Amy's hand steadily drifted over various board games, her other hand covering her eyes.
"Aaaaand, this one!" she exclaimed, placing her hand down and looking to see what she picked. "We'll play this one!"
"I'm game!" Tails said, sitting down and helping Amy set up the board game.
Sticks stared at them skeptically. "How do you know that the evil spirits didn't make you pick that one by controlling your hand?"
"So you don't want to play?" Amy asked with a small smile, knowing full well that this particular game was one of Sticks' favorites.
Sticks pouted, then sat down. "Well, the good spirits could've done it too."
Sonic raised a brow, looking amused, then turned his head over to Knuckles, the smallest of the team. "You up for a game, Knux?"
"Sure!" Knuckles replied.
He climbed onto one of the chairs and sat down–only to realize that his head barely reached the table. "Uh, a little help here?"
Sonic pondered, then pointed to a nearby stack of books. "You could probably sit on those." Though, knowing that Amy wouldn't appreciate such a gesture, he crossed one leg over the other and patted it. "Or you could sit on my lap."
Knuckles blushed lightly, hoping Sonic wouldn't notice. "O-okay!"
He went over to Sonic and climbed onto his lap. "Thanks, this is much better!"
Sonic rolled his eyes slightly, then looked down at the board game. "All right, let's play then!"
The game was decently long, with everyone doing at least averagely well. Sonic had to shift positions every now and then, as Knuckles sitting on his lap like he was wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but he managed.
In the end, Sonic had won the game, making him smirk victoriously. "Yes!"
Amy crossed her arms. "Aww, man. You usually lose too…"
Sonic shrugged, then lightly poked the side of Knuckles' head. "I dunno. Good luck charm?"
Knuckles giggled. "Maybe I should sit on your lap more often!" he said with a wink. He was only partly joking.
Sonic nodded, then gave Knuckles a fake glare. "Just bring a cushion next time."
"Okay," Knuckles chuckled. As much as he had enjoyed the close contact with his crush, he did admit that it was somewhat uncomfortable.
Tails smiled at them, then jerked his head towards his laptop as he heard it going off. He went over to it, then typed a few keys.
"Eggman's attacking the village!" he said with a gasp.
Everyone got up on alert, with Sonic rushing out the door before quickly realizing that his team needed to keep up with him. "Come on, let's go!"
As the team began to head out, Knuckles was having a hard time keeping up, due to his shorter legs.
"G-guys…wait…for me…" he gasped.
Everyone slowed down, but Sonic was the first to run back to him, being the fastest, of course.
"Here. Hang on, bud."
He lifted Knuckles up with one arm, supporting him as best as he could, then ran back out. Knuckles clung to Sonic for dear life, his cheeks turning pink.
"T-thanks, Sonic."
In just a few minutes (which would've been seconds if Sonic was going on his own), the five arrived at the village, watching Eggman terrorize the town with his Beebots.
"Hey, Eggface!" Sonic shouted with a mocking tone. "I know dating never worked out for you, but that doesn't mean y'have to take it out on everyone else!"
"Ah, Sonic, you're just in time!" Eggman greeted with an evil grin. Not wanting to waste any time chit-chatting, he turned to his Beebots.
"Beebots, attack!" he commanded, pointing towards Sonic and his friends.
"Pft? These guys?" Sonic scoffed. He set Knuckles down, then curled up into a spindash and charged at some of the Beebots. Sticks threw her boomerang, Amy jumped up and hit them with her hammer, and Tails flew up and distracted them so Sonic could land extra hits.
Knuckles tried to fight the bots too, but they kept flying too high for him to reach. He tried jumping up in the air, swinging his fist frantically, but to no avail.
"Gah! Stupid Beebots…" he grunted in frustration.
In almost no time at all, the Beebots were taken care of. Sonic landed back on the ground, grinning at Eggman triumphantly.
"Better luck next time, Egghead!"
Eggman growled. "I'll get you next time, Sonic!"
And with that, he turned the Eggmobile around and flew away from the scene.
Knuckles sighed sadly.
Sonic smirked, but the smirk quickly dissipated as he looked back at Knuckles. "Somethin' wrong?" he asked, having not been watching anyone else during the fight.
"I didn't get to help at all," Knuckles said quietly, his head drooping. "I…I guess I'm just too short."
Sonic frowned, not knowing what to do. Amy nudged him, whispering quietly, "You're his best friend. Do something."
Sonic let out a small huff, then walked up to Knuckles and knelt down. "Hey, uh… how 'bout we head home and play some games, huh?"
"I…I guess we could," Knuckles replied uncertainly. "Not like I'd be able to reach anything, though…"
Sonic picked Knuckles up, not wanting to hear him talk like that. "We'll just play some video games. Nothin' but sitting down on the floor and not worrying about stuff like that!" He dashed off towards his hut without another word.
"W-well…okay…" Knuckles was still feeling down, but he wasn't about to turn down an opportunity to hang out with Sonic.
