~Angel Street 1994 (6:25 P.M) ~

Besides the music that's been playing in the car for the past fifteen minutes in a fairly low volume, the ride home for Tikal has been fairly quiet as she looked at the homes of her neighborhood in the car window. Espio noticed this every time he has to drop of Tikal home when Knuckles isn't at school (most likely he's at a shoot with Rouge). And while he doesn't mind the almost silent atmosphere he has with Tikal, driving her home with this much silence kind of makes the car ride slow. He would like it if they had at least a small conversation with her, even if it only lasts for a minute, or barely a minute.

As he looked both ways on the road before he pressed the gas petal a bit to go, Espio started the small conversation with, "Tikal, is there something on your mind? I mean, you've been looking at the window for most of the ride."

"Huh?" Tikal didn't notice that she was doing that, so she quickly pulled away from the window and turned around to face Espio as she responded to him, "Oh, I'm sorry about that, Takeshi! That was so rude of me!"

"Its fine, Tikal. There's no need for you to apologize," Espio told the orange-haired teen. "Anyway, if you want, is there something that's been bothering you for some time?"

"Uh… It's just that… I'm not so sure if I should say this to you as you think I might sound selfish."

"Hmm?" Espio only said, wondering what Tikal meant. "I won't be sure unless you say it."

"Oh, alright. It's just that since Kennith is not home most of the time due to special circumstances and that my dad usually comes home at 8 in the evening, I feel lonely after school," Tikal confessed to Espio. "So, I just want to ask you, Takeshi, is that…"

"Yes…?"

"I want you to stay at my house for a few more hours!"

After Tikal finished her sentence, Espio didn't know how to respond to her. She wants him to be with her for a little longer, even though they did spend time together during lunch (which is a rarity for Espio) and end up going to the Chaotix Orphanage to pick up the books to return to the library as they're due today. However, Espio felt bad that Tikal had to be alone in the house for a few hours until both Knuckles and her father comes home late at night. Sure, there's Chomps, but he wonders what Tikal does at home when her brother and father aren't home besides doing homework.

Espio thought a little bit before he answered Tikal's question while he's close to arriving at Tikal's house. Surely, if he just texted Vector that he's not going to be home for a while, then maybe his guardian will understand why he got home late. Wait, scratch that! Vector will absolutely understand Espio coming home late as his guardian has been, let's just say, teasing him on romance weeks ago.

Having his answer ready, Espio replied to Tikal, "Sure. I don't mind."

"Y… You sure?" Tikal wondered, knowing that Espio usually doesn't do this.

"Yes. All I need to do is to give Vector a message and I'll be good."

"Oh, that's great! I guess this evening will be much livelier than usual since I'm with-" Tikal paused her sentence after she noticed what she said; with Espio, Tikal will be much happy than in the past days where she's forced to be alone.

"With who...?" Espio wanted to know, even though the answer is obviously clear.

"Well... With you, Takeshi. Out of everyone I know, you're the one that makes me the most happiest person in the world," Tikal confessed to Espio, her face blushing red. "Now that I think about it, that sentence came out a bit silly and cheesy. It's something that Amy would say."

"Really? It doesn't sound cheesy to me," Espio replied as he lightly pressed on the brake petal, getting ready to park on the sidewalk where Tikal's house is. No, not on the sidewalk, but close to where the wheels aren't touching it. Duh.

Once Espio looked out of his windows to see that he wasn't too close on the sidewalk or that there were any upcoming cars, Espio turned the key to stop the car and exit out of his car before he went to the other side of his car and opened the door to let Tikal out. Normally, he wouldn't do this to anyone as he knows they'll get out on their own, but lately, Espio has been doing this for Tikal whenever he's with her, usually when he has to drop her off to her home. Yes, Espio treats Tikal nicely every day at school and will do nice things for her outside sometimes, but after the incident at Asia Diamond a few weeks ago along with the Homecoming Idol auditions, Espio is seeing Tikal as... Well… More than just a friend.

"Thanks," Tikal said to Espio as she closed the car door.

"No problem," Espio replied as the two walked to the front door to Tikal's house. He then watched Tikal pull out the house key in her blue jacket pocket as she unlocked the front door.

