It happened again. Tom's phone pinged and after looking at it, he shared that weird look with Maddie before both of them went to their bedroom. Sonic was no stranger to unusual behaviors from his parents, like hiding some papers from him or whispering out of his earshot. However, this time it felt different. He caught the worried look that they were giving him right before they left.
"Did something happen while I was at school?" Sonic asked as he looked away from the textbook on the coffee table in front of him.
It was a nice Friday afternoon and the boys were hanging out in the living room. Sonic was doing his homework so he wouldn't have to worry about it during the weekend. Knuckles was reading a book that Maddie got him. And Tails got a hold of one of the Sonic textbooks and was almost hypnotized by its content. The fox boy couldn't wait to finally attend school. Maddie and Tom were looking into that but with how close to the end of the school year it was, Tails and Knuckles would most likely need to wait until September.
Tails looked up and furrowed his brow. "I don't think so. Why are you asking?"
"Mom and dad are acting weirder than usual." Sonic was still getting used to thinking about the two most important people in his life as his parents but it felt right and put a smile on his face each time.
"Lord of Donuts and Lady of Pretzels want to help the child in officer Wade's care but they are worried about him meeting us." Knuckles saw the questioning looks that the boys were giving him. "They did not realize that I came back earlier from my patrol and I heard them talking about it."
"Oh." It was all that Sonic was able to say. It made sense. The kid was probably from outside of the town and they needed to gently tell him that aliens exist and his guardian's friends were raising three of them. One thing that he didn't expect was Tails' reaction. The fox folded his ears and hugged his tails in front of him for comfort.
"The elders are deciding what trial the child should take to be accepted into officer Wade's tribe." Knuckles said confidently. "They want to keep it a secret so the child wouldn't find out what it is. It would give him an unfair advantage."
Sonic's eyes went wide. "On Earth, we don't force kids to go through trials!"
"That is not true." Knuckles furrowed his brow. "That was how I and the fox were accepted into your tribe. We showed our value during the fight with Robotnik."
"It isn't why Mom and Dad let you stay with us." Sonic groaned. "They just wanted you to have a good home."
"That provides no tactical advantage." Knuckles looked around the room. "It could be a waste of resources to give them to someone who can not provide for your tribe."
The hedgehog just stared at the echidna. He knew that Knuckles was from a tribe of warriors and had to fend for himself for many years. Over the last few weeks, he made a lot of progress but with all the reassurance from his parents and Sonic, Knuckles went on patrols, made sure that the house was well defended, and had exit strategies in case they were ambushed and had to leave. Sometimes when they were playing baseball together, it was easy to forget how different their lives were.
"Trust me. They aren't planning any trials and they just want to have you around because it's what you need." Sonic smiled.
The hedgehog understood better than anyone else how hard it was to adjust to a new life. It took him months to accept Maddie and Tom as his parents. They didn't force anything on him, just let him go at his own speed. Sonic tried to do the same for Knuckles and Tails, showing them that they are part of the family even if they frustrated him at times.
Knuckles nodded but at the same time looked confused. "You know your Elders better than I do."
"We can stay at home if missus Maddie and mister Tom want to visit mister Wade with you." Tails said sadly with his tails in his lap.
It wasn't hard to pick up what the fox was implying. 'If they want to visit Wade with their son.' They still didn't know too much about the fox's past. He only made clear that no one was waiting for him. It made the hedgehog's heart ache to know that no one liked such a sweet innocent boy. He couldn't blame Tails for thinking like that. Sonic has been there, filled with doubts and scared that one day Tom and Maddie would get bored of him and toss him out. That he was just a guest. Those fears were real to him and being on the other side of that situation made Sonic appreciate his parents even more. It was painful to watch Knuckles and Tails doubting every good thing that happened to them. But Sonic couldn't convince them. He just had to be there for them like his parents were for him and now two more boys. He should give his parents more hugs after what he put them through.
"Tails, if we would go to visit Wade, we would do it together as a family." The hedgehog smiled widely. "We can't give the new guy anything less than 100% Wachowski experience."
A small embarrassed smile made its way on Miles' face as he avoided Sonic's eyes. "So you think that they want us to visit them together?"
"Of course!" Sonic sat next to Tails and gave him a side hug. "Our family is a little much for an outsider so they're probably trying to figure out how to do it in the best way."
"The hedgehog is telling the truth!" Knuckles puffed out his chest. "We can easily intimidate people."
"Totally!" Sonic smiled. "But we're nice to people and want them to feel safe around us."
