Sonic punched the air in front of him, then rolled forward and delivered a swift kick, testing his agility. Since he'd lost his speed all that time ago, he'd been training with Knuckles in order to hone other aspects of himself, like his strength and flexibility (probably his kissing too, but neither of the two dared to mention that whenever they went back to their friends). So far, it seemed to go well, so the two decided that today would be the day they'd spar together.

"You really think I can take you on?" Sonic asked, looking up to Knuckles with a bit of uncertainty in his tone.

"Sure you can!" Knuckles replied with a grin. "You're doing great! And besides, it's okay if you don't get it the first time."

Sonic nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

He lightly tugged on the cuff of his glove, then pointed to a different section of the area. "Mind if I go train on my own for a bit, just to get ready?" he asked.

"Sure, go ahead! I'll be over here if you need me." Knuckles then reached behind him, pulling a pair of headphones out of thin air.

Sonic nodded and ran off to the other area; just far enough so that Knuckles wouldn't be able to see what he was doing.

He practiced his kicks, punching, and anything else he could think of. Like with every training session, he'd leave his pants at home, despite the scars still on his legs. He generally wore them to hide his legs from the public eye, but he saw no reason to hide them when he was alone with his boyfriend , who he knew loved him regardless of anything. Besides that, the pants felt like extra weight he didn't need.

As he kept honing his skills, he suddenly felt the ground shaking and looked around. It wasn't a huge earthquake, but it was still an earthquake nonetheless. The rocky valley they were in was known for having them often, and they figured it'd be a great randomness factor for their little fight.

Knuckles, meanwhile, was jamming to some music on his headphones. He felt the earthquake, but didn't think much of it.

What he failed to notice was that a large boulder was being shaken loose, right above where he was standing!

Sonic was about to resume his training when he sensed that something was wrong. Turning around, he saw the boulder steadily shaking and rumbling. Needless to say, he began to panic.

"K-KNUCKLES!" he called out, but there was no reaction; the music from the headphones was probably too loud.

He didn't have time; something in his head taunted him that he wouldn't make it in time. He wouldn't be fast enough, and he'd have to watch Knuckles get killed.

...Not on my watch.

Sonic hardly even thought about it; he had precious seconds and the only thing on his mind was saving his boyfriend. He readied himself, then took off.

Suddenly, a resounding boom echoed throughout the valley. It was a sound that no one had heard in what felt like forever: a sonic boom.

In milliseconds, a familiar blur of blue rushed at Knuckles and tackled him to the ground, the two tumbling for a while before stopping. The boulder slammed down behind them, crushing layers of ground underneath it.

"Oof!" Knuckles' headphones fell off and landed beside him as he tumbled. Everything had happened so quickly that he wasn't even sure what had just happened, but he could've sworn... no, it had to be his imagination.

"You okay?" he asked Sonic. "Wha-what just happened?"

Sonic was nearly panting. He pushed himself into a sitting position, then looked back at the boulder that had fallen. "I-I was... and the earthquake... you were about to... so I..."

He didn't bother finishing, opting to wrap his arms around Knuckles and hug him tight. Tears nearly came to his eyes, as he was so unbelievably happy that he'd managed to rescue the echidna from his fate.

Knuckles hugged him back.

"Thanks for saving me! I'd be toast if you didn't notice that boulder!"

Then something occurred to him.

"How did you get to me so fast, though?"

Sonic pulled away, the question bothering him as well. "I-I dunno. I just knew I had to save you and started running..."

He then looked down, noticing that the scars on his legs were gone; or at least, he assumed they were since fur had grown over them.

...I wonder...

He didn't want to face possible disappointment, but curiosity won over. He took a few steps back, then took off, speeding across the entire valley in mere seconds before going straight back to Knuckles, the same blue trail of light following after him to emphasize his incredible speed.

"It...it's back..." he said softly, staring down at himself in wonder. There was a short pause, after which his face lit up in excitement.

"It's back!"

Without warning, he rushed closer to Knuckles and lifted him up as best as he could, then took off like a lightning bolt, running in a random direction and picking up even more speed from there. He was absolutely ecstatic.

Knuckles was extremely dazed and confused at first. When he was finally able to process what was going on, his heart leaped for joy. Sonic's speed was back!

Everything around him was a blur, except for the hedgehog who was currently holding him up in the air. He clung onto Sonic for dear life, then smiled widely. Seeing Sonic so happy, so full of life once again...it was the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen.

Sonic grinned wide, the adrenaline rush from long ago coming back to him. He blushed lightly as Knuckles clung to him, but it made the run even better to him.

He then stopped as he reached his shack, setting Knuckles down and smiling up at him. He literally had no words to express how happy he was, so he just hugged Knuckles tight, laughing like a child; an adorable, wonderful child.

Knuckles picked him up and twirled him around. He too was at a loss for words. He had no idea how this had even happened, but he figured that it didn't matter. All that mattered was that Sonic was finally himself again. The accident that had cost him his speed had damaged him in more ways than one. Knuckles silently thanked whatever had caused this miracle for making his beloved smile and laugh again; no more traces of sadness were in his eyes.

"Yes! This is the best!" Sonic exclaimed, zipping about in short bursts. "Aw, there's so many places I'd like to revisit, and—!"

He paused, the rush dying down as all of his previous thoughts caught up with him. He calmed him with a deep breath, then walked back over to Knuckles.

"On second thought, I think I'm gonna stick around here for a bit longer." He gently grabbed Knuckles' hand and gave him a soft smile. "I'd rather hang out with someone who's way more important than my speed."

Knuckles blushed.

"Aw, sh-shucks..." he stammered. "A-am I really more important than your speed?"

Sonic giggled; it always amused him when Knuckles got embarrassed.

"A'course you are! That's why I said it; wanted to make sure ya knew!"

He released Knuckles' hand and sped a few circles around him, then stood back in his original position.

"We're boyfriends after all, right?" He winked and held out his pinkie finger for a 'Pinkie Swear'. "For forever if you'd like~"

Knuckles wrapped his pinkie around Sonic's, smiling.

"I'd like that."