I swear, this chapter was a real hell to write. I guess I'll probably take a break from this particular fanfic for a while, especially considering that I have some real life reasons to take care of.

It was probably one of the few times that Tails woke up before Cosmo did – considering his seedrian girlfriend was a little too exhausted after yesterday's work, this was unsurprising, so the young fox decided not to wake her. After taking care of the typical morning routine, and even preparing some breakfast – of course, cooking pancakes as usual, leaving an extra plate for Cosmo to eat after she wakes up. – Tails had decided that it would be great to finally get out for a test flight on the plane he has been working on so hard for the past few years.
The past few years…Usually, Tails would build a new plane in a matter of a few months – find the materials, get the blueprints out, get right to work, and in a few months or so, the plane's all ready. But this time, things were a lot more complicated – considering he was doing it to get his mind off of Cosmo during the four years of her absence, it wasn't uncommon of him to either get lost in thought during work, or completely screw something up, albeit unintentionally.
"I do hope that next time I decide to work on an upgraded plane, I will be working a lot more efficiently..." – Tails thought as he left the hangar gates open, went back into the plane, and got ready for the test flight.
Meanwhile, Cosmo had already woken up. When she noticed that Tails wasn't sleeping next to her, she went downstairs to see if he is anywhere in the house. After she gotten to the kitchen, she noticed that there was a plate of pancakes and a cup of tea standing on the kitchen table, with a note lying next to them that read: "When you wake up, I'll probably be going out for a test flight. I promise I'll be careful, so don't worry about me. Love, Tails."
Cosmo went "Aww…" at the last part of the note, and decided to just help herself to the pancakes. During her rather humble breakfast, the plantgirl heard some jet engine noise outside. Seems like Tails had already began the test flight. Cosmo left the halfway-eaten pancakes behind and ran off out of the house, looking up – she saw Tails flying by on his new plane, so she waved to him. Tails waved back and returned to his test flight.
"Okay, normal flight seems to be going perfectly…Now to see what else this baby is capable of!" – And after Tails thought that, he drove the plane into a u-turn. Cosmo gasped and covered her mouth with her hands – even though she knew that Tails was safe, she still couldn't help but worry about him.
"Tails, be careful!" – The plantgirl shouted, sounding noticeably worried.
"Wha?" – Tails asked, not being able to hear Cosmo over the sound of the plane's engines.
"I said – be careful!" – Cosmo shouted again.
"He probably won't hear ya." – A voice sounded from behind the young plantgirl. Cosmo turned around and saw Sonic standing right behind her.
"Oh, hello, Sonic." – Cosmo replied somewhat off-handedly, returning back to watching Tails fly. After a few moments, Sonic remarked: "You know, it's definitely been a while since Tails actually flew on his plane. Lately, he would only use it if it was really needed – like, say, to get me to some places I cannot exactly reach by running. And now? There he is, running a test flight, perfectly content with everything." – Sonic said, looking at Tails' plane through a pair of binoculars he found somewhere.
"Yeah, I'm really glad to see him being happy again." – Cosmo replied, clasping her hands together.
"You know, I may be no expert in such matters, but it seems like your return kind of played a part in this change." – Sonic remarked, lowering his binoculars down for a moment. As if to emphasize the blue hedgehog's point, Tails waved to Cosmo right as he flew right near her and Sonic.
"Huh. Didn't think I would actually be an important part of someone's life." – Cosmo said quietly as she waved back to Tails.
"Okay, low flight also seems to be going just fine-Whoa!" – Tails barely managed to steer the plane upwards before crashing into a tree. – "Heh. Shouldn't have gotten distracted like this. Now to test out the…" – Tails practically froze as his hands reached the main cannon trigger. – "The…Main…Cannon."
Suddenly, Tails had a flashback of the one day that scarred him for life – the day of Cosmo's disappearance. It was all still fresh in his memory – the feeling of despair he had experienced when he found out that, to save the universe, he had to practically shoot his loved one dead, the false hope when he saw that Sonic and Shadow attempted to revive Cosmo using Chaos Regeneration…And the complete hopelessness when he found out that the Chaos Regeneration was seemingly unsuccessful. Sure, even though Cosmo was alive and well now, Tails still couldn't forget that awful day…And all it took was a tiny reminder to make him relive the incident in his mind. So now, mentally, Tails was temporarily out of this reality. And of course, that also meant that the kitsune had no control over his body – he was practically paralyzed with fear.

"It may be just me, but I think there's something wrong with Tails." – Sonic remarked, still looking at Tails through his binoculars. Cosmo immediately tore them out of Sonic' hands and looked through, seeing the look of complete fear and panic on Tails' face. She immediately looked over to where the plane was headed – it wasn't completely out of control, even though the pilot practically passed out, just heading in the same general direction. – and ran towards there, with Sonic running after her. At first he went at a much slower speed than normal, asking Cosmo on the way: "Do you have any idea what's wrong with him?"
