It seemed like a normal day for Knuckles; he was just lifting his weights as usual. It'd been a long while since his alternate self had returned to his own dimension, and his curious mind was wandering back to it again. How did his alternate self become like that anyway?
"Hey, Knuckles!"
Suddenly, Tails was standing beside him, holding a strange device in his hand. "Can I ask for your help with something?"
Knuckles sat up. "Sure! Whacha need?"
"Do you remember that whole other-dimension-Knuckles thing?" the fox asked.
Knuckles nodded. "Yeah?"
"Basically, I need someone to teleport to that other dimension to ensure that there are no dimensional abnormalities," Tails explained. He showed him the device. "You'd be the best candidate since it was the other Knuckles who teleported here. You'd only need to stay there for a while until the watch here clicks; then you can come back."
Knuckles thought about it for a moment. This would be the perfect opportunity to learn more about the other dimension!
He nodded, grinning. "Alright, I'm in."
"Cool!"
Tails grabbed Knuckles' wrist, then attached the watch to it. "Just tap that button and you'll be there in an instant!"
"Okay, see ya later then!" Knuckles pressed the button, and he instantly vanished.
He suddenly found himself in the same place, but there was a different feel to it, and—
"K-KNUCKLES, WHOA!"
A blur of blue slammed into the echidna, knocking him to the ground. Sonic - or more specifically, the other dimension's Sonic - was laying on top of him, looking embarrassed.
"G-geez, Knuckles, I'm sorry. I, uh, really didn't see you there, I swear!" he said, blushing slightly.
Knuckles blushed a little himself. "H-hey, it's okay," he assured the alternate Sonic. "Here, let me help you up."
"O-oh, uh, thanks..." the hedgehog said, looking a little surprised as Knuckles helped him up.
"Good gracious, Sonic!" A voice called from the distance. "I could hear you from—"
The source of the voice - the alternate Knuckles - stopped from approaching them as he noticed his counterpart.
"Oh, please do not tell me that we're having this situation happen again," he said with a sigh.
"I'm just here to check up on things," Knuckles explained. "My dimension's Tails wants to make sure there aren't any more of those anoma-whachamacallits. I just gotta stay here a little while, then I can go back."
"Mm, yes, I suppose that makes the most sense," the other Knuckles said, though still sounding slightly irritated. "Well, as long as you don't cause a ruckus, do as you please. I, on the other hand, have a date with Amy to attend to."
He walked off after that, Sonic's ears drooping ever so slightly.
Geez, when did I get so grumpy? Knuckles thought. Then, he noticed that Sonic seemed...sad about something.
"Hey, you okay?" he asked.
Sonic jerked his head back to him. "O-oh, yeah! I'm alright!"
He grinned weakly, then realized something. "Uh, hey... do you have a place to stay while you're here?"
Knuckles shook his head. "I didn't even think about that," he admitted sheepishly.
"Well, um..."
Sonic scratched him cheek, a bit shyly. "You could maybe... stay at my shack?"
Knuckles smiled softly. "Sure, I don't see why not."
Sonic's eyes suddenly seemed to lit up; he was practically bouncing with excitement. "Y'mean it?"
"Of course!" Knuckles replied, smiling wider at Sonic's excitement. It was actually kind of adorable...
"Cool! Oh, I hope you'll love it!"
In a sudden motion, he grabbed Knuckles' hand and sped back to his shack, giving him a quick tour.
"We have my TV, my table, my hammock, aaaand a lot of bandages 'cause I, uh, fall a lot." He blushed in embarrassment.
Knuckles chuckled lightly. "Nice place you got here!"
"You really like it?" Sonic asked with a grin. "You can sleep on my hammock!"
"But where would you sleep?" Knuckles asked, frowning in concern.
"I'll just sleep on the floor," he replied. "B-besides, I always fall off the hammock in the morning anyway..."
Knuckles saddened at this. "Aw, but I don't wanna make you sleep on the floor!"
"No no, it's okay!" Sonic insisted. "I'm kinda used to it anyway."
"B-but..." Knuckles looked down sadly. Surely there had to be another option...
Sonic crossed his arms, pouting slightly. "You really won't let me, huh?" he asked. "Well, we still have the rest of the day to figure it out, so do you wanna maybe head out to the village?" he asked.
"Sure!" Knuckles replied, smiling again. He wanted to see what else in this dimension was different from back home.
Sonic smiled back, and a quick run later, the two were at the village. Sonic waved at some people, and it was usually a 50/50 split as to if he got someone to wave back.
"Does everything look the same to you?" he asked.
Knuckles put a hand to his chin in thought. "Yeah... everything looks the same... but it also feels different somehow..."
"Yeah?" Sonic glanced around, excited about showing Knuckles around. "Are you just as awesome as the Knuckles here?"
