Levitating Love
Programming note before we begin: Tails is 15 years old in this fanfic. Sonic and Silver are 16. Also, this is my first attempt at a romantic piece and is a semi-crackfic. I'd love to hear your thoughts! As to how this story came to be…well, I'll save that explanation for the afterword. :P
The microwave timer went off in the modest kitchen of Miles "Tails" Prower, the orange, two-tailed fox who served as the trusted sidekick of the world-famous Sonic the Hedgehog. On this particular night, though, he wasn't fighting alongside his adoptive brother to stop the evil Dr. Eggman from world domination. He wasn't even tinkering with his signature Tornado biplane, one of his favorite pastimes.
At this moment, he was preparing a special roast.
The young kitsune turned off the timer and slipped his hands into oversized oven mitts before opening the oven door and pulling out the rack. He observed the dark-brown duck simmering within. Licking his chops, the young fox pulled it out of the oven and placed it on a cooling rack on the counter. Inserting a cooking thermometer at multiple points, he determined the roast was fully cooked.
"This duck will be positively delicious!" Tails exclaimed as he pumped his fists. "I'm sure Sonic and Silver will enjoy it!"
"I'm sure we will!" Spinning around, the orange fox noticed the presence of his older brother leaning against the nearby kitchen counter. Sonic smirked with folded arms.
"Hey Sonic!" Tails said with a smile. "How was your run?"
"Eh, the usual." The blue hedgehog waved his arms. "Still fun, though. Nothin' beats the thrill of runnin' at supersonic speeds!"
"Yeah, yeah." Tails chuckled as he closed the oven door, removed his mitts, and turned off the oven. "Haven't heard that before."
"Doesn't make it any less true!" Sonic smirked.
"Yeah, I suppose." Tails reached up to open the cupboard. "Wanna help me set the table?"
"Sure thing, bud!" The two grabbed three sets of plates, cups, forks, knives, and napkins, placing them at designated spots on the small kitchen table. "So how long's it been since Silver stopped by?"
"Oh, golly…" Tails raised a gloved finger to his chin as he set the last fork on its respective folded napkin. "About six months now. His future hasn't been doomed for quite some time, so he only stops by to visit now and again."
"And he's stayin' for a whole two weeks?" Sonic asked as he sat down and crossed one leg over the other.
"Yep!" Tails gave his older brother a thumbs up. "I have the spare bedroom set up and everything. He'll feel right at home!"
"No doubt about that!" The blue hedgehog returned his thumbs up with his own.
Buzz! Buzz!
"Speak of the devil!" Sonic exclaimed.
"I'll get it!" Tails walked to the front door and opened it, revealing the grey hedgehog standing outside.
"Hey Tails! How's it going?"
"It's going well!" Tails opened the door wider and stepped out of the way. "C'mon in! How was the trip?"
"Nothing special, really." Silver shrugged. "You know how it is…I use my powers to travel back to the past and arrive on Angel Island. Good thing you warned Knuckles this time!"
"Yeah, we certainly learned our lesson." Tails chuckled as he raised a hand behind his head, remembering the fright, and subsequent fistfight, Silver's last visit caused the short-tempered red echidna who was guarding the large, mystical gem. "I only wish I had a better understanding of how you can time travel at will," the orange kitsune fluttered his twin namesakes from behind, "and your telekinesis powers are so cool!"
"Thanks, buddy." Silver's face turned red as he giggled softly and ran a hand through his long, waving quills. "You think it's cool, huh?"
"Are you kidding?" Tails exclaimed, balling his hands into fists. "I'd kill to be able to use my mind like that! And the ability to travel through time? It's beyond my comprehension!"
"You know," Silver replied, eyeing the fox intently. "You're pretty cool yourself."
"Really?" The young fox's tail flutters intensified.
"Of course!" Silver pointed to his namesakes. "Who else do I know who can fly like a helicopter? Or think like a fluffy computer?" Tails cracked a smol smile as his own face turned crimson. He grabbed hold of a single namesake and gently ran his fingers through it.
"I'm not that special…"
"Don't belittle yourself, Tails." Silver placed a hand on the young fox's shoulder. "You're very special."
"Silver…" The orange kitsune's eyes began to glisten, caught off-guard by the seemingly random praise. "I don't know what to say."
