Sonic

Living life as an official Wachowski was the best thing that ever happened to Sonic. He had never experienced what being in a family was like outside of his short lived experience with Longclaw, and the only word he could use to describe how it felt was nice. It was nice having a warm bed to sleep in, it was nice having a roof over his head, it was nice having other people who cared about him. And the more he experienced with Maddie and Tom, the better it seemed to get. Movie and game nights, picnics, baseball, it was all wonderful. There was always something new he got to experience with every day that came, and today was no exception.

"Sonic," Tom called from the kitchen as he looked around for a doughnut he'd placed on the counter, planning on eating it later.

"Yeah?" Sonic replied from the living room, currently eating a doughnut he'd conveniently found in the kitchen.

"Do you know where the doughnut I had out here went?"

Sonic's eyes widened as he looked down at the pastry in his hand, now with only a few bites left.

"You mean the doughnut that was on the counter?"

"Yes, that one."

"I... uh... have no idea."

Tom already had his suspicions, and Sonic's response was all he needed to confirm what he already knew. He walked into the living room to find him seemingly trying to hide something behind the couch.

"So, you don't know what happened to it?" He could see the remaining crumbs on the couch and glaze on his hands.

"Nope," he tried to play it off, looking around the room to avoid eye contact.

"So the glaze on your hands is from something else then?"

Sonic looked down at his hands and sighed in defeat. "Sorry Tom, but it looked so good and it was just sitting there!"

Tom gave a mischievous grin. "Oh, you are so busted."

"What? For eating a doughnut? Come on, Tom, you can't be that cruel." He knew Tom was a cop, but he couldn't be that bent on dishing out doughnut justice.

"Every crime has a punishment, and you're going to have to face the Wachowski penalty."

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "The what penalty?"

Tom started towards him. "Come on, you've seen it before. Like when Maddie stole my favorite hoodie and wouldn't give it back. Or when she hides the TV remote."

A look of recollection crossed Sonic's face as he finally started remembering. Any time Tom and Maddie would playfully annoy each other, it would result in one of them being tickled out of revenge. He'd seen it quite a few times he'd been on earth. Sometimes families and friends out and about would have tickle fights, sometimes a character in a movie or comic would start laughing as they got poked in the side, and of course Tom and Maddie sometimes settled little things with a playful tickle fight. Every time he saw something like this, Sonic felt sort of left out. He'd never been close enough to anyone to be as playful as that, and he couldn't help but want to experience it for himself. He just wasn't sure how.

Now he had his answer.

"Wait- Tom, let's talk about this." He said as he nervously backed away on the couch. He felt nervous? Excited? Both? Even though he wanted to experience what he'd been missing out on, he couldn't help but feel butterflies as Tom drew closer to him with wiggling fingers.

"Too late for that, now get over here!"

He quickly brought his hands down to Sonic's sides as he tried to turn away, yelping as soon as he felt his fingers brush up against him.

"Tohohohom no! I dihihihidn't mean tohoho!"

"I'm not Tom right now, I'm the tickle monster!" He wrapped Sonic into a hug as he pulled him in, forming a claw with one hand and using it to scribble all over his stomach.

"WHAhahat ahahare you tahahahalking about?" Tom was impressed that he was able to form a sentence.

"Come on, you've never heard of the tickle monster?" Sonic only kept laughing in his grasp as he shook his head back and forth.

"He only comes out when mischievous hedgehogs steal doughnuts." He chuckled as Sonic half heartedly swatted at his hand.

"Thahahahat's dumb!"

Tom pretended to gasp. "The tickle monster doesn't like being insulted. You better say sorry."

"Nhehehehver!" In all actuality, he was enjoying  this playful attack. Sure it was a bit childish, and giggling while being completely wrecked with tickles probably didn't make him look all that cool, but laughing like this felt freeing somehow, like he didn't have a single care in the world.

"You asked for it," Tom said with a smirk. He suddenly brought his hands up to his under arms and started scribbling everywhere he could, nearly jumping when Sonic yelped in surprise.

