Brother of Mine
Thank you to all those who read/review/favorite/follow this story! It means a lot to me!
Disclaimer: Never owned Sonic the Hedgehog, probably never will.
Chapter 7: Wishful Thinking
Sonic let out a yawn and stretched his arms out into the open air. The bed beneath him creaked noisily under the weight of the awakened hedgehog, releasing a dull groan.
Uh…what time is it? He asked himself as he turned his head to look at his bedside clock. Blinking a couple times to rid themselves of their blurriness, his eyes faintly made out the numbers on the digital clock: 12:39 PM.
Wow I really slept in today! He thought as he shook his head to flush the last bit of fatigue out of his system. Still, I didn't think I would be tired this long after that fight with Robotnik.
Sonic shuffled his way across the messy room and stepped through his door and out into the hallway. His ears twitched as they picked up the faint sounds of activity.
Hmm? Wonder what that is… He thought while walking through the empty hallway. Upon reaching the living room, his dreary eyes landed on the back of a familiar twin tailed fox in surprise.
"Tails?" Sonic queried, garnering the attention of the younger male, the argument that occurred between the two the day prior being forgotten momentarily. At the sound of his voice, Tails quickly twisted around to face the blue hedgehog that held a curious expression on his features. "What'cha doin?"
"Oh, Sonic! Did I wake you up?" Tails asked, visibly startled as he placed the two blue screwdrivers in his hands on the table. His face quickly contorted to one that was apologetic. "Sorry bout that…"
Sonic grinned reassuringly at the fox as he ruffled the kitsune's hair. "No need to apologize for that lil' buddy! It wasn't you that woke me up, I just got a little hungry, that's all." He said and rubbed his stomach to emphasize the point. Tails looked slightly relieved to hear that as a feign smile formed at the sight of the hedgehog's actions. "So, mind telling me what you're doing here?"
"Oh, that..." Tails turned around to glance at the TV screen behind him. "Well, I was thinking, because you've been so nice to me and all…that I could do something for you instead."
"You didn't have to do that, ya know." Sonic said causing Tails to grin sheepishly.
"No way! You deserve to be treated good too!" He replied while picking up the TV remote and pointing it at the black screen. In a flash, a wide variety of colors appeared on the formerly inactive screen as the TV powered on. "So, when I noticed that you didn't have a lot of channels, I wanted to fix that!"
Sonic watched as the kitsune pressed another button that switched the screen onto another interface. His eyes widened as the normally greyed out channels had suddenly turned bright blue.
"So, do you like it?" The four year old asked hopefully.
"That's amazing Tails!" Sonic commended bringing a smile to the little kitsune's face. "It's impossible to get this many channels this far in the Mystic Ruins! How'd you do it?"
"Well…it wasn't that hard…" He said humbly as he scratched the back of his head and sighed. "All I had to do was reprogram the satellite so that it could pick up a few more signals. After that I just had to connect a few wires and plug things into place, and then it worked."
Sonic whistled in fascination at the explanation, though he knew that it was far more difficult than Tails had described. "You really are amazing, ya know that?" He said while ruffling the kitsune's bangs. "How long did it take to finish?"
"Not, too long. I woke up a few hours ago and got the idea to do it." Tails said, unconsciously leaning into the hedgehog's hand.
"So you finished doing all this in only a couple hours?" He asked as Tails nodded happily. "Well, I think this calls for something special. How's a few celebratory chili dogs sound to you?"
"Sounds great Sonic!" Tails said enthusiastically, his eyes lighting up in joy.
Sonic chucked at the kitsune's good mood as he walked around the corner and into the kitchen. Tails stared the form of the retreating hedgehog until he was no longer in sight.
He really does care about me. He thought as a warm feeling welled up within his chest. His hand covered the spot, as if holding it there would ensure that the feeling would never leave. It's been so long since anybody actually cared about me…
The sound of the oven turning on could be heard from the adjacent room. If this is how it feels, then I never want it to stop…And as long as I don't fall asleep and Sonic doesn't find out, nothing bad will happen! He grinned in delight as he recalled his plan. I'll only have to take a nap once every few days. Sleep building should give me enough energy to act normal in front of Sonic… but then again, I already feel way more tired than I usually do.
Hmm…maybe it's just that argument I had with Sonic yesterday, or maybe it's just the thunderstorm last night… He thought, his nose twitching as the smell of fresh chili dogs wafted through the air. It was pretty loud; I could hardly concentrate on sleep working…Yeah…that must be it. It was just the thunder keeping me awake… The sound of footsteps broke him out of his thoughts as Sonic returned, a plate full of steaming chili dogs in hand.
"Eat up, lil' buddy!" Sonic said as he placed the plate onto the table and plumped himself onto the couch while eating a chili dog. Tails followed the example and grabbed his own chili dog, biting into it as soon as his fingers grasped the steaming bun. While chewing, he turned around and climbed onto the couch before resuming his meal.
