Sonic sat quietly at one of the tables in Meh Burger, staring down at his meal with a small frown. It was Valentine's Day, and yet he was alone? A hedgehog as awesome as him, alone?
He sighed, pushing the tray away slightly. He wasn't in the mood to eat today.
"Hey, Sonic!" Knuckles' voice suddenly greeted.
Sonic stiffened at the voice, surprised as he jerked his head over at Knuckles. "O-oh, hey, Knux!" he greeted back with a wave.
He wanted to let out a "how are you" or something along those lines, but just ended up staring back down at the table.
Knuckles frowned, noticing Sonic's bad mood. "Hey, you feelin' okay?"
Sonic glanced back up at him, pausing before answering. "…Don't you have to get back to your date or something?"
Knuckles tilted his head in confusion. "Huh? What date?"
Sonic blinked, surprised for the second time that day. Knuckles didn't have a date? He was easily the most awesome guy on the island besides Sonic himself.
"You don't have a date for today?" he asked.
Knuckles shook his head sadly. "Nope. Nobody was interested."
"Really?"
Sonic frowned, almost annoyed at the fact that no one asked Knuckles to be their Valentine.
"Well, uh… y'want my burger maybe?" he asked, gesturing a hand to his meal. "I'm not all that hungry…"
"You sure?" Knuckles was a bit surprised. Sonic wouldn't usually turn down a Meh Burger!
He must be really upset about something… Knuckles realized. Then something clicked in his mind.
"Hey, do you have a date today?"
Sonic made a face at the question; had he been figured out that easily? Still, the fact that Knuckles didn't have one either made it easier to respond to.
"…Nah, no one asked me either," he admitted.
Knuckles was shocked. "Seriously? Nobody at all?"
"Nobody at all," Sonic confirmed.
Knuckles frowned sadly. He sat down at the table, across from Sonic, so that they were facing each other.
"S-so, I guess neither of us have dates… maybe we could just hang out together instead?" he suggested.
Sonic managed a grin at that. "Heh, yeah, I guess."
His grin widened. "Who needs a date when we've got each other, right?" he asked, though blushing slightly at his own wording.
Knuckles blushed a little himself, though he tried his best to hide it. "Y-yeah, right!"
"A-anyway…" Sonic said. He slid his meal tray over to Knuckles. "Here."
"You sure?" Knuckles asked again.
"Yeah, I don't mind," Sonic told him. He tried to focus on the tray, but ended up shifting his eyes back to Knuckles.
Ugh, it's not like what I said's a big deal, so why do I feel so weird about it?
"Well, okay…t-thanks!"
As Knuckles began to eat the burger, he wondered why he was still blushing.
Geez, I hope I'm not getting sick or something…
Sonic leaned back in his seat, suddenly feeling awkward. He never felt odd before around Knuckles, but the fact that it was Valentine's Day and no one else was really around besides Dave the Intern (who had fallen asleep on the job anyway) just made him anxious for whatever reason.
Not that he didn't think Knuckles wasn't a worthy valentine or anything, mind you. He thought Knuckles was kind, strong, and he certainly deserved someone to be with today. He just didn't expect it to be him, regardless of whether or not they were actually on a date.
Am I seriously… crushing on Knuckles?
Knuckles, who had finished his burger, was staring quietly at the empty tray, thinking.
Now that he thought about it, he'd always felt weird around Sonic. Not a bad kind of weird, just… the kind of weird where it felt like there were a bunch of butterflies flying around in your stomach, even though you're pretty sure you didn't eat any butterflies for lunch. He'd gotten pretty used to it now, but today, the feeling was even stronger than usual. What was going on? He honestly wouldn't put it past Dave to accidentally put butterflies in his burger, but somehow the echidna knew that probably wasn't the case.
Hmmm… the butterflies… the blushing… Valentine's Day…
Then, it hit him. His cheeks turned pink as he realized something that he should've figured out a long time ago.
…Oh… ohhhhhh…
The two had realized their crushes on each other in almost no time flat. They felt like they shouldn't have been surprised about the fact, but still, it was a weird feeling to finally know about it. Still, they ignored it and treated each other no differently.
