When Tails woke up the next day, he went to the kitchen and washroom wondering why Miles wasn't there. " It's already 7 in the morning. Isn't he up by now? " Tails said to himself in confusion and worry. He walked over to the living room couch where Miles was lying down covered in blankets with his eyes closed, and after great hesitation, said nervously, " Miles? "
Miles stirred and groaned, and reluctantly sat up taking the blankets off him. His movements were slow, drawn out and deliberate, as if he had to force himself to do anything at all. He yawned quietly and rubbed his eyes, which were looking bloodshot and weary, and he complained, " What time is it? " looking at Tails in a half-asleep groggy state struggling to keep his eyes open.
" It's 7:10 in the morning! Time to make our breakfast! " Tails answered cheerfully, trying to cheer him up by being happy around him. Miles groaned a little and slowly got up from the couch to a standing position and walked to the kitchen with Tails following behind him. With a nervous smile, Tails said jokingly, " You're not a morning person, are you? " Miles sighed in exasperation, and Tails asked, " Did you have trouble getting to sleep? " wondering if he had been tossing and turning all night from guilt for his past misdeeds. " Not this time, it was just that I woke up early again and… Why am I telling you this? None of your business, " Miles answered absent-mindedly in his half-asleep state before remembering who he was talking to and trying to save face.
Tails looked worried as Miles got out two plates from the kitchen cupboard, wondering if he usually didn't sleep well, and if that helped explain why he was so grumpy all the time. Was it out of guilt that only surfaced when the day was over? Did he have nightmares a lot? Was it safe to ask him those personal questions without getting shouted at and shut down?
" I'll make us both scrambled eggs and toast. Did you sleep well? " Miles said quickly to change the subject, annoyed in the first sentence as he got the eggs, butter, cheese and bread out of the fridge and placed it on the kitchen counter. " Um, well, yeah actually, I did, " Tails answered unhappily, knowing he'd be envious of that. Deep down, he was hoping he wouldn't have slept well so that he'd potentially be able to get Miles to hold him still all night in an effort to get him to sleep, and was ashamed at how he had gotten so lonely and desperate for affection and care that he wanted that from his evil twin. Miles grumbled, " At least one of us did, " and said in exasperation, " Now watch closely as I make this. I want you to be able to make your meals exactly as I do to ensure maximum nutrition value. " Tails smiled hopefully and asked nervously, " Is this meal gonna be really tasty? " There was a brief silence, before Miles answered, " Yes, but that's not what should be important to you. " The rest of the morning was silent, aside from Miles calmly but slightly condescendingly explaining his cooking process to him as he made him breakfast.
After a rather uneventful breakfast, Miles told Tails, " Now you need your hair combed, " and the two of them went into the washroom to do that, once again not looking at the mirror as he combed his hair. When he finished, he put toothpaste on the toothbrush and picked the latter up before Tails grabbed the toothbrush and said nervously, " Wait, what are you doing? I-I can brush my teeth myself. " Miles said in annoyance, " Clearly not. " Tails shook his head in fear backing away, fearing that he'd brush too roughly and cause bleeding. " Please? I'll put in as much effort as I can! " Tails said with a nervous smile, thinking it'd offend him if he told him the reason for his hesitation. " I'll be the judge of that, " Miles said with his arms crossed.
After Tails brushed his teeth, Miles nodded seriously saying, " Alright, you did well. Keep doing that. " Tails smiled a little, his smile being forced as he was getting tired of Miles' disrespect for him. Tails was instructed, " Come outside, you have more to learn. "
Miles led him into the open field outside, and said seriously with his arms crossed, " You remember how I informed you of how to move at a greater speed than you did previously? Use both hands this time. After you've propelled yourself with it for sixty seconds, return to me. I have something else to teach you. "
" Don't you wanna come along? " Tails asked sadly, remembering and missing the last time they ran together, ashamed that he had appreciated how he was holding his hand from sheer loneliness. " I'm too tired, I mean fatigued, to use my tails that much right now. N-Now begin! " Miles admitted wearily before shouting the last sentence authoritatively. Flinching and not wanting to irritate his evil counterpart even further, Tails nodded, and followed his instructions. Running away with his tails spinning vertically behind him, he blasted gale force wind out of his palms with a quick forceful push behind him, and burst forwards at the speed of sound, thrilled by what he was achieving.
