#chaoxfic writes

[chaoxfix]

hmm... sonic and amy, 37 "try to eat something"

here ya go! post-forces

///

“Try to eat something,” Sonic encourages, and it’s clear from the reassuring look on his face that he’s trying, in his own way, to make her feel better. But the thought of eating right now just sends another wave of anxiety-nausea through Amy. 

“I’d like to see you try to eat something, if you were about to go speak in front of… of…” 

“The whole planet?” Sonic says encouragingly. “You’re right. That’s why I’ve got the best public speaker this side of Mobius to do it instead.”

“Ough.” Amy leans over a potted plant, and Sonic politely looks away as she gags. Maybe he needs to try another strategy here… 

Sonic peels off his gloves then licks his finger and thumb. He fixes up a few of her quills that have been in disarray all day – they’ve been bothering him just to look at, and he’s sure that she doesn’t want to be on TV with her quills out of place. 

“Are you messing them up?” she complains. 

“Would I do that?” Sonic asks, and continues tidying them up until they’re all laying perfectly in place under her headband. Satisfied, he slips his glove back on. Then, he rests a hand on her shoulder. “...Feeling any better?” 

“If I made a joke about faking my death to get out of this,” Amy says, “Would you see that as insensitive?” 

Sonic just snickers. 

Amy groans, then finally gets to her feet. Her knees are still shaking. “Do we even really need to give a speech? You gave one already, didn’t you?” 

“To Tails, another version of me, and that guy who saved me from space jail – by the way, do you like, usually send rookies to bail out your MVP? No offense, and I’m grateful for having someone bust me out, but I kind of was expecting you or Knuckles or Tails-?” 

Amy’s eye twitches.

“Anyways,” Sonic says, and smoothly stands her upright, “It wasn’t a great speech. Because I’m not a speech-maker. You on the other hand – I bet you could make everyone feel safe and hopeful again.” 

“What if I just copy what you said?” 

“Again, the speech I gave, just to me, alternate-version-of-me, Tails, and rookie? Or the one after mini-me went home? Because I’m pretty sure neither of them lasted more than thirty seconds, and I can’t remember any of it.”

“I thought it was fine,” Amy says. “Maybe that should be the time estimate I’m rooting for too, come to think of it…” 

Sonic chuckles and pats her on the back. “Whatever you think is best,” he says. “But I wasn’t kidding about eating something before going up there. You look like you’re about to pass out.” 

Sonic plucks a tiny protein bar from his quills. Amy blinks. 

“Perks of having longer quills – I still can’t believe you keep them so short,” he says, and passes her the bar. “Eat, okay? And drink some water. And remember the most important thing about speech-making!”

Amy nibbles on the bar, unwilling to admit she already feels slightly better. “So you do have actual advice?”

Sonic winks and shoots finger guns at her. “Leave them wanting more.” 

“So I should keep it under thirty seconds.” She sighs, then glances down to the cards she’s meticulously plotted out. Why can’t these be tarot cards instead? She’s much better at reading those. “Oh, man…” 

With that, Sonic starts for the exit, ducking out and only dipping his head inside. “You’re gonna do great,” he says, more kindly this time. “I’ll be in the front row, okay? No matter what happens, I’ll make sure everyone cheers.” 

With that, he closes the door behind him. 

Amy takes a deep breath, then gathers the cards in front of her again. 

Then, shreds all but one and walks to the exit, herself. Short, sweet, and to the point. They have a world to rebuild, after all.

[chaoxfix]

tails + "how long do you think you could hide that" perhaps

The Sonic Boom really should have been warning enough. However, growing up around them meant that Tails had more or less tuned them out. Sonic coming and going at his own speed (Mach 2) was simply a fact of life. 

Plus, Station Square had always been pretty noisy. There could have been a thousand reasons that the sky suddenly shook. Especially since Extreme Gear had just crossed the speed of sound, and plenty of teenagers were using them more often despite them being restricted. (But like, who was going to catch them at that speed? Sonic? Even if the mayor asked him to, he’d just give them a high five.)

So no, Tails did not react. He’d learned to tune them out when working years ago; most of the time, he could even sleep through them.

Fatal error number one, really.

But Tails would never have expected Sonic to turn up here. 

After all, despite being gifted a New Station Square penthouse, Sonic never came here.

At best, it was a place for Sonic to store all the Sonic-The-Hedgehog-themed gag gifts his friends gave him over the years. 

(And yes, Tails is a little creeped out by the sheer amount of it, despite being the one to purchase at least a third of it. When he arrived at night, he’d tried keeping the lights off so he could pretend it wasn’t as decked out as it clearly was in the daytime, but the glow-in-the-dark shower curtain jump-scared him. His tails had stayed bushy for a full half-hour after. Ugh.)

Sonic hadn’t been able to get out of legally owning it, either. So despite still being a nomad in name and practice and worldview, Sonic T. Hedgehog officially had an apartment in New Station Square. Which meant to save face he would absolutely, never, under any circumstances, come here. 

And he especially wouldn’t come here looking for Tails. 

That’s what Tails thought, at least, until, a minute after the Sonic Boom, the door burst open. 

Tails, clad in an oversized Sonic Sez T-Shirt, blinks up at him. As embarrassing as the shirt is, he’s glad he’s wearing it, because what’s underneath is way worse. 

“Way to check in,” Sonic says, in lieu of hello. “‘Yeah, I definitely am going home after this,’” he mimics. “‘I’ll just be working on some software updates for Tailsblr, don’t worry, you can go check out the Spagonia ruins, I’ll be fine!’” 

“I don’t sound like that.” 

Sonic arches a brow. 

“I don’t!” Tails, embarrassed, scrunches his face up in a pursed-lip pout. It’s incredibly tough-looking, he knows. “What are you doing here, anyways?” 

Sonic glances around at the Sonic-themed apartment. “...Are you going to make me say it, or-”

“Never thought you’d call this ‘your’ apartment,” Tails mumbles. 

“Okay, point.” Sonic leans in the doorway, effectively blocking Tails’s only exit, unless he busts open a window. Which he doesn’t want to do. The Sonic-themed-stained glass would be almost impossible to duplicate, and Amy paid good money for that birthday… ‘gift’. “You gonna tell me what you’re doing here, though? And why you haven’t checked in with anyone?” 

Tails crosses his arms over his chest. He definitely doesn’t look petulant. Wincing ruins it, but he does his best to play it off, putting on an annoyed expression he’s not sure Sonic totally believes. “...no.” 

Sonic, predictably, eyes Tails. And the shirt he’s wearing. “I came all this way though?” he says, faux casually. “Nice digs, by the way.” 

“I figured it would be good camouflage.” 

“Hiding from me got that serious, huh?” 

What is there to say to that, exactly? Tails huffs, but ruins it with the way he toes his foot against the ground. Unsocked, because his usual ones are washing – and he couldn’t, surprisingly, find any Sonic-themed socks among the mess. He could’ve found slippers, but his paws were big enough as it was. 

