Taiream Forever

Comfort at Christmas

Cream brushed the fresh white snow she'd accumulated from her vermilion jacket and white mittens, and observed her newly built Snowfox. She'd built it to show Miles 'Tails' Prower, mostly just known by Tails, that she was thinking of him. She had a huge crush on the fox boy, but hadn't yet told him. But today, she had planned to confess to him on Christmas Day. Right now, it was Christmas Eve, and she started to walk home- seeing a certain two-tailed fox in a green jacket trudging through the snow.

"Hi Tails!" Cream said. There was no reply. She tried again. "Hi Tai..." her voice caught in her throat. Tails' namesakes were being dragged through the snow, and were usually up happily. Something was wrong. Tails turned to Cream, and his face said it all. His baby blue eyes, usually bright and happy, were soaked, and almost tearful. It was as if he'd been crying recently, albeit before he saw Cream. And the rabbit girl knew exactly why.

While being a celebrated hero of Mobius, Tails was still bullied because of his two tails. Brave though he was, he was still young, and was still picked on frequently. And Cream was the only one who saw him like this.

"Hello Cream," Tails said, his nose honking when he let out a sniffle.
"Do you want to come in?" Cream tried. "You look frozen, and Mother could make you a hot drink."
"No thanks," Tails said. " "I've  got work to do, and a card to write."
"Maybe I could help?" Cream suggested.
The fox had no answer for that. He simply said "See you at Amy's," and walked off.

Cream's heart ached in sympathy for the fox. It always broke her heart to see Tails this way. With no lead on the bullies and positive that they were constant in their abuse, there was little she could do. She sat down on the snow and sighed. While the bullies didn't usually physically harm Tails, the more heartless of them would consider it. And the fox wouldn't fight them either.

However, the way Tails dismissed her offers to cheer him up shook her to the core. This was definitely different from what she'd seen before. Tails had never done that before, ever. She couldn't, no, she wouldn't let him suffer like that. With her mind made up, Cream flapped her large ears and took to the air, flying towards Tails' house in the Mystic Ruins.

The Mystic Ruins were already difficult to traverse under normal circumstances. Now, after the heavy snowfall, they were downright treacherous to those not paying attention. But Cream had to do it, for her crush was in need of her, even if he didn't really want it.

Finally, she arrived there, and knocked on the door to Tails' house. No one answered. She knocked again, this time louder. Still no answer. She tried the handle. The door was open. "Strange," she thought. Still, she wasn't going to complain about it. Cream entered, calling out "Tails!" repeatedly.

She found him in his workshop, with his face buried in the arms of his jacket, as if he was sleeping.

"Tails?" Cream said. She heard a muffled "What is it?" from Tails.
"Tails, please talk to me," Cream explained. "I want to help."
"There's nothing you can do," Tails replied. "Just leave me alone." Cream shook her head and let out a polite but firm "No. I won't leave." She couldn't leave him like this. He needed her, whether he realised it or not.
"Look at me," Cream said softly. Tails refused to, so Cream raised her head for him, and instantly she could see he needed her badly. His cheeks were matted with tears, and his eyes were no longer crying, but were still downcast and depressed. He sniffed, wiping his nose on his arm.
"Happy now?" he said, jerking away from her hands.
"Tails, tell me. What happened?"
"Well..." Tails began. "Th... he actually hurt me, almost pulling my tails off." He started to sob. "He then asked why I was even born, and ran off, laughing..." Tails buried his head in Cream's chest, crying.

Cream was speechless. "Someone doing that to Tails? Unacceptable!"she thought. She just let the fox boy cry it out. When he was finally done, he pulled back, looking at her.
"That's why I don't want you here," he said. "Not when I'm like this."

Cream rubbed Tails' back. "I don't care what you look like or how sad you are. I like you for you and I just want to be there for you." She realised too late how that came up and her face burned up.

Tails looked back at her. Was he surprised or pleased? Cream didn't have to wonder for long. When her hand went higher and massaged his shoulders, he leaned into her. "You always have me, Tails," Cream added.
"Thanks," Tails said. "You always have me too. Not that you'd need it."

"Don't pay any attention to what those bullies say about you. They don't know you like I do. You're funny... brave, kind..." Cream trailed off, watching Tails' face. His spirit didn't change.

"Should I let him know how I feel? Will that help or will it feel like I don't care about his problem? Is it appropriate or is it not the right time?" Cream thought. After internally debating the issue for a few seconds, she added, "Handsome," to the list. When his ears straightened and he raised an eyebrow, fear clenched her heart. "Oh, it wasn't right! I shouldn't have done that!"

But then he grabbed her hand and squeezed it. His cheeks were tinged a bright red. "And you're cute, kind, and so much more. I really appreciate all you've done for me. Even when I've been really down. You really are a wonderful person." She smiled, giddiness rising in her chest. "I'm sorry for how I've acted." His frown returned, greater than before. "I really don't deserve you or your help."

"Tails, I want to help. You're important to me." Her hand trailed up to his cheeks. She brushed the fur with her thumb, untangling the clumps. He leaned into her hand, closing his eyes and sighing softly.

An impulse overtook Cream, as if she knew the moment was perfect for her to slowly inch her head forward. The perfect moment to let Tails know how important he was to her and how much she cared. His eyes opened up by the tiniest fraction, but he didn't pull away. In fact, his lips parted like hers and she thought he moved his head forward, too.

Their lips fumbled against one another, the inexperience of both causing them to mesh their mouths in an awkward fashion. More than once, they broke apart, trying to correct it only to miss and peck a cheek, but they did their best. They wrapped each other in a tight embrace to help hold the kiss. For Cream, it was electrifying to feel Tails against her. Her short thoughts on the matter never compared to this.

Soon, their little lungs gave out and they broke the kiss for air. They kept ahold of one another, each leaning their head on the other's shoulder. "Wow," he said, breathing hard.

"Yeah, wow," she agreed.

"So, uh, does this mean we're together? Like boyfriend and girlfriend?"

She lifted her head. "I've never had a boyfriend, but I guess so. Is that what you want?"

"Definitely," he said, kissing her cheek. "What about you?"

"Of course!" she said a little too loud. She hugged him tighter, burying her face in his chest.

"So, are you ready for Amy's Christmas party today?" Tails asked.
"Yeah," Cream answered. "My presents are wrapped. Are yours?"
"Not yet," Tails answered.
"I'll help you, then we can stop by my house and pick up my presents," Cream suggested.
"Sounds great!" Tails exclaimed. "I've got some for you, and a card. Cream smiled warmly at him. There were many more things for her and Tails to do together, but they had all the time in the world to do it.

One-shot done! This is a complete overhaul of the original, apart from the kiss scene, which I enjoyed writing a lot. Hope you like this. Oh, and it's FINALLY here! Ask Her to Dance part 2 next week!