-T-

Tails' Resolution

-T-

"Geez, looks like everyone's here!" Sonic exclaimed as he walked into Amy's house. Always one to step up to an occasion such as this, Amy had sent out dozens of invites for a New Years Eve party at her place in Central City. It was hard to ignore; for every one invite she would send somewhere else, she'd send a dozen to Tails' workshop, where Sonic was currently staying.

"This really is everyone," Tails remarked nervously, "We'd better find her and say hi; she'll be glad to see you. I think she really wanted you to come."

"You don't say?" Sonic rolled his eyes.

"Sonic!" Amy squealed, shoving past the Chaotix and wrapping the blue hedgehog in a tight hug. "You've made it – you really came!"

"Not like I had anything better to do," Sonic said snidely, leaning as far from Amy as he could, unable to free himself from her crushing embrace.

"Oh, please!" Amy punched him on the arm, "Hey, you'd better be kissing me when the New Years countdown finishes!"

"Sure!" Sonic flashed his eyebrows, "But that's only if Tails, Knuckles, Vector, Espio and Shadow won't – so that makes you, what, sixth in line?"

"Hmph!" Amy stomped away.

"I hope you're not actually considering kissing me on New Years, Sonic," Knuckles crossed his arms.

"Not if Rouge doesn't get there first," Sonic winked. Knuckles' cheeks went bright red, matching the colour of his fur. "Anyway, c'mon, where's the food?"

"Cream, Silver and Amy have been preparing it," Blaze answered, "Should be out any minute!"

"I didn't know Silver could cook," Sonic chuckled, "Ooh!" In a blur, Sonic speeded over to Cream as she came out the kitchen carrying a tray of chilli dogs, almost knocking the small rabbit off her feet. "Don't mind if I do!"

"Save some for the rest of us!" Vector pushed Knuckles out the way, reaching in for some food.

"One at a time, please!" Cream giggled as Sonic shoved chilli dogs down his throat. Tails' watched the scene, bemused, when Rouge walked up to him. Immediately, he went shy.

"C'mon, little guy," she shot a friendly smile and took him by the arm, "Let's get you something to eat."

-T-

The hand on the clock struck ten to eleven. The party was in full swing now, everyone merry and full. Sonic was busy playfully teasing Knuckles while Amy watched adoringly, Blaze seemed deep in conversation with Shadow and Rouge and Silver and Charmy chatted with Cream. All the while, Tails sat huddled in the corner. Parties were never particularly his scene, what with him being such a timid person. If Sonic didn't take him along, he probably would have spent New Year's Eve in his workshop, busy reconfiguring the Tornado or drawing blueprints for a new project. Instead, he was here, and he felt completely out of place.

Tails glanced desperately over in Cream's direction, hoping that she would give him a bit of attention, yet she seemed deeply interested in whatever Silver was saying. Silver was older and cooler anyway, what with his time-travelling and telekinetic powers. He was just Tails; what did he have that would impress Cream, or anyone for that matter? Feeling that it was all getting a little much for him, Tails went to excuse himself, though he decided that he'd better tell Sonic first.

"Hey, Sonic," Tails patted the hedgehog on the shoulder, "I'm just gonna head out, get some fresh air."

"You okay?" Sonic asked, showing concern.

"I'm fine!" the two-tailed fox quickly reassured him, "It's just, uh... I find it a little stuffy in here."

"Okay," Sonic nodded, "Don't be too long, now!"

"I won't," Tails chuckled as he headed out the door to the fire exit of Amy's apartment. Glancing back to make sure no one was looking, Tails hopped over the railing and flew upward.

"Hey," Knuckles nudged Sonic, "You sure he's okay?"

"Parties aren't really his thing," Sonic shrugged his shoulders, "If I didn't make him come tonight, he'd have spent New Year's all on his own. I didn't want that."

"Don't you think you should make sure he's okay?" Knuckles asked, "What if he's feeling uncomfortable?"

"Then he'd have said that, wouldn't he?"

