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Sonic reluctantly opens his eyes, and the sunshine filtering through the round window above him forces him to close them back. He stifles a yawn and wonders what time is it. Last night, in a true Wachowski fashion, Sonic and his parents stayed up, talking about the battle and everything leading up to it. So it wouldn’t surprise him if it’s afternoon already. The house is suspiciously quiet, and he can feel his hands tremble. He quickly makes his bed and zips down the stairs, then tours the whole house as silently as possible, checking for anyone. Only the kitchen is left, and Sonic can feel his legs tremble. He knows it isn’t, shouldn’t be, taking so much time for him to reach the kitchen, but it sure feels like it does when worry is holding his mind captive. He is scared that Robotnik somehow survived the freefall to his supposed death, or G.U.N decided they can’t allow more aliens in Greenhills, taking Knuckles and Tails away and arresting his parents. He heaves a breath, and nearly bumps on the closed door of the kitchen. Then, the sweet scent of pancakes reaches his nose, and he smiles. If someone is making pancakes then everyone should be okay, right? He nods to himself and holds up his hand to knock, but the voices, which he can finally acknowledge, stop him in his tracks
“Maddie, I’m just asking you to think this through! I know you got roped into taking in an alien once, but you should put your foot down and tell your crazy husband that you don’t want two more!” Rachel’s words make him consider if he’d prefer waking up to the other scenarios he had worried about instead. He rests his forehead against the door.
“What? I didn’t do anything I didn’t want, Rachel!” Ma- his mom’s calm but serious tone speaks reassurance into him. There she is, lifting him and supporting him anytime and anywhere, even against her sister, her blood.
“Who in their right mind would do what you did?” Rachel pushes on despite Maddie’s words leaving no room for argument, and Sonic clicks his tongue.
“I don’t care! All I care about is that Sonic is my kid, and I’m not allowing his new friends to be alone anymore if I can help it!” Sonic smiles, warmth cradling his insides at the lengths his mother is willing to go for him, that she went for him. He still feels the softness of her hand, clutching his as a massive foot threatens to crush them under. A hold so sure, and so right. He thinks Rachel should try harder to break a hold that even death couldn’t, can’t, tear away, and smugly smiles.
“Your kid? He is an animal, Maddie.” Okay, that thought wasn’t meant to be an encouragement, he thinks, the truth stings when it’s weaponized by people like Rachel.
“Rachel, if I hear you calling them aliens or animals once more I will-“
“Yes, I know. And I also know that you aren’t okay, Maddie. I can understand… the first time. Maybe you love your husband so much that you can’t say no, or you are still grieving over your son. I can understand it. But now, there are three of them. You got your replacement of Alex, good for you, but why take in two more?” Sonic’s eyes widen, and dread claws at his throat. His mouth falls open, and he gasps for air, mind hung up on one single word.
Replacement.
To his horror, no reply comes from his mother as he prays, begs that she… she tells Rachel she is wrong, couldn’t be more wrong. Even a single no will do, and he oh so impatiently awaits it, but all his ears pick up are silent sobs. Sonic heard it once from a movie that silence is a form of confirmation, an acceptance. That the ones who are aware that something is not right shouldn’t stay silent. Only cowards do that.
And if Sonic knows one right thing, one thing that got confirmed right in front of his eyes a thousand times, it’s that his parents aren’t cowards.
But are they... his parents? Is Sonic their son, really? Or a poor excuse of a son in place of someone who once was?
His vision is filled with tears, and his lower lip quivers. His legs ache to run away like he always does, but his hand clutches the doorknob like a lifeline. It is a lifeline, the scene unfolding right behind it will either rewrite or seal his fate.
He doesn’t know which option he prefers.
“Maddie, you are too emotional right now, but you have to see the truth before-“
“Rachel, I don’t think I can continue.”
