Moonstruck - 2

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chapter two
d a b b l e in ;

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He had learned the sound of her footsteps.

It was because he had a trained ear, really; when you spend years upon years of running away from the same girl, you tend to realize what sounds mean to book it before it's too late. She took heavy steps when she ran; she took steps much too heavy for a girl of her stature, actually. She sounded like a stampede of elephants coming his way, which was nearly bizarre because the rosette only had two feet and he was sure she couldn't weigh that much.

He was half expecting her to come barreling at him with arms wide open and tackle him into the grass. It was certainly something she would have done a few years back. He was weary upon her arrival but quickly noted that since she had an equally bushed looking Cream by the wrist as was currently tugging her along like a rag doll it was unlikely that she'd be knocking him over with the bunny in tow. Hopefully Amy knew better than to start a hedgepile.

"Sonic!" she called, peridots bright with warmth. He sent a grin her way, almost laughing as she trampled over her clumsy feet. When was she going to learn that running pigeon-toed was a bad idea? "Sooonic!"

"Yo, elephant foot," he riposted, throwing a hand up lazily. He cracked a cockier grin at her and watched her eyes grow wide before squinting at him in a dangerously determined way.

Sonic had been standing on top the hill at Tails' house, waiting outside for the kitsune to finish going to the bathroom before the two went out on the run. Sonic was certainly standing by the hill until Amy had let go of Cream by Tails' doorstep and threw her entire body weight at Sonic. He yelped a little and held out his hands in a weak attempt at stopping her; it didn't work, and down the two hedgehogs tumbled. They rolled over each other as they spilled down the hill until they finally hit the bottom, Sonic's feet up in the air and Amy sprawled out on top of him.

The blue boy could clearly smell the fresh aroma of the grass below him. It was like he was one with the grass; he could even feel the dirt that padded it underneath. He had ants up his nose... oh. That would be because he had landed face first in the ground on an ant hill and she was laying on his back. He could even feel the little legs squirming up his muzzle.

He gave a full body shudder and sneezed; he felt them fly from his face and into the ground. Hahaha. Take that, stupid little crawlers!

The rosette on top of him squirmed and sat up, sitting on his bottom and making him shudder again in a different way. He internally begged her to move before his brain melted into mush. "Whoopsies.." she giggled, embarrassed. "I guess I could have slowed down a little before I hugged you..."

"I thought you outgrew the glomps," he grumbled, sitting his chin on the grass so that he wasn't face down in mucus, dirt and bugs.

She shrugged a little as she wiggled and pivoted herself from his butt to the grass beside him. He sat up and watched her gingerly; she folded her legs by her side in a very ladylike manner and smoothed her scarlet colored skirt along her thighs. Her quills looked nice up... but it wouldn't be nearly as easy for him to run his fingers through them now that they weren't down and bouncing around her rosy cheeks.

You don't like her like that, he reminded himself stubbornly. A shake of his head tore his thoughts from romantic actions with the rosy rascal like a mental flyswatter.

Amy grinned mischievously and tilted her head at him, the stubborn tuff on top of her head bouncing over one of her peridot eyes. "You compared me to an elephant, it was payback!"

"Well, not my fault you run like one," Sonic grinned back at her, mirroring her playful expression. Before long, he had leapt at her and they were rolling around on the ground like lion cubs, playfully swatting and growling at one another.

Cream peered over the edge of the hill, shaking her head but smiling at them all the same. It was refreshing to see the two of them not making the other flustered or upset. It was calming to the rabbit to see the two of them acting like childish best friends. It was cute how Amy looked like she was really trying to win where as Sonic was trying just hard enough not to lose but at the same time letting her have the upper hand.

Would Tails do the same for me? she thought, pensively. She tried to replace Amy and Sonic with Tails and herself, respectively, but soon found that it wasn't as adorable. I'm not a particularly violent girl and I don't think Tails would go for wrestling with me. He'd probably be too afraid of me getting hurt.

That didn't appear to be a problem for Sonic, however. He rolled Amy over and sat on her stomach, looking victorious. She exhaled a little and wiggled her torso, as if trying to pivot herself out of her predicament but it wasn't working under Sonic's weight. He was heavier and bigger than she was.

