Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

For as long as Tails could remember, it was the two of them against the world. Sonic and Tails, best friends and brothers by bond, if not by blood. There'd never been any doubt in his mind that they were on the same page. Nothing was ever going to come between them. It was a fact, and Tails had more than enough data to back it up.

What he didn't consider, however, were the conditions they lived in when he'd drawn that first conclusion. When it was just the two of them living on their own, constantly on the move. Of course they were each other's best friends. They were all they had in the world aside from a few meager camping supplies and Sonic's plane.

But that wasn't the case anymore. Stuck in one place, they had more opportunities to spend time with their friends and to make new ones. More than Tails could ever remember having at one time. Turns out learning to adapt to change is a guaranteed constant in life.

Tails wished he'd been given the memo sooner; then maybe he'd have had more time to prepare.

They didn't go to the movies often—Sonic didn't like sitting still for so long and the reverberating sound effects could occasionally hurt Tails's ears—but sometimes, as a treat, they'd try. When they were somewhere hot and wanted a dark and cool place to hang out or when it was thunderstorming and the noise of the theater came in handy at blocking out the sound. Sometimes it was with legally obtained tickets in hand—and sometimes it was after Tails unscrewed the air vent covers out in the back. As long as there was a movie playing that they both wanted to see, they'd find a way inside. 

To be fair, if it was something Sonic wanted to see, then Tails wanted to see it, too. At least in those early days. Once they settled down in the Mystic Ruins, they stopped going as much. They had a shelter always at their disposal for hot days and stormy weather. So when Amy invited them to catch a movie with her and Cream in Station Square, they were both open to the idea since it had been a while. 

In a sub-tropical, beachside city like Station Square, late summer carried a risk of temperate, rainy days. It happened to be one such wet afternoon that Sonic and Tails ventured into the city proper. Sonic was sulking as he huddled beneath the umbrella Tails had suggested they bring when the weather forecast predicted scattered showers throughout the afternoon. He was glad he'd insisted on it even though it hadn't been raining in the Mystic Ruins when they left a few minutes earlier, but the closer they got to sea level, the dampness in the air rapidly increased until a downpour opened up on top of them.

"I told you we should've taken the train," Tails said as he held the umbrella over both of them, hovering just next to Sonic's shoulder.

"Woulda, shoulda, coulda," Sonic huffed, arms crossed. "Nothing we can do about it now, keed."

"No, but you can keep it in mind the next time I tell you it's gonna rain and you say, 'a little bit of rain never hurt anyone' and then you get annoyed when it starts raining," he pointed out.

Sonic flicked a bit of rain off his quills in Tails's direction on purpose. "That sounds like a problem for future me."

"Yeah, and future me," Tails added, tipping the umbrella just enough so a small trickle of rainwater dripped onto Sonic's head.

He giggled when the hedgehog gasped and overexaggerated a quick sidestep so he was back under the umbrella, only for Tails to move it again and make Sonic slide back the other way.

Their game was interrupted when they heard a familiar voice call out to them. Holding a bright pink umbrella aloft and sporting a red rain slicker, Amy Rose splashed through several puddles, hurrying over with Cream in tow. The little rabbit was in a yellow raincoat of her own, hood up to protect her ears from getting wet even as Amy shared her umbrella with her. The fact that Amy had to keep a hold of Cream's hand might've been the only reason she didn't fling herself directly at Sonic, rain be darned.

"Hi Sonic!" she greeted excitedly, then flicked her gaze up to Tails as well. "Hi Tails! You made it!"

"We said we'd be here, didn't we?" Sonic rubbed at his nose, then frowned when Tails moved the umbrella again. "Alright, that's enough—"

Amy sidled up close. "Don't worry, Sonic! I'll share my umbrella with you."

"What's the point? We're going inside anyway. We were just waiting on you," Sonic said, then sped away from them, Tails just quick enough to hold up his umbrella to block the three of them from the mini tidal wave Sonic left in his wake.

Amy huffed and rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Tails."

"Don't mention it." Tails landed back on the ground.

The three of them followed Sonic into the movie theater's lobby, tucking away their umbrellas while Sonic tapped his foot. Still feeling a bit mischievous, Tails scampered over to him and pretended like he was about to shake out his wet fur on him. Sonic immediately shoved him away and bolted to the other side of the lobby. Though he did zoom back to help Cream with her raincoat when he saw her struggling a bit. 

"Thanks, Mr. Sonic," she said shyly while he folded the little yellow slicker over his arm. 

"No problem, Cream." He gave her a wink and flashed a thumbs up, grinning when it got her to giggle.

They got in line to buy their tickets for the next showing of "The Chao Adventure." Neither Tails nor Sonic knew anything about it—they never really planned for movies, just stumbled upon them and checked them out if the movie poster looked any good. But Cream had been excitedly counting down the days to see this movie, according to Amy at least. The little rabbit herself just stood patiently in the line, hands folded politely in front of her pinafore dress, and didn't look at all in a way Sonic or Tails thought was particularly excited. But there was a bright shimmer in her big brown eyes as she stared at the movie's poster framed on the wall, nose twitching with anticipation. Ever so slightly, she bounced up on the balls of her feet and tightened her hold on Amy's hand.

Amy beamed down at her and squeezed back, then addressed the two boys. "She really likes chao," she giggled.

"They can be pretty cute," Sonic replied, scratching at his nose as the girls were called up to buy their tickets.

"We should all go to one of the Chao Gardens in the city sometime!" Amy suggested, putting away her Hello Doggy coin purse once she had hers and Cream's tickets in hand. "Vanilla works at one, so it wouldn't be hard to get in. And it's really fun to play with all the chao! They're so cute and squishy!"

"Don't usually see too many chao outside of Angel Island," Sonic hummed, taking out his own wallet when he was up next to buy his and Tails's tickets. "Could be cool to check out, I guess."

"Then it's a date!" Amy giggled with a little skip, swinging the hand that held Cream's as she led her out of the line.

Sonic rolled his eyes with a sigh, then handed Tails his ticket and a few mobiums as they followed her. "I'll grab our seats. Gotta be fast if we want good ones! Wanna get the popcorn, squirt?"

"Sure! Amy, Cream, you want anything from the snack bar?" Tails asked as he took the money.

"Popcorn sounds good! Oh, and some fruit gummies for Cream," Amy added, smiling down at the little rabbit before she even asked. "Will you need any help?"

"Nope! I've got it," he said, puffing out his chest with determination.

"Okay, if you're sure. I'm gonna take Cream to the restroom to freshen up, then we'll catch up with Sonic to save seats. Oh, Sonic! Take my coat, too, to put on the seats!" Amy waved him back over before he could dash away.

"What good's your coat gonna do?" he asked, but came back for it anyway. 

"It lets people know the seat's taken, so they don't try to swipe them from you!" She clenched her fists, brow furrowed. "It's an important part of movie theater etiquette!"

"Huh." Sonic draped Amy's coat over Cream's on his arm. "You don't say."

Tails didn't know that either, but he supposed he and Sonic had never had to save more than one seat before. And they didn't usually wear clothes unless it was really cold out, so they'd have nothing to place on the seat anyway.

The line for the snacks ended up pretty long, so it was definitely the right call for Sonic to go on ahead. Tails could practically hear his sneaker tapping against the floor next to him. Not that he wouldn't be waiting just as impatiently in the actual theater. When it was just the two of them, they usually popped in after the movie started, missing most of the previews so they could jump straight into the action. They never got to the movies this early, but Amy insisted that finding four good seats together would be a lot harder than just two. Tails supposed she made a good point. Usually Sonic and Tails just slipped into whichever row was easiest.

Balancing two small containers of popcorn, a package of gummy candies, and a package of chocolate mints in his arms, Tails headed into the theater with about three minutes to spare. The lights were still on and the room was buzzing with various conversations between families and friends. Another perk to arriving seconds before the movie started—everyone was already quiet.

Tails awkwardly scanned the rows of seats for a familiar face.

"Tails! Over here!" Amy called out, waving him over.

He perked up as soon as he spotted her and headed over to their row. Only to still as he realized what the seating arrangement was. Sonic sat sandwiched between the two girls; Amy on his right and Cream on his left. Tails had expected Amy would want to sit next to Sonic, that was kind of a given, but he'd thought Cream would've wanted to sit on Amy's other side.

Where was he supposed to sit?

It was an embarrassing thought that he immediately kicked away like he would a pesky motobug. Obviously he was meant to sit either next to Amy or Cream. It just wasn't what he'd expected.

And Amy seemed to pick up on that. "Cream was worried there might be some scary parts in the movie, so she asked if she could sit next to Sonic. Is that okay with you?"

Tails stiffened. "Tch. Yeah. Of course. Why wouldn't it be?" he scoffed, but he made no move to sit, still just standing there in the row, arms laden with snacks. "I don't get scared in movies. They're not real."

Cream looked down at her feet. Her yellow rain boots dangled high off the floor, self-consciously crossing at the ankles while her fingers twisted the hem of her dress. Sonic gave one of her ears a light tug for her attention. When she met his gaze, he offered up a warm smile.

"It's okay if you still feel scared sometimes, even if it's not real. But you won't have anything to worry about, Cream. Tails and I won't let anything get ya. Isn't that right, little bro?" Sonic glanced up at him with a wink. "You wanna sit on Cream's other side so you can help me look out for her?"

"Oh. Yeah, I can do that," Tails agreed easily, a twinge of guilt niggling at him. "I didn't mean to sound like it's not okay for Cream to be scared. I'm sorry."

Sonic waved it off, not bothered by it in the slightest, and Cream relaxed a little. Taking the seat next to her, Tails handed Sonic one of the popcorn cartons. It was passed to Amy while Tails gave Cream the bag of fruit gummies. But when he tried to offer Sonic the second popcorn carton, he held up his hand and shook his head.

"You can hold onto that one, pal. It'll be easier if I just share with Ames over here," Sonic said.

Amy's eyes sparkled at the mere idea of it and Tails supposed it did make more sense if they shared so no one would have to reach over Cream for snacks. "Sure. Okay, Sonic."

The theater lights dimmed and the previews began. 

Ten minutes in, the movie still hadn't started. Tails flicked a glance to Sonic, expecting to share in their mutual exasperation while his brother rolled his eyes and tapped his wrist despite its lack of a watch. But Sonic wasn't looking his way.

Instead his head was canted towards Cream as she quietly explained something in the preview. Tails couldn't hear what—the already soft-spoken rabbit whispered so she wouldn't bother the other theater-goers and the previews' volume reverberated all around him in the cavernous theater—but Sonic was nodding attentively and watching the screen like the preview actually meant anything to him. Whatever it was, Cream was excited about it in her subdued way, her legs swinging back and forth and a paw resting comfortably on Sonic's arm.

He whispered something back to her and she giggled. Tails sat back and faced forward, struggling to keep up with the fast cuts flickering on the screen without context. A ripple of something that felt a little like indigestion traveled through his gut up to his chest. He popped a mint into his mouth anyway, hoping it would soothe the sensation. It usually did.

Throughout the movie, he occasionally looked towards Sonic out of habit, consistently taken aback by how far away he seemed. Cream was so small and quiet, it shouldn't have been a big deal to have her between them, but the simple addition of her presence felt like an impenetrable wall had been built where her seat stood. 

It was silly. It wasn't like Tails even talked to Sonic during movies when it was just them anyway. Sometimes he'd get an elbow in the side at a corny joke or if something cool happened, but for the most part they kept to themselves. It was just something about not even having the option at all that made him want it more than anything.

Tails tried to follow the plot of the movie as best as he could, but it was hard when he was extra conscious of every move Cream made. Every little shift in her seat or crinkle of her candy bag. She felt his eyes on her once or twice, innocently blinking at him before silently offering him one of her gummy fruits.

He took one, just because he didn't know what else to do.

She offered them to Sonic, too, who grinned and opened his mouth—daring her to toss the gummy so he could catch it.

When the credits rolled, Tails couldn't have been more ready to jam and juice. He was up out of his seat as soon as the music started, but Cream grabbed onto his hand. His fur bristled, tails poofing up as he looked over at her.

"It's not polite to leave before the credits are done," she whispered. "So everyone who worked really hard on the movie gets to feel special."

That didn't make any sense. It wasn't like the people who worked on the movie were there in the theater with them and would know. But still his face burned as Amy leaned past Sonic to fix him with a look that encouraged him to sit back down, lest he end up on the wrong end of her hammer.

Tails tugged his hand out of Cream's, grabbing onto one of his tails instead. He was still holding it and his carton of popcorn when they finally exited the theater.

"Woah, you barely touched your popcorn, little buddy." Sonic observed, picking a buttery piece off the top to pop into his mouth—the carton he'd been sharing with Amy empty since the middle of the movie. "If all you ate were those mints, you're gonna have one heck of a sugar crash later."

"All Cream ate were those gummy candies," Tails argued.

"Because Cream and I had lunch before we came here. I made sure she got some protein and veggies in before giving her candy," Amy boasted, chin held high and a skip in her step.

Sonic rolled his eyes and swiped some more popcorn from Tails's carton. "Hey, don't get all high-and-mighty. We made sure to save room for snacks," he said with a shrug. "Popcorn's pretty filling."

Amy sidled up next to him, bumping his hip with hers. "That why you're still eating some when you definitely ate most of the one we shared?"

Sonic side-stepped away from her and around Tails, making a beeline for the exit. "Fastest thing alive also means fastest metabolism!" he called back to them before ducking out the doors.

Amy sighed. "Well, at least our fingers brushed in the popcorn bucket. That's one more thing I can cross off on my dream date to-do list."

Tails wrinkled his nose. "Isn't that like… really greasy?"

"Ew," Cream giggled.

Amy cast him a bland look. "Don't ruin the romance for me, Tails."

"What's romantic about greasy fingers?"

"Keep it up and Sonic's gonna become an only child."

"Oh, yeah, he'll really wanna date you then."

The sky had cleared, puffy gray clouds reflected in shining puddles on the pavement. Sonic was admiring the patches of blue in between them, smile big and bright when they joined him outside the theater. They walked Amy and Cream to the train station, seeing the two of them off on the city line, but not boarding themselves.

"After all that sitting, my legs are itching for a run," Sonic stretched his arms out over his head, then planted them on his hips as he twisted them from side to side. "Whaddya say, keed? Ready to speed?"

Just like the rain had been chased away, Tails was starting to feel his cloudy mood clear, sun shining through his own smile as things slotted back into a sense of normalcy. "Yeah! Just be careful not to slip in any puddles and fall on your face."

Sonic grinned. "I'm not gonna slip in any puddles. You know anyone with faster reflexes than me?"

"Nope." Tails grinned back, just as cheeky. "I also don't know anyone who's fallen on their face more times than you."

Sonic dragged him in for a noogie, nearly spilling the popcorn he was still holding onto while he playfully fought to get away. Sonic slipped in exactly three puddles on the way back to the workshop. The only reason it wasn't more was because that sugar crash inevitably hit Tails at the halfway point. To no one's surprise, while he had Tails hiked up on his back for a piggyback ride home, he didn't hit a single one.

Tails almost forgot about that afternoon at the movies. It was easy to brush off as just experiencing something a little out of the ordinary. Of course there'd be a learning curve when it came to doing things with other people when he was used to it just being him and Sonic.

So it was the farthest thing from his mind when he and Sonic stood on the doorstep to the Chaotix Detective Agency a week later.

Tails hadn't been told explicitly how Sonic had met the Chaotix, just that he'd been introduced to them as Knuckles's friends. "He has other friends?"

"That's what I said!" Sonic laughed. "Like how'd that knucklehead find anyone else willing to put up with him besides you and me?"

Tails rolled his eyes. "That's not what I meant. I meant how'd he make other friends when he's always on Angel Island?"

Sonic shrugged. "Beats me." 

"You didn't think to ask?"

"Nope." Then he knocked on the door. 

Vector, Espio, and Charmy had a small, one bedroom apartment above their detective agency. A corner of the living room had been carved out into Vector's "room" while Espio and Charmy's beds were crammed into the little 8x8 box that made up their bedroom. Sometimes Vector opted to sleep downstairs in the office, but he didn't always trust Charmy to stay in bed all night if he wasn't there to catch him in the act.

"Oh, does he miss you at night?" Tails asked.

"Ha!" A boisterous laugh burst out of him that had Tails's fur standing on end. "Nah, the little punk just wants to stay up late watching TV or playing video games and Espio here's useless at stopping him. You'd think Charmy was the ninja with how often he manages to sneak past him!"

Sonic laughed at that, too, grinning delightedly at the mental image. "Can't blame him for having his priorities straight! Who needs sleep when you can play video games all night?"

"I'll sleep when I'm dead!" The four-year-old bellowed from the couch.

He and Espio were engaged in some kind of platform fighter game, their retro console hooked up to an old, 20" CRT TV balanced on an entertainment center built from cinder blocks and stacks of plywood, framed on either side by mismatched bookshelves. The setup reminded Tails a little of how the workshop first looked like when he and Sonic moved in. They'd just recently finished building their own custom bookshelves into the walls and picked up a coffee table from a secondhand furniture store, but before that they'd found their own interesting ways to cobble together a livable setup when they'd come from nothing.

Sonic nudged Tails over to the couch. "Why don't you park it for a sec, pal? I've got some business with Vector."

Tails looked at him, brow furrowed. "What kinda business?"

"I might owe him some money, so just gotta get that squared away." Sonic ruffled his bangs, but Tails pulled away.

"You said they were friends," he hissed, fight or flight instincts on high alert as he was taken back to the years they spent in pool halls or poker rooms that didn't card for minors while making bets they weren't necessarily good for.

Sonic held up both hands placatingly. "They are. Trust me. This is more of a 'they did me a favor, so I'm paying it back' kinda situation, bud. You don't gotta worry about it. They're a cool crew."

Tails reluctantly let Sonic herd him over to the couch. The energetic little bee was the only occupant, smack dab in the center of the cushions, while Espio preferred to sit cross-legged on the floor. On the surface, the latter appeared much calmer as he played, his body still aside from his fingers tapping out precise combos on the controller, but on closer inspection his jaw was clenched tightly and his eye twitched with occasional flares of annoyance. Charmy on the other hand threw his whole body into playing, his arms and torso swinging wildly in any direction as he mashed buttons frantically.

Tails tucked himself in the corner of the couch, eyeing Charmy warily while Sonic disappeared into the kitchen with Vector. Both tails curled around himself as he quietly watched the two of them duke it out on the screen. Their characters went flying across the platform as various obstacles threatened to knock them off the stage. Power-ups occasionally dropped from the sky, punches and kicks flying as they tried to reach them first. Eventually Espio's character was shot across the screen until he exploded and the match was concluded. A victory screech erupted from the youngest as he leapt up and down on the cushions.

"I won! I won! Eat my pollen, Espio!"

"You're insufferable," Espio grumbled.

"Wow, Espio. You lost to a kid?" Sonic whistled lowly, reappearing at the back of the couch with a smirk. "How embarrassing."

"Do you guys wanna play?" Charmy asked, still bouncing on the couch.

"Sure! We don't have anywhere to be. Whaddya say, Tails?"

Still a little rattled by Charmy's energy, Tails managed a nod. "Yeah. Why not?"

Sonic launched himself over the back of the couch, landing on Charmy's other side since the bee was still very much taking up the entire center of it. "So how do we play?"

Espio plugged in two more controllers, handing one to each of the newcomers. "There are a set number of moves for each character. Some have more advanced abilities than others that can be pulled off with the right combination of buttons."

"Or you can just press 'em all 'til something cool happens!" Charmy chirped, eyes sparkling.

"Sweet! Sounds right up my alley," Sonic chuckled.

Espio sighed, settling back down on the floor as he started setting up a new game. "The battles can be timed or you can set a certain number of stocks. Each time you're knocked out of the arena, you lose a stock, and when you reach zero, you're out of the battle."

"And the last one standing wins!" Charmy added, watching as Espio opted for the stock option, giving them each four. "Oh! Espio! Espio! Can we play teams? We never get to play teams!"

"I'm not playing on a team with you," he replied dryly.

Charmy wasn't dissuaded though, immediately turning to Sonic. "Will you be on a team with me? We can kick Espio's butt so hard!"

"You can try," Espio huffed.

Sonic grinned. "Sure thing, little guy! Let's do it to it!"

"Yay! Teams, Espio! Teams!" Charmy demanded.

"Yeah, Espio! Teams!" Sonic cackled.

Espio changed the settings of the match to be a team battle and put Sonic and Charmy on the blue team, then put himself and Tails on the red. "Are you alright being on a team with me?" he asked, glancing back at the quiet fox still curled up on the couch.

"Uh… yeah. That's fine." Tails fiddled with his controller, stomach twisting in the same way it did when they'd gone to the movies a week ago.

"If neither of you have played before, it makes sense to divide the more experienced players so it's more evenly matched," Espio continued. "Feel free to select any character—"

"Except the ninja," Charmy snickered. "Espio always gets so mad if anyone else picks the ninja."

"Oh ho, in that case," Sonic chuckled, making a beeline for the ninja character.

Espio sighed, still focused on Tails. "You can pick anyone you want, it's fine. That rule is only for Charmy."

"Hey!"

Tails had played fighting games before in arcades with Sonic, so he was used to having to pick a character. He selected one that looked like a fox, perking up a bit when Sonic sent him a thumbs up and a wink over the top of Charmy's head. Espio picked a swordsman instead and Charmy went for a cartoony-looking creature that didn't look very formidable in the slightest.

"You guys are going down!" Charmy declared.

Tails and Sonic both got the hang of the game pretty quickly, despite neither having much experience with console games. Tails memorized the combinations for his attacks less than a minute into the match, while Sonic took the button-mashing approach alongside Charmy, who was surprisingly brutal. Tails could barely get a hit on him. He got knocked out of the arena by him twice. He ran out of stocks first, embarrassed as he abandoned Espio to face the combined nuisance of Sonic and Charmy on his own. He didn't last much longer after that, though he put up a good fight.

"Yeah! Nice one, pal!" Sonic high-fived Charmy as their characters appeared on the victory screen.

"Best team ever!" Charmy cheered. "Let's play again!"

Espio was already starting a new match, but changed the settings. "Fine, but we're doing a timed battle this time. Whoever deals the most damage in three minutes wins."

"Aww yeah! If it's speed ya need, look no further." Sonic puffed out his chest, this time selecting a character that was more his style. "Just try and keep up, you two."

"Yeah! Try and keep up!" Charmy echoed.

They played another few rounds, each team coming away with a couple of wins under their belts. Though their victory rang hollow to Tails as Sonic encouraged and cheered on Charmy through each match. A hard pit knotted itself up in his stomach, worse than it had at the movies. His muscles tensed like he wanted to flee, run far and fast so he could hide until the feeling passed. He didn't want anyone to look at him. They'd figure out he was upset and he didn't know how to explain it. 

It just felt wrong.

Tails was relieved when Vector eventually interrupted them for dinner, their cue to finally escape. Not that Sonic saw it that way.

"That was a blast! We should look into getting one of those game systems for the workshop. And I know a certain someone whose birthday's coming up," Sonic suggested, flashing a smile over his shoulder at Tails, hardly fazed by the glum look on his face. "Aw, c'mon, don't be like that, keed. You guys won plenty of times! We were pretty evenly matched in the end, I'd say. Just don't tell Espio that."

"I won't," Tails mumbled.

Sonic stilled, head tilting to one side as he watched Tails shuffle past him. "Hey, it was just a game, bud. It doesn't mean anything."

His ears perked up a little as he lifted his gaze. "Yeah?"

"Yeah!" Sonic relaxed as soon as he got a good look at his face, rubbing the back of his quills sheepishly. "I might've gotten a little carried away there, but you know me when I'm on a winning streak."

A smile tugged at his muzzle as his tails swished up. He did know his brother. Better than anyone. One afternoon playing some stupid game didn't change that. He and Sonic were still the best team out there.

"Yeah, you're a real pain in the butt," Tails giggled.

"My right as your big bro," Sonic said, placing his hand over his heart. "Now, thanks to Vector, my mind's on dinner. Wanna grab some chili dogs on the way back?"

"Sounds good to me!" Tails chirped. "Race ya there?"

"Oh ho, so you haven't lost enough today, huh?" Sonic grinned and dropped into a lunge. "Do your worst, little buddy!"

He didn't win; didn't even come close. But the loss didn't sting so much when he was greeted by the sight of Sonic waiting for him outside their favorite place for chili dogs, ready with a high five just for him as soon as he caught up. Between racing and chili dogs, Tails could forget the uneasy queasiness that twisted in his belly all afternoon.

At least until he was lying in bed that night, with only the company of his own thoughts whispering to him in the dark.

Chapter Text

For someone who adamantly refused to swim out of the rational fear of sinking, Sonic was actually pretty keen on beach days.

They were an occasional whim Tails had come to expect early on in their time together, oftentimes being roused by a restless hedgehog who was eager to get on their way. On West Side Island it never took long to find a good beach. Sonic would either scoop Tails up for a piggyback ride or race him to the nearest shoreline. They didn't have much in those days, but they hadn't needed much either. Even with Sonic going nowhere near the water, there were plenty of things he'd liked to do.

Sonic and Tails would scamper across the beach together in search of sea glass and starfish, eagerly guiding the latter back into the sea if they came across them. They'd take turns burying each other in the sand, though Sonic rarely stayed still long enough for Tails to cover more than his shins. Sometimes they tried building sandcastles, but without buckets or shovels, their attempts ended up more like sandmounds. If there were tide pools, they'd hop across them and watch the wildlife, with Sonic often daring to try a few air tricks even at the risk of slipping off the rocks into the sea. And then, of course, there were the naps.

Even without a beach towel or a chair to lounge in, Sonic liked nothing more than lying back in the hot sand and basking in the sun. Tails would occupy himself with a little swim, washing the sand out of his fur and pouncing at the waves. The salt air and sun would eventually get both their tummies rumbling, then Sonic would wake up and cook a few hot dogs over a beach bonfire. He'd whistle for Tails, bath towel at the ready, and bundled him up so sand wouldn't clump up in his wet fur too badly.

After scarfing down their hot dogs, Tails—in his little beach blanket burrito—would flop on Sonic's stomach; the peach fur warm with all the sun he'd soaked up. Sonic would huff and grumble something about cold, wet fox kits, but he wouldn't move him off. He'd simply scritch behind his ear, mussing up the damp fur atop his head and styling it into a mohawk or tiny hedgehog-like spikes, with the quietest sort of clicking sound rumbling in his chest.

Beach days were always good days.

So Tails couldn't understand why this one in particular ended up being anything but.

It had started out fine, relatively speaking. 

"Aw yeah!" Sonic dumped two beach chairs unceremoniously in a spot that gave them plenty of space to spread out. After all, it wasn't just the two of them this time around.

Amy carried over a plastic cooler and a big umbrella to protect them from getting too much sun. Cream scampered after her, doing her best to carry the tote bag that held their towels, sunscreen, and a pair of inflatable water wings. She struggled a bit though, the straps falling off her tiny shoulders repeatedly until she had to drag the canvas bag through the sand. Sonic unfolded the chairs in a flash, though they wobbled unsteadily on the uneven surface of the sand. Hands as free as his spirit, Sonic dashed over and took the burden of the bag from Cream with a wink.

Tails puffed out his chest, a small flare of pride sparking as he marched forward with his own tote bag and new sandcastle supplies, head held high. As per usual, he didn't need help. He did the helping.

"Sonic, be careful with the chairs," Amy huffed.

"They're fine. Don't worry about it!" Sonic brushed it off, dropping the girls' tote bag in the sand beside the chairs. 

"They're crooked."

One of them was leaning to the left, sure to collapse as soon as someone sat on it. "I've got it, Amy," Tails assured her, setting down his and Sonic's bag so he could fix them, securing the little bars that kept them sturdy and held their shape.

"Thanks, Tails." Amy dropped the cooler between them, then scanned the ground for a good spot to stake the umbrella.

With a gleam to her eyes, she raised the umbrella high above her head and slammed it down with a battle cry. The stake drove deep into the sand—that umbrella was going nowhere anytime soon. Tongue poking out of her mouth, Amy started fiddling with the canopy and ribs to get everything to expand to the fullest.

Tails watched her with interest, but Sonic was already yawning as he shuffled over to dig through the bag. He whipped out a bottle of reef-safe, mobian sunscreen and slathered it over the finer fur of his chest, arms, and muzzle in a flash. With a snap of his wrist, he laid out a towel in the sand and plopped right down on it, sighing with satisfaction as the warmth from the sand radiated through the fabric pleasantly. Tails took a seat next to him, setting his bucket aside while he put his own sunscreen on.

