Adabat was fairly impressive, at least to Knuckles; he thought the village on stilts was pretty smart, though he didn't see much reason to build it over the ocean instead of just on the island. Beyond the town, there was crystal blue water, white sandy beaches, and perhaps most impressive the enormous rain forest.

He'd assumed Rouge would want to head to the beach but when he asked her she simply said she hoped to avoid any unwanted advances, she also didn't trust Knuckles not to deck any guy who got a little too friendly she didn't have any evidence of this of course but he was very possessive over a certain emerald.

She did seem like she had wanted to go swimming, though, so Knuckles had suggested heading further inland and looking for a river. "Isn't it a little childish to play in a river?" Rouge questioned but was met with a shrug from the echidna.

"Is there really much difference between the river and the beach?" Knuckles answered her question with another question. "You're still in the water. It's just less crowded."

Rouge couldn't really argue with that and decided a river was an acceptable compromise, neither of them were any use in the kitchen so they'd bought some food from a local store, it wasn't really a picnic just a shopping bag full of food and drink but it was good enough.

In the end not much had actually changed between the pair of them, even after becoming a couple they were acting more or less the same and it was kind of ticking Rouge off, he definitely loved her, she didn't doubt that but he seemed too nervous to do anything. The most they'd done was hug, and since then, he'd been afraid to try anything. He didn't want to push any boundaries.

She got it. He didn't want to ruin things. But he really didn't need to worry about it, she doubted he would do anything she wasn't comfortable with and she knew if he did cross a line she'd just need to tell him to stop and he would.

Still, Rouge wasn't naive; she knew Knuckles The Echidna wasn't going to initiate their first kiss, so that meant she had to, but how exactly was she supposed to do that? Chances are she'd scare him off if she just sprang it on him she had to get that blockhead to figure out what she wanted, which was easier said than done.

Still, that could wait until later they had a jungle to navigate in order to find a river. Thankfully, Knuckles had plenty of experience in that department; he was currently halfway up a cliff looking around. "There's a bunch of insects over there!"

Knuckles spoke up, though Rouge didn't see the significance. "So?"

"Flies never stray too far from sources of water." The Pair headed along in the direction Knuckles had gestured to, and surely enough, they began to notice the sound of running water.

After just a few minutes of walking the pair came to a large river in the centre of the forest. The current didn't seem particularly strong, so neither of them had any trouble staying upright.

Rouge had been wearing her swimsuit under her clothes, so it didn't take her long to get ready, and Knuckles didn't even wear clothes to begin with. They just left their clothes, shoes, and food on the river bank and stepped into the water.

"S-See just like the Ocean!" Knuckles stammered clearly. This river was colder than he had anticipated.

It was a little cold, but nothing Rouge couldn't get used to, and it definitely beat the lecherous stares she was sure she would attract at the beach. "If you say so, Knuckie."

Rouge splashed him playfully before being met with him, sending much more water her way. The pair continued throwing water at each other for a few minutes before calling a temporary truce. Rouge pulled herself out of the water and sat on the river bank, taking a sip from a water bottle.

"So this is the last stop on our trip then," Knuckles mused as he got out of the water himself.

"Yep, we've been everywhere Sonic recommended. Was the world as interesting as you hoped?"

"Well it was a nice change of scenery from my island and it was nice to have an opportunity to meet people, it's kind of impressive how people manage to live in some of these places especially somewhere like Holoska it was so cold I could barely stand it but they adapted the barely even seemed affected by it. They found a way to live even somewhere that harsh, and they don't even complain. It's incredible." Knuckles was rambling a little, but Rouge didn't mind it was endearing.

"You're pretty incredible yourself, Knuckles,"

"Says the international super spy"

"I'm serious. There aren't many who'd be able to put their own wants aside for a greater duty like you do while guarding the master emerald. That takes dedication." Rouge was right, of course, but Knuckles was never one to take compliments well. "You really are amazing."

Was this a good time to attempt a kiss? Rouge thought to herself, but she got her answer fairly quickly as Knuckles began snacking on the grapes she had brought. Not yet. "You don't have a shred of tact though," Rouge mumbled to herself, too low for the echidna to hear.

"What about you?" Knuckles began as he finished eating."Have you been enjoying this trip?"

"Believe me I would have just bailed If I wasn't having a good time, it's not like Mighty and Ray could stop me from taking the master Emerald, they don't have your level of experience." She replied nonchalantly, looking at her nails.

"So you turned down a chance to steal the Emerald just to spend time with me? You must really like me, huh?"

"Don't get a big head."

"You care about me~" Knuckles teased, deciding to get Rouge back for once.

"Well, someone has to"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What indeed?" Truth be told, it didn't mean anything; she just wanted to say something that sounded mysterious.

—

After about an hour, the pair decided they'd probably been out here long enough and had thought it best to head back, which as it turns out had been easier said than done.

