Sonic nervously looked away as Amy snuggled herself into him. Secretly, he was used to the treatment, but now that his friends were around, it felt... embarrassing.

"A-Amy, stoooop."

"You promised," Amy reminded him. "Tell 'em."

Sonic sighed, then turned to Knuckles, Sticks, and Tails. "Ah, if it's cool with you guys, Amy—" he paused as the pink hedgehog cleared her throat. "...me and Amy wanted to make a little announcement, I guess."

Sticks and Tails turned their attention to them. Tails had a feeling he knew, but wasn't quite sure.

Knuckles had a sinking feeling that he also knew, but he didn't make it known.

"What's up?" he asked them.

"Er... well..." Sonic blushed slightly, not used to this.

Amy giggled, then raised her hand into the air. "Sonic and I are officially dating!" She stared back at him and pouted. "I had to confess first though..."

Sonic chuckled, feeling a little more comfortable now that Amy was making jokes. "Yeah yeah, but I said it back, didn't I?"

Tails smiled at them. "Good for you two!" He laughed. "I was wondering when it'd finally happen!"

Sticks crossed her arms, trying to mask her smile but having a hard time. "As long as you two don't get all mushy with each other."

"We'll try," Sonic joked as Amy cuddled back up to him excitedly.

Knuckles' heart sank. He'd had a feeling this would happen...

He put on his best fake smile. "That's great to hear!" he said.

Sonic gave him a thumb's up. "Thanks, Knuckles!"

The five continued their conversation for another few minutes, then eventually decided to go home. Sonic and Amy went off together, Sticks returned to her burrow, and Tails headed off for his house.

Knuckles, meanwhile, walked off to Tails' lab for some time alone. He sighed, leaning against one of Tails' machines.

"What's wrong with me?" he mumbled to himself. "I should be happy for them... but..."

Deep down, he knew the reason he was unhappy: he himself had been in love with Sonic for quite a while. But now, he knew that he'd never get a chance with the hedgehog.

He wiped at the tears forming in his eyes. He felt bad for not feeling happy for Sonic and Amy, but it couldn't be helped.

"It's not fair!" he said to himself. "Why does everything always go wrong for me? It's like the universe itself hates me!"

He hit the machine he was leaning against in frustration, his fist making a faint dent in the strong material. Suddenly, the machine sprang to life, making a humming sound that increased in pitch as lights began to flash on it.

"Uh oh..."

Knuckles slowly backed away from the device as it began to shake. He hoped it didn't explode; Tails wouldn't be too happy about that.

Suddenly, the echidna found himself engulfed by a bright light. He shielded his eyes with his hands.

When he figured it was safe to look, he rubbed his eyes and moved his hands away, looking around in confusion.

Wha...where am I?!

He was standing in a large city. Having only lived on an island and then a village before, this sort of place was completely unfamiliar to him.

"What is this place?" he wondered aloud.

A few people were walking through the city. The buildings towered, and there was nothing he could recognize.

A young girl, certainly younger than Tails, slowly walked up to him, making circles around him. "Aren't you Mister Knucky? When did you get so big? Why aren't you up on Angie Island? You have that em-my-rald to protect, don't cha?" she asked.

"Huh?" Knuckles became even more confused. "How do you know my name? What do you mean 'when did I get so big'? What emerald? And... where am I?"

The little girl tilted her head. "'Cause you're a hero, mister, but I don't remember you being so big." She shrugged at his last question, then looked around, catching sight of a sign in the distance. "You're in... 'Stay-shun Square'," she said, reading off the sign.

"I...I've never been here before," Knuckles replied.

What's going on? he wondered. Am I dreaming or something?

The girl became even more confused, then jumped as a loud 'whoosh' sound came from off in the distance. She turned, and a blur of blue sped around a ways away.

She looked at Knuckles and held her hands up. "Wait right here!"

She ran a little closer to where the blue blur was, then frantically waved her arms. "Mister Sonic! Mister Soniiic!"

The blur shifted directions and headed her way, stopping in front of her as the unblurred form revealed itself.

