Chapter 10: What She Really Wants

"It looks the same as before," Rouge said. She clung to Knuckles' arm a little tighter as a security guard studied them closely before turning his attention to a trio of teenagers gathered around the geode, jostling and shoving one another to it. "Unless they added something new?" Her eyes sparkled hopefully. "Something authentic?"

"Not that I know of," Knuckles said. "But we didn't get to see everything last time. And I believe I get to choose today." He flashed her a smug grin.

"Don't push your luck, mister. You may have won me, but I can leave whenever I want. Let's see that little bug try to catch me outside her precious auction hall."

"You still haven't told me why you were part of it this morning in the first place." He stopped in front of a small orange quartz on display, reading the plaque about its discovery and excavation.

"It was a misunderstanding," she said casually.

"Meaning you were trying to rob them again," he guessed correctly.

"Redistributing the wealth."

"To yourself."

"Is that so wrong?" She batted large, soulful eyes at him, but he learned long ago not to buy that. When he didn't react, she tutted and turned her nose up in the air. "Fine, I was lifting some items from the rich attendees. I grabbed a few too many things though and Tails' stupid security system spotted me. So I made a trade: my participation in exchange for this." She hooked a thumb underneath the newly acquired gold necklace, the teardrop rubies dangling from it catching the light of the exhibit.

He guided her to the next case. Her fondness with shiny trinkets and fine jewelry bordered on an obsession. Although he kept his mouth shut, already knowing she'd make the same accusation of him and the Master Emerald. "You could avoid the auction hall and stake out somewhere else."

She rolled her eyes and swept a hand at the next display, a synthetic diamond in place of the one it was meant to represent. "What and miss all the fun? How about we go somewhere more exciting?"

He looked around the exhibit. Other than the tall geode from last time, there wasn't much else here that looked interesting. For once, he agreed with her and they left the museum, heading down the steps.

She yawned and glanced around the city, bored and leaning her head on his shoulder. A tingle raced up his neck and he maintained his calm. "Too bad that was a bust. Where to now?"

He shrugged and looked into the sky. "I should be getting back to the island."

"Already? But you promised to show me some gems." She nudged her head further into the crook of his neck and pouted.

"I don't have time. So I'll let you go."

"Maybe I could join you," she suggested. "We could watch the emerald together."

"No."

"Fine. I just thought you might keep your promise." She poked his cheek, irking him to no end and he had the strong urge to bite her finger.

Then a stray thought popped into his head. It was silly and probably something she wouldn't be interested in, but he still found himself opening his mouth and offering it as an alternative. "If you want, you can come with me. Not to the Master Emerald," he quickly added, shooting it down before she grew excited. "I recently found some caves full of all kinds of minerals. It's not quite the same as this," he jerked a thumb back at the museum. "But if you want, I guess it'd be okay. For you. To come see them. If you want."

"Why, Knuckie," Rouge dramatically pressed the tips of her fingers to her heart and raised the back of her other hand to her forehead, "are you asking me to come home with you?" She thrust her chin to the sky and circled around him. "How scandalous! What will the neighbors say?"

He grumbled and clenched his fists. "Look, if you don't want to, then fine! Just make up your mind!"

She draped her arms around his shoulders from behind and rubbed her cheek against his. "Easy there. I'm just having a little fun. Of course, I want to see them."

His heart beat faster as her hands brushed his chest. "Follow me." With that, they took off into the air.

Knuckles couldn't remember the last time he actually invited anyone to his island. Usually, visitors dropped in unexpectedly or unwelcome. So he felt a little strange guiding Rouge by the hand to the caves, pushing aside green and pink flora and fauna along the trail.

None of her flirting helped matters. "Watch your hands, mister. I'm not an easy girl, you know."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." By the Master Emerald, she was infuriating. Why was he even doing this again?

"Oh lighten up." She leaned forward and his frustration eased at her small smile and her turquoise eyes, akin to the precious gemstones she often stole. "I'm teasing. Mostly."

