Chapter 4: Indecent Proposal

Knuckles and Rouge walked into the restaurant hand in hand, hearing applause from the guests as they made their entrance. Rouge smiled mildly at their audience as Knuckles searched for a table. They smiled back as she looked into everyone's cheerful expressions. Her smile faded as she looked into the eyes of her lover standing in a corner. Her concentration on her audience faded as she examined his intense gaze, but it returned in response to Knux gently tugging her arm.

"Rouge? Are you alright?" he whispered gently to her.

She faced him with a half smile on her face. "Yeah, this just blows my mind. How did you do all this?"

"I guess I have connections." he replied with a slick smile as his grip on her hand relaxed.

"You don't cease to surprise me, knucklehead." Rouge commented as she tightened her grip on his hand as a signal to her lover from afar.

Knux's smile changed into a sexy snicker. "You better watch out. I just might take your breath away."

"I think you already did that." Rouge sweet-talked back.

"You haven't seen anything yet." Knux said as he led her in the direction of the table where Sky, Shadow, and Sonic were sitting.

Rouge quickly looked back to her lover and saw the urgency in his glare. He motioned her to come over before she turned her head back around. She sighed silently as she stopped in her tracks. Knux gave her a curious look as they stopped again. "I need to clear something up. I'll meet you over there, okay?" Knux nodded as she went in the opposite direction.

Sky looked back just in time to see Knux coming toward their table. He quickly turned back in fear of what he had to do. Sonic and Shadow both gave him reassuring glances as he pretended to examine the pretty white tablecloth. He sighed as he slowly rose to his feet and faced Knux.

Knux beamed as he took in the large quantity of people in the room. "I don't know how you did this, but I definitely owe you."

Silence from his friend caused him to see the uneasiness in Sky's face. "Speaking of that, can we talk...alone?"

"Uh, sure." Knux replied hesitantly. "C'mon." he said as he led the way outside. There was a warm breeze as they walked towards the side of the restaurant. The only light they could see was the dim purple light of the restaurant sign. Knux casually leaned against the brick wall, now facing Sky. "So, what's going on?"

Sky straightened his back and clasped his shaky hands together nervously, looking across the street before speaking. "I've got to tell you something before you go through with this."

Knux's concern grew more serious as there was an awkward silence between them. "Okay, so tell me."

Sky's heart rose into his throat while his breath quickened. He sighed to himself, feeling the cold sweat forming on his forehead. "I, um-The truth is, I-uh-I mean..." he tried to form sentences, but his attempt failed. He could feel the tears stinging his eyes as he turned away from Knux.

Knux put his hands on Sky's shoulders and gently turned him back around. He gave him a warm smile as his eyes sparkled in the night. "Just relax. Take a deep breath, and tell me what's on your mind."

Sky didn't know what to do at this point. Without thinking, he put his arms around Knux and buried his head in his chest. "This is so hard for me to do, Knuckles."

"Well, you don't have to tell me now." Knux assured him, not minding their close contact.

Sky finally let go of him and heaved a big sigh, trying to get himself together. "Yeah, I do. It's now or never." He looked into his shining eyes, gradually losing control of himself. The respect of their friendship disappeared in his mind instantly, and he could feel the space between them closing in. Before Knux could stop him, his lips pressed against his. He could feel the need coursing through him, which was something he hadn't felt in a long time. To his surprise, Knux didn't push him away. The control he had over his crush gave him a sense of euphoria. As their tongues touched, everything came back to him suddenly.

He broke the kiss, feeling his cheeks flush. His eyes quickly left Knux's in pure embarrassment and guilt. "I'm so sorry. That wasn't supposed to happen. I..." With that said, he couldn't speak at all anymore. He backed away, and soon broke off in a run as he felt the tears flow down his face.

Knux tried to call out to him, but it was too late. Sky was gone. His blurred vision from the kiss soon faded and he had to press his hands against the wall in order to keep his balance on the ground. "Damn..." was all he could say at the moment.

Rouge looked frantically from the restaurant to the street, where she and her lover stood. "What are you doing?" she whispered as he pulled her through the darkness. It began to rain when they approached the sidewalk across the street. "Great, now I'm ruining my dress." she huffed while folding her arms across her chest.

He shook the thought off. "Well, I can just buy you a new one." he assured her with a smile.

Her voice heightened, but quickly lowered to a whisper as she realized their risky situation. "What am I supposed to tell him? I shouldn't even be out here!"

He placed his forehead gently against hers while looking into her eyes. His serious glare melted into a playful smile. "You're not going to tell him anything. This is just between us, right?"

His cool breath tickled her nose, making her smile. "Yeah..." she sighed.

"And besides, I like it better when I'm making you all wet." he rolled smoothly off his tongue. She giggled at the double meaning as his hands trailed her waist. He took her by surprise as he slipped his tongue in her mouth, kissing her deeply. She put her hands on his back and followed his lead. She broke the kiss as his hands went up to her chest. "We can't do this now."

