Archive of Our Own ^beta

Tails faced the front door of an apartment building. After their latest fight with Eggman, Rouge had accidentally left behind a coin purse that may or may not belong to her.

Tails rang the doorbell, but no one answered. He turned around to leave but some angry but familiar grunts from a nearby garage caught his attention.

As garages were always filled with all kinds of tools and vehicles, Tails’ curiosity got the best of him. He approached the doorway and peeked inside. Shadow was hunched over his trusty motorcycle, busy examining it.

Tails had always found Shadow to be a little… intimidating. He was very withdrawn and difficult to read. While he was an ally to them more often than he was an adversary, he still wasn’t necessarily friendly.

Tails had been in his thoughts for a while, and soon Shadow’s ear twitched a little and he turned around.

“What?” Shadow asked.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to stare,” Tails chuckled in embarrassment as he stepped inside the garage. “I was actually here to drop off something Rouge left behind, but I take it she’s not at home right now?”

“She’s out.”

“Well, could you give this to her, then?” Tails asked. He rummaged his backpack and pulled out the purse, showing it to Shadow.

Shadow took it, placing it on a table right next to his tools. He turned all his attention back onto his motorcycle; he was doing something near the fuel tank.

Tails couldn’t help but observe. He had so much knowledge of vehicles and repairing them, and there was nothing better than sharing that knowledge.

“Are you having troubles with your motorcycle?” he asked, daring to step a little closer.

Just the thought of getting to see Shadow’s cool motorcycle so close gave Tails a twinkle in his eye. Maybe he could even give it a touch-up.

“The engine is running hotter than usual,” Shadow explained while grabbing a bottle from the table, “Despite my coolant reservoir being full.”

“That doesn’t sound right,” Tails mumbled as he raised a brow, “May I take a closer look?”

He approached the vehicle enthusiastically, his hands already reaching towards it. However, Shadow’s distrusting look made him stop dead in his tracks.

“Do you have experience with motorcycles?” Shadow asked.

“Well, not that much in practice, but I’ve read enough about them to know more than the basics,” Tails chuckled, scratching the back of his neck, “I’m more into planes, but I can work with any kind of vehicle.”

Shadow didn’t look convinced. Tails could understand that. But he could still help.

“I think I can handle a motorcycle just fine, because I’ve managed to fix an entire biplane as a four-year-old!”

Shadow pondered for a while. He nodded before moving out of the way, letting Tails get closer to his beloved vehicle.

Tails rubbed his hands together as he approached the motorcycle. He placed a hand on the front tire and squeezed it firmly.

Aha! There it was.

“This isn’t something coolant will fix,” Tails informed him. “Your tires are under-inflated.”

Shadow’s brows furrowed and eyes wandered around.

“That shouldn’t be,” Shadow grumbled. “I would’ve noticed a hole.”

“There’s no hole! The lack of air is minimal, you can hardly notice it. Just try it yourself,” Tails said and pointed at the tire.

Shadow stepped closer and squeezed the tire carefully a couple of times to make sure.

“Under-inflated tires will make your engine work harder, which in turn would make it run hotter,” Tails explained.

Shadow avoided eye contact. Did he feel humiliated that a child was explaining all this to him?

Tails gave him an encouraging smile. “At least it’s an easy fix, right? You won’t need to take anything apart or buy any new parts.”

“I suppose,” Shadow replied as he grabbed a pump. He set it on one of the tires, starting to fill it.

Tails watched Shadow and the bike curiously, circling around them. “Where did you even get a motorcycle? I mean, you’re really fast on your own, so…”

Shadow’s back straightened and he lifted his chin proudly when the little brother of the fastest thing alive called him fast.

“I like it,” Shadow explained, “And G.U.N requires that I have a mode of transport.”

“It is a cool bike!” Tails smiled. “Oh, and I’d really love to see genuine G.U.N weapons if you have any!”

“You are a child,” Shadow pointed out as he finished filling the tire, switching onto the other one. Even if Tails knew how to fix motorcycles, there was no reason to hand a gun to him.

“Y’know, I’ve done a ton of research on G.U.N weapons, and I find the structure of them fascinating,” Tails explained as he rummaged through his backpack. “I’ve used some of them as bases for my own creations. I made some modifications, though!”

He pulled out an ochre pistol from his bag, showing it to Shadow. “This is based on a standard G.U.N pistol,” he explained.