Sonic, as always, takes it upon himself to fix it. He steps closer, unsubtly poking around him trying to find an injury. 

Tails turns away, trying to avoid Sonic getting too close, but it’s a losing battle with a decisive defeat when he winces again. Sonic sees it, because of course he does, and capitalizes on it immediately. 

“We really have to do this the hard way?” 

It sounds almost petulant. Tails huffs. “I don’t know what you’re talking about-” 

“It can’t possibly be more embarrassing than hiding here of all places.” 

“Who said it was embarrassing?” 

“Then you’ve got to give me an explanation, because otherwise that’s what I’m going with, bud.” Sonic intentionally challenges him, maybe knows deep down that it’s something else. When Tails doesn’t offer an explanation though, Sonic just sighs. “Alright, guess I’m just gonna assume you’re hiding out here licking your wounds…”

Tails grimaces. There’s no putting it off or getting out of it, is there?

With a sigh, Tails finally stops squirming away, though his tails continue to swish in annoyance. But the battle is over, and he knows he’s lost. So with a grand, over-dramatic sigh, he lifts the shirt, which loosely conceals bandages, and more importantly, a back brace. 

“I have to wear it for another week,” he grumbles, lowering the shirt back down, because an oversized Sonic Sez Stay In School! shirt (...did they even ask Sonic before they made that slogan?) is way less embarrassing than the medical brace. “More, in theory, but by then I’ll be mobile enough to make myself a cool exoskeleton so I can go back to helping.” 

Sonic raises both brows. “I, uh,” he starts, looking for a moment at a loss for words. He stares. 

Tails decides to cut him a break. “I’ve been using the sketch pads here to draft out all the important parts of the exoskeleton,” he continues, “And honestly, I’ll probably keep using it for a while after this heals, because it’ll be useful for heavy artillery. Similar to what I used around the time we met Shadow, just with actual support, because it was pretty uncomfortable-”

“Okay, that’s great, but, I fail to see why you’d… hide that?”

Tails’s whiskers twitch. “It’s hard to move. Meaning I can’t help with anything going on.” 

“Yeah? And that sucks, but it’s not– you should’ve told me.” How long did you think you could hide that, anyways? It's not a big deal, not to be on missions, but- I mean, there's more than matters than just that."

“It's not a big deal, injuries just suck,” Tails cuts in, cutting Sonic off from any other unnecessary worry, or so he hopes. Sonic stares at him blankly. “Besides, you would’ve felt like you needed to check in a ton, and you- you’ve been itching to go and do things again. And it’s important to stop Eggman’s newer plans. I’d just have slowed you down.” 

“Slowed me down.” Sonic tilts his head to the side. “I guess, from a certain kind of view, I could maybe, sort of, see that logic.” Tails almost feels relieved, before Sonic adds, “You know, if I was heartless. Which you know I’m not. So I'm serious, please tell me it's something else.” 

Tails squirms under the scrutiny. He shrinks in on himself, crossing his arms tightly over himself despite the ache it causes. All the while, Sonic is still looking him over, puzzling it through. Letting Tails’s silence and inability to refute that speak for itself. 

Tails sees the exact moment Sonic notices. He cringes. This was exactly what he was hoping to avoid. 

Because the thing is, Sonic always hid away when he was injured or sick or dealing with too much. Sonic was all about the power of friendship, sure – but that was for Eggman. When it came to interpersonal problems, or god forbid physical weakness, Sonic was suddenly a cool loner. He’d always make some offhand comment about seeing a part of the world he hadn’t seen before (a dwindling number every day) and then they wouldn’t see him again for days, weeks, or months. 

And, well. 

It wouldn’t be the worst trait to pick up on. The whole world agreed that Sonic was a cool role model – the whole apartment around him agreed! Why would he be a bad role model here, too?

And if Tails was ever going to be a hero in his own right, too, well… Shouldn’t he learn to take care of himself? 

“Ah,” Sonic says, eloquently. He opens his mouth, presumably for a speech, and comes up short again. He shifts a hand to his chin, clearly thinking hard. 

“I think I smell something burning,” Tails says. 

“Does no one trust me to do speeches anymore?” 

“I honestly think you’ve gotten worse.”

Sonic levels a half-hearted glare, but the tug at the corner of his mouth tells Tails he’s not actually offended. Sonic reaches for his bangs, half-heartedly ruffles them. “Yeah. That’s why I’m trying to take my time and think this one through.”

Tails doesn’t duck away from the affection. But he can’t help but shrink into himself, just a little. Not in a bad way – but he hasn’t felt shy in ages. He feels like a kid again, which is exactly what he was trying to avoid. 

Sonic must pick up on it, because he frowns a little. Then, punches Tails’s shoulder, light enough not to jostle his back. “Growing up doesn’t mean not leaning on your friends anymore,” he finally says. “We’ll always be around. You know that, right?” 

Tails has a lot he could say to that – about being around. 

He wisely keeps his mouth shut. 

Sonic reads into it, sighs despite himself. Of course Tails should’ve guessed it was written on his face. They’d managed years without words. “Okay, yeah, but that’s an extreme circumstance – and you could’ve… should’ve had our friends around,” he says. “If I had actually kicked the bucket – that’s what I would’ve wanted. Our friends looking out for you.” 

The unfairness of it all burns. “It's not an extreme circumstance when you already almost died again.” 

Sonic rakes a hand back through his quills. “I really have gotten worse at speeches,” he mutters. “I don’t know. I’ve always been like this, though, keeping... issues to myself – but you haven’t.” 

On account of being four years old, Tails chooses not to point out. 

“Yes, okay, don’t look at me like that, I know you were a kid and kids need help and that’s okay! Good, even! But I always thought it was nice you didn’t get mad when I did stuff for you, even when you got older.” 

Tails scuffs his goes against the floor again. “Because you like doing nice things for other people.” 

“Sure,” Sonic agrees. “But it’s not like… -I always chose to look after you. Could’ve stopped whenever. Vanilla offered, sometimes. But I didn’t even let Knuckles babysit you unless it was like, an emergency-emergency.” 

Tails’s face feels hot at the mere idea of being babysat at all. Impossible standards, he knows, for being four. 

“I didn’t think you even minded being looked after, since we were always friends, not just… you know.” The word that doesn’t exist, Tails thinks, for their exact kinship. Siblings is closest, but there’s both more and less there, that the word doesn’t always fit. It's a puzzle piece that only mostly matches. “But then you were getting so good at things that had nothing to do with anything I taught you. Doing your own thing, being your own you,” Sonic continues. “...I guess I just never thought you’d take after me so much. I'm surprised, that's all.” 

Tails ducks his head. The shirt is in his field of vision though, and it strikes him as the most absurd thing about all of this. Having a heart-to-heart, after all these years, in a room absolutely suffocated in Sonic merchandise. 

Tails clearly isn’t the only one with a hero worship problem. The whole world seems to agree that Sonic's a role model. 

He can’t quite find the words to say, ‘How could I have possibly taken after everyone else?’ 

