It was a normal day for the five friends. Or, at least, compared to the more recent days, it was.

Roughly a week ago, Sonic had gotten into a huge accident. From the waist up, he was fine, but his legs were heavily damaged. He had recovered surprisingly fast, probably due to how durable and special his legs were, but when he tried to go on his usual Sonic run, he couldn't. It wasn't that he couldn't run, but he was just barely faster than the rest of his friends. His speed had simply... disappeared.

For a few days, he seemed to be completely positive about it, but any of his friends could see his underlying concern. His speed meant so much to him, and without the power in his legs, he couldn't jump nearly as high. At the very least, he had his spindash, but that wasn't saying much.

After those few days, his demeanor started to falter. Amy guessed that he was so certain that his legs just needed a little more time to fully heal, but after all those days of him feeling perfectly fine physically with nothing changing, he'd probably given up. He'd still crack an occasional joke now and then, but it usually seemed forced and he was quiet most of the time anyway.

Now, they were just sitting at the picnic table that Amy had kindly set up, eating a nice lunch. As usual, Sonic's mind seemed to be somewhere else and he didn't seem too hungry. It was a slightly awkward atmosphere that everyone had gotten used to; without Sonic's confident attitude and wisecracks, things felt out of balance. Even Sticks was pretty quiet, not wanting to say anything that might upset him.

After a few minutes, Sonic stood up and turned away, faking a smile. "Ah, think I'm gonna go lay down for a bit." He stretched, then steadily walked off. That was pretty usual at this point; he tended to go back to his house and sleep on his hammock at random.

"...You think he might just need more time?" Tails asked quietly.

Amy shrugged, not really sure. "I don't know. I tried talking to him, but he won't open up to me."

She looked over at Knuckles and frowned. "What about you, Knuckles? You two have been so inseparable lately. Did he ever say anything to you?"

The echidna probably had it worse out of the four since he was Sonic's boyfriend, even though it was a secret. Sonic wouldn't talk to him at all; he wouldn't even sleep in the same bed anymore and had gone back to his hammock.

He shook his head. "No, he hasn't talked to me either. He used to talk to me all the time, but now..." He sighed sadly. "I'm really worried about him."

"There must be something else going on for him to not talk to you," Amy figured, frowning. "You two seemed so close lately; maybe you should try again..."

Knuckles thought for a moment. "Yeah, maybe I should try talking to him again."

He honestly wasn't sure if he could get Sonic to talk this time. All previous attempts had failed; it was likely that this one would too.

Tails and Sticks nodded in agreement. They didn't know what happened to make the two so close, but they had a strong feeling that Knuckles was the only one with a fighting chance.

Meanwhile, Sonic was lying down on the hammock in his shack, his back facing the entrance. He hugged one of the pillows he'd taken from the bed; Knuckles'. It had his scent, so it was slightly comforting to him, as he'd preferred not to face the real deal. He felt awful that he didn't want to see his own boyfriend, but he couldn't help it.

He bent his legs slightly as he curled up, feeling the fabric of the black pants he was wearing brushing against his fur. He was known to have some sort of vendetta against wearing them, but changed his tune suddenly after the incident.

Knuckles nervously approached Sonic's hut. He walked up to the entrance and peeked in slightly.

"Hi," he said softly. "Can...can I come in?"

Sonic stiffened, not sure how to answer. He wanted to see Knuckes, he really did, and he sounded so sincere and worried, but...

He decided not to respond and tried to pretend that he was already asleep. Deep down, he knew it wouldn't work; the two had slept together for so long that Knuckles probably knew how he relaxed and how he breathed when he was sleeping.

Knuckles sighed and walked into the hut. He could tell how miserable the hedgehog was.

"Hey," was all he could think of to say.

Sonic was quiet for a few more seconds, hoping to hear the Knuckles' fleeting footsteps, but no such sound came. He hugged the pillow tighter.

"Hey."

Knuckles grabbed a nearby chair and moved it closer to Sonic's hammock. He sat down, facing his upset boyfriend. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came to mind. What could he even say?

Sonic hated the fact that his heart was beating so fast. He was being selfish by not talking, wasn't he? Keeping everything bottled up certainly wouldn't help, but he was too nervous about saying what was on his mind.

"S-so, heh... what's up with you?" he asked as casually as he could, unable to stand the silence.

"I'm worried about you," Knuckles replied. "Come on, you were able to talk to me before. Why...why are you shutting me out?"

He sighed. "Sonic... please. I just want to help."

Sonic didn't know why he bothered to hope in keeping a normal conversation. He hesitated, then rolled over to his other side to face Knuckles. "I'm alright, Knux. Just... tired, I guess." It was an obvious lie, but he didn't have the guts to be honest.

"Sonic, I know you're lying," Knuckles replied sternly, but gently. "You haven't been yourself lately. Please, talk to me. What's going on?"

His eyes showed nothing but love and concern for his boyfriend.

Sonic took a while to respond, clutching the pillow tighter. "I..."

He gazed up at Knuckles, letting out a weak chuckle. "Y-y'know, I saw a girl a few days ago; said she was a big fan of yours."

To Knuckles, it probably seemed like a random topic, but not to Sonic.

Knuckles sighed. As flattered as he was, he was slightly annoyed at Sonic trying to change the subject.

"Sonic..."

"You shoulda seen her; her face went all red when I told her I knew ya. Maybe you should meet her sometime," he suggested.

The bit of confidence left in his head told him to keep his mouth shut or change the topic, but he couldn't stop. Since he lost his speed, he felt like a part of him left too. What use did he have for his team any more; just his spindash? If they didn't replace him right away, he'd probably start being left behind. At least, nightmares he'd been having nearly had him convinced on the fact. If it was true, then it was just a matter of time until Knuckles broke up with him as well...

