Chapter 8
Learning to Live Again
The rest of the day went by fairly normal with Tails and Cosmo simply taking joy and comfort in the others presence. Eventually however, the sky began to turn a vibrant orange, signifying sunset and the end of the day, so the two began to prepare for bed. While Tails brushed his teeth, he realized one detail he had overlooked.
"With all that's happened today I forgot about the guest room!" he mentally scolded himself. "I can't believe I'm so careless! I still need to fix it up, put a bed in there, a dresser" having finished brushing, he stepped out into the hallway and began to walk to his room. "I mean, I don't mind sharing my bed with Cosmo" his cheeks turned a slight pink "but I don't want to make her uncomfortable" As he thought this he had reached his bedroom and turned the knob to open the door.
Now, Tails was known for being prepared for most things, he made an artificial chaos emerald that just so happened to come in handy on the ARK, and he even built a spacecraft quite some time before he even knew it would have to be used. He was often prepared. What he wasn't prepared for, no, what he never even considered a possibility, was the idea of stepping into his bedroom and catching a glimpse of a beautiful girl changing. To say their faces were red would be an understatement, no it would be more accurate to say that their faces were a deep enough red to make Knuckles look pink. Thankfully another thing Tails was known for was his quick reflexes, without missing a beat, he closed the door in an instant and slumped down against the wall. Holding his face in his hands, he struggled to compose himself. It wasn't working.
"oh nononononono, how could I have been so stupid!? i should have known she would be in there changing! Great job Miles, here you were just a second ago thinking about how you didn't want to make her uncomfortable and you go and walk in on her while shes changing!"
Tails slumped further down, bring his knees close to his chin but still keeping his face hidden in his hands. "what am I going to say now? How can I even face her now? She's probably furious! I-" Just as his thoughts began to become more and more self loathing, he heard Cosmo from within the room.
"Tails, you can come in now"
His head shooting up, he slowly stood up and reached for the door knob.
"well, she didn't sound mad, but, okay Miles take a deep breath and calm down. Let's just go for it" and with that he stepped through the door and found Cosmo sitting at the edge of the bed wearing the green nightgown Vanilla had brought over sometime after everyone had left when it occurred to the two that she didn't have anything to sleep in. "green is definitely her color" he thought.
Daring to look at her, the first thing Tails noticed was that her face still had a rather strong blush evident. The second thing, which brought him some measure of relief, was that she didn't look mad or disgusted or anything. In fact, she appeared relatively composed, though he couldn't be sure if this was to hide her feelings or not.
Finally deciding to speak, Tails spoke in a shaky tone. "um..listen Cosmo, I'm so, so sorry about that. I don't know what I was thinking! I should have knocked first! I didn't mean-"
"Tails" Cosmo stopped him "It's okay. It was an accident, after all its your room and you aren't used to having to knock to enter"
Tails was taken aback by Cosmo's understanding, so much so that he cautiously asked "Really?"
Smiling softly at him, Cosmo replied "of course, I know you would never do something like that on purpose"
Smiling back Tails replied softly "Thank you for being so understanding Cosmo, I don't know how I deserve someone as wonderful as you"
"Tails, don't put yourself down, I've never know a more wonderful person"
Chuckling modestly, Tails then decided to change the subject.
"yeah, well anyway, ready for bed?"
"yes, it's been…quite a day hasn't it?"
Nodding somewhat solemnly, he replied "yeah, it has"
Climbing into bed, the two got comfortable before Tails reached over to turn off the lamp by the bed.
"I'm sorry if us sharing a bed makes you uncomfortable Cosmo, I'll get started on the spare bedroom tomorrow"
Snuggling up close to him Cosmo replied "Don't worry Tails, you don't need to rush besides…I like cuddling with you"
Both once again became flustered and couldn't quite make eye contact, however, both were also smiling affectionately.
"heh thanks, it's nice having you here too" Tails replied awkwardly.
Seconds passed with neither saying a word before Cosmo decided to take the incentive.
"w-well, good night Tails, I love you"
"Good night Cosmo, I love you too"
And with that, the two drifted off to sleep, secured in each others embrace.
The morning sun brought light to Mobius once more, it's golden rays once again shining through the window of Tails' bedroom, albeit much more effectively as he'd parted the curtains more at the request of his seedrian girlfriend. The light having the intended effect, Tails began to open his eyes, adjusting to the light he turned his head to look at Cosmo.
