Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Maddie had just gotten home to a disturbingly quiet house. She figured Sonic was out if the house was this quiet, her and Tom never knew silence with him around now and they’d grown quite fond of the chaos.

“Ozzy! I’m home!” She called out as she took off her coat, shoes and bag. Sure enough the golden retriever came trotting down the stairs with a wagging tail and followed Maddie all the way to the living room where he curled up at her feet once she sat on the couch. Content with the peaceful scene, Maddie grabbed the remote and started flipping through channels, deciding she could spare a few minutes to relax after a long day at work. She had just flipped to the middle of John Wick when she heard a quiet voice croak from the door.

“Maddie..?”

Maddie turned, startled by the noise and found her little blue hedgehog leaning against the doorframe with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He eyed Maddie wearily, looking tired and sickly. Maddie’s chest immediately filled with concern.

“Sonic? I didn’t know you were home, you were so quiet. Are you okay?” She asked softly. Sonic sniffled as he shook his head and pulled his blanket tighter.

“I don’t feel well…I feel all achy and tired, like after a fight…but I wasn’t fighting anyone!” He quickly threw out, like Maddie would accuse him of rough housing the local wildlife if he didn’t. “And I feel cold…but also hot? Am…am I dying..?” Sonic said, looking up at Maddie with concern. Maddie’s expression softened and she ushered him over. Sonic dragged his feet over to where she was sitting and let her feel his forehead and cheeks. He closed his eyes at her gentle touch, loving the cool feeling it brought to his fur.

“I think you might have a fever, baby. You feel really warm.” She said.

“How do I stop having a fever..?” Sonic asked hesitantly. He sounded so scared it broke Maddie’s heart.

“Haven’t you been sick before?” Sonic shrugged.

“Maybe a little cold or food poisoning…but nothing like this…” he mumbled as he wrapped the blanket tighter. Maddie tsked again and started pulling him towards the couch. The small hedgehog complied and climbed up, almost curling himself up into a complete ball as he shivered into Maddie’s side. Maddie stroked his quills back and tucked his blanket in around him.

“Here’s what we’re gonna do. We’re going to check your temp, you’re going to take some medicine, and then you’re going to get some rest.” She said.

“Can’t sleep…” Sonic muttered. “I already tried before…I’m tired but everything hurts too much to sleep…” he hugged Maddie closer, trying to steal her warmth. Maddie kissed his quills.

“Let’s see if some meds can fix that.” She comforted. Sonic hummed disapprovingly when Maddie pulled him away from her to stand. “I’m sorry baby, I’ll be right back.” She said rubbing the warm fur on his cheeks. Sonic still hummed, but he let his eyes close as he laid down on the couch, too exhausted to fight.

Thankfully for him, Maddie was returning soon with a thermometer, a bottle of liquid Motrin, and a cup of water. As soon as she stepped back through the doorframe, Sonic’s little eyes shot open, staring helplessly at her. He sat up with his blanket to make room for Maddie and immediately pressed into her side the moment she sat back down. Maddie hummed a tune as she pressed the thermometer in between his lips and waited for the device to beep. Once she pulled it out, she frowned at the feverishly rising number. No wonder Sonic felt so sick. She kissed his head again and grabbed the medicine. Sonic watched with half open eye lids as Maddie read the packaging, whispered out some mental math, and then poured the goopy red liquid into a small cup.

“Take this, then wash it down with plenty of water, okay? It’s berry flavored, that sounds pretty good.” She said with a smile as she pressed the small cup in his hand. Sonic smiled, he did like berries. He downed the liquid in a single gulp and Maddie watched as his ears flattened and a look of disgust and betrayal entered his face. He smacked his lips, trying to get the bitter, grainy taste off of his tongue as he stared daggers.

“That did not taste like berries.” Sonic stated. Maddie couldn’t help but laugh as she handed him the water.

