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•
four years ago
•
For the first time in a while, maybe in all his twelve years, Sonic was sure he wasn’t running fast enough.
Clutched in his shaky sweaty hand was a brown plastic bag from the market, and with his other he held a rather nasty gash on his side just below his ribs. His sneakers kicked up mud behind him as he dashed through Hill Top, breaths uneven and desperate.
A crash of thunder from a distance had Sonic jolting, hesitating his speed a millisecond. His heart rattled against his ribcage and skipped a few beats. His panic dilated tenfold. He pushed to match his speed to the pace of his anxiety.
Not that Sonic was afraid of storms per se. Sure he hated rain, water even more, because it could be a little more difficult to move through. It got in his eyes and obstructed his view. Especially slipping through soft mud and overgrown grass itching his thighs wasn’t fun.
It wasn’t him that was afraid of rain, or thunder, or lightning.
It was Tails. Who he had left in a small dark cave way earlier this morning.
The edge of land appeared before his brain could keep up, but he was lucky his legs could. He jumped, spindashing over a pit of lava and the vine he should’ve used instead. He landed a bit unstable into a puddle onto another cliff. He quickly hopped out of it, barely giving himself time to shake out his quills and continued sprinting forward.
Another ledge led down to another that created a sort of staircase. Except, thankfully, this time it looked familiar. He knew he was close. A little further and finally Sonic could see the rocky entrance of a cave below a mountainside. He spindashed straight into it.
“Tails,” he breathed once he uncurled himself. A gasp strangled Sonic’s throat when his eyes landed on the nest of buddled blankets that was empty of the fox. Tails was missing.
Sonic spun his head around. “Tails! Where—!?”
It didn’t take long to find him shivering in the corner.
Sonic dropped the bag and rushed towards Tails, ignoring how ducking his head further into the cave caused pain to burst through his side. He crouched down with a wince and reached out for his brother.
“Tails,” he shakily said again. Slowly, he brushed his fingers against the trembling ball of fur. His voice was rusty, he’d only recently learned how to talk after all, but he forced himself to use it. “Why’d you move from—?”
Cutting him off right at that moment, the cave lit up with a white flash of lightning. A harsh rumble of thunder then shook the ground.
Tails recoiled away with a whine and pushed himself impossibly closer into the rocky wall. His twin tails were curled around himself like a shield. All four of his limbs were tucked into his body, quivering like he was a leaf caught up in the storm. He had the side of his little head shoved into the wall, eyes squeezed shut. He had his hand covering the other side of his head — his ears, Sonic noticed. He was trying to cover his ears to drown out the sound of the storm.
Sonic scooched forward more to reach where the fox had scampered back. He raised his hand over Tails’s shoulder, golden fur raised in warning. Sonic slowly laid it down and gently petted his thumb back and forth.
“Shhh…” Sonic hushed slowly. “I’m here, Tails. I’m here.”
A whimper fell from the kit’s mouth, and his entire body shuddered. Sonic watched him slowly peek open his eyes. His baby blue irises were pinpoints when he blew his eyelids wide.
“Sonic,” Tails choked out. He tore his hands away from his big flattened ears to reach for the hedgehog. He threw himself into Sonic’s hold, sobs flying past his lips. Sonic tried not to cry out himself when Tails pushed against his wounds.
He realized how worked up he was the minute Tails was hurling himself at him. His quills were raised and pointed in reflex, and surely nicked the kid who was bundling his arms and legs around him. Tails didn’t relent regardless, only forced himself tighter into Sonic’s lap. With a shaky intake of air and out, Sonic forced his spines to lax.
He continued shushing the poor thing in his lap, moving to secure him better against his chest. Here, Sonic could now feel the unnatural warmth radiating from Tails’s shivering body. He let out a shaky exhale to ground himself.
“Hey, buddy,” Sonic greeted sadly, rubbing the kid’s shaking back. “You’re burning up pretty bad still, huh?” His gaze trailed to the corner Tails had camped himself in. He caught something bright and blue against the dull, dark cobble. Sonic realized the item was his — his blanket he had left in the nest he built for Tails. The only thing the fox had brought with him there.
