So, this is another of the chapters that I re-drafted over and over with the premise being much of the same, but the events being a little shifted around repeatedly. And even now, after I submitted this one, I feel like it doesn't quite meet my standarts, so chances are that it will get a rewrite sometime in the future.

As Tails woke up, finally feeling like he had some restful sleep, he looked around and saw that Cosmo was, indeed, still sleeping right next to him. The plantgirl was holding on to one of the young fox's namesakes, but was already awake, smiling at him and saying: "Good morning, Tails. Did you sleep well?"
"Much better than in the past few days, that is for certain." – Tails replied, sitting upright. As he looked towards the bedroom window, he noticed that it was quite rainy outside already. – "Guess we're not going anywhere today. Such a shame – I actually wanted to take you for a walk through Mystic Forest. That's quite the nice place for walks, to say the least."
"And I thought it was still summer. Seems like weather has other plans for the season." – Cosmo replied, sitting upright as well while letting go of Tails' namesakes.
"Weather on Mobius is weird like that. Sometimes the weather doesn't even match the season." – The young fox remarked, still looking out the window.
"You know, I kind of find it strange how the climate on various areas of certain planets can actually change depending on the time of their respective star cycle. When I had lived on that spaceship together with the others, I had always assumed that all planets stay the same throughout their entire star cycle." – As Cosmo noticed that Tails was quietly giggling, her tone shifted to a more 'defensive' one: "I know, that sounds silly, but I was still a little kid back then, what would you expect of me?"
"It's alright. I understand that. If I had lived my entire life on a spaceship where the climate was always kept the same at all times, without any contact with planets like Mobius, I would probably have a hard time understanding the concept of seasons myself." – Tails replied, barely holding his laughing back.
"Speaking of spending one's time on a spaceship…" – Cosmo had blushed at what she was about to say. – "Sleeping with you on a proper bed feels much better than spending the night on a metal bunk. Your fluffy tails are better than any blanket. "
"Hah. Never had anyone compliment me on that." – The young fox replied, blushing as well. The two were silently looking at each other for a few more moments before Cosmo said: "You know, I think we should probably get going and have some breakfast."
"Okay, let's get going." – As Tails stood up from his bed, the young seedrian has asked: "Pancakes as usual?"
"I don't see why not."
Later on, while Cosmo was busy making breakfast, Tails was just quietly waiting at the kitchen – he didn't really feel up going to his workshop just yet – it's not that he felt too lazy to finish the work, it's just that the young fox wanted to spend a bit more time with Cosmo. Of course, the young seedrian didn't complain – she also welcomed Tails' presence. The breakfast time itself went fairly quietly – the two didn't really talk much. However, while Cosmo was washing dishes, Tails couldn't help but stay in the kitchen for a while, talking to her throughout.
"So, why didn't you go running off to your workshop again?" – Cosmo had asked as she put another plate away.
"I just wanted to spend a bit more time with you." – Tails replied, blushing slightly.
"Aww…That's so sweet of you." – The young seedrian said, blushing as well.
"Speaking of spending time with you, how about we go out into the Mystic Forest after the rain outside ends? It's quite a nice place for relaxed walks in the afternoon." – Tails had asked, standing up from the table and approaching the young plantgirl.
"If the rain lets up at all, that is." – Emphasizing her point, Cosmo pointed to the kitchen window, where the rain drops were still splashing against it constantly.
"Well, it's not like we can't have a good time together at home, right?" – Tails had hugged Cosmo from behind as he said that, to which the young seedrian giggled and continued on to wash the last of the dishes in the sink. After that, the two had gone out into the living room. Even though it was still summer, the cold wind outside and the rain were hardly even matching the season. So Tails had decided to light up the fireplace for a while.
"It does feel a little…Barbaric to be burning up plants like this." – Cosmo remarked as she looked at Tails throwing the firewood into the fireplace.
"Well, guess it is one of those necessary evils people on Mobius have to commit not to freeze to death" – The young fox replied, soon lighting up the fireplace. Cosmo shuddered as she saw this – this might not seem out of the ordinary to Tails or any other mobian, but to Cosmo, it was pretty much dead plants meeting their fiery demise. Tails noticed this and remarked: "At least whatever tree was cut down for this firewood…Its death wasn't completely in vain? I…I just don't know."
Cosmo sighed and replied: "It's alright. I guess there is no point crying over a cut down tree."
