A/N

Hopefully this can stand on its own, but I'll specify regardless that this is based on the context of the flashback section in the AoSTH episode Tails's New Home. Few liabilities admittedly, but hey, that's fanfic for you.

Guardian

"Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"Am I a bird?"

Sonic sighed, briefly opening an eyelid to check that Tails was still happily climbing among the tree branches and not in a position where his control over his tails might be put to the test. It was question time again.

"No Tails, you're not a bird..."

"But...I can fly..."

"So can bats. And insects. And other things."

"...so am I a bat then? That would be awesome!"

Sonic remained silent, hoping that the conversation might petter out. How did one explain biology to a two year old? How did one explain that while birds flew, many other animals did to, and one species didn't have monopoly over any one trait? The hedgehog didn't know...didn't know any more than exactly how he was supposed to look after an infant that had dropped out of a tree when they first met, and dropped him plenty of times afterwards? Didn't know why children were the best scientists on Mobius, as the saying went-always asking questions, but never listening to the answers.

"So..." Tails began. "If I'm a bat..."

"You're not a bat, Tails."

"Well, a bird then..." the fox continued, apparently forgetting the old conclusion that he wasn't a bird, and not everyone had two tails. "Um...where's my nest? Did I hatch from an egg?"

"Um..." Sonic trailed off, not sure how to answer the question. He could say with absolute certainty that Tails didn't come from an egg, but was he old enough to be educated about the...icky, side of mobian physiology? Would he have to sit down one day and tell Tails about the birds, the bees and everything that went into making more birds and bees? He'd learnt these things by himself, but for better or worse, he'd become the fox's guardian. How on Mobius was he supposed to know when, or how to answer these types of questions?

"Well Sonic?' the fox asked. "Where's my nest, huh? Huh? Huh?"

Oh, son of a...

It was tempting to run off then and there. To run faster than Tails could fly, and let him live in a tree all he wanted to. After all, this was a temporary arrangement, wasn't it? It wasn't as if Tails was going to be hanging around for years at a time, doing everything from eating chilli dogs to having adventures against bad guys.

"I...don't know..." the hedgehog began. "Um...maybe you fell out, or something. Maybe your parents dropped you by accident."

"Then...are they looking for me?" the fox asked, leaning down through the branches to meet his guardian's gaze. "You think so? You think-..."

"Yeah...they probably are. Who knows, maybe we'll find them someday."

Goodness, I hope so.

Hope was a bit of a luxury though. Sonic had travelled all across Mobius, and had come to realize that it wasn't the most...organized planet in the galaxy. Nor did it seem particularly bound by the laws of physics either...whatever those laws were. Either way, if Tails's parents were still alive, they probably had little chance of finding their son again bar random chance.

"So...if we find them..." Tails continued. "And you give me to them...will you miss me? Huh? Huh?"

"Um...yeah," Sonic said awkwardly. "Course I would."

What really tore the hedgehog up inside was at this point in time, he didn't know if it was a lie or not.

Still, two years later, he could take comfort in that it wasn't.