This is (most likely) the only M Rated story I will ever write. I have rated it M because there is sex, but it is all glossed over and does not go into detail. This is M for a lack of a T+.

This is sort of a continuation of the Knuckles x Lien-Da drabble I wrote from the 100 Theme Challenge I'm taking. I've become fascinated with the pairing- because it's not the typical, sappy, romantic type pairing that I usually work with. It's darker and unpure. And you know what? I like it.

It's rather short, and sort of experimental. Just to see how I could write this. And though it is labeled under 'Romance', it isn't really romantic :/

She honestly had no idea how it had started.

Lien-Da had never found herself particularly attracted to anyone, regardless of species or gender. With a life as tough and goals as high as hers, romance never had much room in her mind. She'd just figured that someday after she'd become Grandmaster and all of the pieces in her little game had fallen into place, she'd meet some echidna (she refused to engage in a relationship with some inferior species) and things would just happen.

Then again, this wasn't really a relationship, or a romance for that matter.

She'd never really cared for Knuckles. He was a brat, a naive little guardian who insisted on associating with non-echidnas. He was from a rival clan, and in many aspects he was a disgrace to the echidna name -abandoning his post to help lower species, believing that idiot Robotnik, and many other fumbles she didn't feel like listing. When she put it like that, there wasn't much about him that she found appealing.

Still, there was something about the flustered way he talked when he was mad. It was so easy to make him mad. Just about anything could set him off. It was sort of cute. And when he fought... Well, even Lien-Da would concede that, for all his faults, he was a worthy opponent.

That still didn't explain how this had started though.

It wasn't love. Lien-Da refused to believe in such childish notions, especially when it came to this situation. She was to be the Grandmaster; she didn't have time for complications such as love. And, if and when she were ever to give her heart to someone, she doubted it would be to this... naive little boy.

Her motive, however, was simple: if she had Knuckles, then Julie-Su didn't, and that was that. With Knuckles in her web, that was one less thing her "precious little sister" didn't have, one more thing she could use against her. Julie-Su may have stolen their father's love, but Lien-Da had her sister's dear boyfriend eating out of the palm of her hand.

Sure, they would spend the days together, hand in hand, laughing and smiling and kissing as lovers are supposed to. But the moment the sun went down and the moon came up, shadows would cast across the lives of these two "star crossed lovers". As night fell, they would retreat to their separate dwellings, and in through Knuckles' window she would creep.

She'd slip into his bed, murmuring his name and planting soft kisses on the back of his neck until he would roll over into her. The day may have belonged to her little sister, but the night was all her's. They'd lay in a tangle of blankets, limbs and hair; hot and restless and breathing haggardly. She would melt against him, filling with his ecstasy.

And as the sun crawled back up to start a new day, she too would slip out. Silently, she'd remove herself from his bed, sliding neatly out the window as though she had never been there.

Sometimes, he would be awake. He would sit up and stare at her as she made her way toward the exit, sometimes not even pausing to look back. He would watch her, and his face would pale, almost as if he were about to be sick. His eyes would fill with a wretched guilt, with pain, but also longing. How he dreaded her return -he dreaded it almost as much as he craved it. Because even though his soul was tied to that of her sister's, even though he "loved" Julie-Su, he would always want Lien-Da more. He would always wait up for her, always watch her with that painful longing; always, always, want her... And never ever have her.

In a sense, she owned him. She could drag him along on a little string, and he could do nothing but follow her like a lovesick puppy.

Knuckles, who she had once considered a worthy enemy, now showed his true colors: he was nothing but a child. The rough n' tough, take-charge attitude she saw when on the battlefield was nothing like the way he behaved in bed. He was awkward, inexperienced. She doubted he and Julie-Su had ever gotten past first base.

Whenever he was awake, he was nervous, stumbling over his words. For some reason, he always wanted to talk, to try and sort things out. He liked to understand things, to have some sort of power over a situation. Here though, he had no power- Lien-Da was always in charge, always in the lead. She'd press a fervent kiss against his mouth to shut him up. He never failed to give in.

She thought of the morning when Julie-Su would see her sneaking out of Knuckles' window. Or perhaps the day when she would "accidentally" forget something in his room, only to have her sister discover it. She imagined the night when her name would slip from his lips rather than Julie-Su's, even though she was the one laying in his arms. And she dreamed of the night when Julie-Su would stumble into his room, needing Knuckles, only to find him pinned beneath Lien-Da, clutching her and moaning her name. Just thinking about it brought a smile to her face. To see the "perfect child's" face contort with pain, to see her sprint from the room sobbing as Knuckles tried to force her off, tried to run after her and explain himself. But there would be no explanations, nothing would ever be able to heal the hurt he had caused her.

She would run -or maybe she'd pull out her gun first and run later -but who would she run too? Her soul would be torn apart. Ripped to shreds, destroyed. Nothing could fix the hole Knuckles had caused. No amount of hugs or apologies or "I understands" would ever be enough to patch up the gap in her soul. And what would Knuckles do? Would his friends be able to forgive him? Would they side with him or the girl? Who would he run to?

He would run to her.

She could see it in his eyes, every morning when he watched her leave. She could feel it in his heat, hear it in the throaty way he whispered her name.

He would run to her, and she would hold him as he wept in his shame and his guilt. And she would win. No matter what it took, no matter how far she had to go... She would always win.

Thank you Seikatsu-Shi for reading over this for me and helping with grammar and the ending :3 I hope you like it~~~

Yeah, so basically, I've turned Knuckles into a cheater... I don't think he would really cheat on someone if he was in a relationship, at least, not with malicious intentions. He's not a rat. If you want to understand the Knux x Lien-Da thing more, I wrote a little blip about it on my profile under Fav Sonic Pairings.

Enjoy~