“No I guess not, but you need it to feel better faster. Here, lie down. Sonic set the now empty glass aside and lied down with a few coughs. He curled up again in Maddie’s lap, pulling his blanket as close as he could. Maddie went right back to petting his quills as he shivered.

“Have you felt like this all day?” She asked. Sonic nodded.

“I woke up feeling kinda sore and my head felt like it was full of bubbles. I thought I could just shake it off but it just got worse…I thought maybe a nap would help but I couldn’t fall asleep…but I’m so tired…” Maddie shushed him and rubbed his cheek again.

“Then relax now, okay? That medicine should kick in soon and you’ll sleep and feel so much better when you wake up, okay?” Sonic yawned.

“Okay mom…” he said softly. Maddie stopped petting his quills for a moment. That was the first time he called her mom. Not long after she heard his wheezy breaths even out as he fell asleep in her lap.

~~~~~~~~~~

The two stayed like that till Tom got home. Ozzy got up to greet the man at the door same as he did Maddie, and Tom gave him a few pats before taking off his coat. He heard the TV playing in the other room, but no small blue hedgehog commentary accompanied it. Curiously, he went to the living room where he saw the lights off and his loving wife petting her sleeping Sonic’s head. The kid was curled up in her lap with his face pressed into her stomach as the TV played softly. Tom laughed as he leaned against the doorframe.

“What? The little blue devil get too bored of the movie you chose?” He joked with a smile. Maddie didn’t laugh along, she just looked at her kid and shook her head.

“He’s got a fever Tom.” She said quietly. Tom suddenly grew serious.

“Oh jeez, really?” He said already walking over to the pair. He sat down at Maddie’s side and felt Sonic’s forehead. The little hedgehog didn’t stir much, but Tom could tell he looked exhausted. “Yeah that’s a fever, poor kid.” He whispered. “Alright, he should get to bed then.” He said as he stood and started to scoop the boy up in his arms. Sonic stirred confusedly from the movement and groaned softly as he groggily opened his eyes. Blearily, his gaze landed on Tom and he stared at him with eyes that looked glassy and far away.

“Dad..?” Sonic croaked. Tom smiled wide. Dad. It had a nice ring to it.

“Hey bud, you look tired. Let’s get you to bed, okay?” Tom said sweetly and he lifted Sonic and his blanket up and held the bundle close. Sonic loosely wrapped his arms around Tom’s neck and rested his heavy head on his shoulder.

“Okay…” Sonic muttered and let his eyes close again.

“I gave him some medicine when I got home and he’s been sleeping since. Says he’s tired.” Maddie said. Tom nodded as he felt Sonic hold on tighter and bury his head more into the crook of Tom’s neck.

“Okay pal. Bed time.” He said softly. Tom was slow going as he made his way up to the attic and set Sonic down in bed. The little blue hedgehog curled up with a shiver and Tom tucked him in. Sonic smiled at the warmth and opened his eyes a crack to stare up at the man.

“Thanks dad…” he croaked. Tom smiled back and kissed his quills. He could get used to this ‘dad’ thing

“Get some sleep kiddo.” He said. Sonic kept his eyes fixed on Tom for as long as possible, but his eyelids were too heavy to stay open long and he was asleep again in a matter of seconds.

Chapter Text

Sonic got up in the middle of the night and scrubbed the sleep from his face to wake up just enough to trudge to the bathroom downstairs. He didn’t worry too much about being stealthy or quiet since Knuckles’s snoring was more than loud enough to cover his foot steps and not wake Tails, but he still tried to be somewhat quiet anyways. In a few short minutes he was climbing the stairs again and was just about to crawl back into bed when he heard a small voice speak up.

“Sonic..?” Tails said in a voice that sounded coated in sleep. Sonic mentally hissed at himself, he guessed the fox was a lighter sleeper than he thought.

“Sorry buddy, did I wake you?” He asked softly. The kit shook his head and coughed weakly into a fist.

“I was already awake…I feel kinda sick…” he said. The more Sonic heard him talk, the more he realized Tails’s voice did sound like it was raspy from sickness, not sleep.

