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He’d messed up. Everyone had been counting on him to throw his communication blocker onto Eggman’s newest hunk of junk- or their newest headache. And the blocker..he’d designed it intricately..there’s no way it should have failed, but it did. And did it fail hard. The plan was: Amy disables the bot’s legs with her hammer while Knuckles holds the thing in place by it’s tail. Meanwhile, Sonic would run up the body and onto the head area where the cockpit was located and wait for Tails’ signal. Tails himself would throw the blocker, which he’d designed to sever all electrical currents and communications; effectively disabling the robots main functions and powering it down so that Sonic could smash the thing to pieces without having dodge its arms.
It had all been going well until that last part, where his communications blocker had failed to detonate, which resulted in the bot kicking Knuckles and Amy to the side like flies and charging towards him with newfound fury. Of course, Tails had frozen in place like an idiot, meaning Sonic was left tripping over himself trying to scoop him out of harms way and getting knocked out because of it. All the while, Tails lay perfectly fine and unharmed in his arms. Like always.
..sometimes tails wishes his brother would just sit back and let him succumb to his own consequences. Maybe then he’d learn from his mistakes instead of making Sonic pay for them.
And then to top it all off, the communications blocker finally detonated a good 2 minutes later, which sent the weird Octopus looking robot crashing to the dirt alongside Tails’ self-esteem. Oh, and maybe Sonic’s consciousness too; he’d definitely KO’d from hitting his head against the floor trying to break their fall, and the hedgehog was clearly bleeding from somewhere beside his ear. None of them even cared to see where Eggman scuttled off to; all in favour of crowding around Sonic and desperately trying to rouse him.
It had taken a good ten minutes or so before the hedgehog had shown any signs of life, and Both tails and Amy were well on their way to full-blown panic by that point, so seeing Sonic’s brow twitch almost made them melt in relief.
“Sonic.” Knuckles dove in, voice cool and collected in a way that Tails could only dream of imitating. “Hey- Sonic wake up, man. You okay?”
There was a collective sigh of solace when slightly glazed emeralds fluttered open and lethargically travelled across their faces in confusion. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for Sonic to recollect himself and he abruptly sat up, which scared the crap out of Amy and even caused Knuckles to thrust his hands out to steady him on instinct. The cobalt hedgehog swayed a little upon the change in altitude and Tails thought for a horrified second that Sonic might faint, but to all of their mutual relief no such thing happened. Amy was the first to react by attaching herself to Sonics lithe waist like a pink leech.
“Oh Sonic, thank Chaos you’re okay! My heart stopped when I saw your head hit the floor-“ she fretted before cutting herself off abruptly and grabbing poor Sonic’s head. “are you okay, Sonic?! You’re bleeding!” She suddenly gasped, tracing her fingers over a particularly large patch of stained fur with a sad frown. Sonic blinked and gently pried now stained gloves away from his spines. He still looked a little hazy, but mostly just confused. “Uh..yeah, Ames. I’m fine but- wait Tails- where?!” He suddenly panicked, shrugging out of Amy’s hold in a rush until Tails caught his attention through a hand on his shoulder, making him calm considerably. “Hah..oh. My bad.” He breathed with a half-smile while Knuckles shook his head at him.
“Chaos..at least ask before you start freaking out. Anyway, you dived away from the robot with Tails in your arms and smacked your head against the dirt, so we should probably stay the night here just in case it starts causing any problems. Alright?” He stated more then asked before patting Sonic’s free shoulder.
“Oh, uh..yeah sure. Sounds good to me..”
“You’re good Right? Can you see straight?”
“Ahah..yep. I’ll be fine Knux, ya worrywart.” Sonic teased with a half-smile that seemed a little tired. Of course he’d be tired after Tails got him knocked out because he wasn’t brave enough to get his feet to move. He bets knuckles and Amy are disappointed in him. He bets Sonic will forgive him like always even though he doesn’t deserve it.
“Sonic...” he murmured, low enough that only the latter could hear, and of course the hedgehog’s face whipped over like a magnet; always on high-alert whenever Tails was involved. “Tails, bud- you okay..? You’re not hurt Are y-?”
