Chapter Text
Knuckles wakes up to shouting downstairs, and he sits up in a rush. His heart pounds inside his chest, and his fur stands up on end at the ruckus under him.
Are they getting attacked? Has the Master Emerald been broken? Did Eggman return, after such a short period of time? Everything is messy and quick and scared in his mind, and he quickly jumps off of the beanbag Sonic offered to give him for the night.
He rushes down the stairs, then jumps the last few stairs that least to the first floor. When he gets there, he lands with a grunt, fists clenched and ready to punch as red lines of power zaps over his hands, only to dim down when he sees the true cause of the noise.
Sonic is on Tom’s back, holding tightly onto the man’s shirt and trying to reach for the pancakes he’s carrying. Tails is at the table, having been talking until he stopped when Knuckles jumped down and settled on staring at the echidna. Maddie is at the oven, leaving more pancakes to sizzle until they are ready for breakfast.
Everyone is silent, and Knuckles realizes that, not only has he gotten himself worked up for nothing, but his wounds protest loudly at the jumps he’s just made, and he holds back a wince.
It’s quiet, until Sonic smiles and waves at him.
“Hi, Knucklehead!” The hedgehog beams, still clinging onto his dad.
Knuckles rolls his eyes. That nickname isn’t going away any time soon. He lets out a low sigh, almost groaning, and he goes to return upstairs.
“Where you goin’?” We’ve got pancakes for you!” Sonic shouts, jumping off Tom’s back and trying not to bite his tongue when his side screams at him.
“Sonic.” Tom scolds him as he walks over to the kitchen table, giving a gentle smile to Tails before going back to Maddie.
“I’m okay!” The kid retorts, sticking his tongue out then turning to Knuckles with a wide smile. “We thought you might like some blueberry pancakes! Or strawberry. Maddie! What was it again?”
“Raspberry pancakes, Sonic.” Maddie tells him with a smile as she places the rest of the pancakes in another plate, which Tom takes and heads to the table.
“Right! That’s what I said!” The blue blur grins at his mom, swaying on his feet with his arms behind his back.
“I’m not hungry.” Knuckles cuts in and pulls at one of his gloves to fit it better around his hand.
“You can’t be serious!” Sonic complains. “You’ve got to be hungry! We’ve been sleeping for twelve hours!”
“Twelve hours?” The echidna’s eyes widen, and when he looks outside, he sees the sun is already high and bright in the sky. “Where is the Master Emerald?”
“Relax, Knux. It’s chilling in Donut Lord’s shed.” The young hero rolls his eyes, walking over to the table.
“Donut… Lord?” Knuckles watches as Sonic jumps to sit on his seat, then looks over when Tom walks by with a plate of pancakes.
“Long story—“
“—It’s not even that long!—“ Sonic chimes in.
“—I talk to donuts. Come sit with us.” Tom nods his head towards an open seat as he goes to sit next to Maddie, who’s settled in front of Tails. Sonic sits in front of Tom, and an empty chair is between the two kids.
Knuckles stares at the table, uncertain and unsure, although the gentle smell of freshly cooked pancakes tickle his nose and the added scent of raspberries lure him over, and he slowly approaches the table all while glancing over at each person and creature present.
At last, he climbs on the chair, still glancing at Sonic and Tails, then settles down and stares at the plate before him. The pancakes are golden and shiny, coated with syrup with raspberries mixed in with the dough.
“You know, you should take off your gloves first.” Sonic points out before stuffing a large piece of syrup-soaked pancake in his mouth.
“I know how to use my gloves, thank you.” Knuckles thanks him with a hint of bitterness in his voice, only to look at the form next to his food. Never had he used a fork, or any other utensil before, and he slowly reaches for it.
Through the gloves, he feels the tool and finds it stiff and, with the shine, figures it is metallic of some sort. He sniffs it, and hears Tails giggle beside him.
“Just pick up the pancake with the teeth. Like this.” The fox kit pushes the fork into a piece of pancake, then shoves it into his mouth with a smile as he turns to Knuckles again.
The echidna only nods slowly and looks over at his plate to do the same. He sticks the teeth of the fork into a piece of pancake and raises it with wide eyes. The food managed to be grabbed by the tool, which surprises Knuckles more than it should as Tom and Maddie smile at him.
With a slight sniff, Knuckles exhales then takes the bite into his mouth. He chews, slow and tentative, frowning his brows as he lets the flavors bursts on his tongue and—
“G’fd ri’ft?” Sonic chimes next to the echidna, who jumps on his seat and looks at the blue hedgehog next to him.
“Sonic, don’t talk with your mouth full.” Tom sighs, shaking his head as he watches the kid swallow the bites he most likely didn’t finish chewing.
“I wasn’t.” His son smiles, blinking as if to prove he’s innocent of what he was accused of.
“What do you think?” Tails, unlike Sonic, talks after having swallowed what he ate, tails gently swaying behind him.
Knuckles is quiet for a moment, and he swallows the pancake he just chewed and stares at his place for a solid minute.
Until he scoffs, failing to hide a smile when he speaks. “Yeah, it’s good.”