It was Sonic, but certainly not the same Sonic that Knuckles knew. He was much shorter, and lacked the sports tape and bandana; even his shoes were a little different. His arms showed tan skin as opposed to blue fur, and his quills were a little neater.

His eyes though... those emerald eyes were undoubtedly the same.

He bent down to the girl and smiled. "What's up?"

She pointed behind her to Knuckles, and Sonic looked up curiously. His eyes widened as he saw the red echidna.

"U-uh..." He grinned sheepishly. "I know I joked about bein' almost as tall as ya, but I didn't think you'd take it so seriously," he said, chuckling a little.

Now Knuckles was completely confused. "Sonic? But... you're not Sonic; at least, you're not... 'Sonic', Sonic..." He had no clue what he was saying.

Sonic raised a brow. "You alright, Knux?"

"Not Knuckle-Knucky," the girl corrected, pointing at Knuckles. "Different Knucky."

Sonic didn't understand at first, but began to get an idea of what was happening. "How'd ya get here, bud?" he asked, gazing back at him.

"I...I don't know..." Knuckles replied. "I was in Tails' lab, and..."

Wait...maybe that weird machine sent me here! But...where is here? That was the question he was determined to find the answer to.

Why would Knuckles go to Tails' lab? Sonic wondered. Or... at least, the Knuckles I know...

"How 'bout I take ya to see my Tails then?" he offered. "We'll figure this out, don't worry."

Of course! If there's a Sonic here, then there's a Tails too! He should be able to figure this out.

"Um... sure!" Knuckles was too bewildered by the situation to say much at this point. "Lead the way!"

Sonic nodded and gave him a reassuring smile. He thanked the girl, then led Knuckles out of Station Square.

However, he found himself occasionally looking back at the echidna during the trip. Realizing he was doing so, he chuckled sheepishly and tried to apologize. "H-heh, sorry. Don't mean to keep starin' at cha. It's just... you look way different from the Knuckles I know," he explained.

"What does the other me look like?" Knuckles asked curiously.

Sonic gazed at Knuckles closely to draw comparisons. "Well, first off, he's not all bulky like you are; he's really strong, but you wouldn't guess it by lookin' at 'im," he began. "He's also waaaay shorter. He's only a little taller than I am." He put his hand up to show how tall the other Knuckles was. "He wears different gloves than me too - kinda like boxing gloves - and his shoes are different than yours."

He opened his mouth to say something else, but stopped himself before he could. The Knuckles he knew had a much harsher gaze, while the one next to him had a more... gentle one? It was weird seeing it on him, even if it wasn't the same Knuckles, but... admittedly, it was kinda refreshing. He liked it.

"So...he's like a little version of me?" Knuckles replied.

Maybe I could call him Knuckles Jr, he thought with a smirk.

Sonic laughed. "Yeah, sure, a little version of you!" he agreed. "Just don't tell him that!"

They walked a little longer until they reached a large laboratory. Sonic spun around, then held up a finger. "I'm gonna run things by Tails so he knows what's goin' on, alright? Back in a Sonic second!" he exclaimed, rushing inside.

As Knuckles waited, he was amazed by the building he was standing just outside of. It looked even more impressive than the lab that his Tails had. Though of course, he wouldn't tell Tails that.

Like he promised, Sonic came right back and took Knuckles inside. Tails was at his computer desk, though spun his chair towards the two as they got there. He looked fairly different from the Tails that Knuckles knew, but only by clothes.

"Sonic filled me in on everything," Tails told him, though trying not to stare at him too much; it was weird seeing someone so alike yet so different from Knuckles. "I know it's probably not the answer you wanted, but you have a Tails too, right? It might be best to just wait things out until he tries to contact our universe, as you seem to be from an entirely different dimension," he explained.

"Different dimension?" Knuckles vaguely recalled an incident involving alternate dimensions. "But... how will my Tails know where I am?"