"Well, I think I'm pretty awesome!" Knuckles said with a grin. Then he saddened a little.
"Though, it seems like everybody else just thinks I'm stupid," he admitted. "I think even the me here thinks I'm stupid," he added with a sigh.
Sonic stopped walking instantly, looking up at Knuckles. "Stupid?" he asked. He saddened too, sheepishly rubbing his head. "I guess I kinda know how you feel..."
"What do you mean?" Knuckles asked, tilting his head. "D-do...do people call you that too?"
He hoped not; the echidna just couldn't stand the thought of this cute little guy being given the same treatment that he always got!
"N-not exactly. I mean, I've been called oblivious, but most people treat me like a little kid," Sonic explained. "E-even the Knuckles here... he pats my head a lot and sometimes I get left out of battles 'cause I slip up or keep falling down." He pointed to his arms; while the other Sonic had sports tape, this one had mostly bandages.
Knuckles frowned, his heart hurting. "I-I guess we're kinda alike, h-huh?"
Then, without really thinking, he wrapped his arms around Sonic and pulled the hedgehog close to himself.
Sonic stiffened at the sudden hug, blushing badly at the warmth coming off of Knuckles' body.
"...B-been a long time since I got hugged by anyone," he murmured.
This made Knuckles even sadder. Without a word, he gently pulled Sonic even closer, as if shielding him from the world around them. How could someone so adorable, and so innocent, be treated this way?
Sonic was slightly embarrassed by the treatment since they were out in public, but excitement over the hug got the best of him and he enthusiastically hugged Knuckles back. "H-hehe…"
Knuckles smiled softly. "Everybody else must be crazy for not wanting to hug you," he said quietly. "I mean, who wouldn't wanna hug someone as cute as you?"
Then he realized what he'd just said, his face flushing badly.
"W-wha?" Sonic asked, pulling away from the hug slightly, blushing just as bad as Knuckles. "Me? Cute? I-I mean, people always called me falling all over the place cute, but no one's called me cute..."
"I don't understand why!" Knuckles replied, suddenly getting angry. "You're so nice, and fun, and cute, a-and you're always trying so hard... why does everybody have to be so mean?!"
The echidna took a few deep breaths to calm himself. "S-sorry..." he said softly.
Sonic's face reddened further. "Y'mean it?" He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "It's just, you barely know me..."
"I-I know, but..." Knuckles sighed. "I really like you, and I wish people would be nicer to you, 'cause you're one of the nicest guys I've ever met, and it just makes me mad when nice people get treated bad..."
"H-heh, I think you're really nice too," Sonic told him with a cute smile, lightly grabbing his hand. He didn't expect this Knuckles to be so different, but it was actually... kind of nice.
Knuckles smiled back, blushing a little at Sonic holding his hand. Gosh was this hedgehog adorable...
The two took a long moment to just stare at each other, until Sonic abruptly pulled away,blushing slightly. "O-oh, uh... anyway, you wanna maybe get something to eat?" he asked.
Knuckles' stomach growled, as if in response, and he laughed. "Sure, sounds good."
They grinned at each other, then headed off to eat together, unaware of any wandering eyes on them.
Once Sonic and Knuckles had returned to Sonic's shack, Sonic looked over at his game system, then pointed to it and glanced back at Knuckles.
"D-do you play games like these? The Knuckles here doesn't like to and finds it kinda childish..."
Knuckles' eyes lit up. "You kiddin'? I love video games! That other me doesn't know what he's missing out on."
"How about we play a few then?" Sonic asked, sitting down and picking up a controller. "I-I'm not all that good though, so I won't be much of a challenge."
"That's okay," Knuckles replied, sitting down next to him. Then he had a thought. "Hey, maybe I could help you!"
"Uh... help me?" Sonic asked. "How? Eheh, I'm probably unhelpable."
"I can teach you some tips and tricks that I've picked up," Knuckles explained. "Would you like that?"
Sonic's eyes lit up again. "You bet I would!"
Knuckles grinned. "Then let's get started!"
"Okay!" Sonic's excitement was showing even more now. He flicked the game on, clutching his controller tightly and waiting for Knuckles' instructions.
"Okay, try doing it like this..."
Knuckles gently placed his hands on Sonic's, guiding him as he explained the tricks that he'd learned.
Sonic let out a tiny whimper as he felt Knuckles' large hands rest over his own. Still, he tried not to get too flustered, opting to focus on the instructions.
Knuckles had never really taught anyone anything before, so he was eager to share all of the gaming knowledge he had. He also found Sonic to be a great student.
"That's it, you're getting it!" he encouraged.
Sonic was very eager for Knuckles' gaming knowledge; no one had ever encouraged him like that before.
"You think I'm ready to take you on?" Sonic asked, a little sheepishly.
Knuckles nodded. "Yeah, I think you're ready!"