Once the door has been unlocked, Espio and Tikal entered the house and took off their shoes on the front door inside before moving further in the house. Tikal went upstairs to her room to put away her backpack and change into something more comfortable. As he waited for Tikal to finish dressing up (she said it would take at least three minutes), Espio sat in the couch, waiting for Vector to respond to his text message that he sent a minute ago, informing his guardian on where he is. Not too shortly, Vector replied back to Espio, though the message made Espio want to give Vector a light slap in the face. That message?

Alright, Espio. Have fun and don't do anything too PG-13 if you know what I mean!

Really, Vector?! Espio exclaimed in his thoughts, annoyed that Vector thought that Espio might… Oh, no. He's not even going to say that word. No!

Shortly after he received the message, Espio replied back to Vector:

Not funny, Vector. You know me very well that I won't do anything too "PG-13" as you dub it. I'll call you when I'm done.

Send. Now Vector better not-

DING!

Damn, ten seconds since Espio sent the message and Vector already replied back? Guess someone has been teaching Vector how to use his new cell phone properly. And he said he can't make it work as his hands are a bit too big!

Hey, I was just playing around, Espio! Just don't stay out too late and I'll see you later!

Well, at least Vector somewhat apologized for what he stated. Honestly, Vector has known Espio for more than ten years; he should know better that Espio is a mature teen who doesn't see women as just a sex object.

As Espio is finished reading Vector's message, he turned around to see that Tikal is coming down the stairs, out of the clothes she wore to school and in an outfit that's comfortable for the rest of the day. She's wearing a brown fluffy hoodie (the hood is fluffy), light orange sweatpants and pink slippers. Espio has to admit to himself, Tikal looks good in that outfit, though of course he would never admit that to Tikal. She would just say that it's just that she sleeps in this kind of attire, minus the slippers.

After Tikal finished coming down the stairs, she stood next to the couch where Espio is sitting, and said, "I'm sorry if I made you wait, Takeshi."

"It's no problem, Tikal," Espio replied as he put his phone away in his backpack. "At least you didn't take fifteen minutes just to get dressed."

"That would be Rouge who would most likely do it," Tikal joked as she giggled a little bit.

"Yeah, that's true," Espio agreed with Tikal as he got off the couch, stretching his arms a bit. "So, what are we going to do until Kennith and your father comes home?"

"Well... It may sound silly..."

"What may sound silly?"

"Okay. Are you a good cook?"

~Later at the kitchen~

Espio hummed to himself as he chopped the white mushrooms, green and red peppers on the chopping board with a knife so he can sauté them later as they'll be used for the vegetarian spaghetti that Tikal is making for dinner tonight.

"Are you a good cook?"

When he heard Tikal ask him that question, Espio awkwardly replied 'yes' to her and asked her why she wanted to know. Apparently, Tikal has been cooking a lot lately because her father comes home late, Knuckles feels tired (and tortured) from watching Rouge's photo shoots almost all day long, or Knuckles is out at somebody's house (mainly Tails'). Another reason is that she feels lonely when she has to cook dinner for three (or four due to Rouge) by herself. Tikal does enjoy cooking, but when she's forced to cook on her own, the sounds of the sizzling from the pan or the aroma of the food isn't the same.

Espio felt bad for Tikal that she has to cook on her own for most of the week, so he decided to help her out for one day. Heck, Tikal allowed Espio to eat the meal once Knuckles and her dad comes home by the time they're done making it. This explains how Espio is now chopping the vegetables needed for the dish.

As he's finished cleaning the chopped vegetables (they're in a bowl) near the kitchen sink again (he cleaned the vegetables before chopping), Espio decided to check on Tikal, currently making the sauce for the pasta and putting the last of the tomato sauce from the can into the pot. Yes, Tikal would have used actual tomatoes, but due to coming home later than usual, she may not have time to finish cooking dinner before the rest of her family comes home. And she would hate for them to wait while she's making final touches to her cooking. It's better for her to have dinner finished before Knuckles and Rae arrives.

Soon, Tikal closed the pot to let the sauce boil, and turned around to see that Espio was behind her the whole time. She shrieked a little bit before saying, "Oh, I'm sorry, Takeshi! I… I didn't see you were…!"

