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“The tent’s set up, so I think now all we need is some sticks so we can make a fire.” Knuckles told Sonic, leaves crunching beneath his feet as he made his way over to the hedgehog.
“Say no more!” Sonic grinned, dashing away.
Knuckles made the mistake of turning around to head within the tent to grab something while he waited, but Sonic reappeared again as quickly as he disappeared. “For yours truly!” Sonic held out the pile, an undeniable smugness twinkling in his eyes.
Knuckles rolled his eyes in amusement. “Whatever. Do you ever take your time with anything?”
Sonic blinked with a genuine bewilderment. “Dude, do you even know who I am?” He asked.
“Well- Yeah, fair point.” Knuckles huffed a little impatiently. “But aren’t you ever worried you’ll miss something?”
“Like what?” Sonic tilted his head.
“Like the world around you – I don’t know, on Angel Island I always take long and slow hikes throughout its biomes, and I find something new every time.” Knuckles pointed out.
“I mean, we’ve spent all day slowly walking, Knux.” The hedgehog reminded him. “But believe it or not – some days I also enjoy stopping and looking at all the scenery, it’s good to do when you need some alone time – at least I think so.” Sonic shrugged.
“I suppose that’s true.” Knuckles acknowledged, only to have Sonic disappear abruptly again.
He returned with several food items in his hand, grinning widely. “But either way – who’s got time for being slow when they’re hungry?” Sonic asked. “I’ve got the buns, got the glizzies, and I’ve got the chilli!”
Knuckles glanced over Sonic’s offering, and his face twisted with apprehension and slight disdain. “I was hoping to get you away from… processed foods and teach you how to scavenge…”
“We’ve got plenty of other nights for all that!” Sonic waved away his concerns. “Besides, tonight marks the first night of our camping trip – so it’s only right if we eat something a bit more special.”
When Knuckles still looked unconvinced, Sonic made his largest, widest puppy-dog eyes he could manage. “Pleeease?”
Knuckles tried to remain unwavering, but Sonic’s shimmering and adorable eyes broke the echidna down quickly. Knuckles pursed his lips. “Fine.” He grumbled, folding his arms and looking to the side.
“Woohoo!” Sonic pumped the air in excitement. “These are going to be the best chilidogs of your life, Knux – I can promise you that!”
Sonic was only right because Knuckles didn’t have much to compare them to. Knuckles had a preference for natural foods and wasn’t on the surface often, meaning he’d only ever tried those made by Sonic – and he always lathered them in far too much chilli.
Here, Knuckles had been able to assemble them to his liking – and meat always tasted better when it was cooked over an open fire anyway.
“Phew!” Sonic let out, sitting on the ground beside Knuckles in front of the fire. “I’m gonna be sleeping good tonight!”
“I’d sure hope so, you ate far more than me…” Knuckles told him with his own grin.
“It wouldn’t be good to waste any of our food!” Sonic made an excuse that he was sticking to.
“Sure, we’ll go with that.” Knuckles wasn’t about to argue – instead, he found his gaze drifting upwards towards the dark navy blue sky. There weren’t many stars in the sky – but the ones there shone dazzlingly bright.
The flames crackled softly, filling the silence.
The hedgehog shuffled wordlessly across the ground, bringing him closer to Knuckles to the point where their arms threatened to touch. The echidna could feel his presence, and found his muscles tensing with nerves.
He hated how Sonic always had that effect on him.
The more that time passed though, the comfier his nerves felt to sit with– perhaps he was just getting used to them. Knuckles looked towards the hedgehog and felt a warmth rise within his chest.
“Hey, Sonic?”
“Hm?”
“I’m… really thankful you decided to come out with me on this trip.”
Sonic leaned over, resting his head on top of Knuckles’ shoulder. The echidna’s widened drastically as a million thoughts rushed through his head like a tidal wave.
Oh God, what is he doing? Why is he touching me? Should I move? Should I just sit still? Does he even know what he’s doing?
“No need to thank me, Knux. You know I’m always up for an adventure.” Sonic pointed out with a smile, his eyes closing.
Knuckles gulped, his heartbeat beginning to quicken.
“Can I be honest with you?” Knuckles asked.
“Well, I hope you wouldn’t be lying to me, Knuckles.” Sonic replied with a quiet snicker.
Knuckles pouted. “Don’t make this hard for me!”
“Alright, alright-” Sonic surrendered, still laughing.
Knuckles let out a long sigh, not even sure how Sonic would take his words. Would he think it as weird, or too sappy?