“You’re giving yourself a lot of credit,” Tails says, managing a small smile, despite everything. “...Deserved credit, but still.” 

He jerks a thumb over his shoulder, where he knows a gigantic Sonic head plush (six feet tall and just as wide) is looming. A gift from Vector. 

“Saying I’ve got a big head?”

“I think they actually made it to scale,” Tails says with a grin. “But the important thing is… You don't need to think it's all you. You said it yourself, that I have all my own good traits. So I can’t let you act all guilty for my bad traits. Maybe I would’ve been like this anyways, who knows. But you don’t need to take credit, okay?” 

Sonic blinks at him. 

“I’m growing up. And maybe I didn’t need to hide away, or at least I could’ve told you where I was going,” Tails acknowledges. “But those are my mistakes to make. Okay? Not your responsibility.” 

Sonic still looks surprised. But he seems to chew on that, still deciding whether or not to agree. 

But Tails is older now. About as old as Sonic was when he set out against Eggman. 

It’s only fair to give him a little leeway, right?

So Sonic finally nods, still looking contemplative. “Just remember you’re not on your own,” he says. “You’ve got your own thing to figure out – I respect that. But I don’t want you to forget that we’re here because we actually care. What I was saying earlier… the thing is, we’re your friends. It’s not babysitting or looking after you anymore. Even then, we liked you and wanted you around. But now? You’re with us because you’ve got skills, and we want you there. I want you there. So remember that, okay?” 

Tails’s chest feels warm. Pride, he thinks. The pride of knowing he’s made Sonic proud. 

“Okay,” he says, feeling a little more confident. 

Sonic smiles, lopsided. The same smile on most of the trademarked merchandise around them. 

It’s such a perfect match for the poster behind him that Tails has to suppress a laugh. 

“What?” Sonic asks, turning to follow Tails’s eyes. “What’s- Oh, very funny. I can't help that that's my good side. I'm not even doing the thumbs up!” 

Tails grins, but there’s no malice behind it. “Thanks for coming here to check on me,” he says sincerely. “I’m okay though, just sorry for worrying you.” 

Sonic ruffles his bangs again. “You’re never going to have to be sorry for worrying me,” he promises. “I’d miss it too much if I stopped.” 

An hour ago, Tails would’ve felt worse, hearing that. But it doesn’t sting. Sonic can both worry about him, and know that he’s growing up and can make his own choices. 

“C’mon,” Sonic says, officially ending the heart-to-heart. “I put some sonic-shaped cereal in here the other day when I saw it in a store. Five rings says it turns my tongue blue?” 

“You’re on,” Tails agrees, knowing it’s a losing bet.

[chaoxfix]

39 with knuckles (and anyone else)? 👀 👉👈

here ya go!

///

It’s always something with those two, Knuckles thinks when he sees the Tornado touch down, engine smoking, and passengers worse for wear. He shakes his head at them, already telling himself that he really has to draw the line somewhere, that he’s helping no one when he’s constantly bailing these two out of whatever shenanigans they’ve gotten themselves into. 

No way is he intervening. Not even when he sees Sonic – visibly singed, and limping when he hops out of the Tornado. Knuckles is a rock. Wholly unmoved by their plight. 

It lasts for all of three more seconds.

Tails flies out of the Tornado then, looking strained, like the movement is painful. Knuckles has already taken a step closer to investigate. That’s when Tails falls out of the air, leaving Sonic to scramble to catch him. He does, barely, and only by grabbing Tails’s scruff. But the movement unbalances Sonic, and they land in a heap. 

Knuckles sighs. 

It wouldn’t be the worst thing to help him, he begrudgingly admits. As long as they don’t need the Master Emerald.

With that in mind, he shakes his head, already cursing his lack of willpower. But they do seem to need help, even if it’s only a safe place to sleep and heal. As long as they don’t need the Master Emerald, Knuckles supposes he can live with that. 

Sonic and Tails are still in a heap on the ground when Knuckles arrives. He peers down at them, and only Sonic blinks his eyes open to look at him. 

They glare at each other for a moment, each testing the other’s willpower. 

Then, Sonic gently nudges Tails to wake him up. 

Tails yawns and rubs his eyes. “Hm?”

Knuckles waits patiently for the little fox kit to notice him, and prepares himself for the inevitable startling. It passes quickly – to his surprise, Tails seems happy to see him. 

“Hello to you too,” Knuckles says after a beat. “Should I even ask what happened?”

“Robotnik,” Tails says seriously, in that too-old-for-a-little-kid voice of his. Smart, but with childish lilts on many of his words. “Can we stay here for a little while? Sonic got really hurt.” 

Sonic huffs. He gently smacks the back of his hand against Tails’s arm, but Tails just smiles. 

“Please?” Tails adds. “We’ll be good houseguests this time.”

It is definitely not what Sonic was getting at, Knuckles thinks. He can’t even picture Sonic trying to raise Tails to be polite. Whatever polite attitude he has is surely due to whoever raised Tails prior to… however it is they met. 

Knuckles tsks. “It’s fine. As long as Robotnik didn’t follow you, you can stay here. But once you heal up, I want you off my island.” 

Tails looks immediately relieved. “Thank you. Hear that, Sonic? Knuckles let us stay after all!”

Sonic makes a movement with his hands that Knuckles doesn’t catch, but that makes Tails pout. 

“He will too have food,” Tails says. Then, shyly, glances up at Knuckles. “...Right? If we do have to catch it ourselves, that’s okay too of course, I was just, um, wondering.”

Knuckles’s eye twitches. But he keeps his temper in check. For now. “I have soup,” he says flatly. “That should do it for you two until you can forage for yourselves.” 

The promise of food, it seems, finally is enough to rouse them. Sonic slowly gets to his feet, with Tails struggling to help him, and between the two of them, they finally get upright. Tails attempts to help Sonic walk, but Knuckles doesn’t trust the fox kit’s shaky legs as much as Sonic seems to. 

“Stop.” 

Tails and Sonic blink up at him with twin confusion. “What?” Tails asks. 

Knuckles easily pushes between them. Without a word, he slips one of Sonic’s arms around his neck, so he doesn’t have to lean on the kid to walk. 

Truthfully, Knuckles is surprised Sonic is letting him – but even though he must be in pretty rough shape, it has to be a relief not to make the little kid prop him up. Even though Knuckles is deeply skeptical at Sonic’s abilities to shepherd a little kid, it’s clear he cares about him and doesn’t want to burden him. Which is only right, seeing as the kid can’t be more than five. 

Tails, even more than Sonic, looks relieved. “Thanks, Knuckles,” he says. Then, he starts to step forward with shaky legs of his own. 

Knuckles uses his free hand to grab him by the scruff. 

Sonic makes a choked sound and tries to squirm away, but Knuckles doesn’t give him the chance to.

“Here,” Knuckles says mildly, “Let me carry you.” 

It’s not as though he’s giving Tails much of a choice, of course, seeing as Tails is still held up by the scruff. But Knuckles thinks it’s extremely polite of him to at least explain. 