Sonic was saying something to her and she snapped something back at him eagerly. She was looking smug and Cream spied a rosy blush rapidly spreading across his muzzle like wildfire. Amy appeared to be squirming and Sonic was just sitting on her, holding her in place.

"What are they doing?" Tails inquired suddenly. Cream jumped; she hadn't noticed him walk out of his house and down the steps. He stood next to her on the hill and watched his older brother wrestle with the lovely rosette playfully. She took a swipe at him and he caught her hand, caressing her wrist lightly. Tails' stomach dropped. When did she get here?

Cream laughed nervously, feeling herself get warmer the closer he stood. "He compared her to a hoard of elephants. She knocked him down the hill and now they're flirting," Cream shook the subject quickly. "So, how have you been, Tails?" she asked brightly.

Why is it Amy always has to draw his attention away from me? he mused, looking increasingly more sullen and foul. Mere moments ago before Tails had to take a pee the two boys had been acting like best of friends again, joking and trotting up the hill together just like in the old days. The old days, before girls and blushing and all of that weird stuff that love brought; back when it was just Sonic, Tails and the ground beneath them. What was it going to take for Tails to get those days back?

"Who does she think she is?" he grumbled in a low voice, completely missing Cream's question.

Cream giggled at him. "Well, I think she thinks she's Amy Rose, and she's always thought that she was his girl."

Tails jumped, looking scandalized. He hadn't realized that he had been ignoring Cream; in fact, he hadn't heard her at all. He was too busy damning Amy's existence in his head to even hear the bunny standing right beside him. She now stood almost at his height. She was tall for her age, and her legs were long and thin. She almost appeared a bit lanky but in a lovable sort of way. Her darker-shaded hair was pulled into a long plait down her back.

Her warm chocolate eyes stared at him intently. "Uhm.." he trailed off, struggling to come up for an excuse for his own incompetence before she blushed and pulled her line of sight away from him and back at the hedgehogs below them. She appeared to be flustered. "I zoned out, sorry Cream."

"It's okay," she voiced honestly, her voice soft and sweet like a melody. It was cute how soft spoken she was. "I asked how you were."

"Good," he answered curtly. His eyes were still on Sonic and Amy, who were now rolling and struggling for dominance. It was repulsive how adorable they were. It was nauseating how much fun Sonic appeared to be having. "Just... great."

Cream watched his eyes carefully. She then followed his line of sight and discovered that he was watching Sonic tickle Amy with his jaw locked, looking progressively more displeased. She raised an eyebrow. Why was he so cross about Sonic and Amy being playful with one another? Cream found his playful tickling of his secret love interest quite sweet and endearing. The way he was looking at Amy was warmer and softer than she'd ever seen him look at any of the past girls he flung with; he had a heated romance with those girls and had stared at them in complete male lust, where as he was looking at Amy with great admiration, almost... love, was it? Was he really in love with Amy?

So why was Tails so set against it? Didn't he think Sonic was a good match for Amy, too? Hadn't Amy earned it after all of the blood and sweat and tears?

And then it hit her like a sack of bricks.

Tails was in love with her best friend.

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Being on top of a girl was nothing new for him. Back in the days of his 'Wild Faze', as he liked to call it, he had often been on top of several extremely attractive women. There was no question about it; he had slept with some of the most exotic and beautiful women in the world. Blonde, brunette, red head, black hair; he had dated and slept with all. He didn't discriminate. His perception of beauty was large. He found each girl to be lovely in their own way. He had slept with them all, didn't he? Was it bad that he wasn't exactly proud of it, when it came to being with her?

The feel of her skin was incredible. He wasn't even touching her bare breast and he was being stimulated; the feel of the skin on her stomach, the softness of her fur - it was almost too much for him. Oh, and it was the sounds that escaped her moist, silken lips, each gasp unique and adorable in it's own way. The girl under him wasn't like the girls before.

She was younger... and she had a history with him. An odd history - chasing him to the ends of the earth, hand outstretched and legs moving rapidly even though it was impossible for her to ever catch up - but a history nonetheless. Her shining determination went unmatched, as far as he was concerned. Amy was something else just for that alone.

Something else... what, exactly? He pondered it.