"I know what ya can say!" called Sonic from the kitchen. "You can say 'Let's eat!' C'mon, the food's gettin' cold!"
"Oh," Tails wagged his head before drying his eyes with his furry arm. "Coming, Sonic!"
"Is that duck I smell?" Silver asked as he followed the young fox while sniffing the air.
"Of course! It's my secret recipe!"
"Didn't you find the recipe online?" Sonic asked, raising his brow as he brought a finger to his chin.
"Shhhhh…" Tails placed a finger to his lips as he gave his older brother a faux-angry stare. "What are you talking about? This is a purely genuine, one-of-a-kind, ol' family recipe!" The three companions laughed as Sonic and Silver took their seats and Tails uncorked a bottle of non-alcoholic sparkling apple cider. Pouring it into the glasses stationed next to each of their plates, the orange fox brought the duck to the center of the table, cut several slices with his electric knife, and served the others before helping himself to a generous serving.
The sound of flickys chirping through the open window filled the spare bedroom occupied by the sleeping grey hedgehog. Tired from his journey, Silver retired to bed shortly after the trio finished dinner the prior evening, and with the sun just starting to rise over the oceanic horizon, Silver slowly opened his eyes.
"Ahhhhh!"
The grey hedgehog pushed himself back to the wall in fright as he pulled the comforter over his head, protecting himself against the looming figure watching him from the bedside. Shaking for several moments, he finally peeked a single eye out from his blanket to reveal the orange kitsune smiling from above.
"…Tails?"
"Morning, sunshine!" Tails' UwU game was strong, smiling widely at the future boi with his hands against his hips. "I have something to show you!" Silver yawned into his gloved hand after his heartrate returned to normal.
"Can it wait?" Yawning once more, he pulled himself up and sat along the edge before slipping on his boots. "Maybe after breakfast?"
"Sonic's making breakfast as we speak!" Tails gave a thumbs up. "I wanted to show you something before we eat."
Silver was about to lift himself up when Tails' namesakes wrapped themselves around his waist.
"Woah, what are you doing, Tails?" Silver wagged his arms, enamored by the surprising dexterity and ambidextrousness of the orange kitsune's twin floofers.
"I'm the one who rudely frightened you out of your sleep." Tails smiled back at the surprised hedgehog while scratching the back of his head. "It's only fair that you get to be taxied around by yours truly." Silver relaxed himself, resting his arms along Tails' soft namesakes.
"If you say so…" Silver mindlessly ran his gloved fingers through the fox's fur floof, sending a chill up Tails' spine and a shade of red over his muzzle.
"Did you…just pet me?" Tails looked back in confusion, one eye raised higher than the other.
"What, me?" Silver met Tails' gaze. "No, no, no…I was just…not petting you." Silver met Tails' blush with his own.
"Not a big deal." Tails waved his arm as he marched out of the bedroom. "Sometimes I'm surprised at my own floof, too! Here…" Planting his feet against the wood floor, Tails positioned his namesakes so that Silver was within centimeters of his shoulders. "Ride on my back so I can give you a piggyback ride."
"What? Why?"
"It sounds fun."
The grey hedgehog simply couldn't turn down the orange kitsune's cute request.
"…Oh, all right."
"Yay!" Giggling to himself, the young kitsune placed Silver on his shoulders. The hedgehog's legs dangled against his furry chest as his hands rested comfortably between Tails' triangular ears.
"To the workshop!" Tails exclaimed as he pointed forward. He took careful strides down the stairs. Just as he was about to open the door to the adjoining workshop, a voice stopped him.
"What are you doing?" asked the blue hedgehog resting against the adjacent wall with his arms crossed.
"Oh, us?" Tails pointed a single finger to his face.
"No, the president of the United Federation of States…of course you!" Sonic itched the base of his black nose as he smirked at his younger brother.
"We're just taking a stroll to my lab. I've got something to show him." Tails pointed up at the grey hedgehog who looked utterly embarrassed, smiling awkwardly at his blue counterpart below.
"I got that," Sonic placed his hands against his hips," but why is he up there? You realize he can walk, right?"
"I know," Tails replied, looking away with a slight blush over his muzzle, "I just thought it would be fun is all." As he finished his explanation, a timer went off in the nearby kitchen.