“i’m sorry!” He blurted out a little too loud, judging by Amy’s flinch a little ways away. Tails took a deep breath before lowering his voice into a whisper like before. “I’m so sorry...You got hurt because my stupid invention didn’t..” With annoyance, he found that he couldn’t finish his sentence due to getting choked up halfway through, but he couldn’t help it; he’d hurt his brother and guardian, screwed up the mission and let Eggman get away. Even so, a gloved hand weaved through the fur behind his ears and the touch was so familiar that Tails could’ve guessed who the perpetrator was in his sleep.
“..what? Tails- it’s okay, buddy..you know I wouldn’t blame ya for something like this..like ever.” Sonic eased in hushed tone, and Tails recognised it as the one he’d use whenever Tails had suffered from nightmares when they were younger. The nostalgia was enough to make his eyes burn.
Tails sensed more then saw Amy shifting uncertainly behind them. “Um..Knuckles and I will go book some rooms at the Inn if you guys wanna..” she trailed off, sounding sympathetic.
“Yep, they do.” Knuckles decided, getting to his feet and stretching his arms behind his back with a satisfied grunt that made Amy cringe at him. “Catch up with us later when you’re done here; we’ll be at the Inn.”
Tails watched through blurred vision as Sonic glanced gratefully at them, waving them goodbye until it was just them sat in the clearing with the sunset casting its final rays on their backs and painting everything a stunning amber. A few beats of silence passed by where Tails just knew his brother was waiting patiently for him to begin talking; these moments were possibly the longest duration of times that Sonic could keep still. Tails liked that fact because it made their sibling bond feel strong and exclusive, but also hated it because he knew Sonic couldn’t stand staying still and was suffering for his sake.
“..I’m sorry about the blocker, Sonic.. I never thought it’d...” a wave of frustration filled his veins when he found his throat going dry again, but Sonic seemed to pick up on it right away and pitched in. “Hey buddy, it’s alright; I forgive you Tails. And I always will no matter what. And this whole communicator blocky thingy you made? So what if it didn’t work out the way you wanted it to? One: you had no way of knowing; not like you planned it, and Two: it’s still one more amazing piece of technology than anyone else has ever invented, or even thought of in the first place.” He smiled tiredly, looking like a parent who’s been asked for a toy at the grocery store. “Heck, dude..you think Amy, Knuckles or I could do the things you do with like..minimum effort? I mean come on- you can’t give yourself grief over a little mistake.”
“But..but it got you hurt and I could’ve just- if I’d just moved then you wouldn’t of had to dive in and save me, Sonic.” Tails stressed, but Sonic’s face remained forgiving. Did he not understand? “I was so pathetic just then..! I couldn’t even get my feet to move even though I knew I had to run- why am I so helpless? Sonic-“
“Hey...no ones thinking that but you, buddy. And about the whole saving you thing; that’s just my job as your big bro right? You know I’d do it again in heartbeat, Tails. You’d do the same for me if I needed it wouldn’t ya?”
Drats. Cornered.
“B-But you never need it! You’re so independent and amazing at everything you do and then there’s me. All I do is make trouble for you.”
“You’ve never made trouble for me Tails. Not once, okay?” Sonic frowned, scooching beside him. “Things wouldn’t be the same without you here, buddy. I need my first in command to set me straight when I’m screwing around.”
Tails heaved a sigh, considering it but not feeling fully convinced. “I..I guess.” He conceded with a wet sniffle. “But that doesn’t excuse me acting like a dumb coward in the middle of a battle! I need to change that..and a bunch of other things.”
“What? What other things are we talking about here?” Sonic perked up, looking mildly alarmed.
“Like...how I’m still the most immature...I’m scared of lightning!” He quickly blurted when he saw Sonic open his mouth to interrupt his admission.
“Hey! Cant blame ya for that- lightning’s literally super dangerous no matter how strong or mature you are- unlike me, who’s too baby to learn how to swim. Water’s only dangerous if you let it, but Lightning’ll tear you up matter what you do!” He enthused, before clacking his teeth together in an attempt to stop talking. “Uh...not to..scare you more or anything.”
With a wet chuckle, Tails wiped his eyes and drew his knees to his chest. “Sure, Sonic. And I guess I’m being kind of dramatic here, huh? I just wish I could be less like myself sometimes and more like you.” The words trickled off his tongue easier then he could’ve imagined, and it was like a weight he didn’t even know existed had been lifted off of his chest.
After a few seconds, Tails noticed with some worry that Sonic hadn’t said anything, and peered up through his bangs to see the hedgehog focused on a a small centipede trailing past them with a vacantly peaceful look to his eyes. An Almost unreadable expression on his face.
