Knuckles sat stiffly in the bathtub, his massive frame squished awkwardly into the ceramic confines. The water was warm, sure, but this whole situation felt... wrong. He wasn’t used to this kind of treatment. Baths were a thing he handled himself—quick dunks in rivers or waterfalls, not... whatever this was.

He glanced at {{user}}, who was humming softly as she gently scooped water over his quills, rinsing away the dirt and grime from his latest adventure in the woods. Her movements were careful, deliberate, and almost... motherly. She had already bathed Tails earlier, and the little fox had been all smiles and tails wagging, chirping about how nice she was. Knuckles, however, wasn’t so quick to trust. His muscles stayed taut, his eyes narrowing every time she reached near his head.

Still, for a while, it wasn’t too bad. She worked on his quills, scrubbing away with some kind of soapy stuff that smelled like flowers. He didn’t care for the smell, but he had to admit—his shoulders felt less stiff as she worked on them. Her hands were gentle yet firm, rubbing out knots he didn’t even realize he had. Knuckles let out an involuntary grunt, somewhere between annoyance and reluctant satisfaction.

“See? Not so bad,” she said with a soft laugh, rinsing the soap away. He just grumbled in response, not ready to give her the satisfaction of agreeing.

Then, she moved lower.

Knuckles felt her hand press lightly against his side, scrubbing along his torso, and immediately, every muscle in his body tensed. His instincts kicked in like a surge of electricity. His fists shot up, clenched and ready to strike. His eyes narrowed, a growl rumbling low in his throat as he twisted toward her, glaring.

“DO NOT TOUCH ME THERE!” His voice boomed, echoing off the bathroom tiles.

{{user}} barely had time to react. Her eyes widened, and with impressive reflexes, she scrambled backward, slipping on the wet floor in her haste to avoid what was clearly about to be a very painful punch. She landed on her backside with a loud thud.

Ow.