Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The sound of waves hitting a tranquil beach floods the air one evening. It is an evening that has long since been lost to the sands of time, but the small pebbles gently rocked by the foamy water remember it. They remember it in the form of scattered debris that was lost after a plane crashed down on the shore, and the indent the plane left can still be found to this day. It's smaller now, almost gone, but were you to scavenge the place perhaps you would find a singular screw or a piece of leather. With enough luck, there may even be a blue quill lying somewhere beneath the sand. 

There was a moment shared here, once, between a blurry silhouette the color of the sky and a little freak of nature. A quiet, outstretched arm and friendly eyes. Two words that never left a vocal chord yet were heard in the winds that passed. Come with, they said, Come with and I will protect you. 

But when you've never been shown the concept of being protected, what importance do such words hold? 

Perhaps the two-tailed fox didn't understand what the hedgehog meant that day. Maybe he didn't understand what taking the stranger's hand would lead to. It didn't matter in the end, in all honesty. A deep-rooted loyalty and devotion were forged, a fate was saved, and a smile found itself on the little cub's muzzle—a private one, only for the hedgehog to see.

The sand beneath the kit's feet remembers the giddy thumping of those two tails, and the reflection in the water recalls how they got to mirror a baby's face, smiling so brightly as he took the hedgehog's hand. 

I will be your brother, the hedgehog would later sign down the line, long after the two had left the island. With big eyes and healthier fur, the fox would only nod in agreement, and the hedgehog would wink and ruffle the bangs on his little brother's head. 

And I will be yours, The fox would respond excitedly.

That was a good word to describe it, in the fox's opinion. A simple explanation for nosy strangers, and a way to understand the comfort that the younger one would feel in the presence of his older brother. Straight-forward and easy. No time for complications. That's the sonic way. 

And if your savior asks you to call them brother, well, there is never room for disagreement. Never room to explain why the word wasn't enough to justify what Sonic truly means to him. 

It would have to make do. 

Tails likes beaches. He has liked them for as long as he can remember. However, few people tend to understand what he means by that. They'll assume he enjoys the glaring sun heating his skin or the sand getting stuck in his fur, and they'll nod in agreement and go on a tangent about their dreams of learning to surf or drink sangrias by the water. Yes, "people" is a pseudonym for Amy Rose. 

But that's not it. He has faced many tropical climates in his days; he was born amongst palms and jungles, after all. Adventuring with Sonic led them to all different corners of the world, and those corners would sometimes include sandy dunes and the faint sound of steel drums. They were always Sonic's least favorite sites considering the, well, loads and loads of water residing nearby, but Tails never minded when they stayed there for a shorter amount of time than usual. He simply made sure to be efficient with the time he was given.

Some mornings, when the fox kit would wake up long before Sonic, he would carefully untangle himself from the hedgehog's hold and walk to the shore. Humid air and the faintest chills would travel through his lungs, and the morning dew on the grassy ground where they camped would dampen his fur. But it didn't matter. Not when the colors of the morning would put the world in a lazy blue light, and the sunrise past the horizon was only peaking, barely there yet ready to wish the little fox good morning. Silence was everywhere. Tranquil waves moved back and forth by the fox's feet, and in the reflection of the water, Tails would find himself staring back. Blue eyes and two tails.

He preferred this. How the many worries of the world and its creatures seem to calm down in early dawn. Little reminders that feeling safe is a possibility, even for him. Flashing past his eyes were memories of a blue hedgehog, standing before him and ready to leave with the plane while asking through the silence, lit by the sun if Tails wanted to join.

Mornings meant he had made it through the night, and beaches meant he wasn't going to be left alone. 

Now, eight years later, Tails turns his gaze to his right and finds his brother on the ground.

Sonic's head rests on his hands, one leg is thrown over the other, and the faintest of smiles tugs at Sonic's mouth as he lays there with his eyes closed, protected from the sun by the big parasol they brought. The fox huffs and fiddles with a little recording device in his hands. Yes, never has he felt so safe before. 

Tails decides at that moment that he will state just how much Sonic means to him. Thus, he brings up the record close to his mouth.

"Prower log day 86," He starts as he looks out over the beach before them. He sees Sonic shift a bit in the corner of his eye, "One might assume the fastest thing alive would never let his poor brother succumb to boredom, but you'd be wrong. I am dying as we speak."

Sonic huffs and peaks an eye open to look at him, and Tails can barely hide his grin as his brother throws out an arm to jab at his side. 

"Dramatic much?" The hedgehog asks as Tails fails to dodge his hand. No undignified squeal left the fox's vocal chord; Sonic would be a liar for claiming otherwise, "Carpe Diem, mon frére. You should try that." 

Carpe diem his ass. They've been relaxing on this picnic blanket for the majority of the time they've spent here. What sort of twisted reality do they exist in where Tails is the one vibrating in his seat? It's a screwed-up one, that's for sure. Tails squints in offense at Sonic who is deliberately not looking at him. Every once in a while the hedgehog glances at him in the hope that Tails isn't scrutinizing. But he is. He hopes Sonic can feel his aggravation through the soul. Sonic only pouts at him when Tails isn't relenting in his ridicule. 

Tails throws his head back and sighs heavily instead. Woe is he, "I'm bored, and you're making a mockery of my pain." 

"Have you tried lying down and taking in the scenery?" Sonic tsk as he shifts a bit to get more comfortable, "Even someone as fast as I can admit when one needs to take it slow."

Tails deadpan at him despite the hedgehog's closed eyes, "Must you come to such revelations only when you aren't about to throw yourself at Eggman headfirst?"

"Hey, it has always worked out in the end!" Sonic defends as he turns to look at his little brother. The hedgehog uses his fist to knock at Tails' arm as he says his next words, "We're still kicking." 

Still alive, not gone. Many years ago, his brother promised that Tails would never be left alone. He hadn't believed the fanatical hedgehog at the time, and not a day went by without him waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it never did. A week became two weeks which became a month, and so it would resume. Now, eight years in the making, Sonic is still willing to lie next to the fox and listen to his complaints. Love became a fact between the two at some point, Tails isn't sure when, but for every day that passes it only grows stronger. His "Savior" became his "brother", and the rest is history. 

"Yeah," Tails says, a bit more quieter than he intended. He can't help looking at Sonic's relaxed form, now far away from robots and machine guns, "We are." 

Sonic grins at him, and this particular smile is a knowing one, a reassuring one, and Tails tries to remember it the best he can. 

"Alright, how about this," Sonic says eventually. Tails watches, perplexed as the hedgehog sits up, "Close your eyes."

Tails blinks, "What-"

Sonic leans forward with two arms in front of him and goes to cover the fox's eyes, and the action makes Tails squeal and reel back in surprise. 

"I said close them. Stop thinking so much!" Sonic laughs as the kit pushes the hands away and glares. 

"Alright alright," Tails says with an eye roll. But he does comply in the end, much to Sonic's satisfaction. 

It's dark, obviously. His ears flicker a little now that he can pay more attention to his hearing, and the salty air burns a bit as his sense of smell gets heightened. It makes him scrunch his nose a little. His tails thump gently against the ground as he waits patiently for whatever Sonic is about to do, and knowing his brother, it will either be really fun or really dumb. The hedgehog is rarely consistent in what sort of emotion he wishes to bring forth, he is however, good at keeping a steady stream of insanity to everything he does. Tails always admired that about him. 

Tails hear Sonic flick his nose and move his head before he starts talking, "To your left out in the water, what do you see?" 

The fox frowns. But he recognizes this, barely, "Sonic..."

"Come on!" Sonic laughs. Tails flinches in surprise when he feels a finger boop his nose, "Humor me." 

So he does. The kit takes a deep breath and tries to focus on the sounds coming from the ocean. It's mostly waves, seagulls, and the faint splashing from Charmy and Cream. The fox is almost ready to give up as he figures Sonic is looking for something specific, but then he hears it. A disturbance in the water, just the faintest of movement that sounds like a foot or a hand moving. To keep balance maybe? Is someone floating there? 

"It's a person?" Tails offer with a frown. 

"Uhu?" Sonic urges with a smile in his voice. 

He listens harder. A series of ripples in the water that sounds like someone kicking their feet. But it's someone they know, Tails is sure of it. He focuses with all his might on whoever might be floating in the water, until finally, he hears it. A very faint, almost soundless sigh. High pitched and satisfied that can only belong to one person who arrived with them here earlier. 

"Amy?" Tails guesses.

"Correct!" Sonic cheers loudly.

The fox opens his eyes again to see his guardian staring at him with something akin to pride and wonder. Which is ridiculous because what on earth did that little test prove? That Tails has good hearing? Of course he does, he's a fox! Sometimes it feels like all he has to do is stand on two legs and Sonic will parade him around town. 

The fox turns to his left and sure enough, far out in the water floats Amy with not a care in the world. In all fairness, Tails finds himself quite surprised with how far away she is, about a hundred meters, so he guesses Sonic's astonishment isn't completely biased. 

Sonic sighs, intertwines his hands, and puts his chin on top of them as something odd passes by his gaze, "Your range was way shorter before."

"What?" Tails chuckles in confusion. 

Sonic's smile grows softer before the hedgehog begins standing up. Tails watches from his place on the ground as his brother stretches a bit and looks out towards the ocean. With crossed arms and a forlorn look in his gaze, the hedgehog meets his little brother's confused look.

Sonic opens his mouth, closes it, and then opens it again before the hedgehog simply huffs and drags a hand through his quills. Wow, okay, serious train incoming. Watching Sonic getting sentimental and ready to talk about his feelings is always a train wreck Tails is ready to pay full attention to. The hedgehog has gotten better since their younger days, which doesn't say much, considering Sonic used to be as emotionally constipated as Eggman's trips to the therapist. 

"Dear Gaia, bud, you hadn't even turned five yet," Sonic says as he shakes his head a bit, "We used to do this from time to time. I don't know, I remember reading at the library about the importance of cultivating your child's senses if they won't be growing up in their natural habitats," The hedgehog huffs at his own words. Sonic turns towards Tails fully with his hands on his hips, "I would make you look for me with your eyes covered. You were so small then, gosh." 

There's a lump in Tails throat that he won't address as he stares at his brother. Every word that Sonic says helps put the pieces together, and suddenly, the fox remembers a much younger Sonic, holding his hand and asking him to close his eyes. At the time, he remembers the puzzlement, and then the terror of being left alone in the dark. For him, that exercise had been a simple test of trust. Of course, he trusted Sonic. Of course, he would find his brother. But never had it occurred to him that Sonic had put so much thought behind it. How did he even do that? He couldn't read back then! 

A vague memory of a much younger Tails slowly reading out loud to his brother is enough of an answer to that statement. 

"Oh," Tails says dumbly before he remembers himself and rolls his eyes. There's a lingering feeling of something in the air, however, which doesn't make sense because, of course, Sonic would have to take such measures if he was going to keep a pre-schooler by his side. There's nothing deeper to be found there. Sonic is his brother, who took on the responsibility of caring for him. It doesn't have to mean more than that. 

He doesn't want it to mean more than that. 

"You also roll your eyes at me a lot more nowadays," Sonic says with a glint in his eyes as the hedgehog walks up to Tails and bends forward with his hands on his hips, "You're supposed to be nice to your elders, you know." 

"I'm no different from back then," Tails huffs and leans back on his hands, "I just didn't want to hurt your feelings." 

The hedgehog laughs, "Oh how very thoughtful of you. What changed?" 

He's safe now.

"I got tired of pretending." Tails grins. 

Sonic only flicks his forehead to which the fox scrunched his nose. The hedgehog chuckles and moves to sit beside his little brother, and Tails barely has time to react before Sonic reaches for the recorder the fox had brought. Tails exclaims in protest and tries to grab it, but Sonic pushes him back with a hand to his forehead as the hedgehog holds the recorder in the air. 

"Sonic!"

"Prower log day 86," Sonic says into it and dodges as Tails tries to grab the device, "Reasons why my kid should consider being nicer to me. Number one-"

The kit musters enough of an annoyed reaction, but in truth, there is little he's aggravated about. Not when they find themselves here, on a pink picnic blanket with the ocean as the background. Not when Sonic is lazily talking into a recorder made by Tails' own hands. Not when they've now gone two weeks without Eggman attacking or any other disturbances. It's been nice. He lets himself relax to the underlying hum of his brother's voice, and as a warm wind passes by and ruffles his fur, he doesn't feel so bored anymore. Just content. Carpe Diem and all that.

Tails and Sonic originally ended up here after the hedgehog had spotted the Chaotix and the rabbit family setting up camp. The fox wasn't given much time to pack his things after Sonic had woken him up and practically carried him to the beach, but at least they stopped to pick up Amy on the way. Spontaneousness always came naturally to his brother, and in the back of his mind, Tails will revel in the warm feeling of getting to be a part of that.

The day had passed like the recent times. Tranquil and light. At one point, Tails went out to join Amy for a swim, to which Charmy and Cream immediately began a game of Marco Polo that Tails excelled at until he was demoted to judge instead. He was too good at it, apparently, but was given a new chance to participate when the four of them competed to find the biggest shell. Cream was the winning champion in that one, and the little rabbit ended up parading it around for the next hour. A giant, white shell that glimmered the colors of the rainbow if you look at it right. 

"I call it Shelby," The rabbit had said to Sonic after the two brothers had rejoined on their blanket. She held it up proudly in the air for the two of them to see, and Tails will admit, it was an impressive shell. 

"That's awesome, kiddo," Sonic had laughed and gave her a thumbs up. Cream's eyes could compete with the stars at the comment. 

Tails has also found his version of a shell. A light blue one with sharp edges that reminds him of no one in particular, no one at all. Still, though, he'll bring it back to his workshop in Mystic Ruins as a decoration. Maybe he'll draw two eyes on it with a sharpie and hide it somewhere where Sonic will find it. Maybe Tails will convince the hedgehog there's a ghost shell haunting him. The night's still young. 

In the end, through all the shells and all the new ideas brewing in his head, It was a good day, Tails has a good life. Despite his reflection in the waters that seems to show him something else, despite the scar at the base of his tail trying to say otherwise. He looks at Sonic, still talking into the recorder, and all his worries are thrown out the window. Just like it has always been. Whoever he used to be is gone now and replaced with a new person, someone who is safe and happy. He has Sonic to thank for that.

"Need some help, Tails?" Amy's voice snaps the fox out of his thoughts. He looks up to find her walking towards them while running a towel through her quills, and once she spots Sonic's offended look at being interrupted, she giggles, "Don't look at me like that Sonic, you've bullied him enough today."

"He started it!" Sonic accuses, pointing the device in the fox's direction for dramatic effect, to which Tails immediately retrieves the recorder before his brother has a chance to react. Upon the hedgehog's slight exclaim and glare, the fox smirks and whistles as he puts it back in his backpack. Sonic only rolls his eyes fondly and lightly punches his shoulder, "Cheater." 

"You snooze you lose," Tails grins.

"Beaten by my own principals," Sonic huffs and shakes his head. 

"come on, you two," Amy rolls her eyes at the two of them as she puts her hands on her hips, "The others are ready to leave now. Unless you want to miss dinner at my place."

"We're going!" The brothers exclaim in unison as they begin scrambling to start packing.

The chaotix and the rabbits join them soon enough. Tails can't wait for the evening to drag on over at Amy's place, and he certainly can't wait to try her cooking. Unfortunately, his yearning has to pause for a moment, because as everyone grabs ahold of their things, Charmy and Cream whisper frantically with each other while simultaneously glancing at Tails. 

Cream clears her throat and puts her hands behind her back as she looks at her mother, "We need to talk with Tails about something, can we do that real quick?" 

Vanilla frowns, but after a few glances with the other party members, she nods.

"Don't take too long okay?" Vanilla says and turns to wink in Tails' direction.

"We won't!" 

"Tails, Tails, Tails, Come on!" Charmy hyperventilates.

Charmy and Cream have gotten closer to each other recently. At some point, Vector deemed it healthy for the bee to hang out with people his age after the crocodile had caught Charmy explaining the difference between net and gross income to a kid at the playground. Vanilla had shared similar thoughts about Cream, and it was only natural for the two children to share a play date. It didn't take long for them to become best friends. Even Sonic had commented how it was good for Tails' generation to stick together like that, but the fox had only scrunched his nose after realizing he shared the same age group as Charmy and Cream. 

It was hardly an insult. He enjoys playing them from time to time, and despite their young age, they're brave and useful in battle. But very once in a while, a situation pops up that makes it hard to ignore the dissonance between them. Tails never plays hide and seek with them anymore after it had taken them two hours last time to find him, he finds little enjoyment in play-pretend and while Charmy is scolded for eating too many sugars in a day, Tails stays up past four AM and builds weapons and aircraft. It's a fine arrangement. Tails doesn't believe he was ever meant to have a normal childhood, but it hasn't exactly allowed him to find comfort in the company of children compared to Sonic and their older friends. 

But moments like this one where he is getting dragged away to hear kiddy gossip, well, the fox can't say he's against the concept. 

They come to a halt once they're out of ear range of the adults, and Charmy and Cream share a look. It's silent for a while as their two brains do their best to analyze, assert the situation, and give an explanation. The fox waits patiently, rubbing a foot into the sand as he glances at the ocean stretching before them. Cream nods determined at Charmy once, and then the bee says it.

"I don't know what to give Vector," Charmy complains with a heart-breaking sigh. The bee slumps down on the ground in misery as Cream pats his head in pity, and Tails is even more confused than earlier, "I was thinking of drawing something for him, but I already gave made him a Beegatormelion-laser-blasting-robot last week! I can't give him another one, that's too many!" 

"Charmy only draws Beegat- Beegatorme- Gatormelions right now," Cream curtly nods, "He isn't meant to change design for another two weeks." 

"Yes, yes exactly!" Charmy responds frantically, "I need inspiration, Tails. What are you gonna give Sonic?" 

Whatever little understanding the fox previously had of this situation is thrown out the window, and all that's left is him, quietly staring at the rabbit and the bee as if they've grown two extra heads. Which they might as well have because what in the name of Gaia are they talking about? Tails tries to wrack his brain to remember if Vector's birthday and Sonic's birthday fall on the same date, which they don't, thank you very much. Is there some national holiday coming up? The anniversary of the Crocodile and Hedgehog truce? Is that even a thing?  

So instead, the fox lets out a laugh that toes the line between a voice crack and slight insanity, and he crosses his arms as the two children don't appear to understand what they just spat out in the last thirty seconds. 

"I'm not giving Sonic anything," Tails responds slowly.

Really, he should have seen it coming. The expressions on Cream and Charmy's faces crumble as they look at him like he just switched sides and joined Eggman. Betrayal and horror marry their expressions, and Tails wags his namesakes nervously as they stare at each other with wild eyes and then at him as if he's the one who's grown an extra limb. Maybe a third tail, or a second head, doesn't matter. He's pretty sure he just lost the respect of these two pre-schoolers in a matter of microseconds.

"What-"

"That's so mean Tails!" Rabbit exclaims as she tugs down her ears and pouts at him.

Tails glances back at Sonic and the others to debate whether he should call for help, but he's not that desperate yet. He certainly hopes these two kids weren't offended enough to invoke physical violence, but then again, Charmy's rapidly darkening expression is telling him otherwise. 

"You have to give him something!" Charmy exclaims as his wings buzz angrily, "It's the rules!"

"What rules? What are you guys talking about?" He asks bewildered.

