Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Even for the speediest, easiest-to-entertain hedgehog in the world, house-sitting can get boring, Sonic bemoans one rain-soaked afternoon from where he lays sprawled out on the sofa in Tails’ house.

Going on a run is out of the question with the droplets pelting against the windows and the wind rattling the roofing, that’s for sure. So is reading; he’d made sure to stock up on some classics and new books alike when his partner requested his aid in keeping an eye on the workshop, but he’s flown through the whole stack thrice already this afternoon alone. Nor does he particularly feel like meal prepping or collecting the limited amounts of trash around, he’s dusted the hallway and the workshop and the ceilings already too in a bid to give himself anything to do, and even his own bedroom has been made immaculate in a way it has only been when Tails first moved into this building...

Not that any of that cleaning is necessary, since Tails won’t be back for a while still.

Stifling a deep sigh Sonic raises to his feet, so deeply sunken in though he doesn’t even notice they have carried him over to the workshop until he flicks on the light switch and the half-repurposed hangar gets flooded in an sea of brightness. The hedgehog’s steps echo almost oddly on the flooring as he makes his way further inside, past the spot where the Tornado usually stands. Just like the house attached to it, not a single thing is dirty in the workshop; the work benches almost sparkle in their cleanliness, no droplets of oil or wayward screws on the floor underneath, no blueprints with midnight scribbles or wrappers of mint candy sprawled around. The entire building is wholly, fully empty. Cared for, looked after, but empty.

On days like these, he does miss Tails.

“Don’t be dour,” Sonic speaks aloud, a half-smile forming on his face as he turns around to gaze at the empty spot where his avian pride and joy has not stood for a few weeks now. It’s out with his other pride and joy, both travelling across the whole globe. “You know you can trust your partner. He’s having great adventures, hopefully in weather better than this, and he’ll tell you all about the cool things he’s seen.”

Speaking of which...

One ear angled firmly to the door he’d entered through Sonic realigns some of the tools Tails has left behind, not daring to whistle or make too much noise. He doesn’t want to miss-

A ping! resounds from the living room, and not even a fraction of a heartbeat later the speedster has already flung himself back to the couch and onto his personal Miles Electric.

<Good morning!> Tails’ text reads, a picture attached of a beautiful sunrise colouring an ocean orange. Stifling a laugh as he spares the world outside the workshop a glance – the rain has hardly cleared – Sonic lets his fingers dart over the touch screen. The fastest thing alive can both read and type at super-sonic speeds, after all.

<Afternoon, partner! The weather’s better than here> he enters his response into the messaging app, not needing to wait long for Tails’ reply.

<Yikes, sorry. No running for you?>

Stretching out his legs Sonic smirks. He’s sworn to himself he would not be an overbearing big brother asking his fledgling partner solo-adventuring across the world for updates all the time or making him call every hour to show he’s hale and whole, but he does want to talk to Tails in person on this boring afternoon, and if he knows one way to do so... <Only inside your place ;) > he types back, and not even two seconds later the Miles Electric informs him Tails has begun a videocall.

“Hey there, partner,” the speedster smirks as he accepts the invitation, Tails’ face one of great displeasure both know is fake. “How are things going under the sunlight?”

“Sonic, what is the status of my workshop,” Tails huffs back, pouting with his arms crossed.

“Just teasing. It’s all clean and in place, I swear.” Moving the Miles Electric to one hand Sonic solemnly crosses his heart with the other, not entertaining the thought his rapid departure from the workshop might have thrown some things in disarray. Oh well, he’s got plenty of time to clean it up still, if the weather remains this dreary.

The Miles Electric does not fully capture the severity of Tails’ unamused leer, but it’s close enough to the one in his memories for Sonic to chuckle at it all the same. “Okay, maybe only like ninety percent or so. But how are you doing? Where you at right now?” the speedster changes the topic, flopping onto the couch pillows in full. Last thing he heard from Tails, the fox kit had made his way off the continent and onto the string of islands littering the sea; easily traversable with the Tornado for those unable to run over water. And if the picture of the ocean is any indication, his partner must have landed on one such tiny landmass-

“I, ah... West Side Island, actually. That might be a bit of a surprise,” the almost-shy reply comes, Tails’ fingers finding the tip of one fluffy tail to fiddle with and eyes quickly averting himself. And yes, Sonic is caught by surprise, he cannot deny it. The island where he and Tails met must hold many memories for the latter... and not many of them good ones, the speedster knows that for sure.

