To everyone outside the US, sorry but I don't use the metric system. Nor do I know how to convert inches to centimeters, or miles to kilometers. Sorry… Hope you can forgive me.

To my reviewers:

Wafflesbelike-NYANCAT: Glad you enjoyed it, and I'm sure the plot wouldn't be a mess.

TheTigerGamer: I will see if I get Knuckles in the story. I want to see him too!

Quantum27: Oh Amy… Sonamy all the way. Eh, what can I say? I'm the same way when I post. No comment.

Autumn: I LOVE TAILS! HE'S SOOOO CUTE! And I'm posting the best I can. Sorry! I want to get this going to, because I'm seriously LOVING THIS STORY! Is that allowed…?

Let's a' go! (…and I just pulled a Mario reference in a Sonic fan-fic…I'm ashamed of myself.)

Tails POV:

I had been with Sonic for a month.

At this point I wasn't sure if I should cheer or cry…

I went with cheer.

"Go Sonic!" I shouted as the hedgehog zipped by. True, he was only a blur to me at the moment, but I could just imagine him smiling at me.

For the past hour, Sonic had been trying to beat his record of running to the nearest big city (1000 miles away) to our little cave that was our 'home' at the moment. So far, he'd only gotten as close as tying it.

"How'd I do Tails?" The tired hedgehog managed to ask before downing a water bottle in four big gulps.

"You beat it by a blink of an eye!"

The two of us exchanged high-fives.

It had been an amazing month. Sonic helped me with my flying and kept all the bullies away. We had enough food to eat that I was actually starting to gain a little weight. Throughout my whole life, I never imagined spending my time with any hero.

"So Tails…what do you want to do now?" Sonic lied back on the forest floor, staring up at the partly cloudy sky.

I joined him. "I don't know… Could we maybe…go to a library now?"

"What is it with you and libraries?"

Two years ago if someone had asked me that question, I would have cringed and ran away. Now, I could just tell Sonic was just making conversation. "I just like books…"

"Well…we can go, but only for an hour. I really don't like cramped spaces…" Sonic stood up. "Want to try again?"

I nodded nervously. The past few weeks I'd been trying to keep up with the hedgehog with my tails. So far, I'd been able to keep up the pace for four minutes or about 5 miles…not the best, but better than nothing.

"Hey, don't be nervous. Just try your best." Sonic ruffled my hair, smiling. "On your mark…"

I put my legs apart and clenched my hands into fists.

"Get set…"

Sonic knelt down into a starting position.

"GO!"

The both of us started running. Of course Sonic was ahead of me almost immediately, but I chose to ignore him for the moment. While I was running I started to spin my tails. Eventually, I lifted off the ground and chased after Sonic.

Let me point out, that he was not running at top speed. True, it was still fast, but it wasn't 'looks-like-a-giant-blue-line' fast. At first, I was only about a yard behind Sonic, but the space slowly grew until I was 10 yards behind him.

Sonic halted at the edge of the forest. I caught up ten seconds later, out of breath.

"How…did…I…do…?" I panted with exhaustion.

Sonic shook his head, "I don't know how to tell you this…"

My face fell.

"But you totally blew…the record away!" Sonic put me in a choke hold and ruffled my hair again.

"Sonic! Chaos, don't do that!" I moaned in annoyance.

"4.5 miles! Nice work little buddy!" Sonic gave me a water bottle which I eagerly drank from.

In celebration, Sonic and I stopped by a hot dog stand. Of course Sonic had a chili-dog, but I just stuck with a cheese-dog. We munched on our lunch while we walked to the library.

The actual trip was useful in whole. As individual events…it was really, really, really bad.

First, there was the fact that we had to throw away our unfinished food because the library didn't allow food or drink inside. It made sense and wasn't that bad, but Sonic really wasn't happy about that.

"Next time we come here, we get the food after we leave."

Then, the librarian really didn't like noise. You'd think that was normal…if she wasn't mad when your footsteps make small tapping noises against the polished wooden floor. Whispering wasn't even allowed, so Sonic and I had to play a strange game of charades mixed with sign language and Pictionary…very confusing.

Eventually, we gave up on communication and agreed to meet back at the entrance in 45 minutes (which turned into 40 minutes because it took that long to get the message across).

As quiet as possible I wandered over to the aeronautics section and scanned every book I could find on helicopters. When my time was almost up, I grabbed a pretty thick book on bi-planes.

Sonic did practically nothing but find the few comics in the building and finished all of them with 30 minutes to spare. Pretty sure he napped the rest of the time.

Our next problem was with the actual librarian. Apparently, in order to check out a book, you have to

1. Register at the Library. –That took five minutes.

2. Get a library card. –Also took a few minutes.

3. Not be a 'two-tailed freak.' –Sonic took the situation from there.

Let's just say it involved a lot of raised voices and three shelfs were knocked over by the time we left, book in hand. We were not to come back…ever.

So useful part of trip: I got a free book.

Also on the plus side, the two of us stopped for ice cream to make up for our lost lunch. Sonic got chocolate but I decided to have vanilla.

"Sorry you had to go through that…again."

Neither of us had spoken since the ice cream cart. By this point, we were back in the forest. It was late afternoon.

I shrugged, "I'm used to it. Besides, at least there's someone who's standing with me…"

"You got that right." Sonic finished his cone and licked his fingers. "So what book did you get?"

I swung my backpack off and pulled out the volume. "Flying Among the Stars: Bi-Planes. I've never heard of it before."

