This is a highly self-indulgent fic, but I hope it's still enjoyable to people who aren't me
I still remember the idea that started it crystal clear, was sitting in bed at midnight and I thought
"What if I wrote a fic about going on a date with Knuckles?" I could write several paragraphs
of why him, but in short. He's my favorite out of the original cast, I see some of myself in him
and think I have a good understanding of him (Being portrayed as an idiot is basically slander)
I couldn't believe my eyes, but there he was. The guardian of the Master Emerald himself, Knuckles The Echidna
He looked so out of place sitting there in a chair, waiting for me
of all people to show up in what'd call a fairly fancy
restaurant.
Truth is, it was more like an enormous royal dance hall where you'd
see elittes having a ball. It was fitted with
intricately-patterned
wooden forniture you'd hate to even leave a mark on, ornate
decoration, the peak of opulence. Despite that,
there was a peace and calming quiet to it. One that even all the
other clientele couldn't manage to make disappear.
And yet, to my eyes it was like seeing pure perfection just waiting
on me. Right as I stressed to myself to not messed this up
he snapped me out of it by shouting "Hey!" After he spotted
me from a distance. I softly gasped in shock and then headed up to
him,
expertly pushing the wheels of my wheelchair, making my way to him
in no time, being welcomed by the weirdly comical remark
"Nice arms" To which I responded, after somewhat holding back
my laughter "Thanks?" And presumably having gotten a few tips
on gentlemanship before the date, he got off his chair to give me
the space I needed on the other end of the table by moving the
chair
that was on the opposite side of the table as he said "I mean it,
takes some strength to push around a hunk of metal like that"
Which took me a little by surprise but with a smile I told him "Got
that right" Followed by flexing my left arm,
which was met with a smirk from him. After a brief silence and a
sigh, I bluntly told him "I know you don't feel like you belong
here"
To which he replied
"Neither do you, and you still look your best" I blushed upon
hearing that and as soon as "How did you-"
Escaped my lips, he calmly interjected with
"Like recognizes like, or so they say" As he leaned back on
his chair
I was floored but did my (admittedly terrible) best not to let it
show, I could tell he had somehow picked up on it
which made me blush more. I was taken out of it as a waiter
approached us and handed us the menu, snapping out of it
while still blushing, I managed to get out a "Thank you" Quickly
followed by an awkward "A-anyway..." While looking at Knuckles
as my eyes dove into the menu to avoid him looking back at me. After
some looking around, I was lucky enough to settle
on the order shortly before a waiter came around, so I said to
Knuckles "Chao Grape, Crown Royal Steak, Chao Cola and an Elise's
Grace, sound good?"
"I've had exactly none of these, but sounds good" I laughed
telling him "Me neither, but I agree" and then directed my attention
to the waiter
as I said "Yes, we'll have this" I repeated my order and then
thanked him, only to quickly tell Knuckles "So, spit it" to which he
said
in confusion "But I have nothing in my mo-" only to quickly
cut himself off to say
"Ah, you meant the phrase. Still not good at those"
And with a smirk I said "No big deal red~" With no hesitation, I
went straight to it "Who taught you to be such a gentleman"
"You're giving me too much credit" He said, then I followed
"Was it Sonic, Tails, or even... Vector?" Only for him to
show intrigue
and tell me
"I won't tell, but I can tell you. I did have
help, rest of it. A little common sense goes a long way"
To which I said
"Well then~ Funny you did, because to me. You're charming enough as
is, I'd even call you Charmy Beeg" We both laughed
and I said while still reeling "I'm sorry, that was so dumb" And he
retorted "No, it's not. I appreciate the wordplay"
I smiled and told him "Happy you do" And then hit him with another
jab of honesty "So why did you accept?"
In his typical straightforward way, he said
"Because of you. Simple as that." As much as it surprised me,
it made sense.
So I said "Why thank you. Guess for you it's not about where you
are, but with who" To which he nodded affirmatively
and said "Look, the food's here" As he thanked the waiter and
unexpectedly took our food from the tray and set it on the table
himself, waiter was puzzled by this but went along. Then went on his
way with the empty tray while I vocalized "Uuuuuhhh"
followed by "Knuckles, why did you do that?" To which he said
"It was an act of courtesy." I vocalized a sound then
stopped
to think and said "I get it, you were trying to be nice to me! How
sweet of you~" While keeping a confident look
he said "Yes." Hoping I didn't notice his blushing, to which
he tried changing my focus by saying "So, about the grape..."
"Yeah? What about it?" To which he asked
"Is it an attempt to charm me?" Which sent me into a laughing
fit
And I quickly clarified "No, even if it was a secret it's your
favorite food I wouldn't do it just to wow you" He looked
reassured
"Unlike other women out there" The disdain in my voice was
palpable, but I shook off the thoughts and told him
"Go on, drink it" Which he did, and his face alone showed utter
amazement. What he said next really made it clear
"I-it's incredible, they taste just like the ones on Angel
Island. How is this possible?"
To which I gave my best guess
"Maybe they do use actual Angel Island grapes, who knows" After that
I went back to explaining the choice
"I knew it's your favorite, so I wanted you to enjoy something
familiar in between all this fancy food y'know?"
He simply said "Hm" As he nodded, being kind enough to cute
the steak for me. And then he said
"Why don't you try this?" As he gently moved the fork
with a cut of the steak in his hand closer to my mouth,
then I took a bite. After some brief chewing I said "Thank you"
He chuckled and then said"Even I know that's improper. But it's cute coming from you"