"Come on, Knux! Gimme your best shot!"

Sonic jumped high, doing a quick back-flip before returning to the ground. As they did almost every day, he and his friend Knuckles would practice for when they'd be of age to train for knighthood. Knuckles himself never had a home of his own and lived with Sonic, so he was probably even more determined than Sonic to become a knight.
"Is that the best you've got?" Knuckles taunted playfully. Sonic's reflexes were quick, but Knuckles was determined to beat him.
Sonic grinned; he loved it when Knuckles' teased him back. "You're one to talk! C'mon, step it up!"
He hopped back and forth and did a few fake punches, chuckling playfully.
Knuckles grinned back. He watched Sonic carefully, waiting for the right moment to strike.
"Aha!"
Suddenly, he had Sonic pinned up against the wall. "Try getting out of this one!"
Sonic smirked. "Ha! This is nothin', I-!"
He paused, realizing the positions they were in, and he flushed slightly. He'd never say anything, but he actually had a small - okay, huge - crush on Knuckles, so having the echidna be so close, even if it was just due to them being in a game, made him flustered.
"You okay?" Knuckles asked, noticing the change in Sonic's demeanor. Then he realized how close the two of them were to each other, and he blushed as well.
"O-oh, um...s-sorry," he stammered, backing away to give Sonic some space. He could feel his heart pounding.
"N-no, uh... it's all right."
Sonic lightly scratched the back of his head, trying to bring his blush down. Knuckles had always been the bigger one out of the two, and Sonic had always secretly enjoyed the big size difference. He wished that he could Knuckles' signature bear hugs more often, as the echidna's fur was plenty warm, but he'd never admit it.
"S-so, ah..." He cleared his throat. "I think we still need to work on your reflexes a bit." He sat down, signifying that their 'game' was over. "You're a bigger target, so y'gotta be fast."
"But how can I keep up with you?" Knuckles asked, glad for the change in subject. "You're the fastest guy I know!"
Sonic giggled at the praise; from Knuckles, it meant so much more to him than a simple compliment. "Hehe, I know! I'm just warnin' you for future reference," he said.

He paused, then tilted his head. "So, how your treasure collection coming along?" he asked. "I know you like to collect the stuff that shines, right?"
Knuckles nodded, smiling. "Yeah, you know how much I love shiny things!" Then he frowned. "I'm having trouble finding stuff lately, though."
"Yeah, there's only so much stuff you can find around this place without goin' outside the border," Sonic said. "And it's not like the stuff at shops are cheap."
"Yeah," Knuckles agreed sadly. "Though I guess that does make it extra cool when I do find something!"
Sonic nodded, though was unusually quiet, as if lost in thought. "Yeah..."
He quickly clicked back to reality. "O-oh, uh... hey, it's almost dinner time, isn't it?"
Knuckles' stomach rumbled, as if in response. "Yep!" he answered with a laugh.
Sonic laughed as well. "Don't worry, I'm hungry too! Let's hurry."
The two got up, then traveled back home together. Actually, it almost hadn't been Knuckles' home; when Sonic first found him, the hedgehog's parents were extremely unsure about keeping what was essentially another son in the house. Still, Sonic insisted on it, so Knuckles was lucky there.

After having dinner and spending a bit more time together, Sonic and Knuckles went off to their room.
"You get to bed. I'm stayin' up late tonight," Sonic told him.
"O-oh. Okay." Knuckles wondered what Sonic was up to, but he decided not to pry.
Sonic waited for Knuckles to fall asleep, then grinned wide. It was time to head out.
He grabbed a knapsack that was hanging on the wall, then carried it outside with him before speeding off.
The strange thing was, Sonic didn't return the next morning.

Or the day after that.

Or even the day after that.

More days passed. Then weeks. Sonic never returned.
His parents blamed Knuckles for their son's disappearance. Without Sonic there to defend him, Knuckles was kicked out of the only home he'd ever had. Rumors then began to fly, saying that there was a beast who had murdered Sonic when the hedgehog crossed the border of the village and went into the said he was unable to protect himself and got eaten alive. Knuckles didn't even want to think about such a fate.
However, the rumors also sparked inspiration in him. He swore that he'd become a knight , and then go out to find the beast and get revenge for his fallen friend. Thinking back on it, there were so many things he wanted to say to Sonic... and now, he couldn't.

