Friendship

By Dib07

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic's fur carpet, his vending machine or his car bed. Sega sadly does. All of it.

The idea of this story belongs to Samatha27

Summary: Sonic decides to spend some time with Tails, away from Chris and the others. But they are tested when the weather turns bad during their camping trip and the way back home has got a lot harder.

This story was requested by: Samatha27

Chapter 1:

"Sonic! Sonic! Hey!" Tails' voice was driven to a shout when the hedgehog still failed to notice him. He was helping Chris carry the shopping in through the front door and into the large, cavernous kitchen. It was not often that Sonic helped Chris do the chores. He was not even a hedgehog destined to look after human shopping, but lately Chris had been grabbing his attention for the better part of the day. With each and every Eggman attack, Chris became more and more attached to Sonic. And whenever he was around, the boy stuck closely by him. Even last night before bed, Tails could not find the hedgehog on the roof where he usually slept. Instead he found him in Christopher's room admiring his homework for school.

"You carry all those books into the classroom?" He heard Sonic say in an inquisitive voice.

"Yeah, I have to." The boy formally replied, "I have a locker, so it's not so bad."

"Doesn't it slow you down, though?"

Tails waited outside the door in false hope that Sonic was on his way out. He gave up however, and not one for eavesdropping, went back into his own room.

He sat on his large king-sized bed and thought. While his restless mind churned away, his twin tails fidgeted behind him, which they often did when he was troubled. During the time they had been on their own planet, it had just been him and Sonic. Sure, there had always been others like Amy, or Knuckles, but never so much so that he'd never see him in one day.

Never.

He didn't like being a victim of jealously. Rather, he just felt... left out. And the previous loneliness he had felt when he had been alone without a friend was all coming back... ever so suddenly. He had been so young, without a father or mother. Or without a single brother. Most foxes were overcrowded with siblings. But not him.

'You know what, Sonic's probably busy.' One thought came to mind, and he felt incredibly shameful for feeling left out when the blue hero was dashing off to destroy bad guys and whatnot.

Still...

They had barely said hello over breakfast.

Was Tails overreacting, or...

He resolved to confront Sonic about this, one way or another.

The stars were sharp and callous. Tapping his foot to an unheard rhythm, Sonic leant back, allowing his arms to stretch against the cold tiles of the roof. Perhaps home was out there, somewhere, drifting amongst the stars like some lost giant in the niche of merciless space?

Like a cat stretching out her claws, Sonic's lethal spines stiffened reflexively for an entire moment before he fully fell into a sated picture of calm.

He closed his eyes, thinking about the roast hazel nuts he had had for lunch and the long run he would take just before dawn when the birds would mount their morning chorus.

"Sonic!" Tails slammed his hands on the roof, ready to rent out his worries.

His brother lurched awake, half in attack mode. His left foot caught in his right and as he tried to rise, he slipped off the tiles and tumbled off the end of the roof in a tangled gurgle of surprise.

Sodden with guilt, Tails came rushing around, his mouth muttering hurried apologies even before he had reached him. Sonic sat on a compost heap, a little confused. However, when he saw Tails scurry towards him, he smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Tails! Caught me unawares!"

"What are you saying sorry for? I should be saying sorry because I made you jump!"

"Well, heh, I'm okay." With dignity, he stumbled erect and dusted off his legs even when there was no need. "So, what's up, lil bro? Everything okay?"

Still feeling awful, the zest of Tails' approach – the very urgency that made him come out here to confront him in the first place was less so. Still, he had to go forwards. He had to. He didn't want to be left alone... to be left behind.

"Well, actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you about."

Sonic watched curiously, his head slightly cocked to one side. It was clear Tails was troubled about something before it had even left his mouth. His expressions were too easy to read. "You can tell me." He encouraged, knowing that Tails would stall. It was true that the hedgehog had little reserve for patience. However, when it came to his friends, he was prepared to do anything. And as such, the little kitson stalled. Considerably. He stood, arms behind his back, eyes downcast.

Of course, at this point Tails had crossed the threshold and had to tell him what was wrong. Otherwise Sonic would simply persist and wouldn't give up trying to know and understand what was so bothering his little buddy.

"Tails..." He breathed softly, "is there somewhere else you wanna, talk?"

"No. It's just..." Sonic could see the rising conflict in his blue eyes. He hated to see the turmoil there, but he also wanted it out in the open so that it could be confronted. And resolved. "It's just... I feel... kinda... left out." He rocked back a little on his heels, feeling like a little kid again. "I know you're busy... I really do. It's just... I miss what we did together. I miss the games. I miss the adventures. We haven't seen much of each other lately."

