Nightmare realities
Running through Green Hill he laughed manically while boosting forward, going through the first loop he came to, jumped on a spring, did a somersault, and landed in Eggman Fortress. While spin dashing an egg pawn, he grabbed a chilidog to his right, licked his lips and ate it in one go, boosting into a dozen of motor bugs, said robots exploding in shrapnel of metal. He felt his heart beating in his chest, the pure adrenaline course through his veins, making him yell in excitement as he flipped and landed on a metal platform, looking at Eggman in his eggmobile in front of him, smirking at the blue hero.
"It all ends here hedgehog. Be prepared to be destroyed!" The madman exclaimed, laughing with his arms thrown into the air, his entire body shaking in the doctor's hysterical shriek voice. Sonic smirked, and found a chili dog in his left hand, the bald man suddenly stopped his laughter and looked at it.
"You're plans are getting as old as your own age Egghead. Watch my leg kick your fat butt McNosehair!" With that, he lifted the chilidog into the air, the doctor looking at it. His eyes behind his glasses widened in fright, lifting his arms to protect his face as the blue blur lifted his food closer to his lips.
"N-No! Sonic! Please, have mercy with me!" He yelled in agony, pressed his hands together in a begging motion, sounding like a child that didn't get their favorite candy. Said hedgehog smirked before he opened his mouth and with a cry from the doctor, he took a bite of his dog. The eggmobile in front of him exploded in a fiery blaze, the human occupying it flying through the air with a scream, landing a few feet in front of him, sitting on his behind while smoke emitted from his body.
"Curse you Sonic the hedgehog!" He yelled, as the hero laughed, slapping his thigh with his hand as he ate the last of his delicious dog.
"See you later Egghead!" He yelled, as he jumped and somersaulted landed in the eggmobile and flew off, leaving the doctor behind screaming his name. He soared through the dark sky in the round metal object, accelerating through the skies before he flipped off of it, began running up a skyscraper from Station Square. He swirled his ears backwards when a familiar sound began pursuing him, and turned his head, his entire face turning into a familiar smirk. Cop Speeders were hot on his tail, blaring their sirens as they gathered behind him, chasing the hero down. Sonic did nothing but laugh in their face, turned around and ran through a group of rings and began boosting. The sound barrier was no match for him in this speed, the glass under his feet almost breaking from the pure resistance of the wind, his entire body weightless in the pursuit. He turned his head to his left when Knuckles appeared in one of the cars and demanded him to pull over and give him a speeding ticket.
"Sorry Knux, not today!" He said, saluted the echidna and then boosted again, running away from the car and up the skyscraper. Everything became a blur, his eyes not concentrating on the colors around him, as he jumped when he reached the end of the building before landing on a pink cloud. Here he somersaulted, before he kept jumping, from cloud to cloud, higher and higher into the air. Then, the clouds stopped, and he found himself falling through the air. He laughed, and flipped around, spun and spin dashed towards the ground where he ran through a line of rings in Chemical Plant, badniks getting completely run down from his speed, purple and blue water in tanks around him as he sonic boomed through the entirety of the factory. He turned his head to the right when Shadow skated beside him, sending him an all too familiar annoyed expression, making the blue hedgehog scuff.
"So, you wanna race? Then let's do it faker!" He yelled, making the other hedgehog scuff.
"You're the faker, faker!" – "What a great comeback! See you at the finish line!" With that, he boosted through a loop in Studiopolis, the many lights and colors almost blinding his eyes, glancing to his right to see the red striped hedgehog skate beside him. He jumped and bounced off of a red spring, multiple of them making him traverse upwards. He laughed and jumped off, landing on a platform higher above him and boosted through another loop, avoiding falling microphones from the sky. He looked behind him and saw the ultimate lifeform keeping up, though he was slowing down. Grinning widely as he began boosting, on a lonely metal platform that stretched on for miles. He laughed when a comical 'No!' was heard behind him as the sounds of the black hedgehog's skates died out in the wind. Sonic then jumped, somersaulted, and grabbed a Chocolate Chipped Cream Sundae Supreme when he ran past Apotos, running on top of the tall white buildings and up and around the clock tower. Taking a bite of the ice cream he winched when it was mint chocolate chip and threw it over his shoulder.
