Knuckles sat up, stretching. Although puzzled by Tails' words, the echidna decided it was far too early in the morning to be worrying. Looking around his room sleepily, Knuckles made a mental note to tidy up later. His scarce possessions were scattered around the room haphazardly; echidnas were not neat creatures. Knuckles blinked as he saw that one of his shoes had ended up on top of his television. Placing it back on the floor, the echidna chuckled as he wondered where the other one might be. 'I'll find it later,' he said quietly before smirking. 'Ah hell, I can't even convince myself.'

He could smell something temptingly savoury and licked his lips; he was always hungry. Giving his quills a quick rumple in an attempt to smooth them down, Knuckles exited his room and plodded down the hall to the dining room. 'Mornin', Shadow. Whatcha cooking?' the echidna said, addressing a black figure wielding a spatula.

'Good morning, Knuckles. Please, sit down. I will bring you a plate.' Shadow glanced sparingly at the echidna, his focus on the frying pan in front of him. Shadow had surprised everyone with his culinary prowess; he seemed more than content to cook every meal for the house of seven.

'Morning, Knucklehead!' Sonic greeted the echidna as he sat at the dining table.

Knuckles rolled his eyes light-heartedly. 'Mornin', Sonic. Hey, Amy.' The pink hedgehog wiggled her fingers, having just taken a dainty bite of a slice of toast. Knuckles grinned and nudged Sonic with his elbow.

'Bet her mouth was more full than that last night, hey, buddy?' he whispered. Amy choked on her toast, spluttering indignantly while Sonic laughed and punched Knuckles' shoulder.

'Shut up, at least I'm getting some!' the hedgehog hissed back in a playful tone.

A voice piped up from across the table. 'Getting some what, Sonic?' Cream's cinnamon colored eyes were wide and innocent.

'Uh, nothin'! I mean, uh, it's grown up stuff.' Sonic cleared his throat to hide his chagrin.

'I'm a grown up!' the small rabbit squeaked in her high pitched voice. 'I'm nearly thirteen!'

Sonic hesitated. 'Uhh...'

'Way to disillusion the kid, idiots,' a drawling voice sounded from the end of the table. Rouge peered at the two males from under heavy eyelids, not quite managing to hide an amused smirk.

Sonic made a helpless gesture. 'Sorry.' The bat rolled her eyes and took a sip of coffee. Cream looked at Amy questioningly, who shook her head.

'Don't worry about it, Cream. Sonic is just being a guy.' Amy smiled at the little rabbit, who tittered cutely and returned to her meal. Shadow strode to the table and placed a plate piled with bacon, fried eggs and toast in front of Knuckles. The echidna licked his lips, thanking his chef before digging in greedily.

'Where's Tails?' Sonic asked no one in particular. Amy shrugged; Rouge appeared not to have heard.

'He wasn't in his bed when I woke up. Maybe he went for a walk?' Cream said. Knuckles swallowed a mouthful of bacon before speaking.

'Nah, he's here somewhere. He was all upset last night so I put him in my bed. He left in a hurry when he woke up.' Knuckles went to take a bite of toast before he saw Amy eyeing him inquisitively.

'Where did you sleep?' she asked.

'Uhh, in my bed,' Knuckles replied.

Amy raised an eyebrow.

'With Tails?' she said, staring at the echidna.

'Yeah.' The pink animal glanced at Rouge, who was reading a magazine and seemed completely uninterested in the conversation. Amy exchanged a look with Sonic, making a 'back me up' gesture. Sonic cleared his throat, unsure of himself.

'Uh, why'd you share a bed with him?' he said, glancing at Amy for approval. Knuckles looked at the two hedgehogs confusedly.

'Because I didn't want to wake her up,' he pointed at Cream with his fork, 'and I didn't want to sleep on the couch. Why?'

Sonic seemed convinced, but Amy leant forward, a look of motherly concern on her face.

'Don't you think that's a little inappropriate?' she said.

Knuckles frowned. 'Why would it be inappropriate?' he asked, naivete coating his words.

'He's eight years younger than you! Not to mention ma-' Amy stopped abruptly, blushing slightly.

Knuckles gazed at her incredulously. 'You think I was -sleeping- with him?' he exclaimed quietly. Amy nodded fiercely.

'Yes, and you shouldn't be! I mean, he's only sixteen! And-' The hedgehog was interrupted by loud guffaws.

'Amy, nothing happened! I was just trying to be a good buddy to the little guy!' Knuckles chuckled as Amy flushed with embarrassment.

'I just wanted to be clear!' she humphed. Knuckles' laughter subsided and he returned to his meal.

'Besides, what makes you think I'd go for a guy?' Knuckles grinned at Amy, who jabbed a finger in his direction.

'I have my doubts, you know.' The hedgehog stuck her tongue out at her roommate, who shook his head derisively and shoveled a heaped forkful of egg into his mouth.

