Empire City was… kind of repulsive to Knuckles. He never really liked big cities, but this was oppressive. The buildings stretched up forever, and he could barely even see the sky with all the smog from the traffic. He honestly had no idea why anyone would want to live here, never mind why Rouge insisted they visit.
"We just had to come here, didn't we Rouge?" Knuckles complained, barely restraining himself from screaming at a guy who just tossed an empty bottle onto the floor.
"Of course we did, I'll have you know we're here for a very important reason," Rouge lectured, dragging Knuckles into a nearby store. "Shopping!"
Knuckles looked up at the displays, nothing but clothes as far as the eye could see, not much use to him. "How is this important?"
"Well, spring sales don't last forever." Rouge countered playfully, flicking his nose
"Fine, it's not like I had anything planned today anyway." Knuckles grumbled but was cut off when Rouge dragged him further inside.
"Good, I could use a second pair of eyes." Rouge looked over some clothing before picking out a dark purple sundress."How do you think I'd look in this?"
"How would you look? Hmm…" Knuckles took a moment to picture how she'd look in the dress. It looked nice, but it wasn't really the kind of thing she normally liked to wear. He then decided he'd been thinking too long and shook his head to dispel the image. "Well, I guess it would look nice on you." He admitted sheepishly, not meeting her gaze.
"Nice isn't really much to go on, Knuckie." Rouge pouted before putting the dress back with a shrug "really that sort of thing isn't my style anyway a dress or a skirt would restrict my movements too much and in my line of work I need to stay flexible."
"Well, if you already knew you didn't want it, why did you ask my opinion." The echidna questioned through gritted teeth
"Because it's fun to watch you squirm it's so hard for you to just compliment me," She replied, laughing softly to herself.
"Of course not! I can compliment you just fine if I want to, " Knuckles protested, taking her observation as a challenge.
"Prove it then." Rouge honestly didn't think he would, and if he did, it would definitely sound forced.
"Well… I think it's cool… The way you kick things, your legs are really strong.." Knuckles began awkwardly. He really didn't know how to talk to girls, not surprising for him. "And your eyes, they're really pretty. Even if I complain, it's great spending time with you, I have more fun with you than anyone else." Knuckles was going to say more, but Rouge cut him off.
"A-alright, you've proved your point. I'm sorry for doubting you." Rouge stammered, turning away to hide how red she had gone. "That was more powerful than I'd anticipated," she thought to herself as she calmed herself down. "Since when did you get to be so suave Knuckles? that was pretty smooth, " She complimented playfully, punching him on the shoulder.
"Sauve? I was just being truthful." Knuckles shrugged for a moment he swore he saw Rouge flush a slight pink.
"Anyway, back to shopping!" She swiftly changed the subject, dragging him back into the maze of clothing.
For the next few hours, Rouge dragged Knuckles from store to store. Trying on clothes, looking at jewellery, buying souvenirs, and as much as he complained about the city, he had to admit he was having a decent time here with her. He even bought a few things himself, it was just souvenirs for his friends but overall he was glad he'd gone with her.
When they arrived back at the hotel, Knuckles was sure for a moment, they'd gone to the wrong place. It was so fancy he felt like he wasn't rich enough to stay in a place like this. The interior was white and golden, and there were large marble statues on either side of the room.
"Hey Rouge, how much was this place anyway?" Knuckles didn't really think he wanted the answer, but he decided it would be polite to ask.
"You don't want to know." Rouge grimaced. "But G.U.N pays me well enough, so rest assured I can afford it." Rouge explained as they reached the desk.
Once they had checked in they were shown to the suite Rouge had booked; they each had their own room with an attached bathroom as well as a small living space with a TV and a mini fridge filled with drinks.
"The places we've stayed in so far have been sort of cozy but I decided to book somewhere extravagant this time, feel free to take a look at the room service menu, I've got no shortage of money." Rouge sat back on the couch, stretching a little.
"I don't really feel right making you spend more." Knuckles declined her offer though, and while she appreciated the intention behind it, the gesture was unnecessary.
"Oh, come on, let me spoil you, Knuckles, think of it as payback for messing with you all the time." Rouge complained, flipping through different TV channels.
"I'm fine for right now, but I'll let you know if I want anything later." Knuckles was sort of avoiding the topic, but Rouge seemed to accept that reply for now. "Although there were plenty of restaurants nearby, wouldn't that be better than room service?"
"Why Knuckles are you asking me to dinner? I'm flattered." Rouge teased with a devilish smirk.
Knuckles's face went about as red as his fur at that remark. He turned away for a moment, counting to ten in his head to calm himself down before sighing. "I suppose I did. What do you say?"
He'd psyched himself up to it, sure, but Rouge had never expected him to be so bold it honestly surprised her. "Sure, I'd love to." She replied simply, deciding it wasn't a good idea to make fun of him right now.
–
Knuckles knew he had been the one to suggest they go out to eat, but once they were actually sitting down at the table. He couldn't help but feel awkward. What was he even supposed to talk about?
"This is really good, isn't it?" Rouge broke the silence as she took a small bite of her food. Something with salmon, and he hadn't been paying attention properly.
"Uh yeah, it's nice," Knuckles answered curtly as he looked down to his own food, some sort of pasta dish? He didn't remember what he'd ordered.
Silence once again settled between the pair, Knuckles was a little too nervous to say anything, and Rouge couldn't think of anything to speak about. Why is it so much harder to talk to her than usual? Knuckles complained internally, trying to act normal.
I know I should be trying to break the ice. Rouge lamented to herself not doing any better than Knuckles was. But I just can't think of anything to say
"So uh… Rouge, have you got any plans for after we've finished this trip?" Knuckles finally worked up the nerve to speak.
"First thing, I'll probably have a whole bunch of work to catch up on at G.U.N," Rouge pouted, resting her head on the table. "After that, who knows? I might go after the emerald again." Rouge challenged with a smirk.
"You're welcome to try any time, bat girl," Knuckles replied with a small smile relieved they could talk a little easier now. "But if you want to see me so badly, you could just come up and talk to me."
"My someone's got a high opinion of themselves today. You do make for good company, but it's hardly worth a trip to Angel Island."
The pair continued to chat for a little while, and it made them both much more comfortable. They quickly forgot about their nerves entirely and just enjoyed each other's company despite the awkward start. Overall, it had been nice.
"You know Knuckles, this was actually fun. You might be able to get a girlfriend if you treat her like this." Rouge joked as the pair headed back to the hotel. "Though I guess if you did, you couldn't hang around with me very much."
"No… I think if I got a girlfriend, I'd spend even more time with you." Knuckles admitted before immediately taking off down the street, refusing to explain further.
He'd spend more time with me if he had a girlfriend? Wouldn't that mean? Rouge couldn't hide her smile when she realised what Knuckles had meant by that. "That idiot, why couldn't he just tell me that like a normal person."
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Fun Fact about this chapter: it occurred to me halfway through writing it that you go to Shamar before Empire City in Sonic unleashed, but I already wrote this now, so here you go next chapter they'll go to Shamar