"Sonic mentioned that you were in his lab when you got teleported away, right?" Tails asked. "Once he notices that you're gone, he'll probably start scanning around and figure it out himself." He had to resist the urge to ask Knuckles all sorts of questions; his curiosity was peaked, but he knew that the more important thing was making sure that Knuckles would be comfortable in this 'new world' until a way back to his own universe came up.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Knuckles replied. "But how long is that gonna take? And in the meantime, where am I gonna stay? This place is really different, and I don't know anything about it..."

"I can't say for sure how long it'll take," Tails said sadly. "But I'm sure your friends are worried about you, so I hope it won't be too long. As for where you'll stay..." He thought for a moment, then looked at Sonic. "Sonic, you have that house you barely use, don't cha? Would it be alright if he stayed there?"

"'Course it would! He needs a place to stay, right?" Sonic looked up at Knuckles and smiled. "That cool with you?"

"Sounds good to me!" Knuckles replied with a smile.

I wonder if this Sonic is dating... he couldn't help but wonder. He hoped Sonic didn't notice the slight blush that tinted his cheeks.

"Alright then!" Sonic exclaimed. "Should we walk, or do you wanna take the 'Sonic Express'?" he asked, grinning playfully. "Heh, it'd be no problem. I bet I can lift you!"

"Oh yeah?" Knuckles raised a brow. "I'd like to see you try!" he added with a silly smirk.

Sonic opened up his arms. "C'mere then! Get ready to be proven wrong!" he said.

"Uh... okay." Knuckles walked up to him, not entirely sure what he was supposed to do. Was he just supposed to let Sonic hold him? His cheeks grew warm at the thought.

Sonic's grin widened. In an instant, he lifted Knuckles into his arms, secured him, then took off for his house, speeding along with no problem.

Knuckles was very surprised, but also impressed. He held onto Sonic so he wouldn't feel like he was going to fall. He hoped that the hedgehog didn't notice him blushing.

"How's the ride feel?" Sonic asked. "Exciting?"

"V-very!" Knuckles replied.

He noticed that this Sonic seemed much more... cheerful than his Sonic. While his Sonic usually wore a grumpy look on his face and sometimes made sarcastic comments, this Sonic was much more upbeat and smiled a lot more. It was kind of refreshing, Knuckles had to admit.

Sonic finally slowed to a stop as they reached his house, setting Knuckles down and reaching into the cuff of his glove. He pulled out a key, then slipped it into the doorknob, a satisfying 'click' sound being heard as the door opened for him.

"It's not anything special, but I don't come here often anyway," Sonic told Knuckles as he walked inside, plopping down on the couch. "Will it work for ya?"

Knuckles looked around in awe. "Yeah..."

It was a really nice place, and compared the simple houses and shacks he was used to in the village, this house was almost fancy. And, of course, Knuckles had never lived in a house before (even if it was only temporary), so this was kind of exciting for him.

Sonic giggled at how different he was from the Knuckles he knew. So curious and innocent. "I guess it probably looks a little weird from what the houses in your world look like, but it's a comfy place at least." He slid to the side of the couch to make room so he could offer him a place to sit.

Knuckles sat down next to Sonic.

"You've got a really nice place here!" he said with a smile.

"Thanks!" Sonic tossed his key around in his hand. "I end up travelin' around so much and sleeping wherever that I never really come back here, but it's always nice to have at least one place of my own to go back to in case I need it, y'know?"

Knuckles nodded. "Yeah. For me, I never really have a place to stay. I usually just sleep outside."

Sonic frowned. "Oh yeah?"

He thought for a moment, then left his place on the couch and went over to a plant hanging by the window. He lifted the pot carrying it up, then pulled out a key from underneath.

"Here." He set the plant down and tossed the key to Knuckles. "In case you get stuck here for a little longer and need a place to crash in case I'm not around," he explained with a small smile.

Knuckles smiled, trying to conceal yet another oncoming blush.

"Th-thanks."

