"Man, you went all out, huh?" Tails said as he looked at the six pizza boxes spread across his dining room table.

Knuckles smiled. "I had coupons that were about to expire. Figured I might as well use them." Knuckles pointed to each of the boxes as he called them out. "We've got meat lovers, pepperoni and mushrooms, classic pepperoni, extra pepperoni…" He paused on the second to last box. "This one's just entirely breadsticks, thought I'd mix it up." He shrugged, then pointed to the last box. "And of course, just plain cheese for the boring kid with no taste." Knuckles smirked after the last statement.

Tails smiled and rolled his eyes. "Not everyone's a meathead like you, Knuckles," he laughed. "But thanks, there's definitely gonna be leftovers."

"No problem bro. Let's eat!" The two dug into the boxes and filled up their plates. The two sat in silence for a bit just eating, both hungry after the long day. Two slice of cheese and three breadsticks later, Tails finally spoke up.

"So… what's going on between you and our friendly-neighborhood-government-employed-jewel-thief?" He said, raising his arms slightly, as if unsure of what he was even asking.

Knuckles stoped alternating between 4 different slices of pizza and paused, giving himself time to chew before sighing. "I don't know man," he said finally. "It's like she just doesn't care about me anymore, ya know? She says I'm boring. Plus, well…" A look of frustration dawned on the echidna warrior's face. "She's been putting the moves on the so-called 'ultimate lifeform' as of late. Right in front of my damn face, too."

Tails' shifted into one of sympathy. "Ah geez… that's awful. I'm sorry you're going through that, man. Are you gonna break up?"

Knuckles leaned back in his chair. "That's why I'm here, actually. I kicked her out. She's moving all her stuff out of my house right now." He gave a bitter, fake smile. "At some point tomorrow, Angel Island's population is gonna tick down from two back to one again."

Tails took a moment to process the information before speaking up again. "I'm really sorry, Knuckles. If you want, I can come stay over at your place to keep you company sometime. Last thing I want is you to feel lonely. I'm sure Sonic wouldn't mind coming over either." Tails thought for a moment, before continuing, "…Maybe the Chaotix as well? I know you like to hang out with them from time to time."

Knuckles smiled. "Thanks man, I appreciate your concerns. But really, I'll be fine." His face suddenly became very stoic. "Looking back, she was always getting in the way of my training. Hell, I think I gained some weight since she moved in, making me all those big meals and stuff…" He crossed his arms and closed his eyes, smirking. "Yeah, honestly it will be great to have some alone time. Who needs her anyways? Not me. I can guard the Master Emerald and take care of myself no problem."

Tails blinked a few times, before realization set in. "Oh, wait I get it," he said, mostly to himself. "You didn't break up with her, she broke up with you."

A silence hung in the air for a few minutes, until finally, Knuckles slowly looked up, opening his eyes. "Bruh…" he said, his voice shaking a little. "Is it really that easy to read me?" His eyes started to water, and soon tears were running down his cheek. Tails was taken aback. The last time he had seen him cry was when Tikal went away. He got up out of his chair and ran to the other side of the table to console his friend.

"There, there man," Tails said as he patted his friend on the shoulder. "I know what that feels like."

Knuckles sunk down to the table. "I-I just… what am I doing wrong, bro?" He said in between sobs. "I still love her, damn it! Why doesn't she love me anymore, man?! Why?!" He slammed his fist on the table, causing the plates and boxes to jump off the table for a second. "It's not fair, man… it's just not fair." Knuckles began to take bites out of the pizza slices left on his plate in between sobs as Tails rubbed his shoulder to comfort him.

After a few minutes, Knuckles lifted his head and dried his eyes. He hit his chest and cleared his throat. "I, uh…" he spoke in a low voice. "I'm sorry you had to see me like that."

Tails smiled. "It's alright man. It's good to let out your emotions every now and then."

"Yeah, I just don't like people seeing me all teary-eyed. I just…" Knuckles sniffed. "I just don't want people thinking I'm a big softie, ya know? Goes against the tough guardian thing I got going on."

Tails laughed. "I don't think having emotions makes you a softie, Knux. If anything it makes you more empathetic."

Knuckles gave a puzzled look, to which Tails clarified, "You know, like, uhh… relatable! Yeah, that works. Relatable."

Knuckles smiled. "Thanks man. I just don't like talking about how I feel I guess, feels weird and awkward."

Tails nodded. "Yeah, I get that, Knux, really I do. But do you know what happens when you don't talk to someone about stuff like this? You end up like how I was for two years."

"You mean after you and Cream broke up?"

"After she broke up with me, you mean."

Knuckles nodded. "Uh, right, yeah. What a coincidence."

Knuckles scratched the back of his head, thinking, before he finally spoke up. "So… if I don't talk about my feelings, I'm gonna start wearing like, a spike collar and gloves with spikes on them?"