"Mr. Sonic? Can you help…?"

Cream's soft voice managed to carry over to them as she stood shyly in front of their towel, the sunscreen Amy had packed for them in her hands. Her cover-up dress had already been removed and folded neatly on the seat of the beach lounger, sporting a bright yellow, polka dot one piece with a ruffled trim and matching bucket hat. Sonic sat up and grinned, wordlessly holding out his paw for her to hand over the sunscreen.

Tails rolled his eyes as he rubbed his own into his fur, pointedly ignoring the two of them as he scanned the rest of the beach instead. It was a little more crowded than most beaches he and Sonic gravitated towards, but Emerald Coast was a hot spot for tourists, especially with the end of the summer season. Pops of color dotted the shore in the forms of umbrellas and beach blankets. The excited cries of kids filled the air as they waded into the shallow waters and chased the waves.

"Good to go!" Sonic assured Cream with a thumbs up once he finished getting her back for her.

"Thank you, Mr. Sonic."

A broad shadow suddenly fell over them. The three glanced back to see Amy proudly angling the umbrella to cover as much of their spot as possible with shade. She dusted off her hands, pleased with a job well-done.

Tails turned his attention to the sand ahead of him, about to ask Sonic what he wanted to do first, when Cream padded over to Amy and tugged on the hem of her cover-up.

"Is it okay if we look for seashells first?" Cream asked. "Please?"

"Sure! But give me a minute, Cream. Just gotta get ready first!" she assured her, tying up her head quills together in a high ponytail.

"I can take ya, Cream!" Sonic offered, sporting a broad grin as he hopped up off the ground. "Just remember we can't take 'em with us."

Cream tilted her head. "How come?" 

"'Cuz they might end up turning into a little guy's home! We can play with 'em for a bit, but we gotta leave 'em on the beach when we're done, sound fair?"

"Mmhm!" Cream nodded.

Sonic gave the top of her head a fond pat, then turned his smile on Tails. "You wanna come with?"

He could feel his fur bristling already. In any other circumstance he would've been fine doing that first if it had been what Sonic wanted to do, but… "Actually, I want to start our sandcastle."

"Good idea, little buddy!" Sonic shot him a thumbs up. "You do that!"

Tails's cheeks puffed out, despite trying his level best not to pout like a baby. He was a mature, rational, nearly-seven-year-old, after all. "That we were going to build together," he said slowly, enunciating the last word purposefully.

"We will!" Sonic laughed, waving off his complaints. "But you know I'm no help with all the measuring and stuff you like to do. How 'bout you get started on all that, while Cream and I collect some sea glass and sticks and stuff to decorate it with? That cool?"

"Oh." Tails's face warmed with embarrassment as his tails curled around him. That was a pretty good idea, after all. He did need to square away the foundation first and draw up an actual plan for the castle… "Yeah, that's cool."

"That's my little bud." Sonic reached down to ruffle his fur until Tails batted him away with an eye roll and a sideways smile that totally betrayed him.

"Yeah, yeah. Go look at seashells already. You're standing in my light."

"I'll join you guys in a minute!" Amy chirped, smoothing out a pink beach towel over one of the chairs. "Oh! As long as you're okay with keeping an eye on everything by yourself, Tails."

Tails made a tch sound and rubbed at his nose. "Like I haven't been keeping an eye on campsites since I was four."

Amy tossed her head with a huff of her own. "I was just checking! Jeez."

Sonic shook his head, then exchanged glances with Cream. "C'mon, Cream. Let's get outta here before the sand starts flying," he said with a wink.

He offered his hand to her and the little rabbit latched on with little reservation. Sonic then guided her along the shore, taking care to keep pace with her as she hopped over the uneven sand dunes. Eventually it smoothed out, cool and dark and damp under their paws from where the waves steadily lapped at it. 

Both fox tails flicked irritably in the sand as Tails watched Cream keep ahold of Sonic while the two of them walked along the shore of Emerald Coast Beach. Cream perked up as she found something, bending down to dig it out of the sand. Sonic crouched beside her, gently rubbing the sand off of it for her so she could see it better.

"You sure you're alright with watching everything, Tails?" Amy asked from where she sat behind him, finishing up applying sunscreen to her arms and eyeing him through the tinted lenses of her heart-shaped sunglasses. "The Chaotix should be here to meet up with us soon."

Tails craned his neck back with a sigh, but this time cracked a smile for her. "I'll be fine, Amy. Besides, Sonic'll be back soon, too, to help me with this sandcastle." He gestured to the beginnings of the foundation he'd laid out in the sand right in front of their loungers.

"We should definitely have a sandcastle building contest later!" Amy hopped up, the frills of her pale green swimsuit bouncing along with her. "Cream and I will bury you boys!"

"You're on!" Tails chuckled, then watched her prance over to Sonic and Cream.

The latter perked up at Amy's arrival, but even though she looked happy to see her, she didn't let go of Sonic's hand. Tails's tails flicked again. Whatever. They could go looking for seashells together, that was fine. He had a sandcastle to plan.

Tails measured out the distance he wanted between each tower, laying markers in the sand for them and the battlements. He wanted a big courtyard in front of the keep, replicating what he liked from the kinds of castle ruins he and Sonic would pass through on their past adventures. He also drew a rudimentary moat around the whole thing with his finger, just to get an idea. He wasn't sold on the design yet, but wanted it for a reference.

Satisfied with the measurements, Tails began packing his bucket full of sand, mixing in the right amount of wet and dry for the best consistency to build with. He got two of the towers up and was smoothing out their connecting walls by the time the Chaotix arrived. His ears lowered as Charmy's excited buzzing zipped right over his head, wings displacing some of the sand.

"Beach! Beach! Beach!" Charmy chanted, making a literal beeline for the ocean.

"Park that stinger of yours first, kid!" Vector hollered after him, both arms full with two more beach chairs tucked under them.

"I'm off the clock! You're not the boss of me today!" Charmy shouted, flying on ahead undeterred.

Vector sighed gustily. "Espio, go wrangle him over here. He still needs his water vest."

"I don't know how you expect me to catch him," Espio replied, his more subdued voice refreshing in the midst of the Chaotix's chaos. "I told you two juice pouches before lunch was a bad idea."

"Yeah, yeah." Vector stuck each of the chairs in the sand beside Amy and Sonic's, not-so-subtly adjusting the umbrella so some of the shade reached them as well before he finally noticed Tails. "Oh hey! Long time no see, little guy!"

"Hi." Tails waved hesitantly.

Espio set down a beach bag stuffed with their towels and Charmy's water vest. "Keeping watch?"

"Yeah. Sonic and Amy took Cream to look for seashells." Tails gestured off in the general direction they'd gone. "They should be back soon—"

"Traitor!"

Charmy's squeal carried over to them from the water's edge, the three of them looking on in mild interest. The bee boy was upside-down and kicking his feet viciously, nearly losing his sandals if they hadn't been the kind to velcro around his ankles. His captor in question? None other than Sonic the Hedgehog.

He'd looped one arm around the kid's waist, laughing as he swung him away from the ocean and over to his caretakers. "Nice try, pal! Maybe next time!"

Charmy just squirmed harder and nearly kicked Sonic in the nose. Changing tactics, Sonic shifted his grip on him enough to drag him in for a noogie. Charmy couldn't help giggling, enjoying the roughhousing as he shoved at Sonic's arms. 

One of Tails's tails flicked hard enough to knock over his bucket and shovel.

Sonic lugged Charmy back over to them, depositing him unceremoniously on a beach chair. "Super Sonic Special Delivery, at your service."

"Thanks for nabbing him, Sonic." Vector gave him a thumbs up, grabbing Charmy just as the little guy tried to make another escape attempt. "For someone who spends most of his time sneaking sugar with those sticky fingers of his, he can be pretty slippery."

"Heh. Anytime! I've had plenty of practice in my day." Sonic glanced over at Tails and winked.

Tails just rolled his eyes. "Please. I was never that dramatic. That's all you." 

"I don't know," Sonic taunted, wagging a finger at him. "I definitely remember having to wrangle a certain two-tailed fox out of more than a few trees."

"That was tactical, not theatrical."

"To-may-to, to-mah-to." Propping up one arm atop Tails's head, Sonic leaned into him as he eyed the work he'd done so far with a low whistle. "I see you've been hard at work! Looking good, little buddy!"

"It's okay," Tails replied, squirming under the weight of his big brother slowly squishing him. "The consistency isn't ideal. I think I need wetter sand."

"Looks pretty solid to me."

Amy and Cream soon joined them, palms carefully cupping the shells, sticks, and sea glass they'd found while they'd been away. The latter sat down on her beach towel and laid out each of the pretty treasures in a row, while Amy fetched her water wings from the tote bag. Sonic and Tails glanced over and watched with interest as she blew air into each one, until she had a pair of buoyant, puffy pillows in each hand.

"Cream's ready to go swimming!" Amy told them, helping her into them. "You know, Sonic, I brought an extra pair. Just in case!"

His muzzle pulled into a grimace. "I'll pass."

"Okay, but if you change your mind," Amy sing-songed, then reached into the bag to show off the red pair she'd had tucked away in there.

"I won't. Trust me."

Sonic didn't often let himself get embarrassed, it was part of what made him so cool, but he looked like he was just on the edge of it with his mouth set in a tight line and arms crossed. Amy got the hint and put the spares away, just as Charmy zipped over—finally zipped up in his water vest. Tails had a feeling water wings wouldn't work for him. He was probably too tempted to pop them with his stinger.

"Hi! I'm Charmy!" he introduced himself to Cream without a beat of hesitation. "Who're you?"

"My name is Cream," the little rabbit replied, the only sign she was nervous was the way she fiddled with the smooth sea glass in her paws. "It's nice to meet you, Charmy."

"Cool shells!" he complimented.

"Thank you. I like your goggles."

"Yeah! They're my swim goggles!" Charmy snapped them over his eyes proudly. "They're just like my flight goggles except for the water! So I can pretend I'm a submarine! Except I hate it when Vector makes me wear this stupid vest. I can't go underwater."

"I have to wear water wings because I'm still learning to swim, too," Cream sympathized. "But I like to pretend I'm a water fairy princess who can control the waves with magic. Maybe you could pretend you're something else until you don't have to wear it anymore?"

"That's a good idea!" Charmy perked up. "I can be a jet ski!"

While Cream and Amy giggled—and even Sonic looked pretty amused—Tails didn't understand what was so funny about that. "Sonic," he tugged on his wrist to focus his attention back on him. "Can you fill the bucket with some wet sand for me?"

"Sure thing, little buddy."

"Oh! I can do it! I wanna get the sand!" Charmy buzzed over.

"Thanks, Charmy." Sonic made to reach for the bucket, but Tails had already grabbed onto it, holding it close to his chest. "Uh… buddy? We kinda need the bucket if ya want more sand."

"I changed my mind. I don't need it yet."

Sonic arched a brow, then shrugged. "Okay. Whatever you say. I'm gonna kick back for a sec then. Let me know when ya need me!"

Tails remained slightly hunched over the bucket protectively as his brother shuffled away, dropping into one of the beach chairs. Hands tucked behind his quills, he breathed in deeply and let out a contented sigh. With a much less content sigh, Tails turned back to his sandcastle, listening as the two kids were eventually escorted down to the water by Amy and Vector.

It should've been easy to turn around and ask for Sonic's help with the others gone. But despite Espio's rather quiet and unassuming nature, Tails was still all-too aware of his presence as he settled in one of the chairs with a book. Swallowing past his nerves, he tried to find his voice, but it was trapped somewhere in his shivery chest. Instead he quietly packed more dry sand in his bucket, smoothing out the top in a repetitive motion until it was completely even.

After about ten minutes, Tails felt like he could breathe a little easier. He turned around to check on Sonic and Espio again, but his eyes were subsequently drawn to the latter as he flipped past the last page of his book before closing it. Tails blinked. He could've sworn he opened that book from the beginning when he'd first sat down.

"What is it?" His stare hadn't gone unnoticed by the detective.

"You finished your book already?" Tails asked.

Espio nodded. "I'm a fast reader."

"Oh."

Sonic cracked open one eye, not yet asleep as the mere mention of "fast" was enough to grab his attention. "Might have to put that to the test."

"Are you seriously challenging him to a reading race?" Tails sighed.

"I mean, if he's out here making claims that he's the fastest…" Sonic snickered.

"I brought three more books," Espio offered.

"Whatcha got?"

While the two of them talked books, the rest of their group made their way back up to their spot. Amy draped a towel around Cream's shoulders, then grabbed one for herself.

"Brr! The water's a little chilly!" she laughed. "Can't stay out there too long!"

Vector dropped a towel on Charmy's head, leaving the bee to buzz around in a circle as he tried fruitlessly to free himself. "Say, anybody up for a few rounds to warm up?" the crocodile asked, holding a scuffed up volleyball in the palm of his hand.

Amy gasped, clasping her hands together. "I love beach volleyball!"

"It's been a minute since I've played!" Sonic added, already stretching one arm across his chest. "I'm game!"

Unwilling to lose Sonic to yet another activity without him, Tails scrambled to his feet and mimicked his stretching motion. "Me too!"

"Alright, Tails!" Sonic stopped just in time to give him a fist bump.

"What about you, Espio?" Vector asked.

"I'll sit this one out," he replied. "That way the teams can be even."

"Good plan." Vector nodded approvingly.

"I want to be on a team with Sonic!" Amy grabbed onto his arm, pressing as close as she could.

It didn't really come as a surprise, but Tails had made an error in forgetting to factor that into the equation. He should've taken into account that Amy would want to be on Sonic's team, which would leave Tails paired off with…

His fur couldn't help bristling as he glanced over at Vector. The crocodile was big by mobian standards, towering over everyone in their group by two heads, at least. The only other mobian Tails had met that rivaled Vector's height was Big the Cat, and Big had an entirely different disposition that never failed to set Tails at ease whenever he was around him.

Vector, on the other hand, nearly sat on Charmy as he wrestled him into his water vest, threatening no dessert for two weeks if he stung him one more time—

Tails's chest tightened, reflexively reaching for one of his tails to wring and pick at. He didn't feel the pair of eyes on him, reading him faster than he could rationalize his way out of feeling nervous. It was just a game. It would be fine—

"Actually, I changed my mind!" Amy declared loudly, shoving Sonic away from her so suddenly that he fell over and face-planted right in the sand. "I want to be on Tails's team instead!"

"Huh?" Sonic lifted his head and spat out a mouthful of sand. "Amy."

"Sorry, Sonic, but you'll have to get by without me." Amy stood by Tails's side instead, though still batting her lashes in Sonic's direction. "Don't miss me too much. Though, absence makes the heart grow fonder, after all!"

"You're just gonna be on the opposite side of the net," Sonic drawled.

The four of them got into position, with Vector serving first. He tossed the ball up and hit it over to them. Amy dropped down to one knee, both arms held together in front of her as she bumped the ball up with her forearms, sending it high into the air. "Okay, Tails! Spike it!"

He blinked. "Uh—"

"Smack it with the palm of your hand, bud!" Sonic hollered to him.

"Hey, no helping the opposing team!" Vector chided.

Sonic shrugged like he didn't much care. "Where's the fun if it's an easy win?"

Tails flew up towards the net, tongue poking out as the ball dropped down. He smacked it like Sonic said to, sending it right to his brother's waiting arms. With a grin, Sonic whacked it just like Amy had, popping it up for Vector to hit back over. This time, Amy ran right up to the net, hopping up to spike the ball behind both of them.

"Woah!" Sonic whipped around to blink at the deep crater in the sand the ball left behind.

"That's a point for us!" Amy squealed, striking a cute pose and holding up one finger. "Don't underestimate us just 'cuz we're cute!"

"Nice one, Amy!" Tails flitted over and the two exchanged a high five. 

"Yeah, yeah," Sonic snorted. "Better savor that victory while you can, you two, because you're about to get a taste of some serious Sonic speed!"

Between said speed and the sheer amount of power behind Vector's serves and spikes, the two of them did have an advantage. Sonic slid across the sand, making quick saves and zipping right up to the net to keep Amy from sneaking anymore hits over it. But Amy and Tails were quick, too, and Tails had the aerial advantage of keeping an eye on the net while Amy covered the back. Though sometimes the two of them would dive for the ball at the same time, colliding with each other in the sand and giggling helplessly as the ball bonked off one or both of their heads.

Sonic and Tails ended up taunting each other through the net as effective distraction tactics, pulling silly faces and doing stupid dances, while Vector and Amy's was a battle born of pure strength and admiration for the other's skill. It ended up being pretty fun. It wasn't something Tails had ever played before and had never really associated it with his and Sonic's beach days, but it was still fun. He didn't mind it all that much.

Tossing up the volleyball in a powerful arc, Vector smashed the ball with the heel of his palm. It whooshed right between Amy and Tails, ruffling their fur with its power. It smacked into the sand behind them and bounced away, towards their beach chairs and blankets.

"I'm gonna call that out of bounds," Amy decided.

Already spinning his tails, the fox kit chased after it. "I've got it!"

"Whoops. My bad!" Vector called out.

"It happens!" Amy assured him, one power player to another.

Tails slowed the whirring of his tails as he caught up with the ball, nabbing it as it bounced off of Espio's beach chair. Opening his mouth to apologize, Tails cut himself off as something caught his eye over in his and Sonic's portion of the camp. Cream and Charmy had migrated over there. They were sitting on his and Sonic's beach blanket, in front of his and Sonic's sandcastle.

Or what remained of it anyway.

The volleyball dropped back onto the sand, forgotten as Tails stormed up to the two kids. "What are you doing?"

"Building a sandcastle, duh!" Charmy answered matter-of-factly as he stacked another misshapen lump on the eastern corner.

Up close Tails could see the symmetry was all off. Shells and sea glass were stuffed in the sand without rhyme or reason, one tower was way taller than the others, and the spot he'd been saving for the keep had been filled with plastic crabs. Fists balled up at his sides, Tails could barely recognize the blueprints he'd started out with.

"It's not yours!" he snapped, yanking the shovel out of Charmy's hand.

"Hey!" Charmy pouted, his voice carrying all the way over to the volleyball net and attracted the attention of the three older mobians, plus Espio on the chair. "You weren't using it!"

"Charmy," Espio said in warning, sitting up straighter to get a better look.

"I didn't do anything!"

"You're messing with my sandcastle!" Tails fired back, heedless of the fact that Sonic, Amy, and Vector were all heading their way to see what the commotion was.

"Mr. Sonic said we were collecting things to decorate it with," Cream piped up, hunching in on herself as she looked at Tails in confusion. "I asked Charmy if he wanted to help me."

"No, Sonic was going to decorate it with me," Tails growled, both tails lashing back and forth as he gestured in the hedgehog's general direction with the shovel, nearly smacking him with it by accident.

"Hey, hey, hey," Sonic called out, nudging Tails's arm down. "What's the deal, guys?"

"Look what they did!" Tails pointed at the sorry excuse for a sandcastle. "This isn't what it was supposed to look like at all!"

"We just wanted to help." As soon as Amy was within her sight, Cream jumped up and went right for her, hiding her face against her.

"Yeah, we were just helping!" Charmy argued petulantly, making a grab for the shovel.

"Charmy—" Vector started, but Tails had already tightened his grip on it, refusing to give it up without a fight.

"You're not helping!" Tails snarled, caught in a tug-of-war as the two of them wrestled for it. "You ruined it!"

"Tails!"

He stiffened and immediately let go. Charmy fell backwards with the force of his own tugging, toppling right onto the sandcastle and taking one of the towers down with him. He didn't look upset though. Instead he brandished the shovel with a triumphant "hah!" before sticking out his tongue and blowing a raspberry at him.

But Tails couldn't care less about that anymore; still frozen in place and fur bristled. Sonic didn't often scold him. The bite to his name was almost entirely unfamiliar to him when it was so rarely the subject of his brother's disdain. After all, the last time he'd yelled at him, it had led to their worst fight ever and ended with Tails running away.

At least Sonic liked saying his name like that about as much as Tails did hearing it. When he finally managed to look up at Sonic, he could see his muzzle twisted in a grimace. Like the tone alone left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"Look, I'm really sorry about this," Vector told them, rubbing the back of his head with a sigh. "We've been working on learning when to ask for permission with him—"

"It's better to ask for forgiveness than for permission!" Charmy interjected proudly, looking far too pleased with himself despite the fact that he was sitting on a pile of plastic crabs.

"No, that's not—" Vector groaned, pinching the top of his snout. "Apparently we're working on eavesdropping, too…"

But Sonic just held up a finger and shook his head. "It's all good. That's not the issue here." Tails tensed up as Sonic pointed at him instead, then curled his finger inwards in a beckoning motion. "Need a word with ya, pal. C'mere."

With that, he walked off, leading him apart from the rest of the group. Begrudgingly, Tails skulked after him, dragging his paws through the sand. His ears laid flat and his tails twitched restlessly as the shivery tightness in his chest returned.

"Look, I didn't mean to yell at you, but there's no need to lose your cool like that, keed," Sonic continued, lowering his voice into something calmer, physically reining himself in. 

"But I didn't do anything wrong," Tails argued. "It was my sandcastle. They shouldn't have been messing with it without asking first."

"I know, little bro. But Charmy and Cream didn't mean any harm. They were just trying to help out. You get that, right? I mean, where would you and I be if I'd never let you help me back in the day?" Sonic arched a brow and Tails quieted, biting his tongue as his whole body tensed. "Yeah, they should've asked first. And I get you're upset, but you know, you really don't have to be. It's just a sandcastle."

Tails's eyes flashed, glare turning mutinous. "Shut up! You have no idea. You weren't even part of it!"

"Yeah, well, I don't want any part of it if you're gonna act like this about it." Sonic had that look on his face again—the one where he was almost embarrassed. Embarrassed of him. "They're just kids, Tails. They're still learning. Now I know you know better. And I know you know we can always build a new sandcastle."

"I don't want to build a new one. I worked hard on this one!"

"Y'know, building a sandcastle is supposed to be something fun you do at the beach. You don't gotta turn everything into some kinda science project."

"I can do what I want with it!" Tails snapped. "It's mine!"

Sonic's eyes widened and whatever words of wisdom he'd been trying to impart on him dried up in his mouth. A new expression flickered over Sonic's face; one that Tails couldn't read at all. It was like Sonic didn't even recognize who he was looking at.

"Tails…"

It was his turn to feel embarrassment's heat prickling under his fur. Chest still shivery and tense, he lowered his gaze to his own feet. Whatever it was Sonic was going to say, Tails didn't want to hear it. 

"Fine. I don't care. They can do whatever they want with it if that's what'll make you happy." Tails turned on his heel and stomped towards the ocean, rage fueling every step.

"Hey, where you going?" Sonic's voice cracked a little and Tails heard him take a few steps after him.

"I'm going swimming!" he called back, the 'so you can't follow me' going unsaid.

"Bud—" Sonic started, but he cut himself off, voice a little distant and almost lost to the sounds of the waves and the background chatter around them. "Gotcha. Yeah, good idea. Maybe it'll cool your head a bit," Sonic replied. "Hey, and when you're done, you should really think about apologizing to Cream and Charmy!"

Tails was tempted to make the rude gesture he'd seen Sonic do plenty of times throughout his youth. By the time he looked over his shoulder, however, Sonic was already looking away, shaking his head as he shuffled back to the others. Clenching his fists, Tails swiveled back around and resumed his angry march to the water's edge.

Amy had been right; the water was chilly. But Tails didn't let it stop him. The foamy caps covered his ankles as he strode right into it, quickly wading up to his waist. The water's resistance slowed him down, muscles seizing up as the cold ocean combined with the knots in his stomach to make him tremble. Tails sucked in a shaky breath, then ducked his head underwater.

The icy rush shocked him at first, but it also provided a very necessary reset to his whole nervous system; giving his body something else to focus on aside from the burning feeling of betrayal and the shame souring his stomach. Tails exhaled a stream of bubbles out his mouth, then breached the surface. Head bobbing on the waves, he looked back at the shore. 

He could still see Charmy and Cream sitting in front of his sandcastle, but this time Sonic was between them. Working on it with them. The same vaguely sick feeling in his stomach started burning again, rising up into his chest like actual flames were licking at his ribs. With a snort, he turned away and paddled further out in protest. They wanted to mess with his stuff? Fine. He didn't care. He'd swim out way farther than either of them could ever hope to swim with their water wings and floaty vest—Sonic, too. 

Sonic would wish he could swim as far and as fast and as cool as Tails.

He kicked hard through the water, pushing through the waves as they tried to carry him back. The noisy sounds of the crowded beach faded away, muffled by the white noise of the ocean. There weren't any other kids around, only a couple of older mobians and humans bothered to venture this far. Tails passed a group of teens floating on surfboards, swimming right up to the buoy marking the beach's swimmable zone.

Saltwater splashed in Tails's mouth and he paused, panting heavily as he treaded water. He turned back to look at the beach again. All the people looked like specks on the distant strip of sand. Tails couldn't even tell where their spot was anymore.

The fire that fueled him this far finally sputtered out. The sick feeling turned into a sinking feeling instead, weighing him down like an anchor in the pit of his stomach. If Tails couldn't see Sonic, then Sonic sure as heck couldn't see him. Good. The mean little voice in his head sounded satisfied, even if Tails didn't really feel all that good about it. Sonic can't come find me even if he wanted to. Serves him right for taking Cream and Charmy's side over mine.

Serves him right…

Tails's ears fell flat. This was maybe a little unnecessarily mean. He knew how Sonic felt about the water, after all. There were a lot of things Sonic could save Tails from, but the water was not one of them.

With a sigh, Tails started swimming back. He wanted to beat the tide before it went out anyway. The current would be harder to swim against as it dragged him towards the ocean. But it might've already been too late for that. No matter how hard he paddled, it didn't feel like he was making much progress. The shore still looked so far away. 

He hadn't realized how far he'd gotten or how long he'd even been gone.

Tails kicked harder, paws carving a path through the water. The waves tugged at him, water sloshing over his head and forcing it under. Sharp panic seized his chest as he blindly felt for purchase beneath his feet. He couldn't feel the bottom.

His head popped back up with a cough. Vision blurry from the saltwater, Tails blinked hard to try and clear it. He was fine, he was a good swimmer. He was fine.

The current pulled him back again. His twin tails spun like a propeller, pushing himself forward before another wave swept over him. Tails could see a little more of the beach. He was getting closer. He was fine, he was—

Underwater again. Tails spun, tumbling over himself as the tide forced him back out towards the open ocean. He kicked and thrashed, fighting to right himself as his chest tightened with a new burning sensation. Something grabbed him. His mouth opened on a shout, air bubbles pouring from his muzzle before he was suddenly hefted up.

Tails broke through the surface, large claws wrapped around his middle to steady him. Even so, he instinctively tried to pull away with a yelp. He kicked at his captor's scaly chest, but the damage he dealt was minimal.

"Sonic!" he choked out.

"Woah there, kid! It's okay! I'm not gonna hurt ya."

The gravelly voice wasn't exactly familiar, but it wasn't a stranger's voice either. Tails blinked, eyes still stinging from the salt as he looked up into Vector's face. The crocodile offered him a toothy grin, the sharp rows of teeth not doing much to set Tails at ease when he was still caught in his grasp.

"Looked like you needed a little help getting back to shore," Vector continued.

Tails bristled, still panting while his brow creased, like the very idea offended him. "I can swim."

"No kidding! You made it out pretty far by yourself!" Vector laughed. 

Tails's frown turned into a glare that unfortunately lacked any real bite when his fur was plastered to his skin, looking all but bedraggled and half-drowned. "Gee, thanks. That's not patronizing at all."

At least Vector knew sarcasm when he heard it. This time his chuckle was much more abashed as he rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, little guy. Force of habit." He let up on his grip so Tails was mostly floating on his own again, though he kept a hand at his back just in case he needed to grab on. "Anyway, was just out for another quick dip. Thinking of heading back myself though! All this swimming sure builds up an appetite."

Tails had a feeling he was only saying that as an excuse to keep an eye on him and make sure he was okay swimming back alone without outright saying that, but he couldn't exactly accuse him of that without anything but his own suspicions to back him up. He was in no position to do anything but reluctantly agree. Despite being a powerful swimmer, Vector took his time so he could keep pace with Tails. They waded through the shallows together, tromping up the wet sand to the group's spot.

Fully prepared for another lecture, Tails stayed a few steps behind Vector, eyes downcast to avoid the worry that would surely be shining in Sonic's eyes.

"Yo, Tails!" The jovial lilt in his brother's voice had his head snapping up to attention.