Only to find her absent from the bed.
For a moment he simply assumed she had woken up before him and had gone downstairs to get breakfast started. Being a plant, Cosmo reacted more strongly to the sun than mobians do, thus the sunlight shining through the window would have been more than enough to wake her.
However, the more paranoid side of Tails' personality then decided to rear its ugly head, causing his mind to race.
"What if she's been taken? No doubt Eggman's planning revenge for what I did to him yesterday" Jumping out of bed and making his way to the bedroom door, Tails began to panic more and more before coming to a stop. "No Miles, don't start that again, there's no way Eggman could have taken Cosmo without me hearing. Just calm down and go downstairs, she's probably sitting at the kitchen table waiting for you"
Taking a breath to compose himself, Tails stepped out into the hallway and started for the stairs. However, as he walked his pace began to gradually speed up, by the time he made it to the kitchen he was nearly sprinting. Turning the corner, Tails half expected to be met with the brightening smile of his love, only to find she wasn't there.
"No" Tails whispered, his fear beginning to really take hold.
Making his way to the living room, he prayed he'd find her there, and once more was disappointed when she wasn't.
"no no no no no" he began to hyperventilate.
Then his eye happened to catch sight of the front door, which was unlocked. Rushing over to it and nearly flinging it open, he breathed a sigh of relief to find Cosmo just a ways in the front yard, standing in the sun and basking in its rays.
"Thank Chaos" he muttered before walking over to her.
Hearing her foxy boyfriend approaching, Cosmo turned to him and smiled cheerily. "Good morning Tails, did you sleep well?"
Smiling back, Tails replied "Good morning Cosmo, yes I did, how about you?"
"oh yes, my sleep was very pleasant, your fur is so soft and warm" Cosmo answered, a little heat creeping into her cheeks.
Tails was much the same, thought neither lost their smiles.
"I'm..glad to hear it, I take it you've been enjoying the sunlight?"
"yes, when I first arrived here, I didn't get much time to enjoy it since we had to hurry to fight the metarex. That and I was much to concerned with returning the planet egg"
At this, Cosmo's demeanor saddened slightly, ghosts of old wounds and past traumas showing themselves in her expression. Seeing this, Tails quickly spoke up to comfort her.
"Well, now there are no more metarex and no need to go off into space, so now you can enjoy the sunlight as much as you want. And I'll be there with you, always"
This seemed to work, as Cosmo brightened up and smiled at him again.
"you're so sweet, yes you're right, we don't have to worry about them anymore and we can live together in peace, just like we wanted"
"That's right" Tails said nodding "you promised after it was all over you'd come live with us on Mobius, and here you are"
"Yes, I'm sorry it took so long to keep that promise Tails"
"Don't be, you kept your promise in the end and that's all that matters"
The two stood side by side silently for a moment, before Tails spoke up.
"So! How about we head inside and I make us some breakfast?"
"I'd like that" Cosmo replied sweetly.
Later that afternoon, Tails and Cosmo had decided to venture into the city, both so they could buy some clothes for Cosmo and also because Tails wanted to show her more of the planet.
Making their way into the city square, Tails and Cosmo quickly became aware of the glances they were receiving. Not glares or distrustful stares, just glances, as if the people looking at them had merely had their attention drawn to Cosmo out of simple curiosity. While they were both relieved that no one was looking at them with disdain, Cosmo nonetheless held Tails close and Tails focused his gaze in a calm but determined way as if to make it clear any potential troublemakers would regret antagonizing them.
"I guess this was to be expected, at least they don't appear to be acting hostile towards her, she's done more than enough to earn their respect. Heck, if it weren't for her they'd all be dead! I just hope no one tries anything, she's been through enough" Tails thought to himself as he and Cosmo walked towards a shopping center, all the while he kept glancing in every direction just in case.
"I know I'm different, I mean, everyone here is an animal except for me. And I know that Gana on marmolim said there are very few places in the universe where plants and animals live in peace. But I don't want to hurt anyone! And Tails and I are not only proof that plants and animals can live in peace, they can even love each other…I hope I can fit in here. At least I have Tails to help me" Cosmo continued to worry as she drew even closer to Tails. She couldn't help but wonder if they were acting passive because they genuinely didn't care or if it was because of Tails, his reputation as a hero and her being with him vouching for her. Whichever the case, the two shrugged it off as they entered the shopping center and made their way to the clothing store.