"Sonic, Tails has been sat in that corner for, like, an hour. He keeps looking over at Cream, but he hasn't got the courage to talk to her. Rouge had to drag him to get some food. You've gotta work your magic on him; inspire him a little."

"You're right," Sonic agreed, "Why don't you come along? He'd probably appreciate it if he heard it from you, too."

"I don't know – what about Rouge?"

"Please," Sonic laughed, "I don't think Shadow is gonna be laying game on her any time soon. Plus, Tails is your friend. You should help him, too."

"Fine," Knuckles sighed reluctantly, not really wanting to leave the party. "C'mon, let's go see where he is."

Sonic lead the echidna out the door to the fire escape, but Tails wasn't there. Sonic looked around, confused. "What the –?"

"What?" Knuckles followed him outside, "Where is he? Should I get the others?"

"No, wait," Sonic raised his hand to stop him, "I think I know where he went."

Sonic sped up the stairs of the fire escape, while Knuckles sighed tiredly and dug his fists into the wall, climbing up it. Sure enough, Tails was sat on the edge of the rooftop, overlooking the brightly lit street below. Sonic knew this would be the place to find him; many a night Sonic had joined Tails on the rooftop of his workshop, where the two would talk about their lives.

"Tails?" Knuckles asked, joining Sonic at his side. Tails jumped to see them, not expecting that they would come looking for him.

"Oh," the fox forced a smile, "Hey, guys! You needed fresh air, too?"

"Sure, buddy," Sonic winked at Knuckles as the two sat down either side of him, "But, to be truthful, we were also getting kinda worried about you."

"Me?" Tails asked obliviously, "Why me?"

"You seemed a little quiet down there," Knuckles answered, "Quieter than usual, anyway."

"Like I said, I just needed some fresh air," Tails ignored, "Anyway, won't the others wonder where you two are?"

"They'll probably think we went to use the bathroom or something," Sonic shrugged it off, "Anyway, how come it matters when they worry about where we are, but not when we worry about where you are?"

"Guys," Tails chuckled, "I really don't want to spoil your night."

"You're our friend, Tails," Knuckles patted him on the back, "And it seems like something is bothering you. You can talk to us. I mean, I know I'm no expert on relationships, what with being the sole inhabitant on an isolated floating island and all..."

"Who said this was about relationships?" Tails asked, confused.

"C'mon," Sonic grinned, "We've seen you looking over at Cream all night. You two get along, right?"

"What? I mean – yeah, I guess so..."

"You guess so?" Sonic repeated with a laugh, "So why don't you get up and talk to her?"

"Because you know I'm not like that, Sonic," Tails sighed, "I'm just... I'm not that kind of guy."

"How do you know that?" Knuckles asked, "You're still just a little kid. I mean, I guess we all kind of are, but you're younger than us. You've got way more time left to figure yourself out."

"That's the problem," Tails waved his hands in desperation, "I don't know how to do that. I mean, I know I'm pretty smart. I can invent and understand things pretty well."

"Pretty smart?" Sonic repeated in disbelief, "Tails, you're like, eight, and you've already built a fully functioning aeroplane!"

"I don't like to brag," Tails blushed, "What I'm trying to say is that I feel like that's all I really know about myself – I'm just some smart kid who works in his lab."

"I don't think that's true," Sonic shook his head, "I think if you were honest with yourself, you'd see that there's a whole lot more to you than that!"

"What do you mean?"

"You've flown Sonic into battle countless times, without question!" Knuckles noted.

"And through all my adventures since we met, you've been at my side, without fail!" Sonic exclaimed.

"You're far more than the guy behind a computer, Tails," Knuckles smiled, "Deep down, I know you've got the heart of a fighter. You're just not as boastful about it as loudmouth over there." The Echidna nodded at Sonic, who shot an exaggerated, hurt look.

"I guess when I was a kid, I was just made to feel small," Tails looked down and kicked his legs, which were dangling over the side of the building, "I mean, you know this. Kids would always bully me for my two tails."

"Yeah, and look what happened!" said Sonic, "You took the nickname they gave you, 'Tails', and made it something to be proud of! Eggman's robots wet their metal diapers at the mention of your name!"

