Just Beneath the Surface

Part II

~AiC

A/N: Wow, I got six reviews on the first night of the last part! Yay! Since so many people liked it {six is a lot for ne...} I decided to throw together a sequel. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I no own Sonic and Knuckles... :(

PS: This is really... icky... I think it's OOC and it isn't good at all... ~_~ Why am I even posting this, I know it sucks...

~*~

I stretched out over the soft linens of my cot, sighing softly and arching my back. Releasing a yawn, I slid out of bed and lifted my arms above my head, the muscles sore and aching from the previous day's spar. Leaning down, I pulled on a pair of green socks, thinking briefly of a pair of eyes that nearly matched the shade exactly. Shrugging the thought away, I slipped into my red and yellow shoes, double-tying the laces to insure that they wouldn't come undone.

I ran a hand through my quills and rubbed my eyes, mindful of the twin spikes protruding from each of my hands. The knuckles of my first and last fingers on each hand were overgrown, pushing out of my skin in a solid tower with razor sharp ends. I pulled on my gloves and glanced in the mirror.

My reflection stared back at me with blank lavender eyes and I sighed; I wasn't dirty, but I wasn't that clean either... I opted for washing my face, compromising with myself; I pulled the gloves off and splashed bit of water onto my face from the basin on my nightstand, then dried my hands on a hand towel before replacing the gloves.

"Mornin' beautiful."

His voice, as usual, was sarcastic and had a slight nasal tinge. That last description alone caused me to smirk.

The hedgehog was standing at my door, leaning casually against the frame. One blue eye ridge was raised at my assumed vanity and I only rolled my eyes. Turning to face him, I replied, "It's better to look good than to look like you. I mean, unless you like looking the way a..."

I never got to finish the insult; a blur of blue knocked me back, hand over my mouth and body pinning me to the hard dirt floor of my dwelling. Before I could protest, he hissed,

"Don't move, don't make a sound." I heard the urgency in his voice, and decided to heed his words. And it was a good thing I did.

Just outside I heard the distinct voice of one Princess Sally. "Sonic? Knuckles?" Softer, to herself, she said "Ugh, where are those two when there's work to be done..."

Sonic grinned down at me and I glared at him. I'd thought there'd been real danger or something... but then again, Sally's wrath was not one to invoke.

I shifted beneath him and started sitting up. There was a sound outside the door and he suddenly grabbed me tighter and rolled beneath my bed. The curtain that served as something of a door was bound to the side of the frame, allowing the air to circulate. And also allowing anyone to just look in.

"Shh, she'll hear you!"

The blankets on my bed were still unmade, and thus lopsided enough to cover the opening. My bed was against one of the four small walls and we huddled near the back. I tried to get out form under Sonic, but he wouldn't yield.

"Knux, she'll hear you!"

"Sonic, you're talking more than me!" My words were rewarded with a huge gloved hand re-clamping over my mouth. I growled; as if it would help.

It didn't.

We laid motionless for about ten minutes, long enough for anyone who was searching for us to give up. Twice the princess passed by, and twice she overlooked the bed. After the second time, Sonic released me and crawled out from beneath my cot, I following.

"Come on, this way. She'll be back soon and I'm hungry."

I blinked. What did him being hungry and Sally's return have to do with one another. He clarified for me.

"She always makes me work through breakfast... that means no food until lunch..." His expression soured. "That slave driver."

He pouted and grabbed my arm, pulling me towards the door before I even had a chance to make a decision; he glanced both ways to make sure the coast was clear, then made a break for the forest. Since my hut was on the very edge of Knothole, he had no trouble getting us there unnoticed. He ran about three hundred yards in, enough so that no passersby would notice, and motioned to the tree.

"Can you get us up there? You could glide us safely to the town about a mile away... they have a diner there, delicious chilidogs..."

I groaned. "Why is it that I play such a big part in this when I never agreed in the first place..."

He paused and looked at me. "Aren't you hungry, man?"

He got me there. I couldn't say no to that. My rumbling stomach was the final incrimination necessary for him to shove me encouragingly towards the tree. I rolled my eyes and latched onto the tree, namesakes digging into the bark to get a good, solid grip. I looked at him.

"Tell me, why aren't you doing this with Miles? You never usually invite me to join in on these foolish endeavors." He grabbed my shoulders as I started climbing. I could handle his weight, though I was slowed a fraction in my ascent.