“Why, because it’s true?” Rachel asks, and Sonic holds his breath. Despite the sorrow sitting right around the corner, despite these thoughts making his head spin and despite himself, Sonic still holds onto the doorknob, his forehead on the door, his ears are still, so full of hope, flickering to catch his mother’s Maddie’s voice. His feet are planted firmly on the ground, and like a sunflower rooted in a dry land; he still turns his head towards the sun, he still turns his head towards her. Even when it burns him to do so.
“Get out!” Maddie raises her voice for the first time, and Sonic realizes it’s breaking. How easy would it be, to swoop in the kitchen, to hold her as she cries, and tell him all about this Alex and why he isn’t here. How right it would be to console her and offer hugs to soothe her. That is, if he hadn’t heard that word, or heard a reaction against it. None of it happened, and heavy steps approach the door, so he lets go of the doorknob and lifts his head away from the door. He wills his legs to move, to do what they do best.
Never stop running. He recites Longclaw’s words, tears flowing down his cheeks. His feet finally move, wind blows through his quills and he can’t feel wetness on his face anymore. He runs, he doesn’t know where he goes, he just knows that he won’t, can’t stop. Maybe he should have never stopped in the first place. Yes, he should have thrown that ring and booked it to the mushroom planet, at least mushrooms wouldn’t adopt him just to relive old memories. At least he wouldn’t be a replacement there. He wetly chuckles to himself, but it comes out as a sob. He clutches his chest, he feels as if his ribcage is closing in on his heart and lungs, forcing out the air and cutting open his flesh. When he deflates, throwing himself on the ground, he realizes he came to his old cave, the way leading to it still a muscle memory to him. He hops inside and remembers just why he hates it so much. Younger him would argue that he was living his best life here, and he was right, but Sonic isn’t the same hedgehog he once was. This hedgehog has warm meals, surrounded by family. He has a comfy bed, a phone, and even toys. He goes to that damned baseball field and he isn’t alone.
This hedgehog has a family, a family in which he isn’t as loved as he had once thought. He has been borrowing the love that belonged to someone else, meant for someone else, and it kills him to admit it. He draws his knees against his chest and wraps his arms around them. He painfully heaves a breath, and he can physically feel the sparks jumping on his quills as he wails. The scene is too familiar, him alone in his cave, and he sees just how easy it is for him to return. He wishes returning was harder, and hopes his family will make it harder for him. He doesn’t know what he’ll do otherwise.
Maddie wipes her eyes tears herself away from the chair she has collapsed into, and the smell of burnt pancakes hits her nose. She scrambles to turn off the stove, takes the pan up, and pours the contents into the trash can. There goes Sonic’s breakfast, she thinks, and she wonders if Sonic’d be willing to help her out with a new batch. She smiles and chastises herself for even doubting him, he is too sweet to turn her down. So she makes her way out of the kitchen and realizes Rachel listened to her and left her house.
She sighs, she really wouldn’t want to kick her sister out, but Rachel was overstepping her boundaries. Insulting her is one thing, but when it comes to the kids, that’s where Maddie draws the line. Rachel accused her of trying to replace the son she lost, as if she didn’t know her at all. She was too stunned and betrayed to keep talking to her, so she had to ask her to leave. The thoughts bring tears to her eyes once again, but she tries to get a hold of herself. If she is to wake Sonic up, she can’t let him see her sadness. He already endured too much yesterday, and she refuses to add to his burden. She takes a deep breath climbs up the stairs to reach the attic, and knocks on the door. When she hears no response, she figures he is still asleep, and enters the attic. The sight of his neatly done bed takes her aback. She looks around to catch a sight of him or any clue that he is here, but she finds none. Panic rises in her chest, but she doesn’t want to give in to it yet. She guesses he is on his morning run, and nods to herself, but he usually would alert her or Tom when he goes out. She checks for any messages or missed calls on her phone, maybe he saw the closed door of the kitchen and didn’t want to intrude. She finds none, but the possibility of him being near the kitchen is stuck in her mind. Her blood runs cold, and her lips part.