Luckily for him, he succeeded, his upper body strength and speed training with Sonic becoming an integral factor in his knighthood. Dressed in shining gray armor, he crossed the boundary of the village and headed into the forest. He only had one destination; a lone castle, old and worn, standing far out into the forest. It was a place where none ventured. Knuckles, however, disobeyed all warnings he was given. He wanted to see the beast himself, and slay it with his own two hands.

After what felt like forever, he reached the castle. The door creaked when it was opened, and the inside of the castle was just as decrepit as the outside.
Knuckles looked around cautiously.
"Hello?" he called, not sure what to expect. "Anyone here?"
There was a small silence, almost making Knuckles think that the place was abandoned, but footsteps could suddenly be heard.
"You'll get out of here if you know what's good for you," a voice told him, being low and rough.
A figure stepped into his view, being a good distance away and being masked slightly by the bad lighting of the castle.
Knuckles drew his sword, anger and sadness burning up inside him. He'd waited a long time for this moment.
"Why don't you come here and face me?" he challenged. "Or are you too scared to take me on?" he added with a smirk.
The creature was silent for a moment, then got down on all fours and began to charge at Knuckles. As the echidna attempted to swing his sword, the fanged beast bit down on it, tearing it from Knuckles' grasp and embedding it in the wall. "Hmph, not so tough without your sword, are you?" He slashed at Knuckles, but there was enough time for him to dodge out of the way.
Almost... too much time. Was this creature going easy on him?
Knuckles clenched his fists, preparing to fight once more. "That's not the only kind of fighting I know! Take this!" He swung his fist at the beast.
The beast caught Knuckles' fist in its own, though the struggle between the two's strength was practically even.
"R-rr... not bad for a knight," the beast grunted. "You're almost a challenge..."
"Oh yeah?" Knuckles swung his free arm, intending to strike while the beast was struggling against his other fist.
The beast caught his other fist as well, struggling for a moment before pushing Knuckles over. The echidna's helmet popped off from the impact.
"Ha! Now you're mi-i-" the creatures voice stopped abruptly, its grip on Knuckles releasing as it took a few steps back.
Knuckles shook his head to clear it, then looked up. As he got a better look at the beast's eyes, his own eyes went wide.
"Wha...it...it can't be..."
The beast gazed back at him, its emerald eyes glistening with a small sadness. "K...Knuckles...?"
Knuckles stammered for a moment, hardly believing what he was seeing. "S...Sonic?"
The beast stammered. "W-wha? Of course not!"
He got back on all fours, giving a soft growls. However, his nervousness was clear and the attempt was pathetic. He sighed. "...Hey, Knux."
Knuckles sat for a minute, staring in complete shock. Then slowly, he sat up.

Suddenly, he reached over and pulled Sonic into an embrace. He buried his face into his old friend's fur and began to sob.
Sonic's eyes widened at the gesture. "K-Knuckles, what are you..." He flushed, though it also saddened him to hear his friend sob. Not knowing what else to do, he wrapped his around his friend and hugged him back.
"I-I...m-missed you so m-much..." Knuckles managed to hiccup out, his voice muffled by Sonic's fur.
'K-Knux... bud..."
Trying to get a better hold of the situation, Sonic pulled away slightly, though keep a hand on Knuckles' cheek as he turned his head to look at him.
"Are you all right?"
"I-I'm fine," Knuckles replied with a sniffle. "I-I just...I thought I'd never s-see you again and..." He took a moment to catch his breath. "What...what happened to you?"
Sonic looked away, but kept Knuckles close to him. "I...I left the border and got cursed to be like this. How it happened was just an accident, but," He sighed, "not like it matters. After that, I couldn't bring myself to go home, especially not... looking like this." He gestured to his body in disgust. "So I just... never went back."
Knuckles gripped him more tightly. "Sonic...I wouldn't have cared if you looked like this. I just..." He choked back a new set of tears. "I-I thought you were dead!" he continued, raising his voice. "I thought I'd never see you again! I...I missed you...so much..."
Sonic's ears flopped down. "I...I-I'm sorry, Knux. I-I really wanted to go back to see you, but do you honestly think everyone in the village would think of me the same?" he asked.
Knuckles went to respond, but then he realized that Sonic was actually right. He sighed.
"Just...don't ever leave me like that again, okay?"
Sonic chuckled weakly. "Don't want to, but it's not like I can go back with you like this."

