Sonic and Tails Brotherly Oneshots (Sonic Boom version)

Chapter 28

    Sometimes, there would be days that Tails would just be a little too clingy. Considering what happened to him in his past, Sonic totally understood him and never held it against him. After fighting Eggman's robots (which would sometimes get dangerous depending on what they were), dealing with nightmares, and struggling with his astrophobia, Tails probably got the worst end of the stick when it came down to it. Sonic knew that his little brother deserved to be a normal kid. Thanks to being his sidekick, Tails had appeared to grow up and mature rather quickly. However, it would all come crashing down on him from time to time.

    Today was one of those times. Tails was sitting outside the village in the forest, tears steaming down his face. He was in a forest clearing at the time, looking down at his reflection in a nearby pond. He didn't have any inventions to work on, so he could relax if he wanted to, but he just couldn't. If he was trying not to cry, then he failed miserably. He wished that he could be a normal kid. Most of all, he wished that Sonic would take him in his arms and comfort him; he felt so lonely. Not only that, though the weather was warm, Tails felt empty and cold. True, he's grown independent nowadays, but right now, he wanted Sonic. He needed Sonic. Because the little fox was, deep down, robbed of a childhood.

    Immediately, as if some other worldly force heard his wish, the sound of someone making his way through the forest could be heard as Sonic arrived in the clearing, having been looking for his little brother. When he saw Tails with his head down and his shoulders moving up and down from his soft crying (which he could hear due to his keen hearing), he immediately knew something was wrong. Wanting to make him happy again, Sonic quietly went up to him, stepping over the log Tails was sitting on, and faced him. Keeling down to his eye level, he took Tails's limp hands into his, soothingly rubbing his thumbs across his knuckles.

    Tails almost froze at the contact, but then a hand cupped his face, a thumb rubbing across his cheek. "It's okay, little buddy," Sonic said gently. "It's just me."

    Hearing his voice, Tails opened his eyes (he didn't know when he closed them) and saw Sonic kneeling in front of him, a sympathetic expression on his face. "H- Hey, Sonic," he managed to say, his voice breaking and quivering.

    Sonic smiled in reply. "Hey, little bro," he said. "I see you're not looking okay. What's wrong?"

    Tails sniffed, wiping his eyes with a fist. "Have... have you ever wished that... that you were a normal kid?" he asked, hiccuping a little.

    "Sometimes," Sonic admitted. "In some cases, being a hero can be tiring. What brought that up?"

   After taking a deep breath to calm himself down, Tails continued. "It's... it's just that... well... sometimes, I've had dreams of us being normal kids. And... and sometimes, when I go to... to get some stuff for my inventions, I see kids play around, not having to... to worry about any responsibilities being thrown at them at a young age. I... I never had any of that happen to me at all. My... my whole life, I was hated and... and ridiculed for having two tails and for my smarts, and as such, I was never like other kids my age."

    As Tails continued and as he listened, Sonic's heart felt like it would shatter at the words he heard. Tails's past had never failed to haunt him in one way or another. Either way, trying to imagine things from his perspective was saddening, to say the least. As Tails felt his voice later trail off so that he was unable to continue, Sonic took his chance. Standing up, he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Tails for a hug, nuzzling his head against his own. Tails didn't hesitate to return the gesture, burying his face into his shoulder. "I'm sorry you didn't get a chance, Tails," said Sonic after a while of silence. "Sometimes, when you start out as a hero at a young age, you'd have to sacrifice your childhood just to help others. True, I enjoy being a hero, but sometimes, yes, I do wish I were a normal kid as well. But I wish you had that chance the most because of what you've been through."