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The sound of a sonic boom echoed around the forest, shaking leaves loose from the trees. Flickies chirped their greetings as a familiar blue blur whizzed past them, waving back. Man, what a day! he thought to himself; it was sunny and cloudless out with a cooling breeze brushing through his quills. He whooped, sharpening his reflexes as he picked up speed and dodged several trees.
He eventually broke free from the canopy, the sight of his home welcoming him up the hill. With a grin, he stopped short right at the door and made his way in, immediately noting the calm and quiet.
“’Lo?” He flicked his ears, trying to listen in to potential signs that his little brother and recently acquired roommate were home. Faintly, he picked up the telltale signs that the former was in his workshop, so down he went, taking care in making his presence known; he had startled the kit way too often.
“Yo buddy! What’s up?”
“Uh?” Tails peeped from where he stood, tinkering on the Tornado. “Oh, hi Sonic! Nothing much, just fixing her up!”
The hedgehog cocked his head to the side, staring the familiar bi-plane up and down. “Why? She looks fine to me.”
“Fine doesn’t mean it can’t be improved, Sonic,” the younger Mobian stated, fondly rolling his eyes, to which his older brother shrugged.
“Yeah yeah, so you say…So, where’s Broody McGhee?”
“For the last time, he hates when you call him that—”
“I know, I know…you know I’m just teasin’! I’m just surprised he’s not with you, is all.”
Tails tossed his wrench to the side, patting his fur down and doing his best to get rid of the marks on his arms. “I told him about a Chaos Emerald my radar picked up on and he went to check it out.”
“Hm. And you didn’t go with him?”
A shrug. “Nah. I prefer leaving that to the two of you.” He went on to say something else, but before he could, he was interrupted by his own surprising sneeze, followed by another.
“Woah there, bud! Allergies acting up?”
The fox sniffed. “Hm, nope! Probably just some dust. Guess I better start cleaning up.”
Sonic smirked. “Guess that’s my cue to leave, then!”
“Yeah, fine,” Tails replied, trying in vain to conceal a third sneeze. “Mind closing the hangar door? I left it open for some sunlight, but I’m kinda cold right now.”
“Wait…you’re cold?” the hedgehog asked, zipping back to stand by his brother’s side. “You sure you’re alright? I don’t want you getting sick on me, little bro.”
“I’m fine, Sonic, honest!”
A bright green flash interrupted the duo. They both turned to face the familiar ebony hedgehog, who had just teleported right back into the workshop.
Tails instantly perked up. “Hi, Shadow! Did you find it?” He found the cyan emerald being tossed at him and clumsily caught it, giggling as he did so. “Sweet! That’s four we have now. We’ll find the others in no time!”
The previous discussion forgotten, Sonic threw a thumbs up at the kit. “That’s the spirit! Now, how about we throw some celebratory chili dogs for lunch?”
Shadow merely nodded, while Tails pumped his fist up. “Great idea! You get ‘em started, I’ll just clean up real quick in here.”
“You’re the boss, dude! Be ready to feast!”
With that, Sonic zoomed upstairs, leaving the kit and ebony hedgehog together. While Shadow was not the most talkative one, he let his curiosity get the best of him at times.
Like now.
“What have you been working on?”
The kit’s tails wagged in delight; he thoroughly enjoyed being able to explain his crafts to his friends, especially his new friend. “I just gave the Tornado a much-needed tune-up! I was practically done when Sonic came back from his morning run, so it’ll be a cinch to finish after we’ve had some grub!” He finished putting his tools back in their respective spots, slightly shivering as he did so.
Shadow’s eyes narrowed. “You are cold. Why are you cold?”
“Oh, it’s nothing, Shadow, I—” he was yet again interrupted by a sneeze. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the slowly growing crummy feeling.
“It is not nothing,” the ultimate lifeform insisted, resting his hand on the kit’s shoulder. “Come; you should get some rest right away.”
Tails, however, attempted to shoo the hedgehog away. “I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m—”
This time, he was interrupted; not by a sneeze, but by a cough. And then another. And another.
And it wouldn’t stop.
And Shadow panicked.
“Oh, no, no no no…” he began, catching the fox when he collapsed, unable to hold himself up while coughing. “Breathe, Tails! Breathe!”
“I-I’m *cough* trying!” Tails wheezed out, but he couldn’t keep himself from hacking up a lung.
The hedgehog froze. Deep down, he knew what to do; he’d helped take care of Maria, after all, and this situation was all too familiar.
That’s where the problem began. He also knew the worst of her illness and how quickly it had taken over her.
And now, it was happening to his little friend.
“S-Shadow…”
The oldest of the two snapped to attention. While he’d been deep in his panicked state, the fox’s coughing had subsided, taking place to constant shivering. Shadow still held him tightly in his arms, and he hadn’t even realized that the youngest was practically limp in his hold.
“Do not worry, little one. I will take care of you,” he vowed, carefully scooping up the sick kit before making his way to the living room.