Well, almost.
Besides the occasional turning-their-heads-away-to-hide-a-blush, they also stared at each other differently, with lovey-dovey eyes; they didn't seem to notice, but their friends sure did.
Amy was the first to point it out while they were hanging out at Tails' house.
"So, did something happen to you two on Valentine's Day? You've been acting weird ever since!"
"H-huh?" Knuckles was a bit startled, blushing as he realized that he'd been staring at Sonic. "W-weird how?"
Tails giggled. "You keep tossing glances at each other."
Sonic stiffened, having not noticed. "O-oh, uh…"
Amy smiled teasingly. "Do you liiiike each other?"
Knuckles' face flushed. "W-wha—huh?"
"You heard me!" Amy said.
Sonic blushed just as bad as Knuckles. "D-don't ask stuff like that, Amy! Not cool!"
She grinned further. "I don't hear you denying it!"
Sonic huffed. "I don't have to tell you anything! I-I'm out!"
He quickly sped out of the house, probably heading back to his shack.
Knuckles stared silently in the direction Sonic had gone. Sonic had been so quick to deny it; did he not like Knuckles back, then? The echidna sighed sadly, now feeling stupid for even hoping that Sonic would ever like him that way.
Hours passed, and Sonic was laying quietly on his hammock. He felt a bit childish that he'd made an outburst like that, but he tried not to think about it. The rain outside was at least doing a little to help calm his nerves.
Knuckles, meanwhile, had been going for a walk, trying to get his mind off things; then the rain started. The poor echidna was now soaked to the bone, with nowhere to go for shelter. The closest place was Sonic's shack, the very place that Knuckles had been trying to avoid. However, it seemed that fate had other ideas for him.
Sonic, hearing footsteps on his porch, jerked his head over.
"Knuckles!?" he asked, watching water dripping off of the echidna. "Geez, what were you doing out there?"
"J-j-just w-walk-king…" Knuckles was shivering badly. "C-can I c-come i-in?"
"Yeah, yeah, come in!"
Sonic sped up to him, grabbing his hand and bringing him inside. He then rushed over and grabbed all the blankets he could, sitting Knuckles down and draping them over him.
"T-thanks." Knuckles blushed a little at the kind gesture, flattered that Sonic was fussing over him like this.
"Are you warm enough?" Sonic asked. Without even waiting for Knuckles to respond, he sped off again. "Let me get you a towel."
Knuckles chuckled softly, blushing even more. He couldn't deny that he was enjoying the treatment he was getting.
Sonic came back, then placed the towel over Knuckles' head and dried him off.
"Thanks, Sonic," Knuckles said with a smile. He hoped Sonic couldn't see that he was still blushing…
Sonic finished drying his friend, then suddenly started shivering. The cold air was seeping into his shack, and he had no door to block it out.
"You okay?" Knuckles asked in concern.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Sonic lied, rubbing his arms.
Knuckles wasn't convinced. "You cold?"
"W-wha, no, I–" Sonic blushed slightly.
Knuckles frowned. "Sit down next to me," he said sternly, but gently.
"W-what?" Sonic asked, flustered at the idea. Still, Knuckles seemed firm about it, so he complied, sitting down next the echidna and wrapping himself in the blanket. Even though they'd sat close to each other before, the fact that he'd figured out his crush made it worse.
Knuckles made sure the blankets covered as much of Sonic as possible (without suffocating him, of course).
"There, warm now?"
"Y-yeah," Sonic stammered, leaning against Knuckles for the sake of warmth.
Knuckles blushed at having Sonic so close to him. "G-good."
He was silent for a little while.
"H-hey, um…" he hesitated. "…s-so, you know how earlier everyone thought we… l-liked each other… a-and you ran off? Y-you sounded kinda upset… d-did it bother you?"
"Eh?" Sonic glanced up at Knuckles, wondering why he'd ask such a thing. He blushed, crossing his arms slightly.
"Well, no… that's just… I mean… I don't know," he muttered. "It wasn't a bad question I guess; just kinda personal."
