Vacation from Duty
(Disclaimer-I don't own anything just the idea. I don't own Rouge. I don't own Knuckles sigh.)
Knux was walking along the street, he'd taken a week long vacation from guarding the master emerald and he was feeling guilty that he wasn't watching it.
"Stop worrying," he said to himself, "it's perfectly safe."
He was thoroughly unconvinced by his own words and was still full of a deep sense of unrest.
He'd left the emerald with Rouge the bat.
He knew she wasn't the most ideal person to leave in charge of the master emerald, but there was no one else who would do it.
He had left her sitting on top of the large emerald as if it were a throne as she promised to guard is as her own, it had taken him a while to convince her he was not joking when he said she couldn't have any of it as payment.
It would be especially hard to get her away from it when he got back, he thought with a wry grin.
He and Rouge the bat had gotten over their arguments over the master emerald, she no longer pursued it furiously and he suspected she at least partially respected the fact that he had to guard it, and that there was a good reason too.
Rouge and Knuckles got along all right these days, they had some arguments but as they hardly saw each other since the end of the sonic and dark team's escapades they didn't need to get along perfectly.
Knuckles remembered the first time he had met Rouge, she wanted the master emerald and was trying to get it from him when Eggman showed up and had tried to steal it.
Knux had smashed it, much to the dismay of Rouge, and then she had set out trying to find the pieces almost as fervently as he had.
He admired that about Rouge, she was persistent in getting what she wanted.
Knuckles had needed a vacation after nearly a year of watching the master emerald and nothing happening, so when he started calling around for a sitter to watch it for a week, he had not had much luck.
Some were afraid of it's power, and some just didn't have the time, then he thought about Rouge, he guessed, because she would like to watch such a large gem, but Knux did not really know why he thought of her.
She was possibly the least likely candidate, except for maybe someone like Eggman.
But he called her anyway, and when she answered the phone on the other end, a shiver went down Knuckles' spine and he looked to the window seeing it open.
He and Rouge talked for a while.
She was curious why he had called her and he suddenly remembered why he had called in the first place.
"Would you want to come and watch the master emerald for a week while I'm away?" he had asked her.
"Would I? You just asked the right bat the right question! When are you leaving?" she said eagerly, but keeping her cool all the time, with a saucy, sweet, spicy edge in her voice.
"Hey watch out!" someone said as Knux was jolted back to reality, and a man he'd just walked right into on the sidewalk.
"Watch it yourself", he replied with ferocity, alarmed by his deep reverie.
All too often had Knux recently found himself lost in thoughts about Rouge, with roots in his worry about the master emerald, he assumed.
He looked around and saw that he'd walked right past the dock where to cruise ship was docked.
He was taking a weeklong cruise and didn't want to miss the ship.
Knux crowded onto the dock with the others, mobians and humans alike.
He got to a booth where he bought his pass to board and was swept by the crowd onto the ship and was immediately startled.
It looked so spectacular, and the whole atmosphere was one of excitement, fun, and relaxation.
Two hours later he found himself at a juice bar trying 5 different types of fruit smoothies, he found it hard to enjoy them.
It wasn't the smoothies, they were delicious, he was still thinking about the master emerald and whether it would be safe with Rouge.
He walked out to the deck of the large cruise ship and looked out to the ocean, he had slowly gotten over his initial seasickness and was not bothered by the rocking of the ship or the gentle up and down motion.
If only he could relax, he didn't know why he couldn't, but he had to try because what good was a vacation if you worried the whole time, and about something that was all right?
Knux went to his room in the ship, he noticed the dry bar and made himself a little drink, he generally didn't like alcohol that much, but he was trying to have fun after all.
Knux decided that he'd take a nap and then after that, feeling refreshed, he'd go to dinner.
He lay down on the comfortable bed, letting himself sink into the warmth and comfort, falling asleep instantly.
Gasping, he was breathing heavily, he didn't know why.
And a bright orange glow surrounding him he looked down and saw that he was above a huge boiling pool of lava.
Knux saw bright dots in a sea of black and metal beams all around him.