Sonic eyed the kitsune curiously as he climbed onto the couch cushion that equaled him in height. His eye wandered to the reddened bandages around the fox's right knee, or more specifically, on what was behind it.
"How's your leg feelin Tails?" He asked in curiosity.
Tails stopped mid bite and wiped his muzzle before speaking, "It still hurts a little, but I think I can walk without a crutch now."
"Really? That was fast." Sonic said, surprised at how quickly an injury to that extent was healed in a matter of days. "You sure it feels fine?"
"It…doesn't hurt that bad, honestly." Tails replied after a slight hesitation. "How about you?"
Sonic grinned relaxingly at the kitsune. "Feel perfectly fine, especially after resting the whole day yesterday. Think I might even go out for a run later." He said, leaning forward to grab another chili dog. He let out an exaggerated yawn, stretching his arms out in a comedic fashion before taking another bite.
The two friends ate in pseudo silence, the sound of the TV being the only thing they heard.
Tails reached his hand forward, but suddenly stopped mid movement. "Um…Sonic?" He asked unsurely and retracted his arm.
"Yeah?" Sonic said, wondering what the fox was going to ask.
"Can I change the channel?"
Sonic sat dumbfounded at the strange request and eyed the kitsune weirdly. "You don't have to ask me if you want to do that. If you wanna do it then just do it, just like how you upgraded the TV." He said plainly.
Tails muttered a thanks and slowly reached onto the coffee table, plucking the remote out of the messy area. The screen flicked through numerous different shows before landing on one that piqued the young kitsune's attention.
Sonic noticed that the screen hadn't switched again and looked over to Tails. The fox had his eyes glued on the screen, even going as far as to slowly eat the chili dog in his hand to focus more on what was occurring on the TV set. "You like this show, Tails?" He asked in moderate amusement.
Tails broke his eye contact away from the screen and it was then that Sonic could see the genuine, happy smile that adorned his white muzzle. "Yeah, this is one of my favorite shows! I used to watch it almost every day back with…my old…caretakers." He said, his enthusiasm and voice slightly faltering near the end. Sonic was surprised to hear Tails talking about his previous life. It was just something the both of them wanted to forget altogether, especially after their disagreement the day before. Seeing the fox shake his head to rid himself of the dire memories and then return his attention to the show gave Sonic confidence that maybe Tails was succeeding in doing so.
Sonic resumed their conversation, albeit, he did his best to try and avoid causing past memories to resurface. "So, what's it about? Uh, the TV show, I mean."
Tails turned back to him, his eyes showing minor confusion at the question and a hint of thankfulness that Sonic changed the topic. "You mean you've never watched it before?" He tilted his head slightly. "It's one of the biggest shows on Mobius, everybody knows it!" His hand waved around as if trying to demonstrate his point.
The images on the screen continued moving as Sonic attempted to put a name on it. Shaking his head in the negative, Sonic turned his eyes away from the dim screen to refocus on sky blue eyes. "No idea. I don't usually watch TV unless I can't do anything else, and I guess that might be part of the reasons why I never bought more channels in the first place. So, mind tellin me a little about this guy." He said, pointing towards the screen. Even though he wasn't really that interested in learning about the show, the opportunity to talk to the kitsune and learn more about him was too good to pass up.
"Well, for starters, he teaches stuff about science." Tails said, indicating the onscreen figure dressed in a lab coat. "There's a lot of things he talks about too. Atoms, molecules, electricity, mechanics, machines, and geology, to name a few." Sonic snickered at the amusing and evident connection between the four year old genius and the TV show. "He taught me a lot about that stuff when there weren't many other things I could use to learn."
Sonic smiled at the joyful kitsune as he stood up and placed a hand on the other's head affectionately. "Then it's a good thing you got all these channels for free, now you can learn as much as you like, eh lil' buddy?" He grinned as his hand ruffled the kitsune's hair causing Tails to smile contently. After a few moments, his hand returned to his side and he began to walk towards the doorway. "I think I might go on that run now, gotta burn off all this energy after sitting the past two days!" He said eagerly.
Tails' blue eyes turned in surprise towards the blue hedgehog, not expecting him to leave so soon. "When will you be back?" He asked, not very excited by the fact that he was going to be left all alone for a while.
"Don't worry Tails, I'll just be gone for about an hour." Sonic replied quickly sensing the unhappiness that his statement had caused and hoped that he had at least managed to ease it a bit.
Tails only continued staring at the still hedgehog, as if he were trying to uncover any lie that could have been made. It unnerved Sonic to see that the kitsune still had trouble trusting him enough even to let him leave for a while.
"I won't be gone for long, I promise." He said, holding a hand over his heart.
The two continued to stare at each other, Tails holding a firm expression as Sonic smiled reassuringly, trying to defuse the tense atmosphere. After an unfathomable amount of time, Tails let out as sigh as his visage relaxed until it only held a slight frown.
"Well…okay…" He said as his eyes returned to the TV screen, devoid of their previously glowing cheerfulness.
