#finally found out how to add ‘readmore’ on mobile and I now feel fulfilled

[niyana-the-ambiguous-mobian]

“Just because we aren’t blood related doesn’t mean you aren’t my sister/brother.” but Sonic and Tails.

Summary: During a fun, planned movie night, Sonic has a sit down with Tails after the latter reveals what’s been on his mind that’s been bothering him.

Word count: 3.4k

A/N: Ooh nice choice of characters for this one, we all know that these two are the best pair of bros out there and we seriously need to see more interactions with these two in the games. For this one, I’d picture their ages being around 15 and 8 just like it usually is in the games, but with Tails being about 7 closer to turning 8 for the sake of the plot. Also apologies if the characterization seems a bit OOC but it’s the best with what I got since I usually don’t write about these two too often.

AO3 link

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“Ouch!”

Sonic let out a yelp of pain as he felt the sharp heat from the pan on the stove travel through his glove to his finger. He quickly suckled on it and turned it off, carrying the pan over towards the dining table. Carefully pouring the freshly brewed chili into one of the bowls, his stomach rumbled loudly in anticipation as the scent lifted from the steam hit his face and smelled the aroma.

He stood back and dusted off his gloves against each other, checking out the mini smorgasbord he had laid out for dinner. The bowl of chili sat next to a plate of hot dogs piled up in a small, neat pyramid.

Another bowl sat beside them, filled to the brim with freshly cut slices of apples and oranges at Tails’ request for them to eat more balanced and healthy foods rather than chili dogs almost every day, to which he argued that they were just as good and tasted better as any other food even if the kid had a fair point.

After one quick dash to the fridge for a variety of drinks to lay out on the table was finished, all that was left to do was to get the honorary partner in crime down here and binge watch any action movie they choose. Sonic slowed his dash to a leisurely pace until he got to the bottom of the stairs leading to the 2nd floor.

Tails had come home earlier that afternoon rushing by and going straight up to his room/ second work area with a quick saying of “I’ll be working if you need me!” before he could get a word in to respond, but decided to let him be and let him get some of his projects done so he’d have more time to have for leisure later on.

"Tails? Tails!" Sonic shouted as he angled his head up towards the darkened hallway. “I got the food all setup and raring to go. Just waiting up on you buddy!”

Only silence followed up after he finished. There was no usual immediate answer that would usually come when he would call up, no “Okay, coming!” or even a small but loud noise of confirmation that told him that he heard him. Just silence that was quickly overtaken by the sound of the show playing on the TV in the living room.

“Tails~?” He tapped his foot and stood there for a few more seconds before making his way up the stairs.

As he turned and walked down the small hallway leading to their bedrooms, he noticed that the door to Tails' room was closed, which was a usual thing he tended to do but more often now with all the new tinkering and gadgets that he was making over the past couple of days and preferring to work with no distractions.

However, there was no light peeking out from under the door, nor any sounds of tools clattering on the ground or drills whirling against metal and wood, just silence just the same as when he called up to him the first time.

He frowned, softly knocked his knuckles twice up against the door. "Hey Tails? Tails, are you okay?”

When no answer came out, a small tinge of panic began to creep up Sonic’s spine. He quickly shook his head and took a breath. Maybe the kid just fell asleep at his desk and slept longer than usual, definitely not the first time he’s done that but still…

"I'm coming in okay?" Sonic turned the doorknob slowly and peaked his head into the room as the door opened. His prediction of all of the lights being off was confirmed when all he saw was the slight, pale light of the moon shining through the window, luminating only the center part of the bedroom.

Walking in, he noticed that Tails’ workbench in the corner of the room had been wiped clean and was practically spotless, in comparison to the floor which had all sorts of metal tools, scrap metal, small blueprints and papers surrounding it.

Furrowing his eyes, he reached out for the nearest lamp and turned it on, glancing around the room and noticed more scattered items from his work station thrown across the hardwood floor, most of them being handwritten formulas and notes he recognized the fox dwelling into and going on about earlier that week.

Why was his stuff all over the place? He didn’t hear anything loud or concerning coming from up here the whole time that would equal this mess, but more importantly, where the heck was Tails?