“Aw, kit,” Sonic sighed, pulling Tails closer. He rested his chin atop his head. “I’m so sorry I’m late. I took way longer than planned because— because Robuttnik decided to be a real hassle today and—“ Sonic shook his head and tightened his arms around him. “I’m sorry. I’m home now.”
The walls of the cave lit up again and a boom of thunder followed. Tails whined and pushed himself impossibly closer into Sonic’s lap.
Alas, the odds wouldn’t let Tails rest. All of the sudden, his tiny form was overtaken by the most horrible coughing fit Sonic had ever heard. He pushed his head over Sonic’s arm and hacked so hard, Sonic thought he was going to vomit. It didn’t relent quickly either, coughs wracking through Tails’s lungs and shaking up his poor body.
Sonic cooed Tails through it, caressing his fluffy arms and squishing his cheek against the fox’s head. He could feel Tails’s fever just from holding him.
“It’s gonna be okay, little buddy. I got you some goods, and you’re gonna be up and at ‘em in no time.”
Unfortunately, Sonic wasn’t so sure how true those words were.
Another flash of lightning lit up the walls and thunder shook the cave. Tails flinched and choked on spittle.
“Easy, little guy. Easy,” Sonic said gently. Tails finally had stopped coughing. For now. Sonic pulled the shaking, scared fox into his arms and lifted him up. “Let’s get you back in bed.”
It was a pathetic attempt at a bed. All the blankets and pillows they owned combined he had huddled into a little circle. He laid Tails into it, along with Sonic’s sky blue blanket he swiped up from where Tails had dropped it. Tails clung onto it the second Sonic passed it back to him, big watery wide eyes glued to the hedgehog.
Once the kit was settled, Sonic moved over to reach for the bag he had left behind in his haste when he arrived. The bag that was the reason he had left Tails alone at all. He hoped what was inside was worth it. He was told it was, anyway. He was told this sickness was bad. One where he had explained the fox’s symptoms, and the Mobians at the marketplace were gasping in horror and immediately scurrying around to help him.
(He was also told there wasn’t a real big chance Tails was going to make it.)
Then Eggman showed up. Sonic had barely gotten away just when the sun had set and the wind picked up, thunder rumbling threats in the distance.
Sonic’s abdomen flared up with pain when he tried to reach for his supplies. He hissed in a breath without thinking, briefly touching the crusted blood that dried into his fur on his side. The wound wasn’t pretty, but it also wasn’t anything he hadn’t handled before. In honesty, it just made him slower to aid his brother. He could deal with it later.
He pushed through the slight agony that stung his side and finally grasped his fingers around the plastic bag. He yanked it towards him and ripped the handles open wide. His paws began desperately scrounging around inside it.
“Sonic…” a weak voice whined to him.
Sonic startled and yanked his head towards his little brother. He was in the nest of blankets in a flash, shushing Tails and gently pushing his head down when the fox had begun to raise it. “What? What is it?” Sonic asked in a frenzy.
Tails sniffled up snot that escaped his twitchy nose. “H’rts…” the kit croaked. “Don’t wan’ you to leave.”
Sonic sighed, patting Tails’s blonde bangs. “I’m not leaving, buddy. I’m not leaving.” Before he could stop himself, his body was leaning down to wrap his arms around Tails again, unable to hold himself back. He breathed Tails in, using his brother’s fluffy — and slightly dirty — scent to ground him. “I’m so sorry. I’m not leaving again,” he promised. “I’m here.”
With one arm pulling Tails into his hold, Sonic used the other to grab the bag. He mindlessly petted Tails as he shifted through the bag’s contents.
“I’ve got something that’s gonna fix you up, okay? Tails? Did you hear me?”
Tails was shifting around in Sonic’s hold. His throat vibrated with a pained moan as he moved to face Sonic’s chest. He rested his head over Sonic’s heart. Sonic didn’t hesitate to sink him in closer.
When Sonic found what he was looking for, dread dripped into his insides like hot tar. He lifted a bottle up to his eyes to read it even though he knew what it was. The pills inside it rattled noisily.
