Chapter 17
Home
Sonic stared wide eyed at the ceiling. He was supposed to be asleep, yet he felt wide awake. It didn't help that his hotel bed was not very comfortable. One thought kept echoing in his head.
"He could have died." Sonic thought to himself. He thought back to what Josh had told him only a few moments ago.
…...
"So, after you got thrown in the box, his attacks got even worse." Josh explained to his attentive "older brother." "I tried to make myself more of a threat to save you. He seemed to focus on the bigger threat, and you were until I managed to land a hit on him. After that, he focused most of his attacks on me." The two slowly walked down the street back to the hotel. Their way was lit by a bunch of street lamps.
"Woah, slow down. Exactly how did that save me?" Sonic looked at Josh with concern.
"The swords he was making appeared at a fast rate, but when I made myself a threat, they slowed down quite a bit as he focused on me." Sonic nodded. "Anyways, when I saw the last sword start to go into your box, I panicked and headed over. I wanted to try to let you out. On my way over, Blitz fired a ton of projectiles, ranging from small hypodermic needles to a large dagger that got in my side."
"Did it hurt?" Sonic asked.
"Well, yeah, of course it did. But, I'm fine now, see?" Josh showed Sonic the healed skin on his arms and on his side. "No harm done."
"Tell me what happened next." Sonic said.
"Well, uh, I managed to get him to hit all of the columns and the building fell. Then I made a wish to be healed. Ta-Da!" Josh said.
"...You're hiding something." Sonic looked at Josh with an eyebrow raised.
"What? No, that's pretty much all that happened." Josh said with a shrug.
"Pretty much? Josh, you need to tell me what happened." Sonic stopped and crossed his arms. "I'm not going to take no for an answer."
"...Well, I, ah..." Josh sighed. He chose his next words carefully. "I did... go unconscious for a few seconds."
"You bled out?!" Sonic almost yelled. "Josh, you need to be more careful!"
"Well I did manage to get the Emerald! You should be lucky I even made it to it to the Emerald, otherwise you wouldn't even be out of that box yet!" Josh said defensively. It took a moment before he realized what he just said, and a moment more to realize that Sonic picked it up way before he did.
"You almost didn't get the Emerald?" Sonic stared at Josh wide eyed.
"...I managed to crawl over and touch it." Josh finally admitted. "I didn't even realize I did until I was healed." Sonic was quiet, while Josh stared awkwardly at the ground.
"Josh," Sonic finally spoke up. "You need to be more careful. You won't always get that lucky. Next time that happens, you may end up dying. That means that Jacob will be stuck here, without a brother. And... I'll miss you." Sonic grabbed Josh's shoulder. Josh looked up into the blue hedgehog's eyes. "Will you be more careful?" Sonic asked. "For Jacob, and for me?"
"...Okay. I promise." Josh said. Sonic smiled a bit. Josh smiled back. However, as they continued walking, the hedgehog couldn't get one nagging thought out of the back of his head.
…...
"He could have died." Sonic thought to himself again. He kept tossing and turning, rolling around in his own thoughts. Sonic tried everything to get the thought out of his head, but it kept coming back. Even Josh's promise couldn't calm him. Sonic sat up and rubbed his temple.
"I can't be so attached." Sonic thought. "He's going to have to go home eventually." Yes, Sonic would keep a close watch on Josh, and make sure he wouldn't get hurt. Even if he wasn't his actual older brother, he would sure as heck act like it. But when the time came, Sonic had to make sure that he was prepared to let Josh go. "I can't be a wreck when Josh leaves, that will only make it harder on him."
But...
What will happen when Josh leaves? Sonic's train of thought went in a completely different direction as another thought occurred to him.
"Josh has no one to take care of him back on Earth. It'll just be him and Jacob." Sonic closed his eyes. He knew Josh would be against the idea of adoption. He cared about Jacob way too much to risk losing him, even if he wouldn't. Sonic knew that the brothers wouldn't be separated if they decided to get adopted or fostered, but running that idea past Josh might be tricky.
Sonic shook his head. He was becoming too attached again.
Brother.
Attached.
Adopt.
Dead.
Alive.
Josh.
Too many thoughts kept swirling around Sonic's head. He needed to clear it, otherwise, he would never get any sleep. Sonic stood up and did something he hadn't done for a long time.
He went for a walk.
…...
Josh awoke to hear the door close. A quick check at his bed stand clock revealed it to be 2:30 in the morning. Josh rubbed his eyes a bit, looking over to the two beds. Knuckles was sound asleep, but Sonic's was empty. Josh snuck over to the door and opened it a crack. Sonic was slowly walking down the hall towards the stairs. Josh closed the door, grabbed his shoes, then left again in pursuit of Sonic.
…...