"Soo-niiiic!" Amy Rose squealed as she thrashed about, desperate to get Sonic's wiggling fingers away from her stomach. There were tears in her eyes and she was laughing so hard she almost couldn't breathe. Yelping and gasping for breath, she attempted to crawl away. She squealed again as Sonic grabbed her ankles and dragged her back before continuing his delightful torture.

He grinned at her and continues to tickle her; he hadn't noticed that she had begun to wiggle out of her skirt until the hemline to her undergarments were in plain sight. Blushing, he quickly stopped and allowed her to situate herself before pulling her into another round of tickles. She squeaked and thrashed, chest heaving with laughter and breath. He simply couldn't get over how adorable she looked when she was laughing.

It was odd; when they were younger he wouldn't be caught dead playing with her like this. He was always too afraid she'd jump him. She's not all that bad, I guess, he thought fleetingly, his fingers dancing across her skin as she shrieked and squealed.

After a few more minutes of titillation he drew his hands back and allowed his follower to catch her sweet breath. He watched her lips almost jealously as she drew in breath, cursing the air for it's ability to touch her lips. Sonic sat, disturbed for a moment. Was he really just getting jealous of Amy's breath because it got to fill her? What...

"Y-You're so me-heaaan!" she shrieked as he jumped at her again, pinning her down. Her cheeks were still rosy and her eyes watery, evidence from their tickle session from before. "Sonic!"

"Put some clothes on next time you go to a photo shoot, would ya?" he solicited.

She nudged him off of her lightly and sat, smoothing her skirt down once again to feign modesty. Her nails were painted red, he noticed randomly. They looked nice with her complexion. "I was dressed, Sonic," she informed in a ritzy tone. "What's wrong, never seen cleavage before?"

Amy looked at him in such a challenging way that he knew it would be best not to answer that question straight up honestly. She knows, he mentally panicked. But how couldn't she? It wasn't like he didn't flash his arm candy around years ago like they were prizes or something. Not one of those girls that he hooked up with were remotely datable. They were all pretty trampy.

He decided to take a different approach. "I've never seen yours before. Do you know the way all the men ogle you? It's disgusting."

"Well, excuse me for not being 12 years old anymore!" she stood up, the playful, teasing atmosphere shattering around them. Her hands planted at her hips. "You're not my mother, Sonic the Hedgehog! You're so one to talk, you dirty hypocrite!"

He jumped up to his feet as well, suddenly defensive. "I didn't pose half naked in magazines!"

"No, you just got naked with every legal girl in town!" she snapped, jade orbs sparking with repressed fury and anguish.

Sonic glowered at her, feeling the need to defend his virtue. "I never did it with Rouge, and she was legal."

The pink hedgehog scowled at him and turned on her heals. Her high ponytail swung around and he felt himself slapped with the motion. She was angry. Not just angry, she was betrayed. She felt denounced. She began striding up the hill, her steps heavier than usual. He mentally cursed himself for his past exploits. I'm losing one of my best friends because I couldn't control my hormones years ago, how's that fair? She was a friggen STALKER!

It wasn't a lie. Especially in her younger years, Amy clung to Sonic like a sock fresh out of the drier to laundry. It was overwhelming and frightening, to say the least.

But this Amy wasn't the same little girl he had grown up with, he quickly noticed. Sure, she looked like her old self with a few minor adjustments (read: boobs) and she was certainly as temperamental and quirky, but it appeared that age had matured her in more than one way. It was that that made him decide that it was his turn to be the bigger man for once. Time to come clean.

Stuffing his pride in his pocket, he spoke out. "Maybe I don't want creeps like me taking advantage of you!" he called out to her. She frozen, half way up the hill. "You're pretty, Amy, they..." he trailed off, unable to finish his sentence for he was blushing much too hard. He had lost the nerve again.

Why am I even blushing, I don't even like her like that. She's Amy, the same little girl who trailed me around like a horny school girl when she was 12 and wanted me to marry her and have my babies-

He was ripped from his thoughts as she threw herself back at him. He hadn't even noticed her run back down the hill. He took a step back and sturdied himself this time, catching her narrowly. He felt himself explode with a giveaway blush. Her arms wrapped around him and she snuggled into his furry chest, smiling and sighing contently. "You're not a creep Sonic, you're just a guy," she giggled softly, looking up with him with those pretty green eyes and making him forget all about his internal struggle over his feelings for her. "I'm a big girl, I can handle myself."

