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The sun shone brightly on the beach, casting a warm glow over the sand and sea. Perci had picked out a cute, summery outfit for the day—something light and flowy, perfect for a day at the shore. Shadow, still in his signature look, had set his shoes aside as they strolled along, enjoying their quiet time together. They had no idea that just a little way down the beach, Sonic and the gang were in the middle of a heated volleyball game.

Perci smirked as Shadow eyed a coconut tree. "You're seriously thinking about climbing that?"

Shadow shrugged nonchalantly, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips. "Why not?"

Perci chuckled, shaking her head. "Alright, let's see what you've got, Shady."

With a leap, Shadow grabbed hold of the tree trunk and started climbing, moving swiftly up the tree. Perci watched, amused as always by how effortlessly cool he seemed, even doing something so mundane.

But just as Shadow reached for a coconut, the tree swayed unexpectedly, causing him to lose his balance. "Shit," he muttered as he slipped, and before he could catch himself, he fell—right on top of Perci.

They hit the sand with a soft thud, Shadow's weight pressing down on her. For a split second, everything was still.

Perci blinked, then burst out laughing. "You okay, Shady?"

Shadow grumbled as he tried to get up. "Damn tree..." But before he could move, a loud voice interrupted them.

"What the fuck are you doing, Shadow?!"

Sonic's shout rang out across the beach, full of anger. The whole gang—Sonic, Amy, Tails, Knuckles, and Sticks—had turned around mid-game, and all of them were staring, wide-eyed, at the scene in front of them. Shadow, on top of Perci, sand all over them, Perci laughing, while Shadow tried to move.

Sonic's eyes burned with rage. "You're fucking kidding me, right?"

Shadow sighed, rolling off of Perci and standing up. "Here we go..."

Sonic stormed over, fists clenched. "You've got some fucking nerve, Shadow!"

Perci sat up, still chuckling. "Sonic, calm down. It was an accident—"

But Sonic wasn't listening. He swung a punch at Shadow, hitting him square in the jaw. Shadow stumbled back a step, his expression darkening as he wiped his face.

"Alright, that's it," Shadow growled, his voice low and dangerous. "I've had enough of your shit, Sonic."

Without warning, Shadow swung back, landing a solid punch to Sonic's gut, knocking him back. Sonic glared, his temper flaring even more. "You're dead, Shadow!"

Perci groaned. "For fuck's sake, not again..."

Amy and the others rushed over, clearly not surprised. "Really, Sonic?" Amy crossed her arms. "You're gonna do this again?"

Knuckles, as usual, was clueless. "Wait, is this part of the game?"

Amy smacked his arm. "No, Knuckles."

Tails sighed. "This is gonna take all day, isn't it?"

Meanwhile, Sonic lunged at Shadow again, fists flying. Shadow dodged and delivered another blow, sending Sonic tumbling into the sand. "I told you—it was an accident. Get over it."

But Sonic wasn't done. He scrambled back to his feet, wiping sand from his face. "You're full of shit, Shadow. You're always all over her! What's wrong with you?!"

Shadow, clearly fed up, glanced at Perci, who was watching with an exasperated expression. He sighed. "I don't have time for this."

Before Sonic could swing again, Perci stepped in, grabbing a water bottle from their beach bag. She unscrewed the cap and dumped the cold water right over both of their heads.

"Enough!" she snapped, her voice sharp with frustration.

Sonic and Shadow froze, the water dripping off them as they stared at her in surprise. For a second, the only sound was the waves in the distance.

Perci crossed her arms, glaring at both of them. "You two need to chill the hell out."

Shadow wiped the water from his face, shooting a glare at Sonic. "You heard her. Chill."

Sonic muttered something under his breath but didn't move to punch again. Instead, he stood there, still seething but clearly knowing better than to keep going.

Amy rolled her eyes and walked over, arms crossed. "Sonic, seriously, can't you just let them be? They're not doing anything wrong."

Tails nodded. "This is getting ridiculous."

Sticks, meanwhile, was bouncing around excitedly. "Yeah! Get him, Shadow! Beat him up!"

Knuckles, still lost, scratched his head. "So... are we still playing volleyball, or...?"

Perci let out a heavy sigh, turning back to Shadow. "Let's just go before he does something else."

Shadow, still angry but more than willing to walk away from the fight, nodded. He wrapped an arm around Perci's waist, leading her away from the scene as Sonic fumed behind them.

As they walked away, Sonic shouted after them. "This isn't over, Shadow! You hear me?!"

Shadow smirked, not even bothering to look back. "It's over when you stop being jealous."

Perci chuckled softly, shaking her head as they strolled down the beach. "You two are impossible."

Shadow squeezed her waist gently, pulling her closer. "He'll get over it. Eventually."

Perci sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. "It's gonna be a long summer, isn't it?"

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