A/N: Thank you all for reading, reviewing and favouriting, it really means a lot. I'd just like to do a shout out to Sally, thank you for your kind words and I'm glad my stories can help you in a bad time. Your review really filled me with joy and I'm glad I can help you out :) Same to you Jacob, i'm glad I helped you too. It really means a lot to know what effect my stories can have. Keep the reviews coming, they really make my day and enjoy chapter 7!

Chapter 7:

Role Reversal

2 years earlier

"Come along son, we are going to be late," Tails' dad called, clutching his sons arm as he rushed through the crowded city streets. Bells chimed and music hummed through the air as the buzz of the yearly carnival rang out through the roads and alleyways of the central town square. The 13 year old fox ran behind, struggling to keep pace with his father who rushed through the streets.

"Give us back our money!" A rat man hissed from the shadows. The rat leant down to all fours and began bounding toward the two, hot on their heels.

"Dad, I can't keep up anymore," Tails whined. His father stopped and reached down, hoisting the young kit up over his shoulders in a fireman's carry and broke out into a sprint. However, because of the immense extra weight that he now had to carry, his pace had slowed to no faster than a light jog. The rat man pounced and Tails' father toppled to the ground. Tails was flung off of his shoulders and rolled across the cobblestone street, crashing into a nearby silver trash can.

He watched in horror, tears beginning to pool in the back of his eyes as the rat man reached into his father's jacket, wrenched out his wallet and then pull out a knife, stabbing Tails' father in the middle of his chest, blood oozing out quickly.

"DAD!" Tails yelled.

"R…Run home, son," his father whispered, barely clinging to life. He coughed up blood in between his short, shallow breaths. "I'll always love you…" Tails, fear shrouding his entire being, jumped up and ran as fast as he could, not stopping until he flew into his house at the other end of town, crashing into his mother's comforting hug.

...

The gloomy air fell back down, enveloping the town again in a veil of snow. Overnight the blizzards had picked up again and now the town was engulfed in over a foot of snow. 'At least it's Saturday,' Sonic yawned to himself, stretching out his long, lanky blue arms. He reached over and pulled the covers closer to his body, curling up in a ball to conserve the small amount of heat that he had.

"Sonic, are you up?" his mother called from downstairs. Sonic couldn't be bothered to answer. He simply shut his eyes, trying to spur on sleep. He heard a faint knocking at the door.

"Go away mum," he shouted, pulling the pillow and covering his head, plunging all his senses into darkness. He heard the door creak open and then close behind his mother. Sonic didn't want to look up. He knew his mother wanted him to set up the Christmas decorations today and he was in no mood right now.

Suddenly he froze as his blankets were lifted up and a small, warm body slipped under the covers. Sonic turned over and stared, wide eyed, as Tails had crept into the bed and snuggled up to Sonic without him knowing.

Sonic shot up, diving out of the bed. "T-Tails, what are you doing?" he asked, mouth agape.

"S…Sorry," Tails began, hurt consuming his voice. "We snuggle on the bed all the time. I didn't know that you weren't ready to go under the covers…" he trailed off, staring at his lap. Sonic sighed loudly, making sure Tails could hear.

"It's not because of that," he admitted. "What if mum or dad came in and saw us in bed together. You know the consequences."

Tails simply smirked as a response. Sonic asked what was wrong but after Tails said the magic words that echoed through Sonic's ear drums, he jumped back under the covers and gripped the young fox tightly.

"Your parents went out to breakfast. They won't be back for 2 hours."

The morning grew long as the sun fought against the dark clouds, both battling for dominance in the sky. The citizens of the town buzzed around as bustling cars and busses drove past the hedgehog's house. Children laughed, playing street hockey and tag, whilst all the cafes that lined the streets were filled to the brim with early birds, pining over their piping hot cups of coffee.

Everyone seemed to be up and about. Everyone that is, except Tails and Sonic. The two snuggled up together. Tails was in a small ball, his tails wrapped around himself while Sonic sat snug on the outside, his arms around the young fox's middle. Their legs intertwined and Sonic rested his head on Tails' shoulder.

