Hello! I'm finally back with a new chapter :)

I apologize for taking so long, but my life has been really hectic lately. In a good way, but hectic nevertheless.

Also my motivation for writing has been running low so that doesn't help at all hahaha.

But, anyways, hope y'all enjoy this new chapter :)

After another day of patrolling Green Hills (with, once again, a duck stealing a bagel being the highlight of his day), Tom came home.

He was greeted by an incredibly messy kitchen from Sonic's attempt to make dinner for him, with a 'sorry' on Sonic and Tails' lips. The whole reason they even tried to make dinner was because Maddie was going to work late. And since Tom also had work, they wanted to thank him (and Maddie) for the hospitality they have been giving by letting them stay at their place.

Tom really didn't see any need for that (and her wife probably wouldn't either). Both kids were great people-erm- aliens . And Tom would be lying if he hadn't started seeing Sonic and Tails in a way that wasn't only through a friendship lens.

Something more... paternal-like.

Nevertheless, he thanked them for their good intentions. And after cleaning the whole kitchen, (which really was more Sonic cleaning it in mere seconds with a very excited Tails than anything else. Sonic having super speed had its perks.) he made dinner for himself and them.

And then, after giving a brief, 'I'm going to be in my office for a while. Have fun and don't do anything reckless. ' speech (Sonic was somewhat responsible, mostly because of Tails, but he did have his reckless and adventurous tendencies), he went to his home computer in his office and decided to do some research regarding how to help Sonic and Tails heal their trauma.

Which made Tom's search history look something like this:

'How to help a traumatized 4 year old child '

'How to help a child whose parents abandoned him '

'How to help a child whose parents abandoned him without it being therapy '

'Does online therapy exist? '

'Do online therapists require kids to be with their cameras on? '

'How to parent a kid that has a kid '

'How to parent a teenager who has a child '

'Do therapists treat teenagers who have a kid of their own? '

'Hedgehogs wikipedia '

'Fox wikipedia '

'Aliens wikipedia '

After an hour of… that, Tom was still unsure of what to do exactly, maybe they could-

Someone screamed.

But that scream wasn't just by anyone.

That scream belonged to someone he knew since childhood.

And that someone… was Wade…

These past two weeks have been amazing for Tails. His father was getting better, being pretty much fully recovered at this point.

And staying with Tom and Maddie was pretty great, too. Both were really nice humans, and they both treated Sonic and him very well. And their food (especially Maddie's ) was so good. Having a nice room and couch to sleep in was so much better than he thought. And all of this made his dad promise him to tell the truth from now on, too!

It was such a shame that, in a few days, they were going back to their cave. Sonic told him that they were going to bother them if they stayed for longer.

Tails didn't understand how they could be bothering them when Donut Lord and Pretzel Lady looked so happy to have them in their house. They clearly enjoyed his and his father's company. And Tails (and definitely Sonic) loved their company, too. But Sonic still told him it was for the best.

At least they would still see each other daily. After all, they were still going to eat every day at the Wachowski's (Tom and Maddie literally told them they were going to eat with them). And, honestly, he and his dad were very glad and thankful that was the case, and they would sleep in their house in case bad weather hit, which Tails is very thankful for. The cold winters were hard on him and his dad. He could never forget how his dad shivered to keep him warm in the chilly air. Winters were definitely not good times.

Thankfully, however, now it was spring time, and instead of a big quantity of snow invading their cave, he was lying on Tom and Maddie's couch with his dad, watching a show called 'Phineas and Ferb', as his dad had found out by total accident. A few days after Tom and Maddie let him and his dad stay in their house, Sonic had been trying to find a movie called 'Speed ', (a movie that Tails wasn't allowed to see because he apparently was too " young ". He was already four ! How much older did he have to be to watch that film ?!), while he was in the kitchen, messing around with some broken tech Tom had in their attic.

Sonic started watching ' Phineas and Ferb ' and, soon enough, 'Speed' had been forgotten, with his dad calling him to watch it.

It became their favorite show.

What attracted Tails to the show were the main characters, who reminded him immensely of him, and the ideas they had (he wrote down some of them for himself).

Sonic, on the other hand, loved the show's clever humor and the very repetitive but good 'plot' of the show.

