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Even in the middle of summer, the forested side of Angel Island never really got hot. Although the sun beat down bright and warm, the thin air of the island couldn’t hold the sun’s heat like the air of the surface. Under the shade of the dense trees and in the shadow of the towering Ice Cap, the air stayed chilled for much of the island’s orbital path.
Sonic had long gotten used to the island’s permanent chill, even if it always came as a shock upon arrival. Knowing that no matter how heavily he sweated down in the summer heat of the planet surface, Angel Island would always make the tips of his ears and nose sting in the wind, he was able to prepare for the temperature difference no problem. He found that out in the open, the ever-constant breeze tugged body heat away from anything more than a foot above the ground. Only close to the ground in the direct light of the sun could he ever relax in the warmth of its rays. There, or near the Master Emerald, its odd internal light radiating its own kind of heat that seeped into the carved stone shrine like hot coals in a furnace.
Sonic and Knuckles sat at the edge of the shrine, Sonic kicking his legs over the side as they warmed their backs and took in the view. Birdsong traveled up from the forest below, oddly deadened by the thin air, but beautiful all the same. Both of them were lightly scuffed, their fur sticking out at odd angles from an earlier tussle, the smell of dirt and sweat wafting up from the dusty prints on their sides.
How Knuckles could stand to live out here alone for so long was a mystery to Sonic. It wasn’t that he was a die-hard city boy—he definitely preferred to spend time out in nature, with the smell of pine and sound of birds instead of smog and sirens. But Angel Island was just so quiet, in a way that forests and deserts and snowy hills down on the surface rarely were. Time spent up here felt strangely intimate, like the only living things in the world were himself and anyone immediately next to him. It was beautiful—in doses. Moments like this one where the two could sit and enjoy the stillness of each other’s company. But Sonic thought he might’ve gone crazy if he’d lived up here his whole life like Knuckles had.
Actually, he was starting to feel like he was reaching his limit of the island’s silence already.
“Well,” Sonic groaned, stretching his arms back over his head, “I’d better get going.” He sprung up from where he sat, shaking himself loose.
Knuckles followed him up more stiffly, watching Sonic out of the corner of his eye. He folded his arms and raised an eyebrow playfully. “Someone else needs you to annoy them today?”
“Something like that!” Sonic smiled, matching his gaze. Then, instead of extending an open hand or a friendly fist goodbye, he leaned forward and slipped a hand up to tangle in Knuckles’ spines.
“Hey,” he said casually, smiling and gently tugging his friend closer, “Gimme a kiss.”
Knuckles’ arms remained crossed as Sonic gently pulled him down into two quick kisses, chaste and playful, then smoothly backed away with a satisfied smile. He let his fingers slip down and out of Knuckles’ spines and watched as Knuckles’ face noticeably reddened.
As sensitive as ever, this guy. Always embarrassed. But hey, at least he’s still having fun, Sonic thought, noting the way Knuckles’ eyes remained humorful, his fond smile only barely wider.
“Don’t come back too soon, hedgehog,” Knuckles said, his forceful bravado clearly a routine act, the affection underneath readily apparent.
Sonic laughed and started down the shrine steps, hopping down sideways and backwards so he could continue his conversation facing the top.
“That hurts, Knuckles!” He was almost yelling as he talked, projecting his voice too loud in his usual way. He only got louder as he put more distance between them.
“You’ll be missing me soon enough! I know you were dying of boredom up here without me before I got here!”
Knuckles yelled back “You know that’s not true!” and waved a fist in what was quickly becoming genuine frustration, but Sonic mimed not being able to hear and playfully waved him off. At the bottom of the shrine, still definitely able to hear Knuckles’ aggrieved shouting from above, Sonic took off in a bolt of blue.
He didn’t have far to go; he followed the curve of the hills for a ways, then hooked behind a thin copse of trees into a large grassy clearing. Ancient worn stones marked the edges of the clearing, the foundation and crumbling walls of some formidable building from long ago maybe. Parked in the middle of the grass was the Tornado, sparkling red and standing proud. It stood over a thin line of wood slats laid out in a makeshift runway; its own dedicated tarmac begrudgingly constructed by the island’s caretaker.
