All Amy could do was look on in complete and utter disbelief as Knuckles sat next to what was once an entire pie. The red echidna had tried one small piece of the banana cream pie to see if he would like some more. Much to Amy's shock, Knuckles devoured the slice once he tasted it. She had never seen anyone inhale something so quickly. Silently Amy mourned for Tails as the poor fox sat in what had to be a personal hell. Not only had the guardian stolen Cream's heart, but the echidna had also stolen an entire pie.
"Would anyone like a slice of pie?" The angelic tone broke the silence from the kitchen where Cream and Vanilla had been doing dishes. Tails and Amy had insisted to do the cleaning but Vanilla had been unnaturally forceful in convincing the two to let her and Cream take care of the dishes.
Completely derailed by the loss of an entire pie, Tails had to force a response, "If it wouldn't trouble you then I would like one…"
Though Amy didn't have quite the appetite for deserts like Tails and Knuckles, she did have a fondness for her confections. "I'll take one, but you two should really come in here and relax. Tonight is a celebration of your return and you shouldn't be the one to do all the work."
"Nonsense, we'll handle it." Though Vanilla's reply came in the exact same tone as her previous question, an undertone of authority carried what appeared to be an order to Amy.
That was something the pink hedgehog just couldn't understand completely. What did Vanilla find so soothing about cleaning? It was just beyond everything.
"How about you Knuckles, would you like some slices?" Cream's voice matched her mother's in the near heavenly tone that carried her words. Amy was incredibly jealous of the rabbits. She'd kill to have their voices.
Before Tails could object, Knuckles stood abruptly. Pie crumbs tumbled from the echidna's broad chest as he stretched his back, a distinct crack resounding from within the guardian's back. "I'm fine for now," the words were followed by a grunt of satisfaction. One of Knuckles least attractive habits was his tendency to crack his joints.
Once his prolonged grunt was complete, the echidna strode casually into the kitchen without even a single word in respect to either Tails or Amy.
The very second Knuckles was out of earshot the young fox sounded off, carefully venting his hidden frustrations, "I forgot how charming he could be." Amy couldn't help but laugh. Despite Cream's evident efforts to domesticate the guardian, the stubborn echidna retained a vast collection of his socially ignorant habits.
As Tails started to laugh, Knuckles returned to the sitting room –a scowl directed to the giggling fox– carrying a bowl filled to the brim with grapes. Amy recognized them immediately as the delicious natural fruit of Angel Island. Knuckles' grapes were renowned amongst the group for their large size and extra tang of flavor. She had to have one.
"You'd better be ready to share those."
A fierce purple eye pierced directly into Amy's eye as the echidna plopped down onto a couch. "Who said I was going to?"
"I did and I'm sure my hammer would agree with me."
Seconds passed by as the awkward silence between Amy and Knuckles continued. Tails actually braced himself for some rather volatile minutes as the stare down waged onward. It had been over a year since anyone had actually seen Amy with her infamous hammer, but the fox was well aware of the damage it was capable of and his frail house was going to be a definite victim should the weapon make an appearance.
Annoyed at the stubbornness of her opponent, Amy opened her mouth to once again threaten the guardian. Suddenly a grape landed directly onto the pink hedgehog's tongue, stopping her cold in her tracks. Emerald green eyes flared in surprise as Knuckles smirked victoriously.
Sighing in relief, Tails relaxed greatly as the continued health of his humble abode was assured. "Nice shot." Tails' words sunk in as Amy slowly came to realize that the echidna had flicked the succulent fruit into her mouth before biting down into the wondrous grape. Laughing then erupted from both Tails and Knuckles as the pink hedgehog's face contorted itself in pleasure over the flavor.
"Sorry to keep you waiting everybody," Cream's words rung out sweetly as she hurriedly stepped into the room carrying two plates with slices of pie on them. "Now, who wanted the slices?" Tails' hand immediately shot into the air in anticipation of what had quickly become his favorite desert. Giggling at Tails' eagerness, the young rabbit happily handed off one plate to the fox. Spinning with the gracefulness of a dancer, Cream passed on the second plate to Amy. With a large smile, she gently sat down next to Knuckles on the couch.
The silence was immediately broken by Cream once she turned to see what was left of Knuckles' pie. Amazement sank in as she admired the sight of what was once a pie. "Wow, those must be really good if you three have already finished one."
Eyeing her slice hungrily, Amy couldn't help but smirk evilly. The echidna may have shut her up with a well place grape, but he would have to sit and take Cream's anger like a big boy. After all, it wasn't very gentlemanly for someone to completely desecrate a pie. "Actually, Knuckles is to blame for that mess. He got one taste of my confection of perfection and pigged himself out on the rest of it."
Cream's usually docile eyes turned furiously up at the echidna that sat next to her. It was a rare feat for her to actually exhibit her hidden rage. Feeling the horror the future now held for him, Knuckles looked nervously into his admirer's eyes. As tough as the guardian was, he didn't want to be scolded for his lack of socially acceptable behavior. Fear gripped the room as the young rabbit's lips parted for speech. Tails couldn't wait to see the stubborn echidna to get what he deserved and Amy was eager to watch the show. "You brought grapes? From Angel Island?"
Taken aback by the observation, Knuckles nodded slowly before handing over one of the large grapes. "I brought them especially for you…" Amy and Tails rolled their eyes as the crimson echidna fibbed his way to safety. The tension in the room immediately defused upon Cream ingesting a grape.