"NOHOHOHOHOHO! Okahahahay, I'm sohohohorry!

Tom took that to mean he had enough, so as soon as the word 'sorry' had been said, he stopped his insistent tickling to give him a breather.

"So, lesson learned?"

Sonic's breathing finally calmed. "Yeah, next time I find a doughnut I'll eat it faster so you don't find out."

Tom laughed. "You really are asking for it at this point."

He couldn't help but notice the somewhat shy look on Sonic's face. He'd already figured that he didn't particularly mind the Wachowski penalty, considering he knew Sonic could have gotten out any time he wanted, but that look confirmed his suspicions. Still, he was a teenager, he would probably get embarrassed if Tom pointed it out.

"Alright, just throw away the rest of that thing, its probably covered in dog hair by now."

"Eww," Sonic groaned. In retrospect, throwing it behind the couch and the wall probably wasn't the smartest move. "Yeah, good call."

As he turned to grab it, both him and Tom noticed the sound of chewing coming from behind the couch. Looking over, they found Ozzy eating what remained of the treat.

"Ozzy, no!" Tom shouted as he ran around to get it out of his mouth.

Sonic laughed as Ozzy ran away, sending Tom on a chase after him. He was going to have to mess with Tom more often.

Tails

The Wachowski household had been quite noisy lately. Ever since the addition of two more wonderful kids choosing to live with them, the house was hardly ever calm or quiet. Not that they minded, it was a welcome change of pace now that Sonic had friends of his own.

Tails was ecstatic about having a home to call his own. For a fox who had been alone before, it seemed like he had it all. Two best friends, two loving people caring for him, and permission to use the garage for his inventions anytime he wanted.

Though he was grateful as can be, he felt a sort of tension living there. It wasn't that he didn't feel welcomed, quite the opposite. But transitioning between being a guest and a member of the family was strange, especially when he didn't know exactly where he stood at the moment. There were just some aspects to being in a family that he wasn't used to.

Sonic could tell that something didn't sit right with Tails. Whenever he would play around with Tom or teasingly banter wiith Maddie, he would notice how Tails looked like he wanted to join in on the fun, but never seemed to know how to ask. He knew it would take some getting used to before he felt comfortable opening up more, but after a couple of weeks of the tension never going away he decided it was up to him to make Tails feel more comfortable, and he knew the perfect way how.

"Movie night!" He exclaimed as he rushed down the stairs from the attic.

From his workshop in the garage, Tails could hear Sonic shouting, and he quickly flew to the living room. "I thought everyone said they wanted to go to bed early."

Both Tom and Maddie had long days at work and needed some well deserved shut eye, and Knuckles was currently working on a project in the woods. Something about building his own training grounds. Either way, they were the only two awake in the house.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we can't watch a movie together. And since it's just us two I'll even let you pick the movie."

Tails seemed excited at this. "I'll make some popcorn!"

"Oh no, you sit on the couch and pick out something to watch, I've already got snacks covered."

In a blue blur, there was suddenly a bowl of popcorn, m&ms, and soda on the living room table. Everything needed for an awesome movie night.

"I don't really know many movies, remember? You definitely have been giving me good recommendations though."

"Alright, how about I just put on a movie I think we'll both like. Remember Toy Story? Let's watch the sequel."

"Oh yeah," He exclaimed. "The first one was good."

"Trust me, the second one is even better."

Turning on the TV, the two huddled under a blanket on the couch and passed snacks back and forth as they watched the movie. All was going well, they were both fully invested in the film, even getting emotional during some parts. That all came to a halt when a certain scene played close to the end of the movie, when Jessie finds out that Woody is ticklish. During the scene, Tails sort of curled himself into a ball, hugging his tails close to himself. Sonic looked over and noticed how he seemed antsy, and he had a sneaking suspicion as to why.

"Tails, something wrong?" He asked with a mischievous tinge in his voice.

