It was still raining when Tails awoke, a fine, gentle mist further soaking the already drenched forest. He blinked the water out of his eyes and stood up, sore. Rubbing the muscles in his legs, he thought back about his dream. Those had been the good days, back then…Sonic showing them that new skateboard place, Knuckles giving him a high five about how better he had gotten, and Rouge…
Tails sighed slightly at the thought of her name, wringing the water out of his tails. She'd been so nice to him…and so…
"Beautiful," he whispered aloud. "Absolutely beautiful…"
He walked out from under the tree, resigning to the fact that he wasn't going to get dry no matter what he did, and started wandering aimlessly through the forest, as he had for the past three days. All three days he had wandered, and all three days it had rained. He sighed and looked up at the sky as he walked, wondering when the clouds would stop their weeping.
"…They must be crying to make up for what I didn't cry," he murmured, shielding his eyes from the ever-persistent raindrops. He had tried to remain strong as soon as he found out that he was lost, but it had been so hard…
"…I miss the others…" he said sadly, trying hard to contain his bottled up emotions now. "I miss Sonic, and Knuckles, and…and Rouge…"
He slid down into the mud and started to weep then, thinking about his friends…thinking about what had happened…
~*~
"Wow Tails, you must be strong to be able to carry all of my weight!" Rouge exclaimed as he carried her over the outskirts of the city. Tails blushed and smiled self-consciously.
"Aww, I'm not really that strong…" he replied, looking for a spot to land. "J-just get a lot of practice, that's all…"
"Well, even then it's still more then what I could carry," she said, looking up at him. "I only carry around jewels, anyway." Tails looked down at her, suddenly remembering something.
"How come you were after the pieces of the Master Emerald anyway, if you were working on our side?" he asked, his head slightly cocked. Rogue chuckled.
"I'm a spy, Tails…you have to do what you have to do to get on the bad guy's good side," she replied with a smile. "Just like you have to do whatever you have to do to defeat them." Tails thought about this for a minute or two.
"Yeah, I guess I can see that," he said finally. "Kind of like how Sonic is so brave and will go after anything, and like how Knuckles is big and tough and protects Angel Island—"
"What about you, Tails?" she asked, looking back up at him again. Tails shrugged.
"Aw, I don't do anything…I just get in the way, mostly…or get captured. I-I'm not too good—"
"Well, can I tell you what I think?" Rouge asked, her eyes questioning.
"Sure…I guess," Tails said, spying a park up ahead to land in.
"Well…I think you're plenty brave," she started, lifting her feet a bit to avoid some of the lightning rods on the buildings they were flying over. "And you're very smart, Tails. Someone has to be smart to be able to build all of those machines! The Tornado, the Cyclone…all created by you! And—"
"Aww, Rouge!" Tails exclaimed, the tips of his ears bright red. "I'm not like that!"
"Sure you are!" she said, smiling. "And I'm not done. You've got a heart of gold, Tails…you always think of the others and what might happen before just jumping into things."
"I…well…um…" Tails stammered, flustered. He was completely stuck on what to say. Rouge gently squeezed his hand and gave him a small smile, which only worsened his confusion and shock.
"You don't have to say anything," she said softly. "I just wanted to tell you what I thought." Tails looked down into her eyes, and she looked back. He hovered in the air for several seconds, the two of them just staring at one another, sharing some meaningful eye contact. Finally, Tails looked away, embarrassed.
"…T-thanks, Rouge," he said finally, starting to descend down into the park.
"Oh, it's not a problem, Tails," she replied. They were silent for a minute or two, neither one of them able to think of anything to say. Finally, Rouge spoke up again.
"…Tails?" she questioned. He looked down at her.
"Yeah?" he replied. She pulled herself up until she was holding onto his shoulders, facing him.
"…I wanna tell you something…you see…I—"
"HEY! Guys, we're down here!" Sonic cried, waving madly. Rouge squeaked and let go of Tails' shoulders immediately, in her haste to pretend she was acting normal forgetting that they were still two hundred feet in the air. Tails started to dive for her, but blinked in surprise as she started to glide down towards where their friends were. Sighing in relief, but disappointed he didn't get to find out what she wanted to tell him, Tails descended down to the ground, his mind on nothing but the gorgeous bat gliding in front of him.
He was extremely confused on what exactly was going between him and Rouge. It seemed like they were only friends, but—
"Hey Tails, get your head out of the clouds!" Knuckles yelled from below. "It's time to board, not daydream!" Tails blinked and realized that he was hovering about ten feet off the ground. He smiled sheepishly and landed beside his friend.
"Sorry, guys," he said, scuffing one foot on the ground. "Guess it's hard to get your head out of the clouds when you fly all the time, huh?" His friends all laughed as Sonic patted him on the back, handing him his board.
"Don't worry about it, little guy!" he said amiably. "Just get on your board and follow us!" Sonic jumped on his board, as did Knuckles, and they both sped down the hill, matching one another in speed and skill. Tails looked behind him at Rouge.
"…Are you going to come too?" he asked. "If you want, you can ride with me…" Rouge smiled and cautiously approached the board.
"Well, if you're sure…" she said. "How do I do it?" Tails grinned.
"Not to worry!" he cried, getting on the front. "You just hold on!"
"All right!" she said, getting on behind him and wrapping her arms firmly around his waist. Tails felt a little tingle shoot through him as she did so. It was a nice feeling, Rouge with her arms around him…
"You okay back there?" he said, turning his head so he could look at her. She let one arm go to flash him a thumbs-up sign.
"All set and ready to go!" she replied, grinning. Tails wrapped his twin tails around her waist for extra support and then grinned back.
"Okay then…let's…GO!" he cried, and then pushed off, hard. They started to fly down the hill, gaining speed rapidly. He could feel Rouge grip on tighter as they rounded the first curve, the wind flowing through his fur like water. He got a little tingly again at the touch…it was like magic. Something he had never felt before…
"Tails, watch out!" Rouge cried, pointing to the steps that were looming in the distance. Tails grinned and turned his head to look at her.
"Don't worry!" he replied gleefully. "This is going to be fun!" Rouge looked at him, a shadow of doubt crossing her eyes.
"I hope so…" she said worriedly, staring at the steps again. "I trust you, though…"
Trusts me, Tails thought as they approached the steps. She trusts me…and I won't let her down!
"Hold on tight!" Tails called back to her, steeling himself. "We're going to jump!"
"Jump?!" Rouge exclaimed, eyes wide. "Why can't we just—AGH!"
She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms tightly around Tails' neck as he leapt up onto the railing of the stairs, keeping them balanced as they grinded the way down. Rouge cautiously opened her eyes, loosening her grip on Tails as they approached the bottom.
"…Wow! That must be so hard to do!" she exclaimed as they jumped off and started boarding down the road again.
"Nah, it's not so hard…Sonic can do it on just his shoes!" he exclaimed, admiration in his voice. Rouge smiled a bit. It was obvious how much he looked up the blue hedgehog, just from everything he said.
"You're a lot like Sonic, you know," she stated. Tails gasped in shock, almost tipping the skateboard over in the process.
"M-me?! Like Sonic?!" Tails stammered. "N-no way, Sonic is a lot better then me…" Rouge smiled and ruffled the fur on the top of his head gently.
"Wrong, Tails," she said simply. "Sonic is in you."
~*~
Tails looked up into the morning sky, dry-eyed.
"Sonic is in me…" he whispered, getting to his feet. "Sonic is in me…and…I-I can do anything he can…I just gotta believe in myself…"
He started to walk down the path with a renewed vigor. He had to get out of here. It was what Sonic would have done.