When Tails discovered by the next morning that Miles was nowhere to be found, he gasped sharply and started shouting his name in vain, running all over the house looking for him as he deeply regretted snapping at him. " Miles! MILES! " he exclaimed, running all around his house in desperation. He knew full well that he couldn't handle being completely alone for too long, especially not when he just had company in an otherwise empty world. If he wanted to be able to survive for long without going insane from loneliness, he had to find Miles, and fast.
Tails tried not to panic, staying calm as he flew his plane several kilometers away from his house, having no idea where Miles could've gone or how far away he might be at that point, with his only hope of catching up to him with his head start being that he would stop every so often to rest. He would stay up all night if it increased his chances of finding him.
Finally, after an entire day of searching relentlessly, Tails gasped at seeing a familiar motionless figure on the ground below him. It was Miles. He was lying at the bottom of a rocky cliff unconscious with an injured ankle, completely covered in bruises and cuts.
Terrified that he might have been too late, Tails landed the biplane in a hurry and ran up to him using the wind technique he was taught by him, kneeled at his side and placed his hand across his chest, discovering to his relief that he was still alive. He was still breathing, and his heartbeat, while rapid from stress, was still there.
" How did this happen?! I-I'm so sorry, Miles!... It's okay. I'll take you home! I'll apologize to you later, " he said sadly, forcing himself not to cry as he very carefully lifted him up from beneath his chest and knees and carried him in his arms walking towards his plane. After several seconds of carrying his own weight, he finally placed him lying down in the two new back seats of his plane, being very careful not to damage his ankle even further as he moved it.
After elevating his injured ankle with his folded lab coat beneath it and wrapped around it, he quickly dabbed Miles' various cuts with a disinfectant-covered wet nap from the First Aid Kit he had in the plane's trunk, and put band-aids on all of them before strapping himself into the front seat and taking off with the plane, flying carefully since Miles couldn't have a seatbelt on in his position. He showed no signs of stirring from his slumber, aside from the worried and anxious look on his face, but after thinking about it more, Tails remembered that it had been there since he found him in the first place.
When he finally got him home, Tails quickly made a stretcher for him while using his wind manipulation powers to move a lot faster than normal, carefully lifted him onto it trying not to move his ankle too much, and got him to his bed, cautiously lifting him up and slowly putting him in it. With that, he put a pillow beneath his broken ankle to elevate it and covered him over with the blankets, before bringing a chair from the kitchen to his bedside and sitting at it to watch over him.
The wait for him to wake up was agonizing, with Tails internally insulting himself stewing in guilt the whole time as he waited at his bedside twiddling his thumbs. When Miles finally slowly opened his eyes groaning, realizing he was lying in a comfortable bed with his aching ankle elevated and bandaged, Tails immediately apologized frantically, " I'm SO sorry, Miles! I'm sorry! Here, I got you home and all fixed up. You'll be all better soon! Of course I still want you around. I, just, I'm sorry! This is all my fault for snapping at you! I should've just told you what was wrong earlier instead of, bottling everything up… until I snapped. I'm not like that. I wouldn't blame you if you slapped me for it! I deserve it at this point… I'm sorry… " Miles looked stunned, sadly staring at him for several seconds. At last, he said sadly, " You're apologizing to me?... You… I owe you one more than anything… "
Showing humility with his head hung low at first, he hesitated nervously not knowing where to begin, before he looked him in the eyes sincerely and apologized, " I am truly sorry that I left you… I promise I'll never abandon you again! I know what it's like to be abandoned, so if I was thinking straight at the time, I wouldn't have even considered it! Even to you! My old enemy! I was so upset over what you said that I would've done the same thing as my parents, even if it was for a different reason, over a stupid fight… I… I was just so caught up in all my emotions because I thought you didn't want me around and I've already had to deal with being unwanted as it is, I-I-I mean… " As Tails stared at him overwhelmed with sympathy, trying to hold himself together, Miles sighed with downcast eyes, embarrassed at everything he was revealing, before looking him in the eyes again saying,
