"It's a hurricane. It has to be."

Tails stared agape at the bedroom window, watching the lightning create jagged bright streaks across the pitch black in rapid fire succession. It would brighten up the dark giant room for mere seconds and then fade away, and a thunderous boom would shake the orphanage and cause the eight year old to squeal. The blue hedgehog behind the fox had been trying to catch some sleep, but once he saw Tails again remain motionless at the window, he stirred from his half-slumber.

"Look, lil' buddy, why don't you try to catch some Z's now? You do this every time a storm comes up," Sonic muttered, rubbing his eyelids, which slid open to reveal bright, gleaming emerald orbs.

The fox's silhouette was highlighted by another nearby lightning strike as he turned to Sonic. "Well, it could be a squall, which could lead to a big ol' hurricane, Sonic. It makes sense since we're on an island in the first place," he said determinedly.

"Why do we have to be doin' this so early in the morning?" the two-tail's friend said.

"It's eleven at night."

Sonic sleepily waved his hand at the glowing green alarm clock as if to ward it off. "Close enough."

Rain came in sheets against the window, pounding and pounding as if it were hail. The blue hero groaned and sank back into the bed. It didn't really help that their bunk bed was closest to the window at all. "I don't get it, Tails. Why are you so fascinated with storms? Or are you really that scared of a hurricane coming up?" he slurred.

"I'm not scared!" Tails protested and shot a fierce look at Sonic, his fur puffing out, "And I'm not fascinated with them either. It's just...I want to be prepared."

His spiky friend deadpanned, "Yeah, sure. Says the kid who, as soon as he comes up with an idea, drops everything and attempts to initiate it without even considering the consequences."

Tails grunted and stuck out his tongue. "I don't see you stopping me."

A chuckle was heard, and the blue hedgehog raised his gloved hands good-naturedly. "True, true," he said, "Now, why don't you come back to bed and get some sleep? I don't trust that rusty ol' window to keep back the storm."

"So you do think it's powerful enough to be a hurricane?" Tails excitedly asked, causing Sonic to slap his forehead for even mentioning the strength of the tempest.

"All right, so what if turns out to be a hurricane? Are you going do the Macarena in the bedroom or somethin'?"

"No, but-" he stared out at the window almost sullenly now, "I mean, I know the honest-to-good danger that you and I would be in if that actually happened. Everyone would be in a panic and all that, and I'm terrified of actual thunderstorms-" An earsplitting crack from outside caused the fox to flinch and tuck his arms in closer. "But nightmares and fears are supposed to wreck things. They come true and destroy lives and daily schedules as we know it. I just wish it would hurry up and destroy mine. Y'know, maybe rip a hole through this entire orphanage, so they could just say 'Oh, well, we tried' and let all of us go so we could find better lives ourselves. It doesn't look like they're even tryin'."

A resounding thump signaled Sonic had escaped the clutches of the bed covers, and he had reached Tails in a Sonic second. The fox stared at his friend, who had dropped down to his level, and said, "What do you think, Sonic?"

Horror struck Tails because Sonic looked almost as if he were fading, like this was too big and too much gravity of an issue for him to fix. "Sonic- -?!" he tried to say, but the rain and torrent of thunder overpowered any sound the orphan attempted to make. Suddenly, a sense of utter loneliness engulfed the eight year old, and panic seeped into his heart, causing it to beat rapidly, as the wall in front of him seemed to close in on him.

The thunderstorm took an almost deity-like state as it roared deafeningly. Tears sprouted in the corners of Tails' eyes, and he shook his head furiously. Though the loud noises had scared him before, his greatest fear wasn't a storm or even a disastrous hurricane. It was beyond anything he had ever experienced, but it was something that was always there, hidden almost indefinitely inside his heart. His blue eyes widened as his head spun around to see nothing but darkness. No sound, no sight of any human or animal in sight.

It. was. just. him.

He could no longer take the weight of reality and began to fall to his small, knobby knees. However, strong, limber arms wrapped around his waist and hoisted him up so that his feet barely skimmed the carpet. "Tails, I'm right here for you, lil' buddy. Were you even listenin' ta me?" a calming voice muttered softly in his ear. The rain and storm suddenly resorted to mere background noise as the fox turned to look at Sonic, windswept quills and serious emerald eyes and all.

Tails shook his head, trembling.

Sonic set him down and laughed, an unusual thing to do in the midst of a terrible thunderstorm. "Tails, my friend, heroes got to have hope. But it's not unrealistic to lose it when you're facing some hard times and stuff. Sweet Mobius, I've lost hope sometimes," he said good-naturedly, his eyes illuminated in the storm. He raised a finger in the air as well as an eye ridge. "But ya know what I did? I didn't just sit around and wait for somethin' to happen to solve my problems. Ya gotta have hope. But you don't just wait for something to happen. I realized that every time I decided to sit around and wait, I lost hope. That's why you got to take action and do something yourself. Then you'll gain hope, lil' buddy. That's what a hero does."

Then the blue hero wrapped his arms around the much younger hero and embraced him. Tails accepted it and returned the gesture, nuzzling into the soft fuzz of his big brother's neck and his tan shoulder. "Mmphonick?"

"Yeah?" Sonic asked. The fox pulled away from the hug, still in the arms of his big brother.

"Can you promise to never ever leave me like all the rest?"

The blue hedgehog looked thoroughly stunned and a little hurt. "Lil' bud, why would I ever leave you? I won't abandon you; I'll stick by your side," Sonic promised.

"You'll never ever abandon me?" Tails' voice came in as a squeak.

"Never ever," Sonic said coolly in response, allowing the fox to rest happily. Thunder boomed raucously in the night, causing the both to return to their senses as to where they were and what time it was.

Sonic's confident, brazen voice came in softly but rather loudly in Tails' ear, "So, what's our plan of attack against the enemy, Captain Two-Tails?"

The fox opened his mouth to say something but instead let out an abrupt yawn, smacking his lips for good measure. Tails gave Sonic a sleepy smile. "Ignore it."

Sonic chuckled and ruffled the kid's bangs. "A good plan indeed, my brother."

As the blue hedgehog carried the little orphan two-tail to bed while the storm continued in its roaring and rumbling as if it were furious at failing, Tails smiled and closed his eyes, feeling the warmth emanate from his friend.

In situations like these, Sonic couldn't feel any realer.

Aw, man, I haven't updated in nearly three weeks on this story and the best I could do for a comeback is a thousand word thunderstorm chapter? Still, I hope you enjoyed this one. I tried to do something different and make it more than just a hurt/comfort kind of thing, but I don't know if I accomplished that. I also tried to put my own thoughts and characterization on Tails. Let me know how I did with this one with a review, please.

And for those who gave me ideas for future chapters, thank you! I very much appreciate them and will use them in some way later on in different chapters. Right now, I have no inspiration to write anymore today. And if anyone else has any ideas for future chapters, please let me know via PM and I may use them. Thanks!

-JD