“What if he heard us?” She says, her voice breaking and her hands tremble as she calls him. To her absolute horror, she hears his phone ringing in the room. It doesn’t take her long to spot the phone and see her selfie smiling back at her. On it is written Pretzel Mom instead of Pretzel Lady she knows she was saved as. A sob escapes her and she clasps a hand over her mouth.
“He changed it to mom!” She chokes out, the revelation doing nothing to distract her from her son’s absence. Instead, it hurts her more. How is it fair that the day he starts to consider her his mother, he hears someone call him a replacement? With tears strolling down her cheeks she calls Tom, the man picking up immediately.
“Hey, Mads!”
“Tom, Sonic’s gone!”
“What? Maybe he is on his run?”
“He didn’t tell me anything! And he might have heard me fight with Rachel…”
“You fought? So that’s why she met us to take Jojo- sorry, dear- Tails, you can find him?”
“He can?” Maddie exclaims, and hears a shuffling from Tom’s side.
“Mrs. Wachowski, can you take my backpack and meet us here? I’m sure I can find him again.” Tails’ timid voice reaches her, and she smiles, wiping her eyes.
“Sure, hon. Tell your da- Tom to send me your location, will you?” She rolls her eyes at her slip-up and wishes the day that she doesn’t need to fix it anymore comes quickly.
“I will!” Tails chirps and hangs up. She quickly grabs the small yellow backpack that’s luckily still in the attic, then makes her way down the stairs. She puts on her coat and takes the keys, then locks the door behind her, which is an unnecessary action since they still have a giant hole in their living room. Her phone pings, announcing the arrival of the location, and she is relieved to see Tom and the kids aren’t that far away. It doesn’t take long for her to meet them, and she is thankful that she and Tom accompanied Sonic on his runs sometimes because her pace has been affected positively. When Tom spots her he wraps his arms around her without a word, and she wants nothing more than to stay in his embrace and cry her heart out. But her son’s absence sours the sweet embrace, and she breaks the hug off to offer Tails his backpack. He rummages through it, and Maddie’s blood-rimmed eyes follow his every movement. She clenches and flexes her fists, and jolts when one of her hands is held. She tilts her head and faces Knuckles.
“You do not need to worry, Pretzel Woman, for the fox has found the hedgehog across the universe before.” Knuckles assures her, and it takes every inch of her willpower to not sweep the both of them off their feet and hug them. Instead, she takes a deep breath and wiggles her fist out of Knuckles’ hold to properly hold his hand, and gently squeezes it. Tails giggles, and she spots a small device in his hands.
“Not to brag or anything but… Yeah, finding him here will be a piece of cake compared to what I went through, heh.” Tails grimaces and nervously giggles, thinking that maybe he has shared too much of his… hardships. Tom and Maddie respond with forced smiles.
“Just what did this kid go through?” Tom mutters, and Maddie elbows his stomach, to which he responds with an Oof.
They stand still while Tails keeps on with his calculations, then his device projects a map of Greenhills, with one shining dot on somewhere.
“I found him!”
“You did?!” Tom exclaims and takes Tails in his arms, the fox too stunned to protest. Tom takes in the expression on his face when Maddie pointedly clears her throat, and he gently places the fox kit back on his feet. He coughs, Tails does too, figuring it must be a part of Earth language to dissipate the awkward mood or something.
“I’m sorry Tails, that was a bit…”
“Right…” Tails stutters, Tom nods, averting his gaze, but Tails looks at him longingly. He berates himself for not hiding his suprise well enough. He shyly points Sonic’s location to Tom, who crouches down to see it better.
“Do you happen to know where this is? “ He politely asks, and Tom’s eyes widen.