Sonic grinned excitedly. The two started a match together, and while Sonic lost the first round, he won the next two; he wondered if Knuckles had gone easy on him, but that didn't stop his energy.
"Yes! I won! I actually won! I never win!" he exclaimed.
"Great job!" Knuckles said happily, very impressed by Sonic's quick learning.
He held a hand up in the air. "High-five?"
Sonic nodded, high-fiving Knuckles. "That was awesome!"
He looked outside, realizing how long they'd been playing. "Ah, but now it's late." He looked back at Knuckles. "I really don't mind sleeping on the floor you know."
Knuckles frowned. "But you shouldn't have to sleep on the floor! It's just not fair..."
Sonic thought for a moment. "Hmm... w-well, I guess we could both sleep on the hammock?" He blushed a bit and quickly tried to correct himself. "I-I mean, not together! Just, y'know, sleeping the other way so we could still have room and everything."
Knuckles pondered this for a moment. "Okay, that works!" he replied with a smile.
Sonic gathered up two blankets for them, then climbed onto the hammock.
Once Knuckles was on however, Sonic's clumsiness got the best of him, and he couldn't stay stable; he tumbled right into the echidna.
"O-oh, u-uh, sorry!"
Knuckles blushed a little. "I-it's okay," he chuckled. He actually didn't really mind having the hedgehog so close to him...
Sonic tried to squirm away, but the nature of the hammock didn't give them much distance.
"U-uh... a-are you sure?" he asked, hiding slightly behind his blanket.
"It's okay," Knuckles said again, smiling reassuringly. He yawned. "Well, g-goodnight..." he said sleepily, his eyelids starting to droop. He felt so warm, comfy, and content like this...
Sonic nodded. "Good night..."
He couldn't help laying against Knuckles slightly, a small purr-like rumbling noise coming from his throat; he seemed to tired to notice.
Knuckles stifled a giggle. That's so cute...
He absentmindedly put an arm around Sonic as he drifted off to sleep, a smile still on his face.
Once morning came around, Sonic stirred slightly, blushing as he gazed up at Knuckles. He shifted, but couldn't seem to escape his grasp. It was undeniably comfortable, so he curled up slightly, deciding to wait until Knuckles woke up.
Sometime later, Knuckles' eyes fluttered open, and he yawned. He looked over at Sonic, blushing as he realized that he had his arm around him.
"H-heh, g-good morning." He chuckled sheepishly. "How'd you sleep?"
"I, uh, slept really well," Sonic told him. "A-and thanks to you, I didn't roll over and fall off like I usually do, h-heh..."
"That's good!" Knuckles replied, smiling warmly. "O-oh, um...h-heh..." He realized that he still had his arm around Sonic. He carefully released Sonic from his grasp, blushing slightly.
Sonic smiled softly, though slightly disappointed at Knuckles taking his hand away. He got up off the hammock, then turned back to him.
"So, how does breakfast sound? I can cook a little, y'know?"
"Oooh, sounds good!" Knuckles replied, sitting up.
"What kinda things do you cook?" he asked curiously.
"I cook all sorts of things!" Sonic replied. He smiled sadly. "E-eheh, it's kinda one of the only things I'm good at."
Knuckles frowned, not liking to hear Sonic talk that way. He stood up and walked over to the hedgehog. "Well, I'd love to try some of your cooking!" he said with a smile and a wink.
Sonic blushed lightly and grinned. "Sure! We'd just have to head to Tails' place 'cause he's the one with all the ingredients I'd need."
As they left the hut, Sonic suddenly found himself face to face with the other Knuckles. "O-oh, uh... Knuckles..." He didn't look happy.
"What is this?" the echidna asked, holding up a newspaper. Although the less intelligent Knuckles couldn't read, there was clearly a picture of him and Sonic hugging on the front page.
"O-oh, u-u-um..." Knuckles (the one who had just made the news) stammered nervously. He hadn't even thought about the fact that people could've easily seen him and Sonic together.
Oops...
Sonic tried to excuse himself. "L-look, Knuckles, i-it wasn't intentional or anything, I—"
"Ugh, Sonic..." the irritated Knuckles groaned, placing a hand to his head. "I thought it was clear that I didn't want a ruckus to occur here! This could potentially ruin me! I'll have to explain to everyone what's going on and assure Amy that I'm certainly not dating someone else!"
He sighed and crossed his arms. "Maybe now at least you'll understand why we neglect to bring you on missions at times; you're so childish with all your affection and lack of respect."
Sonic averted his gaze to the ground, his ears drooping down sadly. "I...I'm sorry..." he muttered, twiddling his thumbs.
"Hey, leave him alone!" the not-of-this-dimension-Knuckles said, his voice suddenly taking on a stern tone. "It's not his fault, it's mine. And he'snot 'childish', he's just really happy and nice and loves hugs!"
