Work Text:
Sonic shivered as he opened the door to Tails’ workshop, the cold air rushing over him as he quickly stepped inside and shut the door behind him. The inside of the garage was just above freezing, and while it wasn’t quite as cold as outside it was a sharp contrast from the warmth of the brother’s shared home.
The fox immediately spotted his older brother, his blue eyes lighting up at his appearance and his white colored tails gently wagging as he changed his focus from his work. “Hey Sonic!”
“Hey bud, just coming to see if you need anything.” Sonic said, taking in the sight of the kit’s brilliant white fur, its pristine surface practically shining under the overhead lights.
Sonic never got used to the sight of the fox’s winter coat, even after living together for several years. The two had first met in the fall, the part of the year that the kit’s fur was still its usual combination of browns and so that was the colors he associated with him. Each year over the span of about two weeks though his winter coat would fade in, the base of his thick fur steadily whitening and becoming denser overall. Not long after that it would finish, leaving Tails more snowball than fox, a distinction that Sonic thought fit especially well considering that the kit frequently put on a little extra weight in that time as well, giving him a little bit of chubbyness to go with his thicker fur.
“I think I’m still good.” Tails replied in answer to Sonic’s question, setting his wrench down. It wasn’t unusual for the fox to spend the entire winter living out of his garage turned workshop, keeping it cold enough so that he could avoid overheating with his thick fur, though sometimes he and Sonic would go on walks in the snow to help as well. “Maybe some more snacks would be nice but I can get them myself if you don’t want to.”
“Trying to keep that extra weight on huh?” Sonic gently teased.
“It’s for insulation Sonic…” Tails replied, explaining for what he felt at least was the hundredth time. “Just my biology, it can’t be helped.”
“It does make you look more like a snowball though… Maybe I could get Knuckles to come and throw you around to check.”
“If you think Knuckles out of everyone is coming here in the cold then I think you might just be losing it a little.” Tails lightly teased back, “He’s probably sunbathing on Angel Island right now.”
“Alright you got me there, I’ll remember to bring you some more snacks when I get a second. Speaking of which… Amy also said she’d be coming by later to chat though if you wanted to join. She said she’s got some of her homemade mint ice cream for you.”
“If you’re joking about this Sonic you’re losing workshop privileges until summer.” Tails replied, tone suddenly deathly serious.
“Would I ever joke about something like that to you?”
“You have put toothpaste into my ice cream before…”
“That was one time! They taste the same so I didn’t think you’d notice that fast.”
“They do not taste the same, you just don’t have good taste.” Tails teased, turning his head up and away in mock disgust.
Sonic raced over and put the fox kit in a playful headlock, ruffling Tails’ thick bangs with his knuckle. “You’re making fun of your big bro? Maybe I should tell Amy you’re misbehaving and so you don’t get any…”
“You wouldn’t!”
“Serious crimes bud, but I’ll let you off the hook this time, if only because I can’t stay mad at a snowball.”
Tails let out a relieved sigh as Sonic released his hold, “Amy texted that she’d be here soon, you good if we head back inside to wait?”
“I’ll wait on the porch, it’s too hot inside.”
“I wouldn’t call room temperature hot bud, next thing I know you’ll be wanting an ice bath in a frozen lake.”
“That does sound kind of nice actually…” Tails mused, the tone of his voice indicating to Sonic that he was legitimately considering it.
His response got a chuckle out of his older brother. “Whatever you say bud, I’ll be inside.”
The blue speedster darted out of the workshop, no doubt looking to get back into the warmth of the house as Tails stood up and stretched, finally heading outside and taking a seat on the steps of the front porch. He watched as fresh snowflakes gently drifted down from above, some of them landing on his black nose as he took in the cold winter air, gently kicking at the steps with his shoes.
Tails wasn’t sure if it was his biology, the quiet moments, or the simple snow that made him enjoy winter so much. As an arctic fox he was uniquely built for the weather, comfortable in it even without a coat or anything to warm himself except his body heat, but he had his other reasons for liking the season as well. It was a time for him to work on long unfinished projects or spend time with friends that came to see him. Even before Sonic the kit had always enjoyed the first chill of winter. It meant that the other animals of his home island would all be keeping to themselves over the next months, leaving him mostly free to wander the trees as he wished.