So, after the fireplace was lit up brightly, Tails sat down next to Cosmo, embracing her.
"Perhaps the tree that was cut down in its prime for firewood…It probably didn't have much to live for." – The young seedrian remarked, looking at the flames in the fireplace.
"You mean just like me before your return?" – As Cosmo heard this from Tails, she gave him a rather concerned look and said: "What...What do you mean?"
"Well…It is hard to explain. Let's start out by saying, that, when I met you…I felt as if something had clicked inside me. As if a part of me just broke off, and the only way to fill that void was being together with you…Remember how I promised to protect you back then? That wasn't just out of altruism or chivalry – I genuinely felt that I cannot live on if something bad were to happen to you." - Tails sighed and looked down. - "Not only did your absence leave a void that nothing else could fill, but I felt like I had failed you. I had failed to keep my promise to protect you and hurt you by my own hands…" – As Tails said the last sentence, hi s voice cracked slightly, as he felt his eyes getting teary.
"Oh…" – Cosmo was left downright disheartened by Tails' story. - "I never thought that my disappearance would have such an effect on you. I'm terribly sorry…"
"It's alright. You're back with me again, and that's all that matters to me now…I got to admit, even though at first I had questioned my sanity when I saw that you had returned, deep inside, I felt complete once more. You just cannot imagine how miserable I am without you. " – Tails hugged Cosmo as he said that.
"Tails, no need to stretch it to the extreme like this. I wouldn't take it if you had an attempt on your own life because of me." – The young seedrian replied, sounding downright worried.
"Actually…" - Tails took a deep breath, as he himself didn't really want to admit it. - "I did." – The young fox let go of Cosmo and slightly moved the fur on his right hand a bit to expose a few cut scars on his arm.
"Oh my…" – Cosmo was genuinely surprised that she didn't notice these scars when Tails had embraced her the first time after their reunion, or that nobody spoke of this when Tails' friends had gathered at his place as they found out about Cosmo's return.
"Well, it wasn't exactly an attempt on my own life – just self-inflicted punishment for my failure. And I kind of started out on it pretty late, too – just about a week before your return."
"Sweet mother Gaia, this is awful…" – Cosmo remarked, covering her mouth with both hands. After a few moments, she embraced Tails once again, crying: "Please, don't ever do that again!"
"Hey, hey, it's alright. I told you, now that you're back with me again, I'm feeling a whole lot better." – Tails replied, hugging his seedrian girlfriend back. The plantgirl wiped her tears and smiled as she heard this. – "You know, I think it wasn't very smart of me to mention that incident all over again. I think we should probably begin talking about some of the more pleasant memories more often. " – As Tails finished the last sentence, he let go of Cosmo. "I think starting with one that's debatably not so pleasant isn't exactly a smart move, but…Remember when we were looking for a Chaos Emerald on a deserted planet and accidentally got trapped in an underground cave?" – Tails knew that mentioning that smaller-scale incident to Cosmo was probably akin to stepping into a minefield, so he was still unsure whether or not it was right to mention that.
"It wasn't all that bad, actually – it was actually quite nice to spend some time with just you, even if it was under such circumstances. And we had fun infiltrating the Metarex base, too. As for the incident that got us trapped, I already lived it down. Some things just…Happen. " – The young seedrian remarked, shrugging.
"Funny thing is, if it weren't for you accidentally pressing that button, we would have never found the Emerald in the first place. Okay, here's to a more pleasant one: Remember when you were decorating a room on board of The Blue Typhoon for a surprise party and I offered my help?"
"Of course I do. We actually had quite a lot of fun working together like this. Especially when you held me up in the air, helping me decorate higher up in the room."
"Speaking of that surprise party…Had Vector not messed something up, we wouldn't have a particularly interesting moment to talk about…" – Tails blushed as he said this, but at the same time a mischievous smirk crossed his face, as he also had a rather interesting idea that he thought would probably cheer Cosmo up a bit. In the next few moments, the young fox unexpectedly jumped towards Cosmo, knocking her off the couch and down onto the floor, landing on top of her as well. At first Cosmo was rather shocked and weirded out by Tails' actions, but soon realized what memory Tails was referring to and replied: "Oh…I remember now. When Vector accidentally sent that disco ball flying towards me and you knocked me out of its way, right?"
