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“I do not like this,” Knuckles muttered under his breath, though it was certainly enough for Amy to hear. Despite agreeing to the hedgehog’s terms of allowing her to cover his eyes and guide him, his guard had never been higher. There was no full risk when it came to Amy - while powerful, she was harmless when it came to him - but something kept him on edge. He’d never been directed blindly. Knuckles always knew where he was going, and if he did not he was sure to memorize it for next time.
Being off the island and away was one thing, and that was unsettling enough. He did not spend that much time away, and he preferred it to stay that way. Amy had promised it to be temporary, and she’d claimed it was a matter of importance, however this wasn’t quite feeling like it. This was too vulnerable. His arms were held out pointedly in front of him, ready to run straight into something. That, and his feet dragged in the slightest amounts to feel for any potential holes or traps on the ground. One could never be too careful.
“Oh come on, you know I wouldn’t lead you to your death. Just trust me, okay?” Amy smiled, hiding a giddiness in her tone.
She’d only received a begrudging huff in response.
“I thought you said this was going to be quick,” Knuckles complained flatly seconds later.
“Would you shut your trap already? We’re almost there!”
That did not ease his concerns, though he did do as told. Not for any other particular reason other than he could understand that his comments were getting nowhere, and in the end, Amy was a trustworthy individual.
He would still rather be home.
And as promised, they came to a halt moments later, Knuckles skidding to a stop due to the pressure on his eyes. “Okay,” Amy chirped, pulling her hands away quickly and bouncing as she landed from the tips of her toes. “Here we are!”
Knuckles squinted, pulling a hand to shield his eyes from the sun he now had to adjust to again. “What…?”
It came into view. A quaint little meadow with dozens of flowers, butterflies, and two trees standing closeby. Homey, he could argue, but the true obscurity was the wooden table and balloons tied to the ends. A cake in the center of the table, surrounded by Tails and… Sonic. Of course. His snout wrinkled in confusion.
“Hey, Knuckles!” Tails greeted, the fox standing on the table’s bench.
“Took ya long enough,” Sonic snickered, posing a much more laid-back nature in contrast to his companion, his arm resting on the table for support. “Good to see you could make it.”
Knuckles lowered his arm, demeanor still more hardened than not. This was not the type of importance he was expecting to be called down for. “What… is this?”
Amy stepped up next to the dumbfounded echidna, gesturing a hand out to the view. “You told me once that you’d never had a birthday party before, and that you didn’t know what a birthday… was… so, I thought it’d be better to show you!” she explained, her voice that soft, sentimental tone she bore on occasion. Her eyes shifted to Knuckles’, only to be a bit taken off by how unpleased he appeared. She chuckled nervously. “… Are you alright?”
In fairness, this is simply how Knuckles always looked. When he wasn’t frowning or smiling, he naturally had a very serious expression. As of right now, this is because he was only having a hard time grasping what to make of this. There were strange emotions he couldn’t pinpoint mixed with some that he could. He opened his mouth, though he hung on the air for a moment more. Once he could find something, he cleared his throat and angled his head up. “This is… for me?” His tone was quizzical.
He finally looked at Amy, his relaxing expression easing the hedgehog much more. “I don’t understand. I told you that I did not have a ‘birthday.’ And I don’t have time for parties.”
He’d hardly realized Sonic and Tails approaching, fixing his eyes to them in just a glance before Amy spoke again. “Yes, well, I know that. But believe it or not, everyone has a birthday! You just don’t know what day it is. Everyone deserves a birthday party - and trust me. You have plenty of time,” she explained, placing a hand on Knuckles’ arm softly.
“C’mon, Knux - kick back a little bit. It’s your day, now,” Sonic said, cocking his head with a grin and sloppy thumbs up.
“We met a year ago today, so we thought it’d be pretty suitable for an anniversary,” Tails explained, hands placed proudly on his hips. “It was pretty easy to pinpoint the day, actually. After those tests you let me do, I figured out you were sixteen, remember? That makes you seventeen, today!”
Knuckles took in the information just given to him. He certainly remembered those tests and prematurely pulling off all of those strings Tails would continue to attach… he still didn’t entirely know what those tests were for. ‘Health measures,’ if he remembered anything at all from that interaction. He could still recall how much he hated every second of it.
There was a brief pause in anticipation as to how Knuckles would react to his friends’ elaborate plan, and it was clear that there were cogs turning. Looking between his smiling friends and the setup made for him, there was consideration and confliction.
Then, after a good ten seconds, he pivoted on his feet and began walking back the direction they came. He threw up a hand in goodbye, with nothing more than: “No thanks.”
Amy’s jaw fell, her body slumping forward miserably. “Ohh,” she groaned, head lowering in defeat. Tails settled next to her, patting her back with his own sigh and fixation on the ground.
Sonic, on the other hand, rubbed his chin in thought, much less disappointed than the other two. He’d been expecting something like that frankly, but Knuckles’ response did leave him with a bit of an idea. A smile quickly took over.
