Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ Gran Pas De Deux ❯ The Fur Flies and the Tears Fall ( Chapter 2 )

 

Chapter Two: The Fur Flies and the Tears Fall

 

Written by Kululu Xiao

 

((Okay, so…this is my first time writing a story with someone else! I do not own any of the characters in this chapter or up to this point in the story. It was written purely for fun. Also, Tails is a girl here. Yes, I know Tails is officially a male character, but for my own reasons I like to think of him otherwise. Plus it fits into the story, so there. To any and all of those out there screaming, ranting, and whining about how much it bothers you, it's simple - don't read this story. Just shut your mouth and go away! :D))

 

When she was once again in the safety of her room, Tails quietly closed the door and plopped down on her bed. She stared up at her ceiling fan with a sigh. “What the heck is wrong with me?” She wondered aloud. “It's not like I'm hiding anything, right? Well, not much, anyway…” The fox closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, nuzzling against one of the fluffy pillows on her bed.

Several things plagued her mind now. What was it that caused her to feel so strange around Shadow now? What was up with Amy and Cream acting the way they did? Also, more importantly, what was she going to do about her newer secret? It was bad enough that she had to hide the fact that she was a girl, but was it really necessary to also have to hide one of her most treasured dreams? It seemed a little unfair…

“I swear life shouldn't have to be so hard, but I did bring most of this on myself,” she sighed. “Maybe if I could just be honest with everyone - especially with myself - maybe then things would change for the better. But, if I did tell them, would they be mad at me? Everyone thinks I'm a boy, and they always have…I've just never had the heart to tell them otherwise, so I've went along with it for their sake and kept the truth to myself. They think I'm something I'm not… That's not normal, but what can I do now but continue to feed that illusion? Then there's this new issue… I love to dance, but not just any dance - I love ballet. Sure, it might've been alright if the costumes were neutral, because then I could continue hiding for a little longer…but I'm going to be in a tutu someday! Yeah, that's so manly no one would ever notice,” she huffed at first, but when she thought about her wording she giggled briefly. “It makes me upset that I can't be true to myself, but I just…” She would have continued this little conversation with herself, but her ever-alert ears picked up the soft footsteps of one of her friends in the hallway. It was someone of light weight. They knocked on the door. Cream again?

Amy's familiar voice drifted from the other side of the wooden door. “Tails, may I come in? I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Yeah, sure thing - it's unlocked,” Tails called out. Although they had squabbled earlier, it was better to have to put up with Amy for a few minutes than having to face Cream again, especially after she had looked so hurt. The door slowly creaked open and the pink hedgehog slipped in, closing the door behind her. Tails sat up and looked at her, slightly tilting her head to one side. The two just stared at each other for several moments, so Tails spoke first. “So, umm…what'cha need?”

“Look, I…I'm really sorry about what happened a little while ago. It's just that, well, Cream told me what happened - about the rejection. I hate seeing her upset, and I'm sure you know how much she adores you, Tails. You're like her knight in shining armor, and I think it's really sweet…but you don't think that, do you?”

Tails quirked an eyebrow at Amy and shot her a look of disgust. “Excuse me - knight? Shining armor? Where on earth do you get these things? I'm no one's `knight'. You need to get your head out of those stupid fairytale books and into the real world. Time to wake up - you're not a kid anymore, and neither am I.”

Perhaps it was the choice of words, or even the cold, harsh tone she used; but whatever the case, something she said caused Amy to snap. She grabbed the nearest thing she could find (luckily, it was just a stuffed animal) and hurled it at Tails. “Boys are so weird… You're…you're just a big meanie!!” Amy was fuming again. On her way out she made sure to slam the door loud enough for the entire house to hear. Tails merely blinked, allowed herself to lie down again, and returned to her thoughts as if Amy had never been there and nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

As she lay there, however, a feeling of guilt crept over her. She tried to shrug it off at first, but it was no use. Sitting up slowly, Tails swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She stood up and slid her feet into her favorite house slippers - a sky blue pair, with fluffy white clouds and little stars. “Guess I'd better get it over with,” she muttered as she left her room.

