A/N: This is like, a super pointless one shot that's not quite a romance but not quite friendship either. More like sexual tension, one upping each other and reaching a new understanding of their friendship. I suppose I could write other chapters and make it a full blown romance, but I think I like it the way it is. I hope you guys like it, it's my first Sonic fic so everyone may be a little OOC (keep in mind that I intended Amy to be that way at least). Anyways I hope you all like it! Constructive criticism is always appreciated!
Amy Rose grunted from her place underneath the Tornado 4.0. Her jade eyes stared up into the machinery of the small plane, shaking her head at Tails' incessant need to make things more complicated than they actually were. Absently wiping her small hands on her grease-soaked coveralls she called out to the two-tailed genius.
"Tails, pass me the monkey wrench, I think there's a bolt loose under here," Amy looked down her nose to see a big hand holding out the aforementioned wrench to her. Without thanking her friend she tightened the bolt and checked the other ones around it before heaving a sigh and sliding out from underneath the jet.
"Tails I gotta say, you gotta stop making things so darn..." Amy stopped short upon seeing the smirking form of a certain echidna, instead of the anticipated orange fox. Knuckles was leaning against the workroom table, arms crossed, one eyebrow raised and amethyst eyes sparkling with mirth. Amy pursed her lips and rolled her eyes.
"Oh. It's you," she said flatly, getting up from the floor and heading to the sink.
"Oh. It's you," Knuckles mocked, following her movements with his eyes. Amy Rose certainly had grown up. If someone had told him 5 years ago that Amy Rose Hedgehog would no longer be chasing around Sonic but helping Tails repair the latest model of the Tornado, dressed in navy cover-alls, pink fur tinged with grease and quills held back messily by a thick navy bandana, Knuckles may have died laughing. Only he was pretty sure he wasn't dead, and Amy was standing in all her glory in front of him, washing her hands and trying to get the grease off of them.
"Where's Tails?" Amy questioned, keeping her eyes on her hands the entire time.
"With Sonic," Knuckles supplied, unhelpfully. Amy turned her head to glare at him and he smirked at her again.
"Thank you Capitan Obvious," she muttered sarcastically. There was silence between them as she dried her hands and moved past Knuckles into Tails' house. She made her way gracefully through the hallways lined with pictures of their friends. She smiled at each one, humming gently as she passed a picture of Cream and Cheese making moon-eyes at Tails, who smiled at the camera tightly. The next was of Amy and Rouge in the kitchen, glaring at the camera, covered in flour, then Knuckles standing atop Shadow and Sonic (who had taken and tired each other out), hands thrown in the air in mock victory.
She progressed into the small kitchen and turned the kettle on; she had moved in with Tails a few years ago when she realized that the kitsune had more than enough room and living in the city began to get expensive. It was a good partnership: Tails and Amy were close enough in age to enjoy each other's company without bugging each other (completely) and Amy learned through Tails how to do basic mechanic work which was a big help and allowed him to experiment with and create other outrageous things. She was also attending school to be a nurse: someone had to get the boys all fixed up when they did stupid things after all. At 19, Amy finally felt as if she was coming into her own. She had decided several years prior (around the time she moved in with Tails) that chasing Sonic was hopeless. Not only that, but her feelings for him had faded somewhat. She still loved him: she probably always would, what with him being her first love and all. But she no longer felt the need to pursue him or to idolize him; she had long realized that maybe Sonic wasn't the one for her. Time would be the one to make that judgement but until then Amy was content to be close friends with Sonic and the rest of the team and to live her life the way she wanted to. She turned to see Knuckles sitting at the kitchen table, reading that morning's newspaper.
"How much time do I have?" she questioned and Knuckles paused from his reading and looked up at the clock on the wall.
"Half an hour I'd say," the echidna grunted before going back to the newspaper. Rolling her eyes, Amy took off for the bathroom intending to at least get as presentable as she could before leaving the house: she reeked of oil.