The bee and the rabbit share another look that's less angry and more confused. It's only after Tails debates shaking the truth out of them that the bee meets his gaze once more. This time, it's filled with simple neutrality, as well as a hint of ridicule that offends him a little bit. Charmy flies up to hover as the bee moves closer to the fox, crossing his arms and staring at Tails with a knowing look.

"It's Father's Day soon," Charmy explains simply.

Tails frowns. He holds onto himself tighter, putting his weight on one leg as he waits for Charmy to explain further. But when the bee leaves those words hanging in the air, the fox wracks his brain around the conversation earlier. Only a few seconds later does he tie the threads together and realize what Charmy is implying. He almost wants to laugh at the absurdity. 

On an island far away, many years ago, a tiny little fox kit could be found in the deepest of forests. He had made a home for himself in a burrow, not too far from the village that resided nearby but not close enough for him to be found. In the village lived no people different from him, it was not a place of strangers. This wasn't a story of a fish out of water, because in the village resided his kin. Foxes who walked and talked like he did. With fur as yellow and eyes as blue. But his birth defect made him ugly, it made him dangerous, so the kit was forced away to live and survive by himself. He didn't know of much else.  

Not until the hedgehog came along, not until his sun passed through and swopped him up to bring him home. 

He wouldn't know of rejection and loneliness ever again because of Sonic. He would be taught the existence of a warm hug and affectionate words, concepts such as love, acceptance, and morals. What was once foreign for him but a given to most other children. Sonic showed him everything and taught him everything. Sonic cleaned his wounds, kept his belly full, and made him laugh. Laugh! What an odd feeling that had been, to laugh for the first time. At some point, the two of them became one. A pair, only ever separated by Sonic's free-moving lifestyle and Tails' decision to settle down. In between the moments of every adventure, every evening spent beneath stars, and even more evenings spent beneath a wooden roof, there was a simple truth to be found there. A statement which Tails will forever be tied to.

When he met Sonic, his life began. 

Tails tries his best to push down the pit that's starting to form in his stomach. Sonic and he have never celebrated such a holiday. They have always been their own thing. They forged and spelled their words in any way they wanted, and they shaped their world to their liking. Sonic is his brother, and Sonic is his best friend, his savior. That's a reality Tails himself forged in between the quiet nights in front of a fireplace as he watched the rise and fall of his brother's chest. He decided then he didn't want anyone else, he didn't want Sonic to be anyone else. Simple and easy-going. That's the Sonic way. 

"Sonic's not my dad," Tails huffs and waves a dismissive hand. Despite the way his heart clenches in his chest and despite how his legs feel a lot less stable than earlier, the fox still turns around to leave this conversation and any memory of it. But Charmy and Cream don't give up so easily. 

"But he must be!" Charmy whines as he flies up next to Tails. Cream follows the boys soon after and joins the fox's other side, yet neither is spared a glance, "He's older, he takes care of you, he gives you bedtimes."

"That's what defines a dad?" Tails asks and hopes it comes out as humorous and not as dry as his mouth currently feels. 

"He tells you not to bite other kids, he tells you to put the milk back in the fridge, he tells you to not drink the milk that wasn't put back in the fridge," Charmy counts and holds up a finger for every new category. Cream scrunches her nose in the corner of Tails' gaze.

Tails taught Sonic how to read, Tails handled their tax report, and Tails has gone grocery shopping more times than Sonic has cleaned his room. They're not normal. They've never been normal. Whatever label people want to put on them shouldn't matter and yet, and yet-

"Sonic's just my brother," Tails declares lastly as the view of the adults gets closer.

And yet it matters for reasons the fox can't wrap his head around.  

Charmy and Cream go silent after Tails' voice sharpens at the edges. Whatever, let them think what they want about him. This isn't some proof of embarrassment on his part. He knows who Sonic is to him. He does, of course, he does. He's known that blue hedgehog for the majority of his life by now. Tails knows all of Sonic's ticks, the cadence of his speech, his preferred toppings on ice cream, and how his voice seems to soften when the latest of hours strikes the clock. Tails knows of his brother's nightmares that are not to be talked about when the sun is out. He knows of Sonic's fears. He knows he's the cause of most of them. Sonic is nothing more than what he is, and he is nothing less than what he tries to be. Sonic is Tails' favorite person of all time, and never will there come a day when the fox has repaid what Sonic did for him. Besides, there's another nagging truth that lays like a buzzing reminder in the back of his mind. A simple truth he decided the day the sight of Westside Island got smaller and smaller.

He doesn't want a father.

Fathers raise their voices. Fathers will harm you if you take the wrong step. Fathers are blurry masses of faceless hurt that made sure to engrave themselves into your memory and make it impossible for you to pull them out. Fathers will throw you into the gutter and dare you to try and return to the warmth, and if you do try, they will not hesitate to attempt to snuff the light out of your eyes. Fathers are mean, as he'd describe it once. Fathers are bad. 

Sonic isn't mean, or bad, or a stupid head with nuts for brains. Sonic saw his fragile figure, beaten and torn and starving and there was no disgust in his face. Just pity, an extreme amount of pity. But that pity became sympathy, and that sympathy became the simple truth of caring too much. Caring just enough as Sonic would have said. 

What is Tails supposed to do with this? What does he call the person who used to play guitar for him during thunderstorms, who once held him so tightly when he caught a bad case of pneumonia, who was willing to sacrifice total freedom just to give him a roof over his head? A healthy child is supposed to have a mother and a father, but all he got was Sonic. How much has Sonic been forced to give him over the years? How much of those hugs and words were to Tails' benefit and not out of Sonic's wish to offer them? 

What right does Tails have to call Sonic his "brother" in the first place? 

Tails blinks as the question invades his mind. He feels like he's wading through water as the sight of Sonic and the others gets closer. Charmy and Cream are whispering amongst themselves, but their words are tuned out and replaced with static. Static that only grows louder as he sees the blue hedgehog turn towards him with a smile, a private one he only does when he meets Tails' gaze across a crowded room. The sight makes the pit in his stomach grow as he tries to find an answer to what he sees. What could he possibly have done for Sonic to warrant such a reaction? What could he have possibly done to deserve this? 

"Hey bud," Sonic's voice snaps him out of his thoughts. He isn't prepared for the arm getting thrown around his shoulder as they arrive by the adults' side, and he flinches at the touch. Sonic immediately retracts the arm and gives him a slight frown, but it's gone as soon as it comes, replaced with a soft gaze and an assuring smile as the hedgehog instead bumps their shoulders together, "What you kiddos gossiping about? I feel left out." 

The group begins walking towards the exit of the beach. A wooden trail that snakes itself through a miniature forest that has helped hide the beach a bit throughout the years. The group's chatter echoes through the trees as they walk with the Chaotix taking the lead, the rabbits and Amy in the middle as Tails and Sonic follow a bit behind. Tails gaze is locked on the creaky boards beneath his shoes as he feels Sonic's gaze burning into his side. 

"That's a secret!" Charmy exclaims as he flies up to the two of them, and Tails is thankful he did. The buzzing in the fox's head only grows louder as he keeps his gaze on the ground. 

"Aw, but now I'm curious," Sonic pouts. Tails can see him trying to make eye contact, but the fox can't find the courage to meet it, "Cream come on, help a hedgehog out." 

"It's a surprise," Cream responds as she turns on her heel to walk backward and cross her arms. 

"Shush Cream," Charmy turns his head around to complain, before he flies up to her to cover her mouth, "You'll ruin it!" 

Cream glares behind the mouth covering her hand, and it is around that point that a certain chameleon decides to intervene. Espio grabs ahold of the vibrating bee and pushes him in Vector's direction to which the crocodile swoops the kid up. 

"Okay, up you go," Vector interrupts a giggling Charmy and puts the bee on his shoulder, "We get it. You won't confess to anything. What do we always say Charmy?" 

"Don't say anything without a lawyer!" Charmy responds gleefully, leaning down to fist-bump Espio who gives a proud nod in response. 

Tails watches it all through a fog. At one point, Sonic actually manages to put an arm around his shoulders, which is a lot more welcomed this time. Despite how much heavier it feels. His nameakes whips around nervously and he knows Sonic has taken notice of it, yet the hedgehog says nothing. He simply squeezes Tails a bit closer than earlier and suddenly, the touch is too much. It's too easy to embrace it.

Sonic is not his dad. Tails has no right to turn to him for comfort like a scared child.

So he shrugs the arm off again, reluctantly, and he ignores the concerned look the hedgehog gives him. Instead, he marches onward, focusing on Charmy and Cream's banter and the sight of Amy picking up the little rabbit to carry on her shoulders. Tails is too old to do something like that now. He sees Vector and Charmy discussing their day and going through what they've learned and it's all so foreign to Tails he doesn't know what to do with it. He sees Sonic in the corner of his eyes turning to the sight before them with a smile. That satisfied and content one he likes to show when civilians cheer for their saved city or when the hedgehog spots a stray animal enjoying its freedom.

Sonic doesn't belong to him. The blue blur belongs to the world around them, and the little fox was the lucky one to get to stay by his side. But unlike Sonic, Tails isn't a child of the earth. Tails is just Sonic's, and even that's hardly a clear definition. If Tails would allow himself to dig deeper, he would find the old space that two faceless parents left behind, a space not even Sonic can fill. He doesn't dare to wonder what that emptiness has changed in him, or more accurately, who he would have been if he was whole. 

Sonic has never been the answer to these empty spaces that make up Tails' being. Not like a parent would to a child, at least.

Instead, they've always been Sonic and Tails. The hero and the sidekick, the older brother and the younger, the guardian and the child, two equals, two best friends. A mess of labels that is too much yet too little all at once. The fox can't stand the simplicity of it, but he can't decide what else to describe it as. Two brothers. The savior and the freak. 

Tails feel sick.

"Uhm, guys?" He makes a decision the moment they end up where the road splits into two, one leading to the train station and the other leading to Amy's home. He can't stand to be around people for another few hours, he needs to find an answer, and he's not going to get that if he has to keep listening to Vector and Charmy's banter or Vanilla and Cream's fussing. All of them stop and turn their gazes towards him at the sound of his voice, and despite the pit in his stomach, he braves the attention. A cautious look has already reached the blue hedgehog's eyes. Of course, he knows whatever Tails is going to say isn't ideal, "I- I just remembered I promised Shadow I'd be done with the upgrades on his motorcycle tonight. I'm really sorry, but I'll have to pass on the dinner."

It's only half a lie. Shadow's motorcycle is currently in pieces in Tails' garage, but the deadline isn't until another week. The fox just hopes he hasn't mentioned this to Sonic, and considering the lack of objection from the hedgehog, he's right. 

"Aw what? That's too bad," Amy pouts.

"But Tails!" Charmy complains from his place on Vector's shoulder, "We were gonna introduce Cream to the new egg-blaster video game! She's been dying to try it!"

"Yeah!" Cream adds, making Amy sway a bit as the rabbit leans forward on top of her shoulders, "Come on Tails, you always work."

Of course he's guilty about it, he really had been looking forward to seeing this new game where they make you shoot balloons the shape of Eggman's head. For every ballon you hit the colder the doctor's bathwater gets until he cries for mercy. Which really, is art in its highest form. The fox has plans on buying hundreds of copies of that game just to deliberately send one to Eggman's doorstep every day of the week. Oh, the look on the doctor's face is going to be priceless. 

But he'll have to postpone it. Either he disappoints his friends or he crumbles into a whirlpool of nothingness on Amy's living room floor. Most importantly, either he worries Sonic or he doesn't.

"Sorry," Tails says and scratches the back of his head. He sees Sonic staring at him in the corner of his eye, but he ignores it.

"Cut him some slack," Espio pops in, surprisingly. The chameleon has his arms crossed and gives Tails a knowing look, "I wouldn't want to break a promise to Shadow either." 

At least, they can all relate to that. It's enough to make Amy consider the ninja's words for a few seconds before she sighs heavily in defeat.

"Fair enough," Amy mutters, "He's been on edge lately according to Rouge. Just don't overwork yourself, Tails." 

Tails smiles at that at least, and he gives the pink hedgehog a two-fingered salute, "Cross my tails, hope to die." 

Amy chuckles and shakes her head, and soon enough, all of them are bidding their farewell. He receives a hug from Cream and Charmy, as well as a kiss on his forehead by Vanilla that makes the older rabbit laugh when she sees his flustered face. It certainly doesn't help when he hears Sonic snickering, fortunately, the hedgehog doesn't quite find the courage to continue when the fox glares. 

And so, he watches as they all wave goodbye, yet Sonic remains by his side for a few moments. There's no reason to stall, though, so Tails faces the music. He turns his gaze to the hedgehog and finds two worried, green eyes staring back. To his credit, the hedgehog tries to hide it by putting a hand on his hip and smiling slightly. But the comfort he tries to convey doesn't quite reach his eyes. Tails has seen this before, many times, he knows there isn't much to follow. 

"Hey uhm," Sonic starts, but his mouth betrays whatever he wishes to say. The hedgehog looks towards where the group is heading, and then back at Tails. Whatever it is that crosses his gaze is gone within a second, and whatever courage the older brother could find disappears. Sonic sighs and looks down, before he reaches a hand out to bump the kit's shoulder, "Make sure to eat something yeah? A bag of mints doesn't count." 

Those green pupils shine with warmth, quick and easy comfort that always came to the hedgehog more naturally than a true deep-dive into more abstract thoughts and feelings. Tails always liked that about him, it made situations like this easier.

"Two bags?" Tails responds innocently. Quick and easy. 

Sonic rolls his eyes, "Keep trying and I will-"

"Ban them for a week, I know," Tails finishes for him, yet his mouth dries and every word becomes more awkward than the other.

Sonic chuckles lightly, and then that look returns, fondness adorned with something else. Something that Tails rarely sees. It feels like a secret almost, as if he wasn't supposed to see it. 

"I'll stop by later," Sonic promises and ruffles the fox's bangs, "Be good. Unless Eggman comes around, in which case, I highly encourage you to use that rocket launcher you're hiding from the government."

"You're acting like you're going away for a week," Tails huffs and fixes with his bangs when the hedgehog lets go. 

Sonic shrugs and smirks, before turning on his heel towards the path, "I just thought to remind you." 

The hedgehog looks back and winks at him, and Tails feels like he's looking through a fog as he distantly waves a hand to bid farewell. Sonic salutes him, and then he's off. Running to catch up with the rest of the group while the fox stands on the wooden path alone.

All that's left are the sounds of the forest, as well as the breathing of a little fox who would stand there for a while, looking at the space left behind by his brother.

In the first year of the great adventure of Sonic and Tails, they stopped in a village to stack up on supplies.

Tails has to focus to not look at his reflection in the window, but the light from outside makes the image of himself more prominent than the view of the things displayed on the other side. Wooden toys, gadgets, and decorative thingamajigs call out to potential customers passing by. The antique store the little cub finds himself in front of immediately caught his gaze when he and Sonic first arrived in this village. Right now, he's staring at a moving, wooden doll doing a small, mechanical dance routine as a faint melody accompanies her movements. The sound comes from a record player displayed next to her, and the black disk moves in entrancing circles as Tails ponders the inner workings of the doll. He barely hears it when a familiar gust of wind ruffles his fur.

Sonic stops by his side. The hedgehog stands silently beside him and supposedly ponders what Tails is doing before whistling an unspoken question. Tails acknowledges it with the flickering of an ear as he stands on his tippy toes to get a better view through the glass. 

"It's like a pocketwatch, Sonic," Tails says with barely contained wonder as he spots the cogs turning on the back of the doll, "You wind her up and she dances. Isn't that just so cool?" 

Sonic puts a hand on the space between Tails' ears, making the fox turn towards him. The hedgehog grins and nods in agreement. 

The two of them turn their gazes back to the little display. As the gentle murmur of people passing by the street behind them and the silent fall of snowflakes painting the town in a coating of white, Christmas is on its way soon. The toy shops are showing their best work, and this year will be the first Christmas Tails spends with Sonic. Better yet, the first Christmas he has ever celebrated. Just Sonic and him. Tails wouldn't have it any other way. 

Sonic begins humming under his breath. A faint sound the hedgehog probably doesn't even register he's doing, but a sound that warms Tails from the inside out nonetheless. The fox flicks an ear and turns his gaze to his savior. It takes a while, but he recognizes that Sonic is copying the tune of the record player. The hedgehog seems lost in thought as the tune carries on. It's a gentle one, easy on the ears with simple notes. High-pitched bells and a piano accompany the little doll and Sonic's duet. 

"You know the song?" Tails asks as he stares at his friend. 

Sonic turns to look at him, and something odd passes by his gaze as his previous grin drops. The hedgehog turns back to look at the record player, and then at Tails once more, and something seems to click as an odd sense of gloom marries his features: It's gone as soon as it comes through, but the fox saw it. 

The hedgehog turns to the kit fully, before holding up his hands and signs, "Nursery rhyme."

Tails frowns confused. The hedgehog has to spell each letter individually as the pair haven't made up a sign for it yet, but the fox has seen it a few times on the cover of books over by the children's section at the library. The fox hasn't found much interest in asking what it was though, but in all honesty, he hadn't expected it to be a musical term. 

"How can it rhyme if it has no words?" Tails asks puzzled. 

Sonic stares at him again, in that odd way he does sometimes when Tails asks a question. The fox has yet to decipher what triggers such a response, and he's certainly not getting any answers for that now.

"It does," Sonic signs simply. The hedgehog points at the doll mechanically bending down and reaching a hand forward to pet the little lamb figure standing in front of her, "Mary had a little lamb." 

Tails frowns and mumbles the words out loud. That's not a rhyme, yet Sonic stated it like there's an unspoken understanding between the two of them. He feels like Sonic is waiting for something, but the fox simply tilts his head at his friend. The anticipation leaves the hedgehog's gaze, and what replaces it is the worst expression of them all: Pity. Tails confusion and slight irritation worsens, something he tries to quell by turning back to look at the doll. The doll's snappy movements do little to help Tails ignore the heavy weight of Sonic's eyes on him. They end up standing there for a lot longer than Sonic's impatient nature usually allows, a concerning thought indeed. 

In the end, the hedgehog carefully grabs ahold of Tails' arm to tell the fox they need to continue moving. The fox lets his savior guide him onward, even as the melody of the record player rings in his head. Unfamiliar and heavy. 

Later that evening, Tails can't sleep.

He lies curled up next to Sonic, clutching his tails as the hedgehog plucks gently on their newly bought guitar. Well, it's Sonic's guitar, but the money they used was thanks to Tails' efforts after having helped some villagers fix their bicycles. Sonic is a quick learner, and he'll try to copy whatever little melody they hear on their journeys. The little fox can hear his attempts at replicating that nursery rhyme they stumbled upon earlier. Whenever the hedgehog makes a mistake, he'll lightly slap the wooden body of the guitar and huff a little. Tails can't help but chuckle at the sound. 

The cub feels a hand dragging through his head and further down his back. Sonic tsks and hushes him, presumably displeased with Tails still being awake. The cub opens an eye and lifts his head to look at his friend, and he pouts. 

"I can't sleep," He whines and buries his face in his crossed arms. 

Sonic runs his hand through his bangs, over and over. It's soothing and a welcoming sensation, but Tails feels more awake than ever. He sighs heavily and clutches his tails tighter. 

Sonic goes still for a few moments. The hedgehog seems to be thinking hard about something, and Tails has time to open an eye again to see what's going on. Sonic is staring at his guitar, deep in thought. He bites his lip and drums his fingers on the wood, and Tails realizes then that he's nervous. What for? Did the fox upset him somehow? Sonic doesn't get nervous about anything. It's Sonic! He's crushed badniks and kicked Dr. Eggman's butt so many times already without breaking a sweat. What could the hedgehog possibly be so nervous about? 