" I'm sorry. I'm… I'm sorry I ran away from your home, I'm sorry I came off like a jerk, and I'm sorry I called you my servant… I only said that because it was expected of me at that point, and I didn't want to look weak. The truth is… you never were my servant. And I was never your ' master. ' I'm your caretaker, your teacher, your… your friend, in, every sense of the word… not necessarily a good friend, due to how stressed out I am and, leftover resentment, but we're friends nevertheless. I know how it feels to be left alone by someone I care about, and, grow resentful and lash out at him because of it. That's exactly what happened between me and Scourge!... I-I mean, Scourge and I… I should've known this would happen, but I thought only two hours in the day would be fine. I didn't realize how lonely you had become – and you have every excuse to be that way!… I'll try to stop being disrespectful of you. I promise I'll never leave you again!... And, well, I suppose I could try my music practice with, you around, if I must. It's a shame I won't be able to while I recover, however. I won't even be able to get up to… do, anything, really… I-Isn't there any way you can make this faster? "
Looking a little excited and nervous at the same time, Tails said with a smile, " Sure! This is as good a time as any for me to try making nanobots that can heal injuries like this! After all, the sooner you recover, the better. " Miles smiled warmly at him, with nervousness in his eyes from uncertainty, and replied, " I knew I could count on you. "
After a brief silence where Tails smiled at him, Miles looked around nervously before asking him unhappily, " So when a portal to your own dimension finally shows up for you… what are your plans for me? " There was another silence as Tails looked at him in confusion, before saying, " I'd take you with me, of course! I would never leave you here all alone! What if you get sick or seriously injured? And even if that didn't happen, you'd go insane from loneliness! Leaving you here just wouldn't be right. Especially since, well, I probably wouldn't still be alive if it weren't for you… Without you making sure I got fed and taken care of, I would've gotten really sick or, starved by this point, the way things were going… "
" Right. So… what then? " Miles responded melancholically, looking annoyed. " Well… to be honest, I'd really like it if we stayed friends for good. You'd be a great Freedom Fighter, especially with all the cool weather powers you have! I know it's easier said than done. I-I know it'd take a while for you to feel like you belong, and it'd be hard for my friends to learn to trust you, but anything's better than going back to being alone… I don't blame you if you want to keep breaking the law. It's what you're used to doing, after all. Whether you decide to join the Freedom Fighters or not is up to you. I'm just telling you what I'd love to happen, that's all… " Tails answered sadly with a nervous smile, knowing full well what his reaction would be. Miles looked conflicted, his eyes darting around as he seemed to be deeply considering it and worrying about the consequences of doing so. At the very least, the fact that he didn't immediately refuse meant there was hope.
Finally, he replied reluctantly, " I… suppose I wouldn't have a choice. You're right, having a friend to support me has undeniable advantages, and it would be unwise to sacrifice them for any reason. So… fine, I'll help you out in your ' heroism, ' but I won't be happy… Of course, I'm not even happy here, so. I'll always have to cope with being miserable… I-I'm sorry I'm depressing you. I tend to do that a lot. I should be thanking you for being so kind. Not many people would give me such an offer. " Tails looked worried, and only managed to smile a little at the end from the sheer impact of Miles being polite and grateful at the end. " You're welcome, Miles. I'll get started on those healing nanobots right away! If there's anything you need, I'll help you, because that's what friends are for, " Tails said kindly, and then left the room as Miles stared at him sadly with guilt and regret in his eyes.
Later, after Miles had fallen asleep, Tails sat on his bed and placed one hand on Miles' right arm to hold it down slightly while he used his other hand to give him a needle, which contained water full of nanobots meant to fix his ankle. Unfortunately, pricking Miles with a needle immediately startled him awake, and Tails was quickly thankful that he had been holding down his arm sitting beside him, as Miles jerked upwards with a jolt gasping. " Relax! " Tails said reassuringly with a nervous smile, but before he could continue to explain, Miles whimpered hysterically, " No, no, no! Not again! " and started trembling uncontrollably with his pupils shrunken into tiny dots, a haunted expression on his face. Glad that he had already finished, Tails pulled the empty syringe away from him and tossed it over his shoulder looking concerned, and asked him, " It's okay, it's okay! It was full of nanobots that would fix your ankle. Miles!... What's wrong?! " to no avail, as he didn't even seem to hear him.