"I don't really know…" – Cosmo replied in her usual quiet voice, before suddenly shouting: "But that doesn't matter right now! We have to save him before he crashes!"
Sonic nodded and sped back up to his normal speed, running forward to where the plane was presumably going to crash-land. Cosmo couldn't quite keep up with Sonic's pace, so she stopped to take a breath, looking far away into the distance.
"Now it all depends on him…I do hope Tails at least survives…Oh Gaia, I can't watch!" – Cosmo thought, covering her eyes. Soon she heard a crashing sound in the distance, and when she opened her eyes, she noticed that the plane was out of her vision range now.
"No…" – Cosmo fell down on her knees in despair. She had thought that Tails didn't survive the crash. Luckily, Sonic soon ran back towards where Cosmo was standing, carrying the unconscious Tails in his arms.
"Don't worry, he's alright. As for the plane…Well, it will take a while to carry it back to the workshop, that is for certain."
"I couldn't care less about the plane! What happened to Tails?" – Cosmo shouted, looking over the unconscious fox. Well, 'unconscious' isn't exactly the right term, 'paralyzed with fear' would be a lot more fitting. Cosmo waved her hand in front of him, tried shaking him up, and even kissed him on the lips – Tails didn't even budge, he was still sitting there with a look of complete fear and shock on his face, not moving the slightest bit. Sonic sighed and said: "The most we can do right now is to take him home. As for the plane – later, I'll ask Knuckles to help me get the plane back to Tails' workshop." – And with that, Sonic ran off towards Tails' house, with Cosmo quietly following behind.

Soon enough, Tails snapped out of his stupor – sure, that 'moment of hesitation' may have been short in reality, but in Tails' mind, it was stretched as far as it could get – and jolted awake. As soon as he came to his senses, the young fox noticed that he was back in his bedroom, lying in his bed with a cold wet rag on his forehead.
"Whew. Bro, you really scared us back there! Don't ever do that again!" – Sonic said as soon as he noticed that the kitsune was awake. As for Cosmo, she was seemingly standing near the bedroom entrance before Tails woke up, so she ran over to the young fox and hugged him.
"What…What happened? I don't remember much past the time of my test flight." – Tails asked, rubbing the rag against his forehead.
"You…You kind of…Passed out in the pilot's seat." – Cosmo replied quietly. At first, Tails struggled to remember what happened, but soon it practically hit his mind like a runaway freight train.
"I didn't just 'pass out'. That was a full-fledged panic attack." – The kitsune replied in a sorrowful voice, looking down. – "I guess painful memories rear their ugly head at the worst of times."
For a few moments, the bedroom went completely silent. Sonic knew that lecturing Tails about letting his guilt go would not do all that much – he kind of had the feeling that if those lectures actually worked, Cosmo would have convinced the young fox that everything is okay, preventing any panic attacks from happening in the future. As for the plantgirl herself, the look on her face was a mix of both sorrow and disappointment. Sorrow because she hated to see that Tails still didn't get over his trauma, and disappointment because she actually thought that after yesterday, things would finally get back to normal.
"Then again, I assumed that my return alone would make things get back to normal. But of course it didn't. His scars run too deep to heal them so easily." – The seedrian thought, frowning.
"Sonic, Cosmo, I know what you two are going to tell me. That I need to move on from this, that it wasn't my fault, and that it was necessary to end the whole conflict once and for all. That's what I've actually been telling myself for the past few days. And it doesn't work the slightest bit." – Tails turned to face Cosmo. – "Cosmo, I just cannot get over the fact that I had willingly hurt you by my own hands. I promised to protect you, and I completely failed that promise. This is something I'm the most ashamed of in my entire life…" – The young fox paused for a while, took a deep breath, and continued: "I'm sorry. I need some rest for now."
Sonic and Cosmo exchanged glances, and the former said: "Well, I should probably get going. I've got other matters to take care of. See ya later!" – And with that, Sonic ran out of the bedroom, downstairs, and out of the house.
"Yeah, right. He just cannot stay in enclosed spaces for long, so he needed an excuse to run off again." – Cosmo said under her breath. She then turned back to face Tails, who, in turn, was looking away from her.
"Tails, if there's anything I can…"
"You're still here?" – The kitsune asked in a rather pained, 'barely awake' voice, interrupting Cosmo.
"Oh…Sorry." – Cosmo got off the bed and went to exit the bedroom, but before she did, Tails replied: "No, I didn't mean it like this."
"Alright then…" – The plantgirl replied in a somewhat confused tone, then went back and sat down next to Tails. – "Is there anything you wanted?"