Running down the clocktower, he hit a spring and was sent into the air. Here he flipped, before falling through the sky, stretching his legs, and landed on a metal wing. The sound of a propeller met his ears as he turned his head and grinned at the pilot. Tails laughed and waved at him, before his attention returned to the path ahead. His heart was still beating, adrenaline rushing through his entire body, his hands shaking from pure excitement. Flying over the Mystic Ruins he jumped off of the plane, and began running, following the plane beside him. His best friend laughed once more before taking the nose upwards, gaining altitude. His red biplane shone in the clear blue sky, his path ahead had nothing but green meadows, no obstacles in his way as he watched the Tornado course through the air effortlessly.
The sky became red, clouds appearing out of nowhere as he felt his excitement wash out of his body, as a deep rumble sounded around him, filling his ears, and shaking his body. A lightning strike then hit the propeller of the red plane, smoke immediately emitting from back of the plane. He watched as the plane's wings was unbalanced, the red biplane losing altitude as it was headed straight towards the mountains of Hill Top.
His heart began beating again, not of excitement of the adrenaline but because of fright. Something he rarely felt, but he knew the feeling. His hands began shaking, his eyes widening, and he boosted but he got nowhere. He ran as fast as he could, the sound barrier practically exploding around him, but he stayed in place, felt himself breathing rapidly close to hyperventilating as his eyes followed the plane. His heart felt like it stopped when the plane hit a mountain, the entirety of it exploding, shaking the ground underneath him. Debris and metal pieces flew everywhere, hitting and landing on the ground beside him, as a terrified and pained scream filled his ears.
"Tails! Don't worry buddy I'm coming!" He yelled into the air, his voice trembling and shaking, while he boosted one more time. The meadow continued ahead of him, while the mountains stayed in the distance, his feet moving and hurting underneath him as he hyperventilated. If it was from the lack of oxygen or the amount of fright, he had he had no idea. The only thing that remained in his head was that he needed to get to the mountain. But he couldn't. He wasn't fast enough; his feet couldn't carry him to his destination as he felt his heart ache and hurt from his exhaustion. But he didn't stop. He couldn't stop. He didn't want to stop. He didn't.
Flinging his eyes open he breathed out a gasp, filling his lungs with oxygen. He lifted his head from his pillow, looking into the dark room he was in. In a room, laying still, not running on a meadow he couldn't escape. He put a hand over his heart feeling it beating rapidly and sat up in his bed. He realized that he was panting, began swallowing some spit in order to calm himself down. He felt something cold run down his forehead and ran a hand over it, realized that he was sweating.
He threw the blanket off of him, half of it on the floor and swung his legs out from his bed. Putting his elbows on his knees he hid his head in his hands and breathed out. Deep breaths, slow and relaxing. It wasn't often that he needed to calm himself down, as he had been in many situation before where he had shrugged the danger off and smirked at his enemy. Every assault and attack were an adrenaline rush, a playground, something that was fun and exciting to do. He didn't get frustrated, angry, or worried or had any reason to calm himself even in situations where it seemed like the madman was about to win. He was always calm, had everything under control and in his hands, as he won every time. Nothing had happened, nothing bad had happened.
He realized that his hands were shaking in his head and leaned it back to look at them. His hands were vibrating, and his heart still going rapidly, though he had somewhat gained control over his lungs. Feeling his body almost out of control he got up and began pacing around his room, tried taking some more deep breaths though his lungs were fine by now. He looked out his window, only one of the curtains drawn as a half-moon shone down on him, making a silver light go through the glass panes. He stopped in front of it, and looked out, the ocean blinking at him from the light from the night sky. Biting his lip and deciding that while his body was shaking, he didn't want to look at water he stepped away from it and continued pacing around.
Walking in circles around his small room, he exhaled very slowly, a calm motion that made his mind somewhat ease down. He wasn't very skilled in this sort of situation, as everything he knew about calming down, he was used to telling others to do, realized now that this was the first time, he was going to use his own advice. It seemed like his advice was working, as he felt his heart beating slower, and his hands seemed to almost be still again. He stopped dead in his track, closed his eyes and exhaled one more time, standing still and feeling the air course through his throat and his lungs.