“Can’t sleep, huh?” Sonic said sympathetically. Tails shook his head again and coughed. Sonic felt his forehead, not really knowing what a fever felt like, but in his unprofessional opinion, Tails definitely felt warmer than he should have. Under the dim moonlight, Sonic had a hard time making out his features, but he could tell Tails was shivering and tired.

“You want me to go get Maddie and Tom?” Sonic asked after a beat. Again, Tails shook his head with a sniffle.

“No I…I don’t wanna wake them…” He said, sounding guilty and exhausted. “I just really want to sleep.” Sonic remembered how hard it was for him to accept help from the Wachowski’s at first too. He didn’t want to push the kit too hard, especially when he wasn’t feeling well. The boys listened to the sound of Knuckles’ snoring as Sonic thought a moment.

He thought back to a few months ago when he was as sick as Tails was now and suddenly he knew exactly how to help.

“Be back in a flash buddy.” Sonic said comfortingly patting Tails’s arm before racing downstairs and returning a second later holding a box of liquid Motrin and a glass of water. He had a big smile on his face, already proud of his work.

“A few months ago I got sick too and Maddie and Tom gave me some of this medicine and told me to get lots of sleep and I was feeling better in no time!” He explained. Tails stayed quiet as he watched Sonic rapidly shake the little bottle of Motrin and carefully measure it into a little cup. “Can you sit up a little and drink this? Maddie said it’s berry flavored but she lied, it doesn’t taste anything like berries. Thought you should know now before you felt the same betrayal I did.” He said with a scowl, remembering the foul bitter taste. Tails chuckled as he sat up and took the little cup, sipping it down instead of taking it all at once.

“It’s not so bad…” he eventually croaked once he’d finished the last drop. “I actually kind of like it.” Sonic took the little cup back and exchanged it for a glass of water while playfully gagging the whole time.

“Your fever is obviously messing with your taste buds because that stuff is nasty.” He said, resting his head in his arms on Tail’s bed like a pouting child. Tails chuckled again and drank the water slowly. When he was finished, Sonic took both items and raced to put them away downstairs before returning right back to Tails.

“What now..?” Tails asked. Sonic helped him lie back down.

“Well Tom and Maddie just told me to sleep it off, so I guess just try and sleep.” He said running a hand through Tails’s fur. Tom and Maddie liked to do that sometimes with all three of them, it always felt nice. Tails sniffled as he closed his eyes and kept shivering.

“I’m too cold to sleep…” he muttered before coughing again. Sonic frowned again. He thought back to when he was sick, and how he buried himself into Maddie’s side to warm the deep chill his fever brought. Tails could use that warmth now.

Without thinking much of it, Sonic hopped up onto Tails’s bed and hugged the kit close. Tails hummed a confused sound at first as he felt a shift in weight on his bed, and opened his eyes just a crack to watch his hero climb up next to him and hug him close. He was too tired to argue or be awestruck, all he could focus on was how much warmer he was next to Sonic. The young fox pressed his face into Sonic’s chest and loosely hugged the older boy back as he let his eyes close again. His shivers began to lessen and his breathing evened out as he calmed.

“We’ll get Maddie in the morning, okay? Just get some sleep for now.” The older boy said into Tails’s fur. Tails nodded and hummed in agreement. He could live with that compromise.

“G’night Sonic...” The young boy slurred. Sonic held him tighter.

“G’night little buddy.” He said. Only once Tails drifted off to sleep did Sonic even think about closing his eyes. Knuckles at some point had rolled onto his side, facing the two younger boys and Sonic looked between him and Tails. Both looked so calm in their sleep. It still didn’t feel real that this was his family now. He’d gone so long without anyone, he had begun to think he’d be alone forever, but now here he was in between his brothers.

He yawned, closed his eyes, and rested his head on top of Tails’s. He drifted off, feeling safe and happy with his little brother nestled in his arms.