“It’s his cave! I mean, the old one!” He says, then starts running ahead. Tails spins his namesakes to take off, quickly catching up to Tom, and Knuckles chooses to hang by Maddie, because the state she is in doesn’t sit well with Knuckles.Too much sorrow is reflected on her kind expression, and she carries herself like her heart’s heavy. Knuckles doesn’t know what weights on her heart, but it’s clearly something connected to hedgehog’s disappearence. Whatever it is, he can’t just barge in her privacy like hedgehog did to him, not that he doesn’t appreciate it, but Knuckles isn’t as bold when others’ feelings are involved. So he keeps his observations to himself, and turns his gaze on the ground, when he realizes they are still holding hands. He gives her hand a squeeze as gently as he can, since he has injured at least three hands while attempting to replicate Earth customs. She doesn’t react, he sighs with relief, and can’t help but be proud of himself for his little act of consolation.
“We’re here!” Tom announces, and Knuckles takes in the sight. It’s a hole bordered by gray rocks, and Knuckes guesses the cave is much lower than the entrance. Maddie takes up her pace and Knuckles does too, and Tom turns to them, and Knuckles notices Tails approach the cave.
“Alright, we found him, what do we do?” Tom asks, and Maddie takes her head in her hands.
“I don’t know? Maybe we can try to get him out?”
“I don’t think he’ll want to. What do you say I hop in near him?”
Tom asks and they fall into a silence to think over, and Knuckles sees Tails fly in the cave.
“I think the fox made up his mind already.” He points him out to the humans, and they gasp. The three of them scrurry off to the entrance of the cave.
“Tails, are you okay? Maddie calls down to them. Tails nods, then realizes she can’t see him so he shouts that he is fine, which scares the blue ball in front of him. Sonic unfurls, the sparks on his form dissipates for a second, then returns full force. His gaze is unfocused, and he is trembling still.
“Don’t come near me!” Sonic pleas, backing up until his back collides with the wall. Tails lifts his hands up, but slowly takes little steps towards his hero. Sonic shakes his head, and his hand mirror Tails’.
“I can’t stop it, Tails! I don’t wanna hurt you, please!” He chokes out, and collapses on the ground. He looks so drained, defeated by his own power that any other would count as a blessing. When has it ever helped Sonic? The question is struck in his mind like lightning, his namesakes flickering behind him. He shakes his head, another time he can easily answer the cunning voice inside him, but right now, he has to help his hero out.
“You won’t. Because I’m here to help!” Tails softly says, then takes a big step towards him. He interwines their hands, and Sonic winces and clenches his eyes shut as if the touch physically hurts him.
“Look, you’re not hurting me.” Tails whispers, Sonic’s emerald eyes find their hands, and he sees that the sparks in his arms in fact don’t reach Tails’ hands. He nods, and a little smile graces his lips, Tails replies with a bigger one of his own.
“Now, focus on our hands, okay?” Tails requests, and gently squeezes the hands in his. Trying to guide Sonic through his panic attack as he has seen Maddie do before. Light returns to Sonic’s eye with the familiarity of the situation, and he obliges Tails’ request.
“Good! Now, take deep breaths with me.” He says, then heaves a breath with exaggerated motions. Sonic wetly chuckles, but copies him. Tails notices his labored breaths return to normal. Sonic sees the sparks on his arms vanish, and relaxes a bit more. They breath with each other for a while, and Sonic can feel the exhaustion finally settle in his body. His head is too heavy to hold up, and slowly rests it against Tails’. Tails notices he has cold sweat on his fur, and no sparks, which is a relief. Sonic lets go of Tails’ hands, but before Tails can miss his warmth, he places his hand behind Tails’ head.
“Thank you.” Sonic whispers, he honestly doesn’t trust his voice with any higher volume right now anyway. Tails smiles.
“You’re welcome.” He says, then Sonic straightens up.
“Honestly, sorry for the trouble. Both today and yesterday. Some hero I am, huh? What kind of hero needs saving every step of the way?” He says with a fake grin and a dry chuckle, but Tails’ gaze tells him he isn’t amused at all.
“A hero who is real, Sonic.” Tails replies calmy, and their eyes meet. Sonic’s lips part open.