It was Tails’s cure.
Sonic stared at it with hope and terror both twisted into something he had never felt before in his life.
Something pushing at his chest had him shaking his head to snap out of it. Sonic looked down at Tails, who had unwrapped his skinny arms from Sonic’s waist and now had them up at his collarbone. Tails was kneading his little paws into Sonic’s softer peach chest fur. Sonic winced when he felt Tails’s drawn nails piercing his skin.
Sonic could see it in the kit’s scared little face; Tails was straining to calm himself down. He had an ear listening to Sonic’s heartbeat, muffling any other noise the storm happened to create. His paws were trembling as he forced them to knead an uneven pattern into Sonic’s fur. His breath wheezed through his chapped muzzle and into his sick airways. He sniffled every now and then. His blue eyes were fluttering desperately to close.
Tails was one thing, Sonic fullheartedly believed, the most determined kid ever known.
“It’s gonna be alright,” Sonic whispered softly.
Ignoring another accidental pinch from Tails, Sonic twisted open the cap of the bottle. Reaching into the bag once more, Sonic retrieved a fresh water bottle. Saved him the hassle of leaving Tails again to get river water just to come back and have to wait for it to boil and cool.
A muffled rumble of thunder sounded in the distance, and Sonic felt incredible relief when Tails barely reacted. The kit simply shuddered and weakly coughed out to the side.
He scratched Tails’s ear in the way he knows he likes. “Tails? Buddy? You with me?”
The kit murred softly in response. His kneading into Sonic’s chest began to go a bit faster. The love in Sonic’s heart had any pain from Tails’s sharp nails ignored in an instant.
“I’ve got somethin’ for ya.” He tapped a pill into his palm and showed it in front of Tails’s face. “Can you take this for me, buddy?”
Tails let out another little murr and lazily blinked open his eyes. His vision focused onto the pill. He wordlessly open his mouth. With a little sad chuckle, Sonic slipped the pill in and lifted the water bottle to Tails’s lips. Tails leaned forward and began to drink.
“Slow, kit. Take it slow…” Sonic murmured when Tails realized how thirsty he was and began drinking more than he needed to swallow the pill. They didn’t need Tails throwing up again like he did this morning…
When Tails decided he was done, he leaned away from the bottle and shoved his face into Sonic’s fur, sniffling.
With a tired sigh, Sonic twisted the cap back on the bottles and set them aside. He pulled Tails in and rested his cheek on the fox’s head, too physically and emotionally drained to do anything else.
“You’re gonna be alright, Tails,” said Sonic, rubbing Tails’s back, who stuffed himself tighter into his big brother’s hold. “You’re gonna be alright… You have to be.”
•
present day
•
The second that damned technology from the fox had begun ringing, Knuckles had regret deciding to keep it.
It was the third time he had let it ring into silence, and that loud noise began piercing the air for a fourth.
Knuckles snapped his eyes open and moved them to glare at the device. In all honesty he had forgotten about it. He had tossed it on a tall rock so it wasn’t in the way, but not discarded. Knuckles unfolded his arms and leaned away from the grassy cliff he was resting on. He uncrossed his legs and finally pushed himself up with a frustrated growl.
The sun had just moved to the perfect spot during his sunbath…
Knuckles stood tall to reach the cursed thing. It was vibrating as it wailed. He squinted his eyes at the glass screen that was flashing an annoying blue face. With a sigh, he hesitantly clicked the green button, still not entirely sure how this device worked.
Immediately a loud and high-toned, yet all familiar, voice was blaring from the speaker and into his eardrums.
“Knuckles! Holy Gaia, were you ever gonna decide to pick up the phone?!”
“No,” Knuckles responded. “The only reason I did is because you interrupted my afternoon nap.”
“Well, can you hold that off?” Sonic chuckled nervously through the phone. “I really— really could use your help, man.”
Knuckles squinted his eyes. “The afternoon can’t quite hold off—“
“Ugh, Knuckles, this is serious!”
And it was the second time Sonic hadn’t used a ridiculous nickname on him.
