Chapter 24: Hide and Seek
"Anyone up for hide and seek?"
Tails and Knuckles sat up on the couch to look at Sonic.
"Hide and seek?" Knuckles questioned with a raised brow.
Sonic nodded. "Yeah, it'll be nice for us to get outside and hang out together, right?"
Tails shifted uncomfortably on the couch, something neither Sonic nor Knuckles noticed as the echidna stood up from the couch.
"I suppose you have a good point, brother. It would be rather monotonous to spend all day in the household." Knuckles admitted before turning to Tails. "What say you, fox?"
Tails didn't immediately respond, instead remaining silent as he stared off into space with an apprehensive look on his face.
"Tails? You with us?" Sonic asked, he and Knuckles both looking concerned for their youngest.
Tails blinked, snapping back to reality as he glanced at his brothers. "Huh? Uh, y-yeah, sure. We can play hide and seek!" He gave them a thumbs up and a smile, though Sonic and Knuckles could easily tell that it was forced.
Still, Sonic and Knuckles didn't say anything as the three of them went outside into the backyard.
After deciding that Sonic would be the seeker through a game of rock, paper, scissors (and convincing Knuckles that you didn't need an actual rock, piece of paper, and pair of scissors to play the game), Sonic faced towards the house while Tails and Knuckles ran off into the forest to hide.
"... Three, two, one! Ready or not, here I come!" Sonic announced as he finally turned towards the forest and set off to find his brothers.
Navigating the woods wasn't too hard for the blue hedgehog, as he had spent the last ten years living in them. Still, he kept his eyes peeled for either one of his brothers.
Knowing Knuckles, he would likely be hiding in a hole or behind a tree. Sonic's lips twitched upward at the thought. His big brother was a great warrior, but not exactly the best hider if he recalled correctly.
Tails, meanwhile, was much more difficult to find, as the young fox cub was much smaller than both the hedgehog and the echidna, meaning he could fit into a lot more tighter spaces around the forest. There was also the fact that he could fly, so Sonic would occasionally glance up at the trees.
Now, Sonic knew it wouldn't be that hard to find Knuckles, considering that the red echidna stood out in the green and brown forest like a sore thumb. And once that was done, Tails would be-
*Sniff*
*Hic*
*Sniff*
Sonic paused mid-thought, his ear twitching as he heard the sounds of… sobbing? Coming from above him.
Looking up, Sonic was surprised to see Tails sitting on a tall branch in one of the trees, his tails curled around himself while hugging his knees to his chest.
The fox cub's shoulders shook as he continued to sob into his arms.
Sonic was stunned to say the least, feeling a tug at his heart for his baby brother.
Zipping up the tree, Sonic sat down next to Tails on the branch, a concerned expression on his face.
"Tails? Tails, what's wrong?" He asked softly, gently placing a hand on the kit's shoulder.
Tails flinched with a soft gasp, snapping back to reality as he looked up from his arms to see Sonic sitting next to him. "S-Sonic…?"
The state the fox cub was in broke Sonic's heart. Tails was a mess with his orange-yellow fur ruffled with tears cascading down his cheeks, his normally bright blue eyes filled with an underlying sorrow and pain.
"Oh, buddy…" Sonic whispered, pulling Tails into his lap, letting the young fox bury his face into his peach-furred chest. "Shh, shh, it's okay. It's okay."
Tails tightly hugged Sonic back, basking in the blue hedgehog's warm and comforting embrace, already feeling more at ease.
"You wanna tell me what's going on?" Sonic asked softly, resting his chin on the young boy's head between his ears.
Tails let out a sob. "I-It's nothing important."
"Hey, if it's bothering you, then I think it's important." Sonic insisted, rubbing gentle circles on Tails' back.
Tails smiled slightly, feeling happy and so very grateful that someone like Sonic cared so much for him, before he sunk back into his forlorn state. "You remember how I told you that everyone in my village thought my two tails were weird?"
Sonic nodded, remembering that night in Siberia very well.
"Well, it was more than them just thinking I was weird." Tails explained. "A lot of times they would… hunt me. And when they caught me, they'd do stuff like smash my inventions in front of me, beat me up, or call me names like 'freak' or… 'Tails'."
Sonic's eyes widened. "Did… did they hurt you?" He asked, his voice cracking in both horror and astonishment.
Tails sniffled before he nodded. "Yeah. And since everyone already called me Tails, I thought I might as well own it." He let out a watery chuckle. "Got the idea from you, actually, with the whole 'blue devil' thing."
Sonic felt his heart shatter as he pulled his precious baby brother into another hug, as if hoping to shield him from the cruel, horrible, monsters that had tormented him in the past.
Tails nuzzled his face into the crook of Sonic's neck, feeling a strong sense of comfort and safety from the blue hedgehog. For the moment, he was just comfortable sitting like this in his big brother's arms. Because as long as he was with him, he felt like nothing could hurt him.
"I'm sorry, Miles." Sonic whispered after a long silence. "I'm so, so sorry."
Tails lightly wrapped his arms around Sonic's waist, hugging him back. "It's okay. You didn't know."
"... Still, would you rather I call you Tails or Miles?" Sonic asked.
Tails paused for a moment. "Tails." He replied. "It's more of a friend thing now." He smiled slightly. "And I kinda like it."
Tails then let out a sad sigh. "I thought maybe if I did this, it'd help me get over some of those bad memories. But I guess I was wrong."
Sonic looked at Tails, biting his lip slightly. "Just because you think you can handle something hard on your own doesn't mean you should." He spoke up, trying to think of the right words to say. "Keeping your feelings all bottled up inside… it doesn't help. I should because… it's what I felt that night at the baseball field."
Sonic let out a sigh as he recalled that night. "I remember back then, I thought I was going to be alone forever. That I would have no friends, no family. But it was thanks to Tom and Maddie that I got over that, and found a new family. And since then, I've made tons of new friends, including you."
Sonic then smiled softly. "It's okay to let others help you, and we want to help you too." He then cupped Tails cheek, tilting his head up so he could meet his eyes. "At least… if you'll let us."
Tails gazed into the emerald eyes of his big brother, finding the soothing warmth, kindness, and love that he had yearned for all his life.
"Yes…" Tails whispered, no longer holding back his tears, letting them cascade down his cheeks. Only these were not tears of sorrow… but one of joy as he smiled. "Please help me."
Sonic smiled back, pulling the fox cub into another hug, resting his chin atop his head while Tails' namesakes wrapped around Sonic's waist, the fox kit letting out a happy purr as he snuggled into the blue hedgehog's chest.
"I love you, Sonic." Tails said softly.
"I love you too, Tails." Sonic said, pulling back and giving Tails a soft kiss on the forehead, earning a giggle from the kit as his cheeks blushed slightly.
"Hey, since I found you, you want to help me find Knuckles?" Sonic asked when they pulled apart, his smile stretching into a smirk.
Tails laughed. "Sure." He said as he and Sonic hopped down from the tree branch, with the young fox gently flying them to the ground.
"Last one to find him has to take out the trash!" Sonic quipped before zipping off into the forest.
"Hey!" Tails giggled, taking off into the air and zooming after his big brother.
They would eventually find Knuckles, though they both ended up finding him at the same time, leading to the two of them childishly arguing over who won and who should take out the trash.
But at the end of the day, it didn't matter who had won. To Tails, the true prize was having Sonic the Hedgehog as his best friend, hero, and brother.
That in itself was the greatest reward he could ever have.