He still remembered the first time he called Tails ālilā broā out loud. The kitās reaction was unforgettable.
It felt natural to Sonic. Heād already been referring to the kit as his little brother to cashiers and any other stranger who got nosy and asked what a blue hedgehog was doing with a two tailed fox kit without either of their parents around. They always gave him an odd look but that didnāt matter. He didnāt exactly care what these people heād probably never see again thought of his and Tailsā little life. They werenāt in it so they didnāt get to have an opinion about it.
However, he apparently never voiced the whole little brother thing to the kit himself. Part of him didnāt think he needed to and that it was pretty obvious that they were basically family at this point. Sure it had only been a few months since they met, but Sonic only needed a few months to decide that this kid was his and there wasnāt anything anyone could do about it.
In hindsight, he probably shouldāve realized that Tails wouldnāt have come to that conclusion. He knew they were friends, best friends even, but Sonic could tell that the kid was still nervous about the whole situation between them. Whenever he thought he did something wrong, he always had this scared look in his eyes as he apologized over and over again. It was like he was still expecting the hedgehog to just dump him somewhere and leave him alone again.
There was also the chance that he just didnāt have a very good opinion of families. With his biological one being completely out of the picture and all, Sonic would have been surprised if it left a sour taste in his mouth. Then again, this theory hinged on the idea that he actually remembered his parents which he didnāt seem to, so it was safe to say that it probably wasnāt the case.
(There was a secret third option that had suggested that Tails simply didnāt see him as an older brother figure. Sonic didnāt like to think about that one too much.)
When he finally called Tails ālilā broā out loud, the kit stared up at him with the biggest blue eyes heād ever seen. They almost reminded him of the light blue chaos emerald with how much they were sparkling. Tails asked over and over if he meant it, that he really did see him as a little brother and barreled into the hedgehog when he confirmed. The kid pricked himself on a few quills but he didnāt seem to care, his namesakes spinning in happy circles all the same.
It had been maybe three weeks since then.
Tails never really called him his big brother in public, or in private really. Any time someone asked him who he was with, heād just silently pointed over at Sonic. When asked what their relationship was, he just fidgeted nervously and ran over to the hedgehog, making it so that Sonic had to explain that they were brothers.
He never held it against the kit, figuring that he was just nervous. He was never comfortable around strangers for obvious reasons so it made sense that he wouldnāt talk to them.
He was just a quiet and anxious kid. That's all it was.
The memory faded away as the sound of a small coughing fit brought him back to reality. He slowly sat up and stretched, looking around their campsite for the source of the noise only to find the culprit whereād heād been for the past few days now. Sonic sighed and made his way over to him.
The duo hadnāt moved in almost a week. Tails had caught a pretty bad flu and Sonic didnāt want to force him to fly around the zone or travel at supersonic speeds in general. He didnāt think that kind of thing would do him very good when what he needed was fluids and sleep.
Sonic sat down next to the sick kit who had conked out again after his quick coughing fit. He took his glove and put the back of his hand on the foxās forehead. Tails was still burning up, his fur was damp with sweat and his sinuses still audibly congested as his small body fought off the intruder.
He sighed again as he put his glove back on. They were nowhere near any hospitals where the kid could lay down in an actual bed and be looked over by professionals. Instead, all he had was the ground, a pillow and blanket, and some broke eleven year old.
Luckily, Sonic had enough money to quickly run off and buy some medicine for the kid but that was pretty much it. His wallet was empty except for a few coins and they were running low on food. Last he checked, they only had two cans of chili left. That was dinner tonight and tomorrow, theyād have to skip breakfast and lunch which wasnāt good for the sick fox.
The medicine made Tails sleep for most of the day so he couldnāt see as Sonicās worries and doubts started eating the hedgehog alive.
Had he made the right call when he decided to stop looking for a suitable family for the kit? What did he have to offer him, especially right now? He wasnāt fit to be watching over a little kid by any means. They ate the same thing every day, sometimes they didnāt eat at all, Sonic was far from a good influence, and their life was full of potential danger. Chaos, the kid had gotten grabbed by Robotnik a few times and almost used as a living battery for one of his robots.
To top it all off, Sonic himself was still a kid. What did he know about raising someone?