Knuckles sighed into the phone. “Get to it, Hedgehog.”
“Look, I know you never leave that little island of yours unless it’s—”
Knuckles was ready to defend himself and the great Angel Island, but a voice screaming Sonic’s name in the background made the phone ring with static, cutting them both off. He heard Sonic let out a loud exasperated huff.
“I’m coming, Ames!” Sonic shouted away from the receiver. “Hold on! Please, Knux,” he said to Knuckles. “It’s an emergency. I need you to come check on Tails.”
Knuckles was dumbfounded. “What?” he demanded.
Sonic whined in frustration. “We’re in a pickle here with you-know-who, and I left Tails at home because he’s sick,” Sonic exclaimed. Then he mumbled, “Gaia, why did I leave him…” He grunted. “It’s been days,” he told Knuckles. “We didn’t mean to take this long! His comm is offline, which probably means it’s dead. Which is concerning because why is it dead, why isn’t it charging—”
Knuckles was tired of hearing Sonic’s panicked rambles. He had already made up his mind. “Sonic.”
“Knuckles,” Sonic exasperated. “I rarely ask you for anything, pal. Please.”
“Yes,” the echidna said immediately. “I can check on him.”
Knuckles could hear the relief through the speaker. “Thank you,” Sonic sighed. “Thank you. Seriously. I owe you.”
Knuckles furrowed his brow. Sonic didn’t owe him anything. If he needed Knuckles this urgently, sounding that desperate, he found little problem in leaving the Emerald for a little while to lend him a hand. Besides, the fox is… Tails is his friend, too.
Knuckles would never admit this out loud, though.
“Whatever,” Knuckles grunted into the phone.
“Talk to you soon, Knux. Thank you, again.”
Sonic hung up before Knuckles had to sit and figure out how to.
•
Usually, Sonic and Tails were the ones to visit Knuckles. Tails in the pilot’s seat, where he belonged of course, of the beloved Tornado, and Sonic almost always standing on the wing instead of properly sitting behind his pilot. They attempted to always find time to visit Knuckles where he was estranged on Angel Island, even if the echidna had voiced they didn’t need to, he was fine. It was strange for it to be the opposite.
Knuckles was used to the quiet. He reveled in the quiet. But he was finding that when the duo who was Sonic and Tails were involved and it was silent, something was just… wrong.
The trip to South Island wasn’t long, but the quiet made it seem that way. Usually Knuckles loved his runs and glides; a peaceful way to get fresh air. Yet, this time it was anything but.
When Knuckles arrived at the pair’s hut, he didn’t hesitate to swiftly reach down for the key under the mat and unlock the door to enter. He didn’t knock. He couldn’t wait. His nerves were slightly bundling out of control. He couldn’t remember the last time Sonic sounded that… panicked.
Knuckles poked his head inside. “Tails…?” The name felt strange on his tongue, like he shouldn’t have been granted access to use it.
The echidna shut the door behind him once he forced himself inside and walked further inside. His mitts knocked against each other in a nervous manner as he crossed the empty house. He checked all the front rooms before moving down the hall. Everything was untouched, and it seemed it had been looking this way for a while. Sonic’s voice rang through Knuckles’s head like an echo — “It’s been days!”
Feeling ever so uneasy, Knuckles neared the fox’s bedroom. He was hesitant, realizing he hadn’t ever even been inside. The rare times he found himself here, he was on the couch.
He gave Tails’s door a little knock.
“Tails? It’s Knuckles,” he informed awkwardly. No response. No choice but to go inside.
Once the door was open, his eyes flickered all around the room. Finding the breathing tangled lump of blankets on the bed brought relief Knuckles wasn’t expecting to feel. He sighed, releasing his harsh grip off the doorknob.
“Fox?”
As Knuckles neared, he took notice of how terrible Tails was looking. Dark crusted bags under the eyes he had clenched closed. His brows furrowed in a way told his sleep wasn’t anything peaceful. Mouth parted so he could breathe, little nose twitching and sniffling clogging snot every now and then. His fur was darkened a tint than normal, a telltale sign he hadn’t washed up in a bit. Must have felt too sick to do so on his own. Had the kid eaten? Use the bathroom at all?