Tails' face flushed as memories he had tried suppress came flooding back to the surface.

"…And start listening to grunge and alternative and progressive rock?" Knuckles continued. "And wear black shirts with band names on them? Will I start styling my hair differently and start wearing black eye shadow and lipst-"

"ALRIGHT, I GET IT!" Tails snapped.

Knuckles burst out in laughter. "I'm just teasing ya, bro," he said as he ruffled Tails' hair. "But on a serious note, what do you mean?"

Tails let out an annoyed sigh before answering him. "Well, I mean like, you know. Remember how I kinda shut out everyone from my life, even Sonic? I kept not answering calls and stuff and pretending I wasn't home when you all showed up."

Knuckles scratched his head. "That was because of the break up? I thought that was because you were so invested in working on your planes."

Tails shook his head. "I was working on my planes as a way of avoiding dealing with my emotions. That whole break up… everything about the last few months of our relationship… it just hurt. I didn't want to face that hurt, so I buried myself in my work. I was worried the world would hurt me like that again, so isolated myself. Sometimes I went days without eating."

Knuckles have a sympathetic look to Tails. "Damn, bro… I had no idea you were going through all that. If I'd known, I would've tried to be there for ya more."

Tails smiled. "Thanks Knux, but it's alright. You didn't know, so no need beating yourself up over it. The point is, you should definitely talk to your friends about this stuff. It'll be better for you in the long run trust me."

Knuckles nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I gotta learn to be more in tune with my emotions and stuff." He smiled at Tails, before scratching his head. "Say, what got you out of that funk anyways?"

Tails grew stiff. He was afraid of this. He wanted to lie or avoid the topic, but even though Knuckles wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, he was far from the dullest either. "W-well…" Tails said, pretending to think about it. "I… yeah, I think it was Amy."

Knuckles raised an eyebrow. "Amy? How'd she get you out of that funk?"

Tails cleared his throat. "Well, uh, you know how… persistent she is." Tails laughed nervously.

"Go on," Knuckles replied.

"Well… after a few months most of you had stopped coming by or calling or messaging me. Not her though, no she'd call me more than once a day to check in on me and wait outside my house for hours so she could try and catch me either coming home or leaving. Sometimes she'd leave me some treats she'd baked on my doorstep." Tails let out a deep sigh before continuing. "Then, one day, after months of this going on, she spotted me in the window. I tried to hide, but it didn't work. I remember what happened next so vividly…"

Tails dived to the floor the second he saw her look at him. He crawled behind the couch to ensure he wasn't visible at all, but it was too late. She knocked on his front door. "Tails?" Amy asked, her voice soft and full of concern. Tails didn't speak up. He tried to slow his breathing down to avoid being heard, but the fear of being seen by his friend had caused his adrenaline to spike. "Tails, I know you're in there. I saw you in the window." Tails sighed, knowing the jig was up. Still, he couldn't bring himself to answer the door.

After she got no response, she spoke again. "Look, you don't have to answer me. That's fine. I just… I want you to know that I'm worried about you. Knuckles is worried about you. Sonic is worried about you. Everyone is. You haven't been answering our messages or calls, you act like you're never home but most of the time I can tell you're there, I just-" Her voice got chocked up. "I just want to know what's wrong, Tails. I want you to be ok. You can talk to me. I'm your friend." Tails felt awful just listening to her and not saying anything, but he couldn't speak. He was frozen. A breathing statue lying on the floor behind his couch.

After a few minutes, she sighed. "Maybe I'm just annoying you. I'm sorry, Tails. I won't bother you anymore." He could hear the defeated tone in her voice, and he hated it. "Goodbye, Tails." There was finality in her voice, he could tell. She was really throwing in the towel. He had done what he thought was impossible- he had made her truly give up on him. For some reason, that very idea sat with him so poorly, it made him act without thinking. He jumped over the couch and sprinted over to his front door, slamming into it. He hastily opened the door and pushed it open.

Any turned to face him. There was a look of surprise resting on her sad, watery emerald eyes. That surprise soon turned to shock as she saw just how disheveled her friend's appearance had become. She ran up to him, putting her hands on his shoulders. "Tails, you're a mess!" She said with concern. "What happened to you?!" Tails didn't saying anything. He just stared into her eyes, taking in every detail of her concerned face. His vision began to blur, and he closed his eyes and embraced her tightly.

Amy was thrown off by her friend suddenly hugging her and bursting into tears on her shoulder, but soon enough she was hugging him back. She patted and rubbed his back, letting him stand there and cry. Time marched on for who knows how long, and she didn't say a word. Finally, Tails pulled back, staring at the ground. "Do you feel better?" She asked softly. He didn't know how to respond, so he didn't. "Come on, let's go inside and talk." She put her arms around his shoulders and guided him back inside his home.