He glanced over at the discarded helmet on the ground. "So... y'finally became a knight, huh?" he asked. "H-heh, guess I was gone for longer than I thought."
Knuckles nodded sadly. "Yeah, it took me years to become a knight. Training was fun I guess, but...it just wasn't the same without my cr-uh, best friend there."
Sonic was confused at his shift in words, but shrugged it off. "Y-yeah, I mean... good for you! The armor suits you!"
He grinned sadly. The two had always wanted to become knights together, but...
"I just wish you could've been there too," Knuckles sighed.
"I know..."
Sonic pulled away, sitting down on the ground and sighing. "Sorry."
"So, um...w-what do we do now?" Knuckles asked. "I mean, I can't just go back without you!"
"Well, technically, y'can," Sonic told him jokingly. "Just..." He paused, figuring his humor wasn't welcome. "You really came all this way just for me?"
Knuckles nodded. "I-I thought you'd been...m-murdered...so I was gonna get revenge on whoever-or whatever-did that to you," he admitted. "But then, I found you here instead!"
"Nah," Sonic said. "I'd run if things got too bad." He gave a sad gaze down at his claws. "But nope, not murdered. Just cursed and I ran away to here..."
Knuckles hugged Sonic again. "I'm just glad that you're alive."
Sonic flushed. "Thanks, bud." He hesitantly hugged back. "But I don't know what you're supposed to do either if you're so sure that y'wanna stick around me."
Knuckles hesitated. "I...I don't really know either," he admitted. "But there's no way I'm leaving you now!"
Sonic rolled his eyes, but chuckled; he'd missed Knuckles' loyalty. "Well, better find a room in this place then, 'cause there's no way I can head back home."
Knuckles nodded. "Could...could you show me around? I'd like to see the rest of this place."
"Seriously?" Sonic asked, slightly amused. "I mean... alright, if you're sure, heh..."
He stood up, then pointed to Knuckles' armor. "You can lose the get-up though. That can't be comfortable."
"O-oh, right," Knuckles chuckled. He quickly took off his armor and set it down next to his helmet. "Ready!"
"Let's go then."

Sonic started leading Knuckles through the castle, showing him anything he could think of that he thought the echidna would be interested in.
Knuckles was quite fascinated with the place. He'd always been interested in exploring old castles, so this was actually very exciting for him! Most of all though, he was enjoying the time spent with Sonic.

As the two entered another hallway, Sonic slowly placed a hand on one of the doors and looked back at Knuckles. "This is the only door that's off-limits, all right?" he asked.
"O-oh, okay." Knuckles wondered why this was, but figured it was none of his business.
"Anyway..." Sonic glanced out one of the nearby windows. "Do you have to get home or something? It's getting late."
"W-well..." Knuckles hesitated. "I...I don't really have anywhere that I need to be..."
"Huh?" Sonic asked. "What do you mean?"
Knuckles sighed. "After you left, I got kicked out of the house. I've never really had a home since then."
Sonic's ears shot up in surprise. "N-no way!" He looked down sadly. "Well, there's a ton of bedrooms around here if you need a place to stay. I've been here for so long that I've actually spruced everything up a little... if you wouldn't mind something so old-timey."
Knuckles smiled. "So...you wouldn't mind if I stayed with you? A-at least for tonight?"
Sonic chuckled. "Well, you're not gonna leave anyway, right?" he asked.
Knuckles shook his head. "No way I'm leaving now! It's been way too long since I've seen you."
"Then I don't really have a choice, do I?" Sonic joked, sticking his tongue out. "T-though... uh... you could always stay in my room; j-just in case you'd need to get up for something and didn't know where to go, y'know?"
Knuckles hoped Sonic couldn't see the small blush coming on. "S-sure, sounds good."

