I'm baaack.
"Gotcha!" Sonic's arms were around her within seconds, scooping her up and spinning her around.
"No!" Sticks exclaimed in protest, but she was also smiling and laughing. She should've known that the fastest thing alive, who just happened to be one of her best friends, would catch her immediately. She never stood a chance.
All the hype from earlier had calmed down a bit by the time they got back inside. From the looks, everyone was off doing their own thing, whether that's playing video games or lounging on the couch or talking quietly with one another. Silver, Blaze, and Tikal were chatting by the kitchen, with Shadow standing by. The Chaotix was bickering about who-knows-what. Tails and Cream were in their own little world; whatever they were discussing was making Tails laugh and Cream giggle every five seconds. Rouge was examining her killer manicure. Amy was notably missing. And Knuckles -
- had...his back...facing...the room?
Sticks' curiosity wasn't the only one who got the best of her, and she definitely wasn't alone as she tiptoed over to the gullible echidna.
They were able to pick up on the rest of what Knuckles was saying; from the looks, it seemed like he was talking to someone on his communicator, but he wanted to keep it on the down-low or somethin'...
"- Really? You would?"
"I haven't got a choice, do I?" said a familiar female voice on the other line.
Knuckles grins at his feet.
"You're making up for this, you know. You owe me."
"What's my punishment?"
For a punishment, he didn't sound scared at all.
"Depends. What're you doing tomorrow?"
"Eh, it's up in the air. But I guess I can make time for you."
"You guess, huh?"
"Mhm."
"Alright. Then I suppose you wouldn't mind it if I go find someone else to hang out with…?"
He gasped. "You wouldn't!"
"I'm just messing with you, Knux."
"I...I knew that."
"Right."
"I did!"
"Sure, sure. Anyway, I'm almost at the island."
A beat. "Stay safe, alright?"
"Always am. Call me in the morning?"
"Sure, sure." He echoed the other, and she laughed. "If it takes the weight off my punishment."
"Oh no, I'm not falling for that. As soon as you get back, you're making me dinner."
"Yes, ma'am." His voice softened. "Thanks again."
So does hers. "Goodnight."
"'Night…"
Knuckles ended the call and turned around, only to see Sonic and Sticks mere inches away from his face. Caught off guard, he cursed and jumped back three feet.
"Who was that?" Sticks demanded with a sly grin that was mirrored on Sonic's face.
"Was that the mystery woman?" Sonic sang.
"Shut up," Knuckles hissed through gritted teeth, casting a glance at Rouge to make sure that she wasn't listening. "It's not like that. She's just a friend and -"
"And you say she's just a friend," Sonic continued to sing, this time dodging Knuckles' punch.
"I'm gonna kill you."
"Yeah. If you can catch me."
"What is going on here?!"
The angry, exasperated voice of Amy Rose made the three friends turn around, bracing themselves for her wrath. Marching down the steps, Amy reached them in seconds, putting herself between the blue blur and the strongest of the group, shooting the latter a disapproving look.
Sticks automatically knew whose side she was on without having to know the situation.
"Ames, Knuckles was trying to kill me!" Sonic pointed his finger at him.
"He started it!" Knuckles barked.
"No, he started it!"
"He started it!"
"He started it!"
"He started it!"
"He started it!"
"He started it!"
"Will the both of you shut up?!" Amy snapped, now bringing everyone's attention to the four of them standing in the corner. She inhaled deeply. "Now," and turned to Sonic. "Sonikku?" she asked sweetly.
Knuckles threw his hands up in the air.
"Yeah, Ames?" Sonic, despite his talk with Sticks from earlier, visibly relaxed. (Well, melted was a better term.)
"Tell me what happened." Subconsciously, Amy reached for Sonic's hand and gripped it, pulling him off to the side a little.
"Me and Sticks saw Knuckles standing over here and we just happened to listen in on his conversation." Sonic shrugged a shoulder, even though his muzzle felt like it was on fire from Amy's soft hold.
"Who was he talking to?"