Sonic was lounging in one of the beach chairs, a popsicle stick clenched between his teeth as he flashed a grin his way. He had a book open in his lap, Cream curled up at his side, fast asleep with the sticky remains of her own popsicle around her muzzle. She was bundled in a towel, nearly dry from her swim earlier, and nuzzling into the warmth of Sonic's fur. One arm was tucked around her shoulder comfortably, like he didn't mind at all that she was there.

Like he hadn't even noticed Tails hadn't been there at all.

Over on the Chaotix's beach chairs, Amy was teaching Espio and Charmy a card game. Or doing a fortune reading for them, Tails couldn't really tell. It didn't really matter either way.

Sonic marked his place on the page with his finger. "How was your swim? You cooled off now?"

His eyes stung and his vision blurred again. Tails blamed it on the saltwater.

"I'm hungry," was all he said.

Sonic's grin turned into a lopsided smile, then he jerked his head towards the cooler. "I'll bet! Amy packed us some sandwiches. Go on and grab one, bud."

"I don't want a sandwich."

Sonic blinked, mouth parting in a surprised "O" shape. "Well, that's kinda all we got, keed. They're pretty good! She's got peanut butter and jelly. Egg salad. Some weird cucumber and cream cheese type deal."

It didn't matter that he was hungry enough that any one of those would've been fine. In this moment, he was pretty dead set on not eating them even if they were the last sandwiches on Mobius.

"No," he said stubbornly.

"Okay… How 'bout an ice cream, then? There's a vendor selling these popsicles near the pier. Go ahead and get yourself something—"

"Did you even see me out there?" Tails demanded, pointing at the ocean. "Did you even care?"

Cream stirred as he raised his voice, blinking sleepily just as the eyes of everyone else in the group turned to him. Oh, so now they were looking. Now he had their attention when it didn't matter and he didn't want it.

"What's up? What happened?" Sonic asked, sitting up straighter because now the worry was there. Confused and clueless as ever, but still worried, even if he didn't know why.

"Just forget it." Tails stormed away, fur still dripping and eyes still wet.

He didn't get far before Sonic slid ahead of him in the sand, both hands held up to stop him in his tracks. "Cool your jets a Sonic sec, kid. What's going on in that head of yours?"

"Nothing!" Tails tried to go around him, but Sonic simply side-stepped into his path. "Just leave me alone!"

"Hey, you're the one who asked if I cared." Sonic pointed at him, then at himself as his other hand went to his hip. "This is me caring, pal."

"I didn't mean it," Tails snorted, rolling his eyes. "There's nothing to care about. I'm fine."

"Yeah, you sure sound fine to me," Sonic tsked, foot already tapping impatiently in the sand. "You've been in a weird funk all day, Tails. What gives?"

"I don't wanna talk about it," he grumbled.

"You don't wanna do much, do you?" Sonic huffed, crossing his arms to mirror the way Tails did. "You don't wanna play. You don't wanna eat. You don't wanna talk. What do you want?"

Tails stubbornly dropped his gaze, glaring at the sand. He was still dripping wet, droplets falling from the tips of his fur and dotting the soft, white grains with dark patches of saltwater. Sonic's foot was still bouncing, relentless in making sure Tails could feel the pressure behind each tap like the ticking of a clock.

Like time would eventually run out, and Sonic's patience with it.

Despite the lump that formed in his throat, like he'd swallowed a wad of wet sand, the imaginary threat was enough to break down his resolve. In the end, it was no stronger than a stupid sandcastle.

"I wanna go," Tails mumbled, hugging himself tighter. "I don't want to be here anymore. I just wanna go…"

He watched Sonic's foot settle in the sand. No more tapping. Instead he silently stood there a moment, though Tails wasn't sure what he was thinking without looking at him. Even so, he couldn't bring himself to.

But he didn't have to. Soon enough, Sonic shuffled forward. Tails let himself be pulled into Sonic's chest, dry arms bundling around his soaked, shivering frame without complaint. Sonic rubbed his back, carding his fingers through his wet fur.

"Alright. Hear ya loud and clear, little bro," he assured him. "Think I'm all beached out anyway."

It was a lie, just like the one Vector had told. But unlike Vector's lie, Tails clung to Sonic's and refused to let it go. It was a way out. Sonic ready and willing to go with the flow, even if he still didn't know why.

That was just the kinda guy his brother was. 

"I swam too far out," Tails mumbled into his chest, his own fingers curling in Sonic's shorter fur when he finally hugged him back. "And I got scared."

Sonic's hold on him tightened for a second. Then he stepped back, both hands framing Tails's face as he angled it up towards him. Their eyes met. Sonic's brow furrowed as his gaze searched his, like he was trying to see the memory swimming through Tails's eyes. Like that was enough to take them both back, as if he could've done anything about it.

"Aw, bud." Sonic cupped the back of his head and pulled him back in. "You're okay now. You made it back. You're okay."

It wasn't everything that was bothering him, but for now it was enough. Even as the guilt squirmed around in his empty belly, Tails greedily soaked up the attention like that was what he'd been starved for all along.

Chapter Text

It kept happening.

After the disaster that was supposed to have been a fun beach day, Tails could at least comfort himself with the assumption that it would be a few weeks—or months—before he'd have to see any of them again. Aside from Amy, that is, since her birthday was in September and he and Sonic had been invited to the party she was hosting at the roller rink. Unfortunately, that assumption—which had been based on the solid, empirical data that normally it was a few weeks to a few months between the times they'd visit their friends—was ultimately incorrect.

At least once a week, Tails found himself in the company of Cream or Charmy or both.

Despite the two of them starting preschool that fall, their afternoons were still free and the precious few hours between three o'clock and dinnertime would wind up being spent on dragging Sonic and Tails to various activities across Station Square. The comic book store, the movies, the arcade, the library, the boardwalk, the park… All things that used to be reserved for special occasions just for the two of them, on their own, now had anywhere from two to five tagalongs vying for Sonic's attention.

And Tails couldn't stand it.

Tails opted to stay behind at the workshop for a couple of the outings, but found his productivity at an all time low when all he could think about was how much fun Sonic was having rough-housing with Charmy or how gently he'd hold Cream's hand when she reached for it. Charmy would probably challenge him to a chili dog eating contest or Cream would ask if he'd share a double scoop of ice cream with her because she couldn't decide between two flavors. Charmy would get all the noogies and Cream would get all the hugs. Each scenario burned make-believe images into his brain that wouldn't fade for hours or even days. Their imprints flickering like half-baked horror movies every time he closed his eyes.

So he had to keep going on all these little outings. He needed to know what they were doing and talking about when he wasn't there. He needed to know how much fun Sonic was having without him.

It was beyond irrational.

Whenever the two of them were on their own, everything was fine. Things were just like they'd always been. They'd go on runs through the Red Mountains, where Sonic would do tricks off the steep canyon walls while Tails would study the environment until Sonic goaded him into a race. They'd sit by the waterfall in the Mystic Ruins, where Tails would swim around while Sonic napped on the shore until Tails started a splash fight. They'd stargaze on the rooftop at night until it was past both of their bedtimes, but if Tails promised not to tell, then Sonic wouldn't either—even if there was no one to tell.

It was just him and Sonic.

And that should've been enough for him. He got Sonic to himself most of the time—and he'd had him for years—so he really shouldn't have minded sharing him. He was a person with his own free will. If he wanted to play with Cream and Charmy instead of Tails, then that was perfectly within his right to do so. It didn't mean he cared about Tails any less.

Even if that's what it felt like.

Honestly, that was what Tails couldn't stand the most. His own brain acknowledged the logic of the situation, but it couldn't keep the traitorous thoughts from creeping in and ruining Tails's whole mood. And unlike at the beach, Sonic was pretending not to notice. Or maybe he really didn't notice, it wasn't like Tails was blowing up like he did at the beach. After a few days, he could only look back on his behavior with utter embarrassment. Sonic had been right; he was older and way more mature. He shouldn't have unloaded his emotions on a couple of kids like that. He was above that. He needed to be better than that. So he swallowed the flares of annoyance and held his tongue and his breath so as not to feed the flames to their boiling point.

But then they'd go to the library, and Amy and Cream would be there. They'd pick out their books and take them back to Vanilla and Cream's place, where Cream would ask Mr. Sonic to read to her while Amy got her afternoon snack ready. Sonic would settle with her on the couch and put on the silliest voices that sent her into sweet fits of giggles every time. Tails would sit by himself in the armchair, his own book open in his lap, even if his mind couldn't really process any of the words blurring together on the page. Not when Cream sat in Sonic's lap so comfortably. Like it was a spot meant for her.

Sonic didn't read to him much. When they first met and Sonic didn't speak, there was no way for him to read aloud to him. By the time they were talking to one another, Sonic knew he didn't have to read to Tails. He could read just fine on his own. And Tails couldn't ever remember being read aloud to anyway. It wasn't something he'd thought to ask for.

But there were times when Tails had been sick, laid up in a cozy cave or burrow or motel room if they could swing it, and Sonic would settle beside him with a few of their favorites. Four-year-old Tails had loved stories like Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, and Peter Pan, absolutely enchanted by the idea of being whisked to another world that maybe wasn't so mean, where there were plenty of weird things like him and anyone could fly.

So Sonic would read to him, and he'd do voices and act out scenes to make Tails laugh, because he believed it would help him feel better faster. It had been a while since he'd done that though. Tails couldn't remember the last time he'd read to him. He was pretty sure he stopped around the time Tails started picking out computer engineering books instead of fairy tales. You couldn't do silly voices with computer engineering books.

Not that Tails needed or wanted that. He was almost seven. That was too old for things like being read to or being held in someone's lap.

It didn't mean anyone else had the right to have Sonic read to them though. Certainly not someone like Cream, who had plenty of people who were more than happy to read to her while they cuddled. It didn't have to be Sonic.

And Sonic didn't have to say yes.

But he did. Every time.

"I need an outfit for my birthday party next week!" Amy declared as the three of them left Vanilla's apartment one late afternoon, all heading for the train station.

"What's wrong with the one you got on?" Sonic asked, hands behind his quills as he strode ahead of them.

"Are you crazy? I can't wear one of my old outfits to my own birthday party!" she huffed, turning up her nose like he'd suggested something as offensive as plucking a flicky's feathers from their wings.

"How come?" Tails asked, unable to help being a little curious at her logic. 

"Because these are so last year! I need something fresh! Something that says…" She hummed to herself thoughtfully, then snapped her fingers and twirled her way in front of the boys to strike a pose. "'Have no fear, Amy Rose is here!'"

Sonic snorted and Tails had an urge to elbow him in the side, but the bitterness festering where his heart should've been kept him from going anywhere near his brother. "Some clothes are gonna say all that?" Sonic said as he arched a brow.

"Yes." Amy squared up her shoulders, hands firmly planted on her hips. "I'll prove it! Let's stop by the mall and you can help me pick something out."

"No."

Amy pouted. "You didn't even think about it first."

"Don't have to," Sonic replied flippantly, brushing past her.

"But it's my birthday!"

"Not 'til next week," he replied, a teasing glint in his eyes as he smirked. "You just said."

"Do you have any concept of chivalry?" Amy ran after him, Tails shuffling behind them both.

"Nope!"

"I don't want to go by myself!"

"Not my problem."

"Jerk!" Amy stuck her tongue out at him as Sonic made his own silly face right back at her. "C'mon. Please? I'll buy you dinner at the food court!"

"They got chili dogs?"

Amy's cheeks puffed up as her pout grew more pronounced. "No… but they have burritos! And ramen and burgers and pizza!"

Sonic wagged his finger at her. "But no chili dogs. Sorry, Ames, no can do. Maybe next time. Or never."

"But, Sonic!" Amy's voice took on a whiny pitch that was even less likely to get him to do what she wanted than when she first asked. "You never want to go shopping with me!"

As soon as that tone came out, the teasing became less fun and Sonic's patience vanished from his hands faster than a chili dog ever could. He stopped at a crosswalk with a heavy sigh, purposefully looking away from her with his arms crossed.

And it was then that Tails felt a sudden spark of inspiration, akin to what he'd usually get while coming up with new projects. "I'll go with you, Amy."

Amy blinked and released her clenched fists as the angry flush cooled from her cheeks. "What—really?"

Tails nodded quickly, this time making sure he was the one that didn't look at his big brother at all, and placed his hands on his hips. "Yeah! You and I can go on a shopping adventure. Just us!"

He didn't miss the way Amy flicked her gaze over to Sonic, and it was Tails's turn to puff his cheeks up with mild irritation that she was looking to him for permission. "Is that okay?"

"Eh, sure. If you want." Sonic gave them the most careless shrug, like it didn't really matter to him what they did and whether or not he was included.

Tails tried not to think about how much that hurt. Instead he marched forward, taking Amy's hand and tugging on it to reclaim her attention. "See? It's fine. Can we go, Amy? We never get to hang out just you and me!"

"Oh—" Her eyes widened, and Tails's stomach twisted uncomfortably as she lit up with a bright, sparkling smile and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "Okay, Tails, let's go! Bye, Sonic!"

"Yeah. Bye, Sonic."

"See ya."

"We're gonna have so much fun! I promise!" Amy assured him as she pulled him away from Sonic to a different cross street.

While she was busy looking ahead, Tails glanced back over his shoulder where they'd left Sonic. The uncomfortable guilt burned away as his expression hardened. He was already gone.

"What do you think of this one?"

Amy plucked what had to be the seventh or eighth dress off the rack and held it up in front of her. It was specifically tailored for hedgehogs, the back of it cut low to leave room for her back spines, rather than the slit her current ensemble offered her. A bit of white trim lined the hem of the skirt, but aside from those details everything else about it was a vibrant, in-your-face red.

"It's pretty bold," Tails answered honestly. "But it matches your headband." And Sonic's shoes, but Tails didn't have to glance down at his own pair of red and white sneakers to know better than to vocalize that particular observation unless he wanted the kettle to boil over and call the pot black right back at his face.

"Right?" Amy spun around to check the mirror again, pressing the dress close to her front as she looked it over in different angles. "I think I can pull it off! I am a bold, independent woman, after all! No more frilly skirts and puffy sleeves. The time for cutesy and demure is over!"

Tails didn't think Amy had ever been demure a day in her life, but he also knew better than to say that outloud, too.

"I'm gonna try it on!" She bundled it and the other half a dozen dresses she'd grabbed in her arms, then turned her bright smile on Tails. "Is there anything you want to look for, Tails? We can get something for you, too!"

"That's okay. I don't really need anything." Tails lifted up one foot, showing off his sock and sneaker as proof that he was covered.

"Yeah, but the weather's gonna start cooling down soon. You probably need a new coat or something. You've grown a lot since last year!"

Tails shrugged, the pride and pleasure in growing up dampened by the petulant, possessiveness he'd been feeling lately. "I'll probably just end up wearing Sonic's old coat. He's grown, too. He might get a new one this year."

"But why be stuck with hand-me-downs if you don't have to be! You deserve something all your own and actually made for foxes." Amy managed to free up one arm so she could take Tails's hand. "C'mon, let's just go see what they have. It doesn't hurt to look!"

Fall fashion was already on display in most of the departments. On the mobian floor, the mannequins ranged from all manner of species, showing off outfits that suited their various features. Amy tugged him past a wolf or coyote-like mannequin, humming to herself as she scanned the racks until she found tags that proclaimed "fox." She shoved her bundle of dresses into Tails's arms and rolled up her own sleeves, determined to find something for him.

"Here we go… your favorite color's red, too, right?" Amy asked, already combing through the options they had for sweaters.

"Yeah," Tails mumbled, standing on his tiptoes to see over the top of the dresses, then sighed and spun his tails, lifting himself into the air so he could keep an eye on what Amy grabbed. "I thought you said we were looking for coats."

"We will," Amy huffed. "I'm just getting an idea of what else is here. Besides, you never know if something might catch your eye. Just 'cause Sonic puts as little effort into his appearance as possible doesn't mean you do, too."

"I guess…" Tails pursed his mouth into a slight frown. Sonic would probably be super surprised to see Tails come home with new clothes himself. Stuff Sonic didn't pick out for him or force him to wear. A bonding experience that was once theirs and now would belong to someone else.

"Actually, I don't want something red," Tails said decisively.

"Oh." Amy blinked, finally glancing away from the red and gray hoodie she'd plucked from the rack to look at him. "Okay. What color do you want then?"

"Anything else."

A strange look passed through her eyes, her head tilting to one side as she tried to read him. Tails quickly jerked his head away, then flew over to a different rack of clothes, hovering over it and pretending like he knew what he was looking for. Amy joined him after a beat, slowly accumulating a few options for him to try—including three new coats.

Tails started to try on the clothes right there in the middle of the store, but Amy ushered him to the fitting rooms instead. "This is where you try things on to see if they fit," she explained. "They have mirrors and places to hang the clothes up and it's more private."

She led him into one of the stalls and hung up his clothes before taking her dresses back from him. "I'll be in the stall right next to yours!" she told him. "Just shout if you need anything!"

With that, she skipped out and he saw her pale blue sneakers bouncing beneath the gap in the stalls as she settled into her own fitting room. He heard her lock her door, so he followed suit and did the same. Then he stared at the stack of clothes hanging in front of him. His tails flicked up and down with agitation as he pulled the first coat down. It was a dark, chocolate brown corduroy with a soft, fleece lining and a collar. Tails made a face at it. It wasn't really his style… but then, he didn't really have a style. His style was Sonic's hand-me-downs.

Tails slipped his arm into the coat, then started to wriggle the other into it when he froze. He didn't know his size apart from his shoe size, so Amy had just held up various clothes to his body to estimate, but it didn't matter what the number on the tag said. It wasn't going to work. None of them would.

He immediately shrugged out of it and looked at the back. There was a courtesy cut in the bottom hem, to accommodate a fox's bushy tail. One tail. Both of his curled around his legs self-consciously and his chest felt tight.

The sounds of other people coming in and out of the fitting room buzzed around him, Amy's humming muffled by so much more than a simple divider between them. He hung the coat back up, then eased onto the little seat the room had in front of a mirror. Leaving his back to it, he drew his knees up and hugged them, balling up as he breathed through the constriction banded around his chest.

A sharp pang pierced his heart. He wanted Sonic.

But Sonic hadn't cared that he went off to go shopping with Amy. To be in a crowded place without him, painfully reminded of how not normal he was by doing something as simple as wearing a coat. He had a vague memory of being really uncomfortable in one. His tails ached and everything felt too tight and hot. But then Sonic was there, the coat was gone, and he could breathe. Deep breaths that assured him he was free and fine. That everything would be okay.

Tails slowed his breathing, filling his belly with it before releasing it in a long exhale. Now he could see the appeal in fitting rooms. A space just for him, where no one could see him until he was ready.

He was glad Amy had grabbed so many dresses, after all.

"Okay, I think I've narrowed it down to three options! Can I show you, Tails?" she called out to him after about ten minutes, and he heard her door swing open.

"Y-yeah." Tails inhaled deeply one last time, then uncurled and hopped down from his seat to unlock the door.

Amy stood before him in the sleeveless, red dress. It was a much sportier look than her frilled skirts and lacey collars, especially with the bold color. She held out the hem with her fingertips, showing off the wide skirt before giving a little twirl. Beaming brightly, she came to a stop and leaned forward, hands clasped behind her back.

"So whaddya think?"

"I like it," he replied, offering her a smile. "You look really happy in it."

"I really think this is the one!" she squealed, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "But I still wanna show you the other two, just in case." Her eyes lit up as she realized he wasn't wearing any of the clothes. "How about you? Did anything fit?"

"Uh… not really." Tails rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I don't think normal fox coats are gonna work for me…" He pointedly swished his tails and Amy's attention was drawn right to them.

"Oh!" She clasped her hands together, concern knitting her brow. "Oh, I didn't even think about your tails! I'm so sorry. I should've taken them into consideration."

"That's okay. Why would you?" Tails shrugged it off. "It's not your fault. I didn't think about it either. I always just slip my tails through the holes made for hedgehog spines when I wear clothes."

"They're just so much a part of you, and I've never seen them give you any problems," she admitted, glancing from him to the stack of clothes, remorse fleeing in the face of an attempt to salvage the situation. "Well… Miss Vanilla is really good at sewing! Maybe if there's something you like, she can alter it for you so both your tails can—" Amy started to suggest, but Tails was already shaking his head.

"I don't want her to have to go to all that trouble. Besides, I think it makes more sense just to pick up something secondhand if I'm gonna need to make changes to it." He waved it off. "But thanks for trying, Amy."

"Well, how about any of the shirts? There's a few that are short enough that they won't get in the way of your tails. Did you like any of those?"

Tails just shook his head again, and thankfully it was enough to get Amy to back off. He waited outside her fitting room stall, then gave his opinions on the other two dresses she'd liked. She decided to get all three, since she had her dad's credit card at her disposal and permission to get herself whatever she wanted, and that put her in slightly better spirits as they left the department store.

"Thanks for coming with me, Tails. I'm sorry we didn't find anything for you, too."

"That's okay. The whole point was to find you an outfit for your birthday, so I'd say that makes tonight a success!" He pumped his fist in the air with a smile.

"Yeah!" Amy giggled, joining him in the cheer. "You know, I'm happy to spend time with you whenever you like! We don't need an excuse, okay?"

"Okay," Tails agreed, falling quiet as though holding his breath could keep Amy from digging deeper into the true reason as to why he'd asked to come with her.

"If there's ever anything you feel like you can't talk to Sonic about, for whatever reason," she continued, voice wavering a little as she twisted the handles of her shopping bag between her hands, "You can always come to me. I might not have been there for you in the past, but I can definitely be here for you now. You're my friend, and I care about you."

If he avoided her gaze, surely she'd only grow more suspicious, so he faced her head-on with a bright smile. "Thanks, Amy! I care about you, too! I'm really glad to have you as a friend."

It wasn't a lie; it couldn't be. Every word he said was true. But every word also fed the guilt still gnawing at his insides, deep in his gut, especially when Amy smiled back, pure relief lighting up her eyes, and he wasn't sure why.

They stopped by the food court for some dinner, Amy treating Tails to some slices of pizza and a cookie as additional thanks for putting up with her shopping habits and a little bit as an apology, even if she didn't owe him one in his eyes. She was right, after all. She'd never been privy to any of the pains that came from having a physical deformity. By the time she'd met him, Sonic had already helped him see the good in his tails, and how useful they could be. How special they made him.

The guilt only grew as he reflected on being so snippy with him earlier, and on his attempt to make him jealous, so Tails asked Amy if he could get a second cookie to bring back for Sonic, too.

It wouldn't be warm after the train ride to the Mystic Ruins, but Tails didn't think Sonic would mind. They could always heat it up in the oven for a little bit. While they waited, Tails would tell Sonic all about what Amy taught him about shopping in a department store and maybe Sonic would be a bit bummed that he'd missed out on something that used to be just theirs and then he'd suddenly get it and Tails could stop being so mad at him and they could just laugh it off in the middle of the kitchen.

The lights were off in the workshop and the door was locked when Tails got back. There was a note stuck to the fridge with a magnet. Went for a night run. Be back late. Hope ya had fun with Amy! A little doodle of a smiley hedgehog face was scribbled in the corner. 

Tails crumpled it up and threw it in the trash with the cookie.

He didn't see Sonic that night. He went to bed before he got back; pretending to be asleep with his back to the door when he heard it open.

The urge struck again the night of Amy's birthday party. She'd held it at a roller skating rink, and all the kids from her sixth grade class had been invited. She had to spend most of the time mingling with everyone, so wouldn't actually get to spend much time with Sonic and Tails during the party itself. She'd asked if they could stick around after so the three of them could have dinner together, as a birthday treat to her.

Tails didn't mind at first. He and Sonic found plenty of ways to entertain themselves by racing around the rink or blowing five bucks on game tokens in the mini arcade. They managed to skate a few loops with the birthday girl herself, and occasionally Amy swung by to introduce them to some of her friends from school, but the conversations died out almost faster than the blue blur himself after all the typical "what's it like being a hero?" questions ran their course. 

But then Cream showed up.

Vanilla brought her by, not intending to stay long since it was more of a "big kid" party. But Cream drew a card for her all by herself and helped pick out the present, after all, so she wanted to make sure Amy got them at her birthday party. Tails couldn't begrudge her that.

He could, however, begrudge the fact that as soon as she laid eyes on Sonic, she was practically glued to his side. Since Amy was busy flitting around and playing star hostess to all her guests, Sonic took her clinginess in stride and offered to win her some prize tickets over in the arcade while Vanilla sought out Amy's parents to say a quick "hello." Instead of tagging along with the new tagalong, Tails was determined to go back out on the rink by himself.

He sat down on the bench and struggled to lace his roller skates back on his feet, tongue poking out in concentration. He was a genius, he could tie a stupid knot no problem. As he got the first one secured, he felt someone sit beside him. Bristling for a moment, he chanced a peek up only to see it was Vanilla. He couldn't tell if she'd meant to sit next to him or not; her expression was pinched with something he couldn't help categorizing as… disquieting. Something that wasn't quite sad, though; not with the judgment in her eyes.

She didn't say anything; there was no invitation to talk, but still Tails found his mouth opening as he asked, "Is everything okay?"

Vanilla blinked, drawn out of her own thoughts as she realized he was addressing her. "Hello, Tails. I apologize, I was only thinking."

"About what?" he asked, tilting his head. "Looked pretty serious."

She started shaking her head, only to give it a moment's consideration. "It isn't really. I was simply wondering how a girl as sweet as Amy could come from such…" Her brow furrowed and she immediately retracted whatever choice words she'd had saved up. "It isn't my place. There truly isn't a one-size-fits-all approach to parenting…"

Tails's head swiveled about as he searched the roller rink for Amy's parents, cluing in that whatever had raised Vanilla's ire must've been in the brief interaction with the two of them. Though come to think of it, Tails had yet to lay eyes on her parents himself. Ever. As it was, even purposefully seeking them out, Tails didn't see a single grown hedgehog who might've resembled the vibrant Amy Rose.

"Are Amy's parents not here?" Tails asked.

Vanilla's frown deepened. "No. They're not."

"But it's her birthday."

"I know." Vanilla's fingers clenched in the fabric of her skirt. "But it's not entirely a surprise. This wouldn't be the first time. But to not have a parent present on a special day like this…" she trailed off, self-awareness reining her in once again, though this time, there was an apology in her gaze as she faced Tails. "I'm sorry."

Why? Because he didn't have parents at all? Or because her daughter was stealing the closest thing he had to one? "It's okay," he replied, because he couldn't really think of anything else to say to her. "Guess a big party doesn't really make up for them not being here, huh?"

Vanilla sighed and shook her head. "Not in my eyes, no. It isn't always easy to make the time, I know that firsthand, but for some things… there's just no excuse. Why have a child at all if you can't be bothered to be there for them?"

Tails winced, averting his gaze to his one roller skate, the other still abandoned on the ground. "Maybe it was just a whim," he mumbled. "Maybe plans were never really their thing. They didn't think things through until it was too late."

"I think in this case, it might be too much planning and not enough wiggle room to accommodate their child. Loving the idea of them more than the person."

Tails's brow furrowed, then he looked out at the rink. Amy was skating alongside a group of other girls from her class, smiling bright as she tried to engage in conversation with them. He saw her give a little wave, slowing down as the other girls continued on. Though the smile remained on her face, there was something that looked a little lonelier about it than before.

Lonely, even though she was surrounded by so many people. It didn't matter that most of her classmates showed up, that she had exactly the kind of party she'd probably asked for.

The ones who mattered weren't there. And that made all the difference.

"Can you help me with my other skate?" Tails asked Vanilla, and the rabbit didn't think twice before lacing it up for him. "Thank you. I guess you and Cream will probably be gone by the time I get back, huh?"

A pensive look passed over Vanilla's face as she glanced over at the cake table in the party section, and the pile of presents that had been brought over. "I think we might stay a little while longer. I wasn't sure how Cream would do with so many older children, but she's become quite taken with you and Sonic. You boys are very kind to include her in so much."

Tails bit down on the inside of his cheek, tasting guilt and bitterness as he held himself back. "Yeah, well, that's just the kinda guy Sonic is," he muttered before skating away and before Vanilla could read anything deeper into what he didn't say.

He skated right up to Amy, latching onto her hand when she realized he was there. "Wanna skate together?" he asked, and some of the guilt ebbed when she lit up and immediately agreed. 

But only some of it. Because even though he'd chased away some of Amy's loneliness, Tails couldn't quite stop himself from constantly looking over his shoulder to see where Sonic and Cream were, and the way neither of them even glanced his way.

