Hello everyone! First of all, I really apologize for the three-day delay in updating this fanfic. 😭😭 For about a week, I was unable to complete this chapter cuz I had writer's block.
I'm mostly over it by now, thankfully 😅😅 Nevertheless, aside from all of that, I'm actually quite happy with how this chapter turned out :) It didn't have everything I wanted to write, but it became one of my favs ngl
Hope you enjoy this new chapter :3
After the excitement of moving in with Tom and Maddie settled, Tails was buzzing with energy. It was understandable. It was understandable. Even Sonic himself was quite excited and happy. But it was past his bedtime, and as much as Sonic wanted to indulge Tails, sleep was non-negotiable.
"Dad, can't I go to bed later?" Tails pleaded, looking up with those big, innocent eyes that melted Sonic's heart.
Sonic chuckled softly. "No buts, mister!" Sonic replied, half-seriously and half-jokingly, raising his finger. "As tempting as that sounds, buddy, you know how cranky you get when you're tired. And tomorrow, we're finally gonna be playing Minecraft. You need energy, buddy."
"Okay..." Tails sighed softly, a hint of disappointment lingering in his voice. "But can you read 'Mechanics of Materials For Dummies' tonight?"
"Of course, buddy," Sonic said with a warm smile. It amazed Sonic how his son could fall asleep with such technical reading material that he could barely even comprehend, but he knew Tails found comfort in learning about things he loved.
What kind of a father would he even be if he didn't encourage Tails' interests?
"But first, did you brush your teeth?"
Before his dad- Tom and Maddie (who Sonic definitely wasn't feeling more and more like they were his parents- not at all!) had accepted them as family, Sonic used to . . . steal toothbrushes and toothpaste. Sonic was not proud of it, but Tails' teeth routine was more important. But now they had… so much.
It was still so hard to believe this was actually real! And they had a room together, too. In their house. It was exciting, new . . . and scary.
W̶͍͂͘͜ha̧t̶̶̙͔͖̝̀̂ẅ̵̢̧́o̶͌ͅû̢̞̦l̷͕͍̆ͅd̶͓̤̩̘̀͂̏̂h̵͕̹̅̐ap̵͆̎͜p̷̻̀̆͆e̴̻͕͆͂n̴͍̳̞̊̈̀͠i̴̜͔͐f̷̶̡͇̫͔̯̀̎̏̇̚͘th̠̠̹̋̅e̴̷̬̠̹͗̏̓̿̔̿g̷̡̯͈̍͐ó̴͙̬͠v̶̳̿͘ͅe̴̲̍͑́r̵̩̺͂ṅ̵̳̀̕ṁ̼̀ê̵̦̻n̶̤̝͋͂t̶̴̠̩͚̂̒̕̕̕f̜̈̊͝ơ̴͈͓͇̓̃u̶̹̼͗n̵̝͘d̷̵̢͉̺̺̥̻̓̃̒͝o̵͖̍́ụ̷̢̳̊͋t̷̷̗̥͛̿̕͠ͅa̴͉̍̃ḇ̶̣̋͂ơ̴̡̲̦̽ù̴̜̞̂̋ṫ̵̶̙̖̔̚͝ͅh̶̳̍ͅi̷̻͛m̷̵̧̫̤͉̱̎̉͝ǎ̪͔͉nd̴̢͇̣͂͊́ ̴̜̝͐̏̇h̤̒į̶̩̞̄͌s̶̵̥̥̟̝͕̓̈́̃͋ṡ̗̠̉̏o̷̳͗̈́͑n̴̲̾̈?̵̷̧̟̹̝͑̅́̒Ì̶͇̀̔f̴̵͍̖̼͊͗͛́t̠̒h̴̤̓̅ȇ̵̖̫͗y̷̵̞̤̖̟̘̌̕͜ẇ̝eȑ̷̺ė̵̡͍̼̜̭̒͂̚͜ṗ̶̠̥e̵̫̯̻̔̃r̴̺̰͔͆̾s̶̫̗̘͛͝ű̶̖͇̦̈́͌c̴͚͊̚͝t̷̖̂̾̉eḓ̶̴̰̻̈́́b̶̺̫̃͒ec̷̢̫͂a̶͚̽̐͘ȕ̷͕͈̈́se̷̵͙̲̻̝̎̒̋͜ő̶̟̳͜f̷̷͔̙̘̔̒̇ḧ̶̻͔́͜i̴̱͒͗m̫̜̱̃?̵̵̛̮̞̃̃̎͠.̶̷̭͇̘̓̏͘.̴̵̨͙̜͐̍̏͝.̶͈̂̐̃Ẅ̵̢͎̾͝ȟ͔̥á̷̠̍ţ̶̶͎̤̮̗̋̐̂w̵̥͝ŏ̶͓̦̾̚ụ̵̰̃l̵̯̮͆̿̽d̴̷͔̻̘̖͒̔̎̚h̵̹͖͜͝ã̶͍͉͆p̴̳͍̀p̡̣̖è̪͑ͅn̶̻̟̐̈i̷̟͔͛̏f̴̻̀͝͝.̴̫͆̀.̷͎̪̤̀.̧̖̘̤̆i̵̡̨̺͐͊͗f̷̴̜̠̜̒̇̏̀̚ţ̘̮̉͆̈́h̴̼̼̯̊̈́̑ë̶͙̼̩́̚y̷̴̤̰̍͋͌̈d̷̲̿̌͝í̶̡̳́́e̴̷̪͍̬͈̔̅͝b̷̨́́é̴͎c̷̠͋͋͝ẳ̵̳ú̼ṡ̹̜̮̈́ȩ̶̴̢̮̹̭̈̒̂͆̉ȏ̶̟̦͝f̴͓̮͐̏́̈͝hi̴̜̝̓͝͝m̛̠̞.̶̮͂.̶̬̆͘͘.̷̠̬͂͝
"Yep! All squeaky clean!" Tails grinned, showing his shiny teeth, as he hopped off to his new bed, taking Sonic out of his thoughts. He wasn't going to let his worries take away his happiness, much less his son's.
