A/N: Here it is! The final chapter. Many thanks for the great reviews and I hope this delivers what you wanted. Enjoy!

One Year Later…

RIIINNNGGG!

"Alright everyone, that's it for tonight. I want you all to review chapters seven through nine. We'll have a spare landing gear in here next week and I expect all of you to know all the major components."

The small class of fifteen students packed their books and work sheets away into their bags as Tails erased the session's diagrams and notes from the blackboard. Small chatter and laughter followed from behind him as the students, young and old discussed the recent events of their regular lives as they shuffled out of the class. Tails stretched out a kink in his neck and loosened his tie with a grumble. He always hated wearing these things, purely for the fact that he still had trouble tying them. Sonic still teased him about it to no end.

Tails turned around and stared at his desk that had a small pile of test papers on them. Scratching his head, he contemplated whether or not he should grade them now or take them home. It would take about an hour or so. Deciding that since they were already here, he might as well do it now. The vulpine plopped down on his chair and pulled out a pen, his eyes scanning the first paper.

"Aw crap, I hope that's not mine."

Tails snickered and looked up to see a young mallard with two other students, a buck and an armadillo, casually loitering around their desks.

"Not this one, Kevin but soon enough," Tails responded with a smile. The mallard laughed and slung his backpack over his shoulder and approached his desk.

"You're not gonna do all of those tonight, are you, Mr. Prower?" he asked.

"That was the idea," Tails answered looking up at his student. "Unless of course you think I should be doing something else."

"Well, it's Friday night!" the avian exclaimed. "You should do something fun. Me, Jerry and Derrick are going to the bar to watch the Mayhems game. You should come with us."

"As much as I enjoy the Mayhems and the company of you three I'm afraid I'll have to miss out on this one," Tails laughed softly.

"Are you sure? They're lots of hot girls were we go. We could easily set you up," The student tried one more time, his eyebrows waggling playfully.

Tails laughed again and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "I appreciate your thoughtfulness, Kevin but I'll let you three have your fun. A teacher trying to pick up some tail with his students doesn't exactly look good on a resume."

"Suit yourself," the duck responded with a shrug of his shoulders.

Tails smiled to himself as he returned his attention back to his grading. Those three were always a fine source of entertainment. He heard the trio shuffle towards the door, all of them saying their goodbyes to him. They did not get far however as the mallard stopped short just before crossing the barrier to the hall.

"Oh, man. Be still my beating heart."

His friends pushed past him to see what had caught his attention and they too shared a similar reaction.

"Holy shit..."

"God. DAMN."

Tails looked up with a raised brow in curiosity at his students responses and called out to them. "Something wrong fellas?"

"There's a chick in the hallway," the buck answered, his eyes still set firmly on whoever it was.

"There's plenty of 'chicks' in the hallway," Tails stated.

"Not like this there ain't," the armadillo mumbled somewhat awestruck. "You gotta check this out Mr. Prower. I can't even begin to describe how hot this babe is."

Rolling his eyes, Tails decided he would humor them as he pushed off his chair. Walking over and joining them, he looked past the doorway and into the hall. At first he didn't see anyone. Then his eye finally came to a rest on the woman that the others were so fixated on.

She had her back turned to them, her long slender legs hidden behind a pair of snug black jeans carrying her from one side of the hall to the other as she paced. A warm winter jacket was wrapped around her frame, hands resting casually in the thickly lined pockets. A tight pony tail pulled her long reddish brown hair back, auburn strands shining like silk spilled over her shoulders.

Tails stared hard at his woman, his stomach suddenly clenching and an odd sensation arising within his chest. An all too familiar feeling. The three students saw the hardened expression on his face and chuckled.

"No words, am I right?"

Tails didn't hear them as he continued to stare forward. He was even unaware that his body had moved forward, stepping out into the hallway, twin tails twitching and flickering. The woman paced one more time before taking a slow turn and her sparkling blue eyes meeting his light blue ones. Tails could feel his body stiffen and his pulse explode into a frenzy along with his heart as that smile he hadn't seen for so long shone brightly at him.

"Hi, Miles," Sally said, her voice carrying across the distance of the hall and sinking into his ears.

