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Tails had been idly tinkering in his workshop for hours. Sonic had been dashing in and out to pester him, to coax him to take a break or at least have some water to drink, but Tails’ mind was stuck on his latest project. This was old news; nothing short of the usual day between them. What was new was Knuckles standing in his lab, facing the outdoors, his arms crossed as if he were standing his vigil before the Master Emerald. Tails had kept the garage open to let the fresh air in--otherwise he knew Sonic would go stir crazy and try to physically take him outside--but Knuckles hadn’t really moved from his place at the threshold of the doors. Not that he had minded! Tails found his ability to focus and keep still wildly fascinating. His life on Angel Island shaped him into an admirable person--Tails found himself looking to him as a role model when normally he would have looked at Sonic for such a concept.
Still, Sonic would be coming back soon to pester him to drink water again, so Tails decided to beat him to it. He rolled out from beneath his latest project and tapped over to Knuckles’ side. The only indication that Knuckles knew he was there was the quick glance between them.
“Water break. Want some?” He asked, watching Knuckles’ shoulders sink in consideration.
“Yes. Thank you,” he responds, to the point, and then his shoulders rise back up as he recenters his focus back on his vigil. Tails does not linger for long; pouring two glasses and filling his with the proper balance of ice and water, to keep it cold enough that he was satisfied with continuing to drink from it between breaks. His tails whistled by his ears as he flew back to Knuckles’ side and handed the other glass to him. Knuckles merely nodded at him, but Tails had long since learned that that was how he showed his gratitude without a direct ‘thank you.’
Tails was used to Sonic chatting his ears off, but he didn’t mind the amicable silence between them. Though he often wanted to question Knuckles about the logistics of Angel Island, Knuckles wasn’t quite keen on Tails’ technical jargon. Besides, he had taken a rare day off and allowed the Chaotix to keep watch over the Master Emerald instead, and Tails wasn’t intent on reminding him about something that could stress him out.
Finally, after a long swath of nothing but the wind shifting through the grass, Knuckles speaks up. “It’s going to rain soon.”
Tails rose a brow at that. “How do you know?”
It hadn’t been the first time Knuckles had picked up on something like that. Whether it was a warning for them to keep moving on their journey or a reason for him to return to Angel Island, he had always been right. Usually, there wasn’t time to ask him, so having the chance to now was nothing short of thrilling.
“Hmm,” Knuckles breathes in deeply, “the smell.”
Well that’s helpful. “The smell of what? The rain?” He pushes further, breathing in just as he had, trying to parse what Knuckles had picked up. He could smell petrichor after rainfall, but to catch it beforehand? He hadn’t been able to do that.
“The trees, the soil. The plants, really.” Knuckles shrugs, glancing at him when Tails takes another deep breath. Still, he couldn’t discern what was different than before--though he doubted the smell of oil, steel, and gasoline near his face didn’t quite help.
“It won’t be a thunderstorm, right?” He asks instead, not quite satisfied.
“No,” Knuckles responds easily, “those are heavier. They’ve got a stronger scent.”
Tails lets himself sag in relief. “Then I guess I should finish up and close the garage doors.”
Knuckles only grunts in response, but Tails is already retreating back inside to hurry up and tie up loose ends. He supposes the rest could wait until after the rain is done, though his hands itch to keep working. But, that was what the Miles Electric was for. He had plenty of translation work to do and plenty of new builds to blueprint, not to mention finding a use for the heaps of badnik scrap Sonic had collected for him… he could be busy all night if it weren’t for Sonic’s weird sixth sense of when he wasn’t asleep.
Eventually, his ears pick up the pattering of rain against the roof of his workshop, and he wheels himself out again and glances out at Knuckles, who is standing out in the rain now. He doesn’t even flinch as the rainfall hits his quills or his face, and even with the sound of his tails being muted by the rain he still looks back at him when he flies over.
“I’m going to close the doors--come inside.” He grabs one of his friend’s arms and pulls as much as he can, but in the end he only makes any progress when Knuckles actually moves with him. The moment Knuckles has enough distance from the garage doors Tails pushes a button to have them close. He flies into the house and Knuckles trails after him, stopping only when Tails hands him a beige towel. With a nod, he pats down his arms and quills, though he does not look uncomfortable.
“You were right once again,” Tails remarks, taking up the Miles Electric, “Maybe I should listen to you instead of the weatherman! Mind if I come up to Angel Island to get the weather report?”
“I do mind,” Knuckles huffs at him, and Tails only momentarily pouts at him, “Isn’t Sonic still out on a run?”
Tails opens his mouth, realizing with a spark that Sonic had, in fact, not returned yet from his run. No matter what, he would have checked in on him and made him take a break. The fact that he hadn’t… meant he was out in the rain with the garage doors to the lab closed. Which meant Sonic was going to come home soaked to the bone and complaining about it.
And as if speaking his name had summoned him, his ears picked up the blast of his brother’s sprinting before the door was nearly thrown open, Sonic dashing inside and pushing the door closed.
“Rain,” Sonic bemoaned his plight, “the garage was closed. I was stranded! I can’t believe my best buddy would do this to me!”
Tails hissed when his brother started to dramatically drag his feet towards the couch, where he was currently seated. “Don’t you dare get me wet!”
“Tails,” Sonic dragged his name out, “You did this to--mmph!”
Tails jumped when a beige towel went sailing across the room, smacking Sonic directly in the face and making his brother scramble to get it off. He glanced towards Knuckles, wide-eyed, only to catch a smug looking smirk on his face, and his ears picked up low chuckling. He hardly moves when the towel comes sailing back toward him, snatching it from the air with ease.
“You’re gonna regret that, knuckle-head!” Sonic yells, leaping over the couch and scattering raindrops absolutely everywhere.
Tails sighs deeply when the two start their roughhousing in the middle of the living room.
So much for staying out of the rain.