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Tails tried to open his eyes. They seemed to be getting heavier and heavier with each day. There was an irritability that shadowed over his mood that seemed to be getting worse as well.
He ignored Sonic's excited talking in favor of pushing himself up and rubbing at his face. Tails wasn't sure what was wrong but he couldn't take it out on the others. He was a guest here and he didn't want to make anyone mad.
He tried to blink away the blurriness and sighed when it didn't go away. He saw a blue shape and knew it was Sonic, "Huh?"
"Are you excited for today?"
Tails just stared. He didn't remember much since he'd been feeling this way for a couple days now. The fox had been drifting through the hours until he could go to sleep again.
It didn't necessarily feel like any sickness he'd had before. But the lack of sight was slightly worrying. He couldn't really look it up since he knew he couldn't read at the moment.
"Mom and Dad are taking us to the park today!"
Tails blinked again before nodding, "Right. Yeah, I'm excited."
Sonic didn't say anything before zipping out of the room. He figured Tails was probably still waking up.
Knuckles watched the younger for a few moments before rising from his bed, "Are you up to going to the park today?" He asked quietly.
Tails rubbed at his eyes again and nodded, "I'll be okay." He said back at the same volume. As terrible as he felt, Tails didn't want to ruin the day. He knew Sonic and Knuckles were looking forward to it.
The echidna watched Tails slowly get out of his bed and make his way to the ladder. Knuckles frowned but didn't say anything.
His vision didn't improve but he didn't want to say anything either. Tails sat at the table with a bowl of something in front of him. Knowing it was the same cereal they'd had the day before helped a bit, since it was a brown-ish color. A larger bowl of fruit sat in the middle of the table. Knuckles typically ate most of it but Tom and Maddie always wanted Sonic and Tails to eat some as well.
Tails took what looked like an apple and bit into it. He could only barely hear what Sonic was saying since he seemed to be talking fast. He was excited.
"How about you Tails?"
He blinked and looked up at the blurry form of Tom, "What?"
There was a small laugh, "What are you most excited for at the park?"
Tails looked back at his half eaten apple, "Oh, I guess anything? I never really played in one." He missed the looks Maddie and Tom gave each other. As well as the glance Knuckles gave him.
Sonic just patted his shoulder, "I'll show you the swings, the slide, the jungle gym, oh! And we can go on the glider too! I know you probably won't find it as fun since you can fly and all but you can still try it!"
Tails tried to smile through his wince. A small headache started forming behind his right eye, "Yeah, that sounds like fun."
Sonic whooped and almost fell backwards out of his chair, effectively distracting both Maddie and Tom from the seemingly exhausted fox.
Knuckles kept watching. After learning the kit hid his injuries he wanted to make sure Tails was actually okay. But he wouldn't ask. He knew the fox would either lie or genuinely feel like whatever he was going through wasn't too bad. He continued to eat his fruit quietly.
His headache just got worse at the park. He tried to play with Sonic and Knuckles but the more effort he put in, the more tired he got. Tails just didn’t feel good. And his blurry vision wasn’t helping his headache either. After a while, he went back to Maddie and Tom and sat on the blanket they were spread out on.
“Hungry already?”
Tails' stomach did grumble but he wasn’t sure if it was hunger. He sat and nodded, easily accepting the excuse.
Maddie put together a little plate and set it in front of him.
Tails looked at the various vegetables and fruits before his eyes zeroed in on the thin pieces of lunch meat. It wasn’t so much as the look since his vision was still fuzzy, but the smell. Something in the back of his mind triggered and he scarfed them down almost immediately. He dimly heard Tom’s amused voice but couldn’t make out the words.
Maddie blinked at the almost feral way Tails ate the food. She looked at his plate and noticed he didn't touch the fruit or vegetables and took out her phone.
Tails came back to himself and felt heat travel up his face when he realized how he must have looked, “Umm, can I have more?” He asked Tom, noticing Maddie was busy.
Tom glanced at the plate and chuckled slightly, “Eat some of your healthy stuff first. Those are good for you.”
