Taismo: Unwilling Enemy

A/N: This is set during Sonic X and can be seen to be a sequel to my earlier oneshot "Lake of Love": djaik-niffsta.deviantart.com/a…

”Hello? Is anyone there?”

Tails sighed as a single tear trickled down the side of his cheek and splashed softly on the floor, leaving a thin trail of wet fur on his face. He hated seeing her like this. It wasn’t fair.

“Please help me, someone. I-I can’t see.”

Cosmo was stumbling about the room slowly, her arms outstretched in front of her. She seemed in great distress, and it truly heart Tails to know this.

The fox walked up to her and grabbed her by the hand. “It’s okay, Cosmo. I’m here with you.”

But he knew speaking was no use. She couldn’t hear him either. “Who is that? Is that you Tails?”

Tails wept. Salty water gushed from his eyes, dampening his cheeks. There was one way she could know it was him. He pulled himself closer to her and wrapped his tails around her waist. Gently turning her head to face him, he leant in and kissed her on the lips. He continued to cry as he held the kiss. His tongue tasted salt as his tears crossed their locked lips. However he was reassured as he felt Cosmo respond to his actions, kissing him back.

The kiss broke after a few seconds. Cosmo smiled. “Tails! I’m glad it’s you. Can you help me find my way out of this room please?”

“O-Of course I-I will, Cosmo. I’ll a-always be here for you.” Tails could not prevent himself from replying, even though he knew that she would not hear. He held tightly onto her hand and began to gently guide her towards the direction of the door.

“Thank you, Tails.” Cosmo beamed. But she allowed her smile to fade as she spoke her mind. “Are you sad, Tails? I could, er… taste tears in our, um, kiss.”

Cosmo blushed, and turned away. Tails smiled through his sadness, finding her cute when she was bashful.

Thankfully, he thought , she can’t see my similarly red cheeks, but as soon as he finished that thought he felt horribly guilty and mentally scorned himself.

“Please don’t worry about me, Cosmo. Worry about yourself,” he whispered.

“I’d hate for you to be sad about my condition, Tails. Don’t let it bother you; I wouldn’t want to be a burden.”

“How can I not let it bother me, Cosmo?” Tails cried out. He was touched by her words – she always looked out for others ahead of herself. But he could not cope with the idea that the girl he loved was forever without sight and hearing.

Tails woke up, breathing heavily. He sat up and looked around. He was in his bedroom on the Blue Typhoon, and it appeared morning (or the space equivalent) had come. The fox breathed a sigh of relief and let out the last few tears as he realised that it had just been a dream. He felt his fur – it was damp with sweat, as were his sheets. His blankets were mangled and some had been thrown to the floor.

The day before yesterday it had been discovered that Cosmo was an unwilling Metarex spy. They were using her eyes and ears to see and hear what the crew of the Blue Typhoon were up to. And so  the next day, after scans had confirmed that Cosmo was indeed a spy, it had been suggested that for the safety of everyone aboard the heroes’ ship it could be necessary to remove the signal-emitting device from within Cosmo’s brain – an operation that would cost the young seedrian her sight and hearing. Tails had fiercely fought against this proposal, and had come up against aggressive opposition in the form of Knuckles and reluctant acceptance from Chris. Luckily for Tails he had won the argument, but the fear from the close shave had fuelled his nightmare.

The young kitsune got up and left his room, walking to the nearest bathroom on the ship. He did not bother with putting on his shoes or gloves as he planned on returning to his bedroom shortly. Upon reaching the bathroom he made a beeline for the sink and began to splash cold water over his face. It woke him up slightly and cleansed him of the fears from his nightmare.

Tails smiled as he allowed the cold water to spill over his bare hands. He opened and closed his fingers, enjoying its refreshing feeling. He then turned the tap off and looked in the mirror. Little beads of water were dripping from his muzzle and bangs in the masses, so he grabbed a towel and wiped his face dry, before returning to his room.
Tails reached his bedroom and sat down on his bed. He could not get Cosmo off of his mind. She was the most beautiful person he had ever seen, and she had a heart to match. He'd found her amazing as soon as he had first laid eyes on her. Over time his feelings had finally grown, and a short while ago those feelings had reached their peak - together they had fallen into the Lake of Love on the plane Marmolin, where they had shared an amazingly intimate moment. He had kissed her, and they had admitted their feelings for each other.

Ever since that moment Tails had known how he felt about her - he loved her. He couldn't think of anything about her that he didn't love. Her cute bashfulness, desire to help others and her beautiful figure were just part of her perfect persona. Although since they had spent some time together, Tails found himself unable to admit the true extent of the way felt about her.

But this had to change. When Shadow had attempted to kill Cosmo, Tails had put all his effort into attempting to save her. It was during those moments that he realised how much it would hurt him if he lost her. He felt this again when she had come close to losing her sight and hearing. And finally the previous afternoon when Cosmo had nearly left on her own accord in an attempt to protect everyone.

Tails had cursed his luck then, as he had been close to telling her how he felt at that moment, but the rest of the gang had walked in on them just as he was about to tell her, and he was afraid of doing so in front of everyone. So his confession was delayed.