They were so lucky that Green Hills accepted them. Sonic dreaded being found out for many years but it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him. A more confident smile returned on Tails' face. "I can make him something!"
"That is a great idea but I think that we should start with something tamer." Sonic flashed back to a few of Miles' devices exploding. "You don't know what he'll like. You can build him something when you get to know him better."
"We can do a traditional gift of food." Knuckles put down his book and looked through the window at the forest. "It is still early enough to hunt for something."
"Knuckles, we talked about it." Sonic's eye twitched slightly and he took a deep breath. "We can't just go hunting. We have everything that we need in stores"
"I understand that Hedgehog. But it will not be a traditional gift of food if we do not hunt it ourselves." Knuckles looked at Sonic as if he didn't understand the most obvious thing.
"I love your idea but we should work on the details so it would fit Earth customs."
Tails' ears perked up. "Cookies! We can make cookies and Missus Maddie has those nice animal cookie cutters so they'll look so nice." The fox's eyes shone.
"Now that is a great idea! We can get mom and dad to help so it would be a gift from the whole family." Sonic hugged his brother tighter to let him know that the hedgehog meant him.
"You are so smart, Fox." Knuckles nodded in approval. "A gift truly befitting Lady of Pretzels and Lord of Donuts. I will consult The Tome of Recipes."
The echidna jumped off the couch and went to find the cookbook. Tails smiled widely as he followed his big brother. "I'll get cookie cutters!"
Sonic just sat as he watched them chatting happily about what cookies they were going to make. It was amazing seeing them like that. When they forgot their discomfort of staying in a new house with a new family. He got to see more of that side of them each day even if they still doubted that they were family. Sonic didn't know their whole life stories but one thing was sure, their lives were rough. He could now understand the look that Maddie and Tom gave him the first time he was excited about the movie night, or he wanted to pick the pizza that they were going to order. When he was just a kid, not a fugitive.
It warmed Sonic's heart when he saw his brothers and not the last of his kind intergalactic warrior and an ostracized two-tailed boy genius. So why was it so heavy at the same time? Sonic wasn't sad but at the same time, he had to hold back his tears. When he heard his parents' door open and in an instant, he was hugging his mom. Maddie was a little surprised but almost instinctively her hand was on his quills, petting them gently.
"Blueberry, is everything all right?" She asked softly.
Sonic hugged tighter. "I love you guys."
Tom's hand joined Maddie's on his quills. "We love you too buddy."
"Yes, we love you too." His mom said with a smile. "Is there any particular reason why you wanted to tell us right now?"
Sonic lifted his head and looked at them with his sad eyes. "Can we make cookies for Wade's kid, together as a family? I think that Knuckles and Tails need it."
His parents shared a look before Tom knelt and spread his arms for a hug. Sonic didn't hesitate and tackled his dad with his hug.
"Of course that we can do that." Tom hugged Sonic. "Your brothers are lucky to have you looking after them."
It was a small thing. As soon as it had become clear that Knuckles and Tails would be staying with them, Maddie and Tom started calling them his brothers. In private, something between them, so the boys could reach the same conclusion on their own. It sometimes made Sonic wonder how soon they started calling him their son.
Maddie knelt next to them and kissed Sonic's head. "You boys have great timing because we're going to visit them tomorrow."
"Together?" Sonic asked hopefully.
"Yes." Tom looked at his wife. "But first we need to have a chat about it. Can you get your brothers for us?"
"Ok," Sonic said in a better mood and dashed towards the kitchen.
"No running in the house," Tom shouted after his son.
"Sorry," Sonic shouted back.
The boys were already sitting on the couch when their parents entered the room. Sonic was kicking his legs very excited. On the other end of the spectrum was Knuckles who sat calmly, ready for the gathering of his tribe. And somewhere in between was Tails with his ears folded back looking nervously between Maddie and Tom standing in front of them.
Tom started. "We've been invited to meet the boy that Wade is taking care of."
Sonic looked at the fox with a big smile. "See, I told you so."
Tails' ears shot up. "All of us?" His eyes were big from excitement. "Can we make cookies for him?"
"Of course, sweety." Maddie glanced at Sonic for a moment. "It'll be nice to do that together."
Knuckles glanced at Sonic. "Are you planning any trails for the new member of the Whipple household?"
"There is no need for that," Tom said with an encouraging smile. "We just want to make him feel welcomed."
Knuckles nodded slowly but looked as if it was some kind of test and expected Tom to change his mind.
