Part 3

When he pries his eyes open, Sonic doesn't know what has woken him up. He is sure it couldn't have been the uncomfortable feeling of grains of sand stuck in his quills, because that happens almost every night he sleeps outside. It also couldn't have been the rays of the morning sun hitting his face, because there hardly are any. Judging from the light in the sky, it can't be any later than five or six in the morning.

Sonic's eyes almost close again, ready for a some more hours of sleep, but then he hears it again. Metal clanging against metal only a couple of feet above his head. He throws off the blanket he had wrapped around himself during the night, and gets up to investigate.

Just like the day before, Sonic's line of vision is met by two twin-tails poking up from the cockpit of his plane. This time, however, Sonic knows better than to startle the boy working, and climbs onto one of the wings instead of jumping. He makes enough sound to make himself noticeable, but not enough to startle the young fox.

"Hey there Tails, you're up early," he starts out casually. Upon hearing his new nickname, Tails turns around and smiles broadly. It's clear the kid is a lot less apprehensive around Sonic now and the blue hedgehog likes it. A curious boy like Tails isn't supposed to fear everyone and everything.

"I know, I always am," Tails answers. "And when I couldn't sleep anymore I wanted to take a look at your plane. You know, to thank you for the food and such. It doesn't look that bad. There's a problem with the cooling systems it seems, so that explains why your engine started smoking. It was overheating. I think I remember how the tubes are supposed to be running down there and if I'm right I can fix this, no problem."

"Of course you can," Sonic mumbles sarcastically, but the fox is oblivious. To Tails, being able to work with machines the way he does is all but normal. He has never been around children his age much, due to being teased and bullied all the time, and hasn't been to school for a couple of years either. It just never occurred to him how much above average his intelligence really is. Of course that's what his parents should have been telling him practically every day, boasting his self-confidence by showering him with compliments. No one has ever done that for Tails.

Sonic is determined to be the first though. He's going to boost Tails' confidence higher than to the moon and back. Heck, even higher than his own.

The yellow fox jumps down from the plane, looking up to Sonic who is still on the wing. "I have some tools lying around somewhere," he explains. "I'm going to grab them, okay?"

"Uh yeah, sure," Sonic answers, a little taken aback. No one has ever asked him for permission before and all of the sudden he feels old. He's only fifteen years old, he doesn't have a say about anything yet. Although, to Tails, fifteen must sound like a big deal. And it isn't like the fox has anyone else to ask or to look up to. No one else but a stranger. All of the sudden, Sonic feels a little responsibility creep up on him.

"Wait a minute, you don't have to go. I can grab them for you too, you know," the hedgehog reasons. "Tell me where they are and I'll be back in a Sonic Second."

Tails scrounges his snout up a little before shaking his head. "I don't think I can tell you exactly where to go. I hid them in a hollow tree. I can find them easily but it's kind of hard to explain which tree it is. I can be really fast too though, I promise!"

Sonic suspects that the real reason Tails doesn't want him to go is because of trusting issues. From what he has gathered on his new friend so far, Sonic understands the boy loves his technology and tinkering. Because of that, his tools must be worth the world to the little fox and thus it's likely he's a little protective of them.

But despite him understanding where the fox is coming from, the blue hedgehog still feels a little frustrated. He wants Tails to trust him fully. Because if he wants the fox to take him up on the offer he has been thinking about all night, trust is a necessity; and that has to come from both ways.

For now though, Sonic will let the kid take the time he needs to clear his head a little. Yesterday was a busy day and he doesn't want to overwhelm the boy. However, how far is Sonic the Hedgehog able to stretch his patience when he is this excited?

The answer: until lunch.

True to his word, it didn't take Tails that long to get his tools. The fox worked on the plane the entire morning and now he is enjoying a rather late brunch with Sonic in their familiar spot underneath the bi-plane's wing.

"How's your food kid? You like it?" Sonic asks in between taking bites of his sandwich. He wanted to get chilidogs again, but figured that if he wants to get Tails back to a healthy weight, he should start with giving him something more nutritious. Or at least feed him something that won't result in him puking his guts out. So a simple ham and cheese sandwich will have to do for now.

Tails doesn't really seem to mind about the food though, nodding contently as he digs into another sandwich. As long as he has something to eat, he's happy. The fox has told Sonic he used to live on berries, nuts and anything else he could find in the forest, since he didn't really dare to go back into town anymore. At least it explains why the kid looks so sickly and why his fur is falling out. Tails, after all is, and will always be, a fox. Even though the Mobians are highly advanced and share many human traits, their basic genetic make-up comes from their feral ancestors. For Sonic it would have been just fine to live on a vegetable-based diet for the rest of his life, had he not been addicted to chilidogs, but for Tails it's borderline deathly to live without eating meat every once in a while. His body needs it to function properly and to keep him healthy.

Sonic is determined to at least stick around the kid long enough for him to recuperate a little. Probably he'll need to take him off the island, but that's where the trust comes back into play. He hopes Tails will trust him enough to come to the mainland with him.

