A/N: shoutout to the commenters on "left way, right way" who left such kind words that it inspired me to *finally* finish this wip! hopefully more will come very quickly
title from "run, baby, run" by the rigs
Lightning flashed through the window as rain pattered a steady rhythm against the ceiling's circular window.
The three of them had quickly been tucked into their respective sleeping spaces once they returned home from their baseball-ice-cream excursion; surprisingly, Sonic was the first to knock out, as evident by the soft snores and murmurs that came from his racecar bed.
Despite the protests of the two humans, Knuckles insisted that he sleep on the floor nearest to the entrance.
He could not ease his beating heart. He must be ready in case Robotnik or his forces barged through the doors to take his new family away- although, in all his warrior spirit, he did not have the courage to call them that just yet.
The sounds of nature lulled him to sleep, the pounding wind a white noise, and he had no dreams.
Small whines filled the air. Knuckles' ears began to flick involuntarily, before his eyes slowly cracked open. His people taught the art of remaining light on your feet, even in slumber, and he was awake in mere seconds.
He turned to where the noise was coming from and located the origin of the noise: a tuft of ears and two tails underneath a nest of blankets.
His brow furrowed and, on his haunches, gingerly made his way to where the kit slept. Sonic, before his power-down, carried all the blankets he could find in the house to a spot across from his bed for Miles ("He's still injured!").
"Fox," he whispered, lingering his hands over the boy's shoulders. He sat there for moments, unsure of what to do. A crack of thunder and lightning rang close to the house, and the child kicked in his sleep as his whines increased in intensity. Still not enough to wake the hedgehog, the echidna noted, amused if it weren't for his concern. "Wake yourself. All is well."
He mustered the bravery to lay his arm on the child's own. He quickly recoiled when the child struck out, holding the stinging section of his skin. After the momentary shock, he reached out his hands in peace.
"It is just me, child."
Miles heaved for breaths once he finished his scrambling, on the opposite side of the blankets than the echidna, his hand gripping his chest fur. Knuckles did not think it possible for the child to look any smaller than he normally did; yet Miles, tucked into himself, looked almost like a babe.
Another rumble of thunder shook their attic den, and Miles covered his ears and whined once more. Knuckles realized all in one moment: "You are frightened of the storm."
Tails attempted to speak, but whenever he opened his mouth only half-choked breaths came out. Knuckles' saw Sonic sleeping peacefully in his peripheral, unaware of his little brother's distress, and Knuckles took note how, even in his paralyzing fear, Tails kept his voice down.
"I can fetch the hedgehog for you," he questioned. Tails violently shook his head, leaning forward to shake his hands, but another flash of light and violent rumble of thunder sounded above them. To Knuckles' surprise, he now had an armful of kit.
He shifted his weight to practically cradle the fox in his arms, exaggerating his own steady breaths in hopes that the child would follow suit. "What has brought on this?"
"I don't like the-" Miles began, before a gust of wind pounded the water against the walls of the house, right before lightning lit up the sky. Tails attempted to hide in the echidna's shoulders, and somehow the display of vulnerability shook him more than any battlefield ever could.
He took a breath, and imagined how the hedgehog would comfort his friend.
"There is nothing to fear," he reasoned, though he connected a moment later, when the kit whined and snuggled closer into his collarbones, that logic would not soothe the child this time. He wrapped his arms around his back, cupping the crown of his head. "Me and the blue one will keep you safe."
His words did nothing to soothe the fox, and his whimpers continued. Knuckles choked on words to say, and settled on simply holding the fox closer. He pressed past the conflict and confusion within himself, asking why he allowed himself to get so sentimental.
He attempted to look back on old memories, when he was the fox's size, and how his people comforted their children, but he came up frustratingly empty. He left a mental note to explore why the negative memories of being alone after his people's passing stood out far more than any memories of his father telling him stories before he went to sleep, of communal dinners; how he fought for his people, gave them everything, but his mind has failed him in preserving them.
He devised a plan.
"Did I tell you the story of my people?"
Tails' ear swiveled, but he did not lift his head from Knuckles' shoulder.
He continued, "I came from a proud people- warriors. We were passionate in all that we did, and to work for others was the greatest honor." Knuckles' shoulders involuntarily sagged. "And when my people were forced to leave me, I had not even reached my first growth spurt.
"I eventually needed to leave our village, and…" Knuckles trailed off, memories affronting his mind. Tails noticed the shift and gently laid his hand atop his spiked glove. Knuckles fondly smiled, but kept his eyes up. "There were those who wanted to use me, whether it was to show me off, as the last of the echidna, for my power, for whatever their malicious purpose was. I did not have a friend."
Knuckles looked down and saw Tails' bleary eyes looking back at him. He gently thumbed away the tear marks on the kit's face. "I was much like the hedgehog, in that way. I was alone, young, and afraid.
"You still think me strong, yes?" Knuckles teasingly poked the kit's stomach, and Tails giggled as he nodded. Once their laughter died down, Knuckles assured he had his eye contact before solemnly adding, "To feel fear is not weakness. It is what we do with our fear that marks true bravery."
They shared a smile, and Knuckles felt a great burden lift from his back.
Knuckles gently put his hand on the child's shoulder. "Let us get you back to bed."