Eventually the cake had been cut, presents opened, and goodie bags divvied out amongst all the guests as they took their leave. Amy got a few birthday snuggles in from Cream, beyond delighted that she and Vanilla had decided to stick around after all and help clean up. But eventually the little rabbit started yawning and rubbing her eyes, so they bid the two of them a good evening, too. 

And then there were three.

The roller rink had a quick service counter themed like a retro diner, with brightly colored neon lights zigzagging across the walls. The menu wasn't expansive, but it had the essentials—the most important being chili dogs. Amy ordered first, as the birthday girl, opting for a hamburger, fries, and a strawberry milkshake. Then Sonic was up.

"And we'll take six chili dogs—"

"I want a hamburger."

Sonic cut himself off, head swiveling to face Tails mid-order. "What?"

"I want a hamburger like Amy," Tails told him. "With fries and a milkshake."

"Oh. Yeah, sure. Whatever you want, bud." But it was clear Sonic had been thrown for a serious loop and Tails felt the sharp sting of satisfaction at catching him off guard. "Uh. Three chili dogs, a hamburger, two fries, and a milkshake."

"What flavor?" the guy at the counter asked.

Sonic looked to Tails. Well. Tails hadn't thought this through completely. After a quick glance at the menu to confirm they did not have a mint chip shake, he decided on strawberry, too. Just the cherry on top of emulating Amy's order.

He'd never had a hamburger before, and it wasn't bad, he decided. It could've used a little spice, and was a bit dry. He followed Amy's lead as she topped hers off with ketchup and mustard and that helped, but it was, nevertheless, an adjustment.

"How is it?" Sonic asked, only halfway through his first chili dog.

"It's good!" he answered, and it wasn't a lie. It was good! It just wasn't a chili dog, and he kinda wished it was.

Tails took an extra big bite to try and convince them both. Sonic seemed to accept it easily, polishing off the rest of his chili dog with a shrug, but Amy's eyes were searching him again, a little too suspicious for Tails's liking. He pretended to ignore her and took another too-big bite.

"So, Tails, your birthday's the next one coming up now," Amy piped up, a delighted gleam in her eyes. "Have you figured out what you wanna do for it yet?"

"It'll be here before ya know it!" Sonic agreed, nudging him with his elbow. 

Tails took another bite to buy himself more time, chewing thoughtfully. His last birthday still loomed in the back corners of his mind, the events of that day leading into what had to have been the most emotionally turbulent year of his life thus far. Fraught with changes and doubts and a new life that he was still trying to find his place in. While he couldn't deny some good had come of it—he and Sonic were now legally a family and the workshop was actually a really nice place to keep and build all sorts of things he never could before—a small part of him still wondered if they hadn't done anything for his sixth birthday, that things would've stayed just as they were. Him and Sonic on the road, going wherever the wind took them. 

Forcing himself to swallow, Tails just shrugged and picked a couple sesame seeds off his bun. "Not really," he answered. "I don't think I really want to do anything this year."

"What?" Amy and Sonic spoke at the same time, each equally incredulous as they gaped at him.

"Don't be ridiculous, Tails," Amy continued with a huff, turning up her nose at the very idea of skimping on his birthday.

"Yeah, 'course we're doing something for ya, keed. It's a big birthday!" Sonic added.

Tails arched a brow. "It's just seven."

"Yeah, and you've never been seven before!" Sonic gestured broadly, like that was all the justification he needed. "Besides, everyone knows the coolest things come in sevens. Like the seven Chaos Emeralds?"

"The seven wonders of Mobius," Amy added. "And the number seven holds a lot of meaningful and mysterious significance in numerology."

"And it's my favorite number." Sonic jabbed his thumb into his own chest, like it was some kind of personal achievement.

Tails frowned. "Since when do you have a favorite number?"

"Since right now!"

With a sigh, Tails set the rest of his burger down. "Fine. I guess something small might be nice. I just don't want it to be a big deal or anything."

"How about something like a picnic in the park?" Amy suggested.

Tails perked up at that, interest piqued. "That doesn't sound too bad… I like picnics."

"Perfect! Oh, we can make it like a potluck." Amy clapped her hands together, the gears in her brain whirring as party planning mode activated. "Everyone can bring something! Except you, Tails. All you have to bring is yourself," she said with a wink and a giggle. "And leave the cake to me! And of course we all know what Sonic's bringing."

Sonic paused mid-bite. "Hey, what's with that tone?"

"Do ya even have to ask?" Tails snickered.

Amy sighed. "I mean, you're just so predictable, Mr. I'll-Take-Three-Chili-Dogs."

Between that and Tails laughing at him, Sonic took both as a personal attack. "Hey, you're looking at the literal definition of spontaneity here. I can do more than just chili dogs. Just you wait." He waved off their teasing.

"Again, it doesn't really have to be a big deal," Tails reminded them.

"Ooh. Miss Vanilla has a recipe for a really good carrot slaw. That might be nice," Amy hummed, taking out a Hello Doggy planner out of her purse to start jotting down notes. "And if we go to the park I'm thinking of, there are plenty of barbecue spots to choose from. It also has a big gazebo just in case the weather isn't on our side. I'll check my oracle cards when I get home for a weather forecast. Oh, and put the invitations together! We have less than a month to let everyone know!"

Tails blinked. "Everyone?"

"Yeah! Knuckles, Cream and Miss Vanilla, and Vector, Espio, and Charmy! And anyone else you want to invite!"

Tails stiffened, lowering his hamburger—still only half-eaten—and his gaze to the tabletop.

Sonic tilted his head to try and see his face. "Unless you want it to just be us," he said, voice surprisingly gentle.

Tails bit down on the inside of his cheek, taking great care to keep his tails as still as possible. Of course now he was being observant. Now he was suggesting that they didn't have to include anyone else.

He thought back to his discussion with Vanilla earlier; how a big party couldn't possibly replace the feeling of being loved and valued. Maybe it went both ways. Maybe it would hurt just as much to know that the person you wanted to celebrate with would rather spend their special day with a bunch of other people instead of you.

"No way, that'd be boring," Tails forced a smile, his tone entirely too chipper. "Of course I want everyone else there! The more the merrier, right?"

"That's the spirit!" Amy cheered, only half paying attention as she continued to write down notes and ideas to herself.

For a moment, Sonic looked as stunned as he had when Tails opted to copy Amy's order instead of his. Unfortunately, it, too, passed in a flash and was replaced by a proud grin. Like Sonic couldn't be happier that Tails wanted to spend time with more than just him.

Well. Guess he'd better step it up and give him exactly what he wanted.

Throughout the next week, Tails found as many excuses as possible to hang out with Amy on his own. Luckily she wanted to take lead on party planning, so happily let Tails tag along to pick out decorations with her. Unfortunately, Sonic was way past cool with the whole idea, all-too relieved that he didn't have to be dragged around the city with them.

Tails brainstormed a few other options; coming to the quick conclusion that Sonic needed to feel like he was missing out on things he actually enjoyed. He didn't like shopping and wasn't much of a planner unless the situation called for it, so of course he wouldn't mind missing out on things like that. Sonic liked being outside in nature. He liked exploring new places and trying new foods and taking it easy after a good, fast run.

So Tails knew exactly who to go to next to put a little extra green in his big bro's eyes.

Sonic was stretching in the living room when Tails entered as nonchalantly as possible. His back was to him as he dropped into a deep lunge, and Tails was half-tempted to ask if he could go on the run with him. But he had a plan to implement, and it involved as little time spent with him as possible.

"Yo, Tails! Going for a run, wanna come with?" Sonic called out, not realizing he was right behind him.

"No thanks. I'm going fishing with Big."

Sonic glanced over his shoulder mid-stretch. "Oh?"

"Yeah." Tails shrugged like it was no big deal. "We made plans to go to this cool, new fishing spot in the jungle. Oh, and don't expect me for dinner. I'm gonna eat at his place. He's got a fish stew recipe he's been wanting to share with me."

Sonic straightened up with a grin, then shot him an easy thumbs up. "Sounds fun! Maybe I'll swing by after my run and catch up with you guys!"

"We'll be pretty hard to find. There's a ton of trees and not much room to run at all, so it'd probably take you a while," Tails pointed out. "Besides, it's been so long since just me and Big hung out—and Froggy," he tacked on. "They've missed me, so I've promised them some one-on-uh… two time."

Sonic stretched one arm over his chest as he hummed. "Huh. Well, okay. Maybe another time then. Hey, if that stew's any good, make sure you save me some!"

"Sure. Have a good run." Tails strolled past him to the front door.

"See ya later, bud!" Sonic called after him. "Oh, and remember to make it back before dark!"

Tails stilled with his hand on the doorknob, then frowned back at Sonic. "I can't promise that. I just told you I'm staying for dinner and the sun's been setting earlier as we approach the autumnal equinox."

"C'mon now, pal, we agreed—"

"That was months ago," Tails sighed, rolling his eyes hard. "Don't you think it's time we moved past that? It's not like I'm gonna be far. I can walk to Big's hut blindfolded at this point."

Sonic pursed his mouth, watching him pensively. "I'm sure you can, but—"

"Then why are you being so uncool about it?" Tails planted his hands on his hips, tapping his foot with as much annoyance as he could muster. "Only slow-mos have something as lame as a curfew."

His big brother fell for the bait in a single swoop. "It's not a curfew. Just a… general guideline sorta thing. But you've got a point. I guess his hut isn't that far. Just come straight home when you're finished eating."

"Okay, mom."

It was Sonic's turn to roll his eyes. "Jeez. Someone woke up in a great mood today, huh."

"Speak for yourself." Tails opened the door and stepped out. "Maybe you'll be less of a stick in the mud after your run!"

"'Stick in the—'" Sonic sputtered.

"Bye!"

Maybe insulting his big brother wasn't the best way to make him miss him, but it was more about how unaffected Tails wanted to appear. Sonic needed to believe that Tails was having a great time not only without him, but with someone else entirely. He needed to know that Tails wasn't in a rush to get back to him, because it didn't matter if it was hours before he'd see him again.

He needed to miss him.

Sonic needed to feel the same punch in his gut—the same aching bruise that lingered long after the initial strike and remained tender to the touch whenever a reminder pressed down just a little too hard. He needed to understand just what he was making Tails feel, and so far he wasn't getting it. So he was taking a page out of Amy's book: she'd said absence was supposed to make the heart grow fonder. If Sonic thought he was being replaced, then he had to get it. His big brother would realize that Tails was doing the same thing he was. He was smart, he was observant. He knew Tails, so surely—surely—he'd figure it out without Tails having to admit to the stupid, irrational feeling of jealousy spurred on by two four-year-olds.

It was a foolproof plan, and Sonic—for all his flaws—was no fool.

It was hard to focus on fishing as he sat and wondered and wondered and wondered. Mind spinning through what could possibly be going through Sonic's mind, if he'd realized it yet. If he was putting the pieces together. 

It didn't help that fishing really wasn't Tails's thing; not stimulating enough for his busy brain as his own thoughts distracted him from watching his fishing line closely. He didn't catch anything, but Big didn't mind. He and Froggy caught plenty for the three of them.

At least Big was always good company. He didn't pry like Amy and Tails knew he wouldn't go behind his back to whisper any spilled secrets to Sonic. His presence was a solid, reassuring one; an anchor to keep him from drifting too far into his own head by showing off each catch to him and explaining what kinds of ingredients they'd need to forage for the stew.

Tails did bring back an extra bowl for Sonic and left it for him in the fridge. He wasn't home when Tails got back, even though he'd purposely waited to leave Big's house until just after sunset.

"You don't want Sonic to worry, do you?" Big had asked, eyeing the steadily darkening sky as they cleaned up from dinner.

"No, I guess not," Tails had lied, even if that was exactly what he'd wanted.

Chapter Text

Tails decided he had to go farther. He couldn't expect Sonic to miss him if he never even went farther than their backyard. Of course, he wasn't going to try something like running away or getting kidnapped. Neither had really worked out in Tails's favor in the past and the point of all this wasn't to give Sonic a heart attack. Just a taste of his own medicine.

Which was why he spent all afternoon stalling until Sonic got back from an outing to the Station Square Chao Garden with Amy and Cream, feigning last minute maintenance on the Tornado that he'd already completed two hours earlier.

"Yo, little bro! You missed out on some really cute chao," Sonic called down to him as he bounded down the steps to the workshop when he didn't see him upstairs. "Hey, you taking her out for a flight? Count me in!"

"Actually I'm going to Angel Island to spend the night at Knuckles's," Tails replied airily, like a flight with Sonic was the last thing he wanted to do (which wasn't true, it wasn't true, he wanted to fly together, they still could). "I have to give him his invitation to my birthday anyway, so figured I'd just stay over and hang out with him. I'll be back by tomorrow afternoon, probably. If you're okay with that."

"Oh." Sonic blinked at him, the excited grin fading from his muzzle as the words sank in, but the vibe he gave off wasn't exactly melancholy as he waved his wrist lazily. "Yeah, sure. That's cool with me. Have fun."

"What? You're letting him fly to Angel Island alone?" Amy's voice suddenly floated down; apparently she decided to hitch a ride back with Sonic after dropping Cream off with her mom. "Sonic."

"What?"

"I've made the trip tons of times," Tails pointed out.

Sonic pointed at him while looking at Amy. "He's made the trip tons of times."

Unamused, Amy planted her hands on her hips. "By himself?"

"I'll be fine." Tails rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, he'll be fine." Sonic waved off her concern. "This is Mobius's best pilot you're looking at here!"

Amy's cheeks puffed out as her gaze flicked between the two brothers. Tails kept his eyes carefully averted as he fiddled with the throttle. He had a feeling she'd see right through him with that spooky intuition of hers, and he didn't want to risk his whole plan falling to pieces because his poker face didn't work on her. 

With a huff, she hopped down the last few steps. "Is the phone you've been working on finished yet?" she asked.

"No, not yet." Tails risked a glance over his shoulder.

Amy held out her palm to Sonic. "Let me see yours."

"Huh? Okay, why?" Sonic asked as he handed over his cell phone.

"Tails is taking it," Amy answered, marching over to hand it off like a relay baton. 

"Hey!"

Amy stood on her tiptoes as she offered up the phone. "Here. Sonic might not care if you crash your plane in the middle of Mazuri, but I do. Call me when you get to Angel Island."

"I'm not gonna crash," Tails started to argue. "Besides, the Tornado has a radio in case I need to contact the workshop or any nearby air towers."

"Okay, but you're not going to be with the Tornado the whole time you're on Angel Island, are you?"

"No, but—" His argument that he still wouldn't be all that far from it died the second Amy's hammer came out. "Fine, fine. I'll call you," he grumbled, taking the phone.

"As soon as you land," Amy pressed.

"Last I checked you weren't my guardian," Tails complained as he settled in the cockpit.

"No, but yours is slacking, so I'm stepping up."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Well, he can't exactly call me if he's got my phone, can he?"

"You have a landline," Amy reminded him. "He can call you there."

Sonic tsked, sending Tails a bland look. "Fine, whatever. Call the landline if ya want. Or radio the workshop. Can't promise I'll be hanging around, but you never know."

"Okay." Tails settled in the cockpit as Sonic took it upon himself to open the hangar door for him. "Thanks."

"No problem, little buddy. Have a good flight!" Sonic saluted him with two fingers and a wink. "And say hi to the knucklehead for me!"

The flight was a smooth one, just as Tails had known it would be, but despite how comfortable he was in the cockpit, he still couldn't shake the quiet disconcerting feeling that accompanied him. Tails didn't fly the Tornado on his own very often; there really wasn't a need. Without Sonic, he never went beyond where the train could take him. His eyes kept darting up to the top of the wing, disappointment dragging him down even as the plane flew higher and higher and higher…

Knuckles was waiting for him as he landed in a clearing close to the Master Emerald's shrine, arms crossed and expression stern as he eyed the biplane's descent. He waited until the engine cut out before hopping down from his perch. With purposeful strides, he crossed the distance between himself and the plane, fists clenched at his sides.

"What could the two of you possibly want this time?" Knuckles called out to him. "Eggman better be up to something, or you're turning that plane right back around—"

"It's just me," Tails piped up, tossing his and Sonic's shared backpack over the edge of the cockpit, then flew out himself. "Hi, Knuckles."

"Just you?" The crease in Knuckles's brow deepened, but it was confusion that colored his tone rather than anger despite not letting up his guard. "What's going on? Why isn't Sonic with you?"

"I wanted to come by myself! I have something for you."

"For me?" Though Knuckles stiffened even more than Tails thought possible—posture already rigid and disciplined—there was a softness to his voice that made the fox kit smile as he opened the front pocket of the backpack.

"Yeah!" Tails trotted up to him, invitation in hand, and held it out to him. "It's an invitation to my birthday party. I wanted to make sure you got it."

As Knuckles took the scrap of paper from him—hand drawn and covered in stickers in a collaborative effort by Amy Rose and Miles "Tails" Prower themselves—he was surprisingly gentle, mitts gingerly holding it as he read and mindful not to crease the corners. "You could've just sent a robot like you usually do."

"Yeah, well, like I said, I wanted to see you." Tails rubbed the back of his head, smile sheepish. "Sorry for just showing up, but I couldn't exactly call first. I get it if you're busy though. I can always head back if you want. I don't want to bother you or anything."

Knuckles shook his head. "I don't mind your company," he replied. "I was just about to start my afternoon patrol of Marble Garden. You're welcome to join me."

"Sure!" Tails chirped, both tails flicking up and down with interest. "Let me just put this away—oh! Hang on, I'm supposed to call Amy." Tails crouched down and rifled through the backpack once again.

"Amy?"

"Yeah, she made me promise to check-in when I got here." Tails rolled his eyes, a sour twinge in his stomach as the reminder of who hadn't asked—who hadn't cared—reared its head.

"Why? She's not your guardian."

"That's what I said," Tails snorted, pulling out Sonic's cellphone, Amy the first contact listed.

He'd made some upgrades to Sonic's phone after he first got it, tinkering with the long-distance features as a kind of prototype to creating his own long-range communication devices. He didn't want to have to rely on cell towers for a signal, in case Dr. Eggman ever thought to take them out and cripple the world's ability to communicate. With his workshop as a hub, Tails figured he might be able to create his own version of a signal tower.

For now, he was able to call Amy all the way from Angel Island with only a little bit of static in the way. "Hello? Tails?" Amy's voice came through after a couple of rings.

"I made it to Angel Island in one piece," he greeted. "And Knuckles is here to confirm it." Tails held the phone out towards him. "Say hi, Knuckles."

"Hi," he stated simply, then held up the piece of paper like Amy could see it through the speaker. "I received the party invitation."

"Oh! Yay!" Tails could hear the distant, tinny cheer even without turning the speakerphone on, then pulled the phone back to his ear.

"So we're gonna go hang out now—"

"Wait, Tails, could I actually talk to Knuckles for a second?" she requested before he could say goodbye. "Just real quick! There's something I need to ask him."

Tails blinked, but obediently handed the phone over to him. "Amy wants to talk to you."

"Me?" Knuckles looked just as baffled, but he accepted the phone as carefully as he had the invitation and held it to his ear. "What?"

Only able to hear one half of the conversation now, Tails watched Knuckles's face as he listened to whatever Amy had to say. It didn't give much away aside from his initial confusion, though his gaze lowered to the invitation still in his mitt. It must've had something to do with that, Amy likely giving him more details about the party that couldn't fit on a 5x7 index card.

In the meantime, Tails hiked up the backpack onto his shoulders. "Can I put this in the shrine?" he whispered, gesturing towards the great stone altar.

Knuckles nodded silently, so Tails flew over and up the steps. He hadn't brought much, but he wasn't going to need any of it slowing him down while they went patrolling. Setting the backpack down against the far corner, Tails looked over the covered area of the shrine. It looked the same from previous visits, a constant he could count on. Steady, reliable, and grounded. Which was reassuring considering…

Considering he'd never been here without Sonic.

He'd heard him in the background, he was with Amy still—wherever that was. Maybe still at the workshop, maybe out and about in Station Square, who knew? Tails sure didn't, and he didn't care. Even if his ears and tails drooped and the set of his mouth was more downturned without Knuckles's scrutiny there to call him out on it.

He'd just barely made out Sonic's, "Told ya," when he told Amy he'd made it to Angel Island. Normally Sonic's unwavering faith in him made his chest puff up with pride. Of course he wanted his best friend and hero to see him as capable. That went without question.

But it hadn't been addressed to Tails. It wasn't a, "knew you could do it, bud!" intended to cheer him on. Instead it was a grumbled aside, maybe not even meant for his ears. Or if it was, it was very lackadaisical. Like he wanted Tails to know just how much he wasn't worried or bothered.

Right after he'd run away a few months prior, Sonic had waffled between how close to keep him and how far to let him wander on his own. It didn't last long—Sonic too much of a free spirit and valued Tails's choice in everything to be much of an authoritarian figure. Their ground rules and Tails's natural consideration for his feelings had gone a long way to patching up whatever worries his two-day disappearance had drilled into him. Sonic bounced back just as fast as he could run and adapted to their new normal like it was second-nature.

Which was good; that was fine. Tails hadn't wanted his running away to break Sonic's trust in him. He wanted to be someone Sonic could still count on. But would it kill the guy to worry just a little? To fight as hard to spend time with him as he fought to protect him from Eggman?

Instead of just giving up on him, with two new… normal kids to play with.

Tails hugged one of his tails to his chest, stroking through the fur to comfort himself. Not normal in the physical sense, Sonic didn't care about things like that when he wasn't exactly the poster child for normalcy either. Just normal in the sense that… they knew how to be around people. They knew how to be kids around people. Comfortable enough in their own skin to speak their minds and to ask for what they wanted. What they needed.

Sonic hated having to play guessing games with Tails's feelings. Yet here Tails was setting up an obstacle course to do just that. To test him. Always… always testing him.

Tails wandered back to the shrine's steps, looking down at where Knuckles still stood—still on the phone. His eyes were trained on the shrine, on Tails himself, and the little fox bristled under the intensity of his stare. Curiosity sparked when Knuckles immediately looked away, saying something into the phone that he couldn't hear at this distance.

Twin tails spinning, he glided his way back down to the Tornado and his friend, just in time to catch the tail-end of the conversation.

"Can't promise anything, but I'll see what I can do," Knuckles was saying as Tails landed beside him. "Yeah. Bye."

Before Tails could reach for the phone, Knuckles had hung up. He stared at the dark screen as it was offered to him, chest tight as he realized he'd still been holding onto the hope that maybe…

"Amy didn't want to talk to me again?" Tails asked as he took back the phone.

Knuckles blinked. "She didn't say."

"Oh." Tails fiddled with it. "What about Sonic? Was, uh… was he there?"

"Unfortunately. Did you want to talk to him?" Knuckles asked directly.

"No, just wanted to make sure he didn't want to talk to me, that's all." Tails shrugged, averting his gaze when Knuckles's frown deepened. "So, uh, what did Amy want to talk to you about?"

"She said you've been acting off and told me to keep a close eye on you," he said bluntly.

Tails's jaw clenched. He knew Amy was suspicious, but that she was actively calling him out on it instead of his own brother… "Pfft. Sounds like she's just worried for nothing. I just wanted to come visit you. That doesn't mean anything's up."

Knuckles crossed his arms, his stare unwavering. "If you say so, then I'll take you at your word."

Tails nodded quickly, and that was all Knuckles needed. It was part of why he was such a good choice for this. He took things at face value and wouldn't pry. He wouldn't try to read too deeply into anything like Amy or guilt him about how Sonic might worry, not that it had been Big's intention to do that, he'd only been concerned after all. Knuckles, on the other hand, would relish in causing Sonic a little bit of misery; probably say he was getting what he deserved.

Not that he was going to tell Knuckles that was why he was here. Doing that would mean confessing that he was jealous and if he couldn't even admit that to Sonic, then there was no way he was owning up to that in front of Knuckles of all people. Talk about humiliating.

"Alright, then." Knuckles nodded in the direction of the path that led to Marble Garden. "Let's head out."

As far as travel companions went, Knuckles might've been one of the best. He had extensive knowledge of different pathways throughout Angel Island, cutting through secret passages that were easily missed and dismissed by the untrained eye. It made sense how he'd been able to outpace Sonic and Tails when they'd been stuck on the island the first time; he didn't need to be faster than Sonic, he just needed to know all the shortcuts.

He was a wealth of information, too. Whenever they came across ruins or architectural marvels that Tails wanted to get a closer look at, Knuckles would explain what the ancient echidna writings etched into stone relayed or the probable intention behind some of the design choices. Even if he didn't have an answer to Tails's questions, he could guess at the practicality or philosophy behind certain elements.

The companionable silence that came with traveling with him was also refreshing. It reminded Tails a little of the early days of traveling with Sonic. His memories of that time weren't super clear, but he could remember the vague feeling of not needing words to understand Sonic or be understood by him. He wondered if talking had somehow stripped them of that skill. If they'd left it to rust for too long in favor of letting their mouths do all the talking.

While Knuckles and Tails didn't necessarily have the same rapport, it was still nice not to have to worry about filling the silences. 

Though as the day dragged on, Tails found himself fumbling for more and more questions. Anything to keep his mind occupied instead of endlessly oscillating back to Sonic like a rotating fan that couldn't ignore its own design. Always mentally checking back in, wondering if, maybe, Sonic cared now.

But if he did, then surely he'd call. It wasn't like he couldn't reach him; Tails had his phone for that very reason. If Sonic was still with Amy, he could call from her phone. If he was at the workshop, he could use the landline. Heck, Sonic could be at a payphone in the middle of Holoska and he'd still be able to call him if he really wanted to.

And like everything else that had been weighing him down over the past several weeks, Tails couldn't shake it. He couldn't stop seeing it every time his attention turned back to Sonic. Stuck in his design as a sidekick. As a little brother.

So he tried badgering Knuckles into more conversations; about anything. From Angel Island weather patterns to his training regiment to his favorite kinds of grapes to how much weight could he actually lift and could they test that one day? All things that Tails was legitimately curious about, despite it being hard to focus with his mind still stubbornly stuck on the oscillate back to Sonic function. 

After the perimeter check and exploring a few ruins, Knuckles took Tails to forage for some extra ingredients for dinner, what with his unexpected guest. But Tails was happy to contribute whatever he could to make up for showing up unannounced. Angel Island had lush, fertile plant life; its various ecosystems and lack of pollution leading to a wide array of fruits and vegetables at all seasons. 

Knuckles roasted some skewered vegetables over an open fire that night, and if he'd been quietly observing the way Tails eagerly tucked into them, then the fox kit didn't notice. They stayed up late chatting, exchanging stories of the kinds of ruins Tails had come across on the planet's surface and how Knuckles had come to learn the echidna language with no one to teach him.

"It's the Master Emerald," he explained. "Most of what I know—if it isn't something I figured out on my own—has come from the emerald itself. I don't really understand it fully, but sometimes I'll have these dreams…"

"Dreams?" Tails tilted his head.

Knuckles nodded. "That's the closest I can describe them. I think that's how the Master Emerald communicates with me. I see these images and then I just… know."

Tails hummed as he nibbled on the piece of charred squash on his skewer. "That lines up with how the Chaos Emeralds behave. They have a degree of sentience—at least from what Sonic's told me. He's said that they've shown him things before, even if he didn't really understand what they meant."

"His bond with them isn't as stable as mine with the Master Emerald," Knuckles huffed, breaking the sticks of his eaten skewers in half before tossing them into the campfire. "Which isn't a surprise. Both the emeralds and Sonic himself are about as unpredictable as you can get. I wouldn't be so sure in calling either all that reliable. At least in most circumstances. You're maybe the one exception when it comes to Sonic."

Tails continued to nibble at his veggies, opting for silence over any kind of contradiction.

The last thing he wanted to do was talk about Sonic.

The cell phone suddenly chimed with a message. Tails stiffened, holding tight to his skewer as he turned to look at it. For a moment, he made no move to check. He could feel Knuckles watching him, though, his mounting confusion thick in the air until Tails finally sucked it up and reached for it.

There was a text from Amy's phone.

hope ur havin fun w knuckles

Amy didn't text like that. Though he was still working on building his own phone, Tails had borne witness to Amy's texts whenever Sonic asked him to respond for him if he was in the middle of something. She used excessive exclamation marks and smileys and love hearts in most of her messages, and spelled most things correctly apart from the occasional acronym or "text speak" like brb or ttyl.

So this had to be Sonic, texting from her phone. But he didn't say that it was him. Did he think Tails wouldn't know? Or did he assume that he would, simply by taking into consideration the way Amy texted. If he didn't want Tails to know it was him though, then why didn't he emulate the way Amy texted—or have Amy text if he had access to her phone in the first place?

Or maybe Sonic hadn't put any thought into it at all and just did what he always did—lived in the moment.

