Knuxouge - Clipped Wings

Tails gets a cameo

"Hello! Is the engineer in?"

The call came at an inopportune time for Tails, considering he was laying on his back underneath a ton of aeronautic machinery. Tails set down his tools and rolled out from under his airplane, which he had been doing some upgrades on. He trotted to the door and opened it to his visitors. Knuckles and Rouge stood on his doorstep. They were both looking tired.

"Uh, hey guys! What's up?" Tails greeted, somewhat awkwardly.

"I was-" Rouge began, but started over once Knuckles gave her the side-eye— "We were wondering if WE could borrow a big ladder."

"Aren't you supposed to be taking it easy? What would you need a ladder for?" He asked incredulously. Rouge rolled her eyes, annoyed she had to retell the story, but retell it she did.

"One of my second story windows is open and I need to close it before Bokkun comes in uninvited again. He did that last night, by the way. Don't worry. Knuckles here will be my minion for the day so I won't be climbing it myself." This being said, Rouge leaned against Knuckles to emphasize her temporary dependence on him. Tails' eyebrows slanted upwards in a worried expression. He quickly offered his help to the two visitors.

"Sure I have a ladder! Come in and I'll get it." Tails opened the door wide and they stepped inside his house. Well, they called it a house, but it was more like a workshop with a bed in the corner. Every available surface had something metal on it— tools, half-finished projects, stray parts, computers. The walls were covered in shelves filled to the eaves. There were books on any engineering or robotics subject. Rouge had been here many times before, but every time she visited she was shocked at how disorganized the place could get. Tails insisted he knew where everything he needed was, but to the untrained eye it was really a mess of metal. After a bit of shuffling around, Rouge found a loveseat under a couple pipes and sat down. Knuckles stayed standing. Tails had walked outside. Presumably that was where he kept the extra large ladders.

"I'm surprised he keeps the ladder outside. It would fit right in with his interior decorating," Rouge mused aloud. Knuckles let loose a small laugh.

"Now don't be snarky, he's doing you a favor. You better thank him," He replied.

"I know that, I'm not five." Rouge pouted.

Tails poked his head through the door, hovering. "Knuckles, could you help me with the ladder? It's a little too heavy." Knuckles left to assist.

While they were gone, Rouge thought about the day's events so far. She had discovered a break in and made Knuckles worry about it, but the only thing that was left was a lovely bouquet. Only a villain or a stranger would go to the trouble of delivering it that way. Why hadn't they just left it by the door? If it was Bokkun who did it, she knew how to deal with him... But what if it hadn't been Bokkun?

Rouge shook the thought out of her head. There was no point worrying about it now. Soon the window would be closed, and she wasn't in danger over a bouquet.

"Rouge! We've got the ladder, come on out." Knuckles' voice brought her back into focus and Rouge stood up to leave. Just outside she saw Knuckles and Tails double-teaming the ladder, one supporting each side.

"Time to leave already? That hardly seems amicable!" She exclaimed sarcastically.

The sarcasm seemed to go over the others' heads. "Actually I was working on my new airplane when you came by. I would love to get back to work on it," Tails assured her.

"We can't impose on Tails more than we already have," grumbled Knuckles.

Rouge rolled her eyes and continued walking toward them. She grabbed hold of Tails' end of the ladder. Knuckles was about to say something but she cut him off— "it's my wings that are broken, not my arms! I can carry the ladder home, especially with your help." She relieved Tails of his position supporting the ladder. Tails seemed relieved and softly landed on the ground. A thought struck him.