Summer was never Shadow's favorite season- it was far from it. He loathed the way that his natural coloring would soak up the rays of sun, heating up his fur to dangerous temperatures, making his blood practically boil. Because of this, Shadow typically preferred to stay inside during the heat, relaxing with an air conditioner blowing across his quills.

Today, however, the black hedgehog found himself in a rather uncomfortable situation: it was 95 degrees fahrenheit outside and the reclusive hedgehog was fully exposed to the burning UV rays.

Sighing, Shadow surveyed his surroundings, taking note of the medium sized waves in the ocean. He might be an excellent fighter, but unfortunately, Shadow was similar to Sonic in more ways than one...

He couldn't swim.

Even when the ocean was his only source of cooling, Shadow couldn't bear to wade in the water, terrified of what others may see if the waves could even come close to sweeping him up.

"Pathetic," Shadow grumbled, kicking a shell on the ground. The heat bore him no remorse, however, and Shadow could only feel himself grow more uncomfortable by the second. In his mind, Shadow regretted ever letting Rouge talk him into going to the beach with Sonic and the rest of his friend group, but the bat had been incredibly persistent.

"When did you-"

"Don't ask...but if you want your emerald back, you've gotta come out and have some fun for a change!"

It was clear, however, that Shadow was the outlier amongst the group of friends. While Shadow sat alone on shore, all of the others were off playing like children: Sonic was letting Cream and Cheese bury him in the sand, Amy, Knuckles, and Tails were playing chicken on the shoreline with Rouge tantalizing the red echidna, and even the Chaotix were playing frisbee together.

"Oh come on Shadow," Rouge had walked over, taking a break from watching the three friends play their silly game, "can't you at least try? Come swimming, or play with us over there..." Rouge trailed off as she noticed Shadow visibly cringe at the mention of going swimming. Being his partner in many missions, Rouge had never pushed the question, but it was clear that Shadow wasn't a big fan of the water.

"I don't really like beaches," Shadow grumbled, eager to get the bat away from him. "Just go back and play with the others. I'll read a book, don't worry about me." It was a lie though: the heat was driving Shadow so mad that he couldn't possibly focus on a book.

"Well alright..."

After Rouge left, Shadow sighed once more to himself before suddenly finding his spot covered in shade. Someone had placed an umbrella in the sand directly over him.

"Mr. Shadow, do you not like the beach?"

Shadow turned his head slowly, his eyes landing on the rabbit staring down at him from behind. A sad smile covered her face.

"Do you need me to get you anything? You don't look like you're having much fun..."

"No, no," Shadow mumbled. "Thanks...for the umbrella." He couldn't reveal his weakness to even Cream: it would be embarrassing for her to realize that even she could do something that the black hedgehog failed to.

"You're welcome, Mr. Shadow! Are you sure I can't do anything to help you have fun?"

"Really...I'm-"

"Ah-ha!"

Before Shadow could ask what the rabbit was doing, she was off and running with a shovel. He figured it was for the best, and desperately sunk back to the shaded area of sand. It was enough to keep his body temperature from rising further, but he was already dangerously hot...maybe he should have asked Cream for some sort of drink, but that would be freeloading, and Shadow wouldn't take advantage of anyone's kindness.

Splash!

"Alright, who do I have to ki-"

"Do you feel better now, Mr. Shadow?"

And he did. It was an unexpected attack, but the young rabbit had dumped a bucket of seawater on Shadow's head, which helped to cool his body greatly.

"I didn't make you mad, did I? Oh I'm so sor-"

"No, thank you. I really needed that." For the first time that day, a trace of a smile could be seen on Shadow's typically scowling face. Cream was beaming.

"Your face was very red," Cream started, now modestly drawing circles in the sand with her bare foot. "I thought that you might like to cool off."

Shadow didn't answer the rabbit verbally, instead nodding to Cream, giving his approval.

And so, within the hour, both Sonic and Shadow were buried in the sand side by side, a few rare chuckles escaping the dark hedgehog's lips.

FYI, I do this a lot. I have these drabbles in my notebooks and stuff everywhere...so expect quite a decent amount of these with a lot of updates (NO PROMISES THOUGH! I always tend to mess up when I say I'll update a lot)

Shadow and Cream...such opposites, yet I always thought the idea of Shadow letting Cream play with him was very cute.

Thanks to all who read my first drabble!