"You're 17, you're not even an adult yet Amy," he managed to sound like a man and not like a strangled little child, paralyzed with unusual feelings. He felt really warm; warmer than he should have.

She tittered at him and let go of him, dusting herself off again in the process. He brushed past her; he didn't want to deal with these feelings anymore. He didn't want to feel so warm around her, it was strange and it scared him to no end. He couldn't help but look at her, however, as she brushed past him, eyes bright and smile warm with years of maturity, and cooed, "race ya!"

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Why was Knuckles the Echidna sitting on her couch?

Rouge rubbed her sapphire eyes, as if trying to convince herself that she was dreaming; surely there would be no reason why that knucklehead was seated on her and Shadow's couch? It was random, it was odd... Knuckles had never exactly been friendly with the either of them.

As Rouge came closer, she realized that Shadow was on the couch too. Both of them appeared to be hunched over something. The bat jumped as Knuckles screamed something incoherently. The bat squinted.

Knuckles and Shadow were playing Call of Duty.

...Really?

She scowled and rolled her eyes. How did Knuckles even know how to play that game, he lived up on an island all by himself! There wasn't even electricity up there! As her investigation drew closer she uncovered that Knuckles appeared to be doing absolutely atrocious at the game. In fact, he was running and jumping at a wall, firing his gun and giving away his location. As Shadow's character rounded the corner and ended Knuckles' marvelous reign against the bricks Knuckles gave a great shout of frustration and threw his controller against the couch cushions.

Rouge snickered. "Nice moves, Knuxie."

"Can it, bat girl," he grumbled, looking more and more like a red lump. Chuffing, he grabbed the controller with his mitts again his character leaped around.

"Knuxie, that's not the firing button, that's the jump button-"

"-ARGH, why doesn't Shadow ever tell me all the controls-?"

"-I told you how to fire!" Shadow roared as he gained another kill. Knuckles' character fell to the ground and so did his controller.

Rouge looked annoyed. "Easy with the technology, knucklehead! You're not the one paying for that!"

Knuckles looked at her, equally annoyed (if not more). She grunted and stood himself, as if better posture would help him win the fight. "No, all of the gems you steal do! Speaking of gems, have you touched my Master Emerald?"

She felt her stomach leap into her throat. Was that the only reason why he ever bothered coming to talk to her? Because he thought she took his dumb emerald? It wasn't quite clear to Rouge yet why she found so much offense in this notion. It wasn't like she hadn't given him reason to be suspicious in the past, but weren't they friends now...? Or on friendlier terms, at least? Why did he always come to her first when the Master Emerald was stolen? It was a little offensive. She hadn't stolen anything in a while, she had been too busy managing Club Rouge.

She shoved him with her right hand. "I didn't take your wife, chill," she snarled at him, suddenly in a foul mood. He really does care more about that damn gem than he does about all of his friends combined. No wonder why he's so bitter and grumpy all the time, he's alone.

Knuckles grumbled incoherently.

"If you see the emerald, let me know," he managed, struggling to keep his temper at bay.

Knuckles brushed by her on his way out, never meaning to coquet her but somehow managing to send a round of pleasurable shivers up her spine. The temptress turned her head and watched the red furred man walk out. It was probably his firm, muscular arms that got to her; Rouge knew a good looking slice of man when she saw one and Knuckles wasn't too shabby. Aside from his good looks, he was a pretty nice guy, too once one got past the infamous temper, gullibility and tendency to focus all of his attention on a big green rock.

Regardless of her previous conviction concerning the muscle-bound hunk, she still couldn't shake the rising feeling of warmth that bubbled into her stomach. Rouge was unable to reframe from feeling positively confused as to why Knuckles brought out more of a reaction from her just by bumping shoulders and elbows than her own boyfriend did. It was true that Shadow and Rouge weren't sexually active with each other, but the bat was fairly certain Knuckles was a virgin all together.

But... then again, she was sure Shadow was one too. Damn. How did she manage to get stuck with the only two prudes in town? I should have pried after Sonic, he's not afraid of some action in bed - Amy may have killed me, though. She might be a little girl but she can certainly carry her own weight. I don't desire to be on the receiving end of that hammer of hers.

