Sonic sped along the beach, going about his day as usual. Tails, Amy, and Sticks were busy with their own thing, so he figured he'd visit Knuckles.
As he arrived at the echidna and his weight-lifting equipment (which was basically the only thing he had to call home), he slowed to a walk, though becoming curious as he noticed Knuckles… drawing?
He walked behind him, then glanced down at the binder he was drawing in; Knuckles seemed to be so invested in his drawing that he didn't notice him.
"Wow, you're really good," he commented suddenly.
Knuckles let out a startled yelp, quickly covering his drawing with his hands.
"O-oh, hi Sonic… I-I didn't realize you were there!" He chuckled nervously. "What's up?"
"Not much," he replied. "I came to visit you!"
"Oh, r-really?" Knuckles was pleasantly surprised by this; it wasn't often that Sonic came to visit him. It was usually the other way around.
Sonic nodded. "Yup! Figured maybe we could hang out or do something," he said.
"O-oh, um… I'd really love to," Knuckles began nervously, "but I'm gonna be really busy today. B-but, I'll be free tomorrow, so we can hang out then if you want!"
Sonic frowned, but understood regardless. "Ah, alright. Guess I'll go do somethin' on my own then…" he muttered, trying to hide his disappointment.
He held a hand out to Knuckles for a handshake. "Tomorrow then?"
"Tomorrow!" Knuckles tried to hide a small blush as he shook Sonic's hand.
Sorry, Sonic… I just need a little more time.
The next day, Sonic rushed out of his shack and headed back to where he and Knuckles had met up yesterday. He admittedly felt a bit silly, as he hadn't asked Knuckles about a time or place to meet up, so he just decided to head back to Knuckles' equipment and hope he was there.
He wasn't, as Sonic quickly realized once he got there, but he did see something that caught his interest.
Underneath the equipment was the binder that Sonic had seen yesterday. He grinned, then pulled it out and opened it up, flipping through all the pages to see what Knuckles had drawn.
So this is what he does in his spare time, he mused.
Although, while he found all of Knuckles' drawings to be spectacular, he took notice of something almost immediately as he skimmed through the drawings; most of them were all him. Just him.
While he was flattered, it also confused him. There were very few pictures of the other members of the team, so why would Knuckles draw him specifically, and so often?
"W-what are you doing?" came Knuckles' voice suddenly.
Sonic looked over to see Knuckles' standing nearby, probably having just walked onto the scene.
"Oh! Hey, Knux! I was waitin' for you, so I figured I'd look through some of your art," he explained.
Knuckles' face flushed in embarrassment. "Y-you saw all of that?"
"Yeah, you're really really good!" Sonic exclaimed. "You get my coolness down perfectly."
He chuckled, then tilted his head. "So, is this a 'me' binder?" He knelt down to check if there were any other binders under Knuckles' equipment. "Where are your other drawings of everyone else?"
Knuckles' face managed to flush even more. "T-there…there aren't any."
"Huh?" Sonic blinked confusedly, gazing back at Knuckles. "You've got so many pictures of me though; why not them?" he asked.
"W-well, um…" Knuckles shifted his feet nervously, avoiding Sonic's gaze.
Sonic noticed his nervousness and set the binder down, walking closer to him. "Heh, am I just that cool?" he asked jokingly.
Knuckles' face was all red by now. "I-I, um…" He took a deep breath. "I… m-made this for you," he said quickly, shutting his eyes and holding something out to Sonic.
Sonic's mouth gaped, staring at the object in Knuckles' hands: A finely-crafted heart carved out of wood, painted red with paper flowers covering the edges.
"This… is for me?" Sonic asked, wanting to be sure.
"M-mhmm…" Knuckles confirmed. "S-sorry, I-I know it's stupid, but…"
"No! No, it's not!" Sonic assured quickly. He reached for the heart, taking it from Knuckles and hesitantly hugging it to his chest.
"…Why?"
Knuckles took a few deep breaths. "I…kindasortahaveacrushonyou…"
He whimpered and hid his face in his hands, waiting for the rejection that was sure to come.
Sonic's ears perked. "A… crush?" he repeated.
"W-what, like… 'head over heels', 'like like', and all that stuff?" he asked.
Knuckles nodded behind his hands, whimpering again.
Gah, now he probably just thinks I'm weird…
Sonic thought for a moment, then walked up to him.
"Knuckles," he said sternly, though with the slightest bit of gentleness in his tone, "put your hands down."
Knuckles hesitated, then complied, slowly removing his hands from his face. He was shaking nervously.
Suddenly, without warning, Sonic pulled Knuckles down slightly and kissed his cheek.
Knuckles' face flushed again. He was too stunned to react much on the outside, but on the inside he was freaking out (in a happy way).
Ohmygoshhe'sactuallykissingme…
Sonic pulled away, then simply smiled at him, his cheeks flushed pink.
"S-so, um… d-do you like it?" Knuckles asked softly, referring to the heart craft in Sonic's hand.
Sonic gazed at the heart, then back at Knuckles. "Of course I do," he replied, straight-faced.
He pulled Knuckles closer again and gave him a smirk. "I'd rather have the real deal though."
He kissed him softly, right on the lips.
Knuckles blushed heavily, his heart doing flip-flops in his chest. He kissed back, his eyes slowly closing. He giggled, unable to contain his joy.
Sonic held the kiss, amused at Knuckles' excitement. Honestly, he'd always had a feeling he had a crush on the echidna, but the confession he just received and the way his heart fluttered when it was given to him just solidified how true it was. Now, he was positive.
Knuckles wrapped his arms around Sonic in a hug as they continued to kiss. He never wanted this moment to end.
Sonic nearly squeaked at the sudden hug, surprised at how warm Knuckles was. "M-mm…"
He held the crafted heart to his chest with one hand, keeping the other wrapped firmly around Knuckles.
Eventually, Knuckles needed to take a breath. He reluctantly pulled away, panting, but smiling softly.
Sonic chuckled, needing a breath as well, then playfully placed a finger on Knuckles' chest.
"Property of Sonic," he said with a smirk.
Knuckles blushed, giggling lightly. "S-so, does this mean we're… you know?"
"Don't see why it wouldn't," Sonic answered with an amused grin.
Knuckles hugged Sonic again. "This is the best day ever!"
"Oh yeah?" Sonic asked. "So would it be too much for you if I asked you for a date?"
"Y-you mean it?" Knuckles asked.
"Mhm," Sonic said with a firm nod, promptly winking at him.
"Oh my gosh, yes!" Knuckles replied excitedly, picking up Sonic and twirling him around.
Sonic laughed. "Alright, alright, we'll go!"
He patted Knuckles' head. "Just put me down first, big guy."
Knuckles complied, a big goofy grin on his face. He held out a hand.
"Shall we?" he giggled.
"We shall," Sonic answered, giggling back as he held Knuckles' hand.