He gave a fake pout, followed by a slick smile as his hands slid back to her waist. "C'mon, it'll be just like old times. Remember the first time we met?" She recalled that special night, but the weird thing was that she could never remember what happened during the day before she met him. She nodded to him in reply.

"I have everything planned out. It's gonna be all about you tonight." he rasped and began leaning in for another kiss.

She put a finger on his lips to halt his move. "You're jealous of him, aren't you?" she asked out of the blue.

He gave her a weird look and dismissed the thought, shaking his head. "Nah, I mean, you still come back to me. That proves something, right?"

"True." she agreed.

"Well, let's go then." he confirmed before taking her hand.

"Wait." she said, looking to the restaurant. "I can't leave like this. I'm supposed to be in there."

His powerful green eyes flashed with lusty control. "Don't you love me?" he asked with passion.

There was a long silence before she answered. "Yes, I do..."

He looked to the stars and back to her. "Then run away with me."

She gave him a startled look. "What?"

"You love to travel. We can see the world together." he assured her.

The thought of leaving Station Square put a smile on her face. "Visit exotic places..." she droned dreamily.

"And make love all damn day." he added.

She moaned softly as he began kissing her neck. She gently pushed him away as she gained her composure.

"So are you up for it? We can leave tonight. Just say the word." He took her hands in his and waited for her answer.

Her eyes filled with tears at his comforting intentions and the love she was possibly leaving behind. Doubt filled her mind about leaving as her thoughts went back to Knuckles.

"I'll never ask for anything from you again. Just please, do this for me. I feel like I can't live without you," he pleaded.

She could see the hopeless love she never thought she'd see in his eyes. This whole time, she thought their relationship was strictly non-committal. The meaning changed instantly when she started to feel the same love for him. "I'll go with you, but I have to tell him before we leave." she confirmed.

"Whatever you want." he said, taking her in his arms. She hugged him back and let go, knowing now what she had to do. The tears finally fell as she felt the pain she was going to bring on Knuckles. He gave her a look of sympathy. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Don't be." she whispered back before walking back towards the restaurant.

Knux's mind was still out of place when he neared the restaurant entrance. Before he had the chance to go in, he heard the familiar scraping of Rouge's open-toed shoes behind him. He turned around to see Rouge's tear- stained face. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked.

She took a deep breath and sighed before answering. "I have to tell you something, Knuckles."

Knux took her in his arms. "Everything's going to be alright, just tell me what happened."

She didn't have the guts to look at him as she confessed. "I-I'm in love with someone else."

The restaurant was full of cheerful chatter for the occasion, though no one had any idea what was happening outside.

"What's taking Sky so long?" Sonic asked impatiently.

"Maybe they're making out by now." Shadow replied as he glanced at the window. He could see Knux and Rouge outside, but something didn't look right.

"Nah, Knux wouldn't do that to Rouge." Sonic disagreed.

"Wait, what's happening?" Shadow asked curiously as he stood up.

"Huh?" Sonic asked, confused.

"Stay here." Shad said as he glided towards the door and peered through the window.

He backed away a few steps, not believing what he just heard.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, honest. I don't know what came over me, I just-- "

"How long?" he asked her calmly without looking at her. She was silent as she felt his pain. He looked up, making her see the hurt and anger in his eyes. "How long?" he asked again, now raising his voice.

"S-Six months." she answered shakily.

Knux could've sworn this was his worst nightmare. He didn't know where to start. "What did I do wrong to deserve this?"

"Nothing..." she whispered.

"I trusted you! All those times you were gone, it was him, wasn't it?" he waited for an answer. "Well?" he asked impatiently.

"Please, don't--" she pleaded.

"Don't what? Go crazy, maybe? Well, it's too late for that! Before you walk out of my life forever, I have something to say." He hesitated as felt the tears stinging in his eyes. "Did you know that you were my world? I felt like I couldn't go on without you. That was why I was going to propose to you tonight." He fumbled in his suit pockets for the ring box and showed her the beautiful ring inside. She gasped at the sight before he quickly closed the box. "Do you remember that night I took you to Angel Island for the first time?"

Her voice cracked as she spoke. "How could I forget?"

"I told you I loved you and you said that you loved me..." he said as his voice slowly melted into nothing.

"I still love you!" she cried.

"What difference does it make? The love you have for him will never compare to the love I have for you. You remember that," he said in a slightly steady tone. He turned his back to her, hiding his tears. "I can't even look at you anymore."

"I'm sorry, Knuckles." Rouge whispered.

"No, I should be sorry, sorry that I thought I could love and be loved by someone."

"You--" Rouge started.

"Goodbye, Rouge." Knuckles finished, still facing the opposite direction.

"I wish you luck, Knuckles. Goodbye." She reached out to touch him, but she retracted her hand at the last minute. "I'm sorry..." That was the last thing he heard before she walked away. As he turned back around, she disappeared around a corner. He felt numb as he fell to his knees and let the rain beat on him and his broken heart.