Knuckles then stepped out in front of Sonic protectively, glaring at his alternate self. "And he always tries his best to help with things, but do you ever give him any appreciation for that? No, you just make him feel like he's not good enough and don't even care about his feelings! You said he 'lacked respect', but you know what I think?"
Knuckles walked even closer to his alternate self, until their faces were practically touching.
"I think the one who lacks it is you!" he finished, jabbing the other Knuckles in the chest with his finger.
Sonic blushed red; no one had ever defended him like that before.
Meanwhile, the Knuckles who had been jabbed at glared back at his counterpart. "I won't tolerate you insulting my methods!" he said. "I'm only teaching Sonic his place!"
Sonic frowned, lightly grabbing onto the hand of the Knuckles who was defending him. "K-Knuckles, it's okay... c-come on, let's go."
But Knuckles didn't budge.
"His place? His place?!" He was shaking with rage now. "Well I won't tolerate you treating Sonic like he's worthless! I mean, what if that was you in his place? How would you feel if everyone was always telling you that you messed up everything, and acted like you didn't even have feelings?!"
He teared up a little as some of his own personal pain rose to the surface, but he was too angry to cry right now.
"You act like you're so awesome and all that," he was practically shouting now, "but from what I can tell, you're just a big jerk!"
"That never happens to me. I don't mess up and I most certainly don't get in the way!" the other Knuckles retorted. He glared and cracked his knuckles. "As for your other statements, don't fret; I won't ask for permission or forgiveness this time!"
His fist suddenly collided with his counterpart's cheek, his spikes having grazed across slightly and leaving some blood.
"This is my dimension you're staying in; you should learn your place as well!"
"Agh!" Knuckles cried out in surprise and pain. He rubbed his cheek, his eyes stinging with slight tears, but the other Knuckles had clearly only made him even angrier.
"Are you trying to prove how big of a jerk you are?" He managed a small smirk. "'Cause you're already doing a good job of it!"
The other Knuckles glared back, certainly not approving of those words. "Is that correct? I'm only defending my honor! If you don't believe me, I'd gladly—"
He was cut off as a lightning-fast spindash collided with him, making him stagger back in shock. Sonic landed in front of him, seeming nervous, but also very determined. "L-leave him alone!"
The annoyed echidna growled, readying his fists. "Is this how you're going to be; protecting someone you'd known for only a day as opposed to me?"
Sonic gave him a stern look in response, curling back up into a spindash and charging at him. Knuckles stopped him with his hands, hurling him back to the ground, a bit of sand flying up from the blow.
Sonic didn't get discouraged however, opting to leap at him. He punched him back in retaliation, leaving a small wound across Sonic's cheek.
Realizing that he seemed to favor his right hand for fighting, Sonic sped towards his left side, spinning him around and around until he'd gotten completely dizzy. He then pulled back and curled up again, spindashing his way again.
Knuckles broke out of his stupor soon enough to hold his hands out, bracing himself as Sonic's spindash hit his hands full-forced. At first, Knuckles seemed to be the winner, but Sonic's spindash picked up in speed. He was starting to feel extremely warm against the echidna's hands, and eventually became hot enough to burn and rip through some of his sports tape.
Taken back by the intense heat, Knuckles retracted his hands, leaving Sonic free to plow right into him, knocking him back a few feet. The onslaught of spindashes continued, Sonic proving to be too fast for Knuckles to counteract with.
Finally, Knuckles had been spindash'd into the ground, Sonic keeping his distance and letting out a huff. Knuckles got up, glaring at him, but quickly averted his gaze.
"I... see this fight isn't worth my time," he muttered, clearly too proud to admit that he'd lost. He got up, then left.
Sonic was shocked that he'd actually managed to take down his leader, but jerked his head back and focused instead on who he'd been protecting.
"Knuckles, are you okay?" he asked, dashing up to him and placing a hand on the cheek that his dimension's Knuckles had punched.
"Y-yeah, I'll be okay," Knuckles replied. He smiled softly. "That was really awesome, by the way. You sure showed him!"
Sonic blushed. "I-I guess I'd just never been that focused before. H-he just made me so mad when he..."
He pouted cutely, lightly caressing Knuckles' wound with his thumb.
Knuckles sighed. "Yeah. I definitely don't like the other me all that much... He's just a big meanie."
"I'm just glad you're okay," Sonic said.
He paused, then suddenly kissed Knuckles' cheek. "Thanks for stickin' up for me."
It didn't take him long to realize what he'd done, causing him to blush intensely.
Knuckles blushed just as badly. "A-aw, no problem!" he replied, flustered, but grinning.