The night air was cool against Sonic's skin. He walked slowly and deliberately through a park, a new thought seeming to form with each step.
Brother.
Josh.
Emeralds.
Dead.
Adopt.
Alive.
Sonic shook his head. He was having an information overload. Wasn't the reason he came out here to clear his head?
Emeralds.
Dead.
Alive.
Adopt.
Brother.
Josh.
Sonic kicked a rock around. He gave up on trying to get rid of these thoughts. Might as well stew in his thoughts if they were going to happen. Maybe try to make some sense of his emotions.
Dead.
Alive.
Emeralds.
Brother.
Adopt.
Josh.
...Adopt...
Josh.
Adopt Josh?
Sonic stopped. Adopting Josh...
…...
Josh looked around for his blue friend, but seemed to have lost track of him.
"Great." Josh grumbled. He continued walking down the street, hoping to at least catch a glimpse of Sonic. Josh kicked a small rock down the sidewalk. It skittered to the front of a small shop. Josh looked up. "Sing-a-little..." Josh read the small sign. He looked in to see a small little music shop. The door was propped open. "Might as well take a look." Josh shrugged and headed in.
"Hello there young man!" A young rabbit sat at the front desk. She smiled at Josh. and walked up to him. "Welcome to Sing-a-little! How can I help you?"
"I'm sorry, I'm just window shopping." Josh smiled.
"Oh, well that's fine, we don't charge to look around." The rabbit smiled again. "Can you play?"
"Uh, yeah, the piano." Josh replied. The rabbit looked around.
"Want to play on a really good one?" She asked, lowering her voice.
"You serious?" Josh asked back.
"Just don't tell my boss." The rabbit winked. "Come on, I'll show you some new sheet music we got!"
…...
Adopting Josh... what would that entail? Josh would be in a lot more danger... It seemed like Eggman made Sonic a target every day. With Josh in the mix... things would get complicated. Based on what Josh said Eggman did to his brother, he had a feeling the rotund villain wouldn't be afraid to kill Josh if he had the chance.
And yet...
Sonic needed to know Josh would be safe, taken care of. What better way to do that than to keep the little guy close. Even if Sonic had to adopt both Josh and Jacob, he would do it. At least then he could be with Josh.
Sonic felt a small burning in his chest. What was it? Sonic put a hand on his heart, closed his eyes, and smiled.
It was love.
Not the kind of love you see in movies, but the kind of love you have for a close friend. It was the kind of love that you hold towards your family.
Your brother for example.
Sonic made up his mind. He was adopting Josh.
And he was doing it tonight.
…...
"Oh, I love this song!" Josh pulled out a small folder, simply titled "arms."
"Nice choice! It's me and my boyfriend's favorite!" The rabbit sighed a bit, as good memories came flooding to her. She looked at Josh. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go play it!" Josh smiled and hurried over to the piano.
He opened the folder and set it on the stand of a beautiful grand piano. He studied the music for a moment before playing the introduction. The soft tune slowly carried him away, as the lyrics came to him. He started to sing...
I've never thought that you'd
Be the one to hold my heart...
But you came around and you knocked me
Off the ground from the start...
…...
Sonic walked back to the hotel excitedly. He couldn't wait to get Josh. But something stopped him. A voice coming from a small shop across the street.
You put your arms arms around me
And I believe that it's
Easier for you to let me go..
The voice was amazing. Sonic closed his eyes as he got lost in the melody of the voice and the piano.
You put your arms around me
and I'm home.
Sonic's eyes snapped open. He knew that voice. He looked over to see Josh, playing on a grand piano. He smiled and shook his head. That boy never ceased to amaze him. He quickly made his way over to the store.
…...
Josh's fingers danced across the keys, as he made his way to the second verse. The melody was so beautiful, he didn't notice a second person sit next to him and start to harmonize his playing. The duet made the music sound like something that the angels had written. (Of course, Josh didn't notice this, he was too busy getting lost.) Josh was about to sing again, when another voice cut him off.
How many times will you let me
Change my mind and turn around?
Josh suddenly turned to see Sonic was playing and singing next to him. Josh was amazed! Not only was Sonic making up a beautiful piano harmony on the spot, and a complicated one at that, his voice was amazing! It was pitch perfect, pleasing to listen to, and it even did that little wavy thing that artists called vibrato! Sonic smiled at Josh before continuing on.
I can't decide if I'll let you
Save my life, or if I'll drown...
Josh smiled back before harmonizing with Sonic's voice.
I hope that you see right
through my walls...
I hope that you catch me
'cause I'm already falling!
Sonic stopped and let Josh sing the last line of that, considering he seemed to always be falling. They both chuckled a bit before continuing on.
I'll never let our love get so close
You put your arms around me, and I'm home.
Josh and Sonic both started to play louder, as the big finish to the song came.
