Chun-Nan was like nowhere Knuckles had been before; the architecture was so unique, and for once Rouge seemed to indulge his desire to learn more about the cultures of the places they visited, as she'd agreed to tour the temples with him, all though he suspected that was because she hadn't been able to find anything better to do. Either way, he was happy to have her company.
His realisation of his feelings aside, he genuinely enjoyed spending time with her. "They really have blessings for just about everything here, don't they?" Rouge observed looking around. "Do you think any of them work?"
"I wouldn't know, would I? Try one." Knuckles replied quietly, trying not to interrupt the tour guide.
Rouge simply shrugged briefly, paying her respects at a shrine that was supposed to bring good fortune. "I don't feel any luckier; do I look any luckier?"
"I don't think that's how it works, and you really shouldn't treat this so casually; this is an important part of the culture here." Knuckles whispered, trying to listen to what the man was saying.
Once the tour was over, Knuckles tipped the tour guide and donated a few rings to the temple before taking a moment to look around by himself. Eventually, coming across a small shrine that supposedly brought good luck in love. He paused to think, trying to make it seem like he wasn't looking at the shrine.
He liked Rouge. but he didn't know how she felt. He wasn't particularly religious, but something about asking a god to help him felt a little... cheap? He didn't need help; he'd work things out himself! He always did.
"What are you looking at?" Rouge asked out of the blue; he hadn't even realised she'd been there. "Good luck in love, huh? Makes sense for you; you need all the help you can get. I could use some luck myself; it's so hard to find a good partner." Rouge complained as she headed over to the shrine. "They'd need to be strong, of course, handsome, and they'd have to be able to keep up with me; we could even go treasure hunting together, but most importantly, they should be fun to hang out with."
Knuckles wasn't quite confident enough to say it, but he was quite sure she'd just described him. She couldn't mean that, though, right? Not that he'd say that out loud; he didn't need her teasing him if he was wrong.
"Was there a reason you wanted to check these places out?" Rouge tilted her head to the side, heading back over to him.
"I wanted to learn about the culture of the places we visited. Frankly, I'm surprised you agreed to come with me, Rouge; it seems like this sort of thing would bore you." The pair headed to the front of the temple, back towards the main village; it wasn't exactly a huge place, but it was charming. It was fairly early in the afternoon, and the pair had spent most of the day touring the temples.
"Well, I was looking to kill time. The inn we're staying at has a hot spring and a sauna, but they don't open until the early evening. Your little cultural tour didn't last that long, though; I've heard the pork buns in this village are pretty highly regarded. Maybe we should stop so we can try them?" Rouge suggested checking her phone to see where they were sold.
"Sounds good," Knuckles said. He probably wouldn't have agreed so quickly if he had known how long the line for this would be; this town was not that big. How many people wanted to try this damn pork bun? "Why is this taking so long?" Knuckles grumbled to himself; he didn't really mean for Rouge to hear, but of course she did.
"So impatient, I'm sure it will be worth the wait if this many people are lining up for it." Rouge put a hand on Knuckle's back to calm him down a little, but it didn't really work.
Knuckles lost track of how long they had been in line here, but he swore the sun was starting to go down. When they eventually did get their food, they sat down on a nearby bench. Rouge was letting hers cool down, but Knuckles, ever the impatient one, took a bite out of his straight away, burning his mouth in the process.
"Ow!" Knuckles flinched but refused to spit out the food. "It is delicious but painful."
Rouge laughed softly before taking a small bite of her own food. "It's really good!" she agreed enthusiastically before resuming her cool and collected demeanour. "But it's a lot better if you let it cool down, knuckie."
Knuckles grumbled something unintelligible as he finished his food. Rouge was saying something about patience, but he wasn't really listening to her all that closely. Once the pair were done, they headed back to the inn. Knuckles was just going to spend the evening in his room, but Rouge somehow managed to convince him to try the hot springs.
As he sat down in the naturally heated water, his eyes slid closed, and he got to thinking. He was pretty sure he liked Rouge, but what did that mean exactly? He'd never had anyone growing up to explain anything like that to him. What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to say?
His only real point of reference was Amy; she'd tell anyone who would listen that she loved Sonic. Amusing as the idea may be, there was no way he could act like she used to; it was way too embarrassing, and he wasn't nearly as open about his feelings as she was.
Eventually, he decided not to say anything for the time being; he didn't want to make things awkward between them if she didn't feel the same way. That's what he'd told himself anyway, though part of him still wanted to say something.
feeling conflicted like this was annoying.
Knuckles dragged himself out of the water, yelling in frustration; he'd been in his own head too much to even relax. Why couldn't he just not think about this stuff? He shouldn't have feelings! He's a guy!
Realising he was never going to relax in the springs, Knuckles thought he'd try his luck in the sauna. He sat down, laying his head back against the wall with a sigh. Trying to just not think about anything.
This didn't really work, as he heard the sauna open. He didn't even look to see who it was until someone poked his cheek. Reluctantly, he looked up, only to jump back immediately when he saw Rouge dressed in a bathrobe. "What are you doing here!?"
"Try not to sound so upset to see me," Rouge complained, sitting down a short distance away from him. "I assume I'm here for the same reason you are, to relax." Rouge poured some water over the stone, filling the room with steam.
"Well, I was just getting out, actually." Knuckles was about to leave, but what Rouge said next caught his attention.
"Can't take the heat? I guess that means I win." Rouge teased him, knowing he'd take the bait.
"Huh?" Knuckles looked back at her; now that she'd made it a challenge, of course he wouldn't leave. He stomped over to his seat and sat back down, crossing his arms.
Rouge stretched, laying her head back against the wall with a contented sigh. "This might be my favourite place we've been to so far. But how about you? I'm guessing this is your first time at a place like this? You don't leave the island all that often. Are you having a good time?"
"All things considered, I guess I am. This hotel is quite peaceful, and the culture here is fascinating. But it's not my favourite part of the trip so far." The echidna replied with a slight smile. He honestly hadn't expected to enjoy this trip so much. Maybe it was because he was with her.
"It seems we can't agree on anything." Rouge shrugged. "But you've got my curiosity, so I'll bite. What was your favourite part?"
"Holoska, watching the northern lights was breathtaking; I'm really glad I got to experience it for the first time with you." Knuckles replied, not really realising how romantic that sounded—not even when Rouge went slightly red in the face. "Are you alright? You look a little flushed."
"It's nothing," Rouge stammered, standing up. "I-I just need to cool off!" She insisted, turning to leave.
"Guess that means I win." Knuckles was really talking to himself, but thanks to her powerful ears, she picked up on it.
"What was that?" Rouge turned back to him before immediately walking back to her seat and sitting down. Echoing what he had done earlier, any feelings of embarrassment were quickly pushed aside by her desire to compete with him.
Both of them got sick from staying in the sauna too long.
--
Even if Knuckles likes her, we all know he's too stubborn to admit that easily, and he'd still compete with her over dumb stuff. At least that's what I think.