“West Side Island?” he parrots. “Why there?”

“Well, it just... seemed poignant? Important? Like it would be meaningful, in some way?” Nervously Tails fidgets, blue eyes not meeting curious green. Meaningful, huh...

A smile forming on his face Sonic nods. It’s Tails’ adventure, and his partner knows best where he wants to go; Sonic has never spared West Side Island many thoughts since leaving, but for his partner that definitely can be different. “If it feels right or meaningful to you, it is, bud,” he wastes no time in assuring the other, merely giving Tails a wink at the muted relief flooding over the latter’s face. “How do you like it there so far?”

Tail slowly getting freed from fiddling fingers the fox kit clears his throat, giving his pelt a minute shake before his usual calmer look returns to his face. “Not much has changed, really. Though, I only arrived late at night yesterday-”

“Staying up past your bedtime?” Sonic interrupts teasingly, Tails’ namesakes fluffing up in the way the hedgehog knows his partner is mock-annoyed.

“Sonic!”

“I know, I know. Do continue,” the speedster chuckles, his partner’s eyeroll grand and exaggerated.

“Which means I haven’t had a lot of time yet to look around. I set up camp in a place I recognised and went to bed, basically.”

With a flick of his ears Sonic ponders that all over. West Side Island itself had not seemed that dangerous, Eggman’s presence had definitely made that worse, but still... “No sign of any robots?” he adds, just to be sure.

“No, nothing. It’s all peaceful and quiet here.”

“You got enough supplies on you still?”

“I got some extras at the last island I went to when I realised I wanted to come here next. Just in case- you know.”

“Are you going to your old workshops, then, or the village?”

Face falling back into its worried look Tails swallows, muted yet clearly audible on the Miles Electric still. “...I’m not sure if I want that. The village,” the fox kit mumbles, before drawing a deep breath. “But... I’ll see. I’m trying to go into it with an, ah, open mind, so to say. Just try it and see what comes after. I figure even in this backwater area they’ll have heard of you, and- and me, maybe, so that might... change things, compared to how they were before.”

With a little smile of pride blossoming onto his lips Sonic nods. “Well, I’m just backseat gaming from your couch here-”

“The loose quills are going to be so annoying to remove.”

“-but I feel like you have everything under control,” the speedster pointedly finishes his words of encouragement as Tails smirks. And he can’t help it; Sonic quirks his eyebrow while pulling a funky face and Tails blinks before his ears turn back exaggeratedly and both burst into laughter, such familiar laughter, and for a long, tender moment it’s almost like his little bro is right here beside him and not on the other side of the planet. “Going back there is brave, Tails,” Sonic adds in a warm murmur. “Not many people would dare that.”

Tails nods, slowly yet with a smile on his face. “I... I think it will go well, too. I’ve got a good feeling about it.”

“And if it doesn’t, you can always call. I’ve got you on speed dial, you know that,” the hedgehog says just in case, though Tails rolls his eyes exactly in the way Sonic knows he’s maybe being a little bit of an overbearing big brother all the same.

“No matter the time of day, I know, because you told me, because you do so every time we call. And I’m also getting enough sleep and brushing my teeth and eating my vegetables, mom,” the fox kit shoots back, and Sonic can only laugh at the teasing.

“A hedgehog’s gotta keep an eye on things!”

Chuckles flowing out of the audio from the Miles Electric Tails shakes his head, though Sonic knows something else is up by how his partner falls silent and averts his eyes once more. “...Yeah,” the fox kit continues, with a little cough. “But, uh... I still don’t know when I’ll be back, actually. I’m having fun out there, travelling with the Tornado and stuff, seeing the world and new things and just finding myself, but-”

“Tails.” Miles Electric resting in one hand Sonic waves his finger. “Don’t you dare come back before your heart tells you you should.”

Despite his encouragement, the blue eyes that meet his are filled with worry. “But won’t you be lonely?”