Sonic went into his hut, then set the echidna down and moved over to his game system. He put in Knuckles' favorite fighting game, then offered him a controller.
Knuckles hesitated for a moment, then took the controller. He peered up at the TV screen. He could see it decently, but it was at a somewhat awkward angle for him.
"You can see okay?" Sonic asked, wanting to make sure.
"Kinda," Knuckles replied. "I-it's okay, though…"
"No, hold on," Sonic said, waving a hand dismissively. He got up, lifting the TV up and moving it off its stand, opting to just let it sit on the floor. It was slightly awkward for him now, but he knew he could manage. "Better?"
Knuckles nodded. "Yeah, thanks."
Sonic picked up his controller, then turned on the game system. He tried to focus fully on the game, but knew that it wasn't completely helping his friend.
"…You know, I don't really mind it," he said out of nowhere.
"Huh? Mind what?" Knuckles asked.
"Your size," Sonic replied, not looking away from the screen.
"Y-you don't?" Knuckles was starting to lose his focus on the game.
"'Course not," Sonic said. "We're friends, right? So it doesn't bother me."
"O-oh." Knuckles wasn't really sure what to say. "But…I can't keep up with you guys, and I can't reach anything, so I can't help with stuff! It just makes me feel so…useless, ya know?"
"So what if you're a little short?" Sonic asked. He paused, then let out a small cough. "Uh, no pun intended." He shook his head. "I mean… you're still the strongest guy on our team! I think that's pretty awesome!"
Knuckles blushed slightly. "B-but…it doesn't matter if I can't even reach what I'm supposed to punch!"
"Everyone's got their weaknesses," Sonic reminded him. "H-heck, I mean, I can't even swim!" he admitted, blushing slightly.
He shook off his flustered state. "For all of Egghead's minions who walk on land, you can knock them out no problem!"
"But…all of them were flying ones today," Knuckles pointed out. "I couldn't do anything besides just standing there and looking stupid…"
Sonic dropped his controller at that, giving Knuckles a stern glare. "Hey. You're not stupid. You're my friend and you're just as important to the team as everyone else is."
Knuckles flinched at the glare, but also blushed at Sonic's comment. "Y-you really mean that?"
"Would I lie?" Sonic asked plainly, picking his controller back up and focusing on the game.
"N-no, guess not…" Knuckles realized. He stared absent-mindedly at his game controller, his focus long gone.
Sonic wasn't completely convinced. "You okay now?"
"I…I guess…" Knuckles was still blushing lightly. Did Sonic really appreciate him?
The two continued playing for a while, until Sonic finally noticed how dark out it was.
"Oh, uh… hey, Knux, it's gettin' late," he said.
Knuckles' eyes were already drooping. "O-oh, is it?" he replied with a yawn.
"You want me to take you back, uh… 'home'?" Sonic asked, though knowing that Knuckles technically didn't have one.
Knuckles tried to respond, but his sleepiness was getting to him. He slowly leaned against Sonic as his eyelids became heavy.
Sonic's ears perked in surprise, a light blush coming to his cheeks. "U-uh, Knux?" he asked, placing a hand on the echidna's head.
Knuckles was already half asleep, not hearing a word Sonic was saying. As he finally drifted off, he mumbled something.
Sonic leaned closer, not understanding. "What?"
The sleeping echidna repeated the statement, probably unaware of what he was even saying.
"I…love you…"
Sonic reeled back, clutching his chest as he felt his heart leap up in his chest. He wasn't sure how red his face was, but he was glad that no one else was around to see.
Did…did he really say that?
He tried to deduce if Knuckles could maybe be talking about anyone else, but there was no one else around.
…I'll ask him about it in the morning.
He lifted Knuckles into his arms, then laid him down on his hammock and sat down, choosing to just lay down and rest there until morning.
Once morning did come around, Sonic woke up first, but chose to remain in his hut, idly playing games until Knuckles woke up.
Knuckles' eyes fluttered open. He was surprised to find himself lying in Sonic's hammock.
"Wha…what happened?" he asked sleepily.
Sonic turned towards him. "You fell asleep on me, so I figured I'd let you stay the night."
"O-oh." Knuckles blushed sheepishly. "Th-thanks…"
Sonic glanced back at the TV, remaining silent for a moment.
"…Can we talk?"
"U-uh, sure," Knuckles replied, suddenly a bit nervous. "Is..is something wrong?"
"Oh, no, uh…nothing's wrong," Sonic assured. "…Did you know you mumble in your sleep?"
"I-I do?" Knuckles hadn't known this. "Gee, I hope I didn't anything embarrassing…" He chuckled sheepishly.
Yeah, about that… Sonic scratched an ear, then looks over at the echidna.
"Hey, this is probably pretty silly for me to be dwellin' on, and it's probably nothing, but…" He blushed slightly, recalling the memory. "…you fell asleep against me and told me that…you loved me."