Knuckles gave Tails a little shake on the shoulder. Damn, he could really feel how warm he was. He took the back of a mitten over his forehead. Yep, definitely a fever.
“Tails?” He shook the fox’s shoulder once more. “Wake up, kid.”
Finally, Tails began to stir.
“Mmmhh…” Tails’s nose gave a little twitch. Slowly, he blinked his eyes open. He looked past Knuckles for a second, his ill little brain buffering longer than usual. “Mmm?” Tails’s eyebrows scrunched in confusion. “Wh… Why you red, Sonic…?”
An amused snort escaped Knuckles before he could prevent it. He used his thumb to rub the fox’s shoulder before stepping back. “It’s Knuckles. Sonic sent me to check up on you.”
Tails looked more awake now. He rubbed the crust out of his eyes and then looked at him properly. “Ohh… Sorry. Hi, Knuckles.” He yawned and stretched out a bit in his bed.
“Hi,” Knuckles greeted, a soft subtle grin forming on his muzzle. “How are you feeling?”
Tails groaned. “Not… my greatest. How are you?”
Knuckles chuckled gingerly. “I’ll be doing better once you are, Fox.”
“You… Huh?”
“Well.” Knuckles crossed his arms. “I can feel your fever through my glove. I think we should try and get that down.”
Tails frowned. He struggled a little to sit up on his own, but he did. He sniffed and looked up at Knuckles.
Knuckles tapped his hand against his arm. “How’s a bath sound? You don’t have a choice if you say no, by the way.”
Tails pouted and groaned again. “Okay…” He rubbed his nose and sniffed. As he moved to uncover himself from his sky blue bedsheets, he asked, “you said Sonic sent you?”
“Mmhm.”
“Is he… doing okay?” Tails eyed Knuckles nervously. “I— I can’t remember the last time I talked to him.”
“Physically, he didn’t say. Mentally, he’s a mother hen.” Knuckles narrowed his purple eyes. “He said your communication device died.”
“Oh,” Tails said, eyes widening. “Shoot…” He got out of bed, a little unsteadily. He swayed side to side. Knuckles’s hands flew out in case he fell. On wavering feet, Tails flashed Knuckles a shy grin. “Stood up too fast,” he timidly defended.
Moving on over to his bedside table, Tails took his watch off, which was indeed blaring a bright red empty battery symbol, and plugged it into the cord coming out from under his bed. Then he turned around and faced Knuckles, letting out an exhausted exhale.
“Let’s get this over with,” Tails said defeatedly. “This is gonna be cold, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Knuckles grunted. “You’re burning hotter than Lava Reef. We gotta get that fever down.”
•
“I’ve been sicker before,” Tails admitted out of the blue. He was staring dazed at his folded knees as he sat in the tub. Cold, soapy water was up to his mid thighs.
Knuckles paused scrubbing soap behind Tails’s ears. The two had been in silence until the latter spoke. “What do you mean?” Knuckles asked.
“I dunno,” Tails said weakly. “I feel like I’m being a baby, making you— wash me up. I could do it, but I—“
Knuckles was shaking his head. “Tails.”
Said fox peeked up at him.
“I don’t mind helping you, kid. I…“
Knuckles didn’t know how to say it. Sure, he was a little uncomfortable with his gloves off as he kneeled over a freezing bathtub and washed mint scented shampoo into a kit, who also had his gloves and socks off, like Knuckles was some… mother. Knuckles was independent. He had never been in this position in his entire life.
But Knuckles was used to one thing: being given a duty. A responsibility. And he felt like he had to own up to one the moment Sonic was desperately begging him over the phone.
Maybe Knuckles wasn’t a mother. But he could be a brother.
“It’s okay to need a little help, sometimes,” Knuckles finally said after a pause. He continued lathering the shampoo around the back of Tails’s head.
“Sonic says the same thing,” Tails sneered with a playful upturn of his nose. “And yet, both of you seem to never need help.”