Finally looking in front of him he saw Rouge the bat, breathing just as heavily as he, a few moments passed and then he heard himself and Rouge say, "stop fooling around and give me back MY emerald."
"Your emerald," Knux heard himself say, "What do you mean YOUR emerald!"
"What are you babbling about, you call yourself a hunter, attacking a lady, shame on you", said Rouge.
"What kind of lady goes around stealing gems anyway", Knux asked hotly. Knuckles knew something important was going to happen, he recognized this whole situation, what it was he didn't know.
Rouge started towards him saying,
"That emerald belongs to me. Ahhh!"
Knuckles watched her foot slip off the metal beam as if time had slowed and every thing but he himself had almost frozen in time.
She took an age, it seemed, to fall and Knux knew he had to do something, so, propelling his muscles into action, he moved like lightning and grabbed her hand, how, he wasn't sure, she seemed miles away from him and he hadn't been sure he would get to her.
Now they dangled, Knux holding Rouge up and straining himself to hold on with the combined weight.
At that moment nothing seemed to matter except himself and Rouge and all else faded to a blur.
He pulled her up helping her stabilize herself on the narrow beam.
Their hands lingered in the air and their eyes met for one second, but it seemed to Knuckles much longer than that, and he was unsure of how long he and Rouge stood there locked in each others' gazes.
Suddenly she pulled away, and said,
"Don't touch me, keep you hands to yourself" she said
"Is that how you thank someone who just saved your life" he said angrily, he felt a little hurt about how she reacted.
"Saving my life, don't think I owe you one. You just wanted to hold my hand, that's why you saved me, you're such a creep!" she said cloyingly, she obviously didn't care about the fact that he had just saved her from a very excruciating death.
"Think want, batgirl, I was saving the master emerald"
"Whatever you say it all sounds crazy!" she said with a haughty coyness.
Suddenly he saw the remaining pieces of the master emerald in a pile at his feet, "Wha-" he said confused over what had happened.
"Fine take them" he heard her say, "They stink like echidnas do!" Shrugging off her remark, he reassembled all the pieces;
"Finally" he said when it was in one piece. He thought of Rouge and their fight just before, he hadn't been very kind to her and he felt guilty for it, "I'm sorry, if I hurt you" he said truthfully.
It was hard for him to say it as he was not used to saying sorry at all, but he really meant it.
Knux' surroundings faded away as he turned from Rouge and walked away, not seeing the glance she sent his way, her smile and last comment,
"We should get going" as he kept walking.
He sat bolt upright in his comfy bed, "Arrggh!" he yelled into the pillow, as if it wasn't enough that he kept thinking about the emerald and Rouge in his waking hours, now while he slept too!
He sat and mused about that event up in space near the colony called ARK, he had never really understood all that happened then, all that had been said.
He always said he saved her to save the master emerald pieces; he would have saved anyone, though maybe not Eggman, in that situation.
Wouldn't he?
It had nothing to do with Rouge, and he kept telling himself that as he got ready to go for dinner.
He walked to the dining hall, hardly noticing anything around him, still lost in thoughts about his dream, or flashback, whatever you wanted to call it.
He sat down at a round table with a white tablecloth on it and he was joined by some other people and some mobians who all started talking loudly, the first course was served. It was salad and soup, the entrée was lobster bisque, and Knux was halfway through his meal when a waiter came up to his table and asked if there was a Knuckles the Echidna here.
He told the waiter he was Knuckles and the waiter handed him a slip of paper with a message on it, Knux held it up to the candlelight and started to read:
TO: Echidna, Knuckles
FROM: anonymous
Floating island raided –stop- Eggman did it –stop-
return immediately –stop- wreckage everywhere –stop-
His mouth dropped open, his breathing increased, what happened to Rouge, what happened to the emerald!
He checked the paper for more words but no message of the condition of either.
He stood up resolutely and ran out the door to the dining hall, some people turned to look, but most were too busy eating and having fun.
"Having fun," he thought, "something I couldn't do".
He knew he had to return to the island at once, he didn't know who had sent that telegram, but he was grateful he got the news.
Once Knux reached the deck he jumped high in the air and flew off back to the mainland and headed the direction of the floating island as quickly as he could.