Back in the kitchen, Knuckles' ears pricked at the sound of the shower being turned on, but he remained completely engrossed in the newspaper. After a while the kettle started to sing and he got up to pour some hot water into a bright green travel mug that Amy had prepared with a tea bag before she went to shower. While Knuckles and Amy still bickered, the echidna knew it was friendly teasing as opposed to when they were younger and generally couldn't stand each other. He hadn't known when it happened but at some point along the way he began to consider Amy as a close friend and ally, not some annoying groupie and liability. Her mechanic and nursing abilities were highly valued by the team: there wasn't one of them who hadn't been nursed back to health by the pink hedgehog. Not only that but Amy had a mean right hook and wasn't afraid to play dirty, unlike Sonic and Tails. Knuckles could appreciate the fact that regardless of her feelings towards fighting dirty, she was well aware that bad guys didn't play by the rules and wasn't afraid to play on their level. It made her a dynamic fighter and someone you definitely wanted on your side.
Amy shuffled into the kitchen just then, coming over to screw the lid onto her mug and combing her quills into place with her fingers. She was wearing a pair of dark, nearly black, skinny jeans with a white tank top under a red lace shirt. She snapped a white headband into place that matched her white ballet flats. Picking up the travel mug she turned back to Knuckles smiling slightly.
"Ready!" she chirped as he rolled his eyes and walked to and out the front door.
"So, where are we headed?" Amy questioned while taking a sip from her mug. Knuckles jerked his head toward the city as they walked calmly beside each other.
"City, to 'borrow' some reports from GUN on a disturbance in Emerald Coast that they have been conveniently keeping from us." Amy's brow furrowed slightly as she thought about this.
"What is it?" Amy asked, referring to the disturbance. Knuckles levelled her with a stern look.
"Who else?" he asked with a snort. "Tails and Sonic are down there now, checking it out and trying out Tails' new invisibility cloak." It was Amy's turn to snort as they strolled into the outskirts of the city.
"He reads too much Harry Potter," Knuckles just shook his head, dreadlocks flying around his face. They past a few others that they recognized on their way to the GUN station in the city and Amy smiled and waved while Knuckles inclined his head. About a block away both stopped and eyed what they could see of the GUN building.
It was a tall glass building that looked dark and foreboding. Of course Amy and Knuckles knew their way into and around the building fairly well by now and therefore felt no fear looking at the dark glass, only a building sense of anticipation. GUN never had liked sharing information with the "Sonic Team" but they liked it even less when said information was stolen from them right from under their noses. The two groups weren't hostile to each other, just openly competitive. However Sonic's team had one up on GUN members: they knew Eggman and his devious, harebrained schemes better than anyone else. So while GUN wasted time researching cited disturbances, the team of heroes moved in on Eggman and sent him packing, waiting until the time he would come back.
"Ready?" Knuckles asked although he didn't anticipate an answer. He looked over his shoulder and grinned at the pink hedgehog, who smirked back at him.
15 minutes later
"Too easy, too easy!" Amy celebrated in a fake Italian accent. Knuckles laughed as well, handing over the papers to Amy who scanned them as they walked away from the glass building and the commotion they left behind them.
"Hm. Weird, robotic noises and high-energy readings from the shore line. Wonder what it could be?" Amy questioned sarcastically and Knuckles smirked at her again – Amy was the best person to go on reconnaissance missions with. Sonic always attempted to do it on his own (and ended up drawing more attention to himself), Tails was too technical, Rouge thought she knew everything and Shadow never spoke. Knuckles fondly thought that he and Amy were probably the best duo on the team – he then proceeded to banish that thought and shook his head violently.
"Fleas oh Master Guardian?" Amy questioned, eyebrow raised. Knuckles just glared at her, both for the jab and the way she had entered his thoughts in any sort of fond capacity. Used to the echidna's mood swings, Amy just rolled her eyes skywards and trudged along behind him, good mood not dissipated in the least.
"Emerald Coast ho!" she cried and laughed at her own jubilance when Knuckles sullenly ignored her. Amy resisted rolling her eyes a second time: Knuckles was really so much more fun when he wasn't brooding. Although the brooding certainly did add a mysterious, sexy edge to him…Amy halted in her thoughts and swept them into the furthest recesses of her mind. 'Gross' she thought to herself.
The two friends continued their silent march down to Emerald Coast, only to find the beach completely empty. No sunbathers, sand-castle builders, and certainly no Sonic or Tails. Cautiously they stepped onto the sand, looking around warily.
"They are invisible," Amy reminded quietly from the corner of her mouth as she unconsciously stepped closer to the echidna, senses heightened as she surveyed the empty beach.