"So then we talked," Tails said. "I vented everything about the relationship, the break up, how I was feeling, everything. She didn't interrupt. She never told me to stop crying and get on with it. She just listened." A warm smile crept across his face. "She made me dinner and spent the night in my guest room to keep me company. After that we started hanging out more." At this point, a big, dumb, lovey-dovey smile was plastered on his face. "She came over every day, just to talk and hang out with me. She encouraged me to start talking to everyone else again. She took me places to get me outside the house. Overall, she just did what she did best- care for her friends. That's the best part about her, Knux- she cares."

Knuckles took in everything Tails said and nodded. "Yeah, she's a great friend to have. I'm glad she was able to help you when we couldn't."

"It's not like you guys didn't help me at all, don't get me wrong," Tails said quickly. "It's just that, you know she's got a natural caring personality and all that. It's like, you know, second nature to her. She's just kind of…" he paused, before letting out a deep sigh. "She's just kind of amazing like that."

Knuckles finally put two and two together. "Tails," he said with a serious tone of voice. "You got a thing for her, don't you?"

Tails blushed. "Ha, what? Me? Her? Nooo, she's uh… you know… a fashion designer and whatnot. Totally incompatible with a nerdy mechanic and whatnoOOOTT-!"

Tails was thrown off guard by Knuckles grabbing a hold of his collar and pulling him forward. "Don't you go lyin' to me, Miles," Knuckles said with a gruff voice. "You like Amy Rose, don't you?"

Tails gulped as he stared into his friend's fierce eyes. "Y-yeah…" he nervously blurted out. "I-I do, ok? I have thing for Amy Rose. You caught me!"

Knuckles closed his eyes and breathed in slowly, then breathed out. "I…" he said slowly. Tails closed his eyes in fear, not knowing what to expect.

Knuckles let go of Tails and shot up out of his chair, his eyes bursting open and a big, toothy grin plastered across his face. "I KNEW IT!" he screamed.

Tails opened one eye. "Huh?" He asked with confusion.

Knuckles danced around the table. "I KNEW IT! I CALLED IT! I CALLED IT!" Knuckles laughed like a drunken fool.

"Is- is it that obvious…?" Tails asked as he stood up straight and relaxed.

"You're good at hiding things, fox boy, but nothing slips past me!" He paused for a second. "… Except Eggman and Rouge those couple dozen or so times, but those don't count. The point is, I knew you had a thing for that hammer-wielding fangirl and I was dead on the money!"

"She is waaaayyyy more than just a fangirl, thank you very much," Tails scoffed.

"I know, I know, calm down, lover boy," the echidna said as he stifled a laugh. "So, when are you gonna ask her out?"

"Uhh… I don't know, I haven't even told her how I feel yet, man."

"Why don't you ask her out right now? Give her a call, she's probably off work by now."

Tails glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already 9:12 PM. "Uhh, I don't know man, it's kinda late for calling people. Plus, I'm not ready to ask her out on a date like, at all."

Knuckles stroked his chin. "Well, when was the last time you saw her?"

Tails thought for a moment. "About… yeah about a month ago, when we all had that get-together dinner."

Knuckles shrugged. "Then call her and ask if you can hang out soon. Get closer to her and stuff. You know, speak to her like she's a person and also your friend. Shouldn't be that hard, considering she's both of those things."

Tails sighed. "It's not that easy, Knux."

"Sure it is, watch." Knuckles reached into his pocket and pulled his phone. Before tails could react, he called Amy.

"Hello?" a voice on the other line.

"What's up Amy?! How's the fashion biz?"

"Oh, hey Knuckles! Yeah, work is good, my newest line is a smash hit! I'm already thinking of ideas for my next collection. How are things on your end? Rouge told me about the break-up. How are you handling it?"

"Oh yeah, I'm doing alright, I'm crashing at Tails' place while she moves all her stuff out. He actually just got done consoling me about the break up stuff. He's a pretty smart guy when it comes to that stuff. Totally gets all the emotional stuff." Knuckles smirked at Tails, who responded by angrily miming a strangling motion.

"Oh, I see. That's nice of him! He's really sweet, I'm glad he's taking care of a friend."

Tails blushed furiously after hearing her call him sweet, something Knuckles picked up on instantly.

"Yeah, he's a real bro letting me chill here. Hey you wanna talk to him? He's in the room."

Tails shook his head furiously, desperately trying to get his friend to change his mind.

"Oh, sure! I'd love to!"

Tails punched his leg in pure frustration.

"Alright cool, I'll call him over," Knuckles responded. He pulled the phone away and yelled "AY YO, MILES! AMY'S ON THE PHONE, GET OVER HERE!" despite the fact Tails was just a foot away from him.