The other three Mobians all shared a look before staring at the vulpine. Sally approached them and her smile seemed to become brighter the more she got closer to him. He watched as her arms opened up and she pressed herself against him in a soft hug.

"It's good to see you," she whispered.

Tails recovered enough to return the gesture and did his best not to deeply inhale the sweet aroma from her hair that teased his nose unmercifully. She pulled back, still smiling at him and the two stared at each other for a moment before Sally frowned and looked over to see his students staring slack jawed at them.

"Um…are these your students?" she asked somewhat awkwardly. Tails snapped out of his transfixion and cleared his throat as he stepped away from her.

"Uh, yes. This is Kevin, Jerry and Derrick."

"Hello," Sally greeted them warmly. The three males mumbled some form of pleasantries, all feeling somewhat hot under the princess's stare. Kevin was the first to shake off the imitation before the mallard turned to his teacher.

"We should get going. We'll see you next week, Mr. Prower," he said and pushed along his buddies. Sally giggled as they left and Tails scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Mr. Prower? Has a nice ring to it," Sally told him.

"I'm not sure if I can ever get used to it," he confessed.

The two long-time friends stood in silence, Tails fidgeting with his tie. Sally noticed and giggled again, pulling on the end. "You always had trouble with those things, didn't you?"

"They're proof that a high IQ doesn't make you a genius."

Sally laughed and his ears twitched in delight at the sound. It was a sound he had missed so much.

"This is your class?" Sally asked, peeking her head into the classroom.

"Yeah," Tails mumbled and noticed that the three Mobians were still watching them from further down the hall, only this time they were making encouraging gestures towards him and the princess. Tails waved his hand frantically to tell them to beat it.

"Mind if I take a look around?" she asked, turning back to him, the smile returning to her lips.

"Um, sure," he said, leading her into the empty room, closing the door behind them. The fox watched as the chipmunk wandered around the room, his brain trying to take everything in.

This was the first time he had seen her since that rainy day in his room just over a year ago. A year since the humiliating confession and surprising revelations and painful reality. Those memories and emotions flashed through his mind and body and he swallowed a lump in his throat. It had been some time since he had one of those as well.

Sally had kept true to her decisions and they saw less and less of each other as time went until all communication was only that of a text or a phone call here and there. It felt so strange to see her in the flesh after so long but the vision of stunning beauty and kindness that came to mind when he envisioned her had not changed as he looked her up and down. Every detail and every movement was all that he remembered.

Sally came to his desk and ran her fingers along the tiny propped up plastic tag that spelt out his name.

"How's the teaching gig been going?" she queried, turning her head back to him.

That broke him out of another stupor and he rubbed the back of his neck. "It's good. I'm not one to call myself a teacher per se but these night courses provide a little extra cash and I enjoy helping others who want to learn more about this stuff."

She grinned at that and casted her eyes upwards, her gaze now resting upon a large propeller that was mounted just above the blackboard. The Mobian royalty frowned and turned back to Tails.

"That's not what I think it is, is it?" she questioned in astonishment. He lingered on the propeller before dropping his eyes and offering a sad smirk.

"Yup," Tails said with a solemn nod of his head. Sally didn't say anything but her face softened into a mask of sympathy.

"I'm so sorry, Miles," she said. Tails shrugged and crossed his arms, leaning against the wall.

"It's okay. She was too broken down to fix anymore."

"When did it happen?"

"A couple of months ago. The entire left side just about fell apart when I tried to take off one morning. A got a few offers to sell it for scraps but I couldn't do that to her. So I took a few parts and put them in here and kept the rest at the hangar for hands on teaching."

"I know how much you loved that plane," Sally told him.

"Yeah, well...I knew she was done a long time ago. I guess I could have spent a few more bucks to try another repair but in the end...it was time to let go."

There was silence that lingered in the air after the words left his mouth and Tails wish he had chosen his words better. Sally did not speak but the expression on her face said more than her words could. It was an undeniable fact that there was elephant in the room since he laid eyes on her just five minutes ago and the awkward moment where you finally pay attention to it had finally arrived. Sally offered him a weak smile and sat down on top of his desk.

"I guess we should talk," she said.

"Okay," Tails mumbled, his palms starting to moisten.

