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The moment he got home that Friday, after a long day of quiet patrolling the Green Hills, Tom knew that something curious had happened in his house.
His favorite hedgehog had a strange expression on his face and was uncharacteristically silent. He didn't throw himself at the human to greet him when he arrived as usual, nor was he talking nonstop to the little yellow fox who was always by his side.
Sonic, very calmly, was helping to set the table for dinner.
Trying to find out why he was acting so strangely, Tom looked at Tails, who was standing near the coffee table, however, the fox had his eyes fixed on the hedgehog, curiosity and confusion in his blue eyes and did not seem to be aware of the human looking at him.
Tom looked over at Maddie, who was standing next to Knuckles in the kitchen. The woman shrugged, showing that she was just as confused as the man while the echidna, like the hedgehog, had a strange expression, as if he was absorbed in his thoughts.
Dinner was awkward, the only voices to be heard were Maddie and Tom's, with Knuckles interjecting from time to time but his real attention was on the hedgehog and the fox. The hedgehog's gaze was fixed on the food and Tails seemed to want to say something but didn't have the courage to do it. The fox looked confused, as if something had been explained to him that he couldn't understand.
When it was time to sleep after dinner, Tails was waiting for the others at the door of the room but Sonic stayed still in his seat, when Tom wanted to get up, he felt how the hedgehog took him by the sleeve to prevent him from moving.
Tom, then, observed the other boys, an expression of extreme sadness crossed the younger one's face when he understood that they would not all go to the room at the same time as they used to.
The echidna quickly took the little fox's hand to leave Sonic and Tom alone, entering the room the three of them shared with the fox.
Tom looked down at Sonic waiting for the blue boy to speak.
After a few seconds, the hedgehog opened his mouth.
"Parents can't just abandon their children, right? I understand when they die the children are going to be alone but, if not, that doesn't happen, it's impossible, isn't it?"
Tom, not expecting such a question, considered how to answer the boy. Sonic could be an extraordinary and powerful creature but he still was just a kid.
"It shouldn't happen, that's for sure," he replied calmly as he placed one hand on his adopted son's shoulder. "Unfortunately, I can't say for sure that it doesn't happen. Just as there are bad humans like Robotnik, there are not so responsible parents."
At that, Sonic looked up quickly with sad and surprised eyes.
"But how could that be? How could anyone have the heart to do that? I refuse to believe it! You guys love me so much and we're not even the same species!"
The human sighed and began stroking the spiked back to reassure the blue one.
"That's how families are, kid, many times they get together along the way and it's not who we started with, but those who accompany us during our lives, in good and bad times."
Hoping that answer would lighten the boy's spirits a bit, Tom gave him a playful shove on the shoulder, but Sonic didn't react.
"We told Tails that he was a liar," the hedgehog suddenly said making Tom stop his movements.
"Why did you called him that?"
Sonic shrugged and, embarrassed, looked away.
" I was talking about Long Claw and Knuckles about his father, so I asked Tails what had happened to his parents and he told us that nothing happened to them, they just didn't want to take care of him and left him in a place where they took care of abandoned foxes. We didn't think it was possible. We thought that he was lying."
A sudden feeling of anger washed over Tom as he thought about Tails' biological parents. He was a sweet little fox, loyal and with a very good heart, why wouldn't they want to take care of him? Well, it wasn't important anyway, he and Maddie were more than happy to have him as their son.
"I-I really thought it couldn't be true," Sonic spoke sadly, "I can't imagine that someone could't love Tails. I got attached to him in less than an hour even though the first time I saw him he ran over Knuckles with a car."
Tom laughed and began to pet the blue head.
"There is no point in focusing on things beyond our control, Sonic, the important thing is that Tails is now part of our family and we love him very much and we will never leave him alone, okay?" Sonic nodded with a small smile on his face. "Besides, he now has two older brothers who will take care of him and always accompany him, right?"
Sonic quickly moved away to face the human, his eyes seemed to shine with a new determination.
"I-I'm an older brother? I never thought I could be one!" The cobalt began to vibrate with energy. "I have to add it and cross it off my list Tom! I'm going to be the best big brother in the world! Tails will never be alone again! A family that is always with him! I have to apologize."
Before Tom could add anything else, Sonic sped away towards his room yelling "thanks dad" on his way. The sheriff sighed and, with a smile on his face, he went in search of his wife to tell her what had happened.
Everything had returned to normal for the next day, Sonic was still as energetic and restless as usual, with Tails following his pace and Knuckles asking and questioning everything that crossed his mind.
In the afternoon, Tom asked Tails if they could talk for a moment, to which the little fox, confused, accepted.
"Sonic told me that he and Knuckles asked about your parents, is that true?"
Tails tilted his head in doubt until he seemed to understand what the human meant.
"Ah, my biological parents. Yes, he and Knuckles asked about them."
Tom thought a bit about how to ask exactly what was going through his mind without sounding rude or inconsiderate, but Tails seemed to understand his conflict and continued.
"They were very surprised that my parents abandoned me in an orphanage, but I don't blame them," the little fox shrugged, "their caretakers loved them very much, it must be difficult to imagine that there are other children who are not loved by their parents."
Tom was surprised at how lightly the fox talked about it, without any kind of negative or positive emotion, as if he were talking about something neutral like the weather.
"I-I'm so sorry, Tails," Tom answered, not knowing how to react.
"It doesn't matter, in a certain way I understand my parents, in my village it was very frowned upon to be different from others. They did not want the embarrassment of a child with a deformity."
And at those words, Tom's world seemed to stop, being aware for the first time about how Tails' life must have been before arriving on Earth.
He felt his heart break with sadness.
Without thinking, Tom took the fox in his arms in a strong hug. He understood how Sonic felt last night, how could anyone leave someone like Tails on his own?
He was a lovable boy.
A boy who did not hesitate to risk everything for his friends.
"You are a source of pride, Tails, for us and for any rational person," Tom spoke without breaking the hug. "Your tails make you special and unique, and if someone sees that as something bad, it's their problem. We love you so much, Tails, you are perfect being yourself."
The fox widened his eyes in surprise, shocked by the human's sudden comment.
"T-thank you, Tom," Tails said with a blush on his cheeks, he still couldn't believe that for the simple whim of helping his hero he received a loving family in return.
They spent a few seconds in that position until they separated.
"You know?" commented the fox suddenly "Sonic told me exactly the same thing yesterday. That and that now we are brothers, and that last thing he said in a very intense way."
And with that, Tom couldn't help but laugh at Blue's witticisms.
He really loved all his children.