"Cosmo…I'm so sorry that I cannot get over that incident. I…I really tried my best to forget about what happened, but…I just can't." – The fox replied in a rather tired voice covering his face with his hands as he sat upright.
"I wish I could do something to help you out with this. I really do." – Cosmo replied, hugging Tails.
"Eh, it's alright. Your presence alone kind of makes me feel better already, if only for a short time." – The mobian replied, hugging his seedrian girlfriend back. – "Right now, I feel like I should just take a short nap. That flight was quite an emotionally exhausting one."
"Oh…Of course. Do I need to leave?" – Cosmo wriggled out of Tails' embrace and went to exit the bedroom, but was stopped by the young fox saying: "Actually, your presence would, if anything, be only too welcome. I do understand if you have some work around the house to do, though, so…"
"Well…Even though I have some work to take care of…I understand if you're having a hard time falling asleep after what happened, so I guess I can stay for a while." – And with that, Cosmo took off her shoes and lied down next to Tails. The orange fox embraced her and smiled weakly.
"Cosmo…I'm sorry that I left you worrying so much." – He said in a half-asleep voice.
"It's okay, Tails. I know it wasn't your fault." – The plantgirl replied, kissing Tails in the forehead, smiling as the kitsune had fallen asleep. Even though Cosmo was feeling a little drowsy herself, due to how silent their bedroom was and how nice and soft Tails' namesakes actually felt, she knew that she wouldn't really be able to take a nap – she still had housework to do. So, after she made sure that Tails was completely asleep, she once again got out of his grasp – he was only loosely embracing her anyway – and went downstairs. She figured that Tails might probably be a little hungry when he wakes up, so she decided to prepare something for lunch. While she was busy cooking, however, she heard the doorbell ring. The plantgirl ran over to the door to answer, and it turned out that Amy decided to drop by.
"Hey there, Cos. Long time no see, huh?" – The pink hedgehog asked after Cosmo opened the door. Instead of her usual reply, however, Cosmo quietly said: "You might want to keep a little quiet. Tails is taking a nap at the moment and he better not be disturbed."
"Oh, I see…" – Amy replied in a somewhat quieter tone. – "You know, if I had something like that happen to me, I would probably want to just lie down in a bed and do nothing myself." – The mobian girl said as she entered the house and sat down on the couch in the living room.
"Sonic told you about the incident already?" – Cosmo asked quietly, to which Amy simply nodded. The plantgirl then sighed and continued: "I just cannot snap Tails out of it. I thought that things would get back to normal after our talk with him yesterday, but…They just didn't. He just can't seem to get over it." – Cosmo sighed, frowning. She then remembered something and asked: "Well, since you're here, do you want a cup of tea or something?"
"While I didn't come over for that particular reason...I think I could use some." – After Amy said that, Cosmo ran off to the kitchen to prepare the tea, soon returning with two cups of tea.
"You know, considering what he went through after your…Disappearance, it's unsurprising that he hadn't fully recovered from the incident." – The hedgehog replied as she took the cup from Cosmo.
"Yeah, I guess that's understandable. I myself went through the pain of tragically losing my loved ones, so I understand how he must have felt. " – The plantgirl said, taking a sip from her cup of tea. – "But one thing puzzles me: In my case, my relatives and friends from that colony are all gone for good, I cannot do anything to bring them back…And yet I've accepted it and moved on from it. While in Tails' case, even though I had returned, even though I am alive and well, he still cannot get over the incident."
Amy pondered over something for a moment before remarking: "I guess that's because you actually had someone to rely on. Someone who you could confess all your pain to. Someone who would support you and stay by your side no matter what else happened. Perhaps you should try and return the favor to him."
Cosmo replied: "I'm trying my best to do so, actually. Any time he brought it up, I would try my best to convince that it wasn't his fault, and-"
Amy interrupted Cosmo, saying: "I don't really think that's the right approach to helping him recover from the incident. You're kind of treating him like a dying swan, and that doesn't really make the situation any better. "
"Oh…I…I just don't know what else can I do." – The seedrian replied, frowning and looking down. Amy sighed and said: "Cosmo, I'm no psychologist, but I kind of think that, for starters, you should still treat him as an equal, not as a lost child that needs constant care and protection. "
"Okay, but what else? That might prevent him from feeling even worse off than he already does, but what then?" – Cosmo asked, putting her cup of tea down.
"Well…He seems to be stuck in the past just like you were back then, constantly being reminded of all the awful things that happened back then. Just give him a reason to be looking ahead into the future instead of dwelling on his past mistakes, and he'll eventually recover. Just remember – it won't be as quick as you might expect, as it takes time and effort to help a person recover from trauma, as you probably know from experience. But if you try and do your best to help him, eventually it will all pay off. " – Amy replied. Cosmo smiled and took her cup of tea back, then, after taking a sip, remarked: "I didn't know you can actually give some useful life advice every now and then."
