Sonic and Tails Brotherly Oneshots (Sonic Boom version)

Chapter 18

    This oneshot takes place sometime after the events of "Sonic Forces." I know a lot of people don't like this game due to how they handled Sonic and Tails's friendship and how they've handled Tails in general, but I've seen a fanfiction story called "It's okay" where Sonic comforts Tails after everything that's happened and have decided to do my own spin on the aftermath. Happy 6th Aniversery to "Sonic Forces."

    The world had changed forever, never to be the same again. Eggman, with Infinite's help, had conquered about 99% of the planet, which included Bygone Island, but a resistance led by Knuckles was able to eventually stop him with some help from a new fighter dubbed by some as "The Rookie." Now that evil was defeated once again and everything was calm, everyone worked to make the world as it once was before the resistance disbanded and everyone returned to their normal lives. But moving on from what happened is never easy in an recovery and following aftermath of what had taken place, especially if you're a certain two-tailed fox who is still understandably traumatized by what had happened; though most like Rookie were forever left inspired by the bravery and heroism of Sonic and his friends, there were scars that needed healing, even on people who fought in the resistance. Physical ones were no problem; they'd heal in time, but the emotional trauma also left (to some it would last a lifetime) was a whole different story altogether.

    It was late one afternoon on Bygone Island, which had somewhat gone back to normal. Inside his workshop, Tails was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall, his knees drawn up to his chest and his fluffy tails wrapped around him like a kind of blanket. He'd seen his fair share of trauma during that war; having to watch your best friend and brother seemingly die and being left completely helpless and alone can do something to you. But Tails was only 8 years old; he shouldn't need to see all that destruction and bloodshed and other horrors of war around him in a war that he didn't need to see. And yet, there he was, a child that had to become a solider on the battlefield. It was too much to handle, even to a kid who almost lost his only family; his only family being one that he loved and admired for years. But seeing Infinite and all those Phantom Ruby clones savagely beat Sonic nearly brought Tails to tears. He felt so useless; he could do nothing but watch as they went after him. Even his genius mind couldn't wrap around how they worked or around the power of Infinite and the Phantom Ruby. He felt like he failed his friend and brother when he needed him most. And now, as he sat there with a saddened expression on his features, he thought back to how he learned so much- yet during the war, he ended up reverting back to his old self: one that was always scarred and didn't know what to do. Now feeling like a complete failure, he laid down on the floor, laid his head in his arms, and started crying.

    He wept for about an hour there on the floor when he heard footsteps approaching him, but he didn't dare look up. Then, a gentle hand laid itself across his shoulders and began rubbing them in a gentle motion. When Tails raised his head, another hand gently cupped his face, thumbing away any tears that escaped his closed eyes. Tails didn't look at the person, but nonetheless knew who it was when a pair of lips carefully captured his own in a comforting, brotherly kiss. He returned the gesture, mewling sadly. When they separated, Tails's eyes fluttered opened, not only allowing a bunch of other tears to escape, but also seeing a familiar blue hedgehog, the one person that had arrived in his time of need.

    Blinking away his blurry vision from his tears, Tails saw clearly enough to see that it was Sonic who had shown up. Sonic just smiled sadly and pulled Tails in for a much-needed hug, the fox curling into it. "You okay, little buddy?" Sonic asked. "What are you doing in here with the lights off? You can't stay in the dark like that. It's gonna ruin your eyesight." (Tails hadn't even bothered with turning on the lights today when he entered).

    Tails just shook his head, not trusting his voice for now. The only thing that escaped from him was a whimper. Hearing that, Sonic knew that Tails wasn't okay. And he knew why to: that stupid war. He leaned his head down so he could whisper into a flattened orange ear. "How about we both go talk about this somewhere else that's more comfortable?" he asked. "How does that sound?"