He tried not to keep eye contact with Knuckles; he'd gotten pretty good at 'reading' Sonic's eyes, and he didn't want him to figure it out.

"Sonic... please." Knuckles hated seeing him so distressed. "Why won't you talk to me?" He choked back the tears that threatened to come on. "I just want to help you."

"I...I know," Sonic murmured. "B-but there's just..."

His hands were shaking. He didn't know what to do. Knuckles seemed so insistent and kind. What was he supposed to say? He felt useless for the first time in his life; completely and utterly useless. His emotions were building up, and he started to worry that he'd—

...No, Sonic. Don't you dare start!

He felt his eyes get hot, and he swiftly turned away from Knuckles as tears started forming. He clenched his teeth, trying not to sob and let his emotions through.

"T-there's just nothing to tell you..."

"Sonic."

Knuckles stood up and went over to Sonic's hammock. He placed a hand on the hedgehog's shoulder.

"If there's one thing I know," he said, "it's that stuffing your feelings down makes you feel worse."

He paused for a moment. "Sonic, I'm your boyfriend. You can talk to me about anything."

Sonic flinched as the large hand was played on his shoulder. Usually, Knuckles' size compared to him made him feel all fuzzy inside, but now it just made him feel small.

He lifted his hand slightly, then reached back and lightly gripped a section of Knuckles' fur. His head turned to the echidna, having probably the saddest look Sonic'd ever give him. His eyes were watering, threatening to spill over with tears. He didn't know why he couldn't force the tears away. He made a rule once that no one could see him cry, and that he'd try to never show his emotions like that.

Maybe that rule left with his speed.

"...It's not fair, Knux..." he said softly, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

"I know..."

Knuckles wrapped his arms around Sonic in a light hug.

"But you don't have to face it alone."

That did it.

Almost instantly, a sob escaped Sonic's throat and he started crying into the echidna's chest. His face was red from embarrassment, but he couldn't stop.

Knuckles held Sonic a little more tightly, trying his best to comfort the hedgehog.

"There there..."

It seemed like only recently had their roles been switched, Knuckles being the one crying in Sonic's arms. Now, it was the echidna's turn to comfort his boyfriend.

Sonic sniffled and hicced for a good while longer. It was nice to be comforted, but that didn't alleviate his fears. He could feel Knuckles' warmth radiating off his body, and if they really did break up or he really was replaced...

Well, he didn't want to make Knuckles do anything he didn't want to.

"K-Knuckles..."

He shook, struggling to calm himself down, then took a deep breath and looked up at his boyfriend's face, making eye contact in hopes of getting his message across. He was nervous though, as he was sure he looked pretty dumb with all the crying he'd done.

"It...it's over, isn't it?"

Knuckles was confused. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

Sonic looked back down, his ears drooping. He couldn't tell if Knuckles was truly clueless or just playing dumb.

"...Y-y'know... my p-place as a team m-member and stuff..."

He sighed sadly, glancing down further and gripping his right pant leg. He pulled on it slightly to show some of his leg, revealing a multitude of scars that his fur hadn't grown back to cover.

"I'd g-get in the way..."

"What are you talking about?" Knuckles asked, shocked. "We're Team Sonic! We'd fall apart without you!"

He lifted Sonic's head to look him in the eyes.

"And I'd be nobody if it weren't for you."

Sonic stared back at Knuckles, surprised and blushing. "B-but... speed was my whole thing! Even if I could get used to fightin' without it, I'll never be as great as I used to be..."

Knuckles thought for a bit.

"Even if that is true," he said, "you're still our leader, Sonic. And our friend. Speed or no speed, we need you. I need you."

He lightly kissed Sonic on the head. "I love you, Sonic. Nothing will ever change that."

"S-seriously?" Sonic asked, his muzzle turning a deeper shade of red. He looked away sheepishly, almost feeling stupid. "I was so sure you'd wanna break up with me..."

"Why would I want to do that?" Knuckles was clearly very shocked by this.

Sonic looked up at him in confusion, as if the answer was obvious. "Well... my speed was just such a huge part of me. I figured that... since it was gone..." He shrugged. "I was half the guy I was before..."

Knuckles couldn't believe what he was hearing. "But... your speed isn't why we all love you! We... I... love you for, well... you."

Sonic went quiet at that, his blush worsening as he shyly scratched the back of his head. After a moment though, he smiled softly and wrapped his arms around Knuckles in a gentle hug.

"...Thanks, Knux. I love ya too..."

Knuckles smiled, glad that he'd been able to help his boyfriend. He kissed him again, wanting to make sure that Sonic knew just how loved he was.

Sonic chuckled at the kiss, Knuckles' message certainly getting across. "Heh, careful. The others are gonna freak out if I'm all red in the face when we head back out," he told him.

It felt like forever since he'd smiled like that.

They remained in each other's embrace for quite some time. Then Knuckles spoke again.

"So... wanna go hang out with the others then? They've been really worried about you." Knuckles hugged Sonic a little tighter. "We all were."

Sonic's smile widened slightly as he nodded. Though, he didn't exactly want to leave Knuckles' grasp just yet, since the two hadn't had much physical contact as of late, so he chuckled and draped his body over the echidna's shoulder like a limp towel.

"I don't feeeel like walkin' though. Carry me!" he said. "Don't worry, I'll make it look cool."

Knuckles giggled. "Sure thing, Sonic!"

He stood up, supporting Sonic's body with his hands so he wouldn't fall, and began walking out of the hut.

Sonic giggled with him, giving him a light kiss on the cheek before relaxing.

It was good to be back.