He seemed to snap back to attention at the mention of his name. "Y-yeah! Everything's good." He stuttered as he visibly tried to relax.

"You wouldn't happen to be a little jumpy, would you?"

"Um, no. Why would you say that?" His nervousness was evident even as he denied it.

"You aren't ticklish, are you?" He tried using the same teasing voice as Tom or Maddie did whenever they got into their tickle fights.

"I, um. I don't actually know." He sighed.

Sonic's smile dropped. "Wait, you don't?"

"No. At least not that I remember. I told you, I was on my own back at my old village. No one was really close enough to me to do that." His face fell into a gloomy stare as he thought back on it. "But, um, I know what it is. I sometimes see people playing like that. I guess I never really thought about it much, but-"

"You want to experience it but don't know how?" Sonic finished his sentence.

"Yeah, kind of. How did you know?"

"I was the same way when I was still hiding. I would see it happen sometimes, and I guess it made me feel kind of lonely."

"Wow. That's exactly how I feel." He smiled. "I keep seeing you get to play around with Tom and Maddie like that."

"And you felt left out?" He frowned.

"I mean, not exactly. I knew I could join if I wanted, but I never knew how to ask."

Sonic's face softened into a smile. "Well, you don't have to ask. You can join in anytime you want. And speaking of..." he held out his hands, fingers wiggling towards him. "Maybe I should finally give you a taste of what you've been missing out on."

Tails gave a sudden squeak as he took the blanket and covered himself with it.

"Tails," he laughed, "what are you hiding for?"

"You know why!" He responded, already laughing.

"I thought you said you wanted this to happen," he sang.

Tails peaked out from the blanket. "I do... I just feel nervous for some reason."

"Hey, butterflies are normal, I promise. I won't do it if you don't feel comfortable."

"No, I'm fine, really. It's hard to explain. I'm nervous, but like a good nervous? Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," he chuckled. "Just tell me if you change your mind, okay?"

"Okay," he said.

Even though he gave the okay, he still squeaked and giggled nervously as he saw Sonic draw closer, causing him to throw the blanket back over himself.

"The blanket isn't going to help much," he teased. "Especially when you can't see me. You have noooo idea where I am or when I'll get you!"

Tails couldn't hold back his giggling as he waited in anticipation. Every noise he heard made him jump, and any time he thought Sonic would finally pounce he held back, making him even more jumpy.

"I haven't even done anything yet," Sonic bemused.

"Ihihih know! I cahahant help it!"

Feeling merciful, Sonic finally brought his hands down onto the lump of blanket, poking wherever he could. With each poke Tails laughter got louder and the blanket would move as he tried to squirm away.

"Oh no you don't," Sonic smirked, swiftly pulling the blanket off as Tails gave a yelp of surprise. In one swift move he trapped him in a bear hug, pinning his arms down and scribbling at his tummy. He started fully laughing as he tried to curl his two tails closer to him.

"Okay, how adorable are you?" Sonic cooed. "You can't help but curl into a little ball when I tickle you!"

"Dohohohohont!"

"Don't what? Don't tease you or don't tickle you?"

"Bohohohth!" Tails lightly kicked his legs in an effort to escape, but the bear hug held strong. "Teasing mahahahahakes it wohohorse!"

"That's the idea, bud." Sonic chucked, switching to squeezing at his ribs.

Tails laughter rose a whole octave as he tried to bring his arms in to protect his torso.

"AHAHAHAH! Nohohohohoho! Ihihit tihihikles too muhuhuch!"

"You haven't tapped out yet," he noted, "you want me to keep going."

"Suhuhuhure! Ihihihim fine!" The scrunched smile on his face and the way his tails seemed to wag told Sonic that he meant what he said, he was having a blast.

They were both having so much fun that neither of them heard the door to Tom and Maddie's room open, and didn't notice that Tom had just walked into the living room. Tom had to admit, he was a bit mad that they had woken him up in the middle of the night, but the scene in front of him made it hard to stay mad. Still oblivious to his presence, Sonic kept up the attack as he laughed along with Tails, who had seemingly given in to the attack and now leaned against the couch, helplessly giggling and half heartedly swatting his hands away.