Sonic nodded, then sat back down on the couch. He gazed at Knuckles for a moment before his gaze slowly shifted to the sports tape around his arms. "Uh... so, if it's cool for me to ask..." He pointed to all the sports tape he was wearing. "Is that just a style in your world, or are you coverin' up a bunch of cuts?" He lightly touched Knuckles' arm, looking a bit concerned.

"It's athletic tape," Knuckles explained. "Most of my friends wear it too. Including you; the you from my world, I mean."

"Oh yeah, I remember you sayin' somethin' about another me..." Sonic muttered. Getting an almost childlike curiosity, he leaned closer to Knuckles and grinned. "What's that other Sonic like? I bet he's not nearly as cool as me, heh!" He chuckled jokingly.

Knuckles smirked at Sonic's comment.

"Well..." He paused to think of how to describe his Sonic. "He's kinda grumpy all the time... but he can be really fun too! He's confident, hands—" Knuckles stopped as he realized what he was about to say. He faked a cough. "I mean, uh... fast."

Though confused about Knuckles changing his wording partway through, Sonic still seemed interested in what he had to say.

"Grumpy, huh? Can't imagine that." He leaned back against the couch, still sporting that smile of his. "Maybe he needs more chili dogs in his life," he joked.

Knuckles laughed. "He loves those!" he said.

Sonic joined in on his laugh. "He better! He's me, after all!"

Still a little curious, he ran through a few more questions in his head. "So... you seem different than this universe's Knuckles. What makes you so... I dunno, 'happy', I guess?" He couldn't think of a better word, but he tried.

Knuckles shrugged. "I dunno...what do you mean by that? Is your Knuckles grumpy or something?"

"A little," Sonic replied. "...Well, a lot." He chuckled. "He spends all of his time up on Angel Island guarding the Master Emerald, so he doesn't get out much. I don't even think he likes me most of the time," he admitted.

"What's the 'Master Emerald'?" Knuckles asked, confused.

Sonic blinked, surprised that he didn't know. "Uh, well, it's a little complicated," he said, though he did his best to come up with a good explanation. "It's this huge emerald that has a bunch of mystical powers. It has a connection to the Chaos Emeralds and—" He paused, seeing that Knuckles had no idea what he was talking about. "Eheh, sorry. Guess you don't have any of those in your world, huh?"

Knuckles shook his head. "Nope."

"Ah well," Sonic said, shrugging. "Anyway, I guess he just doesn't like making friends and stuff 'cause he's so dedicated to guarding that emerald. He can be a real stick in the mud because of it."

"I guess your Knuckles is really different," Knuckles mused.

"Yeah, way different," Sonic confirmed. "...Oh, wait!" he suddenly shouted. "I just remembered!"

He shot Knuckles a grin, then bolted into another room. When he came back, he held a glowing gem-like object in his hand.

"Figured you should at least see what a Chaos Emerald is," he said, holding it out to him.

"Oooh..." Knuckles stared at it curiously. "It's shiny!"

Sonic giggled. "Yeah, but that's not all it's good for! Check it!"

He gripped the emerald tight, then focused. "Chaos... Control!"

He flashed white, then was suddenly gone. However, another flash occurred on the other side of the room and Sonic reappeared there. He focused again, then teleported to another side of the room. After one more disappearance, he reappeared on Knuckles' lap, staring up at him with a big smile. "How's that for cool?"

"Really cool!"

Knuckles then realized the fact that Sonic was in his lap. He turned his head, hoping to hide yet another oncoming blush.

Sonic was a little skeptical, telporting the emerald away so it wouldn't be a distraction. "Everything okay? You've had trouble lookin' at me ever ever since ya got here..."

"I-I'm fine," Knuckles replied nervously. "It's nothing..."

Despite not believing him, Sonic decided to let his curiosity go. "Well... alright, I guess..."

Knuckles sighed internally. He didn't want to push Sonic away like that, but every time he looked at him, he was reminded of the heartache he was currently going through.

Though people didn't give him a lot of credit for it, Sonic was amazing at reading eyes and seeing when something was bothering a person. He couldn't quite pin what Knuckles' problem was, and he wished he could help, but still, they didn't know each other that well yet, so he figured he'd let it slide, at least for now.

