Sonic paced back and forth in anticipation as he waited for Knuckles to arrive. The two had planned a date together and he just wanted it to be perfect. He'd even picked his own flowers to give to him for whenever he got there.

It was simple; they decided to go for a movie night at his place. No outside interference, so it'd be just the two of them. They'd planned a time, but Sonic gave him some leeway considering he never knew what was going on in Knuckles' universe. Regardless, he was impatient as ever, curling up into a spindash and zooming up and down the wall as he waited. He only hoped the date went well, since it would be their first.

Finally, there was a knock at the door. It was Knuckles!

"H-hi," he said nervously as Sonic answered the door. "Am I late?" He was holding a bouquet of flowers for Sonic.

"Of course no—" Sonic paused, surprised to see the bouquet in Knuckles' hands. So he made one too...

Heck, the flowers even looked like they were picked from the same garden; did his universe have a garden like the one Sonic's did?

"Uh..." Sonic chuckled, holding out his own bouquet. "Trade ya?" He blushed lightly.

Knuckles laughed sheepishly. "Sure!" He handed his bouquet to Sonic, and received Sonic's in return.

Sonic walked inside, then set the bouquet down on the table, promptly turning to Knuckles. He was about to say something, but quickly noticed a few scrapes and scratches on Knuckles' body, which were easier to see as the echidna stepped out of the dark night and into Sonic's house since the lights were on. Nothing big, and only minor bleeding here and there, but Sonic still showed a concerned look.

"Geez, what happened to you?" he asked, walking closer to inspect the wounds. He knew that Knuckles could take care of himself, but he still felt a little angry. He wanted to know who hurt him immediately and, if it was intentional, go clobber them.

"Oh, right," Knuckles said, "We were having our daily battle with Eggman before I came here. It's nothing serious; this happens all the time."

Sonic simply shook his head. "C'mon." He took his bouquet from Knuckles and set it next to the other one, then grabbed his boyfriend's hand and took him into the bathroom. "Sit tight, I've got first aid stuff," he told him, reaching into the medicine cabinet.

"Oh, no, it's fine," Knuckles replied with a small chuckle. He really didn't think he needed the first aid, but he was very flattered by Sonic fussing so much over him. "Sit," Sonic repeated with a small pout. He pulled out some ointment, though taking a bit to find it as he didn't do this often, then opened the doors underneath the sink, pulling out some bandages. "It might not be serious, but you should cover it up anyway."

Knuckles still insisted he didn't need it, but Sonic was persistent. Secretly though, Knuckles was quite enjoying the attention.

Once Knuckles was sat down, Sonic walked over and began applying the ointment, then went to attaching the bandages. Halfway through, he suddenly pulled his gloved hand back and winced, but quickly acted like nothing was wrong and continued fixing up Knuckles' injuries.

Knuckles noticed him wincing, however.

"What's wrong?" he asked, a little worried.

"O-oh, heh," Sonic blushed nervously and managed a chuckle. "It's nothin'," he said, trying to get back to working on Knuckles' bandages.

"You sure?" Knuckles wasn't convinced.

Sonic both loved and hated the look Knuckles was giving him. He looked away, then sighed, clearly embarrassed. "...I was custom-makin' popcorn for our movie night and burnt my hand a little, alright?"

"Aw, are you okay?" Knuckles was concerned. "You really should be treating that, not my little scratches and stuff!"

Sonic rubbed his hand sheepishly. "Pft, it's nothin'. I got the popcorn made and everything, so I don't care about a little burn." He quickly finished putting on Knuckles' bandages. Knuckles pouted. "Well, now that you're done with me, can you please do something about your hand? Otherwise, I'll just worry."

Sonic frowned, but nodded, reluctantly removing his glove. It wasn't anything too serious, but he accepted Knuckles' terms anyway. He went to bandage it, but quickly realized. "Er... a little help?" he asked shyly, knowing he couldn't do it with one hand.

"Sure." Knuckles gingerly took Sonic's hand and helped him wrap the bandages.

"There, all better," he said with a smile.

Sonic smiled back despite his embarrassment. "Thanks."

He slipped his glove back on carefully. "Too bad I'm not the taller one. Probably would've been a lot easier to patch ya up that way and you wouldn't've had to sit down..." He managed a giggle. "And it'd be easier to hug ya."

Knuckles grinned. He picked up Sonic and gave him a hug.

"I love your height just the way it is!" he said with a giggle.

Sonic laughed and hugged Knuckles back. "Y'mean it?"

"Yeah!" Knuckles replied. He blushed. "I think it's kinda cute," he whispered bashfully.