And now, Tails felt, it must happen as soon as possible. Cosmo deserves to know why he wants her to stay so much, and he should let her know before something happens to her.

Tails mentally pulled himself together before getting up. He walked nervously towards his door, preparing himself for his moment by taking deep breaths. He would have to go to her bedroom and hope that she was not awake.

He placed his hand on the switch to open his door. The door slid open and there she was. She stood there staring back at him her mouth slightly agape, surprised to see him open the door on her.

"Tails!" she squawked.

"Aah!" Tails leapt back in shock. But when he realised who it was, he instantly calmed down.

"Oh! S-Sorry, Cosmo, I-I didn't expect to see you there" he stammered bashfully.

"Not at all, Tails, I'm most sorry for frightening you," Cosmo quickly dismissed his apology by apologising herself. She shook her hands in front of her to emphasise her point.

"So, did you want to speak to me about something?" asked Tails politely.

"Huh? Oh, I did, but if you were on your way out then I wouldn't want to intrude at all." Cosmo stepped away from Tails' door to allow him a clear path through.

"Oh no, Cosmo. I was actually hoping to find you." said Tails.

"Oh"

There was a moment of silence before both spoke at the same time.

"So what was it you wanted tell me?"

"Why did you wish to speak to me?"

Cosmo gasped as Tails laughed awkwardly at there mishap.

"Oh, how rude of me," exclaimed the seedrian. "Please, speak Tails."

Tails smiled. "No, you first."

Cosmo looked unsure, as if she feared she'd be doing wrong to speak before him. But his warm smile reassured her. "Well, okay, if you insist."

The petali started twiddling nervously with a strand of her hair. "I... Um... I wanted to thank you, Tails.

The fox was confused, and tilted his head to one side, encouraging her to go on.

"Well, the other day you were just so amazing. The way you kept outsmarting Shadow was incredible, and when all else failed you fought him physically, even though you knew you had no hope of winning. I am so grateful for your efforts then."

Tails blushed, embarrassed from receiving the praise. "Thanks, but come on, Cosmo, it was the Metarex ship that stopped Shadow from attacking".

Cosmo grabbed Tails' hands and stared him sincerely in the eyes. "Tails, if it wasn't for you Shadow would have killed me long before the Metarex ship came by. I owe my life to you."

Cosmo closed her eyes, and turned her head to the floor, unable to look at her beloved hero. "And yesterday I was going to leave you all for the safety of you. But you refused to let me go. You told me that you would rather have me here and endanger the rest of the crew. I would have gone to my certain death should I have left alone. I know everyone else encouraged me too, but none more than you Tails. You saved my life again, and made me feel wanted, more than I ever have felt before. I don't deserve a great friend like you - a lifesaver in fact - after I have betrayed you all through my cowardice. I am your unwilling enemy, but you still care for me. So I thank you with all my heart."

Cosmo was weeping now. Tails felt his own tears began to well up. She was being far too hard on herself, and it was his duty to reassure her.

Wrapping his arms around her quivering body, he spoke in a soothing tone. "Listen Cosmo, don't ever say that you don't deserve great friends. Never have I met a soul so unselfish and dedicated to keeping peace. Besides, if you hadn't come to us then we wouldn't have known about the Metarex until too late."

Tails pulled out of the embrace and titled Cosmo's chin upwards. Through her tears the young seedrian found herself facing the loving expression of the fox that held her, her eyes the same height as his.

"And it was my pleasure to keep you safe. It was the least you deserve. Because, when we kissed on planet Marmolin, that kiss did not mean nothing to me, Cosmo. It meant so much more. I know now in my heart, Cosmo, that you are the most incredible person I have ever met... And I love you, Cosmo, with all my heart. And I hope that the Metarex are listening to this, because then they will know that I will protect you until the end."

With that, Tails leant forward and met Cosmo's lips with his, brushing them briefly.

Cosmo didn't know how to react and shook her head in disbelief. Finally, she smiled, a d threw her arms back around him.

"Oh, Tails. I've waited so long to hear that. But I never thought I would. I didn't think it at all possible that you could like me in that way."

"You're too harsh on yourself, Cosmo," replied Tails as he squeezed back.

Cosmo just grinned. "You are just brilliant, Miles Prower, and I love you too."

Neither of them knew how the next event started, but the couple within a few seconds found themselves making out on Tails' bed. Each was as shocked as the other, but both fully enjoyed every second. The sensation of love that both felt spread through them was an incredible feeling.

After a couple of minutes they broke the kiss, panting for air. Tails looked bashfully at Cosmo, but couldn't hide his smile. Cosmo was grinning too, a cute blush on her face. She turned away from him, embarrassed, but then surprised the fox by throwing her arms around him and nuzzling her cheek into his chest fur.

"I love you, Tails."

"I love you, Cosmo."

Tails shuffled so that he could lie down. He slipped an arm around Cosmo as she uses his torso for a pillow. At this moment he could not be happier. He knew he had found all he wanted in life.