Choose Me! (Tails x Reader)

Chapter 1

Standing in Tails' workshop, you find yourself clutching a wrench and myriad nuts and bolts while the fox himself hums, welding metal under a vehicle.

A year ago you were tasked with being his little assistant, or, well, you applied to become that. It was neat, in exchange for being his coworker you also got to be his "roommate", sharing his living space and food. It certainly beat the alternative, which was struggling on your lonesome. And you could even keep some of your hobbies.

Proportional to the amount of work he did in his workshop, he would spend time away with who was basically his brother, Sonic, and his other friends. You've been invited on several occasions and their company is not unwelcome, but honestly, you're kind of a shut-in. Because of this, you get a lot of free time to do as you please without having to be Tails' sentient coat hanger or mobile toolbox. Having witnessed his genius, you're surprised he does not just invent those things to help him out instead. Your guess is that he is kind enough to not put you out of a job. You may even stake claim he prefers your company over anything some service robot could provide.

Whatever the case, you're grateful that he is a reliable friend, or alternatively, an understanding provider. He has never failed to make you feel secure, despite his frequent battles with Dr. Eggman.

It must have started there. Even before you were friends with him, you knew him as a starry-sky pilot who would always be there, of course with Sonic and company, to defend Mobius from Dr. Eggman's terrorizing. In the midst of the chaos you could always pick out his Tornado, it was a constant. You trusted in his heroism, and you were even infatuated by it.

You think you might be somehow putting yourself in a stockholm-syndrome type situation, where Tails has trapped you into thinking he's the only contact in the world you'll ever have. And it's true, circumstantially he is the only person you talk to daily, and he also makes sure you're fed and that you have shelter. But you know you could go out and make friends if you wanted to, it just never felt like something you needed.

Everything you wanted from companionship, you got from Tails, or at least, you thought so.

"Hey, friend. I need the wrench?" Tails has his welding mask pushed up his forehead, you can see his blue eyes pointed at your grip.

"Ah! Sorry, I zoned out.." 

After receiving the wrench he promptly goes back under to keep working, and you feel a twang of disappointment that you can't see his face or feel his gaze on you anymore.

At the beginning, working like this was boring but not draining because it was something you could turn your brain off for and just do, but now you feel anxious. Like you're waiting for Tails to do something horrible. Like figure out that you like him, and more than just as a friend. 

You've watched him work at his desk for hours, observed him piecing together projects with extreme diligence. You've seen him smile at his creations fondly, excited from start to finish. He loves what he does with his talents so wholly, if you could just get a fraction of that interest he has with the Miles Electric–

"Okay! That's a good stopping point for now!" Tails kicks up from under his newest vehicle's skeleton, smelling of mints and metal, but his contented self.

"I'm gonna try and find a midnight snack, do you want one, too?"

You thought all you wanted from companionship is what Tails already gives you.

"Yeah, sure. I think there's mint ice cream still left in the freezer."

At that, Tails laughs and smiles at you. "How did you know I was going to look for it?"

You were so wrong.

"Just a hunch."

You feel sick pretending. You really, really wish you could tell Miles "Tails" Prower just how much you wanted to be special to him. Not just some convenient, pleasant roommate, but someone whose presence was as life-changing as his is to yours. You're smiling and joking, passively complimenting his work today as you make your way to your shared kitchenette, but it fills you with melancholy. These little things are the only way you can 'love' him, you won't step out of your lane, you remind yourself to be grateful for what you've always known.

But you wish he would give you a green light.