Baby Sonic One-Shots

The Incident at the Park

Shadow had watched as the green kid glared at Sonic. But it seemed the little guy had made friends with the girl, so it was probably ok.
Shadow didn't know much about kids. He figured that eventually the green one would stop glaring and start playing with them. But he didn't.
When he pushed Sonic the first time, Shadow realized his adoptive son had chosen the bully to try to be friends with.
All he wanted to do was run over and teach that brat a lesson. But he didn't think that would go over well with the other parents.
The second time Sonic was pushed, he didn't let himself fall. For a second, Shadow thought he was going to stand up for himself, but then the pink hedgehog screamed and he ran, straight up the closest tree.
The bully stood at the base of the tree and shouted threats up at Sonic.
Sonic, for his part, looked utterly terrified.
Shadow decided enough was enough. He walked over, deciding not to run so as to freak out all the parents. He stopped right behind the green hedgehog and folded his armament over his chest, waiting for the boy to realize he was there.
When Scourge turned and looked up, he saw the most terrifying sight of his young age.
A very tall, very dark, very angry hedgehog was glaring down at him.
Scourge gulped, then ran for it.
Shadow waited until he was halfway across the playground before he looked up into the tree.
Sonic had his little eyes closed tight. He was clinging to the branch as if it were a lifeboat on the titanic. He was a fair distance up, certainly out of easy reach.
"Sonic." Shadow called up.
The little guy slowly opened an eye and peered down at Shadow. Then he closed it again and asked. "Are they still there?"
That could have meant the green bully, but it didn't. It meant everyone. All the kids on the playground. All the parents watching.
Shadow didn't want to lie, but he had a feeling that Sonic wouldn't come down until they weren't there.
"Yup." Shadow said.
Sonic opened both eyes and looked around.
Trees don't have leaves in the wintertime, so he had an uninterrupted view of the whole playground. "They're still there." He cried.
"I know, buddy." Shadow said, feeling bad for thinking he could trick him that easy. "But you need to come down."
Sonic shook his head rapidly.
Shadow sighed. He'd have to go up and get him.
"Mister," a little girls voice said from below.
Shadow looked down to find the little pink hedgehog staring up at him. "Is Sonic ok?" She asked.
Shadow smiled. "He's fine." He assured her.
So Sonic had managed to make one friend at least. Of course, if he made one enemy per friend he was going to have a hard life.
She nodded. Then looked up into the tree. "I have to go!" She called up at Sonic. "My mommy wants to take me home now!"
She didn't get a response at first. Then a small, "Bye." came from above their heads.
The girl smiled and rushed away, taking the hand of an older pink hedgehog.
Shadow turned his attention back up to the tree. "Guess you made a friend."
Sonic didn't answer.
"Come on, buddy. You can't stay up there all day." Shadow told him.
"I'm not." Sonic said. "Just till everyone leaves."

For the next hour, Shadow did everything in his power to get the little blue hedgehog out of the tree. Nothing worked. He'd even tried to climb in himself, only to realize that climbing trees was not in his field of expertise.
Finally, the last of the families had left.
"Ok, they're all gone now." Shadow called up impatiently. He'd reached cold hours ago and was now bordering on freezing.
Sonic looked around to confirm Shadow's claim. Realizing he'd told the truth this time, he started to inch his way down.
When he was within reach, Shadow reached up and plucked him off the tree.
Sonic immediately buried his face in Shadow's shoulder and clung to his neck.
If Shadow was freezing, Sonic was glacial. He was shivering so badly, that his teeth clacking together made a steady thrum of noise Shadow had trouble identifying at first.
He wasted no time in getting the kid back home. (Literally, about 5 seconds.)
Once inside the house, he removed both his and Sonic's jackets and left their wet shoes in the porch.
Sonic was still clinging to him and shivering.
So Shadow nabbed a throw blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped him up, then took him to the kitchen and started the kettle.
As they waited, he sat down at the kitchen table with Sonic in his lap.
Sonic didn't make any noise besides the chattering of his teeth.
Once the kettle had boiled, Shadow set Sonic on the ground and filled two mugs with cocoa and hot water, then he took them to the living room.
Sonic followed after him, enticed by the hot chocolaty smell.
Shadow sat on the couch and placed both mugs on the coffee table. Then he reached down and pulled the little hedgehog into his lap, placing a steaming mug in his little hands.
Sonic let out a tiny sigh as he settled in.
After a few minutes, Sonic's shivering ceased and his teeth stopped chattering as he drained the hot liquid from the mug.
Shadow watched, amused as the little guys eyes started drifting shut. He took the now empty mug from Sonic's hands and set it on the coffee table. He'd completely ignored his own drink, too focused on the kid.
Sonic yawned and snuggled up to Shadow's chest. Shadow was sure he'd dropped off when his small, tired voice asked, "Shadow, what's school?"
Shadow's mind blanked. School? Oh. OH! School, right. "Er," he began, oh-so-intelligently. "It's a place where where kids go to learn." He said, guessing mostly, basing it purely off of what he'd seen on tv. He'd never experienced school himself, so he didn't really have a clue.
"Oh." Sonic sounded...sad.
Shadow cursed his limited knowledge of children. He really should have done more reading on the subject.
"Shadow?" Sonic asked hesitantly. "Am I stupid?"
Shadow's eyes widened and he clutched the little hedgie tight. "No! Of course not! Where did you get that idea?!" He asked, truly disturbed.
"Scourge said it." Sonic whispered.
Scourge? ... Oh, that green brat. Shadow pulled Sonic away from him a little so he could look him in the eyes. "Sonic. You are not stupid. You don't have to listen to what kids like that say because they're wrong. You are the smartest kid I know."
Sonic smiled slowly and he wrapped his arms around Shadow's neck. "Thank you dad!"
Shadow hugged him back. But he wasn't smiling. Maybe this wasn't that big a deal. But Sonic being picked on really upset him. It was something he'd assumed he could shield the kid from. Apparently not. Well, if he couldn't shield him from it, he could at least prepare him for it.
School huh?