"However, there are a few things that you need to know about him." She said softly and her smile dimmed. "His situation is very delicate and we think that you should know about it before we meet him. He lost his family and home very recently. We aren't sure what mood he'll be in when we'll go to see him."
All kicking and bouncing from Sonic stopped and he just stared at his parents. When Wade started getting a foster parent license, Maddie and Tom explained to Sonic about the foster care system and adoption. Later they did the same for Tails and Knuckles when they got curious. To his surprise, it was Knuckles who asked additional questions while Tails stayed quiet.
It was amazing that humans could officially become a family. Sonic felt a small sting of pain that he couldn't be adopted but it didn't change anything between him and his parents. They were a family. He never thought about how kids end up in a foster care system. It was supposed to be something temporary when the family is unable to take care of the child. Not something that could hit so close to home.
To the hedgehog's side, Knuckles looked equally stunned. Tails broke the silence. "Is he okay?"
Tom sighed and smiled sadly. "We're not sure. He seems to be handling it but Wade is worried about him. He wanted to wait a few more days but Shadow really wants to meet you guys."
"Because we're so awesome. Even if we try to keep it quiet, you can't contain this raw star power." Sonic laughed nervously. "He is probably dying to meet us." Sonic looked down, too embarrassed to look his parents in the eyes but he just kept talking. "Who said something so insensitive? It wasn't me for sure. I wouldn't joke about that. So I'm not sure what you heard but it wasn't what you think."
Warmth. His mind suddenly got quiet and there was just warmth surrounding him. Maddie was hugging him, not saying anything. They stayed frozen for what felt like minutes. His breathing got more even and he finally hugged her back. "I'm sorry."
"I know." She gently brushed his quills. "If you think that it's too much for you, can we reschedule? Wade would understand."
"And disappoint our number one fan?" Sonic said weakly as he put his head on Maddie's shoulder
"Blueberry, we want to help Wade but you're the most important to us. So if you don't feel like doing it, we don't have to." She looked at Tails and Knuckles. " It includes you too."
"Yes," Tom said. "If it makes you feel uncomfortable just tell us."
"I am able to suppress my emotions so it should affect your formal introduction to the new member of the Green Hills community." Knuckles' gaze was distant but he held his head high. "The boy is in much bigger need than us so it would be selfish to put our needs ahead of his."
"It's…" Tom looked for the right words. "Very noble of you but we want you to think about yourself too."
"Why?" Knuckles looked confused. "Representing our tribe is an honor that I gladly accept. It does not pose a threat to my quest as a guardian of Master Emerald. My emotions should not affect my duty."
"And yet you want to neglect your most important duty, taking care of yourself." Tome knelt in front of Knuckles and put his hand on his shoulder. "I know that you are used to a different kind of life but now you're part of our family. We have different rules. So I want to make sure that you're alright with it. Because if you are not, we don't have to do it tomorrow."
Knuckles looked at Sonic and Maddie hugging each other. There was a flash of pain on the echidna's face but after the initial shock, he was holding himself well.
"I…" Knuckles looked at Tom. "I was surprised. It brought back negative emotions related to the day I lost my tribe but it should not be a problem."
"Yeah, me too" Sonic mumbled while his head was pressed against Maddie's shoulder. "It's all good now." It was an effort to pull away from his mom's warm hug but he wanted to show that he meant what he said.
"What about you, Miles?" Tom looked at the fox kit who was staring at Knuckles and Sonic.
"I'm ok." He said with a weak smile.
"Are you sure?" Maddie added.
"Yes." Miles held his tails in his lap and brushed them. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something more but stopped himself. Tom and Maddie waited patiently which gave Tails the push that he needed. "I didn't go through anything like that so I'm fine."
They all noticed it. There was a hint of sadness in Tails' voice. His parents looked at each other. Sonic could tell that they wanted to ask more but restrained themselves, glad that they got even that piece of information.
Tom ruffled Miles' fur on his head. "All right."
"He has an interesting name." Sonic interrupted to move the conversation along.
"That is the other thing that we want to talk to you about. We suspect that we know why he wants to meet you so bad." Tom said.
"He probably wants someone to help him get used to a new situation." Maddie followed.
"We're close with Wade and we can look after Shadow." Sonic looked at them. He loved Green Hills but they were still aliens. They can't be that much help. "But wouldn't human kids be better at it?"
"No, because Shadow is like you." Maddie smiled weakly. "He's another hedgehog."
Both his brothers looked at Sonic. The hedgehog gulped. He had never met another hedgehog. There was such a weird mix of emotions inside him that the only thing that Sonic was able to say was, "Cool."