A soft shuffling sound picked up in his ears and sharply turned his head towards the bed on the other side of the room. While nothing moved the bed itself, he could see the sheets hanging down the side of the bed frame moving slightly as soon as he looked in its direction, a small hint of a yellow tail moving away from the sheet and further underneath the bed.

Sonic felt the rising panic from earlier immediately die down and breathed out a small sigh, at least the kid wasn’t kidnapped by some sneaky, ninja badniks Eggman decided to create to catch them off guard, at least not yet that is, but it still didn’t explain why the room was a mess or why he was failing at hiding underneath the bed. Walking over to the bed, he tilts his head and knocks rhythmically at one of the posts.

“Hellooo? Anyone under there?” Sonic pauses, listening for a brief moment before speaking up. “Is there a certain raccoon that’s living under my buddy’s bed and trashed up his tools and room without him even knowing. Because if so, I don’t think he would be very happy about that nor having you live under there without paying rent.”

A second passed before he heard the shuffling again, this time accompanied by a small sigh. A small gloved hand slowly lifted up the sheet, revealing a small black nose, white muzzle and bright blue eyes coming into view and meeting Sonic’s gaze as he looked up at the hedgehog. Sonic blinked and cocked his head to the side, a small grin forming at the corner of his mouth, kneeling down on a knee to get closer to the floor.

“Oh wow, you’re definitely not a raccoon. I’d recognize that yellow, messy fur anywhere.” He says with a smirk, quickly ruffling a hand through the fox’s bangs, causing his hand to be suddenly pushed away harshly and Tails to look away from him, laying his head down on the floor.

Sonic reeled back, surprised at the sudden action and blinked in confusion. Sitting in a crisscross, he lightly touched the back of the foxes head, watching his ears fold back and shoulders scrunch up in response but he didn’t move from his position on the floor.

“You wanna tell me what’s going on bud?” he asked sincerely. Even though he had yet to say anything, it was very clear to him that something had upset him due to the current state of his room alone, but where he decidedly chose to hide under the bed with all the lights off was one other thing on its own. Tails stayed silent as he turned his body back in Sonic’s direction, not looking at him but rather finding the soles of the hedgehog’s shoes more interesting.

“Nothings going on.” He mumbled quietly, but still loud enough for Sonic to pick up on.

He raises an eyebrow. “If nothing is going on, why are you hiding underneath your bed and looking all sad like that?”

He got a small shoulder shrug in response, still refusing to fully look up at the hedgehog. Sonic tilts his head and leans his face against the palm of his hand, letting out a dramatic sigh. “Hmm okay then, guess I’ll just sit here and wait. Just sitting here and waiting. Waiting and…..sitting.”

Sonic peeks down at Tails, whose face was currently scrunched up and looking irritated, confirming that it won’t be long until he starts to crack. “Just sitting around aaaaand waiiiiitttiing-.”

“Okay! Okay, just stop that please?”

Success. Turns out that it works on more people other than evil scientists and grumpy echidnas.

“I’m listening kiddo, whenever you’re ready.”

Tails pauses, letting out a deep sigh. “Sonic, what do you see when you look at me?”

The hedgehog blinked twice when Tails went silent after asking the question, he could feel his brain practically trying to find the reason for such a question. “What do I see when I look at you?”

He watched the fox nod his head, his wide eyes now looking at him expectantly for an answer. “What do I see?….Well I see you, a little fox that is currently covered head to toe in dust bunnies and sorta looks like he needs to take a nap.”

Tails let out a frustrated huff, pulling himself up on his elbows, his frown deepening. “I’m being serious.” He muttered softly, starting to pull at the fabric of his gloves. “That’s not what I mean.”

Sonic laid his hand down on top of the kit’s hands, making him stop picking at his gloves “Then try to help me out here, tell me what’s going on and what’s making you feel this way.” He said with genuine patience, seeing the tension in Tails’ face falter at the sound of his voice.

After a few seconds,Tails closed his eyes and took a breath. “Do you…really consider me as your brother?”

Sonic eyes widened and his mouth opened agape, all guesses that he had on his mind immediately went down the drain and replaced it with even more confusion. Where was this coming from of all things? He couldn’t remember a time where he even asked him a question like this, especially one where it made his mood dower like the way it is now.