Unfortunately, Tails couldn't just ignore it. That was the whole point of him having Sonic's phone. And this was what he wanted, wasn't it? To be checked in on?

Yeah. Tails typed out. We're having a great time.

cool, Sonic typed back, adding a thumbs up emoji at the end.

And that was all he had to say, apparently.

"Was that Amy?" Knuckles asked, when Tails quietly set the phone down.

"Sonic," he corrected. "Just checking in, I guess."

"You guess?" Knuckles's brow furrowed.

Tails simply shrugged. "Okay, fine. I'm assuming from the context of his message that he was checking in, since I can't conceive of any other reason he'd text just to say he hoped we were having fun."

"I see," Knuckles said slowly, and it was clear he didn't really, but he left it alone while Tails continued eating.

The silence remained between them even after Tails finished his last skewer, its remains tossed into the fire to burn away, sparks crackling in the stone hearth. Knuckles sat, looking up at the stars above the shrine, so clear and vast this high up and away from the world. Tails followed his gaze, drawing his knees up to prop his chin atop.

With the stars so close, it should've been hard to feel lonely.

"You know, I don't mind that you're here," Knuckles said suddenly, his shadow flickering in the light of the fire. "What I mind is the reason."

Tails swallowed thickly, drumming his fingers against his own leg. "What do you mean? I just wanted to come visit? Give you the invitation to my birthday and spend some time with you and study some of the ancient echidna history—"

"I mind lying even more." Knuckles's gaze was intense as it settled on him, eyes piercing in the low light.

"I—" Tails's protest died in his throat before he could give voice to it, chest tight as he realized he'd underestimated his friend greatly. "It's not a lie…"

A grimace tugged at Knuckles's mouth, disappointment radiating from him like chaos energy. And just like that energy, Tails's survival instincts encouraged him to hide from it. To be wary of the strength and power behind it. Even if his friend was underneath it all.

But rather than unleashing the anger he'd come to expect from Knuckles, the echidna drew into himself, the venom in his violet eyes turning inward. "I may not be a genius, but I'm not an idiot," he murmured.

Tails gasped, sitting up straighter. "I don't think you're an idiot!"

The look Knuckles sent him said otherwise. "Then don't treat me like one."

Ears falling flat and two tails winding around himself protectively, Tails averted his gaze. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean… I just didn't think you'd notice. Not because you're not smart enough to, but just because…"

Tails hid his face against his knees, embarrassment and shame coursing through him. In his head, it all made so much sense, but realizing he'd been found out, that he hadn't actually duped anyone with what he thought was so clever…

"I thought if he didn't even notice, then how could anyone else?" Tails mumbled, hugging his knees tighter. "When he's supposed to know me best."

Knuckles sighed heavily, chucking more kindling into the fire. "He's noticed."

His head snapped up, eyes wide. "What? How do you—?"

"You willingly went shopping with Amy more than once, according to them. Apparently that's enough to concern them both."

"That's ridiculous," Tails forced out, but every muscle in his body had coiled tightly, torn between freezing and fleeing, pinned by Knuckles's stare. "It's just shopping. Why would he worry about something like that? It's not a big deal. It doesn't mean anything."

"While I was talking to Amy, he was agitated about something. I asked if he wanted to talk to you, but he didn't think you'd want to. And he was right. When I asked you, you said you didn't want to talk to him." Knuckles tilted his head as he watched Tails look away. "So you want to tell me what's really going on?"

"Nothing—"

"Tails."

"Can't I just want to spend time with you guys?" he mumbled, just barely loud enough to be heard. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing. If it was for a genuine reason." Knuckles sent him a pointed look. "It doesn't feel good to find out you're being used."

Tails looked at him like he'd claimed the kit was directly responsible for the extinction of the entire echidna tribe, eyes wide and brimming with guilt. A guilt far beyond what someone his age should feel. Knuckles didn't know many children, didn't interact much with anyone, but even he could recognize that Tails was internalizing too much.

"You probably didn't mean to, which is why I'm not more upset," Knuckles continued. "But I think you owe me an explanation, at the very least. Amy and Sonic, too."

There it was. Tails flinched at the name of his brother, hands clutching at his tails. "I'm so sorry, Knuckles," his little voice cracked in the middle.

"Talk to me, kid. You came all the way up here, after all. Might as well get a life lesson out of it."

"I don't know."

Knuckles raised a brow. "I might not be Mr. Endless Optimism himself, but I believe I might have some insight to offer—"

"No, not—that's not what I'm saying." Tails shook his head, stroking his own tails for comfort now. "I don't know why I'm doing any of this. It doesn't make any sense."

Knuckles hummed, eyes closed in contemplation as he waited for Tails to continue or for inspiration to strike him in how best to respond; whichever came first. "What is your goal with all this?" he asked eventually. "What do you hope your actions will accomplish?"

Tails drew aimless squiggles in the dust, a half-hearted shrug all he could muster until the intensity of Knuckles's stare had him squirming. "I know it's stupid, but I guess… I want Sonic to miss me."

"Miss you?" Knuckles arched his brow. "Why would he miss you when he sees you every day?"

Tails hunched up in a tighter ball. "I don't know. I told you it was stupid."

"Hey, cut that out. I'm just trying to understand what you mean."

"I don't even know what I mean," Tails said, frustration muffled by his own fur. "I guess I just want him to feel how I feel."

"So… you miss him?"

"Yeah…" Tails admitted after a rather reluctant beat.

"And I'm guessing you haven't tried talking to him about that?" Knuckles shook his head with a fond grunt. "We can't read minds, kid. Especially not one like yours. You've got that thing locked down tight with those walls of fire or whatever."

That got Tails to look up, the barest hints of a smile pulling at his muzzle. "They're firewalls, Knuckles."

"How is that any different from what I said?" he grumbled.

Tails laughed at that, his tails finally flicking up in the air and the tension in his shoulders lessening. "I guess not all that different."

"My point is, if you've got a problem, you have to face it head on. If Sonic's doing something that's bothering you, then you at least owe it to him to let him know that so he can fix it, instead of whatever all this is. He might be clueless, but he'd never want to cause you pain, even indirectly."

"But he's not really doing anything bad. I just don't like it."

Knuckles arched an eyebrow. "What's he doing?"

Tails's muzzle twisted to one side, ears flattening. "Hanging out with Cream and Charmy."

A beat of silence passed as they looked at one another through the campfire smoke, the crackling of the fire the only thing breaking it as they sat with that. "Huh..." Knuckles hummed.

"It doesn't happen when he spends time with anyone else," Tails added. "It's just them. And it's not because I don't like Cream or Charmy, they're fine I guess. I don't really know them, but now every time I see them, I feel… bad. I don't want to be around them, and I don't want Sonic to want to be around them, but that's not fair. He should get to hang out with whoever he wants—"

"Slow down, kid." Knuckles made a soothing motion with his paws. "Take a breath."

"I just wish it wasn't them," Tails finished. "And I wish it didn't… I wish it didn't bother me. But it does and I hate it."

"What exactly bothers you about them? I can't say that I know Cream very well," Knuckles offered. "But I guess, in my experience with Charmy… he can be a lot. I can only imagine a team-up with him and Sonic to be…"

"Perfect compatibility?" Tails grumbled.

"More like perfect chaos," Knuckles snorted. "Left to their own devices, those two would be even more insufferable together than they are on their own." His brow furrowed. "I didn't realize you were spending so much time with them."

"Wish we weren't," Tails grumbled.

"Then why are you?"

"I don't know. Amy and Sonic keep planning all these outings with us and Cream and the Chaotix. I tried not going, but all I could think about was how much fun Sonic was having without me and that just made me feel worse." Tails hunched up, ears falling flat. "I thought if I did to Sonic what he's doing to me, then he wouldn't like it either and he'd stop, but… he hasn't said anything. At least not to me."

"What do you want him to say?"

Tails pursed his mouth in a tight line as he thought about it. "That he's sorry. That he didn't mean to hurt my feelings and should've figured it out sooner."

"And that will fix things between you?" Knuckles continued to prompt, genuinely trying to understand and follow his line of logic.

"I don't know." Tails's shoulders sagged, slumping with defeat. "But it'd be a start."

"Then start the conversation with that. Be up front and honest with him," Knuckles told him. "This is new for him, too."

"I know…" Tails sighed. "I guess that's part of it. He's so good at adapting to new things and new people, while I… I just can't do it. He thinks I can, but I'm not like him. I'm not as good as he thinks, and I just know one day he's gonna see it and…"

He trailed off, leaving the rest unfinished until Knuckles prompted. "And what? What is it you think he'll do?"

"I don't know," Tails whispered.

"Do you think he'll leave?" The crease in his brow became more severe, muzzle curling to bear his teeth. "Abandon his sworn duty?"

"No. But I don't want that to be why he stays," Tails admitted, voice cracking as the fear broke through. "I don't want him to feel obligated to stay just because no one else did."

Knuckles was quiet for a minute. "Is that how the two of you ended up traveling together? Because he felt an obligation to you?"

"I don't know," Tails repeated for what felt like the hundredth time, frustrated tears stinging his eyes. "He never tells the same story about how we met. Like it's all just a game to him. All I know is on the day we met we had chili dogs because for some stupid reason he decided to keep a dumb receipt. And it's Sonic. So of course it was stupid chili dogs."

Of all the reactions he'd have expected from Knuckles, a chuckle wasn't one of them. "I don't know, kid," he told him when Tails cast him the most affronted look possible. "It's pretty clear to me you're not just some obligation to him. But then again, I'm not the one who needs to be convinced here. Talk to him. He wants to help you. You think he'd have been willing to chase you down to the ends of the planet just to make sure you were okay if he didn't?"

Tails dropped his gaze to the stone floor. "No… but what if he just didn't realize…"

"What?" Knuckles prompted when he trailed off unhelpfully.

"That he could've had someone better."

"Someone like Cream or Charmy?"

Tails hunched up tighter. "See? It's stupid. I'm too smart to get hung up on something like this. He's gonna say I'm too smart. That I should know better. And I should! I'm above this, it shouldn't matter what a bunch of little kids do. It shouldn't matter."

"Should or shouldn't, that's not the issue here," Knuckles sighed. "You already feel this way, there's no changing that. So how do you fix it? You're good at fixing things, right?" He waited for Tails's nod. "And you know how Sonic operates. So, what's your next step? Since avoiding him doesn't seem to be working."

Tails pursed his mouth thoughtfully. "I guess… be upfront with him, like you said. Tell him I don't like when we hang out with them. But… if they're his friends… I can't tell him to not be friends with them. That's not fair to him."

"No, it's not. But it's not fair to you to have to put up with something that's upsetting you this much. Which, I can't exactly say I get still… I guess because Cream and Charmy need more attention? Because they're younger?"

"They need more attention, yeah. And they don't second guess asking for it, they just do. Or Sonic will slow down for them without even having to be asked. Like he just knows. All they want to do is play with him or hold hands or be held and they think he's so cool, which is fair enough because it's factually true. He is. Which is why he's so nice to them, because a cool guy wouldn't just brush off a bunch of little kids. But a cool guy should also know when his best friend feels bad. When his little brother needs him more. He was mine first." Tails hid his face against his knees again as his tails coiled around him tighter. "He used to be able to tell. He used to always know when something was wrong and would try to fix it. Even if he didn't know what it was exactly that was bothering me. I never used to have to say anything and he'd just—he'd just know."

"The problems you had when you were younger… when you were Cream and Charmy's age… they were probably a lot simpler, huh? Maybe your problems are getting a bit too complicated for him to figure out," Knuckles suggested. "Or maybe you're getting better at hiding them."

Tails lifted his head with a sniffle. "Maybe… Ugh. I'm tired of not knowing things. This sucks."

"So, talk to him and find out. And do it fast. I'm not coming to your birthday if the two of you haven't sorted whatever this is out by then, if that's incentive at all."

Tails stiffened, eyes flashing with panic. "It is! I really want you there. You're my friend, too, Knuckles. I promise."

Knuckles blinked, taken aback by the sudden declaration and the earnestness in his eyes. "Easy, kid. I believe you. Might live to regret it, but I believe you. You should try it for a change."

"Believing in people?" Tails asked, wiping at his nose with his forearm.

"Yeah. But more importantly, yourself." Knuckles jabbed his fist in his direction. "Give yourself a bit more credit, Tails. You're Sonic's best friend for a reason."

Chapter Text

A week later, Tails was still spinning his conversation with Knuckles in his head. Knowing the root of the problem was just half the battle, apparently. Acting on it was a lot harder, even though it was the only way to move past this stalemate. 

When he got back from Angel Island, Sonic had been happy to see him. He'd ruffled his fur with a crooked grin, told him he knew he could handle something like that on his own, that he was proud of him, then asked if he'd eaten lunch yet. Tails could've said something while Sonic whipped up some falafels and pita for them or while they were eating, but faced with the reality of broaching the conversation, his throat closed off his voice every time he tried to start it. There was no time limit either, because after lunch, Sonic flopped on the couch to watch some TV and left plenty of room for Tails to join him. Plenty of room for him to speak up. For the whole afternoon it was just the two of them; it would've been the perfect opportunity to say something.

But it had also been a perfect opportunity to just spend some time with him and he hadn't wanted to ruin it.

The next day, they went for a run. The day after that, Sonic came with him into the city to pick out some more parts for his cell phone prototypes, since his trip to Angel Island had inspired him to make one for Knuckles, too. The day after that, they got ice cream.

Tails could just never tell him. Pretend it never happened. Stuff the jealousy into a box in his mind and lock it up tight, never to be seen again. But the clock was ticking towards his birthday, and while Knuckles didn't have Amy's intuition, Tails had a feeling he'd take one look at him and know he hadn't held up his end of the deal. 

After making Knuckles feel like he'd been used, Tails couldn't make him feel like he hadn't taken his threat seriously or that he wasn't important enough to Tails. None of this was his fault, after all. Knuckles was just caught in the middle of Tails's convoluted scheme. Having been in the middle of spats between Sonic and Knuckles before, Tails knew firsthand it wasn't a very comfortable place to be.

So there was that added pressure as each day brought him closer to his seventh birthday. And he was dreading it.

He remembered this time last year, he and Sonic had been steadily making their way across the United Federation to the west coast. Now he had the hindsight to know it was because Sonic and Amy had planned his birthday at Twinkle Park in Station Square, but at the time it had felt like a rather aimless path they'd been traveling. At the end of every day, after brushing his teeth and his fur, Tails would wiggle happily atop his camping blanket and cross the day off in his pocket calendar; counting down the remaining squares to the one Sonic had drawn a big birthday cake over with six candles on top.

"Someone's excited!" Sonic would laugh, ruffling his fur. "Think you're gonna be able to sleep tonight, keed?"

"Yeah!" he giggled, batting at his hand playfully. "The faster I go to sleep, the faster my birthday will come!"

"Now that's some speedy logic I can get behind!"

That same logic was now keeping him up at night along with the bubbling jealousy and mounting pressure building up inside him like a shaken soda.

Sonic had bought him a new pocket calendar for Christmas last year, but it had gone relatively unused throughout the winter and spring. Each little X on the calendar just a reminder of how many days they'd spent at the workshop. Days he'd spent waiting for Sonic to come back or ask to spend time with him. Days spent wondering if the life they'd built for themselves was about to collapse around him once the realization set in that their foundation their little family had been built on was as flimsy as a house of cards.

So he'd stopped for a while, restarting only when the air had been cleared between them and there were important dates to look forward to again. Their home study interview, their guardianship court hearing, Sonic's fourteenth birthday, Amy's twelfth, and now his seventh…

When Tails crossed another day off, only one weekend left before his party, the mounting dread reached its peak.

While Sonic might not have appeared bothered by it, Tails was tired of putting so much thought into every interaction. He didn't like reading into Sonic's behavior with assumptions he pulled out of a bag of his own insecurities—that had worked out so well for him last time, after all. And waiting for Sonic to approach him, to ask him what was wrong, was unfair of him when he didn't even know there was a problem.

He'd never be able to draw a proper conclusion if he didn't analyze the data from his observations. And he couldn't properly analyze without getting Sonic's perspective. 

But even knowing that, he still didn't know how to just talk to him about it. It was different when it had just been the two of them. Sure, they met up with occasional friends and there'd been times where he briefly had to share his big brother's attention with someone else, but as far as Tails could remember it had never been quite like this. There'd never been other kids to compare himself to. Kids that actually acted like kids.

Even though he was only two years older than them, Tails didn't know how to play with or talk to Cream and Charmy. But Sonic somehow did. And he had so much fun with it, too.

He played with them in a way that was so natural… so different from the way he'd always played with Tails. It was like he didn't have to think twice about it.

"Sonic?"

Tails stood at the top of the stairs after dragging himself up from the workshop, twin tails brushing the floor as he rubbed one arm, eyes on the sofa and the hedgehog lounging on it as he squinted at his phone.

"Tails?" he replied, without missing a beat and without looking away, tongue poking out as he tapped out some kind of response.

Tails scuffed the toe of his shoe against the hardwood as he chewed on the growing sore in his cheek. He waited for Sonic to finish typing, green gaze immediately rising—not giving his message another thought—and smiled at him. Bland and clueless, no suspicions at all.

Maybe Knuckles had been wrong. Maybe Sonic hadn't noticed after all. Maybe Knuckles just assumed that because Tails was Sonic's best friend there was no way he hadn't noticed.

Because if he had, then he'd at least have asked—

"What's up?" Sonic prompted when Tails didn't say anything else. As the silence stretched on, Sonic pushed himself up against the cushions to sit up straighter. "Something you wanna talk about?"

Tails shrugged one shoulder, exhaling on a shaky breath. "Not really, but uh…"

The phone in Sonic's hand chimed. Tails's fur bristled and Sonic couldn't quite help the way his eyes flicked to the screen reflexively. To his credit, he didn't read the message, gaze immediately honing back in on Tails.

"Aren't you gonna read that?" he croaked out instead.

"Nah, it can wait. It's just Amy." Sonic shrugged.

"You should at least see what she said," Tails replied.

With a tsk, Sonic cast him an unimpressed look before he did just that, skimming over the new message with a glazed look in his eyes. Without his probing stare, Tails shuffled closer to the couch. But his grip on his arm tightened, claws nearly poking through his gloves to bite into his bicep with how hard he squeezed.

"What'd she say?" Tails asked when Sonic looked up from the phone without answering.

"Eh. Nothing much. Just letting me know she and Cream are meeting up with Espio and Charmy at the park." Sonic waved it off. "Said we could swing by if we were up to it—"

"We should go," Tails blurted out before his brain had time to fully process.

Sonic blinked at him. "Huh?"

"Let's go to the park. It's supposed to rain this weekend so we might as well go out and enjoy the day while we can," he explained in a rush, forcing a smile on his face. "I want to go to the park."

And Sonic's face positively lit up, smile bright as his eyes sparked with excitement. "You got it, bud! I'll let Amy know we'll be there in a Sonic second!"

"Cool. Let me just grab a few things first…" Tails backed away from him, heart twisting as Sonic shot him a thumbs up without looking up from his phone.

"You do you, little bro!"

Tails turned to head back down to the workshop, sucking in a sharp breath through his teeth as he failed at following through yet again.

But he could work with this. He'd yet to have seen Cream or Charmy since his conversation with Knuckles. He needed to collect more data; see if their very presence still rankled his ire or if getting his feelings off his chest had been enough to mitigate the jealousy response.

They could go to the park, he could analyze his responses to Cream and Charmy as well as his reaction to Sonic interacting with them. Then, maybe when they were done, he'd be able to convince Sonic to take the train with him back to the workshop. On the train, with nowhere for either of them to go, Tails could broach the topic armed with this new data set. Then by the time they'd get back to the Mystic Ruins, the air would be clear and they could have a good laugh about it while they got ready for dinner.

It was a good plan; he could stick to this plan.

When they arrived, Amy was pushing Cream and Charmy on the swings at the playground. She stood in between the two of them, one hand ready to give each of them a good shove. The two kids cheered as the very frame rattled with the force of her pushes, their little legs kicking as they were carried high into the air, before dropping with a giddy rush.

Espio was sitting at a nearby picnic table, another book in hand as he left entertaining Charmy to the two girls for the time being. Sonic and Tails made their way over to him first. The fox kit set down a tote bag, packed with some of his on-the-go tools and a project or two to work on.

"Thought you wanted to have some fun at the park, squirt," Sonic teased, ruffling his fur when he laid eyes on his tech.

Tails batted him away a little more forcefully than normal. "This is fun."

Sonic held up both hands and backed off with a grin. "Whatever you say, pal. Yo, Espio! Long time no see!"

"It's only been a few days," Espio replied with a deadpan, and Tails could only guess that he'd maybe had his fill of overenergized mobians for the day. "But hello, Sonic. Tails."

"Sonic!" Charmy suddenly hollered and launched himself off the swing at its highest point.

His abandoned swing nearly smacked Amy in the face, but her quick reflexes allowed her to snag the seat before it did. She was hardly fazed, though, gaze frantically darting around the park before finally landing on the picnic table with a delighted gasp.

"Sonic!" she squealed, stopping Cream's swing so the little rabbit could hop off, too. "You're here!"

Charmy zipped right over to them with a battle cry, aiming like he was gonna kick Sonic in the head. Tails's fur bristled as he came right for them, adrenaline spiking as he ducked. But Sonic just laughed as he parried Charmy's attack, letting him bounce harmlessly off his arms before miming an attack at him.

"Nice form, pal!" he praised. "Almost had me that time!"

"You really think so?" Charmy's eyes sparkled as he beamed up at him. "Thanks! I've been practicing real hard at my super secret stealth attack!"

"The key to a stealth attack is stealth, Charmy," Espio piped up.

"Nah, that's the boring part," Charmy huffed, rolling his eyes.

A delighted laugh burst out of Sonic, holding his chest with one hand to try and rein it in as the other settled on Tails's shoulder. "You alright there, little buddy? He didn't spook ya too bad, did he?"

"He didn't spook me at all," Tails growled, wrenching his shoulder away from his touch as he straightened up. "I could see him coming a mile away. Everyone in this park could."

Sonic's laughter tapered off then, whatever joyful spark that had been there since he suggested coming to the park fading fast. "I just meant—"

"Gotcha!" Amy flung her arms around Sonic while he was distracted, squeezing hard enough to cut off his breath. "Hi, Sonic!"

"Amy—!" he wheezed.

Right on the heels of her babysitter-slash-psuedo-big-sister, Cream trotted up to them. "Hi Mr. Sonic. Hi Mr. Tails. It's nice to see you."

"I'd say, 'right back at ya,' but everything's starting to go dark," Sonic gasped, prying at Amy's tight grip dramatically, and the two little kids just giggled. "Amy, please…!"

"Oh, fine, you big baby," she sighed, finally freeing him from her embrace, then turned her attention to Tails. "Hi, Tails. How was Angel Island and Knuckles? I didn't get a chance to check in! That was your first sleepover away from home, wasn't it? Bet it was exciting!"

"It was good," he told her. "Knuckles and I explored some ruins and he told me a bunch of stories about the echidna tribe."

"Yeah? You have some good talks?" she asked, not-so-gently probing for a bit more.

Not that she was gonna get any. "Sure. I decided I'm gonna make Knuckles a phone, too, so we can keep in contact with him more. Might be nice to talk with him without flying all the way out to Angel Island."

"Woah, you flew all the way to Angel Island!" Charmy gasped. "Your tails must be really strong!"

Tails frowned. "I didn't use my tails. That's not physically possible. The most altitude I can gain without a break is just north of five hundred feet. Angel Island is thousands upon thousands of feet in the air. I flew a plane."

Charmy remained unbothered by the correction. "You can fly a plane?" he exclaimed, eyes nearly bugging out of his head. "Cool!"

"You can say that again!" Sonic chimed in. "You're looking at the best pilot in all of Mobius!"

"Wow," Charmy and Cream said in unison, beaming up at him.

"I'm not the best yet. I've only broken two of the world records so far," Tails reminded him.

"Yeah, and you're not even in double digits yet!" Sonic gave him a light jab in the shoulder. "You're well on your way to the rest!"

"Which ones did you break?" Charmy asked.

"Most consecutive loops flown in a close formation. Before me it was twenty-six, but now it's thirty-three." Tails crossed his arms. "The other is fastest take-off time."

"Wait, you're in the book of world records, and you didn't even tell me!" Amy gasped. "I need to get a copy right away!"

Tails's face warmed up, embarrassment rising fast. "Well, I'm not exactly in the book of world records yet… Since I'm an unlicensed pilot, they said I don't qualify," he grumbled, tails swishing in agitation. "But doesn't change the fact that I still did it."

"Aw, I told ya, they'll come around one of these days," Sonic assured him.

"I wanna break the world record for highest jump off the swings!" Charmy pumped up both fists with determination.

"Me too," Cream piped up.

Amy laughed as the little rabbit tugged on her hand. "Alright! Let's go break some records!"

"Sonic, Sonic! If you push me really super fast, then I'll go really super high, right?" Charmy asked, zipping around him in excited circles.

"Why don't we ask our resident genius?" Sonic suggested, flashing Tails a wink. "Whaddya got for us, Tails?"

"Well, building up momentum is the key component to achieving height on the upward swing," Tails answered. "Which is done by working with both gravity and kinetic energy to increase your maximum angular momentum." While Sonic was sort of nodding along, Charmy looked completely lost. "So, yes. Going fast is part of swinging high."

"Yay!" Charmy cheered, then tugged on Sonic's hand much like Cream had with Amy. "Let's go! Let's go!"

"Aw, yeah!" Sonic laughed, but before he let himself be dragged away, he looked to Tails. "C'mon, keed, let's go set some records!"

"I think I'll sit this one out." He literally planted his rear on the picnic table bench. "I'll stay with Espio."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Besides, there's only two swings next to each other."

For a split second, it looked like Sonic wanted to push. There was a flicker across his face, something a little more serious—disappointed maybe? Disappointed in him?—before it was gone in a flash. His expression softened into something more understanding, smile gentler as he nodded.

"Whatever you want, keed. You can join in whenever you feel up to it. Just go at your own pace."

Tails squirmed, fingers itching to grab onto his tail. "Okay. Sure, whatever."

Sonic chuckled, then slipped his hand out of Charmy's and lowered his stance a bit like he was getting ready to run. "Race ya to the swings?"

"One, two, three, go!" Charmy declared quickly, flying on ahead.

"Hey! That's my line!" Sonic laughed, but gave him a few more seconds of a head start before dashing over to the play equipment. 

In a blink he was leaning against the plastic frame of the swing, yawning into his hand as Charmy flitted after him. The two kids settled in their respective swings, Amy and Sonic exchanging some kind of challenge between the two of them before they started pushing their charges. Tails watched them for a moment, then swung his own legs over the bench seat to properly face the table and unpack his tools.

But even if he wasn't looking at them, his ears still twitched as their laughter carried across the playground. The muscles in his shoulders bunched up as something unpleasant curdled in his stomach.

Alright, so a cursory glance at the newly compiled data pointed to signs that his symptoms of jealousy were still very much active. Which meant his conversation with Sonic was imminent now. The best use of his time would be to start formulating his speech now, so he could be as eloquent as possible in explaining his side of the issue.

But the petty part of him that had been feeding off of his pent-up emotions for the past several weeks shouldered its way to the forefront of his mind. He didn't want to make a speech. He didn't want to talk about it at all. He wanted to shout and kick and bite and claw at Sonic, carve his feelings into him so he'd have no choice but to understand and feel what he felt. Knuckles hadn't understood; he couldn't. Tails wanted more than Sonic just understanding him or meeting him where he was at. 

He wanted him to hurt.

Tails shook his head, trying to reset his own brain—restore it to factory settings before the pettiness overrode his ability to process with its malware. He distracted himself with tinkering, working with his hands and hyperfocusing on each step as he breathed through it. He could do this. He could be the bigger person. The better person. Someone who was deserving to have Sonic the Hedgehog call them his best friend and little brother.

Someone who didn't want to hurt him.

But the focus slipped through his fingers like the tiny wires he couldn't quite connect. As always, he was too conscious of their presence. The little malware couriers that delivered this virus to his brain in the first place. He listened in as the small group eventually moved from swings to the merry-go-round to the play structure itself, until it was all he could hear. Until it was all he could see as he finally looked up to watch.

Charmy and Cream shrieked as Sonic grabbed at their ankles through the slats on the jungle gym. He chased after them—not at full speed, of course, or even half—and they clambored to the top of the tower in an attempt to escape what was apparently a lava monster. They darted over to the monkey bars, the two kids giggling as they swung across the gap between the platforms. Amy waved to them from the top of the slide they were trying to get to, cheering them on as she acted as their home base. They'd be safe as long as they were touching her. The rules didn't make much sense, but rules didn't seem to be the point of this game.

