Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sonic or associated characters.

Rest Easy Heroes

"Yeah!" Amy exclaimed in her usual chipper tone, as she whizzed down the snow-covered hill.

The sun was shining down on the snow-covered landscape, making the snow glisten slightly, making the hilltops slick and icy.

Everyone had taken a nice vacation from adventuring. Tails had suggested to go skiing, since they were due to get plenty of snow for the duration of two weeks. So everyone had agreed. Sonic, Amy, Tails, Knuckles and Rouge had all gone skiing.

"I gotta hand it to ya, Tails," Sonic skidded to a stop in front of Tails. "This was a great idea!"

Tails smiled. "Thanks, Sonic!" he said happily, boarding the trolley to go up to the top of the hill.

Sonic joined him.

Amy reached the bottom of the hill and waved to them in the trolley. "Hi guys!" she said happily.

Tails waved back and Sonic just smiled at her.

"Who would've thought she could ski?" Sonic joked, turning to Tails. Tails smirked.

"I guess anyone can ski if they really want to," he said with a smile before looking down at Knuckles, who was face first in the snow.

Sonic noticed and chuckled. "Hey Knux!" he called. "Are you sure you're ready for an Intermediate board?" he joked.

Knuckles groaned, and reluctantly looked up at Sonic and Tails in the trolley. He pretty much glared at them.

Sonic chuckled again, turning back to Tails. "I guess Knuckles doesn't really want to," he said with a joking smile, remembering Tails' comment 'anyone can ski if they really want to.'

Tails smiled, before noticing Rouge whizzing down one of the highest hills.

She had a determined grin on her face as she noticed Knuckles at the bottom of the hill. She laughed as she saw him on the ground.

Sonic and Tails were too high up to hear what she was saying, but they figured it was something in her usual haughty tone.

Sonic rolled his eyes, and Tails smirked.

"Y'know, they couldn't be any more perfect for each other," he grinned.

Sonic smirked. "Knuckles and Rouge? Yeah right! All they do is argue and try to prove each other wrong!"

Tails just smiled, and then Sonic grinned, seeing his point.

Meanwhile, down where Knuckles and Rouge are…

"Hey there Treasure Hunter," Rouge smiled down at Knuckles and he quickly got up.

"I…I was just taking a little break," Knuckles covered up, not making eye contact.

"Mmm-hmmm," Rouge said, not believing him at all. "I guess this is just another thing I'm better at than you!" she said in her usual tone with her eyes half open and her grin that annoyed Knuckles to no end.

"Stop dreaming Rouge," Knuckles said angrily. "Have you ever seen me ski before?"

Rouge pretended to think. "Well actually," she blinked with a frown before grinning at him, "I've only seen you try."

"Well get ready to be amazed," Knuckles said with a challenging grin before boarding the trolley that takes you to the top of the hill.

Rouge followed with a grin into the trolley, much to Knuckles' disappointment.

"What are you doing in here?" Knuckles asked her a little angrily, over the fact that in a couple of minutes he had to ski like a professional. "I'm not going to show you my amazing skiing skills in here."

Rouge giggled, taking a seat across from him. "No, but I want to see everything. From the second you get off this trolley to the second you're at the bottom of the hill."

Knuckles gulped. "Oh."

Rouge noticed he was uncomfortable enough, so just to annoy him and make him even more uncomfortable she switched spots and sat right next to him. Very close.

"You better make this worthwhile," she smiled, snuggling into his jacket. Knuckles blushed slightly with a large frown. 'What does she think she's doing?' he panicked.

He groaned to himself. 'How long have I been in this trolley?' he thought. '2 hours? Easily…' In reality, it had only been a few minutes. "How long have we been in here?" Knuckles said aloud, not meaning to.

"Um…" Rouge didn't exactly know. "Only a few minutes," she replied.

Knuckles nodded as he looked away from her. "Okay."

The trolley finally came to a stop and Knuckles practically leaped out, causing Rouge's head to slam against the seat.

She frowned at him as she rubbed her head angrily before stepping out of the trolley. Knuckles didn't notice her glare.

'Air! Good air! Yes!' he thought as he inhaled and exhaled deeply.

"Okay, so are we going to stand here breathing, or skiing?" Rouge asked him.

He frowned. "Skiing," he said quickly.

"Good," Rouge smiled her usual smile. 'It's show time!'

Knuckles took a deep breath and then exhaled before setting himself up. He checked to make sure he was all set up. Really though, he was just stalling.

Rouge noticed and with a smirk, and lightly pushed him.

Knuckles' eyes widened as he plummeted down the hill at an incredible speed. Rouge soon joined him.

"Wow," she said with wide eyes. "You aren't too bad after all!" she complimented.

Knuckles sucked in his breath and proudly put his head up. "I know!" he said before tripping over a rock in the path.

Rouge laughed and accidentally lost her balance, tumbling down the hill and landing right on top of Knuckles.

Knuckles looked into her eyes, and she looked into his eyes.

Rouge's heart fluttered so high into her she almost couldn't breath. She smiled shyly at Knuckles, and her eyelids soon dropped half way. 'Wow he smells good…' she thought to herself, inhaling his heavy cologne smell and exhaling with a dazed grin.

"I guess every pro has their fall, huh?" she breathed, finally breaking the silence.

