CHAPTER 6: THE SWIM

The next morning Knuckles awoke to see that Rouge wasn't where he had left her the night before. He turned his head in all directions looking for her. Then all of a sudden Rouge's face appeared right in front of his only it was upside-down. Rouge was hanging from a branch above his head.

"High there sleepy head." Rouge said as she smiled at Knuckles, who nearly jumped out of his skin, when she did that.

"Ah hey." He said as he took in a deep breath and sunk back against the tree trunk.

"Ahhh I didn't scare you did I?" She asked as she snickered a little.

"You wish batgirl." He answered as he shut his eyes.

"Whatever Knucklehead." She said as she jumped down from the branch and snatched up her black shoulder bag. "I think I have an idea that might make you smile." She said as she walked into the forest.

"Where are you going?" Knuckles asked as he looked in her direction.

"Don't you worry about that, I will be right back and don't even think of following me, do it and die." She said as she disappeared into the forest.

Knuckles was quite curious, but he heeded her warning and didn't follow. Instead he walked over to the water's edge and sat down by it and stared at his reflection, he noticed that he wasn't seeing Rouge or hearing her voice calling him. He also noticed that it only stopped when he and Rouge were together again. But his thoughts were soon disrupted by Rouge who was calling him.

"Hey Knucklehead." She shouted as she stepped out from the forest. When she emerged she was wearing deep purple colored two peace bathing suite. She took the black shoulder bag and threw it next to the tree they had slept under the night before.

Then she walked towards Knuckles who was staring with a face as red as his fur. She sat down next to him and then gently began to ease into the water. "Ahh this is cold!" She weld.

Then she took a deep breath and disappeared beneath the water's surface. Knuckles eyes wondered for her, but he didn't see her. Then she popped out of the water and was floating in front of Knuckles. "Come on in, it's not so bad once you get use to it." She said as she smiled at the echidna.

"Not a chance batgirl." Knuckles said as he turned his head way from her.

Then Knuckles felt a hand pull his face back to its previous position. Rouge had came closer and pulled his face back so he was looking her in the eye. "And why not?" She asked as she gave him a smooth smile.

"Well I um…" He was trying to come up with a reason but Rouge decided to cut him off.

"Never mine you don't really have a choice anyway." She said getting even closer.

"What do you mean by that?" Knuckles asked as he sweat dropped at her closeness.

She just continued to get closer and closer till their faces were only inches apart. She took her other hand and picked up one of his hands up in her own.

"Because…OF THIS!" She yelled as she pulled him by his arm into the cold water.

Knuckles resurfaced and looked around for Rouge. Rouge lifted her head slight out of the water so only her eyes were showing and looked at Knuckles. "That's it; I'll get you for that!" He yelled at her. Rouge stood up out of the water too.

"And just what do you plan to do about it from there?" She asked as she dived back down into the water and began to swim further out into the lake.

"You just wait!" He yelled as began to swim after her.

The two were taking a brief seize fire, Rouge was floating on her back and Knuckles was doing the same. Then Knuckles decided to strike up a conversation.

"Rouge I thought you were captured by a fleet of robots, were you captured and you escaped or were you never captured in the first place?" Knuckles asked as he stood up in the water and looked at her for an answer.

"I was never captured, why do you think that?"

"Well we were attacked by some robots in the forest and they said they were at your home at that very moment capturing you, and when I went back to find you the placed was trashed and you were gone." He said as he looked at her.

"No I must had already left when they came for me."

"Why did you leave anyway?" Knuckles wondered what she was doing way out here miles from civilization, it wasn't really her style.

Rouge blushed as she as stood up and stared at her reflection in the water, "I, I… was looking for you." She said as she turned her sights to Knuckles who only smiled at her.

"Why were you looking for me?" Knuckles couldn't think of any reason she would be looking for him.

"I, I don't know I just wanted to see you that's all." She said as she turned her back to him and bit her lip. "Is that a crime or something?" She asked as she kept her eyes fixed on her reflection.

"No I just…never mind." And then Knuckles ran at her and pushed her into the water.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH Knuckles!" she yelled as she slammed into the water.

The two had been playing around like that the entire day, and they each loved every second of it. But soon the day was coming to an end once more. Rouge swam up behind Knuckles and dunked him again. But this time he remerged behind her and picked her up bridal style again and threw her back into the water.

"Okay, okay you win." Rouge shouted when she resurfaced only to see that Knuckles was coming at her again.

"That's what I thought you'd say." Knuckles said with smirk.

Rouge began to swim for shore she waded out of the water and over to her black bag. It wasn't long before Knuckles was out of the water and was shaking the water out of his fur. Rouge had dug through her bag and found a towel and was drying off too. When she was as dry as she could get with a towel she walked back into the woods once again.

"Remember what I said." She warned as she disappeared into forest once more.

"How could I forget?" Knuckles said under his breath as he walked back towards the willow tree.