Once he gets him there, though, he isn't sure what else he should do with the fox. Maybe he can find the kid a nice family and otherwise he can at least get him a house of his own. Sure, Tails is only a child but he has proven he is able to take care of himself well enough. The kid should be able to make it through if he's housed in a more accepting environment; and Sonic is sure Station Square is way more accepting than the island. He just has to convince Tails to come with him, is all.

Yeah and make him leave the only home he's ever known, a treacherous voice speaks through Sonic's mind bitterly. Face it, you don't want the best for the kid, you just want to take him along for your own benefit. You just want someone to talk to every once in a while.

Sonic knows it is the truth. Because of his itching feet and restless mind, he loves exploring the world, checking out new places and trying out new food. But he never stays somewhere long enough to actually meet people. Sure, they all know about him, but that doesn't mean he ever took the time to get to know about them. It doesn't mean the people that worship him as a hero are his friends. Only Station Square comes anywhere close to a home for Sonic, even though it's more of a fall-out base really. It would be great to have someone waiting there for him to talk to about his trips and adventures. Maybe to have someone to mess around with and to play games with. Someone to make Station square feel like home.

But should he really push a scarred, little kid into that role? Especially since he won't stay with the fox all the time. Often, he is gone for months at the time, and won't stay in Station Square for longer than a couple of weeks.

It would be extremely selfish of Sonic to drag Tails along into his hectic and fast life-style, but on the other hand, he isn't sure what else to do. He can't leave the kid here on his own, he probably won't make it another winter the way he is now. Plus, it'll hurt Sonic probably more than he is willing to admit at the moment. He just can't leave Tails behind with the prospect of never seeing him again. He's grown attached to the little fox kid. The boy is fun to hang around with, even though he's a little geeky sometimes.

"Hey, Sonic?"

Tails' voice brings him out of his stupor and he quickly shakes his head. It isn't unusual to find the hedgehog staring into the distance, caught in his train of thoughts, but normally people don't catch him off guard when he does.

"Uh, yeah, what is it Tails?"

The fox cub giggles a little, his tails wagging happily behind him. It's a good sign. Normally the kid tries to hide his twin appendages by holding them close together and keeping them still behind his back.

"What were you thinking about? I've been talking to you for maybe five minutes and you weren't even listening to me."

The bright blue eyes and the giddy smile on the boy's face show that there is no harm done.

"Oh nothing important really," the hedgehog answers. "Just wondering, you know."

"About what?" the curious fox encounters easily enough.

"Just uh… where did you get all these? Some look rather neat." Sonic indicates the tools strewn around them with his left hand.

The fox frowns for a second or two before quickly saying: "I didn't steal them."

Tails probably knows no one was accusing him of stealing in the first place, but the fox is still slightly nervous when he gets into a situation where blame can be placed. Sonic guesses it is because he has been in circumstances in which he has been unjustly accused and maybe even punished after.

"I found most of them," Tails continues speaking, oblivious to Sonic's grim thoughts. "Some I got from the teacher when I still went to school. Like this one, she gave it to me at the end of the school year for my birthday. I mean, when you take an entire school year, one of those days should be my birthday right? Unless mine is in the summer, but the possibility of it being during a school year is higher."

Sonic nods absentmindedly, his fingers gliding over the bright red screw driver Tails apparently received for his so-called 'birthday'. It isn't fair. It looks like this small tool is the only birthday present the fox ever received. A birthday should be something important to a child; it's supposed to be the happiest day of the year to them. But Tails doesn't even know when his is. That's just not right.

Sonic makes up his mind.

"You know what Tails, I'm going to give you a birthday present as well."

"Huh?" The yellow-furred head cants slightly to the right in confusion. "You don't have to give me anything. In fact, I should thank you! I've never had such a good friend as you. I'll be sad when you leave."

"That's the thing though," Sonic tells his new best friend, who only seems to be more confused. "Look, you don't have anything here, no home, no family or good friends, right?"

Tails folds his ears back slightly and nods, not sure what the hedgehog wants from him.

"Well, I have a lot out there: freedom, a home to stay, enough rings to buy stuff like food. But just like you, I don't have any family or friends. Plus, I suck at flying and will probably crash this rustbucket the moment I'm higher than five feet above the ground."

Sonic chuckles slightly at his own joke as he pets his airplane affectionately. He looks at Tails, who still stares at him in wonder. Sonic has never seen such an admiration on someone's face before.

"What I mean is, why don't you come with me to the mainland? We can have loads of fun there, I bet. I can show you some awesome places and maybe I can even teach you how to fly the plane."

Sonic smiles at the cub, expecting excitement and joy to wash over the yellow fox at both the prospect of getting away from the island and learning how to fly the bi-plane. But nothing like that happens.

The mood changes abruptly. The admiration all but vanishes from the cub's face, only leaving doubt and despair. His smile turns into a deep frown. Ears fold back and tails fall down to the ground. Baby blue eyes are hooded and Sonic is afraid the kid is going to cry.