"Ahh," Sonic raised his nose to the air to sniff the breakfast cooking in the oven. "The breakfast bake is done! It'll just take a few minutes to cool off, so be back soon!"
"Okay, mother," Tails replied with brotherly sarcasm as he turned the door handle. Silver ducked his head to avoid a collision with the frame.
Turning on the lights of the large workshop, the orange kitsune knelt down, giving Silver the opportunity to hop off his shoulders.
"C'mon!" Tails waved his arm, beckoning him to follow. "It's just up here."
"Coming!" Silver followed him deeper into the workshop.
"Tada!" Tails gestured his arm toward a large glass tube connected to several computer units.
"What…is it?" Silver walked around its perimeter, running his hand around its cylindrical side.
"I don't have a name for it yet," Tails tapped his index fingers against each other as he looked away, "but I was thinking you could maybe…test it for me?"
"And what will I be testing?" Silver folded his arms over his chest.
"You know those awesome powers you have? Well, at one point, you mentioned how telekinesis is fairly common 200 years in the future but that the Mobian population you grew up with haven't discovered the reason behind their short-term radical evolution."
"Correct," Silver ran a hand through his quills, "but what does that have anything to do with me?"
"Everything," Tails replied, placing a gloved hand against the grey hedgehog's shoulder. "By analyzing your powers in real-time, I hope to uncover the science behind these traits, maybe even find practical applications for us normies."
"Fair enough." Silver gave the fox a thumbs up. "I can help ya, just tell me what to do."
"Just stand in that tube right there." Tails opened the glass door and waved his arm toward the entrance."
"All right." Shrugging his shoulders, the grey hedgehog entered the tube, followed by Tails close behind. Silver watched as the orange kitsune entered a command on the machine's module which retracted a set of wires from the ceiling. Tails affixed the suction cup ends around Silver's body, placing one against his forehead, two across his slightly-chonky belly, one on either elbow, one on each ankle, and one against his back.
"Are you comfortable, Silver?" Tails gave the perplexed hedgehog a once over with arms crossed.
"I…guess?" He cracked his neck and stretched his arms. "Okay, let's do this!"
"Cool-a-mundo." Giving Silver a thumbs up, the young fox stepped out of the tube and closed the glass door before approaching a nearby computer terminal. "All right, test one. Silver, I want you to levitate for me." Giving Tails a thumbs up of his own, Silver planted his feet against the floor and balled his hands into fists. Gritting his teeth, he jumped up, allowing his telekinetic powers to keep him afloat, bobbing up and down gently.
"It's working! It's working! It's really, really working!" Tails jumped up in celebration as he pumped his fists into the air.
"What's working?" Silver asked, now several feet higher than the excited fox boi. Tails pointed to his large, octuple monitor set-up. Some of the screens displayed seemingly random strings of numbers, whereas other monitors depicted line graphs updating in real-time.
"It's sorta complicated, but essentially, I programmed my software to detect telekinetic energy and quantify it in numerical form. I haven't been able to test it until now, though." Tails fluttered his namesakes as he giggled in excitement. "But thanks to you, I know it's working!" Silver descended back to the floor as the orange kitsune opened the glass door and gave him a hug. "You're the best!"
"Ummm…thank you?" Silver awkwardly rubbed the young fox's back. "So…what are you going to use this research for again?"
"Just think," Tails replied, gently pulling himself away from Silver's floof and turning around, "if we could harness the powers of telekinesis, it would radically change the world. It would make manual labor much safer, make life more accessible for those with disabilities, and make basic tasks much more convenient." Tails turned back to the grey hedgehog with a finger pointed up. "But what excites me the most is the thrill of scientific advancement. We never know where science will take us next, and most of the fun is in discovery!"
"Aren't you afraid someone with bad intentions will use this technology for evil?"
"That's always an inevitability," Tails rubbed the base of his nose, not unlike his older brother, "but at the end of the day, the good guys must continue innovating and use our science for good. Only then will we triumph over evil, as we've done time and time again."
Ding! You've got data!
"Ooooh, the first set of data is processed!" The orange kitsune jumped to his computer and analyzed the various tables and charts populated from Silver's stream of telekinetic data. Smiling widely, he turned back to the grey hedgehog. "All right, Silver, ready for the second test?"