"No, I should be the one apologizing," Espio replied, walking back to the sink to get the chopped vegetables that are in the bowl. "Anyway, should I go ahead and sauté the vegetables or are you going to do it?"

"Either is fine. I have the pan set anyway."

"Alright," Espio said, pouring the vegetables out of the bowl and into the frying pan.

As Tikal is cooking the noodles in another pot, she continued stirring it as she started a conversation with, "Takeshi, I just wanted to say thank you."

"For helping you make dinner for your family?" Espio guessed, still stirring the vegetables until he can see that the mushrooms are brown.

"Not just for helping me make dinner, but for everything you've done for me in the past few weeks," Tikal replied.

"It was my pleasure, Tikal." Espio smiled, remembering how he made her happy just by encouraging her to sign up for an event she thought she couldn't do.

"Yeah. While it's nice that I get to spend some time with you, I'm glad that I don't have to worry about Kennith watching me every second," Tikal admitted while using the ladle to get some noodles to see if they're cooked enough.

As Espio finished sautéing the vegetables and turned off the left side of the stove where the pan was heated, he asked her, "Why would you say that?"

"Kennith is a great brother, but he would always treat me as if I'm an emerald that's ready to break at any minute. I want to be independent from him and do things on my own or else I'm not ready for the real world," Tikal confessed, returning the noodles from the ladle to the pot before putting a lid on the silver pot.

While Espio checked on the sauce on the other pot, he answered to Tikal, "Well, if you want to be independent from Kennith, then I'll help you."

"R…Really?"

"Of course."

Espio knows that Tikal secretly wished that she doesn't want to depend on Knuckles for her entire life as he can understand her situation.

After Vector decided to be his guardian, Espio knew that there will be a day where Vector can't always be there for Espio forever. So he decided to take various martial arts classes in order to not only defend those he cares for but for himself as Vector has too much responsibilities that he carries. Of course, Vector didn't approve of this at first, but after Vector has almost gotten robbed one night, Espio scared the robbers away using a combination of his invisibility powers and martial arts. That event made Vector change his mind and let Espio continue his martial arts classes on the condition he uses them to protect others.

Ever since that day, Vector has started to be relaxed around Espio and he sometimes asks the Asian to look out for others while Vector is gone for at least an hour to get the groceries and vice versa as Espio got older.

"Well, I promise that I'll reach my goal," Tikal told Espio.

"Even if Kennith might disagree with this?" Espio asked Tikal, closing the pot lid of the tomato sauce.

"Yes. It'll be tough, but I'm sure I won't have to rely on Kennith all the time."

After that conversation with Espio, Tikal continued to stir the noodles so that they won't be too hard or soft if she doesn't keep a good eye on them. Having nothing else to cook for the time being, Espio went to one of the kitchen cabinet where the plates, bowls, and cups were kept and pulled out four plates from the cabinet before he obtained four glass cups and closed it. He placed them in the counter as he searched for the place mats to put the plates, cups and forks in. After pulling three drawers, one of them in which he obtained four forks, he found four red-orange place mats and started setting up the table in the kitchen.

About five minutes later, the table is set up and at the right time, Tikal finished cooking the pasta, all in a big bowl along with the serving spoon. The sauce is all mixed in with the noodles, along with the sautéed vegetables that are on the top (or bottom as some of them are). As she placed the bowl of pasta on the recently set up table, Tikal sat down on one of the chairs, along with Espio, who's now looking at her purple eyes.

"So, what do you think we should do until your brother and father comes home?" Espio asked the younger Shard sibling.

"Well, I wanted to start on my homework, but they're not due until Friday, so how about we just watch a movie on Netflix," Tikal suggested as she played around with one of her strands of orange hair, twirling it on her finger.

"Sure thing. Which movie do you want to watch?"

"Anything that's not horror," Tikal answered, getting off of the chair, along with Espio, ready to get the remote and catch at least the first ten minutes of the movie.

"Okay. You think you would like to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas? Charlie and the others seriously wanted me to watch it during the summer," Espio suggested the movie.

"I heard it's a good movie and I've never seen it, so let's watch it!"