Sonic makes a decision then. The hedgehog loops his arm around Tails body and pulls the cub closer until they're touching. Tails frowns in surprise at the ordeal, but ultimately accepts his fate and gets comfortable. Sonic begins dragging his hand through the fur on top of Tails' head, over and over. The fox's ears press backward at the action, and the kit feels his eyes growing heavier with each pet. It could have been enough, but Sonic wasn't done. The hedgehog puts the guitar away, takes a deep breath-

And then he sings.

"Mary had a little lamb..." Sonic begins quietly.

Tails can't breathe at the sound. He'd tried to imagine what Sonic would sound like based on the few grunts and cries he'd heard the hedgehog make over the past year, but he hadn't been prepared to hear it now. So soon. It's more high-pitched than he originally thought. Sonic is barely singing above a whisper, but Tails can hear the slight cadence of a long-lost dialect, the sharp edges of every word, and the rasp from the lack of use. Sonic sings a simple melody with simple words, yet it's more beautiful than the record back at the store. 

Tails can't believe it. Sonic is singing, basically talking. He had accepted a life with a mute friend from the very first day they met, it had hardly been an inconvenience, and they learned to communicate through other means. He hadn't even expected Sonic to be able to talk at all. Yet here the hedgehog sits, using his voice for the first time in years just to help Tails sleep. Just for Tails to hear. 

The fox jawns and scotches even closer. When Sonic's hand stills, he whines quietly and the action is immediately picked up again. The fox revels in the warmth of the fireplace and his belly. It no longer rumbles with hunger, it simply vibrates by the low hum of Sonic's voice. That's what Tails ended up falling asleep to in the end: Embraced by his savior, and lulled to sleep by his brother. 

This moment would later down the line be immortalized by Sonic singing it to Tails whenever the hedgehog wanted to annoy the kit. For good humor, Sonic would start singing "Fox" instead of "lamb", and Tails would only half-heartedly pretend to be annoyed by it. It helped him remember that day in the cave, and just how much Sonic's voice has changed over the years. It helped him recall his milestones as well, specifically a particular one that he's glad Sonic got to fulfill.

At five years old, Tails got to hear his first lullaby. 

Tails finds himself in his workshop later that evening. His fur is covered in spots of oil and presumably his face as well, but it's simply the natural state of himself that he prefers. He hums along to the music blasting through the speakers as his hands busy themselves with the inner workings of Shadow's motorcycle, they also itch with the need to find ways to upgrade the vehicle, but the dark hedgehog had been strict about Tails' only job is to fix it and not make it better. Which, fine, Tails will simply categorize Shadow as the most boring hedgehog the fox knows, that'll show him.  

Working with the bike has proved useful against his thoughts, or maybe it's the new bass system he installed last week. It hardly matters in the end. The evening has dragged on rather uneventfully despite what happened earlier, he even found the motivation to cook a full meal for himself. Sonic would be proud. 

Tails scoffs. Eight years in the making, and he's still clinging to Sonic's validation. 

The kit wipes an arm over his forehead as he closes the hatch to the engine. He's not planning on going to bed any time soon, however, Sonic is going to stumble through his front door at any moment, and Tails will have to figure out a good excuse for staying up longer. The thought irks him a bit, surprisingly so, yet it begs the question: Why can Sonic tell him to go to bed anyway?

Tails can take of himself. He took care of himself long before he even met the hedgehog. Bedtimes aren't a thing when you're surviving in the woods, but it's not like he's just surviving anymore. 

The fox groans and grabs the cup of coffee over by his workbench. Marshmallows float at the top of the mug, and the kit swirls the liquid around a bit and watches the movement. It brings him no answers. He's left to wallow in his contradictions. He knows how to catch a fish with his bear hands, yet he still yearns for Sonic's guiding hands when fishing with a pole. He once killed an innocent rabbit when hunger had gotten the better of him, yet he keeps wishing for Sonic's embrace during thunderstorms. There's no logical conclusion, Tails is just inconsistent, and that terrifies him. 

But If you want answers, you put them to the test. He needs to state a thesis, try different solutions, and maybe then he'll get an answer. Maybe then he'll find a label worthy enough to put on Sonic. 

It's Father's Day soon, he could use that. 

He's snapped out of his thoughts when the music in his workshop is immediately cut off. The fox spins around on his heel, grabbing a wrench and holding it high in the air as he growls, but all he finds is the sight of a certain hedgehog grinning widely at him.

"Your security system is truly a state of the art," Sonic teases, holding a bag in his hand that he's careful with as he moves further into the room.

Tails huffs and puts the wrench down, "Once I delete your face recognition you'll see how far my security measures can go."

"You wound me, brother-of-mine," Sonic sings songs as he walks up to Tails and puts the bag down on his workbench. The fox watches it all with crossed arms as the hedgehog walks up to him and scratches the spot behind his ears. Tails only scrunch his nose a little at the action, but he makes no move to stop it, "But hey, I saw you cooked. That's good Tails." 

"You're awfully easy to impress." Tails smiles lightly before he can stop himself. 

Sonic winks and retracts his hand, "I'm biased, what can I say?" 

Biased. Sonic believes Tails is an outlier in everything the hero preaches. The hedgehog speaks of freedom, living with no attachments, and sharing equal kindness with every living being, yet the indent in the couch in Tails' house would say otherwise. Sonic's a hypocrite for reasons the fox can't fathom. 

Sonic turns around to begin rummaging through the bag he brought. Tails decides to quit his earlier act of disturbance and watches Sonic with interest as the hedgehog makes a deliberate move to hide the containments with his body. An innocent whistle escapes his brother's lips as Sonic glances back quickly, and the fox can only huff amusedly at the sight. 

"You brought a gift?" Tails asks with a slight grin as leans back on his heels and clasps his hands in front of him. His namesakes wags excitedly at the prospect.

"Well, since my little bro couldn't join us," Sonic starts as he turns around to reveal what he brought. Tails' eyes sparkle when he sees a glass container with a piece of cake inside, "I figured I bring the party here." 

"Aw hell yeah!" Tails whoops, and it's nice to see Sonic's pleased smile, after all, there is one truth he'll stand by despite the turmoil in his heart, "Sonic, you're my favorite." 

The hedgehog chuckles and shakes his head, but some left-over tension that Tails only spots now disappears from the hero's shoulders. Sonic turns slightly to reach for the workbench behind him, and Tails only has seconds to react before the hedgehog attacks him with a towel. More specifically, attacks his face with it. 

"You look like you had oil for dinner," Sonic explains with barely contained laughter in his voice as he rubs it up and down Tails' muzzle. 

Tails spits and spews as he pushes his brother away. He does his past to pat down his messed up fur as he glares at his grinning brother. 

"Just because you brought cake doesn't mean I forgive you," Tails retorts as he grabs the towel away from Sonic's hold. 

"You're the light of my life, Tails."

Tails throws the towel in Sonic's face. 

Later, the two brothers find themselves on the couch in the living room. The TV drones on about some rom-com that has a too-predictable plot for Tails' taste, and a way-too-pointless premise for Sonic's taste. Yet it's on for some reason, the fox guesses it has less to do with the show and more to do with the tranquility in the air. Sonic has thrown his legs over Tails' lap, a very useful move that the fox takes advantage of to balance the plate of cake.

The hedgehog looks like a deflated balloon as he lies limply on the couch. One arm hangs over the edge as his head is tilted to look at the screen. There is little thought happening behind those emerald irises, only a slight frown marries his face as he tries to understand what he's watching. The characters on the screen are currently trying to get dressed for a dinner party, but for increasingly stupid reasons they can't agree on what they all want to wear. Only one character is reasonable enough to stress like a normal person. 

"I feel..." Sonic starts slowly. Tails only turns his head a little to show he's listening as he takes another bite of his dessert, "Distant."

Tails snorts and almost chokes on his bite, he pushes through it like a champ though, and he pats Sonic's leg sympathetically, "You wanna talk about it?" 

"I don't know," Sonic lazily turns his gaze to the fox with two half-lidded eyes, "Do you?" 

"Do I wanna talk about you feeling distant?" Tails recounts slowly, putting the fork down on his plate. 

"Do you wanna talk about what happened earlier today?" Sonic responds, he stumbles a bit on his words. 

Tails stills. His namesakes previously spread over Sonic's stomach retaliates a bit, pushing further into the back of the couch. He hadn't expected the hedgehog to bring it up, and he certainly hadn't expected his brother to bring it up here of all places. This conversation has a wait time of at least two weeks before Sonic can off-handedly ask him what was going on, and Tails can respond that he had simply been tired, and both can pretend it was too long ago for either to remember. It's a good system. 

"Nothing was happening," Tails grumbles a bit too gloomy for his brother not to notice. 

The tone of his voice makes the hedgehog perk his head up further, and actual concern dares to reach his features. Tails feels betrayed by this unpredictable behavior, this isn't how it's supposed to go. 

"I can tell by your gleeful demeanor," Sonic retorts.

"Do you even know what those words mean?" Tails asks and rolls his eyes.

"I know a lot of words, I know all of them, actually," Sonic responds and uses his upper body strength to sit up without moving his legs. The hedgehog grabs one of the fox's tails and starts running his fingers through it. Tails only flinches a little when the hedgehog's thumb brushes over the scar at the base, "But that's not the point, you've been acting off ever since you and the kiddos had that talk. They were being nice to you, right?" 

Tails realizes then why Sonic is bringing this up, and the thought sends a pang through his heart and deepens the pit in his chest. It petrified him for a moment, leaving him staring at his brother's earnest expression. It's so stupid how it makes him feel, how Sonic's relentless concern for him is just as strong eight years later, he hates how much he wants to envelop himself in the feeling. He hates how dependent he is on it. 

"Yes of course," Tails says despite how uncomfortable his tongue lies in his mouth. He clears his throat and musters an ensuring smile in Sonic's direction, and the action makes the hedgehog's shoulders sag just a bit, "They were being nice as usual. I assure you, I was just tired." 

The lie is easy and Sonic's response is easy. The hedgehog smiles in relief and scratches at the base behind Tails' ear. The fox lets him, happy that the hedgehog doesn't appear to want to ask more questions. Quick and easy, that's the Sonic way. 

"I'm glad you're hanging out together," Sonic murmurs, "One day I'll start talking about interest rates and I fear that will be the end of my run." 

Tails snorts, "If your over-consumption of chili dogs doesn't kill you first." 

Sonic makes an offended expression before grabbing ahold of his head and blowing a raspberry into the kit's cheek, earning an undignified squeal and a disgusted groan from the fox. Tails pushes him away and wipes at his face, before sticking his tongue out at his brother's shit-eating grin, and just like that, they're back to normal. There are no more questions for Tails to dodge, and no more concern in the hedgehog's gaze. Just contentment, and a little bit of vanity.

The brothers stayed up a bit later to finish the episode. Not that they remembered much from it, but that was hardly the point. When Tails woke up the next morning, still on the couch, Sonic had already left for his morning run. The fox's blanket from his bedroom had been thrown over him at some point, but Tails knew it wasn't because of his own efforts. Thus, despite the slight hesitation in his limbs, he sank into the warmth of the blanket and wondered if Sonic knew how much that action meant to him. 

He decides then, to test this theory- make up a thesis, put it to the test, and get an answer. He's a scientist, this should be easy. Because if Sonic is going to be acting like his dad, then Tails needs to find out if that is something he wants. It's Father's Day soon after all. 

Requirements for appropriate testing:

He needs a gift. 

Art by the amazing @genisflyingkites on tumblr!

Chapter Text

He tried to ask once why his mutation made him inherently evil. Adults, ready to lend him an ear out of morbid fascination, would all give the same answer: A fox only has one tail. 

So what makes that of him, then? Is he not a fox? Is he something else? He walks and talks like them, sings the same hymns under his breath like he's heard them do. Is he truly so different? He has watched them from afar for many moons now, longer than he remembers not doing so. He is the shadow that haunts them, the thing they fear. The problem is that their supposed "Fear" is not a big, scary monster, but a messed-up version of them. That could be what they see: a distorted reflection, an uncanny creature who appears as if one of them but is just a little off. A creature such as him should thus have no parents to speak of because a creature like him can't possibly have been made by the hands of their kin. No, a demon, they say. A demon must have done it. 

But demons can't have made him, for he still cries when they hurt him. He's not as strong as they are, doesn't harbor many wicked thoughts, and wishes no harm to the villagers. If he were such a horrible creature, then why did that blue stranger smile at him? 

He had tried to keep that image in his head, emerald green eyes shining beneath the sun, as the kids grabbed him. He had tried to think of anything else but the cries of slurs and punches thrown his way, but it was futile. They grabbed him still, they dragged him, pulled at his tails, and threw him down a flight of stairs to a basement with only a table and a knife. 

He tried to ask, then, why his mutation made him inherently evil. The kids, ready to lend him an ear out of sadistic malice, gave him an answer:

"A fox only has one tail."

He was not a fox, so they were allowed to do this. He was not a fox so they would help him, they said. He should have just let them. Perhaps then, he would have gotten to be a part of those nights, dancing in front of a bonfire. But Miles was not an idiot. He knew that the moment the knife would tear through his flesh, he was to run, or his life would end here, in a dimly lit basement with only the scornful laughter of kids ringing in his head. 

So he fled. He ran. He bit and he tore and he scratched whoever and whatever was in his way, and he cried like he had never cried before. He ran like he had never run before. The base of his tail stung from where the knife had grazed him. The other trashed in panic as if that alone would amp up his speed. The forest stood tall before him as he ran towards it, leaving the village and the echo of the kids' cries behind him. 

It was all green, birds flying away as the terrified kit ran through the bushes and the trees. Past the groves and stones that he'd become accustomed to over the years. Past old hideouts that the kids had found time and time again. The forest isn't as safe as it was before, and Miles is running out of places to hide. This island is big, but the kids have a lot of time on their hands. It's a game to them, finding his next burrow. Miles doesn't want to think about the day he'll get cornered.

For now, he searches elsewhere, and his feet lead him to the little lagoon southward. The furthest spot away from the village. During a hot day such as this one, not many villagers would take it upon themselves to go fish or rummage for berries. The water is cooling, yes, but the sand burns like fire, and very few trees offer shade. It is all just a boiling pot of sand and saltwater. Still, Miles goes there. He'll speed through the sandy dunes to get to the cooling water on the other side. He'll clean the wound before it gets infected, try to catch a fish, and maybe regain some strength, after all, he's taken a rather liking to this spot during these past few days. 

A stranger had crash-landed here two days ago. A hedgehog, blue and silent, yet his aura was anything but. Miles had first tried to fix the plane once the hedgehog had crashed and left the scene to get help. He had expected rocks and words to be thrown his way when the hedgehog caught him in the act, but instead, the stranger had just looked... Surprised. It wasn't long until he was offering genuine gratification. Sharing his food, shaking the kit's hand. The blue hedgehog had been so stupidly kind that Miles almost thought he was dreaming. But he wasn't. Emerald green eyes that sparkled with nothing but excitment, and a smirk that he liked to share a lot. The stranger was a being that didn't stay still; he ran faster than anything Miles had ever seen before, and he was kind. That had been the most surprising part. This hedgehog, whom he later learned was named Sonic based on the insignia on the plane, had taken one look at his tails and had looked intrigued. Eyes shining with wonder and astonishment rather than disgust. Miles had been so vindicated by the lack of hate. 

With all this in mind, Miles still expected Sonic to be gone by now. The plane was fixed this very morning. They had already bid their farewells and everything. Miles had gone to scavenge the trash near the village to try and distract himself from the clenching in his heart, it's the very reason the kids found him. But now, as Miles stumbles past the last of the greens in his way and out onto the burning sand, he finds the plane the same as he'd left it. It made no sense. 

He comes to a halt on a patch of grass near the edge of the beach. The Tornado stands with her doubled wings like a majestic bird, ready for takeoff at any minute. On top of her wing sits a shadow, spiky and blue, dangling his feet over the edge as he looks out towards the ocean. But Miles' footsteps must have been louder than he'd thought, for the stranger turns his gaze towards him the moment Miles arrives.

Emerald green eyes. So worried, so free.

In less than a second, Sonic leaps off the plane, spewing sand and dust like a trail behind him as the hedgehog stops short of a few meters in front of the fox. Miles can't help it; he grabs his wounded tail and recoils in fear, hiding it behind his body as he hisses at the stranger. He can't take any chances, no matter how nice Sonic has been. The hedgehog puts his hands up in an act of innocence, mustering a kindness in his emerald irises that only heightens the discomfort in Miles' gut. People aren't usually nice to him. What makes this guy so different? 

"I thought you'd left," He says, almost spitting the words. He doesn't know why he's upset; he should be happy the stranger is still here. 

Sonic hums a tune before his eyes drift to where Miles is hiding the tail. A question arises, then, in those pupils. With a tilt of his head and a slight frown on his face, the hedgehog looks almost worried. He gestures with his hands to the tail, but Miles only glares at him through badly hidden tears. He's supposed to be alone; he wants to be alone right now. People never bring good with them. What makes this guy so different? 

In an act of defiance, Miles stalks past the stranger and towards the ocean. His shoeless feet burn on the sand, so he tries to be quick, skipping forward as he hears the stranger standing still behind him, watching him. A wave of relief crashes over the fox as he approaches the water, crystal blue and tranquil, and he all but leaps into it with his feet first to cool them down. He sits down in the shallow water and begins massaging the wound, getting all the dirt and blood out of it, the best he can. From behind him, he hears Sonic run up to where he's sitting, except the hedgehog doesn't join him in the water. One glance behind him confirms that Sonic instead had retrieved a blanket from the Tornado to sit on. What surprises the fox, however, is the towel that the hedgehog holds ready in his hands.

Miles lets the water envelop him fully once he's done, splashing his face and dipping the rest of his body. The sun is warm, the water is cold, and Miles is the closest to feeling a sense of peace. If the hedgehog had wanted him dead, all of this would have been over days ago. That doesn't mean he trusts Sonic; nice people are the most dangerous. They offer him food and a place to stay, until the next day, when they bring him to an altar to try and exorcise the evil that plagues him. Burning torches and all. Miles stopped believing in nice people since then. 

He glances back once more to find Sonic staring at him, and when their gazes meet, the hedgehog smiles again. Sonic holds up the towel to show Miles, and the fox frowns at the action. What's this guy's deal anyway? It's dangerous to let your guard down, to think that helping others is automatically going to put you in their good graces. Miles isn't worthy of this attention, yet the hedgehog seems to disagree with that. 

He doesn't want to believe it, but as he's done cooling down and getting rid of the last of the dirt, Miles is handed the towel the moment he steps back onto the shore. The fox stares at this peculiar stranger. Sonic makes an odd motion by flicking his nose and looking rather proud of himself, and Miles loses any ability to produce words. So he takes it instead and begins drying himself off. He slumps down on the blanket Sonic had laid out, rubbing the towel through his tails while pointedly ignoring the looks Sonic is giving him. His cheeks burn as he brings his tails to his lap, making them ever more visible.

"They look pretty ridiculous, right?" Miles says before he can stop himself. He huffs when he says those words, dragging his hands through his tails almost apologetically. 

It isn't confirmation he finds when he looks up to meet the hedgehog's gaze, no, Sonic just frowns. Seemingly confused as to what Miles was referring to. When his eyes find the two appendages, he looks even more puzzled at the declaration, and he shakes his head frantically. Desperately so. 

