Ocean Eyes in Pale Moonlight

by Smilegirl64

Summary:

Tails' birthday is coming up.

He's scared of the floods that might come.

Chapter 1: Sunset

It was a simple question, asked by Maddie while Tails fiddled with a piece of tech.

"When's your birthday?"

The fox kit went stiff, his fiddling coming to an abrupt halt as his tails puffed up. His eyes grew wide with an uncomfortable mix of realization and horror. "Uhh, I-I don't know how you keep track of time..."

Sonic glanced at him from where he lounged beside Tom. "They count it in this weird 12 month cycle that isn't even based on the moon." He darted off, going to Tails' side with a calendar. "Which season is your birthday in?"

"Uh, the second moon of the flowering season. The half moon."

Sonic flipped the calendar open, tracing the dates with his finger. "Hm. Looks like April 21st. And would you look at that, Easter Monday! It's an Earth holiday." He grabbed a pen and wrote out "Tails' B-Day!" In big, bold letters. "It's coming up pretty soon, actually. If you'll remember my awesome prank, April first was just last week."

Oddly, Tails took a deep breath and set his jaw, eyes glimmering with determination as he stared down at the calendar. "Last week, huh?"

"Yeah, that was another earth holiday called April Fool's Day." Sonic's smile fell a bit. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, just...thinking about my birthday."

Tom smiled. "Thinking about what you want, huh? I'll be expecting a list."

"A list?" Tails looked at the family.

"Of what you want for your birthday, sweetie." Maddie felt her gut twist. Of course he hadn't celebrated his birthday. That was probably when his village thought everything started.

"I'll help you think things up," Sonic nudged him gently, a smile on his face.

"Uhh...okay."

Not three hours later, Maddie found Tails burrowing in the yard, gloves sitting on the porch. He was digging deep and wide, making a very large attempt at a rectangular hole. Was he digging a grave? "What are you doing, sweetheart?"

Tails jumped, hiding his hands behind his back. "Mrs. Maddie!"

"Easy, you're not in trouble. I just wanna know why you're digging so deep."

"I...I'm building a moat."

Her brow furrowed. "A moat, why?"

"There's always a flood around my birthday. I just wanna be prepared."

"Sweetheart, it's not even rain season."

"Doesn't matter. My curse brings the flood. You should probably leave for a bit, just in case this doesn't work, probably about a week?"

"Tails, I don't think we'll have to worry about a flood, even if there is one. We're up on a hill. The water would flow right on past us. That and unless it's a really powerful flood, the trees should protect us."

"But what about Green Hills? It's not protected against floods!"

"You can ask Tom about flood precautions. He can show you."

"And I can make them better. I...I don't want you to lose people in my flood."

Maddie's heart twisted. He really blamed himself for his village's flood season, probably because they chose to blame him. A righteous anger burned deep within her. This was just a kit. He shouldn't have this responsibility, this blame, placed on his shoulders, but she didn’t know how to take it from him. So, she took a breath. "How about you wash your hands, put on your gloves, and we can ask Tom about Green Hills' flood precautions?"

Tails took a deep breath and nodded, climbing out of his little burrow. "Sorry for ruining your garden."

"It's okay. You were just trying to protect us. But you should let Tom and I worry about those things. You should just enjoy your birthday, and get Tom that list."

After Tails had washed up, he tugged Tom on the sleeve and asked him about their flood precautions. His questions were detailed, like an inspector. With each question answered, Tails' tension eased bit by bit, inch by inch. It never fully went away, but once the grilling session was over, Maddie caught Tails writing a list at the dinner table.

Chapter 2: Moonrise

Summary:

Tails' birthday comes.

Notes:

I tried to have some level of restraint and post this on a schedule, but I love this too much not to share.

Enjoy.

Tails awoke on his birthday full of anxiety. No floods had come yet, it had actually been quite sunny, but that didn't mean none would come. That and the Wachowskis had been slinking around, talking in whispers and passed notes, making plans among themselves. Had he overstayed his welcome? Were they kicking him out? It wouldn't be the worst thing to happen on his birthday. He shuddered. He glanced out the window, noting where the sun was in the sky.

Huh.

It was mid morning, yet he didn't hear anyone. Had they all left for their days without waking him up? Maybe they were further preparing for the floods? Still, Tails wanted to check before he headed into town. He moved up the stairs, slipping into the master bedroom. Empty. Anxiety crept under his skin. He moved to the latch in the ceiling, tugging at it to collapse the stairs. With steady steps, he walked up them.

"Surprise!"

Sonic’s room had been decorated with orange streamers, with letters reading "Happy Birthday, Tails!" hung across the back wall. There was a pile of wrapped boxes in the corner, and a fold up table with treats against a wall. In the middle of it all stood the Wachowskis, wide, bright smiles on their faces, arms spread wide.

"Wha-"

Sonic chuckled lightly. "We knew how anxious you'd be, so we decided to surprise you."

"With...with a party?"

"A birthday party," Maddie cut in.

"Yeah," Tom added. "You're turning seven, right?"

"Y-yeah..."

Sonic drew close. "We have a lot of fun stuff planned. Games, building, you can even teach us how to make those gizmos."

Tails shook, tears burning his eyes. No one ever treated him this kindly, especially not on his birthday. A thought itched at the back of his head, but he ignored it, choosing instead to barrel into the adults for a hug. Arms wrapped around him, including one pair in the back, smothering the corrosive thought into something to go into a chemical bin.

"So," Tom started, "what do you wanna do first?"