After getting settled on the couch and Tikal found the movie on Netflix, the two watched the movie while waiting for Knuckles and Rae to come home. While they were watching the movie, Tikal toppled down a bit after seeing one scene that made her a bit scared, with her head resting on Espio's lap. Normally, she would have gotten back up, sitting up straight, but for some reason, she doesn't mind it at all. In fact, Tikal decided to stay in this position as Espio doesn't mind as well that Tikal's head is resting on his lap.

To the both of them, it's a nice feeling. It felt nice to Tikal that her head is lying on Espio's lap and to Espio as well as he stroked her orange locks slowly yet gently. This makes watching the movie much more enjoyable than if Tikal didn't topple all of a sudden. And secretly, both of them don't want this to end too soon. They want this to last as long as possible.

Unfortunately, this experience is cut short when both Tikal and Espio heard a loud, furious voice that made Tikal lift her head off of Espio's lap quickly and made Espio stop stroking her orange hair. And they knew that the voice isn't coming from the television. All Tikal had to do is turn around and spotted that Knuckles is behind the couch, his lavender eyes glaring mainly at Espio, though Tikal feels that her older brother is mad at her as well.

"Tikal, why is Espio here?" Knuckles asked his sister. Normally, Knuckles wouldn't mind if Espio is at his house… Only if he sent a message that he would be there. Oh, god. Tikal must have forgotten to text Knuckles about this!

Realizing her mistake, Tikal tried to answer to Knuckles, "Well, he's here because I asked him to help me cook dinner. I wanted to tell you about it but… But…"

"But what?" Knuckles wanted to know, his angry tone in his voice starting to cool off.

"But I forgot to give you a message because-" Tikal didn't know how to end this sentence. She could say she forgot as her mind at that time was thinking how lovely it would be to spend time with Espio a little more. Knuckles would understand Tikal 'forgetting', but not because of boys! If it's due to homework or she's too busy cooking (which is most of the time), he'll forgive her for that. But if it's about a boy, then forget it. Maybe she should lie a little bit this once so she can avoid involving Espio into Knuckles rage.

However, before Tikal has gotten the chance to tell Knuckles her answer, he angrily exclaimed to her, "Why didn't you sent me a message in the first place?! You know the rule, if you're alone or if there's someone coming to the house when dad or I aren't home, you should always message me first! You should know that, Tikal!"

"I… I know, Kennith," Tikal answered, her voice growing a bit softer after being yelled by her brother. "It's just that I forgot to message you because I was too busy cooking."

Tikal just hopes that Knuckles would forgive her as that's the most common reason she forgets to message him.

Instead…

"Too busy cooking with Espio? Is that it?" Knuckles said, not believing his sister.

"Yes, but like I said, I-" Tikal was about to explain to Knuckles, but instead, Rae ended up coming over to where his two kids were after hearing his oldest son yelling. And whenever that happens, Rae knows that its Knuckles being pissed off over something that usually involves Tikal, mainly a boy that Knuckles doesn't know.

"Kennith, Tikal, what in god's name is going on?" Rae asked his two kids.

Both Knuckles and Tikal didn't say anything, but instead pointed to Espio, currently not liking the situation he's in.

"Tikal let Espio in and she didn't even texted me about it!" Knuckles explained to his father.

"But you know Takeshi very well, Kennith," Tikal replied back to her brother, a bit of anger coming out of her mouth. "So why are you getting worked up over Takeshi coming over? I even asked him for crying out loud!"

Knuckles felt like getting his shoulder stabbed with an arrow after hearing that from Tikal. He knew this isn't the first time they argued. Their arguments were over petty stuff such as who gets to decorate the cake, eat the last pudding from the fridge, or what movie they should watch, but this time, it's over a boy. And a boy they both knew for a long time.

Espio, attempting to clear the situation, started to say, "Kennith, what Tikal is saying is the truth. She didn't forget to text you on accident, but you can-"

Unfortunately for Espio, Knuckles cut off his sentence with, "It's your fault, Espio!"

"E-excuse me?"

"It's because of you that Tikal didn't message me in the first place!" Knuckles exclaimed, slamming his fist onto a nearby table, almost knocking down a lamp. "What if something bad happened to her when-"

Rae cut into his son's sentence with, "That's enough, Kennith. I believe Tikal's story, and this isn't the first time Tikal forgot to message you. So why are you getting fired up about this?"