“I can see that,” Shadow said, “It’s almost identical to mine.”

Tails nodded enthusiastically: “Yeah! You can only see the bigger differences if you take them apart. The standard one is a bit heavier since it’s used to fight aliens and that kind of stuff.” 

Shadow’s ears twitched.

“But I mostly use my pistol to fight badniks, so I modified it to be able to pass through metal and robots while being harmless to living creatures. I wouldn’t wanna hurt the little animals inside the badniks or my friends,” Tails added.

“Sounds like a complex modification,” Shadow replied.

“It took a lot of planning. But it was worth it!” Tails giggled.

“Admirable for your age to be so knowledgeable on weapons,” Shadow said, “I’m quite fond of them, too.”

“I guess we’re surprisingly similar!” Tails grinned and put his gun away.

Shadow hummed in reply as he removed the pump and squeezed the front tire to test it. Tails did the same to the other tire, concluding that they were properly full now.

“There were no other problems with this bike, right?” Tails asked.

“No. Everything else worked normally,” Shadow replied.

“Yeah, it seems to be in good condition. The paint job is a little worn-out in some parts, though. We could fix it a little,” Tails suggested, “But that doesn’t really affect driving or anything. I don’t know if you care about the looks-”

Shadow huffed: “Of course I care. The Dark Rider is the ultimate motorcycle and has to be presentable.”

“I have red spray paint bottles in my workshop!” Tails chuckled and grabbed his backpack. “I’ll be right back!”

He dashed away before Shadow could even react. Luckily his workshop wasn’t too far away. He grabbed a spray bottle from his shelves and stuffed them into his backpack.

When he returned, Shadow was nowhere to be seen. The bike was still in there, although the pump had been set aside.

Tails bowed his head in shame. Maybe he should’ve expected that Shadow didn’t want to befriend him just because he helped him and they both liked guns.

Just as he was about to leave, Shadow stepped inside. He was carrying two pleasant smelling mugs – they were filled with coffee and marshmallows.

“Oh! I thought you left already,” Tails chuckled and scratched his cheek.

“I’m not used to having guests,” Shadow admitted, “But I’ve heard they’re supposed to be served something.”

Tails smiled and took the mug Shadow offered to him, “Thanks!”

He climbed on top of the worktable and sipped the coffee, while Shadow stood next to him, leaning against the drawers.

“Oh, this is delicious,” Tails commented.

“Of course,” Shadow said proudly.

They savored the drinks, clearly having the same taste. Tails was still sipping his when Shadow took the spray bottle and went back to the Dark Rider.

He took the red paint, and sprayed the paint onto the motorcycle, making sure to get the layer of paint as even as possible.

“Y’know, I can give that paint to you if you’d like. You probably have more use for it,” Tails suggested.

“I am careful, so I doubt I need it,” Shadow huffed as he repainted the rest of the red parts. “…But I’ll take it.”

While they waited for the red paint to dry, Tails’ namesakes swished around in excitement as he thought about what else he could learn about the mysterious hedgehog.

“So, you play any video games?” Tails asked.

“Some. Rouge has brought me ones she thinks I like,” Shadow said.

“Well, what kind?”

“Shooters, but I do play the occasional relaxing simulator games, such as the one with the blocks,” Shadow replied.

“You mean Minecraft? I love that game! Shooters, too!” Tails exclaimed with the brightest of smiles, “I can’t believe we share so many interests!”

Shadow tilted his head. “Clearly I have been underestimating you all this time. I never knew you had such a superior taste.”

Tails giggled and rubbed the back of his neck. “You’re cool, too! Maybe we could play together soon!”

“Perhaps. You should be a mighty opponent.”

The paint had dried. All that was left were the finishing touches. Tails cleaned the tires while Shadow polished the metallic parts.

After finishing, both admired their combined handiwork proudly.

“Good as new! It really is the ultimate motorcycle,” Tails smiled. “But it’s starting to get late, so I should probably be getting home now.”

“You were a great help,” Shadow said, “…I appreciate it. You have proven yourself capable of handling the Dark Rider.”

“No problem!” Tails grinned as he grabbed his backpack. “And if you have any other troubles with it, you know where to find me!”

Tails waved at Shadow before dashing off. Today had been wonderful; he had gotten to do two things he absolutely loved: tinkering with technology and helping others.

And getting to know Shadow had been a nice bonus. Who could’ve thought they had so much in common?