He loved Tails, he really did. Without fail, he looked forward to seeing him the next day and continuing their little adventure to save the island one zone at a time. He loved the little guyās laugh, his smile, the way he tilted his head when he was confused and all his other quirks that made him who he is. For a bit, he kinda thought it was weird for an eleven year old to have a four year old best friend. But when that four year old just so happens to be the coolest kid youāve ever met and will ever meet, it really canāt be helped.
But as much as he adored his little tagalong, this wasnāt something he could be selfish about. Part of him was starting to regret telling Tails that he saw him as family and getting his hopes up because if this didnāt work out after all-
āMmmā¦Sonic?ā A quiet little voice weakly called out as its owner temporarily returned to the waking world.
Sonic snapped out of his self loathing and directed his attention towards the kit, āHey, bud. How you feelinā?ā He asked, putting a hand on the kitās head and gently petting him.
āmābody still achesā¦ ānd mānose is still stuff-ā he cut himself off with one sneeze, then another, āstuffyā¦ā
He went to wipe his nose with his paw, but Sonic beat him to it as he cleaned off his little brotherās muzzle with a small scrap of cloth. āWell, you still feel pretty warm. You wanna try drinking some water?ā
The kitās watery eyes stared off into space as he thought about it before he gave a small nod that was barely visible. Sonic helped him sit up, wincing at how his ears drooped and how limp his tails were. The fox rubbed his eyes with the back of his paw and let out a squeaky yawn as Sonic fetched the big water bottle he had stolen from the pharmacy he got the medicine at.
(He probably couldāve stolen the medicine too and saved some money. What would they have done? Chase after him?)
He handed the bottle to the kit and put a hand on his back as Tails slowly brought the bottle to his mouth and drank, making sure not to spill any even in his state of delirium.
When he was done, he handed the bottle back to Sonic who put the cap back on and set it to the side. āThat any better?ā
Tails nodded, āmm-hmā¦it tasted good.ā
Sonic chuckled at the kidās slurred words, a firm indicator that he was once again fading quickly, āIāll bet. Why donāt you lay back down and get some more sleep, bud.ā
He nodded again and laid back down, tails weakly curling around him as Sonic tucked him in nice and snug.
āSonic?ā
āTails?ā
āWhyād you look sad earlier?ā The fox asked, fighting against his heavy eyelids to stay awake a little longer.
The hedgehog blinked at him, āYou were awake?ā
Tails shifted a bit, āMmā¦kinda..bāalso kinda not..ā
Sonic lifted his hand to the kitās head, scritching behind his ear and trying to ignore just how warm he felt, āYou sure you werenāt just imagining things? You mightāve just been out of it, kiddo.ā
His eyebrows furrowed slightly, āi āunno..maybe..ā he nuzzled into his pillow, ābā you looked pretty upsetā¦ā
āIām all good, bud.ā Sonic promised, āYou just gotta worry about getting better so we can get back to kick Ro-butt-nikās butt, alright?ā
Tails nodded and finally allowed his eyes to close, āMāsorry i got sickā¦ā
āNo need to apologize for that, lilā bro.ā He shook his head, āIāll wake you up when itās time for dinner, alright?ā
āokay big broā¦ā was the last thing the fox managed to get out before he fell asleep for what would be the next few hours.
He continued scritching until he made sure the kit was out. He then pulled his hand back and just stared at him.
Big broā¦
It shouldnāt have meant so much to him, it really shouldnāt have, but Sonic couldnāt help the smile that forced its way onto his muzzle as fondness filled his entire chest, squeezing him tight.
Never in a million years did he ever think heād be called someoneās brother, let alone be part of a family. He always thought that kind of life would weigh him down and force him to stop moving.
He thought heād hate it and yet here he was, in the middle of Hill Top Zone with the only person in Mobius he considered to be family.
He wouldnāt want it any other way.
He placed the water bottle in armās length of the fox just in case as he picked up the dirty cloth and ran down to the river nearby to wash it off for later use. When he returned, he put it back in the backpack and got out their cooking supplies and a can of chili to start making dinner.
Maybe he wasnāt the most qualified to be looking after a four year old, but that didnāt mean he was about to quit just because heād hit a rough spot.
This kid was his, and there wasnāt anything anyone could do about it. Not even his own self doubts.
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