#counted on my fingers to figure out what age Tails would be if Sonic was 19

[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

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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. 

[true-blue-sonic]

Tiny

Or in other words, me taking up the task to inform everyone that 1. Silver’s ears are smaller than those of the other hedgehogs, 2. it makes him adorable, and 3. for Espilver, Espio would love it too. Word count: 717 words.

“Espio, how come you’re looking at Sonic’s ears so much?”

Blinking up from the pondering thoughts he’d found himself in Espio looks down, towards his slightly-pouting beloved laying belly-down and half sprawled out on his lap. “Because you’ve been staring at Sonic for ages,” follows, Silver’s nose prodding Espio’s stomach accusingly and golden eyes leering up to meet Espio’s own.

“Apologies.” With an amused twitch of his lips Espio rubs Silver behind his ears- his tiny ears, to be precise. A detail Espio had hardly paid attention to or even noticed, until today, where he’s contently sitting against a tree with his beloved snuggled close and both of them getting some alone time by the few friends that had gathered in a secluded open spot in a forest for a picnic from Amy’s. The speedster had been in an animated recollection of an epic battle, his whole body moving along and his ears angling all over to add some oomph to the story, and especially that latter detail had caught Espio’s attention. Naturally a scrutiny of the appendages on Silver’s head had followed, and some interesting characteristics that refuse to leave the chameleon’s mind had surfaced shortly after. “Have you ever noticed that your ears are much smaller than Sonic’s, perchance?” Espio adds... and Silver blinks, slowly.

“No?”

“They are, tenshi.” Fingers deftly rolling the thin-skinned appendage between them Espio drifts his gaze over to Sonic again, the speedster chatting in the distance with Tails and Vector now. And indeed, the blue-furred ears stand much more prominently on Sonic’s head that the smaller grey ones do on Silver’s. The same goes for Amy’s pink ones, and if memory serves him correctly, Espio is certain Shadow’s are much larger than his beloved’s as well. “That is what I was looking at. I found it rather intriguing.”

“Oh,” follows in a hum from his lap, Silver’s fingers drifting up to stroke over his ears also. “Well, I guess they have to be, because otherwise they wouldn’t fit behind my quills? It would look dumb.”

That makes sense, Espio figures; imagining Silver with larger ears is funny, if a tad silly. As it stands they peek out past the other’s quills just perfectly like this, in his opinion. “It’s not bad, is it?” his beloved continues in a mumble somewhere against Espio’s stomach, the chameleon laughing softly at that.

“Why would it be bad? Your ears are perfect just the way they are.” Adorable, but he is not going to say that out loud with all their friends capable of coming within earshot at any moment. The mortification would be his demise, and Silver’s too for certain. The hedgehog’s cheeks – and ears – flush an interesting shade of red despite the lack of reaction towards their conversation from their companions anyway.

“You’re silly, Espio.”

“Not as silly as you and your tiny ears, love,” the chameleon counters easily, laughing at the mad nuzzle the peach patch on his stomach suffers for his transgressions. “Alright, alright, we’re both silly. You for having tiny ears, and me for liking them.”

Huffing out a final breath Silver turns himself onto his back, head pressing right into Espio’s hand all the same. With the unspoken request easily picked up on Espio returns to his rubs, giving the other’s twitching little appendages a strong caress as the hedgehog swiftly takes to oozing all over his legs once more. “I’m glad you do. If you like them, I like them also, even if they’re smaller than the others’,” his beloved hums more contently.

“Naturally. They’re what make you you, and I would not have them any other way.” And with a quick glance sent to their friends to see if everyone is preoccupied still Espio leans down, lips pressing a kiss against the back of one ear first and then the other. It is enough to elicit the cutest flustered noise from his beloved, which in a way makes his ears only more lovely as well. But Espio knows better than to tease; instead he wraps his one arm around Silver and holds him close, the other’s hand keeping up its gentle massaging and his eyes drifting to Sonic’s ears no more.

Tiny as they might be, Silver’s are infinitely more adorable to look at, after all.