A/N: This is a random thing I wrote last year and edited (like a lot of my stuff). It originally was just a short clip written during an iPod challenge with my best friend, but I revived it and slightly revamped it later as a 23rd anniversary birthday fic. Now, a year later, I'm busy telling kids Bible stories as opposed to writing Sonic stories, so this "old fic" will have to do for this year. Regardless, I'm super excited to finally get to celebrate Sonic's birthday with y'all!

Disclaimer: SEGA owns the characters, therefore I do not.

Like most people, Sonic had enjoyed movies as a kid, especially going to a theater to see one. He was one of those strange individuals who didn't mind sitting in the front of the theater and craning his neck to see the screen; he found it easier to get sucked into the movie when he couldn't see the walls of the room in his peripheral vision so easily. The big screen always held a sort of spell over him, and as with any young child, the stories held inside its huge expanse were limitless and beyond his imagination.

Tails had never seen a movie before. Sonic wasn't sure he even understood what a movie was. Despite that much-loved sense of movie magic, however, Sonic couldn't bring himself to pity his young fox friend. Not while he had something better.

When Sonic had been three, he hadn't been able to realize how magnificent a clear nighttime sky in the middle of nowhere could be—how much bigger and sharper it was than any movie could ever attempt to be. Of course, he wasn't as intelligent as Tails was, nor did he have the freedom the fox had at his young age. Living in a city had contributed largely to the dwarfing of his ability to grasp the concept of something so much bigger than he was.

Now, it didn't matter that he was eleven whole years old as of today. He was as captivated by a meteor shower as the toddler at his side.

"Look at all the shooting stars!" the kit squealed in delight. His tails twitched and swayed as he practically skipped away from Sonic, who was meanwhile frozen in place with awe. Without realizing it, Tails reached up toward the raining pinpricks of light, even subconsciously attempting to hover closer to them, before coming back to himself a bit and realizing he wouldn't be able to. The grass was just a little too short to reach the top of his head when he landed so that only his large ears peeked up over it; the tall blades tickled his face in his excitement, and he brushed them away for a better view of the sky.

Sonic was a little more subdued, more astonished than anything else. His mouth was slightly agape, though for once silent, as his dark eyes followed each tiny streak of light in the sky. They were countless; he'd seen shooting stars before, but never this many at once. He slowly stepped after the little pair of golden ears bouncing around, toeing his way further into the meadow he'd brought them to when he'd heard about the meteor shower in the forecast, without bothering to note where, exactly, the kitsune was.

"I see 'em, bud," he said in response to his friend's repeated admonition to look at all the stars. "Amazing, isn't it?"

"Yeah!" Ever the conversationalist of the two, Tails added enthusiastically, "I hope a star falls here so we can see it."

Sonic laughed before he could stop himself; Tails really had a way of catching him off guard with cute comments. "I don't; it might fall on our heads, and that'd hurt pretty bad."

Tails cocked his head in confusion, tearing his gaze from the sky to his friend. "Why not?"

"Meteors are pretty much just big rocks," explained Sonic matter-of-factly. "They float through space, and sometimes they come too close to Mobius's atmosphere and start burning. That's why they glow like stars."

"Oh... They're meteors?" Tails questioned curiously as he looked back up. "I thought they were shooting stars?"

"They're both. Meteors are shooting stars, but they're not stars."

"Oh."

It was anybody's guess whether or not Tails understood Sonic's explanation, but he nevertheless continued to gush over the brilliant display above them for quite a while. By the time the shower started to fizzle out, though, it was much past their usual bedtime, and Sonic had already lain down to rest in the little clearing they'd created by trampling on the grass. With his hands laced between his quills, enabling him to stare straight up into the sky, he watched as Tails grew tired of amusing himself with the meteor shower and crawled up next to him.

"Do stars move like meteors, Sonic?"

Sonic didn't turn his head, didn't dare look away from the sky as he answered the fox cub lying at his side. "No, not really. The planet moves, so it looks like the stars move, but they don't."

The three-year-old seemed to comprehend more of this than he'd expected. "Why're they different here than they were in Emerald Hill Zone?" he asked, hopelessly stifling a yawn.

"Because we're in a different part of the world, so we see different stars here." The hedgehog could almost feel the fox's inquisitive stare, so he added, "It's like looking at one piece of a puzzle. If you're in a different place, you can see a different part of the puzzle. Get it?"

A rustle of grass and dead leaves signaled a nod from Tails, who scooted closer to his friend, seeking warmth in the cool night. "Kinda like you," he mumbled sleepily.

"Huh?" Surprised, Sonic tried to liken himself to his own analogy, but ultimately failed. "What are you talking about?"

"Kinda like you," repeated Tails. "I get to see different parts of the world when I'm with you."

The blue hero's facial features softened, and he glanced at the fox cub. "Like when we travel?"

"No—well, yeah, but..." Tails floundered for words like any three-year-old would, reminding Sonic once again how little he truly was. "I thought everybody in the world was mean except you. Now there's lots and lots of nice people. I think it's cuz I'm hangin' out with you now."

A laugh was Sonic's method of concealing his embarrassment. "What, do you think I have some magical powers or something?"

"Yeah."

"Sorry to disappoint, bud, but I don't have any. Sometimes all you need is to look at something a little differently. It's not magic, it's just part of staying positive and never giving up. Remember that? What I said about that?"

"Yeah..." The toddler yawned. "Sorry I didn't get you a birthday present, Sonic."

Sonic had actually forgotten today was his birthday, but he smiled at these words. "'S okay, bud, I don't need one. You're more fun to play with than some toy or something."

"Mm-hm." That was the moment Sonic knew he'd lost Tails; seconds later the fox had dropped into Dreamland at his side. His drowsiness was contagious, and though Sonic knew he should be keeping watch in case Robotnik felt like ruining the day last-minute, he just curled around his little friend in a protective position natural to him as a hedgehog. Feeling like he was in the final scene of a movie, Sonic dozed off, too.

One last shooting star streaked overhead, affirming reality.

"But when I look at the stars... I see someone else; when I look at the stars... I feel like myself." - Switchfoot, "Stars"

A/N: I'll try to keep this short, if only because next year's the big 25 for our hero and I want to save the real speeches for that. For now, I will say that no ill-timed sequel can change how Sonic, a make-believe character, has affected my life in a very real way. Without him, I wouldn't have gotten into writing, and I would probably still be the total wallflower I was in middle school. This last couple of years I haven't had as much time for him, and that's not likely to change anytime soon, but I'm no less of a fan than I was six years ago. Sonic swept into my life and made off with it, and even though I have to take it back now, I'm plenty willing to share. Happy 24th Birthday to the best and cutest of all the dorks! :D

How has Sonic changed your life?