Author: Hey guys! Sorry, it's been a while since have updated. I've been really busy with college classes and taking care of my sick grandmother. I've already started working on the next 4 chapters after this one so it shouldn't take long for me to update again.

Anyways, enjoy!

"Morning, Sasha!" I groaned heavily as I pulled the blanket over my face to black out the voice.

Curse this bat! Why can't she just let me sleep in all day like a normal person?!

"Rise and shine, Hun! Time to wake up!" Suddenly, I felt the blanket being snatched off of my body. Even though my body was covered in fur, I still couldn't help but recoil from the cold. "Uggghhh... I thought we agreed that I don't have to go to work with you anymore." I grumbled as I cracked my eyes open to see the cheerful white bat. "Actually, I'm off today. So, I figured we would go to the beach today." I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Nah, I'm good," I replied, pulling the cover back over my body and closing my eyes. "Come on, Sasha. You need to get some fresh air and sunlight." At that moment, Rouge yanked the curtains open, causing sunlight to flood the room. Feeling the sunlight burn into my eyelids, I let out a hiss as I tried to shield my eyes. Rouge sighed as she shook her head. "Seriously, Sasha? I'm supposed to be the bat here." I huffed, still refusing to budge.
"You know everyone is going to be there. Including Big Blue.~" My feline ears perked up. I removed the blanket from my face and glanced at Rouge's teasing face. "Sonic is going to be there?" I asked, sheepishly. "Mmhmm~" She hummed. Finally, I got out of bed. "Fine. I'll go."

"Good. Now, get dressed. We'll be leaving in half an hour." She said as she began to walk out of the room. "Wait a minute! I don't even have a bathing suit!" I said, stopping her in her tracks. She then stared at me thoughtfully, with a finger placed under her chin. "Hmmm..." She hummed, before going to her room. I stood there awkwardly as I listened to her rummage through her things. A moment later, she came back with a lavender string bikini. "Here. Try this on." She said tossing it at me. Barely catching it, I examined the article of clothing with disgust. "What the heck is this?! My underwear is less revealing than this thing does!" I exclaimed, in horror. "Yeah ...speaking of that, we need to get you out of those boy shorts and into something a little sexier."

"A little what?!"

"We'll worry about that later, Hun. Now go get changed!" She demanded as she forcibly shoved me into the bathroom and closed the door.

How did she know I wear-? Nevermind...

Trying to ignore the fact that I felt violated, I attempted to put on the bikini.

Ugh! Am I even putting this thing on right? What do I do with all the strings?

Eventually, I finally got it on right. I sighed in relief seeing that it was able to still cover the scar on my lower stomach. I then thought back to what happened yesterday in the weapon shop and cringed at myself.

I can't believe I almost had another episode. Good thing, Shadow snapped me out of it before it could have escalated. I'm not sure if he noticed, but if he did, I'm glad he didn't question it. I really need to get that under control before everyone starts to find out my dark secret. Moments like this sometimes make me wish I stayed on my meds...

After finally getting dressed, I reluctantly stepped out of the bathroom a blushing mess. Rouge, who had already had on a light blue bikini with multi-colored charms on it, looked at me and grinned. "Wow! I was going to get rid of that bikini but it fits perfectly on you." She said approvingly. "I can't go out in public like this!" I shouted in embarrassment. "Sure you can. Just put this on over it." She said, tossing me a white cover-up. "Now, come on. We're burning daylight." She said as she grabbed a bag full of stuff for the beach and dragged me out of the house while ignoring my protests.

~Time Skip~

We arrived at Emerald Coast. I had to admit, the beaches back home did not look as stunning this. The water was a clear crystal blue as if pollution never even touched it and the sand did not have a single piece of litter on it. It was hard to believe this place was even real.

"There they all are." Rouge said, waving to the group who waved back. I scanned the group seeing Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Shadow (surprisingly). Shamefully, I quickly hid behind Rouge and hugged the cover-up tighter to my body. "I can't let them see me like this!" "Don't worry, Hun. You'll be fine." She said dragging me towards the group. "N-no! Wait! B-but I don't-!" I stammered while trying to dig my heels into the sand, but it was too late.

"Hello, guys and gal!" Rouge greeted. "H-hi guys..." I greeted, sheepishly. "Sasha!" Before I could even react, Sonic rushed over pulled me into a tight hug. I couldn't help but giggle at the blue hedgehog. "Can you please put me down?" I said as he put me down. I glanced over to see Shadow rolling his eyes. "What am I doing here...?" I heard him mumble under his breath.

My guess is that Rouge made him come here.

"Hi, Shadow." I said, giving him a small smile. His gaze softened as he glanced at me. "Hi." He greeted me, before averting his eyes. Before I could say anything else to him, Amy was next to tackle me in a hug. "Sasha! I missed you so much!" She said, nearly choking me.