"A-anyway, um... here, I'll fix that up," Sonic said, taking Knuckles' hand and leading him inside. He sat Knuckles down on the floor, then retrieved some bandages and ointment before returning to him, applying the ointment gently so not to make it hurt too badly.
Knuckles blushed again. "T-thanks."
Then he realized how beat-up Sonic looked. He even had a wound on one cheek that was almost identical to the one Knuckles had.
"Make sure you take care of yourself too," he gently reminded him, frowning sadly.
"Hm?" Sonic looked down at his wounds, having hardly noticed the pain. "Ah, don't worry, I'm used to it..."
Knuckles looked at him pleadingly. It made him sad to see Sonic in this condition. If he'd known how to use that ointment stuff (or wasn't so clumsy with wrapping bandages), he would've cared for his friend's wounds himself.
Sonic finished bandaging Knuckles' wound, then looked down with a bit of embarrassment on his face.
"I-I'm sorry, by the way... for earlier," he said, pointing to where he had kissed Knuckles' cheek.
Suddenly, he started to ramble at a fast pace. "I-really-didn't-mean-to-it's-just-I-like-both-guys-and-girls-and-you're-just-so-nice-so-I-got-carried-away-but-I-know-you're-probably-straight-sorry."
Knuckles blushed, chuckling. "A-actually... I'm the same way. I like both girls and guys too."
Sonic's ears perked in surprise. "Y...you do?"
Knuckles nodded. "Yep! Guy, girl, whatever. I just like them for them, ya know?"
Sonic grinned wide, happy to see someone who shared his point of view. "Y-yeah, I'm the same way!" he exclaimed.
Knuckles grinned back. "I'm glad we understand each other there!"
Sonic nodded, but tried to calm himself. "A-ah, yeah, but I still kissed you outta nowhere..."
"Aw, it's okay," Knuckles assured him. "H-hehe, it was kinda nice..." he added, cheeks glowing pink.
"It was?" Sonic asked, blushing lightly. "I mean, uh... I could... do it again... i-if you want?"
"Well, I guess you could..." Knuckles replied teasingly, winking.
Sonic's blush intensified. "W-wha—really?"
Knuckles chuckled. "What, am I gonna have to do it myself?"
Sonic stepped back, clearly flustered. "U-uh, yes—I mean, um, no? I..." His face turned red as he tried to hide behind his hand.
Knuckles giggled softly. This guy was just too cute!
Blushing, he reached over, gently moving Sonic's hand away from his face, then tenderly kissed his cheek.
Sonic squeaked loudly, pulling away from Knuckles slightly and staring up at him. "I-I, um...?" He was too surprised for words.
Knuckles giggled even more. "How was that?"
Sonic took a moment, then finally regained his composure. "O-oh, it was, ah, great!" he exclaimed, giggling softly.
Knuckles smiled warmly. He didn't really know what else to say. He was just content being alone with Sonic, no one there to hurt them now.
Sonic smiled back, hesitating for a moment, then kissed Knuckles' cheek again.
Knuckles blushed, smiling even wider. He reached over and pulled Sonic into a hug, like he'd done just the day before.
Sonic giggled happily, hugging Knuckles back. "H-hehe, you're crazy-warm!"
"Really?" Knuckles chuckled. "Hehe, maybe you didn't even need the blankets last night, you just needed me!" he joked.
"Well, we could... always try it out to see?" Sonic suggested. He smiled sheepishly. "J-just for a test, y'know?"
Knuckles grinned, giggling softly. "Sure, why not? Although..."
His stomach growled. "H-heh, I guess we forgot about breakfast..." he said sheepishly.
"O-oh, right." Sonic grinned, then dusted himself off, taking Knuckles back out of the shack.
"I dunno what your Tails is like, but mine's a really nice guy, so don't worry about... what happened before happening again," he said.
"I wanna see what your Tails is like," Knuckles replied, his curiosity returning. "Everybody's really different here..."
"Yeah, we'll see!" Sonic exclaimed.
He led Knuckles to Tails' house, then knocked on the door; a special knock so Tails would know it's him.
"Buddy?"
There was a muffled sound of someone scrambling, then the door was slowly opened. Tails poked his head out. He cautiously glanced back and forth, as if expecting to see someone behind Sonic and Knuckles.
"Oh, hey Sonic! Oh, and Knuckles, hi! Quick, get inside before 'they' come back!"
Sonic chuckled. "Alright, alright."
He brought Knuckles inside, though was quick to explain the whole "this-Knuckles-is-from-another-dimension' thing to Tails before the fox made any suspicions.
"Other dimension, huh?" Tails' interest was caught. Then he frowned. "You didn't bring any extraterrestrial mind control nanobots with you, did you?" he asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at Knuckles.
"Uh...I don't think so...?" Knuckles responded in confusion.
The Tails here kinda reminds me of Sticks, he thought. He wondered what Sticks was like in this dimension, if this was what Tails was like.
