Apologies; Sonuckles fic by: bbbuuu
Sonic hissed slightly, flinching away from the sharp sting he felt under his ear. ``Hey, c'mon Knuckles, I think I can manage this part!'' he whined, shifting his gaze to his red companion who sat beside him on the steps of the Master Emerald's altar. Knuckles gave a grunt of irritation, shaking his head as he pulled back the hand with the alcohol dabbed cloth on it, slightly reddened from where he'd gently touched it to Sonic's head.
``You can't even see it Sonic! You'd just open the cut more.'' the echidna exclaimed, putting one hand on Sonic's shoulder to keep him still and bring him back out of the defensive lean he'd gone into. ``Just stay still, will you? This won't take too long if you don't give me trouble.''
``It stings...'' Sonic grumbled, but remained still, as Knuckles brought the cloth forward again, and he grit his teeth slightly as the sting returned, the alcohol burning against the wound. The two sat there for a moment, in slightly awkward silence as Knuckles kept the cloth there with gentle pressure, letting the alcohol disinfect, before carefully pulling it away, and looking at the cut, letting out a hum as he saw the bleeding had lessened significantly.
Knuckles lowered the cloth to the small bowl of water he'd set to the side, rinsing the blood off of it, watching the red swirls twist in the water, darkening the liquid slightly. He squeezed the water out of the cloth, bringing it back to Sonic's head, and beginning to carefully dab away the blood that had mussed the fur around the cut. Sonic let out a grumble again, but Knuckles could feel the hedgehog's tension loosen as the burn of the alcohol died down in his cut. He hadn't taken his hand off Sonic's shoulder, and he kept it there as he cleaned up the area around the cut.
Knuckles lowered the cloth once more, tilting his head as he looked at the wound again, biting the inside of his cheek slightly. It was a bit of an ugly wound, a bruise sure to form around it later on, but at least the bleeding wasn't too bad anymore. He gently traced the cloth over the cut once more, soaking up the little red droplets that had beaded up, before setting the cloth down into the bowl of water. Knuckles shifted slightly, before wincing himself, grip on Sonic tightening on reflex, as pain sparked up along his left leg and hip, and he glanced down at his side, seeing the beginnings of his own ugly bruise forming there.
Sonic felt Knuckles' grip tense up, and he glanced slightly at the echidna, noticing his leg. Sonic bit his lip a little before looking away again as Knuckles turned his attention back to the task at hand. The echidna reached down again, to a large leaf that rested beside the bowl of water. A number of small berries lay in the leaf, and Knuckles folded the leaf over them, before pressing his hand down on it hard, small crunching sounds breaking the general quiet of the altar as Knuckles crushed the fruits inside the leaf, before unfolding it. The berries were mashed into a paste, and Knuckles took a little of it into his mitt, before bringing it up to Sonic's wound again. ``This'll help soothe the ache a little.'' he explained, as he very gently rubbed the paste into the cut. Sonic jolted a little at first, before settling down again as the cut merely tingled now, instead of the pain it had been giving him before.
Satisfied, Knuckles reached down for a final time, picking up the roll of bandages, and taking a strip. He tore it from the roll, and carefully reached up to apply it to Sonic's wound, pressing it there as gently as he could, keeping his hand there. There was another silence between them, before Knuckles closed his eyes, letting out a deep sigh. He looked away from Sonic, down towards the grassy area in front of the steps of the altar before breaking the quiet.
``I didn't mean to hit you that hard.'' Knuckles said softly. ``I'm sorry that I hurt you.'' Sonic's cheeks seemed to get a little darker, and he turned his head to look at Knuckles, who had to move his hand to keep it pressed on the bandage. The blue hedgehog gave him a smile, one hand coming up as if to wave off the apology.
``Hey, hey! It's fine, you don't gotta say sorry!'' Sonic protested amicably. He pointed at the wicked looking bruise on Knuckles' side, an apologetic look on his own face. ``After laying that little number on you, I'm the one who should be saying that.'' his voice somehow managed to mix sheepishness with shame, and Sonic's smile grew a little softer. ``So... I'm sorry, Red.'' Knuckles' cheeks felt hot, and he shook his head slightly.