Sonic blushed back. "Heh, then I guess I can't complain."

He got out of Knuckles' grasp, then pointed out to the couch. "I'm gonna go grab the popcorn. Feel free to make yourself comfy," he said, promptly heading out to the kitchen.

Knuckles nodded. He went over to the couch and sat down.

Only a few minutes later, Sonic came back, carrying a large bowl of popcorn. He went to sit beside Knuckles, but suddenly stopped, as if getting an idea. He chuckled, then sat on Knuckles' lap, leaning against the arm of the couch and letting the bowl lie on his legs.

Knuckles blushed and smiled. He took a handful of popcorn.

"So what movie should we watch?" he asked. "Or did you have one in mind already?"

Sonic picked up a special remote from a table nearby and flicked on the TV, simultaneously turning the lights off. "I found one I think you'd like," he said. "There's a little you in it, and he's got a cool hat and everything!"

"Oooh, awesome!" Knuckles exclaimed excitedly.

Sonic chuckled at his enthusiasm, then started the movie. "...I can tell you picked those flowers yourself," he suddenly said, glancing up at him. "You smell like flowers, so you must've picked 'em right after your fight with Eggman." He smiled softly, able to smell Knuckles' scent of flowers over the popcorn. "I like it."

Knuckles blushed again. "Yeah, I wanted to do something a little special for you, and I know some spots in my world that have really pretty flowers. I was hoping you'd like 'em!"

"I do!" Sonic exclaimed. "I'll have to show you all the flower gardens of this world sometime."

He tried to look back at the movie and stay quiet, but he always keep staring back at Knuckles. Good movie or not, his mind kept reminding him that it was the first date he'd ever been on and all he could think about was Knuckles.

Knuckles noticed Sonic's staring. "Everything alright, buddy?"

"O-oh! Uh, yeah," Sonic said sheepishly, embarrassed to have been caught in the act. "Just... eheh..."

He blushed. "You have nice eyes, y'know?" He was surprised as the words left his mouth; he was naturally blunt about things, but he wasn't sure if what he was saying was completely okay to just blather out like that. His feelings for Knuckles really confused him sometimes.

"R-really?" Knuckles blushed even more than before.

I blush a lot around Sonic, don't I? he realized.

Sonic nodded his head, then averted his gaze nervously. "Augh, sorry. I'm not used to this, uh... 'love stuff'," he said. "I've been so worried about ruinin' the date like this too..."

"It's okay," Knuckles replied with a smile, "I'm new to dating too. You're the first boyfriend I've ever had, after all."

"Yeah, I know," Sonic said. "I-it's just a little weird to me." His blush reddened as he sat up slightly. "All I wanna do is tell ya how much I like you." He quickly put a hand to his face, embarrassed to say it. "Ugh, I'm a mess..."

Knuckles chuckled lightly. "It's okay," he said again. "I totally get what you mean."

Sonic grinned slightly, then took the bowl of popcorn off and set it on the couch, opting to cuddle slightly with Knuckles. At this point, he probably wasn't even listening to the movie. "...You're really warm."

Knuckles giggled a bit. "So are you!"

Sonic smiled softly, relaxing further against him. "Yeah? ...Y'know, to be honest, I agree with ya on the height thing. Hard not to relax when you've got your arms all around me."

Knuckles smiled back. "And it's hard not to relax when it's just the two of us," he said, another blush coming on.

"Oh, for sure," Sonic agreed with a nod. "I definitely didn't expect any of this to happen before I met ya, but... I couldn't be happier!"

"Me too!" Knuckles wrapped his arms more tightly around Sonic, hugging him.

The two continued on and on, muttering sweet nothings to each other as the movie was practically forgotten. They said cheesy mushy lines that they'd never say to anyone else, but seemed natural when they said it to each other.

Eventually, Sonic had laid back on the arm of the couch like before and the movie was brought back to their attention. However, Sonic slowly closed his eyes, placing his hands behind his head and relaxing.

Near the end of the movie, Sonic seemed to have fallen asleep. Knuckles smiled at how adorable he looked. Without thinking, he leaned over to him and was about to kiss him. But then, he blushed in embarrassment and sat back up.

Just as he pulled away, Sonic's eyes flew open, a smirk coming to his lips. "Hey, if you won't do it, then look out."

In a sudden blurred motion, Sonic had propped himself up, his face inches away from Knuckles'. "'Cause I'm gonna."

He leaned in and kissed him before Knuckles had time to react.

Knuckles was stunned for a moment. Then, his brain registered what was happening, and his face flushed as he sank into the kiss.

