The black hedgehog walked along the beach and spotted his 'boyfriend' playing volleyball with his friends. It was two on two: Knuckles and Sonic vs Sticks and Amy. Tails was working on his plane.

Shadow watched the game silently until Knuckles looked over and saw him. "Shadow! You came back."

The hedgehog simply nodded. "I said I would, did I not?"

"Yeah..." Knuckles laughed nervously. "I just didn't think you actually would..."

"I promised you that I would. I always keep my promises, whether I like it or not." Shadow stated, arms crossed.

Knuckles smiled brightly. "Okay then. Would you like to play with us?"

Shadow looked at them all before looking away, almost embarrassed. "I've never played any kind of sports before..."

"Well that's surprising." Sonic rolled his eyes.

Shadow growled and glared at Sonic. "I've never had a chance to play any before. Not everyone has the luxury of a normal childhood."

"How was your childhood 'not normal'?" Sonic asked.

Shadow, realizing his mistake, quickly looked away, crossing his arms. Knuckles, seeming to sense his partner's distress, quickly stepped in. "I can show you how to play."

Shadow nodded slowly, and Knuckles grabbed his hand, surprisingly gentle, and lead him to the court. Sticks was now sitting on one of the beach chairs, and Sonic was on the other side with Amy.

Knuckles showed him how to serve and how to execute all of the different passes. Then, the game was on. Shadow, still a bit confused, let Knuckles serve first. He saw Amy hit it, and and he quickly tried to hit it, slipping and falling flat on his face.

Sonic burst out laughing at his rival. Knuckles gasped and quickly helped him up. "Are you okay!?"

"I'm fine." Shadow tried not to growl it out. He felt utterly humiliated, and it didn't help that Knuckles was worrying over him. His 'boyfriend' was dusting off the sand while checking for any wound that could have occurred. "Really, I'm fine. Let's just get back to the game."

"Alright..." Knuckles sighed and hugged Shadow close. "I just don't want you hurt..."

Shadow blushed at the attention, but his mind wasn't on that. 'Nobody's ever truly worried about me before... except for...' he mentally shook his head to rid the thought. He then realized what he was doing: he seemed to have nuzzled his face into Knuckles' chest. Knuckles didn't seem to mind, actually accepting it with a blush and a smile.

"Cut the sappy fluff, and let's get on with the game." Sonic said, crossing his arms.

Amy glared at him. "Fluff is cute. I think it's adorable!"

Sonic just rolled his eyes. Shadow glared at him, a blush still very clear on his muzzle. "Alright then. Let's play."

They started the game again, and Shadow seemed to be doing better. He actually got a few passes. The ball was on Sonic and Amy's side and Sonic was right up near the net. He spiked the ball, effectively hitting Shadow's face.

The black hedgehog fell back, not expecting the hit. His hand covered his nose, where blood was leaking out and staining his glove.

"Shadow!" Knuckles ran over to him and picked him up, bringing him towards a beach chair. The hedgehog was still holding his nose, his glove red.

"Tilt your head back, Shadow. Knuckles, go get some tissues." Amy ordered, getting serious. Knuckles was reluctant to leave Shadow, but he did as he was told.

He came back quickly with tissues. Amy grabbed one and gently wiped around his nose to get rid of the blood. Knuckles stood beside him, holding his other hand. Shadow flinched slightly, but otherwise didn't react to all of the craziness about him. 'It's just a bloody nose... nothing's broken, but everybody's worrying... Except for Sonic.'

Shadow glanced over at his blue furred rival, who looked quite pleased with himself. Amy noticed this and started scolding him. Knuckles still stood beside him, his amethyst eyes filled with worry. He felt a gentle hand pet his head, and he closed his eyes at the feeling, letting out a deep purr. 'Why does this feel good...? I've been pet like this before, but it's never felt this good... Could it be the echidna?'

The confused hedgehog opened his eyes to see Knuckles looking at him with a smile. "Your purr is very cute..." the echidna said, blushing. Shadow blushed more and looked away, still purring at his 'boyfriend's' touch. 'Why won't my body listen to me!? Stop purring!'

He still couldn't resist the feeling of affection that the petting gave. When Knuckles changed from petting to scratching behind his ear, he couldn't even control his actions as he leaned towards Knuckles' hand, purring louder. His eyes closed in comfort as he heard Amy finish scolding Sonic, stomping away.

Sonic looked over to see Knuckles scratching behind Shadow's ear. Shadow was actually letting Knuckles do this!? He feels that something is going on; he doesn't trust Shadow for a second. He's going to find out, one way or another...