“Are you sure?” Tails finally asks, in a small, uncertain voice. 

Knuckles just grunts. Instead, he answers Tails by scooping him up and resting him on his hip. Tails seems to know what to do from there, saving both him and Knuckles the embarrassment of saying another word about it. Still, his namesake tails swish uncertainly even as he loops his legs around Knuckles’s middle.

“...Thanks,” Tails finally says, voice small as he buries his nose into Knuckles’s white crescent patch. 

“Next time don’t get injured,” Knuckles says flatly. But there’s warmth in his voice despite himself. 

From there, they make a lopsided, limping trio. But even Knuckles can admit to feeling relieved when they all sit down for soup a few minutes later, sitting in the warm glow of the Master Emerald and its shrine. 

[chaoxfix]

Hello! For the hurt/comfort dialogue prompts: #29. "Do you know how to use a first aid kit?" + Tails

here u go!!! this was a lot of fun to write, i decided to go with classic!sonic and modern/older!tails <3

///

Tails is halfway through an errand – dropping off seed packets to Vanilla to repay her for the flowers she donated for Amy’s birthday – when a portal appears out of the sky. 

A blue hedgehog drops out, which is just par for the course. When Tails was younger, he probably would’ve been worried and called out for him. But seeing as this has happened at least once a month for the last several years, Tails no longer wastes the adrenaline. 

Instead, Tails simply reacts. He flies a little faster than usual, and as always, hopes to catch Sonic before he hits the ground. 

(Not that he’s all that worried even if he doesn’t get there in time. Sonic has a tendency to break falls with his face, and it’s never done serious damage before, even falls from space. Tails doubts it’ll start hurting him now.) 

Still, as Sonic falls, Tails can’t help but think it’s odd timing. He wasn’t really expecting Sonic back yet, seeing as he was visiting the Wisps. It doesn’t take that long to travel to and from Planet Wisp, but Sonic was planning on spending at least a few days there. For once, they really weren’t expecting any trouble from Eggman. Though of course, that’s always what Eggman wants them to think, so maybe Tails should’ve known better. 

Either way, Tails will probably get an explanation once his brother has safely touched down. 

…It’s not until Tails actually catches Sonic that he realizes his mistake. 

This, it would appear, isn’t Sonic. Or at least, not his Sonic. 

Tails probably should’ve guessed it, seeing as he came through a portal. Speaking of, he glances up at the portal just in time to see it close, long before Tails ever would’ve been able to fly him back through. 

Then, he glances at the little hedgehog in his arms, and does some basic deductive reasoning to find that there’s no way this version of Sonic is the free spirited nineteen-year-old he knows and loves. 

For one, this Sonic is less than half the size he’s supposed to be – probably closer to a third. If that didn’t give it away, the short quills and round belly do. Even though Tails has seen Sonic’s younger form a few times, he never stops being surprised at just how small he is. Er, was. Seeing him up close, it’s always hard to believe Sonic was fighting Eggman at this age. 

This age being nine, at most. Give or take a few years – Tails was never great at identifying hedgehog growth patterns.  

Deductions made, Tails gently deposits Sonic on the ground in front of him. Thanks to Tails’s latest growth spurt, even at his full height, Sonic could stack three of himself and only just barely make it to Tails’s chin. Sonic doesn’t even seem to realize it’s out of the ordinary. Instead, he just squints up at him, hands on his hips. 

Right. Shorter Mobians hate it when bigger ones don’t respect their stature. Not wanting to be rude, Tails takes a seat in front of him and waves. “Hey there.” 

Sonic – Mini-Sonic, he decides – doesn’t answer. He only looks marginally less suspicious now that Tails is sitting. 

“Don’t worry, we’ll get you home again in no time,” Tails says, trying to sound friendly, remembering just how out-of-sorts Mini-Sonic had been last time he’d been flung into an alternate timeline. “It’s nice to see you again, though! What tossed you through a portal this time?”

Mini-Sonic just frowns at him – like he’s the suspicious one. 

“It’s okay if you’re upset,” Tails says. “I would be too, if I was in your shoes. But you can trust me. As soon as you’re ready, I’ll take you back to my lab and we’ll start working on a portal to get you back home.” 

Somehow, that’s the wrong thing to say. Mini-Sonic’s quills raise defensively, and he takes a pronounced step back. Almost, Tails realizes a beat too late, like he’s about to run off. 

“Wait!” 

On reflex, Tails reaches out and takes his hand. It’s only because Mini-Sonic is so tiny that Tails manages it. Mini-Sonic, try as he might, is just not fast enough to escape Tails’s grasp. Tails counts his lucky stars. He definitely wouldn’t have been up for chasing down a miniature version of his big brother today. 

However… When Tails actually grabs him, Mini-Sonic does not seem thrilled. He doesn’t look scared, exactly – but there’s an annoyance, a wariness, that Tails isn’t used to. He pulls against Tails’s grip to no avail. It’s almost funny how little a difference it makes, how hard Mini-Sonic seems to be pulling and how easy it is to keep him in tow. 

“Just tell me what’s going on, okay?” Tails says, not yet letting go. “I promise I’ll help.”

That’s when Tails remembers – embarrassingly late – that Sonic is years away from being able to talk. And he’s not entirely sure that this Sonic is fluent enough in sign to hold a conversation even if he did have both hands free. 

Not how Tails saw his Monday going, that’s for sure. 

He sighs. It’s bad enough that his Sonic’s somewhere out in space again, nowhere to be seen. 

But the fact that Sonic’s younger self is here probably doesn’t bode well. No offense to the little guy, but he never shows up unless Sonic’s in an awful lot of trouble. 

Still, it’s impossible to be mad at him. Especially since this version might actually be even younger than usual. Sonic’s usual younger self is usually still a couple of years older than Tails – but now that Tails has grown up a little, this one almost seems to have shrunk, even taking into account Tails’s own greater height. Sonic was definitely a bit of a late bloomer as far as hedgehog species go, but this one barely makes it up to Tails’s knees. 

It takes Tails a moment, but he finally realizes that just because he’s met a younger Sonic… doesn’t mean that this younger Sonic has met him. 

It’s entirely possible that this one is from even earlier in the time-stream than the ones he’s met.

Meaning Mini-Sonic probably has no idea who Tails is.  

Tails stares at the little hedgehog in front of him, and realizes he’s way, way out of his depth. 

That’s also when he notices the tiny red spots on Sonic’s socks. Tails frowns, and follows the red up to his spindly little legs, where there’s a purple patch of sticky fur just above his knee. 

“You’re hurt,” Tails says, feeling even guiltier for grabbing him now. “How bad is it?” 

Of course Sonic didn’t want to be manhandled. He never did anyways, but especially not if he was hurt and didn’t recognize Tails. He barely handled manhandling now, as an adult. 