"I could lie here forever," Tails sighed, enjoying Sonic's warming breath on the back of his neck.

"Tails, can I ask you a question," Sonic said, nuzzling his head against the kit's neck.

"Anything."

"When did you first realize that you… well… that you liked guys. That you liked… me"

Tails was taken a little aback by the sudden question and upon seeing the confusion Sonic decided to continue. "I mean, you were the one who kissed me first. You said you had felt these feelings since summer. How did you contain your feelings for over a year and a half ago without breaking down?"

"When did you realize?" Tails retorted, turning over and rested his head on his palm which was lying against the pillow adjacent to Sonic. The kit stared into the emerald eyes of his companion and gave him an innocent stare.

Sonic chuckled. "Hey, I asked first. But okay, I'll start. I had been feeling closer and closer to you recently and, idk, after you kissed me I had to leave because it suddenly hit me all at once. All my feelings made sense. I couldn't hold it in any longer after that day. That's why I came to your house that night. So, I need to know, when did you figure out your feelings for me and how did you contain them for so long?"

Tails sighed. Sonic slipped his hand into Tails', not minding the clamminess of his hands and squeezed tightly, showing his support. Tails breathed deeply. "Well, it all started on our camping trip we took back in July last year," the fox began, remembering back.

...

It had been almost three months since Tails' dad was murdered in cold blood. His mother had completely broken down. She concealed herself in her room, only emerging to fix herself some meals. She had completely denounced her faith and no longer went to church. Every Sunday, Tails would head over to Sonic's house and go to church with his family. One Sunday, Sonic's mother smiled at the fox who looked down at his fancy dress shoes, like he did every church. Tails, although coping better, still had a hard time with moving on and if it wasn't for Sonic, he didn't know what he would do.

"Tails, honey. We are going on a camping trip next week. Would you like to join us?" she whispered cheerfully. Tails glanced at Sonic who smiled back, nodding calmly to the fox, trying to show that he really wanted his companion to join them.

"Thanks," he replied sheepishly.

...

"So you loved me because you went to church with me?" Sonic interrupted suddenly.

"No, I'm getting to that bit. It happened on the camping trip!" Tails urged, trying to silence the hedgehog so he could continue his story.

...

The trees rustled happily in the breeze, blocking out most of the sunlight. Small, thin streams of light managed to break through the canopy of foliage and bathed the cement road underneath in its warm radiance. The silver car blasted by, carrying Sonic, Tails and his mother. The car pulled up outside the gravel covered carpark in the middle of the dense, lush forest. Sonic's mother jumped out of the car happily and opened the boot.

"Honey, help me take out the tents." Sonic nodded his head and jumped out of the car. He glanced back at Tails, noticing that the fox had still not looked up from his lap. His smile faded as he trotted slowly to the boot.

"Listen to me," she whispered to her son. "I took you two here because Tails needs our help. You are his best friend, and over this trip I want you to try to cheer him up. He needs to move on." Sonic looked up at his mother, about to ask more questions but decided it would be best to just accept his mother's advice. He flashed the thumbs up sign and ran to the back of the car.

"C'mon little buddy," he grinned. "We need to go set up our tent." Tails sighed, slowly getting out of the car, rubbing away the tears with a clenched fist. Sonic grabbed his wrist, tent in the other hand and sped off into the clearing of the forest, deciding where they would set up their tent.

"I'll be right here if you need me," his mother called as they disappeared out of sight. She smiled, pouring something hot from a thermos into a small, red plastic cup and blew on it to cool the steaming beverage as she watched them leave her.

Knock, knock

...

Sonic suddenly snapped out of the trance he was put in whilst listening to Tails' story. There was something about the way Tails told his story, each world floating down the stream that was coming from his mouth, dancing through the air until they penetrated Sonic's ear canals. They were each carefully selected, and said with complete care. The knocking continued again before the door began to creak open. Sonic suddenly pushed the fox out of the bed with all of his strength. He collapsed on the floor, hurting his head.

"Sonic, we are home. Oh, and Tails, your mother wants you ho… Oh my Chaos, are you okay!?" his mother cried out. She dashed over, completely unaware of the small, fox shaped creases that were spread out on the bed. She rushed into the bathroom, bringing out a towel and holding it to the open wound on the fox's head. "What happened?"