"I don't think that's a good idea," the fox mumbles, turning his head away from Sonic's wide-eyed gaze.

Stupid, Sonic thinks. You should have brought this up more carefully. Now he feels guilty.

"Hey, no reason to feel all down, buddy," Sonic tries. "You don't have to come with me. It was just an offer. You can stay here if you want to and I'll just visit you from time to-"

"It's not that," Tails interrupts him quickly. Some of the moisture that had been gathering in the corners of his eyes jumps of his fur when the fox sharply turns his head. "I want to get out of here, really. I just… I don't want to go to other people. I know how to stay away from the Mobians living here. I know what to do to keep them from being annoyed and I know where to hide where they won't find me. If I go somewhere else with you, they'll hurt me again because I won't know how to avoid them."

And all of the sudden, Sonic feels like he is ten kinds of idiot. Of course the kid is scared of what others will think of him. How many times has Sonic been worrying about the exact same thing when he left the orphanage for good? Sonic should have known it would take more than just one blue hedgehog to teach Tails that there are people in this world who actually don't care about his looks.

"Well, you don't need to worry about that, pall. There is a lot of good folk out there and I'm sure that once they get to know you, they'll like you. I mean, you got me to like you in less than a day, that's gotta count as something right?"

Tails doesn't really react to the words save for biting his lip and swallowing thickly. He looks like he's scared out of his mind.

Sonic sighs. This isn't working. If he wants to convince Tails that everything is going to be okay in the end, he first needs to earn the fox's trust himself.

"Alright Tails, what about this. I get it if you don't want to go to a town immediately, so we won't yet. What if we just take the bi-plane and fly around for a little while. Check out some places and get to know each other a little better. After that we can always go back to my place at Station Square and work on your social skills from there. How's that sound, huh?"

Tails shrugs but seems a little more relaxed at the same time.

"You sure you want to do all that for me? Don't you want to go home?"

Sonic places a hand on the fox's shoulder, forcing eye-contact from the kid with a steady gaze.

"Of course I want to go home," he says. "I've been out and about for quite some time and flying for another couple of weeks while I can hardly keep a plane up in the air quite frankly terrifies me. Did I mention I can't swim? And seriously, there's a lot of water to crash-land in on this planet."

This earns him a couple of giggles from Tails. Sonic smiles back encouragingly.

"But I'm not going to leave you here, kid. I won't be able to forgive myself if I do."

And before he can even think about it, Sonic makes the fox a promise he never thought he would be able to keep. But he wouldn't be Sonic the Hedgehog if he didn't keep it despite himself.

"I'll stay with you, okay? I'm not going to abandon you Tails, no matter what. If you need me, I'll be there for you."

Sweet baby blue eyes look up to the hedgehog hopefully. They shine a little brighter than they should, but are full of gratitude nevertheless. And Sonic knows he'll keep his promise. Even though he sees a lot of his former freedom escape him right then and there, he hardly thinks he's going to miss it. Not if he gets to have Tails by his side in exchange.

"Really?" the cub asks, his voice squeaking a little at the end. Sonic smiles.

"That's what heroes do."

Then he corrects himself.

"That's what friends are for."

Tails slowly nods, taking in everything Sonic has told him and slowly tries to process it. He's not being hurt or yelled at, even though he's being an ungrateful brat for not taking up on Sonic's offer immediately. Instead, Sonic is being kind to him, trying to make him feel comfortable. He didn't leave on his own when Tails doubted his plan, he tried to convince him to come along anyway. It's like Sonic really wants him to come along. Things are well. Nothing is wrong. And Tails has the gut-feeling that if he stays close to the blue hedgehog, things will stay that way.

Tentatively he raises his head to look at the older Mobian again.

"You sure?"

Sonic nods strongly. "Never been so sure in my entire life."

And to his surprise, Sonic means it. Yes, he will stay with Tails for as long as the kid needs it. Heck, it'll be one of his biggest adventures yet! And maybe things will get rough once Robotnik starts attacking again, but they'll get through. Sonic will make sure of it. Because now he has a friend by his side. Maybe even an ally.

Standing up, Sonic reaches down to help Tails up as well. The fox accepts the proffered hand, but once he is standing, he doesn't let go. Naked yellow claws tighten around gloved fingers and even though the yellow-furred arm is still trembling from the strain of having to pull the fox's weight up, the grip is still strong.

"Promise?" Tails asks, shaking the hedgehog's hand.

Sonic laughs warmly, happily and works his way out of the fox's grip, stringing their pinkies together instead.

"Pinky Promise."

So that was it. Thanks for the two reviews I got, I totally loved them! And thank you for everyone who favourited and followed this little story. You guys made me really happy.

I've been thinking of a couple of one-shots to write and I think they'll be up soon. Maybe I'll even write some sort of sequel to this, although I'm not really sure yet.

For now, see ya! -Jay