Word Count: 1,962
Fandoms: Sonic the Hedgehog (Games)
Characters: Sonic, Tails
Relationships: [gen/platonic] Sonic & Tails
Warnings: Minor plane crash
Author's Note: Crossposted from Ao3, original posting date 26 January 2023. This references a headcanon of mine that Sonic was raised by flickies, and doesn't realise that other species react different to things than what flickies do until he's a bit older. Birds excessively shed feathers (outside of molting) when they're sick or if something's very wrong, while for other furred species it's just a stress response.
It's far from a perfect landing. The Tornado shudders and jolts as Tails guides it into a descent, engine sputtering and coughing up thick, black smoke that tastes of rubber. Tails will be washing the smell out of his fur for weeks. His hands are shaking as he fights with the yoke, barely keeping it from a total free-fall, and when he glances up he can see Sonic white-knuckling the wing, clinging on for dear life.
Tails turns back to the horizon, squinting against the rays of the setting sun. The island is just within reach, the one he's been pushing for ever since Doctor Robotnik's desperate last attempt to blow them out of the sky didn't completely miss.
They make it, just.
The touch down is rough. Tails is pretty sure they've lost a wheel with the way the Tornado veers to the side, already unbalanced by the broken and warped wing. He wrenches at the yoke, trying to gain some control, but it's locked up and for a heart stopping second Tails thinks they're going to flip and crash.
Between one blink and the next, his vision is filled with blue, the sudden feeling of strong hands at his side, and he's ripped from the cockpit, thrown into the air. He doesn't even have the time to shout.
Sonic curls around him, and the world spins.
They hit the ground hard. Tails can hear the breath leave Sonic's lungs in a rush from where his head is tucked against Sonic's chest, and they bounce two, three times before slamming against a tree. Sonic doesn't uncurl, doesn't take his hand from where it's bracing Tails' neck or move his arm from around his shoulders. Tails can feel Sonic's heart pounding, in time with his own.
They wait until the ground stops shaking, until the screaming of metal stops. In the deafening silence that follows, Sonic uncurls slowly, pushing up from the ground with one hand while keeping the other around Tails, keeping him pinned to his side. Tails lets himself be manhandled, craning his neck to see the Tornado.
Miraculously, it's still upright. And mostly in one piece. The wheels are half buried, the ground ripped up and littered with shredded metal and rubber torn from the plane by sheer force. Both of the wings are bent at awkward angles now, knocked out of shape as they crashed through the trees.
Thick black smoke is still pouring from the engine- the engine that's still on, spluttering and choking but clinging to life. Tails shrinks back, expecting it to explode, and Sonic must think the same because he's on his feet and very quickly putting some distance between them and the Tornado, ducking behind a tree. Tails, already dizzy from the crash, clings to him, feeling sick at the abrupt movement.
He squeezes his eyes shut, bracing for the eruption of sound and heat, but instead he hears the engine groan, the noise grating and high-pitched, before cutting off completely. Sonic relaxes, his grip on Tails going from crushing to something more gentle. When Tails peeks his eyes open, Sonic grins down at him, eyes bright and giddy. Tails manages a shaky smile back, his face still half pressed into Sonic's chest.
landing was far from perfect. But they did manage to make it in one piece, and Tails decides to consider it a win. They need one, after today. Today was kind of a disaster.
But, Doctor Robotnik has been defeated, again, his plans foiled and badniks destroyed. They had a close call with that landing, and Tails' body is aching all over, but he's okay, and so is Sonic, so it's a win.
Tails swipes at his eyes with a shaking hand, trying to calm his nerves.
A fist bumps against his shoulder, and Tails looks back at Sonic, who winks at him before letting go of him and standing.
Tails looks past Sonic, at the Tornado. It's getting hard to see, the sun starting to truly sink below the horizon, but the damage is still glaringly obvious. He clambers to his feet, stumbling a little as his head spins. "The Tornado, I need to check on her-"
Sonic shakes his head, pushing Tails down again, pointing at the ground with a frown.
Tails pushes back, but Sonic doesn't give. "The engine's still smoking, I need to make sure it's actually safe!"
Planting both of his hands on his shoulders, Sonic forces him to fully sit down, pinned against the tree trunk. He smiles, reassuring, before jabbing a thumb into his own chest, and Tails reluctantly nods and stops fighting, drawing his knees up to his chest. He is pretty dizzy, his vision blurring a little, and between that and the dying sunlight he probably won't be able to see much anyway.
Sonic darts off and Tails watches as he runs back and forth, bouncing between all the metal jutting out of the ground, scooping them and all of the torn rubber up, dumping them into a neat pile. He then starts circling the plane, flittering about wreckage, taking stock of the damage.
With a shrug and a thumbs up directed at Tails, which Tails thinks means the damage isn't too bad, or at least fixable, he drags himself into the cockpit, doing something with the controls that greatly lessens the amount of smoke coming from the engine. Ducking under the wings, he pokes around the propellers, sticking his whole arm into the crevices.
