Rotor was discussing parts with Tails based on the list of things Marine gave to him. Cream waited near the entrance since there was an old couch for her to sit on. Wave had finished her business with the walrus, so she decided to wait for Tails along with Cream on the sofa.

"So how do you know Tails?" Wave asked, leaning her head to one side as she asked the adorable rabbit.

"Oh! Um... I knew Mr. Tails since we were young…" Cream returned to her habit of being a bit too formal when she was nervous. She had to admit she was just a tad bit intimidated by Wave. She wished she could just leave, but she couldn't leave Tails here all by himself.

"Are you two... In a relationship?" Wave asked, with just the tiniest bit of acid in her voice. Cream shivered and wondered what it would be like to get on the bad side of the swallow. She felt bad for anyone who had happened to experience that firsthand.

"N-No, T-Tails and I... Um... I have a partner" Cream coughed, bringing her hands forward on her lap and placing them there. She glanced over at Wave and saw her nod slowly. She also seemed to ease up a bit, which made Cream sigh in relief.

"What was that?" Wave asked when she caught Cream sighing.

"N-Nothing!" Cream yelped and felt the chill she got earlier climb up her spine all over again. Man, this girl was scary!

"Thanks for getting all these things for me Rotor!" Tails smiled as he exited the backroom with the shopkeeper holding his arm to guide him through.

"Thank you for coming here! Seriously though, Tails, if you need anything else, just give me a call. I'll deliver it to your door. Don't bother yourself coming all the way here, okay?" The walrus handed Tails over to the girls waiting by the door. Cream grabbed the bag of stuff Tails was holding and handed him his cane.

"You still use your umbrella as your cane? Why don't you just get a proper cane?" Wave smirked, holding the door open as Cream led him out of the building.

"I don't know, I'm kinda attached to this now I guess... I think I'm just going to hold onto this for now." Tails shrugged, placing the umbrella back on his satchel.

"So what were you doing here? Is she your new assistant? What's going on?" Wave asked as they went into the streets.

"Oh, actually, I found myself an assistant. She's at my workshop right now, and she's a professional at building sonar! It'll let me fly a plane again, and it'll be amazing."

Wave stopped walking alongside Tails for a moment and frowned. She placed her hand on her chin and scratched it, seemingly deep in thought. "Tails, do you have time today? I want to talk to you for a bit while we walk." She looked over to Cream. "Cream, was it? Would it be okay for me to borrow Tails for a while?"

"Huh? I mean...I don't mind" Cream shrugged, holding the bag closer to her. The stuff in there was heavy.

"You could just take them to my place, Cream. If you don't do anything to the already damaged couch with Marine, feel free to make yourself at home." Tails smiled, turning back when he realized that everyone had stopped walking.

"I-I suppose…" Cream blushed heavily and hugged the bag close to her chest before flying away. Wave watched her leave with mild interest. She was always fascinated by mobians who could fly.

"She's dating your new assistant?" Wave asked as Cream left.

"I think they were dating before she became my assistant… Either way, what's the thing you wanted to talk about?" Tails asked, tilting his head curiously.

"This sonar thing you talked about just moments ago. I want to hear it."

"Oh! Then how about we talk over it with a cup of coffee or something?"

"Asking me out on a date, Tails? My, you've gotten bolder since the last time we met" Wave laughed and took his hand, leading him to the nearest cafe.

As the two went indoors Tails explained to the purple swallow the best he could. He was trying to create a navigation system based on Marine's sonars so that it could guide him towards the direction he would need to go while flying a plane. By the time Tails was finished explaining, however, Wave was set on her mind on what to tell him.

"Tails… This won't work."

"Wave, why can't you just be more supportive of my plans to overcome my disability?" Tails sighed, already expecting this sort of reaction from her. He had guessed that this was what she wanted to say the moment she asked him to explain.

"I'm telling you this as your friend, shorty. I don't want you to get your hopes up for no reason only for them to be-"

"Only for them to be torn apart by reality. Yes, I get it. But this will work, I just know it will." Tails cut her off, he didn't want to explain this to her all over again.