“I admire you even more now because of that. You were first a legend, someone unreachable, unstopable, that even the echidnas couldn’t catch! Then I thought, he is kinda weird, and the universe between us started looking like a small distance, and it gave me courage! When you are struggling, I know I have to reach for your hand- “
“And that’s how we connect.” Sonic supplies, Tails smiles, tears glistening in his eyes.
“So, yes, you’re still my hero, and I don’t think that’ll ever change.” Tails blurts out, then shyly averts his gaze, worrying that maybe he went overboard with it. Sonic giggles, and ruffles the fur on top of Tails’ head, making the fox giggle.
‘Want me to be your brother instead?’ He attempts to ask, but stops himself, and closes his mouth in a tight-lipped smile.
“Mr. and Mrs. Wachowski are here too.” Tails says, trying to test the waters by gauging Sonic’s reaction. He just shrugs, and lifts his hand away from Tails’ head.
“I know.”
“I’m present too, hedgehog.” Knuckles calls out from the entrance of the cave, and the duo lift their eyes, and giggle.
“Thank you, big guy.” Sonic says and flashes him a smile, which Knuckles replies with a nod.
“Pretzel Woman seems troubled, too. Perhaps it’ll be best if the two of you resolve the problem yourselves.” Knuckles advises, then moves away from the cave’s entrance. Sonic’s eyes are locked up, and he thinks whether he has enough courage to hear what Maddie had to say.
“What do you want to do, Sonic?” Tails asks, snapping him out of his train of thoughts. He hums, and turns to Tails.
“It’s time I face her.” He declares, his voice leaving no room for back down. Tails smiles up to him, and Sonic winks before curling up to a ball. He hops out of the cave, Tails following suit. The first thing he notices is Tom holding Maddie as they engage in a silent conservation. His brows furrow, and he takes a step towards them. They simultaneously turn their heads to him, and he silently gasps, and averts his gaze.
“We… better leave you guys alone. Right, Knux?” Tails says, looking at Knuckles as his namesakes swirl slowly behind him.
“Why?” Sonic asks and tilts his head.
“Y’know…you have... uh… family matters to attend to?” Tails replies, Sonic’s lips part, and he exchanges a look with Tom.
“No need for that, buddy! You both are part of the family, c’mere!” Tom says, and the brightness of Tails’ smile upon hearing that can rival the sun. Sonic manages a small smile, and his eyes meet with Knuckles’, who mouths ‘me’ to him, his face reflecting his confusion. He nods, and throws an arm over the echidna’s shoulders. Maddie crouches down to sit on the ground, her family following suit. Once they have formed a circle, Sonic nervously laughs.
“Guys, wouldn’t it be better to talk once we get home?” He asks, and Maddie can’t help but grin after hearing it since it confirms that he still wants to come back home like Tom assured her.
“Hmm… Since you decided to run away from us, we figured it’d be for the best if we solved this right after we found you. I call it the operation trap.” Tom quips, interlocking his fingers to resemble a cage closing in, Tails giggles, and Sonic chuckles dryly.
“I did not run away… If I had, you could never find me!” Sonic boasts, trying to hide his vulnerability behind an act of confidence… again. Everyone sees right through it, and Tails decides he’ll have none of it today.
“I’d totally find you like I did before. But you’re right about wanting to be found, you choose a place which’d be our starting point.” Tails explains, utterly bursting Sonic’s bubble, who groans with frustration. Maddie wetly chuckles, and Tom feels his heart swell with pride. He really needed help with countering Sonic’s witty responses, and Tails seems to be the best in that department.
“Alright, you got me! Good for ya!” Sonic says, looking at Tails sideways, who rolls his eyes.
“When’ll we resolve the issue?” Knuckles asks, as much as he is entertained by the fox and hedgehog’s antics, he is aware they all need more rest after their battle yesterday.
“Right now.” Maddie replies, and takes a deep breath.
“Tails, you know the wedding you crashed with Sonic? That was my sister Rachel’s.”
“Yeah, she is Jojo’s mother!” Tails supplies, and Knuckles hums.