When it became evident they didn't quite know where they were, Rouge flew above the treeline to see if she could see town from where they were but… nothing, how deep into the woods had they gone?

"Knuckles, I really hope you weren't exaggerating your ability to find your way around in the wilderness," Rouge called down to him. She could've sworn she heard him curse under his breath.

"Fortunately for you, I don't exaggerate anything." Knuckles stood up, taking charge of the situation. This was something he could do. "From town, he headed south east, right?" Knuckles looked around for a moment before spotting something. "Aha! Moss grows facing north, so if this is north, then that means we need to head that way. "

Rouge was a little surprised how quickly he had deduced that. He may be pretty slow socially, but he was smarter than he let on.

"If you couldn't see town up there chances are we're going to be walking for a while so let me know if you need to take a break" Knuckles spoke absentmindedly as he led the way.

"Thanks for the concern, but I should be fine." Rouge went to walk away but was stopped when Knuckles gently took hold of her hand.

"The hill over that way is pretty steep. Just be careful not to fall."

"Thanks for the heads up, or did you just wanna hold my hand?"

"I'm your boyfriend, aren't I? I don't need a reason to hold your hand."

That sounded cool, right? Knuckles thought to himself. He was trying to stop himself from getting so flustered around her hand holding was nothing.

"Oh? well, what else do you get to do as my boyfriend?" Rouge teased, leaning a little closer she felt like she was being pretty obvious with what she was trying to say.

"Uh, go on dates?" Knuckles answered sheepishly, stepping backwards

IDIOT Knuckles scolded himself internally. Stop being such a spineless coward, even though he knew she'd been going for a kiss he'd backed out at the last second.

"I guess that's technically correct." She mumbled her disappointment evident in her tone.

The walk back to town was accompanied by an awkward silence between the pair, Both of them had attempted to make conversation, but it didn't last long. Rouge knew this was stupid she was just being impatient. Knuckles would pluck up the courage by himself eventually, so why was she trying to rush things?

Knuckles was having a similar issue, Rouge had gone to kiss him, right? That's why she'd leaned in? He wasn't imagining this, so if he wanted to and she wanted to, why was he still stumbling over himself like this!?

–

Once they'd gotten back, Rouge had suggested they take a walk on the beach once the sun had gone down so it wouldn't be as crowded and Knuckles had agreed, telling her to just come get him from his room when she was ready.

She resolved to go on the offensive; she'd get that lunkhead to pick up on what she wanted by the end of the day, or her name wasn't Rouge The Bat.

8pm about the time Rouge thought so she got herself ready and headed over to Knuckle's room before knocking happily waiting for him.

As soon as the pair of them were out of the hotel they'd been staying at, Rouge closed the distance between them, walking with him while holding onto his right arm.

Knuckles seemed somewhat embarrassed by this, but not enough for him to mention it he was still trying not to let anything fluster him he could handle this, no problem.

"I'll bet you've got a million things you plan to do back on that island of yours, huh?" Rouge spoke casually as if she was trying to put him at ease. "But I'm not really interested in all that. Do you have any plans for where you want to take me on a date?"

"Um…" Well, I remember Amy saying something about Twinkle Park, apparently cute couples get in free, "

"Cheapskate"

"Huh? No, I would pay if I had to it's just… that makes it seem like an activity couples would do together."

"So you think we're cute?" Rouge couldn't help but mess with him a little more.

"Well, you are, I'm not sure about me," the echidna thought outloud, taking a moment to realise he had said that.

Rouge was thrilled he'd complimented her, of course, but more importantly, she wasn't happy he was putting himself down. "You're adorable, Knuckles."

"Well, I… Thanks." Knuckles just about stopped himself from looking off to the side it had become something of a bad habit he was trying to break.

Rouge couldn't help but smile as she saw how bashful he was. Maybe this would be a good time to attempt a kiss again? She thought to herself before she noticed he was still looking at her.

Now was as good a time as any she'd just wind up backing out again. If she didn't do it now, she had to make it obvious so obvious that even he wouldn't misunderstand it.

She lifted her chin and closed her eyes leaving it all up to him if he somehow missed this obvious of a hint she'd probably need to rethink her life but it was too late to back out now she'd burned her bridge of escape and it was up to him.

She could hear her heart beating as well as the sound of the waves crashing onto the sand it was only a couple of seconds, but it felt like an eternity.

Why did I close my eyes!? She internally scolded herself if I'd kept them open. I'd at least see his reaction it's too late to open them. Now, what do I do!? Just as she was about to give up, she felt a soft sensation on her lips, and her heart began to calm down. And then their teeth made contact, prompting Knuckles to pull away.

"I'm not very good at this." He grimaced, looking at the sand.

Rouge reached out a hand and lifted his chin up to look at her. "We'll get better."

It had been awkward. It had taken all day, and they were both bad at it when it happened, but still, they both knew they'd never forget this first kiss.

And it is done. Let me know your thoughts on this story as a whole, as well as any criticisms you might have. I love reading reviews.