Sonic felt a small lump form in his throat as the kitsune sank back onto the couch gloomily. The sight almost made him reconsider going out for his run, but he couldn't question that he needed to do it. He couldn't be with Tails every single day; he still had to stop Robotnik when the doctor decided to launch his next attack. And one thing was for sure, there was no way in hell he was letting Tails come with him when it happened.
The fox needed to learn that he could trust Sonic. He needed to know that no matter what happened, Sonic would always return. And even though the twin tailed fox's past was still much of a mystery to him, Sonic knew that Tails was gonna have to step out of his comfort zone in order to relieve himself of the past. Even if it was one tiny step at a time, ultimately, it would only help them both.
"Hey, don't worry lil' buddy, I haven't lied to you yet have I?" Sonic said, walking over to the slumped fox and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Besides, I promised to never abandon you, remember?"
Tails lifted his head up and looked into the hedgehog's emerald eyes. A small frown remained etched across his face as he watched Sonic return to his spot beside the door.
Sonic's eyes suddenly widened as his view landed on a spot near the door. "Hold on a sec Tails," He said as a smile slowly hatched onto his face. He bent down onto his knees as his fingers grasped a wooden hatch in the corner that gave a weak squeal as it was lifted open. Sonic looked back to the curious twin tailed fox sitting on the very edge of the couch and motioned for him to follow. "I was meaning to show you this before but, uh…hehe, I forgot." He said scratching the back of his head.
Tails furrowed his brows in confusion at the strange, dark entrance, but never the less hopped off the couch with a silent thud and steadily walked over to it. His eyes faintly made out the outline of a small flight of stairs before even it was consumed by the darkness.
"What is it Sonic? His quiet voice asked.
"Well, after seeing how much you love science and all that, I remembered I had something that I think you might like." Sonic replied as he stepped down the stairs and into the darkness that lay below it.
Unbeknownst to the hedgehog, Tails felt a twinge of fear wash over him, the fur on the back of his neck suddenly standing up as he watched Sonic descend into nothingness. Past memories that he had been desperately trying to forget suddenly flared up. His heartbeat and breathing quickened as his balance wavered, causing him to lean on the wall to steady himself. His right hand reached up and clutched the fur over his heart tightly.
In a flash, the darkness disappeared, and in its place shone a dim yellow light that revealed the smiling form of a blue hedgehog that held his hand next to a light switch. Sonic turned his head towards the fox, the smile on his face instantly disappearing in the process.
"Tails? Is something wrong?" He asked in concern.
Tails could feel his heartbeat gently begin to slow as the familiar face of the blue hedgehog came into view. Despite that, he still felt a wary about following his friend down the steps.
"W-what's b-behind that d-door?" He asked, shakily pointing towards the wooden door that formed one side of the walls surrounding the small square space that lay at the foot of the stairs.
Sonic glanced to the door at his side with a puzzled and uneasy expression. "It's the door to the garage where I keep my plane." He said, his mind wondering what he could have done that scared the kitsune. "…I wanted to show you it after seeing how much you love fixing stuff, but if you don't want to-"
"I-It's fine…" Tails interrupted and took a deep breath. "I-I…I want to see it…" His hand gripped onto the railings as he took a step down onto the staircase.
Sonic eyed the fox cautiously and made sure not to make any sudden moves as he slowly opened the door. His arm reached around into the room and flicked a light switch that illuminated the room and bottom of the stairs in a white light.
Tails slowly descended the stairs, taking single steps at a time due to his injury and the fact that his shorter legs were not being able to reach further. His eyes looked downwards, watching where he was stepping. It took most of his willpower to even continue down the flight of stairs.
His only motivating thought being, that if Sonic wanted to hurt him, he would have done so already.
The two remained silent until Tails reached the bottom of the stairs and stood next to Sonic, their eyes looking towards each other. And through them, Sonic could faintly see the tiniest bit of distrust.
"I…I'm sorry if I scared you lil' buddy, I didn't know you would feel this way." Sonic said as he bent down to the kitsune's height and placed his hands on the other's shoulders. Tails dejectedly turned his head away from the blue hedgehog without a word and peered into the bright room adjacent to them. Sonic noted where the kitsune was staring and followed his gaze. "I know it's not in the best shape, but I wanted to see if you would like it," Tails heard him say as his eyes refocused to coincide with the brighter lights.
The white lights illuminated the musty room, showering everything in a bright glow. Cabinets and drawers littered the walls in a disorderly fashion. Tools, screws, and bolts sat idly on a table on one side of the room while a large garage door occupied the entire opposite wall. But the main attraction stood in the centre of all the chaos, a rusty, blue biplane.
Tails felt himself gravitate towards aircraft similarly to when he first laid eyes on its successor, the Tornado. He felt the hands of the blue hedgehog lift off his shoulder as he took steady steps into the dusty room.
"I…It's great, Sonic." He uttered after swallowing a small lump in his throat.