"When have you started to sing and play like that?" Josh asked between verses.
"I always have... It's just been one of my more guilty pleasures. Not many people know I can!" Sonic replied. "Your verse."
"No, we sing it together!" Josh smiled. "I'll sing the first two lines, you sing the next two, then we'll both sing together."
"Whatever you say." Sonic agreed. Josh cleared his throat before singing.
The world is coming down on me and
I can't find a reason to be loved...
I never want to leave you but
I can't make you bleed if I'm alone.
You put your arms around me
And I believe that it's
easier for you to let me go...
I hope that you see right through my walls!
I hope that you catch me
'Cause I'm already falling!
I'll never let our love get so close!
You put your arms around me-
Sonic stopped playing suddenly and wrapped Josh in a tight hug.
"And you're home." He finished.
"...Sonic?"
"Josh, I've been thinking. I don't want you to go home and have to fend for yourself again." Sonic looked at Josh. "I wanted you to consider adoption."
"Sonic, you know why I don't want to get ado-" Josh was interrupted by Sonic, who held up a hand.
"Josh... I want to adopt you." Sonic looked deep into Josh's eyes, who grew to be the size of saucers.
"...Sonic..." Josh gasped. "You'd... you'd do that for me?" Sonic nodded. "B-but what about Jacob?"
"Sure, we'll adopt him too! We can be one big family!" Sonic said. A small sniffle interrupted the conversation. They turned to see the rabbit crying, and dabbing a tissue at her eyes.
"Oh, don't mind me." She sobbed. "Just go on!"
"...What do you say Josh? Do you want to be my actual brothers?" Sonic asked softly. Josh looked astounded, before a huge grin spread across his face.
"...Yes. Yes, Yes, YES!" Josh lept at Sonic and hugged him tightly. Josh thought of all the things Sonic had just done, not only for him, but for his little brother as well. They would never have to be lonely again! Someone would always be watching out for them! Josh wouldn't have to worry as badly if there would be food on the table, or if they would keep their house! It seemed that the weight of the world just melted off of Josh's shoulders. Josh started to softly cry. "You don't know how much you've just done." Josh almost whispered. Sonic smiled and held his soon to be little brother close.
…...
"Mr. Hedgehog?" The receptionist at the adoption center asked. "We're ready for you."
"Who knew Casino Park would have an adoption center?" Josh said excitedly. Sonic chuckled. The two followed the receptionist into an office. A middle-aged fox sat behind a desk.
"Welcome gentlemen." The fox said as he pushed some papers to the side. "Which one of you is Josh?" I raised my hand. The fox smiled. "Congratulations!"
"Thank you." Josh beamed. The fox motioned for the two to take a seat.
"Well, I must say this is rather unique. We don't get any humans in here, so you are a bit of a rare case." The fox said, studying some papers before sliding them up to us.
"Is that going to cause problems?" Sonic asked.
"No, it's just that... well, I've never seen a hedgehog adopt a human." The fox replied. "Sorry, I'm letting my opinion get in the way." The fox waved his hand dismissively. "Okay, so, by signing this, you agree to take not only financial, but moral responsibility for Mr. Corey here." The fox held a pen towards Sonic. "Are you ready for that?" Sonic looked at Josh.
"Of course I am." Sonic looked back at the fox, grabbed the pen, and signed the paper.
…...
"Welcome to the family Josh!" Sonic cheered as they left the building.
"Josh the Hedgehog..." Josh thoughtfully put a finger to his chin. "I like it! Has a nice ring to it." Sonic laughed before putting an arm around his now official little brother. Josh smiled, and hummed the last few notes to his new favorite song.
You put your arms around me, and I'm
Home.
…...
The next day
…...
The sun filtered through the curtains and fell right on Knuckles. He squinted and held a hand up to the bright light.
"Mornings..." Knuckles grumbled. He got up, and saw both Josh and Sonic were still sound asleep. He checked the clock. 10:00 a.m. "Hmph." Knuckles grunted. "Figures." Then Knuckles noticed something... odd. Both Sonic and Josh were smiling... while they were asleep. "What are they dreaming about?" Knuckles wondered as he walked over to their beds. He sat and watched them for a moment. "...Well, let's wake them up. Time to go." Knuckles thought with a smirk. Any chance to cause Sonic grief was welcome, and he couldn't resist messing with Josh a bit too. He went over to Josh to shake him awake, when he noticed Josh clutching something. A piece of paper. Curious, Knuckles carefully slid the paper out from Josh's hands and read it. "...Josh... the Hedgehog." Knuckles finished. He stared at Josh for a moment, then looked at Sonic. Knuckles smiled a bit. "Congrats." He quietly put the paper on Josh's bed stand, then left to go downstairs for breakfast.
