Evasion

He was panting, his heartbeat already thundering in his ears as he quickly stepped around unrecognizable objects in his path, only able to see their silhouettes in pitch black thanks to his inherent night vision.

The room he had rushed into was dark and dusty, an eery silence permeating the closed chamber and the corners of its ceiling covered in overgrown cobwebs, the room not having been used for years. It was almost suffocating and claustrophobic in here, the silence so thick it felt palpable. He could've chosen any other room in the house to take shelter in but this was the only one without a working light, as any presence of light would've made it too easy to be found. He didn't have another choice. He had to hide, needed to hide. Coming here was the only option he could come up with at the moment.

There were tables and random objects of furniture scattered about, covered by sheets of cloth having a thick layer of dust on them. He constantly had to resist an urge to sneeze as he ran towards what seemed like a desk, keeping his steps as light as he could, his large fox ears twitching from the noise as the echoes shot another burst of adrenaline in his veins, terrified that his persuer might've heard him.

As soon as the young kit reached the desk, he immediately hid behind it, his back pressed to the desk's side with the mentioned object between him and the door, the only entrance.

Every sound that was produced up in the house reached here, reverberating like an echo. Tails crouched down, huddling up with his tails curled tight as the sound of a nearby room's door opening reached him, then closing shut after a few seconds. He held back a whimper, ears pressing to his head in fear. He couldn't let himself get caught, it was crucial. Everything was depending on him staying hidden or it was all over, leading to the worst, most horrible outcome imaginable.

He couldn't let that happen, it was not an option. If he were to be found, the one looking for him would-

The doorknob jingled for a second before a click was heard as it was twisted open, the sound, even though nearly silent, as terrifying and loud as a monstrous growl in the quiet darkness.

Tails couldn't hold in a startled gasp, immediately placing both little hands over his mouth in apprehension. His eyes widened, pupils tiny pinpricks as the door was slowly pushed open, un-oiled hinges giving out a clearly audible, low pitched squeak. Some light from the outside flooded into the room, illuminating a thin rectangular part, framing the shadow of the person standing in the doorway, their aura menacing. Tails couldn't see it from his hiding spot, the desk he crouched behind far enough back into the chamber that outside light didn't reach there.

Footsteps were heard, lightly echoing in the gripping darkness as the formentioned person moved into the unlit chamber, searching around with narrowed eyes.

"Where are you?"

Tails held his breath at the words, having recognized that voice instantly. It was the voice of his best friend, his big brother, the same voice that had always served to encourage him and cheer him up. But this time it was serious and stern, with not a hint of lightheartedness that was usually present. At that moment, this same voice which had once made him perk up in joy or excitement now sounded menacing to Tails. It now spelled his doom.

Tails' heartbeat sped up as the footsteps moved around the room, furniture scraping over the floor and things shuffling around as the hedgehog searched for him. His fox ears stood erect in alertness, twitching at the sounds the other was making, listening keenly to the footfalls to keep track of where Sonic was.

His whole body tensed up as the sounds got louder and louder with each slow and menacing footstep, his persuer sounding like he was moving towards the same desk Tails was using for cover, stopping right next to the cloth covered piece of furniture. Tails froze, his hands not having moved from over his mouth, keeping at bay any more sounds that could be released. He could hear his own heartbeat again, louder than it was ever before and an irrational part of him feared the other would hear it as well, hear it and find him just like that T-Rex sniffed out the people hiding from it in that movie he watched a week ago.

Everything seemed frozen for a few long moments, no movement heard from the other before the footsteps sounded again, getting lighter, as if they had moved away from him. Tails didn't move a muscle, remaining still and silent for what felt like an eternity. After not having heard anymore sounds for quite a while, he let out a soundless breath, allowing himself to somewhat relax.

Deeming it possibly safe to move now that he felt the hedgehog must've left, but still in a state of apprehension, the fox swallowed and encouraged himself to atleast take a look. Bracing himself, he slowly and carefully stepped to his right so he was closer to the edge of the desk, turning his head to spy. Not seeing anything in his angle of view, he dared to move to the edge a bit more to take a proper look, peeking his head out-

Something grabbed him, lightning fast arms latching around him like a snare and lifting him from his hiding spot.

A terrified screech escaped him as he was snatched up before-

"EEEEEE! Hahahahahaha! Soniheheic! Hahahaha! Stahahahap!"

Sonic grinned, holding tight as he tickled the yellow and white ball of fur. "No way, Lil' bro. You've been trying to evade this for far too long."

"Nooohohohoho! Hahahaha!"

Tails twisted and moved, his namesakes lashing around all over the place as he tried to squirm out of the firm hold, laughing and kicking his small legs as he was tickled senseless.

Sonic chuckled, smiling at the adorable squeals and giggles and laughter coming from his adopted brother, continuing the tickle torture for a little while longer before he let up and moved to head out of the room, still holding Tails.

"Bath time."

"No!" Tails yipped, his eyes widened as hearing the name of bath reminded him why he had come to hide in the first place, doubling his efforts and kicking more strongly to escape the hedgehog's hold. His struggling was suddenly cut off as he squealed, instinctively trying to curl up on himself as he was tickled once more, this time on the most sensitive ticklish spot, the exclamations of denial having turned to hearty giggles once again, tears of mirth collecting in his eyes.

After a couple of minutes of tickle torturing him a second time, Sonic eased up, letting his little brother breathe as Tails was momentarily too worn out to put up a fight. He was still giggling between gulps of air afterall.

Adjusting his hold so it was firm enough once again to make sure the other wouldn't slip out (Chaos knew how many times that kid had tricked him and others into letting their guard down around him when it came to these things), he proceeded to carry Tails towards the bathroom, the six year old kit not having taken a proper bath for days, turning his usually smooth fur matted, messy and dirty and now also spotted with clumps of dust bunnies due to hiding in the storage room.

"Dust bunnies too?" Sonic frowned, brushing the clumps off, "It's a miracle you haven't started sneezing by now-"

"Achoo!"

Perhaps it was just catching up to his senses now, or he realized he didn't need to hold them in because Sonic had found him, or he had been reminded of it, but as soon as Sonic had mentioned sneezing, Tails' whole body tensed up for a milisecond just before he sneezed. Then sniffed and sneezed again. Sonic's features fell into a deadpan.

"Spoke too soon," he mumbled, hurrying out of the dusty, dark chamber.


The fox had thankfully stopped sneezing after they were out of the room but as soon as he caught his bearings, he had tried to escape again, switching tactics from struggling to outright trying to fly while still being held, causing Sonic to be airlifted along with a yelp.

"Tails!"

"No bath!"

"Miles Tails Prower, set us down this instance!"


By the time the two finally arrived at the bathroom, Tails was looking even worse than before, sulking as he was draped over Sonic's shoulder, his one shoe missing and his fur completely ruffled up as if he'd been through a scuffle to avoid recapture and failed.

Gently setting the kid down on the tiled floor, Sonic ruffled his head bangs, giving him a meaningful glance.

"Tails, you need to bath."

"No!"

An exasperated sigh was heard, its owner rubbing his temples while a young, two tailed fox kit stubbornly glared up at him with puffed up cheeks and crossed arms.