"So, let me get this straight. You sneaked into the fox' house, cuddled with him all night because neither of you had the guts to actually fuck. And you just happen to appear with bruises on your neck and stomach out of nowhere?"

"I said I refuse to talk about yesterday with you!" Wave replied.

"You better give an explanation or something."

"I don't have to explain anything to you."

"Wave, either you confirm this, or it means that Tails is abusing you. Or there is something else that you refuse to tell me for some reason. So which is it?"

"Why do I have to explain to my little brother my own business? I am an adult and you are not my mom!"

Jet could smell the attempt to hide something, still. "How about this? Do you need more rest?" She said no with her head. "Is this going to slow you down when riding your board? Or with the machinery repairs?" She said no again. "Alright then, for now, everything is good." Jet then wrapped his arms around her, holding her rather tightly in a hug.

"Wha?"

"It's Christmas." Then Storm went and wrapped his arms on both of them, from behind Wave. "You owe us some awkward sibling hugs."

They were holding it a bit too tightly, causing her sensitive areas to hurt a bit, but she could feel the relief on them now that she was home and safe. For an 'awkward sibling hug' this was one that she didn't mind.

"Tails! Tails! Tails!" A lot of his more impulsive friends were now surrounding him. .

"You OK? You felt sick yesterday or something?" Amy asked.

"Did ya forget something in your oven or something?" Marine asked.

"A big stud like you is wasted alone at home." Rouge added.

"I am just glad we can spend today too with friends. We don't do this frequently enough." Tikal added.

Silver then came to him and started patting his face, almost as if he was trying to make sure that he was indeed real. When he looked satisfied, he then hugged the fox.

"Uhhhh." Tails wasn't used to hugs from guys, unless they were from Sonic.

"Just relieved to see you buddy." Silver stated. Tails still couldn't get a read on the white hedgehog, but he smiled anyway.

"Hate to burst your bubble. But he wasn't alone at all. He was shaking up a girl last night." Knuckles just tossed out, which caused a deafening silence in the room.

"FUUUUUCCKKKKKK!" Tails' mind screamed and raced to think what would be the least suspicious thing he could say.

"WHO?!" Way too many of his friends screamed at Knuckles. But before the only male echidna could reply, Shade went to him, grabbed his shoulder and then teleported both of them out of there.

"Couldn't she just take me out of here too!?" Tails complained internally. Then, most of his friends started to bombard the fox with questions about this, all more or less surrounding him and being pushy with him. At least until Silver used his ESP powers and pushed the group away from the fox. Tails was thankful for that.

"Is there a problem? You are all treating this way too… intensively." Blaze added. There was something very ironic about Blaze calling someone out about intensity.

"Well, Tails' record with his partners… is bad." Amy added.

"It is not that bad." Tails mumbled.

"Facts are facts. It is bad." Cream added.

"Funny coming from heart breaker rabbit over here." Rouge added. There was an uncomfortable silence after that.

"Hey, if Tails wants to talk about his sexual experiences or not with us, that is his business and he should be left alone." That was Shadow.

"But we should at least know who he is dating, shouldn't we?" Tikal tried to add.

"Why does it have to be that he is dating someone? Couldn't he have just bought company for one night?" Shadow continued.

"Tails is a good boy and he…" Tikal tried to argue.

"He is one of the youngest here, but he is not a boy anymore. And he has never been as innocent or helpless as some of you think he is." The black hedgehog and his orange partner were closing the distance with one another, never stopping from looking directly at each other's eyes, not in a longing way, but in 'sparks sent flying with aggression' way. At this point, the group decided it was best to stop them from fighting instead of bothering Tails anymore. Shadow and Tikal fighting was one of the most uncomfortable things they had experienced. All according to the hedgehog plan.

"So, are you planning on keeping it in?" Sonic asked his 'little' brother, once they were finally alone.

"Ah, I almost got assaulted, but Wave saved me. She got hurt, so I took her home to patch her up and we just cuddled to sleep there." Tails summarized.

"... How hurt?"

"She would have marks on her neck and stomach."

"Hopefully Jet doesn't blame you for that."

"... Wave did tell me that she was going to keep the whole fight a secret. So, he is probably going to blame me."

"And you are fine with that? What if he comes looking for trouble?"

Tails looked at Sonic for a moment. He actually looked a bit scared. "I can handle that."

That made Sonic burst into laughter. He appreciated the little bravado there, despite the fox being a little worried about the situation.

"OK then. Don't show the Hawk up too much when you do." Sonic added, before leaving.

Now, he was alone again, though not in a dissatisfied way. Still, he wanted to see her again. He wondered... He had ways to call to her holo pendant before...

"So, do you think Tails hurt her or not?" Storm asked. They were far away, somewhere where they could see her, but not hear her, or her to them.

"Unlikely. I don't think she would be this relaxed had that being the case." He admitted. "Still, keep open eyes and ears. it wouldn't be the first time a 'good guy' turned out to be a bastard."

