Early cheers to the blue hedgehog's birthday! This one goes out to Sonic, the twenty-three year old rascal. ;)

"C'mon, gotta go fast. Gotta go fast."

Indeed, Tails the Fox had to go fast, as he wasn't where he was supposed to be. He pushed past the lines of orphans gathered together in the constricted hallway and sprinted on ahead, wishing sorely that he could only be seen as a yellow blur.

Signs that were plastered on the walls the orphan sped by boasted of a sort of an open house event, where adults could come to see the many orphans and hopefully decide on some prospects to adopt. It was the one of the events that West Side's Home for Children really emphasized.

Normally, this would concern the fox, as he hoped to be adopted sometime soon, but right now, he couldn't deal with it. Especially not on this day.

A checklist was arranged in Tails' mind as well as a timer, as the orphan swung to the main entrance of the orphanage. Multitudes of tall Mobians and humans swarmed the lobby, making it more difficult for him to spot the item he was looking for.

"Ah-ha!" he cheered silently amongst the boisterous chatter. Quickly, he leaped onto the welcome desk and snatched a thin wax candle from its hold. Heat scorched his hand and nearly burned the fabric of his glove, but Tails didn't care.

The fox landed onto the floor and skittered to the side of the desk, narrowly avoiding a tall, sturdy pair of legs of one of the adults. He ignored the protests of the secretary and plunged down the hall. His feet screeched against the tiled floor to pull into a stop by the staff break room just in time to swing by and 'borrow' the hotdog Eggman was about to chomp down on. Hurriedly, the fox escaped the room of sudden death with the meal in hand, squeezed through the crowd of adults in the lobby once again.

Excitement built inside the eight year old as he blurred past the hallways as if he were Sonic. Just thinking about his friend made him grin madly. He was the luckiest fox in the world, to have a friend, almost like a big brother, like Sonic. Tails had no idea why someone as old as Sonic would hang around a dorky little kid like him. Especially since he was parentless, talentless, and had no special attributes whatsoever.

Well, except for his twin tails, but that was a different story.

The blue hedgehog was a hero. He had saved millions of lives and often told Tails bedtime stories of how he had rescued locals and fought against evil. His super speed was something that alone the fox could be in awe of. But that wasn't why Tails was so thankful for him.

"Finally," the fox sighed, breaking his code of silence. He slipped through the door into the kitchen, where sweet scents and smells wafted throughout the place, which was tempting and alluring for him. However, Tails had different business to attend to. He ducked low, careful not to be spotted by any lunch ladies, and scampered across the aisles of counters. Spiciness invaded his nostrils, and, after a quick scan to assure the coast was clear, Tails stood up in front of a pot.

He grinned and hastily stuck a ladle in the pot to scoop out brown mottled sauce and dump it in on the hot dog. Drops hit the floor, staining the spotless porcelain tiles. Tails took the liberty to pop a finger coated in the sauce into his mouth. "Mmm. Still hot."

A clatter nearby awakened him, and the rascal fled out of the room as fast as he could. His thoughts drew to the blue hedgehog again in his escape.

No, it wasn't because Sonic was a super cool hero with ultra cool speed, and it wasn't even because he was older, too. Even though Tails admired him for all those things, the fox realized that there was something more to him than that.

Characteristics of the hedgehog flew by in Tails' mind.

Well, there was his utter impatience to get things done. There were his snarky comebacks. There was his jittery self that never stayed in one place. There was his mischievous, troublemaking side that never stopped him from making fun of Eggman. He loved to proclaim his talents to the high heavens. But Tails also remembered Sonic's calmness and serenity. Nothing bothered him.

While dwelling on his characteristics, memories began to plague the fox's mind, causing him to smile.

Sonic would always bounce across the bedroom in the mornings. He would always call for a race when there was a crowd of orphans. Whenever he made a mistake, he'd laugh and move on. He was humbly prideful, if that made any sense- -confident in his abilities but willing to hand the spotlight over. His wittiness was refreshing and utterly contagious.

All those things Tails could never have found out about Sonic if it hadn't been one for thing, and it brought him to realize the whole scope of why he was so thankful for the blue hero.

His feet finally took him to the door frame of the bedroom. Heart pumping wildly in his small, white-furred chest, Tails creaked the door open slowly. "Hey, Sonic?"

The view of the bedroom inside was enlarged to see the blue hedgehog resting on the lower bunk bed, hands behind his spiky blue head in a relaxing pose. Sonic perked. "Finally back, buddy?"

The fox snorted and pushed the door fully open. "I wasn't that long, y'know. Only a couple of minutes."

"Ah, Tails, don't you know that minutes are hours in Sonic time?" the blue hedgehog said, wagging a finger, as his little brother approached him.

Tails rolled his blue eyes. "I don't think you'll be complainin' after you see what I have for you," he said nonchalantly, fighting hard not to burst into a smile.

"Eh?"

The steaming hot dog meal was dumped into the blue hero's hands along with a lit wax candle pressed into the pork. Smacking his messy, stubby hands together, the eight year old cried, "Happy birthday, Sonic!"

Sonic gazed at the meal in utter disbelief. His stare then flickered to the fox, who was bubbling with glee at his masterpiece. A grin materialized onto his tan muzzle. "You shouldn't have."

"I did!" Tails shot back, plopping on the bed next to him, "Now, c'mon, I want to see you take the bite out of that chilidog. I wanna see if Eggman actually eats real meat!"

Confusion spread across the hedgehog's face until his smirk returned, broader than before. "You took a stinkin' chilidog from Egghead?" he said, digging his teeth into the hotdog.

"No, I only took a hotdog from him. I got the chili sauce from the kitchen. I swear they have literally all kinds of food in there; I even saw some spaghetti from last week," the fox said as solemnly as possible.

Sonic shook his head, still somewhat sputtering. "You're crazy."

"Says the one who insisted on trying the hot sauce in the cafeteria," Tails shot back coolly.

"That was only once!" Sonic exclaimed. He then paused and stared at the chilidog, the chili seasoning dropping onto the carpet, "This isn't the hot sauce...is it?"

Laughter escaped from the fox's stomach. "Nah, you're good."

"Good, 'cause you're gonna share it with me."

The eight year old waved his hands in front of his mouth. "Nuh-uh! It's your birthday present; it's all yours!" he said and then, seeing the disbelieving look Sonic gave him, protested, "I didn't put any hot sauce in your chilidog, okay? I just don't like chilidogs that much."

Sonic faked a gasp at the last statement, but he had lost his suspicion, much to Tails' relief. He munched on the chilidog again, his muzzle now stained. "Tell you what," he said between chunks of pork, "We can go on a midnight raid later and get some mints for you. Deal?"

Tails squealed with delight. "Deal!"

And with that, they continued their banter, pulling jokes left and right and just plain keeping up with the conversation. No action or adventures occurred between them, just simple conversation and witty comebacks. It seemed simple, boring even. But that was what Tails loved most of all, the quality time. The fox didn't even say all that he wanted to say or felt about the hedgehog, but it was also expressed with one simple chilidog. And that was enough.

Laughter bounced across the room as the fox glanced at the staggering, snorting sixteen year old, who was now on a roll with Eggman puns. Warmth filled inside Tails' heart when he looked at Sonic; it was something the fox never wanted to let go of.

The fox grinned.

Happy birthday, Sonic.