“I thought the same thing,” Knuckles said quietly.
Tails was silent.
Knuckles took a deep breath. “I thought… solidarity was primal. Essential. I never really… had anyone around to show me otherwise. And then you knuckleheads never left me alone and… I don’t know.” He shrugged, mindlessly washing Tails so he was doing anything but realizing how vulnerable he was being. “Needing help isn’t a flaw. It can… It can be a gift to realize you have those around you that can give it to you. Guess I— learned a thing or two from you guys.”
Knuckles could see the smile stretching Tails’s cheeks. “We’re the knuckleheads, Knucklehead?”
He couldn’t help but match Tails’s smile. “Shut up, Kit. And move to the side will you? I need to get your other arm.”
Tails giggled, but obliged. From this angle, Knuckles couldn’t see the fox’s face anymore, but he knew he still kept his little grin on.
•
The second Sonic was home and the door was shut and locked behind him, he felt an incredible need to lay against it and never get up.
The need to see Tails overtook that.
Sonic hopped away from the entrance after kicking his shoes off to be left just in his socks. He shook off the exhaustion drenched in his bones, just for a little bit longer. He skidded across the house, wasting no time to get to the skinny hallway that held both their bedrooms… Only to run right into a bright red echidna exiting and shutting Sonic’s door.
“Knux!” Sonic chirped. Said teenager squinted his eyes into a glare. “How’s it going, pal?”
“Shh,” Knuckles replied, finger to his lips. “The kit is asleep.” He pointed at Sonic’s bedroom door. “I… cleaned his room, but he wanted to stay in there.”
Sonic nodded casually, pretending his heart wasn’t swelling up into a pulp. He fiddled with the sleeve of his glove. “How’s… How is he?”
“Better,” Knuckles said. Which implied he’d been worse, Sonic thought with a wave of worry. Knuckles eyed Sonic suspiciously. “He had a mild fever that we’ve gotten down, so—“
“Fever?” Sonic echoed anxiously. “What kind of fever?”
“Mild.” Knuckles’s expression turned judgemental. “It’s been lowered. He’s been fed, hydrated, medicated, bathed. He’s fine, Hedgehog. You can relax.”
“Relax?” Sonic snorted. “I’m as lax as they come!”
“Uh huh.”
Ignoring him, Sonic pushed by to touch the doorknob of his room.
“I said he’s asleep, didn’t I?” Knuckles questioned sternly from behind.
Sonic stared hard at the dark swirly patterns in the wood on the door. “It’s my room, isn’t it?” he replied sassily.
“You should let him sleep.”
Sonic shook his head.
He needed to see him. Just for a second.
Defiantly, but still quietly, he opened the door.
The instant he saw living, physical proof of Tails, Sonic felt he could finally relax. His shoulders dropped as he moved forward, watching the slow rise and fall of his brother’s shoulder. Tails was facing the doorway, eyes simply closed and brows calm on his forehead. Sonic was soft as he came forward and brushed through the golden-blonde fur on top of Tails’s head.
Air finally felt like it could enter and exit Sonic’s lungs correctly.
Sonic had words on his tongue he wanted to hush to the kit, but he knew he had an audience. With the back of his fingers, he quietly pet Tails’s whiskers. A true fond smile smushed Sonic’s cheeks as the fox curled closer to the hedgehog’s hand in his sleep. Then, Sonic tugged his red bedsheets up tighter around his brother’s fluffy shoulders and stepped back.
Rest well, Tails.
He turned around and was surprised to see a neutral look on Knuckles’s face. Sonic wasn’t sure what to do other than give him a shy smile as he made his exit out of the room. Sonic turned his heel to escape anything Knuckles was going to say. He dashed into the kitchen, a stupid grin plastered on like a mask.
“Man, I’m starved!” Sonic blurted, swinging open the refrigerator door. “What do we got to eat around here?”
He heard Knuckles sit down at the table. “I made soup. There’s leftovers,” the echidna offered. “Bottom shelf.”
“Sweet!”