Feeling the air through his nostrils and sometimes his lips, the cold oxygen brushing his face felt relaxing. He stood like that for a couple of minutes, until he felt his hands were completely still, his heart still beating a little faster than he liked. He opened his eyes back to his room, as they a long time ago had adjusted to the darkness. Hedgehogs had bad eyesight, which meant that his usual nighttime runs consisted of instinct more than anything, as he in some weird way could feel that his closet was in front of him and his door was to his right. Thinking about this, he looked at his door and bit his lip, the images of what he had dreamed flashing through his mind. He had to look. Had to check, otherwise he wouldn't be calm anytime soon.
Walking over to the brown door he turned the knob and opened it up to the hallway. Here darkness was as well, and he had to take a moment when he stepped outside to let his eyes adjust to the best of their abilities. He silently closed the door behind him, before tiptoeing forward, walking past their bathroom door, and stopped in front of another door. For a bit he hesitated, thought that this was stupid and ignorant before his hand clutched around the knob in front of him. Very slowly he turned it, a small 'click' in the door announced that it could be opened, making him push it a bit.
It wasn't a lot, only enough for his head to peak through. A dim nightlight on the dresser saved his eyes from trying to adjust to anything, as he could see perfectly into the room. There he was. Sound asleep, perfectly fine. Head turned towards him lying on a white pillow, while a green blanket was covering his body. A tail was halfway down the side of the bed, while an arm was slung underneath the pillow. His mind eased and he breathed out a relieved breath, hearing the soft snoring of his best friend, eyelids closed and slightly twitching from dreams. With satisfaction rolling over his body he quietly pulled the door towards himself again, closing it. He grunted when he realized what he had just done, mentally slapped himself for checking on something that was blindly obvious. Of course, he was okay, why shouldn't he be?
For a moment he just stood in front of the door, looking at the brown wood and eventually figured out that he didn't want to go back to sleep just yet. Thinking that it was ridiculous and that he had no problem falling asleep he turned on his heel and made his way down the staircase, towards the living room. Here he pressed a light switch and squinted his eyes when the light temporarily blinded him.
He sighed as he began rubbing them, the images temporarily returning to his mind. Not wanting to see them again, he opened his eyes and forced them to concentrate on the light as he made his way to the kitchen. He turned on another light and found a glass in the cupboard, pulling it out, while his thoughts were rolling around in his mind. Turning on the faucet he filled the glass with cold water and drank it while the water kept running. Taking two and a half glasses of it, he turned it off and placed the glass beside their dinner plates, ready to be washed and put away. He then turned his head towards their front door, felt his feet ache for something for him to do. His entire body felt rattled, like it was shaking even though he was standing still, as something, maybe adrenaline, was going through him and making him feel shaky. The only medicine he knew for that illness was for him to go for a run, shake off whatever feeling was aching his entire soul, but he didn't want to leave the house. Not right now.
Getting defeated by his own mind he sighed annoyed before taking another glass of water and brought it with him as he walked into the living room. Here he slummed himself onto the couch, leaving the water on the coffee table, and breathed out. He was somewhat calm, as his hands had stopped shaking and his heart had eased into place after seeing his little brother sound asleep in bed. But he felt reckless, like his body was vibrating, twisting, and turning his entire being and everything in him wanted to boost out of the house and just run.
To compensate for this, he began pacing around the living room instead, the area being much bigger than his own bedroom and therefore there was more room to walk on. He didn't know what he needed, what he had to do in order to calm himself down when the only thing he knew was to run. He was a hedgehog with impulse, he needed to do something, needed to move, needed to activate his muscles in his body, he didn't want to sit still. With impulse his thoughts were a backtracker, something that came afterwards, and it was rarely that he ever used them whenever he was in battle. But right now, he thinks that it is what he needs in this moment, to think, to reflect on what he had experienced and then think about what to do from there.