"Atta boy." Sonic smiled. Then, the blue blur picked up Tails' book and started reading things that he couldn't comprehend in the slightest until his kid started dozing off.
"Alright," Sonic closed Tails' book quietly, so he made as little noise as possible. "I think that's enough for today! Good night, lil' buddy." Sonic said tenderly, a soft smile on his face.
"G'night, dad…" Tails yawned, as his need for sleep overtook his excitement and happiness. Sonic softly turned off the lights and tenderly kissed Tails' forehead.
Tomorrow, they were finally going to play Minecraft. Sonic was nervous but mostly excited. Tails was finally going to play with kids his age! (well, older than him, but still between eight and ten). And he was going to play with kids around his age, too!
It definitely helped ease his anxiety of all the bad things that could happen to Tom and Maddie…
He refused to think about his anxiety driven thoughts tonight. Or tomorrow, for that matter. There were just too many good things that were going to happen.
And nothing was gonna mess that up.
Downstairs in the living room, Tom and Maddie sat together on the couch, a comfortable silence between them. Sonic joined them after Tails fell asleep.
"You're doing a great job with Tails," Tom eventually said, after a bit of a pleasent back and forth between the three.
Sonic had thought his dreams were just a fantasy. But now… he almost had everything he wanted…
Although, to be fair, looking back, the signs were rather obvious. They even bought new shoes for them, after all.
"Thanks, Donut Lord. I'm the best and coolest dad in the world, after all." Sonic replied cockily, puffing his chest out slightly, earning a chuckle from Maddie.
"But, seriously," Sonic's tone grew more serious. "He's a really good kid. It's tiring, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I just wish he wasn't such a good kid, sometimes." Sonic admitted, his voice tinged with a hint of sadness
"Why's that?" Maddie asked, intrigue and wonder present on her face.
"It's just . . ." Sonic sighed. "Tails had to grow up too fast, y'know?" Maddie and Tom looked at Sonic more directly, listening attentively. "He's so mature for his age. He doesn't throw tantrums, he's always polite, sweet. And that's great, of course! Don't get me wrong! But, if he wasn't so mature, it would mean he didn't have to go through so much before he came into my life. That he had . . . a normal life really."
Maddie placed a reassuring hand on Tom's shoulder, sharing a knowing look with him. His kid still had side effects, but he never let any of those things affect the amazing being he was becoming.
The kind, empathetic, loving, intelligent person he was could've so easily been overshadowed by the injustice, hurt, and pain that terrible village brought. But yet, his heart of gold remained. His kid was so resilient and loving, despite it all. He just wished he didn't have to grow up so fast.
"We all have our scars, Sonic," Maddie said gently. "But Tails is lucky to have you. You've been there for him every step of the way. And we'll be here to help you too."