Tails looked at Sonic, shooting him daggers, his eyes full of hatred but also pain. He understood why Sonic did what he had to do, but a little warning would have been nice. "I just fell, it's really nothing," the kitsune smiled, thanking Sonic's mother for the towel and left the house.

"I'll drive you home," she suggested, following Tails out of the house. "Sonic, dad wants to see you," she grimaced as she said this but left the room anyway. Her words were filled with something Tails hadn't noticed before. Something like… fear.

The day moved along at a slow pace. Tails hung out in his room, finishing his weekend homework early because he had nothing else to do. He wanted to spend his time with Sonic more than anything but knew he couldn't go back for the rest of the day. 'At least I have church with him tomorrow,' he thought, smiling to himself.

The phone buzzed in his pocket. Tails answered it eagerly, excitement filling inside of him but when he heard the greeting on the other end his heart faltered a bit.

"Oh, hi Blaze, how is it going? No I'm not doing anything right now. You want to catch up later today, with me? Yeah, sure, I'd love to." The phone began to beep again. "Hold on Blaze, I'm getting another call." He put his feline friend on hold and answered the call.

"H…H…H," the voice on the other end of the line tried to greet Tails but couldn't muster up enough breath to finish his sentence through his sobs and gasps.

"Sonic? Is that you?" Tails was taken completely aback. Sonic has never cried before, or at least not in front of anybody.

"C…Can I c…come over?" Sonic pleaded, basically begging to his secret love.

"Of course, I'm always here for you." Sonic murmured his thanks and hung up. Tails began to grow incredibly worried. "Oh Sonic, what happened," he said aloud. "Please be okay, please, I lo…" he began to sob quietly to himself. Sonic was never sad. Ever. Something was horribly wrong. However, before he could finish his thoughts aloud, he heard more speaking through the phone.

"Tails, are you still there? What happened to Sonic?" Blaze continued, being put back on the phone after Sonic had hung up and heard Tails sigh out loud. This startled the young fox.

"Oh, yeah sorry blaze, Sonic called me. Something is really wrong and he needs to see me. Can I get a raincheck?"

Blaze sat in her deep green armchair, face being illuminated by the dancing embers of the open fire that raged in her brick fire place. She sighed into the phone before responding to the fox, "Yeah that's fine. I hope he is okay? We can always hang out some other time. Cya later Tails," she cheered goodbye and hung up.

Blaze sighed, leaning back into her chair as her mind began to run wild with thoughts. 'Was Tails crying when Sonic was upset? Even for a best friend, that is a little much. Is there more between them? And what was he going to say before I interrupted him? It sounded like…love?' She immediately laughed at her thoughts. 'What an idiot, of course not. They are just good friends.' She smiled to herself and scrolled through her smart phone and pressed on the contact labeled 'Silver.' If she couldn't hang out with Tails then maybe she could have a romantic movie night with her boyfriend.

The doorbell rang a few moments later and Tails opened it, revealing a sniveling hedgehog, eyes red and puffy from all the many tears that had been shed.

"I…Is your mum home?" he queried but Tails shook his head. Sonic ran into the house, slamming the door behind him and buried his face into the soft, white fur of Tails' stomach. Tails didn't know what to do, normally things happened the other way around. He simply put his hand on Sonic's head and ran it slowly through his quills, whispering niceties to the blue hedgehog to try to calm him down.

"Come upstairs," he started, thinking of how to help Sonic. "It's cold down here."

Sonic followed him upstairs, not letting go of the fox's hands. He slid into the bed next to the fox, hugging him tightly when they finally got comfortable under the sheets. It was then that he let the tears he had been holding back flow freely again. Tails noticed suddenly the purple bruise that sat on the side of Sonic's cheek, surprised he didn't notice it before.

Tails touched it softly, rubbing his finger over it when Sonic yelped out in pain and swatted his hand away. Tails eyes widened in shock. "W…What happened," he asked.

