So now that's that possibility is out of the check list, what is the real problem, sport?"
Silence took reign as the kid averted his eyes once more.
"I promise, Tails," said the hedgehog, voice tender still and body language expressing nothing but great patience with the little one, "I will not judge you," he added and momentarily studied the two dark cuffs securing the fox's gloves in place, eyeing them intently for a brief second and tearing his gaze away before he was noticed.
"Tails…" he prompted again, but still making no move to initiate physical contact with the scared and slightly shivering child. "Listen, little buddy. You're not on your own anymore. So you don't have to cram everything up, shove them in an iron box, weld it shut and hold onto it any longer. It's going to get really heavy sooner or later, and sooner or later, you'll get crushed under all that weight. Please, let me help."
Still nothing, only the nervous shifty scratches of the fingers against the smooth cuff and the rapid movements of the sapphire eyes told Sonic that the kid was indeed listening, but still having a hard time accepting that someone wanted to know his flaws, a hard time allowing someone access to his ugly little secrets inside that sealed iron box within his heart.
Therefore, he chose silence to gather his thoughts.
"…Tails…" Sonic started after a moment of suffocating and nerve-wrecking silence, ready to resign himself to the fact that he would not be able to make any more progress with this, "Okay, okay…If you truly don't want to talk about it, then I suppose it's not my place to…"
"My hands…" said the sheepish voice of an equally sheepish fox, surprising Sonic. However, he said nothing, and instead gestured for Tails to go on. "…I don't want anyone to see…my…hands."
'That's a good start' Sonic thought inwardly, expression softened slightly, "And is there any particular reason why?" he asked, nervous and if he dared to admit, scared what he would find underneath those battered and worn gloves.
Outwardly, however, his expression remained unchanged. At the sight of his friends' discomfort, he hastily added, "But like I said, it's okay if you don't want to say anything until you want to, and if it's too personal, I'll respect it and won't dive any further."
Tails assumed a pensive look for a brief while, eyes moving between the cuffs and the hedgehog in a frantic fashion. He would continue doing this for another short while before he finally made up his mind.
After a soft click, one cuff snapped open, sliding off its intended position and falling onto to the floor. Wordlessly, Tails then proceeded to take off the familiar white, damaged fabric covering his right hand.
"Maybe it'll be much faster if I just show you" he muttered, head hung low and eyes downcast, fearing the consequences of his bold decision.
Tails then raised his bare hand towards his friend, who gently reached out his own and cradled the smaller limb with tender care. The moment the child's unprotected palm came into view, Sonic had to bite back a shocked gasp to avoid hurting the kid's already fragile feelings.
On the surface of the soft and sensitive skin of the child's palm, countless age-old burn marks, cuts, scars, calluses and various injuries were present, dancing across the fox's palm and fingers in a complete random order. It was an indescribably horrifying, in Sonic's mind, absolutely and utterly horrifying sight to behold – a sight that should never be, in any circumstances, associated with a sweet and innocent child at an age where the hardest dilemma of the generation should be which sweets to eat after a meal.
Taking Sonic's prolonged silence as a sign of disgust and disdain, Tails, with a hurt and regretful expression, swiftly curled his fingers to hide the hideous reminders of his lonely past life. Before he could fully close his fist, however, he felt Sonic's fingers against his own, carefully and gently prying each and every single one them open once more.
"Sonic?" asked the fox, bewildered by the older hedgehog's action. 'Shouldn't he be disgusted? Like the others?' he added mentally as fragmented memories of ridicules began to resurface.
Sonic, in the meantime, completely focused all of his attention on the numerous scars and marks on his younger friend's hand, meticulously taking in each and every single one of those gross wounds and committing them to memory.
"…Do they hurt?" he asked suddenly and raised his head to look at his little buddy, surprising the addressee as a result. Still stunned that Sonic had instead asked after his health rather than made a comment about the ugly nature of his injuries or a question about their origins, Tails simply shook his head in reply, mouth slightly agape.
"Good…That's good…" Sonic added after studying the open palm still cradled in his own for a while longer, "Can I touch them?"
"Excuse me?" Tails asked, shocked.