It can't be comfortable, or safe; the engine is surely still hot to the touch, but Tails knows that Sonic knows what he's doing. That he's good with machines. Well, the Tornado, at least. He nearly broke the stereo the other day before Tails intervened. But Sonic's really good at the Tornado, even though he's been letting Tails handle her ever since they met.
Sure enough, within minutes, the smoke has stopped completely. Sonic jumps down from the plane with a grin, face and hands smeared with grease. He jogs back to where Tails is sitting, making an 'okay' sign. Tails lets himself fully relax, closing his eyes in relief, when something warm and sticky is shoved in his face.
He shrieks and scrambles to get away from Sonic's grease-covered hands that he's apparently decided to try and rub in Tail's face, his smile turned wicked. Tails bats his hands away.
"Stop!" he squeaks, trying not to laugh as he trips and nearly falls flat on his face. "You're all gross!"
Sonic towers over him for a few seconds, sticking his tongue out and waving his hands towards him in what Tails thinks is supposed to be a menacing way. Tails playfully kicks out at him, the hit connecting but with no real power behind it, and Sonic jumps back with a short, quiet laugh.
Tails sits up as Sonic wipes his hands off on his legs, getting rid of most of the grease. Tails decides it's good enough and holds out a hand, not trusting himself to get up without wobbling, and Sonic takes it and pulls him to his feet, throwing an arm around his shoulders as he ruffles between Tails' ears, laughter in his playfully swats at him even as he leans into the touch.
Sonic takes back his hand, and even in the dim light, Tails can see that his glove is covered in orange fur, and Sonic's face drops.
Tails cringes. It's a normal response to stress, excessive shedding, but it's one Tails hates. Annoying and itchy and embarrassing. He knows if he climbs into the cockpit of the Tornado, the pilot's seat will be absolutely covered in fur.
He smooths his hands down his arms, making a face at the amount of fur that pulls out. He didn't notice it before in all the commotion, but his entire coat is a mess. It'll take hours to brush all the loose hair out. He hasn't shed this bad in a while, hasn't been this stressed in months. Not since he's met Sonic.
Sonic suddenly has Tails' face in his hands, smoothing his thumbs over his cheeks, and Tails blinks up at him, confused. Sonic's not looking at him, though, instead staring intensely at his own hands. Tails can imagine the amount of white fur that'll be clinging to his gloves.
"Sonic?" Tails asks, but Sonic ignores him, taking his hand from Tails' cheek to smooth back his bangs in small rhythmic motions. Tufts of fur float down around him, and he doesn't want to get it all over him or Sonic, but everything that's happened today is suddenly catching up to him, exhaustion dragging him down. He drops his head, resting his forehead on Sonic's shoulder.
"What are you doing?" he mumbles. "You're just gonna get it everywhere."
Sonic gently pushes him back, and Tails remembers that he doesn't really like to be hugged, but when he looks up, Sonic looks concerned, not uncomfortable.
Tails frowns. "I'm okay," he promises, shifting his weight when Sonic holds his arms out, showing off the amount of white and orange fur that's stuck to him. "Really. I'm just… that was a little scary, is all."
Sonic doesn't look convinced, but he steps back. He considers Tails for a few seconds, and Tails shrinks under the scrutiny. Sonic's gaze immediately softens. He gestures for Tails to sit and doesn't wait to see if he does, instead darting off back towards the Tornado again.
Too tired and confused to argue, Tails settles down, wrapping his tails around himself to fend off the chill of the oncoming night, before grimacing. His tails are just as much of a mess as the rest of him, and he runs his hands through them in an attempt to neaten them. It doesn't work. He huffs and looks up to see what Sonic's doing.
He's wrestling with the door to the Tornado's storage compartment, it seems, the wrapped metal refusing to move. Tails giggles when he has to take a step back and slam his foot into it in order to pop it open. In a flash, he's back by Tails' side, a patched and fraying canvas bag in his arms.
He falls to knees beside Tails and makes quick work of unzipping it and dumping all the contents out by his feet, dragging out the blanket that was folded up in the bottom of the bag. It's small, would barely be big enough for a child's bed, and it's worn and thin, but when Sonic throws it over his shoulders, Tails sinks into the fabric.
"Thanks," he says, but it seems like Sonic's not done. He's digging around in the mess of a pile he's made, but before Tails can figure out what he's searching for, he snatches something up, too quickly for Tails to make it out in the fading light.
Carefully, Sonic shuffles closer, looping an arm around Tails' waist and tugging until he's curled up in Sonic's lap.
Tails doesn't know how to react for a second, but then he feels a comb running through the fur on his head in gentle strokes. Tails freezes, surprised, before going limp under Sonic's hands, wrapped the blanket tight around himself.
"You don't have to," he whispers, even though he really doesn't want him to stop. Sonic hums, more of a rumble in his throat than an actual noise. The comb doesn't stop, working gently through his fur, behind his ears and down to his neck. He feels better already, lighter, nerves soothed.
He tucks his tails around them both, feeling a purr building in his chest, and Sonic adjusts his hold so he's laying down, head cushioned on Sonic's arm.
Tails is asleep within minutes.