"Isn't it a bit late for a tickle fight?" Tom said with a smile.

Sonic suddenly froze in surprise while Tails' giggling started to slow. He turned with a cringe realizing they had woken him up.

"Sorry, I guess I got carried away." He awkwardly laughed as he handed the blanket back to Tails. He gave it a hug as he let the remaining laughter die down. "You still okay, bud?"

Tails nodded in response, obviously tired.

Tom walked to the couch to grab the TV remote and paused the movie that was still playing.

"Well, I think that's enough fun for one night. You guys should be getting to bed."

"Aww," Sonic complained, "I promise we won't be so loud."

"Can we at least watch the rest of the movie?" Tails asked eagerly, having finally recovered.

"You guys didn't seem interested in the movie a minute ago."

"Please?" They pleaded together, giving their best sad eyes.

"Alright," Tom chuckled as he finally caved in. "You guys can finish the movie, but after that you should get to bed." He put the remote back on the couch as he walked around to the back of it behind Sonic.

"But if I have to come out again then it's going to be your turn," he said as he scribbled at Sonic's side, making him yelp and swat his hand away.

"Okay, okay!"  he laughed. "I'm sorry!"

"Good." He smirked as he finally let up. "Night boys."

"Night," they answered in unison.

They turned their attention back to the television as Sonic pressed play. As the movie picked up where they left off, Tails tossed the blanket over Sonic's shoulder so they could share it. Tom looked back and smiled as he saw them lean on one another, holding the blanket close as they relaxed into the couch, looking like they could fall asleep at any moment.

He supposed there was nothing wrong with letting them sleep out on the couch that night. They would get sleep either way, in their room or downstairs. Turning to return to his room, Tom only hoped that they could have more moments like this, and as the movie finally ended Sonic and Tails both hoped for the same thing.

Knuckles

Now that it had been a little while since they settled into their new home, Tom and Maddie started trusting the kids to be home alone. It was a trust they all had to build, especially after having the house destroyed multiple times, converting their living room into a fighting pit, and one runaway echidna incident, but after a couple of months with no world ending events, they decided they could be responsible enough to hold down the fort. As long as they promised no fighting in the house and no inventions anywhere but the garage.

Tom and Maddie were both at work, leaving the boys to a day by themselves. As usual, they would keep each other in check. Sonic couldn't wreck the house, Tails couldn't build anything explosive, and Knuckles couldn't build any more fighting arenas. That didn't mean that mischief didn't occur often.

Knuckles was currently sitting in what he called his "meditation corner", where he and Maddie would sometimes do yoga in the living room. He was seated on the mat in concentration when a sudden noise interrupted him.

"Tails!" A voice yelled from the attic, followed quickly by a yellow figure flying down the stairs, laughing all the way.

"Knuckles help, help!" He laughed as he hid behind the couch.

Sonic quickly followed, zooming down from the stairs.

"Where did he go?"

Knuckles huffed in annoyance. "Why are you chasing the cub? We agreed there would be no fights in the house."

"We were playing a video game and he cheated, now he needs to pay the penalty!"

He raised an eyebrow. "A dishonorable move. And what's the penalty for cheating?"

"Oh, he knows what it is. That's why he's hiding."

A giggle suddenly came from behind the couch. Sonic's ears perked up and he quickly ran to where it came from.

"Aha! Caught ya!"

Tails broke out into laughter. "I didn't cheat, you're just bad at video games!"

Sonic stared in disbelief. "Oh, you're so going to get it now!"

He playfully lifted Tails in the air and threw him onto the couch. Tails yelped as he landed and curled in on himself. He giggled in anticipation as Sonic approached him, fingers wiggling as he drew closer.

"Whahahahait! Nohohohohoho!"

"It's too late for that, pal. You know the Wachowski penalty for cheating!"