Sonic was only supposed to be able to stand on the bark—or lava—but he kept throwing it onto the playground equipment and used it as stepping stones to try and catch them before they reached Amy. He skidded to a stop, facing the monkey bars with a devilish grin; Cream and Charmy were only halfway across. They screamed again as Sonic ran right towards them. Charmy let go of the monkey bars and flew the rest of the way across, abandoning Cream to her fate.

"No! Charmy, help!" Cream squealed, tucking her legs up as Sonic reached for them.

"Every bee for himself!" Charmy howled, flying all the way up to Amy. "Sorry, Cream!"

"No fair! We said flying's against the rules!" Cream called back, then gasped as she was tugged down into Sonic's arms.

"Gotcha!" Sonic swung her around and she giggled even though she'd been captured. "Sorry, Cream, but it's an eternity in the lava pits for you!" 

Tails's chest grew tight, his stomach still churning as he watched from the picnic table, pieces of his and Knuckles's mobile phones strewn in front of him. His fist tightened around the screwdriver in his hand. It just wasn't fair. They made it look so easy.

The now familiar jealousy was overflowing and slid down his throat like a thick syrup; enough to make him sick with it. 

He didn't want to be here anymore.

"I'm gonna go back to the Mystic Ruins," Tails managed to get out, drawing Espio's attention away from the book he was reading. "I don't feel well. Think I maybe ate something funny."

Espio blinked twice at him. "Ah. Alright…" He glanced over at the chaos unfolding on the play equipment, Charmy and Amy now embarking on a noble quest to rescue Cream from the lava monster's clutches. "But why are you telling me and not Sonic?"

Tails shrugged. "I just wanted to let you know in case he asks where I went."

Espio's brow furrowed. "Shouldn't you tell him yourself?"

"I don't wanna worry him. He's having fun and it's not a big deal. I'm allowed to take the train by myself." And he was. He wasn't breaking any rules. "I'll be okay once I lie down," he continued to assure him, packing up his tools and tech.

Espio glanced over at the playground again, then shrugged and went back to his book. "Alright. I hope you feel better."

Tails mentally blew out a sigh of relief, grateful that Espio didn't pry and took his rather bland reasoning at face value. "Thanks. See you around." 

His ears flattened as Charmy and Amy's battle cries echoed across the playground, but he turned his back to them and quickly followed the walking path out of the park. Tails kept his head down and tails tucked in as he hurried towards the train station. He knew the directions from this part of the city by heart now, even when it felt as heavy as a rock in his chest. 

By the time he made it to the turnstiles, he half-expected Sonic to have already caught up to him. Tails looked over his shoulder at the bustling street, crowded with humans and mobians getting off work early or running errands, car horns honking at pedestrians who got in their way even if the drivers were the ones taking the turns too fast. The noise of the city pulsed like a headache behind his eyes and his stomach did feel a bit queasy, but it wasn't because he was actually sick.

Tails waited for a minute, then stumbled as he was shoved out of the way by the people pushing their way through the turnstiles. A spike of fear stabbed through him—pushed to the ground, held down, tails yanked on, punched in the stomach hard enough to puke—and Tails quickly shook it off. He scanned his railcard and stepped through the turnstiles just as the next train heading towards the Mystic Ruins arrived.

Instinctively, his tails spun and carried him over the crowd. If a few people gasped and pointed, he didn't notice, tunnel vision locked on the doors of the train as they slid open. He flew up over everyone until he reached the raised platform on the second floor. As the last passenger exited the train, he ducked inside and made a beeline for the seat farthest from the door.

Hugging his tote bag on his lap, Tails kept his head down as he took a few deep, settling breaths. His tails were squished behind him so they couldn't be grabbed, the discomfort worth keeping them out of reach and away from the eyes of strangers. He listened as more people boarded the train, but his gaze stayed rooted on his sneakers.

The train chimed its warning, then the doors slid shut.

Tails finally chanced a glance up out the window as the train pulled away from the station. His own reflection looked back, and the faint outlines of the other people in the train car with him. But he'd have been able to tell if any of them were blue. They weren't.

Tails hugged his tote bag tighter, the hard edges of bits and bobs digging into him, but it was another discomfort he didn't mind. It was a good distraction from the ache inside him. Churning faster and faster with the chugging of the train along the tracks.

At every stop, more people left his car and less people boarded.

By the time he pulled up to the Mystic Ruins, there was only him.

He could've stayed on. Kept going. Follow the tracks to the end of line.

The warning chime played, and Tails was standing on the platform when the doors shut behind him. Once the train disappeared into the tunnel ahead of it, he got a perfect view of the workshop in the distance. Tails swallowed thickly, the sudden desire to sequester himself within those four walls spurring him into the air as he flew the rest of the way.

The door was still locked when he got there.

Tails didn't know if he was more relieved or disappointed.

He went straight to his bedroom. He dropped the tote bag in a heap by his desk, then kicked off his shoes. Even though he didn't actually have a stomachache, it didn't stop Tails from climbing into bed and hiding under the covers. 

Not two minutes later, he heard the front door fly open. "Tails?"

There was an undercurrent of fear beneath his name, and guilt only added to the sick feeling swirling in his gut. "I'm here," he called back, though Sonic was in his room before he'd even finished saying the first word.

The edge of his bed dipped as Sonic settled there. "Why didn't you tell me you felt sick, little bro?" he asked, tugging on the covers.

Tails let them fall away with a sigh, Sonic's concerned face hovering over him. "Mm-mm-mm."

Frowning, Sonic removed a glove and felt his forehead. "No fever," he muttered to himself.

"I'm not sick-sick. My stomach hurts, that's all." 

Tails batted away his paw and rolled onto his side, facing away from him, but he could still feel Sonic's eyes burning holes into his back. He huddled up more, using the blankets as a shield. He didn't want Sonic to see through him to his jealousy-filled center.

If he did, he didn't say. "You don't get stomachaches that often, keed. Heck, you've got one of the strongest stomachs I know. Whatever's got you feeling out of sorts must be some kinda bug."

"It's not a big deal."

"Sorry to break it to you, Tails, but you don't get to decide what I consider a big deal or not." He could hear the way Sonic arched his brow in his voice alone. "And I think you sneaking off without telling me when you don't feel well is a big deal."

"I told Espio," Tails argued.

"Espio's not me."

"You were busy."

"I was playing lava monster," Sonic snorted. "Not exactly top of the priority list stuff there, bud."

"It's not like I'm some dumb little kid. I can take the train by myself and I can take care of myself when I'm sick. I don't need you babying me like Cream and Charmy do."

"Huh?" Sonic's brain and mouth were out of sync, one not quite caught up with the other. "What—? That's—since when have I ever 'babied you?' And what's Cream and Charmy got to do with any of this?"

"Nothing! And you're babying me right now," Tails grumbled, tugging the blankets back over his head.

This time Sonic left them there as he sat back with a huff. "Dude, I'm checking on you because you snuck off without saying anything when you don't feel good. That's not babying you. Sue me for being a bit concerned."

"Oh, so now you're concerned. Stop the presses, everyone, now that Sonic the Hedgehog's concerned," Tails mocked.

"…Okay. I think this has gone on long enough, pal. You gonna tell me what's been up with you?"

"Like you care," Tails grumbled and definitely felt Sonic's gaze narrow in on him as he let that hang in the air for a bit.

"You know I do. And I want to help. But I can't do that if you don't tell me what's wrong, remember?"

"Sounds like that's a you problem."

"It's a you and me problem." Sonic rubbed his shoulder through the blanket. "C'mon, bud. I don't wanna push, so I need you to work with me here. You know we work better as a team. There's nothing we can't do when it's together—"

"Can we talk about this later? I don't feel good," Tails mumbled into his pillow. "And you're making it worse."

"Tails—"

"Look, I don't need you to play the part of concerned big brother right now, okay? I need you to leave me alone."

"Okay." The weight at the edge of his bed shifted as Sonic stood up, and he could picture him holding up both hands the way he always did when he was ready to back down. Give up. "Whatever you want. You do you, little bro. But I sure hope ya knock whatever this crud is outta your system soon, 'cuz it's getting old real fast."

There was some bite to his last words, frustration finally breaking through. As Sonic's footsteps crossed the room, Tails bit down on the inside of his cheek to keep from calling out. To keep from asking him to stay. To read him a story. To play video games with him. To not mind that he wasn't as easy as Cream or Charmy or the million other kids in the world that'd make much better siblings than him. 

When Sonic decided to let him tag along, he had no idea he was getting a genius who didn't know how to talk to people, who preferred working on projects to playing with other kids, and who thought reading instruction manuals was fun.

After taking a few minutes to mope, Tails circled back to that last thought. That wasn't very fair to Sonic. He was fully aware of what kinda kid Tails was when he decided to go through all the work to get guardianship of him, because he wanted him for a little brother. Every time something separated them, Sonic didn't let anything stand in his way of getting him back. He'd risk everything for him. If he didn't want Tails for a little brother, then those sure were funny ways of showing it.

The only person upset with Tails for being who he was… was Tails himself.

He pushed the blankets off and sat up, looking to the doorway like he still expected Sonic to be leaning there smugly, knowing it was only a matter of time before he cracked. But it was empty.

Tails slowly crawled out of bed, footsteps light as he crept to the hallway. Lingering at the threshold, his ears twitched, listening for the tell-tale sounds of Sonic rummaging through the fridge for chili dog fixings or idle humming while he strummed his guitar. He heard neither.

Padding out into the living room, he found it empty. The kitchen and dining nook, too.

Sonic wasn't in the workshop.

Ears falling flat, Tails's stomach gave another uncomfortable twist. He shouldn't have been surprised. He had told him to leave him alone, after all. He just hadn't expected Sonic to actually take it to heart.

Was he already back at the park? Playing with kids that didn't push him away when he was just showing he cared? Tails dropped his gaze to the floor. If Sonic told him to leave him alone and turned his back on him, Tails wasn't sure anything could hurt worse.

One of his tails curled around his waist and he hugged it close. It was fine. He wasn't even sick, it was fine Sonic wasn't here. He didn't need to be.

Tails shuffled back to his room. He climbed back into bed and burrowed under his blankets. He wasn't sick, but he was sure sick of feeling like this. He tucked himself into a ball, still holding onto one of his tails, and let out a shuddery breath as he tried to ignore the way their last conversation spiraled in his head on an endless loop.

Tails jerked awake. 

His room was dark, the entire afternoon lost to a long nap. He hadn't meant to fall asleep. With how restless his nights had been lately though, it wasn't exactly a surprise that he had. He was still pretty groggy, confused by what woke him until a snuffly snore sounded from somewhere in his room. 

Tails rolled over, blinking as his eyes adjusted. Moonlight filtered in through the open curtain and his star projector on his bedside table had been turned on, casting constellations on his ceiling. Sonic called it his nightlight to tease him, even though it was a highly sophisticated piece of machinery and not just something that helped him fall asleep on nights where he missed sleeping under the stars. 

It hadn't been on when he fell asleep. Another snore drew his attention to his left. Scooching to the edge of the bed, Tails peered down to seek out the source.

Sitting on the floor, slumped against the side of his bed, Sonic was fast asleep. His arms were folded across his chest and his head lolled at an uncomfortable looking angle that was sure to strain his neck muscles come morning. On the floor next to him was a plate of saltine crackers, a banana, some ginger ale, and a couple of books, one of which was lying open on his thigh. Of the others still stacked beside him, Tails could just barely make out the titles along their spines. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, and Peter Pan.

How long had he been there? Long enough to fall asleep, obviously, but he didn't have to sit on the floor like that. Tails glanced at his nightstand to check the time, eyes widening as he spotted a brand new, unopened bottle of liquid antacid for mobian kids and anti-nausea medicine, along with a glass of water sitting within easy reach.

Sonic snuffled and shifted. His book slipped all the way off his thigh, slowly easing shut, its spine stretched out for longer than it should've been. 

Tails pushed away his blankets and climbed down the side of his bed. Once his knees hit the hardwood, he laid down across the floor, head nestled in Sonic's lap. He squeezed his eyes shut and curled into him, nose brushing against his belly.

Sonic's next snore was more of an aborted cough as his stomach muscles jumped and his head jerked up. Green eyes blinked blearily at the wall in front of him. It barely took a beat though before he registered the warmth and weight resting across one of his thighs.

"Hey, whaddya doin' outta bed, little buddy?" His voice was thick with sleep, but he still made an effort to get his words out. "Feelin' okay?"

Tails nodded, silently cuddling closer. One of Sonic's hands came to rest on top of his head, scritching gently behind his ear. His lungs filled with a deep sigh, heavy and tired, but content. Tails peeked up at him. Sonic's eyes had closed again, head tipped back at an angle that only looked marginally more comfortable than it had before.

One eye cracked open almost immediately. Need something? hung silently in the air between them. It always had. An open offer.

"I'm ready to talk about it now," he said quietly.

Sonic's hand stilled and he sat up a bit straighter. "Yeah?"

Tails nodded again, mirroring Sonic by sitting up, too. He twisted one of his tails between his paws as he dropped his gaze, quietly sorting out the series of events that led them here. It was still embarrassing, thinking back to that day at the movies and how everything seemed to unravel after that, but he was so tired of bottling it all up and pushing Sonic away.

Even as sleepy as he was, Sonic was still impatient as ever. Tired of waiting, he dragged Tails into his lap, back to his chest as both arms banded around his middle. Tails sat there stiffly for a minute, his flight instinct fighting against the hold even if it was familiar. Eventually the comfort registered and he leaned back against Sonic on a long exhale.

"I've been jealous," he finally admitted, ears falling flat. "Of Cream and Charmy."

He let that hang in the air, Sonic's confusion ringing in the silence loud and clear. "What?"

"When you hang out with them instead of me, I… I get jealous." Tails scrubbed at his own cheek. "And before you say anything, I know it's stupid. They're little and you're just being nice to them because they're your friends and you're a good person, but it still…" His muzzle trembled, fingers twisting Sonic's arm in lieu of one of his tails. "I don't like it. You're my big brother, not theirs. They have their own families. Why should they get mine, too? You're all I've got and they're always taking you away from me and you just let them and it's—it's not fair."

"Shoot, you're serious. Okay, um…" Sonic's head bonked into Tails's as he pressed his eyes into the fluff between his ears. "Give me a sec here to catch up, kiddo."

Tails just sniffled and nodded. He stopped twisting Sonic's arm, carefully smoothing the fur he'd mussed up. Sonic exhaled on a heavy sigh, then propped his chin up on top of Tails's head. 

"In hindsight, a lot of things are starting to make sense," he huffed. "Guess you don't need me telling you that you've got nothing to be jealous of, huh?"

Tails shook his head. "I told myself that all the time. It didn't help."

"Yeah. Doesn't always work like that. Be nice if it could."

Tails nodded. "It just made everything feel worse. Like it was my own fault I was jealous. Like I was doing something wrong."

"No way." Sonic shut that down adamantly. "You didn't do anything wrong, bud. Except maybe not talking to me about this sooner so we coulda worked it out before you got all worked up about it, but that's kinda my bad, too," Sonic mumbled, his words partially muffled by the top of Tails's head. "I knew something was up, but couldn't quite put my finger on it. And we have been spending a lotta time with 'em lately. Just didn't quite put two and two together. I'm no genius like you, pal. But even if I'm not, you know you can always talk to me about this kinda stuff."

Tails shrugged. "It's embarrassing."

"Aw, kiddo, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. Everyone gets jealous sometimes."

"You don't." 

"Says who?"

"Me. I've got weeks of data to prove it."

"Huh?"

Tails twisted around to look him in the eye. "You didn't notice at all when I didn't want to do things with you. I tried so hard to make you feel as bad as me, but you didn't even care!"

"Hey, that's not true," Sonic defended, finally frowning as his temper reared its head. "I cared. Just not in the way you were aiming for, I guess."

"What do you mean?"

"I was just happy you felt comfortable enough with Amy and Knuckles and Big to spend time with them on your own. That you trusted them. I felt like that was huge for you. I want you to have other people in your life that you can have fun with and count on to be there for you. So I didn't really let it bother me that you were doing things without me." Sonic met his gaze with a lopsided smile. "Doesn't mean I wasn't still jealous, though."

Tails stared at him. "You were?"

Sonic pinched his index finger and thumb together. "Little bit."

"But I couldn't even tell. You just smiled or shrugged it off like it didn't matter if I was there or not."

Sonic's face fell, and finally Tails saw the pain reflected back that he'd been trying to cause this whole time. "Of course it matters when you're not around, but I didn't want that to ever be a factor in whether you did something or not. I miss you a stupid amount when you're gone, keed." He grimaced, glancing at the far corner of the room. "Talk about embarrassing."

"Wait… You mean it?" Tails blinked, eyes already stinging as his lower lip trembled.

"Tch. I wouldn't lie about something like that, kiddo—"

Tails practically slammed into him, knocking the breath out of him with the force of his hug. "I'm sorry. I thought I wanted you to feel as bad as me, but I don't really, I just—I was so mad and—and—!"

Sonic scritched behind his ear. "And I hurt your feelings, so you tried to hurt mine back. I get it, bud. It's okay."

"It's not!" Tails pulled back to glare at him tearfully. "I should want you to be happy more than anything, just like you want for me!"

"Easy, little bro. Let's take it slow." Sonic shifted so he was sitting cross-legged, cradling Tails in the hollow of his knees as he drew him back in for a gentler hug.

With a shuddery breath, Tails pressed his cheek against his chest and closed his eyes. He could hear Sonic's heartbeat and feel the way his lungs slowed with the intent of getting Tails to copy him. The familiar presence of Sonic around him soothed him, even if he felt he didn't deserve it. Sonic seemed to think otherwise, refusing to let up as he held him in a way that was usually reserved for nightmares and thunderstorms.

"I'm a bad best friend," he sniffled. "I'm sorry…"

Sonic hushed him, his breath tickling his ear as with each airy shh-shh-shh… His breathing was purposeful, deep and steady as it filled his chest. Tails eventually matched it with only the occasional hiccup shuddering through him. When it evened out and Tails's heart stopped its anxious race, Sonic gently nudged their companionable silence.

"When I was around your age, I had a best friend." Sonic's voice was quiet, and Tails held his breath as he listened intently. "We did everything together. He was always there to bail me outta trouble, and I was always there to make sure he remembered to lighten up and live a little. But he had a good heart. Good head on his shoulders, too, even if he always took things so seriously…" Sonic chuckled as he gently tapped right between Tails's eyes. "Like a certain someone else I know."

Tails pushed his forehead into Sonic's palm, encouraging him to stroke his thumb over the fur there. "What happened?" he asked when Sonic didn't continue right away.

"Well," Sonic sighed gustily, both eyes closed. "Someone came into his life who needed him a bit more than I did."

"A new friend?"

"Worse. A little brother." One eye cracked open, a teasing tilt to his smile as Tails blinked up at him. "And I couldn't stand it."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. Suddenly here's this random little kid following him around everywhere and taking up all of his time, and he didn't even mind it! He actually enjoyed it. Drove me nuts." Sonic shook his head. "So we started growing apart. I went off on my own more while he and the kid got closer. Just couldn't stand to be around 'em. I didn't get it. Like overnight, this kid became the most important person in his life and I felt like… I felt like I was just a footnote."

Tails's brow would've furrowed if not for the comforting touch still rubbing circles into his forehead. "Did you try to talk to him about it?"

"Nah. Didn't think I had to. I mean, in my mind, I wasn't the one who was wrong. He'd picked someone else over me, so he was the one who could come crawling back once he realized all the fun he was missing out on. Once he realized he missed… me." Sonic was staring at a corner of Tails's room, his mind somewhere else. "But he didn't."

Tails's heart felt heavy as he tried to picture a younger version of Sonic feeling just as left out and hurt as he'd been feeling the past few weeks. He couldn't really. It was hard to imagine Sonic as anything but his big brother—his hero. Unflappable, confident, and always so open-minded.

"Then what?" Tails asked.

"Nothing. One day I just… never saw him again."

"You don't know where he is?" Tails pressed.

Sonic's mouth tightened and he swallowed before answering. "No. I looked a while back, but I… I wasn't able to find him."

Tails's brow furrowed. "What about the Chaotix? They're detectives, right? You could ask them to—" He cut himself off as Sonic shook his head before he could even finish the suggestion.

"No, it's… it's done, bud. It's in the past. No point getting stuck in it. You know me, always moving forward…" Sonic trailed off, gaze still too distant, somewhere Tails had never been. "I don't think about it much," he continued, voice lower than normal. Older. "It's only sometimes that I wonder, if I'd talked to him about it… told him how I felt… things might've turned out different."

"Sonic…"

He came back to himself sharply, eyes flashing in the dark as he finally looked at Tails and saw him. "I don't want that to happen to us," he urged. "You're too important to me, Tails." Sonic knocked their heads together, brow pressing into his. "So if I'm messing things up for us, you gotta tell me—"

Tails flung his arms around his neck. "You're not messing things up," he mumbled into his shoulder. "I know you love me. You show it all the time, even when I don't deserve it."

Sonic's chest hitched, then his arms came around to hug him back just as tightly. "Shut up. You don't have to deserve it. You're getting it no matter what."

"Even if I hurt you?" Tails asked.

"I can take it," Sonic assured him. "I promise."

Tails's mouth quivered. "And you know I love you, right?"

Though his chuckle was a little choked up, it filled Tails with the same warmth it always did as Sonic rubbed his back. "I might not know as much as you, kiddo, but I do know that. Don't know how I managed to get so lucky, but that's not the important part."

"What is the important part?" Tails asked.

"That it happened at all." Sonic leaned back and Tails sat up so their eyes could meet, crooked grin already curving his big bro's muzzle. "That we happened. You and me. That's all that matters. The how can take a hike."

Tails curled his fingers against his palm, then lifted his hand. Sonic was already halfway to meeting him and they bumped their fists together. As they parted, Tails shifted and sat back against Sonic's front again, eyes drawn to his own paw. He opened his palm, the hand-me-down glove covering it wrapped with a band to cinch it around his smaller wrist. A glove he'd been gifted so early on, he couldn't really remember not having it.

"I've been wondering about that a little, too, actually," he confessed quietly.

"Hm?" Sonic's inquisitive hum encouraged Tails to keep going, to speak his mind.

"You're my best friend, but sometimes…" Tails shrugged.

"'Sometimes…?'" Sonic repeated, prompting him to continue.

"Sometimes it's hard knowing that you're so irreplaceable to me, but I'm… I could've been anyone."

He could feel Sonic's stare boring into him from behind. "Whaddya mean?"

"It's part of why I got so jealous in the first place." Tails glanced over his shoulder at him, his own hunching up self-consciously. "Anyone could be your best friend."

Sonic's expression darkened, the downward tilt of his mouth and deep furrow in his brow more akin to a look he'd send Eggman's way. "You're my best friend."

"I know, but I'm just saying you could've become best friends with anyone. You even said you've had a best friend before. You're just so good at it. You know how to make everyone feel at ease just being around you and you don't even have to try. You could've met anyone on West Side Island and made them your best friend. I'm not—I'm not special—"

"You're my best friend," Sonic repeated, giving each word very intentional emphasis as his eyes flashed. "How could you even—? I wouldn't—Tails. Don't you get it? Without you, I'd never have—" His frustration turned inward as his own tongue got tied up with what he wanted—needed—to say. 

Sitting back with a huff, he had to close his eyes for a second as he wrestled with his own voice. Tails turned to fully face him, but any worried questions were stopped before they could even form as Sonic lifted a single finger. A silent command to give him a minute.

Exhaling harshly through his nose, his determined eyes opened and stared directly into Tails's. "I was alone when I met you. I'd been alone for a long time. You don't think there was a reason for that?"

Tails's eyes widened. "I mean, I thought… you just didn't want anyone to slow you down." The snort of derision that escaped his big brother was enough to tell him there was more to it than that. "Okay, how come?"

Sonic didn't avoid his gaze, but Tails could see the wall that very clearly stood between his question and Sonic's answer. "Well… okay, maybe that was part of it at first. Living life the way I wanted to, I thought that was how it had to be. I didn't stop for anything. Didn't connect with anyone beyond making sure people were okay, then it was off to a new place and new faces to replace the old. It just didn't matter. But then I met you and… You changed that, Tails. You did."

The frustration fizzled out, Sonic's brow pinched with a sudden urgency, like the end of his world as he knew it depended on convincing Tails of this one simple fact. "Who do you think taught me how to be patient with a kid like Charmy? Or how to figure out if Cream's comfortable or not without her saying anything? Or let someone like Amy in, or—heck—even Knuckles? I learned it all with you, kid. I'm only any good at any of this because you stuck around and showed me even when I didn't have a clue what to do with you. When I still don't, sometimes. I mean, let's face it. I learn something new with you every day." 

Tails tilted his head, searching his face for any sign that this was another tale he was spinning. Another version of how they met just to mess with him. But a vague memory stirred, of Sonic looking just as helpless as he did now. He couldn't remember why. He could only remember wanting to help. To let him know everything would be okay.

"What about your other best friend?" Tails asked softly. "The one before me?"

Sonic shook his head. "That was… so different. I was so different. I can't really explain it, keed, but I… I don't think I was a very good best friend to him. Not as good as I could've been, anyway. Heck, if anyone should be apologizing for being a bad best friend, I guess I fit the—"

"You're a good best friend for me," Tails assured him. "The best."

Sonic's muzzle quirked to one side, even though his eyes still looked a bit tired. "Heh. You patronizing me, little bro?"

Tails ignored his wry, humorless chuckle. "No one could ever replace you," he continued, firm in his conviction. "You're my best friend."

As Sonic searched his face, his smile finally tilted into something so helplessly fond. "Aw, Tails… what am I gonna do with you?"

"Besides put up with me constantly testing your patience in order to find your breaking point?" Tails flopped against him with a cheeky grin that was one hundred percent his big brother's. "'Cause I gotta be honest, it's probably gonna happen again."

"Oh, I'm counting on it," Sonic snickered, ruffling the fur along his sides playfully. "If you can promise to keep putting up with me being as clueless as egghead every time we wreck one of his schemes whenever you're feeling outta sorts."

"C'mon, even you're not that clueless," Tails giggled. "But it does say something that literally everyone else figured it out faster than you, Fastest Thing Alive."

"Hey, in my defense, I was a little preoccupied. Might've caught on quicker if I hadn't been trying so hard to…" Sonic's muzzle twisted to one side as a hint of embarrassment flickered across his face. "Well, uh… kinda got a confession myself, kiddo. Y'know, it's kinda funny. One of the reasons I've been so keen on hanging out with everyone was because I thought it was supposed to be good for you."

Tails reared back to fix him with the most incredulous look he could muster. "'Good for me?'"

"Yeah, shows how much I know."

"Why on Mobius would you think that at all?"

Sonic grimaced. "Well, it's just… it kinda started that day at the beach…"

Sonic had stopped under the beach umbrella, finger tapping against his arm as he crossed them, puzzled expression fixed on the sea as a small, orange bundle of fur ventured into the foamy waves.

"How's he doing?"

Amy's voice came from behind him, casting her own concerned look his way. Whatever comfort Cream had needed from her settled her enough that she was fine sitting on the beach chair alone, freeing up the pink hedgehog to check in on the other kids in the equation. Sonic rubbed the back of his quills with a noncommittal shrug, then seemed to think better of it.

"I dunno. I've never seen him act like that," Sonic admitted. "It's not really like him."

Amy sidled up beside him, hands clasped behind her back. "He doesn't really play with other kids much, does he?"

Sonic frowned. "He knows how to play with other kids just fine."

Amy lifted her heart-shaped sunglasses so Sonic could properly see her squinting at him. "Does he now?"

"Tch. Yeah. We play together all the time!"

"You don't count."

"Whaddya mean 'I don't count?'"

"He knows you. He's comfortable with you. It's different."

Though Sonic pointedly looked away from her, a part of him could recognize that she maybe had a point. "When he was little, I used to take him to the park sometimes. He always kept to himself, never really got on the play equipment with the other kids. I always just thought it was ‘cuz crowds made him nervous. I mean, they still do, but he knows what his limits are. And he knows if he ever wants to split, all he's gotta do is say the word and we're—"

"‘Up, over, and gone,'" Amy quoted, her muzzle quirking up with a smile. "You know, my parents enrolled me in daycare and a lot of play groups when I was really little. They thought it was important for me as a headstrong girl and an only child to work on key socialization skills early on, so I'd learn how to take ‘no' for an answer instead of bullying other kids when I didn't always get my way."

