Tails sat in his workshop, his head hanging low with his sight only at the floor. The giant concrete tiles were stained with oil, and it always looked like the wooden planks were barely holding up the building. His plane was polished up, weird inventions of all kinds were all set up on the table, and he was bored. Once again, Sonic had run off without him.

He put his head in his hands. It seemed like he had been gone forever. Was he ever coming back? Sometimes, Tails thought Sonic would just abandon him and run like the wind for the rest of his life forever. He had to admit - the thought did sound thrilling.

No - Sonic would never do that. Tails stood up and walked to the door. Maybe he had fallen asleep somewhere close by. But as soon as Tails even barely peeked out, Sonic jumped out in front of him and made a face, making his heart jump.

"The look on your face!" Sonic laughed, pointing his finger.

Tails held his chest. "How long were you out there?!"

"And your fur is all puffed up!" He continued, wiping away a tear.

"You were standing out there to scare me?" Tails asked.

"Oh, c'mon." Sonic grabbed Tails and rubbed his head with his knuckles. "It was just a little joke."

"You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"But I didn't!" Sonic gave him a second to reply, but interrupted when he started. "Oh! I saw something. Over there - by the chao garden."

"Are they in any danger?"

Sonic shrugged with a yawn. "I came to get you before I checked. C'mon, to the Tornado we go!"

Tails smiled, watching Sonic as he hopped onto the symbolic blue plane, trying to steady himself. "Hey, we're not going to get shot out of the sky this time, are we?"

"I hope not." Tails sighed as he flew into the plane. He started it up, opening the garage and preparing the runway with the touch of a single button. Once everything was ready, the plane lurched forward, sliding into the air.

The garden wasn't far; but if Eggman had a robot there, going in through the air was better. Getting a first look always made Tails feel better, even if it bored Sonic. 

"I don't see anything." Tails announced. The chao were playing in the water and flying around like everything was normal. That didn't tell much though; they'd be doing that no matter what.

Sonic looked down at the garden, too. He seemed to think something was wrong. "I could have sworn I saw something there. We need a closer look."

After circling around a few times, Tails spotted a space just large enough for his plane where he wouldn't harm any of the chao. He landed, but when he jumped out, the chao were swarming him and Sonic with faces that didn't show they were happy.

"They're... distressed?" Tails asked, checking with Sonic. 

"So something was here." Sonic said, bending down to pet a chao. "Was it large?"

The chao nodded. "How could something big get away so fast?"

"It is Eggman." Sonic chuckled. "Ooh! Be right back!"

Sonic scrambled away, leaving Tails with the distressed chao. He felt abandoned, but he knew Sonic must have had a good reason. And Tails knew he had a purpose with the chao. One at a time, he calmed them down, reassuring them that everything was okay and they were going to take care of the big man with the mustache. Then, they played for a while, and most of them fell asleep, cuddling against their bodies with a smile of naivety.

A few hours had past, and Sonic still hadn't returned. Tails was worried, and that was pretty justifiable. He had run off, probably to do something unexpected and slightly stupid. But that was Sonic. That was the way he was.

Tails put his head on his arms, rocking back and forth. Sonic had done this again and again to him. But all he could remember were the good times with him. The times they worked together, when they played together, even when they talked together. 

A rustling disturbed him, and he looked up, in the direction that it came from. Sonic was there, wounded. Tails ran up, helping him to the Tornado. "What happened?!" Tails cried.

"Oh, I just taught Eggman a lesson..." Sonic grunted. "What do you say we stargaze instead of walk? Please?"

Tails couldn't help but chuckle just a bit, and sat himself in the grass, looking at the stars and the moon. Sonic positioned himself next to Tails. "Do you even know any of the constellations?" Tails asked.

"Not really." Sonic replied.

They sat in silence, Tails crying silently. He knew if he had gone with Sonic things would have gone differently. Maybe he would have gotten hurt instead. Maybe no one would have gotten hurt. He just knew it would have been better.

"Tails?" Sonic whispered, in case Tails was asleep.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"Sorry for not taking you with me."

Tails blinked. It was as if he had read his mind. "Your mind moves like your feet. I get it."

"Tails?" Sonic repeated.

"Yeah?"

"You know we're gonna be bros forever, right?"

A wide smile grew across Tails' face, and all his doubts disappeared. "Of course."