All the while Cosmo was in awe, she'd seen a few cities of a sort during the metarex war, but they were always relatively small or in ruins. Here on Mobius, the cities were massive, gleaming. The lights, the sounds, the many different points of interest all had her enraptured. Upon entering the store, she was amazed at all the different articles of clothing before her. She herself only possessing two pairs of the same clothing, one serving as a spare, she'd never even thought of having many different ones even after traveling with Amy.
"Okay, so then, I guess we shoul-" Tails began to say when he was suddenly interrupted by familiar voice.
"Tails! Cosmo!" Amy greeted enthusiastically as she came running up to them.
"Hi Amy, I would say I didn't expect to run into you here, but then I'd be lying" Tails teased smirking slightly.
"oh ha ha fox boy, and how are you Cosmo?"
Politely bowing, Cosmo replied "Hello Amy, I'm doing well, I wanted to see the city and Tails thought we should buy me some clothes so here we are"
"Clothes shopping? With Tails?" Amy asked in feigned shock…or genuine, it was always hard to tell with her.
"Hey! Just because I only wear socks and gloves doesn't mean I don't know how to shop for clothes!" Tails replied somewhat defensively.
"Oh hush, if anyone should be helping Cosmo shop for clothes, it should be someone with great fashion sense, someone like, say, me!" Amy boasted as she walked up and grabbed Cosmo by the wrist, beginning to pull her further into the store.
Looking at the pink hedgehog nervously and gently trying to pull away to no avail, Cosmo pleaded modestly. "Really Amy, you don't have to do that…you were probably shopping yourself when we arrived..um, we wouldn't want to bother you"
"Nonsense Cosmo! I'm always happy to help a friend look their best" Amy answered, still not stopping nor looking back at the pleading seedrian.
Leaning forward, Tails whispered softly "Sorry Cosmo, once Amy gets set on something, she won't stop. Seems we'll just have to go with her for now"
And so the trek began, Amy pulling Cosmo along and Tails just behind them, offering comfort to the perplexed seedrian. Finally, after what amounted to three hours (though for the unfortunate couple seemed like three days) Amy decided they had bought enough, much to the relief of her two hostages. Looking at the towering stack of clothing Amy had picked out for Cosmo and insisted they buy, Tails was immensely relieved that she had further insisted on paying for everything herself.
As they began to walk out of the last clothing store however, Amy suddenly gasped dramatically and yanked Cosmo back inside, doing so so quickly Tails had barely had time to see which way they had went.
"So near and yet so far" he muttered under his breath, sighing heavily and carrying the huge group of bags with him as he followed after.
"Seriously, with how much I'm carrying, by the end of the day I'll probably be as strong as Knuckles" he thought to himself as he came upon the changing booth Amy had taken Cosmo to.
Peeking her head out, Amy quickly noticed him.
"oh good you found us, you gotta see this one, I think you'll really like it!" and before Tails could reply she ducked back in and lightly (for her) nudged Cosmo out who was looking more than a little nervous.
Tails' jaw dropped, Cosmo was wearing a light green sun dress with fitting floral patterns throughout and a matching sun hat. Looking her over, he couldn't help but notice how perfectly the dress complimented her petite figure, plus the color served to match with her green hair making her practically glow.
He had to give Amy credit, she knew what she was doing.
He was then pulled from his awestruck admiration for the beauty in front of him when said beauty nervously spoke.
"So..d-do you like it? Does it look okay?" Cosmo asked looking away slightly.
After a few seconds of struggling to form words, Tails managed to choke out.
"y-you look amazing C-Cosmo…so beautiful"
Both blushed furiously, though Cosmo was smiling, though they blushed even more when they heard Amy snicker.
"Told you you'd like it, now then, I think that;s enough for now. Let me just pay for that and we'll move on." As Amy moved onward, she just missed Tails muttering "Finally" before quickly taking note of whether or not she heard him.
Moving out of the last store, Tails, Cosmo and Amy walked into the center plaza, Amy departing with a brief (and vague) explanation, though Tails had an idea of why she was in such a hurry to go given her amusement at his and Cosmo's nervous behavior.