Sonic arched a brow as he flicked his gaze back at her. "Guess that didn't work so well, huh."

A pout puffed up her cheeks. "What are you talking about? I get along great with other people!"

"I'm not enrolling Tails in daycare."

"That's not the point," Amy groaned. "All I'm saying is that you guys lived on your own for so long, you never really needed to get used to being around the same people for very long. And in all that time, how often were you meeting up with people who were around Tails's age?" 

"There've definitely been some!" Sonic tapped his foot against the sand as thought back on it. "There was Rocket—well, no, he was actually closer to my age. The professors were grown-ups… those other guys were teenagers… the beavers were literal babies… Le Duck was an adult, too…" he mumbled to himself as he thumbed through his mental list of anyone they'd crossed paths with more than once, and he couldn't think of a fellow four, five, or six-year-old that they spent any length of time talking to, outside of their typical "saving the day" type shtick.

"I don't think he knew what to do about Cream and Charmy, because he's never had to know before," Amy continued.

"Yeah… and with how long it took for him to be comfortable around me…" Sonic crossed his arms. "Guess I never really thought about it before. I mean, a home base was never on the table, so it didn't really matter. But…"

The sound of giggling had his ears twitching. He glanced over at the beach chair Cream was on, noticing that Charmy had come over to share it with her, doing his best to cheer her up with an offering of fruit snacks and more plastic crabs.

Tails had never seemed like other kids to him. He'd always been unique, like him; someone that stood apart from the crowd. Where he didn't fit in with anyone else, he'd fit in perfectly with Sonic. Two outliers against the world, but…

Did Tails deserve more than that?

"I kinda realized you don't really have friends your age—not that you need 'em or anything—but I thought, maybe, it wouldn't hurt to sorta… expand your social circle. Or something. I don't know. I'm no expert on kids, keed. Just on one kid in particular. And even then my track record hasn't been the best lately."

"Even experts in their fields can still admit when they're wrong," Tails assured him, though his brow furrowed as he sat with Sonic's reasoning. "Is it… bad that I don't hang out with kids my age?"

"I don't think so?" But for once Sonic didn't look entirely sure of himself. "I only got it into my head that it was something you needed because you just seemed so unhappy. I didn't know what to do. But I thought, even though you're older than Cream and Charmy, maybe they'd be a good place to start, since you were about their age when we met."

"You didn't say anything though," Tails told him.

"I didn't wanna embarrass you or make you self-conscious about hanging out with them. I wanted it to seem… I dunno. Natural? And in all the reading I was doing, it said that kids will mirror the social interactions of people they look up to, so I thought if you saw me playing with Cream and Charmy, then maybe you'd want to, too." Sonic cringed, like it was the first time he was hearing his own convoluted plan out loud. "There's a reason I'm not the strategist outta the two of us, bud."

"Well, we're both zero for two this time around." Tails patted his arm to console him.

"What a team, huh?" Sonic sighed dramatically, letting his head loll back.

Tails leaned forward, bunting the top of his head under Sonic's chin. "Didn't you realize your plan wasn't working?"

"At first it didn't seem like it, yeah. But then all of a sudden it felt like it, maybe, kinda was." Sonic scratched at his cheek. "Not the way I intended, but… you started asking to hang out with Amy on your own. And Big and Knuckles… I thought it was working. Didn't occur to me that you were just trying to get back at me. I mean, I knew you weren't happy with me, I just… I thought it was 'cuz you were still mad about me telling you off at the beach."

"You're not that far off the mark," Tails acquiesced. "But it started before that. And got worse every time we hung out with them."

"Before…?" Sonic's brow creased with concern. "Aw, bud… I didn't notice. I'm sorry."

Tails almost fell right off Sonic's lap. Sonic didn't usually apologize. Not in the traditional sense, anyway. The closest he'd ever get would be a sheepish "my bad" or "whoops." Or it'd show in his actions—an apologetic fur ruffle or arm slung around his shoulder. But the words "I'm sorry" rarely ever left his big brother's big mouth.

And though he didn't usually need them, they went a long way to settling the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach that he'd been carrying for weeks. "It's okay. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. You always say that I can come to you for stuff and I know that, but… I wanted to be better than this. I'm supposed to know better."

Sonic's eyes widened. "Hey, when I said that, I didn't mean—"

"I know. You just meant I should've handled it better and you were right." Tails dropped his gaze to his lap, but Sonic grabbed his shoulders to get him to look back up.

"No, you were upset and you weren't used to being around kids younger than you. You're a genius and the most incredible kid I've ever met, but that doesn't mean you can't just be a kid, too."

"But I'm almost seven," Tails protested.

Sonic choked back a laugh, fond amusement creasing the corners of his eyes as he cleared his throat. "Right, right. My bad. Seven's totally not a kid."

Tails's gaze narrowed. "Now who's patronizing who?"

"Who? Me? Patronize you? Wouldn't dream of it, little bro." Sonic squished the fluff of his cheeks between his paws.

"You suck at lying," Tails replied blandly, then pried his wrists away. "I know I'm closer in age to Cream and Charmy, but I don't want to do kid stuff. I like building things in the workshop and tinkering with the Tornado. I like studying the ruins of Angel Island with Knuckles. I like being someone Amy can ask for advice instead of someone she feels like she's gotta babysit. And I like the way you and I hang out, the way we always have. That's what's fun to me. I don't need to play make-believe games on a playground pretending to pilot a plane or fight a fictitious lava monster when you and I can fly a real plane and fight a real badnik that Eggman stuck in a lava pit whenever we want!"

"Heh. You make a good point. No surprise there." Sonic slipped his hands out of Tails's grasp to ruffle his fur. "But it was less about being able to do kids things, I guess, and more about just… connecting with other people. Y'know, in case I'm not around for whatever reason. Hey, don't look at me like that." Sonic poked at Tails's cheeks as a deep frown settled on his face.

"Don't say stupid stuff then," Tails told him.

"I don't mean like forever." Sonic rolled his eyes. "'Cuz that'd never happen."

"Sounds to me like you're tempting fate."

"I'll spit in fate's eye."

"Sonic," Tails tried admonishing, though it came out as more of a shocked giggle.

"I mean it, I'll do it! I'll spit right in its eye, just watch me!" Sonic grinned devilishly as his fingers scittered along Tails's sides while he made a sound in the back of his throat like he was working up a good spitball.

Tails practically squealed as he squirmed to get away, shoving at Sonic's muzzle. "Nohoho—! Gross!"

"Hey, I'm just making sure fate knows what it's in for if it even tries thinking about messing with Sonic the Hedgehog!" Sonic laughed, digging his fingers in harder and not letting up on his tickling until Tails wriggled around so much that he fell out of his lap and into the stack of books, knocking them over with him. "Whoops. You okay, little bro?"

"Y-yeah," Tails hiccuped, still giggling as he curled up, just in case Sonic tried anything again. "You suck."

"I know." Sonic's smile softened as he looked down at him, then offered a hand up. "I'll do better. You can count on it."

Chest still heaving as he caught his breath, Tails reached for and grabbed onto Sonic's hand, letting him hoist him back up off the floor. Sonic hadn't even let go yet before Tails was hugging him tightly.

"I missed you," he mumbled into his shoulder.

Sonic's arms banded around him, one hand rubbing his back. "Missed you, too."

Twin fox tails gently spun in happy, little circles, and even Sonic's own tail flicked with its jerky version of a wag. When they pulled away, they sat back with matching smiles. Until a low gurgling sounded between them. Their eyes widened simultaneously, then at once, they burst out laughing.

"It's not my fault!" Tails cackled, holding his growling stomach. "I slept through dinner!"

"Want a cracker?" Sonic snickered, offering the plate of snacks he'd made hours earlier. "Banana?"

That was somehow funnier to them than Tails's stomach interrupting their moment, sending them both into a new fit of laughter. Tails managed to take the plate gratefully before he was nudged off his big brother's lap. With a groan, Sonic shook out his legs, making a face like they were tingling with pins and needles when he knocked his feet together. He was still quick to stand, using the top of Tails's head to push himself up.

"Where're you going?"

"Thinking we probably need something a bit more substantial to go along with our feast of crackers and bananas if your stomach's feeling up to it." Sonic winked down at him. "I'll see what I can whip up for us real quick."

Tails scampered out of the room after him, bringing the snacks with him. He spun his tails and lifted himself up onto the kitchen counter. He sat on the edge, swinging his legs as he nibbled on the saltines and watched. Sonic set a pot to boil on the stove, then grabbed a box of macaroni and cheese from the pantry. Shaking it in Tails's direction for his input, he grinned when he received a thumbs up as approval.

While they waited for the pasta to cook, Sonic swiped a cracker from the plate and Tails cut the banana in half to split. "I'll call Amy tomorrow and tell her we're gonna pass on the party next weekend," Sonic told him. "I'll come up with a good excuse, don't worry," he added with a wink. "We'll do something just the two of us instead."

Tails's mouth pursed, tails flicking back and forth as he considered agreeing to the tempting offer. "No. I want to go."

"Tails—"

"I mean it. It's okay." Tails smiled at him. "I do feel a little better now that we've talked. Besides, Amy's already put so much work into it and I'm sure everyone's looking forward to getting together."

Sonic was silent for a beat as searched his face, uncharacteristically serious for a moment. "None of that matters. It's your birthday. I don't want you spending it feeling like you were pressured into doing something you don't wanna do or hanging out with people you don't really wanna hang out with. Look, I went about this whole thing the wrong way. It doesn't matter what my logic was or if it was the right call. Still doesn't mean it was my call to make. If you don't want to hang out with them, then we won't. Nothing to it."

"Won't that be weird? To all of a sudden stop doing things together?"

"Who cares?" Sonic popped another saltine in his mouth and crunched loudly.

And this time it was Tails's muzzle that quirked itself into a crooked smile, heart swelling in his chest with so much love for his big brother. "You do."

Sonic accidentally inhaled crumbs directly down his windpipe and coughed, shooting him an annoyed look before busying himself with getting a Chaos Cola from the fridge. "Nuh-uh," he argued, mouth gummed up and sticky from choking on the dry cracker.

"Well, then I care." Tails caught the juice box that was suddenly chucked in his direction before Sonic kicked the fridge door shut. "Because even if you were doing it for me, I think you still had fun playing with them and wouldn't want to hurt their feelings. Because you're the kind of person that cares. Maybe you weren't always and maybe you still hurt people by accident sometimes, but the person you are now cares. I want to try and be that kind of person, too."

"You already are. Like I told you, kid, I don't know where I'd be without you." Sonic leaned into the counter beside him. "But whatever you decide to do, I'm on your side, Tails." 

He lifted his can into the space between them and held it there until Tails tapped it with his juice box. "Thanks, Sonic."

Chapter Text

The morning of October 16th arrived with a bang. Literally. 

The door to Tails's bedroom banged against the wall when it swung open. He startled awake and barely had time to react before Sonic less-than-gracefully launched himself at his bed with all the fanfare a cheap kazoo and a confetti cannon had to offer. Little scraps of colorful paper fluttered down around Tails as Sonic treated his mattress like a trampoline, bleating out a rather discordant rendition of "Happy Birthday" on his plastic kazoo.

But it meant starting the day full of laughter, something neither of them could complain about. Sonic tossed Tails his own confetti cannon so he could try and retaliate, but zipped out of the room before he could even take aim.

"Kitchen's the safe zone!" Sonic hollered to him. "That's not the kinda confetti we want sprinkled in our birthday pancake batter!"

"Pancakes!" Tails cheered, skidding into the hallway after him, unsurprised to find Sonic wagging his finger at him from just beyond the kitchen's threshold. "Come out and face me like a hedgehog, ya coward!"

"Coward?" Sonic grinned deviously. "I think you mean genius."

"You would be, except you failed to consider one key factor in your genius plan." Tails pointed out.

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"I'll eat anything if it's covered in syrup!" Tails took aim and blasted Sonic in the face with the confetti cannon, cackling as his big brother and the kitchen were immediately covered in a rainbow of colors.

The scraps of paper got caught on his quills, sticking to him worse than they'd stuck to Tails's fur. He'd be able to brush them out of fox fur easy enough, but Sonic would have to pick each scrap off himself individually. Unless he wanted to go about his day looking like a piñata. 

With a battle cry, Sonic charged forward brandishing his empty confetti tube like a sword. Tails braced himself, swinging his own cardboard tube right back at him. The impromptu sword fight took them all over the living area, vaulting off the couch and over the coffee table. The dull thwack of the hollow tubes smacking against each other could barely be heard over their gleeful shouting. Then Sonic sidestepped suddenly, even though he had a good opening, and Tails stopped himself from reacting instinctively to figure out why.

The present sitting in front of their television clued him in real quick. Tails dropped the cardboard tube, eyes wide as they settled on the big blue bow stuck on top of a brand new video game system. He could see Sonic shamelessly grinning out of the corner of his eye; all-too pleased with himself. Whistling two quick notes for Tails's attention, he snapped his stunned gaze to him just in time to catch the yellow controller tossed his way.

"Figure this way we'll have plenty of time to practice, so the next time we face 'em, we can grind Espio and Charmy into the dust," Sonic said with a wink, holding up his own red controller. "And find some new games you and me can play together while we're at it."

Tails clutched his controller close, admiring its smooth, brand new finish. "Woah… This is the coolest gift ever!" His tails spun quickly, lifting him right into the air as he zoomed into Sonic. "Thank you, Sonic!"

"Don't mention it, birthday bud!" Sonic laughed, dragging him in for a noogie.

As much as Tails wanted to try it out right away, they had to wait to boot it up until later. They were on a time crunch, after all, and already late for breakfast thanks to their impromptu duel and the subsequent de-confetti-ing of Sonic's quills. They still needed to make the trip up to Angel Island and back before the party started, so Sonic made the fastest batch of birthday pancakes known to Mobius while Tails made sure the Tornado was ready for her flight.

And, despite what Tails claimed, they were both pleased to find that there wasn't a single scrap of confetti caught in the batter.

The flight to Angel Island was honestly a great way to spend his birthday on its own, in Tails's opinion. There was little he liked more than flying through a crisp, clear blue sky with Sonic perched on the wing. The wind whistled around them, ruffling fur and quills alike, more like welcome company rather than a reminder of lonely isolation this time around. Tails smiled up at Sonic, watching him breath in the rush of air, sporting a look of contentment all his own.

Knuckles was waiting for them near the base of the Master Emerald's shrine. He held a large bunch of grapes in his mitts, along with something he'd carefully wrapped in a leaf. His eyes remained fixed on the wing of the plane as it coasted to a smooth landing.

"So you both came this time," he observed.

Sonic gave him a two-fingered salute from his perch before he hopped off. "That's right! Long time no see, Knux!"

It said enough, Tails figured, that he'd invited Sonic along for the flight, but he still couldn't help fidgeting a little as Knuckles's gaze focused on him expectantly. "We talked," he told him. "We're good now."

"Is that so?" Knuckles arched a brow as Sonic slung his arm around his shoulder.

"You bet!" he added with a grin, though it softened a bit before the echidna tried to pry him off. "And thanks, by the way. Heard it through the grapevine that you really came through for Tails when he needed someone. I owe ya one."

Knuckles's brow furrowed as he glanced down at the grapes in his grasp, and Tails had to muffle his own amused giggles with his hands. "You know what? I'm not gonna question it," Knuckles decided with a sigh. "Wherever you heard it from, doesn't matter. I just didn't want to be dragged in the middle of whatever was going on between you two. You already give me enough trouble as it is."

"Aw, ya big softy!" Sonic teased, quickly ducking before Knuckles could deck him.

"If it comes down to it again, I'm picking Tails's side," he said dryly.

"Hey, I don't blame ya, I'd pick his side, too!" Sonic laughed, holding both hands up as he backed away. "'Specially if my other option's you!"

"Guys," Tails sighed.

Their back-and-forth didn't carry on for long, luckily. The clock was ticking and Tails was pretty sure it'd look bad if the birthday boy and the fastest thing alive were both late to the party. With a jump and a bounce, Sonic was back on the wing of the Tornado, tapping his foot and his wrist impatiently while Knuckles settled into the cockpit beside Tails.

"Hey, what's that ya got there, Knux?" Sonic asked.

"Grapes," Knuckles replied. "They're my contribution to the party. Amy said to bring something. Grapes go well with every meal."

Tails smiled at him. "I'm sure everyone will love them!"

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I can see the grapes. I meant the other thing."

"It's for Tails. I've heard that gift-giving is typically part of your birthday tradition." Knuckles handed Tails the leaf-wrapped item.

It was surprisingly heavy. "You didn't have to get me anything," Tails started, but was already unwrapping it. 

"A rock?" Sonic snickered when Tails held it up in his hands. "Fitting gift, Knux."

Knuckles nodded. "I found this one in Lava Reef and I thought it looked like it was in the shape of a fox head. See the ears?" He gestured at the two points jutting out from the top of the rock. "I thought it would be just what you needed to make your papers stronger."

"My papers?" Tails blinked.

"You've mentioned before that when you leave the workshop door open on windy days or if Sonic runs by you, your papers get blown around the room, so you were looking for something to use as a weight. I assumed it was to increase their strength and endurance. Rocks make for sturdy training tools."

Tails bit back the urge to laugh, touched by Knuckles taking the care to remember some off-hand comment he'd made ages ago while endlessly amused by the way he interpreted what a paper weight was. "Thank you, Knuckles. This is perfect. It'll definitely work to keep my papers from blowing around."

Knuckles smiled back, then rested his hand on top of Tails's head with a fond pat. "You're welcome. Happy birthday."

Tails beamed up at him, then scrounged around in the cockpit for something. "I actually have something for you, too!" he chirped, pulling out the finished mobile phone for his friend. "You can use it to keep in contact with us! The receiver should be strong enough to reach us from Angel Island, though I haven't fully tested its capabilities yet. Still, I wanted you to have it."

"This is like Amy and Sonic's phone," Knuckles observed, cradling it gently. 

"I modeled it after theirs, yeah." Tails held up the one he'd made for himself, too. "But it's actually identical to mine! They're the only two of their kind."

"You made one for me?"

"Yeah! Though I've already got ideas to improve the design and functionality. It's a start, anyway!"

"Aw, man. I want a Tails phone!" Sonic whined, hanging upside down from the wing. "How come Knuckles gets one before me?"

"Because I'm the superior friend," Knuckles declared.

Tails rolled his eyes. "Because these still work the exact same as the phone you have already. I basically gave yours all the same upgrades!"

"It's not the same!" Sonic groaned.

Tails wasn't sure if he was more flattered or annoyed. He knew what Sonic was up to; playing up any potential jealousy he might be feeling for Tails's benefit. Even if he really did want one of Tails's phones, the theatrics were certainly overkill. He shot his big brother a warning look, hoping it came across as, "you're overdoing it" without having to actually say it.

"You'll be the first one to get a prototype when I start the redesign process," Tails still assured him.

"Ha! In your face, knucklehead!" Sonic jabbed his finger at Knuckles.

"Take your small, petty victories where you can get them, hedgehog."

"Are you guys gonna fight the whole flight?" Tails sighed.

"That depends on him," Sonic and Knuckles said in unison, each pointing at the other.

Well, that was to be expected. Taking a deep breath, Tails lowered his ears and made his eyes as big as possible. "But it's my birthday…"

"Ugh. Low blow, little bro," Sonic huffed, but he couldn't quite hide his smile before disappearing back on top of the wing. "Fine, fine. We'll play nice."

"For now," Knuckles acquiesced, though to both of his friends, it sounded like a vaguely ominous threat that they couldn't help snickering over in shared amusement.

After all, where was the fun if there wasn't a bit of danger?

They landed the Tornado back at the Mystic Ruins so they could take the train into the Station Square and meet up with Big on the way, too. Though he didn't venture into the city often, he was familiar enough with the railway. He sometimes took it down to fish at Emerald Coast Beach. But he and Froggy appreciated the company, nevertheless, and the directions to the park Amy picked out for the party.

Vanilla and Cream were already there, tying big bunches of balloons to the two picnic tables they'd claimed for their base of operations. Using her ears to fly up into the branches of a nearby tree, Cream also hung a banner that proclaimed, "Happy Birthday, Tails!" It looked like several hands had been involved in its creation. Tails recognized Amy's flowy handwriting, but clearly she'd let Cream help decorate it, and possibly Sonic as well. The little doodle of what was supposed to be Tails wearing a party hat looked an awful lot like his brother's handiwork.

There was a tiered dessert stand already set up on one of the tables filled with two dozen chocolate mint cupcakes. They were all frosted with green swirls and garnished with a mint leaf. The seven near the top of the stand also had a candle each.

Vanilla smiled as she noticed their arrival, and specifically their interest in the cupcake tower. "I received a tip from Amy that the birthday boy likes anything with mint," she confessed. "So we worked together to come up with a recipe. I hope they turned out alright."

Sonic let out an impressed whistle. "Well, they look great!" 

He reached out to swipe one from the bottom, but Knuckles grabbed his wrist before he made contact. "Tails should get the first one. It's his birthday," he growled.

"Okay, okay! I was just messing around, knucklehead! Jeez," Sonic hissed, retracting his wrist protectively, knowing Knuckles could very easily snap it if he wanted.

Tails shook his head, but ultimately ignored the two of them. "Thanks, Miss Vanilla. I'm sorry you had to go through all the trouble though. Any kind of cake would've been great."

"Not at all. I was more than happy to experiment. This way I can make sure to have a recipe on hand for future birthdays."

"Oh…" Tails's face warmed up and the familiar twinge of guilt prodded him.

It had been a minute since he'd felt it, only slight stirrings since he and Sonic had talked. The festering jealousy and guilt had finally quieted enough that he almost forgot about them. Almost. 

Unfortunately, Vanilla's kind gesture only served as a reminder that he hadn't been the nicest to her daughter, and that she probably would have second thoughts about taking the time to learn a mint chocolate cake recipe if she'd known that.

"I brought fish skewers," Big the Cat offered, holding out the large platter he'd carried with him all the way from the Mystic Ruins. "Sonic said there'd be somewhere to cook them."

"Oh, thank you, dear. We'll put them on one of the grills. Why don't you set them down right over here for now?" Vanilla guided him to an empty space on the picnic table next to her serving dish of carrot slaw.

"And I brought grapes," Knuckles added, his bunch of grapes now in a bowl that Tails had grabbed from the workshop before heading over here.

Curiously, said fox turned his attention to Sonic, who was trying once more to sneak a cupcake. "You didn't bring anything," Tails pointed out, not bothering to mention the cupcakes since he'd startled him away from his second attempt just by speaking.

Quills raised and gaze guiltily darting across the park, Sonic wiped his palms against his thighs. "Oh. Yeah. I made a list and gave it to Amy."

Tails set his hands on his hips and arched a brow. "I don't think that counts as bringing something."

"Hey, I had a lot going on this morning. I was busy," Sonic defended, mirroring Tails's stance with a cocked hip. "Unless birthday pancakes mean nothing to you."

"Well, you didn't have to come with me to Angel Island, you know. I could've picked up Knuckles by myself."

"Yeah, but I wanted to come." And Sonic sounded so earnest that Tails couldn't help but believe him. Maybe he was still overdoing it, just a bit, but no part of him could honestly argue that Sonic didn't like flying with him. "Besides, Amy was going to the store anyway. And I trust her to pick up what we needed more than me."

"Please, like you don't know where to find all the ingredients for chili dogs by heart in every store on Mobius," Tails teased, ultimately deciding to cut him some slack. He was glad Sonic had come with him, too, after all. "But thanks for flying with me. I wanted you to come, too."

"Yeah… any time, little bro." Sonic's smile was stretched a bit too wide, and then he immediately went to greet Espio and Vector, under the guise of helping them carry the case of Chaos Cola they brought as their contribution, along with a couple bags of chips.

Tails's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but a cheerful voice dragged his attention to the exuberant pink blur that was Amy Rose. Racing towards them, she cradled a big brown bag of groceries in the crook of one arm while swinging a small cooler in the other. 

"Sorry I'm late!" she called out. "Tails! Happy birthday!"

"Thanks, Amy." He flew over to help her by taking the cooler.

"And thank you!" she giggled, then set down the bag of groceries on the picnic table. "I've got the goods! Everything we could possibly need for a perfect party in the park!"

Tails hopped onto the bench beside her, helping unpack the brown paper bags and spread everything out. He stilled, brow furrowing as he pulled out hamburger buns. The plastic bag crinkled in his grasp as he peered deeper into the bag, but there were only more hamburger buns.

"Where are the hot dog buns?" Tails asked.

"Vector said he's going to grill burgers for us," Amy answered, pulling out a tupperware container of pre-prepared hamburger patties from the cooler. "So I didn't grab any."

Tails frowned. "But what about for the chili dogs? Sonic said he gave you a list."

Tilting her head to one side, Amy considered him a moment. "Tails, the hamburgers were Sonic's idea. He said he thought you'd like that more."

Tails whirled around, sharp gaze landing on Sonic as he chatted with Espio, arms folded behind his head. But his ears were flicking in his direction though, and Tails's face immediately fell into the most unimpressed look he could muster. Eventually Sonic glanced his way as he scratched at his nose, an uncertain smile wobbling it's way onto his muzzle under the intense scrutiny.

Did he really not realize avoiding chili dogs had been part of his plan, too?

No, Sonic's sheepish smile told him all he needed to know. He'd figured it out, just maybe a little too late. Or he'd forgotten this was what he and Amy had planned.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked, concern creasing her brow. "Do you not want hamburgers?"

"No, it's not that." Tails shook his head, then shook it off and sent Amy a reassuring smile. "Hamburgers are great. I was just surprised. I know we joked about it, but I really expected Sonic to bring stuff for chili dogs."

"I know what you mean." Amy clicked her tongue with a fond shake of her head, unpacking the rest of the hamburger accompaniments from the bag. "I couldn't believe it myself when his list didn't have a single hot dog on it."

"Heh, yeah…" Tails glanced at Sonic again, a twinge of… something tugging at his heart. Not regret; it was something he couldn't quite name. 

"Yo, Tails! Heads up!"

Yanked from his rumination, the fox kit's quick reflexes kicked in to catch the soda can chucked his way. He blinked down at it, ice cold between his palms. Sonic strolled over to him with his own can and tapped it against his.

While he'd had the occasional sip from Sonic's sodas over the years, he usually didn't get his own can. Mostly because the carbonation had bothered him when he was little and the caffeine kept him up too late when he already had trouble sleeping most nights.

"Really?" Tails asked.

"Figured it's a special occasion," Sonic said with a wink. "Happy birthday, big guy."

"Happy birthday, Tails!" the rest of the party chorused, everyone gathering around to toast him with their own drinks in hand.

Vector and Big set themselves up to grill the burgers and fish skewers while everyone else either chatted with Tails or ran off to the playground to play until the food was ready. 

They set up a few party games after lunch, like ring toss and their own version of a classic game they dubbed "pin the mustache on the egghead," complete with a crudely drawn version of said foe. 

When it was time for cake, Vanilla lit the candles atop each cupcake. Tails hovered in front of them and took in a deep breath. Amy encouraged him to make a wish, though he hadn't really been sure what to wish for at first. The past year had been a rollercoaster, that was for sure, but in the end he really did have everything he could've ever wanted. 

But then his gaze wandered to Cream and Charmy, even though he'd been trying hard not to pay them much attention all afternoon. With one breath, he blew out all seven candles and made his wish. One that was maybe in his power to make a reality.

After cupcakes and presents, everyone settled in to relax for the remainder of the afternoon, nibbling on the rest of the snacks laid out on the picnic table while they each did their own thing. It was a nice way to wind down; low-key and simple, just as Tails had requested.

Cream and Charmy were off playing in the grass, an assortment of dolls and action figures strewn across the blanket they knelt on. Vector and Vanilla had thought it was a good idea to bring them toys so they could entertain themselves when the games were done, and it seemed to be doing the trick. Charmy made the action figure in his hand say something to the doll in Cream's, the two of them nearly collapsing in a fit of giggles. 

Tails watched them quietly, halfway to the picnic table to get another cupcake when his gaze wandered to the kids yet again, sitting a ways away from the older crowd.

He wondered if it was because they knew. 

They didn't seem to think he didn't like them. After all, they both greeted him and wished him "happy birthday" before they ran off to play sea monster with Big and Froggy on the playground while they waited for the food to be ready. Though Tails didn't miss how Charmy had looked around for Sonic first, to see if he'd join them, but the blue blur had somehow made himself scarce at the time.

Tails hated that it made him feel a little better, even after their talk; the guilt quickly overriding any satisfaction he'd initially felt. 