Tails placed his hand on his shoulder as he sat beside him, unaware of the terrifying flashbacks Miles was being flooded with all at once, assaulted with vivid memories of jeering bullies running after him with syringes full of poison or tranquilizer, with the leader of one group of them mockingly saying to him, " What's the matter, mutant?! You're late for your vaccine! We're not gonna hurt you! " The instant Tails had sent the needle into him, he had been overwhelmed with fear at the memory of a bully tackling him to the ground and injecting him with a syringe full of tranquilizer, causing him to attack with his tails and kick him off him, sending him rolling backwards into a tree, which stunned him for long enough that he was able to pull himself to his feet and run away from him with progressively fading strength and stamina.
The stress from his rapidly pounding heart was only making the tranquilizer work faster as it was sent throughout his body, until eventually he became so tired and delirious that he tripped and fell down a rocky cliff, passing out, where he would wake up to being kidnapped by a man who would consistently slap him, insult him, and ignore him as stress relief out of spite for " tricking " him into giving him life-saving first aid by unconsciously hiding his second tail beneath his first. He had been kept tied up in a windowless washroom in his basement, only given the minimum amount of food and water to stay alive and having nothing to do for hours on end as he recovered, the only mental stimulation he had being the times when he was " visited " by the one who tortured him with a tape of horrible sounds. He had been miserable, and at the same time, he hated himself out of guilt for not fully appreciating the fact that someone was actually trying to keep him alive for once. He didn't want that to happen again, being only taken care of by someone from the sunken cost fallacy, barely kept alive out of spite.
It was because of his past experiences that the mere sight of a syringe sent him into a panic attack that rendered him hysterical, unaware of what was happening around him. All he wanted to do was run and hide, but he was painfully aware of how his broken ankle would make that impossible, knowing even in his current state that his ankle was in too much pain to even allow him to stand on it.
After an entire minute of Tails stroking his back to reassure him with his other hand on his shoulder, he decided to take the risk and embraced him in a hug, and he must have been aware of that on some subconscious level, as the hug caused him to relax his shoulders and slowly stop trembling at last. Unfortunately, the overwhelming fear combined with his body believing it had just been tranquilized again caused him to lose consciousness, closing his eyes as his vision was obscured by a red haze. Tails nervously let go of him and let him lie down on his back again as he passed out from fright, and sighed sadly, feeling incredibly sorry for him. " What did they do to you? " he whispered as he quietly left the room.
The next day, Miles woke up, at 7 in the morning for once, and rolled out of bed to stand up and walk out of his room absentmindedly, going in and then out of the washroom combing his hair and whatnot, only to finally realize in his tired haze that he should've had a broken ankle and been unable to stand at all. Confused and bewildered, he ran into the kitchen where Tails was eagerly waiting at the table and questioned nervously, " Why isn't my ankle injured? Not that I'm complaining, but I've never healed this fast! "
With a great big smile that made him look cute even to him, Tails said, " I fixed it, of course! I built some nanobots and sent them to help you! Don't worry, they should be out of your system by now. " Deep down, he was worried about him for not remembering him giving him the needle, but he decided not to bring it up or even make it obvious that he had given him a needle in the first place. The last thing he needed was to set him off again. To his relief, Miles didn't suspect a thing, smiling at him rather than inquiring into how he could've gotten those nanobots inside of him. " Thank you, " he said with a pleased voice and genuine smile of respect. " I'm glad you're an engineer, " he added without thinking, only to look embarrassed and get straight to making breakfast with him to try and distract him.
It was clear that his time spent with Tails had caused him to gain a whole new appreciation for him being an engineer, and finally admitting that to him was an important step in the right direction for their friendship going from exhausting and difficult to a healthy and happy one. He was polite to him most of the time after that day, respecting him and finding him too endearing to have the heart to intentionally mistreat him anymore, and Tails found him more likable to be around as a result, even if he was still his old bitter, stressed out and negative self.