Sighing from making his conclusion he temporarily stopped and began rubbing his temples, closing his eyes. From his dream, no, nightmare, everything had seemed fine in the beginning, normal things happening, hoping from zone to zone eating food and meeting his friends, that was normal. What wasn't normal was seeing his best friend going up in flames with his own red biplane. He felt his heart tuck, and he realized what was going on. He was scared. Scared of the thought of what had happened before his eyes, the rattling in his body was fright, something he rarely felt.
He wasn't scared often – the only times he had been scared wasn't because of his own accord. He knew every time that he would get attacked by a badnik that he could win – no matter if he sprained his ankle, bended his wrist and hit his head, he still knew that he was going to win. Call his confidence narcissistic if you will, but Sonic didn't like lying, especially not to himself. He knew a situation when he was put into one, he knew when to worry and when to be nonchalant about it. Worry was different from fright. Worry was a nagging feeling in the back of your head that told you to be wary and be careful. Fright was something else entirely, it was an active emotion, it made you feel, it makes you shake and your mind going into babbling. It's difficult to control as fright controls you more. He knew it from whenever he fell into water, as panic and fright were the things that controlled him. And he hated being out of control.
Thinking about this he needed to figure out why he was scared. Rolling backwards like a videotape he began pacing with closed eyes, could feel the coffee table and the door to the kitchen as he went around in a perfect circle. Whenever he saw the Tornado fly and explode into the mountain, followed up by that terrifying scream he could feel his hands almost shaking again, his soul yanking at him and his heart beating faster.
That was it. He was scared of Tails' safety. He scoffed at the conclusion – that was ridiculous.
Ever since he had found the squirt in Emerald Hill that kid had practically taking care of himself. He had had a lot of backslash, with bullies, starvation, injuries, and sleep-deprivation but other than that he had a fighting spirit and a mind that told him to never give up. Something that the hedgehog had admired in the three-year-old. The time he had been scared for his safety must have been the first time they ran into badniks, putting him behind his back and telling him to stay away the hedgehog had spin dashed towards the threat. When turning around, he realized that the small fox had completely ignored him and was currently stomping on a badnik before kicking into another robot that came his way. Laughing and giving him a thump's up, they had continued their fight and ever since he had been a part of it. He hadn't stopped to wonder whether or not he was too small for the task, if he were old enough to fight robots and Eggman and if his mind could handle it.
He had never thought about it, never dwelled on it as the small fox seemed fine. Growing up with him had been an adventure of a lifetime, something he wouldn't trade for the world. From there on, yeah things happened where they needed to safe each other's backs and occasionally safe each other. But he had never stopped to think if it were too dangerous for the kid, if him tagging along brought him into danger he couldn't safe him from as he handled himself fine. He still did, he had grown into a confident and sarcastic mobian being, someone who knew how to take care of himself and others. They supported each other through thick and thin.
He stopped pacing and let out another sigh, when he sat back down in the couch, leaving his head in his hands and elbows on knees. He realized that it was the possibility he was afraid of. It was the possibility, the chance, the likelihood of it happening that he was scared of as of right now. That at some point something might happen, something he couldn't shrug off, something that made him feel sick. He didn't want to think about it, though his mind told him something else, images and pictures had reminded him that whatever adventure he brought Tails into could lead to something he didn't want to think about. It was ridiculous.
Nothing critically major had ever happened, why should it happen now? He had no idea, had no idea why his dumb brain decided to scare him at three o'clock in the middle of the night, glancing at the timer on the wall in the kitchen. He let out an annoyed sigh, his eyes momentarily getting lost in the window. The moonlight was partly there, meaning that he could see some of the plain meadow out of the window, but if he narrowed his eyes, he could see his own reflection in the kitchen window. It was completely still outside, except for the occasional wind that would bash their way onto the window.
Sighing once more when he didn't want to look out into the black night his head disappeared into his hands. He shook his head, chuckled lightly from the ridiculousness of it all. This was dumb. Totally and utterly stupid, the way that his mind had conjugated that thought and those images, making him feel scared and worried. What kind of brain wanted to do that to themselves?! He was almost getting mad at himself for this but didn't allow himself to as he still didn't feel completely at ease with himself. His foot began tapping into the floor, as his heard found the images once again, clenching his eyes tighter to make them go away.