"Phineas is really ticklish." Tails commented, as Phineas used his own foot's sensitivity (with Ferb tickling him) for reference when coming up with the fast-running shoes that rivaled Sonic's speed.

"So are you, bud." Sonic said, winking briefly at his son, who was now looking at him, before heading his eyes back to the TV screen.

"I'm not like that anymore, dad. I'm very grown up now." Tails replied back. A small part of him hoped that, if he kept saying he was very grown up, his dad would let him watch ' Speed '.

"Really?" Sonic asked, looking at him with a look that could… only mean…

Before Tails could attempt to get away from Sonic (not that he had much chance with his dad's speed to begin with), Sonic starts tickling and poking him all over, as Tails giggles and fidgets.

"So…" Sonic started snickering slightly. He kept tickling his son. "What were you saying? Something about not being that ticklish?"

"N-No, no, st-st-stop!" Tails giggled, trying to push his dad away. "Y-You win, you w-win!"

Sonic smiled and stopped tickling him, pulling him into a hug. "That's what I thought." He said softly, kissing his forehead. "You're so cute, lil' buddy."

Tails blushed and snuggled into his chest, feeling his heartbeat. "I love you, dad." He whispered.

"I love you too, son." Sonic whispered back.

They stayed like that for a while, enjoying each other's warmth and presence.

Suddenly, however, they heard a knock on the door. They both looked off the screen, thinking it was Maddie. Sonic got up excitedly, with Tails following with the same kind of excitement.

However, the human who appeared was definitely not Maddie, and that same human started screaming very loudly, making Tails momentarily cover his ears, spitting a bunch of anxious gibberish.

And his dad was nervous. which, in return, made him instantly alert.

Sonic had always told him they shouldn't be near humans. How dangerous they could be... But… At the same time, it did make Tails wonder if it really was that dangerous.

After all, Tom and Maddie did accept them, and maybe Wade would too… So, perhaps Green Hills would too?

Tails wasn't very sure, though. He could be wrong, so he still kept being on high alert for now, at least.

"Meow?" His father finally said, after the human stopped screaming but was still retaining disbelief and shock in his face.

"Really, Dad?"

"It could work, li- I mean- meow." He loved his dad, but this wasn't it.

"You... you both talk?!" Wade's eyes got wider than Tails thought could ever be possible.

"Have you never seen a talking hedgehog and a talking fox before?" Sonic started gesturing to his quills and spines and then pointing towards Tails.

"Uh… no?" Wade asked, clearly confused with everything.

At that moment, Tom finally appeared.

"Tom? Tom!" He shouted. "What the heck is going on here?!"

"Wow." Wade started, still a bit speechless from grasping what he had seen and explained to him as reality. "But Tom… you know I would never tell anyone."

"I know, I-"

"I asked Tom to not tell anyone about us, Wade." Sonic started before Tom was able to answer. "I was worried you would expose me and... my Tails. I didn't wanna risk it."

"I understand, Sonic. My lips are sealed. I know what would happen if people like the military found out about you and Tails. Those friendly alien movies show a lot of that." Wade finished.

Tails wasn't sure what 'aliens movies' Wade was talking about or how accurate they really were. Nevertheless, Wade wasn't going to put them in danger, and that was what mattered.

And for that, he (and certainly his dad) was thankful . But it does make Tails wonder, once again, if, perhaps, his dad (and Tom and Maddie), unintentionally, was being too strict on not telling anyone. Since Tom, Maddie, and Wade were okay with them, especially because he would like to be with other people, especially kids his age or older, He was grateful for what he had. He was grateful that he had his father, Tom, and Maddie. And he was grateful for the life he had now. But he still, perhaps selfishly, wishes that he could have more.

"Exactly," Tom agreed. "We can't take any chances."

"But why not?" Tails asked innocently. Finding this the perfect time to ask what was bothering him. "Maybe Green Hills would accept us, too?"

Sonic and Tom exchanged a look, then Sonic sighed.

"Buddy... not everyone is like them. We got really lucky, y'know? There are some humans that would do anything to experiment on us and hurt us." Sonic said, remembering what Longclaw told him all those years ago.