After 30 seconds, Tails turned his hands and moved his arms more to the left side of him, and was able to change the direction he was headed as a result, his hands sending high speed winds out of his palms to turn him around in a U-Turn and get him headed back home. It felt perfectly natural to him, a logical extension of his power, as he used his intellect to figure out how he could use his powers to achieve what he wanted. In fact, it felt so natural that it didn't even occur to him how impressive it was that he figured it out on his own. As he came closer and closer to Miles, knowing he had to slow down to a stop, he found himself sending less and less wind out of his palms, slowing himself down to a stop as his tails stopped spinning, and soon, he was standing in front of him with a thrilled smile.
" That was amazing! " Tails said happily to Miles, still excited by his newfound ability. " Are you sure you can't come for a run with me? Didn't you say earlier that you don't need to spin your tails to move fast?... What did you mean by that? " Tails asked him.
" That leads perfectly into what I am planning to teach you. Follow along with my movements and observe, " Miles answered without much emotion aside from the third word in his sentence. He quickly moved his arm around in a circle in front of his body moving the air around looking focused, and to Tails' amazement, this caused the air to quickly form into a small tornado of roaring wind at half his height that maintained its spin even when Miles stopped moving his right arm to keep it spinning. When he instead sent it downwards and back a little, the miniature tornado was sent towards him, and he leaped into the air to land right on top of it as it moved beneath him. The tornado caught him with the narrow part of its center, with him only falling through the top a little before being sent upwards a little and staying at that height, as if he was standing on something slightly solid. Just like that, Miles was standing on the top of a tornado, with the air below his boots compressed solid at the top of the narrow part of the lower tornado spinning around its inner and outer walls at the speed of sound.
Tails imitated everything he saw him do except his jumping at the end, astonished and completely focused on him. The movements he made felt perfectly natural, and it made sense to him that they would be the movements that would create a tornado in the first place. As quickly as Miles landed on the tornado, he leaned forwards looking determined and the tornado leaned forwards with him, being slightly behind as well as below him letting him continue to hover over the ground three feet into the air as he blasted wind out of his palms. With the tornado propelling himself forwards as well as carrying him, he sped away in a yellow blur, made a U-Turn in the distant horizon, returned to Tails, and moved his arm in a circle more quickly in the opposite, counter-clockwise direction while sending it downwards. This signaled to the tornado to shrink away while slowly lowering him safely to the ground, until it dissappeared into the air as if it had never existed at all. Miles thought nothing of it, looking just as disinterested as he did before, while Tails was astonished and humbled.
" Whoa… You really think I can do that? " Tails said, amazed and unsure. " I know for a fact that you can. Focus on the idea of a tornado in your mind. Imagine it happening, thinking of the roaring wind and what it looks like spinning around in front of you. You may not master it right away, but you could at least try, " Miles answered seriously, looking less tired with his eyes wide open for once.
Tails looked nervous, and took a slow deep breath in and out before doing what he was told. After moving his arm in a circle in front of him fast enough in a clockwise direction, he gasped as the air in front of him started to form a small tornado half the height of him, maintaining spinning around a small focal point even after he stopped moving his arm. Looking very nervous and doubtful that he would land on a solid surface, he hesitated, taking another deep shaky breath before jumping into the air, unconsciously propelling himself higher during it by blasting wind out of his palms, and as he started falling towards the center narrow funnel of the tornado, he squeezed his eyes shut hoping desperately that he would land on something solid. To his surprise and amazement, he did, feeling something solid give beneath his feet sinking downwards before rising back up with him standing on top of it, as if it was made of some very viscous liquid.