Tails let out a deep, long sigh before walking over and snatching the phone from him.

"I hate you," Tails whispered to Knuckles. He slowly put the phone to his ear and let out a shaky, "H-hello?"

"Hey Tails, good to hear you!" Amy said on the other line.

"Yeah, good to hear you too. How have you been?"

"Oh, I've been well. I've been designing some new clothes and trying to come up with themes for my next launch. I've got one idea in mind, but I'm not so sure on it… ah well. How about you?"

"Oh, you know, just fixing planes and working on projects for my clients. You know the usual."

Knuckles coughed slightly. Tails looked over at him, only to see him crossing his arms and tapping his foot. Tails exhaled slightly.

"Uh, hey," Tails said nervously, "we haven't seen each other in a hot minute. Did you wanna hang out this weekend or something?"

"Ooo, that sounds like fun!" Amy squealed. "You know, I was just thinking that we should hang out soon. I'll swing by your place at around noon this Saturday, ok?"

"Yeah, that sounds great! I'll see you then!"

"Awesome! Is Knuckles still there?"

"Ah no, he went to the restroom. I don't think he'll be out for a while." Tails flashed and devilish grin at Knuckles, who was caught off guard by what he said.

"Oh… I see. Well, I'll just hang up now and talk to him later. Bye Tails, see you Saturday!"

"See you Saturday!" Tails said before hanging up.

Knuckles walked over to him and violently ripped his phone out of his hands. "Dude, why'd you make it sound like I was constipated?!" Annoyance was ever present in his voice.

"Consider it payback for pull that crap in the first place," Tails responded bitterly.

Knuckles shook his head. "Well, whatever. Point is, you're hanging out with her soon. Ain't that cool?"

Tails shrugged. "I mean yeah, but it's not like it's a date or anything…"

Knuckles put his hand on Tails' shoulder. "Baby steps, bro. You hang out with her more, build up that confidence you got buried deep inside you, then you tell her how you feel. You got me?"

Tails sighed. "Yeah, I gotcha man."

Knuckles shook his head. "I don't believe you."

A look of confusion washer over Tails' face. "Huh?"

"You heard me. I don't think you understand me in the slightest."

Tails was flabbergasted. "Wha- of course I do!"

"Oh yeah?" Knuckles challenged. "Then repeat it back to me. Go on, do it. I freaking dare you."

Tails groaned. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Ugh… fine. Alright, so first I'll hang out with her some more…"

"Yeah…"

"Then I build up some confidence…"

"Like pillars in an ancient ruin."

"Then I tell her how I feel."

"Exactly. But first, you gotta tell the world."

Tails blinked. "What?"

"Yeah man, you gotta tell the world that you are in love," Knuckles said matter-of-factually. "You gotta let the whole damn world know that you are in love. It builds character."

"What? You're not making any sense."

"Come on man, do it! Tell the world!"

"I-"

Knuckles began to violently shake Tails. "TELL THE WORLD, DAMN IT! TELL THE WORLD! LOOK DEEP INSIDE AND DO IT, BRO!"

"Alright, alright! Get your hands off me!" Tails pushed Knuckles away and took a moment to catch his breath. Suddenly, he looked up at his friend and said, "I know now what I must do."

Tails sprinted out his front door and jumped off his front porch. He cupped his hands around his mouth and screamed, "HEY WORLD! I'M IN LOVE! YOU HEAR ME?! I'M IN LOVE!" He lowered his arms and began to hyperventilate from the energy used on his screams.

"WILL YOU SHUT THE HELL UP?!" A man from somewhere in the distance screamed. "I'M TRYING TO SLEEP!"

"HEY, SCREW YOU MAN!" Another guy in the distance yelled. "THE DUDE IS IN LOVE AND I THINK THAT'S BEAUTIFUL!"

"I DON'T CARE IF HE'S IN LOVE! I'M TRYING TO SLEEP!"

"LOVE IS A BEAUTIFUL THING, YOU SHOULD LEARN TO RESPECT IT!"

"LOVE IS OVERRATED! IF I WANT LOVE, I'LL GO TO THE CLUB IN CASINO NIGHT ZONE!"

"THAT AIN'T LOVE YOU INSENSITIVE PRICK! THAT'S LUST! IT'S ENTIRELY DIFFERENT!"

The two men's arguing went completely unnoticed by Tails, who had finally recovered from his hyperventilating. "Why…" he muttered. "Why do I feel so much better?"

Knuckles placed his hand on his shoulder and looked out into the night sky. "Because, bro, you told the world how you feel."

"Woah…" Tails exhaled.

The two friends took in the night air together, neither seeming to notice the two bickering men in the distance.

Author's Note: Here's a long one for you guys, hope you like it. Remember to Read & Review. Peace.