Thoughts buzzed in his head, he thought of the worst that could happen to the emerald, it could be scattered again, in that case he could find it, no sweat, but if Eggman had it, who knew where it could be!
And Rouge, he hoped she wasn't hurt, it was his fault she was there and not he,
"I didn't really need a vacation," he thought in frustration.
Best case scenario, Rouge got away or wasn't hurt, if not totally fine she could deal with a few injuries, she was tough, and could take care of herself.
Worst-case scenario... Thinking about what could have happened made Knuckles' stomach sick, he didn't even want to think about it.
There it was, he could see the island in the distance, as he got closer the island grew and grew in size and he hurried to it. From far away he had seen the flames and the wreckage, his insides twisted to think of Rouge trapped under the stone and in the flames heat.
The emerald was nowhere to be seen, and there was debris piled on more debris. He landed on the island and quickly looked around,
"Rouge," he called, "Rouge". Louder in desperation he yelled, "Rouge, where are you, can you hear me?"
Frustrated, his eyes itching, threatening pathetic tears he couldn't spill for the sake of his dignity, he practically screamed into the night, "Rouge!"
He heard a weak voice say,
"Cool it Knuckle-head, I'm right here!"
He heard her behind him and he whirled around, spotting her beneath a pillar that was once part of the altar.
Her head, arms and left leg free, but her body and right leg were underneath the large stone.
He ran over to her side as she said, "Saving me again, Knuckles?"
"How are you, is anything hurt?" He asked frantically.
"I think I am fine, but my ankle really hurts, the rock isn't all on me, see" she said pointing to the side where Knuckles could see that the pillar had fallen on an other rock on the other side of Rouge, taking some of the weight off her.
He thought he might be able to lift it so he said,
"Alright, I am going to try lifting the pillar off of you okay?"
"Whatever you want to do," she said coyly, "I'm not going any where just yet!"
Knux grabbed the column of stone and tried lifting it, it was really heavy, he shifted his grip and struggled with it.
"What's the matter, tough-echidna-man?" Rouge taunted saucily, "too heavy for you?"
"No" Knuckles managed to grunt out, pushing harder and harder. He knew it, it was too heavy for him, he couldn't lift it, he was backing down.
"No' he thought, "I have to get this off Rouge, I have to."
He pushed and shoved the stone, trying as hard as he could, and then, he felt a super strength well up in him, added to his own original strength, he knew he could get the pillar off Rouge.
He shoved one last time, and the column of heavy stone toppled off of her and to one side crashing to the ground.
He reached down to help her up and she stood with his support, standing gingerly on her right leg, the leg wobbling a bit.
They stood there, Knux holding her up and she, standing, hanging onto Knuckles for support, She looked up at him and their eyes met for the second time in these circumstances, they stood once more, locked in each others' gaze.
Knux didn't know any more than that time in space how long they stood there, it seemed like longer than before.
Knuckles had to act, knowing he had to do something, anything to let her know, he said,
"Rouge, I have to tell you something, I've been stubborn and unsure, and I'm sorry but I have to tell you that, well, ever since the time we fought on the ARK, I've, well I, I don't know how to say this and, I really do, sort of, I love you Rouge" he finally spit it out. He didn't know what to do, Rouge was looking at him as if thinking hard and he couldn't stand waiting any longer.
Suddenly he leaned in to her and as their lips met, surprisingly, she didn't pull away, she kissed him back.
The kiss lasted only a few seconds but he wanted it to stretch on forever, it ended and Rouge looked at him, speechless, for once in her lifetime without a saucy comeback or snappy reply.
She looked away and he felt downcast, but then she said,
"Thank you for telling me" very softly and she said no more as Knux picked her up and flew to the hospital in the city.
The next morning Knuckles woke up stretched out on some chairs in the hospital waiting room.
The doctor came in earlier and told him that Rouge was fine, all she had was a sprained right ankle, and some minor cuts and bruises.
Knux was waiting to go in and see her.
He kept thinking about the night before, he had told Rouge he loved her, but she had said nothing and he was afraid to find out how she felt.
He was terribly proud and being rejected after the kiss and his confession would be a huge embarrassment, and blow to his ego.