What an arctic fox had been doing on a tropical island to begin with was beyond him. Perhaps his parents had placed him there on purpose as some sort of intentional torment, hoping the heat would get the better of him. Maybe they had moved there for some other more benign reason. Regardless of how it had happened however, meeting Sonic on that island had made all the blistering hot summer days worth it.
Tails' twin namesakes began to wag the moment he spotted Amy cresting the hill that led to their house, the pink hedgehog was dressed in a thick coat and boots as she pushed through the snow.
“Hey Tails!” They cheerily exclaimed, reaching the steps of the front porch. “How’s my favorite ice cube doing?”
“Just taking a break from some projects,” The kit replied, blushing slightly at her use of the nickname. The fact that all of his friends insisted on calling him something related to snow and ice when he had his winter coat was both endearing and embarrassing.
“That’s good, I would say we should head inside so you don’t freeze but I know you’d prefer that to being inside this time of year. So how about we don’t leave Sonic waiting forever then?”
Tails nodded and stood up, brushing some of the loose snow from his body with the glove before opening the door.
The kit was immediately met with a wave of warmth over him, starting to soak into his fur as he and Amy stepped inside, the hedgehog removing her coat. He found the temperature wasn’t unbearably hot, Sonic didn’t like completely baking the place after all, but shedding any excess heat was a lot harder given his thick fur. He would manage for now.
“Hey Amy,” Sonic began, hanging up the link hedgehog’s coat for her. “What brings you out here? Other than ice cream delivery of course.”
“Can’t a girl just want to see her friends these days?” Amy replied, her tone lightly teasing as she reached into the bag she had brought with her. “But I do have something for both of you.”
She produced a small sealed tub with a bit of ice crystals still around the lid and handed it to Tails.
“Your favorite mint ice cream.” Amy presented, “I made a special batch without any chocolate this time just for you. That way you won’t get sick if you eat the whole thing again.”
“You really didn’t have to Amy…” Tails replied, “But thank you.”
“Of course I had to, what kind of friend would I be if I gave you chocolate in it again? Do you want me to purposely poison you next time?” Amy jokingly asked, her tone overall playful and lighthearted at the suggestion.
Tails recalled the last time she’d made ice cream for him. It had been mint chocolate chip that time around and unable to resist the temptation he ate basically the entire tub within the span of two days. His biology could not tolerate that much chocolate and needless to say he got sick and was practically bedridden for a week because of it. Amy still felt guilty about it whenever it came up but she hadn’t known about his inability to handle large amounts of chocolate so he didn’t hold it against her.
In Tails’ mind it had been and still was totally worth it.
The pink hedgehog then pulled a red scarf with a golden ring on one end of it from her bag and handed it to Sonic. “Figured I’d give you a new scarf as well, especially given I think it looks good on you.”
Sonic smiled and put it on, wrapping the free end around his neck and through the ring to keep it secure as the rest of the loose fabric hung limply behind him. It was soft and comfortable, and would definitely be enough to help keep him at least a bit warmer in the cold winter air.
“Looks great Amy!” Sonic assured, “Definitely going to be using this the next time we have to head out and kick Eggman’s butt.”
“I think a bit of red looks good on you.” The other hedgehog explained, “So I’m glad you like it!”
“Anything you’ve been up to recently Amy?” Tails asked, “Other than coming to chat with us of course.”
“Well, not much really, I’ve been staying with Cream and Vanilla for now, you know how much they like having anyone over, you two should definitely visit soon, I’m sure she’d be happy to see you both.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Sonic continued. “We’ll figure out a time some other day.”
Amy nodded, “But not much other than that, I just figured I’d come over and see how you two were doing, especially with Sonic staying home as much as he does.”
“It's not my fault it’s cold outside,” The hedgehog protested, “Not all of us can have Tails’ winter coat.”
“That’s true, I’m sure Tails would prefer it like this all year.”
“I don’t want to subject Sonic to that,” The fox sheepishly replied. “But I know I wouldn’t mind…”
“Anything else you’ve been working on Tails?” Amy questioned, “Sonic says you’re out in your workshop a lot so I’m sure you're up to something in there.”