Sonic hopped out of his sprint meters away from the shining red plane, aiming his momentum just right as he turned mid-air to effortlessly plop halfway into the cockpit. His legs hung over the edge of the plane for just a moment, before he pulled them in, adjusting himself to sit upright. Sonic hummed happily as he pulled a water bottle out from under the seat and took a swig, swaying to the music in his head.
It was then that the bat decided to reveal herself. Rouge slid out of the shadows of the trees and with a flick of her wings slipped up to the top of the Tornado’s wing. Rouge of course prided herself on her ability to move stealthily, sitting on the plane with crossed legs and barely a whisper of fabric on metal, but it was hardly a difficult thing to do when it came to the ever-distracted Sonic.
“Didn’t expect to see you here, Blue.”
“Huh-? Rouge!” Sonic jolted and dropped his water bottle as his eyes snapped up to see her.
Rouge couldn’t help but snort at his surprise. When his mind was somewhere else, that hedgehog could miss his own nose in front of him.
Sonic’s shock soon faded, however, and was replaced with a friendly grin. “Can’t say I expected to see you either. If you’re hoping the emerald’s unguarded today, you’re out of luck. I just left Knuckles up there a minute ago.” Sonic’s gaze ducked back down to fish the bottle out from where it had rolled under the seat. He struggled with it for a moment before successfully recovering it and looking back up at her.
Rouge sighed wistfully, looking back over her shoulder to where she knew the shrine to be, despite the forest and the hills hiding it from view. “Well I’m sure he can’t stop me from stealing a glance or two while I’m here.” She paused for a moment and glanced back at Sonic. “I already got a few earlier, but I saw you two were having a moment together and didn’t want to interrupt.”
Sonic didn’t seem to notice her unasked question. He took a swig from his water bottle and set it down on his knee. “Thanks. He’s all yours.” Sonic made a sweeping gesture with his arm, a playful smirk on his face.
Rouge pursed her lips, regarding Sonic pointedly. “Well I’m sure if it was Knuckles I was after instead of the emerald, I’d be devastated to find out he’s already taken.”
Sonic’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “What?”
“It’s no problem to me,” she continued, “I’m just a little nosy by profession. Though with you, I’m not sure knowledge of your little tryst would work as useful blackmail by any means. It’s too bad, I was hoping I could go home with an emerald today.”
Again, she sighed theatrically, this time much more for Sonic’s benefit. He loved helping pitiful and sad things, right? Maybe one day she’d convince him her cause was an appropriately pitiful one to drop his guard and let her at those emeralds.
No such luck this time, by the way Sonic smirked and leaned back. Well, she could see the lightswitch flick behind his eyes as he finally picked up her meaning.
“Tryst, huh?” He said, folding his arms. “What exactly gave you that idea?”
He had that roguish look in his eyes that Rouge had seen before when he was negotiating with Eggman or teasing Shadow: he’d found a new game to play. Rouge had no interest in participating in one of his many friendly rivalries, but she could admit that his playful antagonism was more than infectious and by far her favorite side of him.
She smiled, glad they were finally on the same page. “Well, I never imagined you were so sentimental about goodbyes.”
Sonic rolled his shoulders. “Only as sentimental as a handshake!”
“A handshake, huh? A secret one just for you and Knuckles?”
“Nah, not ‘just.’” He rubbed his nose idly, then turned that mischievous smile back to Rouge. “Why, you feeling left out without one?”
“I’ll pass,” she said. She shuffled her wings and leaned back on her hands, appraising him. “But I’m supposed to believe you’re handing out goodbye kisses like candy and I haven’t seen it once until now? C’mon Blue, you can do better than that.”
“Hey,” Sonic gave a big what-can-you-do shrug, “Just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen! Not like you’ve been trailing me trying to catch me in the act.”
He paused, then raised an eyebrow at her. “You haven’t, have you?”
Rouge scoffed. “Of course not. I’ll leave that busywork to your private eye friends. I’d only trail you if I thought I could steal something nice off you. Which, for the record, I know I can’t today. Nice job scattering those Chaos Emeralds after your last adventure, Hero. I haven’t seen any of them pop up yet.”