"Well, my thoughts aren't always all about Sonic, you know. I can be pretty reasonable when necessary." – After Amy said that, Cosmo couldn't help but giggle.
"Anyway…" – Cosmo remarked, standing up from the couch. – "I'm glad to have had some time to chat with you, but I am kind of busy preparing lunch for Tails."
"You two aren't even married, and you're already being a housewife to him?" – Amy asked in a somewhat snarky tone.
"I'm doing this on my own volition, actually. I mean, he would probably be a little hungry after he wakes up from his nap, right?" – Cosmo remarked once she got back to the kitchen.
"Okay, okay. Care if I help you out a bit?" – Amy asked. – "I mean, I didn't exactly come to help you with that kind of work – I just wanted to check on Tails – but I'm sure you would appreciate some help."
"I guess that would be nice."

An hour or so later, Tails woke up from his dreamless nap. To say the least, it didn't do much of a good job at making him feel at all rested – rather, he felt more like he was probably going to have trouble falling asleep tonight even though he still felt exhausted. The young fox then drowsily stood up from his bed, went out of his bedroom and then downstairs. Cosmo was already waiting for Tails in the kitchen, having two bowls of soup set on the table already.
"So, how did your daynap go?" – The plantgirl asked as Tails sat down beside the table.
"Fairly decent, I guess. At least I wasn't troubled by nightmares." – The kitsune replied. From that moment onward, the two were just quietly enjoying their meals. However, Tails wasn't exactly enjoying the soup that Cosmo and Amy made – not because either of them messed it up, but just because he didn't feel like eating at the moment.
"You…Don't like it?" – Cosmo asked after she noticed that Tails hardly even ate a few spoonfuls of soup.
"Nah, it's actually quite great. It's just that…I'm not really feeling up to eating anything right now. Sorry for making your cooking kind of go to waste." – Tails remarked, pushing the soup bowl further away from himself.
"Okay…I just thought you might be hungry after you wake up. You know, it's still quite sunny out there, so we might go out for a while, if you want to." – Cosmo asked.
"I guess that would be nice." – The fox replied, quietly sitting there. After Cosmo had finished her meal, both she and Tails soon went to exit the house, deciding to take a quiet walk along the seacoast. As the two were quietly trekking along the seashore near Tails' house, Tails was drowsily leaning on Cosmo's shoulder. Cosmo just smiled at this as she and her kitsune boyfriend continued to quietly walk along the seacoast.
"You know, you chose quite a nice spot for a house. The view here is always so great." – Cosmo remarked, first looking at Tails' house just nearby, then shifting her gaze to the pretty view from the seacoast.
"Yeah. But one can get tired of even the most beautiful views in existence." – The fox remarked, sighing. This was certainly not the reply that Cosmo expected, so she asked: "Tails, if there's something bothering you, then…"
"No, there's nothing bothering me."
As much as Cosmo wanted to ask Tails again and let him confess about what is troubling him, she knew that bothering Tails for no actual reason wouldn't do much good, so she just went silent after Tails said that. With that, the rest of the walk along the shore went by fairly silently, without Tails and Cosmo talking to each other all that much. In fact, the entire remainder of the day went by completely routinely, nothing much happening – hell, Tails and Cosmo didn't even talk to each other all that much. Once again, it was the case of both sides not really coming to an agreement – Cosmo didn't feel like bothering Tails too much, while Tails was just too tired to talk to Cosmo.
When the night came around, at first Tails wanted not to bother Cosmo and sleep by himself, but soon found himself unable to fall asleep, despite feeling physically and emotionally tired. So, after tossing and turning for a while, trying to take up a more comfortable position, Tails decided "Screw it.", quietly exited the room and went over to the guest room, where Cosmo currently slept.
"Cos." – Tails tugged at Cosmo's right arm for a bit – the plantgirl was sleeping in such a position that her left arm was on her chest while her right arm was positioned practically hanging down from the bed. – "Cosmo. Cosmo!"
The plantgirl sat upright, forcibly woken up, yawned, and asked: "You're having trouble sleeping, Tails?"
"Yes. You…You don't mind if I sleep with you for tonight?"
The seedrian sighed and replied: "Alright. But this bed has even less space for two, so I guess we have to sleep up close and personal for the night. "
Normally, Tails would blush at the realization of this, but right now, it seemed as if the young kitsune was just too tired to care.
And so, the fox had lied down in the bed next to his seedrian girlfriend. This time, Tails didn't have that much trouble falling asleep – the soothing smell from Cosmo's rosebuds and her warm embrace were doing their work nicely, and soon the young fox surrendered to the oblivion of sleep closing in on his consciousness.