His ears swirled behind him when a door opened, a knob getting turned and a brown wooden panel opened up to the dark hallway. He turned his head towards the stairs, best friend and brother instinct immediately shoving his worries into a dark place in his mind, not wanting to show him how he felt. This he did often, as he didn't want to show anybody when something was wrong. He didn't like feeling vulnerable. Hearing socked feet lightly step on the floor upstairs, the feet eventually fell on the stairs, and the individual starting to go downwards. He felt something that he counted as annoying relief when the fox came into view, holding on to the banister and eyes squinting to adjust to the light in the living room. His blue eyes eventually fell on the hedgehog on the couch, a grin crossing his features.
"I knew it was you stomping around. You almost made me think that it was a burglar or something," His tails was wailing slowly up and down, his stance completely relaxed, his eyes drooping a little from the cobwebs that hung around his eyes. Sonic faked a chuckle and started scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
"Yeah, just me, sorry to wake you bud. You can go back to sleep," He said, somewhat hoped that the fox would comply. He knew that Tails was somewhat analyzing him, when he just simply stood by the end of the stairs and led his eyes run over the blue hedgehog. It didn't take long before he shook his head and walked into the living room.
"It's okay. I wanted to get some water anyway," He completely ignored his request of him going to sleep as he went into the kitchen, apparently turning on the light. Sonic bit his lip as he really didn't want Tails to be here, and some idea in his mind wanted to tell him that he was going back up to sleep again, though he didn't. Some place in him was happy to see the fox casually grab a glass and fill it with water, turning around back to the hedgehog while sipping the cold liquid. "Were you thirsty as well? Or did you just come back from your run?" He then asked, glancing at the clock behind him, let a frown appear on his forehead in case the latter was the case.
"Nah, I came back around twelve, I think. Woke up because I was thirsty as well," He knew he was lying, and he hated himself for it. But the last thing he wanted Tails to know was that he had been scared because of some horrible images. Pictures and a scenario that couldn't even become true. Something that was completely irrational, and he felt utterly foolish for feeling the emotions that ran through his body, though he had hidden the worst of it. For a moment he thought that the fox had seen through his lie, as he let silence appear between them, while he let the water slosh around in his glass.
Sonic knew that Tails could read him just as well as he could read the fox. He knew when he was frustrated, tired or worried about something, as well as any other emotion that might pass through him. And more often than his charge most likely thought it was his tails that gave him away, the appendages giving away emotions that he couldn't hide, due to them practically having a mind of their own. Frustration meant whipping as well as a frown on his face, hands moving quickly. Tired was limp tails, ears slightly hanging lower and sometimes black rings under his eyes. Worried Tails was almost comical looking, namesakes moving and a weird frown, but his eyes darted almost everywhere, hands occupying themselves with either fiddling with each other or tapping uselessly on the Miles Electric.
As of right now his tails was moving in slow strides up and down, leaning against the counter and his hand doing something. He was relaxed, a bit tired but thoughtful. The latter he didn't like, and he knew that Tails had seen something in him. But apparently not enough for a course of worry. Thinking that he was reading the fox, then he was most likely reading him as well, and stopped tapping his foot into the floor and sat more upright in the couch.
"Well then," Tails then broke the silence with that, had apparently decided to do something as he took another sip of his water before putting it on the counter. "Experience anything interesting? Eggman robots, Shadow encounter?" Sonic chuckled at that, before crossing his arms over his chest, more than happy to be thinking about something else.
"Not really. Ran into some egg pawns in Apotos but-," – "You ran to Apotos?" He couldn't help but grin at the amount of disbelief in his sentence.
"Sure, I did. Decided to take a detour around Windy Valley," Tails shook his head at that, taking another drink at his water before he turned around towards the counter.
"Quite a detour then. I don't even get that lost with the Tornado," Sonic looked at him almost confused from the way he had phrased it, blinking while the fox took a pot out from the cupboard underneath him.
"Get lost? I didn't get lost. I've been running around Mobius since – I don't know forever," He ludicrously answered, throwing a hand into the air, while he heard the snort from the fox who went to the pantry and got a can of something.
