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Rouge nervously keyed open the hotel door, trying to prop it open without dropping Knuckles onto the carpet. He had been injured in a fight, but he hadn't yet revealed to her where it was, or how bad the cut really seemed. Rouge knew that it was his pride that was holding him back, but she thought that it was getting ridiculous. As a G.U.N. agent, she should be able to know when her partner is hurt and she felt like she should be trusted enough to be told immediately if it put the mission in jeopardy. Pushing the thought aside, they stumbled into the room where Rouge then gently guided Knuckles to the bed.
"Stay there," she said, not really knowing where he would have gone anyways. It wasn't like he was in his usual state of mind and it wasn't like the room was particularly large.
Knuckles let out a sigh, clutching his abdomen. "I'm not sure I could, Rouge."
He carefully lifted his gloved hand from his side, taking a cautious peek at the wound. Rouge caught a glimpse of dried blood matting up fur and gasped.
"Holy shit, Knuckles." She took a step backwards, towards the bathroom. "I'm gonna go look for a med-kit. That has to be cleaned."
There was no way in hell that she was going to let her partner mess up her mission. She didn't get paid enough for that. She turned into the bathroom, opening up cabinet doors and drawers under the sink, checking for anything that could help the situation. There ended up being a couple of bandages and disinfectant in a cranny, but there wasn't anything else to aid them. It would have to do. Rouge went back to Knuckles, where he had decided to sprawl out on the bed, his eyes closed.
“I'm toughing it out," he told Rouge, sensing her presence. "It will go away. I heal very fast."
"Normally I would believe you’re fine, but that is a lot of blood to be losing, and I don't need you passing out or dying on me," Rouge hissed, moving closer to him.
"I'm a warrior," Knuckles scoffed. "I don't do such things. It doesn't even hurt that bad."
"Then do it yourself." Rouge tossed him the supplies.
Knuckles sat up, wincing as he did so and observed the materials Rouge had brought him. He seemed to hesitate for a moment and then he confessed. “I don't know how to use these. I usually just wait for my wounds to get better and my medicine is different."
Rouge rolled her eyes. "Here's what we're going to do. I'll do it for you." She got closer and started poking at the cut. "I'm going to clean this real quick and then I'll see what we are dealing with and patch you up."
Knuckles just nodded, watching sharply as Rouge fetched a washcloth. She quickly came back and bent down, pressing the damp fabric to the fur and wiping the blood from it. Rouge noticed how Knuckles tensed up and how his hands curled into fists as she dabbed around the area.
"You know that it was pretty stupid to hide this from me if it hurt this bad, right? Like this straight up isn't okay."
Knuckles just blinked down at her. "A warrior finishes his battles. At the time, I barely noticed it."
"Well, okay, but still. Hand me that bottle, will you?"
Knuckles gave her the disinfectant. "Why do you care about this so much? I thought you didn't really like me, or anyone for that matter." He had a weird look in his eye and if he wasn't literally bleeding from his side, Rouge would have thought that he was holding himself differently.
Rouge paused in her work, a thoughtful expression gracing her face. "You're my partner. I want to do this right, I suppose. It kind of sets us back if one of us is hurt."
"Oh. Right."
Rouge refocused on the task at hand. "You might want to brace yourself real quick. Tell me if it hurts and I can stop."
Rouge poured some disinfectant over the wound, listening to it sizzle and watching it foam up and do its work. Knuckles ducked his head, but not before Rouge's bat ears picked up a small whimper. "I'm so sorry. I know it feels bad, but it is necessary. It'll be done soon."
"Yeah, of course," he responded, his face scrunched up. "It just stings."
Rouge went in with the washcloth again, trying to rid the wound of any dirt or debris that she missed the first time around. "It does that, I guess."
There was another small lapse in talking before Knuckles spoke again. "You are the only one who has recently done this for me. It almost feels strange."
Rouge blinked, before remembering Knuckles' past. That added a whole new layer of intimacy to this, didn't it? If Knuckles was the only one taking care of himself for so long, then the whole thing might just be making him uncomfortable. The realization made Rouge's heart sink, but for reasons that she wasn't sure of.
"Is it okay, though? That I am doing this?"
"Yes. I was simply just making an observation."
Wondering what this new feeling was, Rouge unrolled the bandages and gently began wrapping them around Knuckles' torso. He averted his eyes as her fingers brushed through his fur. It was surprisingly soft, like he used some type of conditioner. Rouge stuck the edge of the bandage in place, patting it down and then she stepped back to make sure she didn't miss anything.
"Rouge." Knuckles spoke in a quiet voice. "Your leg-- it’s bleeding."
Rouge glanced down, and sure enough, there was a gash in her thigh.
It had mostly stopped bleeding and it didn't look that deep, but Knuckles continued. "Could I repair it, do you think? You seem tired and probably it should be taken care of."
She was tired. Exhausted, in fact, but she hadn't recognized it until he pointed it out. The cut on her leg didn't really need the same medical attention as the cut in his side, but Knuckles seemed eager to repay her. "Sure, have at it."
Rouge took her place on the bed next to Knuckles, where he was surprisingly soft while wiping the blood from the edges of the wound and cleaning it. He ripped the bandages from the roll and carefully covered the cut, inspecting it for flaws. Finding none, he sat up, meeting Rouge's eyes and giving her an unexpected smile.
Something like butterflies erupted in Rouge's stomach, surprising her.
She kept her expression neutral.
"Thanks. I'm gonna get some shut-eye now, so I can be rested."
Knuckles nodded, moving the used supplies to the waste bin by the desk. "I think I will too."
There was only one bed, a fact that Rouge only just noticed as Knuckles made his way under the covers with her. as his back brushed against hers, she felt his warmth, and secretly was grateful for it. Feeling tired from the events of the day, she turned off the light and closed her eyes, her breath slowly evening out.
And if Knuckles just happened to be appreciating her presence just as much, she didn't need to know.