"But-"

"No more, Kennith. For now, let's just eat dinner. Besides, I bet we're all hungry after today. Especially you," Rae turned to Knuckles, knowing that his son is still being tortured with the various photo shoots he had to attend.

Knowing that adding more to the conflict will just make it worse, Knuckles just deeply sighed and stated, "Fine."

Tikal sighed deeply that this incident didn't go as badly as she thought. The worse case scenario Tikal imagined in her head would be that Knuckles ended up getting into a brawl with Espio. Thank god that wasn't the case.

However, one thing that's for certain is that dinner is not going to be well due to the tension between Espio and Knuckles.

~Later~

Fifteen minutes into the meal and so far, besides the noise from the forks and the glass cups (along with the constant ticking from the kitchen clock), the dinner was silent. No one, not even Rae, attempted to break the grueling silence with a conversation that would get anyone talking, especially his son given the events a couple of minutes ago.

It's just as Tikal thought how the dinner would go out: silent but deadly with Knuckles glaring at Espio every two to three minutes. Luckily, Espio didn't seem too bothered with the glares that the red-head was giving to the Asian, but Tikal knew that her father is going to catch on to Knuckles' actions and might spiral another argument between Knuckles and Espio.

Thankfully, Espio placed his fork on his almost empty plate and started to break the silence by asking Tikal's brother, "So Kennith, how was your day?"

"It was alright, except for someone getting burned by coffee and dealing with Rouge's dumb complaints for the most part!" Knuckles exclaimed, slowly drinking iced tea from the glass. He really didn't want to be reminded of the events that happened today, especially in the morning. Knuckles then asked Espio, "So, how did your day go, Espio?" in an unpleasant tone.

"Well, I finalized this month's school newspaper, had a test in Geometry, and ate lunch with everyone," Espio answered to Knuckles.

Knuckles slammed the glass on the table when he heard the last part of Espio's answer. For the most part, Espio rarely eats with the group since he's usually working on the school newspaper or his own work for school. He would believe it since Espio mentioned that the newspaper for the school has been finalized. However…

"Interesting… When you ate lunch with everyone, did you do anything with Tikal?" Knuckles asked Espio, hoping nothing dumb happened between the two.

"Kennith, stop it!" Tikal demanded her brother, tired of him asking questions to Espio that might make him uncomfortable.

"No, no, it's fine," Espio replied to Tikal. "I ended up splitting my lunch with Tikal since she didn't have enough money for lunch."

Knuckles turned to his sister and asked, "Is this true?" which Tikal responded with a simple nod. Though despite his sister confirming Espio's statement being true, Knuckles thought there was more going on between the two after the Homecoming Idol event. To be sure, he then asked, "Is that all? No 'funny' business between you two? You do know what I-"

A harsh slam on the table came from Rae, silencing Knuckles, and he knows that very well. If Rae does that, it means that everyone should be quiet due to the conversation being uncomfortable to someone. In this case, this conversation is making Espio and Tikal uncomfortable due to Knuckles constant questions that involves their relationship.

"Sorry about that..." Knuckles apologized, grumbling a bit as he's forced to stop by his father.

Tikal sighed that this scene from Knuckles is over for the time being. Not for good. There's a good chance that Knuckles will start this all over again once Espio leaves the house.

Eventually, Tikal picked up her nearly empty plate and glass next to the sink before she pushed the chair, signaling her father and brother that she's leaving the table. Not too shortly after, Espio did the same, only after he pushed the chair, he told the two Shards, "Thanks for the meal," before leaving the kitchen and meeting Tikal in the front door. While he was eating dinner and answering most of Knuckles' questions, Espio noticed the time on the clock, and it was close to 8'o clock. Some of the kids at the orphanage at night liked it if Espio reads them a bedtime story before they go to sleep. Sure, Silver and Vector can manage that, but some kids like Espio reading some of the tales, especially if it involves a battle between a hero and a monster.

And thanks to Knuckles' behavior, this makes Espio want to leave the house a bit faster. It's not that he hates Knuckles, he considers the red-head a close friend. But with the way how Knuckles is acting, it makes Espio a bit uncomfortable as Knuckles is taking his overprotective behavior a bit too far. Hopefully, Knuckles' father can manage his son to control his protective behavior before it can ruin not only Tikal, but those close to him.

