Wow… My first time back in the Sonic fandom since 2008. It's been awhile, hasn't it? Well, I was playing SA2 last night and suddenly this was born. It's KnuxRouge, of course—that hasn't changed ;)—but I hope it's slightly different from the ones I wrote way back when. Hopefully, some improvement will be noticed. *prays*

DISCLAIMER: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters © SEGA and Sonic Team. Enjoy!

.:What About Now:.

What about now?

What about today?

What if you're making me all that I was meant to be?

What if our love never went away?

What if it's lost behind words we could never find?

Baby, before it's too late

What about now?

Amethyst eyes opened to look at the serene landscape before them. Knuckles sighed heavily as he let a rare smile play on his face. Stretching out on the stairs of the Master Emerald shrine, Knuckles looked out at the sights before him. Angel Island was so peaceful and beautiful. Its beauty was truthfully one of the only things that got a genuine smile out of Knuckles. If he wasn't scowling, he was either smirking or coyly smiling. No; the only time Knuckles could picture himself actually smiling was when he was on Angel Island, whether it be atop the shrine or down in its many forests or lakes.

He loved times like these the most. Times when Eggman wasn't around to bother him with his humorous attempts at thievery (he was currently doing a stint in jail for his last 'evil' plot). Sonic had surprisingly kept his distance as well. Usually, one could spot the blue hedgehog up with Knuckles complaining about being bored or the constant pestering from Amy. That always got annoying and usually ended with Knuckles chasing Sonic off the island once he finally lost his patience with him.

Knuckles shut his eyes and relished in the feel of the breeze blowing through his dreads and the feel of the sun shining down on him and the altar. Yes; these were the days he loved best.

"Don't let your guard down too much," a smooth feminine voice said. "You never know when the next round of trouble will come."

Knuckles opened his eyes again to see Rouge the Bat before him. She was casually hovering before him, a smirk present on her face.

"Rouge!" Knuckles had meant for it to come out with a hint of annoyance, but it ended up sounding slightly surprised.

After all, it had been nearly ten years since they had last seen each other. After their departure from the ARK, they had gone their separate ways. Knuckles had been expecting to see her around to try and steal his emerald again and was surprised (and even slightly disappointed) when she never came.

"What brings you here?" he asked her. "It's been…"

"Ten years," she finished for him. "I know."

Knuckles stared at her, still waiting for his answer. Rouge looked away and sighed.

"Can I sit?"

Knuckles scooted over and Rouge settled in next to him on the stair. Knuckles never let his eyes trail from her face.

"What brought you back?" Knuckles asked again. "I mean…after ten years?"

"There was an article in the paper yesterday about it being the ten year anniversary of the ARK incident," she began, staring down the stairs of the shrine. "It made me start thinking about the whole thing again. Old memories I thought I had forgotten about resurfaced." Finally, she looked at him. "I guess…I just wanted to see you. You were my rival back then, you know."

"I know. That's why I'm surprised you came back," Knuckles told her truthfully. "Last thing I remember, we were at each others' throats."

"We're not now, are we?" she asked him, a small smirk on her face.

"Well…no…"

She shrugged. "Honestly, I thought you would have forgotten who I was, it's been so long. I'm…glad you haven't," she admitted, an almost shy undertone to her voice. "I wouldn't say I've missed you, but after that article, I have been thinking about you. I just thought I'd visit."

Something fluttered inside of Knuckles at her words. Maybe it was just the idea that someone actually thought about him, but whatever it was, it warmed Knuckles and made him smile.

"I remember thinking about you too throughout the years," he found himself saying before he could stop himself.

"Really?" Rouge sounded surprised, if not hopeful.

Knuckles simply nodded in affirmation.

He really had been, too. The one thing that had constantly kept coming back to him was their shared moment in Meteor Herd. After replaying the entire adventure from beginning to end several times, he had realized that at that moment, his relations with Rouge had changed. One minute they had been yelling at the other and accusing the other for something Knuckles couldn't even remember, and the next minute they were nearly being compassionate towards the other.