“I never knew you ruined a ceremony, hedgehog!”
“You can’t ruin a fake wedding, Knux.”
“It was only for pretend? Why?”
“Turns out Rachel’s fiance was a government agent, and they planned this to capture Sonic. Long story short, Sonic and Tails got caged, Tom got arrested, then Rachel and I broke them out.” Maddie explains in a breath, and Sonic nods.
“After that Rachel said she made up with Randall, and wanted to talk about it today. That’s why she flew here from Hawaii.” Maddie continues, and Sonic folds his arms against his chest.
“When you guys were with Tom and Sonic was sleeping, she asked me if I approved of their relationship. I said I didn’t.”
“Why didn’t you give your blessing to them? Does this Randall not have honor?”
“Something like that. He is a catfish.” Tom replies, but understand how wrong his choice of words is when Knuckles’s eyes widen.
“I thought he was a human?” He asks, and Sonic tries to hold his giggle in for dear life but fails. Tails gives him a knowing look and smiles, then Tom clears his throat.
“He is human, red. It just means that he lured Rachel into marrying him by pretending to love her.” Tom replies him and the echidna frowns.
“Dishonor!”
“Yeah, I told her so. But she said he got tased to protect her, and said he loved her. She believed him. I said I don’t buy it, and there is no way in hell that I can accept someone as my brother in law after he harmed my kids and husband.” Maddie explains, Sonic averts his gaze. Maddie notices Tails looking at her like she had given him the world, and realizes she called them her kids. She worries that she isn’t moving as slowly as she’d prefer towards Tails and Knuckles, but she is relieved Tails is taking it well. Knuckles, on the other hand, has an unreadable expression.
“I’ll be open with you guys. Rachel can’t believe I wanted to take you guys in. She thinks Tom is crazy and I’m only putting up with his delusions. She can’t accept we love Sonic as a son and…It may be too early and I don’t want to push you but we want to consider you two as our sons too, and she can’t understand this.” Maddie says, and turns to Knuckles and Tails. Tails wipes his eyes and nods, and Knuckles’ mouth falls open, taken aback.
“I appreciate your words, Healer Maddie. It seems to me that it’s easy for all of you to give love, and I’m glad to be on the receiving end. I wish that someday, I can be a worthy warrior, and a son to your tribe.” Knuckles replies, and places a hand on the fox’s shoulder who is still crying.
“I do too!” Tails manages to choke out, while trying to stop the tears flowing down his face. This is the first time for the fox kit to be wanted somewhere, and he still can’t wrap his head around how he got this lucky. He looks over to Sonic, because if not for him, he’d be still on the outskirts of the village, where even getting food was a threat to his survival. Sonic warmly smiles at him, but his smile fades once they break eye-contact.
One replacement wasn’t enough for them, huh? The voice in his head says, and he thinks that is low even for an intrusive thought. Despite being hurt, he keeps hoping to be persuaded, and the sight of Maddie, so sad and tired, breaks his heart.
“Knuckles, I appreciate your… speech, but you’re wrong about one thing. Our ‘tribe’ consists of five, sorry, can’t forget Ozzie, six members, okay?” Tom says, and Knuckles nods with a smile.
“Our tribe…” He recites, and realises for how long he couldn’t refer to anyone as that. For how long he was alone as the one left behind. Sonic places a hand on Knuckles’ back, and their eyes meet. Though he is smiling as always, sorrow reflects on Sonic’s eyes. Knuckles wishes today that he’ll be happy too.
“I’m so glad that you are happy, Tails, Knuckles. I promise I’d do anything to keep us all together…even if it’s against my own sister. I kicked her out today, and I’m not above doing it again when it comes to you all.”
“Why did you banish your sister, Healer Maddie?”
“Because she accused me of seeing Sonic as a replacement for my… our late son.” Maddie explains, and Sonic flinches.
“But that’s ridiculous! Right?” Tails pipes up, and looks around for confirmation but Sonic’s expression tells him that this is what Sonic has been upset about. His head is hanging low, and Tails feels bad about how insensitive he has been.
