After getting on his warm lab coat and returning to the kitchen, Tails followed Miles out of his house, saying while pointing in the correct direction, " The store's this way. " Miles stated looking serious as usual, " We should reach our destination as quickly as possible. It is already too late in the day as it is, so it is best if we have our supper before 8:00 at night, which as of today, will be your curfew. We'll run to the store as fast as we are able, " in an all-business tone so devoid of emotion that it sounded almost monotone and robotic. He was unsettling when he spoke that way, and Tails wondered if he preferred the way he had acted earlier.
" Alright, good idea! " Tails said cheerfully, getting in a stance prepared to start running, only to gasp at his hand being grabbed and held in a protective grip that was gentle enough to not cause him pain. His evil twin was holding his hand. " Miles! I-I, thanks!... But, I can keep up with you just fine on my own! " Tails exclaimed in astonishment, stunned at his gesture. He wondered if it was proof once and for all that Miles truly had started to consider him as his friend, and he was torn between being unsettled and incredibly appreciative of it and wanting more out of loneliness.
" I need to do this so you won't get left behind, " Miles explained quickly, and Tails, wondering if he was just making excuses, was confused at first as the two of them started spinning their tails vertically behind themselves to propel themselves forwards with blasts of wind behind them. At first, Tails thought they were moving at the same speed and there was no danger of him falling behind, only to gasp and look wide eyed at what Miles did next. He positioned his other hand behind himself and pushed it backwards abruptly with force, which caused a gale force wind to blast out of his palm continuously, increasing the speed at which he moved over the ground considerably. Tails yelped at being pulled along by him as he wasn't doing the same thing as him, and as the grassy fields rushed by him in a blur, he exclaimed in a panic, " C-Can you slow down?! "
" I don't have to. You are perfectly capable of moving at the same speed, " Miles replied, and muttered, " And if I had both my hands free, I'd be moving even faster. " Confused, Tails said in panicked disbelief, " I am?! I'm spinning my tails as fast as I can! " Miles clarified, " That's only part of the equation. And it isn't even necessary. Just imagine a gale force wind being forced out of your palm while your hand is behind you facing backwards. Focus your mind on the concept of the kinetic force of the wind you'll generate by pushing your hand in that direction, and it will come naturally to you. I know you can do this, so I'll know if you aren't trying. "
Scared of being dragged behind him, Tails desperately did exactly what he instructed, and before he knew it, he was doing the exact same thing as his counterpart, giving the speed at which he was hovering over the ground a significant boost with an additional gust of wind propelling him forwards. Thrilled with the speed at which he was traveling of his own accord and his ability to do such a task, Tails said, " Wow! " in amazement, fascinated with it already.
To his surprise, Miles was delighted at him discovering his power, and with a smile of childlike excitement, he exclaimed happily, " You did it! I knew you could do it! I knew you were up to the task! You catch on quick. I was worried that you would fail from not trying hard enough. Splendid work for the first time! Let's see if you keep it up! " He seemed to have been so caught up in being proud of him that he forgot to try to speak in a mature and sophisticated manner at first, talking more like him instead as he regressed to the way he spoke when they first met. Tails found this only added to the confusion of his situation, wondering why Miles was so happy for him and was reacting just like he would've in the same shoes. Did it remind him of himself when he first learned he could do that, of the delight and excitement and satisfaction he felt that he was reliving through him? Such a thing could only stir those emotions in him if he could connect to him with empathy. He always assumed Miles was born an evil psychopath with no moral compass, but from what he was seeing, that couldn't have possibly been the case. A psychopath would be biologically incapable of sharing the happiness of others. Why was he so evil, then? " I'm going at sonic speed… " Tails commented instead, wondering how Sonic would react to his newfound boost ability. " And you'll be able to move even faster later, when both of your hands are free. We'll try tomorrow morning, after you've gotten some sleep, " Miles replied.
By the end of their exhilirating run to the grocery store, Tails and Miles had only seen around ten minutes pass, with Tails being thrilled and amazed at the speed he was going the whole time. It was so stunning, but at the same time, it felt so natural. They stopped near the group of grocery carts just outside the entrance to the store, which was once thriving and full of life. Pulling the grocery cart away from the others and turning it to face the automatic doors, Miles ordered, " You're going to be pushing this through the store following me. I'll be on the lookout for the food products we'll need, and I will tell you where we'll be going throughout. Understand? " Tails replied, " Good idea, " and started pushing the grocery cart behind and to the side of Miles following behind him. They walked from the paved parking lot into the grocery store in silence, with Tails unhappily hoping he wouldn't get sick and tired of him ordering him around. It was already a little grating. But he pushed it to the back of his mind and focused on how much he appreciated his company.
Upon entering the store, Miles walked more slowly than usual as he looked around, turning from side to side as he took in the sight of the massive amount of food at once that was all ripe for the taking. Wondering if his theory about why Miles was walking slower at the moment was correct, Tails asked curiously at his side, " When's the last time you've been to a place like this? " He thought, " Have you ever even been to one? " with concern and sympathy.
Miles, still awestruck with his eyes wide open, looked sad as he said, " I… don't know… I haven't even bothered entering a store by myself in years! This place has so much to eat here all at once! It's breathtaking! " absent-mindedly being honest with him while forgetting his distrust of him from his amazement.