"You're not from around here, are you?" Miles muses. Well, obviously not. Only foxes reside on Westside Island. But the archipelago this island is a part of shares similar islands with similar tribes, just different species. Based on how Sonic's been acting during these last few days, Miles guesses he comes from far away. 

Sonic shakes his head slowly and stares at him for a few moments. With his hand, he gestures vaguely to the wounded once, tilting his head as he tries to ask again what happened. Miles might as well tell him; maybe then the hedgehog will understand. 

"They just wanted to help," He says quietly, he almost murmurs the words. "I-I know that. I can't be a fox if I don't look like them, so they were gonna remove it. But I was too much of a coward." 

But that's a lie. He likes his tails; they provide him warmth and extra cover. Whenever he runs, he can almost feel himself going faster if he were to propel them a little bit. He knows he shouldn't, but he does like them. They're fluffy and big, and the few times he's looked at himself in the reflection of a lake, he's humored himself, turning around and seeing what they look like from another perspective. He finds them... intriguing. He's tried finding books that cover any topic on biological enhancements and mutations, but the villagers prefer their scriptures on gods and spirits before science. The few books Miles has read regarding the latter cover much simpler questions and answers. You can only read about condensation and cloud formations so many times before you want to bash your head into a wall. 

"I'm still a coward," Miles continues quietly. Sonic hasn't given him much in response; the hedgehog just keeps looking at him. Loss of words, both literally and metaphorically. "M'sorry, I shouldn't- I don't know what to do. They don't like me and I just-"

His breath hitches. A part of him wants to give in, let them do what they want to him so he can, at last, join them, but he knows it will hurt, and he knows whatever little pocket of identity he's made for himself in his mind will be stripped away. That scares him more than losing a tail. He's Miles Prower; he likes to tinker, he likes to bathe in the river out west, and he enjoys skipping stones down the stream. What else? He's resourceful, he can read, and he once caught a fish with his bare hands. That's Miles Prower. He wants to keep that. 

He dares to look at his new friend, and what meets him is another frantic shake of his head and two hands gesturing for him to stop. Once again, the hedgehog eyes the two tails in the fox's lap, and his eyes shine with something that Miles pretends not to see. The kit redirects his gaze elsewhere, and Sonic seems to give up the fight.

Behind the hedgehog stands The Tornado, her metal coating glistering beneath the sun. It had been so fun to fix her, so fun to get to dig into her system and make her whole again. She was marvelous. She was beautiful. The villagers on this island share little interest in mechanical engineering. The lack of supplies is only half of the reason. The villagers are orthodox and old-timey. They prefer to keep the watch from moving, but all Miles wants to do is change for the better. This can be improved; things can be saved. At least he wants to believe they can; perhaps then, he'll have a chance as well. 

"Why haven't you left?" He asks then, returning his gaze once more to the hedgehog. The fox shifts a bit, cradling his tails close.

Sonic just stares at him. His cheeks almost turn red beneath the sun, and he looks away, his hands fiddling in his lap as he pointedly looks out towards the vast ocean. He blows out his cheeks and releases the air all at once, and what sounds like the faintest of snickers escapes his breath. To Miles' perplexion, he watches as Sonic begins digging through his quills, seemingly looking for something with his tongue sticking out. 

He didn't know what to expect, but it certainly hadn't been a yellow seashell that Sonic had stored on his quills. The hedgehog holds it up for Miles to take, which he does, hesitantly so. Miles turns the shell around in his hand with a frown, feeling the smoothened edges that are a bit jagged, as if Sonic has purposely carved into it. It's shaped oddly because of it. Akin to a heart, the two ovals are thinner and a bit pointed, only connecting a little bit at the bottom. The two tips have been colored white by either some chalk or one of those fancy pens Sonic stores in the Tornado's compartment, and Miles realizes exactly what he's looking at. 

"It's me," Miles says quietly, words barely a breath. He drags a finger along the carved shape of his tails. It feels bizarre to have his appendages replicated and depicted. The fox looks up to find Sonic looking rather pleased with himself, as he leans back on his hands and does that odd noseflicking motion once more. "Thank you." 

Sonic waves a dismissive hand in the air, but Miles can only stare. Is he dreaming? Is Sonic some benevolent spirit? Did those gods that the villagers worship pity Miles at last? There is little that makes sense. Sonic, as a being, doesn't make sense. He's blue, he runs faster than the wind, and he's only looked towards a deformed creature like Miles with nothing but kindness. The hypocritical nature of his existence almost gives Miles a headache. 

The hedgehog whistles, snapping the cub out of his thoughts. He finds the stranger pointing a thumb over his shoulder and towards where the plane stands. Miles follows it with a curious look, but the plane stands there like it's always done. 

"Is something wrong with the plane?" He asks, confused.

The hedgehog frowns and shakes his head. He fiddles with his hands, and Miles watches as his cheeks turn a bit redder in shape. The blue hero huffs before he once again gestures to himself, then at Miles, then at the plane.

"I'm sorry," The fox says slowly as he begins to stand up, clutching his tails, "I'm not sure what you mean." 

The hedgehog stares at him and stands up as well before he reaches out a hand and beckons for the kit to take it. The fox does so, cautiously. The hedgehog points to himself, then at Miles, and then at the two of them before pointing towards the ocean. The big ocean, away from the island and towards the horizon. 

Miles can only stare in astonishment.

"You want me to..." He can't finish it; he can't allow himself to believe it. Nothing good is supposed to happen to him, that's what the villagers always say, and yet this stranger is here now: Giving him gifts, caring about him, smiling at him. This isn't logical. This isn't right.

"Come with, and I will protect you," Is said in the winds that pass through and ruffle the fox's fur. No word has to leave the blue stranger for Miles to hear it, to understand the offer that this supposed angel is laying down before him. To be protected, to be cared for. Go with him, and you will be saved. The words echo in his head as he turns his gaze to look at the island, his home, his damnation. 

There is nothing for him here; Miles has always known that.

He looks back at their intertwined hands. Two worn gloves that need to be replaced soon, and all he feels is finality as his mind makes a decision. It never really was a difficult decision, to begin with; all he prays for is that whatever future awaits him will be better than the one he was supposed to have here. 

He grips the hedgehog's hand tightly. Determined, he looks into the stranger's eyes, which seem to widen even further in excitement, and he grins brightly at the sight.

"Okay," Miles says.

Miles Tails Prower has an IQ of 300. He is the primary designer and inventor of the Restoration HQ's weapons. He's fought a lonely and slightly deranged doctor for the majority of his life, and he learned to fly a plane at four years old. Right now, he's on course to become one of the great geniuses of the next generation. Sonic's awesome little bro who will take the world by storm someday, that's him. It's all the titles that Tails will try and live up to. He always takes pride in his genius while leaving the talk of his self-worth to Sonic. Surely, he can count that as not entirely neglecting it. 

The point is, he's smart and, on top of that, also a great gift-giver. Sort of comes with his whole inventor shtick. 

But it's a problem, still. It proves to be one as he is now sitting here in his garage, squinting at a screen that can't seem to get dim enough, staring at useless crap the great Mr World Wide Web is trying to sell him. There's even an ad for a one-hour car ride in one of those fancy ones Rouge likes to gush about, which only makes Tails scoff. He's built rocketships; he can build Sonic a car for half the price of this supposed test drive. The fact that he's even shown this ad in the first place is highly offensive. Mr World Wide Web should know better than to try selling him this. 

Tails groans loudly, as loudly as he can. The clock strikes 3 AM, and the red blaring numbers are making sure to not hide it in the darkness of the room. The fox spins around aimlessly on his chair, for he is miserable. It's been two days since he made up his mind. Five days left until Father's Day, or as Tails prefers to call it in his head: The end of the world. He has a few ideas in mind, whether that be upgrading Sonic's extreme gear or getting him some sort of gift card to his favorite chili-dog stand. Tails has no idea if that is even possible, but for Sonic, he'll try; he'll do anything. Maybe it's cliché. He's sure Sonic would appreciate it, but it doesn't say anything. It doesn't tell Sonic in all the ways Tails is forever tied to him, forever in the hedgehog's debt. 

The fox scoffs to himself, but his frown deepens as the thought crosses his mind. He slumps down in his chair and leans his head over the back of it, and with his feet, he spins slowly to the side and catches his reflection in the window of the workshop. 

"Pretentious much?" Tails mumbles into the night. His reflection doesn't respond; however, it just stares back. Like an idiot. 

He guesses it's true. He likes to humor himself and ponder the many grievances of his life ever since he listened to a philosophy conference by one of Mr Pickle's close companions. It was a two-hour seminar about the concept of fate and multiverses, specifically on the nature of pre-determination. Tails often wonders if there's another version of him out there that didn't meet Sonic. He doesn't want to think about what that sort of life might have looked like for him. 

His life, however, was interrupted. This is Sonic, after all; he doesn't care about something as pointless as destiny. It only makes sense that it would be him, of all people, to grab Tails by the scruff and steal the kit away to a much better future. Even if he didn't realize it. So, all cards are on the table, Tails owes Sonic everything. Simple as that.

His tails hangs limply through the hole in the back of the chair. They're tired, like him, because they are him. Something tells Tails it's time to hit the hay, but then another article about a one-hour trip, this time with a fancy motorcycle instead, pisses him off enough to keep looking out of sheer spite. He can do better than that! He knows he can. 

His eyes drift to the little seashell he found that fateful day on the beach. It's tipped upright against the edge of his computer screen, and appears more blue in the white light from the computer, reminding him of a certain hedgehog. Sonic had most likely found his sleeping place for the night somewhere in a field or a tree; he can only tolerate a bed for a few weeks before he needs to find new horizons, even though he's supposed to be sleeping through said new horizons. Tails doesn't mind. He hasn't minded for all the years he's spent with Sonic. He's the one who ended up preferring a bed over damp grass. Sonic spends so much time in Tails' workshop because somewhere along the line, the hedgehog prefers the fox by his side over sleeping wherever the day takes him. 

"Hypocrite," The kit mumbles to himself and begins tapping away at his computer. Maybe Sonic would like some new headphones, which, again, Tails can build! But he would prefer to hear Sonic's preferences before committing to something like that. 

"Who's a hypocrite?" 

Tails jumps about a foot in the air, spinning around on his chair with enough prowess to get a headrush, and he all but glares at his stupid brother, currently smiling from ear to ear. It's 3 AM. Why is Sonic awake?

"You did this two days ago!" Tails hisses. 

Sonic holds up his hands in the air, feigning innocence as he smirks, "You wouldn't have been scared if you were asleep, you know?" 

The article about the overpriced car ride is currently shining through the darkness and in Sonic's line of see. The hedgehog spots it, because of course he does, and he raises an eyebrow at the younger brother. Tails reaches over and turns the screen off.

"You the fun police now?" Tails mumbles to try and make Sonic at least feel a little remorseful if he were to try and force the kit to bed. 

"Nope," Sonic quips back as he crosses his arms and leans against the doorframe, "I'm the big brother police. You should be in bed." 

"I'm not tired," Tails responds with a huff. 

"It's three in the morning, bud," Sonic sighs. 

"Why are you up then?" Tails retorts and swivels around in his chair. His tail comes to rest in his lap as a chill runs through him. 

Sonic doesn't respond to that; instead, he crosses the room and walks up to the kit, putting his hand on the back of the chair and stopping Tails from spinning. The fox rolls his eyes and crosses his arms, glaring up at his brother, who is looking at him with a rather knowing smirk; those emerald green eyes shine with something, however. Tails can't put a finger on what it is.

"Big brother secret," Sonic responds and ruffles the top of Tails' head, "Now come on. Baby foxes need a comfy bed." 

"I'm not a baby," Tails grumbles, but ultimately does what Sonic says. Hopping off the chair, Sonic puts a hand on his shoulder to lead him out of the room. 

"Sure, bud," Sonic quips back. 

Maybe it was his tiredness. Maybe it was the way Sonic said it. Maybe it was the fact that Tails had just spent two days trying to figure out what he meant to Sonic, and realized that being a baby implies he needs a parent. Which he doesn't, or maybe he does. He doesn't know. So he also doesn't know why he ended up throwing Sonic's arm off him. 

"I'm not!" Tails snaps and stops in his place. Anger brews deep in his chest. Unfounded, he knows that, but he's tired of beating around the bush, and Sonic isn't making this any easier. He just wants an answer: "Stop telling me what to do!" 

Sonic stares at him in surprise. Tails can't bear to look at him any longer, so the fox keeps walking, stomping past the hedgehog and toward the bedroom. Before he can, however, Sonic grabs hold of his arm, and Tails freezes.

It's odd how easy it is to make his fur stand up, and his heart skips a beat as he's bombarded with unwelcome memories. They're vague and unfocused, just pieces of a fear he once was so accustomed to, but he feels it all the same. His breath quickens and echoes of voices surround him, yelling at him that they've found him, they've gotten him, he needs to get away-

"Bud?" Sonic's voice snaps him back to the present. Tails' thoughts rush back to a single track, and he takes a deep breath. He's safe, it's just Sonic. Not some old ghost from a past he barely remembers. Sonic releases his hold the moment the fox turns to look at him, and Tails can feel his heart beating frantically in his chest as Sonic stares apologetically at him. "Sorry about that. I mean, of course, you decide how to spend your time-" 

No, no, that's not it. 

"Sonic-" Tails starts, but he falls short. Nothing comes out of his mouth. Sonic stares at him as if the hedgehog prays Tails will fix this horrible tension in the air. But the damage is already done. Sonic looks ready to flee. He's vibrating on his feet, eyes darting to the living room where the front door is also situated, but Tails doesn't want him to go. He wants his brother to be safe and under a roof, not sleeping in some puddle spread on his back twenty meters from the nearest eggbase. Why is Sonic here anyway? He's not a light sleeper by any means. 

Tails sighs and rubs the arm that Sonic grabbed hold of, trying to stop the tingling sensation in it as he asks, "Why are you up?" 

Sonic looks away then, as if ashamed. So much like the expression he made all those years ago on Westside when he was faced with the mortification of having carved a seashell in the form of the fox's tails. Sonic has always seemed willing to lose a bit of his pride if it means making Tails happy. Maybe that's just something caretakers do. 

"Just... Wanted to make sure you were alright," Sonic mumbles at last, rubbing the back of his neck.

Sonic has come running a couple of times in the middle of the night, waking Tails up or interrupting him in his workshop to check if he's okay. But Tails has always known those times had little to do with his well-being. Sonic was checking for his own sake. The two of them have always lived on the edge of peril. It comes with their job description, after all, but sometimes it manifests into nightmares or paranoia that doesn't have a cure.

"I am," Tails responds in earnest. Existential crisis aside. 

Sonic nods, "That's good." 

They're not fixing this tonight.

Moonlight shines softly through the windows. The little corridor they're standing in has two doors, one leading to Tails' garage and the other to his room. The living room is at the end of it, behind Tails and in Sonic's line of sight. Tails used to dream once that the door to his garage would have Sonic's name on it, but the hedgehog took the room on the other side of the house. It's barely a room, to be fair. Just a bed and a drawer. Tails should consider himself lucky Sonic even went that far; Tails still remembers the slight scrunch of the hedgehog's nose as the government told them he needed to have his name written on a household. To know where to find you, they had said. Tails still despises being the reason for tying down Sonic like this. 

Sonic stares at him. The hedgehog's eyes drift to where Tails is still holding his arm, and a question begins to form on Sonic's tongue. It takes a couple of seconds before he gets it out, however. The walls of the little corridor in his workshop seem ever closer. 

"Just now," Sonic begins. His eyes drift to meet Tails' gaze, and those emerald irises seem to be looking for something, "Were you..." 

He trails off.

"What?" Tails says, and Sonic doesn't continue immediately. The fox crosses his arms as his namesakes swish gently behind him.

Whatever it was that Sonic wanted to say disappears, as the edges of his eyes soften and his mouth closes firmly. 

"Never mind," Sonic says and shakes his head. He walks up to the fox and gently pushes Tails' shoulder in the direction of his room. Tails can't do much but listen this time. Both of them seem unsure of what is even going on between them anymore, so they go back to how it usually is. Sonic, without his words, and Tails forever following his directions, "Sleep well, bud. Amy's coming over tomorrow." 

Sonic is offering him an out in this. His brother wants him to take the bait and leave any questions about the behavior at the door. Quick and easy, that's the Sonic way. 

He takes it because he's a coward.

"She is?" Tails asks as they end up in front of his door. He turns and sees those emerald eyes return to their usual gleam. The moonlight shines through a window behind him, and it puts Sonic in this odd ethereal light. White edges that circle his head like a halo. 

"She got a new cookbook from Vanilla back at the dinner party," Sonic explains with a slight smirk, "Says she wants us to be her faithful servants." 

Tails snorts, "We'll burn down the kitchen." 

"She didn't say anything about skillful servants,"  Sonic retorts as he brings up a hand and ruffles the fox's bangs, "Plus, you're a decent cook. Pretty sure you surpassed me a long time ago." 

"Compared to Amy? Absolutely not!" Tails snickers, "And you don't exactly put up much of a challenge." 

The night is quiet and the moonlight is soft. Sonic's room will probably remain untouched for tonight; the hedgehog still prefers the couch, but Tails is just happy the house will have two residents for now. It means he knows where Sonic is. It means he can protect his brother in case anything bad is about to happen. It means they're safe. 

Sonic flicks him on his forehead, and Tails can only half-heartedly dodge it as he opens his bedroom door to try and escape. His room is slightly chill, and the banter is easy. Just like always. 

"Goodnight, Sonic," Tails says as he begins closing his door. 

"Goodnight, bud," Sonic says, and his eyes shine with that same softness again. 

He guesses some things are easier to deal with by not saying anything at all. 

"Tails," Amy says from where she's hunched over her new cookbook. Some flour is stuck in her quills. "You added cinnamon to the batter, right?" 

Tails hum in response. He sits on the counter in the kitchen, metal bowl in his lap and whisk in hand. The pie filling of apples, butter, and sugar entrances him as he stirs. One thing that his new life has brought him is this: Mindless baking with something as luxurious as sugar. He and Sonic couldn't afford anything close to it before they built the workshop. Even after, it was Amy who taught them to cook with a stove so they wouldn't need to live off of microwaveable chili dogs for the rest of their life. Well, she taught Tails. Sonic has a personal beef with instructions in general, which of course also applies to the offensive texts in the cookbooks. 

"Is it good now?" Sonic groans from where he's painstakingly flattening the pie batter against the mold. He's been trying three times now, and Amy still isn't satisfied. Tails is pretty sure she's doing it on purpose. 

"Let me see," Amy says and puts down the book. She walks around the counter to stand next to Sonic, before leaning over the mold and very intentionally into Sonic's personal space. Tails can barely suppress an eye-roll when redness reaches his brother's cheeks. "Sure looks like it, good job Sonic!" 

"I try," Sonic smirks and flicks his nose in that boasty way of his. 

Amy grabs the mold and brings it over to Tails. She holds it up for him, and the fox blinks a bit as he's brought back to the moment. He's a genius; however, he can pick up on context clues rather quickly. He dumps the batter into the mold with a spoon, wondering if he should try to do this on his own for Father's Day. Sonic would eat about anything.

It reminds him of a treat they shared once, at the same village where Tails first found that antique store. Sonic had found some loose money on the ground by mere accident and proceeded to buy two steaming hot chocolates for himself and the fox. Nothing had ever quite tasted as good since. In the little corner of the coffee shop, both of them huddled together in the warmth near the fireplace. It had made the night much more bearable, with the sweet, hot liquid still warming his insides for hours later. 