Tom nodded in agreement, his expression softening as he glanced back at Sonic. "You're doing more for him than you realize."
Sonic smiled gratefully, feeling a surge of warmth in his chest at their words. They had his back…
And that meant more than they could ever imagine…
His son had been really getting into Minecraft these past few days and was picking it up quickly (His kid was so smart. He was so proud of him). He even had been building his favorite airplane models in a very realistic manner, in his opinion. However, his kid might be spending a bit too much time on it. Maybe he should cut down Tails' screen time, but that's a problem for another day.
"You're going to blow their minds, buddy. But let's not keep them waiting." Sonic chuckled, ruffling Tails' fur affectionately.
Tails nodded eagerly, his eyes sparkling with anticipation. "Let's go, dad!"
After everyone had breakfast and with the assigned playthrough with Green Hills starting in fifteen minutes, they all gathered in the living room.
"Alright, so everything is set up and ready. Thanks for helping Wade, by the way, Tails." Tom said, smiling at the little kit. "There's just one thing left. Your fake names."
Sonic… really hadn't thought about that. But, of course, they couldn't use their real names (well his son could, but not his nickname).
"Sonic, your name, given by Wade, is Maurice. And Tails, your fake name is your real name, Miles."
Maurice… God, he hated that name. What kind of a parent would give their kid a name like that?
Oh, right! Probably, Tails' pare- biological progenitors! (And, no, he wasn't being dramatic, at all!)
"Wait… my name will be Maurice?! I don't like that name, at all!" Sonic exclaimed, eyes wide with disbelief.
"Well… Wade told me that when Eric asked for your name, he just panicked. He forgot to ask what you wanted your fake names to be, and that's what he came up with. I'm sorry that happened, buddy," Tom finished empathetically.
"To be fair, Maurice isn't that bad of a name," Maddie added, smiling sympathetically at Sonic.
"Yeah, there are definitely worse names out there, Dad," Tails chimed in.
Sonic sighed dramatically, falling to the floor with a theatrical flair. "I understand. But like… why didn't Wade choose another name?! I'm gonna die of embarrassment each time someone asks my name, or says my name. The horror." Sonic laid down on the floor, putting his hand on his forehead.
His kid started laughing, while Tom and Maddie chuckled. Tails always loved when he made those kinds of jokes.
What could he say? He aimed to please!
After they got serious enough again, Maddie mentioned how Green Hills saw Sonic and Tails as brothers . . . because of Tom and Maddie's suspicious activity.
"So, wait, that means Green Hills thinks you are our parents?" Sonic asked.
Truthfully, that's what he wanted. What he had wanted for a long time.
And now that they let them live in their attic—which Sonic would be eternally grateful for—maybe... Just maybe, one day, they could become his parents (and... Tails' grandparents?).
He just couldn't mess this up (like he had with Longclaw).
He had been a screw-up in the past, but he wasn't going to be now.
He would make sure of it.
"Pretty much, yeah." Tom answered, frowning slightly.
"We're sorry you have to tell the others we are your parents, but it wa-"
"Don't worry. It's totally cool, Pretzel Lady! You gotta do what you gotta do." Sonic replied, making sure not to mention 'wanting them to be their parents' thing.
"Does… Does that mean I have to pretend to be your brother, dad?"
"Yes, lil' buddy." Sonic kneeled down, at Tails' level, looking into Tails' blue eyes. "But remember, Tails, lying isn't okay. We are only doing it to protect us. We are not doing it to hurt anybody. And we have to be as honest as we can, alright?"
"Okay, dad." Tails replied.
Yesterday, Sonic was mostly excited. And he was too… until now.
Sonic was nervous. All the anxiety and fear caught up to him. Thoughts bounced in his head about how they might judge him for his . . . unusual appearance. He knew Green Hills was gonna love his kid. Tails was amazing. But would they like Sonic?
He didn't know . . . but he would never know if he didn't try.
He just hoped he wouldn't have to deal with all of that.
Especially since the Pretzel Lady and Donut Lord were so accepting and cool with them.
He had to make a good impression for the both of them.
He just hoped that the impression would be good enough…
However, unbeknownst to all Green Hills' residents, someone- or rather, a group of people, were planning something.
Something that would force a certain blue hedgehog and yellow fox to reveal themselves
And that something . . . was far from innocent…
I hope this chapter made Sonic and Tails' relationship as father and son more complex (in a good way hahaha) 3