“I’ve spent most of my life alone, and while I enjoy solitude… it’s become harder in recent years to spend long periods on Angel Island all on my own.” Knuckles confessed. “I think it might have to do with finally getting to know what I was missing out on. The lives you all lead below… I envy it.”
Sonic opened one of his eyes. “I don’t think there’s any shame in that.” He said, still so relaxed – as though Knuckles pouring out his insecurities meant nothing to him.
“Yeah… I guess you could say I’ve been a bit lonely, that’s all. So, I’m glad you decided to come with me on my travels. I want to explore the world, but I’m finding it even better that I get to do it with a friend.”
“You know, seeing your softer side is funny.” Sonic remarked simply, causing Knuckles to stare down at him. “Does it come out more when you’re sleepy?”
“I-” Knuckles stuttered in confusion. “I don’t know-?”
“It’s cute though.” It took just one simple statement from Sonic to turn the echidna’s face bright red. “Wish you’d show it a bit more often.”
“H-huh?” Words were alluding him.
“Look, Knux – you like to hide your feelings a lot, but thing is – I’ve known you for a long time, I can read you like a book – I know you’ve been lonely, and as a friend – I’ve been trying to do everything to make sure that you feel a bit happier, you know?”
Knuckles’ eyes shifted away. “I… hope you didn’t just admit that you’re hanging out with me out of pity-”
“Nah, you know I wouldn’t bother with that – if I don’t like someone, I tell ‘em. No room for debate.”
“If you’re certain…” Knuckles said, still unsure. “The last thing I do want to do is be a burden.”
It was Sonic’s turn to roll his eyes. “Knux, do I need to show you how much I care about you? Do you need a live demonstration?”
“Uhhh, what do you even mean by that?” Knuckles asked, his brow furrowing.
Sonic slowly lifted his head up from Knuckles’ shoulder, eyeing him with a concentrated gaze. They locked eyes, and for a moment – he forgot to think, purely transfixed by the hedgehog’s emerald eyes.
Before Knuckles knew it, Sonic closed his eyes and leaned forward – gently planting a kiss on the echidna’s cheek that fluttered against his skin like gentle caress. Sonic’s lips were unimaginably soft, like a cotton pillow – and Knuckles was most certainly convinced he had to be dreaming.
Sonic’s breath was cold as he pulled away, undoubtedly due to the cold night air – and it was at that moment that the situation truly sunk in for the echidna.
Knuckles yelped aloud, and it was high-pitched – he sharply turned his whole body away as he covered his bright red face with his two hands.
The hedgehog certainly hadn’t expected that reaction. “Uh, you uh – you okay, Knux?”
Knuckles heart pounded loudly like a drum, and he could feel each pump within his chest. “I… I think I’m having a heart attack-” Knuckles choked out.
Sonic thought for a moment. “Well, I suppose I wouldn’t mind doing mouth-to-mouth if you needed it.” The hedgehog smirked.
Knuckles squeaked, trying to bury his face further into his hands despite it being impossible to hide himself more.
Chuckling, Sonic placed a hand on Knuckles’ shoulder and rubbed it. “Come on, Knux – I’m not that bad of a kisser, am I?”
“Of course, you’re not!” Knuckles exclaimed; his voice muffled. “B-But I don’t get it, that wasn’t like – that wasn’t intended romantically, right?”
Sonic blinked. “Totally platonic – just kissing a homie goodnight, you know how it is.” Sonic replied sarcastically.
“Oh, okay…” Knuckles sighed with some relief, but his disappointment was also evident by the way his voice lowered.
“Heh, you’re a knucklehead – you know that, right?” Sonic told him fondly. “I’d love to talk more about the status of our relationship but I’m worried you’ll genuinely have a heart attack… So how about we call it a night, yeah?”
“Th-that’s fine-”
“Cool. Now, I was actually thinking that I might want to sleep under the stars tonight, rather than the tent – what about you?” Sonic asked him.
Knuckles’ mind was somewhere else entirely, but he did manage to show his face again – even if it was still the same shade as his fur. “S-sure.”
Sonic smirked mischievously. “Is that because you want to cuddle with me tonight~?”
The echidna hid his face right away again, shaking his head rapidly. “Why do you do this to me?!” He whined.
Sonic chuckled heartily, standing up and looking down on him. “It’s funny.” He admitted honestly. “And your reactions are adorable. But for now, I think you need some time to recover. I’ll grab some blankets from the tent.” Sonic told him, turning around and making his way inside.
Once the area around him was silent, he set his arms down at his sides and his heartbeat began to finally slow. The night had suddenly turned into a complete whirlwind – and he wasn’t about to forget it any time soon.
He’d just been kissed by the most important guy in his life… how was he ever supposed to recover from this?