Chapter 7: Where You Are

Rouge had finished packing her things and stood where her and Swift were once united in love. She now wore a teal tank top, tight black pants and boots. She turned from the beautiful ocean when she heard Swift's feet against the sand. Feeling the hurt through his smile, she wrapped him in a tight hug.

"You'll never know how far I'd go to keep you here with me," he declared in her arms, "but I know you have to do what you must."

"Just remember," she started as she looked at him, "I'll never regret that night we met."

He nodded slowly. "No matter what, I'll always love you."

"I know. I love you, too." She could feel the tears in her eyes as he kissed her. She reacted in sympathy and they shared one last kiss.

He finally broke the kiss after a few seconds. "Goodbye, Rouge." he said as he watched her stretch out her wings.

"Goodbye, Swift." her voice cracked as she took to the air.

---

When she finally saw the tall buildings of Station Square in her sight, visions of Knuckles took over her mind. The last thing she saw was his look of pure hurt at what she told him. All she could hope was that he had the heart to forgive her. She landed on the top of a tall brick building, desperately needing to hear his voice. It didn't take long for her to take out her cell and dial his number...

---

Sky was overwhelmed at Knux's decision to give him a chance, but something felt strange about it. His conscience was telling him to leave him alone so Knux could deal with the break-up on his own, but his inner desire was telling him to comfort him and never let him leave.

"Are you okay?" Knux asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, yeah..." Sky answered. "I just don't want you to leave..." he trailed off as his feelings were getting the best of him.

"Well, do something about it." Knux teased with a smirk.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Sky said before his lips finally touched his. After a few seconds, he could feel their tongues intertwining and it was the best feeling in the world. The intensity of the kiss caused Knux to rest his back against the couch while Sky was adjusting himself on top of him.

Sky didn't have to do anything else. He didn't care if Knux wanted him to take it slow, or if he really wanted him right then and there. It was a relief to know that he was winning the greatest prize of his life, which was moaning under him. This continued for minutes until he could feel a vibration between them. It tickled him, so he broke the kiss laughing and sat up.

Knux reached in his pants pocket and pulled out his cell phone. "Perfect time to have a vibrating cell phone, huh? I'll be right back, okay?" Sky nodded while continuing to laugh as Knux took the call from outside.

---

"Hello?" he greeted breathlessly as a result of his past actions.

"Knuckles, it's so great to hear your voice." his once true love responded.

His happiness changed to anger as he recognized Rouge's voice. "What do you want?" he demanded softly.

"I need to see you." Rouge replied with a sense of desperation.

"Now you need to see me. How about those nights when I needed you? Did you respond?" he asked with anger and hurt.

"I was wrong. You need to hear me out--"

"I don't need to hear anything!" he interrupted, "You hurt me, Rouge. I can't forgive you for that."

"Please, I know you still love me. I love you. We can work this out." Rouge assured him.

"Just meet me at my house. I'll let you talk, then you can pack your shit and leave." Knux concluded before he hung up the phone. He went back in the house to see Sky lying in the same spot he was in a few minutes ago. "I've got something to take care of." he announced.

"Already?" Sky groaned. "But we were just--"

"I know. Just bear with me, okay?" Knux persuaded.

"Anything for you." Sky answered with a smile. "I'll be waiting."

"Not for long." Knux said before leaving again.

"Let's hope not." Sky said to himself. "We've got a lot of catching up to do.."

---

Knux arrived at his door with doubts as he stuck his key in the lock before realizing the door was already unlocked. He had to remind himself to get his lock changed after she left. He walked in and didn't see Rouge anywhere downstairs. He gave a longing look upstairs before thinking, "She couldn't be up there..." His suspicion got the best of him, so he began to ascend the stairs. "She's probably packing her things, no worry." he kept thinking. He was surprised to see her sitting in the middle of the bed with her legs stretched out underneath her while she gazed out the window. "Get off my bed." he commanded as he rolled his eyes.

"Hey, this used to be my bed, too." she replied. "I was just reminiscing about the lovely times we had on this bed..."

"Don't start." he said bluntly. "I'm only here to talk. Start talking."

She sighed before looking at him. "I made the wrong choice, Knuckles. I hurt you. I'm sorry."

"Yeah? Well, what do you want me to do?" he asked impatiently.

"When I left, I realized how much I missed you. You've been nothing but true to me, and I want to do the same. I hope you can forgive me." she confessed.

"I can't. How can I forgive someone I don't trust?" he asked angrily.

"I'm sure it'll take a while to forgive, but I know you can't forget." Rouge said with a captivating smile.

Her alluring stare made the two sides of him go crazy. While his mind swore to him that he would never move from his spot from the door and avoid her seduction, his body was doing the exact opposite. Once he got to the edge of the bed, he finally stopped himself. "Oh no. That's not gonna work this time." he stated as he crossed his arms.