Mini-Sonic still couldn’t talk though, and still showed no sign of recognizing Tails. And as much as Tails would’ve liked to let him go, Mini-Sonic just kept glancing between Tails’s hand and his easiest escape route, meaning that if he gave him even an inch, Mini-Sonic would shoot off, never to be seen again. 

Tails sighs. Time to do this the old fashioned way. 

“Chili dogs first,” he decides, and easily scoops up mini-Sonic – quills digging into his arms and all – “Then a first aid kit. We’ll patch up your leg, and hopefully by then you’ll realize I’m not trying to hurt you, Sonic.” 

Finally, Sonic’s ears prick up. Tails realizes it’s the first time he’s called him by his name. Duh – no wonder Sonic had reacted so poorly. 

“I know your name because I know you,” Tails says, and watches Sonic’s face turn doubtful. “...In the future,” Tails corrects, “Which is where you are. The future.”

(Under his breath, he mutters, “Chaos, how does Silver deal with this?”) 

Sonic’s doubtful frown doesn’t budge. 

Tails wishes he knew how to convince him. 

Still… even if it’s not good that Mini-Sonic doesn’t trust him, Tails can’t help but chuckle at the way distrust looks on his big brother’s tiny face, chubby cheeks and all. 

It helps Tails stay coolheaded, too, as he flies in the direction of the nearest city, hoping he’s got enough cash for some chili dogs. He’s flying a bit higher than he needs – hopefully the height will be enough of a deterrent to keep Mini-Sonic from biting and clawing him until he wriggles away. Truthfully, Tails is just surprised that Sonic hasn’t done so already. He always imagined Sonic would’ve been a bit more of a gremlin as a kid.

It’s weird that he’s so calm. Tails decides maybe it has something to do with the portal he went through, or the fact that he’s injured. 

“Don’t you worry,” Tails says, unable to resist the urge to rub between Sonic’s ears. Huge, shiny black eyes look up at him, clearly unused to the affection, despite how basic it is. “We’re getting you something to eat first, then I’ll fix up your leg. Or – you’ll fix yourself up, if you don’t want me to. Sonic never says much about his early years, but I figure you probably already know how to do it, right? I mean, clearly you have to, no way you got older without ever figuring out how to wash out an injury and patch it up, and…” 

Mini-Sonic tilts his head at him. 

“You know – patching up injuries,” Tails says, and taps the uninjured skin near Sonic’s knee. 

Mini-Sonic, for all that he seems to mostly understand him, just blinks. 

“...Do you know how to use a first aid kit?” 

Mini-Sonic just scrunches his brows at him, and Tails realizes that his Monday has just gotten even longer. Once the normal-age Sonic gets back, he’s going to need to answer a lot of questions… 

But first, he reminds himself with a deep breath, chili dogs. He might know nothing about raising kids, but at least he knows Sonic well enough to have a cheat sheet. Tails has a feeling he’ll need it. 

[chaoxfix]

prompt 15,"did you hear me?" !

happy birthday friend!! may it be a fun filled day!

---

Tails has been glued to his communicator for hours now. 

Occasionally, Sonic is sure that he’s taken a break to blink, maybe even to munch on the pile of snacks Sonic left next to him. But other than that, nothing. 

Not that Sonic has been here the whole time, of course. Once he saw that Tails was busy, Sonic went on a quick jog through Emerald Coast to give him some time to finish up whatever genius invention he was cooking up. Oddly enough, no one was around anywhere near Emerald Coast, leaving him with plenty of time to catch up with some of his little animal friends. (They’re doing great, thanks for asking.) Station Square was just as quiet as Emerald Coast, too. A few people were out and about, so Sonic waved at a few people who didn’t seem to notice him. Kids, mainly, and focused pretty intensely on a video game they were playing. There were a few adults, too. Positively glued to their phones, those guys – but these days, it’s par for the course. Sonic usually gets a few of them to look up, though. 

But by now, that was hours and a half-baked adventure ago. Now that Sonic’s back, he’s surprised to find Tails still exactly where he was, which is why he gets a strange prick of worry in his stomach as he thinks back through his trek through Station Square. 

They couldn’t possibly be linked, right? 

But… Tails isn’t even tinkering with something. Seriously, who is this kid, and what’d he do with Sonic’s little bro? 

Sonic perches on the wing of the Tornado, watching and waiting for any sign that Tails has even noticed him. 

Nothing. Not even an ear flick or a tail swish. 

Man. Whatever he’s focused on, it really does have all his attention. 

Enough is enough, Sonic decides – and skillfully hops down until he is instead perched on the coffee table. Toes teetering off the edge, but perfectly balanced. 

To Sonic’s surprise, Tails doesn’t even look up. 

“Earth to Tails,” Sonic says, moving closer. Tails doesn’t blink. 

Sonic’s brows furrow. “Did you hear me?” he asks, stomach starting to sink. “Tails? Hello?” 

He waves a hand in front of Tails’s face. Nothing. 

Aw, man. This could be bad. Really bad.

Sonic blows through his teeth, flexes his fingers, and slowly reaches for the communicator. It’s silly, but he knows how much Tails usually booby traps his gear. Sonic should be bracing himself for military grade spy-work. Actually, maybe it’s not too late to loop in Rouge for this?

No, too late, already committed. Sonic steels himself, then yanks the device out of Tails’s hands.

For an instant, Sonic considers it a success because the device doesn't blow up the instant it leaves Tails's hands. However, it quickly tips back towards failure when Tails pitches forward, eyes rolling up in his head. 

“Okay, worse, that’s definitely worse,” Sonic mutters. He sets the device down without looking at it – Chaos only knows what was on that thing – then sits down with Tails propped up in front of him. “C’mon, buddy, you awake yet?” 

Tails’s ears twitch. 

It’s probably not a good sign that even that is such marked improvement. Still, Sonic lets out a sigh of relief, then scoops him up to hug him to his chest. “You’re gonna be just fine,” he says. “Just wake up, okay? Whatever’s going on, I’m gonna need some backup.” 

That seems to do the trick. 

Tails’s ears prick up, and he cracks one eye open. “Backup?” he says, voice sounding faint and far away. “What for…?” 

Sonic laughs, half anxiety, half relief. He ruffles Tails’s bangs. “I’ll fill you in once you’re all there,” he teases. “For now, just promise me you’ll give screens a break until we figure this out?” 

Tails glances up, where his communicator is sitting on the edge of the table, giving off a strange staticky sound. He looks tempted, suddenly, so Sonic waves a hand in front of his face to keep his attention. “Hey! Seriously, I just free you from that thing and your first instinct is to go back?”

Annoyed, Tails just bats his hand away. “Is this just another intervention on screen time?” 

“It is when it’s actual hypnosis!” 

Tails opens his mouth to argue – but closes it just as quick, lips quirking to the side. “...This whole thing better not have messed up my Minecraft session,” he finally grumbles, but doesn’t reach for his communicator again. To Tails's credit, he does still seem pretty out of it, and he's always a little grumpy when he first wakes up.