And yes, technically Sonic understands why his partner is worried about that; in the situation they are both so used to, it was usually him exploring the world out there, while always having a place to go back to in the form of Tails’ workshop where his little bro used to be tinkering and experimenting and always had time for him. With this role reversal, he can see why Tails is concerned. “Why would I when I’ve got your Miles Electric, Amy’s cookie jar, and the Master Emerald to keep me company?” the speedster cheerily jokes all the same. He’s not lonely at all, far too used to being by himself because he wants to- even if Tails’ narrowing of his eyes is a clear indication the fox kit is not wholly convinced.

“That does not support your case, you know. Makes you sound a tad off your rocker."

“Only a tad?" Grin growing only more Sonic winks at his best friend.

"Fine," Tails deadpans. "A lot, then."

"And that means things are going just fine here. And you know: what you are doing over there, I’m doing here too, bud. Just on a more continental scale, not global,” the speedster assures, just because he knows it is something Tails needs to hear. “And it’s nice, to check up on everyone’s places once in a while and get messages from you guys! I love seeing everything you’re exploring and finding out.” Voice hitching just a bit the hedgehog pulls a face, not sure if he should say what is on his mind; but Tails deserves to know. Knowing you are longed for by someone yet deciding to choose for yourself is also a part of growing and maturing. “I miss you, sure- heck, I miss all of you, but I’ll be fine.”

“...If you say so,” his partner settles on, a smile crossing onto his face. “And I miss you too, Sonic. Calling you like this is nice.”

“And I’ll be around, keeping an eye on things so you can adventure around with a peaceful mind.” Stretching himself out elaborately – he does really need to check up on the workshop again after he and Tails hung up, he owes his partner that much – Sonic hums, eye lazily drifting to the window where the sky outside is still a stormy grey, but- “Oh! Would ya look at that, it’s stopped raining!” the hedgehog notices, jumping right to his feet and onto a beam of sunlight flickering over the wooden floor despite the clouds. Peering past the sofa to study the heavens he hums; he’s been outside enough to give an accurate prediction of the coming weather based on the sky alone. “It’s still quite stormy and windy, but the sun is shining too,” he informs his partner. “I don’t think it’ll rain again.”

“So you can finally go on that run and my workshop will be safe,” Tails adds cheekily.

“Yep. I need to go to Amy’s apartment next, and then in two or three days’ time I’ll go up to Angel Island to check on the Master Emerald. And then the cycle of house-sitting has reached its starting point anew, and I shall find myself back here once more, my favourite of the three,” Sonic dramatically proclaims.

A fond eyeroll is his response, though Tails’ smile has not faded. “Thank you for looking after the place, Sonic. It does give me peace of mind."

“Anytime. Now how about you go chase that beautiful sunrise? I’ll do the same with the sun here as it sets.” And in that way, they are together just a bit more, Sonic does not say. He does not need to, for he knows Tails will understand.

“Noted. Have fun, partner!”

“You too, partner. Go get ‘em!”

“Will do,” Tails agrees, before he waves one final time; and then he is gone, and Sonic finds himself back with the text messages they sent each other prior. But it does not make him sad; resolutely turning the screen off and putting the Miles Electric away in his quills the hedgehog races to the workshop, a quick check confirming the tools are mostly still in place and not yet requiring a boredom-fuelled clean-up, and then he is running outside in the wind above a stormy grey sky that only grows more wondrous with the sunlight that dances through it all the same.

And in a way, he knows that on the other side of the planet, his partner is doing the exact same.

Chapter Text

Amy’s apartment is always more quiet than Sonic expects when he turns the key in the lock and steps inside, despite being located in the middle of Station Square.

Usually, when Amy is home, she calls out to him from the kitchen where she is baking or her bedroom where she is cleaning. But now all is silent except for the distant noises of traffic; the scent of freshly-made cake does not waft through the hallway as Sonic closes the door again, nor is he tackled in a hug and asked his opinion on dresses and skirts or what covers Amy should put on her bed this time.

But just like in Tails’ workshop, Sonic pushes a smile onto his face. The younger pink hedgehog is also travelling the world and having fun doing so, content in the knowledge her apartment is cared for.

