Finally, I'm done with this chapter. If you had read Sonic's side, you would know where this chapter fits.

Oh, and thank you everyone for your precious reviews and comments, as well as your time and patience. Most of all, I'd like to thank UpbeatButNegative and ABCSonicKirbyWarriors, as well as all the other readers for your wonderful comments and thoughts. Enjoy the final chapter of the story, and a little surprise you don't want to miss. Enjoy.

Chapter 10: Forgiveness

Quickly parking the Tornado in the hanger, Tails jumped out of the cockpit and ran straight to the bathroom. It had been a long day, and the fox was mostly black from all the explosions in different cities.

Tails took a really quick shower, just long enough to wash the dust and ashes off his body until his fur returned to its original golden shade. He grabbed a hair dryer and dried off his fur.

"Good!" said the two-tailed fox as he looked at his own reflection in the mirror.

However, he soon found another problem. The bump on his head when he had taken cover from Shadow's Chaos Blast was clearly visible to the now clean fox. Like before, it wasn't much, but it looked nastier than it actually was.

"Oh no, if Sonic sees this, he'll bug me to no end" said Tails as he yanked his cabinet open and reached for a band-aid inside and placed it over the gash. The fox then used the fur on his head to cover the band-aid, hoping Sonic wouldn't find out about it.

The hedgehog, due to his knowledge of Tails' past, was extremely protective of Tails. Any minor cut or bruise that appeared on the young genius looked a bazillion times worse in the cobalt speedster's eyes. After taking Tails back from Westside Island, He had always acted paranoid when Tails accidentally hurt himself in missions, or in his experiments. Even though that side of Sonic had somewhat subsided over the years, the hedgehog still overreacted to his young charge's injuries, which both amused and annoyed the fox.

Once Tails was sure that everything looked exactly like before, he ran into his bedroom and closed the door. At that moment, the fox's sensitive ears picked up the sound of the front door opening downstairs, and knew that the blue blur was back. Tails quickly climbed onto his bed and lied down with his back turned toward the door like before and pretended to be asleep.

The sound of familiar footsteps was getting clearer and clearer until it stopped right in front of his door. There was a relatively long moment of silence before a gentle knock was heard.

"Go away, Sonic" said Tails as he feigned anger in his tone. Not that the fox hadn't forgiven his cobalt buddy. On the contrary, Tails had, but he still felt awkward and didn't know how to face Sonic at the moment, so he tried to make Sonic go away. He thought it would be best to reconcile with his best friend the next day, when both he and Sonic calmed down from all the commotion that had taken place.

However, Sonic, being true to his nature, didn't follow the fox's command.

"Tails, I just want to talk to you for a while. Could you at least hear me out? Just five minutes. Promise."

Tails thought for a while. He really wanted to make Sonic know that he no longer held any ill will towards the hedgehog, but he was just too embarrassed to say so. However, knowing that Sonic wouldn't leave something once he had set his mind on it, Tails sighed and reluctantly told the cobalt hero to come in.

The door opened quietly. Tails was about to turn around to face Sonic, but that was when he remembered his gash. Even though it was almost invisible under his thick fur, there was a chance Sonic could see it and grew worried. After all, the blue blur could be very observant if he chose to be. Tails would never want to worry Sonic over trivial stuff like that.

After considering the options quickly in his mind, Tails decided to lie still, with his back still turned toward Sonic, which effectively made Sonic think the fox was still mad at him for the unfortunate slip in the morning.

Tails heard Sonic pull out the small stool he kept under his bed and sat down. He could also feel the hedgehog's intense gaze staring at his back. The room was filled with an awkward silence, until Sonic decided to break the ice.

"So, Tails…" said Sonic softly, "What have you been doing all day?"

Tails flinched slightly when he heard that.

What kind of question is that? thought Tails, Could it be that he knew I was there? No, it couldn't be, but there's still a chance that…

The fox thought for a while as numerous responses ran through his head, but he picked the simplest one that came to mind.

"Sleeping...Why?"

"Oh, nothing. I just thought you might have taken the Tornado out for some fresh air, or took your time writing messages to your friends." said Sonic in a teasing tone. Even though it was muffled, Tails could have sworn he heard Sonic chuckle to himself.

"What is it you want to talk about, Sonic?" said Tails as he tried to find a way to change the subject.

After a few seconds, the hedgehog began his speech.

"Tails…I just want to say that I'm sorry for what I did. You were right, I was a stubborn jerk, a bad friend." Sonic paused for a while, "I'm sorry Tails. Could you…forgive me?

Tails was surprised. Sonic actually swallowed his pride and apologized to him. However, more than surprised, Tails was touched. The young fox smiled, but he still didn't say anything. Instead, he lied still and let Sonic continue his speech.

"Look, Tails. I know you're still mad, and you have every right to be. You don't have to forgive me right away, or for a few weeks, or months even, but I just want to let you know that I really am sorry for my stupidity and actions. I know how badly I hurt you, and I promise I'll never do it again. I just hope that…we can still be friends, you know…bros."

Tails' smile grew wider and wider. Before he knew it, he was grinning ear to ear as he listened to his best friend. There was no way Tails would hate Sonic. Sure, the fox would get mad at the hedgehog from time to time, but he could never hate him. He couldn't even begin to thank the blue hedgehog enough for saving him all those years before, so how could he ever hate his idol, hero and brotherly figure.

Tails was so happy and touched that he didn't even realize how quiet he had stayed after Sonic's apology. He was soon broken out of his thought by the sound of the hedgehog standing up from his stool and walked out the door. Before Tails could turn around and said something, Sonic beat him to the punch.

"Goodnight, Tails. See you in the morning…little bro."

Tails began to tear up when he heard those affectionate words coming out of his best friend's mouth. It had been a while since Sonic last used that term to address him, especially after they had both grown up. The fox never had a real family, and being called that way by his friend felt really good. Without a moment of hesitation, he replied.

"See you…bro." The last word was a bit softer than the rest, but it was still loud enough for Sonic to hear.

A moment later, Sonic's voice came again as he closed the door.

"Yeah, see you. And thank you...for everything."

After that, the blue blur went back to his room and hit the hay. It had been a very long day for him, and there was nothing else he'd rather do, not even a buffet of chilidog could stop the hedgehog from getting a much needed shuteye after the adventure he had come back from.

Tails slowly turned around as soon as the door was closed and sat up slowly. The fox stealthily went to Sonic's room and took a peek inside. The cobalt hero was fast asleep and pretty much dead to the world.

Tails approached Sonic's bed and looked at his sleeping friend for a while, noticing the wide smile on his muzzle.

"Good night, bro. See you tomorrow" whispered Tails softly as he pulled the cover up and smiled at Sonic.

The fox then quietly left the room and returned to his own bedroom. It had been one hell of a day for the young genius as well, and he was feeling very tired. His eyelids just kept getting heavier and heavier as time passed. As soon as he lied down on his bed, Tails closed his eyes and soon drifted off to a peaceful sleep.

Before his ever-moving mind shut down for the day, one final thought appeared, "Everything will be back to normal tomorrow."

With that, the residents of the workshop enjoyed the peaceful night with a smile imprinted on their faces, waiting for the sun to rise to begin a new day. A new day always would bring forth a new adventure.