Sonic hasn't bothered learning to cook. Not to a passable degree. If the two of them ever share an actual, home-cooked meal, it's usually by Tails' or Amy's efforts. Sonic keeps insisting his microwavable chili dogs should count, however, as he tends to season them with chili flakes. Therefore, they're artistically improved and stop undermining my attempts at originality, Tails. Disregarding the fact that the chilli flakes added to the aforementioned chilli dogs are the equivalent of assuming that adding ice to water is going to change the taste. Tails never had the heart to point that out, though.

When did all of this become a given? Tails still remembers the oldest of thoughts he used to have, the assumption that any day now, he was to perish. When Sonic came along, it didn't feel like a new birth, just a long-overdue life. Like a computer that's had the same program running for so long that the fans have grown tired and the system has overheated. Were you to try and restart it all, there's no guarantee the computer will wake up again.

Amy goes to put the pie into the oven. Sonic leans against the counter opposite Tails, looking at the pink hedgehog with a relaxed expression. He holds a towel, and as Amy is done and turns around, Sonic hands it to her with no words given. The pink hedgehog blinks and smiles at him, and she takes it happily, rubbing it through her flour-covered quills. 

"I'm sure this pie is going to taste amazing," Amy says giddily. She goes to stand next to Sonic before she bumps their hips together, throwing the towel back to the blue hedgehog, who takes it in surprise, "You boys are not a hopeless case after all." 

"Excuse me!" Sonic retorts, offended, "We were never hopeless. Chilly dogs just taste better." 

"Every day I worry about your cholesterol intake," Amy says. 

"Live happy, die never," Sonic responds to that. He truly is one of a kind. "It's what I teach Tails." 

"I'm the reason you haven't died of scurvy yet," Tails says with a roll of his eyes. 

"You're the reason I haven't died, period," Sonic retorts. 

"True that," Tails says. 

Amy only shakes her head at them. It's not long until she's ordering the brothers to begin cleaning up. Tails doesn't complain nearly as much as Sonic does when Amy throws him a sponge and tells him to begin cleaning the worst of the dishes. Of course, Tails has a dishwasher in his home, improved and rebuilt to handle the very worst of stains. But every once in a while, Amy will preach about the importance of not always taking the easy route. Which, fine. Tails likes to respond that having to upgrade the things is enough of a hassle to count as not taking the easy path, but the hedgehog never really paid much mind to such technicalities. Tails is pretty sure she's just doing some resemblance of life-lesson teaching. 

So he begins washing the dishes by hand just to humor her; meanwhile, Sonic is making it known for everyone within a mile radius that wiping off the kitchen counter is physically killing him, little by little. 

"Sonic, you've been through worse than a couple of sweetened apple stains," Amy points out with a deadpan. 

"I haven't actually," Sonic says as his hand wipes lazy circles on the varnished wooden slab, "I might die now, Amy. What would that do to my image? Sonic the Hedgehog, dead by a cloth and dish soap."

"You aren't thinking of swallowing the dish soap, are you?" Amy asks slowly. 

Tails turns his head at her words, and to her credit, there's a sort of manic look in Sonic's eyes that his brother only does when challenged. It's because both Tails and Amy are here with no danger in sight that the blue hedgehog is trying to figure out how much chaos he can appropriately cause. If Sonic is bored, dear Gaia, you'd better hide. 

"Ha! No," Sonic says in response. He smiles assuringly and tosses the cloth in his hand back and forth. Tails goes back to cleaning the dishes, lest he will either need to call a doctor soon or get dish soap thrown at him. 

Neither happens. For a while, Sonic and Amy are only staring at each other in the corner of Tails' eye. Even as Sonic begins cleaning the counter again and Amy goes back to putting away all the ingredients, the fox does not miss the way Sonic's eyes don't leave her. His smile turns into a softer one as he leans over the counter a bit to reach the untouched spots. He is also very unintentionally missing a lot of the dirty parts; he doesn't appear to notice it.

It is when his eyes trail down to the wet cloth in his hand that Sonic makes a decision. Tails finishes the last of the dishes and turns around to watch it all unfold, as Sonic puts his head in his hand, supported by his elbow on the counter, while the other hand scrunches the cloth to make a few soap bubbles emerge.

"Hey Amy," Sonic says, voice a bit lower than usual.

Amy turns around, fists already up and ready to fight him, were he to try something. Sonic doesn't, however. He just smirks at her before bringing up his hand that's wet with water and soap. He puts a palm out in front of his mouth and blows, making a few soap bubbles float their way through the air and towards Amy.

It's oddly... Sweet.

The pink hedgehog only stares in bewilderment, before a nervous chuckle escapes her mouth. She hurriedly reaches towards Tails and takes his soapy sponge without a word, ignoring his protests. She, too, squeezes it in her hand before doing the same thing, blowing some bubbles towards Sonic with a lot more force. The bubbles reach Sonic's face and pop once they come in contact, and the blue hedgehog scrunches his nose and laughs. 

It is after that that the air in the room changes. Tails, now with no dish soap and even less of a clue as to what is going on, sighs and begins loading the dishwasher with the last of the dishes. Meanwhile, Sonic and Amy are conversing a lot more friendly than earlier, their voices low and every word with a knowing quotation at the end. Sonic forgets his cloth entirely, and Amy doesn't call him out on it. Tails feels like he's intruding on something. 

Sonic and Amy's relationship is a rather straightforward one. Amy's idolization of him, while annoying at times, wasn't her only quality, and Sonic knew that. With age came maturity, and while the pink hedgehog will nowadays not miss an opportunity to make Sonic's cheeks redden, it has always been laced with an undertone of teasing rather than genuine romance. When Amy and Sonic developed a more mutual friendship, the pink hedgehog became closer to Tails as well. She introduced a bit more stability in their lives than what they had earlier, probably needed once the brothers got an actual house. 

She cares about the arbitrary things that Tails can admit, both he and Sonic forget sometimes. She believes in genuineness, that sort of transparent love that threatens to become unbearable if prodded for too long. She isn't afraid to ask Tails about his well-being and then expect a genuine answer, because she loves. She loves just as much as Sonic, but differently, still. She loves the world as if it is going to leave her if she doesn't love it enough. So she will love Tails as well, even if the fox wants nothing more than to try and deflect as much of that as possible. Her genuineness makes him visible, and that makes him vulnerable. This creates problems. Her presence always seems to bring up unwanted probing of feelings that Tails would rather bury in a hole. 

Such as now. 

"Your quills look nice today, Sonic," Amy says a bit louder than earlier. Her eyebrows immediately shoot up as if she is shocked by her own words, and Sonic-

Sonic smiles. 

"Thanks," Sonic laughs and drags a hand through them, "Yours as well." 

Amy's cheeks redden. She, too, drags a hand through her own and returns the same sunny look that Sonic is wearing. Their eyes meet, and Tails becomes acutely aware of the situation. 

Here they are, in a kitchen with the scent of apple pie filling the air. A man and a woman stand in this kitchen, both wearing aprons and offering pleasantries, both lost in each other's gazes while very much ignoring the younger member currently also in the kitchen. Tails just stares as his two best friends keep talking, and it is something about this moment that, from an outside perspective, is telling a completely different story. He is the kid, and here are the parents. The mother and the father, whom he very much does not want. 

It's too on the nose, it's too perfect. This is a life he was never meant to have, and whatever divine force out there made that very clear. He feels insane just looking at Sonic and Amy acting as if they've always done this. Always been perfect. Tails always liked that his friends weren't normal. They never stuck to the status quo; no, they fought it with their bare hands. Cream and Vanilla were the closest to copy the lifestyle you'll find in the picture-perfect books, and even then, they still have a robot at their hands and no father in sight. Tails was born odd, but he found people just as odd as him. He doesn't want that to change. 

But Sonic and Amy keep flirting, both leaning over the counter to get closer to the other. The kitchen is shining, the sun streams through the window and paints everything in that golden, midday light, reflected in the dust particles against the lilac drapes. Dear Gaia, this isn't even Amy's house, it's Tails'. He loves making his workshops look homely; it makes him feel safe. But now, it only makes the scene become some twisted version of a domestic story that the fox can feel in his very bones; he was not meant to be a part of it. He's the odd one out in a perfect love story. Honestly, he might just be the reason why Amy and Sonic never got together in the first place. They're perfect for each other, yet Tails needed caring for, and maybe, just maybe, Sonic couldn't handle focusing on two separate people. So he chose to care for Tails and leave any romance potential with Amy in the dust. 

This isn't the first time Tails' existence has ruined a relationship. 

Amid this turmoil, he barely realizes it when his feet begin moving. He wipes his wet hands on his fur and promptly begins walking away, leaving the two hedgehogs to their rendezvous. Even when they ask, he offers a vague mumble of an excuse before he walks faster and away from the kitchen, through the living room attached to it, and then to the corridor leading to his room. The whole house is filled with the smell of pie, and it only makes him nauseous. It doesn't take long for him to reach his door, and he prays Sonic won't come to check on him when he accidentally slams the door too hard. 

He avoids the big mirror hanging on the wall and promptly leaps over a broken gadget on the ground that he was meant to fix later today. He doesn't quite reach his bed, though; the soft carpet on the floor seems much more stable than the mattress, so as he reaches the side of the bed, he sinks onto the floor. Onto his knees before falling backwards, his head spinning a bit as he accidentally dunks it too hard against the ground.

It is there he stays. Poor, poor Tails. Too scared to face the warmth of a couple and their baked pie. But it didn't make sense; he was the single digit in an equation that ended up ruining the whole thing, and only now did he find it. That single digit that by-passed any mathematicians and ultimately delayed years of progress. How can Sonic and Amy not see it? They're perfect together! From their colours and personalities. They even out their flaws and humble their perfections. They fight like clockwork in battle, and they both share that sick love for the world they can't seem to get enough of. Yet Tails came along, and none of that textbook romance happened, because Tails needed Sonic. Because he ruined everything.

The fox groans loudly and presses two fists into his eyes until he can see patterns behind his eyelids. The carpet is just itchy, and the room is too stuffy. He needs to open a window, and he needs to get up and help clean the kitchen. But he does neither. He lies there. Poor, poor, Tails. 

Hours tick by. All the entertainment he gets is the sight of his bedroom ceiling. Luckily, the two hedgehogs don't check up on him. Sonic rarely does when Tails slams his bedroom door. It's become just one of many unspoken rules. When Tails wants privacy, he will be in his bedroom, and he will no longer be the little brother that Sonic needs to comfort. He will just be Miles, that overdue fox trying to get his shit together. 

But he hears them still. Their conversation returned to normal almost immediately after the kit left. Amy tried to offer a few words of worry regarding the fox's well-being, but Sonic promised her he was fine. Because the blue hedgehog is well aware that there is nothing to do. Because Tails is broken. 

Right now, they're watching a TV show. Tails can hear the muffled sound of presumably one of Amy's sitcoms, as well as the occasional laughter. Mostly from Amy, Sonic never did quite get the appeal of those aimless plots and characters. It is about halfway through the third episode that the oven beeps loudly, declaring the pie done. The two hedgehogs whoop loudly and begin shuffling around, until footsteps hurriedly approach the kitchen and towards the oven. 

It is quiet, then, as the oven door is opened and one of them takes the pie out. The silence is odd, and Tails frowns just a bit as he strains his ears to hear. A confused hum leaves Amy as she places the pie on the kitchen counter, and when Sonic asks what's going on, her voice rings out simply, almost sadly. 

"Oh," She says, "He forgot the cinnamon." 

Foxes have good eyesight. They hunt at night, in the cover of darkness, stalking their prey through the thick forest. Gaia help the innocent lamb who got in the fox’s way, for a fox will not hesitate to leave only a bloody aftermath in its wake. 

Savagery, as his people would call such behavior. It is behind them now. They were too proud, too civilised to burden an innocent child with such a fate. A fox is kind and smart. A fox is benevolent. A good fox is polite and respects all living things. A fox is a being with two ears, two eyes, and a singular tail. 

Tails’ hunt today led him nowhere. Just a junkyard with nothing that could pass as a good Father’s Day gift. Barely any spare parts for his other projects either, just disappointment. It had been too difficult to stop, however, and before he knew it, the clock struck 4 AM once more. Not the first time, nor the last time it will happen. The numbers don’t feel quite as unfamiliar anymore. 

The two-tailed fox walks with heavy steps towards his workshop. On the quiet streets of Emerald town, he listens to the distant sound of a party and cars passing by. The summer night brings a great ensemble of crickets, singing their songs from the bushes and forest. On any other night, Tails might have enjoyed it. His thoughts keep him distant, though. They’re only interrupted once his house comes into view, and he realizes the kitchen lights are on. 

Dread shoots down his spine. He curses internally, feeling stupid for not considering that Sonic would stop by this evening. Good grief, has the hedgehog waited for him? Tails isn’t sure he wants to know the answer. Even so, he must face the music. 

He steps quietly through the front door, praying to any god ready to lend him a hand and spare him. In the quiet of the house, Tails almost thinks he’s in the clear, until the kit walks into the kitchen to find Sonic resting his head in his arms on the table. But the hedgehog isn’t asleep. His head is turned to the side, and his eyes stare at the fox tiredly. He looks so vulnerable, almost. So unlike the confident hedgehog Tails has grown to know. Sonic is just a normal guy here, and beneath the soft light from the light bulb, his blue seems less stark. 

”Dear Gaia, buddy,” Sonic groans as he hides his face in his arms, ”Why do you keep doing this?” 

Sonic shouldn’t have to worry about this.

”I-I’m sorry,” Tails stresses. Guilt crashes through him at the idea that Sonic has stayed up this whole time, ”I didn’t think you’d drop by this evening.”

”That’s not-” Sonic groans even louder this time. Tails’ ears flatten against his head at the sound, ”It doesn’t matter whether I drop by or not. You’re supposed to take care of yourself no matter what.” 

”I couldn’t sleep,” Tails says.

”I came here around nine.” Sonic responds. 

He’s been here for seven hours.

”I swear I’m fine,” The fox continues anyway, ”I went to the junkyard and lost track of time. Really, Sonic, you shouldn’t have to worry about trivial things like this.”

”Trivial?” Sonic shoots back. Offended.

The fox’s heart starts beating quicker as Sonic isn’t letting this go. Usually, he would. He’s supposed to just accept Tails’ words because what else can he do? They’re best friends; they care about each other, of course, but they have no authority over the other. Their words are only words meant for the other to consider, not follow. They’re friends, they’re pseudo-brothers. Made-up words, nothing real, nothing with weight. 

But Sonic seems to think otherwise. 

”Your health isn’t trivial, Tails,” Sonic continues calmly. He sounds like he’s talking from a manual. This might just be Amy’s words, but Sonic wouldn’t say something like this if he didn’t agree with every word. ”And as your legal guardian, it’s my job to make you understand that. You’ve been acting off the last few days, care to tell me what that’s about?”

”Stop talking like that,” Tails mumbles and crosses his arms, offended at his brother’s diplomatic approach. 

”What do you want me to do then?” Sonic asks immediately, throwing his arms out. 

Instead of answering, Tails just turns on his heel, ready to leave this room and conversation. But Sonic won’t let him escape this time, and the guilt squelching around in the fox’s stomach turns to irritation. 

”Oh, so now you’re leaving?” Sonic continues exasperated. 

”I’m going to bed like you want me to.” Tails snaps back, stopping, however, as Sonic keeps talking.

”Right now, I want to talk,” Sonic says slowly. His voice tethers on dangerous. 

Tails has heard Sonic angry a few times. When Eggman’s taunts fall flat, or when their friends are in too much danger to keep joking around. Sonic is, in a lot of ways, rather easy to aggravate. If you know his buttons and dare to push them. Tails has only angered him a few times, most of them back when they were much younger and Sonic’s patience was even worse. Nowadays, as they try to avoid their disagreements turning into actual fights, Tails has had enough of angry voices yelling at him, and Sonic knows that. 

”Well, I don’t,” Tails responds and keeps walking. 

”You’re still a child, Tails,” Sonic says, a bit louder this time. 

Tails spins around on his heel and stares daggers into his brother’s eyes, but the hedgehog does not relent. He stares back. 

”I take care of myself.” Tails says.

”We take care of each other,” Sonic reminds him. 

The room is too small all of a sudden. The sun is starting to rise past the window, and the bags under Sonic’s eyes grow starker in the odd light. He came here because he was worried. He is suffering because Tails made him worry. That’s what it’s like to be a caretaker, to be a parent. He doesn’t want this. He wants Sonic to back off. But Sonic won’t relent unless Tails does something that truly screeches this moment to a halt. As much as it hurts, he wants the hedgehog to understand what a lost cause he is. 

”No, I take care of myself,” Tails snaps, ”I never asked for your help!”

A frown reaches Sonic’s face at that, and now, the hedgehog stands up from his chair. His emerald eyes look Tails over, as if he can’t quite understand what he’s seeing, much less hearing. A thousand emotions pass his face, until the tiniest spark of aggravation finds its place behind those irises. Sonic never gives up a fight. 

”Well, like it or not, I will keep caring about you," Sonic responds impatiently, ”And Amy thought we should talk about this.” 

OF course it's Amy. Sonic doesn't have a genuine, emotional bone in his body. Even now, he can't express his actual thoughts without someone telling him what to say and how to say it. This isn't the real Sonic here to talk to his friend; it's just Sonic trying to be the parent he never was. 

"Did Amy tell you to care about me as well?" Tails can't help but retort. Irrational, he knows, but Sonic is getting on his nerves. 

The hedgehog splutters for a bit, eyes wide in surprise. 

"Is that what you think?" Sonic asks. He sounds hurt, almost,  "Tails, I care about you because you're my brother!"

”It’s just words!” Tails hisses, ”You have no right telling me what to do.” 

Sonic's eyes grow darker, and Tails knows he's done it. 

”I don’t understand why you’re being so immature all of a sudden!” Sonic snaps back, and Tails successfully pops the bubble. Sonic is angry now, pulling at his quills as his irises seem to shine with untapped chaos energy, "Why are we fighting about me wanting you to be okay?!"

Because he was never meant to be okay. 

Survivor's guilt is a term Amy used once when explaining to Cream why Silver was feeling extra sad about losing the old version of his future, despite it having been a literal hell dimension. Silver is upset about being the only survivor from that timeline, and something about the term survivor's guilt stuck with Tails. His case is nothing like Silver's, yet he still feels guilty about where he ended up in life. He feels guilty about surviving his fate. Thus, in his head, he coined the term for himself. It felt good being able to categorize his reasons for why he says the things he says when the guilt overtakes him. If only to find anything else to blame but himself.

”Get out of my house!” Tails yells back and promptly turns around, ready to stomp up the stairs and slam his bedroom door shut. But before he can, Sonic yells one last thing that makes all the air leave his lungs. 

”Miles Prower, you stop right there!” Sonic snaps.

His namesakes freezes and tenses in the air, as does the rest of him. Sonic’s voice seems impossibly loud as it echoes through the little hallway. The edges of the sound are sharp like thorns, like the chilliest of laughter and the lowest of fury-laced words. It is all here now, here to embrace him, to take him back to the time when he knew nothing else. 

Tails won’t have it. He denies the fear entrance to his heart; he denies giving it nourishment. He will not be afraid, no, he will be angry. Because Sonic knows better. He has always known better. Yes, he allows Shadow the privilege of using his name because the black hedgehog never says it with anything other than indifference, perhaps even empathy, but at least it’s never pity, or jest, or anger. 

Somehow, Sonic just did all three. 