"Windy Valley is the total opposite of Apotos, like completely south of it. If you followed some kind of route you wouldn't have ended there," He explained, Sonic letting out an 'ah', as the fox fished out some hot dogs from the fridge.
"That's where you're wrong bud. I don't follow routes, I just run," – "I know you do. But even you have some kind of mental compass otherwise you wouldn't know where Mystic Ruins even was," He elaborated filling a second pot with water and putting it on the stove. Sonic knew the process of chili dog making when he saw it, thinking that he wasn't hungry, but he would never say no to that.
"Give me some credit. I know where I'm go-," – "What zone is beside Windy Valley?" The question was so unexpected, Sonic was left with his mouth open, looking at the fox who looked at him with an amused grin on his face. "If you followed a route then you must know," He was mocking him now, turning back to the stove as he found a wooden spoon and started stirring in the first pot where he had emptied the can of chili.
The hedgehog knew too much time had passed at the amount of thinking he did, almost started panicking when it popped into his mind: "Speed Highway!" - "Casinopolis," – "Dang!" Tails laughed at his exclamation, turning back around to face him with a grin.
"How do you not know that? We fly over it whenever we go to Angel Island," – "Jeez I don't know man, I just sit on the wing and don't look down because of the amount of ocean we're crossing," He exclaimed yet again, throwing his arms out, emitting a chuckle from the fox. Sonic scuffed at himself, well-knowing that yes, he hadn't really known where he was going.
"That doesn't matter though. I end up wherever I end up," – "I know you do. You just run and experience whatever you feel like seeing, I admire that about you," Sonic chuckled at that, looking back at the fox who was taking some buns out from a drawer.
"Being free-spirited does has it perks," He said, saw Tails nod to his statement, while he kept stirring in the pot. Another beat of silence fell over the two, while Sonic wondered how the fluff, he didn't know that Casinopolis was that close to Windy Valley. It had been a while ago since he had last visited those places, around the time where Chaos had been a threat to Station Square.
"You know," The hedgehog glanced over to him, could hear from his tone alone that another topic was on his mind. "I dream about losing you to," The closest explanation he had for what he felt was frozen, completely shocked at how accurate the fox was in his interpretation. His feelings had completely disintegrated whenever Tails had led him on to the topic of where he'd been – he didn't have the largest attention span. The fox turned around to face him, his eyes had softened a bit, which he didn't like, but the expression changed into a grin probably seeing Sonic's reaction.
"I knew something was up when you looked at me like that. And if you didn't just come home then it must be some kind of dream or nightmare," He explained, stirring in the pot to make his hands do something, when he turned away from him. The hedgehog really didn't want to talk about it, even though Tails had let it out for him. He could give him the whole thing, explain to him what happened and what he had seen but he really didn't want to do that. Both in an attempt at avoiding the conversation and because he was generally curious, he instead half-closed it with a question of his own.
"How do I look at you?" For a moment it looked like Tails hadn't heard him, before he banged the spoon against the pot to make the chili droop off before he turned around, leaning against the counter than the stove and crossed his arms over his chest, looking down into the ground.
"Like when I got shot down with the Tornado the first time. When I almost got pulled into the tornado at the Babylon Garden where you grabbed me. When the Dark Gaia monsters were threatening me, but you cleared them out. When the mind control beam hit me instead of you. When I was almost fried on the Lost Hex and you brought me away and when I was almost turned into a robot," He said, lifting his head with a thin smile on his lips.
"Whenever you worry. It isn't often that you worry, you become angrier than anything. Man, I've never seen you that angry when you thought my mind had been robotized, you were practically shaking," He chuckled, trying to lift the heavy atmosphere that had settled around them.