From there, the day was filled with games and laughter, from Dance Dance Revolution to building simple machines. The anxiety in his chest slowly melted away as he forgot about the floods, only focusing on the smiling people in front of him.

Eventually, they sat him down on Sonic's bed and boxes were placed before him. There were three, one from each of them, and two of them were massive. Tails took the smallest one first, carefully pulling the paper apart. His breath caught.

Inside was a welding torch. A really good one. He glanced to Sonic, who just smiled at him. "Open Maddie's next."

Tails took the large box and took the paper off just as carefully as the last present. Inside was a kit for a small shed. He furrowed his brow.

"I thought it would be better for you to have your own workshop, so you have room to work and don't accidentally burn anything with that torch. And I figured you would appreciate getting to build it yourself."

Tails frowned thoughtfully. A permanent structure? But that would mean...

He took Tom’s, gently pulling the paper off. Inside was another build kit, this time for an airplane bed. His eyes grew wide as he stared at it. A bed. To sleep in. Like he lived here. Like they wouldn't ask him to leave. Like they wanted him to stay. Tears welled up again.

"Kid," Tom started, "none of us want you to go back to that village. They hurt you, badly. So, if you'd like, we want you to move in here."

Tails' breathing shuddered, and he was stuck. "But...but I'm a..."

"We don’t care." Sonic clapped him on the shoulder. "We want you anyway."

After a second, his body launched itself at Sonic, and he threw his arms around him.

"Whoa, coming in hot!" Still, Sonic pulled Tails close, the grown-ups joining them.

"C'mon," Tom said after a while. "Let's go downstairs for dinner."

Dinner was one of Tails' favorites, but the real highlight was the cake that was brought out. Mint green with chocolate stars, seven candles sticking out of the frosting. His family sang in bright, slightly off key tones, wishing a happy birthday to their dear Tails.

"Now you make a wish and blow out the candles." Sonic stood at his side.

But Tails had no wishes. Well, except one. He thought it as hard as he could. And as he blew out the candles, the sun outside set on his old life, and the moon shined down on his new beginning.

Chapter 3: Clear Enough to See the Stars

Summary:

The floods still haven't come.

The day after his birthday, a familiar thought bubbled up in Tail's mind. It was hot, corrosive, melting his insides. Even if no flood had come on his birthday, even if Green Hills was prepared, there was still a flood coming. He knew there was.

 So, he took to the skies, spinning his tails with practiced ease. He flew up into the sky, measuring the barometric pressure. It was...normal. Completely normal. The sun was shining, too.

 

 He flew further into the mountains, searching for signs of extra snowmelt, periodically checking the pressure. There...there wasn't any. No matter where he checked, there wasn't enough snowmelt for a flood, even when adding it all together. It didn't make any sense. Where was the flood?

 

 The thought grew more and more corrosive, burning in his chest and his head. He flew off, checking for any sort of dams or reservoirs that could break or overflow. Nothing. It was all fine.

 

 He didn't understand. There was supposed to be a flood. He caused it. Every year, sometime around his birthday, there was always, always a flood. He always caused a flood. Always. It never changed. His presence had cursed Westside with a flood every year. He had killed so many people. It made sense why they had kept him away, why they punished him for being a bad omen, a curse taken vulpine form. It had always been his fault.

 

 But here, there was no flood, no signs of overflow, breakage, not even a dip in barometric pressure to signal a storm.

 

 He flew back to Green Hills, exhausted and confused and terrified. Where was the flood? Wasn’t it coming?

 

 He stumbled into the house as the last rays of sunlight crept through the windows. He couldn’t bring himself to climb the stairs, to see Sonic playing in the attic. He just couldn't. Not when he felt like this, not when there was supposed to be a flood. 

 

 Maybe it was coming tomorrow. Or the next day.

 

 Yeah, that had to be it.

 

 The next few days, he tirelessly searched for signs, but there were none, like there was no flood. His terror only mounted. Where was the flood? Why wasn't there a flood? There was supposed to be a flood! He landed in the backyard, trembling like a leaf in a storm that wouldn't come.

 

 A pair of hands gently guided him inside, sat him down on the couch. He asked quietly, "where's the flood?"

 

 Sonic’s voice was soft. "We told you, there is no flood. You were just born during the flood season.

 

 His eyes watered. "No, no, you don't understand. There's supposed to be a flood, I'm supposed to cause a flood. There's always a flood. Someone always...always..."

 

 Sabrina. Tyler. Jason. Kyla. Aster. All of them. It was all his fault. They were gone because of him.

 

 Right?

 

 "Tails, no. They were just floods. They weren't your fault. You didn't kill anyone."

 

 "But...but if I didn't..."

 

 "I already told you. Your village is just a bunch of jerks." Sonic’s voice was strained.

 

 Tails couldn't take it. It had to be his fault, it had to be. Otherwise it had all been for nothing. All the pain, the isolation, there would be no reason behind it.

 

 It would just hurt.

 

 Two bare hands touched him. One scratched his head, the other rubbed his back. No one dared touch his tails. They didn't pull them, rip out the fur, tie them together. No pain came from those hands, like he didn't deserve it.

 

 Did he deserve it?

 

 He didn't know anymore.

 

 Tails hated not knowing.

 

 "Was...was it my fault...?"

 

 A chorus of "no"s met Tails.

 

 The kit broke.

 

 He sobbed into Sonic’s chest. His hero, his friend, his brother, held him close as the other hands continued to pet him.

 

 "You're not a curse," his hero whispered.

 

 Tails started to believe him.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 6 of Tiny Tails AU