The doctor came out again and told him he could go see her now.
He walked into the hospital room and noticed the starched white sheets and friendly looking window curtain, Rouge was sitting up in her hospital bed, looking better than last night and when he came in she grinned and said teasingly,
"Why are you here and not out looking for the master emerald?"
"To ask you what happened to the emerald when the island was raided," he said, telling a half-truth.
"Well, thanks for staying" she said sarcastically, then she continued, "Eggman shows up and says upon seeing me 'Aha, so it is true, the Knuckle-head has left bat-girl in charge of his post!' And he then proceeds, with the aid of the fifty or so robots he brought along, to gun the place down while I try my best to stop all the robots and Eggman. During the confusion, a pillar fell on me and I was trapped, only to watch Dr. Robotnik soar away with the massive gleaming gem, before I fell unconscious, I lay there for who knows how long and was awoken by your frantic, pathetic screaming" she finished with a flourish.
"Thank you," said Knux, "I also want to say sorry for what happened last night back at the island, I didn't mean to lose my control."
"Oh, that's okay," she said with a smirk, "it's only to be expected." She said, with the airs of one all too tired of an old routine, but determined to make the best of it. Knuckles bristled,
"What do you mean 'only to be expected'? He asked feeling hurt and a little angry.
"Well, it's obvious you get a kick out of saving me, and being all 'noble hero' but all the guys I meet go all googly eyed over me, I suspected you would fall prey to the same fate. They always do" She sighed dramatically.
Knux' temper boiled, after all that had happened, she still could blow him off as another of her many admirers.
"What's wrong with you," he shouted, "you are so self centered, others are capable of real feelings, they're not just puppets, who follow your every whim just because you're pretty. Someone could have real feelings about you, and you could have real feelings back, but not if you just shove them away like wooden carvings who can't love. That someone is me," he said truthfully, "now, tell me, please, how you really feel about me, not as another pathetic worshiper, but as an equal who respects, admires, and loves you."
Rouge looked unsure, maybe startled and taken aback by Knuckles' ranting, she seemed to be thinking hard again. Slowly her expression changed from puzzlement to hurt, and then to determination and openness.
"Knuckles, I never knew that was what you thought about me, I'm sorry I made that impression. I have a truth to tell also, I didn't realize it until last night, I was unsure of myself and my feelings for a long time, I've always thought you were cute, but you seemed to busy, and too proud," she added smugly, "to have the most simple relationship, but now I know that I do love you, Knuckles, and I want a relationship more than anything no matter what the obstacles are" she finished, out of breath.
He looked at her, he couldn't believe what he heard were her real feelings, she sounded like she was telling the truth, and part of him, he knew, would believe her no matter what.
Now it didn't matter how busy he was with the emerald, his duty was top priority in his mind, and now he reasoned that he could have two top priorities, and he wasn't feeling too proud for a relationship now.
All that mattered was that he loved her and she loved him.
This time Knuckles saw her coming at him first and he reacted quickly, both of them lost in the kiss, neither could pull away.
All the surroundings had melted into a haze and all each could sense was the other, so oblivious were they that they didn't notice the doctor coming in until he coughed gently, and they were brought abruptly to reality,
"I am sorry if I interrupted anything, but I am here to tell you, Miss Bat, that you are free to go now." he said with a small smile.
"Thank you" said Rouge, and the doctor left.
"Well," asked Knuckles, "What do we do now?"
"We go after the master emerald of course, I can't have that Egghead messing around with a jewel that big, not when I practically own half of it!" she said with a smile.
"Own half of it?" Knux asked with a dubious smile.
"Well, of course, now that we're an item it practically belongs to me! We are going out now right?" she asked with a flip of her head.
"I guess so, so that also means that we're a team huh?" he asked her knowing the answer already.
"You bet, Knuckles!"
Shrugging it off he said, "Rouge?"
"Yeah, what?"
"I love you"
"I love you too, now come on," she said getting up and walking to the door, "let's go get my emeral-I mean lets get the master emerald back!"
"Alright!" said Knuckles as he and Rouge flew off into the sky, ready to take on any thing or anyone, even Eggman, together.