Shadow chuffed to himself, sotto voce. "He's going to get himself in trouble some day."

Rouge caught the undertone and perked up her well trained ears. Being a bat had it's perks. "Ha! Shadow, you're just noticing this now? He's asking for a disaster."

The ruby tinged hedgehog nodded his head at his significant other briefly and bent over, grasping the controller that Knuckles had tossed in his haste. His feet, slightly small and nimble, clicked against the wooden floor as he ambled over to the entertainment center and placed the controller in it's previous home. The glass door clicked into place.

"He really thought you had it, Rouge."

She scoffed a little, looking up from gazing at her red painted nails. "I didn't, Shadow," she snapped moodily. He chose not to comment on her sudden change in demeanor. "Did you think I did?"

The dim lighting diluted his expression, luckily enough for him. The smug look never left as he lingered where he stood for a moment, silently thanking the lambent look of the room. Rouge's pricey chandeliers did come in handy after all. Without another word, he dropped onto the couch and resumed his game.

* * *

He remembered it all; the curve of her body, the look of her lips curling upwards into that snide, evil little smile; she was like a bad itch that he couldn't scratch, for it was far out of his reach and just taunting him monotonously.

As soon as Knuckles escaped the premises of Rouge's home his muzzle exploded into a marvelous red shade to match his fur. By now, he was red all over. Why was this woman the only one to have this effect over him? Amy never made him feel like this, and she was certainly as beautiful as Rouge in a different way, right? Amy was a model, he had been told (by Tails, of course). Amy had a bright smile and pretty green eyes. So why didn't Amy spark the same stomach-churning, heart-throbbing reaction in him?

Was it because Amy was annoying? Knuckles had never gotten along particularly well with the rosy rascal from the start, but it was the same song and dance for Rouge, too. In fact, Rouge had tried to steal his emerald!

My emerald... where in the world could it be, then, if Rouge doesn't have it?

The crimson guardian set his sights on the train to Mystic Ruins. Sonic. Sonic must have his emerald - or something to do with it, at least; it was always Rouge or him that did. Both stuck their noses where they didn't belong and got caught up in other people's business. Sonic just did it legally, where as he wasn't quite so sure as to where Rouge's allegiances lied.

His thought strayed back to the ivory bat. She flirted too much for her own good, he had decided upon early on. She was dating Shadow. For whatever reason, Knuckles couldn't seem to wrap his mind around the thought of it. Rouge was outgoing, snarky, beautiful, sexy and an extremely sensual woman; Shadow was closed away, locked up, taken aback and dreary, caught on the thoughts on the blonde haired girl he had lost almost 60 years ago. Then again... Knuckles knew he wasn't exactly the most up to date person in the world, either. He couldn't even play a video game right.

Knuckles trudged along the sidewalk, his shoes scuffing against the cement. At least he sun was out, it made the walk back a little less mind-numbing. The sun was bright and birds were chirping. It seemed as though everything around was extra cheery, something straight out of a Disney movie.

"I'm not happy," he grumbled to himself. He wasn't entirely sure if it were the emerald's fault or the woman who tantalized him so.

His cheeks tinted and warmed as another round of thoughts concerning her whirled back into his conscious mind. Maybe comparing her beauty to Amy wasn't fair to the hedgegirl; Rouge was the most beautiful woman around. Long shapely legs that seemed to stretch on for miles, curvaceous hips, larger than average bosom, a thin waist, a sleek coat, bright blue-green eyes... he could barely believe he found himself drooling at the thought of her. He wiped up the evidence with the back of his mitt. Damn her.

She has a boyfriend now, he reminded himself. It's wrong of you to think of her like that - wrong for you to think of her at all, she's a thieving batgirl and that's all she'll ever be! A pain in the butt!

But that didn't mean he couldn't be intrigued by her, right? After all, she was adept at fighting and martial arts. There was much to be learned; she embraced the power in her womanly legs, where as all of his power came from his well-worked arms. Combing both would be a wise plan in terms of safety for his heirloom.

It was then Knuckles the Echidna decided that teaming up with Rouge the Bat to learn more in the ways of fighting with his legs was a good plan. He decided right then and there that spending more time with the pneumatic agent. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Knuckles was naive, however, and really had no idea what he was getting himself into.

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