Sonic leaned on the doorframe and sighed in relief. "I figured that you might wanna see it." He said. "It was my old plane before I got an upgrade. It doesn't fly as well as it used to, but you're the one who managed to fix the Tornado and I thought you would like something a bit more challenging than some old TV."
A few moments passed without a reply from the twin tailed fox. So when Tails turned around to face Sonic with small tears swimming in his sky blue eyes, the speedster was completely unprepared.
"Tails, what's wrong?" Sonic asked, racing to be beside the younger fox in a flash. His thoughts searched frantically for anything he could have said again that could have potentially struck a chord within the fox. His searching never got far, however, as Tails muttered a few words so softly that they were lost in the silence. "What was that?" Sonic asked gently.
"…Thank you." Tails said while staring into emerald green eyes, his mouth contorting between both a smile and a frown.
Sonic eyed the child in confusion before a smile overtook his features as he leaned forward to hug the emotional fox. "You don't need to thank me lil' buddy, I didn't really have a use for the thing if it was broken and I know you really like planes so I decided to give you a challenge." He said, thinking that Tails most likely overreacted at the prospect of being given such a large task.
A sudden choked giggle broke through the quiet sniffles as Tails rubbed the tears out of his eyes and smiled at the blue hedgehog. The reaction confused Sonic, but he decided to ignore it for now and focus on the fox in front of him.
"I-I'm fine…really." Tails said as the last of his sniffles died down. He took a deep breath and watched as Sonic rose from his kneeling position, keeping a hand on the young fox's shoulder.
"You don't have to worry about anything anymore Tails…" Sonic said with a small smile directed towards his friend. "After all, you live with me now."
Tails exhaled as the familiar statement was said again. "Yeah…I know…" He returned the smile, feeling comforted by the words spoken by the hedgehog instead of fearing them like he had just the day prior.
Sonic sighed in relief as the fox's mood slowly returned to normal. He lifted his hand off the kitsune's small shoulder and unhurriedly strolled back over to stand under the door frame.
"You sure you're gonna be okay?" Sonic asked, looking back over his shoulder towards the fox. Tails nodded his head, not making a sound as he watched the blue hedgehog. Sonic made sure to choose his next words carefully, "I'll be back in an hour, I promise."
Tails exhaled a little as if he already knew that his friend was going to say that. "Okay. Please just…don't be late." He uttered loudly enough for the speedster to hear.
"Wouldn't dream of it." Sonic replied, grinning. And in the blink of an eye, he was gone.
The house stood silent in the large forest of the Mystic Ruins. Not a sound was made, the wildlife having migrated elsewhere due to the winter storms. Snow decorated the trees and branches making everything glisten and glitter when the sun's rays reflected off the cold surfaces. The house had also been covered by a blanket of snow that blended it in with the winter scenery. Directly in front of the door was a trail of hurried footprints that stretched out and away from the humble abode.
Tails sighed while standing on a chair inside the garage, entertaining himself with all the tools on the workbench that were at his disposal. Behind him sat the behemoth biplane that he was oh so excited to begin working on. The blue blur had left to go on his run a few minutes ago leaving the young fox all alone in the house.
The dull clinking of metal against metal reverberated throughout the house. Tails held the dirtied tools in his hands, inspecting their condition. Most of the apparatuses he already knew how to use which gave him quite a head start at fixing the plane. He picked out a few from the cluster and sat down to slide off the chair.
His dull footsteps made light thuds as he walked over to the biplane. Crawling under the centre of the aircraft proved simple with his small form as he twisted over to lay on his back and pried open a cover under the hull.
The only sounds in the house were that of gears twisting and metal clanging against metal. Minutes passed by as Tails silently worked on the machine.
It's so quiet without Sonic around. He thought after a while. Now that I think of it, this is the first time I've been alone since…that happened.
Tails shook his head to rid himself of those memories and focus on the task at hand, but it proved to be of little success as other thoughts soon filled their place, the silent house only amplifying the effect. Breathing out a sigh, Tails did his best to ignore the thoughts. I can't keep thinking about the past, I have a new life now, with Sonic…
…But then, why do I keep lying to him?
His mind projected an image of the blue hedgehog, smiling at him with a big goofy grin. Sonic…there's so much that I want to tell you, but I can't. He thought with a frown. I wish you would realize just how much I want to tell you…It hurts, having to tell you I'm fine when I'm not…every time I fake a smile, I hope you notice it…but you don't…
The tools clinked in his hands as his thoughts wandered back to earlier when he thanked the hedgehog who thought that the fox was overwhelmed by the sudden surprise and proceeded to comfort him accordingly. Tails didn't know whether to laugh at the hedgehog's assumption or be saddened by it.
Then there was even earlier in the day when Tails asked Sonic if he was allowed to change the channel. You probably don't understand why I had to ask that… He thought solemnly. You just told me to do It like how I fixed the TV without your permission…but I didn't mean to do that either. It was dark, and I was scared. I didn't mean to change the TV, it just happens when I sleep build. That's one of the reasons I tried to act nicer to you this morning, so you wouldn't yell at me… His thought trailed off as an image flashed into his mind.