Sonic bit his lip, had been slightly shaken by Tails' enumeration of whenever he had been in serious danger. He had sounded casual, like it was an everyday event and to be honest he couldn't be happier by it. If his sidekick weren't shaken up about what had happened to him then he wouldn't be either. The only experience that had left some unpleasant memories behind had been when the time eater had been around, which had left the fox sleep-deprived for a long time, nightmares of black holes and purple eyes haunting his mind. But he was over that, that was a long time ago now, and he didn't dwell on it. The fox turned back towards the stove, when the other pot began bubbling, putting in two cold hot dogs while putting two hot dog breads in the oven. He knew he was waiting for an answer, but truth be told Sonic didn't know what to say, other than he knew what he didn't want to say. When the silence took longer than necessary Tails picked up the conversation yet again.
"I don't know if you dreamt about losing me or me getting injured or something, but you know. I can take care of myself," – "I know you can," That he could say, that he with certainty could tell the fox without revealing anything about what he had dreamt.
He hated feeling vulnerable, and he knew that Tails was just trying to help him, was getting his mind off of it by reminding him how bad he was at geography and that his favorite food was about to be ready, judging by the smell of chili that started to live in the living room. But he didn't like sharing his worries with him, didn't want him to worry because of it, and would much rather just hide it away. He had done it for a long time now, had become a master at hiding his worries in a box that he would effectively chuck aside and say 'that was stupid' later.
"I know you can take care of yourself. You're the most self-efficient eight-year-old I've ever met. Beating badniks and flying a plane no problem," He said, smiled at the embarrassed chuckled from the fox, as he pulled out cheese and condiments from the fridge.
"Taught by the best," He said, pulling the hot dogs out of the water and turning off the stove. Sonic grinned at that, watching as Tails pulled out the bread as well, started putting each sausage into their own blanket. "It was awesome learning your spin dash move," –
"Dude you learned it after watching me like five times or something, I was impressed," Sonic chuckled from the couch, as Tails lathered the hot dogs with the chili from the pot, putting it into the sink. Another beat of silence went over them, another chance for Sonic to start his explanation. But he didn't – he thought about it a lot, and almost accepted the idea but thought back on it. He really didn't want to, and Tails didn't force him, the largest push that was around was this very tangible silence where he had no idea what kind of sentence would appear afterwards. It was then broken by an almost empty relish bottle, getting banged into the counter before sprayed over both chili dogs.
"Though I would have hoped that I could have taught you a little about the plane," Once again Tails accepted the silence as a no, as he sprinkled cheese over the late-night snacks. Sonic shrugged to the statement, even though the fox couldn't see him.
"I let you have the plane, therefore it's your problem whenever something's wrong now," He heard his best friend snort at that, before turning around with two plates in hand, a perfect looking chili dog on both as he walked into the living room.
"It wouldn't hurt you to know when the combustor is about to overheat, when one of the blades on the turbines breaks or whenever the nozzle gets clocked up or-" - "You already lost me litl' bro," He chuckled, as Tails placed each plate on the coffee table, turning back around to fetch his glass of water.
Noticing that one of the chili dogs had more cheese on it than the other and more chili on than the other he took the one with the most beans and meat, knew very well that the fox liked cheese. Sitting down beside him, he placed his water on the table after a sip, picking up the chili dog with the most dairy products on, while Sonic had already taking a bite out of his, chewing on the snack.
"I also taught you how to make good chili dogs," He said, with his mouth full, his tongue starting to satisfyingly burn a bit from the chili. Tails swallowed his piece before he answered, with a slight grin.
"Food over mechanics I guess," He shrugged, while taking another bite of his dog, Sonic already devoured over half of his own. He sank a gulp of it, before taking a sip of his own water, placing it back down and then looked at his charge.
"It's not that I don't wanna listen, you know that. I just don't understand a thing about it," He said, chucked the last piece of chili dog into his mouth, putting the plate back onto the table, playing with the cup of water in his hand.
"It's not that difficult," He inclined, was half-way down with his hot dog as well as Sonic chuckled.
"For you maybe," He smiled, taking another sip of his water to do something. Yet another beat of silence then went over them, Tails chewing carefully on his hot dog and swallowing the last bite of it, giving Sonic one last chance to say something.
And yet again, he chose not to. He really didn't want to share anything about it, had already calmed down enough from talking to his friend and eating his favorite late-night snack. His nightmare was already getting pushed back into 'a moment you don't think about because it is now in the past'. He had taught himself a long time ago to not think about anything unpleasant that had happened in the past unless it affected the now. It was in the past, gone, goodbye, you can never see it again because it had already happened.