"Some girl." He grinned.
Amy gasped. "Aww!"
Knuckles groaned.
"SOME GIRL?"
Aaaand now Rouge was involved. Breaking the spell between Sonic and Amy, they jumped apart, hands going on hips or arms crossed, muzzles as bright as Amy's fur as the bat sauntered up to them.
But Rouge was upset. And it was clear in her body language, not just her voice. Sticks almost felt bad for her, but she herself was still trying to understand what the heck was going on!
"Rouge, stay out of this. 'S none of your business." Knuckles frowned at her.
"Who is this girl, Knuckie?" Rouge fired back.
"Trouble in paradise?" Silver commented, and Blaze elbowed him.
"If I wanted you to know, I would have told you."
"Is she your girlfriend?"
"Why does every girl I meet have to be my girlfriend? Damn! Why does that even matter to you?"
"You know!"
"No! I don't!"
"Let me just…" Vector grabbed the table and dragged it off to the side.
"Ugh! I'm so sick of you!"
"Well, gee, looks like we have somethin' in common, bat girl!" Knuckles, clearly frustrated, throws his hands out again. "What do you want from me, huh? You already try to steal my property. You expect to 'steal my heart' too?"
Rouge's face was beet red. From embarrassment or anger, Sticks didn't know. "How dare you even think -"
"Cut the crap. You know it's true."
"No, it's not."
"Then what is it? What's the truth?" The echidna's voice increased in crescendo, making Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Cream wince.
Shadow was there after Sticks blinked, standing in his best friend's shadow, his crimson gaze flitting from one to the other.
Rouge was slowly shaking her head, a bitter smile crooking her features nastily. "Go ahead. Make me look like the worst person in the world. Because I'm the jerk, right? I'm the thief. I'm selfish. I get what I want. I snatch what is mine for the taking. And when there's a challenge, I do what I have to do so I can come out on top."
Knuckles squinted. "...What are you talking about?"
"I know you better than you think, Knuckie. There's a reason why you haven't told anyone about this little apple of your eye."
"For the last time, she's not -"
"- Because you know that word will get back to me and you know that I would have reacted this way. No, I don't like it, but -"
"Why should I care if you like it or not? You keep butting yourself in everything because it's always about you!"
"You do care."
"No, I don't!"
"If you don't, then why didn't you just tell me about her right off the bat, since you don't care about me or my feelings for you?"
Silence.
"Yes, Knuckie. If it wasn't obvious before, I like you. A lot. As elementary as that sounds. And yes, there was a time when I had feelings for you and Shadow both…" At that moment, both Knuckles and Shadow caught each other's gazes before looking away solemnly. Understanding. "But I didn't know what I was thinking, tricking myself into believing that I could ever be happy with putting someone before myself for once."
"Rouge…" Cream spoke up softly.
Rouge holds up a hand to stop her, never losing eye contact with the tensed echidna. "What's her name?"
"I'm not telling you."
"What's her name?" Rouge repeated.
"None of your business."
"What's. her. name."
Knuckles pressed his lips together to form a thin line. "..."
Sticks fidgeted with discomfort as the heavy silence continued to drag.
C'mon, Knux, just spit it out already!
And he finally did.
"Perci."
Rouge's head tilts back slightly, expression now entirely unreadable. But Sticks can sense what Rouge was feeling. You might as well reach into her chest and yank her heart right out.
"Is she pretty?"
"Stop."
"I'm just asking."
"I know what you're doing. But I'm telling you, Rouge. Nothing's going on between us."
"But you want it to be."
More silence.
"That's all I wanted to know." Rouge looked around, seeing everyone's concerned faces, but her expression did not change. "Goodnight, everyone. I'm going to bed."
"Rouge…"
"Please." Rouge hugged herself, shaking her head at the peach echidna. "Not now. Enjoy yourself, Tikal. I'm okay."
No one spoke until Rouge was well up the stairs.