"Miles!" A voice yelled.
"Y-Y-Yes?"
"Did I say you could watch your stupid science shows?!"
"…N-No…"
"Then don't change the channel without my permission!"
A loud thud echoed across the room followed by the sound of heavy footsteps. A door shut with a bang. The lock clicked shut, sealing him in the empty room. The deathly silence was soon accompanied by quiet sobs.
"No…that was then…I live with Sonic now…he even said I don't need to ask anymore…" Tails said aloud in an attempt to reassure himself. His head suddenly felt dizzy, forcing him to slow his task.
"Miles! Get in here!"
Light footsteps dashed on hardwood until they suddenly stopped.
"Y-Yes?"
"Were you the one who touched my laptop without permission?"
"What? No!"
"Yes he did mommy! Miles is always getting into trouble! I was watching when he took your laptop and dropped it! You should have seen it! The pieces flew everywhere and Miles ran away like a scaredy cat!"
"I did not!"
"Miles! Enough with this nonsense!"
"But I didn't do it!"
"Yeah, and I won't throw you back out on the street!"
"What?! Please don't! I'll do anything!"
"Then do me a favor, and get out."
"Bye bye…scaredy cat!"
"No!" Tails yelled and shut his eyes tightly. "I was supposed to forget that!" He held a hand up to his head to try and soothe the raging thoughts but it just didn't work. The barrage of memories continued.
"Don't worry Miles; I'll be back before you know it."
"Okay! Can you buy me something while you're gone, uh, if you don't mind, of course?"
"Of course! Anything for you sweetie!"
"Yes! There's this really tasty ice cream my grandpa used to get for me, it's green and white, and tastes really yummy! Can you buy one for me, please?"
"Of course I can, I'll be back soon, take care Miles!"
"Bye bye!"
The clock ticked on and on, tormenting the distressed fox.
"Where is she? She said she'd be back before I know it! So why isn't she here yet?"
His eyes remained glued on the still door, begging it to open and for someone to come through.
But the door never opened, and nobody ever came.
"NO!" Tails shouted, flinging his tools to the side. "Sonic would never leave me like that!" He thought, desperately trying to reign in his frenzied emotions. Suddenly, a single thought flashed through his head, silencing all the others.
"Leave you? Boy, I would never leave you!"
"Really? You mean it?" He asked, eyes shining in hope.
"Of course! Loyalty is my middle name!"
"Hehe!"
"That's more like it! I like it better when you laugh!"
"Hehe…Thanks, you know, for taking care of me…" He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed.
"It's my pleasure kid. Now come on, I have a surprise to show you!"
"Really? But we only just met a few days ago!"
"So? Gifts aren't only given during special occasions!"
"Well…alright, I guess. Where are we going?"
"Just down these stairs, I know it's a little dark but trust me, it'll all be worth it…"
"Uh, it's really dark!"
"Yes…yes it is…"
"So uh, what are you gonna show me?"
"It's just through this door, come on, don't be shy."
"Hmm? But I don't see anything in there."
The lights flicked on.
"Exactly."
"Wha-OOF!"
Tails grit his teeth so tightly that a bit of blood leaked out of his mouth as the memory fully resurfaced.
The punch silenced the few sounds in the room.
"H-H-Hey! W-What w-was that for?!"
"It's your gift of course!"
"W-What do yo-OW!"
A boot crashed into his chest. He could only let out short yelps and cries before another hit landed.
"You know…on second thought, I think I like it better when you scream…"
"…N-no…I-I thought…I thought I could trust you!" His legs struggled to stand.
"You can trust me! Like I said…I would never leave you…"
"NO!" Tails screamed as he covered his ears with his hands, his entire body shaking as he did so. "STOP IT!" His body swung forwards in an attempt to sit up but ended up smashing his forehead against the steel hull of the biplane. With a bang, his movements and thoughts completely ceased as he collapsed onto the floor.
"Aghhhh…" He muttered under his breath. His tightly shut eyes gradually pried themselves open but his face remained strained. A dull groan escaped his lips as he very slowly tried to sit up but failed when a sudden dizziness made him feel sick. He unwillingly lay back down and placed a hand to his forehead.
Through blurry eyes he could see the colors of dark red entering his vision. He lowered his hand and noticed his dirtied glove's fingers stained in slight traces of blood.
Tails' breathing quickened, swiftly returning the hand to comfort his temple as a splitting headache ripped through his skull. His right eye shut again as blood leaked further into his view. Every sound and thought was suddenly amplified to his ringing ears and only served to worsen the headache.
He lay still beneath the aircraft that thankfully blocked the blazing white lights from view. All he wanted to do right now was rest his aching head, maybe even go to sleep until the pain subsided. His remaining eye strained to glance at the clock on the wall but was unable to make out any firm details through his blurry vision.
Minutes past but the painfulness only increased. Tails grit his teeth in agony as he made another attempt to stand but the dull ache in his knee forced the result to remain the same. Even worse, a sudden urge to vomit travelled up his throat when a wave of nausea washed over him in disorientation.
