Sonic couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Tails was... gay? But... for how long? Since when? Who did he have a crush on? Had he told anyone else? The kit was right though, it was a big deal. An unbelieveably, undescribeably massively gigantic deal. He was right about the other thing too. Well, half right. Sonic couldn't think of a single person they knew – or anyone else, for that matter – who wouldn't hate Tails.

"You hate me." Tails whispered, as if reading Sonic's mind.

"No!" Sonic insisted, shaking his head frantically. "No, of course I don't. But..." He trailed off, not wanting to say it.

"But everyone else will." Tails finished for him. He sighed, pulling himself onto his bed, where he sat down heavily, causing the mattress springs to rattle. Screwing his face up, he wrapped his arms around his middle, moaning softly in pain – more emotional than physical, Sonic assumed – while rocking back and forth slowly.

Sonic felt so sorry for him. He tried to imagine what it would feel like to be a boy and suddenly realise you liked boys instead of girls. How would it feel to know that you couldn't tell anyone, not ever, not even your own parents? If you told anybody, anybody at all, even just some random stranger in the street, you'd be killed. No questions asked, no word of protest. Your own parents, friends, family, they'd all be in the crowd, torturing you. Sonic felt touched that Tails had managed to gather the courage and ask him.

Personally, Sonic never saw what the big fuss was about. Some people now who were married, males and females obviously, hated each other. Some married couples couldn't stand being with their partners at all. Yet they were allowed to stay together, whereas gays, who would be in love, were forbidden to even go that far. Was that so wrong?

Sonic didn't hate gays. He didn't hate Tails. He...

Sonic shuffled a little closer to the fox, wrapping one arm round his shoulder and holding the opposite shoulder with his other hand.

"... I d-don't... w-wanna be gay, S-Sonic..." Tails sobbed. He raised his head angrily. "I wish I w-was dead!"

"Don't say that." Sonic said quietly.

"Too late, I already did." Tails responded childishly. Neither one smiled at the joke. Nothing was funny at the moment.

"Tell me more." Sonic said suddenly. He was sure Tails would refuse, sice he didn't reply for a while.

"Well," The kit started, "It just... happened. I... woke up in the morning... and... I saw this person for the first time that day... I knew straight away something had changed. I kept on wanting to be near him, and... I mean, I'd looked at him hundreds of times before but I'd never really looked at him. He seemed to... stand out. And his eyes... I... never noticed before how... beautiful they were." Tails could feel himself flushing red. He knew Sonic was probably laughing at him, maybe even disgusted with him, but when he looked at him, the hedgehog had a 'Carry On' look on his face.

Tails swallowed.

"Afterwards... I just couldn't stop thinking about him... It's like every song, every stupid cliché... You don't think of anything else and you just want..." He stopped to sigh. "I found that I blushed scarlet every time he came near me, and I didn't talk to him as often, either. I kept meaning to tell... him... but... I knew that..." He began to sob quietly again, turning his head away. He didn't want Sonic to see him being such a baby all the time. He took a deep breath before carrying on.

"I knew that I couldn't tell my parents, and I didn't want to tell any of our other friends at school. I... I wanted to tell you, though Sonic... I thought you had the right to know..."

"I don't hate you, Tails. I'm glad you told me." Sonic insisted. It was true, but he wasn't sure whether or not Tails believed him. The fox gave a small smile.

"I started to... Have dreams about him... We were always together and..." He glanced up at Sonic, who's expression had changed, was hard to read. "I know what you're thinking Sonic. You think all of my dreams were about him and me having sex. But... most of them were the most romantic things in the world... He held me close to him and whispered things in my ear... I remember a dream where he was kissing me... I couldn't look at him the next day... I kept on getting the urge to kiss him... to kiss..."

"Me." Sonic muttered softly. That single syllable silenced the whole room. No-one said anything in response. Both best friends simply sat staring at each other. Tails gazed longingly into those beautiful soft green eyes, guilt eating away at him from the inside, forcing him to break his gaze.

"I'm so sorry Sonic..." He stammered, tears beginning to slide down his face again.. "I couldn't help it... it just happened and I di-"

"Shh..." Sonic breathed, placing two fingers gently on Tails' lips, silencing him. Then, slowly, he moved his hands slightly and carefully brushed away the stray tears from Tails' face. Tails gave a tiny gasp at the motion, his cheeks once again glowing crimson. Sonic's hands still hovered by Tails' face. The kit's neck suddenly gave a small jerk, causing him to accidently sweep his cheek against Sonic's palm gently.

Tails' warm face stayed cupped in Sonic's hands like that. They stared intently at each other, until Sonic's eyes closed slowly. He leant forwards, his head tilted slightly to the left. He lay his lips on Tails' for exactly four seconds before breaking away again. Tails remained in that position, eyes closed, mouth parted just a bit. His heart thudded against his chest, because he knew that what happened just then was wrong in anyone's eyes, but he couldn't help feeling so... high. He felt like he was floating around in some place where everything was quiet and peaceful, where he could do anything he wanted with Sonic and no-one would care.

Tails opened his eyes again, breathing out gently. He smiled at Sonic and lifted his hands to the hedghog's, gently lifting them from his face, simply holding them in his own, clasping his fingers happily.

"...Soni-"

A knock at the door startled both of them. They practically jumped up to the ceiling as the door opened with a slow creak. Jumping apart, they both lay back on their fronts, as if they'd just been playing video games. Sonic even picked up his controller, though Tails was too slow to do the same. Tails' mother poked her head round his door, smiling at both of them.

"Hello, boys. Having fun?" She asked with a smile. Sonic returned it with his own grin.

"Yes thanks, Mrs Prower." Tails ducked his head and nodded.

"Tails?" The kitsune lifted his head again, looking at his mother. He wondered what would happen if she knew what he and Sonic had just been doing. He wondered what she'd say, what she'd do...

"Tails? Honey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, mom, honest." He insisted, tears spilling down his cheeks. He suddenly started sobbing loudly, covering his face with his hands. His mother rushed over, hugging him tightly, stroking the back of his head and rocking him back and forth. Sonic watched awkwardly. He couldn't help feeling the tiniest bit jealous. He wanted to be the one comforting Tails, hugging him like that, telling him that everything was going to be alright.

Even when he knew it wasn't.

A/N: Yeah, it was shorter than the last one. I was going to put another scene in from the past, but then realised that the NEXT chapter would need it, otherwise it would be WAY too short. Anyways, that QUITE BIG button down there that's ACTUALLY WHITE, with GREEN WRITING. Last chapter I put the opposite, and Nicend pointed it out. Happy now, Nicend?