All because of one fall and the grasp of a hand.

"That time…at Meteor Herd… It hasn't left me alone since then," he told her, now averting his attention away from her.

"Me neither."

He barely caught what she said, she had said so quietly, almost as if she hadn't wanted to admit that. He looked back to her to find her looking at him. Sapphire locked on amethyst and memories came flooding back to the both of them.

"What kind of lady goes around stealing gems, anyway?"

"Those belong to me!"

"Fine. Just take them. They stink like echidnas do!"

"I'm sorry…if I hurt you…"

"So what's next for you, Rouge?"

"Besides…I've got something better than jewels that I'm thinking about right now… It'll all work out, you'll see."

"If you say so."

"See ya, Knuckles. It was fun being your rival. Maybe we'll see each other again some day."

"Maybe."

"Keep an eye out for me, okay?"

"Bye, Rouge."

"You…never did show up…ever," Knuckles finally said.

Rouge looked away in shame at his words and Knuckles found himself wishing he had never said anything.

"I did keep an eye out, you know," he went on to tell her. "For almost a year I did. I was so sure you would come, if not to visit then to at least try and steal the emerald…but you never did."

Knuckles was no fool; he knew Rouge had had some kind of crush on him and he had kept thinking she would show up because of it. The fact that she never did made him begin to doubt himself. It made him begin to feel stupid because he had inadvertently grown to like her.

"I'm sorry, Knuckles," he heard her sigh beside him. "I really meant to, honest. Time just…got away from me. I know it's a lame excuse, but it's the best I can give you."

"Time got away for you for ten years?" he snapped quietly, a bitter tone to his voice. "Ten years…and never once did you have the time to come visit?"

"In my defense, you didn't bother to visit me either," she shot back lamely.

"Because I had no idea where you live! In case you haven't noticed, technology doesn't exist up here. You knew where I live. It's pretty hard to miss this gigantic chunk of rock…"

As Knuckles ranted, Rouge realized he was pretty upset about all of this. But…could she really tell him the truth?

"I mean, I know I'm not thrilling company," Knuckles continued. "But I wouldn't have shoved you away, no matter how much of rivals we had been. That was in the past, I was ready to start anew. It does get pretty lonely up here…by myself."

"Look, I didn't come because I was scared…"

Well, so much for keeping it a secret. Guess she was going to tell him.

Knuckles looked to her again. "Scared?" he asked. "What of?"

Rouge shook her head and looked down. "I didn't come…because I had a crush on you. I thought it was wrong—you know, having a crush on your rival—so I stayed away, trying to forget about it. Turns out I never did. I've thought about coming back so many times, Knuckles, you have to believe me, but I was just being stupid by keeping away. It took me ten years to come, and even now I'm not sure it was the right thing to do."

"And you never thought even once that I could've had a crush on you as well?"

Rouge's head snapped up at his words. Knuckles looked scared to death at what he had just said.

"What?" she asked.

"What?" Knuckles repeated dumbly, like he was asking himself what he had just said.

"What did you say, Knuckles?"

"Nothing…" he mumbled, looking away.

"Knuckles!"

"I had a crush on you too, okay?" he blurted out all at once. Glancing over at her, he mumbled, "I think I still do."

Rouge smiled. "Well, I know I still do," she told him.

Knuckles blushed at that and Rouge's smile widened because of it. The both of them fell silent at that, each thinking about what to say to break the awkward silence that had settled between them.

"You know…it may have been wrong back then," Knuckles spoke up, "but...what about now? It's been ten years."

Rouge grinned. "You never know 'till you try, right?"

Knuckles' blush deepened as he felt Rouge scoot closer to him. He turned his head and realized just how close to the other they were. But, as they felt themselves begin to lean into the other, neither bothered to pull back or rethink their actions. This wasn't ten years ago, this was now.

Knuckles could add one more thing to the list of things that caused him to genuinely smile now.

Now that we're here

Now that we've come this far

Just hold on.

There is nothing to fear

For I am right beside you.

For all my life

I am yours.