Tails could feel the vomit practically climbing up his throat that was constantly becoming intensified by his haphazardly swirling eyesight. One arm hugged his belly in an attempt to quell the sickness; the other arm clutched his forehead. He didn't dare open his eyes. Nothing sounded better than to just lay down and rest until the pain went away.
Before the door could even close behind him, he already took off running, kicking up snow in his wake and leaving behind deep footprints. A long sighed escaped the blue hedgehog's mouth as he ran out into the forest.
Sure feels good to be runnin again. He thought longingly, the snowy white setting around him morphing into a plain green one. Oh yeah, this is the first time I've had a run since coming back from West Side City. His legs were just a blur while he ran relaxingly through the forest.
I haven't had much time for myself the past few days, have I? The adrenaline from running coursed through his body, a feeling he had missed dearly. Boy, have I missed this.
His thoughts wandered back to the twin tailed fox that currently occupied his house. Who knew taking care of a kid would be so difficult? Despite not knowing much about taking care of someone younger than him, Sonic hadn't expected it to be this hard. He knew it would definitely be more challenging. Tails' ominous past and seemingly random outbursts had already guaranteed that.
So of course he knew that he was going to be in for a roller coaster ride when he adopted him. Past events weren't easy to let go of. But despite all the problems and emotional effusions, he didn't regret a thing about adopting the kid. Ever since his parent died he hadn't made friends with anyone and sometimes even ignored the ones who were already his friends. He was always busy. Robotnik was the one and only thing he ever thought about. Every day for the past few years he spent training himself to become faster and stronger in hopes of one day defeating the mechanical overlord.
But those lonely days seemed to be ending. With the inclusion of Tails in his daily life, Sonic already found that he had less time to spend by himself. That fact should have been bothering him after his hideous defeat at the hands of the doctor on West Side Island and the deaths of all that inhabit it, but for some reason it didn't faze him as much as it should have. He knew he should feel like he was wasting time by not running, not fighting, and not pushing himself. But he didn't.
He felt happy. Not a million-dollar-lottery-winning kind of happiness, but a kind when you give someone a gift that was long overdue. Only, he felt it a hundred times stronger than that. Saving towns and cities from Robotnik gave the same feeling albeit at a much smaller scale. Most people were already well off before they even met the blue hedgehog, and he just came in and saved their town from being robotized and left. The fame and praise he received was nice, but it certainly wasn't what he was truly after.
I wish Tails would trust me more; it's almost as if he's scared of me sometimes. He thought watching the ocean crash on the beach while he sprinted by. The image of the panic-stricken fox re-entered his thoughts. He looked so… scared. It's just like he said, I can't imagine what that city did to him to make him hate them so badly. If only he would tell me what happened in the past, but there's no way he'll tell me that if he hasn't even told me his real name yet.
But Sonic knew that the fox had a good reason to keep his name a secret too. Miles Prower, huh, He recalled what the West Side citizens referred to the fox as during the night of evacuation. When he realized what the two words sounded like when said together, he almost laughed at the uncanny name, but just one look at the fox that slept so peacefully and innocently beside him that night silenced every thought and even made him feel guilty for finding it funny in the first place.
No wonder Tails hates that name. He thought referring to his twin tailed friend with his much more desirable epithet. His feet came to a stop as he stood on the very edge of a green, hillside cliff that overlooked the ocean for miles on end. His hands were placed comfortably on his hips, his mouth inhaling the fresh ocean air. The peacefulness washed over him like a cup of hot chocolate in the freezing winter. I gotta bring Tails here sometime; it might help him relax more, which is exactly what he needs.
An indefinite amount of time passed as the hedgehog simply stood there, enjoying the serenity that he intended to defend from a certain doctor. Maybe I should head back now; it's probably nearing an hour since I left. He thought, remembering the promise he made to the kitsune.
Turning back towards the way he arrived, Sonic dashed off, the wind from his speed whipping the grass up into the air in the process.
I hope he's okay by himself. The scenery blurred past him, the wind blowing fiercely in his face. I didn't wanna leave him alone after what happened, but I couldn't keep sitting still like that either. He thought as the familiar snowy forest came back into view.
Besides, he seemed happy to have a plane to work with, although, maybe a little overwhelmed. He let out a loose sigh as his shoes crunched on the familiar snow. In truth, Sonic thought it was best to leave the fox by himself for the time being. He did seem pretty upset that Sonic was going for a run, but the hedgehog managed to deduce that it was most likely due to a past event that caused him to be like that. So if Sonic kept his promise and returned, wouldn't that at least strengthen the trust they shared between each other? It only made sense to him that it would, and trust was definitely something they needed more of.
He refocused his eyes as the familiar façade of his solitary house came into view. The footsteps he left earlier were just as deep and noticeable, and there were no other footprints meaning Tails hadn't come outside at all. Funny, Sonic wondered, I thought he might've been waiting for me outside. Well, it is cold. Maybe he's looking through the window to see when I get back. But a quick glance towards the curtains disproved that theory.