Happy with this, he put down his glass of water, but a deep sigh from his charge told him that he wasn't done. He looked at him and awaited the sentence that was about to come out of his mouth.
"I know you don't wanna talk about it. And that's fine, totally, I don't care, but just – don't," He stopped for a second, biting his cheek trying to formulate his next words. Sonic decided to wait patiently, stopping his own thoughts from whatever words he was about to blow out.
"Succumb to it. Like letting it – consume you. You know? Don't dwell on it," He said, his eyes uninterestingly analyzing the empty plate in front of him. "That was one of the very first things you taught me, and I hope that you. Stick to it," He looked at him now, an expression that almost begged him to listen to him and accept what he was saying. He smiled back in reassurance, ruffling the fox's bangs.
"Don't worry bud. I will," He ended, was more than happy that Tails had accepted it. He took back his hand by his side, had expected the fox to nod and take the plates away but instead he kept looking at him. He then recognized the worry, the way that his eyes darted around his face, the frown making an appearance.
He was about to call him out on it, tell him that if he was not to worry about it then the fox shouldn't either, but didn't get a chance to when yellow arms flung around his torso, a head hiding in his shoulder. He was momentarily set back by the hug – not because he didn't want it, but because he didn't know if Tails needed it or if he did. Looking briefly down on the yellow head, he couldn't help but let a breath out as his own hands came around the fox, resting his chin on his head. He didn't know that he had needed this reassurance, needed to hear him talk and laugh, to just feel him being alive, warm, and breathing. He felt his heartbeat against his own, felt the fright and the worry that had sat in the back of his mind float out of his system from the embrace alone. He squeezed him a little tighter, when the images made their reappearance, before he kicked them away, yelling at them to never come back because that was never going to happen.
"I'm okay," He didn't know if he had said it or whispered it, his voice sounding low to his triangular ears despite being muffled by his blue fur. The two words alone made him feel more at ease than he had realized. "And I'll always be okay. Alright?" Tails had lifted his head from the last word, his throat resting against the hedgehog's shoulder instead, to make sure that Sonic had heard him. But he had, he had heard him perfectly well and couldn't help but smile, letting his hand turn and overturn Tails' fur on his back.
"I know," He answered, pulling back from the hug, and winking at his sidekick. "Like I said earlier. You can take care of yourself, right?" Tails smiled at that, Sonic getting satisfied from seeing the worry completely gone from his face. And with that, the yawn then escaped him, all other thoughts he had had about his older brother had disappeared from his mind, letting normal needs succumb to him instead. Sonic chuckled, and padded his shoulder, smiling at the slightly drooping eyes.
"Go to bed. I'll clean up and go to sleep as well afterwards," He said, Tails glancing at the plates and almost half full cups of water, probably deciding whether or not he would let the hedgehog do it. But he sighed instead, rubbed his right eye while getting up from the couch, tired tails limp on the ground.
"Alright, thanks. Sleep tight then," He departed with a yawn, waving a lazy hand at him as he started going up the stairs.
"Sweet dreams," Sonic grinned, hearing a snort escape his younger brother before he disappeared into his bedroom, closing the door behind him. The hedgehog then took a moment to sit, looking at the two plates on the table and let a breath escape him. He was fine.
He was fine and Tails was going to be fine. He knew that the fox could take care of himself, that he had reassured both him and the fox the entire night. And if the possibility every occurred, that the chance that he had dreamt about could happen – then they would take it from there. He couldn't run around worrying sick about the fox twenty-four-seven, that was too much thinking, this night alone exhausted him out from using his brain this much. He knew that fighting Eggman had its downsides, as something could happen to either of them, but that he didn't want to think about.
That hadn't happened, and he didn't need to waste energy on it. With that thought settled into his mind, he got up and gathered the plates and glasses, walking over to the sink thinking that he would clean the dishes once morning came around. Tiredness was creeping around his eyes as well, yawning and thinking that yeah, now he could go to sleep again while worrying about nothing.