Sonic giggled through the kiss, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend and leaning into him.

Knuckles returned the embrace. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the two kissed.

Sonic finally broke up the kiss after what felt like forever, though still somehow not long enough for the two. He smiled warmly at Knuckles, unable to help a small laugh escaping his throat. "That other Sonic doesn't know what he's missin'."

Knuckles blushed once again, grinning. "A-aw, stop..."

"I mean it!" Sonic said cheerfully. "You're awesome, y'know?"

Knuckles blushed even harder. "A-ah, shucks..."

Sonic grinned. He loved it when Knuckles blushed.

He stared back at the TV screen, only to be greeted with the credits. "Oh! ...Uh..." Did he even hear one line of dialogue from that whole thing?

"Aw, looks like it's over now," Knuckles said.

"Eh, it's alright." Sonic shrugged, then turned back to Knuckles. "I had somethin' much better to look at right here," he told him, leaning up and lightly kissing Knuckles' forehead.

Oh, geez, I can't believe I just said something so cheesy...

Knuckles' cheeks were now about as red as the rest of him. He had no idea what to say; he could only giggle.

Sonic smiled wide, clearly pleased about getting Knuckles so flustered, then looked outside, frowning as he saw how dark it was. "Uh, s'probably about time for you to head back home, huh?" he asked, hopping off the couch and trying to hide his disappointment.

"Aw, do I have to go?" Knuckles replied with a pout.

"Hm?" Sonic looked back at him. "Well, I mean... don't y'have to go back in your own universe or somethin'?" he asked. Honestly, he couldn't imagine a reason why Knuckles would have to leave.

"Well, yeah..." Knuckles said. "But I can stay a little longer. Th-that is, if you're okay with that..."

Sonic shrugged. "A'course it's okay. You can even stay the night if ya want." He blushed as he said that. "I just figured you'd wanna go home and get some sleep since it's so late."

"I'd love to stay the night," Knuckles replied with a wink.

Sonic smirked at the wink. "Yeah? And where are you sleeping exactly?" he asked, recalling their first experience with this situation.

"Oh. Um..." Knuckles hadn't really thought about that.

"There's extra room on the bed if you wanna scooch in with me." The words had left Sonic's mouth without him even thinking about it.

Knuckles' face flushed. "Y-you'd be okay with that?"

Sonic smiled awkwardly, his face turning a little red as he realized what he'd said. "Eheh... w-well, we're dating, aren't we?" he asked.

"Yeah," Knuckles replied. "...right?" he added, just to be sure.

Sonic giggled. "Right."

He grabbed Knuckles' hand, then led him into the bedroom. He wasn't too tired, but he'd still lay next to Knuckles at least.

Knuckles climbed into the bed and got comfortable.

Sonic walked over to the bed, then opened up a drawer and pulled out a small book. He examined it for a moment, then pulled the blanket up and slid underneath, lying next to Knuckles.

He couldn't help chuckling. "This reminds me of what I used to do for Cream. Vanilla had a sore throat this one time and Cream couldn't go to sleep without a lullaby, so Vanilla had to teach it to me. I ended up sitting next to her on her bed for that day and a few after, singing to her until she fell asleep."

Knuckles hesitated for a moment, then a blush came on his face. "C-can...can you sing for me?" he asked bashfully.

"H-hm?" Sonic glanced over at him. "You... wanna hear me sing? Like, that lullaby?"

"Y-yeah," Knuckles replied. "But, I mean, you don't have to..."

"Er... I'll give it a shot. S'been a while," Sonic admitted. He cleared his throat, hoping that Knuckles would like his singing, then took a deep breath and began to sing a gentle lullaby. His voice was almost angelic, perfectly smoothing across every syllable he had to sing.

Knuckles was immediately captivated by his voice. He became lost in the song, everything else seemingly disappearing around him as his eyes began to droop.

It looked like Sonic's skill was almost effortless. He was still staring down at the book so much that one would wondering if he could sing while reading.

Pretty soon, Knuckles fell fast asleep, the beautiful lullaby carrying him off into the world of dreams.

Though it took him a while to do, Sonic eventually slowed to a stop and checked on Knuckles. He giggled, admiring how cute the echidna was, then attempted to slide out of bed and put his book away. However, despite being fast asleep, Knuckles' arms wrapped around him and kept him from moving. Sonic grunted slightly as he was pulled back, then turned to Knuckles. He smiled softly, then threw the book onto a nearby table. Afterwards, he turned back to Knuckles, albeit with a bit of difficulty since the echidna was holding him so tight, then wrapped his arms around him, cuddling into him.

Heh, we should do this more often.