Sonic hummed in curiosity. Tails really didn't want me to leave, is he that interested on working on that old plane? He thought as he pushed the door open, allowing the chilly wind to flow into the dim house. The door fell shut, slamming in place. Sonic looked around the living room but found nothing.
"Tails I'm back!" He shouted. An uncomfortable silence reigned throughout the small house, not even the clinking of metal could be heard.
Sonic didn't like it one bit. He hurried over to the staircases that lead to his garage, descending it quickly. Turning the corner, his eyes widened as they caught sight of the four year old fox, lying underneath the rusted biplane, blood slowly leaking from his unconscious head.
A hushed silence lulled the room into complete stillness. The clock which hung on the wall ticked on periodically, encompassing the room with its dull rhythm. Only a small night-light provided the means by which to see inside the motionless bedroom.
The small yellow fox lay quiescent in his bed, a blanket draped over his body. His breathing was barely audible to the hedgehog that sat a few meters away. Neither figure moved a muscle. Silence reigned on.
Slowly, the fox's eyes lifted, his eyelids droopily opening. His low moan broke the silence, alerting the blue hedgehog of the new development.
Tails stared up at the dark ceiling through groggy eyes. His mouth felt extraordinarily dry and prevented him from saying anything. A sudden rush of wind abruptly broke him out of his futile attempts, startling him in the process.
"Here, drink this." Tails' body jolted at the unexpected voice. His eyes adjusted to the darkness and with assistance from the out-of-view night light, he could faintly make out a few details of a familiar blue hedgehog. He breathed a faint sigh of relief and relaxed from the previous shock.
"Let me help you sit up." A pair of arms encircled his small torso and gently lifted him up into a sitting position. Tails instantaneously clutched his head as the movement induced a wave of pain and dizziness over him. "Drink some water; it'll help you feel better." An object nudged lightly against his hand, to which the anguished fox gratefully accepted. He swiftly downed the cup of water before lying back against the pillow.
"Thank you, Sonic," Tails muttered, looking guiltily away from the blue hedgehog that stood next to the bed. His hand held onto his head, easing the dizziness. Even without using his hand to feel it, Tails could tell that there were new bandages wrapped securely around his head.
"You're welcome," Sonic replied. Tails winced at the tone of voice Sonic spoke with. It wasn't the concerned, worried voice that the hedgehog normally spoke to him with. It was completely the opposite. Stern, and exact. "Now…mind telling me what happened?" Sonic asked, folding his arms across his chest.
Tails gulped. This was the second time he ever made Sonic mad, and the first time had just happened the day before.
Swallowing his fears, Tails slowly spoke, "I…I-It was an accident…I…I'm sorry, Sonic…"
Tails risked a glance at the blue hedgehog but only managed to see the stern frown on his face before quickly turning back away.
"Tails, I want to know what happened." He could feel the hedgehog's unrelenting eyes drilling into him with every syllable.
"I…fell…I-I got distracted and d-didn't pay attention and fell on my head…" Tails said, quickly formulating a lie. "I-I feel fine though, Sonic. Y-you d-don't have to worry about me…"
"Fine?" Sonic asked incredulously. "You feel fine? Tails you are not, fine!" He nearly shouted putting extra emphasis on the word. Tails' ears wilted downwards under the raised voice and his jaw clenched slightly, trying to subdue his emotions.
"S-Sonic I-I…I-"
"Don't try and argue, Tails!" Sonic interrupted causing the four year old to flinch, the hedgehog's anger seemingly surpassing even their argument from the day prior. "You've been unconscious for hours! You knocked your head hard enough to make it bleed, your words are slurred when you talk, you can barely even move, and you could have got a concussion or worse! You are not fine!"
An abrupt boom echoed across the room, frightening the young kitsune as Sonic unexpectedly slammed his fist into the wall.
"I-I-It was an accident, Sonic…" Tails whimpered, his lips quivering as for the first time ever he felt fearful of the hedgehog.
Tails felt as a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder and abruptly turned him around to face the hedgehog.
"How many fingers am I holding up?" Sonic sharply asked, raising his hand up a fair distance away and within range of the night light.
Even with the help of the light, Tails could barely make out how many fingers the hedgehog held up. His eyes strained against the blurriness, but to no avail.
"Well?!"
"Uh, uhm…f-f-four…?" Tails hesitantly replied. Sonic lowered his hand and released the kitsune from his hold.
A deathly silence followed his statement, further intensifying the knot he felt in his stomach.
"I was holding up two…" Sonic said in a mix of surprise and disbelief. Tails gulped anxiously as he sank back onto the pillow, his breathing wavering slightly.
"I trusted you Tails..." Sonic stated in a slightly lower voice. "I trusted you when you said you were fine, but you weren't fine, were you?" His tone made it sound more of a statement than a question. "Why didn't you say anything about it?"