“Lookin’ sharp,” Sonic compliments one of the plants he passes, throwing his Miles Electric onto the coffee table and bouncing over to the dinner table where Amy has left a washlist of instructions for the speedster to follow. He doesn’t need it anymore, he’s read through it often enough to remember each step by heart, but he picks it up all the same. Watering the plants should come first, followed by dusting if necessary, going past all the windows and locks to see if they are still sturdy and not damaged, and finally checking the pantry for any dirtiness or bugs... but Sonic does that last one first as he pads over to the kitchen and lays a mischievous gaze onto Amy’s ceramic cookie jar.

A chocolate chip cookie plucked from its depths Sonic chuckles, Amy’s voice clear in his mind as she scolds him. “I’ll refill them before you get back, Ames,” he states out loud, deftly opening the various cabinets to see if something is out of place. The fridge does not escape his scrutiny either, even if Amy turned it off before leaving to save on electricity, and Sonic whistles a little tune between it all. Swiftly the minute specks of dust that have gathered since his last visit are scooped away, followed by a mad dash through the bedroom and bathroom and guest room to check everything there too, and the plants are spared no trouble in the care he lavishes on them. “Are you getting enough sunlight?” he chats to the latter, and “Your soil is a bit dry, I’ll write that down in Amy’s watering schedule,” but...

It is just not enough to replicate the warmth always present when Amy is home.

The silence around him is too similar to Tails’ empty workshop, and no level of whistling and gossip to the plants is enough to fill it in a way familiar to him.

“Oh boy,” Sonic eventually sighs, the list with tasks fully exhausted in mere minutes- a perk that comes with being the fastest thing alive, though if he is actively trying to fill time it is more of a hindrance. With a grunt the speedster flops onto the couch, careful to not have his quills snag into them; Amy can’t return to that. Quietly he studies the ceiling next, the only noises his own breaths and the ticking of the clock on the wall above the honking and rushing of cars and the ringing of bicycle bells.

Just like Tails, on days like these he misses Amy, too.

Shooting a pensive glance to the Miles Electric the hedgehog flicks his ears. He had agreed with Amy she’d message him during the days he’d go over to her house, so surely any moment now...

And indeed, in the fraction of a second that a bzzz! begins to flow out from the device’s speakers Sonic has already snatched it. “Huh. A call already?” the speedster murmurs to himself; usually he and Amy begin with texting too, not videocalling, and thus he curiously presses the green button to accept it.

“Sonic!” Amy beams, a vibrant forest behind her. “Hello!”

“Hey Ames,” Sonic greets her back, leaning into the couch cushions and waving. “Well well, that’s quite the lovely scenery you got there!”

With a soft laugh the pink hedgehog turns the camera around, and Sonic whistles at the grand canopy stretching out far beyond what the screen can show him. “I’m in Frog Forest,” Amy tells him, turning the view back to her again. “This place is still so vibrant since the last time we came here!”

“Frog Forest? That’s quite a distance away,” Sonic muses at that. Not as far as Tails and West Side Island, but still... Definitely not Mystic Ruins-to-Station Square distances, either. But just like Tails, Amy is out there on an adventure to explore the world and spread her love and fondness to all, and thus Sonic can only shoot a warm smile her way. “What brought you there?” he continues.

“Frogs need love too!” Puffing out her cheeks Amy pouts, flopping herself against a tree trunk.

Shaking his head fondly Sonic shoots her a wink. “Never heard me say they did not.”

“You were thinking it,” he is playfully accused, though Amy’s narrowed eyes even out moments after... and one of her hands begins to play with a long quill, almost antsy. “But... Ah, how are things going in Station Square?” the pink hedgehog inquires, and Sonic raises one ear. Usually they discuss that over text, before she calls him to extensively inform him about her most recent love-spreading exploits; so clearly she’s got something on her mind.

With a shrug Sonic smooths out some of the pillows on the couch, until they are as immaculately unwrinkly as Amy prefers. Even if she cannot see them from the screen, knowing she likes them that way is enough for Sonic to keep an eye on it all the same. “Just fine, really. Your place is still in one piece. Couldn’t discover anything that was amiss.”

