#mintywhisker

Knuckles took up guard duty of the Emerald; quite the noble and honorable commitment.

Espio was usually busy with his detective work; honorable in a different way, but still important and just as time consuming.

Usually, Espio would get teased enough about 'sneaking off to see his boyfriend' to convince him to do so a bit less often. He didn't want to seem like he was shirking his work, no matter how many times his fellow Chaotix insisted otherwise.

So when everything seemed calm and uneventful, they tried to spend as much time as possible together. They always made even an extra minute with each other count.

While the two were never ones to show any public displays of affection, they could be quite the cuddle bugs when they were able to get a moment to themselves.

They picked a comfortable spot to sit down and stargaze. Away from the city lights, the sky shone brilliantly.

Espio's tail loosely wrapped around Knuckles while the latter leaned comfortably against him.

They sat in a comfortable quiet for a while, merely enjoying the presence of the other before Espio finally broke the silence.

"You're a lucky one." 

Knuckles cocked an eyebrow in his direction. 

"Why's that?"

"You get to see this sight every single night." Espio gestures, his expression still quite awestruck.

Knuckles lets out a surprised laugh. "Yeah, I guess I do, huh?"

"You sound unimpressed."

"Well, it's a pretty sight, but I guess I don't know much about them." Knuckles shrugs.

He could have said the same thing about when he first met Espio. 

"I do have a bit of knowledge on the subject…" Espio clears his throat to suggest he didn't want to seem such a braggart about it.

"Oh, yeah? Tell me about them."

Espio took his time, pointing out stars and naming the constellations. He wouldn't admit that he did his research well in advance of his visit.

Knuckles listened intently, though he would sneak more glances at Espio's starstruck face than the stars themselves.

"That's Aquarius, between Capricornus and Pisces." Espio points out each of the shapes as he explains. "I suppose if you wanted to get technical, that might be your zodiac."

"And what does that mean?"

"That you're straightforward and bold." Espio nods confidently.

"Are the stars telling you that, or do you just like being blunt?"

"The stars would say I'm a Pisces, so perhaps I just like being blunt with you."

Knuckles laughs and pulls him closer. "You're smarter than you let on."

"I learned it by watching you." Espio teases back, though leaning into the other's touch didn't make it sound any more intimidating.

A glimmer in the sky tore their attention away from each other. The two looked towards the vast night just in time to see a brilliant star shooting overhead.

"Maybe you should make a wish if you like stars so much." Knuckles chuckles, looking down at Espio.

"I don't need to."

"Hmm, why's that?"