Chapter Text
Sonic had always known himself to be a boy.
Longclaw never really explained anything about gender. She taught him survival, how to run, how to hide—but not who he was in the deeper, more human sense. She never called him a boy or a girl. Just Sonic . Just her child . And that had been enough—at least for a while.
When he arrived on Earth, Maddie and Tom didn’t question it either. He introduced himself as a boy, and that was that. There were no books on alien hedgehog biology, no medical charts or school health classes that could say otherwise. They accepted him as he was—because why wouldn’t they?
And Sonic was happy with that. Learning about humans, their ways, their labels… he decided he liked being a boy. It fit. It felt right. It was never something he second-guessed. He was a boy, and no one ever questioned it.
So why was his body suddenly making choices without consulting him?
He didn’t understand what was happening. But deep down, he knew something wasn’t lining up—not with what he thought he knew about himself, not with the world’s expectations, and certainly not with how he’d always seen himself in the mirror.
But how could he have known? No one ever told him. Not Longclaw, not Maddie or Tom—not even his own body, not clearly, not until now.
He liked Tom and Maddie. No—he loved them. They were his parents, his real ones in every way that mattered. And Sonic had always believed they loved him unconditionally, too. For who he was. Not for some idea of him. Not for what they assumed or what they expected.
And he was sure of that—until now.
Now, a quiet doubt had begun to grow. A tiny voice whispering, What if? What if they would freak out because his body didn’t matched who he was ? What if knowing the truth would change something?
He shook off the thought. He didn’t want to go there.
Instead, he let himself remember one of his favorite moments with them. Something small, but special.
It had happened on a lazy weekend morning. Sonic had stayed up late the night before, indulging in a TV show he’d secretly grown fond of. It wasn’t bad or anything—it was just kind of childish. The kind of thing a younger kid might like, full of bright colors and silly jokes. Not exactly something a “grown-up hedgehog,” as he called himself, should be into.
He thought he was being sneaky, keeping it to himself, enjoying it in secret.
But that morning, as he padded down the stairs, he froze midway.
He heard it.
His show.
His ears perked up, heart skipping a beat. He peeked into the living room and there, sitting on the couch with Ozzie curled up beside her, was Maddie—watching that exact show .
“Hey, Maddie,” he said, trying to play it cool. “What are you doing?”
Maddie looked over at him and smiled. “Oh, just watching one of my favorite shows.”
Sonic blinked. “Really?” he asked, caught off guard. He could’ve sworn he’d never seen them watch it before—and he’d definitely spied on them long enough to know their TV habits.
“Yeah,” Maddie said, patting the seat next to her. “C’mon, watch with me. Let’s have a moment—you and me.”
Sonic hesitated, but then felt something warm unfurl in his chest. He couldn’t help but smile as he walked over and sat beside her.
A few minutes later, Tom came in carrying a bowl of popcorn and a couple of sodas. He raised an eyebrow at the TV, grinned knowingly, and settled in on the other side.
And just like that, they spent the rest of the day together—laughing, talking, and watching that silly little show as a family.
That memory stayed with Sonic. Not because of the show, but because of the way they made him feel—seen, safe, loved. Not judged. Not questioned. Just accepted.
And maybe, just maybe, that memory was the reason he still hoped—deep down—that no matter what, Tom and Maddie would keep loving him. Not for being a boy. Not for being a girl.
Just for being him .