“I’m sorry, Sonic! I didn’t mean to…”
“No problem, Tails. You’re right, I overreacted. I’m sorry for all the trouble, Tom, Maddie. Now let’s go home.” Sobic says and stands up, walking past Tom and Maddie.But Tom wraps his hand around Sonic’s arm.
“Not so fast, buddy! Now sit down!” Tom says, and gently tugs Sonic’s arm down. Maddie scoots further to make room for Sonic, and he sits between them.
“There is no such thing like overreacting.In this house, we are all allowed to express our feelings. Just don’t run away if you can help it, okay? This old man’s heart can only take so much.” Tom says, draping his arm over Sonic’s shoulder, who looks at him with tears in his eyes.
“Aww, don’t cry, Sonic, I may be old but I’m not planning on dying anytime soon.” Tom quips, and Sonic wetly chuckles.
“I’m not crying!” He whines, but his voice’s tremble betrays him.
“It’s okay to cry, which, you’re totally not doing right now. Just a little reminder for future reference.” Tom says, and winks at Sonic, who pouts.
“You’re sad, mad, and doubting our love for you. Which are very normal feelings, anyone’s feel that way if they were in your shoes. Especially since I didn’t get to explain myself to you.” Maddie says, and Sonic faces her, while hugging his knees against his chest.
“You didn’t… you didn’t tell her she was wrong and I-“ Sonic chokes out, and Maddie embraces him, and rests her head on his head.
“I know. But she is wrong. In the heat of the moment, I felt so betrayed and angry that I couldn’t tell her so. I doubt she’d get it. But I wish I had shouted, so that you heard in that moment, I love you, and I’m not living out the dreams I lost alongside Alex, I’m creating new ones with you.” Her eyes fills with tears, and his body’s trembling in her arms break her heart. He feels so small to her, curling in on himself with his every sob.
“You barged in our garage, then our hearts. It came easy for us to love you, not because you fit right in the place Alex left, but because you carved one for yourself. “Tom supplies, then embraces them both. Tails can barely see the sobbing hedgehog between humans, his eyes meet Tom’s, who opens his arms for them to come. Tails rushes in to the man’s side, and Knuckles sits near Maddie, resting his head on her back.
“Guys, I can’t breathe.” Sonic’s muffled voice comes from the center of the pile, and they all scramble to make room for Sonic, who gasps for air.
“I know I worried you by running away but don’t you think choking me is uncalled for?” Sonic jokes, and Tails giggles.
“Here comes Sonic the Hedgehog I know.” Tails replies, and exchanges a look with Tom, who ruffles his the top of his head.
“Buddy, please, make it Sonic Wachowski.” Tom says, and Sonic crosses his arms over his chest.
“Who says I’m a Wachowski?”
“Dude, we tucked you in last night.”
“Okay, fair.”
“I’m saved as Pretzel Mom in your phone.”
“You’re? For real?” Tom turns to Maddie, who nods with a grin.
“What I’m saved as now? Donut Dad?”
“Not telling ya!” Sonic says, planning to change it as soon as he gets home, bu Tom pokes Sonic on the arm repeatedly, which he knows will annoy Sonic to no end.
“Yes, you are! Okay, dad?” Sonic says, standing up and dramatically flailing his arms. He realises what he called him when Tom and Maddie give him that looks. Which only happens after he says something sappy and is about to get tackled in a life-threatingly tight hug.
“Stop doing that with your face.” Sonic says, looking at Tom and Maddie individually, then sits near Knuckles to put some distance between them.
“Are you perhaps flustered, hedgehog?” Knuckles asks smugly.
“Ah c’mon! Not you too, Knux!”
“Aww he is so shy!” Tails coos, and they all giggle in Sonic’s expense.
“Laugh all you want.” Sonic says, and averts his gaze from them, determined to keep quiet. But the loud rumbling of his tummy betrays his desicion. Which, of course, makes the family laugh more.