"What are you talking about? It's already working." Rouge said before grabbing his arm and pulling him on the bed next to her. She placed a hand on his chin and made him look into her eyes. "I know you miss me. I miss you too. Give me a chance to make everything up to you." she begged romantically.

He felt her hands caressing his back, and all the old feelings for her came back to him as he closed his eyes in relaxation. He wanted to touch her and kiss her like they used to, but he wanted to clear one thing up. He opened his eyes and stared at her. "What if I told you that I'm with someone else?"

She looked surprised for a second, but replied with "I'm sure whoever it is can't do this." before she enticed him with her lips on his neck. She purposely teased the spot just below his chin on the right side like she always did when she wanted it her way. She smiled victoriously as she heard his satisfied response.

"We haven't finished talking yet." he said while gently pushing her away. "I can't deny that I miss you and that I still love you." he confessed. "And I--" he stopped when he looked into her eyes. He could see the aqua in the tears he cried the other night. He thought of Sky and how he never turned his back on him and how he was patiently waiting for him to come back. He knew he could never betray him, like his own love did. He took a deep breath and sighed, "I can't do this. You have to leave."

"Wait, what? Why?" Rouge asked dumbfounded. "I thought you said--"

Knux interrupted, "I don't care what I said. What matters is that you have to get your stuff and leave. We're over." he confirmed while standing up.

Rouge gave him a look of denial. "I know you don't mean that."

Knux's eyes widened with anger. "Are you deaf? I said get the hell out!" he yelled.

"What do I have to do to convince you to forgive me?" she yelled between tears.

"I forgive you, Rouge, and I should be thanking you for making me realize what love is. It's being there for someone regardless of the situation and trying your best to make it better for them. You weren't an example of that, and now I've found someone who is. I told you that you had your chance, but you blew it. If you miss me, that's your own damn fault. I'm not gonna be your second choice. You can just forget it." He sighed while trying to ignore the hurt in her eyes. "Just leave, please." he whispered.

A single tear fell from his eye at the bluntness of his words and her silently packing for good. Before she left the room, she gave a longing look toward him. He slowly turned away and pretended to stare at the window. When he heard her leave, he was relieved. A few moments later, he could see her on the porch walking towards the grass out front and welcoming the sky with her wings. The memories of her seemed to fade as she did the same in the sky...

---

(A/N: Hmm, let's see if anyone can get the sick and twisted meaning in this next section. I know this is drama/romance, but I couldn't resist the quick humor...Enjoy!)

Sonic woke up to complete darkness on the couch. He looked around to see that all the blinds were closed, blocking out the sunlight from outside. He began adjusting himself on the couch before he felt something warm and hard against his back. As he scooted back against the side of the couch, he felt it moving with him. He let out a loud moan. "Oh Shadow..."

Shadow heard his name from the kitchen and he went in the living room to see what was going on. "What Sonic?"

"Huh?" Sonic asked, confused. "Shadow, where are you?"

"I'm right here." Shadow said from the doorway as he flipped on the light.

Sonic still looked confused. "Wait, if you're right there, then what..." he trailed off as he rolled over and saw Shad's cell phone from where he was once laying. He tried to hide his embarrassment by looking at the couch and wondering what else was under there.

"Great, I leave for one second and you wanna get it on without me." Shad joked sarcastically.

"Shut up." Sonic whined playfully. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"I'm not telling." Shad said in a singsong tone.

Sonic sighed. "Do we have to go through the confessional again?"

Shad gave him a questioning look. "What 'confessional'?"

Sonic pulled a random object out of the couch and slinked up to Shad's side. "I think I'm the one who's supposed to be asking the questions here."

Shad could feel the snugness of the handcuffs around his wrists and winced slightly. "Is this a sick and twisted way of saying that you love me?"

Sonic rolled his eyes as he dragged Shadow upstairs. "You know what? You ask too many questions..."

(A/N: I know that had nothing to do with the plot, but I don't care...)

---

Sky had his eyes closed as he lay on the couch waiting for Knux to come back. He could almost feel his warmth against him and it drove him wild. "If only he could come back sooner..." he thought.

When he finally heard the door open, his spirits rose higher as he saw Knux. "Hey, I missed you..." he greeted.

"Same here." Knux agreed while putting his arms around Sky's shoulders, bringing him closer.

"So, what did you have to do?" Sky asked. He listened attentively as Knux told him everything from the phone call to watching Rouge leave. "Well, I'm glad you cleared everything up with her."

"And I'm glad that you're always here for me and letting me know where I belong." Knux said before leaning in for a kiss.

Sky stopped him and asked, "So when you were talking about love, you were talking about me, right?"

"Who else would I be talking about? You're the only one who's proved that to me." he declared. "Now I know that all the things I said last night were true, but I forgot one thing." he said as he pulled Sky even closer.

"And what's that?" Sky asked questioningly.

"You're an awesome kisser." Knux complimented as their faces met.

"What are you waiting for? Watch me work." Sky joked before kissing him again.

---