"With this you mean?" Knuckles asked sardonically, reaching down and pulling up an inky black cloak. Amy took it from him gently rubbing one hand over the silky material and watching as her hand became invisible.
"That would be it," she breathed, trying to quell the sudden rush of fear she felt for her friends.
"They're fine," Knuckles assured her, placing one of his giant hands on her shoulder. "It's Sonic and Tails. They have at least one brain between the two of them, and two sets of muscle. They'll be fine." Amy smiled at him gratefully before the two of them continued creeping across the sand, searching for any hint of where they might have gone. The sand was disturbed, indicating a struggle of some sort, but other than that Amy couldn't see anything else that indicated their whereabouts.
"Over here," Knuckles called out softly, and Amy turned to see him crouching by a rock wall. Jogging over, Amy could clearly see Tails' watch lying broken in the sand. Half the strap and the shattered face were visible, but the other strap was hidden under the wall. Knuckles and Amy shared a look before scouring the face of the wall for any buttons or weird indentations. After thoroughly searching for a few minutes, Amy stepped back frowning.
"He must be able to control it from inside," Amy stated placing her hands on her hips. Knuckles grinned wickedly, indicating that she step back further.
"No problem," before he threw back his fists and slammed them quickly into the rock a few dozen times. A short while later Amy fanned her hand in front of her face to dispel the rock dust lingering in the air while staring into a sinister looking tunnel made of metal.
"Very inconspicuous," she said sarcastically as Knuckles gestured for her to enter the tunnel.
"Hey, I got the job done," the echidna said with a shrug. Amy threw an irritated look over her shoulder.
"And probably cost Tails and Sonic some needed time! Some friend you are!" she snapped and Knuckles glowered at her, fists clenching at his sides.
"Just because I'm not madly in love with Sonic doesn't mean that I don't consider him my friend! Sorry for not being a love-struck puppy your highness!" Amy whirled around on Knuckles in dimly lit tunnel. Even with as little light as they had, Knuckles could tell that Amy's muzzle was an angry shade of red.
"When is everyone going to drop that?! It's like every time I'm concerned for his safety every one thinks it's because I'm in love with him! I'm over Sonic!" Knuckles glowered right back at the angry female, not backing down at the livid undercurrent he caught in her voice.
"Yeah, over the moon!" Amy narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to retort when Knuckles caught sight of a red, blinking light coming towards them in the tunnel. He could see the red laser scanning the area around the little robot and knew that if they stayed like that in the middle of the tunnel, they would surely be caught. Catching a glimpse of a dark closet-type space off to their left, Knuckles roughly grabbed Amy and drew her, despite her protests, into the tiny space hoping it could provide some safety from the robot. Their fronts were melded together in the small space, and they were basically standing muzzle to muzzle. Knuckles could feel her small legs straddling one of his own, her hot, angry breathe fanning across his face.
"Hey!" Amy protested, attempting to struggle against him. "Let me go Knuckle-head!" Realizing that if Amy kept struggling and yelling at him they would definitely be caught he sought some way to quiet her. His hands however, were occupied with keeping her arms at her sides so she wouldn't start hitting him: he used the only other thing he could think of. Without really thinking about it, Knuckles leaned in and pressed his lips against Amy's, just as she opened her mouth to yell at him again. It had the desired effect: Amy stopped talking and moving, too shocked and standing stock-still.
Knuckles was beginning to feel a bit foolish for not just telling her about the robot when all of a sudden Amy was kissing him back and the last thing on his mind was that robot. Hands sliding to her waist Knuckles attempted to draw her closer, which was virtually impossible as they were already so close. Amy brought her hands to his chest, running her hands over him urgently. In the hallway, the robot beeped its way by them, not noticing the intertwined echidna and hedgehog in the dark space on the side. It continued its journey to investigate the door of the tunnel, as his master had asked him, therefore not being aware of or alerting Eggman to the intruders' presence.
Requiring air, they broke apart, staring at each other wide eyed and silently. Neither spoke for an extended period of time.
"The robot is gone" Knuckles finally said, his voice huskier than usual as he stared at Amy's pink, kiss-bruised lips.
"Right," she breathed. Neither moved for a minute before sense took a hold of them and they scurried from the space. Clearing his throat awkwardly, Knuckles gestured down the tunnel.