This was a moment that had been stuck in the back of his head for a year. He never doubted that Sally would tell him when she was ready and while he had waited a long time for this, it was something that he feared more than anything. A fear that she was here to tell him that whatever she felt for him before was gone. That she had met someone during her soul searching. That they would never be more than what they were.

"Bunnie tells me you've been out a few dates recently," she told him.

"A few. Not a lot," he replied, fidgeting with his tie again.

"Don't be modest, Miles," she said with a wider grin. "I see how the girls look at you. I'm certain all the girls in this class spend their time drawing pictures of you on their notebooks with little hearts around them."

Tails chuckled softly and shook his head. "You make me sound like a playboy."

"Well how 'bout it, playboy? Snag yourself a lucky lady?"

"Nah," Tails answered with another shake of his head.

"Why not?" Sally asked softly, her smile fading just a bit and biting her bottom lip. The fox simply shrugged.

"Things just…didn't click I guess," was all he said. Sally nodded and looked down at her feet, fingers drumming on the edge of the desk. Tails shifted his weight from one foot to the other before asking, "How have things been for you?"

"It's been good," Sally told him, tilting her head at the fox. "I've done a lot of traveling lately. I realized a long time ago that there were so many places on Mobius I haven't been. Met lots of people, got to reconnect with old friends…it's been really good."

"I'm glad," Tails smiled. It faded however as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Have…you talked to Sonic lately?" he questioned delicately.

"A while ago, yeah," Sally confirmed with a heavy breath.

"How did that go?"

"Awkward, embarrassing, emotional to describe a few. I got the chance to say some things I wanted to say to him and…he was really understanding. We cleared the air on some old issues and in the end I had some closure on some things. It felt good. I felt like…I could breathe again."

"That's great, Sally. Really," Tails told her with pure sincerity. The princess smiled at him and sat up a little straighter.

"We talked about you too," she revealed.

Tails stared at her for a moment, his tails slowly twisting around themselves before simply replying with, "Oh."

"He asked me if I had seen you lately and that if I hadn't, I should."

"Why's that?" Tails asked, his voice cracking just a bit. He hoped she didn't notice. Sally hopped off the desk and stuck her hands back in her pockets.

"He said that he could see how much you missed me…and that it was painful to see you walking around having lost someone you loved," she whispered, her voice barely reaching his ears.

Tails looked down at his feet, too ashamed to meet her gaze. It was true. Since the day she left his place, he felt that there was some sort of hole inside him. An unimaginably deep void that was impossible to fill no matter how many women he dated or the few he shared a night with. He never thought it would affect him as badly as it did but he was naïve. He was also naïve to think that he could hide it from Sonic forever.

"He knew?" Tails swallowed.

"He said he's known for a while. Why else would you have gotten me such an elegant birthday gift?" Sally uttered as she pulled her hands out of her pockets and rubbed her left wrist.

Tails could see a golden shine radiate off it from the fluorescent lights above and he recognized it as the very one she spoke of.

"He's not mad at you, if that's what you're afraid of," she informed him softly, taking a few steps closer. "Sonic knew why you held back and he always appreciated it. But now he wants what will make you happy. He wants you to…to be the man he could never be for me."

"Sally…" Tails whispered, his heart feeling like it was in his throat. "What are you trying to tell me?"

"I never wanted you to wait for me, Miles," Sally said, a nervous tremor in her voice. "It was unfair to you and…and I didn't deserve you. Not then and probably not now. I walked away from you because I needed to straighten out my life. But I thought about you a lot, Miles. I thought about how you made me feel and it pushed me to fix things sooner than later. I honestly thought that the day I came back, you would be engaged or something…and it scared me."

Sally broke eye contact with him and stared at the roof, eyes closing. She swallowed hard and wrapped her arms around herself.

"I can't expect you let me walk back into your life. You should have never had to wait this long for me to get my act together and because of me maybe you missed out on-"

Sally didn't finish her sentence. The words that were about to leave her mouth were silenced as she felt the vulpine's strong arms embrace her and his warm lips pressed against her own. Taking a moment to recover, her eyelids slowly closed and she returned his embrace tightly and kissed him back. It was as if they were reliving the night in the hanger. Only this time, there was no alcohol involved or guilt weighing down on Tails' shoulders. Ecstasy and love in its purest form. Just the way he had always wanted it. They broke apart, panting just the tiniest of bits as Tails leaned his head against hers.

