Work Text:
Miles ducked to avoid the picture frame, watching it sail over his head and slam into the wall.
“Who the hell does she think she is? Huh?!”
Miles’s fingers never left his keyboard; the code he was working on was time-sensitive— something he’d made clear to everyone before locking himself in his lab.
He should have known that Scourge wouldn’t care, that the minute something didn’t go the hedgehog’s way, he’d come busting through the doors, complaining and cursing.
Case in point…
“Princess doesn’t know her damn place. Tsk. Fine, that’s fine. I’ll just have to show ‘er! No one messes with what’s mine. No one.”
There was another crash, and the sound of something being thrown against the floor. Whatever it was didn’t break. A small miracle, seeing as how a lot of the tech in the lab was fragile and only in its beta stage. “Alicia is always making you mad. How is this time any different?”
Scourge scowled. “It’s different because she’s actin’ like she can pull a fast one on me.”
Miles frowned when the code sequence was rejected. He quickly scanned the input, found the problem (a misclick, thanks a lot, Scourge), and launched the code again.
This time, it went through. “I reiterate my point.”
“I swear, everyone’s pissin’ me off today.”
“Like that’s never happened before.” Miles jumped when he felt his ear being pulled. “Hey!”
“Don’t be a smart ass.”
Miles batted the hand away. “Blame the guy who raised me. I hear he’s the king of smart ass comments—“
“Exactly! I fuckin’ raised you. I had you first. Where the hell does she get off, thinking she knows better ‘an me?”
Miles blinked. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m not as stupid as you all think I am! I hear the things Alicia says, I hear ‘em loud and clear.”
“Can you at least try and make sense?” Miles wasn’t in the mood. He was tired and overworked and just wanted to be left alone. “Go annoy someone else— quit it.”
Scourge pulled on his ear again. “And you don’t seem to have a problem with her. Agreeing even. I hear that too, didja think I wouldn’t?!” He hissed.
“I have a problem with you right now.”
“Don’t even think about double-crossin’ me, keed. Siding with her because of some pretty words? Some empty promises? She doesn’t care about you, ya know that, right? She only cares about what you can do for her. She’s usin’ you.”
“Do you hear yourself?” Miles turned his chair so that he was facing Scourge, meeting the hedgehog’s angry eyes head-on. “Double-cross you? Side with Alicia and her two shadows? You gonna accuse me of liking Fiona more than you now, too?”
“Tsk.”
“...” Miles sighed, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. It’s bad enough that Scourge was mad; they wouldn’t get anywhere if he started shouting, too.
Alicia was someone who naturally got under his big brother’s skin. She might be part of their gang, but trust was not mutually exclusive between the two, and if it came down to it, neither would hesitate to stab the other in the back.
But to imply that Miles would— could— do the same?
Yeah, no, he had to shut that down right now.
“If I wanted to betray you,” he started, voice calm. “Do you think I’d waste my time putting up with your tantrums and convoluted schemes? Do you think I’d back you up as much as I do, or play nice with the others just to peddle information back to you?”
He stood up, poking Scourge’s chest. “I wouldn’t patch you up every time you got your ass handed to you. I wouldn’t spend hours brushing out your quills. I wouldn’t keep your favorite foods stocked in my mini fridge. I wouldn’t wait up for you when you go on your ridiculously long runs.”
And that’s just scratching the surface.
Miles has always gone above and beyond for his brother. Not because he had to, or because he was scared of Scourge, but because he wanted to. He wanted Scourge to succeed, wanted to see his brother take over the world, wanted to see Moebius bow down to him, wanted to see him hailed as King.
But more than anything, he wanted people to respect his brother.
People just assumed Scourge was where he was today because of his gang, that without them, he’d be just another run-of-the-mill villain. Miles hated that all of Scourge’s success was attributed to Alicia, Boomer, and Patch. His brother might not have an IQ of 300, but he was far from stupid.
He poked Scourge’s chest again. “Whatever Alicia said or whatever she implied, forget it. I’m on you’re side, not hers. Yours.”
Scourge scowled, staring the fox down with an unreadable expression.
They stood like that for a while, but something must have clicked for the hedgehog, because his tense shoulders relaxed and his scowl slowly disappeared. “Damn right.” He reached up to cup the kit’s face, his gloved hands smoothing down the white fur. “Yer on my side. I’m the only one who matters.”
“So there's no reason for you to be paranoid,” Miles agreed, leaning into the warm touch. “Like you said, you raised me. And despite the many, many, many mistakes you’ve made--”
“Hey!”
“You didn’t do a half-bad job.”
“Sounds like a compliment.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
“Too late.” Scourge ruffled his dark bangs. Miles groaned. “I’m expectin’ ‘em now.”
“Ha. Ha. Can I go back to work now? Or do you have something else to complain about?”
“I have a lot of shit to complain about.” Scourge snickered, watching his little brother fix his hair. “But I’ll save that for later.” He looked over Mile’s shoulder, eyeing a beanbag tucked into the corner. It was where Scourge spent most of his time when the fox was busy, and he didn’t want to be around the rest of his gang.
He dropped onto the beanbag, and Miles turned back to his computer screen, switching from the code sequence to blueprints for a biplane— a biplane that looked suspiciously similar to Tail’s and Sonic’s. Only this one had more of an edge to it, matching Mile’s and Scourge’s aesthetic.
Scourge whistled. “That’s new. You plannin’ on building us that?”
Miles nodded, eyes glued to the screen. “Figured if our counterparts have a plane, we should have one too.”
“Looks like there’s only room for two.”
“That’s right.”
Good. That’s how it should be. Scourge and Miles against the world. They didn’t need anyone else. Alicia, Boomer, Patch, Fiona; they were all side characters, supporting cast to the greater story. Stepping stones to the throne, and when Scourge was sitting in that throne, with the crown on his head, Miles would be the one sharing in his glory.
No one else.
He reclined in the beanbag. “Tell me ‘bout it.”
Even with his back to him, Scourge could picture his brother’s conceded excitement. “Wellll…”