Besides, at least he's awake and talking again. Still, despite his relief, Sonic can't help but shake his head, a nostalgic look on his face. “You know, I think I actually predicted this a couple’a years ago…” 

“No way, you don't get to claim that," Tails says, knowing immediately what Sonic's referring to. "You predicted we’d do this to ourselves naturally, and this is clearly Eggman tech.”

“I dunno…” In a flash, Sonic is upright, grinning with hands crossed behind his quills. “You get the same look on your face when you’re coding for too long.”

Tails scrunches his face up in an adorable pout. 

Sonic just grins and pokes his nose. Then, he offers him a hand up, hoping Tails is feeling well enough to stand and get back out there. “Now c’mon,” he says cheerfully. “You’ve gotta help me prove your theory right.” 

Tails only pouts for a second longer. But as always, he takes Sonic’s hand and pulls himself to his feet. It seems to shake off the last of the communicator’s hook on him, and once he's up, he stretches out and limbers up, already getting ready for an adventure.

“Okay,” Tails says, already looking much more alert. “You said hypnosis… How serious are we talking?” 

“All of Station Square for the last couple of hours,” Sonic says. “That’s bad, right?”

“Yes, but…" Tails trails off, sounding confused. "You have a communicator of your own. Why weren’t you affected?” 

Sonic rubs the back of his head. He definitely won’t admit that he almost never checks his phone unless someone calls twice. Instead, he glances to the beautiful day still happening outside the lab window. The bright, sunny, windy day he’s still itching to get back to. “If I have to guess,” he says with a playfully heavy tone, “I’ve just touched too much grass today.”

Tails punches his arm, and Sonic thinks he probably deserves it.

[chaoxfix]

Silver 35? :]

here ya go!

///

The day is saved, Sonic’s friends are all safe, Eggman’s retreated, the rubble is being cleared, and the sun is even coming back out. All in all, a 10/10 adventure, if Sonic does say so himself. 

He thinks so, anyways, until he spots Silver slumped over against a chunk of concrete. 

Alarmed, Sonic skids to a stop and whips a u-turn. 

“Silver!” he exclaims, ducking down until he’s in Silver’s field of vision. Or, he would be, if Silver wasn’t squeezing his eyes shut like he’s injured. “What’s wrong, are you hurt? I thought you said you were fine when Amy was taking a head count-” 

“I’m not hurt.” Silver says it like he means it, but he also says it like he’s barely managing to get the words out, so sue him if Sonic doesn’t believe him. “I’m seriously. You can go home, Sonic, I’ll find my own way back.” 

“Sure, but how are you supposed to return to the future if you can’t even sit up straight?”

Silver groans and rubs his head. “Can you quiet down?” 

Sonic’s ears twitch. He hadn’t thought he was being that loud, but he does, at least, honor the request. “Okay,” he says, quieter. He looks around for enemies that might have snuck up on them, but no luck. “...Why are we whispering?” 

Silver groans and rubs his head more vigorously, at his temples. “Why are you saying anything at all?”

It sounds like Silver is just being rude again, at first. But… he’s clearly in pain. Sonic frowns, trying to puzzle it out. He taps his foot, irritated with himself for not automatically knowing the answer. He’s sure he knows the solution to this one, but what…? 

“Do you have a concussion?” Sonic asks, in a very tiny whisper. He’s not really sure how to treat them, seeing as he has an incredibly durable head and so do Knuckles and Amy, and he’s never, ever, ever let anything get close enough to Tails or Cream’s heads to risk finding out if they’re as durable yet. 

“A concussion-?” Silver finally blinks his eyes open to try and peer up at Sonic in pure confusion, but he’s still squinting in the afternoon light. He winces, then squeezes them shut just as fast. “No, it’s not a concussion. It’s just a headache, I’m fine.” 

Oh. 

Well, Sonic thinks, that’s a lot simpler. 

The only person he knows who gets regular headaches is Vanilla – Sonic always figured it was just something people got when they got old. Silver’s younger than he is, but maybe it has something to do with him being from the future. 

Or, he realizes a beat too late, having powers that stem from his mind. Huh. 

Fortunately, Sonic knows just the thing for headaches. “Wait right there,” he says, in that same quiet voice. “I’ll be right back with just the thing.” 

He doesn’t wait for Silver to tell him not to bother – “It’s no use!” is what he thinks he hears as he runs off, but that could just be his mind playing tricks on him. Instead, he pops into the nearest nurse station and grabs what Cream always gets her mom when Vanilla says she has a headache. 

Ice, earmuffs, water, and an eye-mask. Sonic thinks Vanilla often takes some medication, but he’s not sure what type, and also Silver’s got a pretty horrible immune system so he doesn’t want to risk giving him something that’ll make him feel worse on accident. 

When Sonic returns with an armful of supplies, Silver is laying on the concrete. Sonic can’t help but feel guilty if this really is from Silver overusing his powers. 

Every time Silver comes from the future, it’s always to help with a crisis – or to prevent something bad from turning into a crisis. He might have a personality that Sonic can’t quite figure out – maybe it’s as changeable as that timeline of his, who knows – but he’s still dependable in a pinch. 

Sonic just hopes that these will help him feel better. 

Sonic drops into a crouch beside him, then carefully slips on the earmuffs. “For the noise,” he says, still in a quieter voice than before. Silver looks up at him, baffled, but when he winces at the light, Sonic presses the eye-mask into his hands, for Silver to put on himself. 

“Water will help, and the ice will make it feel a little better too. I made sure the ice pack is extra durable so you won’t prick it open,” he adds, noting the way Silver’s front quills stick straight up. “Just try it, alright? I dunno what fancy stuff you use for headaches in the future, but hopefully this is good enough for now.” 

“We- well, it depends on the timeline,” Silver says, reaching for the ice pack first. He lets out a sigh of relief once it hits his head, shoulders immediately losing their tension. “But… in the one I just came from, this is a lot better.” 

Sonic quirks a smile. “Well, I’ll leave you to it, okay? Unless you’d rather I speed you off somewhere a little less, uh…” He gestures vaguely to the rubble around them both. 

Silver waves a hand, then reaches up and ties the eye-mask around his head. “No, this is perfect, I think this rubble is comfier than the concrete bed I was using before… Thanks, Sonic.” 

Sonic grins and shakes his head in bemusement, though Silver can’t see it. “Happy to help. And drink that water!”

“I will, I will.” To prove it, Silver opens the recyclable plastic bottle, and tips it to his mouth. 

Deciding that Silver’s already well on his way to feeling better, Sonic speeds off. And, just for Silver, even chooses not to leave a Sonic boom in his wake until he’s a few miles away. Just to be nice. 

[chaoxfix]

yo!

updated ao3 to include all prompts so far. if i missed any let me know: theyre all in lamp rubbed, writing genie loading

chapters 4-8 are the new ones

except for the longest one

i made that into its own fic, you can find it here

have fun!

[sideblogforsonic]

Awwww, poor little single-digit-aged Sonic got ow. 12-year-old Tails will help.