Shortly after, Wave's holopendant started to flash. Wave, confused about it, realized that it was the fox, shot up from her sofa and went to her room. Once there, laying on her bed, she answered the call.

"Hey Wave. I wasn't sure it was going to work."

"Hey there Shorty."

"Shorty? I am way taller than you now."

"Yeah, well, yesterday was so disappointing. You need to work on your host skills."

"Right back at ya. An actual good and polite guest wouldn't have been a lot better than you."

"You know me. You knew what you were expecting."

"Yeah, well. Maybe I thought you would have changed by then."

There was a moment of silence between each other, before they burst into a laughter. "God, I know, it sounded so dumb the second I said it." Tails said between laughs.

"Hehehe. Good to know... hehehe... You are self aware." She replied also between laughs. Eventually, the laughs from their little dumb game finished. So, Wave added. "Hey, it's not that I am not happy to talk to you again, but can I help you with something?"

Suddenly, Tails tongue felt dry. Still, he made the call, and so, he asked. "Wanna hang out?" Tails asked.

"Direct approach huh?" Wave said. "And what exactly is the plan?" She was doing her damnest for Tails to feel judged.

"Extreme Gear repairing and testing." Wave raised an eyebrow at that. Not her idea of a date. Maybe he wasn't that interested in her? "See, the snow storm caused a lot of damages. So I have a rather large batch of work now."

"That is all you want from me? Free labor?"

"You can take the full pay if you want. I just want to see your incredible work."

"Flatterer." Wave tried to dismiss.

"Not at all. You were practically the mother of all extreme gear racing. I really want to see what your incredible hands can create now so much time later. Something truly beautiful, I imagine."

Wave felt a bit strange. He was just fangirling about her, but why was she feeling happy about it? Still, she moderated her voice again. "Sure, guess I can take time from my day to show you up, Shorty."

Tails from that, felt like a surge of electricity striking him, followed by an anger just bubbling up quickly. "I would recommend a bit more humility before I force you to take it. " Tails practically growled.

"Oh, did I hit a nerve?" Wave tried to press her current advantaged, but Tails ignored her last comment.

"I have beaten you. You and your precious Babylonian heritage." That made Wave angry, truly for the first time since this conversation started. "I look forward to feed you a slice of humble pie again."

Wave wasn't going to have any of that. "Say When? And Where?" There was venom coming from those words.

"Tomorrow. 9AM. My House."

"Deal!" And with that, she hanged up the call. Then, she threw herself to her bed, facing up, hands on her face. She could feel her claws extended and ready to strike something.

Why did I let that affect me? She actually knew why. She always felt threatened, in a way, by the fox. He was just a little fox, very young and naive, yet somehow, he matched her on skills. Both as racer and mechanic. While Jet rivalled with the fastest thing on land, and Storm with the, at the time, last of the powerful Knuckle Tribe, she got stuck with a baby that gave her a constant run for her money. How humiliating...

She then reminisced of her relationship with him. They had an understanding: they were tech people, part of a found family that might drive them crazy, but had their backs when it mattered, and their interest... Not many people shared them to their degree. They could be very friendly when they were younger and not competing.

Then she remembered him now. Of how much bigger and stronger he had gotten. He had already shared with her that he was older than what his legal info said, due to time traveling shenanigans. But he was always either a kid or a teen. Now, she made him have an erection, one that took a while to show, or at least for her to notice, a teenager would have had even less control than that. Then, he daringly smacked her butt and wrapped his big arms around her waist.

Wave, feeling uncomfortable around her boobs, decided to go untie her bandages, which made them go free, and she could notice how her nipples were hard. "Tails is a man." It had not quite landed on her until now. A strong, healthy male... Wave could definitely feel he was attracted to her. And she reciprocated it. But, relationships, their ultimate goal is usually to have sex... either just a night of passion, or because there is a genuine desire to form a family and a future together. Tails would probably want sex, but I really can't give him that easily. I need to be 200% it's the right decision. She felt she would regret it completely if she wasn't sure. She felt like she should distance herself again, but she didn't want that, she wanted to be closer to him.

God, I hate how much power that woman has over me! Tails himself was pissed. That conversation made him feel again like the little kid against the greatest Extreme Gear mind of all. He hated that. He had not felt that small in forever. He could feel a rather vicious desire to use his canine teeth and maul something. She had to bring up his skills. Anything else and I would have easily answered back with a smirk.

Wave the Swallow... He was attracted to her, stronger than ever. He had a crush on her as a teen. She would have never taken it seriously, he was too young for her. Except now, their ages were really close now. And Wave's body... He thought he didn't care about that. He thought her brilliant mind was the only thing he really cared about, then it turned out that she was also unbelievably hot. Just remembering the Christmas night was turning him hard on his penis. I want you to be mine, to be your man. If I ever let you go again, I might regret it for the rest of my life. I will do everything in my power for you to love me. If you don't reciprocate it... He stopped the thought. He didn't want to think about what ifs.