Work Text:
Tails found himself staring at the stars on his ceiling, sprawled across the comforter and waiting for sleep. It had been months since the war had ended, but the lingering sense of unease and grief never truly disappeared. Tails was a smart fox. He knew deep down that the doctor wouldn’t be back for a long while and that his brother was just across the hall, but that thought only caused him to bury himself further into his dusty yellow sheets.
Of course, Tails was overjoyed that Sonic was alive and safe, but nothing sent chills down his spine like seeing his brother for the first time in six months, battered and bruised, staring at him with eyes that had no shine or spark left. No quips, no jokes, not even a playful ruffle of his fur. He had read the files uploaded from the EggNet, he knew exactly what happened to Sonic in the months he was gone but he just didn’t believe it, he couldn’t. Not until he saw the undeniable, unshakable proof that was Sonic the Hedgehog, hunched over and darting his eyes across the room as if everything around him was about to jump out and attack. It was surreal. It was like a bad dream he desperately wanted to wake from, but he never had that luxury.
Somehow, the nightmare only got worse when the war ended. Amy had thrown the pair of mismatched brothers in their shared home in the Mystic Ruins, demanding that they rest and recover, leaving Tails alone in an empty house with the shell of his former hero. It broke the fox’s heart to see the fake smiles Sonic would flash him, a flimsy, stubborn insistence that everything was okay and that he didn’t need anyone’s help. Gaia, why did Sonic have to make things so difficult? No amount of smiles or weak jokes could cover up the muffled screams that echoed through the house at ungodly hours, the choked sobs he let out when he thought nobody was listening, the flinches and involuntary jerks his body would make in his sleep, Tails saw it all.
He wanted to help his brother, he really did, but he was only ten. He was still unpacking the horrors he experienced himself, and the two of them weren’t exactly known for their emotional maturity. You’d think a genius like himself would be able to figure something out, but he didn’t know the first thing about caring for someone like Sonic. He made a mental note to check the local library for books on mental health. He made another mental note to scratch that because the library was destroyed, just like every other damn building in the world. He itched to leave the house and actually do something with himself, but when he asked, Knuckles just told him to leave the restoration to the “adults”. Ugh, how he loathed the way everyone treated him as if he was born with paper skin. He just helped save the world for crying out loud!
Tails rolled over onto his side with a huff. As his eyes traced the messy constellations above him, his thoughts were brought back to the hedgehog in the room right down the hall. It was like Sonic’s brain was a machine, but when you cracked open his skull, every part was out of place, corroded, and also the instructions on how to fix it were made in a different language.
Once Tails realized this train of thought wouldn’t get him to sleep any quicker, he groaned and all but threw himself out of bed. Maybe he just needed a glass of water. Or three cans of Gaia Energy. Maybe that’d keep him up long enough to actually clean something instead of lazing around all day. The kit dragged himself up to his feet and tiptoed down the stairs to the kitchen, stopping just short of it when he noticed a faint light cast across the floor. Did he forget to turn the light off before he went to bed? He peeked his head further through the doorway to see a familiar blue head of quills rooting through the fridge. The fox inched closer as his brother plopped a near expired jug of milk and a two liter bottle of cola he didn’t remember buying out of the fridge and onto the counter. The hedgehog grabbed a cup out of the cupboard and began to.. pour the cola and milk into it at the same time???
“…What are you doing?”
Sonic jumped so hard Tails swore he was going to hit the ceiling.
“Oh-! Ah.. just- making a drink. yknow, like- how people put ice cream and cola together to make a float? I wanted to make something kinda like that.” Sonic explained as he grabbed a straw and slowly stirred his concoction together. Tails dared to walk up to his brother and stand beside him. Why was this so terrifying?
“You do know we have ice cream in the freezer, right?” Upon closer inspection, Sonic’s experiment was beginning to turn an off-putting shade of beige.
“Yeah i know, but this is different. it’s a drink.” Gaia below, it smelled awful, too. Tails couldn’t hold back a gag. Sonic rolled his eyes at that and held up the glass.
“It’ll be good,” he continued. “Trust me.” With that, he put the cup to his lips and took a hefty gulp. Then there was silence. Sonic stared at the wall in front of him, face twisting into something unrecognizable.
“…Well?” Tails prodded. Sonic slowly met his eyes..
and laughed.
“God, it’s awful!” Tails couldn’t wipe the shock off of his face. He didn’t realize how much he missed that laugh. a genuine, real laugh. Nothing forced or fake about it. He couldn’t help but beam and giggle along.
“It can’t be that bad, lemme have a sip.” Tails nabbed the mixture from his brother and took a swig, before immediately gagging and spitting into the sink. Sonic snickered as the fox frantically turned on the sink and dramatically rinsed his mouth out.
“Fuck it, I’m making a real float.” Tails sighed, half expecting the hedgehog to chastise him for his language. He opened the freezer and dug through it before coming across the most definitely freezer burned vanilla ice cream.
“…Can you make me one, too?” Sonic swirled the rest of his “drink” while he watched Tails scoop his ice cream into the biggest mug they owned.
“Only if you drink the rest of that thing.” Sonic stared at his brother, and then stared at his cup, and then stared at his brother again, and then downed the remnants of his cola milk in one sip.
Tails wheezed in disbelief as Sonic gagged and groaned. By the time he had calmed down, Tails had grabbed the second biggest mug he could find and made another float. Tails looked at the hedgehog beside him and felt the familiar guilt curl in his stomach again. he tried to shake it off, he couldn’t ruin this. not yet. This moment was something fragile, something rare these days. Deep down he knew that this would have to end, that Sonic would have another bad day and Tails would watch, useless. But for now…
“Wanna watch TV on the couch with me? I cant sleep.” Tails looked at his brother, wringing his tails with his hands and feeling rather small. Sonic smiled at him, nostalgic and sweet. “Sure thing, kid.” For now he could pretend things were alright.
At this hour, there was barely anything good on the TV, but neither boy really cared at this point. The fox flicked through the channels before they reached a half-entertaining cooking show as they ate their desserts in silence. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence like it usually was, Tails noticed. This one was comforting, familiar even. Just for a moment, everything felt.. real again. It was almost like the last months really were a bad dream, and as per usual, his brother was there to comfort him after he woke.
He turned his gaze over to the hedgehog beside him, only to find him fast asleep already, cup empty and abandoned on the floor. Tails heaved himself up with a sigh, grabbed the two mugs and dumped them into the ever-growing pile of dishes in the sink. Eh, he’ll deal with that eventually. He plopped back onto the couch and got himself comfortable.
He looked back at his brother’s sleeping form one last time and selfishly prayed he could stay this peaceful forever. Lord knows he deserved it. Heck, maybe Tails even deserved it too. He directed his attention back to the tv and let his fantasies of retiring and relaxing on the beach with his favorite big brother lull him to sleep.
Warm, familiar, safe.