Sonic frowned as he watched his brother turn round to leave. He chewed on a few stout answers, but none of them came close to how he felt. Had he really let Tails down that much?

"Tails." His voice, so firm and abrupt, stopped the kitson in his tracks. "I have the perfect idea."

"What?" The kitson's blunt reply was not lost on the hedgehog.

"We go camping. Somewhere far from here. It'll be fun!"

Tails seemed less impressed. "Who will we be going with?"

"It'll be just you and me, buddy! No one else! Not even Amy! How's that?"

At that, the kitson's face lifted and his eyes became lucid and clear under the veil of doubt and loneliness. Not even the blue hero was prepared when the fox barrelled into him, arms locking him tight in a choking embrace.

'He reminds me of myself when I was young.' He thought, not quite sure how else to react but to hold him. And to keep the promise he had just made.

"So, first thing tomorrow?" He asked when his ribs couldn't take much more.

Tails parted a little from him, nodding hopefully. Trustingly.

"Where are you going?" Chris was munching on breakfast the very next morning at the kitchen table with Ella cooking up some bacon and eggs. With their permission, Sonic and Tails were able to take a bag and a picnic of assorted foods with them. Chuck had provided the tent from a selection of new and old ones with pride. Picking the lightest of the twelve, Sonic crammed it into the bag.

"Oh, a place." He said with a wink.

"Me and Sonic are going on a camping trip!" Tails burst out, unable to hold down the excitement. Though camping had been a common habit in their world, the excitement never got old.

"I hope it's someplace safe." Ella mentioned from the stove that was creamy with cooking smells, "the weather's going to be awful nasty in the next six hours or so."

Sonic washed away their doubt with a simple, carefree smile. "We'll be fine! And we'll be back before you know it!"

A pink hedgehog walked into the kitchen, hands on her hips. "Camping trip? Aren't you going with me too?"

"No, Amy." Sonic waved a finger at her, realized it was patronizing and instantly dropped the gesture. "It's something me and Tails have gotta do. Training exercises, say?"

Tails giggled.

"I can train too!"

Ears drawn down from her stern, shrill voice, Sonic grabbed his brother's hand and led him through the kitchen and on towards the back door as quick as Tails could walk. They then scrambled into the Tornado while they could still hear Amy screaming and shouting after them as if they had both committed some immoral act.

With the engine warming up, they buckled themselves in and took off into the dusty, bright sunshine that streamed into their faces. Sonic spied Chris and Amy down below, the pink female still trying to holler something at him as they twirled into the heavens. In a joust of fun mockery, he waved at her with a grin on his face. And kept waving, until they were nothing but specks on the ground.

"Hey, Sonic, did you remember to bring a map?" Tails asked loudly against the slap and roar of the wind.

"Oops, I forgot. Ah, who needs it? Besides, do we really wanna get swallowed by Amy if we go back there?"

"Yeah, you're right, we can do without it."

They had only flown a short way when the weather suddenly turned. A hem of dark clouds had built up over the horizon in looming, menacing shapes. The trees below were snapped into a turmoil of sharp gales.

Above the rolling winds, Sonic and Tails seldom noticed the worsening weather. Like always, they appreciated their time in the air, gazing at the expanse of green forests and towns below. Flocks of birds gathered in the near distance. The sun was a hot ball of warmth and joy.

The fact was not lost on Sonic that if it wasn't for Tails, he'd never have been able to touch the skies.

"How far should we go?" Tails asked.

"Not much further. I know a place near here, I think. It's pretty secluded."

Angling the plane down, Tails took them low below the clouds and towards a towering forest of red woods, brazen hills and rough gorges.

Finding a suitable place to land, Tails circled round a flat bit of pasture on the end of a cliff. Everywhere else was too rough with trees.

Having practised and mastered the art of landing, even in tough conditions, the biplane settled on flat grassland. The engine died with a brief, rattling moan and Tails jumped expertly out of the plane, pleased at their remote location.

The place sure looked wild and desolate. Apart from the escalating wind, they could hear nothing. No distant roar of trains, car traffic or any human activity whatsoever.

"Don't forget to jam the wheels with something, buddy." Sonic alerted him before slipping down from the plane, his arms loaded with their bag of supplies. The 'jamming of the wheels' was a failsafe brick or bit of wood that ensured the wheels didn't turn – even with the manual brakes applied. This ensured that the plane didn't move.

"Yeah, sure. Just look at this place though!"

"Yep!"

"Reminds me... of home."

As they walked towards the forest, distracted by their new home for the next few hours, Tails had forgotten to apply the failsafe bit of wood.

And the weather was getting fiercer.

TBC