"Sure am!" He gave the young fox another thumbs up.
"You see those large boxes over there?" Tails pointed to the metal crates with a large star across each side. "I want you to stack them on top of each other."
"That's it? Pshhh…" He waved his arms. "Child's play." Exhaling gently, and bending his knees, Silver raised his arms and wagged his fingers in tandem, sending his invisible telekinetic energy toward the inanimate objects. Pulling his arms upward, he levitated one of the boxes and placed it on top of another. He repeated this ritual several times.
Peering over at his monitors once more, Tails fluttered his namesakes at the sight of more data running through his program.
"Okay, Silver, now just unstack the crates, and we'll head to breakfast."
"Ah geez, it's about time. I'm starving!" Rubbing one hand on his belly as it gurgled, the grey hedgehog used his other palm to carefully place each of the boxes back on the ground. As soon as his mission was complete, Tails saved the data onto his hard drive, opened the glass door, and removed the wires across Silver's body.
"This has been super helpful," Tails said as he pulled the last remaining suction cup from the hedgehog's belly. "How do you feel? Were the tests draining? Did the wires hurt at all?"
"Good, no, and no." Silver replied, rustling Tails' hair. "It was actually a good morning workout!" As the two laughed, they heard Sonic's voice from the workshop entryway.
"C'mon, kids, breakfast is gettin' cold!"
"You're like…only a year older than me!" Tails retorted before blowing the blue hedgehog a raspberry.
"If you don't get up here soon, I'll just have to eat it all myself! I could add a few extra pounds." Sonic left the two alone, returning to the kitchen to set the table.
"Tails?" Silver asked as they were about to make their way out of the workshop. Tails turned around to face him.
"Yeah?"
"I just wanted to let you know that…" Silver stared off toward the corner of the workshop as he ran a hand through his quills, a blush along his muzzle. "…what you're doing here…it's really great. I'm glad to be helping out such a kind, caring, altruistic guy like you."
"Silver…" Tails' eyes began to glisten as he slowly approached the grey hedgehog before diving into his furry chest, hugging him tightly as tears poured down his face and into Silver's fur. "That means the world to me, hearing that from you." The shorter fox peered up at the taller hedgehog with a smile on his face, wiping his nose with his arm before resting his cheek against his chest once more.
"Hey guys, last warn—" Sonic froze at the door as he watched the teary scene unfold. "…I'll just be…checkin' on the food." He zoomed out just as fast as he came in. Looking at each other, Silver and Tails exchanged laughter before the young fox grabbed hold of the grey hedgehog's palm and used it to wipe his face.
"H-hey, what are you doing?"
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm drying my tears!" Tails giggled as he pressed his palm against his other eye.
"But…why not use your hands?" Silver asked, gesturing with his free palm.
"Because I'd get them all wet, dummy." Tails stuck his tongue out at the baffled hedgehog. "Now c'mon! Sonic's serious about eating all the food! Believe me…he's done it before."
"R…right…" Silver watched as the orange kitsune stepped out of the workshop. Alone with his thoughts, he folded his arms and closed his eyes. "Do I like him?" He blushed at the thought. "No…but what if yes?" He raised a gloved finger to his chin in thought. "How does Tails feel, though?"
"Last chance, slowpoke!" Tails jeered from the workshop door. "I'll lock you in if you don't get your butt over here!"
"Coming!" Clearing his throat, the grey hedgehog made his way back through the doorway and joined Sonic and Tails for a scrumptious, hardy breakfast.
Silver had a lot on his mind in the three days following Tails' data collection experiment. The trio did spend quite a bit of time outside of the house, going to a theme park, bowling at Station Square, and getting into some good ol' fashion sparring sessions, but when Silver was given time to himself, he thought of the orange kitsune.
As he walked along a trail leading out from the workshop abode into a neighboring zone, the grey hedgehog stumbled across a field of white flowers. Eyeing them with starry eyes, his face turned red, and he clasped his hands like an anime schoolgirl, at the thought of presenting a bouquet to the young kitsune. Wasting no time at all, the hedgeboi knelt down and slowly crawled along the patches of flowers, careful not to crush any beyond repair as he scanned the area for the perfect specimens.