Tails swallowed and looked at the green blobs. His stomach did a little flip but this time he knew it wasn’t out of hunger. The ‘healthy’ things didn’t look appetizing at all, they made him queasy just thinking about eating them.
Maddie sat up from her lounging position but kept scrolling. Her face shifted from curiosity to troubled, “Hey Tails?”
The fox was still staring at the plate, “Hmm?”
“What kind of things did you eat before you came here?”
Tails rubbed at his eyes before looking at her, “Whatever I could find.”
Maddie put down her phone and actually looked at the fox. She took in his drooping ears and tails. She remembered the tails typically swished lively and always moved but recently had been dragging limply on the floor behind him as he walked around. Maddie reached forward and looked into his eyes.
Tails just blinked and waited for a bit, looking at what he hoped as her eyes, “Is something wrong Mrs. Wachowski?”
“Oh, hun.” She let go of his face and reached back into the lunch bag, ignoring Tom’s confused noise. Maddie pulled out some more of the meat slices and cleared away most of the fruit and vegetables on his plate.
Both her and Tom noticed the fox’s nose immediately flaring at the scent and his eyes darting down to look at the plate, “I thought I had to eat the other stuff?” He asked quietly, still staring at the meat.
Maddie just pet his forehead, “You don’t have to.” She gave her phone to Tom who was about to question her as well. She felt guilty that she hadn’t figured out the diet differences Tails would have compared to Knuckles and Sonic. But she started to look at the trio as her kids and forgot they might have different needs than human children.
When he was done reading, Tom let his hand drift to hers and squeezed it gently. He felt the guilt as well.
Tails scarfed down the extra meat before yawning.
“Why don’t you get some rest Tails? We’ll wake you when we’re getting ready to go.” Maddie said gently.
Tails glanced over to where he could see two colorful blobs on the playground, “But what about Sonic and Knuckles?”
Tom chuckled, “They’re busy playing king of the tower. We all know you’d win.”
Tails giggled tiredly before laying down, “I could just fly out of their reach.”
“Exactly.”
Tails’ was a bit out of it for the rest of the day. Maddie and Tom made him something a bit different for dinner from Sonic and Knuckles which was slightly confusing but neither of the other boys said anything about it. And when everyone was finished, Tails stayed behind and played with his fork.
Tom glanced between him and Maddie for a few seconds, “You finished with that?”
Tails stared at the plate before nodding and gently pushing it closer to the man, “Can I ask a question?”
Maddie looked up from where she was putting the leftovers away, “Of course.”
Now without anything to fiddle with, Tails placed his hands in his lap, “Why was my dinner different?”
Tom brought the rest of the dishes to the sink and began to wash them, “Because it’s what you need, Tails.”
The fox squinted at the table, still avoiding eye contact, “What does that mean?”
Maddie went forward and sat next to him, “You’re a fox.”
Tails looked up at her, “Yeah?”
“You need different stuff to eat than an echidna or hedgehog.” Maddie shrugged, “You’re ‘healthy’ is different from their ‘healthy’.”
Tails looked back at the table, “Oh.”
Tom glanced at Tails worriedly. The tone was definitely not what he was expecting, “What’s wrong bud?”
Tails started to tap his fingers together rhythmically, “I’m sorry.”
The shocked silence fell over the kitchen before Maddie broke it quietly, “What are you sorry for?” She had a feeling the fox didn’t want anyone else to overhear.
Tails hunched slightly, “I’m sorry I’m different.”
“Oh no honey.” Maddie immediately pulled him into her lap. She didn’t realize how stiff he held himself at the sudden affection, “It’s nothing to be sorry about. We all have differences. And it’s those differences that make us all unique and special.”
Tails stared wide eyed at the wall. He felt himself being rocked slightly and blinked when he saw Tom kneel down so they could see each other. Blue eyes stared for a few moments before he spoke.
“Don’t apologize for who you are, Tails.”
Tails looked away and to the floor. He didn’t say anything. But he didn’t try to move away or break the hold Maddie had on him.
It was nice.