“Um...Sonic?” Tails tried hesitantly, leaning forward to try and get a better view of the insect. The elder finally drew his attention away from the bug and leant back on his arms with a determined huff. Tails blinked, perplexed. “Uh..Sonic? Does your head still hurt or..?”
“Huh? Oh no. I’m fine. just thinking that I get what you mean.”
“You..get what I mean? ..As in what, Sonic?” Tails felt a little left out of the loop, and also slightly concerned for his brother’s strange mood right after getting knocked unconscious. They should go find Knuckles and Amy before the sun sets completely. With that in mind, Tails had intended to reach over and grab Sonic by the hand, but at the same time, the hedgehog moved both of his hands to hold his chin up against his knees.
“-About wanting to be less like yourself sometimes...all that kinda stuff.” The azure hedgehog began, and the confession was so un-Sonic-like that Tails had to manually keep his jaw from dropping. Sonic must have noticed the slapped expression on Tails face, because he snorted upon glancing over.
“Hey..don’t look at me like that dude..Sometimes I hate myself too, y’know? I’m stuck-up, I’m kinda dumb and make terrible decisions, I can’t be honest about how I’m feeling most of time even though I know you guys won’t ever judge me for anything, I prioritise the wrong things and wish I could change my..well everything. —Apart from speed.” He added quickly, almost panicked.
After a pregnant pause, Tails finally recovered from his shock and sent his brother a shaken look. “Sonic..You’re not dumb? And you shouldn’t hate yourself either. or want to change, cause then you- you wouldn’t be you.” He stuttered. Did that make sense? He hoped it did; but he’s never had to console Sonic before. Has anyone? How could a person like Sonic ever think that way when they’ve accomplished so much? Tails just couldn’t wrap his head around it. And then..why hadn’t he said anything? Tails is always running to Sonic about every little thing and Sonic just expects nothing in return- is that it? Is that their dynamic...?
That’s not right.
“Right?” Sonic grinned suddenly, low mood apparently forgotten. “You don’t think I should change just because I’m not perfect, and the same applies to you, buddy.” His smile dimmed to something more natural before averting his eyes with a forced nonchalant look. “..though to me you’re perfect already so..”
Despite the rampant conflicting emotions coursing through Tails at the prior confession, a pang of fondness sparked in his chest at the rare bashfulness being displayed and he just sat for moment, letting the words sink in before wrapping his arms around Sonic with a soft smile. “Yeah...I guess I’m the dumb one, huh?” He hummed and then pulled away with a heavy frown, causing Sonic to look back at him in silent question.
Being so close to Sonic like this, Tails couldn’t help but wonder how much the teen was keeping to himself. He could have been only grazing the tip of the iceberg earlier and Tails would never have known. Did any of them know? Knuckles? Amy? Tails highly doubts it; he at least knows Sonic well enough to know he doesn’t like talking about himself unless he’s trying to rile someone up by acting cocky.
He locks eyes with those striking verdient orbs, and all of a sudden, Tails can’t stand the thought of letting his brother walk away from his own insecurities like this. He’s made up his mind; he’s going to break the dynamic he wasn’t aware had formed between them. No more secrets, no more of Tails taking and Sonic not receiving. This ends now.
“..But you’ve never mentioned any of that stuff to me before...do you actually think things like that about yourself, Sonic?” He ripped off the metaphorical bandaid and asked; he needs to know if he wants to be there for Sonic like Sonic’s there for him.
Said hedgehog bit the inside of his cheek like he’d realised he’d said too much. “I mean...yeah, sometimes? But it’s not a problem or anything; it’s just the normal amount.”
Normal amo—?
Tails blanched, completely taken aback. “Huh? Wh-? Sonic, there isn’t a normal amount that someone hates themselves. are you sure it’s nothing?”
“Yeah! Geez- I came here to comfort you, not the other way around!” Sonic huffed a laugh, rolling his eyes and patting Tails on the shoulder. “Now c’mon, buddy. Let’s go n’ find the others, Kay?” Sonic didn’t wait a second longer before getting to his feet and beginning towards the town centre, so Tails had no time to voice his protests. Tails also had no doubts that the elder had darted off like that on purpose to avoid spilling the beans to him, which he wasn’t sure how to feel about, but ultimately decided that if Sonic isn’t comfortable talking about it right now, then Tails isn’t going to push him into the deep end. There’s always tomorrow, right?