"He has trouble carrying me... he's young, it's harder."

I wasn't surprised. I knew he didn't mean that, though. He wasn't just using me and I smirked a little. "How do you know I won't drop you?" The comment was intended to get an answer for the prior question. It worked.

He ignored the statement. "Ya know, him hanging around me is so... well, it's great, he's a good kid. He just idolizes me so much and..."

"You need to spend time with someone more mature."

"Yeah."

We'd reached the top of the tree and he pointed in the direction of the diner. It was in a direction away from Knothole, so we wouldn't be seen.

I leapt from the top of the tree, my long quills catching the breeze and hurtling me like an arrow through the air. Sonic tightened his grip and said, his voice partially swept back by the wind, "Whoa Red, I didn't think you were this fast..." I could almost feel him smirk. "It's almost as fast I jog!"

I bucked slightly and he made a small eep! sound, shouting, "Hey, don't!" I relented and the rest of the ride went uneventfully. A few minutes later, we came to a small town a few miles outside of Knothole and Sonic tugged on one of my quills.

"Down there, that small, squarish building that says..."

"'Fox's Diner'?" I cut in, stating the obvious. I soared lower and dropped my quills, freefalling the last four or five feet and landing with the audible thump of my feet on hard stone. Sonic, who had been riding piggyback, dropped down and all but ran into the diner. I followed behind at a normal pace; someone had to baby-sit him.

Inside, we were greeted by a pretty squirrel, shorter and slimmer then Sally and without any of the scars. Whereas Sally was a deep red-brown color, she was blonde; her eyes were wide and blue, her lips painted a bright red. She smiled at us and said,

"Hello, and welcome to Fox's Diner, the finest service in all of Heartwood!" I winced internally at her bubbly persona. A valley girl if ever there was one...

"I'm Kit and I'll be helping you today."

She lead us to our table and we slid into a booth opposite each other. She handed us each menus and I didn't miss how her fingers brushed against mine. I faked a smile and she asked what we wanted to drink.

"Coffee." Sonic said, skimming the text of the menu for anything particularly good.

"I'll have coffee, too, please." I added, not sparing her another glance. She seemed to take this as feigning disinterest and so leaned down on the table to jot our orders, displaying her substantial cleavage. When neither Sonic nor l paid much attention, she sighed and walked away.

As soon as she was gone, the hedgehog said, "Dude, she was totally hitting on you! What a knockout!" He stared at me like I was crazy.

"You didn't seem too interested. And besides, she isn't my type."

"She wasn't going for me!" He made a small sound of exasperation and turned back to the menu. "Chilidogs sound good."

When Kit came back, he ordered twelve.

"And for you, handsome?"

She was getting desperate and I didn't feel like playing along. "Nothing." The she-squirrel pouted and turned, making sure to flick her tail sensually.

"How come you didn't get anything?" Sonic said. He was just as immune to the charms of the waitress as I was, despite what he said.

"How come you don't ever stop talking?" I countered. I sipped my coffee, eyes downcast and almost closed; I still was able to check out my surroundings, though.

He sighed and looked at me for a long time. "I don't understand." He said finally.

"Understand what?" I replied passively. I really didn't like being around other people and the diner was becoming crowded. It put me on edge. Sonic noticed and left my question unanswered. As soon as his food arrived, he promptly shoved six chilidogs in his mouth and put the rest in a doggy bag. He paid and I left the tip, a fair trade since my coffee was about that much, if not less. He started towards the forest, a little bit away, and I followed silently. Mentally thanking him for getting us out of that diner, my eyes widened slightly as I witnessed the velocity of which he ate the remaining chilidogs.

"You're gonna get sick."

The usually talkative hedgehog simply shrugged, tossing the now-empty bag into a garbage can. "I'll be fine."

It took us about twenty minutes to get back on foot, and I didn't say much. Sonic seemed content to talk continuously, and I questioned my reasoning for going with him.

It's not like I had a choice... he basically grabbed me and ran...

We stumbled into Knothole and I leaned down to fix my shoelace; it'd come unraveled in the long walk. Suddenly, in an almost painful way, I felt Sonic's fingers close around my shoulder. I looked up...

...and into the glaring eyes of Princess Sally.

It was his fault, after all. He was the one who had a craving for chilidogs this early in the morning...

~*~

A/N: Eh... this sucked too... lemme know if you want more... though why you'd inflict his on yourselves is beyond me.

~AiC