”I’m not sure what you think you’re doing,” Tails feels himself utter slowly, ”But. Back. Off.”

 Sonic shuts up behind him, and it’s enough for him to find the courage to turn around. He looks at his brother and can practically see the regret on the hedgehog’s face.

But he has no wish to offer reassurance. Doesn’t matter how tired Sonic is right now; the hedgehog knows better. Miles died the day on the island, Sonic knows that. He didn’t even say Tails, only the original name. The wrong one. Wrong, it’s all wrong. He can be Prower, he can be Miles ”Tails” Prower, but never only the two. Tails is him, Tails is all he ever wants to be. 

It is all so twisted. Sonic, yelling his name like he’s a child about to be scolded. When did Sonic ever get the idea that he had the authority to do that? In battlefields, maybe, to grab the fox’s attention. But not here, not domestically. Tails wants to be the one to decide what Sonic means to him; he doesn’t want it yelled in his face. Not here, not right now. 

So he turns, and he marches onward, and this time Sonic doesn’t follow or respond. The hedgehog lets him. Tails is in charge of his own life, always has been. Even if he decides that Sonic is worthy of the title of his father, that still doesn’t change the fact that Tails has survived purely by his own stubbornness to keep going. To be cared for is a luxury; it always will be. His true self can be found on nights like this, as he goes to his room and curls up on his bed, anger brewing all around him. His ears twitch, listening for any threats nearby. His eyes glow in the darkness as he keeps watch, and his claws are out and ready to strike if anyone were to get too close. But no one does. He’s made sure of that. 

The last thing he hears before he falls asleep is the sound of the front door opening and closing, as well as the echo of a Sonic boom, before everything goes quiet once more. 

He doesn’t bother thinking about the Father’s Day gift that night. 

Chapter Text

Tails learned to let things go from the moment he was born. You must be resourceful if you’re going to survive by yourself; both objects and people can be a hindrance in your way. You cannot, under any circumstances, believe that the kindness of a stranger is going to last. Thus is the way of a nomad; thus it went with Sonic as well. Sonic was a hyperactive teenager, still is, but back then it was all tenfold. Easily irritated, easily aggravated. Tails knew by then how to bypass an adult's temper, but when you’re with someone 24/7, you’re bound to make a few mistakes. Tails pushed the wrong button, and Sonic would snap. The hedgehog would be quick to apologize, but it would also be a lie to claim that any feelings of bitterness didn’t last because they did. Anxious thoughts about how, maybe this time, he went too far and Sonic would leave him, and through it all, there was one thing that still stuck with Tails. Four simple words forever echoing around him: I have to forgive. 

Not just Sonic, but anyone showing signs of displeasure. He can’t bear the thought of his friends feeling any sort of guilt over him. He can’t bear the thought of him being the cause of anyone’s anger. An angry person can hurt you, and an angry Sonic can leave you. He doesn’t want to be left alone ever again. 

So despite their fight, he forgave Sonic. He forgave his brother about halfway through their argument. There was no question on the matter. Sometimes he despises himself for his cowardliness. He wishes he could hold grudges like Shadow does; he wishes he had the guts to stand up for himself. But on a bad day, he would probably be ready to forgive Eggman of all people if it meant avoiding the doctor’s rage. Doesn’t matter how bitter the taste would be on his tongue; he would do it. He is a survivor; this is how he’s managed to do just that. 

These thoughts were what encircled his mind throughout that night. Behind his eyelids, filling with moisture as the hours tick by. He manages to catch a few moments of sleep, but by the time the sun rises, he’s already leaving his bed. Sonic isn’t in the house; it’s all silent, but Tails is thankful for that. He’ll have to keep trying to find a gift through the bitter feelings stirring inside him. But it is no surprise when he finds those feelings gone by lunchtime. He catches sight of one of the framed photos on his living room wall, showcasing him and Sonic smiling aboard the Tornado, and all he can feel is a slight melancholy as Sonic’s green eyes stare back at him. 

So the day passes. He tries to make something for Sonic. Something thoughtful yet functional that the hedgehog would end up using, but when the kit comes out empty-handed in that department, he tries to think of something sickly sentimental instead that would make his brother hurl. But alas, nothing there either. He's lost. He has no more ideas. He already makes stuff for Sonic all the time to either improve his shoes or race gear. Plus, Sonic's a nomad at heart, which makes him a minimalist, which makes finding gifts for him ten times the hassle. 

At 3 PM, Tails takes a walk around town to clear his head. Beneath the gazing sun, the sound of leaves rustling and the distant call of the ocean, he finds himself surprised by the lack of people. Only a few kids playing hide and seek in the neighbour’s yard tell him the whole town didn’t go up and leave without telling him. It isn’t until he’s walked to the town hall that he spots the community board, with a big poster on it with bold letters spelling out: Emerald Town’s yearly flea market! Open all week! That he understands where everyone went. 

Tails tilts his head and huffs. Well, Sonic does like to preach about the importance of listening to signs of fate, if only so you can directly ignore it and do your own thing. This, of all things, feels exactly like that, and Tails isn’t exactly coming up with any better ideas. So with his tails between his legs, Tails puffs out his chest and turns on his heel. He might as well just check it out. 

It is crowded with people by the time he arrives. The whole market is set up in the field right outside the town. People brought their cars, using their trunks to create little make-shift stalls. Community, what a funny thing. It really is only up to pure luck that determines the goodness of one. He and Sonic have seen many variations of it, but Tails always liked Emerald Town the best. He is once again reminded of this, as one of his neighbors recognizes him and offers a bag of nuts.  

The sight of all is overwhelming. Something inside him urges him to turn back around, leave before it all becomes too much. But there’s a bigger part of him, nurtured by the many years he’s spent by Sonic’s side, that tells him not to give up just yet. He’s dealt with worse; he can do this. He can prove to himself and everyone else that he’s not about to fall apart at the seams. He’s Tails-goddamn-Prower, little boy genius and sidekick to the great Sonic The Hedgehog. He can do this.

He powers on, determination flowing through his veins as he bumps his way through the sea of people, eyes roaming for anything that could be good enough. Anything that won’t be forgotten by Sonic the day after. Maybe he should have brought Amy, but the idea of having to explain his recent mental turmoil is mortifying. This isn't a nice thing he's doing; it's just science and should be regarded as such. He'll leave the damn gift on the couch Sonic occupies and not talk to the hedgehog for two weeks. If he can even find a gift in the first place. What does Sonic like? Chilli dogs, the color red, sun on his face, wind through his quills. Tails should just get him a lamp and a fan and be done with this. 

The fox huffs and stops to look at one of the stalls selling some handmade glass figurines. There's another stall right next to this one selling merch of Sonic and him, but Tails is humble enough to at least try to appear disinterested in it. The kit would consider bombing Sonic with merch, but the hedgehog already has a wide collection of Tails merch in his appointed room in Mystic Ruins that he refuses to use for any other purpose. Tails has only entered that room once to vacuum, but he still gets nightmares from the way all of the little fox plushies and keychains seemed to stare into his soul through the darkness. Sonic had even lined them up on the floor and is refusing to explain why. 

The fox sighs and clutches his tails. There's a sheep mobian working this stall, yet she's so occupied with conversing with the guy next to Tails that she doesn't notice him. Which is fine, he doubts Sonic would be able to handle anything made of glass for more than 24 hours before breaking it. He decides to continue looking, but there's little determination left in him as he begins to turn away. This was a waste of his time.

Something catches his attention, however. Something black and red reflects in one of the stained glass panels hanging by the stall on display. Tails frowns and snaps his gaze at where it might be mirroring, and he is completely dumbfounded when he spots a certain hedgehog. 

Shadow sits on one of the few benches put out for people to have lunch, in the middle of the market. He's hunched over with his arms resting on his legs as his hands fiddle with something, glaring at anyone getting too close. Tails is pretty sure the kid crying a bit further away is Shadow's doing. 

He debates ignoring the hedgehog. He and Shadow aren't exactly on buddy-buddy terms, but in all fairness, the black hedgehog has shown more tolerance talking to him than to Sonic. Something Tails has only concluded after counting the number of glares per person. Is that a sign of tolerance or ignorance? Shadow and Sonic have this thing going on that the fox would rather ignore thinking about for as long as he can, so maybe Shadow's way of showing he cares is simply by glaring more. So maybe that means he actually despises Tails. It's only logical. 

Still, though, Shadow looks a lot gloomier than usual, despite the sun happily glaring down on him. H looks at the object in his hand with a frown that conveys no anger, only disturbance. Tails hasn't shared many conversations with the hedgehog, but he has shared moments of recognition. Likewise, on Shadow's part. He has felt an odd kinship between them in a room filled with their lively friends. The cautious scowl on Shadow in the face of naivety is something Tails has agreed with plenty of times; it can also be a nice change of pace after Sonic's thirtieth pep-talk that day. 

Thus, before the fox can change his mind, he starts making his way through the crowd and towards Sonic's rival. 

"Shadow?" He asks cautiously as he walks up to the bench, still holding onto his tails. 

Shadow snaps his gaze up in surprise. Beneath the sun, his black quills reveal a bit of grey in them, and the red highlights look oddly washed out despite being genetic. To be honest, the hedgehog looks tired. Tails can now see the object in his hand, and to his confusion, it's a hairband. A blue hairband. Not even close to being big enough for Shadow's head. 

The hedgehog, upon realizing who's talking to him, grunts and turns his gaze back to the hairband, but it's nothing Tails wasn't expecting. It's quiet for a few moments. Tails is ready to simply keep going and not bother the hedgehog more, but he is pleasantly surprised when Shadow wordlessly scooches a bit to the side. Tails practically beams at the silent invitation, but he does his best to push down his glee in fear of the hedgehog changing his mind. The fox walks up and carefully sits down on the wooden seat of the bench. He lets his tails drape across his lap as he dangles his feet, and through it all, Shadow barely spares him a glance.

Tails does, though. He turns his gaze to look at his friend. Shadow is turning the hairband around and observes it while dragging a thumb over the material. It's oddly intimate, and the fox is confused as to why Shadow has found the will to sit out like this in the open during one of the most crowded events in Emerald Town. Shadow tends to live up to his name, after all. 

Curiosity got the better of him, like always; it's what got him here. 

"Watcha got there?" He asks innocently, dragging a hand through his tails nervously.

Shadow blinks and frowns as if he had forgotten the fox's presence. As Tails assumes the hedgehog won't give him an answer, he's surprised when that dark and raspy voice rings out.

"I don't know why I bought this," Shadow says, and his voice sounds eerily empty. Defeated.

"Is it meant for someone?" Tails frowns. 

Shadow pauses. A breeze sweeps through fox fur and hedgehog quills, and quietly, he brings up the hairband to his forehead. With closed eyes, Shadow sits there, breathing along to the rhythm of the wind. 

"It used to be," Shadow says curtly.

It grows quiet. Heavy and invasive. Tails has always found it difficult to navigate Shadow's many walls and mazes. Chaos knows no one except Rouge understands it. But what he does know is that the dark hedgehog is a lot simpler than what Sonic says. Shadow just has a dramatic flair to everything he does, for better or worse. 

Tails has a feeling he has no right to go further than this. So he stays quiet. The buzzing of people all around him is getting a bit grating on his ears, but the sun is starting to set, and hopefully, they will all start to leave soon. Shadow is still holding the hairband to his forehead, and Tails decides to give this at least ten minutes before the fox has to keep going. For the time being, he messes with his tails, brushing through them to keep his hands occupied. 

It's nice to just exist for a while alongside Shadow.

"Where's Sonic?" Shadow asks after a few minutes, and Tails can almost hear something amusing in the hedgehog's tone. 

Tails huffs and crosses his arms, "I have a life of my own, you know."

The faintest of smirks crosses Shadow's face, and finally, he looks up to meet Tails' gaze. 

"Then what brings you here?" He asks and tilts his head- Ten points for Shadow to find the strength to bother asking. 

It's ironic, he guesses, that Sonic is the reason. Because, of course, he is. Tails may live alone for 50% of the time, and he may have ambitions beyond life as Sonic's sidekick, but he is still young. He's stuck holding someone's hand unless he wants the attention of the CPS. His one saving grace is that Sonic isn't exactly the most overbearing of caretakers. Getting him to apply for legal citizenship had been hard enough.  

He's not that dependent on Sonic, though, right? Yeah, he's by Sonic's side a lot because they work well together, but surely it can't be so bad that even Shadow would make such a presumption. Tails is more independent than most twelve-year-olds. Shadow's the one being rude for thinking Tails can't even attend a flea market by himself. 

"Do I need a reason?" Tails huffs, conscious of the way his ears flatten against his will.

"No," Shadow says and stares at him, "But you do have one." 

"Your motorbike's almost done," Tails responds to that, staring back at the hedgehog.

"What was wrong with it?" Shadow asks. 

Tails shrugs, "Breaks were old, and the clutch needed a touch-up. It was good you came to me with it when you did." 

Shadow nods, "Thank you, Miles." 

Tails smiles slightly, grimacing a little bit at the name. Shadow is the only one he'll ever allow to use it. Aside from Eggman, who does it just to taunt him. He can't do much about that one. 

"I lied," Tails says quietly, "I do have a reason." 

Shadow doesn't respond, but the silence is enough. He waits for the fox. It's what everyone always seems to do. Sonic, at least, always did that. Waiting for him to catch up, to find a solution, to grow up. Shadow is the one who needs to wait now, who needs to deal with the infinite mess of thoughts that Tails has yet to unravel. He is still young, unfortunately. He'll be stuck holding someone's hand for a little while longer. 

The fox hunches in on himself and clutches his tails tighter. He tries to think about what he wants to say, but even so, every word he says comes out weaker than the last. 

"Say you know someone," He says slowly and focuses hard on the grassy ground, "Who came to you when you needed it most."

No, that's too generic. That's not what he's getting at. Sonic isn't the problem; Tails is. Tails had a purpose once, but he left that purpose when he decided to trust a stranger. 

"Say you once used to exist to be nothing," Tails continues, "You were just- completely instinctual and aimless. Nothing was worth it, you weren't worth it, but then this someone comes along and saves you from all of that."

Tails can't stop talking; he feels like dying, he feels stupidly ashamed for talking to Shadow of all people, but he doubts anyone else would give him the answer he seeks. What answer? He doesn't know, but Shadow won't at least sugarcoat this like their other friends would. The best-case scenario is that the hedgehog teleports away from here to spare Tails an actual response.

"And you know you can never be enough for him," Tails says and frowns as his insides turn and twist. Bubbling in fury and something else, something less concrete, "You owe him your life, and he doesn't even seem to realize it. So now you're trying to find a stupid gift for Father's Day even though there is nothing in this entire universe that could convey just how much he means to me." 

Shadow blinks and shifts a bit to look at the fox, "I didn't know you saw this… Someone like that."

"I don't!" Tails snaps and, upon seeing the stare that Shadow gives him, he sighs heavily and puts his head in his hands, "I'm trying to figure this out, and I thought a present would work, but now I realize there is nothing suitable enough. He gave me a home, Shadow. How can I ever be enough for him?"

He looks up from his hands and at the hedgehog. Shadow has an unreadable expression on his face, but it's at the very least not annoyance or anger, just contemplation, and a hint of sadness. As Tails stares at him, the hedgehog seems to realize there is an answer expected here, and yes, maybe it's a lot for Tails to ask such a question, but the fox is desperate. Shadow hasn't teleported away yet, and Tails just wants someone to tell him what he should do. 

It's quiet again, longer this time. Shadow, with a small frown on his face, looks down at the hairband again and seems even deeper in thought than before. Tails should just give up entirely; it's not like Sonic is going to care that he wasn't celebrated on Father's Day. They've never done that, ever. Because Sonic isn't his dad. He's a secret third thing, and Tails wants to know what it means. 

"You won't," Shadow says after a while. His voice is rough and quiet. His eyes are vacant, and his grip on the hairband tightens, but he does not falter in his words: "You will live your whole life trying to be worth their attention, but you will never be satisfied."

Tails grips his namesakes harder, looking down at his lap as he feels the weight of the hedgehog's gaze on his profile. 

"I knew someone once," Shadow continues slowly. His presence is cool and tranquil, so unlike Sonic's sunny and hyperactive aura. "She gave me my name. She treated me as something other than just a test subject. I will never know what she saw in me, but all I know is that she thought I was worth it." The hedgehog takes a deep breath as Tails slowly turns his gaze to meet Shadow's, "She didn't want my gratitude, she just wanted my presence. Because the truth is, Miles, people like her and Sonic don't care what we owe them; it's not in their nature." 

"But Sonic saved me," Tails says almost desperately through a lump in his throat, "How will I ever repay him?" 

"You won't," Shadow says curtly and looks out towards the crowd of people before them. The sun beams on him like a warm embrace. Tails likes to imagine it's she who's come to hold her brother, "But Sonic's not sending you a bill anytime soon, and you're not any less of a person for not paying it." 

"He deserves better."

"You trust his judgment, right?" Shadow asks, to which Tails hesitantly nods, "Then rust his decision to care about you." 

Sonic offers I love you's sparingly. In humor most of the time, but at this point, Tails believes Sonic is simply so casual about his love for everything that saying it means nothing. It's never a proclamation, it's just truth. Sonic's love for this world stretches far and wide, to every creature, every mountain, and every foreign cuisine waiting for him to try. It's an experience to live like him, a constant one. He moves because he loves to move, and he loves because he wants to. He loves Tails because that is what he does. It's a simple truth, like Shadow says. Simple and true, that's the Sonic Way. 

So yes, Tails guesses he owes it to Sonic to at least believe that the hedgehog isn't lying about wanting to stay by Tails' side, but somehow that makes it even worse. Sonic is good. He boasts a lot, he has no duties that he does not want to do, and he saves the world because he wants to keep experiencing it. Perhaps one would say that makes him disingenuous, but Tails has always thought it to be even more admirable. Sonic doesn't need a sacred duty to want to help others. He doesn't need persuasion. He just wants to help, and he wants to live, and somewhere in between that, he wants to save Tails. 

Tails is burdened, however. He is burdened to work for an unreachable goal, but maybe Shadow has a point. Sonic will love him no matter what, and if the goal is already unreachable, there is little reason to bother. He will be the cub that Sonic saved, forever and always. 

But what will Sonic be to him? 

"Thanks, Shadow," Tails mumbles after a while. He doesn't feel better, per se, but he feels understood, free from the weight on his shoulders. At least for a bit.

His namesakes feels fussy, and his head is spinning with these new thoughts, but Shadow scooches just a bit closer to offer some sort of calming aura. It's bizarre; they've never shared moments like this before, and yet it feels familiar. Or perhaps it is just easy. Shadow seems to understand him without Tails needing to say much, and at the very least, he managed to understand the word vomit Tails just released into the open for anyone to pick apart. 

He doesn't know why he says it. Maybe it's an ode of sorts, for Sonic and for her, the ghost forever found behind the irises of Shadow's eyes.

"Maria sounds lovely by the way," Tails says.

Shadow blinks in surprise. He looks down at the hairband in his hands and then back up at Tails again, and his expression changes just the slightest to a calmer one. The edge of the hedgehog's mouth twitches, and he looks away as he takes a deep breath. Tails stays quiet; there's nothing else he wants to say.

They sit there for a while, a long while. The sun begins to set, and the crowd of people slowly grows thinner. Tails takes a moment to enjoy the humid air sweeping over his fur, the smell of the few food carts at the market, and the way the pressure on his heart only sits and doesn't stutter. Uncomfortable, sure, but constant. He'll have to get used to it during the upcoming days. 