“What-….Tails, of course I see you as my brother, I haven’t nor never even doubted that.” Sonic finishes with a new question on his mind. “Where is this coming from?”

“It’s because we aren’t related by blood.”

“….and?”

Tails fumbled over with his words, practically jolting his body out from under the bed and sitting up on his knees. “A-And? And that means we shouldn’t even be siblings! Or at least be considered as such.” He felt his voice starting to crack and dug his fingers into knees. “People know that I’m your sidekick, the kid genius to the world famous Sonic the Hedgehog but each time they hear that you took me under your wing, I always hear them say that you did it because I was a unwanted orphan that you took pity on and that I-“

“Okay, I’m gonna just stop you right there.” Sonic holds up a hand in front of Tails’s face, making him stop abruptly. “First things first, don’t ever, ever talk about or even think that way about yourself again.”

Tails slightly shrank back, stunned at Sonic’s sudden change of tone. He went to speak again but Sonic kept his hand up and gave him that “I mean it” look on his face, keeping him silent. “Second, where is all this coming from? You’ve never said anything to me about this before.”

The fox kit shrugged his shoulders and kept staring at his lap. “I sometimes hear people say that stuff when I pass by them on the street or when kids or even some adults would ask me questions like ‘If you’re his brother, why don’t you live with him?’ or ‘Why don’t either of you have parents?’ Even today, a little kid saw me in line in the hardware store while I was getting supplies, went up to me and asked me, ‘Are you really Sonic the hedgehog’s brother? I thought he didn’t have time for anybody?’”

Sonic’s face remained neutral as Tails continued. “I know that isn't true and I don’t blame them for asking, they were just curious since they don’t know how our personal lives usually are, even though those annoying paparazzi aren't helping enough with that already. But I don’t know, I guess their words were just getting to me over time and I just-“

“Decided to almost destroy your entire room instead of coming right to me and talking about it?” Sonic interrupted, a knowing grin playing on his face.

“Heh, yeah. I think I let my anger get the best of me.” Tails looks away embarrassed, rubbing the back of his head.

“Oh, you think?” He lightly taps the side of Tails’ head with his knuckles. “You keep up that charade and you’ll end up becoming like that old grump Knucklehead and have a permanent frown on your face."

Tails pushes Sonic's hand away, more gently compared to when he did the action earlier. "He doesn't even have a permanent frown Sonic, he just frowns whenever you show up unannounced at Angel island.”

"I think he does that because he doesn't want to admit that he misses me and that I’m way cooler than he’ll ever be."

The two stare at each for a moment, then burst into a quick fits of laughter that ends as quickly as it started. Tails wipes away at his eyes, with tears of mirth rather than sadness while trying to catch his breath. Sonic sat in a comfortable spot on the floor with his back against the side of the bed, reaching out and gently patting Tails’s back.

“But listen, never let those things you hear people say about us get to you. They know only what they see, a fast teenaged hedgehog and a techy, quirky little kid genius fighting bots and some evil bald dude, that’s all they know and will just make up stuff to create a make believe scenario of what we do when we’re not fighting Eggman. Like it’s some reality TV show that always gets low ratings because no one ever watches it.”

Tails brought a hand to his muzzle to attempt to muffle the laugh that threatened to spill out but the smile on his face said otherwise.

“And most importantly, Just because we aren’t blood related doesn’t mean you aren’t my real brother.” Sonic said softly, scooting closer to the fox, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “I took you in because of who you are, not what you can do to help me in a battle or to make me look good to the crowd. I saw a kid who was alone, scared, and was looking for a place to call home. In doing that, it made me realize how I needed that same thing that was missing in my life as well, a family."

Tails gives him a tearful smile, his smile widening as Sonic affectionately bumped their foreheads together. "I wouldn’t trade you for anything in the universe, kid. That’s a guaranteed fact.”

Tails lays his head on Sonic’s shoulder and snuggles closer to him. “You really mean that?”

Sonic gives a soft chuckle, resting his cheek on top of the kit’s head. “Without a doubt.”

“Even if you were offered a year's supply of chili dogs in exchange for me?” He asked, grinning up at him.