It was because of this improved relationship between them that when Tails experienced the third lightning storm in a row that week, Miles for the first time came to his room upon hearing him scream in fear at the booming thunder, when every other time before that, he had left him alone in his room. While he was certainly awkward about looking soft in front of him, he knew that if he didn't repay him for his generosity by comforting him, he would feel even worse, and be unable to sleep at all. So he opened the door to his room quietly and asked, " Are you okay? " in a whispered reluctant voice, staring at Tails shaking in his bed in the dark having the blankets pulled over his head.
When he didn't get a response, Miles sighed, and closed the door behind him, and slowly walked towards the bed as he asked him carefully, " Would you feel better if I, well, stayed with you?... If you weren't alone? " until he finally reached his bed and sat down on it beside him. Tails wanted to look brave in front of him, lying, " I-I'm not scared, I just, I'm, cold! " as he trembled uncontrollably. The loud sound of thunder booming right outside his window startled him into jumping with a yelp, his fur standing on end, causing him to look away from Miles ashamed of himself. Understanding how he felt, Miles said with his arms wide open, " Well then, um, allow me to warm you up, " with a shy smile on his face.
After an anxiety-inducing second, Tails hugged him for comfort at last, and Miles laid down with him in the warm soft bed for the rest of the night, caressing the back and top of his head with one hand while having his other arm around him to hold him close, the two of them having their tails wrapped around each other for the same purpose. They knew how new and unusual it was for them to be doing that, but didn't entirely care, with Tails wanting to be comforted during a terrifying storm, Miles wanting to repay him and show someone affection and compassion while being held himself, and with both of them being happy at the night solidifying their improved friendship.
From that moment on, Miles could no longer deny that he had begun to see Tails as a younger brother, a sweet and naïve twin, moving on from only seeing him as the version of himself that was far luckier and happier than he was. He could finally regard him with appreciation and affection rather than bitter jealousy, and respect him without feeling insecure himself. Just as he did when they first met, the child reminded him of himself when he was young and innocent, but that just made him want to protect him more, showing him the consideration and comfort that he never got when he was all alone. In that sense, he would be righting what went wrong, rather than acting like a bully and being disgusted with himself in the end.
He wondered as he soothed Tails to sleep if this really did mean he was going soft, and if this meant he would have an easier transition to acting like a hero to fit in with the Freedom Fighters, and while he wasn't entirely comfortable with the slight loss of identity from doing that, he decided to push it out of his mind for the time being. After all, he didn't know how long it would take in Empty Mobius time for him and Tails to have a portal for them appear at all; for all he knew, it could be months away, so worrying about having to struggle for acceptance and beg for forgiveness would only stress him out unnecessarily.
Instead, he focused on the present, on appreciating life as he had it. He was trapped in a dimension where almost everything he would accomplish would be meaningless, as the only other person on it with him was Tails, so everything he did in it felt empty and hollow, except for the things he did for him. He kept him alive and took care of him, and as he began to get over his stage fright of playing music with him around, it became the highlight of his day, but he wanted something more. And months later, he would eventually get exactly that, although it wouldn't be easy.
A week later, Miles walked into his room one morning wondering why he hadn't gone out for his breakfast yet. Tails was lying in his bed with his eyes closed looking upset, causing Miles to look worried as he carried a plate of eggs and toast into the room for him. He took off his glove unhappily and placed his hand on his forehead just in case, and discovered that it was feeling unusually warm. He had a fever. Miles then placed his hand on Tails' arm, and confirmed that the rest of his body was cold. He had to take care of him for days while he recovered, placing wet washcloths on his forehead and warm blankets to make him feel better.
He kept true to his word; he was polite to him from then on. He continued taking care of him more than necessary, being overprotective and coddling as if he was overcompensating for the lack of love and neglect he had received. But with him being polite to him and spending most of his time with him, it didn't bother Tails much, and when he finally started playing music in front of him and opening up to him, it broke past his defenses and he at last managed to warm up to him, softening up as he started treating him with the same kind of affection as an older brother did. He was still sensitive and unhappy and easily frustrated, but in spite of that, their friendship improved significantly.