Sonic rolled his eyes and mumbled something to himself about Tails—great idea, Sonic, she should go pester the boy genius for emerald information!—before addressing her again. “Well believe me or don’t, it’s up to you. I don’t see why you’d make such a big deal out of it, though. Knuckles is my friend, it’s not a crime to show him a little love every once in a while.”
“No, I didn’t think it was,” Rouge sighed. “I was just hoping if I couldn’t get any treasure out of you, I could at least get a juicy secret or two.” She hefted herself up by her hands and pulled her feet in to stand upright on the plane wing. She set her hands on her hips and fixed Sonic with an unamused stare.
“I still don’t believe you, for the record. I just know when to drop a dead lead.”
Sonic took her cue and turned his attention to the Tornado’s instruments, readying himself to start it up. “You can ask Knuckles if you want, he’ll tell you the same thing. And you know he can’t lie to save his life.”
Oh, she planned on taking full advantage of that.
“Thanks, but I didn’t need your permission.” Rouge flared her wings out dramatically and swooped up into the air just as she heard Sonic start up the motor. She gained air until she could see the Master Emerald shrine over the trees and began to glide in its direction.
“Hey!” Sonic called from below.
She stopped and twisted to look back down at him.
“Sure you don’t want that kiss goodbye?” Sonic tapped his cheek, a huge grin splitting his face.
“Hard pass!” Rouge yelled down.
The sound of Sonic’s laughter was drowned out by the sputtering start of the Tornado’s engine. Rouge shook her head and began her long descent across the island. The sound of the roaring engine faded in the distance as Sonic took flight the other direction and the echo was swallowed up in the empty spaces between the air, leaving only the soft whispers of wind in Rouge’s ears.
She kept her flight path to the shrine less than direct, curving down to hide herself in the treetops in case the Tornado’s flight drew Knuckles’ attention in her direction. She was in no rush: unlike Sonic, Knuckles wasn’t going anywhere soon. By the time she had made her way to the shrine and landed with a soft click of her heels atop one of the encircling stone pillars, the Emerald’s guardian had wandered away for a minute and left his post unguarded….
Well, she thought, getting blackmail material out of the echidna would be nice. But an emerald in the hand is worth two in the bush…
Rouge leapt lightly down from the pillar, smoothing her descent with her wings until she came down on top of the Master Emerald lighter than a feather, her legs kicked out behind her and her hands gently caressing its glinting faceted surface. She laid down across the flat top, resting her cheek against it and sighing with contentment as she felt its thrumming warmth through her gloves.
“Hello beautiful,” she crooned, closing her eyes. “Did you miss me?”
“Not in the slightest.”
Knuckles’ flat voice jolted Rouge out of her reverie, her body stiffening and her head shooting upright. Well, that didn’t last long.
“Now get off the Master Emerald!” Knuckles growled, his shoulders squaring up as he reached the top of the shrine’s steps.
“Hey there, handsome!” Rouge smiled brightly. “I didn’t expect you’d be back so soon!”
“Off!”
Oh well, two in the bush it was. Rouge kissed the glossy surface of the gem goodbye, leaving a perfect pink lipstick print, and gently lifted herself up in the air. Her wings beat smoothly as she landed lightly next to where Knuckles stood, gawking with a comically wide mouth and flushed face.
“You—” he sputtered, looking between her and the Emerald, “You keep your mouth off the Master Emerald!”
“It was just a friendly kiss goodbye.” Rouge pouted, but was unable to help the corners of her mouth from turning up into a wicked smile. “You do it all the time, don’t you?”
Knuckles’ blush deepened and his spines puffed up around him. “I do NOT kiss the Master Emerald!” He shuffled sideways to subtly (“subtly”) position himself between Rouge and the Emerald. Rouge pretended not to notice him encroaching in her space and kept rooted in place, watching with amusement as it made him squirm.
“Well I’ve never seen you say goodbye to my emerald, but that’s how you say goodbye to your friends, isn’t it? Like Sonic?”
Knuckles was exceptionally fun to tease. If she spent enough time with Shadow, she could get some good jabs in here and there, but he never reacted as visibly and predictably as Knuckles. Rouge could learn to read Shadow’s micro-expressions and his silent pauses to get a good sense of when she said something that hit close to home. But Knuckles? The echidna wore his heart on his sleeve and his sleeve on his forehead. Every thought that ran through his mind was as plain to see as the nose on his face—and Knuckles’ nose stuck out much more than most.