"But I couldn't have done that without you!" Tails interrupted, "You're the one who encouraged me, who showed me that my tails could be used for something!"

"Lies!" Knuckles stopped him, "Even if Sonic encouraged you, it took you to actually do something, to be proud of them rather than sit around, drowning in self-pity all day. That shows you've got a good, strong spirit, Tails."

"So what?" Tails asked, "Even if I do have a strong spirit, how do I make myself better? How do I talk to Cream?"

"Think of it this way," Sonic suggested, "Think of all the countless things we've done together. We've travelled into space, like, half a dozen times. We've travelled through time together. After Station Square was flooded, you wasted no time flying trapped civilians out of their buildings."

"Not to mention the hundreds of times you faced Dr Eggman's army of killer robots without batting an eye!" Knuckles said proudly.

"Right!" Sonic put his arm around Tails' shoulder, "You've stared death in the eye more times than I can count. If you can do all that, you can do anything!"

"So what's the harm in asking a girl out?" Knuckles grinned.

Tails looked up, nodding his head. Finally, he realised he had it in him. "You're right," he acknowledged at last, "You're right! I've had this in me, all along!"

"About time!" Sonic exclaimed, "Gee, I was wondering how many times you needed telling!"

"I won't need telling anymore!" the fox leaped up excitedly, his two friends matching his energy, "This is my New Year's resolution; no more of the old, timid Tails! This year, I know what I'm capable of!"

"Yeah!" Knuckles cheered while Sonic clapped his hands.

"C'mon, big man," Sonic patted Tails on the back encouragingly, "We've gotta get you back down there – your kiss is waiting for you!"

Simultaneously nervous but willing and determined, Tails joined Sonic and Tails as they jogged down the steps, rejoining the party.

"There you are!" Amy tugged at Sonic almost immediately as he walked through the door, "Geez, where were you? No matter – the countdown is about to start, and there's no way you're getting out of this one!"

As Knuckles moved to find Rouge, Sonic threw a wink at Tails, who nodded back at him confidently. Tails scanned the room, finding Cream sat on her own, happily watching the party.

"Start getting ready, people!" Vector raised the massive radio over his head, "Two minutes 'til midnight!"

Tails slowly made his way over, psyching himself up. Eventually, Cream noticed the fox in the corner of her eye. "Tails!" she patted her hand on the seat next to her, inviting him to join her.

"Hey," Tails smiled, walking faster and sitting down beside her.

"Where were you?" Cream asked thoughtfully, "I was getting worried that you might not want to see the New Year in with us."

"Yeah, well..." Tails started to say, "I guess I changed my mind."

"Changed your mind?" Cream asked, "What do you mean?"

"I was just doing some thinking," Tails explained while Vector hollered "ONE MINUTE!" in the background, "And I realised a few things about myself."

"Like what?" Cream smiled.

"That I know I'm capable of doing things – better things, I mean," Tails tried to put his thoughts into words, "And that I've been way too passive for way too long. In the New Year, I want to start making some changes, but there's one I want to make now..."

"What?" Cream asked while Tails mustered the courage.

"Thirty seconds!" Vector cried, "Get ready, everybody!"

"Cream, I really do like you," Tails' voice shook with nerves, "And in all honesty, even though Sonic practically begged me to come, I wouldn't have even considered it if I didn't already know you'd be here – and even if I did, I know I would have had no reason to come back down."

"Ten!" Vector chanted.

"Tails," Cream smiled giddily.

"I don't want to be just a New Year's kiss," Tails explained himself clearer.

"Eight!" everyone chanted.

"Tails," Cream stopped him, "I understand. I'm happy for you."

"Five!"

Cream leaned in closer. Tails swallowed the lump in his throat.

"THREE!"

Closer.

"TWO!"

Closer.

"ONE!"

Author's Note: I regretted not putting any Christmas-themed fics out for Christmas time so I've decided to write one based around New Year's instead. First time writing Sonic in a while and really liked it! Hope you enjoyed!