"Dad… was home. He was already drunk. He had just received my report card. And then… he…" Sonic burst into tears again. He didn't need to say anymore. Tails knew the heinous act that Vector had committed. 'Nobody, not even the devil himself, should ever lay a finger on Sonic,' he cursed to himself. He leant down and placed a small kiss on the bruised spot but instead of yelping out in pain, Sonic squeezed Tails hand tighter, thanking the fox for his kindness.

"C…Can you finish your story?" he asked quietly. Tails simply nodded and finished his recounts of the moment he realized that he had fallen in love with the sapphire blur.

...

The last remnants of the salmon coloured sky had been completely engulfed by the black darkness of the night, enveloping the forest and camp site. The nearby river at which the two boys collected their water for the night bubbled softly, glistening the reflected moonlight onto their maroon coloured tent. A canopy of glistening stars broke through the never ending blackness, flickering in and out of existence. Not one spare spot of the sky was visible as the vastness of the stars dotted the skyline due to the lack of artificial lights. The forest seemed to come to life in the night. Small bugs glowed brightly, crickets chirped wildly into the night and owls sung their soothing songs. The forest seemed oddly unfamiliar at night. The happy flowers and tall trees seemed to transform into more ominous versions of themselves.

Tails pulled the head of his sleeping bag over his golden fur, covering his face from the outside world. Sonic took off his shoes and zipped up the entrance to the tent, blocking out the cool air of the outside world to keep in the heat given off by the fox and hedgehog.

Tails sniffed quietly while Sonic slipped into the warm embrace of his sleeping bag and turned over, watching the small body of Tails shaking somberly.

"Tails. Tails, c'mon buddy, talk to me," Sonic began, placing his hand on the back of Tails' body. Tails decided to turn around and look at his friend. "I know what happened is horrible, buddy, but you can get through this. There is so much to be happy for, so dry your tears. And I will be here every step of the way." He smiled warmly.

"B…But I miss him so much," Tails sniffed again, trying to contain his tears.

Sonic sighed, thinking of what to say next before he opened his mouth again. "Tails, the day you lose somebody isn't the worst day of your life because at least you have something to do. It is all the following days in which they stay dead." Tails thought about this, realizing how true the words the hedgie spoke were. "But you have me. And while I'm here, you will always have something to do and will always have somebody to be with. I'm never leaving you, buddy, because we are, and will always be, best friends." He smiled, showing his pearly white teeth.

Something changed in the fox that night. Something that he never wanted to happen, but felt oddly… right. Suddenly, Sonic's eyes seemed to change. They were no longer just emerald tinted eyes, they were more. The colour, only yesterday just seeming like a normal green, had somehow changed to show sympathetic pools, expelling care and deep seeded emotions. The blue fur covering his body seemed to dance through his mind. They say that love is in the eyes of the beholder, and suddenly, this was true for Tails. He could feel his cheeks begin to flood with crimson and the sadness that had enveloped the fox's entire being for almost two months seemed to be completely replaced by this new feeling of love.

Suddenly Tails realized what was happening. He quickly turned over, shielding his features from the outside world. He couldn't let Sonic know about his feelings. Not now, not ever. Nobody could know. If anybody found out, he would become an outcast and never have a normal life. It simply wasn't allowed.

"Thanks," Tails whispered, not glancing back. Sonic shuffled over, wrapping his hands around the kit's body, still cocooned in the warm fabric. Tails, however, didn't stop his friend. He simply lay there, letting his friend comfort him with his warming hug, and let the love wash over him, filling him on the inside completely like water consuming the inside of a glass. Tails knew this wasn't healthy, but never thought that the love he felt would eventually consume him and overwhelm him, but it was still one of the best moments of his life.

"Always," Sonic whispered, laying his head on the fox's shoulder and closing his eyes. This was the first, of many times, the two would sleep together.

...

"That was a good night," Sonic sighed, having calmed down now after listening to his loves words. "I wish you had told me earlier."

"Me too," Tails confessed, snuggling closer to Sonic's body. "Me too."

A/N: Thanks for reading and don't forget to review to let me know what you think. Next Chapter is going to be a shorter one but a necessary one so it should be up soon.