Light footsteps sounded as Tails entered the dining room, his two bushy tails brushed and groomed to furry perfection. 'Morning, everyone,' Tails said, twiddling his fingers at the diners.

'Morning, buddy!'

'Morning!'

'Hi!'

'Morning, honey.'

'Morning,' Knuckles smiled. Tails glanced at the echidna, looking away quickly and grimacing with embarrassment. A throat clearing noise made the little fox jump. He turned around to see Shadow holding a plate out to him, an eyebrow raised in impatience.

'Oh, thanks Shadow.' Tails placed the plate on the table and sat between Rouge and Cream, deliberately avoiding meeting Knuckles' eye.

'How'd you sleep?' Amy asked innocently. Tails blushed, staring into his eggs.

'Fine,' he said, quickly taking a bite of his breakfast to evade any follow up questions. Amy, however, was not to be deterred.

'Knuckles said you were upset last night. Are you alright?' she said, clasping her gloved paws on the table in front of her. Tails swallowed slowly.

'I don't wanna talk about it.' The fox bit his lip, sadness pulling his pointy ears back. Amy opened her mouth to say something, but felt a paw on her arm.

'Leave him be.' Knuckles voice was casual, but firm. The hedgehog shut her mouth, mild confusion causing her brow to furrow.

The rest of the meal was eaten mainly in silence, save for the scraping of forks against plates and the sizzling of a hot pan as Shadow made his own meal. Knuckles finished his breakfast and rose, taking his plate to the sink. He felt a pair of eyes on his back the entire time, and wondered who they belonged to.

Knuckles re-entered his bedroom for no particular reason. His usual morning activity was a run with Sonic, but that wouldn't happen for another good ten minutes. Sonic may be a fast runner, but he was an incessantly slow eater. The echidna bent over to retrieve a loose piece of crumpled paper from the floor, surprised by how dirty his room actually was.

Anyone would think I'm a teenager, he thought, picking up a spare pair of gloves and sticking them in a drawer. Humming tunelessly to himself, Knuckles busied himself with his cleaning until he heard a tentative knock at his door. He turned to face the visitor.

'What's up, little guy?' he said. Tails looked embarrassed, obviously trying to not look at the echidna.

'Umm, I think I left my gloves in here. Have you seen them?' he said. Knuckles frowned.

'Nah, don't think so. Hang on, they might be in my bed,' he said as he strode over to his bed, flicking the blanket back to reveal two white gloves.

'Here ya go, buddy.' Knuckles handed the gloves to the fox. 'Anything else I can help you with?'

Tails hesitated, as though he had another request. After a brief moment, he bit his lip and shook his head.

'Thanks, Knuckles,' he blurted quickly before fleeing to his room. Knuckles snickered; he sure wasn't like that when he was that age. He was about to return to his chore when he heard another knock at the door, this time from Sonic, who was lounging against the doorframe.

'Ready to go?' the hedgehog said.

'Yeah, just gimme a sec,' Knuckles replied, retrieving his shoe from the television. 'Can't find my other shoe, heh.'

'I think I saw it in the living room. Man, you're a slob.' Sonic grinned at his friend, who dug him playfully in the ribs.

'Shut up, it's part of my manly appeal.' The pair strode into the living room to find Cream and her bubbly blue-and-yellow Chao, Cheese playing on the floor. Cheese had clambered into a shoe and was pretending to be a train while Cream giggled and clapped her small hands with childish delight. Knuckles walked over, plucking the creature from his shoe.

'Sorry, kiddo. I need this. Why don'tcha watch some cartoons or something?' he said to Cream, who nodded and took Cheese from Knuckles' paw, settling herself into an armchair in front of the television. The echidna pulled his sneakers onto his feet and opened the door.

'I'll bring you back a toy for him, okay?' he said to the girl.

'Okay! Thanks a lot, Knuckles!' Cream squeaked, Cheese chittering his thanks. Knuckles smiled gruffly; he had always had a soft spot for the Chao, though he would never admit it, lest Sonic find out and annoy him more than he did now.

The two males set off at a brisk pace, used to the stares and whispers that their presence often warranted in passers-by. Despite their speed, the pair chatted comfortably.

'So, I don't want to sound pushy or anything, but...' Sonic began.

Knuckles interrupted him good-naturedly. 'Don't worry, Sonic. I haven't spoiled the kid's innocence yet,' he chuckled lightly, before noticing the strange look Sonic was giving him.

'What?' he asked. Sonic frowned a bit.

'You said "yet",' he said in a questioning tone. Knuckles was surprised as well.

'I, ah... you know what I meant,' he said, mentally berating himself. Sonic continued to stare at him quizzically.

'Knuckles... Do you...?'

'No!' Knuckles exclaimed. 'Of course not! Why is everyone jumping to that conclusion?'

'Well...' Sonic mused, 'most men aren't so eager to have another guy in bed with 'em.' The echidna snorted.