He rose to his knees to gather the blankets for Tails' nest, when he noticed that the child hadn't gotten up. In fact, the fox looked deep in thought. Eventually, his prolonged stare broke Tails from his daze, but he still did not move to get up. Knuckles waited, while Tails seemed to sike himself up for something.
"You're not the only one," Tails mumbled. Knuckles furrowed his brow, giving a soft hm?
Tails fiddled with his gloves, averting his gaze. "I'm like you guys, too. Sonic was my first friend. Truly, I mean. My village… didn't like me very much."
"How could that be?" Knuckles was perplexed. From the time between defeating the doctor and settling into the Wachowski household, Knuckles could find little to dislike about the fox. He could only criticize how soft-spoken Tails was at times, and how he undersold his abilities when asked for them, but there was nothing malicious about him. What could a child have done to warrant such disdain?
Tails said nothing, letting out a shuddered breath before lightly gesturing to his tails.
Knuckles did not connect. "Your tails?" He noted the flinch from the fox, but kept asking. "They are a noble advantage."
"They're not," Tails muttered, biting.
"They would cast you out for your gift?"
"It's not a- stop calling it that!" Tails snapped. He quickly realized his mistake when his raise in volume alerted the blue silhouette in the racecar bed.
Sonic lifted his head from his blankets and blinked blearily. "What's happening?"
Tails hugged himself. "Nothing."
Knuckles felt the burden slowly crawl its way back up his back and into his throat.
Sonic noted the clogged nature of his voice, and quickly swung his legs onto the floor and walked slowly over. "Buddy, are you alright?" Tails took a tentative step back, which only raised Sonic's concern, but he relented and turned to Knuckles for an explanation.
"He was frightened of the thunder, and I went to comfort him," he explained, putting on an air of false conviction, but it drained when he looked back at the kit, only to see that his two tails were curled around one another, trying to hide their duality. Knuckles felt his cheeks grow hot. "I overstepped. I wanted to ease his fears, but I only brought up memories from his past, that I suspect he would rather remain buried."
Sonic softened in a way that indicated that he knew about Tails' homeland far before Knuckles did, and he felt a pang in his heart for being the last one to realize the truth. It reminded him of how they had all met, and the things he did in the doctor's name; the shame followed him even weeks out from the final battle.
"Tails," Sonic gently started. Tails' uncertain glance bounced about the room, before a bolt of lightning struck close enough to shake the ground. Tails hit the floor and curled around himself.
Knuckles sprung into action and went to Tails' side, wrapping his arms around the child. When Sonic did not follow, Knuckles looked back to see that the hedgehog hadn't moved an inch. He seemed frozen, his mouth slightly parted, and his eyes were glazed.
It seemed Knuckles wasn't the only one to be the last to find out a truth. It was almost comforting how he could teach Sonic something now. Weeks of learning about this new world and culture, he had grown fatigued in learning. Now he must teach.
"Hedgehog, come closer." Sonic shuffled his feet. Tails hid his face in Knuckles' chest fur, but tilted his head when he heard Sonic's steps approaching.
Tails wetly chuckled. "Sorry, I should've told you this would happen." When another rumble of thunder rattled their walls, he let out a low whine. Sonic quickly knelt at Knuckles' side and held the kits hand. It was so fast that Knuckles bet it was more instinct than thought.
"No, it's okay, kiddo," Sonic said, offering a gentle smile. "We're here for you."
"The hedgehog is right," Knuckles added, lightheartedly bumping Sonic's shoulder with his own. "Divulging one's weaknesses is a monumental task, even for the bravest of warriors."
Sonic readjusted his grip on Tails' hand, and lowered his head to meet his eyes. "Those guys were jerks, alright?" Tails attempted to interrupt, but Sonic plugged on ahead. "Knuckles, me, and you- we're a family now. So any worries or fears you got, even the little stuff, you come to us about. We'll deal with it."
"Right. You are small and fragile." Sonic punched his shoulder at that comment, while Tails giggled. Knuckles double-downed, "It's true! He is the smallest, and we are his elders." Knuckles wrapped an arm around Sonic and held Tails ever-closer. "We are a tribe. We will not leave you behind, young one."
The somber moment was held in the air, before it was broken by Tails' choking back a yawn. Sonic laughed and helped the kit up. "Someone's tired. C'mon, let's get you to bed, huh?"
The trio walked themselves over to the cocoon of blankets and sat next to it as Tails scrambled his way inside.
Feeling as young as he was, Tails hesitantly asked, "You guys are gonna stay, right?"
The two shared a fond look at the kit before Knuckles tucked a blanket up to the fox's chin and announced for the both of them, "We will stay until you are asleep, and we will stay however long after." Almost on cue, the storm let up and only wind lightly pattered the rain onto their walls, and Tails was asleep in his nest within moments.
Knuckles let out a light sigh, before looking back at where the master emerald sat near his makeshift resting place. He did not recognize the time that passed as he wrestled with his thoughts before Sonic lightly tapped his shoulder.
"You know that extends to you too, right? That promise you made." Sonic looked increasingly uncomfortable with his own words, but Knuckles knew it was not for lack of sincerity. "You're never gonna be alone again. Not like I was, not like he was, not like you were."
Knuckles did not know what to say. He settled on this: "I believe you."
Knuckles is no longer afraid to call them family.