A smile flutters onto Amy’s face. “That’s lovely! Thank you so much for looking after it so well, Sonic.”

“Anytime,” Sonic smiles back, though he does raise an eyebrow next. This whole answer is not something that differs from anything else he’s texted her about her apartment, nor is there any reason he can think of for Amy to believe there is something wrong... “Alright, out with it,” the speedster adds. “You’re not calling me for this alone.”

The pink hedgehog on his screen stiffens in a way that makes Sonic worry the connection hit a lag, though the way Amy’s eyes flick down and the sigh that flows from the speakers tell him they’re still live. “Not really... You’re right. I just... wanted to hear your voice, basically,” his dear friend murmurs back, Sonic raising his ears to make out her words over the noises of the forest. “It’s been great, travelling around, talking to people and helping them! Just- just getting to know myself more, but...” A softer sigh follows. “I missed you – I miss you – and I figured, why not call?”

Humming in concern Sonic clutches his own Miles Electric more firmly. “You know you can call me anytime-”

“Yes, no matter the time or the day, I know. You’ve been clear about that,” Amy remarks, lips twitching up in a way Sonic cannot exactly place. It reminds him of Tails’ eyeroll, strangely enough, even if Amy doesn’t tease him about eating her vegetables and brushing her teeth. But still, she hums more softly, leaning towards the screen as well and fingers tracing over it. “And I decided to take you up on it, just to talk to you.”

Own smile forming on his muzzle the speedster chuckles. “I can tell you very interesting stories about your plants. The fern and the snake tongue got into an argument so I had to put them in different corners of the windowsill, and your spider ivy is worried about its child-rearing capacities.”

“Oh, you,” Amy scolds, though slowly but surely that familiar sparkle flows back into her eyes once more. “And how are my cookies doing?”

“I wouldn’t be able to tell you for certain, but I am sure they still taste great,” Sonic grins at the screen, with a quick wipe of his thumb over his face and with Amy’s arms crossing themselves not matching the way her face twists and twitches as she pushes a feeble unamused look on it.

“Tsk. I better come back to a full jar!”

Winking back Sonic nods like innocence itself. “Consider it my welcoming gift to you. Though, only if you get me a souvenir.”

Amy laughs, the sound flowing perfectly with the rustles and chirps of the forest around her. “They do have lovely things in the villages around here... I’m seeing so many great things, Sonic.” Gaze growing more dreamy and distant the pink hedgehog sighs once more; but this is a content sigh, Sonic knows. A sigh that she’s seen something amazing, something that fits all that love she has for the world and the world has for her, something that makes her head lean against the tree behind her in tender peace as she stares out over the lush greenery around her. “I’m helping out wherever I can; there was a lost Chao that I could reunite with its pack, and I went to a school nearby to help the children make paper flowers for their parents, and everybody is so welcoming and kind... It makes me think about how much you do for them, and how I can do the same in this way.”

“That sounds like you’re having a great time. And I’m sure everyone is very grateful for everything you are helping them with,” Sonic responds, and he means it. Amy is handling herself just fine, it seems; he can only be happy for his dear friend and how her newfound wish is forming beautifully all around her.

Amy nods back, though Sonic does not miss how she bites her lip all the same. “I hope so, though... Actually, there was another reason I called.”

Back leaning against the couch some more the speedster studies her. “Which is?”

“I, ah, just wanted to... check up on you. If you aren’t very alone, without us around?”

“Of course not,” slips past Sonic’s lips with practiced ease. “Cream keeps inviting me for tea parties, I’m keeping myself busy with house-sitting for you and Tails and Knuckles, I’m exploring all over the continent. I’m fine.”

Amy’s mouth opens, the ticking of the clock on the wall becoming an uncomfortable presence in Sonic’s ears as a silence stretches out. “Because I’ve been... thinking, so to say,” eventually follows, almost timidly, and followed by a sinking feeling in Sonic’s stomach. “I’m... really having a good time just travelling and adventuring... so-”

“Amy, if your heart tells you to stay away for longer, then do it,” the speedster interrupts, though Amy’s face falls all the same.

“But I’m worried about you-!”