"So, Knux... anything y'might be interested in doing?" he asked.

Knuckles shrugged. "I dunno. What is there to do around here?"

"Ah, right," Sonic mumbled. "You don't know a lot about this world..." He thought for a moment. "How about I show ya around a little? You could get used to things."

"Sure!" Knuckles replied with a grin.

Sonic got up from the couch and bowed, faking a 'fancy' accent. "Shall we go on our way, good sir?" he joked.

Knuckles stood up. "Lead the way!"

Sonic left the house with Knuckles, then led him back to Station Square.

"This place has just about everything," he said. "There's a place for clothes, a bunch of restaurants, some stands, a library; anything you'd need!" he explained.

"Wow..." Knuckles looked all around him. "I've never seen a place this... big!"

Sonic smiled and looked back at him. "Yeah, I guess your world's probably a little more rustic or somethin'."

The two walked around a bit more until Sonic suddenly froze in place. The door to the clothing store slid open, and Amy stepped out, looking quite different than the Amy Knuckles knew in terms of her outfit. In a quick motion, Sonic zipped around and hid behind Knuckles as best as he could, gritting his teeth.

Amy looked around, then happily skipped off.

"...Is she gone?" Sonic asked, too nervous to poke his head out to see.

"Yeah...?" Knuckles replied, confused.

"Okay, good." Sonic nervously got out from behind Knuckles. "Sorry, that's just Amy."

"I could see that," Knuckles replied. "But why are you hiding from her?" he asked, raising a brow.

Sonic chuckled weakly, then turned to him. "W-well, she's a good friend and all, but she's a little, uh... 'forceful' with me," he explained. "She keeps thinking we're a thing, but... no way, nu-uh."

Both of Knuckles' eyebrows shot up. "So... you two aren't dating?"

Sonic made a slightly disgusted face. "Wha—no way!" He made an 'x' with his hands. "She's a great teammate n' all, but ugh, I end up on the wrong side of her hammer way too often." He rubbed his head and winced just thinking about it. "She'll say I'm her boyfriend and try to get me to marry her, but..." He frowned, feeling slightly bad. "I just don't like her that way, y'know?"

Knuckles was very surprised by this, but also a bit relieved. Did he dare to hope...?

"Huh, I guess the Amy here is really different from the Amy I know," he mused. "So... are you dating anyone then?" He was embarrassed to ask such a question, but he had to know.

"Hm?" Sonic was surprised to be asked that, but shook his head anyway. "Nah. No one ever really clicked with me," he replied. "'Sides, I dunno. Don't see it happenin' for me, I guess." He put his hands behind his head casually. "Not that I'd hate to have someone like that, but you wouldn't believe how many girls've confessed to me. Even a few guys. Never felt anything though."

"Hmm." So Sonic wasn't dating anyone...

Could...could I have a chance with him? Knuckles wondered. I dunno, probably not. And besides, I'm not gonna be here forever...

Still, despite what his mind was telling him, his heart hoped that maybe, just maybe, he could get a second chance in this world.

"Why do ya ask?" Sonic asked curiously, tilting his head. "Is the other me datin' someone in your world?"

"Y-yeah... he is..." Knuckles tried to hide his sadness as best as he could.

"Ah..." Despite his best attempts, Sonic still noticed Knuckles' sadness. "Hey, what's up, Knux?" he asked, placing his hand gently over Knuckles'.

Knuckles blushed. "I-it's nothing..." he stammered.

Sonic frowned, though also knew that this wouldn't be the right place to talk to him about it. "Well..." He looked around, then grinned and ran over to a stand nearby, seeming to be ordering something. A short moment later, he came back and held out a cone filled with green and magenta ice cream. "Here," he said with a gentle smile, holding a cone with vanilla ice cream in his other hand, likely for himself.

Knuckles' face brightened. He took the ice cream cone with a big smile.

"Thanks!" he said as he began to enjoy the treat.

"Grape-flavored," Sonic told him, pointing to the ice cream on top of the cone. "You like grapes just like the Knuckles here does, right?" he guessed.

