Here is the first of the four ending chapters! KnuxRouge lovers, this one's for you!

Disclaimer: Since Kit doesn't appear in this chapter, I own none of the characters in this chapter.

Chapter 7: Jewel of my Eye

Knuckles entered the hotel room once more after replaying his best apology in his head. He shut the door and his eyes wandered to the open bathroom door. Wait, it was open? That must have meant Rouge had left. Had she forgiven him and went looking to find him? Knuckles looked around the room noticing how quiet the room was.

"Rouge?" Knuckles called, "Batgirl?"

There was no sound, but the sound of his voice echoing through the room. Apparently Rouge wasn't here. Knuckles called her name once more and stuck his head out the door, looking up and down the hallway. Yet there was no sign of Rouge. Sighing, Knuckles shut the door again and sat down on the couch.

"Great, I finally get enough courage to come back up and apologize and she leaves. This just isn't my week." Knuckles muttered.

Guilt flooded him. He knew all this was his fault. He had never meant to make Rouge cry or hate him. Knuckles buried his face in his hands and growled. He knew of two things he could do. Wait for Rouge to come back or go looking for her. They would have to cross paths at some point. The hotel wasn't that big.

Knuckles sighed and walked out onto the balcony. He leaned on the railing and looked up in the sky. He closed his eyes and let the wind go by his face. He smiled as he felt the warm breeze rush by his face. He looked down at the ocean and the moon's reflection. His eyes wandered across the beach until they froze on a familiar figure. Knuckles looked closer and could faintly make out the figure as Rouge.

"R-Rouge?" Knuckles whispered.

Knuckles continued to stare at her for some time. If he could get down there quick enough, he could apologize to her before she ran away. Knuckles entered the room again and rushed out the door. As he entered the courtyard he noticed a patch of flowers. An idea then sparked in his head right then. He walked over to the patch and immediately noticed there was one rose that reminded him of Rouge. It was a purple tulip and in the moonlight it illuminated it with a silver tint.

"In the moonlight, it looks like Rouge's fur." Knuckles thought; picking up the flower.

He lifted the flower to his nose and smelled it. His smiled widened.

"It even smells like Rouge..."

Holding it tightly in his grasp, he took off down the path that would lead him to the beach. Upon arrival, he searched up and down the beach trying to find his favorite bat. After searching for several minutes, he saw Rouge standing in the same spot she was when he was watching her from the balcony. She was staring up in the sky with her arms crossed.

"She looks even more beautiful in the moonlight." Knuckles muttered to himself, "I hope she'll accept my apology." He added as he looked down at tulip.

He hid the tulip behind his back and after taking a big gulp, he slowly began to stride towards her. Knuckles arrived at her side in seconds. He looked up at the sky and tried to start a conversation.

"Nice night, huh?" he asked.

Rouge glanced at him and began to walk away. "Suddenly it just got worse."

"Ouch, low blow…" Knuckles muttered.

He quickly followed after her and grabbed her hand. "Rouge, please, listen for a moment."

Rouge turned around and sighed. "What?"

Knuckles bit his lip, twirling the tulip in between his hand. Rouge crossed her arms and began tapping her foot.

"Would you hurry up?" she huffed.

"Hang on, okay? This is really hard for me." Knuckles replied.

"What's hard for you? Understanding others feelings?"

"No, apologizing." Knuckles sighed.

Rouge cocked her head. "Go on."

Knuckles took her hand again and got on one knee. "Rouge, I'm really sorry for what I said earlier today. I never meant to make you so upset. I felt really guilty once I saw you cry. I never wanted you to cry. Rouge, all I'm trying to say is I'm sorry." Knuckles pulled out the flower from behind his back, "Do you accept my apology?"

Rouge took the flower from his hand.

"Thank you, but… I still don't believe you." Rouge muttered.

"W-What? B-But why? How can you not believe me? After all that?" Knuckles asked.

"Knuckles, what you said really hurt me. It's just hard to accept the fact that you're apologizing…" Rouge muttered; beginning to walk away.

Knuckles quickly hurried after her, keeping his footsteps as quiet as possible. Rouge's sensitive ears, however, picked up the sound.

"Would you quit following me?" Rouge asked.

Knuckles stopped in his tracks. He watched Rouge disappear into the hotel.

"Why doesn't she believe me? Did what I say really hurt her that much?" Knuckles asked himself.

He wasn't going to give up though. No, he wasn't one to give up this easily. Knuckles frowned before following after Rouge into the hotel. Rouge sighed again, hearing his footsteps and turned to face him.

