Sonic relaxed back against the bark of a tree, enjoying Knuckles' company as the two gazed out at a garden of flowers together.
"Still likin' the view?" he asked, staring over at his echidna friend, not wanting him to be bored.
Knuckles nodded. "Yeah, it's really great!"
Sonic smiled, happy that Knuckles was having a good time too, then gazed back at the flowers. He reached over to grab one, only to notice one that had either been stepped on or withered away. He frowned, then picked it up, slowly starting to pluck at its dead petals.
Knuckles watched him curiously, tilting his head. "Hey, are you doing that 'he loves me, he loves me not' thing?"
Sonic blinked, looking over at Knuckles. "Nah. Just puttin' this poor flower out of its misery..."
He stared back at the flower, but couldn't help his curiosity. "Why do ya ask?"
"It just kinda looked like that," Knuckles replied with a shrug.
Sonic chuckled. "Ah, I see."
He paused, a light blush coming to his face. "How'd ya know it was a guy?"
"I didn't, I just—" Knuckles paused for a moment. Then he grinned. "Oooh, you do like someone, don't you?"
Sonic blush reddened, but he tried to play it cool and relaxed further against the tree. "Maybe…" he said playfully, making it all the more obvious that he did indeed like someone.
"Oooh, who is it?" Knuckles asked, grinning playfully.
"Not tellin'," Sonic replied, turning his head away with a small smile.
"Aw come on, tell me!" Knuckles said. "Oh, I'll guess... is it Amy? No wait, you said it's a guy. Hmm..."
He put a hand to his chin. "Can ya give me a hint here?" he asked sheepishly.
Sonic considered it for a moment, then shrugged. "Sure, why not?" he asked. "He's gentle and the nicest guy I know."
"Hmm..." Knuckles stroked his chin. "Uh... Tails?"
He knew that was probably a bit of a stretch, but that was the first guy that came to his mind.
Sonic laughed, amused, then shook his head. "Nu-uh. The guy I like's taller than me."
"Uh..." Knuckles thought hard. "...Vector?"
Sonic shook his head. "I said 'gentle', remember?" He chuckled, then blushed a little. "I won't lie; the guy I like's also pretty handsome."
"Um..." Knuckles couldn't think of a lot of guys that they both knew, so he was just randomly guessing now, not even thinking about the hints anymore. "That 'Silver' guy?"
"Nope, not him either," Sonic said, "and that's all the hints I've got."
Knuckles wanted to make one more guess. "Hmmm... uh..." He scrunched up his face in slight disgust.
"...Shadow?"
Sonic made a disgusted noise and shook his head. "Ugh, no way! Not him either!"
Knuckles chuckled a bit at this. "Okay, I give up. Who is it?"
"Can't say," Sonic replied simply.
"Aw, come on," Knuckles said in slight disappointment. "Okay, well... why don't you just tell this guy that you like him?"
"Eh..." Sonic scratched his cheek and shrugged. "I like what we've got. Our friendship's enough for me I guess, and I don't wanna ruin it."
"How would that ruin your friendship, though?" Knuckles asked. "I mean, how could he not love you back?" he added, not realizing that he was blushing lightly.
Sonic's eyes widened slightly, a blush dusting his cheeks. He averted his gaze from Knuckles for a moment, then smiled softly. "Y'really wanna know...?"
Knuckles nodded, smiling.
Sonic placed a hand to his chin in thought, then pointed up at Knuckles. "Alright. Close your eyes."
"O-okay." Knuckles wasn't sure what Sonic was up to, but he complied. "Now what?"
"Hold still."
Sonic went silent after that, and his scent got stronger to Knuckles suddenly, as if the blue hedgehog had shifted closer to him. Cotton fabric slid across the echidna's shoulders, and soft skin was slowly pressed against Knuckles' lips; soft skin that belonged to Sonic's lips.
Knuckles was too stunned and confused to react at first, his face flushing instantly. Was Sonic...kissing him? But why was he—
...ohhh. Knuckles suddenly understood. His heart fluttered, and he before he realized it, he was kissing Sonic back.
Sonic mentally smiled as he felt Knuckles kissing back, relief filling his heart. He leaned into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Knuckles and clearly enjoying the contact.
Knuckles returned the embrace. He felt like he had a swarm of butterflies in his stomach. It almost felt like he was dreaming, but he knew that this wasn't a dream. This was really happening!
Sonic then pulled away, though very slowly. He nuzzled Knuckles, then gave him a soft smile.
Knuckles blushed a little. "You...you really think I'm handsome?" he asked, referring to one of the hints Sonic had given him before.
Sonic giggled, then nodded and placed a gentle hand on Knuckles' cheek. "Only the most handsome guy in the whole universe!" he exclaimed happily.
Knuckles blushed even harder. "A-aw, st-stop it..."
Sonic smiled wider, enjoying seeing Knuckles so flustered. "So..." He lightly stroked the echidna's shoulder. "Does this mean you'll be my boyfriend?" he asked.
"Will I?" Knuckles smiled wide. "Yes!"
He threw his arms around Sonic in one of his signature bear hugs, nuzzling him.
Sonic hugged him back tightly, unable to help the huge grin on his face. Knuckles felt the butterflies again as Sonic hugged him back.
"Now I have twice as much reason t'come here," Sonic said. "Now it's special since we started dating here."
Knuckles grinned. He kept on hugging Sonic, never wanting to let go.
"So... what do boyfriends do anyway?" he asked after a small silence.
Sonic thought for a moment, slightly stumped on the question himself.
"Well... I guess we could go out on a date after we're done here," Sonic said. "Heh, not gonna lie; I've been wanting to sit on your lap the entire time we've been here," he admitted, blushing slightly.
Knuckles blushed a little too. "You can right now, if you'd like!" he said, giggling softly.
Sonic smiled wide, getting down and sitting on his new boyfriend's lap. He gazed back out at the flower garden, then leaned against Knuckles' chest, relaxed and happy.
Knuckles wrapped his arm around him and held him close, enjoying the hedgehog's warmth.
Sonic chuckled, looking up at Knuckles as best as he could. "Am I really that fun to hug?" he asked.
"Mmhmm," Knuckles replied. "You're soft and warm, and you're the perfect hugging size!"
Sonic blushed, then simply smiled. "Well, I'm all yours, so hug away!"
Knuckles didn't need to be told twice. He hugged Sonic a little tighter, nuzzling him gently.
Sonic felt warm, both inside and outside from the hug. He was indescribably happy that Knuckles had asked him about his crush, because now, not only could he be Knuckles'...
…but Knuckles could be his.