"Exactly. Not everyone accepts who is different, and it's just too much of a risk right now, Tails. Maybe someday, but not now." Tom added, so Tails could understand better.

"Okay… I understand." Tails replied, deciding not to tell any of them what he desired. It would put him and his dad at risk, and he wouldn't allow that to happen.

"So... Tails is your brother?" Wade eventually asked, after a slightly uncomfortable silence followed.

"What? No! He's my son."

And, after all, Tails did gain another person he could talk to. And he sure seemed funny...

"So what did you wanna talk about, Madz?" Tom asked his wife. After Wade had left, and right before the kids went to bed, Maddie told him she needed to talk about something important. He had no idea what it could even be about. Especially something so important.

The only thing that came to mind as a possibility in Tom's mind was Maddie talking about Wade knowing. But, even then, why would that even be that important? Wade was trustworthy, and Maddie knew that.

"After Sonic put Tails to sleep, he told me that, in a few days, they were going back to their cave."

Tom immediately understood his wife's urgency.

"But why? Didn't we make it clear we wanted them to stay here?"

"Tom…" Maddie started, giving the 'you're not getting it ' glance Tom knew all too well.

Something that he always loved about his wife was how she seemingly could decipher the reason why someone did or said what they did. So, he was all ears to understand why Sonic said what he said.

"Sonic was alone for a decade, and he only had Tails by his side for two years. And he's not even sixteen yet." Her wife said. And Tom finally could 'see' . They really had so much trauma, and Tom and Maddie desperately wanted to help. But they, both being far from specialists and Sonic and Tails being aliens, limited them a lot.

"He and Tails definitely want to stay, but Sonic probably thinks he's bothering us." Maddie stopped, but Tom could tell she still wasn't finished and was, instead, thinking about how to say it.

"And I don't know what we are to Sonic and Tails, Tom. I feel like we are becoming Sonic's guardians and parents in a way, but, at the same time, it's weird because Sonic has a child, but he's also fifteen, and—I don't know—it's all just very confusing." Maddie finally finished expressing everything that she, for sure, had been holding in her chest for a few days.

"I know… I feel the same." Tom began. Her wife had described exactly how he felt way better than he ever could. "Sonic and Tails have been in our lives for two weeks, but it feels like they have been for way longer. So, I guess that means we could still be Sonic's parents?" Tom said, sympathizing with his wife. "Which would make us a very weird version of Tails' grandparents." Tom finished, more as an afterthought.

Maddie snorted. "Yeah, pretty much."

Maddie's eyes then widened in realization. "We are forgetting about Sonic and Tails, Tom. What do they feel? Do they even see us like that or as just their friends?"

"I…I don't know, Madz." Tom replied eventually, frowning at his wife's sadder and more thoughtful look on her face. "But we'll eventually figure it out. Together." Tom continued, holding Maddie's hands gently. Maddie, in return, gave a brief smile and whispered 'thanks'. "But, for now, what I do know—what we both know, in fact—is that they both want to stay here. We only have to find a way to convince Sonic."

"I have an idea."

"I don't want you anymore, Tails," Sonic said bitterly, his voice filled with venom. Tails never thought it possible for his dad to produce. "I can't believe I've only just realized your two tails bring me bad luck."

"Dad, please!" Tails pleaded, his eyes full of tears, ready to burst. "I-I promise I'll do anything! Just d-don't leave me alone!"

His dad gave him the coldest glare, which reminded him too painfully of his biological parents.

"Don't call me your dad." Sonic said, even more coldly than his biological parents ever did.

Tails' heart completely shattered.

"I'm not your father anymore."

Tails got up, breathing unevenly. He espeically hated having this kind of nightmares. It made him feel so... uneased.

He knew his father would never do something like this. But his subconscious still got worried…

He was careful not to wake his father up, yet (Sonic was the total opposite of a light sleeper, and, so, he generally didn't wake up when Tails had a nightmare. Tails was the one who woke Sonic. His dad did tell him to always wake up when he had a nightmare.) and then headed to the kitchen, picked up a small ladder he made, and went to the fridge to drink some milk, when he suddenly heard some noises in the... hall?

Were burglars here?

Tails, spooked, discreetly looked into the hall…

And he found... Tom, with their bean bags?