Plucking the first one from the grass below, he buried his nose into its petals before analyzing the plant intently to determine if it was just right for his crush. Nodding his head, he put the flower between his quills before crawling around for the next one, eventually gathering a few dozen.
"Just one more and—" Silver retracted his hand as he felt not the soft grass below, but, rather, a white glove similar to his own against the ground. Gasping, the grey hedgehog looked up to find Tails within centimeters of his face, crawling around the flower patch just like him.
"Silver! W-what…are you doing here?" Tails stumbled over his words, averting his eyes as a shade of red covered his muzzle.
"Ohh…" Silver pulled himself up and itched the back of his head. "I just tripped is all…" Tails got up and patted the dirt from his ankles before observing Silver's quills.
"Are those…flowers?" Tails approached the grey hedgehog and reached up, plucking a flower from between his quills.
"Yeah…" Silver noticed the orange fox's namesakes fluttering behind him, flowers of his own protruding from his fluff. Curious, he reached behind the young kitsune and plucked out a similar white flower. "You picking flowers too?"
"Ummm…" Tails scratched behind his ears, and he looked away awkwardly. "Yeah…I guess you could say that." The two stood in silence for several moments, unable to maintain eye contact. Finally, the grey hedgehog cleared his throat as he turned around.
"Well, I best be heading back to the house."
"Wait!" Tails grabbed hold of Silver's dirty gloved hand. The hedgehog spun around.
"What is it?"
"You forgot something…" Silver froze as the orange kitsune reached his hand up and placed the stem of the flower between his quill and his ear. "There! Perfect!" Tails clasped his hands and raised one foot toward his namesakes like an excited fan girl, his UwU face back for an encore.
"Thanks…" Silver brushed his hands between his quills, causing a different flower to fall to the grassy path below. The grey hedgehog and the orange fox reached down to pick it up at the same time, their hands reaching the intended destination at the same time. Gasping, the two pulled away quickly, their faces crimson as they stared into each other's eyes. After several moments, Tails smiled, turned around, and walked away, giving the grey hedgehog a farewell handwave from behind before revving up his rotary namesakes and flying off like a fluffy helicopter. Miraculously, the flowers tucked into his tails didn't come out.
Silver watched as the prodigious kitsune slowly disappeared into the distance. Turning around, he walked back to the workshop, more confused than ever.
"Silver!" Tails dove through the door separating the workshop from the abode and jumped on the sofa cushion adjacent to the grey hedgehog, who was sleeping with a footrest pulled up and a josei manga covering his face.
Lifting his head, the comic falling to his lap, Silver slowly opened his eyes to see the ecstatic fox kneeling on the cushion at his side and staring at him.
"What is it?" he said as he rubbed his eyes.
"I have a surprise for youuuuu." Tails giggled, holding his hands behind his back. "Are you excited?"
"I…guess?" Silver cocked his neck. "So what's the big surprise?"
With a smirk across his face, Tails revealed a gun-like contraption with a dish at the end.
"Using the data we collected earlier, I was able to convert the telekinetic energy so anyone could use it." Tails placed the device in Silver's hands. He studied it intently. "All you have to do is aim at a nearby object, press down on the trigger, and use the joystick at the top to maneuver the item wherever you'd like! Pretty cool, huh?" The grey hedgehog peered up at the ecstatic fox, who was on the edge of his seat, leaning forward in anticipation for his reaction.
"Yeah! It looks simple enough." Silver turned his attention back to the gun, analyzing its workmanship. "I'm impressed you built this in less than a week! Then again," he rustled the fox's hair, "maybe I shouldn't be so surprised."
"Hehe, I guess." Tails rubbed the back of his head as a blush appeared across his muzzle. He turned his attention back to the hedgeboi. "Hey, you wanna give it a shot?"
"Me?" Silver pointed a gloved finger to his chest. "Why me? I already have telekinetic powers, remember?"
"Which makes you the perfect beta tester!" Tails crossed his arms. "You have true, all-natural, authentic telepathic capabilities, so you can provide a genuine comparison between true telekinesis and simulated telekinesis."
"I guess that makes sense…" Silver scratched his chin. "Sure, I can try it. What should I lift first?" Tails looked around until he found the ideal first target.
"How about this?" The young fox picked up Silver's josei and threw it across the living room.