"I love grapes!" Knuckles replied in delight.

Sonic giggled, clearly happy to see him less upset.

As he went to eat his ice cream, he felt a tugging on one of his back quills and turned around, seeing a boy holding a paper and pencil up to him. He faked a pout, staring at his ice cream since he needed both hands to sign an autograph, then smirked and shoved all of the visible ice cream and nearly half of the cone into his mouth, making the boy chuckle as Sonic scribbled down signature. He handed the objects back, then bit down and took the remaining part of the cone back into his hand, looking back at Knuckles as the boy ran off. "Heh, sorry; I get that a lot."

"It's fine," Knuckles replied. He was just enjoying getting to spend time with Sonic; a Sonic that was still single.

Sonic swallowed the rest of his cone, then stared around the city for anything else Knuckles could be interested in.

"...Hey, we could go check out the music store!" he suggested, pointing to a shop not too far away. "I can play some serious guitar," he said proudly.

"Really?" Knuckles grinned. "I'm really good at the piano!"

"Seriously?" Sonic asked, clearly surprised. "I'd love to hear that!" he exclaimed.

"You would?" Knuckles grinned. "Well, if there's a piano I can use, then I'd love to play for you!" he added with a wink.

Sonic nodded and winked back, grabbing Knuckles' hand and heading into the music store. He gave a quick greeting to the cashier, then rushed over to an electric guitar and played a quick few notes for Knuckles.

"Nice!"

Knuckles spotted a piano nearby. He sat down and began to play. He didn't even need sheet music; he knew this piece by heart. As he played, his surroundings seemed to fade away, and he became lost in the beautiful music.

Sonic's ears twitched up and down as he heard Knuckles play. He had to admit, he was really good and it was beautiful to listen to.

As he caught onto how the tune went, he set the electric guitar down and replaced it with an acoustic. He sat down at the edge of Knuckles' seat, then began to play along.

Knuckles heard the guitar joining in and glanced next to him. He saw Sonic there, playing along with him, and he smiled. As they played together, the rest of the world disappeared. It was just him and Sonic.

Sadly, he soon reached the end of the piece. Still, he was grinning wide, having really enjoyed their piano and guitar duet.

Sonic stopped too as he heard Knuckles stop, resting his hands on the guitar with a soft smile.

Though, he nearly jumped as he heard people clapping, looking up from his guitar to see a hoard of people gathered around them, clearly entranced by the performance. Sonic blushed slightly, surprised by all the attention, then turned to Knuckles and winked, giving him a thumb's up. Knuckles blushed too, not used to having this much attention, especially for his piano playing. He was thrilled that they seemed to enjoy it, though.

Once the crowd cleared, Sonic set the guitar down and gave a sheepish smile. "I didn't even notice 'em 'til we stopped playin'!" he admitted, laughing a little at the thought.

"I didn't notice them either!" Knuckles replied. "I don't usually have a lot of people to listen to me play," he admitted.

"You should!" Sonic told him. "You're really great! ...At, uh, playin', y'know." Sonic flushed a little more and chuckled.

...What was that?

He gazed at Knuckles, a little longer than usual, then quickly averted his gaze, as if realizing the fact. "Anyway, do ya see anything you like? I've got some rings on hand," he offered.

Knuckles tilted his head in confusion and curiosity. "What do you use rings for?"

"It's what we use to pay for stuff," Sonic replied simply.

"Ohhhh."

Knuckles looked around. He spotted a piano song book and picked it up, skimming through it. All of these songs were new to him, and they looked like they'd be a good challenge to play.

Sonic noticed how interested he was in the book, then took it off his hands and grinned. "Consider it bought!"

He went over to the cashier, purchasing it and signaling Knuckles to follow him out the door.

Knuckles grinned happily as he followed Sonic out the door.

"So... what now?" he asked.

"Mm... well..."

Sonic glanced up at the sky, noticing that it was getting pretty dark. "Probably best to get cha back to my place; you can get settled in and stuff," he replied, starting to head back to his house.