Meanwhile, the others had been downstairs listening to Amy spill everything about the fight she and Tails had gotten into over Cream. Lucky for Tails, Cream had already grabbed Cheese and went home. Tikal seemed to have left, also. Tails peered around the corner as she reached the bottom of the stairs. She was greeted with a smile from Sonic, a glare from Amy, and a couple of confused looks from Knuckles and Rouge; ignoring everyone around her, she marched over to the couch and sat down with a soft sigh. Shadow didn't seem to be around. `Wait, waiiiit… Why am I thinking about him right now, of all times!? I've got enough to worry about without him too!' She smacked her forehead, earning another stare from Rouge.

“Sooo,” Sonic began in his usual calm tone. “Amy says you did something rather mean to Cream. Is this true?” He winked at Tails to show that he hadn't really believed Amy.

Tails fidgeted for a moment as she cleared her throat. “I…I didn't do anything wrong,” she stated firmly. Amy glared daggers at her.

“You think you can just do whatever you want, whenever you want! You act like only your own feelings matter, Tails!!” Amy blurted out suddenly.

“Okay, look - for one thing, calm down,” Sonic said, placing his hands on Amy's shoulders. He made her sit down in the chair she was standing next to; he then walked over to the couch and sat next to Tails. “Alright, we've heard Amy's side of this. Tails, what's your version? There are always two sides to every story,” he said, a smile forming.

Tails nodded at Sonic, allowing herself a deep breath. Over the next several minutes she told what had happened with Cream, about how Amy had visited her upstairs afterwards, and everything about Amy's apology and the fight they got into. Everyone listened intently, including Amy.

`Perhaps I had been thinking about only Cream's feelings, and not Tails' feelings at all,' Amy pondered, frowning at herself. She felt really bad now. “Hey guys, I'm just gonna go home…okay?” They nodded understandingly. Before she left, Amy turned around for a moment. “Hey, Tails…I'm really sorry. I was just being childish earlier, I realize that now.” She muttered and opened the door. “See ya.”

Rouge waved goodbye as Amy stepped outside and closed the door. “She isn't so bad, Tails. Amy just thinks of Cream as a little sister, and she wants her to be happy, sometimes at the cost of others. That's wrong, of course, but Amy doesn't even realize what she's saying sometimes until it's too late.”

“I know, Rouge, but I think of Cream like that as well. Cream seems to think a little differently, as I learned today, but my own feelings remain the same, and I'm going to go with that,” Tails said, placing a hand over her heart.

“That a' boy, Tails. You really are a good kid,” Rouge smiled. “It wouldn't be right to tell Cream `yes' if you wouldn't be happy, because if one is happy and the other isn't…well, it just wouldn't work. Something would always be amiss.”

The others blinked at Rouge, having never heard her thoughts on that subject before now. Tails was very grateful to her, though, and stepped closer to give her a hug. The bat smiled again and returned the hug, patting Tails on the head in a non-annoying way.

Tails smiled appreciatively and nodded, whispering a small thank you as she tottered off to the kitchen. She felt much happier now. “I'm so glad someone finally said something that makes sense! Maybe from now on Amy won't be such a pest over Cream.” She giggled as she turned the faucets on at the sink and adjusted the temperature. There weren't many dishes - just a few glasses and a couple of large bowls that some chips had been poured into, but Tails always kept the house as clean as possible. She poured a splash of dish soap into one side of the sink and left the other side clean for rinsing. As the bubbles rose with the water she placed the dishes in, one by one. When the water was high enough she turned the faucets off, picked up a clean sponge, and began washing the glasses. She hummed quietly as she did so, thinking about the events of the day. Blocking out the unpleasant situations, she smiled. It had been a lot of fun in Station Square… She and Sonic met up around 8:00am to have breakfast, and while they waited for the others they had a nice walk on the beach. Everyone else arrived around 10:00am, and they hit the arcade as soon as it opened. She remembered how happily the hours passed until lunch, and how delighted Cream had been at the announcement of pizza. Cheese even cheered in his little Chao voice. Tails was really deep in thought, so for once she didn't hear anyone come into the kitchen. It wasn't until someone's hand had been on her shoulder for several moments that she finally jumped in realization. She turned quickly to be greeted by a soft pair of emerald eyes. “Oh, Sonic…you scared me.”

“Sorry, buddy, didn't mean to. Are you alright? Y'know, from earlier…” He moved his hand from Tails' shoulder and stood beside her. He started rinsing and drying the dishes she had already scrubbed, and as he did so he noticed her looking at him funny. “What's the matter?”