Wave stared at the blonde mechanic in front of her, observing his facial features and his body language. He was sure that this would work, or at least, he'd tricked himself into believing that it would. In some ways, this was his last chance. Wave could either let him believe in that false hope or shatter it and rip the band aid off right now. He didn't seem to be in the mood to talk to her though, so there was only one option left…

"Tails, can you spare me the rest of your afternoon? I have somewhere I want to take you."

"Today? Right now? I mean... Sure, I suppose. Where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere legal, don't worry. Come on, we have quite a trip ahead of us."

Before Tails knew it, he was riding on the back of her X-Gear towards an unspecified but completely legal place, or at least he was told it was legal. To be fair though, Wave had a very different moral compass compared to Tails. Oh no...

"Wave? I changed my mind; I want to go back home." Tails tapped on her shoulders, desperately wanting to get off.

"Too bad, Tails. We're almost there now. Trust me, it'll be worth it."

Tails knew he was out of the city now, as traffic noises seemed to fade away behind him. He guessed they were out of Mystic City and on the other side, either directly opposite or near that direction from Tails' place.

When Wave came to a halt, Tails got off before her and tried to listen to the nearby environment. Mostly just birds and insects, but they weren't in a forest since he didn't feel any chills from the shade coming here. He turned to the bird and asked, "Where are we? Why did you bring me here?"

"Just come with me and you'll see." Wave held his wrist and guided him through a brick road. He had his umbrella out now even though Wave was right next to him, since he didn't quite trust her completely yet in a new area.

Wave knocked on what sounded like a wooden door, and his guess was proven correct when he heard a door creaking and opening.

"Hello, who's there?" The voice of a man in his later years reached Tails' ears.

"Hey dad, it's me. I missed you." Wave let go of Tails' wrist and presumably hugged the old man. Tails couldn't know for a fact, but he got a hunch that was what she did.

"My baby girl! It's been so long. How is life in the city treating you?" Her father asked, and immediately Tails felt out of place. Why was he here? Why did she want him to see her father? Why hasn't he acknowledged the blind two-tailed fox standing next to his daughter that was holding hands with her just a minute ago?

"I'm doing well dad. Please don't call me your baby girl. I have a friend over." He could hear her move aside to grab his wrist again, guiding him to a softer and much more wrinkled hand.

"H-Hello. My name is Miles, but my friends call me Tails." He introduced himself as politely as he could, still wondering why he wasn't pointing out any of the obvious. Was Wave just nothing like her father?

"Well Miles, it's nice to meet you. I'm so sorry that I can't compliment how handsome you are, but as you can see, I am blind" The old man chuckled.

Now it all made sense to him. Everything clicked in Tails' head like cogs in a machine. How Wave knew braille, why she was so nice to him, and why she wanted him to come. He gulped and answered as calmly as he could. Which admittedly, wasn't very calm.

"W-well s-sir, I-I'm actually also b-b-blind." Tails managed to blurt that out, and he could feel the shock from the other side as well.

"That's a surprise, isn't it? Wave, you never told me you had a blind friend!"

"He only became blind recently dad. I was wondering if you could tell him what you were like when you were younger. Back when you... Tried."

"Well that's a bit rude, isn't it? Ah, it's not a lie either though. I tried very hard to overcome this when I was younger...Her mother helped me a lot but…" The last part was clearly intended towards him, and Tails didn't like it.

"I-Is it a long story?" Tails didn't want to bluntly ask some very private things to this very nice old man.

"Depends on how you define long, my boy. Why don't you come in, and I can make you a cup of tea, hm?" He didn't let go of Tails' hand and led him into the house. He could hear Wave following behind as he walked on the carpeted hall and towards the living room. He could just feel the classic, vintage coziness the home radiated. He sat down on an old-timey armed couch and waited for Wave's father to return.

Wave and her father came back with a tray of cookies and hot tea. Wave sat down somewhere to the left of Tails, and her dad sat down in front of him.

"Let me tell you a story of an old bird who tried to fly, young man…"

Thought about writing Wave's dad's story into this chapter as well, but decided against it. I think shorter but more frequent updates are more healthier for me. Will try to reach over 2k words from now on though. Huge thank you to Leodragon678 for editing this, but anyone who reads my story probably already reads his stuff too.