In the end, Shadow's voice rings out one last time between the two. Low yet a bit high-pitched compared to his usual voice. It almost sounds desperate. 

"You're good, Miles," Shadow says. It catches Tails so off-guard that the fox doesn't find the strength to look the hedgehog in the eye, "You're good." 

Tails stares at his namesakes. His eyebrows crease, and the pressure on his heart moves to his throat instead. The words ring through his head, but he doesn't wish to acknowledge them. He would remain that way for the rest of the time the pair spent sitting on the bench, and Shadow would let him. A steady presence, no words, just an underlying understanding. The sun beats down on him like the warmth of a gaze, and in the corner of his eye, Shadow looks at him. He swears it's a soft one. 

A fox and a hedgehog sat together on a fountain that day. Two halves of separate wholes. 

Father's Day comes like an unfinished note. Nothing has changed in the air on the day Tails wakes up in his bed, Sonic is nowhere to be found in the house, and there is no gift waiting for the hedgehog. Tails searched for days for anything that would fit, anything that could tell Sonic everything the fox can't ever say, but there was nothing. Tails' got nothing. 

It's fine. Sometimes, your thesis is wrong, and your experiment breaks down. This Father's Day project shouldn't mean anything in the long run. Nothing is going to change. Sonic doesn't even know about it. But it stings because Tails was supposed to have an answer at this point; he was supposed to finally figure out who Sonic was to him. But he failed. He's got nothing to show for it. 

He spent the week with little excitment for anything. No project had been more enticing than the idea of finding a perfect gift; any conversation he shared with Sonic had this odd energy to it that Tails hated, and he was just stupidly tired every day despite not even staying up for long. He felt weird. Bottomless in his stomach and endlessly heavy in his head. He denied going on runs with Sonic, and he tried to be out of the house as much as he could. Any waking hour had been spent searching and pondering ideas, but it was all fruitless in the end. That's the worst part, Tails had tried so hard. 

He feels defeated as he finds himself in his bed long past noon. The sun streams through his window, painting the walls and his fur in soft light, but it's not enough for the kit to find the strength to leave. He lies on his side, facing away from the light, as his hand fidgets with the blue shell he found at the start of this week. Whenever it reflects the sunlight, it seems to send the rays in all possible directions, making the little object glitter. 

He had awoken to the sound of his Miles Electric getting a message sent from the Chaotix. It's a very recent installment of communication, but after the metal virus had rendered so many citizens lost and in need of medical attention, it was only logical that Vector's team and Sonic's kept in better touch. The message Tails had reserved was nothing of urgency, but it sure hadn't been fun realizing what he was looking at. 

Espio had sent Tails a picture of Vector and Charmy, sitting at their kitchen table with the crocodile's iconic headphones on his head, except the headphones had been painted yellow and black with two cardboard antennas taped on top. The crocodile is giving the camera a strained smile, barely hiding the horror in his eyes, and Charmy's gleeful grin takes up half the image. Vector probably had no prior knowledge of this little makeover, and it would be funny if Tails wasn't feeling like complete shit at the moment. 

Happy Father's Day! was written beneath it, as if the chameleon wanted to rub salt into the wound on Tails' heart. He had thrown his device away the moment he registered everything, and now the Miles Electric was lying helplessly on the floor. 

It seemed so easy for Charmy. The bee didn't call Vector Dad, and yet he found no difficulty acting like it. Charmy is younger, of course, and Tails acknowledges there's a big difference in their maturity levels that is entirely objective and not a boastful attempt on his part. But still, they were both lost once, and they were both found. Charmy was able to jump back from that with a leap in his step, while Tails sort of fell in the middle of the track and has been forced to drag himself forward ever since.  

A more childish part of him thinks it's unfair. Why does Charmy get to be so casual about his and Vector's relationship? Why is it so difficult when Tails tries the same thing? 

The fox sighs heavily and clutches the shell tightly in his fist. His namesakes curls around his body beneath the blanket as he brings his knees to his chest. The room is quiet, the vague sound of birdsong can be heard from outside, and the sunlight seeping through the window makes faint dust particles visible. He really should consider leaving his bed soon. Sonic would be disappointed to know Tails wasted a whole day away in here. 

Of course, when those thoughts enter his mind, he hears the front door to his workshop open. Tails could recognize those footsteps anywhere, a bit bouncy with no room for taking things slow. Sonic whistles a tune under his breath as he calls out the fox's name. Tails realizes it's too late to appear as if he's been up and about for hours, so instead, he resorts to pretending he's been sleeping for hours and not the depressive in-between part. The fox turns to his other side and clutches the shell to his body. He tries to hide as much of himself as he can beneath his blanket, and through it all, he hears Sonic's footsteps echoing through different parts of the house. The hedgehog seems to be looking for him. 

In the end, the footsteps lead to the outside of Tails' bedroom door. They pause for a moment before the doorknob slowly gets turned, and Tails hears the door squeak open before Sonic tiptoes in. He squeezes his eyes shut and levels out his breathing, hoping Sonic won't notice his ploy. It's quiet as the hedgehog walks up to Tails' bed. His breathing is something Tails could recognize from miles away as well. Light and quick when he runs, and endlessly calming when he's by the fox's side. 

Sonic simply stands before the bed for a few moments. Tails tries to be as still as possible, but it becomes difficult when the mattress dips down as his brother takes a seat. It's deadly silent for a few moments. Sonic only sits there quietly, and just as Tails debates revealing he's awake to find out what on earth the hedgehog is doing, Sonic's voice rings out in the air. 

The hedgehog hums a tune. A very familiar tune that clutches at Tails' heart like claws. Sonic's hand comes to brush through Tails' fur, starting from his head and down his back. He repeats the motion, over and over. The fox's ears get pulled back every time Sonic pets through his head, and the action is as calming as it is burning. Tails squeezes his eyes tighter as he recognizes the song, and tears start to well up when the tune to Mary Had a Little Lamb leaves Sonic's vocal cords. High-pitched and smooth. Sonic's always had a good singing voice. He practiced it once he started to speak; in his words, he wanted to master the art of vocalising rather than just learning it. Go big or go home, as he'd say. 

Tails feels vindicated. These sorts of moments are usually reserved for those hours after a battle when everyone's mortality becomes a bit too obvious or when Tails deals a rather nasty hit. But Sonic isn't shaken up right now, or scared for that matter, he's just Sonic who came to bring out some comfort for reasons unknown. Maybe there is no reason; maybe it's unprompted. Sonic is just here because he wants to. He's Tails' friend because he wants to. He's Tails' brother because he wants to.

The fox holds his breath and squeezes the shell even tighter in his hand. He relaxes under Sonic's hand as it rubs soothing circles into his shoulder, and the hedgehog keeps humming the tune of that wretched lullaby that always seems to find Tails in the worst possible moments. He learned a few years later how common it was and that Sonic had been genuinely surprised by Tails' cluelessness back at that antique store. Just another reminder of the fox's pathetic beginnings. Too sad to tell at parties, too sad to think about, too sad to handle. That's the Tails way.

When the lullaby comes to an end, the moment is over. Sonic retracts his hand and stands up as quietly as possible. The hedgehog lets out a breath as he tucks the blanket around Tails' shoulders, and the fox feels a gentle fist knock at his temple twice. 

"Sleep tight, bud," Sonic murmurs. 

The hedgehog's warm aura is gone soon enough, and as Sonic leaves the room with a gentle closing of the door, Tails is left alone. The fox opens his eyes to stare out into his bedroom. The tree right outside his window waves at him in the wind, green leaves that rustle in a tranquil movement that fails to copy the turmoil in the fox's heart. What was Sonic's deal? What had prompted him to interrupt his daily activities just to go check on Tails? 

The fox feels something akin to anger bubbling up. He sits up in his bed with the shell in his hands, his eyebrows crease, and tears make his eyes burn from the salt. Stupid Sonic for making him feel like this. Stupid Sonic for making everything so much more confusing. They're just friends who thought it would be fun to call each other brothers. There's nothing else here. Tails was too young to take care of himself, and Sonic only stepped in to take that role because who else was going to? But still, now Tails is older. Tails is the one taking care of their taxes, cleaning the house, and cooking most of their food. He doesn't need a caretaker anymore. Sonic is free to do what he wants. He has no obligation to make sure Tails doesn't die, and yet, and yet-

And yet he still is. He still comes to Tails' room to tuck him in. He still sings the lullabies and offers comfort. 

Tails just want to understand. He thought he was going to understand today, and once again, he's reminded that he failed to find a Father's Day present. Everything is wrong, nothing is making sense. The pit in his stomach grows deeper, and his heart clutches like he's on the verge of a heart attack. He's not worth this. He'll never be worth it. He'll never repay Sonic for everything the hedgehog has done, and he'll never find out who Sonic is to him. 

It's all too much. The fox breathes heavily as he throws his legs over the edge of his bed, and on unsteady feet, he begins making his way out of his room and his house. He needs fresh air; he needs to gather his thoughts. He needs the swirling in his head to stop. He needs Sonic; he wants Sonic. 

He can't have Sonic, not until he knows he's allowed to ask for the hedgehog. A child is allowed to ask for his parent. But is Tails allowed?

The sun is blinding as he stumbles inside. The streets of Emerald Town stand tranquil on days such as this one, most people attempting to hide from the worst of the warm summer sun. Tails only recognizes a few figures as he hurries down the streets aimlessly. He hugs his arms close to his chest, and he has no idea where he's supposed to go. He needs to just disappear for a few hours and get his mind sorted out. The workshop isn't safe anymore. He needs something else, something even more familiar. Long before the workshop became his home, he knew of wilderness. Tropical air, palm trees, and lush greenery. Water hitting the edge of a shoreline. Villages meant danger, woods meant loneliness, water meant drowning, but beaches? 

Tails knows exactly where he can go.

"I don't like my name," Miles huffs loudly, plopping down on the ground with his arms crossed and his cheeks puffed. Sonic's gaze moves up to catch his. The hedgehog tilts his head to the side in question as he stops grilling his chilli dog over the little fire they've set up, "It's stupid." 

"I think it's cute," Sonic signs and teases, before leaning back on the heels of his hands after sticking the chilli dog still in the ground. 

"Miles Per Hour?" Miles says slowly. He scrunches his nose at his own voice. 

"You go fast, like me," Sonic signs and sits up with a smirk. 

"I don't like it," Miles declares again, louder and with more emphasis. 

Sonic stops then, noticing the slight tension in the fox's voice. He leans forward on his crossed legs and rests his head in his hands. His emerald eyes gleam in the light of the fire, his smile now a more genuine one as he shrugs his shoulders. Miles can feel his body relax a bit. Sonic always has the answers. 

"That's fine," Sonic signs as he begins standing up, "We'll find you a new one." 

He crosses to the other side of the fire and plops down next to Miles. The fox doesn't meet his gaze, however. With his hands resting on his calves, Miles stares at the mesmerizing movement of the fire. It's yellow, like him. Sonic taps his temple twice with his fist, urging Miles to look his way. So he does, he'll do anything to keep Sonic happy. 

"Got any ideas?" Sonic signs. 

No. He's tried a few in his head, but nothing fits. Miles is the birthname given by his parents, but what should have been a loving marking of his identity just turns sour in his mouth. Miles is a boy's name for a child most precious. In a family most perfect. It's a perfect name. He wonders if his last name was just made up by the kids to taunt him; he never heard it leave the mouth of anyone else. 

There's nothing normal or perfect about him; Miles doesn't fit. Miles died that day on the island, in that dimly lit basement surrounded by evil foxes and scornful laughter. 

So he shakes his head in response. His tails swoop around him to cover his lap, and absently, he brushes his hand through the fur. They're so much healthier now, fluffier than ever, more colourful than ever. His stomach is full, and the wound at the base of his tail is only a scar now. This version of him deserves a new name, a new marking. 

"What would you call me?" Miles asks. The fire sparkles in between the silences, it watches them both, and it provides them with warmth. 

Sonic thinks for a minute. His eyes leave the fox's gaze and swoop over the landscape, the pine forest they've taken cover in for the night, beneath the biggest tree they could find. The night is silent, and the moon's rays barely reach the ground through the thick tree-tops, but it still illuminates Sonic's figure just a little bit, catching his quills in a white contour. 

Eventually, his eyes drift back to the fox and the tails resting in the kit's lap. He smiles softly, reaching forward with a hand to gently drag it through the fur. The moment Sonic learned how to sign 'cool', he was steadfast in describing Miles' tails as just that. The fox guesses they are, not many people have two tails, much less can fly with them. His tails stopped being shackles following behind him the moment he left the island; ever since then, they've been his wings. Both literally and metaphorically. 

"Tails?" Sonic signs then, grinning from ear to ear. 

Miles frowns, "What about them?" 

Sonic laughs and shakes his head, nudging Miles' chin with his fist before he continues signing, "No. That will be your name: Tails." 

"Tails..." Miles says slowly, seeing how it works. It's not too bad. A bit on the nose, maybe, but then again, Sonic's last name is 'hedgehog', they're not exactly that creative in the name department. 

"They're cool," Sonic signs, then, just as predicted, "Why not be named after them?" 

Tails. Tails Prower. No, Miles "Tails" Prower. Yeah, that works. Tails ponders the name for a little bit, seeing how Sonic looks rather proud of himself in the corner of his eye. But Tails works. It works a lot. 

"Sonic and Tails," Tails says slowly. He looks at Sonic, and the hedgehog looks at him with surprise, before he smiles widely. Stupidly so. 

"Tails and Sonic," Sonic signs. 

His namesakes moves to wag behind him, and Tails can't help but grin back. He looks at his new friend and guardian in front of him, his best friend. This hedgehog decided he was worth saving. Sonic has brought nothing but happiness, and boy, is he happy. He wishes to never leave his friend; he wishes they would be together forever. So before he can stop himself, Tails throws himself towards Sonic, and Sonic barely has time to catch him in a hug that only makes the hedgehog stiffen a little before relaxing. Tails burrows his face into the crook of Sonic's neck, trying to push the tears threatening to well up. Sonic huffs and chuckles a little, but he holds the kit closer all the same. Oh, how nice it feels, Tails thinks, to be whole. 

"I'm Tails," Tails whispers, as if it's a secret, meant only for him and Sonic, "Miles Tails Prower." 

Sonic hums a little tune in response, and he nods his head to confirm Tails' words. 

There was no turning back now for Sonic and Tails. This was the day they decided to never part again. 

On a beach, an ocean away from where a certain story started, sits a little fox kit with his knees tucked up to his chest. He has been here for a full day. He has watched the hours tick by alongside the setting sun. The sun waves him goodbye, but the fox finds little strength to wave back. Beaches mean safety, and sand beneath his feet means movement. There's a blue shell squeezed tightly in his hands. He has no idea what to do with it.

He hadn't joined Charmy and Cream for their game of hide and seek at the beginning of the week. The first time they played it, it had taken a whole hour for the two kids to find him, and something about that had made him queasy in his stomach. There's a dissonance between him and them. Living with Sonic meant survival, it meant freedom, but it also meant getting punched by reality a few times. It's not hide and seek when you're trembling and hiding from a wandering badnik or a group of ferocious bullies. Sometimes, it feels like Tails grew up a long time ago, no matter how much Sonic would stick to the contrary. Maybe it's too late for him to have a parent. 

The air is humid with a hint of salt in the air. The waves crash gently, calmly, unmistakably free yet tied to their endless purpose of push and pull. Seagulls' distant screams ring through the slight wind, and Tails only tucks himself tighter. His namesakes wrap around his body as if they might be enough comfort. He learned long ago he can't be independent in that regard, however. He's always needed to hold Sonic's hand. He can't face thunderstorms alone, he's been brought to tears by a simple scrape of his knee, and nightmares leave him breathless and cold.

It doesn't matter how good he is at hide-and-seek when he's still clinging to Sonic.

His namesakes are trembling. It's an odd thing, certainly uncommon. It only happens when Tails finds himself too scared to function. Whenever he's been cornered by evil foxes or stuck outside during a storm. Yet they tremble now, but Tails isn't scared. He's ashamed. He's the worst pitch of a seagull's screech and the sharpest of edges on the blue little shell in his hand. Pretentious too.

He isn't surprised when a familiar sound rings out. It comes from behind him, a comforting woosh of air, a sharp note of freedom that, for the record, lacks the familiar yell of excitement that it usually carries. The sound travels back and forth on the many paths where the beach starts, which Tails can only pick up because of his heightened hearing. It's a frantic movement, aimless yet determined. Sonic is looking for him.

Tails sit still. His eyes don't move from the sunset. His ears only twitch as Sonic runs a bit closer this time, so close to finding him. Sonic always finds him in the end, he's not worried, just unsure if that is what he wants right now. He wished he hadn't known of this whole Father's Day dilemma; maybe then he and Sonic could move on and keep treading this awful limbo of titles and purposes. 

In the end, Sonic stops. Tails feels the gaze on the back of his neck until the hedgehog all but speeds up to him and pauses a few meters away. Some air is pushed forward by Sonic's frantic stop, and it blows through the fox's fur like a cold breeze. Tails can't face his brother right now. He can't let Sonic see him like this. He's supposed to be strong.

Sonic stands there. Quiet, analytic, asserting the situation. Tails only flicks an ear in recognition. His brother's breaths aren't as calm as they usually are, not out of breath either, but something else. A bit too sharp, akin to how Sonic gets when battles turn serious. Tails hates that he's the reason right now. 

Sonic takes a breath, then, louder and a bit more determined, before his voice rings out with a flare of showmanship and jest.

"Prower log day 93," Sonic starts. Tails frowns in confusion as he recognizes the familiar beep of his recorder, "It appears my brother has been sulking a lot recently. Current mission: find out why."

"I'm not sulking," Tails sulks, hiding his face in his arms. 

Sonic chuckles and crosses the last bit of distance between them. Tails sees in the corner of his eye as the hedgehog takes a seat. A blue blur, with a smile on his face. That’s how it’s supposed to be.  

"Course you aren't," Sonic singsongs and bumps their shoulders together, "I'll let it slide, you're almost a teenager after all." 

The evening is quiet. The sunset paints the earth in orange hues and glitters in the ever-moving waters of the ocean. Pristine and endlessly beautiful. One sunset out of the thousand shared with the person sitting next to him. A hedgehog with his shoes digging into the sand and his legs in a criss-cross formation. Here to share another sunset with Tails because he can. Sonic, leaning on his hands and comfortably as ever, came here to be by the kit's side. Nothing's new, nothing's different. Just a worried hedgehog.

But Tails has no response this time. Whatever jest originally found is lost. It left with the tears he shed in his bed earlier today, and now, nothing will be easy. They will have to do this the Tails way. 

"Hey," Sonic coaxes gently once Tails' silence has said enough. The hedgehog leans forward and tries to catch the gaze of his little brother, but the kit only offers a small peek from behind his arms. Deliberately not meeting Sonic’s gaze as the ocean stretches freely before them. Blue like the quills of his brother, "What's going on in that big brain of yours?" 

Tails sucks in a breath. It catches in the back of his throat uncomfortably, and he coughs weakly. So he hides in his arms once more and tries to shrink, but it's useless. Sonic is here now, and he will not leave until Tails manages to get them both back on track again. Whether by a distraction or an actual breach of personal feelings. He's too tired for distractions. He's too tired to care. 

"You said it wrong," Tails chokes out. His voice is muffled when he presses his head into his fur. 

"What?" Sonic asks through the faintest of laughs. His hands fiddle with the recorder, and Tails can hear it. 