Sonic, who heard the footsteps, thought his friends were finally heading upstairs to grab a bite. “Right on time! The chili dogs are read—huh?” He was interrupted in his own thoughts by the sight of his little brother being cradled into the ebony hedgehog’s arms. “Hey, what’s wrong with him?”
When he was ignored, he zoomed in to stand in front of the odd duo. “Shadow? Is everything alright?”
“Step aside, hedgehog,” Shadow growled, keeping the young kit in his arms. “Let me through.”
“Wha—? What are you doing?!”
The ebony hedgehog bared his teeth at the blue blur. “I will not tell you again. Move, or you will be moved.”
“What’s your deal, man? Just tell me what’s going on!”
Before Shadow could reply, the two hedgehogs heard a muffled cough coming from the young fox. Despite being busted, he was still conscious enough to attempt to hide his illness from his older brother.
Of course, he failed. Sonic was quick to catch on. “Oooh, so you are sick! Why didn’t you say so, kiddo?”
“I-I didn’t want to w-worry e-either of you…” Tails softly replied, his voice slightly hoarse from all the coughing. Clearly, his throat didn’t like that, for he began to cough again.
Immediately, Sonic could see a flash of panic twinkle in Shadow’s eyes, and that’s when he understood. He backed away from the duo, lifting his hands up in surrender. “Hey, buddy,” he softly began, not missing the way Tails winced as Shadow’s grip tightened. “This looks bad, but I promise he’s fine.”
“He is not fine,” Shadow muttered. The flashbacks of Maria’s own sickness haunted him at every turn, and while Tails shivered from the cold, the ultimate lifeform shivered from fright and uneasiness. “He is going to die if we do not save him right now.”
“Die?! Listen, Shadow, I swear he’s gonna be okay! This isn’t the first time—”
“—Not the first time?!”
“—and it won’t be the last, listen! You don’t understand—"
“You are the one who does not understand!” he interrupted with a snarl, clutching the shivering fox in his arms even tighter. It took a hitched, pained breath from his charge for him to realize he was doing more harm than good, and he loosened his grip, calming down. “I have seen this before…with Maria.” He pressed his ears against his head in shame, his soft gaze resting on the youngest Mobian.
While Sonic’s facial features remained neutral, he nodded with a sigh. “Look, Shadow…I don’t know everything that happened back then. I only know what you’ve told me and what Tails has found out from Gerald’s files.” The blue hedgehog didn’t flinch at the other’s hard stare. “But I don’t doubt that it was a scary situation to be in and I understand what it’s like to do everything you can to prevent something bad from happening again.”
A beat. Hesitation. “…He reminds me of her. Kind and gentle, passionate about a world she never got to be a part of. He shares that passion in how he changes this world for the better. I cannot bear to let such peacefulness fade away and keep this world from experiencing it yet again.”
The speedster slowly smiled. “Wow, Shadow, those sure are words.” At the resulting scowl, he snickered, then sobered up when he realized the darker hedgehog still didn’t look appeased. “He’s gonna be fine. This is just a common cold. He doesn’t even need to see a docto—”
“No doctors!” Shadow hissed, hunching over protectively above Tails with a low growl. He paused again when the kit shivered, curling up against the eldest’s chest with a soft whine. More calmly, he faced Sonic, who still had his hands up in surrender this entire time. “No doctors.”
“That’s why I was gonna suggest that you stay here with him while I grab Amy,” Sonic clarified, finally lowering his hands. “She has tons of medicine at home and she can treat him here. You trust Amy, right?” The older hedgehog slowly nodded, which made Sonic smile again. “Alright, I’ll be back in a flash!”
With that, the blue blur left the duo alone in the house.
For a short moment, it was relatively quiet; the only sounds heard were slightly heavy breathing. Then, a small, hoarse voice shattered the silence. “Shadow…?”
Shadow tensed in anticipation. Would the youngest be mad at him for his behavior? He didn’t know, and now that they were alone, he wasn’t looking forward to that inevitable discussion. Still, he hummed, letting the sick fox know that he was listening.
“I’m…I’m gonna be okay,” Tails whispered with a light cough. “H-Honest…I get sick like…once a year now…”
“I apologize,” Shadow softly replied, but he didn’t miss the brief look of confusion on the fox’s face. “For my overprotectiveness. I could have harmed you.”
With a shaky hand, Tails reached out to the ebony hedgehog, gently patting him on the shoulder. “I-It’s okay, you…you didn’t hurt me.” He took a deep breath, turning his head as quickly as he could to cough into his elbow. Then, he sniffed, looking Shadow right in the eye. “I’d r-really like to l-lie down, though…”
The hedgehog quickly nodded, carefully scooping Tails up into his arms. Feeling guilty for the hitched breath that he heard and assuming he’d caused the fox pain, he was quick to lay his charge down on the couch, propping his head with a soft cushion. Then, with a pause, he contemplated his next move; it didn’t take him long to decide that he too could lie down next to the fox, making sure to provide skin-on-skin—or quill-on-fur—contact for warmth and comfort.