"Knux," Sonic started sadly, starting for his friend. "I'm sorry, man. I didn't -"
"'S not your fault, Sonic. This was meant to happen." Knuckles' fists were balled at his sides, fingers digging into his palms. "Sooner or later, it was gonna happen."
Silently, Amy grabbed Knuckles by the arm, coaxing him to turn to face her. The pink hedgehog leaned up, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close for a warm embrace, and he didn't even fight her. He just stood there, absolutely still, but gradually did he slump in her arms, letting his head fall in the juncture between her neck and shoulder.
And Sticks, Sonic, and Tails closed in for a group hug; a close embrace between friends who have known each other for too long, been through too much, to let one suffer alone.
They missed Shadow chaos controlling out of the room, most likely upstairs to comfort Rouge, and no one questioned it.
The silence continued.
.
"I hope Rouge is okay." Cream sighed.
"Me too, Cream." Tails offered her a comforting smile, and she smiled back weakly.
"Shadow's been up there for a long time," Charmy noted.
"Leave 'em alone." Vector shook his head.
"He is the one who knows Rouge best," Espio agreed. "Let him handle this."
"He's not gonna come back down to kill Knuckles, is he?" Sticks asked from beside him.
"I hope not." Espio frowned.
"Me too."
"This would have never happened if I didn't antagonize Knuckles," Sonic mumbled.
"Yeah, probably." Charmy nodded slowly with a dazed expression.
"...Thanks, Charmy."
"Anytime, buddy."
"Sonic!" Amy gasped, and Sonic raised an eyebrow at her. "This was not your fault! I was the one who asked…"
"Ames, chill. 'S okay." He smiled at her. "Me and Knux were just being us, and you naturally got concerned."
Amy sighed in relief. "Okay."
"You're cute for trying."
"H-Hey!"
"Can you two quit flirting for two seconds? I'm trying to watch TV!" Vector teased.
"Dude, the TV isn't even on."
"Yes, it i - wait - Goddammit, Charmy, are you sitting on the remote AGAIN?"
"Oops!"
"I'll go check on them…" Tikal mused, now heading upstairs.
I do hope everything's okay...
.
"Are you done?"
"No."
"Hmph."
Shadow lays with Rouge in the guest bed, his hand cupping the back of her head as she sobbed in his chest. Well, she got most of it out of the way. Now she refused to let him leave the bed, sniffling every once in a while.
"I'm surprised you came," she mumbled into his chest.
Shadow grunted in reply.
"Somebody cares." Rouge grinned in the darkness.
"Don't push it."
"Uh huh."
"Just be glad I chose to be up here and not down there beating his ass."
"Please don't beat his ass."
"Fine."
"Thank you."
"Whatever."
"I love you."
"I know."
"...Am I interrupting?"
Tikal's soft voice makes Shadow lift his head and look over his shoulder, now seeing the echidna lingering at the door and, admittedly, looking like she wanted to leave.
"I just wanted to see if you were okay…" Tikal continued, her gaze drifting from the curvy bat, who was still wrapped around the dark hedgehog like a glove. "I-I'm sorry for intruding. I should have knocked. I'll...go…"
"No," Shadow tells her, sitting up, and Rouge's arms slip from around his torso. "I go. You stay."
"P-Pardon?"
"You'd be doing me a favor." Shadow was out of the bed in one swift movement, now making his way for the door.
"Oh." Tikal smiled a little. "Alright…"
Before she could take a step further, he grabbed her and pulled her back to him, causing her to yelp and squeak. His hands were around her wrists for a fleeting moment before they're gone, and she barely registered the fact that she had still been wearing his inhibitor rings from earlier before seeing him slip them back on his wrists.
"Was that necessary, Shadow?" she asked, sounding out of breath.
"Yes." His lips curved crookedly, and she blushed right as he made his leave.
"Earth to Peaches," Rouge's voice sounded behind her, followed by a sniff, and Tikal immediately flew to her friend.
"I was worried about you," Tikal told her in earnest, laying down beside her. "We're all worried about you."
"Don't be. You're wasting your time. I don't need anyone's pity right now."