"No! My manga!" Silver poggered as he raised an outstretched hand, ready to bring it back with his mind. Tails grabbed his arm.
"No, Silver!" The orange fox shook his head. "Try using the gun first!"
"Oh, right." Grabbing the device with his right hand, he carefully aimed at the Japanese comic book and pressed down on the trigger. A radiating blue aura connected the nozzle of the gun with the book. "Woah…" Tilting the device slightly up, the comic floated in tandem.
"Now just use the joystick to bring it back to you." Tails watched closely as Silver tilted the stick with his left hand. The book floated back to the duo until it was within inches of them, levitating over the coffee table. Finally, Silver released the trigger, causing the book to fall.
"Hey, this is pretty cool! I wonder what else I could grab…" Pondering for a few moments, an idea popped into his head. Smirking, he stared at Tails from the other end of the sofa.
"Silver…what are you doing?" Tails slowly crawled backward to the opposing armrest.
"Just experimenting with your new toy. That's what you wanted, right?" Chuckling under his breath, he aimed the contraption at the helpless fox and squeezed the trigger.
"Wait, don't—" Tails froze with a single arm sticking out as he began to float in place, a light blue aura surrounding him. He was unable to move his arms, legs, or namesakes. "Put. Me. Down!"
"Ohh, I don't think so." Giggling profusely, Silver lay down on the sofa and tilted the joystick, bringing the orange fox directly above him.
"I'm warning you, if you don't switch off that device, you're gonna get it!" He grinded his teeth, and tightened his facial muscles, as he tried with all his might to break free from the technological spell.
"You want me to turn it off?" Silver jeered. "You want it that badly?"
"Yes!" Tails shouted.
"…okay then." With a shrug, the grey hedgehog released the trigger, causing Tails to fall on top of him, face planting against his thicc chest floof.
"Are you okay, Tails?"
Pulling his head up, Tails stared into Silver's eyes.
"Yeah…" The two looked at each other awkwardly as their faces flushed once more. Finally, Tails pulled himself off the grey hedgehog, stood up, and stretched his arms. "At least now I know this baby works on organic matter."
"Wait…you didn't test it on anything living yet?" Silver asked as he sat up on the sofa.
"Nope!" Tails itched the base of his nose. "But I figured it'd work. I wasn't scared at all."
"Riiiiight." Silver gave a sly grin as he folded his arms and crossed one leg over the other. "Suuure you weren't!"
"I so wasn't!" Tails filled his cheeks with warm air as he placed his hands on his hips and leaned forward slightly, giving the hedgeboi a judgmental stare.
"You can believe whatever you want. I know the truth." Silver grinned at the young fox.
"Whatever…" Tails shrugged his shoulders. "Imma go get us something to drink." As he walked past the cocky hedgehog, he slapped his face with a single ambidextrous namesake.
"Owww!" Silver placed a palm over his red cheek as the fox walked away, giving him a playful middle finger as he departed. The grey hedgehog wasn't mad, though. In fact, quite the opposite: he was profoundly happy for reasons unexplained. All he could do was lean back across the sofa once more, resting his hands under his head as he stared at the ceiling fan above, smiling gently.
A minute later, Tails came back to the sight of Silver daydreaming.
"Hello?" The orange kitsune waved his gloved palm over his face.
"Huh, whut?" Silver shook his head and brought his focus to the young fox.
"I brought something for us." In one hand was a tall, empty glass containing two spiral straws, and the other held a large jug of choccy milk. "All our other dishes are dirty, so I guess we'll have to share."
"That's fine." Silver gave the fox boi a warm smile as he sat up, causing Tails to blush. "Want me to do the honors?"
"Sure." Tails placed the items on the coffee table and sat close to the grey hedgehog. Silver lifted his arms and maneuvered his fingers, unscrewing the milk carton's plastic lid with his telekinesis. As it fell to the table below, Silver lifted the jug and slowly poured it into the cup, stopping when it was nearly full to the brim. Finally, he set the container down and screwed the cap back on.
"Show off!" Tails jeered, giving Silver a playful punch to the shoulder before cuddling against his side. "You wanna bring that cup over here, too?" Nodding with a simple grunt, Silver lifted the cup with his mind and levitated it so that it remained floating in front of the two Mobians.