"I still wouldn't do it even for that." The hedgehog suddenly lets out a hum, pretending to think about it. "Buuut if we’re talking about a lifetime supply of them, then that’s a different story-.”

“Hey!” Tails exclaimed, shoving at his shoulder playfully and whipped one of his tails around to whack him on the side of his head. Sonic shields the hit with his arm and pulls him back close in a loose headlock, proceeding to give him a noogie.

"H-hey! Ow! No-Stop it! You're messing up my fur!" Tails protested as he tried to free himself.

"Oh, now you're worried about how your fur looks? You still have all those dust bunnies on you!" He soon released him and watched as Tails attempted to flatten the fur sticking up on his head.

“Feeling a bit better now?” Sonic reaches out a hand to help him off the floor.

“More than a bit but yeah, I am” Tails replied, accepting the hand.

“Well, get yourself cleaned up and if you hurry we can still eat the food while it’s still room temperature.” Sonic jokes, walking towards the door.

Tails scoffed as he brushed off the leftover dust bunnies still clinging to the fur on his tails. “You really need to stop eating them so much. It’s not good for your health.”

Sonic rolled his eyes in an overly dramatic fashion. “You’re just saying that because you don’t like how the chili I make with them tastes.”

“It’s not even that! If you keep eating them all day, your energy will start to deteriorate and you’ll end up gaining more weight and it’ll start to slow you down.”

Sonic paused, turning his head back slowly with his mouth agape. “Are you implying that I’m getting fat?”

“I’m not saying that you might, I’m saying that you are, hence why I said ‘gaining more weight’ just now.” He answered by making quotation marks with fingers, a sly smirk masking his face. "That's probably the reason why you were so chubby when we first met. You never had a balanced diet until now."

‘Oh this cheeky little-…’ Sonic placed his hands on his hips and let his head hang down. “Okay just for that, I’m giving you a 10 second head start.”

The fox blinked and cocked his head to the side, the mischievousness disappearing. “Huh?”

“I’m giving you ten seconds to run, afterwards you better hope that you can have enough time to even get away. One..”

Tails’ ears folded back as he began to sidestep towards the door, keeping his eyes on Sonic. His double appendages swished back and forth in anticipation of any sudden moves he could catch him off guard. “Hey S-sonic? I was just joking.”

“Two. Well, you should have thought about that before you decided to do the whole trash talking. Three.” Sonic replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Hey, it’s not my fault for telling the truth!” Almost immediately, he mentally slapped himself for opening his big mouth and felt his heart start to speed up once he saw his brother throw him a predatory gaze in his direction.

“Eight…”

He didn’t wait another second, Tails sprinted past him as he ran out of the bedroom and headed towards the landing leading to the stairs. He could barely get his tails spinning as he neared the first step before he felt a pair of arms suddenly wrap around his torso and was pulled into a tight hold against Sonic’s chest.

"Heh. Still not quick enough". He could practically hear the smile in his brother's voice and attempted to pry himself out of the grip but was effortlessly carried down the stairs and into the living room.

Sonic then tossed him over the couch, with him landing softly onto the cushions and attempted to run, only to have his body pushed back down by one of the larger pillows and felt a heavier weight go on top of it.

"Ack! Sonic! Get off!"

"Sorry, I can't hear you. Must be gaining too much weight in my ears to hear anything properly anymore." Sonic crossed his legs and pretended to look at his wrist, continuing to hold the pillow down with one arm without any struggle.

Tails rolled his eyes, shaking his head and peeking it over the couch cushion in Sonic's direction. "I'm sorry, okay?"

"You mean that sincerely or deliberately? Cause you're good at doing both."

“It’s sincere, now get off of me before I put a stink bomb under your pillow.” Sonic obliged and removed his arm from the pillow, allowing Tails to sit up on the couch.

“Okay, just for that threat, I’m in charge of choosing the movie and it’s going to be very long and boring and you’re going to watch it with me until it’s over.”

Tails let out an unamused snort. “What makes you think I’ll ever agree to something like that?”

“Because if you don’t, I won’t make anymore “healthy food” with our meals and all we’ll eat is chili dogs from now on.”

"Ugh, you're so annoying."

"Yeah, yeah. Love you too bud."