"R-Right…"
"He's a great cuddler by the way. Shadow."
"Is that what that was? This 'cuddling'?"
"When you've been friends for as long as we have, cuddling is never weird."
"Really?"
"Well. He was awkward at first, I'll tell you that much."
"Don't people do the 'cuddling' when they...when…?"
"They can. But friends can also cuddle, depending on how close you are with that person and your comfort zones."
"I'm guessing it takes a lot for you to get uncomfortable." Tikal giggled.
Rouge laughed with her. "You got that right."
Tikal wrapped her arms around the bat, the latter of the two mirroring her actions. "Is this alright?"
"Yes. You catch on quicker than he does."
She smiled. "You two are closer than I thought."
"He's all I have."
"That's not true!"
"Oh?"
"You have us! Your friends! I-I mean...if you consider us friends…"
"Honey, if I didn't consider you a friend, I wouldn't have let you touch me. Or tell you how to get with my best friend."
"M-Me? And Shadow?" Tikal's heartbeat steadily began to increase. "You never said -"
"But you want to. Don't you?"
"...You are in an emotional state right now. You're not thinking clearly. You're...you're just covering up what you're really feeling by distracting yourself with other people and their love lives!"
"You and Shadow have a love life?"
Rouge was clearly enjoying this.
"Yes. I-I mean no! Not at all!"
"Alriiight," Rouge sang teasingly. "It's okay if you do, I mean, make sure he knows honey. Don't be like me."
"Is it true that you used to have feelings for him?" The question was a hushed whisper.
The answer came just as quietly. "Yes."
"Did he...know? Before…?"
"Yes."
"What happened?"
"It's a long story, sweetie. Let's save it for another day, when I don't wanna binge ice cream."
Tikal nodded. "Okay. Do you want me to leave you alone so you can sleep?"
"I don't care."
Tikal chewed her bottom lip. Should she stay with her friend, or leave her alone like she wished earlier?
It's a tough decision, but...
"Please let me know if you need anything. You can call me on my communicator and I'll be up right away!"
"Thanks, honey."
"Goodnight, Rouge."
"Goodnight, Peaches."
"Sleep well."
Snorting, the ivory bat rolled over on her side, back now facing the standing echidna. "I doubt I will."
.
"Has anyone seen Knuckles?"
"Nope."
"I don't know where he went."
"He's not outside. I just checked the perimeter."
"He's not answering his communicator. Has anyone tried calling him?"
"Me."
"Me."
"Me."
"Nothing but static over here."
"He turned it off. I'm assuming he's offline. We won't be able to find him unless his communicator was on."
"Maybe he went for a walk?"
"Or to go punch a few trees? Maybe he wants to lay off some steam."
"Knuckles is gone?" Tikal reached the bottom of the steps, now worried again.
"Yeah," Amy said sadly.
"He'll come back," Sonic said. Maybe it was to reassure Amy and the others, or maybe it was to reassure himself.
"I know where he's goin'," Sticks spoke up, and all eyes flitted to her.
"Where?" Tails asked.
Her answer was automatic, without pause. "Angel Island."
Where on earth is this story going, you ask? I don't even know. But I have a good feeling of where I want it to end up.
Hey guys! I hope you haven't abandoned this story! I know it's been a while since my last update, but I hope you all are still here with me!
Before you ask any questions, I will clear up a few things.
1) Yes, Perci the Bandicoot will be in this story. Yes, she will be Knuckles' love interest. No, she and Rouge will not fight over Knuckles.
2) Yes, Rouge will be okay! :)
3) Sonic and Amy still don't know what the hell they are, but they're gonna continue to act cute around each other until they figure that out together.
4) There will be more interactions between the future romantic pairs in this fic, besides Sonic and Amy (Silver and Blaze, Shadow and Tikal to name a couple)
5) Sticks will end up with someone you don't expect, but you'll get a little taste of that next chapter.
6) And there is also a new love interest in store for Rouge...
Imma stop there before I reveal too much hehe.
Hit that review button if you liked it!