Now I see how Sonic feels...

"I...missed you too, Amy..." I said, prying her hands away before she choked me to death. "How are you doing, Sasha?" Tails asked. "I'm good. Thanks, Tails." I said as I hugged him. His cheeks turned a shade of pink as he hugged me back.

Awww! He's so adorable!

My brown eyes glanced over at Sonic who seemed to be slightly annoyed. "Heh heh...Alright, Tails. That's enough." He said, pulling the yellow fox away who only rolled his eyes. I tried my best not to giggle at the two best friends.

Maybe today won't be so bad.

~Time Skip~

The sun beaming down, causing me to fan myself feverishly. "You're gonna have to take that cover off sooner or later." Rouge whispered as she winked at me. I shot her an annoyed glare but tried to ignore her. As moments passed by, the heat became too unbearable for me to handle.

Oh gosh... I can't believe I'm doing this...

Reluctantly, I removed my cover up revealing the lavender bikini I was wearing. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at me with wide eyes. "Umm... I'm gonna go in the water." I said, rushing over to the shore to hide my embarrassment.

Rouge's .

I tried my best to conceal my laughter.

Hahaha! I knew she would take it off sooner or later.

I noticed that she caught everyone else's attention too. But what really caught my attention were the two blushing hedgehogs that were both staring at Sasha.

Snapping out of his trance, Sonic glanced at Shadow and then shot him a glare. "What are you looking at, Faker?" Shadow asked threateningly. "Funny...I was gonna ask you the same thing, Faker." Sonic replied, equally as threatening. Shadow scoffed before rolling his eyes and turning his attention elsewhere. Sonic, on the other hand, shot the ebony hedgehog one last glare before getting up and following after the tiger. I smirked in amusement.

Ohh~ So both hedgehogs seem to have taken a liking to dear little Sasha, huh? Very interesting~

"Did you guys know that Sasha has chaos energy?"

"Huh?" I said, losing my train of thought. "Sasha has chaos energy." Tail repeated. My eyes widened in surprise. I noticed that this caught Shadow's attention as well. "Is that true?" Shadow inquired. "Of course! I'm sure it's from when Dr. Eggman used the chaos emeralds to turn her into a mobian. She doesn't seem to have a lot of it though. So far that we know of, she can heal at an unnatural rate. Aside from that, I'm not sure if she has any other abilities since I haven't had the chance to run any further tests."

Chaos energy? That girl is full of surprises. I wonder if she can use the chaos emeralds just like Sonic and Shadow can...

Judging by the thoughtful expression on Shadow's face, I could tell that he was wondering the same thing.

Sasha's P.O.V.

Ugh! I feel so naked! Why couldn't she have given me a normal bathing suit that doesn't reveal almost everything?!

I stopped at the edge feeling the water rush between my toes. With a small smile, I waded further into the water. Once the water reached my midriff, I came to a halt. Since I didn't know how to swim, I refrained from going too deep into the water. It was quite relaxing feeling the cool salt water flow through my fur.

Feeling eyes burn the back of my head, I turned around to meet emerald green eyes. "Hey, Sasha! Come out for a minute!" Sonic shouted. I smirked and decided to tease him. "Nah! Why don't you come in for a minute!" I shouted back as I waved him over. His face suddenly turned pale. "Heh... No thanks...!" I chuckled but complied to him anyways. I know Sonic is afraid of water but I'm not going to judge him. After all, I don't know how to swim either.

I walked back to shore, wringing the salt water out of my long dark brown locks. "What's up?" I asked. "I thought cats are supposed to hate water." He said with a raised eyebrow. "Don't forget that I'm still human on the inside." I reminded him. "Oh yeah, that's true." He said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "Besides, I not sure who's the scaredy cat here." I said teasingly. Sonic glared at me with an unamused expression. "Um...Sonic?" I asked, expecting a different reaction. Before I knew it, he grabbed me and pulled me closer to him. "Wh-what?! What are y-y-you-" Answering my unfinished question, Sonic began to tickle my sides causing me to laugh uncontrollably.

Oh no! How did he find out my weakness?!

"Ha! Who's the scaredy cat now?" Sonic erased as he continued to tickle me mercilessly. Tearing up from all the laughter, I attempted to wiggle out of his grip. "N-N-NO! ST-AHP! LEAVE ME ALONE!" I pleaded breathlessly in between my laughs. Eventually, I broke free and took off running along the beach laughing. I looked back to see Sonic chasing after me at a slow pace to make things fair. I can't remember the last time I felt so carefree.
Unfortunately, with all the bouncing around, the ties from my bikini top came a loose. I gasp and froze as I held the top close to my chest just before it fell off completely.

OH MY GOSH! THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING!