Hello! For the hurt/comfort dialogue prompts: #29. "Do you know how to use a first aid kit?" + Tails

here u go!!! this was a lot of fun to write, i decided to go with classic!sonic and modern/older!tails <3

///

Tails is halfway through an errand – dropping off seed packets to Vanilla to repay her for the flowers she donated for Amy’s birthday – when a portal appears out of the sky. 

A blue hedgehog drops out, which is just par for the course. When Tails was younger, he probably would’ve been worried and called out for him. But seeing as this has happened at least once a month for the last several years, Tails no longer wastes the adrenaline. 

Instead, Tails simply reacts. He flies a little faster than usual, and as always, hopes to catch Sonic before he hits the ground. 

(Not that he’s all that worried even if he doesn’t get there in time. Sonic has a tendency to break falls with his face, and it’s never done serious damage before, even falls from space. Tails doubts it’ll start hurting him now.) 

Still, as Sonic falls, Tails can’t help but think it’s odd timing. He wasn’t really expecting Sonic back yet, seeing as he was visiting the Wisps. It doesn’t take that long to travel to and from Planet Wisp, but Sonic was planning on spending at least a few days there. For once, they really weren’t expecting any trouble from Eggman. Though of course, that’s always what Eggman wants them to think, so maybe Tails should’ve known better. 

Either way, Tails will probably get an explanation once his brother has safely touched down. 

…It’s not until Tails actually catches Sonic that he realizes his mistake. 

This, it would appear, isn’t Sonic. Or at least, not his Sonic. 

Tails probably should’ve guessed it, seeing as he came through a portal. Speaking of, he glances up at the portal just in time to see it close, long before Tails ever would’ve been able to fly him back through. 

Then, he glances at the little hedgehog in his arms, and does some basic deductive reasoning to find that there’s no way this version of Sonic is the free spirited nineteen-year-old he knows and loves. 

For one, this Sonic is less than half the size he’s supposed to be – probably closer to a third. If that didn’t give it away, the short quills and round belly do. Even though Tails has seen Sonic’s younger form a few times, he never stops being surprised at just how small he is. Er, was. Seeing him up close, it’s always hard to believe Sonic was fighting Eggman at this age. 

This age being nine, at most. Give or take a few years – Tails was never great at identifying hedgehog growth patterns.  

Deductions made, Tails gently deposits Sonic on the ground in front of him. Thanks to Tails’s latest growth spurt, even at his full height, Sonic could stack three of himself and only just barely make it to Tails’s chin. Sonic doesn’t even seem to realize it’s out of the ordinary. Instead, he just squints up at him, hands on his hips. 

Right. Shorter Mobians hate it when bigger ones don’t respect their stature. Not wanting to be rude, Tails takes a seat in front of him and waves. “Hey there.” 

Sonic – Mini-Sonic, he decides – doesn’t answer. He only looks marginally less suspicious now that Tails is sitting. 

“Don’t worry, we’ll get you home again in no time,” Tails says, trying to sound friendly, remembering just how out-of-sorts Mini-Sonic had been last time he’d been flung into an alternate timeline. “It’s nice to see you again, though! What tossed you through a portal this time?”

Mini-Sonic just frowns at him – like he’s the suspicious one. 

“It’s okay if you’re upset,” Tails says. “I would be too, if I was in your shoes. But you can trust me. As soon as you’re ready, I’ll take you back to my lab and we’ll start working on a portal to get you back home.” 

Somehow, that’s the wrong thing to say. Mini-Sonic’s quills raise defensively, and he takes a pronounced step back. Almost, Tails realizes a beat too late, like he’s about to run off. 

“Wait!” 

On reflex, Tails reaches out and takes his hand. It’s only because Mini-Sonic is so tiny that Tails manages it. Mini-Sonic, try as he might, is just not fast enough to escape Tails’s grasp. Tails counts his lucky stars. He definitely wouldn’t have been up for chasing down a miniature version of his big brother today. 

However… When Tails actually grabs him, Mini-Sonic does not seem thrilled. He doesn’t look scared, exactly – but there’s an annoyance, a wariness, that Tails isn’t used to. He pulls against Tails’s grip to no avail. It’s almost funny how little a difference it makes, how hard Mini-Sonic seems to be pulling and how easy it is to keep him in tow. 

“Just tell me what’s going on, okay?” Tails says, not yet letting go. “I promise I’ll help.”

That’s when Tails remembers – embarrassingly late – that Sonic is years away from being able to talk. And he’s not entirely sure that this Sonic is fluent enough in sign to hold a conversation even if he did have both hands free. 

Not how Tails saw his Monday going, that’s for sure. 

He sighs. It’s bad enough that his Sonic’s somewhere out in space again, nowhere to be seen. 

But the fact that Sonic’s younger self is here probably doesn’t bode well. No offense to the little guy, but he never shows up unless Sonic’s in an awful lot of trouble. 

Still, it’s impossible to be mad at him. Especially since this version might actually be even younger than usual. Sonic’s usual younger self is usually still a couple of years older than Tails – but now that Tails has grown up a little, this one almost seems to have shrunk, even taking into account Tails’s own greater height. Sonic was definitely a bit of a late bloomer as far as hedgehog species go, but this one barely makes it up to Tails’s knees. 

It takes Tails a moment, but he finally realizes that just because he’s met a younger Sonic… doesn’t mean that this younger Sonic has met him. 

It’s entirely possible that this one is from even earlier in the time-stream than the ones he’s met.

Meaning Mini-Sonic probably has no idea who Tails is.  

Tails stares at the little hedgehog in front of him, and realizes he’s way, way out of his depth. 

That’s also when he notices the tiny red spots on Sonic’s socks. Tails frowns, and follows the red up to his spindly little legs, where there’s a purple patch of sticky fur just above his knee. 

“You’re hurt,” Tails says, feeling even guiltier for grabbing him now. “How bad is it?” 

Of course Sonic didn’t want to be manhandled. He never did anyways, but especially not if he was hurt and didn’t recognize Tails. He barely handled manhandling now, as an adult. 

Mini-Sonic still couldn’t talk though, and still showed no sign of recognizing Tails. And as much as Tails would’ve liked to let him go, Mini-Sonic just kept glancing between Tails’s hand and his easiest escape route, meaning that if he gave him even an inch, Mini-Sonic would shoot off, never to be seen again. 

Tails sighs. Time to do this the old fashioned way. 

“Chili dogs first,” he decides, and easily scoops up mini-Sonic – quills digging into his arms and all – “Then a first aid kit. We’ll patch up your leg, and hopefully by then you’ll realize I’m not trying to hurt you, Sonic.” 

Finally, Sonic’s ears prick up. Tails realizes it’s the first time he’s called him by his name. Duh – no wonder Sonic had reacted so poorly. 

“I know your name because I know you,” Tails says, and watches Sonic’s face turn doubtful. “...In the future,” Tails corrects, “Which is where you are. The future.”

(Under his breath, he mutters, “Chaos, how does Silver deal with this?”) 