"Yeah, we just came here so I could cook up some breakfast," Sonic explained. "That cool with you?"
"Oh, sure!" Tails replied. "Just don't use the stuff in the top left cabinet, that's my anti-poltergeist cheese. But you're welcome to everything else!"
"Thanks, bud!" Sonic said. He turned to Knuckles. "What's your favorite food?"
Knuckles didn't even need to think before answering. "Grapes!"
Sonic giggled at his fast response. "Alright, be right back!" he said before speeding off for the kitchen.
Knuckles patiently waited for Sonic to return, the only sounds being Sonic working in the kitchen, and Tails fiddling with some mechanical device.
After a few minutes, Sonic returned, offering Knuckles a plate of grape waffles.
"How about this?" he asked with a grin.
Knuckles' face lit up in delight. "Looks great!" he said.
"Try it, tell me if you like it!" Sonic encouraged, giving him the plate, though he seemed a bit nervous at the idea of Knuckles not liking it.
Knuckles tried a bite. His eyes went wide. "Wow, this is really good!"
"Seriously?" Sonic asked, his eyes lighting up slightly. "Awesome! I'm glad ya think so!"
Knuckles smiled at Sonic, then happily began to eat the rest of the waffles.
Sonic just watched him, utterly giddy over the fact that Knuckles loved his food.
Soon Knuckles was finished, sighing in contentment. "Thanks, that hit the spot! So what should we do now?"
"Hm... well, we could head back to my place and play a few more games?" Sonic suggested.
"Sure!" Knuckles replied.
Sonic left the house with Knuckles, then noticed Sticks off in the distance and waved. "Hey, Sticks! What's up?"
"Oh, hello Sonic!" Sticks greeted, walking over to them. "And hello to you, Knuckles," she added, looking surprised to see him with Sonic.
Sonic gestured to Knuckles. "This is a Knuckles from another dimension; the one that the Knuckles here went to that one time, remember?"
"Oh, that's right, I remember that!" Sticks replied.
"Nice to meet you," she said to Knuckles, smiling softly.
"Nice to meet you too!" Knuckles smiled back.
He noticed right away that this Sticks was considerably calmer than his dimension's Sticks. She seemed really nice, too.
"He's just staying here for a while until he can go back home," Sonic explained. In his mind, he then realized; Knuckles was going to leave?
His expression didn't change, but he unconsciously held Knuckles' hand.
Sticks glanced between the two of them, looking thoughtful.
"Well, I'm sure the two of you would like to spend some time together before then," she said with a knowing smile. "I, on the other hand, have a book that I just checked out from the library, and I'm very eager to read it. I'll see you around, Sonic, and nice meeting you, Knuckles!"
And with that, she walked off. Knuckles could've sworn he saw her wink at them.
Sonic blushed, having seen the wink. Ack, she knows me too well...
He looked back up at Knuckles. "S-so, uh... video games?" he said, pointing at his shack in the distance.
Knuckles grinned. "Yeah!"
The two returned to Sonic's shack, but Sonic still felt uneasy. He felt like Knuckles gave him strength; he didn't want him to leave.
As he set up the game system, he waited for Knuckles to walk over and sit down.
Knuckles sat down next to him. "So, what should we play this time?"
"Uhh, anything, I guess," Sonic said, putting in a game at random.
He glanced back at Knuckles; they had kissed each other's cheeks and hugged and even slept together. Maybe...?
He hesitated, but knew he would have very little time left if Knuckles was going to return home.
He picked up two controllers, then sat down on Knuckles' lap, not saying a word and offering Knuckles his controller.
Knuckles blushed at having Sonic on his lap, but he wasn't complaining.
"Hey, you feelin' okay?" he asked as he took the controller.
"U-uh, what do you mean?" Sonic asked in reply. He hoped he hadn't done anything wrong.
"You just seem kind of... sad," Knuckles replied. "Is everything okay?"
Sonic was surprised that Knuckles had noticed; he was usually good at hiding such things.
"I-it's... nothing important."
"You sure?" Knuckles frowned in concern.
Sonic went silent at that, then leaned back against Knuckles. "...You gotta leave eventually, right?"
"O-oh...right..." Knuckles' head drooped sadly.
Sonic saddened, then suddenly turned and knelt up to Knuckles, placing his hands on his shoulders. "Y-you can't leave! I..."
He averted his gaze, his heart sinking; he couldn't bring himself to say it.
Knuckles wrapped his arms around him. He sighed. "I-I'm sorry, Sonic... I-I don't want to leave you, but you know I can't stay here forever..."
Sonic opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself. What'd be the point? He's going to leave anyway...
He said nothing else, pulling away from Knuckles and sitting back down in his own spot, off of Knuckles' lap, trying to contain his emotions as he started the game.