“I think it’s time we return home. It’s almost lunch time and Sonic didn’t get to eat.”
“Thanks, mom! At least someone here is worried about me.” Sonic says, and Maddie blows a kiss to him, which makes him blush.
Once they return home and have lunch, brunch for Sonic, they throw themselves on the couch, piled against each other, with the exception of Knuckles, who sits at the other couch. They all have blankets over them, trying to keep warm against the cold breeze coming through the giant hole on their living room.
“Mom, dad, would you mind telling us about Alex?” Sonic interrupts the silence, but he can’t help himself. Alex has been all he could think about after he was convinced that he isn’t his replacement, enough to risk making his parents sad again.
“Another time? We wouldn’t want to start the waterworks on you guys again.” Tom offers, but Sonic shakes his head.
“In this house we’re allowed to express our feelings, right, dad?”
“You got me there.” Tom says, then stands up from the couch. They exchange a look with Maddie, who nods, and Tom makes his way to their living room.
“Where are you going?”
“He’ll just grab something, hon.” Maddie assures Sonic, then clears her throat to tell them about her first son.
“Alex’d be about your age if he lived, Sonic.”
“So that’s why I never saw him…”
“Yeah, you were probably on Mobius when I was pregnant. On the day he was born, doctors told us he had a rare genetic disease, which affected his vital organs. He received extensive care from doctors, they did all they could but we… We lost him when he was 21 days old.” Maddie says, and her eyes fill with tears immediately. Sonic and Tails are quick to embrace her, and she places her arms on their backs as they lay on her sides.
“He was a little baby…” Tails comments, and wipes at his eyes. He has never seen a human baby before, but he is sure they are delicate and small. And it hurts him to think a creature like that suffered, even before knowing what pain is.
“He was…” Maddie repeats, reminiscing the bundle of warmth against her chest. She remembers smiling down at him, with tears in her eyes, because in that moment, doctors had told her to expect the worst. Before she can give in to the sobs waiting on her throat, Tom returns with the light blue memory box the hospital gave them. Tom sits down and places the box on his lap, and Knuckles sits near him to get a better view. Inside, there are the ultrasound scans of Alex, the photos of his feet and hands they took. She never wanted to photograph his face, because he was always hooked up on wires that kept him alive. Sometimes she regrets it, but reminds herself that she didn’t, and never will forget his face. There is also his birth certificate and the envelope that houses hospital’s condolances. She can’t take the sight anymore and she wails, hiccups wracking her body. Tom gently closes the box, Tails and Sonic squeeze her tighter. Knuckles places a hand on Tom’s shoulder, who he notices is also crying. His gaze reminds him of his own father, so full of love. Knuckles lost a father, and Tom lost a son, it may be early to say but Knuckles thinks they are fit to support each other. Once all of them calm down, Sonic breaks the hug with Maddie, and straightens up.
“Would you guys be okay with me taking a middle name?” He hesitantly asks, and everypne understands which name he is talking about, they are just too suprised to reply. The silence makes him stress over that maybe he is being insensitive, but he knows his parents wouldn’t be angry at him even if he is. When the answer doesn’t come though, he attempts to explain himself.
“It’s just… we don’t share blood and won’t be sharing memories and… I want to carry a piece of him with me. Because he is my brother, too.” He says, and slightly bows his head.
“Sonic Alex Wachowski? I love it.” Tom breaks the silence, and Sonic’s face lits up.
“Yeah, it has a good ring to it.” Maddie agrees, and pulls Sonic back to her side.
“It is a name fit for a noble warrior.” Knuckles supplies with a smile, and Sonic flashes a smile to him. They enjoy the warmth of each other as they huddle up together once again. Tails looks around, and sees a butterfly flying towards them, it lands at the side of the couch. He smiles at it, and feels that maybe, Alex is watching over them. He wonders if he’d accept him as a brother too, and figures he would. He is the son of Maddie and Tom, the kindest people he knows, after all.