"After you," Amy ducked her head and set off at a brisk pace down the hallway. A few turns and destroyed robots later (neither wanted to take the chance and hide anywhere from another robot) the two were still silent.
"I'm not in love with Sonic" Knuckles jerked his head to look at Amy. She wasn't looking at him, staring instead further down the halls. "But I'm not in love with you either."
"Ya sure? Cause, I'm not so sure Ames- that was a pretty heated…"
"Shut it Knuckle-head," Amy bit out in monotone. Knuckles smirked and sidled closer to the pink hedgehog.
"Aw come on Amy, don't be such a prude, we could make a habit of this if you want," Knuckles grinned wolfishly before he suddenly found himself pressed up against the wall.
"Really Knuckles? Could we? You seem to know exactly what I want…"Amy purred in his ear. Suddenly caught off guard Knuckles stared wide-eyed at the girl in front of him, who was tracing a slender finger across his chest.
"Uh-Well-I mean I-Uh-if you want?" he finished meekly. Amy batted her lashes at him moving in closer and closer while Knuckles panicked internally. All of a sudden Amy let go of him and he stumbled slightly.
"Actually, I think I'm good. Let's go Knuckle-head," and with that she moved gracefully down the hallway, smirking deeply as Knuckles was left growling behind her as he realized she had turned the tables on him.
"Brat." Knuckles muttered and he heard Amy's tinkling laughter float down to him as he pouted his way after her. Suddenly Amy stopped and pressed herself against the wall. She motioned for Knuckles to stay quiet as he crept up beside her. They were next to a doorway, where they could hear Eggman's angry screaming and Sonics' arrogant laughter. They rolled their eyes at each other – of course Sonic would be infuriating the Doctor when he clearly had the upper hand.
"What's the plan?" Amy whispered in his ear. Knuckles just grinned at her and winked.
"Stay behind me and don't get in trouble, alright doll?" Amy growled angrily at him as he leaped out in front of the door and smashed his fists through the metal door as if it were tin.
15 minutes later
"Alright! We showed Eggman whose boss!" Sonic whooped as they walked along the sandy beaches of the Emerald Coast, away from the smoking ruins of Eggman's secret lab. Tails was laughing as the two of them wrestled in the sand happily, enjoying being free and beating the Doctor – again.
"So you gonna come over to my place later?" Knuckles questioned quietly to Amy as they walked behind their two friends. Amy sent a death glare his way and he chortled at the look in her eyes. 'If looks could kill…'he thought smugly.
"Knuckles Echidna I will hurt you and not feel bad about it" she ground out. He tossed his head to the side, dreadlocks jumping.
"Whatever. You want me." Amy stared at him incredulously, eyes narrowed. Suddenly Sonic was between them, arms thrown around both their shoulders, bringing them awkwardly close together.
"Aw come-on guys – you could at least pretend you like each other for a minute. You guys were the heroes today. Well sort of, I mean I did most of the work…" Simultaneously rolling their eyes they pushed Sonic away, laughing as he fell into the sand. "Hey!" he protested loudly.
"I have an Emerald to watch." Knuckles said with finality, walking towards Angel Island.
"And I have a Tornado to finish fixing" Amy sniffed, walking in the direction of Tails' shop.
"I don't get it – you guys are supposed to be friends" Sonic whined as Tails snickered silently at him sitting in the sand like a child.
Stopping, Knuckles and Amy looked at each other for a while. Jade and amethyst met as they studied the other for a minute.
"We'll start being friends when he stops wanting my body," Amy deadpanned, turning to walk away. Knuckles stared dumbfounded after her as Tails and Sonic looked dumbfounded at the exchange.
"Wait, what?" Sonic questioned staring at Knuckles as his face went red.
"What? I don't know what she's talking about! I think she's off her rocker..." Knuckles trailed off as the kitsune and blue hedgehog started accusatorily at him. "Whatever you morons: have you ever kissed her?" With that he stormed off towards Angel Island, hearing Tails wailing behind him and Sonic gagging, all while Amy Rose giggled musically on her way over the hills. Knuckles shook his head – she may have gotten the upper hand this time, but they were in a whole new ball-game now and he knew how to play dirty - literally. Knuckles grinned in anticipation – he was actually looking forward to their next meeting for once.
Bring it on Amy Rose.