“How come? It’s no issue for me to spend time on my own.” And that is not a lie, Sonic knows Amy knows. He is used to being by himself, following wherever his own heart makes him go; of course his friends are allowed to do the same, while he handles everything there is to handle back home in their absence.

“So you said...” Fingers drifting over the leaves on the ground Amy hums still. “But this is not really the usual situation. And I want to share my love with the world, but you belong to that to!”

Fondly shaking his head at her exclamation Sonic smiles at her, and it’s almost as if she is sitting right beside him instead of in a machine. “Ames, I’ll be here when you get back,” the speedster assures her. “But if you come back right now, who knows what wondrous experience you might miss out on? I don’t want that to happen, and certainly not because of me.”

“Yes, but-”

“I miss all the cakes you bake for everyone, but I can live without those for a while longer. Good for the waistline,” Sonic downplays with a joke, though at Amy’s raising eyebrow he hums more quietly. “And I’ll look after everybody’s places as long as you need me to. Tails is staying away for longer as well.” Which is perhaps not the best thing to say, if Amy is so worried about him being lonely... but Sonic pulls himself together inwardly and beams at her with dazzling assurance. Amy knows him well enough to be able to tell if he’s not being entirely honest, just as he can with her, and what he said to Tails goes for this conversation also. “I miss you, and Tails and Knuckles too, but I’ll be fine. What I want most is that you can make your dreams come true, Amy. So don't you dare come back only because you're worried about me. I can handle myself, and I want you to follow what your heart desires. If that is to travel around for longer, then do it."

“...Hehe. I see.”

Her own lips flowing into a smile, a true smile of happiness, Amy nods. “Then I’ll make my dream come true for you, Sonic. As thanks for everything you’re doing for me.”

“That seems like a fair trade to me,” Sonic responds, own fingers carefully pressing onto that smile with a sense of whimsy. Having Amy be so happy with her choice is all he needs... though, before he can so much as finish his sentence, silent croaks and whistles begin flowing from the speakers of his Miles Electric.

“Oh, dear. What’s wrong, little ones?” Amy coos as a handful of frogs jump into view, their noises rapidly becoming a cacophony of crackles around Sonic. “...What’s that? Sonic, they need help!”

A tender hand reaches down to grasp at one of the frogs, Sonic chuckling amusedly at Amy’s shining jade eyes. “Then don’t let me hold you any longer,” he assures her. “Go get them, Ames!”

“Of course. Thank you for talking to me. I’ll text you with an update!” he is promised, Amy hurriedly jumping to her feet and Sonic giving her his trademark thumbs-up.

“Take care out there. And tell the frogs I said hi!”

“You too, and will do! I’ll talk to you soon!”

...And the call gets terminated, the feed of Amy’s smile sent his way freezing a moment before booting back to their messages.

The deafening silence from the Miles Electric leaves Sonic with mixed feelings.

“She’s having a great time,” he tries to bolster himself; it’s just like Amy to worry so much about him, and whether or not he is doing okay with this arrangement. Which he is, because he loves his friends and does not want to be the one stifling factor in their adventures... but the second cookie he snatches from the jar on a quick final trip to the kitchen does not taste the same as the first. Tails had also asked if he wasn’t becoming lonely and he had joked it away as well, but it is as if Amy’s worrying about him has stirred something inside him, something he does not want to think about or even consider...

Namely, that even if he is happy for them, things still are quiet here in a way Sonic did not know was possible despite his own frequent travels and lack of contact with his friends during that time. And why, he has no idea; but maybe because it is them being out there now while he waits for them at home, hoping for them to be happy and safe and knowing he cannot control when they will come back, content to care for their places and keep an eye on things here while they are exploring by themselves...

Yet still missing them, and not wanting to miss them because he wants to be happy they are doing what their hearts desires, but still being unable to help it.

The echo of Amy’s door as he shuts it when leaving only solidifies that feeling.

And thus Sonic does what he does best: he runs, past cars and buildings and fields of grass until the former two are gone and the latter one has been overtaken by sprawling bushes and massive trees, until every worry and doubt has been blown right out of his head by the wind and only the happiness of knowing his friends are following their dreams remains.

It is what he has to live with until they get back, and for them, there is nothing else he would rather do.