"Some things are worth waiting for…" he whispered to her.

Sally cradled his face in her hands and kissed him again. It was shorter this time but nothing shorter than magnificent just like the previous one. She pulled away and hugged him tightly, burying her face in his neck and Tails did the same. The two Mobians stood there in silent bliss as they relished in the comfort and safety of each others arms. For what seemed like hours they stayed like that until finally Tails pulled away but kept her close to his chest. He gazed into her eyes before letting out a shaky laugh.

"Now what?" he asked, his brain feeling like it was on some pleasant high.

Sally gave him a tiny laugh and kissed his nose saying, "Now? Now we let this crazy ride start over again. The right way this time."

"Sounds good to me," Tails agreed and held her tighter. Sally gave him a mischievous smile as she played with the end of his tie.

"But as for tonight, I thought maybe you could come over…we'll put the game on…I'll slip on that jersey and then…"

"And then?" Tails growled with smirk.

Sally leaned in close to him and whispered in his ear, "We'll have a drink."

Tails stared at her with a bewildered look on his face for a second before both of them burst into laughter. Tails ran a hand up and down her back as the princess wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling brightly at him.

"I think we'll pass on the drinks but I like that jersey idea," he mused. This prompted a soft giggle from her and she pushed away from him, entwining her hand in one of his.

"Well, we better get going then," she winked at him and pulled him towards the door. Just before they reached it, he stopped, pulling her back to him.

"Hey," he said, making her look up at him again. "Is…is this what you really want?" Tails asked, a hint of uncertainty in his eyes. "I mean, you're still a princess and I'm still…some 'kid'."

Sally peered at him with her half lidded radiant blue eyes and offered a sweet and gentle smile. She squeezed his hand tightly and shook her head, the auburn strands dancing behind her. "I told you before, Miles. You're not some kid. Little boys may not get princesses but princesses don't always deserve the hero that saves them. You've saved me enough times to know, Miles. So the real question is; is this what you really want?"

The orange colored fox returned her smile and squeezed her hand just as tightly.

"Yeah…it is."

Sally's smile became wider and she pulled him along with her again as they reached the door. As Sally opened it, both of them let out a cry of surprise as three individuals fell onto the floor as a result of leaning on it to hear what was being said in what was supposed to be a private conversation. The mallard, armadillo and buck stared up at their teacher with sheepish grins on their faces.

"Sorry, Mr. Prower," Kevin sputtered as the trio picked themselves up quickly. "We…uh…forgot our pens."

"Really?" Tails asked with a frown and crossed his arm. Sally covered her mouth to mask her snickering as the students began to sweat under their teacher's stare.

"Yup! Love our pens!" Kevin cheered a little too enthusiastically. Tails continued to stare hard at them, each student feeling as if they were getting smaller. Tails finally let out a laugh with the shake of his head.

"Alright, get out of here. But if I catch you guys doing something like this again, you'll be doing propeller repairs with it running. Understand?" he told them sternly but failing to hold back a grin.

"Yes, sir!" they all said in unison and scrambled down the hall, embarrassment coloring them from head to toe. Sally finally removed her hand along with a few chuckles before looking back to him.

"You really know how to motivate them."

"It's the mark of a good teacher," he laughed. Tails wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close as they began their own descent down the hall. Sally leaned her head on his shoulder and let out a small sigh. Her lips suddenly tugged upwards as they exited to the outside world, the cold winter air stinging their cheeks.

"Miles?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"Do you…do you think we could fly back?"

Tails stopped and looked at her. He let another smirk creep across his muzzle and scooped her up into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck tightly and shivered as his body offered her some warmth against the chill. Tails looked down at her and raised his eyebrows.

"You sure about this? You were pretty nervous last time."

"I know," she said. "But I know that if I fall, you'll catch me. Right?"

Tails responded by kissing her, deeply and passionately. When they broke apart, his tails began to twirl, their bodies slowly rising into the air. As they ascended upwards, Sally could hear him whisper over the wind.

"Always."

FIN

A/N: Well, there it is. I'm not sure what it is with this pairing but I guess I just wanted Tails to get the girl for once. He deserves it. Thanks for reading and we'll see you all next time!