Sitting near the grand fountain in the center of the plaza, the two rested a moment before turning their attention to each other.
"I know Amy likes to be generous with friends, but I really wish she'd be less…eager to buy me so many clothes" Cosmo said as she eyed the numerous bags they had with them.
"I know, I was beginning to think we'd never be done. I suppose it's just her way of making up for lost time." Tails replied, leaning back a bit to extend his legs so as to rest his feet better.
"You mean because she had wanted to take me shopping when we got back? I feel so bad for her…and Cream. And Especially you. If I'd never left in the first place…" She continued as her head sank lower and lower in self deprecating shame.
"Hey hey, don't blame yourself for that, you couldn't help what happened anymore than I could have. And besides, technically you didn't leave, you were the seed. It just took a bit for you to be restored that's all"
"I suppose so…I just hope I can make it up to everyone"
Reaching over, Tails placed a hand over Cosmo's.
"You don't need to make up for anything. You saved us all, not just us but the entire universe! We owe you everything."
Smiling modestly, Cosmo looked up into Tails' eyes, hers reflecting the admiration and love they shared.
"Tails..you don't owe me anything, all I ever wanted for you is to be happy, even if I hadn't returned it's all I would've wanted no matter where or with who you did"
"But Cosmo, I did find happiness, I found it with you. You're the only one I will ever or could ever love. Nothing will ever change that."
Rendered somewhat at a loss for words at Tails' passionate words, all Cosmo could say was "Well, if I'm the one that makes you happy then I couldn't be happier myself"
Sitting in silence for a moment, the fox and the seedrian simply stared into each others eyes, taking pleasure in each others presence. Slowly however they began to inch closer and closer until their lips locked in a loving kiss.
Sure, they were probably being stared at from afar by the ignorant or the uncouth, but neither cared nor acknowledged this, all that mattered was each other.
Parting with smiles on their faces, they sat in silence for a moment before Tails stood.
"I just remembered something, there's something I wanted to give you. I got it while Amy had you trying on clothes, I hope you like it."
Reaching into the fluff of one of his tails, he pulled out a small turquoise box before flipping it open so she could see, her eyes widening and a small gasp escaping her. Within was a small crimson amulet somewhat similar to the one she'd on before, there were small differences of course. For one, the color was slightly brighter, it was a bit more clear and instead of oval shaped it was shaped like a chaos emerald.
"Tails..it's-it's beautiful! Thank you so much!"
Placing the amulet on her chest where her previous one had been, she found it fit perfectly, before quickly wrapping Tails in a loving embrace.
"I figured you might like to have a replacement considering, and well the chaos emerald shape seemed…poetic?"
Drawing back though still keeping close and holding him in her arms, Cosmo replied "You are just wonderful Miles Prower"
"Not as wonderful as you, my precious flower"
As the two began to make their way home, their cheery demeanor remained strong, their conversation being littered with occasional giggles and constant smiles. For them, everything was perfect, their fear of prejudice completely forgotten and neither worrying about a thing. As they left the city limits though, neither noticed they were being watched not from around them, but high above on a rooftop.
The figure kept pace with them for as long as there was high enough elevation to avoid detection by them or anyone else in the city. It's gaze focused on the emerald shaped amulet on Cosmo's chest for most of it's observation. However as they traveled far enough until they were in a more open environment with nothing tall for the figure to hide on, it shifted it's gaze to the two-tailed fox who looked happier than he'd been in a long time. Staring intensely at him, it clutched it's clawed fists. It would be no trouble at all to simply take them now, keeping up with them hadn't been a problem, it could keep up with anyone on Mobius, it could even attack them and be gone before anyone knew it'd been there. No, no hasty actions this time, no miscalculations. This time all variables would be considered and planned for, this time all the the so-called "heroes" would contribute unknowingly to the plan. This time he would prove his superiority, staring with the fox. His cold, almost demonic eyes still fixated on said fox, he stood for a moment more before his eyes glowed red briefly before he turned and headed in the opposite direction.
"Miles Prower data, successfully copied"
Surprise! I'm back to work on this story as promised and I come with a big character entry into the story! Seems a certain enemy has returned with a new scheme with new focus. I sincerely hope this chapter turned out good, I wasn't really sure about it to be honest. In any case, I hope you liked it and I'll see you next chapter. See ya!