Knuckles tried to focus on the game, but he couldn't ignore the ache in his heart.
I wish I knew what to do...
The two continued playing their game, until a sudden ringing went off from Knuckles' watch. Since the echidna couldn't read, there was a picture of a checkmark and a house, which informed Knuckles that he could return home now.
"Aw man..." Knuckles sighed sadly. "Looks like my time's up..."
Sonic didn't answer him, staring down at his controller. "..."
Knuckles frowned, wishing there was more he could do. He reached over and pulled Sonic into one last hug, nuzzling him comfortingly.
"I-I'm sorry... I-I'll never forget you," he said softly. "J-just... try to stay strong. Stand up for yourself... and t-take good care of yourself too, o-okay?" He was beginning to tear up, but he tried his best to choke it back. He had to remain strong... for Sonic...
Sonic still didn't answer him. He sped off to another part of the room, seeming to write something down on paper. He folded it up, then brought it back to Knuckles, giving it to him without another word, though his gaze was telling him not to open it until he had returned to his own world.
And with that, he was suddenly out like a rocket, likely not wanting to see Knuckles leave.
Knuckles sighed heavily. "G-goodbye, Sonic..."
Then, he closed his eyes and pressed the button on his watch that would take him home. He instantly vanished, leaving no signs that he had ever been in that dimension.
He was in the same shack; just in a different dimension.
"Whoa, Knux!"
A slam sounded behind him, his dimension's Sonic having fallen off his hammock in surprise.
"Geez, how'd you even do that? Don't startle me like that!"
"O-oh, sorry!" Knuckles couldn't help but stifle a laugh. "You okay?"
"Yeah yeah, I'm fine," Sonic grumbled. "...Hey, what's that?" he asked, pointing to the note in Knuckles' hand.
"O-oh, it's nothing," Knuckles answered nervously. He hastily got up and headed out of the shack. "H-heh, sorry for scaring you... s-see ya!"
Sonic raised a brow. "Okay... see ya?"
Knuckles left without another word.
I guess I should give the watch back to Tails now... he realized.
As Knuckles arrived at Tails' house, the fox turned to him and smiled.
"Hey, thanks for doing this for me, Knuckles," he said, taking the watch. "Hopefully it wasn't any trouble."
"It wasn't any trouble at all," Knuckles replied, smiling to mask his sadness. "In fact, if you ever needed me to do it again, you wouldn't have to ask me twice..."
"I'll think about it," Tails said with a small smile.
He, like Sonic, then noticed the note in Knuckles' hand. He snatched it up, staring at it curiously. "Something from the other dimension?"
He unfolded the paper, his eyes widening slightly as he looked at the writing inside. "'I love you'? Was this for you?"
Knuckles' face flushed badly. "I-I d-don't wanna talk about it," he mumbled, quickly snatching the paper back from Tails and turning his gaze away. His eyes stung as he fought to keep himself from crying.
So that's what he wanted to tell me...oh, Sonic...
Tails frowned; just what had happened in that other dimension?
"Um... okay? Are you alright?" he asked.
"I-I'll be fine..." Knuckles tried to insist, but the lie was obvious. He wasn't fine. And he didn't know if he ever would be again...
"Are you sure?" Tails questioned, not convinced.
Knuckles didn't answer. He stared blankly at the paper in his hand; even if he couldn't read it, the message written on it would be forever burned into his memory.
"...Do you need to go back?" Tails asked quietly.
"I-I...I wish I could..." Knuckles replied. "B-but... I belong in this dimension... I-I can't be with somebody in the other dimension... a-and I dunno if I'm even welcome there anymore because the other me hates me now and..."
He buried his face in his hands. "Ugh, it's such a mess..."
Tails's ears drooped; he'd never seen Knuckles so sad.
"W-well... I have been working on a project..."
He showed Knuckles another watch; one that was much more complicated than the one he had previously been wearing.
"I've been wanting to travel through various alternate dimensions myself without any danger of causing a rift, so I made this; it's not done yet, but when it is, it should create a 'field' of sorts around the wearer to prevent the world from detecting them as 'not belonging'."
Knuckles looked up from his hands and gazed at the watch. "Wh-whoa, really?"
Tails nodded. "So, if you really wanted to... it would take a while to finish it though."
"Well, it's better than nothin'," Knuckles replied, now feeling hopeful. He hated having to wait, but at least it wouldn't be forever.
Hang in there, Sonic...I'll come back to you first chance I get. I promise.
A week later, Tails called Knuckles back to his lab. He'd finally finished the device, making multiples just in case his 'special someone' wanted to come to his world sometime.
"As long as you keep the watch on, nothing can possibly go wrong. It's durable, waterproof, and all that good stuff," Tails assured, clipping the device onto Knuckles' wrist.