Sonic led Knuckles into the bedroom, then lightly patted the bed. "I guess this was the main bed or something; it's the biggest."
"Is this where you sleep?" Knuckles asked.
"Usually," Sonic replied. "But you can have it for the night. I'm practically a ready-made bed anyway."
To prove his point, he curled up on the floor, using one of his fluffy arms as a pillow.
"I-I don't wanna take your bed, though," Knuckles hesitated.
"Ah, what's the big deal?" Sonic asked. "You probably haven't had a bed in years, right? You deserve one for one night at least," Sonic told him.
"I just...I feel bad about making you sleep on the floor..." Knuckles replied.
Sonic frowned, then looked back on the bed. "Well..." He stood up, blushing slightly. "This bed's is pretty big. Both of us should be able to sleep on it, right?"
Knuckles blushed too. "I-is that okay with you?"
"Y-yeah! I mean..." Sonic sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "It's... not like we have to cuddle or anything, right? We wouldn't be doing anything weird; just sleeping in the same bed." Even though he said that, Sonic could still feel his heart racing.
"R-right," Knuckles replied, smiling nervously.
He yawned loudly. "Well, I'm tired!" he said quickly, climbing onto the bed and waiting for Sonic to do the same.
Sonic hesitated, then climbed up next to him. "Eheh..." He chuckled. "It's been a long while since I really talked to anyone, y'know? So being so close like this is kind of... different for me."
Knuckles frowned sadly. "Aw, you must've been so lonely..."
"W-who, me?" Sonic asked. "Nah, I'm a big hedgehog; I can handle a little alone time, heh..." Even though he tried to play it cool, the lie was easy to see.
Without warning, Knuckles gently grabbed Sonic and pulled him into a hug. "You won't have to be alone now..." he said quietly.
Sonic turned red at the sudden affection. "M-mm!" He nearly squeaked, feeling even more flustered at being hugged now that the two were sharing a bed. "T-thanks, Knux..." he muttered softly, hugging Knuckles back.
Knuckles yawned, the warmth of Sonic's fur making him feel drowsy. "G-goodnight..."
A moment later, he was sound asleep-still hugging Sonic.
Sonic let out a shy whimper, not feeling Knuckles let up in the slightest. He waited a few minutes to see if maybe the echidna would respond then, but eventually gave in and fell asleep as well.

The next morning, Knuckles woke up to find that he was still holding onto Sonic. He blushed heavily. Had they stayed like this the whole night?
Sonic stirred as well, blushing just as badly as Knuckles once he realized how close they were. "Uh... sorry. You, er, fell asleep and I couldn't get away."
"N-no, I'm sorry," Knuckles replied. "Did I make you feel uncomfortable?"
Sonic shook his head. "Not really. You're actually super warm." He blushed when he said it, but it was the truth.
"You're super warm too," Knuckles giggled softly, blushing as well.
"I figured, "Sonic said with a chuckle. "All this fur's gotta be good for somethin', right?"
Knuckles smiled. "Mmhmm..." To be honest, he really wasn't in any hurry to let go of Sonic. He liked the warmth of his fur; plus, he'd dearly missed his friend, and wasn't about to let him out of his sight again.
"S-so, uhhh..." Sonic grinned sheepishly. "You hungry?"
Knuckles' stomach rumbled. "Sounds like it," he chuckled.
Sonic nodded, then paused. "...Hehe, you'll have to let go of me first."
"Aw..." Knuckles mumbled, reluctantly releasing his hold on Sonic.
Sonic chuckled, sliding out of bed. "C'mon, I'll show you the kitchen." He headed out the door.
Knuckles followed him, excited to see another part of the castle.