Sonic sprinted around the small kitchenette to prepare himself a bowl. He really hadn’t eaten in a while. Truthfully, he couldn’t remember exactly when. He gathered a bowl of the soup Knuckles made, proof that Tails truly had eaten, and tossed it into the microwave. When he started it up, he turned around. Only to be met with a typical Knuckles glare he had when he was hyperanalyzing something.
“What’s with the face?”
Knuckles didn’t move an inch. “Thinking.”
Sonic hummed. “When are you not?”
Knuckles was mute for a moment before asking, “are you… okay?”
An excuse of a laugh escaped Sonic. He was a little surprised to hear Knuckles be this concerned, but the echidna wasn’t anything if it wasn’t blunt.
“When am I not?” Sonic replied.
“Sonic.”
The hedgehog let out a heavy sigh. It came out louder than he meant it to be. He watched his dinner lazily circle inside the microwave. “Other than a little scratched up from the fight, I’m ‘ight. Eggy really had it in on us this time. What’s his problem, truly—?”
“Sonic. I meant about Tails. Are you okay?”
Sonic’s face dropped. He blinked. Maybe he was beginning to dislike how blunt Knuckles could be. He sighed. He propped his hands up on the countertop and stared at it. “I guess I… Well, I guess I haven’t told you much about our lives before we met you, huh?”
When Knuckles was silent, Sonic looked behind to see him quietly shake his head no. He turned back away. He swallowed, realizing how dry his mouth was. “Well,” Sonic began. “Before you — before… everyone — it was just me and the kit. It was just… me and Tails.”
The microwave beeped. Sonic tried not to show it startled him a bit. He got his meal out and hit the door closed with his elbow. He settled down at the table across from Knuckles, who was watching Sonic’s every move. He stirred the soup around boredly with his spoon, watching the steam rise and disappear in the air.
He blew out a breath before continuing. “It wasn’t always… easy. Back then. So I guess, sometimes, I get reminded of not-so-good times. Heh.”
He risked a peek at Knuckles’s face, knowing he needed to read the echidna’s expression to know what he was feeling. He looked… sad.
Knuckles worried his brow line together. “Like… now?”
Sonic exhaled. “Yeah. Like right now.”
The hedgehog and echidna fell silent once more.
“He got sick,” Sonic finally stated. “We were looking for an Emerald, and he got really sick. Deadly sick.” He didn’t look at Knuckles as he spoke. He watched the vegetables swirl around in the bowl. All of the sudden, he wasn’t so hungry anymore. “When I told some people who recognized me, they said his symptoms sounded terminal. I don’t know… how he survived. I thought he was going to die, Knuckles.”
Sonic stopped moving. He slowly laid his hands onto the tabletop in defeat. “I— Heh,” Sonic cleared his throat, taking notice his eyes were warm and stinging, “I dunno what I’d do if— if he died… in my hands.”
Sonic stared at his palms. A flash of fox blood appeared on them. When he blinked and shook his head, it was gone.
“Sonic.”
Sonic looked up. Knuckles had his mitted hand on the table, reaching for the hedgehog. In some strange way, Sonic could see that Knuckles understood. He knew exactly what Sonic was saying. He wasn’t pitying him. He felt Sonic’s words like it was physical matter. “He’s okay,” the echidna told him. “Everything’s alright. Relax. Breathe.”
Sonic didn’t realize he wasn’t. A breath of air forced itself into his hungry lungs. He looked Knuckles in the eye. “Thank you. For— For everything. For coming all the way out here. For taking care of him. For listening to me rant. F—For—“
“Hedgehog.”
Sonic breathed.
Knuckles gave him a single curt nod. “You're welcome. Now, eat. Before it gets cold. And you have to heat it up again.”
Sonic laughed wetly. “R—Right.” He wiped his eyes, pretending there weren’t tears leaving his hand. “Thanks.”
“Anything, Sonic. Anything.”
Sonic looked at Knuckles again, and he was taken aback by the echidna once more. He had his large spiked fist in the air, ready for a fistbump.
Sonic smiled wide. Raising his own fist, he leaned forward across the table to meet Knuckles for it.