"Didn't I tell you to go away?" Rouge asked.

"Yes you did, but-." Knuckles was cut off.

"They why won't you leave me alone?!" Rouge yelled.

"Because I'm trying to apologize!" Knuckles yelled back.

Rouge glared at him before walking away. "Just leave me alone." She muttered.

"No! I'm not going to leave you alone until you accept my apology!" Knuckles yelled.

Rouge spun around and glared at Knuckles, tears brimming her eyes.

"And what if I don't want to accept your apology? Are you just going to stalk me for the rest of my life?! I don't know how I ever could've fallen in love with you. I guess I thought you might like to actually have someone to talk to, but I guess your perfect, precious emerald is good enough for you!" Rouge yelled at him; the tears now beginning to roll down her face.

Rouge then took off running without waiting for a response. The people in the lobby stared at Knuckles for a moment before going back to what they were doing. Some continued to whisper about what had just happened. Knuckles growled before running after her. Rouge ran back into the room, hoping to get there quick enough to shut the door before Knuckles could get in, but Knuckles was right on her tail. Rouge walked to the middle of the room with her back facing Knuckles. Knuckles slowly walked towards her.

"Rouge, listen I-."

"Shut up…" Rouge sniffed.

"But-!"

"Shut… up!"

"Rouge, you don't understand! I-!"

Rouge spun around quickly. "No I understand perfectly Knuckles! You think some stupid, ancient, green rock is more important then me!" Rouge yelled; tears brimming her eyes once more.

"No, Rouge, that's not true! I do love you! I do!" Knuckles yelled.

"Prove it then!" Rouge cried.

"Okay, I will!"

Knuckles then grabbed Rouge by her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. He then pressed his lips against hers and kept them there. Knuckles' and Rouge's eyes slowly shut as they both fell deeper into the kiss. Rouge pushed Knuckles up against the wall leaning on him, getting as much as she could from the kiss. Knuckles ran his fingers through her hair as Rouge's hand ran down his cheek.

As the two continued their kiss, Knuckles began to taste Rouge's tears. His heart almost broke in two when he realized how bad he had hurt Rouge. He had never ever dreamed of making her cry. He pulled her into a protective hug, trying to convince her he was sincerely sorry. Rouge responded by wrapping her arms around his neck.

After several minutes, Knuckles and Rouge eased out of the kiss. Their eyes slowly opened as their lips finally parted. Knuckles pulled Rouge back in his arms and gazed into her eyes. Knuckles gave her a reassuring smile and Rouge couldn't help, but smile back.

"If I didn't love you, would I have just kissed you like that?" Knuckles asked.

Rouge pushed herself into Knuckles' chest and nuzzled him.

"No Knuckles, you wouldn't have. I guess you really do love me." Rouge whispered.

"I do. And I think I got my answer on if you love me or not." Knuckles smirked.

"That's right. I love you too, Knuckles." She squeezed him tighter. "More then you'll ever know and I'll ever be able to explain."

Knuckles let out a soft chuckle, "So does that mean you forgive me?" he asked.

"Of course I do." Rouge whispered; kissing him on the cheek.

"Good. I couldn't have lived on knowing you hated me." Knuckles said.

He then laid his head on top of Rouge's and wrapped his arms around her. He then began to gently sway back and forth with her in his arms.

"Rouge, I'm sorry that I put the emerald in front of you. I didn't know what I was saying. You made me mad by saying that I cared only about myself and that brought on the tantrum. I'd never put anything in front of you Rouge. No matter what it costs me." Knuckles explained.

Rouge only smiled as a tear ran down her cheek and dripped off her cheek, splashing on Knuckles' shoe.

"I love you." Rouge whispered; squeezing Knuckles as hard as she could.

Knuckles smiled and continued to sway back and forth. He wrapped his arms around her tighter and rubbed her back. Rouge smiled and continued to cry. Soon, she had fallen asleep in Knuckles' arms. Knuckles looked down at her and smiled when he saw her sleeping form. He carefully lifted her bridal-style and carried her over to the bed. He tucked her in and kissed her forehead before walking over to the couch and falling asleep too.

Well there you have it! And the final results for the SonAmy or ShadAmy ending are SonAmy: 14, ShadAmy: 13 making Sonic and Amy the winner! Sorry to all the ShadAmy fans. I'll make sure to post an oneshot about Shadow and Amy soon. Any votes after this chapter will not be counted. Thanks to all reviewers who voted!

Next chapter: Sonic and Amy ending.