Thunderstorm: A Sontails Story
by milesprower06
Tails walked next to Sonic, his best friend, his boyfriend, as they made their way down the dirt path towards Amy's house. He thought back to what Sonic told him barely thirty minutes ago.
'What do you think is going to hurt her more... Telling her now, on our terms, or her finding out later, realizing we kept this from her?'
Today was their bi-weekly get-together with Amy and Cream for tea, and he had been worrying about it all week, since he and Sonic had started dating, after the fox had poured his heart out on Valentine's Day. He considered himself the luckiest fox on Mobius when Sonic told him that while he had no idea about these feelings he had harbored, he was willing to see how it went reciprocating them.
There had been a few kisses, and quite a lot of hugs and hand-holding. Tails wasn't honestly wondering how far they would go, and how fast they would get there, because he had been focused on who else would know about them, and when. As they approached Amy's front walk, he knew that the first two or three were coming in the next half-hour.
"Ready, pal?" Sonic asked, looking over to Tails after noticing that the fox's grip on his hand had tightened slightly as they came up to the front door.
"I mean, I am if you are. Like you said, if not now, when?" Tails replied.
Sonic smiled at him.
"That's the spirit, buddy. Now come on." He encouraged him, and they knocked on the front door.
"Coming!" Came a muffled voice from the other side. Sonic felt Tails' hand squeeze his again, and he squeezed back in reassurance, as the door opened and Amy stood there to greet them.
"Hey there! About time you two got here. Come in!" She greeted, immediately stepping aside.
Tails remained on edge, as it appeared that Amy had not noticed them holding hands. But Sonic decided not to push things too much, and released the fox's hand as they stepped into Amy's foyer and den, where Cream and Vanilla were already sitting on the chair in the corner.
"I probably shouldn't keep you guys too long. I'm sure you all want to get home before the storm gets here." Amy said from the kitchen.
"Hey there, Sonic. Hi Tails. How have you two been?" The rabbit asked as they came into the den and sat down together on the sofa.
"Eh, can't complain." Sonic said, shrugging nonchalantly.
Only a few moments later, Amy came out with a silver platter, containing a teapot, teacup, and a large clear glass of iced tea.
"Alright, Sonic, your favorite, iced tea, and Tails, as always, fresh mint tea." Amy told them, setting the platter gently down on the coffee table in front of the sofa, before returning to her seat next to Cream at the end of the table.
"So, I couldn't help but notice you were once again nowhere to be seen last week for Valentine's Day, Sonic. Still not ready to give me a chance?" Amy asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
Sonic noticed Tails shift uncomfortably as he poured the steaming water into his cup, and began dipping the teabag into it.
"What can I say? Other than I was busy. You know me."
"Yeah yeah, always on the move. I know you'll come around eventually." Amy said, proceeding to sip at the her cup of tea.
"So, what's new with you two?" Vanilla said, looking to change the subject before things got more awkward.
"N-not much. Just keeping the Tornado in tiptop shape." Tails said.
"Yeah. Eggman's been pretty quiet lately, but we should be ready for when he's not." Sonic said, taking a drink of his iced tea, glancing at Tails to see how he was doing.
"Tails? Is something wrong?" Cream asked, noticing that the fox was squirming slightly, obviously in discomfort.
"Something wrong with the tea, Tails?" Amy asked.
"No, it's fine." Tails said. He saw Sonic look over at him again, a concerned look on his face.
"Maybe I was up to something on Valentine's Day, Amy." Sonic said, turning to look back at Amy, as he slowly slid his left hand over to Tails' right, taking it in his again, and squeezing gently.
"Oh?" Amy asked.
"Tails and I are... Together, now."
The eyes of the other three occupants of the room widened considerably.
"Together...?" Amy asked, the surprise in her voice growing.
"We're dating." Sonic said, with an air of finality.
"Wow. Congratulations, you two!" Cream exclaimed, with Vanilla nodding in agreement.
Tails managed a small smile as he looked over at the two rabbits, feeling the weight in his stomach lessen slightly.
But where the expressions of Vanilla and her daughter were nothing but smiles, Amy's was more along the lines of stunned disbelief.
"Is... This some kind of a joke?" Amy asked.
"Amy!" Cream replied, turning to her in surprise.
"And if it's not?" Sonic said, letting go of Tails' hand, standing up.
"After all this time? All this time I've waited for you?" Amy asked, setting her teacup down before also getting to her feet, her voice hurt and annoyed.
"Yeah," Sonic said, his anger rising slightly. "All this time I've been running from you, caring for you as a friend but nothing more. If you've been looking for more than friendship, then I'm sorry to say that you're looking in the wrong place."
Sonic's words were firm and final as he stared Amy down.
Amy's lips quivered as she turned towards the stairs.
"You've gotta be kidding me." She said, tearing up, walking briskly upstairs to her bedroom.
She wasn't the only one fighting back tears, as Tails got up, set his teacup on the table, and ran to the front door, his shoulders heaving. He took in a gasping breath as he opened the front door and ran outside.
As soon as Sonic took a step towards the stairs to go after Amy, Vanilla was there to place a hand on his shoulder.
'Sonic," Vanilla said, getting his attention as they heard Amy's bedroom door slam closed. The hedgehog turned to the older rabbit as she gently shook her head at him. "Go after him. I'll talk with her."
Sonic took a breath and nodded at the rabbit, as she let go of his shoulder, and he turned to the open front door, and jogged out after the distraught fox.
"Wait here, sweetheart." Vanilla told Cream, as she steadily ascended the stairs. When she got to the second floor, she took several steps towards the bedroom door, and knocked firmly.
"Go away!" Was Amy's muffled, crying reply.
"I'm leaving, and so is everyone else. I suggest you take the evening to think about what you just did, and what you can do to correct it before you lose some very good, very close friends."
With that, Vanilla turned and went back down the stairs.
"Come on, dear. We're leaving. We'll grab a snack on the way home."
Sonic ran after Tails before he lost him around the bend.
"Tails, wait!" Sonic called.
Tails stopped, his shoulders heaving, and Sonic skidded to a halt right behind him, taking him gently by the shoulders, and turned him around, immediately pulling the distraught fox into a hug.
Sonic felt awful as he embraced his shuddering boyfriend. The worst case scenario that he was afraid of had happened. Maybe it would have been better if they had kept it from their friends for a bit.
No; going into what-ifs would just be making excuses for Amy's behavior. One thing was certain, he was going to be staying away from her for awhile.
"I'm so sorry, pal. I'm sorry." Sonic said, rubbing his back, holding his boyfriend as he cried into his fur.
A brisk breeze started up, rustling tree branches and leaves, and Sonic looked to the horizon, seeing approaching dark clouds, and thunder rumbled in the distance, and he felt Tails shudder in his arms.
"I... I have to get home..." Tails whimpered. Sonic knew how he felt about thunderstorms.
Sonic squeezed him affectionately, and bent down to pick him up in his arms.
"I've got something else in mind, buddy." Sonic told him, making sure the fox was secure in his arms before beginning to speed down the path towards his house, staying ahead of the approaching storm...