"Can't say I have either. Bi-planes, uh?"

"Yeah… I really like flying. It's just…so freeing."

"I feel the same thing about running."

Sonic motioned for me to put the book away and crouched down to a runner's starting position. "Want to try again?"

Hurriedly, I put the book away and got ready. "Yes please."

"On your mark…get set…GO!"

We sped back towards the cave at half sonic speed.

This time, I survived 4.52 miles.

Sonic's POV:

One month with company…a strange experience that I hadn't had since staying with Vanilla all those years ago.

When we arrived at the cave, both of us were a little winded. We collapsed against our usual tree and caught our breath. Tails brought out his book and began to read, while I closed my eyes and leaned back.

Truth be told, I rarely was actually asleep. This was one of the many trick's I'd learned over the years to avoid crazy fans. Fans are a lot less likely to bother me when I'm 'asleep.' But I had also discovered that this position was a nice time to think without being disturbed.

What I thought about depended on the day. Today, my mind was focused on Miles.

He'd been with me for a whole month, and somehow, that had been the best month of my life since Robotnik shattered my life. This little fox had in some way, filled the hole in my heart.

I smiled slightly at the memories and adventures over this wonderful time. We had gone hunting for spare parts at an old dump, ran around the country, ate at every chili-dog stand in town, gone to the library, ran around the town, gone on a scavenger hunt that I had put together for the little kid, and ran some more.

Yeah, we had had some cool adventures together. I just wished they would never end.

Well who said they had too?

My eyes popped open and I looked over at the fox. "Hey Tails, I'm going for a run. You just stay here okay? I'll be back in about an hour." I sped off before the fox could respond.

After I got a considerable distance between the cave and me, I collapsed against another tree and closed my eyes again.

"Okay…it's out in the open now. It's crossed your mind before but now it's time to acknowledge it."

Keep Tails around? Could I really? Well, no one wants him…and there's no foster care that seems to know about him. Why not?

Let's see, ROBOTNIK.

I winced at that thought, "True, but he hasn't made any moves in almost 2 years…maybe he's given up?"

That was the hardest thing to tell in this whole situation. It was true; Robotnik hadn't made a peep in a long time. Part of me hoped he had died from his insanity issues…but that was too good to be true…right?

"Ugh!"

I stood up and looked around at the clearing. "Let's think this through…"

One: the kid has nowhere to go and if I'm not going to keep him around then I should turn him loose soon.

Two: He's really smart and knows how to fight now. I've taught him all I've learned so if I do turn him loose, he'll be fine physically.

Three: Miles has grown to care about me just as I've grown to care about him so leaving him behind may not be the best thing for a six year old mentally.

Four: I've noticed that when Tails is around, I'm not as sad and don't feel as rushed in life. The kid actually slows me down, and I enjoy it.

Well that pretty much sold it. Miles Prower was staying with me…

Part of my brain hesitated, "…unless I feel that it's for the best…"

I smiled and shrugged the thought aside. I stood up and ran back the direction I came.

About an hour after I left, I popped into the clearing again. "Tails!"

The little fox poked his head out of the cave, "In here Sonic!"

I zipped in to find the cave all decorated with vines and flowers from the forest. In the center of the room was a large pile of blueberries along with a small stack of chili-dogs. I looked around a little confused, "Am I missing something?"

Tails flickered his namesakes about nervously. "Um…well it's been a month since we met so I thought we could celebrate?"

I smiled big, "Wish I'd thought of it first. Be right back! You can't have a party without a cake!"

Ten minutes later I placed a small chocolate cake on the ground next to the rest of the food. "Let's eat!"

As we ate, I pondered how to word my little surprise. Tails told me all of these cool facts that he had learned in his book while he was gone and I smiled, making snide remarks and jokes every once in a while.

When the dogs had been reduced to sauce and the last crumb of cake had been swallowed, I finally decided to speak. "Tails…can we talk about something?"

The fox smiled, "Yes, but first…" He reached into his backpack and pulled out a small watch. "This is for you. It's a thank you present."

I gently took the device from his hand and examined it. At first glance, there wasn't anything special about it. It was a bright red digital watch with a setting for a stopwatch. "Wow… Did you make this yourself? I'm impressed."

Tails nodded, "This is my favorite feature…" He reached over and pressed the blue button on the side. "It's a communicator. Hold down this button and talk. I have the other one." He pointed to the matching watch on his wrist.

Now I was really impressed. "Thanks Tails…I love it." I put the watch on and admired it. "You really have a gift little buddy," I ruffled his hair gently.

"Thanks." The fox gave me a quick hug. "What did you want to talk about?"

I smiled at him, with this huge grin, "Well as you said, you've been with me for a month. Do you remember what I asked you when I first took you in?"

"…Yes…" Tails looked at me, his eyes growing a little wider. "You asked if I wanted to stay with you for a little while…" His voice got really quiet.

"Great…he thinks I'm going to kick him out." I mentally smacked myself for the terrible wording.

"Miles Prower."

The fox looked at me with sad eyes. "Yes?" He asked weakly.

"I'm now asking you if you'd like to-"

A boom echoed in the distance…a really big boom. I stood up and sped out of the cave, Tails close behind. In that terrible town that had treated Tails terribly a large cloud of smoke rose from the center.

"What…is…that?" Tails asked, his voice shaking slightly.

There was only one person I knew who made that big of an explosion. "Robotnik…he's back."

AHHHHHHH! WHY? Okay, I know I'm writing this story, but I'm still depressed and mad. Review!