Knuckles' heart nearly stopped. His eyes went wide, his face turning completely red.
Suddenly, he jumped down from the hammock and scrambled frantically, aiming for something, anything, that he could hide himself in.
However, a blur of blue flashed in front of him, Sonic sitting down and gazing at the echidna. "Knux…"
Knuckles froze when he saw Sonic in front of him. The poor echidna was shaking terribly, unsure of what to do. He tried to speak, but all that came out was a whimper.
Sonic's ears flopped down; he didn't like seeing his friend like that. "Knuckles… did you mean it?"
Knuckles hesitated. His heart was pounding. He was scared to answer, not sure how Sonic would respond. But he realized that he couldn't run away–and he certainly didn't want to lie to Sonic. He took a few deep breaths, then spoke:
"…y-yes."
He shut his eyes, fearing Sonic's reaction.
Please don't laugh at me…
Even though Sonic expected that answer, it still surprised him. Knuckles really loved him.
He blushed sheepishly, his gaze softening. He hesitated, then held his arms out to the echidna.
Knuckles opened one eye nervously, and saw Sonic's outstretched arms. "Wh-what are you doing…?" he asked in confusion.
Sonic didn't answer, suddenly pulling Knuckles into a gentle hug. He looked around warily, then chuckled and leaned close, his voice going into a soft whisper.
"Heh, I love you too."
Knuckles' eyes went wide. "You…you do?"
"Would I lie?" Sonic asked, repeating his line from last night.
Knuckles blushed heavily. A smile slowly crept onto his face. He threw his arms around Sonic, hugging him back. He wanted to say something, but no words came. He could only giggle in both joy and relief.
Sonic grinned. "You okay now?"
"Mmhmm!" Knuckles replied happily.
Sonic nodded, pleased, then suddenly winced. "W-whoa, bud! I'm glad you're happy, but you're gonna crush my quills!"
"Oh, sorry!" Knuckles loosened his grip a bit. "That better?"
"Yeah, much!" Sonic told him. "…See, I told ya you were strong, ow!"
Knuckles chuckled lightly. "Hey, maybe I should fight bad guys by hugging them!" he joked.
"I'd be runnin' like heck from you if I was a bad guy," Sonic joked.
Knuckles giggled at this.
"So, um…what do we do now?" he asked.
Sonic blinked, not sure himself. "Uhh… I dunno."
He smiled. "This is pretty nice though."
"It is," Knuckles agreed. He had a huge grin on his face.
"Let's continue then!"
Still tired anyway, Sonic lifted Knuckles into his arms, walking over to his hammock and flopping down on it, letting Knuckles rest on his chest.
Knuckles curled up on top of Sonic, nuzzling him affectionately.
"Am I a good cuddling size?" he suddenly asked.
"You're a good everything size," Sonic replied seriously.
Knuckles blushed. "R-really?"
"Mhmmmm," Sonic said with a nod.
"T-thanks, Sonic." Knuckles snuggled into Sonic's fur. "Y-you're kinda warm…" he chuckled softly.
"Really?" Sonic asked. "Huh, and people always told me how cool I was."
"I wasn't saying you weren't cool," Knuckles replied, not getting the pun.
Sonic chuckled, amused at Knuckles' naivety. "Nevermind, heh…"
He pulled Knuckles closer. "You're pretty warm too."
"Really?" Knuckles asked.
Sonic nodded, petting the echidna slightly. Gosh, he was glad that no one else was around; he wouldn't be caught dead being so mushy.
"Yup. Guess I won't have to worry about gettin' a blanket if you ever start living here."
Knuckles was taken by surprise. "You'd…you'd be okay with me living here?"
Sonic blushed slightly. "Well, yeah. I mean, I always sorta…" He cleared his throat, "wondered about you, living the way you were, so…"
"Yeah…I've never really had a home," Knuckles admitted sadly.
"That's not true," Sonic told him. He gestured around. "You do now."
"Y-ya mean it?" Knuckles asked excitedly, though he already knew the answer.
"'Course I do," Sonic replied.
Knuckles smiled widely, throwing his arms around Sonic again. "Ohthankyouthankyouthankyou!"
Sonic raises a brow, puzzled but pleased by Knuckles' excitement. "Hey, it's no problem, Knux! That's what… uh…" He cleared his throat again, mumbling, "…boyfriends are for…"
Knuckles blushed. "…h-heh, I guess we are boyfriends now, huh?"
"Y-yeah, guess so," Sonic agreed, sheepishly scratching his nose.
Knuckles snuggled into Sonic some more, sighing in contentment. "This is already the best day ever," he said softly.
Sonic, though slightly flustered, wrapped a firm arm around Knuckles. "Guess I'm just that awesome, heh…"
"Mmhmm…" Knuckles closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of Sonic's fur against him.
Sonic did the same, holding Knuckles close as the two slowly drifted off to sleep.