Just like that, he was riding a tornado, hearing the wind rushing in circles beneath him and seeing it blow past him surrounding him. Appearing to be hovering above the ground, he carefully and slowly moved his arms to behind him and leaned forwards keeping his feet in the same position, and sent gale force wind out of his palms, which propelled him forwards at four times the speed of sound in a burst of speed that excited him. While he was wary of screwing up, especially in front of someone who was already condescending of him to begin with, he loved using his wind powers more than anything else he had done before. Perhaps even more than his engineering… Of course, he immediately shook off and dismissed that thought, proud of his reputation as an engineering genius and not wanting to be more like Miles. While he did care about him more, he still didn't want to be too much like him.
After making a U-Turn like before and stopping the tornado when he returned to Miles' side, he moved his arm in a circle in the opposite direction as before to make the tornado shrink down and lower him to the ground below. Still overwhelmed by what just transpired, he exclaimed happily, " Miles, I flew! I flew! I was riding a tornado! A real one! That's awesome! "
Thinking it was long overdue, he impulsively hugged Miles in all his excitement as he thanked him, " Thank you so much! " and let go with a happy giggle. It wasn't until he noticed Miles' stunned and wide-eyed expression that it dawned on him that he hugged his evil twin. Before he could be nervous and awkward about it for long, Miles smiled bashfully and turned away scratching the back of his neck, saying, " N-No problem, " in a quiet voice. Tails couldn't believe it. He never thought Miles was the type to appreciate hugs. Was he lonely, too?
" Y-You said you wished to work on your plane, did you not? " Miles said to change the subject, trying to be dignified again. " Well, let's not dawdle, then! " he finished, and Tails, after being still for a second, followed him to the lab, speechless. He wondered how he could be lonely to the point of enjoying a hug from his most hated enemy when he hadn't been alone for as long as him, and was both worried, and pleased that he had a soft side and wanted to be loved, rather than only wanting people to fear him. If he was truly evil, that would've been all he wanted.
Tails walked into his lab with Miles reluctantly following behind him, pulled open the trunk of the plane, and started working on programming his plane to be able to fly to the store on its own after he pressed a button on it. As he worked on that, his lab was silent as Miles was sitting on the floor behind him bored and tired. " You can help if you want. It'll be fun! A lot less boring than doing nothing at all. When I have something I wanna get done that I can easily explain how to do, I'll tell you… I know you think it's risky, but at least you'll have something to do, " Tails said, trying to sound cheerful when he was nervous and fearing Miles raising his voice at him again. Deep down, he was starting to get sick of that, but he believed it was worth smiling through it just to have a friend.
After a silence, Miles said reluctantly, " If you are able to properly explain it to me, then fine, I shall assist you, " looking away from him with his arms and legs crossed in a low grumbling tone, his head hung low. Was he embarrassed that he didn't know as much about engineering as him? Tails happily ignored how he insulted his explaining skills, just glad that he agreed to at least try to help him out in the lab. He was at least willing to compromise, rather than being the only one in the friendship doing any teaching. Tails hoped that their engineering together would bring them closer together, while also hoping Miles' genius would be enough that he'd be able to competently help him despite being an amateur at engineering at best. Of course, there was the concern of him using his newfound skill at that for evil if he ever left the dimension devoid of people he was trapped in at the moment, but Tails decided to put that thought aside until it was relevant. Hopefully by then, he would be able to convince him not to break the law anymore.
To Tails' disappointment, it turned out that what he needed to get done that day with his plane wasn't something that Miles would be able to help with at any point, with it mostly involving either programming, or engineering something to contain that code and make the plane act according to it. So Miles ended up subtly taking a nap while sitting with his back to the wall, with Tails appreciating his company for the sake of it. Still, he looked forward to the day when he'd have some easy to explain engineering task that he'd be able to get Miles to help with. His next project would be going over to the grocery store building a tall homing beacon for the plane to home in on, a radio tower, which would take hours to make even with the help of his ability to ride on a tornado almost indefinitely.