``Still, I... I should have pulled that punch. I could have really done some damage, hitting you in the head like that.'' Knuckles had actually snarled at the painful charge he'd received from the other during their spar, and had lashed out with a punch far more savage than he'd usually dole out in their fights... when he'd seen the way Sonic had reeled back with such force, and saw the deep red spreading on the spike of his glove, he'd frozen for a moment during the intense sparring, horror rising quickly as he realized just how hard he'd struck the other. When Sonic had shakily sat up, one hand on the side of his head under his ear, Knuckles could see the trickles of red making their way through his blue fur, seeping into his gloves, and Knuckles remembered rushing to Sonic immediately, trying to check the damage he'd done.
Sonic smiled at the echidna. ``You know... I don't think I've ever seen your anger drop so quickly before.'' the hedgehog reached down, trailing his own fingers through the berry paste, while Knuckles flushed slightly. ``Don't think I've seen you look quite that worried before, either. You were at my side so fast.'' Knuckles jolted for a second, breaking eye contact with Sonic, a slight hiss of breath coming through his teeth, as he suddenly felt the hedgehog's hand on his bruised side, sending sparks of pain through his body. It took him a moment to realize that Sonic was gently rubbing the soothing paste against the injured area, trying not to press too hard. The pain was being numbed slowly, the sharper pain becoming a dull tingling as Sonic treated him. Knuckles' eyes turned back to Sonic's own, and the echidna's cheeks flushed subtly deeper as he saw the warmth in Sonic's smile.
``Thanks...'' Knuckles mumbled, averting his eyes, head turning away slightly, feeling shy and awkward at the hedgehog's words. Sonic chuckled, and Knuckles blinked, as he felt the hedgehog's other hand meet his cheek, adding yet more warmth to his face. Sonic gently turned Knuckles' head to face him again, green eyes meeting purple ones once more.
``You're cute when you're bashful.'' Sonic purred. Knuckles was about to sputter a protest to the `cute' word, when Sonic leaned forward, and peach lips met his own darker ones. Knuckles found himself closing his eyes, pressing his lips back against Sonic's, no hurry or urgency, merely returning the gesture of affection, a warmth spreading through his chest. Sonic's thumb stroked gently along his cheek, before the hedgehog slowly broke the kiss, pulling back slightly to wink at Knuckles.
``No hard feelings then?'' Knuckles asked, a slight smile coming over his own face. Sonic chuckled, reaching up to trail his hand along Knuckles' own, which was still holding the bandage to his head. He gently took Knuckles' hand away, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
``We're good.'' Sonic confirmed, as he picked up the roll of bandages himself. He leaned forward again, lips brushing Knuckles' cheek, before nuzzling softly into the crook of the echidna's neck, as he carefully began to wrap the bandages around Knuckles' middle. Knuckles let out a soft sigh as Sonic pressed leisurely little butterfly kisses along his neck and shoulder, as he finished applying the bandage to the Guardian's body, and began to slowly wrap up the bruised part of his leg as well, fingers trailing over Knuckles' thighs softly as he did so.
Knuckles breathed out slowly, cheeks red, as Sonic completed the bandaging on his leg. The blue speedster pulled back slightly to smile at him, his hand still on Knuckles' thigh. ``There we go, all patched up.'' he winked at Knuckles, and the echidna couldn't help but smile back. They stayed quiet for a moment, before Knuckles brought up one hand, idly rubbing it along Sonic's peach furred arm.
``Your head still hurting at all?'' he asked softly. Sonic chuckled at that.
``Not much!'' Sonic confirmed cheerfully. His grin turned a little impish. ``Though, I wouldn't mind getting to rest it for a little while. I hope you don't mind?'' Knuckles blinked, as Sonic shifted, turning away from him, before suddenly laying back slowly. His head came to a rest in Knuckles' lap, and he smiled up at the echidna as he relaxed. ``If I stay a while?'' Knuckles let out a light laugh, smiling back down at Sonic. The Guardian leaned back against the nearest pillar of the Shrine, and he gently stroked a hand down Sonic's quills, a gentle petting, so as to not irritate Sonic's wound.
``I don't mind.'' he answered, watching as Sonic closed his eyes, and let out a content sigh. A soft breeze rolled through the Shrine, and Knuckles let out his own sigh of contentedness as he allowed himself to relax as well, idly petting Sonic's head. They remained that way for a long while, and Knuckles couldn't help but hum to himself as Sonic dozed off with a smile on his face, looking so totally at ease, despite the bandage on his head. ``Stay as long as you want.'' Knuckles said quietly. He turned his eyes upward, watching the clouds drift in the sky, an easy smile coming over his own face, as he relaxed with Sonic at the Shrine.