Tails had become much more bold since the movie night, and he and Sonic's tickle fights had become a common occurrence. It wasn't unusual for one of them to taunt the other to the point of retaliation, and unplugging the controller while they were playing a game was a sure fire way for Tails to put a target on himself, but it was totally worth the look on Sonic's face.

With a sly grin, Sonic started scribbling his fingers all over his sides. Tails squeaked with laughter as he tried to curl up even more, lightly kicking his legs.

"SOHOHONIC nohohoho! I'm sohohohory!"

"I'm not Sonic, I'm the tickle monster!" He teased.

Knuckles just looked on, confused. He had seen a few of these "fights" but never really understood them.

"This is punishment?" He asked. "And what do you mean you are not Sonic? Clearly you are lying."

Sonic glanced at him while simultaneously continuing to tickle Tails. "Of course I'm not, didn't you hear me?"

"Yes, you are. Stop lying to me, hedgehog."

Sonic sighed as he continued scattering his fingers across Tails' ribs.

"It's just a game, Knucklehead."

As Tails kept squirming and giggling, the front door suddenly opened.

"Boys," called Maddie, "I'm home."

"Mahahahahaddie! Hehehelp!"

She looked to the couch and smiled at the sight in front of her. Tails curled up in a ball as Sonic made goofy faces while he poked and tweaked at his sides.

"What was the crime this time?"

"He unplugged the controller while we were in the middle of a game!"

Maddie chuckled to herself. "That definitely sounds tickle worthy."

It was clear that both of them enjoyed their little tickle fights, and Sonic never took it too far. Right on que, Tails double tapped at his arm, and he let up immediately.

"You okay, bud?" He asked, still smiling at him.

Through his residual giggles, Tails managed to give a thumbs up.

As he recovered, Maddie looked over at Knuckles, who seemed confused but intrigued.

"They didn't interrupt your meditation, did they?"

"Briefly. I was almost finished anyway." He continued to stare at them as they bantered to each other.

"It isn't my fault you're so ticklish." Sonic teased.

"What?" Tails responded. "Your way worse than me!"

"Is something wrong?" Maddie interjected as Knuckles finally snapped back to attention.

"I do not understand what makes something like that a game but also a punishment."

Maddie tried to hold back her smile. "It's just playing. Sometimes people like messing with each other like that, it's all in fun."

"Hmm. Similar to grappling. A fight that is meant for fun."

Sonic glanced over. "Have you really never been tickled before?"

Knuckles tried thinking back on it. His younger years were spent training in as many forms of combat as possible. Sure, sometimes he would have more casual matches with his father, but it was always taken at least somewhat seriously. That, and he was the youngest in his tribe at the time, meaning there weren't any kids his age to play with. He supposed that whatever these playful fights were, he'd never gotten to experience them.

"No, I cannot say I have."

A grin crossed Maddie's face as she planned her next move. It was a risk knowing how strong Knuckles was, but something told her that the risk was worth it. She slowly approached Knuckles while he was still focused on Sonic. Of course as soon as Sonic noticed the look on Maddie's face, he knew exactly what she was planning, and couldn't help his smile as he played along.

"Well, there's a first time for everything, right?"

"I am a warrior. And a warrior would never have such a weakness- AH!"

His statement was cut short when Maddie suddenly scribbled her hand along his side.

"What was that?" He asked indignantly. "What sort of tricks are you playing to catch me off guard like that?"

"It's not a trick," Maddie laughed, "it's tickling, and it looks like you're very ticklish."

She scribbled his side as he let out another bark of a laugh, then hugged him from behind and started freely poking and prodding at both sides. Knuckles' short shouts became deep laughter as he shook his head back and forth, trying hard to not kick out his legs.

Sonic and Tails both perked up at the sound of their friend's laughter, and soon they were spectating the fiasco.

"So he can laugh," Sonic smirked. "Maddie, you're probably the bravest person in this house."