The fox practically beamed at her interest. “I can show you if you want!”
Amy chuckled, obviously amused by just how easy it was to make Tails happy. “Lead the way.”
“I think I’ll stay inside where it’s warm.” Sonic added, “We can chat some more afterward.”
The other two nodded, standing up and stepping outside to the path that led to the kit’s workshop. Sonic couldn’t help but smile as he heard Tails launch into an explanation.
He always liked seeing his little bro happy like this.
-X-
Several months later, Sonic cracked open the door to Tails’ unlit bedroom, finding the kit curled up on the floor in a mixture of exhaustion and shame.
“How are you holding up bud?” Sonic asked, noticing the clumps of loose white fur gently piled around them.
“Have been better…” He muttered, voice quiet and reserved, a far cry from his usual energetic self.
It was the start of spring, which naturally meant it was Tails’ least favorite time of year.
Shedding season.
The kit’s fur was a patchwork of his previous winter white as well as his new summer coat, one that consisted of a brown color with darker parts on his extremities, back, and bangs, with the notable exception of his belly and tips of his twin tails which remained a lighter coffee cream color. Growing this new coat however was not without complications. The entire process was uncomfortable and exhausting for the fox, both physically and mentally, making him overall more lethargic, irritable, and reserved. He usually kept to his room for the two weeks or so that shedding took, wanting somewhere quiet and private to undergo the process. Sonic tried to help as best as he could, making sure the kit got enough protein in his meals to keep himself well fed and to make sure the coat came in as easily as it could but besides that there wasn’t much he could do…
Except for one thing.
“You want to watch a movie? I’ll brush your fur like usual.” The hedgehog proposed, wanting to see if the kit was even feeling up for it.
After a moment of hesitation, the fox replied. “Yes.”
Knowing the kit didn’t have the energy to reply any more than that, Sonic stepped into the room and gently scooped Tails into his arms, a few loose white fur clumps falling off of him as he started toward the living room. He grabbed a brush from the countertop as he carefully lowered Tails onto the couch, the exhausted fox’s head coming to rest on the soft arm of it and his bare pawed feet and legs curling up in front of him.
“Figure I’ll throw on something for you, how’s Chao in Space sound?”
A quiet mutter of confirmation from his younger brother let him know that the choice was okay as Sonic started the movie, keeping the volume down a bit in case Tails wanted to sleep, the fox was clearly more exhausted than he was letting on.
Now content that Tails was comfortable, Sonic laid one of the kit’s limb twin namesakes in his lap, noticing the wispy white and brown furs almost swirling together as one replaced the other. He then began to carefully brush the length of the appendage, trying to help release any of the loose fur patches he found. The effort was somewhat successful, Tails' body sinking further into relaxation on the couch next to him as he gently brushed, the fox’s attention fully focused on the movie.
Sonic resisted the urge to comment as he finished with the first tail, having released a decent amount of fur out of it after a few minutes of brushing. Tails was always understandably more irritated during molting season and while he never really said anything hurtful, he had been on the receiving end of a snippy remark more than once. So he quietly let the tail he was holding relax and curl back against the kit before carefully pulling the other one into his lap and beginning to brush it as well, its soft surface letting the brush glide through it easily.
A soft, gentle purr sounded from the kit next to him, drawing a small smile from Sonic. Tails, as much as he sometimes didn’t like to show it, absolutely loved it when his tails got brushed.
“You can take a nap if you want bud.” Sonic quietly whispered, his voice only reaching the kit’s ears over the movie due to his sensitive hearing.
He got no reply but the slight twitch in Tails' ear confirmed that he’d heard him, pressing a bit further into the couch to get fully comfortable as his breathing relaxed.
As he continued to brush the fox’s tail he could tell the kit was slowly falling asleep, exhaustion getting the better of him as he gently fell into unconsciousness. It was long before Sonic finished brushing, having gotten all the fur out that he thought he could for the time being.
Even after releasing the tail it didn’t return to curl around the fox, instead remaining limply draped over Sonic’s lap, getting a small chuckle from the hedgehog.
It seemed like he might be trapped here until Tails woke up…