Tails asked unhappily as they walked down the aisle of dairy products, " What's kept you from going to stores by yourself? " There was a silence, as Miles looked depressed with his head hung low at hearing that. " Shopkeepers never gave me the proper service. The last couple times I paid for anything, they simply took my money and ordered me to leave... The heartless bastards. They deserve to be stolen from. Yet another reason I'm glad this world has no people, " Miles said quietly, being sad for the first two sentences before getting intimidatingly bitter and hateful, his fists clenching at his sides. Disapproving of Miles' hatred of humanity, Tails commented without thinking, " Did this start before or after you started breaking the law? "
Miles' eye twitched angrily, he stopped in his tracks, and was silent for two seconds before growling at him resentfully, causing him to get very nervous and regret what he said. " BEFORE!... Idiot! " Miles shouted at him, hissing the insult through his teeth boiling with rage. At the second word, he turned away from him.
Trembling at his side, Tails said fearfully, " I-I'm sorry, Miles! I-I didn't mean to sound like I agreed with them for how they treated you. That kind of unfair treatment is never justified! I wasn't trying to blame you, I just meant that people would have more reason to act that way if you were already an evil infamous- " " LEAVE IT! " Miles shouted at him turning around to face him, causing him to go silent with his ears drooping sadly. It was hard to imagine after that outburst that there was more anger in him he was bottling up, and Tails was both confused and grateful that his evil twin wasn't choosing to express all of it when he could. Their walk through the grocery store finally continued, in dead silence.
Nervous at how tense things had gotten because of his mistake, Tails inwardly put blaming him for how he was treated by people on his list of things that Miles was very sore about, as Miles placed eggs, cheese, butter, and milk into the grocery cart looking resentful and avoiding eye contact with him. As Miles led him through the empty store putting all sorts of healthy food products and ingredients in his cart, Tails glumly thought forwards to all the meals he'd be expected to partake in with all the emphasis being on nutrition over good taste. When they finally happened to walk though an aisle where cold desserts were being refridgerated to the sides of them, Tails asked dejectedly, " Can I at least have some ice cream to go with all this? "
Miles stopped in his tracks and looked at him judgmentally with his arms crossed. He at least seemed to be no longer angry with him for his victim-blaming earlier, and was merely disapproving of his request. Had he already forgiven him? That was fast. With a nervous forced smile, Tails persuaded hopefully, " Come on, it tastes so good! It can be my reward for eating all that healthy food at the end of the day! Sound like a plan? "
There was a silence, until Miles rolled his eyes and shrugged saying reluctantly, " Fine, fine, if you must. I'd say vegetables and the like are delicious as well, but if you really require an incentive to have intelligent eating habits, that is your problem. " With that, he looked away with his back turned to him again as Tails quickly placed a container of mint ice cream in the grocery cart, feeling ashamed and self-conscious of his eating habits. He wondered if Miles was in that sense taking care of him more responsibly than Sonic was, and quickly decided that even if he was, he still would've preferred if he treated him more like Sonic did raising him. Taken aback by realizing how exactly he was viewing Miles, Tails insecurely wondered if he had gone mad from loneliness if he was really desperate enough for company that he would accept his evil twin as another caretaker and let him raise him like Sonic did, even if only temporarily until he started thinking clearly again. Following behind him once more, he felt pathetic for being that way, and hoped he would reunite with Sonic soon. He wasn't entirely sure if getting to know someone so deeply troubled and exhausting to be around would be worth it.
They stopped one final time when Miles noticed something in an aisle that caught his immediate attention. Picking up a box of tea with a grin of childish excitement on his face, Miles exclaimed happily, " Yes! Marvelous! I didn't think I'd ever get to have this again! " Looking pleased at his good fortune, Miles put the tea into the grocery cart saying quickly, " Well, this works out well for me. And you get your ice cream, so we both get a treat! Of course, this is only for me. Can't have it running out before the end of the week, after all, " and chuckling briefly in a surprisingly likable manner. Tails was incredibly happy at seeing him being likable and happy again, and was determined to take advantage of the opportunity.
" You like tea, huh? I know someone who really likes it, too. You'd like her! " Tails commented casually with a nonchalant tone, seeing the perfect opportunity to make casual conversation with him and get to know him better. Intrigued, Miles asked as they started leaving the grocery store through the automatic doors, " Really? Who? " Tails answered, " Cream's mom, Vanilla. She's always offering it to guests in her home, and Cream likes having it for tea parties and stuff. "
Miles went quiet again, with a sad look on his face that gave the impression that there was something he didn't entirely understand. Tails clarified, " Oh, Cream the Rabbit, I mean. She's a friend of mine, not something you put in your tea. It's a unique name, I know, " and giggled a little. " Right, right, of course. She has a what, now? " Miles responded in confusion, still looking sad.
Stunned, Tails stopped in his tracks and fell silent for a few seconds at what he just asked. " A mom!... You know… a, female parental figure… Uh, someone who takes care of you who's an adult... You know what I mean, right? I-I-I'm not trying to insult you here, I promise! I'm just… " Tails answered, so worried about him that he wasn't sure how to respond. Tails asked him sadly, " Have you ever had a mom? "
There was a three second silence as Miles had a sad expression on his face looking away; Tails found it to be heartbreaking, and wished he would at least say something. Miles spent the rest of the walk home in emotional turmoil, walking in front of him to hide his sad and depressed expression. They walked home in silence, with Tails spending the whole time worrying about just how bad his evil twin might have had it and if that was indeed enough to justifiably push him into villainy.