"Oh, okay." Knuckles didn't want this day to end, but he knew Sonic was right.

The two got back to their house, and Sonic strolled inside, taking Knuckles down the hall and into the bedroom. "This is your room," he said plainly, gesturing his hand out. "Or, well, technically, it's mine, but you can use it 'til you gotta go home."

"But... where will you sleep?" Knuckles asked.

"I'm used to sleepin' wherever," Sonic replied. "I'll probably crash on the couch or somethin'."

"No, you should have the bed," Knuckles insisted. He felt guilty about making Sonic sleep on the couch.

"You're my guest, aren't cha? You deserve it," Sonic argued.

"But it's your house!" Knuckles replied. "You deserve the bed!"

Sonic chuckled, waving a hand dismissively. "Night, Knux."

He attempted to walk out of the bedroom.

Knuckles gently grabbed his arm, tugging him towards the bed.

"It's your house. You shouldn't have to sleep on the couch!" he argued.

Sonic glanced at him, then pulled back slightly and held his ground. "Heh, my house, my rules!"

"But I'll feel bad for making you sleep there!" Knuckles responded, tugging Sonic's arm a little harder.

Sonic tugged back even harder. "Don't worry about it, Knux! I'll be fine!" he assured. "I do this all the time!"

"But I don't deserve the bed!" Knuckles insisted, tugging even harder.

Unfortunately, he tugged too hard, and he fell onto the floor on his back, with Sonic laying on top of him. He blushed hard when he realized the situation.

Sonic blinked, staring down at the echidna. He gazed up at the bed, then smirked. "So that's how it's gonna be, huh?" he asked.

He suddenly began to wrestle with Knuckles, chuckling cheerfully. While he didn't have the strength, he had the flexibility.

Knuckles was both taken by surprise and rather impressed by Sonic's skill. However, he wasn't about to let the hedgehog win. He fought back best he could, but he found it hard to keep a straight face while doing so.

Sonic fought right back, pushing back against Knuckles when he could. The two occasionally rolled about and slammed into objects, but they were having fun regardless.

Eventually, however, they both tired out and collapsed on the floor next to each other, laughing.

Sonic chuckled, trying to stop his laughter so his could manage a sentence. "Heheh—hey! You're not too bad!"

"Heh... you're pretty good too," Knuckles said between breaths, grinning.

Sonic grinned back, then slowly sat up and yawned, leaning over Knuckles' body. "So you're gonna sleep on the bed then?" he asked with a giggle, bending over and resting his arms on the echidna's stomach, nearly laying his head down there too. He instantly regretted the decision, as the warmth radiating off of Knuckles just made him more tired.

Knuckles' face flushed at the close physical contact.

He sighed in defeat. "I guess so..."

It wasn't just the fact that Sonic was sleeping on the couch anymore; it was also that, well... he didn't want Sonic to leave his side.

"Yeah, so you better... b-better..." Sonic rested his head down on Knuckles, his eyelids drooping slightly. "...mm..." He curled up, falling asleep against the echidna almost instantly.

Knuckles couldn't help but giggle at this. Sonic just looked so cute when he was sleeping, though Knuckles blushed as he realized that he'd thought that.

Well, he said he wanted to sleep on the couch...

Knuckles almost considered letting him sleep beside him in the bed, but then he realized that Sonic might not be comfortable with that. So, he carefully picked up the hedgehog, carrying him in his arms as he headed to the living room. He gently laid Sonic down on the couch, then smiled softly as saw how peaceful and content the hedgehog looked. Did he dare...?

Without thinking, he bent over a bit and planted a small kiss on Sonic's cheek, though his face turned completely red (at least, more red than usual) when he realized that he'd done so. He quickly (but quietly) ran out of the room and back into the bedroom, where he dove under the covers and covered his face with them in embarrassment.

What the heck, Knuckles?! he thought to himself. That was a really stupid thing to do!

Despite his embarrassed and flustered state, his exhaustion took over and he quickly passed out.