"Oh please, this is nothing compared to Tom." She taunted. "He nearly kneed me in the nose last time we had a tickle fight."

Sonic and Tails both laughed picturing Tom in that position. He really couldn't take what he dished out.

"Thihihis is chihihihildish!" Knuckles managed to say.

He wasn't used to holding back his instincts to escape from an attack, but he didn't seem to have trouble holding back now, almost as if his instincts were telling him that everything was okay. This wasn't a malicious attack, it was one of gentleness and playfulness. Plus, it was coming from Maddie. If there was anyone in the world that Knuckles would never risk hurting, it was her.

"Childish?" Maddie mockingly gasped. "Even a warrior could never be too 'grown up' for a tickle fight."

"Trust me," Sonic remarked, "you remind us all the time."

"And don't you forget it," she added as she switched to scribbling her fingers under his arms.

"BAHAHAH! HOHOHOW IHIHIS IT GEHEHETIG WOHOHORSE?" He cackled, trying his best to keep his footing, but it was becoming more and more difficult as the urge to double over in laughter grew.

"Looks like this is a weak spot," she teased.

"Ihihihi hahahave no weheheak spohohots!"

At least he never thought he did. Who knew that something as silly and playful as this could take down a warrior such as himself? Still, for a moment through the laughter, he could almost feel as though he was having fun. He still didn't understand why such a thing made him laugh like this, but it was hard not to feel lighter. Like a weight he didn't even know was there was suddenly lifted.

He held his composure for as long as he could, but even warriors had their limits.

"Ahahahalright! Mehehercy!" He cackled.

Maddie let go at that. She didn't want to overwhelm him. Knuckles took a step away as he held his sides, laughing breathlessly.

"The echidna warrior taps out?" Sonic teased. "That's a first!"

Knuckles would have come up with a retort if he wasn't so busy trying to catch his breath. As he recovered though, he started to understand why Sonic and Tails were always getting into these playful fights. There was a gentleness to it while still feeling like a battle of its own.

"You okay?" Maddie asked. "I didn't take it too far, did I?"

"I am unharmed," he managed to get out. "Never would I have thought laughing was so exhausting."

"Hey, at least you took it like a champ!" Sonic grinned. "Looks like we're going to have to drag you into our tickle fights from now on."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Tails questioned nervously.

Sonic had to admit, he'd been so caught up in the fact that Knuckles was actually ticklish that he didn't stop to think about how competitive he could be.

"You dare challenge me to a fight?" Knuckles said as he finally caught his breath. "I am still a warrior. No matter what the fight entails, I will win." His face twisted into a determined grin as he held his hands out the way Maddie had with him.

Sonic realized his mistake. What had he wrought upon himself? With a nervous laugh he began backing up.

"H-hey, bud! We don't have to have one now. You're probably exhausted." He held his hands up defensively.

"A warrior never waits for a fight! Let us settle this!"

With a yelp, Sonic dashes upstairs to the attic.

"Coward!" Knuckles yelled as he ran after him.

Tails of course didn't want to be left out. After all, he still needed to get back at Sonic for tickling him earlier. "Wait for me!" He giggles as he flew his way to them.

Maddie hardly had time to process what happened before the sound of Sonic's laughter could be heard from upstairs. From the sound of it, it seemed like Tails had teamed up with Knuckles to take him down a peg. She smiled as she heard the front door open.

"Hey, babe," Tom called as he walked into the living room. He perked up as he heard the sound of hysterical laughter coming from the attic. "Did I miss something?"

Maddie smiled as she gave him a kiss.

"Just boys being boys," She said.

They both cringed at a sudden shriek of laughter. Sounded like Sonic was losing the fight.

"Should we do something?" Tom asked.

The laughter turned into light giggling as a faint voice finally called for mercy. It was quickly followed by the sound of Knuckles celebrating his victory.

"I think they're fine," Maddie finally answered.

Tom smiled as he pulled her in for a hug, all while listening to the sound of their kids having fun. They both hoped that there would be even more new experiences for them all to share.