Before Tails knew it, his evil twin stood up from the floor and ordered while still seeming tired, " It's time for lunch. " This caused him to reluctantly stop in the middle of his work and leave the lab with him, knowing that arguing with him would be pointless. The two of them went back inside the house they now shared and Tails watched Miles prepare their pizza for lunch until they were waiting for it to finish heating up in the oven. While they were waiting for their lunch to be ready, there was a long silence, before Tails said lightheartedly to get a conversation going, " You know, back when we were enemies, I would've found it hard to imagine my evil counterpart cooking. "
" Why, did you think I was lazy or unskilled at it? " Miles replied in slight annoyance with a cocked eyebrow, his arms crossed as usual. " N-No, not necessarily, I just only associated you with your law-breaking and stuff. Not anymore. Not now that I'm getting to know you better. You're not just a criminal, Miles, you're not just my evil twin. You're so much more than that, " Tails said, being intimidated at first and smiling at him by the end. Miles looked stunned and then nervous from what he said. " I-I, thanks… " he replied with a small smile, embarrassed as he looked away. Tails smiled some more at that, taking it as confirmation that even he was aware that he had a soft side. Having a feeling that he would soon act rude to him to try to reaffirm that he hadn't gone soft, Tails spoke again before he could do that, saying cheerfully, " But yeah, you can cook! How long have you been able to do that? "
There was a silence as Miles looked at him in confusion and suspicion, before saying, " Since I was 4, " in a disrespectfully suspicious tone. It didn't look like complimenting him was an easy way to get on his good side, even in spite of his apparent arrogance. What could he do, then? Tails wondered if Miles was too paranoid of people to believe that they meant any compliments towards him, but pressed on by saying sincerely, " Really? That's amazing! Most people are still having people cook for them at that age. You must have been pretty interested in it then. "
Speaking quietly and melancholically, Miles' eyes were cast to the side as he said, " I had to teach myself how to do it to survive. I never knew anyone back then who was willing to teach me, and it was ultimately healthier to eat meals that were cooked, so it was the most intelligent and pragmatic decision in the end… What about you? "
" Oh, Sonic's raised me with his friends for as long as I can remember, and they were always the ones doing the cooking, so I didn't learn until a few years ago when I asked them to teach me, " Tails admitted. Miles looked resentful, and grumbled, " I knew it, " before saying in a tone full of bitterness and condescension, " Always been taken care of, never had to struggle. I didn't have that luxury until I was almost 5 years of age!... I always knew you were spoiled… "
Tails was intimidated by his bitter hatred, and the room felt tense as he said sadly, " Oh… I'm sorry… You're good at it! " saying the last sentence with a nervous hopeful smile trying to diffuse the tension. He wondered if Miles hadn't met any of his criminal friends until he was 5 years old, which was certainly an older age than he himself was when he met Sonic. From everything he had learned about him so far, Tails was coming to the conclusion that Miles was an orphan who had to struggle to survive for the first 5 years of his life, and such a victimized and unfair existence turned him bitter and paranoid, making him eager to join a criminal gang to get his revenge against humanity. Tails was naturally uncomfortable with being faced with the fact that if his life had been like that, he would've turned out just like him.
" I cooked to ensure my own survival. It gave me the nutrition that I needed to live. That is all it will ever be to me, " Miles deadpanned apathetically, showing no emotion. Tails said sadly with downcast eyes, " I wish you could just take a compliment… " He wondered if it would even be possible for Miles to end up being good friends with him when he didn't even appreciate his kindness. " What, would you prefer if I were more like Scourge? Relishing in compliments and assuming they're correct and sincere? " Miles deadpanned after briefly looking sad and nervous, appearing to regret causing his sad reaction. Tails, considering how much more annoyed he'd be with him if he acted as smug as Scourge all the time, said,
" Definitely not, but, still… " with a lighthearted demeanor that turned back into worry. " I just want you to like me… " he said sadly, hoping he spoke quietly enough that Miles wouldn't hear. But judging from the way Miles looked away making it impossible to see his expression, it was clear that he had heard exactly what he said. As Tails held back tears determined to avoid embarrassing himself in front of him, he at least was reassured by the fact that Miles didn't insult him in response or say that would never happen like he expected. That alone gave him hope. What Tails didn't know about Miles was that it was taking everything in him not to comfort him after that. He knew how that felt more than anyone.