Tails shrugged and went back to scrubbing. “I didn't expect you to do my dishes for me. It's alright, I can handle it…”

Sonic laughed softly and smiled at her. “I never said you couldn't handle it, I just wanted to help. Seriously, though, what's wrong? You seem a little out of it all of a sudden.” His heart sunk as her expression changed. She looked absolutely crestfallen. He quickly dried his hands and pulled her into a tight hug. Tails was quick to place her hands between his chest and hers, but she allowed him to hold her. He didn't seem to notice what she had done as he stroked behind one of her ears gently. “Listen, you're the best friend I have… You're like a little brother to me as well. When something is wrong, I want to know so I can do what I can to help you. Lately, though, you've been unusually quiet at times. When I ask what's wrong, you clam up and don't tell me anything. Please, I just want to know what's on your mind…” His tone was soothing, as were his words. It made her feel better at first, but then she thought about something he had said: little brother. `More like little rat who can't tell the truth', she thought miserably. Sonic cringed as he felt her shake. He thought she was about to cry, but in truth she was angry with herself. “It'll be alright, you'll see… I know that must've been awful to tell Cream no, and even worse for Amy to come upstairs and yell at you, but you need to just blot it from your mind. Cream's still a kid compared to you - you're more grown up than she is. Heck, you're more grown up than Amy. I guess Amy just doesn't realize you're not the kind of guy to rush into dating all because someone asks you to, and I'm honestly glad you're not like that,” he smiled again. Tails relaxed a bit and looked up at him with tearful eyes. She nodded slowly, silently thanking him. “I'll leave you to your dishes now. If there's anything you ever want to tell me, Tails, you know I'm here for you.”

As she watched Sonic leave, Tails couldn't help feeling overjoyed despite her guilty conscience. She finished rinsing and drying the last bowl before carefully putting everything in its proper place. She flicked the overhead light off and leaned against the nearest wall. Gradually she slid down until she was sitting on the tiled floor. “I think I'm going to bed early tonight…this has been a long day,” she muttered. “I guess I should tell the others I'm ready to lock up for the night.” She started to get up, but she found herself barely able to move. She felt drained, as if she didn't even have the energy to stand, so she just sat there. “I suppose I could stay here a little longer...it won't hurt anything,” she mumbled as she leaned against the wall again. The only source of light now came from a small night light - one of the automatic types that come on when the room gets dark. The faint glow in the otherwise dark room made her sleepy...

Quiet footsteps drifted her way, but Tails was fast asleep before the sound had the chance to reach her ears. It was Shadow. He chuckled at her sleeping form and whispered, “Looks like you tuckered yourself out with all the fussing and everything earlier, hm?” He carefully lifted her from the floor and carried her from the kitchen to the bottom of the stairs. Sonic was standing on the last step, having just descended, but rather than asking about Tails he nodded and stepped aside. Shadow quietly thanked him and carried the sleeping fox upstairs. Her door was already open, as Sonic had been there just moments ago trying to find her. As Shadow crept into the room with Tails still asleep in his arms, his footsteps were as silent and deft as a cat stalking its prey. He shifted her momentarily into his right arm and pulled the blankets down with his free hand. After carefully lowering her onto the bed, he tucked her in and left as quietly as he came, making sure to close the door on his way out.

As Shadow neared the bottom of the stairs, Sonic was still standing there. The blue hedgehog grinned. “Long day, eh?” Sonic said. Shadow nodded in agreement. He started to say something, but Sonic began again. “I was looking for Tails. I wanted to ask him about something, but it's alright. It can wait until another time.”

“That's good. I was going into the kitchen to see if he needed help with anything, and when I noticed the light was off but Tails wasn't around I took a peek anyway. He was sacked out in the floor against the wall,” Shadow chuckled. “I decided it would be best to just let him sleep after everything that happened today, but as funny as it was I didn't want to leave him in the floor like that.”

Sonic nodded and clapped him on the shoulder. “I appreciate it. I would've done the same thing.” He turned around to Knuckles and Rouge, who were watching some dull black and white action movie on TV. “Guys, fun time's over, and I'm not judging by the movie you're watching,” he said with a laugh. “It seems the sand man paid a visit to Tails not too long ago, so I think we should go now.” With that said, everyone gathered their things and headed out the front door. Sonic was the last to leave. Having a spare key to the house, he locked up behind himself. Before speeding off, he looked up at Tails' bedroom window. “Good night, little buddy. I know things will get better soon.”