Rouge watched in real-time as Knuckles’ expression shifted from teeth-bared indignation, to brow-furrowed disorientation, to wide-eyed realization, to flushed-faced panic.
“What!?” he sputtered. “No I don’t!”
Knuckles backed up half a step, surely unconsciously, and Rouge took the opportunity to more forward half a step, keeping the distance between them close.
“Really? Because I just caught Sonic on his way out. He said you’re one of his friends he kisses goodbye all the time. There’s no shame in that.”
Knuckles stiffened. His cheeks remained flushed as he set his jaw and met her gaze. “Well,” he started, “I meant I don’t kiss him. He kisses me. It’s different.”
Rouge hummed pensively, giving him time to second-guess his defense. Which, of course, he did.
“I mean, you said I say goodbye to all my friends like that. But I don’t—it’s just Sonic. Because that’s what he does. It’s Sonic’s thing.”
Knuckles seemed much happier with that answer, tilting his chin up to fix her with a challenging stare. It was a much better defense, of course. But Sonic was right: Knuckles couldn’t lie to save his life.
“Really?” she pressed. “So could I get a kiss goodbye if I asked nicely?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because Sonic is my best friend. And you,” he jammed a gloved hand to her chest, unable to unfurl a single finger for the gesture, “are a lying crook, bat girl.”
Rouge gasped and threw a hand to her chest in mock-dismay. “I resent that remark!” She watched as her pitiful expression cracked his resolve, then smoothly turned away as if she hadn’t noticed.
Rouge began to leisurely circle the Emerald, reaching a gloved hand out to run along its side. She was careful not to let her fingers touch it, lest she raised its guardian’s ire, but she ran them close enough to feel a soft tingle of power emanating from the gem.
“Just because I’m a crook doesn’t mean I have to lie to get what I want.” Necessarily. “I’m always perfectly clear about wanting this emerald here, aren’t I?”
Knuckles pulled back his fist and raised it to his chin, clearly considered her words—as serious as ever. “Well I suppose you are.” He side-eyed her as she finished her lap around the Emerald.
“So could I get a kiss?”
“Still no.” Knuckles crossed his arms and narrowed his gaze.
“Oh come on.” Rouge smiled. “We’re friends, you can trust me.” She continued before he had the chance to object, “So what is it? Am I not pretty enough for you?”
“No!” Knuckles sputtered, flustered.
“No I’m not pretty enough?” Rouge pouted, unable to resist drawing out another reaction from him.
“No, you are, I—augh!” Knuckles pressed his palms to the sides of his head. “You’re trying to get in my head!” His face scrunched up as he turned away, blocking her out.
Rouge laughed, dancing around to his front. She tugged at his arms with a sly grin. “Oh come on,” she goaded. “I’m not being serious.”
Knuckles cracked one suspicious eye open at her, and begrudgingly dropped his arms. He was clearly more interested in getting her to move on than to continue with his theatrics. But of course, she wasn’t planning on it. She was getting that emerald one way or another.
“Sonic isn’t half as persistent as me,” Rouge said. Her fingers remained brushing his arms where they’d fallen. “I can’t imagine you’d hold out denying me, but cave to him. You two butt heads all the time! You really expect me to believe this is all Sonic’s idea?”
Knuckles’ expression softened as she spoke, then his eyes flicked downward. He took a moment to think before letting out a steadying breath, resolving himself.
Gotcha, Rouge thought.
“It is his idea,” Knuckles said quietly. “That really is just something he does with friends. Just don’t—” he tensed “—tell him I like him, okay?”
Rouge cringed internally at the melodrama, but maintained her placid expression and nodded encouragingly. Relationship drama like this never made sense to her. But it wasn’t about what made sense to her, it was about what would get her leverage for that emerald.
“Of course I won’t tell him, sugar.” For a price.
Knuckles awkwardly scratched the back of his head. “Sonic’s friendship means a lot to me. And I’m happy with what we’ve got.” He stared off to the side, across the island and into the distant clouds. “I don’t want to risk losing it by asking for anything else.”