He composed himself and kept marching through the jungle. Fifteen minutes later, they reached the cave. The entrance was dug into the side of a cliff and followed a steep decline into its dark depths.

Knuckles picked up a handheld lamp he'd left there last time from its hook and turned the knob. The kerosene inside it hissed and it slowly brightened. Rouge pulled out a flashlight from her glove and switched it on, blinding him for a moment with its strong light.

"Point that somewhere else," he said, rubbing his eyes.

"Sorry, Farmer John. I like to have a back-up on hand." She dimmed the light to a dull shine and waited for him. "Lead on then."

They carefully descended into the cave, watching their footing on the decline. Knuckles repeatedly warned her about any loose rocks or potholes he remembered. As far as he could tell, nothing had changed from when he first discovered the cave. He idly wondered if he should put up some supports to prevent any collapse inside. Then again, if that did happen, he figured he could always punch his way out through the rock.

At the bottom of the descent, the path split off into a few darker caverns. Knuckles led her to the left and after a few minutes, asked, "Can you turn that off for a second?"

She flipped the flashlight's switch and he doused the lamp. For a second, they were surrounded by darkness. Then the rocky walls around them slowly glowed a soft bluish white. Rouge stepped forward and Knuckles took no small pleasure in her stunned silence. Finally, he had her at a loss for words.

Minerals of all shapes and sizes shone out of the walls. The pale blue gave way to orange and purple hues further on, mixing together here and there, creating ribbons of color along the path as they walked. In certain sections, clear, translucent parts poked out, acting as prisms that caught the other colors and flashed small painted kaleidoscopes on the ceiling.

All of these reflected off of Rouge, the various shades changing as her expressions did. Finally, she settled on an enthusiastic grin from ear to ear and ran her hands along the walls, admiring them, fondling them, babbling nonstop. "Minerals? Honey, these are gems! You have your very own gem mine here! How far does it go? What even are these? I've never seen them before. How did you ever find all of this?"

"I kind of stumbled onto it a couple of weeks ago," he said. "I haven't explored it that far, just this one. I've seen a couple references to these in some ancient echidna ruins, but I don't know about the rest."

She scoffed. "Weeks? You've known for weeks and you didn't tell me? How could you?" The luster of the gems quickly stole her attention away again and she hopped to the next section, nearly gliding on air. "Do you think there are other veins like this?"

"Possibly. Like I said, I haven't explored it much." But she wasn't listening to him. She was too enamored with the gems, running her fingers over the shapes, her eyes sparkling with that same intensity she had when she saw the Master Emerald. Or any treasure really.

Then again, she hadn't tried to steal the Master Emerald in a while. Not really. She made comments, but nothing serious that he had to worry about. Unless that was her whole plan. Get close to him so he lowered his guard, then steal it when he wasn't paying attention.

Which begged the question that had been bugging him for a while now since their first museum visit. Was that all she was there for? His treasures? After all, she only came to see the cave. Yes, he'd invited her, but still, their past two outings centered around jewels of some kind.

It wasn't like he was a mind reader. Rather than agonize over it, Knuckles figured it would be best to come right out and ask her. If he could tear her gaze from the gems for a moment. "Rouge," he said, slowing down as she flew up near the ceiling, ooh'ing and aww'ing over a section of violet crystals.

"Yes?" she replied in a sing-song voice.

"What do you want?"

"To take a pickaxe to this whole place." She pinched one of the gems, wiggling it, but it refused to yield. "Come on, you little beauty. Come to Mama."

"No, I mean, what do you want from me?"

She glanced down at him and blinked. "You?"

He sneered and folded his arms. "Yes, me. The one who brought you here, remember?"

"Easy, Knuckles. I remember." She floated down and landed beside him. "I don't get what you mean though."

He opened his mouth, closed it, then tried again. "I mean why are you here with me?" She still appeared puzzled and to be honest, he didn't know if he could explain it well himself. "I mean, are you only here to try to steal something?"

"What a gracious host you are," she said, folding her arms. "Do you insult all your guests or do you reserve that special treatment for me?"

