Work Text:
Sonic likes having Tails around.
Even if it means there’s another mouth to feed, another body to protect from harm and keep warm at night, he’s decided it’s better than being on his own had been. Tails is really smart, too. He knows stuff about planes that Sonic doesn’t, and although the Tornado is technically Sonic’s, Tails is now the one who flies it most. He can read too, so he’s been trying to teach Sonic to recognise the different symbols. It turns out there are a lot more than the five he was aware of before, and they don’t always mean the same things. It’s confusing, and so progress has been slow. In return for his efforts, Sonic tried to teach his new friend some hand signs, so they can have proper conversations. Not that he minds just listening to whatever the fox has on his mind, but there are some things that are important to know, because they’re hard to convey just through gesturing. To help, Tails had found a book in one of the town libraries they’d visited, with pictures and what they mean underneath, which had really helped. They’d poured over it and practiced a load, and now Tails could understand him pretty well. The best thing was, the more sign Tails knew, the easier it was to then explain new words, so they didn’t need to keep going back to the book anymore.
Tails can also fly, which in Sonic’s opinion is the coolest thing ever. In the air he’s just fast enough that they can go on runs together, which is nice. Sonic’s never had anyone who could keep up with him. That might be the best part.
So, Sonic does his best to look out for Tails, because he’s a lot smaller than Sonic is and he gets scared easier, and he doesn’t seem to know very much about living outdoors. And this way they both get to have a friend.
Having taken on a position of responsibility, Sonic knows it’s important to be looking out for if there are ever any problems. He’s not very good at remembering to be responsible all of the time, but he tries to keep track of if he needs to get more food now, or if they need a wash, or Tails might be getting too tired. Today, though, there’s a new problem, and the young hedgehog already knows it’s going to be a lot harder to fix, because one of Tails’ boots has broken. There’s a piece missing from the bottom bit, and it’s letting water and dirt inside. Maybe if they had the bit that had fallen off they could sew it back together, and they’d have some more time to find a long term solution, but this isn’t the case. They might be able to find someone who can fix it, but otherwise Tails will need a new pair of shoes.
Sonic has some money, traded for helping people with things that his speed makes easier, used for things they can’t get without it, which is usually anything the Tornado needs, and a little extra food which can often turn into a lot of extra food during the winter. Sometimes he’s also needed something else when it needed replacing, like the time his canteen had cracked and leaked through his bag. This time, it’s shoes, which would be expensive to buy or to fix. It might be easier to find some old ones in a junkyard, but then in a few months they’d get broken, too. There was also the fact that Sonic wants Tails to have good things, and lately he had found himself buying food more often then scavenging for scraps, and always giving him the bigger half. A nice cat had taught him to fish, and he could find plants and stuff that they could eat, but he wants more for his new companion. It’s weird, and Sonic isn’t really sure he knows what to call the feeling. He supposes they’re just really good friends.
“Sonic! A new town’s coming up, should we land?” Sonic gives him a thumbs up, and Tails guides the Tornado down before landing smoothly in an empty field. The kit jumps down from the pilot’s seat, excited to have a new place to explore with his friend. “Do you think they’ll have a library?” He wonders. He’s always liked libraries for all the interesting facts they contain, and it’s even better now that no one immediately knows to look for him there, now no one’s even looking for him at all! Going to new libraries also meant there was almost always a new selection of books to choose from, which meant there was no limit to the things he could learn.
If we do find a library, how about you stay there and read whilst I look around a bit? Sonic signs when Tails turns to him. I want to see if I can do something about your shoes.
“Oh, uh, you don’t need to worry about that, Sonic. I mean, we always fly everywhere anyway.”
Not into libraries, we don’t, refutes Sonic, smiling. He’s happy to see a smile from Tails, as well. He doesn’t want him to think something like this isn’t important.
They get to the town, and do find a library. Tails tells Sonic it closes at 7pm, according to the sign near the door, and Sonic promises to be back before then. He doubts he’ll be that long, it’s not that much after noon, but it’s best to be prepared. He leaves Tails with his bag and wanders towards what look to be the busier areas, not forgetting to first take a semi-accurate measurement of the smaller mobian’s foot with his hand to make sure he’ll be finding the right size.
What he’s looking for is a second hand store, maybe, which even if it doesn’t have what he needs might have something else they’d benefit from. Or somewhere there’s probably someone nice and will exchange something useful for a task. He’ll also take something he can sell for money or rings, the sorts of towns around this area usually dealt in a mixture of both.
He passes a couple of second hand stores, but neither have anything he’s willing to spend his limited supplies on. He also finds an actual shoe shop, but barely bothers glancing through the door. There’s nothing in there he can afford. He ends up in a more residential area with some smaller shops and stalls dotted about, when he sees a woman on her own manning a table with a wide range of seemingly random items. It looks like she’s set up her own small second hand stall. He decides it may be worth checking out when he sees she does indeed have a small pair of shoes among her wares. They’re red and white, the same colours as his own, though the style is different. When he gets close enough, he lays his hand next to one of them to check the size (being very careful not to touch it in case the lady thought he was trying to steal), and sure enough, it’s what he needs. The shoes however, might be a little too perfect. They’re in good condition, and look to be quite sturdy. He’s almost certain he won’t be able to afford them, but if he doesn’t ask he’ll never know.