"And…Maybe my memory is a little rusty here, but I recall accidentally kissing you when I did." – To emphasize his point, Tails had kissed Cosmo on the lips. The plantgirl had blushed at this, but after Tails let go of her, she remarked: "But this time, it's certainly not an accident. Then again, that certainly cleared my memory up. But how about we get back up on our feet now?"
"Agreed." – And with that, Tails helped Cosmo get up from the floor and they both got back down onto the couch. The flames in the fireplace were already dying out by the time they did, but it didn't really matter to either of them.
"And of course, we just cannot forget about what happened back then, on Planet Marmolin." – As Tails said that, both he and Cosmo blushed at this. This definitely wasn't the first time either of them mentioned that little occurrence, but even though it didn't go any further than hand-holding – not even a single hug or kiss – they still blushed whenever they reminisced of it.
"I find it rather funny that some of the most romantic moments of our life together had happened by accident." – Cosmo remarked, still blushing.
"It's just like how you said it a few moments ago - some things just happen on their own accord. And there's not much we can do about it. But I accept those moments the way they are – I got to admit, back then, I wouldn't dare to take the first step on my own." – Tails replied, hugging Cosmo once more and wrapping his namesakes around her like a blanket.
"And yet here you are, actively hugging me." – Cosmo remarked, giggling slightly.
"Well, I did say 'back then', so a lot has changed since that time, didn't it?" – With that said, Tails hugged Cosmo the tiniest bit tighter as the two continued to relax on the couch for a bit longer. A few moments later, Tails looked at the living room window and noticed that the rain outside has stopped and the skies had cleared up. – "Hey, look, the weather is finally back to normal."
"So this means we can go out into the Mystic Forest now?" – Cosmo asked as Tails let go of her.
"I don't see why not." – With that said, the two lovers went to exit their house, but not before Tails made sure that the fire in the fireplace had already snuffed out. Luckily, what remained of the firewood was just smoldering slightly, no signs of actual fire in it. And with that out of the way, Tails and Cosmo exited the house and headed for the forest not too far away from Tails' place. As the two approached the entrance to the Mystic Forest, Cosmo remarked: "This forest certainly looks really beautiful. I got to admit, I'm still amazed by the sheer diversity of landscapes on Mobius. "
"If you're enjoying the view outside of the forest, then you'll just love it when we get into the forest itself. Or even better – I know a particular lookout spot in the Mystic Forest that allows one to get a view on pretty much the entirety of it." – Tails remarked, grabbing on Cosmo's right hand.
"Oh…Well, then let's keep going, I suppose." – With that said, the couple had entered the forest.
While Cosmo was strolling through the forest together with Tails, she admired the beauty of all the trees and lush greenery around her – since it was still summer, the tree leaves, as well as the grass and the bushes, were a nice green color - not too bright, not too dark, pleasing to the eye overall.
"You were right, Tails. This forest is really beautiful. But I suppose we're yet to arrive to the lookout point you mentioned?" – The young seedrian remarked, looking at her foxy boyfriend.
"I can actually speed the process up a bit, if you don't mind." – As Tails said that, he lifted Cosmo off the ground by her legs and took a few steps back to get a running start. Cosmo immediately caught on Tails' trail of thought, so she replied: "Are you sure I won't get airsick from this?"
"Don't worry, I'll try not to go too fast - I'm not like Sonic, who is practically obsessed with speed, you know." - And after Tails said that, he ran on ahead, speeding up with each step. When the young fox felt like he couldn't speed up any further just by running, he spun his tails in a propeller-like fashion, speeding himself up and soon slightly hovering above the ground as he kept moving forward. As for Cosmo, she was looking around as she and Tails practically flew right past all the greenery – even though everything was practically passing right past her, she enjoyed the view, but soon felt a bit sick and closed her eyes. Soon enough, the two had arrived to what seemed to be the tallest oak tree in the forest, which towered way above most of the Mystic Forest's trees.
"Well…" – Tails said, wheezing as he let Cosmo get back down onto the ground just near the tree. – "Here…We…Are…" – The young fox leaned against the tree trunk, still wheezing and breathing heavily – sure enough, he wasn't getting much exercise lately, so who can blame him? Cosmo didn't exactly enjoy the speedy ride herself, either - she felt a little bit dizzy at first, so she was also leaning against the tree. Soon enough, the two had practically slid down onto the ground. Cosmo looked up at the tree and gasped at how tall it was.