Rouge couldn’t help the soft snort that escaped her—playing guidance counselor was not her forte. Knuckles looked up at the sound and she attempted to play it off by clearing her throat.
“Well you can’t get what you want if you don’t try, can you? Why all the secrecy? Just get it over with and talk to him or whatever.”
Knuckles shook his head. “It’s not worth jeopardizing our friendship. That’s what means the most to me.”
“Afraid you’ll lose your kissing privileges if he rejects you?” Rouge smirked.
Knuckles shot her a glare.
Oops! Hit the nail on the head! Rouge pulled her hands behind her back and leaned away slightly, the fragile air of vulnerability clearly broken.
Knuckles remained still for a moment longer before looking away with a frustrated huff. “I think it’s time you leave.”
Rouge hummed and turned to walk to the edge of the shrine. She looked out across the tree tops to the empty sky beyond.
“I suppose that’s enough catching up for one day. But I’m not going without my emerald!”
She heard Knuckles shift behind her, probably squaring up once again. “What are you talking about, you crazy bat!? I said get off my island!”
“I’d be more than happy to,” Rouge purred. “In fact, I’ll probably head straight to Prower’s workshop to look for more emeralds. I might even run into Sonic while I’m there.” She looked back over her shoulder, a malicious glint in her eye. “How important would you say it is that I not tell him about your crush? Enough to give me that big pretty rock behind you?”
Behind her, she could see Knuckles was indeed in a fighting stance, fist up in a threat. He paused for a beat with that exaggerated frown on his face before he caught her meaning. His shoulders dropped and his eyes went wide.
“What-? You-! You said you wouldn’t!”
“I didn’t say for free—what do you take me for?”
Rouge shot upward with a powerful flap of her wings, narrowly dodging the twin spikes of Knuckles’ fist. Knuckles whirled around and swiped again at her receding legs. He missed, growling in frustration.
“Grr—! You two-faced little cheat! I trusted you!”
Rouge landed lightly on top of the Master Emerald, her heels clicking gently over the smudged lipstick print. “That’s your loss, echidna.” She dusted herself off and watched with amusement as Knuckles continued to growl and stamp his foot below. “Now, how does that deal sound to you?”
Knuckles snarled, “I won’t let you have the Master Emerald!”
“Not even to keep my mouth shut to Sonic? If you let me take it, I won’t tell him, promise.” She held her hands up in appeasement. Her word was only ever as good as she wanted it to be; all that really mattered was that others could tell when she was being really sincere.
“You said his friendship was so important to you.”
Knuckles stilled. He looked down at the cracked stone ground, his fists limp at his side as he thought it through. After a moment he sighed, his eyes softening in defeat.
Yes!
“Fine. Tell him.”
No!
“What?” Rouge stepped back, bewildered. “Did I hear you right?”
Knuckles scoffed, “Of course.” He straightened up, raising a fist to his chest and meeting her gaze. “My duty to the Master Emerald always comes first. No matter what, I’ll endure it.”
His eyes narrowed as he pulled up his other fist, setting his weight back into his fighting stance. “So don’t make me repeat myself again: Get off the Master Emerald and off my island!”
The two stood in the dead silence of the high air, the tiny scuffing of Knuckles’ shoes on rocks on rock the loudest sound between them. Rouge broke the moment with a sigh and a dismissive slump backwards. She hung one hand from her hip while the other gestured lazily at her side.
“Well, it was worth a try,” she said. “But what a waste of time. Listening to all those feelings and not even getting a good payoff for it. Next time I’ll just skip to snatching the Emerald while you two lovebirds are distracted.”
Knuckles regarded her warily as she lifted off the Master Emerald and flew to just over the edge of the shrine. She twisted back to look at him before she left.
“I meant what I said earlier. Just take what you want for once, Knuckles. That’s your problem, you know. You don’t know how to live for yourself.”
Knuckles scoffed, turning to face her without dropping his guard. “That’s your problem, Rouge. You have no sense of discipline.”
Rouge shrugged and turned to fly away. That may be so, she thought, the sound of her wingbeats and the wind in her ears quickly becoming all she could hear in the empty air, but at least this I can understand: I’d give up anything for that rock just the same!
