The Incurable Disease

The longing gaze

The duo said their thank yous and goodbyes to the staff of demy's diner and made their way into the golden hued cityscape that was slowly getting ready to shift into the night life atmosphere. All around them neon lights lit up the walkways, paving the way towards a sinner's delight of debauchery.

Why are these the places that managed to stay in one piece after the disaster? Who has time for all these distractions when there are more important things that need to be done, like rebuilding the city? Tails mused as he walked by the flashing advertisements for entertainment.

I wonder what we should do once we get to my place. Did I even clean up? Eh, I'm sure Tails won't mind a bit of a mess. One thing's for certain. He's gonna tell me about whatever has been making him act so weird. Sonic looked towards the sunset, Man, we really stayed at the party for a while. How did Tails find out about this one? I'm sure I covered up all my tracks this time. Sonic shifted his gaze towards Tails who was staring in silent judgement at the flashing neon signs.

"It's been a while since I've been over to your house, hasn't it? Get anything new since the last time I've been?" Tails asked, remembering the ridiculous bean bag couch that Sonic had impulse bought one night. He practically had to spelunk his way out of it, and it wasn't even comfortable.

Sonic tilted his head and chuckled, "Nothing on par with the couch yet, no. But, I did get an upgrade on the bunk bed, getting one that is on some kind of weird axis thingy where you can get on the bottom bunk and the force of you getting on it will propel you to the top so that the next person can get on the bottom bunk!" Sonic became very ecstatic about the idea of being able to use the beds for their intended purpose.

Tails chuckled, "That sounds great, but why did you get another bunk bed? I would think that since I moved out a year ago, you would have gotten a single person bed."

"Well. One, Bunk beds are sick," Sonic began, tails nodding his head in agreement, "Two, why get one one person bed when you can get two for the price of one. And three, I don't want to clean out a room to turn it into a guest bedroom."

"Those are fair points."

"Yeah, and about that axis thingy, there's a break mechanism, and if you try to move the bunk beds while the brakes are on, the noise it makes is not at all fun. It also may or may not make it so that the bunk bed functions properly anymore." Sonic looked at Tails with a dopey smile, the fox rolling his eyes already knowing what was going to come next out of the hyperactive hedgehogs mouth.

"You broke it didn't you?" Tails asked, looking deadpanned into Sonic's eyes.

"Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe, just a little bit broken."

"And have you gotten anyone to come by and fix it?" Tails asked, knowing what that smile meant.

"Well, I haven't had the time and I'm always busy with.....stuff an-"

"Stuff? What stuff? You don't have stuff that you do that would keep you occupied for more than thirty minutes." Tails crossed his arms, highly skeptical.

"Hey, I planned the party, and we were at the party for more than thirty minutes! But that's not the point. The point is, you're coming over, and I don't know anyone who is a better mechanic than you." Sonic gave an even wider smile, hoping to convince the kitsune.

Tails let out a long sigh, "Fine, it'll be something to do anyway. Think of it as a part of my anniversary gift to you. Plus, I want to see if I can get it to where it'll go as fast as you can rotate it, make it a big hamster wheel or something." Tails began thinking on ways to improve the bunk beds before being lifted off the ground.

Sonic had scooped him up into a giant hug, still walking while basically carrying the struggling fox, "Thanks, buddy. I'll spot breakfast in the morning, after getting a nice rest in the repaired bunk bed." Sonic set Tails down as he too ruminated on the fixed bunk beds and breakfast.

Tails shuttered for a second, a contorted smile donning his face and an overbearing tightness coming from his chest taking his thoughts off of rocket propelled bunks. It's that feeling again. But what sparked it? Was it Sonic? No, it couldn't have been. Was it just being hugged? Was it touch? I will have to run some tests. While tails was troubleshooting his own body, he failed to realize that he was on walking autopilot and slammed his face directly into a light post.

Sonic turned to see what the loud noise was to find Tails holding his nose, "You alright, Tails?"

Tails chuckled a bit as he rubbed the pain away from his nose, "Yeah, just wasn't paying attention to where I was going." He moved his hand back to his side to reveal a small bruise on his nose, "Let's just get to your house, alright?"

"Yeah, no problem. It's only a block more down." Sonic looked concerned for Tails. He never gets distracted. Maybe it's just cause he's tired. He really needs some sleep.

The pair walked the rest of the way to Sonic's house with Tails periodically rubbing his nose and muttering complaints beneath his breath.

"Here we are, Tails, my humble abode!" Sonic opened the door to his home, letting Tails see all the new additions to the house since Tails last was there. New nicknacks piling on the old bookshelves where Tails used to keep his books, a distinct increase in shoe boxes scattered around the living room and kitchen, and a surprising lack of dust anywhere most likely due to sonic picking up dust every time he runs.

"I don't exactly need an intro, Sonic. Now where's that bunk bed and where is my old toolbox?" Tails asked, ignoring the pain in his nose to excitedly search around for the contraption.

"The bunk bed's in the bedroom upstairs, and I have no idea where your old toolkit is. I thought you could just use a couple screwdrivers and be good to go.

Tails gasped in mock shock, "You offend me, Sonic. Luckily," Tails went to a bookshelf and pulled one of the sides out to expose a vent with loose screws, "I always come prepared." Tails then took out all the screws to reveal a small pack filled with basic tools and miscellaneous nails and screws.

"IS THAT WHAT HAS BEEN RATTLING IN HERE?!" Sonic said in shock, "I've been looking for what was causing that noise for a while!"

"I'll make sure to make the screws a bit tighter next time, sound good? Now then, grab me a cup of juice and let's get to business." Tails began his ascent towards the bedroom with an almost manic grin on his face as he thought of all the improvements he could make to the bed.

"Uh, Tails. I don't have any juice" Sonic said, apologetically smiling at the fox from the fridge.

"WHAT?!"