Knuckles smirked. "I guess so." 'She's pretty! Why did I never notice that before?' he thought before frowning inwardly. 'Maybe because she's my RIVAL! I can't like someone from 'the other side'. Besides, I don't have time for love and all that junk. I'm the protector of the Master Emerald—it's the only thing that matters to me now, and always.'

Rouge noticed Knuckles looking a little confused and disappointed.

"You okay?" she asked him quietly.

He looked at her, surprised. "Since when do you care?"

Rouge blushed a little and looked away. "Who ever said I cared?" she snapped, standing up suddenly and dusting herself off.

'Wow, Rouge. That's a smooth comeback,' she thought sarcastically. She tried to think of something better to say, but to her disappointment, she couldn't find anything no matter how hard she searched.

Knuckles followed her lead as he stood up again. He dusted himself off before looking at her.

"I was just thinking," he said, answering her previous question.

Rouge's ears seemed to perk up. "Oh?" she looked at him. "About what?"

"Things," he said simply, not wanting to talk about it. Especially around her. "…You wouldn't understand," he added.

Rouge looked a little hurt. "What is that supposed to mean? How do you know I won't understand?"

Knuckles frowned, knowing he had hurt her. He gave in. "I was just thinking about the Master Emerald…and sorting out my feelings."

Rouge shot him a confused look. She heard the words, but didn't comprehend them properly. "Feelings for the Master Emerald?" she questioned, as she trudged through the snow towards the trolley lift.

Knuckles shook his head with a bit of a smirk. "I don't have feelings for the Master Emerald, bat girl."

Rouge snorted. "You could've fooled me," she said a little angrily. Knuckles heard something in her that he had rarely heard in anyone before. Was that a hint of…jealousy? Why would she be jealous about the Master Emerald?

"I mean, you spend so much time protecting it and all. It's just an emerald!"

Knuckles blocked her path, and stuck his face in front of her. Very closely. "It is not just an emerald," his temper started to flare. The closeness made Rouge squirm, so she pushed him slightly out of her way.

"Whatever. I think you're a little too obsessive, though," she said, taking the trolley up the hill.

Knuckles frowned at her from the ground before jumping into the next trolley.

"I told you you wouldn't understand!" Knuckles yelled to her.

She looked back at him. "I think you should get a girlfriend, Knuckles."

"What?!" he nearly fell out of the trolley. "Why would I, of all people, need a girlfriend?" he said, regaining his balance.

Rouge smirked. "To get your mind off of things."

"What things?" he yelled to her.

"Things," she answered stubbornly. Knuckles' temper flared again. 'What things is she talking about?' he thought to himself angrily.

"A girlfriend would just be a waste of my time!" he yelled to her, angrily.

Rouge looked back at him again. "I don't think so," she yelled to him with a bit of a teasing smile. She stressed 'I'.

A couple was sitting behind Knuckles' trolley. There was a young purple female hedgehog and a young green male hedgehog. They had been kissing until Rouge and Knuckles started yelling at each other.

"Get a room!" the girl hedgehog, yelled at them both. Knuckles and Rouge blushed 5 different shades of red, and Knuckles muttered curses under his breath to the girl.

"Knuckles, don't waste your time on her," Rouge yelled to him again before glaring at the girl hedgehog. She stuck out her tongue at Rouge in response.

Knuckles hopped (more like leaped) into Rouge's trolley.

"Well hello there," Rouge said in her normal voice with the teasing smirk again.

Knuckles took his seat beside her, without saying anything.

"Why are you talking to me about girlfriends, anyway?" Knuckles sneered at her.

"Because she wants to be your girlfriend, dumba-" the male hedgehog started to yell but Knuckles interrupted him.

"SHUT UP!" he raged.

The male hedgehog shrugged. "Just thought I'd make it more clear for you, dense-kidna! And judging by your outrage there, I'd say that you're pretty fond of her, too!" he snickered and the girl hedgehog soon followed in fits of laughter.

Knuckles glared at them, boxing the air getting ready to go over to them and give them a piece of his mind.

"You want a piece of me?" Knuckles yelled to the male.

"Bring it!" the male hedgehog gestured for Knuckles to go over to him.

Rouge put a hand on his shoulder. "Knuckles!" she scolded him.

Knuckles sank back in his seat before glaring at the hedgehogs and then focusing on Rouge.

"He was right," Rouge said quietly, studying the ground, drawing invisible circles on it with her boot tip.

"Huh?" Knuckles didn't understand. "He was right by calling me a dense-kidna?" he asked her before glaring at the male hedgehog again. "Which, by the way, was an awful joke!" he yelled before turning back to Rouge. The hedgehog responded by scoffing.

"No," Rouge said quietly, a hot pink blush forming on her cheeks.

"Then about what?" Knuckles asked, loosing his patience.

"About the girlfriend part," Rouge said shyly. 'If he doesn't get this hint, 'dense-kidna' will become his permanent name!'

"What do you mean?" Knuckles asked her, regaining his patience again.

Rouge dared to look up at him. "I was asking you about the whole girlfriend thing because…I…" she struggled with her wording. 'Get it through your thick skull, would you?'

"I…wouldn't mind it…if I was…your…" she struggled, "girlfriend," she choked out.

Knuckles just gaped at her with wide eyes. 'Bat girl, and me?!'

--End of Chapter—

I dunno if I should continue this. It seems rather…boring or something. If you think I should continue – please give me some ideas, okay? I'm experiencing major writer's block (as usual).

Thanks!

- Satokasu Suki