Knuckles smiled. "Thanks, Tails. I owe you."
"Don't worry about it. Now go!" he told him.
Knuckles didn't need to be told twice. He pressed the button on his watch, immediately disappearing from Tails' sight.
Hang on, Sonic. I'll be right there!
After having to give a quick explanation to the other dimension's Tails as to why he suddenly teleported into his house, Knuckles left for Sonic's shack.
The blue hedgehog was lying quietly on his hammock, shaking slightly, his back faced to Knuckles'; he was probably crying, or at the very least shaken. Had he been... all this time...?
"S-Sonic?" Knuckles said softly, trying not to startle him too badly.
Despite the softness of his voice, Sonic sat up with a start, jerking his head over to him.
"K-Knuckles, I—!" He remembered the tears pouring down his cheeks and frantically tried to wipe them away, becoming a bit hysterical at the sight of his crush.
Knuckles immediately rushed forward and embraced Sonic. "Shhh, it's okay..." he soothed. "I'm here now."
Sonic froze at the hug, clearly very confused. The warmth and voice were unmistakable, and yet...
"N-no... y-you're not supposed t-to...?"
"My dimension's Tails figured out a way to go to other dimensions without things getting messed up," Knuckles explained. "It took him a while to finish everything, but as soon as it was ready, I came back here to find you."
"R-really?" Sonic asked with a slight stutter. He looked up at Knuckles, then averted his gaze, still looking hurt. "D-did you just w-wanna reject me t-that badly?"
"W-what?" Knuckles was shocked that Sonic would talk like that. "What are you talking about?"
"Y-you... read the note, right?" Sonic asked in reply.
"U-uh, well, I actually had to have it read to me... I-I can't read," Knuckles admitted sheepishly. "B-but yeah, I know what it said, and... I-I..." His eyes were starting to water. He gulped nervously, his face flushing as he prepared to say what he'd been longing to say all this time.
"I-I...I love you too..." he said very quietly, only audible to himself and Sonic.
Sonic's ears jolted up in shock. "Y-you..."
More tears starting coming to his eyes. "F-for real?"
Despite the question, he suddenly leaned forward, locking lips with Knuckles. He'd been waiting to do that for far too long, after all.
Knuckles' face flushed as he felt butterflies in his stomach. Once the reality of what was happening had a chance to sink in, Knuckles kissed back. It was even better than he could've imagined.
Sonic, encouraged by his kissing back, pressed his body further against him, shy hands moving around to hug Knuckles back.
He then pulled away, wiping his tears. "A-ah, sorry... I'm a mess..."
Knuckles' eyes were wet with his own tears, but he was grinning widely. "It's okay. I'm just really happy to see you again!"
"I am too!" Sonic exclaimed, clearly ecstatic as he pulled away, only to jump at Knuckles and cling onto him.
Knuckles chuckled, holding onto Sonic with one arm and nuzzling him.
"So, uh...anything interesting happen while I was gone?"
"N-no, not really..." Sonic told him. "A few Eggman fights, but..." He smiled proudly; too cute. "I took care of him."
"Really? Awesome!" Knuckles was so proud of him. "I knew you had it in ya!"
"W-well, it was easy..." Sonic admitted, blushing slightly. "I just had to pretend that he had you captured, and all my clumsiness went away."
"Aww, I guess even when I wasn't here, I was still there for you... sort of..." Knuckles replied, smiling warmly.
"Yeah! Though..." Sonic frowned a bit. "…even then, I knew that if I defeated all his bots, you still wouldn't be there..."
Knuckles saddened a little at this. Then he smiled again. "Well, I can't always be around, but I'll come see you a lot now! And besides, people say that the ones you love will always be with you in your heart. Though I don't really know how you can be inside someone's heart... I think it's a metaphor...? But anyway, what I'm trying to say is, I'll always be there when you need me."
Sonic blushed and grinned. "A-alright."
He kissed Knuckles again. "Hey, uh... maybe we can try that sleeping thing now?" He winked. "To see if I really don't need any blankets?"
Knuckles giggled softly. "Sure!"
Sonic giggled along with him, then got back onto his hammock, reaching out to Knuckles with little 'grabby hands', encouraging him to join him.
Knuckles carefully climbed on next to Sonic, snuggling up to him.
Sonic's blushed grew redder. "H-heh, I guess you were right; I really don't need a blanket," he said, snuggling closer.
Knuckles wrapped his arms around Sonic and nuzzled him. The hedgehog was the perfect size for cuddling, Knuckles thought.
Sonic smiled wide at the nuzzles; the sudden affection he was getting was almost too much for him.
"Might not be night-time yet, but I'm still pretty tempted to fall asleep like this," he said with a giggle.
Knuckles smiled. With a blush, he planted a kiss on Sonic's head. "I love you."
Sonic returned it. "I love you too."