However, Tails softly protested, with no real heat behind his words. “N-No, Shadow, I…I don’t want you getting sick too…”
Shadow eased the boy’s worries with a rare smile. “I cannot get sick. Sleep, I will watch over you.”
It didn’t take much of a fight for Tails to accept the hedgehog’s offer. With a smile of his own and a hum, he settled into the couch, shifting so that he could snuggle up to the ultimate lifeform. “Thank you…” he whispered, resting his namesakes on top of the two of them. It wasn’t long until he was snoozing into Shadow’s arms.
The ultimate lifeform merely wrapped his arms around the sick Mobian, tucking the younger’s head under his chin. He would make sure that Tails would rest easy under his protection.
XxX
That was the sight that Sonic and Amy were greeted with upon their return.
The two hedgehogs glanced at each other and smiled, a twinkle in their eyes. Despite the quite adorable sight, Amy was the first to sober up, medical supplies in hand. “Right,” she began, “I need to check him out now. Any chance I can get Shadow to move out of the way for a few minutes?”
Sonic immediately snickered. “Good luck with that.”
“I can hear you both.”
The two hedgehogs faced Shadow, who bore a scowl on his face.
Amy offered an awkward grin. “Sooo…is that a yes?”
The scowl remained, and for a brief moment, she thought the ebony hedgehog wouldn’t move, but slowly, he untangled himself from Tails’ embrace. Instantly, the fox whined at the lack of a comforting presence by his side, which caused Amy to squeal.
“Sh-Shadow, what…?” He tiredly blinked, noting the other two in the room. “Oh…h-hi Amy…”
The pink hedgehog offered a soft smile. “Hi, Tails. How’re you holding up?”
Tails did his best to conceal a cough, but all three hedgehogs could clearly see his antics. “Could be better…I f-feel pretty sick r-right now…”
“Oof, you must really be sick if you’re freely admitting it!”
Sonic snickered again, which caused the kit to blush furiously. He attempted to hide his face with one of his tails, an embarrassed whine in tow.
Shadow was not so amused. “Make haste, Rose. I am in no mood for pleasantries.”
“Hmph! Fine, then. Tails, can you sit up?”
“Hm…? Oh, uh, yeah…” In little time, the youngest Mobian was seated, his back propped by the same cushion as earlier.
Amy made her way over to him, bag in hand. She first listened to his heart, and when she pressed the cold stethoscope against his chest, he flinched, causing Shadow to spring forward. He was stopped by Sonic’s hand snatching his wrist and shaking his head as if to say, ‘Let her do her thing.’ With a huff, Shadow shook the blue hedgehog’s grip on him. If he stood just a tad closer to the youngest Mobian with his arms crossed, nobody said anything.
She also listened to his breathing, then took a look at his throat, followed by his ears. Finally, she took his temperature, noting with satisfaction that he was only a little bit warm, but not much.
“So, Nurse Rose, what’s the verdict?” Sonic asked, winking at her.
She rolled her eyes, smiling fondly at his antics. “I can confirm that he only has a case of the common cold and he will be in perfect shape in no time! I prescribe lots of rest, warmth, and fluids.” She fished a small bottle from her bag, handing it to Shadow, who took it with narrowed eyes. “One of these in the morning and at night should help, and another thing!” She equally pulled out a bottle of cough syrup. “Give him this, morning and night as well. And that’s it!”
With a smirk, Sonic sized the ebony hedgehog up. “Happy now?”
“Hmph.”
“Right, off I go then!” Amy exclaimed, gathering her bag of medical supplies.
“I’ll take you back? It’ll be quicker that way.”
She blushed. “I won’t say no, Sonic.” She squeaked when he took her into his arms and clumsily scrambled to wrap her arms around his neck with her bag in hand. Right before he zoomed off, she glanced at Tails again. “Take it easy, Tails!”
“W-Will do!” he replied with a cough. He threw her a thumbs up when his small coughing fit didn’t immediately subside.
“Be right back, buddy!” Sonic called out before zooming off.
And then, there were two.
At first, neither of the two knew how to fill the sudden silence. Then, Tails shyly cleared his throat, wringing one of his tails in his hands with a slight blush. Before Shadow could ask what was up, he spoke. “U-Um…Amy said that…I needed s-some warmth, s-so…I was thinking…m-maybe…?”
The ultimate lifeform merely nodded, the corner of his lips twitching upward. “Say no more.”
In a blink, the duo had resumed their position from earlier, and once again, that is how Sonic found them.
This time, he made sure to snap a picture, if only to tease his little brother and to blackmail Shadow.
And if Shadow noticed, before of course he did, he didn’t say anything. He just began softly rubbing Tails’ back, and he allowed the fox’s purrs to lull him to sleep.