"We won't even need a cup holder!" Silver exclaimed. Laughing together, the two took a long, simultaneous sip of the choccy milk.
"Hey, you have a milk moustache." Tails giggled. "How did you even manage that with a straw?"
"You try drinking and levitating!" Before he could argue further, Tails brought his gloved thumb to the hedgeboi's lips and cleared the excess milk away, wiping it against his furry leg. Silver blushed profusely.
"Thanks…"
Tails giggled as he returned to his side, his head resting against Silver's own as they took another long sip of the beverage.
"Do you think…the levitating device…do you think it'll do good?" Tails peered up at the grey hedgehog above.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I was thinking about what you said earlier," Tails' eyes wandered to the coffee table, "and…I just can't shake the feeling that it could be used for evil, ya know?"
"I won't sugarcoat it," Silver nodded, "when new inventions come to be, there will be unintended consequences. Thousands of Mobians have died from car crashes, but do we blame the inventor of the automobile?"
"Well…" Tails brought a gloved finger to his chin. "No…I suppose not."
"And just think of all the good it'll do!" Silver ran a gloved hand over Tails' bangs and down the back of his head. "Even if some people do wrong with your tech, the good will outweigh it." The young fox cuddled in closer to Silver's side as he allowed his eyes to droop. "And if the bad guys try to harness your invention, we can stop 'em. You're the most intelligent guy I know, so I can't imagine a situation where you'd be outsmarted by your own technology." Silver took another sip of the beverage as he peered down at the orange fox, who was now sleeping peacefully against his side. Chuckling to himself, he levitated the nearly empty glass back to the table and wrapped his arm around Tails' shoulders, drawing him in to snuggle even closer.
Without thinking, Silver slowly approached Tails' forehead and planted a gentle kiss. Pulling away, he blushed a deep shade of crimson as the orange fox opened his eyes.
"Did you…just kiss me?"
"Well…yeah…" Silver rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I guess I did…" Smiling, Tails reached up and did the same, planting a smol kiss on his cheek before returning to his side.
"I guess we're even now." Smiling, Tails closed his eyes once more and fell asleep, leaning against the grey hedgehog's side. Silver did the same, resting his eyes and allowing weariness to take hold, filled with a sense of joy.
About another week went by, and it was time for Silver to return home. Traveling to Angel Island together, Sonic and Tails joined Silver to watch him travel back to the future, a process which involved using an unexplainable combination of chaos energy emitted from the Master Emerald, guided by the masterful hands of Knuckles the Echidna, and Silver's own telekinetic powers.
After Knuckles summoned a white portal behind the grey hedgehog, they lined up in front of him to say their goodbyes.
"Sonic," Silver extended his arm out, which Sonic grabbed for a firm handshake, "thank you for allowing me to crash at your place. It was a blast!"
"No problemo!" Sonic gave him a thumbs up with his free hand. "You're always welcome!"
Nodding gently, he turned to the red echidna next in line. "Knuckles, I appreciate you helping me travel through time like this, even for something as trivial as vacationing."
"Hey, no sweat." Knuckles shook his hand more aggressively than the blue hedgehog. "It's what friends are for, after all."
"And Tails…" Silver froze as he stared at the orange kitsune. Tails was looking at his feet, tears pouring from his eyes. The grey hedgehog got down on his knees and gently lifted Tails' chin with his finger. "You've been so good to me these past few weeks. Keep these guys outta trouble, will ya?"
"Mmmhmm…" Tails lifted a single namesake to his face and blew his nose into it while Silver pulled himself up and walked toward the portal.
"And Tails…"
"…yeah?" Tails looked up at the departing hedgehog, his vision partially obscured by tears.
"Keep doing good." With a wave of his hand, he slowly approached the portal. Just as he was about to step foot within, however, he was stopped by a force hugging him from behind.
"Wait!" The orange kitsune cried against his furry back. "Please don't go! I need you." Tails loosened his arms as Silver twisted himself around, stroking his head with a gloved hand.
"You're strong, intelligent, and independent, Tails. I think you'll be fine, here."
"No, Silver…" Tails' eyed wandered from the future hedgehog's boots up to his face. "It's not that. I…need you."
"Tails…" Silver froze. "What do—"
"I love you." Tails pulled himself back and slapped a hand over his mouth, mortified that he poured his heart out to his crush in front of Sonic and Knuckles.