"Do you mind if I touch them?" Sonic repeated, voice gentler than ever. After another session of pregnant silence had come to pass, Tails numbly nodded again. Wordlessly, Sonic proceeded, carefully tracing his fingers across the damaged skin to make sure that he would not accidentally jostle any injuries and hurt his friend.
Tails, at that moment, could only stand still, watching Sonic with analytical eyes as if the hedgehog was a new and foreign scientific problem which even his genius brain could not fully process. As the seconds quietly ticked away, the two friends continued to remain where they were; neither said anything, until at last a soft voice shattered the thick veil of serenity.
"I'm sorry" whispered Sonic as he placed his palm on top of Tails', finally hiding the abused skin from view. Tails, at that moment, was no more shocked than he was confused at the off-handed yet heartfelt apology. Before he could ask to hedgehog to clarify, he was cut off, "I wasn't there."
"Sonic" said the fox after a brief moment of contemplation to allow those words to sink in and decipher them. "You couldn't have known," he continued with a bashful voice.
"I know, but…" he let out a defeated sigh and moved to retrieve the discarded fabric from the cub's other hand. Unable to say anything else, he silently put the glove back to its intended position. A hand fell on his shoulder, prompting him to raise his head and lock eyes with Tails again.
"You couldn't have known" he spoke softly, a ghost of a smile present on his childish face.
"I know."
"I sure hope so."
In one motion too quick for the naked eye to see, Sonic leaned in closer and wrapped both arms around the fox's shoulders, pulling him into a warm and protective embrace as if in an attempt to try and shield him from the cruel, merciless world outside.
"I mean it, Tails. Let me carry some of that weight for you, too" Sonic whispered into Tails' ear. For a brief second, Tails' eyes went as wide as could be before he closed them shut and allowed his whole being to melt into the hug, quietly relishing the warmth and the sense of security those hands provided.
"Thank you, Sonic…" he whispered back and returned the gesture.
"Well, what are friends for if not a listening pair of ears at the very least?" Sonic chuckled as he replied, lifting the mood somewhat. He held his first friend for a while longer before breaking the hug to come face to face with a smiling Tails, whose mood seemed to have improved exponentially. Sonic, with a satisfied grin, ruffled the kid's head and spoke.
"Alright, now that's also out of the check list, come on sport, let's give you a bath before you invite fleas into my home."
"I'm not that dirty" Tails replied defensively as he jerked backward with a pout on, but the humor in his voice was not lost. "Can we, maybe, I don't know, skip it? Please!" he added with a sweet smile to sweeten the pot – one that allowed his sparkly teeth to show off their splendor to the fullest to the beholder - much to Sonic's amusement.
"Sorry, kiddo, our home, but my rule, since I'm clearly the older around here. But I suppose I can offer you a compromise. Now hurry up and go into the bathroom before my patience takes a vacation on me and I decide to dunk you into the tub myself."
No more encouragement was needed as Tails quickly raced toward the bathroom on the second floor and disappeared into the right corner.
"Try the other way, Tails" Sonic yelled after the kid, who quickly appeared and disappeared again in a blurry flash of yellow on the opposite direction.
Satisfied when he heard the sound of the bathroom's door getting closed and locked, Sonic went back to the counter and sat down. It had been exhausting, and the sun was beginning to set already. He needed to worry about dinner next, and the only viable option available at the time was spaghetti.
Listening to the sound of running water from upstairs, Sonic unconsciously drifted his gaze toward the direction of the bathroom and sighed again. The images of those nasty scars and burns appeared again in perfect clarity – so perfectly clear that he had t close his eyes to shake them away.
"What else do you have hidden from the world, kid?" he mumbled to himself, chin rested upon the palm of his hand pensively.
Somehow, in his mind and with his greatest of imagination, he could picture a younger Tails living alone in the wilderness, tinkering away with the various objects he found just to ease some of his dreadful loneliness. Then came the images of the same kid making some mechanical friends to keep him company when sadness grew too much…
Of course, Sonic knew how the kid must have gotten that many injuries. His eyes trailed back to the unusually quiet robotic pet a little distance away, who was carefully watching him with his large eyes filled with unconcealed curiosity.
"…It's true what they say – Practice makes perfect…" Sonic muttered to himself before getting dinner started. 'Time, on the other hand…' he thought as he placed put the kettle on the heater, watching the flames mercilessly sear the already charred bottom of the metal pot.