"Takeshi, I'm so sorry about my brother's behavior today," Tikal started her sentence, her head looking down on the floor. "Please don't get angry at him."

"I won't," Espio replied to Tikal, touching her chin and lifting her head up, his orange-yellow eyes meeting her darker purple eyes. "I understand why your brother is not himself. And I assure you, it's not solely because of me."

"Right. Kennith mentioned bad events happening at Rouge's photo shoot."

"Yeah… Stress can bring out the worse of someone," Espio added as he opened the front door and pulled his keys in his pockets. "Anyway, I better go. It's almost late, and I don't want Vector messaging me about why I'm out too late, or anything that involves me doing 'PG-13' material."

"PG-13 material? What does your guardian mean by that?" Tikal wondered, not getting the meaning of the term. She has heard it a few times, but nobody ever explained it very well. Next thing she'll know, someone might use the term 'Rated R' material by the time someone explains the term 'PG-13' material to her.

"Something about bad romance comedies according to Vector," Espio attempted to explain the term to Tikal. "Anyway, before I go, I wanted to do this."

"Do what?" Tikal wondered as she noticed that Espio didn't take a step out of the house.

However, all of Tikal's answers in her head suddenly went away when she noticed that Espio leaned forward, and not only kissed both of her cheeks, but quickly yet softly kisses her lips before Espio broke the kiss, leaving the two teens blushing on what just happened, especially Tikal.

"Oh, my..." Tikal can only say to Espio.

"Good-bye, Tikal. I'll see you tomorrow," Espio said as he left the house and into his car. He's so leaving out the part about the kiss if Vector asks him about what happened.

"See you tomorrow, Takeshi," Tikal said to herself as she watched Espio's car drive away from the neighborhood before closing the door and going to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

However, right as she's about to, she stopped at the living room to see Knuckles, teeth clenching tightly, both of his hands turned into fists, and almost ripping the sofa pillow in half after what he witnessed Tikal and Espio doing at the front door.

Honestly, Knuckles didn't need more stress for today. First the horrible actions with Queen Bitch, then dealing with Rouge and her dumb eating disorder, and finally… THIS?! He can deal with Tikal talking and hugging with a guy. But being kissed by one?! Especially on the cheeks and the lips?! Ooh, he has had it!

"Tikal, can you explain to me what the hell I just saw?" Knuckles asked, trying to keep his cool without releasing his temper onto his sister.

"You mean… Takeshi kissing..." Tikal attempted to say, trying not to stutter and especially make Knuckles pissed off. But after saying the last two words… Maybe it's too late…

"WHAT?! Do you know how much of a deal it is?!"

"Huh?"

"That kiss could lead into something more… more..." Knuckles stumbled on his words as he tried to find the right ones that didn't sound too… mature for Tikal. "More dangerous."

"And how is kissing Takeshi dangerous to me?" Tikal demanded to her brother.

"Well, you two might get involved with other things that goes WAY beyond kissing on the lips. Maybe by the time the month is over, you and Espio might be in-"

"KENNITH, STOP IT! PLEASE! JUST STOP IT ALREADY!" Tikal suddenly yelled to her brother, slightly shoving him back as she hurriedly passed by him and went upstairs and went not to the bathroom, but her own room where she slammed the door hard that it echoed throughout the house.

Groaning loudly that today isn't going well for him, Knuckles slumped down at the couch, gripping at the pillow and not even bothering to change the channel on the television. He couldn't believe it. Tikal did get angry at Knuckles before, but she has never shoved him out of spite; only out of annoyance.

God, I'm so fucked up today… Knuckles cursed in his thoughts, as he buried his face onto the pillow he was gripping onto.

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a large hand roaming through his red locks, and Knuckles knows it can only mean one thing.

"Dad?" Knuckles lifted his head up from the pillow to see his father.

"You okay, Kennith?" Rae asked his son.

"Well, about that… Tikal and I…. Argh! It's so complicated to talk about it!"

"What happened between the two of you?"

"It involved… Espio and Tikal..." Knuckles barely managed to say the last word without choking or even feeling like to throw up, "Kissing."