He makes eye contact with the woman for the first time, who had been watching him curiously since he first approached. How much do you want for the shoes?
“Oh—I’m sorry dear, I—hang on, can you understand me?” Sonic nods. “Ah, good. I’m afraid I camt understand you though, I never learned sign.” Sonic nods again, in what he hopes in an understanding manner. He then points at the shoes and cocks his head, making his question clearer. This time she understands, and tells him the price. It’s too much, so the hedgehog sighs and begins to move on, thanking the woman silently as he does so.
The woman, however, stops him, perhaps out of pity or another, similar compellent. It was the way he notices her looking at him, noticing the lack of shine in his quills. There was the fact she had the shoes, too.
“If that’s too much, dear, we might be able to come to a different agreement. I’m sure a young man like yourself might be able to help an old woman out.” Sonic doesn’t think she looks that old, but he nods tentatively. She seems to relax after he does. “Well… I suppose you could—no, that’s too far, Sharon…” She mumbles the last part, barely moving her lips, but Sonic hears it and nods vigorously before she has time to think of anything else. After all, distance isn’t really an issue when you can move faster than sound. “You understood that? It’s just a silly whim, and I wouldn’t want to endanger you for it.” This, of course, makes Sonic only all the more interested. She catches on and after a defeated sigh, explains herself.
“My son is coming to visit me today, he’s the previous owner of these shoes, actually. Now, normally when he comes to see me I like to bake him his favourite cake from childhood, and its one that I wrote the recipe for so unless he makes it himself or shares the recipe, he only really gets to eat it when he’s here. The problem is, it requires a very specific type of purple berry, which only grows in certain soil types. Normally I would hike to the spot at the end of the valley where they grow, but as time’s gone on it gets harder and harder, until I no longer think I can make it.
“The trip is a few hours there and back, I’m sure my son will be happy to do it tomorrow. It’s just me being silly about it.”
Sonic holds his arm up, palm facing the woman, and shakes his head. He then points to himself. Picking berries isn’t hard, he does it all the time! And he probably would’ve helped here with only the woman’s gratitude as a reward, but now he’ll be able get the shoes he needs for Tails on top! He looks at the woman pleadingly.
She begins to give in, “I suppose…” Sonic gives her his trademark thumbs up before she can change her mind, and speeds off, careful not to break the sound barrier right in front of her. He doesn’t want to be responsible for her needing to learn sign.
He reaches the end of the valley in no time at all, and finds a sizable patch of purple berries which he knows to be both edible and uncommon. This must be it. He’s approaching the first bush when he realises that, in his haste, he had forgotten to bring anything to carry the fruit in. Scolding himself for his own foolishness, he wonders how to proceed. Looking about himself, he thinks he sees what looks to be a manmade structure of some sort, nestled in the trees a little ways off. Perhaps, he thinks, he’ll find something there he can use, rather than heading all the way back to town.
The structure, as he nears it, turns out to be a modest wood cabin, well built and probably quite cosy. There’s smoke coming from the chimney, so whoever lives here is either home or nearby. Sonic knows that knocking on random doors in the woods isn’t something totally advisable, but he’s always managed to get out of whatever situations he’s ended up in due to his reckless nature before. This decision was also at least 25% thought through, making it much safer than most of his usual endeavours. Confident in his reasoning, he goes ahead and raps on the door. It’s answered by a man who looks like he might wear flannel for a living. He looks his visitor up and down for a good few seconds before addressing him.
“What do you want?” he grunts.
Sonic is not deterred. Please, could I borrow a basket or something?
“You… want a basket? Sorry kid, but I can’t exactly go around trusting my property to random children at the door.” Sonic nods, resigned, but the man doesn’t close the door. He looks at Sonic a bit longer, and makes a proposal. “I’ll lend you a basket, but as I said, I got no way of knowing if I can trust you or not. So I got a job for you, kid.”
What kind of job?
“I got a friend who lives a few miles East of here, and they owe me for a bet they lost recently. I’d like you to deliver a message to them, and bring back whatever it is they want you to bring back. You got it?” It certainly sounds simple enough, and if helping this man would gain his trust, so be it. Anyway, as before with the woman, Sonic likes helping people.
I got it. What’s the message?
“I don’t think they don’t know sign, I’m gonna write it down for you, just a sec, kid.” Before he is able to disappear back inside, Sonic interjects quickly whilst he’s still looking.
I can’t read.
“That’s alright, you can just hand it to them. I won’t be a moment.” He is gone for a few minutes, half closing the door behind him so Sonic could look in if he wanted to, but it doesn’t seem polite, and he is trying to get on this guy’s good side. He comes back out with a single sheet of paper, neatly folded in two. “Just head East until you hit the Snowdrop river, it’s around there.”