Knuckles had been touched by the offering. Truly, he wanted to be there, he wanted to spend that time with his friends - it didn’t happen very often, so he couldn’t help but long for company every once in a while.
That did not mean he would abandon his duties for such fantasies, however. He was the Guardian of Angel Island. Knuckles would not falter, no matter what. In the end, without proper preparation, he preferred to stay close. He could always sense when something was wrong with the emerald, but the worst part was not being right there to figure it out.
He stood his ground before the Master Emerald, arms crossed and his eyes set forward. He hardly acknowledged the fact that his mind lingered on the scene created for him - him, why him? He understood that Amy wanted to include him… actually… no, he didn’t understand that. This was something he wasn’t accustomed to, so why should it include him? That didn’t make sense. He had no sense of tradition for a “birthday.” He’d hardly kept track of his own aging, not particularly noticing it. It was much more measured by his own increase in strength over the years, if anything. He saw no use in celebrating such a simple manner such as the passage of time.
Still, the guilt hung on him. Bigger than he thought, but wouldn’t think too hard about it. Amy had sincerity and happiness in the way she spoke, so she’d clearly been excited. Tails looked happy, too, and even if he didn’t care that Sonic was really there he did end up appreciating the gesture. To some extent.
His eyes fell to the ground, a slow tap of his foot picking up.
“Yo, Knux!”
The echidna’s head perked and his stance shifted to one ready for combat, eyes darting to the source. He instantly relaxed at the realization that it’d come from Sonic, a blue blur in the distance waving at him. He blinked, and in his confusion frowned. “Wh–Sonic?” he started, then once he noticed the other two at his side, he shifted uncomfortably. Despite his disregard of her plans, Amy still wore a smile, and Tails still seemed eager. He grew even more confused, taking a glance over his shoulder at the emerald, before making a jog in their direction. He slowed before them, eyeing between the three suspiciously. “What are you doing here? I thought I told you I wasn’t interested.”
Sonic snorted as he approached. “Yeah, and we both know that’s not true,” he said. The smugness in his voice and expression made Knuckles flustered, and ultimately, defensive.
“How would you know what I-”
Amy cleared her throat to stop that before it began. “We’re not here to pick a fight,” she reminded, shooting a glare at a nonchalant Sonic. Her smile returned as she looked back to Knuckles, the basket in her hands becoming more prominent as she clutched it in excitement. “We just figured that if you weren’t comfortable leaving Angel Island for the occasion, we’d just come to you! Er… if you’ll have us, of course.”
Tails chimed in. “Yeah! We don’t want to intrude, we just thought it’d be fun! I know this isn’t your thing, but… it could be. And isn’t the best part of traditions sharing it with the people you love? We’d like to share it with you.”
Knuckles was processing once again. It took him only a few ticks before he decided to work this out aloud. “So… let me get this straight,” he said, palms facing the ground. “You guys heard me say ‘no’ to your party, so decided to instead pack everything up and come up here with it?”
Hearing it spelled out made Amy and Tails uncomfortable, figured by the sheepish smiles they had on their faces and the awkward laughter accompanying it. Though, they’d taken it in a way that Knuckles had not meant. He simply stated what happened in order to get it through his head, there’d been no direct distaste in what he clarified.
…Even if it was getting to that.
Sonic did not take the bait, however. “Yep, that’s exactly what we did,” he proudly stated, approaching Knuckles to put his hand on his back. The echidna glared at his hand as if it were diseased, spines bristling, though his tension died down some as Sonic picked it back up. “Because we care about you, dude. And look, if you really want us to beat it, we will. But this isn’t just a celebration for you, it’s a celebration of our friendship!”
Knuckles eased fully. He didn’t know what to make of that. Friendship and a celebration of how long they’ve known each other. He knew how much it meant to him, but he didn’t see where he lied in importance to them. He did not actively participate in their daily activities. They did not interact on a normal basis. Why did they care so much, why did it matter?
Regardless of how much none of it really added up for Knuckles, he found his heart beating faster. He was still happy.
Finally, he huffed, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at the hedgehog. “Al-right, that was pretty corny. Even for you, Sonic.”
Sonic only laughed. This got a snicker out of Knuckles, then a smile, and soon the others were giggling too. He was much more willing to accept this. He would tolerate (and enjoy) this occasion much more when he was still able to attend his duties. Thankfully he’d already learned that the others were able to be trusted, at least under his supervision, so he was comfortable with their prolonged stay.
Truly, the company was nice from time to time. He enjoyed laughing with his friends.
“So, does this mean you’ll let us throw the party?” Amy asked eagerly and very abruptly, doing the best puppy eyes she could muster up.
“Tch.” Knuckles rolled his eyes and waved his hand. “I suppose I can make room up here… but only for a little bit,” he said dismissively. It was clear to everyone that it was an empty claim.
“Yes!” Amy squealed, running past Knuckles alarmingly quick to set up for the party once more.
Knuckles’ eyes widened and he sputtered, shifting on his feet to run after her. “Wait, don’t touch anything!”
Tails’ laughs and Sonic’s snickers filled his ears, and he could feel nothing but ease.