'What, I try to be nice to my buddy and suddenly I'm gay? Jeez.' Knuckles scowled, picking up his pace a little. Sonic matched his stride easily, shrugging.

'Listen, man. I'd be careful with Tails if I were you. I'm not as close to him as I used to be, but...' He paused. 'I've always kinda thought he was into guys.'
Knuckles stumbled a little, blushing with embarrassment.

'Uh, what?' he said, staring at his friend incredulously. He had never even considered that Tails might be gay.

'I've been friends with him a long time, Knux. I sorta noticed some things.' Sonic grimaced, unsure if he should be sharing these things. Knuckles' curiosity was piqued, however.

'Like what?' he pressed. Sonic glanced at him.

'Well... Remember that time Rouge was bending over to get the newspaper, and we were all having a peek?' Sonic winked and laughed a few times. 'Anyway, he didn't seem interested at all. And you know what it's like at that age: if there's an ass to look at, you're looking at it as much as you can!' The hedgehog's brow furrowed. 'In fact, I've never seen him looking at Ames before, either.'

Knuckles was puzzled. 'I guess you're right. But what about Cream? He's always with her.'

'It's the same with her. Never a sideways glance.' Sonic scratched his head, despite the pair's velocity. 'Maybe that whole thing with Cosmo put him off chicks for good. What do you think?'

Knuckles shook his head. 'I dunno. I've never thought about it.'

'Well, like I said, be careful with the little guy. He was staring at you when you left the table this morning. Kind of...' Sonic hesitated. 'Admiringly.'

'I get your drift, Sonic. Thanks.' Knuckles slowed his strides, stopping outside of a toy store. 'C'mon, I gotta get a toy for Cream.'

The store was air-conditioned and clean; the cool air felt nice on the creatures' flushed skin. Knuckles quickly found a suitable train set and took it up to to cashier, who's eyes were boggling out of his head.

'How much do I owe ya?' Knuckles gestured to the box. The shopkeeper blinked a few times before glancing at the price tag, which read '29.95'.

'9.95 for you, sir!' he babbled in awe. Knuckles raised an eyebrow, handing a ten dollar bill to the man.

'Change is yours. C'mon, Sonic.' The echidna hefted the box in one arm, following Sonic out the door.

Despite the luggage, Knuckles effortlessly matched his previous pace. The shopkeeper's expression niggled in his mind.

'Sonic...' he said. Sonic turned his head toward him, still easily dodging obstacles and trash.

'Yeah?'

'Do you ever get sick of being famous?' Knuckles asked slowly. Sonic pursed his lips in thought.

'Yeah, sometimes. I kinda wish we didn't stand out so much.' He smirked. 'I would've thought you'd love the attention, Knucklehead.'

The echidna swiped at the back of Sonic's head, who dodged and chuckled.

'Are you kidding? Goddamn, is it annoying. I can't go anywhere without being gaped at or ogled.'

'Again, I figure you enjoy it.'

'Shut up.' The pair traded jibes until arriving back at the apartment, where Sonic plopped down onto the sofa.

'Wanna watch football? It's hilarious how slow the runners are,' he said, pointing the remote at the television.

'No thanks, I'll go give Cream her train set.' Knuckles kicked off his shoes and walked down the hall to the room Cream and Tails shared. He knocked three times before entering, finding Cream and Cheese playing checkers on her bed.

'Hey, kiddo. I got something for ya.' Knuckles held up the box in his hands. Cream gasped excitedly.

'Ooh, thank you so much, Knuckles! Now we can play train for real!' The rabbit's eyes glowed as she took the box from Knuckles, dumping its contents on the floor. Cheese squealed happily, waving frantically at the echidna, who smiled and rubbed the Chao's head affectionately.

'You're welcome, buddy. Here, let me help ya.' The big male crouched next to the small girl, helping her assemble the track for the Chao-sized wooden train. An idea formed in his head and he looked slyly at Cream, who was setting up a station.

'Hey, Cream,' he said, acting nonchalant. Cream gazed up at him cutely. 'Uh huh?'

Knuckles grimaced, a little ashamed of himself.

'Do you think Tails is gay?'

Cream blinked, frowning.

'Umm...' she hesitated. Knuckles leant forward in anticipation.

'What does "gay" mean?' the bunny asked. Knuckles exhaled and smiled, shaking his head.

'Never mind, kiddo. Enjoy your toy.' Knuckles patted her lightly on the head, giving Cheese another stroke as he exited the room.

Mocking his own stupidity, Knuckles returned to his own room and resumed his cleaning, which was nearly complete. Left alone to his thoughts, the echidna found himself pondering why he was so curious about Tails' sexuality. He tried to chalk it up to concern and curiosity, but something in the back of his head kept him from completely believing the notion. For some reason, a reason he couldn't put his finger on, he wanted to know whether the rumour was true quite badly.