The second cabin is not directly East, but Sonic manages to find it nevertheless by following the river a little ways upstream. The new door is similarly answered by a person drowning in flannel. Sonic hands them the letter, which he managed to keep nearly completely uncrumpled as he ran. They take it, spend a few seconds reading through it in the doorway, and all of a sudden burst into laughter.
“Okay, you wait there a mo’.” They head inside and return promptly carrying some sort of parcel about the size of Sonic’s head when not counting his quills, which is tightly wrapped in brown paper. It’s an odd sort of shape, being flat on the bottom but nowhere else. Sonic takes it, and finds it to be heavier than expected, though it’s nothing he can’t handle. “Take this back to him in the other cabin, yeah?” The boy nods to show he understands, and carefully carries the parcel back the way he came.
When he gets back, the man can’t seem to help commenting on his speed, to which Sonic nods proudly. The man smiles, “well, you’ve done as I asked. I trust ya, kid, here’s your basket.” He must have had it ready by the door because he reaches to the right and there it is, in his hand. The key to Tails’ shoes. Sonic holds up the parcel, expecting an exchange, but when the takes it, he instead puts it in the basket, taking up maybe half of its capacity, and then deposits the whole thong into gloved hands. “I want the basket back tomorrow if that’s enough time for you.” Sonic nods, both hands taken up by his load. It’s more than enough time, but what’s the deal with the parcel? The man reads his confusion, and clarifies. “I want you to keep that package for yourself, alright? Consider it a gift.” Sonic is still confused, but just nods again. “Alright, see you ‘round, kiddo.”
Sonic hurries back to the berry patch. He’s got plenty of time still, but there’s an odd nagging at the back of his mind telling him he’s not checked up on Tails this whole time. Tails is fine, he thinks. He can look after himself, especially now he isn’t so scared anymore. He fills the remainder of the basket, which to Sonic looks like more than enough for a cake. Satisfied, he jogs back to town. The woman is where he left her, her table emptier than before. At first he worries when he sees the shoes are no longer present, but when the woman sees him approaching she reaches down and puts them back in their place.
“There you are, I’ve been keeping these back for you.” She smiles, looking genuinely happy to see him. Odd, how fast people can get attached. “I can’t believe I forgot to give you my basket before you left, I’m glad you seem to have your own. Here,” she produces a slightly smaller basket, “tip the berries in here, then, I think you’ve earned these.” Sonic does as she asks, first taking out the mysterious parcel so it won’t get in the way, and then carefully coaxing the berries into the other container. When his basket is empty, he replaces the parcel, and takes the shoes the woman now freely offers to him.
Thank you, ma’am.
“Oh! I know that at least. You’re welcome, dear. Really, I should be thanking you. My son will be so pleased.” She pauses, turning something over in her mind. “I’d be very happy to give you a slice of the finished product, if you can drop by later this evening.”
I’ll consider it, thank you.
“It’ll be my pleasure, dear. And do enjoy your shoes!” They wave to each other, and Sonic departs.
When he arrives back at the library, Tails is engrossed in several books at once, switching between them like a starving man at a buffet. Sonic waves his hand in front of the kit’s face to get his attention and holds up the basket.
“Sonic! You’re back.” Tails looks overjoyed. He then sees the shoes, eyes going even wider than his smile. “Red! We can match!”
Yep. People won’t be able to tell us apart anymore when you’re wearing these babies. Try them on! Tails does so immediately, and they fit near perfectly. He’ll grow out of them in a year, Sonic is sure, but the moment is good when his friend jumps up and runs in a circle around him, laughing in the excitement of receiving such a gift. Told you. It’s just like looking in a very handsome mirror.
“What’s that?” asks Tails, when he’s managed to stay still long enough to notice what else is present in the basket. Sonic of course, doesn’t yet know. He hadn’t found time to open it yet and admits as much to the fox. Together, they peel away the paper to reveal half of a moderately sized pie, already cut into slices. It’s stuffed with tender pink pork and dotted everywhere are chunks of hardboiled egg, all surrounded by a thick golden pastry that absorbs the juice of the pie perfectly. Sonic thinks it’s the most beautiful pie in the world. It will last the two of them a well-fed week, though he isn’t sure that using moderation would be fair to such a perfect dish. Tails is staring at it, too. “Where did you get that!?”
How about I tell you over dinner? The other nods ferociously, not breaking eye contact with the pie for a second. His tongue is sticking out slightly in its usual adorable manner. We’ll need to be careful not to eat too much though, later we’ve got a date with dessert. Tails’ eyes couldn’t possibly get any wider now, and Sonic, too, is grinning madly. Unable to help himself, he reaches over and ruffles Tails’ bangs. The other leans into the contact, looking so happy Sonic feels he might… something. Something like melt or explode or fall apart. It’s weird. He's never cared so much about someone else before, but Sonic likes having Tails around. Even if it’s another mouth to feed, he finds his own portion tastes better. And at night, when it’s cold, sometimes they’ll huddle together for warmth.