I was blushing so hard I felt like I was going to explode. I then felt the strings on my top being tied back up. I looked back to see Sonic blushing almost just as hard as me. "Thanks..." I mumbled sheepishly. "No problem...um...let's go back to the others..." I nodded as we both made our way to the others.

Thankfully, I had tied the bottom part more securely. If not, I would have died of embarrassment...

We both sat down too embarrassed to look at each other. I saw Rouge smirk at me from the corner of my eyes. "Awww! Did something interesting happen between you and Big Blue?" She teased in a hushed tone. "None of your business!" I whispered back through my gritted teeth.

~Time Skip~

Since I didn't get the chance to eat breakfast this morning, I decided to take a walk down the boardwalk and check out the food stands.

Hmmm...Hot dogs...burgers...chimichangas...

Finally, I stopped at one that caught my attention.

Ice cream!

I ran up to the stand and began to admire the different flavors that were on display.

Mmmmm~ Vanilla, chocolate, cookies & cream, mint chip, green tea, cake batter... Where should I start?

"Are going to order something?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin (I mean fur) hearing the voice next to me. I looked over to see the ebony hedgehog staring at me questionably.

Doesn't he know how to make noise when he approaches someone?!

"I..uhh..." I wiped the bit of drool from the corner of my mouth. "I was planning on it." I answered. "What flavor do you want?" He asked. I blinked at him a couple of times. "Are you willing to pay?" He nodded his head in confirmation.

A giddy smile made it's way onto my face as I tried to decide which flavor to get. After a moment of browsing, I decided to get a scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough and cake batter while Shadow had got vanilla. "Mmmmm~ Thanks, Shadow." I said, happily licking my ice cream cone. "No problem." He replied. We began walking back to the others until Shadow suddenly stopped me. "Don't move." He commanded. Immediately, I froze. "Wh-what's wrong?" I asked, unsure of what was going on. I watch as Shadow swiped the corner of my mouth with his thumb before slowly licking it off. "There was some ice cream on your face." He explained, nonchalantly. I stared at him wide-eyed, trying to process what had just happened. "O-okay..." I replied, trying to relax my blushing face.

I can't handle any more of this day...

Shadow's P.O.V.

The sun had set signaling that it was finally time for me to go home and get away from these fools. Rouge stood up and stretched her arms up. "Well, it's been fun guys but it's time for us to get going. Come on, Sas-"

She stopped mid-sentence to see Sasha curled up on her beach chair completely asleep. "Awww~ She fell asleep like a little kitten.~" Rouge cooed. "Should we wake her?" Tails asked. "I would hate to do so. She looks so peaceful." Rouge replied sounding slightly conflicted.
"I can carry her back!" Sonic automatically volunteered. "Shh! You'll wake her up." Amy scolded with a finger to her lips. I rolled my eyes at the blue faker.

Idiot.

"Actually, Sonic... We need to get back as soon as possible. Sally needs us to help locate another chaos emerald." Tails remind, causing Sonic to pout like a child. "Looks like Shadow's gonna have to carry her." Rouge suggested. Not having a problem with it, I shrugged my shoulders. "Alright." I walked over to the sleeping tiger and carefully picked her up bridal style. She stirred for a moment before settling comfortably in my arms. As the faker walked past me, he sneered at me angrily.

If that faker thinks I want his little human then he's a bigger idiot than I thought!

"Well, see you later guys!" Rouge shouted as we left Emerald Coast.

~Time Skip~

It was officially nightfall when we finally arrived at Rouge's place. Glancing down, I noticed Sasha hasn't budged in my arms.

This girl is either really exhausted or she is a really heavy sleeper.

I walked up to the guest room where Sasha stayed in. Gently, I laid her down on the bed. When I tried to pull away, her arms were still locked around my neck. "...ngh...no... I don't wanna leave..." She mumbled in defiantly in her sleep as she tightened her grip. Awkwardly, I pried her hands from around my neck. I then pulled the covers over her. I watched as she cuddled the stuffed tiger that was sitting next to her.

She actually does look...cute...

Realizing what I had just thought, I shook my head furiously.

What am I thinking?! I must be losing my mind!

Rushing out of the room, I ran into Rouge who stood in the hallway wearing a smug grin. "What's with that look?" I questioned, glaring at her. "Oh, nothing~" She replied with the same expression on her face. Knowing that it was a lie, I scoffed before brushing past her. "Whatever."

It's probably best that I don't know what's going on in that bat's head...

As I left Rouge's house, my mind drifted back to the sleeping tiger. Her warm body clinging to mine. Her soft peaceful snores. Her adorable sleeping face. I growled to myself, trying to rid my mind of the girl.

Although, I couldn't help but think back to what she mumbled in her sleep.

'...ngh...no...! I don't wanna leave...'

I wonder what was she dreaming about.