The trio surrounding him stood in silence as the fox collected himself, swallowing the embarrassment as he stared back up at the hedgeboi before him. "These past few weeks have been…amazing. You're so sweet and caring…and I wanna spend the rest of my life with you." Tails reached into his namesakes and handed Silver a white flower crown he made from the plants he picked earlier. "This is for you. I know we can't be together, but…I want you to have this as a way to remember the good times, ya know?"
Silver observed the crown in his hands before cracking a small smile and placing it over his head.
"Hey, it fits!"
Tails managed to crack a smile of his own as he wiped his nose with his arm. Silver took his hands and stared back at him, returning his smile.
"…Why don't you come back with me?"
"…What?" Tails cocked his head. "But…I don't belong in the future."
"Says who?" Silver shook his head. "Just because you were born in this timeline doesn't mean you are bound to it. And honestly…" Silver hugged the orange kitsune tightly, catching him off guard. "I'd like it very much if you came back because…I love you, too."
"Silver…" Tails began crying once more against his furry chest. Pulling his face out from Silver's thicc floof, he nodded his head. "Okay…I'll do it."
"Wait!"
Tails and Silver looked back to reveal Sonic approaching slowly, his eyes beginning to glisten.
"Tails…this is all so sudden…"
"I know, Sonic," Tails approached the blue hedgehog and gave him a gentle hug, "but I need to do this. You always tell me to follow my heart, right? Not just use my brain all the time?" Tails gently pulled himself away and peered up at Sonic, who was choking back tears. "My heart's telling me to go with Silver. It would make me happy."
"…You're right." Sonic wiped his tears away with his arm and gave Tails his trademarked thumbs up. "I've seen how you two are together. I knew from the start you'd end up together." Sonic approached the orange fox and rustled his hair. "Do what makes you happy, Tails. Go with Silver."
"Sonic…" Hugging him once more, he allowed his tears to freely flow down his face, dampening Sonic's peachy torso. "I'll never forget all the good times we had. You've been so good to me…the best big brother I could've ever asked for."
"And you're the best lil' bro in the world, Tails." Lowering his defenses, the blue hedgehog allowed himself to cry unhindered, his tears dripping over Tails' furry head. Wiping his face once more, Sonic forced himself to smile. "Just…come visit once in a while, will ya? And help make a good future."
"I will, Sonic." Tails turned around and clasped Silver's hands. "Ready to go?"
"Yeah." Facing the blue hedgehog and the red echidna for the final time, they waved before stepping through the portal. Just as they were completely through the rift, it vanished from existence.
"Sonic…" Knuckles turned to the blue hedgehog, who fell to one knee as he choked back tears once more. "Will you be okay?"
"Yeah…" Sonic wiped his eyes with his furry arm. "Everything'll be all right."
Turning around, the blue hedgehog spindashed off the stone stairs of the shrine, running at top speed back to the Tornado, bittersweet tears running down his face as he smiled widely, remembering all the good times he had with his adoptive little brother.
I hope you all enjoyed my first attempt at a romantic piece! This was definitely crackish, and subsequently, it was a blast to write! :D
This story came to be while moderating the r/MilesPrower Discord server. One of our channels is a server "choose your own adventure" fanfic where I write a brief chapter and have members vote on what they'd like to happen next. The story, as of now, is taking a Silvails direction, so I was encouraged to expand upon some unused ideas in the form of a single, separate oneshot.
It would be interesting to explore Silver and Tails' relationship as they settle in 200 years in the future. As previously mentioned, this fic is a oneshot, however, I would be open to considering making a sequel if there is enough demand. Lemme know if that's something you'd like to see!
In the meantime, though, I'm hard at work writing the next chapters of my two ongoing stories, A Prelude to Chaos Control and Tails and the Abandoned Fox Cubs. Feel free to check 'em out!
Finally, I wanted to thank Leodragon678 for his ideas and strong encouragement to write this piece, as well as CrinamXD, Guardian of 2fort, Mulberri, KasrKyle, Guillotine, UntoDelirium, Proudwrecker, DoomFox, Perturbo, Miles the Knight, Onion Rings, and Pantalion for their support, opinions, and suggestions on the r/MilesPrower Discord server!