"Eh? My baby girl already getting a first kiss before you? Well, isn't that something. She's growing up faster than you," Rae joked, knowing about how Knuckles has never been kissed by anyone, minus his parents of course.

"D...Dad! Seriously, don't mention that!" Knuckles demanded, placing his face onto the pillow again. "But still, I'm worried that the kiss between the two-"

"Would lead them into bad territory?" Rae concluded Knuckles' statement. "Is that what you're worried about?"

"Uh..." Knuckles lifted his head off the pillow and looked at his father. "Yeah. I know that Tikal is in High School, but she's still frail. And I'm not just talking physically."

"Kennith, I know you're looking out for your sister, but I think you should lay down your protective behavior for a while."

Knuckles didn't know if he should hit his father in the elbow for saying that, or slap him in the face hard enough to make his cheek turn red. Either way, Knuckles might be thinking about hitting his dad about what he said, but he should know better than to wait for his father to explain what he meant.

"Huh?"

"In other words, don't worry about Tikal being around with Takeshi," Rae added onto his statement.

"But aren't you worried that she's going to be involved with..."

"Kennith," Rae started his sentence as he patted Knuckles' head, "I've known Takeshi for more than five years and he's the most responsible and trustful boy I have ever met. So I'm not worried."

"WHAT?! But what if he gets her-"

"I swear, ever since that incident where Krystal died, you have always been paranoid on what happens to Tikal."

Knuckles can understand what Rae is saying. The incident in Angel Park where a psycho murdered his mother and almost took Tikal's life away is something Knuckles could never forget, even if he wanted to.

"But don't you feel scared that she'll get herself hurt, or in trouble, or worse..." Knuckles questioned his father that mainly concerns the stressed out teen.

"I do," Rae confessed, "But making mistakes and learning from them is a part of growing up. If you keep pampering Tikal, she'll be lost when she gets older."

Knuckles didn't respond to Rae, slowly pushing away his father's hand from his red locks.

"Kennith, you're a good sibling, but every good sibling should know that you can't watch your younger sibling forever. It's like nature," Rae said as he switched the channel to the news.

"I… I don't know, dad..." Knuckles could only say.

"Trust me. Now, you had a long day. Maybe you should get to bed."

"Yeah… I know it's 8 PM, but it feels like midnight after what I've been through today," Knuckles took Rae's suggestion, going upstairs and entering his room to get himself changed.

Unknown to both Knuckles and Rae, Tikal overheard their entire conversation that has taken place. She didn't mean to at first, but as she was getting ready to brush her teeth, she managed to catch her brother and father talking about her. Her getting ready to grow up.

Tikal knew for a fact that growing up can suck at times with being involved with pointless drama from people she knew, people who can physically hurt her (ex: Fiona), and being involved in situations that are beyond her comfort zone.

But with her father's words and Espio's support, growing up to be a stronger person won't be so bad after all.

Author's Note: Well... F**K! Almost two years and I finally decided that this is the perfect time to upload the latest chapter of "Gray Flame"? Hey, better late than never! Especially since 2016 hasn't been the sweetest year for me (and the other billion people in the world).

Yes, I've been to Disney World, played the games I wanted (Fire Emblem Fates, Pokemon Sun & Moon, bits of Overwatch, Kirby, etc.) started to write a new fanfic that I've wanted to do ("Flying High"), discovered some amazing films thanks to a college course involving film genre, and passed my recent college classes with none of them being a C or below.

However, as most of you know, 2016 has been a year of f**kery all over. Besides the obvious (U.S Election), I switched majors and decided not to attend the Spring semester due to me still not figuring out what to do for my major (leaning towards English), and had to delete both "Escape from The City" and "Disturbia" after feeling that I had nothing for those two. Let's just hope 2017 is the year where things will get better for all of us. And hopefully, the year where I get back on track on my writing fuel.

Anyway, I apologize if this chapter took WAY longer than it should. So, releasing it a couple days before Christmas/*insert another holiday name here* will make it up to you. And hopefully bring a smile to your face. Some of you need it after the crap 2016 has given us.

If you like this chapter, leave a review and I promise it won't take me two years to update!

Happy Holidays everyone! ;D

And pray 2017 is better!