"Wow… This tree certainly stands out amongst the others here. So, Tails, is this the lookout point you mentioned?" – Cosmo asked, turning to face Tails. As soon as the kitsune had caught his breath, he replied: "Yep. Yes, it is. We just have to fly up to one of the highest branches on the tree, and we'll get quite a good view on the rest of the forest from up there. Just let me get a short rest, and then we'll go up there." – While Tails was resting, Cosmo approached the tree and placed her hand on it. Since Cosmo was capable of communicating with plants, she wanted to see what this tree had to tell her.
"This tree...It is certainly the oldest in the forest. It has quite a story to tell, as it saw many things happening around it, to both it and the other trees. This oak has witnessed many things happening far and wide throughout the forest, as its roots stretch out throughout it's entirety. As for the memory of when Mobius' Planet Egg was taken from it, it seems to have forgotten how it felt to be drained dry, but it was certainly upset over the near-death state of the other trees in the forest, like a parent upset over their children getting ill." - As Cosmo said the last sentence, she let go of the tree, while Tails stood next to her, slightly shocked.
"You know, I kind of forgot you had the ability to communicate with some of the non-sentient plants, so you kind of had me off guard when you began saying such things about this tree." - Tails remarked. - "Anyway, shall we fly up to the top of the tree now?"
Cosmo placed her hand back on the oak tree, and said: "It doesn't seem to mind, so I guess we can go for it." - After the seedrian said that, Tails grabbed her from behind by her waist, once again spun his namesakes in a propeller-like fashion, and soon flew upwards, holding Cosmo. This time, however, Tails wasn't flying as fast as he could, instead trying to maintain a speed that allowed him to still fly up to the tree top while at the same time not going too fast so that his seedrian girlfriend didn't get dizzy again. As for Cosmo, she turned her head slightly to look Tails eye-to-eye, blushing that he held her like that. Soon enough, Tails flew a bit closer towards the towering tree that they were near, and the two had landed on one of the branches higher up on it. Cosmo looked around, enjoying the view – getting to see the forest from far above like this was quite welcome for her. The young seedrian wasn't afraid of heights, either – her moderately low weight and the ability to gently float down using her skirt as a parachute would allow her to get back down to the ground safely even if she were to slightly trip up on the branch.
"This view…It's just too beautiful for words. " – The plantgirl remarked, looking down. After Tails caught his breath again, he edged a little closer to Cosmo and whispered: "But not even half as beautiful as you are."
"Oh, Tails…Stop it." – Cosmo replied in a rather flattered tone, blushing. Suddenly, Tails gave her a soft kiss on the cheek, which made the young plantgirl blush even more – so much that her cheeks were almost the same color as the buds on the sides of her head. From that moment onward, however, the two were just silently sitting next to each other, holding hands and enjoying the view. They felt like they could have spent an entire eternity here, but the weather decided that it had other plans - sure enough, the sky was getting covered by the storm clouds once more, so the couple had to go back home.
"Aww...Just when we were enjoying ourselves, this had to happen." - Tails remarked, jumping off the branch and slowly floating down, with Cosmo following after him. Luckily, the two managed to get out of the forest and back home just moments before the rain had started.
"Well...I guess that can qualify for a happy memory for the future, can it?" - Tails asked as he practically crashed down onto the couch in the living room, trying to catch his breath.
"I sure enjoyed myself. The view from above the forest was quite beautiful, too." - Cosmo replied as she also sat down next to Tails.
"Say, you don't mind if I go over to my workshop for the time being? I have some work to finish." - The young fox asked. - "Don't worry, I'm not ditching you or anything. It's just that, it just feels a little weird to leave my work unfinished with just a few finishing steps remaining."
"Tails, you don't have to come up with any excuses to get back to your work." - Cosmo answered, hugging Tails. - "I respect that you don't want to leave your work unfinished, as long as you don't spend an entire day on it unless completely necessary."
From that moment onward, most of the day up until nighttime went fairly routinely for the couple – after Tails had went into his workshop to apply the finishing touches to The Cosmic Tornado, he then went to help Cosmo out with the remaining housework. So, it was understandable that, by the end of the day, they were pretty exhausted. After the typical pre-bed routine, neither of them really had the energy to talk some more - Cosmo and Tails just crashed down onto their bed, falling asleep within mere moments afterwards.