Tails was getting worried about Sonic. The blue hedgehog kept waking up in the middle of the night, and was getting too tired to do anything in the morning, and didn't get out of his pyjamas until around midday. But now, Tails felt like it was finally time to ask him.

"Sonic, what's been going on?" Tails asked. "You've been acting... how do I put this... differently... the past few weeks."

"No, Tails." Sonic responded. "I'm fine! It's just... winter's hit me pretty hard, and I feel a need to sleep a lot more often."

"Sonic, it's early winter. You usually start hibernating at the start of December."

"It's not hibernation, it's just- okay, fine. I've been having nightmares every night for the past few weeks."

"What? Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I want to keep up my strong image, and not have to talk about things that would make me look weak."

"Sonic, it's okay. You don't have to talk about those publicly. You can just talk to me, I'll help you deal with them!"

"Okay, let's do it!"

That night, Sonic was lying in bed, whimpering. The blue hedgehog strangely always whimpered whenever he had a nightmare. And that night, Sonic was whimpering extra loud. So Tails did something he always did when Sonic was whimpering – the fox went over to Sonic's bed, and wrapped the hedgehog up in a pair of fluffy tails. And when it came to the past few weeks, Tails spent more time in Sonic's bed than his own. And the yellow fox did exactly that. When both of Tails' tails came into contact with the blue hedgehog, he smiled. Sonic slept happy that night.

The next morning, Sonic was sat down on his bed, still in his pyjamas. Tails was already prepared for the day ahead. The fox had a pen and a clipboard in his hands,

"So, what's been on your mind recently?" Tails asked.

"Well, I've been thinking about my parents," Sonic responded.

"Your parents? Are they alive?"

"And..." Sonic began to tear up. "I... I can't say it." Some tears rolled out of his eyes.

"Sonic, I'm sorry." Tails apologised. "I didn't know that you were that sensitive about that subject. You want to go get some ice cream to keep your mind off it?"

"Uhh... Sure."

Sonic's sad frown turned into a smile. The blue hedgehog went up to the closet, took of his pyjamas, put on his boots, folded them down to the bottoms of his ankles, and ran up to the door.

"What are we waiting for, buddy? Let's go!"

Tails hopped up from the bed, threw away his clipboard and pen, and ran through the doorway, running past Sonic, who followed a few seconds later.

At the Ice Cream parlour in Downtown Station Square's mall, Sonic and Tails were sat at one of the tables, waiting for their order. Sonic had ordered a vanilla with 2 flakes and Chilli Sauce, while Tails had ordered a Mint Chocolate chip with 1 flake and chocolate sauce. When Sonic was finally getting comfortable, Amy sat down at the table next to them.

"Uhh... hey, Amy." Sonic nervously said. "What are you ordering?"

"Oh! Sonic!" Amy enthusiastically replied. "I'm getting Lemon Ice Cream!"

"Just Lemon?"

"Yeah!"

Sonic shuffled his chair closer to Tails, making to be further away from Amy.

And just when Sonic thought the situation was about to get awkward, a stroke of luck came his way.

"Sonic, Tails, your ice creams are ready!" The Shop Worker yelled.

Sonic went up to the counter, took the 2 ice creams, gave the worker the rings as payment, and went back to the table. When Tails was just about to tuck into his Mint Chocolate Ice Cream with 1 Flake and Chocolate sauce, a teen Lynx ran up to the window, and screamed, causing Tails to throw his ice cream upwards, which proceeded to land on one of the fox's Tails, and rolled off onto the other one.

"HEY!" Tails yelled. "You got ice cream in my fur!"

Sonic rushed out of the parlour, and ran at the teen, fists clenched, making the lynx run away. Once that was done, Sonic got back to his ice cream, as Tails groaned.

Once Sonic and Tails had gotten back home, the fox immediately hopped in the shower to clean his tails. The thing was, said bodily parts which Tails got his nickname from were extremely hard to clean due to how fluffy they were. While Tails was doing that, Sonic was trying to get some sleep. But again, he was having a nightmare. He was trapped in an underwater cave, and his vision was slowly getting blurrier. And just when it became barely visible, he woke up in a cold sweat, and screamed. Tails, being worried about his big bro, wrapped himself up in a towel, and ran out.

"Sonic! Did you have another nightmare?" Tails panted as he slipped into the bedroom.

"Y... Yes..." Sonic whimpered.

"Do you need anything?"

"No..."

Tails walked back into the shower, as Sonic tried to go back to sleep.

Later that night, Tails was trying to get some sleep, but Sonic rolling around in his bed kept the fox boy awake.

"Hey, Tails?" Sonic whispered. "You still awake?"

"Yeah." Tails quietly replied. "You keep rolling around in the bed, is everything okay?"

"I still have my parents on my mind," Sonic yawned. "And..." Sonic began tearing up again. "I finally feel like I can talk about it. My parents... I... I really want to see them again."

"That's something I want too, Sonic. But why would that cause you nightmares?"

"Well, they're... they're..." Sonic shed more tears. "They're gone..."

Tails began crying as well. "My parents... are gone too. I feel the same way!"

The fox got out of his bed, and walked over to Sonic's. The two shared a hug, as tears fell from their eyes. During this, Sonic looked at his bedside table, and looked at a framed picture of his parents, holding a blue hedgehog newborn. He thought about what his life would be if his parents were alive. But then he realised how having no parents shaped him up to who he was, and how grateful he was for his friends.

Special thanks to the people of the #fanfiction Channel of the r/MilesPrower Discord, one of whom helped come up with the title!

And thank YOU for reading!