Tails gripped his head tightly as his thoughts pleaded for him to tell the hedgehog everything that was wrong and that he truly was far from fine. The headache suddenly feeling ten times worse than it was before.
"I-I…didn't want to make you worry about me…" He muttered, debating on whether or not to tell Sonic the whole truth. "…it's just that, sometimes I get these thoughts that…remind me, of something that happened in the past. It's nothing…serious, though."
The clock ticked on as an uncomfortable silence trailed behind his words. Tails heard the hedgehog sigh in frustration followed by the creaking of bed springs and shifting mattresses, indicating that Sonic had taken a seat besides the young fox. A gloved hand found itself on his shoulder, prompting him to look up into emerald green eyes.
"Tails, I know that the past is hard to forgot, and believe me, I do," Sonic stated, his previous anger had lessened but he was just as firm. "But that doesn't give you an excuse not to tell me when you're not okay. You said you don't want to worry me, but doing this makes me worry even more. I just want you to tell me whenever something's wrong…"
Tails lowered his head, breaking eye contact away from his friend. He couldn't continue looking at the disappointed face of the hedgehog, the guilt he felt would only increase.
"You already know that I would never do anything bad to you, don't you?" Sonic continued. "Tails, I want to help you move on from the past, but I can't do that if you won't let me," He paused, letting out a sighing. "I need you to trust me. Trust me when I say I'll never hurt you. Trust me when I say I'll always come back, because I will."
Tails remained quiet, his face downcast, looking at anything other than the blue hedgehog. "But, because trust is a two way relationship, I'm gonna have to say that until you learn to trust me, I can't trust you," He felt his heart wrench as he heard Sonic's words. "So from now on, I can't let you stay here alone when I go out for a run. That means wherever I go, I'm bringing you along with me, and if you can't come with me for some reason, then I'll find someone else to take care of you until I get back."
Sonic didn't want to have to impose a set of rules for the four year old to follow, but with the earlier incident, he didn't really have a choice. He took a deep breath, letting the fox process the information. "It also means that I'm not letting you fix anything anymore, not without my permission."
He felt the fox's upper body quickly jerk in response to the unexpected restriction. Tails' head whipped around to look at him with his mouth agape and big blue eyes, wide in shock.
"Sorry kid," Sonic remorsefully began, knowing that this was mostly about the biplane, "But I can't let you work on it, not in this condition. And even if you know how to fix it, you're still too young. It's too dangerous Tails…"
This time, Sonic felt his heart drop as Tails twisted his head away, the pained expression remaining on his face. Sonic knew that that rule was going to be the hardest one to follow. The four year old was practically in love with machinery and knew more about them than he did. To Tails, losing the privilege to use them would be like if Sonic lost the ability to run.
"…It'll only be for now Tails. I promise I'll still let you build and fix stuff, but I'm gonna have to limit what that can be…" He said, lifting his hand from the kitsune's shoulder and standing up from the bed. "…I don't wanna have to see you in so much pain…whether you believe it or not, I care about you. Seeing you suffer all the time, it's just, I can't bear to watch it…"
Sonic watched as the kitsune sat still against his pillow, biting the bottom of his trembling lips to try and stop them from shaking. Neither did he respond as Sonic wrapped his arms around the fox's small chest and gently laid him back down on the bed.
"I wish you could trust me enough to tell me what happened to you in the past…" The sound of his footsteps receded, getting closer to the open doorway. "It's almost midnight. Go to sleep Tails, you need to rest." He stated authoritatively.
The squeak of the wooden door slowly shutting resounded eerily in the darkness.
"I wish I could tell you…" Tails mumbled under his breath so quietly that he knew Sonic couldn't hear, but he still desperately hoped he did. "…just…know this. The suffering I feel now is nothing compared to what I used to feel."
The door clicked shut, leaving Tails to only hope that the message had been successfully heard by its recipient.
The bedside digital clock shone its ruby red numbers through the darkness.
12:52 am…
The sound of soft snoring travelled through the paper thin walls and could be heard throughout the entire house.
It's time…I've waited long enough…
A bed squeaked carefully in the darkness followed by shifting feet that tip toed across the wooden floor boards. The door gently opened, the light in the hallway illuminating the floor of the room in a dim buttery yellow light.
A little yellow fox cautiously stepped out of the room, cradling his forehead with one arm while the other held steadily onto the wall. His feet stopped moving momentarily to stand outside of a certain room blocked by a closed brown door.
I do trust you. I just don't trust myself…
Tails' blue orbs looked sadly at the door, a few tears occupying the edge of his eyes.
...please just, don't hate me. I need to do this…
With a final glance at the door, he twisted his head back around and quietly made his way to the front entrance. The trapdoor squealed as it was lifted from its spot in the floor, jolting the kitsune at the loud noise. The snores resumed as Tails lifted the heavy gate just enough to slip into the hole beneath it.
The gate slowly lowered, shutting back into place. Silence returned to the living room, as all lay still in the dead of the night.