Sonic led Knuckles in the kitchen, then open one of the boxes he had lying around. "I collect a bunch of fruit since I don't really have any other option," he explained.
"Here." He offered the box to Knuckles, letting him choose what he wanted.
"Thanks." Knuckles took the box and picked some fruits, the handed it back to Sonic.
Sonic took his own pick of fruits, then bit down on one. He'd had it many times before, so his senses for them were slightly dulled, but he still enjoyed it.
"Mmm, tasty," Knuckles mumbled happily as he began to eat.
"Yeah," Sonic agreed, though a bit plainly."...Look, Knux..." He sighed, "y'gotta go back. I told you, I can't come with you back to the village. The people are gonna have a riot."
Knuckles frowned. "No way! I don't wanna go back now that I've found you."
Sonic frowned in return, looking up at him. "How long have you been training to be a knight?"
"Y-years," Knuckles answered. Years of you not being there... he added mentally.
"Exactly," Sonic said, "and I'm not gonna let you throw that all away just for me."
"But it wouldn't feel right if you aren't there!" Knuckles argued.
"You managed a few years," Sonic told him with a shrug. "You can manage longer..."
"No, I can't!" Knuckles' eyes were beginning to sting with tears. "Those were the worst years of my life! I couldn't stand the fact that I'd lost the guy that I-u-um, I meant, my best friend." His cheeks flushed in embarrassment over what he'd almost admitted.
Sonic was shocked at Knuckles' tears, but tried to maintain his composure. "B-but... come on, Knux. The walk from the village to hear is way too long, and you can't honestly tell me that you'd wanna stay here."
"But I do," Knuckles said quietly. "I don't care where I am, I just want you to be there too."
Sonic's face flushed at that.
But... Knuckles...
He mentally sighed, then turned and headed for one of the hallways. "Follow me."
"O-okay." Knuckles followed him, wondering what he was up to.

Sonic led him through a few more hallways, then reached a particular door; the one he'd told Knuckles not to open. He didn't want to push the echidna away, but there was no way he was letting him throw his life away.
He took a hesitant glance at Knuckles, then pushed the door open. Inside the room was a stunning collection of gems and various other shiny treasures; hundreds, easily.
"I've been collecting these," Sonic told him. "They reminded me of you, so I collected one for everyday I wasn't with you," he explained.
"W-wow..." Knuckles didn't know what to say. He could only stare in amazement.
Sonic reached over and grabbed one that was on the table, showing it to Knuckles. "The night I left, I was looking for this gem. I knew how much you liked them and remembered how you said you were running out of gems to find..."
"R-really?" Knuckles was flattered by this, but also a bit sad.
"Yeah. Then the whole curse thing happened and I couldn't bring myself to go back," he replied.
Knuckles frowned sadly. "So...all of this happened...because you wanted to find a gem for me?"
"W-well, not just that..."
Sonic turned to Knuckles nervously. "I...I wanted to use this gem to confess to you," he admitted.
"H-huh? Confess what?" Knuckles asked.
Sonic stiffened, having hoped that he wouldn't have to actually say it. "I...I've had a crush on you... for a long time now," he finally admitted.
Knuckles' heart skipped a beat. "Wait...y-you have?"
Sonic sighed. "Yeah..."
He waited a few seconds, then looked at Knuckles confusedly. "...This is the part where you're supposed to walk away in disgust."
"W-what?" Knuckles was shocked that Sonic would think he'd do that.
"B-but...I-I..." His cheeks flushed badly. "W-well..."
Sonic raised a brow. "What?"
Knuckles took a deep breath. "I'vealwayslikedyoutoo," he blurted. He covered his face with his hands in embarrassment.
"You..." Sonic blinked, clearly surprised, "you have?"
"Y-yeah..." Knuckles sighed. "So when you left, I-I didn't just lose my best friend...I lost someone I really really love..."
Sonic blushed. "I...I didn't know you felt like that." He looked down sheepishly, letting out a chuckle. "Guess we've both been pretty dumb. I always saw you blushing, but for some reason, I just... didn't think of it as anything, y'know?"
"Yeah, same here," Knuckles replied, smiling sheepishly. "S-so, um...now that we've confessed...what happens now?"
"...Not sure," Sonic answered. "B-but, heh... I guess a kiss is out of the question, huh?" he asked, almost shyly, pointing to one of his fangs.
"W-we...we could still give it a try," Knuckles replied quietly. "I-if you want to."
"I mean... do you want to?" Sonic asked just as quietly.
Knuckles hesitated nervously, then nodded. "I do."
Sonic looked around sheepishly, then gestured for Knuckles to get down to his level. I wonder...
Knuckles bent down so he was at eye level with Sonic.