Sonic’s doubtful frown doesn’t budge. 

Tails wishes he knew how to convince him. 

Still… even if it’s not good that Mini-Sonic doesn’t trust him, Tails can’t help but chuckle at the way distrust looks on his big brother’s tiny face, chubby cheeks and all. 

It helps Tails stay coolheaded, too, as he flies in the direction of the nearest city, hoping he’s got enough cash for some chili dogs. He’s flying a bit higher than he needs – hopefully the height will be enough of a deterrent to keep Mini-Sonic from biting and clawing him until he wriggles away. Truthfully, Tails is just surprised that Sonic hasn’t done so already. He always imagined Sonic would’ve been a bit more of a gremlin as a kid.

It’s weird that he’s so calm. Tails decides maybe it has something to do with the portal he went through, or the fact that he’s injured. 

“Don’t you worry,” Tails says, unable to resist the urge to rub between Sonic’s ears. Huge, shiny black eyes look up at him, clearly unused to the affection, despite how basic it is. “We’re getting you something to eat first, then I’ll fix up your leg. Or – you’ll fix yourself up, if you don’t want me to. Sonic never says much about his early years, but I figure you probably already know how to do it, right? I mean, clearly you have to, no way you got older without ever figuring out how to wash out an injury and patch it up, and…” 

Mini-Sonic tilts his head at him. 

“You know – patching up injuries,” Tails says, and taps the uninjured skin near Sonic’s knee. 

Mini-Sonic, for all that he seems to mostly understand him, just blinks. 

“...Do you know how to use a first aid kit?” 

Mini-Sonic just scrunches his brows at him, and Tails realizes that his Monday has just gotten even longer. Once the normal-age Sonic gets back, he’s going to need to answer a lot of questions… 

But first, he reminds himself with a deep breath, chili dogs. He might know nothing about raising kids, but at least he knows Sonic well enough to have a cheat sheet. Tails has a feeling he’ll need it. 

[sideblogforsonic]

Silvie got worn out and has a bad headache from it. Sonic helps him.

Silver 35? :]

here ya go!

///

The day is saved, Sonic’s friends are all safe, Eggman’s retreated, the rubble is being cleared, and the sun is even coming back out. All in all, a 10/10 adventure, if Sonic does say so himself. 

He thinks so, anyways, until he spots Silver slumped over against a chunk of concrete. 

Alarmed, Sonic skids to a stop and whips a u-turn. 

“Silver!” he exclaims, ducking down until he’s in Silver’s field of vision. Or, he would be, if Silver wasn’t squeezing his eyes shut like he’s injured. “What’s wrong, are you hurt? I thought you said you were fine when Amy was taking a head count-” 

“I’m not hurt.” Silver says it like he means it, but he also says it like he’s barely managing to get the words out, so sue him if Sonic doesn’t believe him. “I’m seriously. You can go home, Sonic, I’ll find my own way back.” 

“Sure, but how are you supposed to return to the future if you can’t even sit up straight?”

Silver groans and rubs his head. “Can you quiet down?” 

Sonic’s ears twitch. He hadn’t thought he was being that loud, but he does, at least, honor the request. “Okay,” he says, quieter. He looks around for enemies that might have snuck up on them, but no luck. “...Why are we whispering?” 

Silver groans and rubs his head more vigorously, at his temples. “Why are you saying anything at all?”

It sounds like Silver is just being rude again, at first. But… he’s clearly in pain. Sonic frowns, trying to puzzle it out. He taps his foot, irritated with himself for not automatically knowing the answer. He’s sure he knows the solution to this one, but what…? 

“Do you have a concussion?” Sonic asks, in a very tiny whisper. He’s not really sure how to treat them, seeing as he has an incredibly durable head and so do Knuckles and Amy, and he’s never, ever, ever let anything get close enough to Tails or Cream’s heads to risk finding out if they’re as durable yet. 

“A concussion-?” Silver finally blinks his eyes open to try and peer up at Sonic in pure confusion, but he’s still squinting in the afternoon light. He winces, then squeezes them shut just as fast. “No, it’s not a concussion. It’s just a headache, I’m fine.” 

Oh. 

Well, Sonic thinks, that’s a lot simpler. 

The only person he knows who gets regular headaches is Vanilla – Sonic always figured it was just something people got when they got old. Silver’s younger than he is, but maybe it has something to do with him being from the future. 

Or, he realizes a beat too late, having powers that stem from his mind. Huh. 

Fortunately, Sonic knows just the thing for headaches. “Wait right there,” he says, in that same quiet voice. “I’ll be right back with just the thing.” 

He doesn’t wait for Silver to tell him not to bother – “It’s no use!” is what he thinks he hears as he runs off, but that could just be his mind playing tricks on him. Instead, he pops into the nearest nurse station and grabs what Cream always gets her mom when Vanilla says she has a headache. 

Ice, earmuffs, water, and an eye-mask. Sonic thinks Vanilla often takes some medication, but he’s not sure what type, and also Silver’s got a pretty horrible immune system so he doesn’t want to risk giving him something that’ll make him feel worse on accident. 

When Sonic returns with an armful of supplies, Silver is laying on the concrete. Sonic can’t help but feel guilty if this really is from Silver overusing his powers. 

Every time Silver comes from the future, it’s always to help with a crisis – or to prevent something bad from turning into a crisis. He might have a personality that Sonic can’t quite figure out – maybe it’s as changeable as that timeline of his, who knows – but he’s still dependable in a pinch. 

Sonic just hopes that these will help him feel better. 

Sonic drops into a crouch beside him, then carefully slips on the earmuffs. “For the noise,” he says, still in a quieter voice than before. Silver looks up at him, baffled, but when he winces at the light, Sonic presses the eye-mask into his hands, for Silver to put on himself. 

“Water will help, and the ice will make it feel a little better too. I made sure the ice pack is extra durable so you won’t prick it open,” he adds, noting the way Silver’s front quills stick straight up. “Just try it, alright? I dunno what fancy stuff you use for headaches in the future, but hopefully this is good enough for now.” 

“We- well, it depends on the timeline,” Silver says, reaching for the ice pack first. He lets out a sigh of relief once it hits his head, shoulders immediately losing their tension. “But… in the one I just came from, this is a lot better.” 

Sonic quirks a smile. “Well, I’ll leave you to it, okay? Unless you’d rather I speed you off somewhere a little less, uh…” He gestures vaguely to the rubble around them both. 

Silver waves a hand, then reaches up and ties the eye-mask around his head. “No, this is perfect, I think this rubble is comfier than the concrete bed I was using before… Thanks, Sonic.” 

Sonic grins and shakes his head in bemusement, though Silver can’t see it. “Happy to help. And drink that water!”

“I will, I will.” To prove it, Silver opens the recyclable plastic bottle, and tips it to his mouth. 

Deciding that Silver’s already well on his way to feeling better, Sonic speeds off. And, just for Silver, even chooses not to leave a Sonic boom in his wake until he’s a few miles away. Just to be nice.