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean? Cause it sounded like you're being pigheaded as usual."

This was all going wrong. "No, I'm not. If you weren't so quick to anger—"

"I'm quick to anger?!" She glared daggers at him and her nostrils flared. "That's the pot calling the kettle black!"

"Would you just shut up for a minute?" He pressed his palms into his eyes, unable to think of the right words.

"How about you kick rocks? What exactly are you trying to say then?"

All the anger and confusion burst out in an explosive yell. "Why do you want to spend time with me?!"

They both stared at one another, the words echoing and reverberating throughout the cave. When the sound finally faded, all that answered were a couple of small pebbles, shifting and tumbling down the walls.

Rouge gave him a strange look, but at least she was quiet. Knuckles sighed and sat down against the wall, choosing a spot where the minerals didn't dig into his back. "You don't care as much about the Master Emerald these days. Which normally, I'd be happy about. But you do want to hang around me and I don't mind that either.

"Except you're always flirting with me. I know you though. You do that with everyone, especially when you're trying to get something that you want. We go to the museum and you butter me up, but I don't know if it's because you're actually enjoying yourself or you want me to point out all the fakes so you don't waste your time with them. Then I bring you here and I see it again." He pointed at her. "That same look in your eyes whenever you first saw the Master Emerald. The obsession. 'All the world's gems are mine to keep!' "

She winced at his bad impression of her and their first meeting. He leaned back and closed his eyes. "I'm tired of not knowing what you're really after. So tell me straight: why are you here?"

He'd done it. Gotten it all out in the open. He pulled his knees in close and hung his head on them. His stomach twisted itself in knots, as he wasn't sure if she would simply laugh at him or walk out of the cave. If she did, at least he would have a definite answer.

Instead, she sat down next to him and rolled her neck, working out a few kinks. Then she turned to him. "You really are as dumb as you look, aren't you?"

Immediately, his anger boiled over and he bared his teeth. She lifted a finger and pressed it to his lips, silencing him. "You had your turn. Now, first things first, all the world's gems are mine to keep. Second, I did enjoy the museum and listening to you talk. Didn't you like it?"

"Yes," he admitted.

"And last of all, I do not flirt with everyone. I socialize." He snorted and she nudged him. "It's the truth. Sure, I might drop a little extra here and there, but it's not real flirting. Not like the kind I do when I'm actually interested in someone."

He glanced up at her. "What kind is that?"

"Oh, you know. Hanging out with someone when I don't have to, going to places on dates I don't want because the other person is interested in it, listening to their interests and passions." She stared at him and he realized what she meant. Although, to drive the point further, she added, "Coming home with them."

"Alright, alright, I get it."

"About time," she said. "Guess I can't fully blame you. You did grow up here by yourself so you've never had anyone around to teach you about the fairer species."

They sat in silence together for a while, Knuckles processing all that she told him. She liked him. Genuinely liked him. Then all his worry was for nothing. A small grin curved along his lips.

"You know," Rouge leaned in close and laid her head on his shoulder, "this is usually the part where the guy tells the girl that he's crazy about her too."

He considered that for a moment, then closed the gap between them, kissing her. Rouge spluttered against his mouth, but didn't pull back.

"That about do it?" he asked teasingly when they separated.

She shoved him. "Jerk." However, she couldn't hide the giddy smile she wore.

"Can't blame me. After all, I grew up here alone and never had anyone to teach me about this."

She ignored her words thrown right back at her. Instead, she scooted closer and nuzzled her nose into his neck. "True. But you've got an instinct for it." Her warm breath tickled his fur and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding her close.

All around them, the gems and minerals seemed to shine brighter, coated in an extra sheen of color that matched how his heart felt. "You know," he said softly, "I wouldn't mind if you came back another day. In fact, I'd like you to. We could explore the rest of the caves together. Maybe find some other treasure."

"I think I already found the best one," she said, pecking his jawline. "However, I won't turn down a little shiny extra or two."

"So you'll come?"

She turned him to face her and kissed him. "It's a date."