Then, Sonic kissed him. A bit gently at first, but he quickly got into it, wrapping his arms around Knuckles and pulling him closer.
Knuckles' eyes went wide. At first, he was too stunned to react. He'd never been kissed before, but if this was what kisses were like...no wonder people loved them so much! He wrapped his arms around Sonic and embraced him as he began to kiss back. He felt like he was in heaven.

However, after a moment, Sonic pulled away, his body shaking slightly. His fur went back down to its original length, his muzzle shortened and became tan, and before he knew it, he was back to his regular hedgehog self.
"T...that was it!" he exclaimed excitedly. "That was the cure!"
"Whoa!" Knuckles' eyes were wide again. "So the cure was kissing? Like in stories?"
"Guess so," Sonic replied.
He was silent for a moment, then bounced up giddily and sped out of the room, the sound of his running echoing throughout the halls.
"Sonic, where are you going?" Knuckles tried to run after him, but he'd never been able to keep up with the hedgehog. "W-wait for me!"
After a moment, Sonic sped right back to him. "Who said you had to wait?"
With a small grunt, he lifted Knuckles into his arms and smirked. "I'll just take you with me!"
He sped down the halls again.

"W-whoa!" Knuckles clung to Sonic for dear life. "Where are we going?"
"I don't care!" Sonic exclaimed. "I can run again!"
Knuckles smiled. He loved seeing Sonic so happy.
"Alright, just don't drop me!" he joked.
"Wouldn't dream of it!" Sonic responded. Eventually, he slowed to a stop, putting Knuckles back down. "Hehe, sorry. It's just been forever since I've been able to do that!"
"So you couldn't run all that time?" Knuckles hadn't really noticed that the hedgehog's speed had been gone; he'd been too busy being happy that Sonic was alive.
"Did you see how top-heavy I was?" Sonic asked with a chuckle. "I mean, I could run, but my speed was gone!"
"Aw, that must've been so hard!" Knuckles said sadly. He knew how much Sonic's speed meant to him.
"Yeah, really hard!" Sonic confirmed. "...But..."
He saddened and held Knuckles' hand. "It was even harder not bein' able to see you every day."
Knuckles gently squeezed Sonic's hand. "Yeah...I thought about you all the time. And how I'd never get to...t-tell you how I felt..."
Sonic smiled. "So this is the best outcome possible, right?" he asked.
Knuckles smiled back. "Right."
Suddenly, he picked up Sonic and hugged him. "It's so great to have you back!"
Sonic laughed. "It's great to be back!"
He smirked. "And you definitely deserve a reward for helpin' me get back."
He chuckled and quickly kissed Knuckles.
Knuckles blushed, giggling softly.

"So..." Sonic pulled away and scratched his cheek, "to be honest, I'm not sure where I'm supposed to go from here. It's been years since I've been in the village."
"I dunno either," Knuckles replied, still holding Sonic in his arms. "Like I said, I don't really have anyplace to go either."
"Yeah..." Sonic sighed. "And you know how people would react to a relationship between two guys..."
"Yeah..." Knuckles agreed sadly. "So...what do we do?"
"Well..." Sonic gestured around them. "We could always make this place our home. It's old and stuff, but it's still a home." He smiled. "Especially now that you're here."
Knuckles blushed. "Sounds good to me."
"I guess that means we'll be living together once again, huh?" Sonic asked. "It's been too long."
"It has," Knuckles agreed, hugging Sonic again.
Sonic hugged back, nestling himself into Knuckles' fur.

Together, at last.