He'd gotten used to keeping an eye on them, on being aware of where they were at all times in case they'd tried to latch onto Sonic, resentment building every time they snuck by. Even though the resentment was mostly gone now—mostly—his attention was inevitably drawn to them throughout the afternoon, how they played and weaved their way between the teens and adults.

Existing like it was so easy to just be kids.

"Y'know, it's kinda funny. One of the reasons I've been so keen on hanging out with everyone was because I thought it was supposed to be good for you. I only got it into my head that it was something you needed because you just seemed so unhappy. Even though you're older than Cream and Charmy, maybe they'd be a good place to start."

Tails glanced back at the picnic table he'd come from. Knuckles was munching on grapes as he listened to Espio correct a story Vector was telling, while Amy, Vanilla, and Big exchanged recipes and chatted amongst themselves. At the base of the tree that shaded the picnic table, under the birthday banner, Sonic had retreated to take a nap, arms behind his head quills and one knee bent, with the other leg resting across it. Even if it hadn't been chili dogs, he'd still eaten enough to warrant a food coma and was ready to sleep it off until it was time to run home.

No one was looking at Tails. No one would know.

Tails changed direction before he made it to the cupcakes, slowly padding his way through the grass to the other two kids. Out of everyone, they were the closest in age to him, younger only by two years. Sonic had a point. It made more sense for him to hang out with them instead of with the older teens, well-aware it was his genius that helped balance things out when it came to the age gap between him and everyone else.

And though he'd meant it when he said he didn't really like to play pretend or act like a kid when he had so much fun spending time with Sonic, Amy, and Knuckles, there were still times where he felt the distance between himself and his friends keenly. Drawn to the two kids playing together with their toys, he figured this was one of those times. Hesitantly, he wavered at the edge of the blanket until Cream and Charmy finally noticed their silent audience.

"Oh! Hi, Mr. Tails!" Cream waved. "Are you done eating?"

"Uh. Yeah, for now." Tails's tails swished anxiously behind him and he only just refrained from grabbing onto one. "What are you guys doing?"

Cream lit up, holding up the doll in her hand. "I'm hosting a ball with Princess Pollen!"

"That's under attack by killer zombie robots!" Charmy added, shoving the robot action figure that he was playing with at Cream's princess doll, but she was quick enough to move her doll away from the danger. "But we've got reinforcements coming in! Chaos Squad to save the day!"

"Yeah!" Cream reached for another doll just out of reach, this one looking more like a fairy than a princess, complete with wings and a magic wand. "They're gonna save the day and make sure everyone lives happily ever after!"

"Oh. Well, that sounds fun," Tails told them.

"Do you want to play?" Charmy asked.

"Um." Tails clenched his hands into tight fists behind his back. "Well, I don't—I don't have anything to uh… play with, so…"

"That's okay! You can borrow one of mine!" Charmy offered him the yellow member of the Chaos Squad.

"Yeah, we can share," Cream chimed in. "You can be any of my dolls, too, if you want."

"Oh. Um. Okay." Tails's cheeks were burning as he knelt down on the blanket with them, taking the offered action figure. "What's his name?"

"Steven!" Charmy bellowed, like it was a way more impressive and intimidating name than it actually was. "But you can name him something else if you want."

"Steven's fine, I guess." Tails looked down at the yellow hero toy, pursing his mouth as he experimented with his articulated joints and different posing. "Or if he's a superhero, um, maybe something like… The Tornado Torpedo?"

"Woah, that's a cool name!" Charmy praised.

Cream clapped her hands in agreement. "I like it! This is Magenta Magic. She can fly and use her magic wand to send her enemies to the rainbow dimension for tea parties."

Tails blinked. "She punishes her enemies with tea parties?"

Cream smiled sweetly. "So they can talk about their feelings and learn from their mistakes. And be… um…"

"Rehabilitated?" Tails offered up.

"What's that?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"Er… learning to be a better person," Tails simplified.

Cream lit up and nodded. "Mmhm!"

"And this is Brian!" Charmy made the fist of the red action figure pump up in the air. "But now he's gonna be Fist Face instead! That's a better name, right? 'Cuz he hits people in the face with his fists!"

Tails looked at the blue action figure on the blanket. "Who's that?"

"That's Dennis—"

"Blue Rocket!" Charmy interjected, cutting Cream off.

"Oh. Okay. He's Blue Rocket now," she adapted with ease, like she was used to Charmy changing his mind on a whim. "He was Princess Pollen's date to the ball, but he got captured in the robot zombie attack, so now the rest of the Chaos Squad has to rescue him and save the ball," Cream explained.

It was certainly a premise. "Okay, I think I've got it."

At first, Tails merely observed the way the two of them played, talking through their toys to each other with different voices for each character. Charmy was able to bounce between multiple characters the fastest, so he played all of the robot zombies as well as Fist Face and Blue Rocket. He was also the best at sound effects, able to come up with an assortment of different noises for each battle sequence.

It was embarrassing talking through a toy and making explosion sound effects, but as he watched, he began to admire the freedom the two of them had just playing the way they wanted to. They weren't embarrassed, they were just having fun. Not so different from his and Sonic's impromptu confetti cannon fight. And whenever Tails tried adding something to the game, Cream and Charmy were completely on board and rolled with his ideas like they just as easily fit into this make-believe fantasy world they'd created.

Like he fit in.

Then the biggest of the robot action figures was suddenly brought into play, with a plastic zombie head stuck on top of it in place of what had once been a robot head, Tails guessed. 

Charmy gasped suddenly. "Tornado Torpedo, look! It's just as I feared. Our worst nightmare! A mega robot zombie!" Charmy waved it in the air, then positioned it right between them and where Blue Rocket was being held captive.

"We'll need all our strength together to take it down," Tails played along, surmising that it must be like one of Eggman's "boss" badniks, a big bad that was much harder to take down than the ones typically patrolling the zones. "Um. Fist Face, target its weak spot."

"It doesn't have a weak spot!" Charmy wiggled Fist Face frantically. 

"Then we'll just have to make one," Tails decided, carefully posing Tornado Torpedo so he looked like he was deep in thought.

The battle became more intense. The mega robot zombie was ruthless as Charmy plowed the large figure through the smaller ones, scattering them across the blanket. Despite knowing what he and Sonic would do in a situation faced with an overpowered foe, it was challenging to apply that knowledge to something that was made from plastic and controlled by a being of pure chaos. Charmy was an unpredictable force of nature; Eggman could probably take a few pointers from the little guy.

But Tails wasn't sure what to do next. He didn't know how to finish the game. He froze.

With a war cry, Charmy slammed the mega robot zombie into Tornado Torpedo. He smacked Tails's hand too hard and the action figure went flying out of his grasp. It landed in the grass with a snap. One of the joints broke off, the toy's arm disconnected from the rest of it, the poseable body twisted in an angle that no living being would've likely survived. Tails clutched his hand to his chest as he stared at the remains of the Tornado Torpedo, crumpled in a yellow, plastic heap while his fingers stung from where he'd been struck.

Charmy's joyful screeching became indiscernible from the white noise ringing in his ears. He couldn't look away from the toy. They yanked it from his arms. The game continued around him, but Cream and Charmy's voices sounded far away, like he was falling down a tunnel while sitting perfectly still. The yellow casing cracked as they stomped on it, the robot puppy's limbs scattered in the long grass and his wiring ripped out of his little body. The helicopter propeller on his head snapped in two. Tails couldn't get enough breath, everything felt too tight. The air too thin. He'd cried, pleaded for them to stop, but the kids held him down and hit him and pulled on his tails—

"Mr. Tails?"

A hand touched his arm and a high-pitched yip burst out of him. He reared back like he'd been burned, scrambling away from the physical contact. Wide-eyed and panting, Tails's gaze darted between Cream and Charmy, caught in their identical stares. They were confused. They didn't understand what had happened. To them he was freaking out over nothing. Why was he freaking out over nothing? Why was he a freak?

Utter humiliation threatened to swallow him whole, a force almost as great as the panic he still couldn't shake. He was older than them, he was a genius, a pilot, and sidekick to the greatest hero on Mobius, and he was having a meltdown because someone broke his toy. Someone broke his toy. It was all he had in the whole world and they broke it—

"Hey! What's going on over there?" Vector shouted.

Tails scrambled to his feet, twin tails already spinning, and he was gone before Cream or Charmy could say anything. He flung himself through the park, zipping past other families and couples casually strolling by in a blur of yellow. It was too crowded, there were too many people. They could catch him, hold him down, hurt him. 

Tails turned abruptly, finding a route through the back streets of Station Square to make his escape.

He had to hide. Every instinct was shouting at him to hide, overriding the white noise still ringing in his ears until he zig-zagged through several alleys, then shot straight up the side of a skyscraper that was still under construction. He flew until he reached the top, landing on the exposed steel framework and tucking himself against a vertical column as best as he could. He hugged it like he was three years old and hiding in a tree, hoping he was high enough that the kids couldn't reach him with their rocks.

Chaos, he was an idiot. Gasping for breath, Tails opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on the horizon. It was such a stupid thing to get upset over, like he really was some little kid. Heck, it wasn't even his toy! It was Charmy's, and he had no personal attachment to it whatsoever, he didn't need to be upset about it. It was not worth this kind of reaction, one that surely garnered the attention of all his older friends.

Tails drew his knees up to his chest and buried his face in them. Utter humiliation. Within less than a minute, his cell phone started ringing, but he didn't uncurl to look at it. He wasn't ready to explain what happened, and he was sure someone must've asked Cream and Charmy about the incident. That was probably one of the first things anyone did.

What would they all think of him once they knew? That someone as smart as him could fall apart so easily. Just like some cheaply made toy.

This was why he didn't play with other kids around his age. He couldn't. He didn't know how. He was too broken. Somewhere along the line, he'd lost some crucial pieces and couldn't be repaired. Not without the right parts.

And he didn't know where or when he'd lost them. Or if he ever had them to begin with. Defective.

Freak.

His cell phone finally stopped ringing. Whoever was trying to reach him gave up as dusk draped itself across the sky. Pink and yellow sunsets glinting off skyscraper windows momentarily blinded him.

Otherwise he might have seen them coming.

Instead he heard them land gently on the steel beam behind him. His fur bristled, ears swiveling back to listen as the hum of Charmy's wings and Cream's dainty footsteps approached him. 

"Mr. Tails?" Cream called out to him first. "Are you okay?"

Shoulders stiffening, Tails didn't look back at them and just nodded brusquely. He didn't trust himself to speak; rationality fried as emotions overrode every circuit in his brain and neural pathways rerouted away from reason. He felt so pathetic. 

A slight breeze ruffled his fur as Charmy buzzed past to hover in front of him. "I'm really sorry, Tails. I didn't mean to play so rough."

In his hands, he held out the yellow action figure. It was still broken, but it had a napkin wrapped around its busted shoulder, with the detached arm tied to its body like a makeshift sling. Charmy was uncharacteristically gentle with it as he showed it off, genuine concern in his eyes.

"We thought you could fix him," Cream piped up, sitting down next to Tails, "since you're so good at it. But only if you want to."

"Yeah!"

Tails stared hard at the action figure, his chest still constricted and skin too tight at the sight of it. Yeah, I can take a look at it should've been an easy thing to say. Instead he hunched himself up into a smaller ball, refusing to look at either of them. 

"Does your hand still hurt?" Cream asked him after a beat, smiling as he shook his head. "That's good! Charmy gets carried away sometimes, but he never means to hurt anyone. It's always an accident."

"Yeah, Vector says I get too rowdy and need to dial it back better," Charmy agreed, antennae wilting a little. "It's why sometimes the other kids don't want to play with me."

Tails lifted his head, his ears perked in interest. "Really?" he asked after a beat.

"Oh yeah! It's really hard to find people to play with sometimes!"

"Me too," Cream said, tugging on one of her ears self-consciously. "It's scary to talk to other kids at preschool. I don't want to bother them, so I don't get to play much either."

"But… you guys aren't…" Tails struggled to find the right word. "You're…"

Their big brown eyes stayed fixed on him, waiting for whatever it was he was about to say. "Normal" seemed reductive when they'd just claimed to struggle with the very thing he did. When they didn't always know how to approach other kids.

"You're both so nice," he said weakly. "Anyone would be lucky to play with you."

The matching smiles that blossomed on their faces warmed him through, both of them delighted by his praise. "Thanks, Mr. Tails! You're really nice, too! It's always fun when you play with us."

Tails blinked. "It is? But you guys only ever want to play with Sonic."

"Because you only ever want to play if Mr. Sonic's there," Cream pointed out.

"Yeah. You're only ever around and paying attention to us if he's around," Charmy added.

"But you've never asked me to play." Tails stared at them. 

They both squirmed under his scrutiny, Cream fiddling with the hem of her skirt. "Sometimes talking to you is scary, too," she admitted shyly. "You're so much smarter and bigger than us."

Charmy shrugged. "I'm not scared, but Vector says to let you do your own thing and not bug you too much. If you wanted to play with us, then you would."

"And Mr. Sonic says sometimes… sometimes you gotta go at your own pace. And that's okay," Cream said with a smile.

"I…" Tails's ears fell. "I don't really know… how to play. Not like you guys. I've only ever really played with Sonic."

"Oh. Well, we can show you," Charmy volunteered simply, like it didn't matter.

It didn't matter…

Tails's eyes were wide as Cream nodded, her smile as cheery and kind as Amy's or Vanilla's or Sonic's. "And we can try playing games that you and Mr. Sonic know, too. Is that okay?"

He nodded slowly, voice thick as he answered, "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds… good."

"Yay!" Charmy cheered, "Does that mean we're friends now?"

Tails's face warmed under his cheek fluff. "I think so?"

"I think so, too," Cream agreed, then hopped up to her feet and offered her hand. "A friend of a friend is a friend! And I'm friends with Amy who's friends with you and Mr. Sonic."

"And I'm friends with Cream, so that makes us friends, too!" Charmy flitted up into the air with a loop-de-loop.

The logic was a little flawed, but Tails couldn't deny the simple fact that it made his heart feel warm and the tightness in his chest had all but vanished. Maybe they didn't necessarily know why it was hard for him to play with other kids, but it didn't matter to them. All that mattered was they wanted to try.

He still wasn't very used to people wanting to try for him.

Tails took Cream's offered hand as he stood up, cradling the injured toy in the crook of his arm. "Thank you. I'm glad we're friends." He could see now how much time had passed, the sun fully hidden by the skyscrapers around them as the sky steadily darkened overhead, the stars starting to come out. "Speaking of friends, we'd better get back to the rest of ours, huh?"

Cream nodded. "Everyone was really worried about you."

"Yeah! And we were supposed to stay put, but they were too busy looking for you, so it was easy to sneak away." Charmy grinned, then mimed throwing a shuriken. "Like a ninja!"

"Oh boy," Tails sighed, smacking himself in the face with his palm. "So then everyone's worried about the two of you, too."

"Probably," Charmy agreed with a shrug.

"We weren't supposed to leave the park, but… mama says when someone you care about feels sad, you should do whatever you can to be there for them." Cream looked up at him. "So we wanted to be there for you and say sorry for making you sad."

"Aw… you guys didn't make me feel sad," he assured them. "It wasn't your fault. You didn't know I'd… react like that. But I'll text Amy and let her know you're both with me and that we're on our way back. I don't want anyone to worry any more than they already have."

"You should call Mr. Sonic, too. He ran after you before anyone even came up with a plan." Cream clasped her hands in front of her.

"Yeah, he just asked us what we did and then zoom!" Charmy buzzed around them. "I bet he's all the way on the other side of the world by now!"

Tails selected Sonic's contact after messaging Amy, then sent him a quick apology and let him know he was heading back. A distant chime sounded behind him as the message delivered, Tails's ears swiveling back as he recognized the sound. He glanced over his shoulder at the shadowed skyscrapers, but no one was there.

At least not anymore.

With an amused huff, Tails's muzzle quirked to one side before he turned to the younger two kids. "Let's head home."

The three of them took to the air, sticking close as they began the journey back to the park. And if the wind that rustled through Tails's fur felt familiar, then that was their own little secret.

"Oh, Tails!" Amy's crushing hug was absolutely the first thing he expected to be on the receiving end of the second he touched down, followed by her emotional reprimand. "What were you thinking just running off like that? You know how worried we all were! We looked everywhere for you! Why didn't you answer your phone? Wasn't that the whole point of making it?"

"I'm sorry, Amy," he wheezed, giving her a light tap on the back. "I wasn't really thinking. That was kinda the problem."

She released him, cheeks puffed up and eyes brimming with tears she couldn't quite hold back. But one look at his face—seeing the responsibility held not only for himself, but for the two other kids who'd gone missing in his wake—her anger deflated immediately and she hugged him again. 

"Are you okay?" she asked this time.

"Yeah. I'm okay. We worked it all out." Tails looked over her shoulder at the rest of their group. 

Knuckles hovered close by, letting Amy fuss over him first. Vanilla cradled Cream's cheeks as she knelt down in front of her daughter, speaking softly, but firmly as the little rabbit nodded obediently. Vector wagged his finger in front of Charmy, who hardly seemed bothered by the fact that he was being lectured, as Espio observed with his own stern look leveled on the bee. 

"Well, we're glad to hear it." Knuckles laid his hand atop Tails's head. "Just don't make a habit of this, kid. I don't know how much more of this we can take."

Tails nodded, meeting Knuckles's gaze to ensure he got the message, then scanned the park for someone he expected would be here already—

"Are you alright, Tails dear?" Vanilla approached him, with Vector right behind. "You're not hurt?"

"No, I'm fine," he answered quickly.

"I know Charmy can be a pain, but the kid means well. I'll have a talk with him about personal space and respecting boundaries and all that," Vector assured him. "He'll give ya a proper apology and it won't happen again."

"No, it's okay. He didn't do anything wrong. Neither of them did. It was just a misunderstanding," Tails replied, looking between the two adults earnestly. "Please don't be mad at either of them. They were just trying to be good friends."

Vanilla and Vector exchanged glances. The latter more than a little perplexed by the situation while the former's surprise quickly melted into a smile.

"Well, we certainly don't want to dissuade them from being good friends," Vanilla hummed. "Do we?"

"Er… no, I guess not." Vector rubbed the back of his head. "As long as you're sure you're okay, kid."

He was. Or he would be if he could just find…

Tails perked up, eyes finally catching sight of the blue figure lingering just outside the crowd. Sonic leaned against the trunk of the tree he'd been napping under earlier, arms folded across his chest as he quietly watched everyone fuss over the three kids, refusing to make a fuss himself. Exhaling a relieved sigh, Tails squeezed past Vanilla and Vector with final assurances that he was okay and padded across the grass to Sonic's side.

His big brother tilted his head to one side as he waited for him. Tails didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. Sonic's muzzle quirked up, then he tapped the backs of his knuckles to the top of Tails's head. 

Everyone then worked together to pack up the leftovers and the party supplies. Clean up was quick and relatively organized, despite the chaos that had unfolded. Vector offered for him and the boys to walk Vanilla, Cream, and Amy home, claiming that it was on their way anyway—even if the detective agency was in a completely different district entirely. Big carried the leftover snacks while Knuckles took the bag Tails's presents had been put into, along with a bouquet of the balloons to put up in the workshop, even if they'd very likely be drooping towards the ground come morning. 

Final farewells and birthday wishes were exchanged before the group split up—into those that called the city their home and those that held closer ties to nature. Without a word, Sonic crouched down and Tails hoisted himself up for a piggyback ride, mindful of the spines pricking at his belly. 

"Make sure to wait up for Knuckles and Big," Tails told him as he wrapped his arms around Sonic's shoulders.

"Eh, they can catch up." Sonic glanced back at him with a wink—his only warning before Sonic took off running.

He held on tight as the night rushed by in a blur of streetlights until the city winked out of sight all at once. They started on the familiar path back to the Mystic Ruins, stopping only when Tails tugged on Sonic's quills. 

"You do remember that we're Knuckles's ride back to Angel Island, don't you?" he reminded him.

Heaving a dramatic sigh, Sonic turned on his heel and doubled back for the other two. Apparently he had, and their friend wasn't all too happy about it.

It was late by the time they could finally settle in for the night. The trip to and from Angel Island had gone as smooth as it could, though it left both a bit chilly from autumn's night air. Sonic strode through the workshop, stretching both arms up over his head with a yawn. Tails hopped out of the cockpit, hesitating a moment before bolstering his resolve with both shoulders back.

"I'm still a little hungry," he piped up, his voice stopping Sonic halfway up the stairs. "Do we have stuff for chili dogs?"

Sonic canted his head to one side. "Yeah… we've got enough to make at least a couple. But we've got a bunch of party leftovers still—"

"We've always had chili dogs on my birthday. On every single one," Tails said decisively, eyes shining with determination. "It's important."

Sonic's questioning look melted into the warmest smile. "You bet. I'll whip us up a batch, just hang tight, keed."

"Thanks, Sonic." Tails beamed up at him, both tails swishing happily. "I'll be up in a minute."

Sonic replied with a two-fingered salute, then continued his way upstairs. Tails turned his attention to his worktable and the broken action figure he'd set there before taking Knuckles home. Flicking on the lamp, he sat down and carefully unwrapped the napkin sling to examine the toy's break. The shoulder joint was still attached, if it had been that, Tails imagined he could pop that back in relatively easily. Unfortunately for Tornado Torpedo, it was his humerus that had snapped in two.

But Tails had a few ideas up his metaphorical sleeve. He quickly jotted down a few notes for himself come morning, then got caught up doodling a couple of prototype ideas for a new project entirely. Some that resembled a little robotic chao. Some that looked more like a robotic puppy.

A creak on the ceiling drew his attention away from the blueprints, followed by the sound of something settling on the couch.

The rest could wait.

Pushing away from his worktable, Tails flicked off the light and padded up the stairs. Sonic was lounging across the length of the couch, a plate of four chili dogs on the coffee table in front of him. Sprawled out on his back, remote in hand, he flipped through channels on the television. The volume was low, almost inaudible, but finding something to watch wasn't really the point. It was just background noise.

The couch dipped under Tails's added weight as he climbed up to join him. Settling beside Sonic, he noticed that he wasn't actually flipping through channels aimlessly. Two video game cases and one of the controllers were set out on the coffee table beside the plate of chili dogs, and the new console had been powered on.

"I'm pretty sure I plugged it in right," Sonic muttered, fiddling with the remote some more, but he just kept going between the same two channels and a blue screen.

"Let me see?" 

"Have at it, buddy." Sonic handed it over and opted to grab a chili dog instead.

Tails examined the buttons on the remote for a second before changing the input settings for the TV. The game console's menu immediately appeared on the screen. Sonic elbowed Tails in the side with a chuckle, offering up a chili dog as his prize. Tails eagerly sank his teeth into it and sighed happily at the first familiar bite.

It had been a while since Sonic made chili dogs, and he was only now getting that it was because his big brother thought he didn't like them as much anymore or preferred something different. While he maybe wasn't as chili dog-crazy as Sonic, they were still one of his favorites and he didn't think anything would change that. 

"Want to check out one of the games before bed?" Sonic asked.

Tails nodded, leaning forward to examine the two that had come with the new system. One was the melee fighting game they'd played at the Chaotix's place, but the other looked like more of an adventure game from the cover. He turned it over to read the back, noting that it was a one-player game, but the environment looked interesting.

Not really having the energy for the fighting game, Tails held up the second one. "We could take turns every time we die," he suggested.

Sonic flashed a grin. "Sounds good to me!"

Polishing off the rest of his chili dog, Sonic zipped over to the console and back before Tails had even taken his second bite. He tossed the controller Sonic's way as the game booted up.

"You can start."

"You sure?"

"Uh-huh." Tails drew both legs up onto the couch, wriggling about to get cozy as he finished his chili dog. "M'still eating."

Sonic gave his knee a pat, then grabbed his second chili dog before flopping back into the corner of the couch, one leg dangling off the edge and the other bent so he could rest the controller against it. They ate quietly as the game started, focused on the opening cutscene to get an idea of the story.

"I've never played this kind of game before," Tails commented once Sonic was finally in control of the character, spinning the joystick to run around in circles and test his move set.

"Me neither. Always been arcade games for me. There's so many buttons on this thing," Sonic replied with a chuckle, flashing a grin his way. "Guess we'll figure it out together."

"We'll muddle through like we always do," Tails laughed.

Sonic died almost immediately, tossing the controller Tails's way. Taking it a bit slower than his brother, Tails made a fair bit of progress for them, collecting supplies and checking for hidden items or power-ups. Until too many enemies spawned and overwhelmed him.

"What do I do?" he yelped, defaulting to button-mashing in his panic.

"Not whatever it is you're doing right now! Hit them!" Sonic shouted, freaking out alongside him. "Tails!"

"Ah!" 

They were practically wheezing with laughter as they lost their second life.

"That was so stupid," Tails hiccuped, still giggling as he handed the controller back to Sonic.

"Hey, you made it farther than me," Sonic snickered.

"That's not much of a compliment. Don't run off the cliff this time." Tails leaned against Sonic's shin, using his propped up leg as a recliner.

"Shut up." Sonic bounced him lightly as he focused on the screen.

They eventually fell into a rhythm, both of them picking up on the game's mechanics fairly quickly, if not at all gracefully. Their collective energy mellowed out as the night wore on. When it was Tails's turn with the controller again, a comfortable silence had fallen over the two of them, so he focused mainly on exploring the world.

"Y'know, I kinda get it now," Sonic said out of nowhere, and at first Tails thought he meant the game's plot or something, but then he added. "Now I know what it's like to be a little jealous of Cream and Charmy, too."

With the blandest look he could muster, Tails turned to look at him, leaving the video game character to idle on the screen. "You're not funny," he told him, assuming it was just another attempt at overcompensating for not being as jealous as Tails had wanted.

"I'm not joking." Sonic gave a half-shrug, then glanced his way with a tilted smile. "Well, okay, maybe half-joking. I'm glad they were there for you and gave you the pep talk you needed, but I gotta say, it did leave me feeling a bit jealous. Kinda used to being the one to come after you and make you feel better."

Tails's eyes widened. Half-joking or not, he was still somewhat serious… Sonic turned his gaze back to the screen with a light chuckle, shaking his head as he brushed aside his own feelings. Tails fiddled with the controller, then toggled the joystick with a sharp left and let the character run right off the cliff. Sonic arched a brow when Tails reached over to give him the controller, but he simply accepted it wordlessly.

Tails waited for him to start playing again before speaking up. "I don't really remember much before I met you, you know that, but sometimes I get reminded of random things. Like I had this toy. I'd built it from bits and pieces of other toys, I think. I must've found them from a scrapyard or something. All I remember is that it was my favorite thing… the only thing I had in the whole world. But then some bigger kids took it from me and broke it. I was reminded of that earlier, when Charmy accidentally hit me and broke the action figure. That's why I freaked out."

Sonic continued playing, but he was listening intently as he nudged Tails with his knee. "Makes sense to me," he said carefully, like each word took an effort to keep in an even tone. "No one can blame you for being upset about that, kiddo."

"It was a total overreaction," Tails sighed, stroking one of his tails. "It just took me right back to when I was a helpless, dumb little kid again."

"Hey, you were never dumb," Sonic told him, pausing the game to give him his full attention. "And you were never helpless either. You were scared and hurt and alone. You had to do what you could to protect yourself. Running from danger and hiding was what worked for you. It kept you alive. And it's what I always told you to do if we were ever in over our heads, right?" 

"Yeah. I was just embarrassed. Felt like it was just more proof that I'm different from other kids and not… not in a good way." Tails picked at the fur of his tail. "But then Cream and Charmy told me that they sometimes have trouble playing with other kids, too. Including me. Just like I'd been worrying about not fitting in with them, they were going through it, too. And it helped. I mean, I felt bad that they were worried about the same things I was, but it also showed me that I'm not alone. That maybe it's not so weird to worry about being different or on the outside of something. And that maybe I can help kids who might feel the way I do. Even if our experiences are different, the feelings that come from them could still be shared. We might have more in common than I first thought."

Tails looked over at Sonic, finally ready to face the warmth he knew was waiting for him in his eyes. "I'm proud of you, bud."

"I think I'm proud of me, too," Tails admitted sheepishly, his tails giving a jerky little wag.

Wordlessly, Sonic lifted his arm, draping it along the back of the couch to give him room to sit as close as he wanted. Tails crawled forward and tucked himself against his side, lying half on top of him so he could still see the fuzzy blue light of the flickering TV. Sonic's arm came back down, a comforting weight against the small of Tails's back as he settled the controller there and pressed "resume."

Ready to keep moving forward, to face whatever lay ahead.

Together.