Knuckles hesitated once more. "W-well, uh… I-I know it's a weird question, but… i-if I did like you that way… w-would that be weird to you? Just…just wondering, that's all…" He chuckled nervously, trying but failing to hide how tense he was. He wondered if Sonic could hear how loudly his heart was pounding.
Sonic's ears perked. "Uh… well, I mean…" He averted his gaze slightly, "it definitely wouldn't be weird. I wouldn't mind…" He drew his gaze back to Knuckles. "And if I liked you back? Then what?"
Knuckles blushed. "I'd be the happiest echidna in the world."
Sonic blushed as well. "Really?"
That was when he noticed Knuckles' blush; it took a moment of hesitation, but he figured he'd go for it.
"Do you… actually like me that way?"
Knuckles blushed even harder, glancing down nervously. "Y-yeah. I do."
"…H-heh." Sonic smirked a bit, nudging Knuckles. "I like you too."
Knuckles looked up, his eyes wide. "Y-you do?"
Sonic simply nodded, blushing slightly with a small smile.
Knuckles smiled wide, his eyes sparkling. He wrapped both arms around Sonic and pulled him close, careful not to cause the blankets to fall off of them.
Sonic chuckled, placing his hands on Knuckles' arms. "I'm kinda surprised though."
"Huh? Why's that?"
Sonic blushed sheepishly. "Well, I just figured you'd want someone more… 'your size'. Bulky like you, y'know?"
Knuckles chuckled. "Nah, I'd want someone shorter and cuter like you." His face flushed in slight embarrassment when he realized what he'd just said. He didn't take it back in the slightest, though.
"H-huh?" Sonic's face turned red at this. "Cute?"
Knuckles nodded sheepishly. "Y-yeah. You're the cutest hedgehog I know!"
The 'cute' hedgehog averted his gaze. "G-geez, Knux…"
"…d-do you not like being called 'cute'?" Knuckles asked, worried that he offended Sonic somehow.
Sonic looked back at him, trying to keep his blush down. "I-I mean… only if it's you who's sayin' it."
"S-so… is it okay that I think you're cute?" Knuckles asked, wanting to make sure.
"Y-yeah, it's alright," Sonic replied, relaxing against him.
Knuckles smiled. Still holding Sonic close, he began nuzzling him gently.
"Happy Valentine's Day…?" he chuckled.
Sonic laughed. "That was days ago, Knuckles, but sure."
Knuckles hesitated nervously. Then he took a deep breath, closed his eyes… and planted a tender kiss on Sonic's head, blushing deeply as he did.
Sonic flushed at this, surprised at the kiss. He hid his face. "K-Knuux, sheesh! I've been a red hedgehog enough for today!"
Knuckles tilted his head. "Huh? But I thought you were blue!"
Sonic chuckled. "Nevermind, Knux. And I might as well return the favor."
He grinned, wanting revenge on Knuckles, standing up and kissing his forehead.
Knuckles' face turned completely red, but he was grinning. The butterflies were back, but he welcomed their presense. Yes, Knuckles was definitely the happiest echidna in the world right now, just like he'd said not much earlier.
Sonic sat back down, snuggling against both the blankets and Knuckles. "Mm, looks like it's gonna rain all night. You wanna stay here maybe?" he offered.
"Ya mean it?" Knuckles snuggled back. "Sure, sounds good to me."
Sonic smiled, finding himself getting a little tired from Knuckles' warmth.
"Mm… perfect…" He yawned, then fell asleep against the echidna. He looked utterly adorable.
Knuckles smiled, giggling softly. Carefully, so as not to wake him, he reached behind Sonic's head and gently began to scratch him behind the ears.
Sonic let out a small noise at the scratching, which eventually turned into a soft purr; good thing he wasn't awake, or he'd be really embarrassed.
Knuckles grinned even wider when he heard the purring. Sonic was just too cute.
Pretty soon, between the warmth of the blankets and being huddled next to Sonic, plus the soothing sound of his boyfriend's purring, Knuckles found himself drifting off to sleep, still smiling.
They stayed like that all night, being comforted by the pitter-patter of rain on Sonic's porch.