Date Duo

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Knuckles finished setting up; all he had to do was wait for Rouge to come to bother him, and then his plan will begin.

"Hey Knuckles." Rouge greeted, walking up to Knuckles from the thin layer of forest nearby.

"Hey Rouge, guess what?" Knuckles asked, sounding slightly more energetic than normal.

"You, know?" She stuttered.

Knuckles cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Know what...?"

Deep down, Rouge couldn't keep a secret from the red echidna; she cares too much for him.

"I... I made a deal with Shadow..." Rouge admitted.

Knuckles raised a brow. "What kind of deal...?"

"He's pretending to be my boyfriend so I could try to get you to op-"

"Your boyfriend?!" Knuckles snapped.

Rouge nodded slowly.

"Gah-! And after I go out of my way to make up for bad behavior... You pull a stunt like this? Maybe I was wrong to think you'd changed... Maybe I was wrong to change my view of you..." Knuckles' last sentence was where his voice broke down, which happened to be the first time it happened. The echidna sprinted away, as fast and far as he could, not paying attention to where he was going. He wanted to beat the crap out of Shadow for agreeing, but he'd likely get his ass kicked, so he stuck to running.

Meanwhile, Rouge broke down, sobbing at her mistake. Somehow, she thought her plan would work. After clearing up some of her tears, she took a peek at an artificial light source, and was quickly drawn to it. She wiped her face as she walked towards the light, only to be greeted with a candle-lit dinner, the master emerald as the table. Food was covered to preserve the temperature, and a card laid on the plate where Rouge would've sat. She picked up the card, opened it, and read it.

Rouge,

I know I shouldn't have reacted the way I did, or always do for that matter. The thing is that I got so used to spending holidays alone that when I got confused with my feelings for you, it frustrated me whether or not to continue my habit of being alone. I realized that I want to break that habit, and spend every holiday I can with you, Rouge. I recently realized just how special you are to me, despite annoying me from time to time. I have Sonic to thank for helping me realize that, but that's besides the point. My point is:

I really like you Rouge. No matter how flustered I get, how pushy you can be. I'd like to make up for Valentine's Day with this dinner, if that's okay?

P.S. This is where you look up from the card to look at me ^•^

Rouge almost started crying again, if it weren't for Sonic startling her.

"Sorry... I saw Knuckles running, so I assumed you were here." Sonic shrugged.

"Could you tell him to come back?" Rouge asked quietly, almost whispering.

Sonic agreed, and zipped away. While Rouge waited, she sat in her seat, and stared at the card. What in her mind thought that pretending to date Shadow was a good idea? It definitely sounds bad now. Rouge was so focused on that, that she ended up falling asleep, card still in hand.

• • •

Sonic spotted Knuckles sitting underneath a tree, catching his breath.

"Gee, you ran pretty far huh?" Sonic joked. Knuckles was unaffected.

"What do you want?" Knuckles asked sharply.

"Rouge asked for you..."

Knuckles looked up at the blue hedgehog, looking for any indications of false advertising. No luck.

"Take me please?"

Within a minute, Sonic dropped Knuckles off in the thin layer of forest.

"Good luck." Sonic said before zooming away.

Knuckles walked slowly, looking for Rouge. He noticed her asleep at the table, her arm dangling by her side, holding the card he made for her. Knuckles sighed and walked up to her. Somehow, his footsteps woke the sleeping bat up.

"Knuckles..." She said surprised, sitting up straight.

"That's me." Knuckles chuckled nervously, trying to joke a bit.

"How was the card...?" He asked.

Rouge was still dazed from just waking up, but not anymore. Knuckles' question definitely shooed away any tiredness she had.

"Ah- it was insightful for sure-"

"I meant every word." Knuckles somehow managed to make his voice more soothing and hypnotic, despite not actually having that effect. Rouge was shocked by this statement of his.

"But how can you aft-"

"Please... Stop questioning it, before something else bad happens..." Knuckles said softly.

Rouge nodded, allowing Knuckles to take control of the situation. He walked over to his seat to reintroduce the dinner that's been waiting for them.

"Baked Chicken with Stir fried rice...? How'd you figure out something so simplistic?" Rouge questioned.

"I have sources."

They ate, chatting about various topics, and agreeing to forever forget the previous situation. Getting to know each other more just further confirmed their feelings for each other. As expected, the night ended with a kiss under the stars.

And an hour of laying on the grass.

Tiny Tampering • A Knuxouge StoryWhere stories live. Discover now