"You said it wrong," The fox repeats, "It's not Day 93, it's the 79th. You count it backwards." 

"Oh," Sonic says, a bit dumbly, and it makes Tails choke up more tears and laughs, "Why backwards?" 

The kit swallows through the lump in his throat. He clutches his legs tighter, and he feels his fur dampen by the moisture escaping from his eyes. Saltwater, like the ocean. Just a big pool of tears from a god whom he remembers the villagers from Westside worshipping. The name of a god he has no memory of because he was never meant to be one of its followers. He's just Sonic's follower. Naive and stupid. 

"It doesn't matter." He says as he moves his head to the side and away from Sonic's burning gaze. He rests it on his arms and looks out over the beach stretching before him. Sand and saltwater. 

Sonic is quiet after that. It's rare to find the hedgehog at a loss for words, but Tails somehow managed to. He feels the weight of his brother's hand gently settling on his shoulder, so familiar, so comforting. The fox wants to tell Sonic he's not upset with him, but rather at the concept of him. Maybe this would have been easier if Sonic had just treated him like their other friends. Friendly but distant. To be loved in a crowd rather than this concentrated care that Sonic has never expressed to anyone else but him. 

Tails allows his namesakes to gently move towards his brother and drape across Sonic's lap. It has helped Sonic calm down before, and it's all he can muster to do in his quest to reassure the hedgehog. Everything else is just heavy, exhausting. 

"Buddy?" Sonic says gently as he begins dragging his hand through the fur of the tails.

Whatever. Just ask.

"Why did you let me come with you?" Tails asks finally. He stumbles over his words, and they shoot out of him in a messy tangle of notes that swirl and echo around the brothers. Heavy, invasive, so so tiring. ”Were you bored? Out of your mind?"

"What?" Sonic asks, and his voice joins the echo of the fox's words. He stops petting the tails, "Tails, bud. What are you talking about?" 

"You aren't answering me." Tails snaps back and frowns at a nearby crab that passes his view. 

Sonic goes quiet then. He offers little, just the sound of his breathing. Until his voice manages a few strings of words that are so uncharacteristically quiet, Tails feels lightheaded.

"Is this what you've been hung up on this last week?" Sonic asks gently.

He feels insane.

"Are you not hearing me?" Tails exclaims and snaps his gaze to the worried eyes of his brother. Pity. He hates that, "Why did you let me come with you?" 

"Because I wanted to," Sonic answers patiently. Emerald softening at the edges as he smiles calmly. But it doesn't quite reach his eyes. 

"That can't possibly be the only reason." Tails objects. 

"Well, it is," Sonic declares as he begins petting the tails again, carefree. He smiles at Tails as if they're just spending another calm evening together, as if Tails isn't falling apart at the seams. Sonic shrugs and keeps talking, "This little cub helped me fix my plane. The people who were supposed to have cared for him did a piss-poor job anyway." 

"So what? Eleven-year-old-you thought you were up to the challenge?" Tails asks with a bitter huff. 

"Yes. Well, I-" Sonic begins but pauses. It's enough to catch Tails' attention, and the fox frowns in question and watches as Sonic deliberately moves his gaze downward, "I thought it was gonna be temporary. I planned it to be. What did I know about caring for a kid anyway?"

The evening is quiet. Tails feels his stomach turn, the lump in his throat only gets bigger, and Sonic keeps talking. His voice is calm and collected. His eyes are soft as they're locked on the rhythmic motion of his petting, and Tails can only watch his brother with a mix of jealousy and admiration. How nice it must be to be so in tune with the moment. How nice it must be to feel whole.

"I thought I'd find some family on the mainland that could care for you," Sonic continues slowly, "I was gonna hang with you for a bit, give you some good memories, and then a loving family with a mother and a father would swoop by. But by the time I even got close to finding one, it was too late." Sonic meets his little brother's gaze, then. Emerald eyes: Just as kind as the day on Westside Island, "You were just really fun to hang around, you know? Smart too. I'd be dead from a malfunctioning badnick by now if it wasn't for you." 

Tails stares at him. So that's it then, Sonic was just an idiot.

"You were taking in a child," Tails says slowly, deliriously, "And you didn't think about the implications of that?" 

Sonic looks at him oddly, as if Tails is the insane one here. The hedgehog bites his lip, then, unsure how to proceed. Tails isn't exactly making this easy. The fox doubts Sonic has even bothered to touch upon these thoughts before; hell, Sonic back then had an even worse mindset of do it now, think later attitude. Tails can understand the hedgehog's assumption that it would be a temporary friendship, but he just doesn't understand why it ended up being the opposite. A kid can only be so fun to hang out with before you need to start taking care of them. 

Sonic opens his mouth, closes it, and nothing comes out. Nothing witty, no tongue-in-cheek joke, no deflection of feelings. Somehow, this is worse. The hedgehog turns his gaze down to the two tails in his lap, and he smiles fondly at them with emerald eyes glistering. An image of light. Tails' guiding light. The first one who wished to stay, the first one who wished to keep him. He's an odd one, this hedgehog. 

"I don't know what I saw in you," Sonic says quietly. His hands hover over the yellow fur of Tails' namesakes, as if they're fragile, as if they're precious, "I don't know why I wasn't able to leave you behind. I've left so much, I've moved on from a hundred things, but you were always different. I don't know why." 

Tails has always been the exception. The villagers would often preach of their children's worth, sing hymns of their power, the meekest shall grow strong and be loved. Together, the tribe would care for the cubs with no parents. It takes a village, as they'd say. But they stopped shortly at the sight of a two-tailed cub. Hypocrisy was something Tails learnt long before he learnt of love. People are hypocrites.

Whatever it is that Sonic has left behind is something lost to history. Only a vague reflection in his green eyes that has kept shining with joy, no matter what. Tails believes it when Sonic swears he's happy, he's indestructible. Beaten, yes, weak at times, yes, but never broken. 

"You've really got your mind twisted this time, buddy," Sonic smiles sadly, "Those ears can't droop more if they tried." 

Tails' ears twitch. Something about Sonic's words makes reality come crashing down around him, and he feels himself breathing. He hears the rustling of animals in the forest behind them, he sees the ocean stretch far and wide before him, and he feels Sonic's hand absently brushing his fur. It is as if everything becomes just a little bit clearer. The sunset makes the water glitter. It waves goodbye to the two brothers, and it reminds the fox of all the times he's seen Sonic wave back. A little conversation, the hedgehog seems to share with the world. A conversation neither Tails nor any of their friends has managed to decipher. That was always Sonic's thing, and his wave was one of many signs that would let Tails see a glimpse of it all through his eyes.

Maybe it's time to let Sonic see a bit of his world. Maybe it's time to just be honest. This all started somewhere, not a week ago, but a lifetime ago. When Tails was hungry and Sonic was lonely. 

So he says it. 

"It's Father's Day today." Tails says, looking out over the ocean with his chin resting on his knees. His stomach is impossibly tight. Sonic sits quietly beside him, and Tails can practically hear the gears turning in his head. Repeating the words, analyzing, and finding the common factor on why this would upset the kit so much. 

"Oh, Tails," Sonic breathes when he gets it.

His voice hitches, and his words sound impossibly broken. Tails can't stand to look at him. His eyes only fill with tears as he clutches his legs tighter. He removes his namesakes from Sonic's lap to make them wrap around himself for comfort. He used to do that more often as a child, and it taught him to value them despite all the ridicule they got. After all, the villagers were for sure not going to hug him.

"I tried to find you a gift," Tails sobs. His voice strains, revealing his true age, revealing just how young and pathetic he still is, "I couldn't find any, I'm sorry. But I-I don't even know why I wanted to-You're not-" 

Sonic puts an arm around his shoulders, and it's all the invitation he needs. Tails falls towards the comfort of his brother, with his head beneath Sonic's chin as the hedgehog pulls him close. Tails can feel Sonic smiling into the fur on top of his head. That sort of smile he does when he's overcome with adoration, Tails doesn't even need to see it to know it's there. Tails feels the way Sonic cradles him close, rubbing his forehead slightly into the soft fur. In his arms, Tails is no longer cold. Sonic tries to squeeze the kit as tightly as possible. To protect him from the darkness of the world, to keep him here at the core of the light they both make together. Sonic shifts and manages to move his leg to the other side of the fox, and Tails can get even closer, as Sonic encases him with his legs as a barrier from all evil. Tails only sobs deeply. 

"I'm being pretty stupid, aren't I?" Tails chuckles wetly. He feels Sonic resting his chin on top of his head. 

"You've never once been stupid," Sonic murmurs, slowly starting to sway the two of them gently side to side. 

"I've done a lot of stupid things," Tails snivels. 

"Can't recall a single one," Sonic responds with a growing smile. 

"Yes, I have!" Tails exclaims and pulls away a bit to look his brother in the eyes. Sonic is practically beaming, eyes glistering just a little bit, "You're biased." 

"Yeah," Sonic declares simply. He leans forward to rest his forehead against Tails', to which the fox frowns and scrunches his nose at the action, "I am." 

Tails closes his eyes and just sits there, reveling in the warmth of his caretaker's hold. Sonic moves once again to cradle Tails' head close to his chest. His breath tickles the fur on the fox's ear; it reminds him that this is the Sonic no one else ever gets to see, this is the Sonic only reserved for Tails. When he simply revels in that genuine love he feels for his life. When it shines in all directions, and lets Tails understand why he dedicates his life to save the world in the first place. 

The evening is darker now. A chill blows past the beach, yet the brothers are not affected by it. They've kept themselves warm before; this is nothing new. The sand is soft, and Sonic's arms are steady. The little blue shell in Tails' hand is clutched tightly, almost as tightly as Sonic's hold. The fox shifts, and so does the hedgehog. Sonic loops his arms around Tails' torso as the fox curls up closer to him, before Tails moves his head to look out upon the ocean. The sun is gone now, the sky is only painted in lilac and blues, a faint stream of light at the edge of the horizon. It is marvelous, it is freedom. It is for this view that Sonic fights, and it is for the arms around the fox's body that Tails fights. Steady and true, that's the Sonic Way.

"You're not my dad," Tails declares at last. He says it softly in the evening air, with a gentle sigh as he rests his weight against Sonic's chest, "I don't want you to be." 

"That's fine," Sonic responds with a similar tone. He shifts his head to look out at the view, the same as Tails, and he leans forward to slump just a bit more on top of the fox. 

"It's not, though," Tails says and sniffs. He loops his free arm with Sonic's, "I don't know who you are." 

"I'm you're Sonic," Sonic says simply. Like it's true, "And you're my Tails." 

"You're my Sonic," Tails repeats slowly, seeing if it fits on his tongue, "My brother." 

"But not quite," Sonic says for the two of them. 

Yes, it fits. 

"But not quite," Tails says. 

The waves that crash gently against the shore come now to bring a message. A reflection of the two, but younger, less experienced. Like all those years ago, everything repeats. Two lost children on a beach. Tails wonders how much he’s changed. Has he changed? He’s still just as scared as he was back then. He still fears that one day he’ll wake up and realize all of this was just a dream. He’ll open his eyes, and the underside of those tall trees in the forest will stare back. The ground will be dirt, and his stomach will be empty, and yet, it has not happened. He gets to have this, here with Sonic. Forever if the hedgehog has anything to say about it. He gets to take part in history, become a hero to thousands of people. He gets to invent, he gets to give children like him hope that anyone can drag themselves up from the worst of gutters. It’s all because of Sonic. His saviour. 

It is dark now. The water is black, and the sky shares a similar shade. The summer brings heat to the evening; however, it is hardly a problem. Still, the fox’s stomach is icy, and he knows why. They aren’t done yet. He knows he has to tell Sonic now, lest he never will. It’s the mistake they’ve made for so long. The thing Amy wishes they would do. He’s going to take that step now; he has to. So he swallows and takes a deep breath.

”I feel like I owe you,” Tails says simply. He lets go of their hold to once again sit next to his brother. 

”I’m confused,” Sonic says, ”I don’t remember doing much for you recently.” 

”No,” Tails responds. He turns his gaze and finds the worried green eyes of his brother. The fox shifts and brings his knees up to hold himself, ”You’ve taken care of me all this time. You’re not my dad, but you’re still my guardian. You still decided to settle down despite your nature. You still decided to take on the burden of feeding me when we were still on the streets. I was in hell before you came along, and you never asked for anything in return once you got me out of there.” 

Sonic tilts his head. A breath escapes him, and Tails wonders what he’s seeing right now. Maybe he’s getting tired of the fox’s self-loathing. Tails probably shouldn’t have said anything. 

But still, Sonic doesn’t get up and leave. He never has, and he never will. Instead, the hedgehog starts brushing a hand through his quills as if looking for something, and Tails can only stare in confusion. It isn’t long until Sonic finds what he was looking for, and he holds up the newfound object for Tails to see. 

It's an oddly shaped shell. Akin to a heart, the two ovals are thinner and a bit pointed, only connecting a little bit at the bottom. The two tips have been colored with supposedly some chalk, and Tails realizes exactly what he's looking at. 

It’s him.

It’s an old memory that resurfaces. Like the last lines of a brushstroke, it fussily makes its way to the front of his brain, and he looks up to see Sonic looking just like he did on that day. This shell is eight years old now. Tails thought he’d lost it a while back, but he didn’t put up much grief over it. He’s not sure why; it didn’t feel important. Supposedly, it was during one of those days when just the sight of his tails leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. It had been too much seeing it made so abstractly in his hand. Like a fun-house mirror. 

Now, though, the sight of it only fills him with warmth. Sonic kept it all this time. Even if Tails didn’t find much interest in it, Sonic did. Sonic kept it in good shape. The hedgehog cared enough to carry it around everywhere he went. Dear Gaia, it’s all too much. Tails doesn’t know what to do. 

”I don’t do things if I don’t want to,” Sonic says calmly, ”I wouldn’t sit here right now, I wouldn’t carry this shell around all day, and I certainly wouldn’t have let you come with me that day unless I wanted to.” The hedgehog gives Tails a pointed look, and he puts the shell on the sand in the middle of the two of them, ”And I know I don’t say it enough, but you mean the world to me, Tails. I wouldn’t have given you a name if I didn’t plan to keep you by my side forever.” 

Tails stares at him. Sonic, his brother, his guardian, his best friend. Sonic is everything, Sonic is the saviour of the world, yet here he sits and declares Tails the most important person in his life. What was it Shadow said? Trust his decision to care about you. Right, because it wasn’t by force, or fate, or destiny. Sonic chose this. He chooses this every day, and he’s not insane. He’s just Sonic The Hedgehog. He declares Tails worth it. The least Tails can do is to simply trust him. 

Tails trusts him. 

”You always keep it so simple,” Tails comments with an exasperated huff. It makes Sonic light up in a grin, though. 

”It was never really a complex decision,” Sonic says and flicks his nose. He leans back a bit to once again rest on his hands. 

The fox’s eyes find themselves staring at the little shell lying on the ground, reminding him of the other shell still clutched in his hand. It is then that an idea pops up in his head, and Tails almost wants to cry with how perfect it is. Of course, the answer was always right in front of him. Despite everything, he did it. He completed his mission. Tails brings up his hand to stare at the blue and spiky shell. It glistens in the young moonlight. Blue, like his brother. The best brother anyone could ask for. 

”I know what to give you now,” Tails says as a smile slowly creeps up on him. He turns towards his brother, who gives him a surprised look, and Tails can barely contain his excitement as he shifts onto his knees and holds out his palm to show Sonic the little shell. Blue like him. 

”Happy Father’s Day, Sonic,” Tails says with a grin. 

Sonic takes it, analyzing the thing with wide eyes. He drags a finger along the sharp edges, turning it around, admiring the blue and comparing it to the blue of his body. Sonic’s eyes seem to glisten almost, not tears, but something close to it. Closer than Tails has ever seen him come before. 

”It’s me,” Sonic says breathily. 

It’s quiet for a while as Sonic simply admires the shell. His gaze is soft, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. The moonlight shines on the edges of his spikes, akin to a halo around his head, and Tails can only smile back. His brother looks so much younger here, so much like he used to as he places the blue shell next to the yellow one.

”Thank you, bud,” Sonic says as he finally looks up to meet the fox’s gaze, ”This is the best Father’s Day gift I’ve ever received.” 

Tails huffs, ”It’s the only Father’s Day gift you’ve ever received.”

Sonic shrugs and winks at him, ”Still the best.” 

The fox only shakes his head, but the wide smile on his face never truly disappears. 

It is there they sit for a while. As the moon travels higher in the sky, the faint echo of the brothers’ voices can be heard through the trees. The waves take their chance to reflect the two of them, sitting like they used to all those years ago, and the water lets that image travel across the sea. It can be seen then, on an island far away, an image in the crashing tides of a fox and a hedgehog, sharing a moment on a beach. As well as the faint echo of their laughter. 

Later that night, they end up in front of the door to Tails’ workshop. The streetlamps illuminate the town in a gentle light, and Tails is all but ready to cover that light with the drapes in his bedroom. But before he can, however, Sonic asks a question. 

”So, what’s the deal with your recorder, anyway?” 

Tails has his hand on the doorknob as the hedgehog says those words. He stops and looks at his brother, who stares back with questioning eyes and daring the fox to change the subject.

Oh, whatever, he might as well. What’s one more embarrassing leak of emotions, anyway? 

Tails sighs and turns the doorknob, showing the inside of his house. They both step in, and Sonic moves past him to put the two shells on the fireplace in the living room. ”Like a proper family home,” He had said on the walk home. 

”It’s a countdown,” Tails begins. He closes the door behind him and watches as Sonic carefully tips the two shells to rest against the wall. He should make a frame someday for them, Tails muses; he’ll have to write that down. ”There are 79 days left until my birthday.” 

”Oh,” Sonic says, supposedly surprised by the very normal answer, ”You ready for your teenage years?”

Tails doesn’t know his birthday. Not his real one. No one in the village cared to tell him, and he was too young to remember anything his parents might have said. They left no note, nothing. He only knew his name because of the village kids, and even then, that might be a lie. When Sonic asked how old he was, Tails told the hedgehog he recalled having experienced four winters in total, so that’s what they went with. He was four years old the day Sonic found him. Supposedly. 

Still, he needed a birthday. Sonic was not going to let him go without one, and when the hedgehog asked which day Tails would like to be his birthday, the fox asked a simple question. 

”What day did we leave Westside?” 

And that had been that. 

”The 21st of November is the day my life began,” Tails says simply as he walks towards the kitchen to get a snack. What a privilege, what a life he’s been given, ”The countdown helps me remember that.” 

He sees the moment the pieces come together in Sonic’s head, and an even wider grin takes up the entirety of the hedgehog’s face. 

”Aw, Tails,” Sonic coos as he goes to sit on one of the stools of the kitchen island. 

”Yeah, yeah,” Tails says with a roll of his eyes. He opens the fridge to find the apple pie they made sitting there. None of them had taken a bite yet; the lack of cinnamon was too embarrassing for Tails to dare to face it, but well, you've got to face your fears sometimes. 

He takes the pie and, after putting it in the microwave to heat it, he places it on the counter between him and Sonic. He grabs two spoons and hands one to Sonic, who hesitantly takes it as the hedgehog eyes the pie suspiciously. 

”Next time I won’t forget the Cinnamon,” Tails promises and holds up the spoon. 

”You better not,” Sonic retorts and holds up his own. 

The brothers clink their spoons together, and together they eat. The pie isn’t like it’s supposed to be, but that’s alright, you can find its good parts in places you wouldn’t have thought of before. In some ways, Tails muses, it’s better like this.