*spear of justice blasts loudly as I rise from the smokey floor screaming angrily* I'VE DONE IT.
HOLY POOPADOOP.

ok. welp, here we go. the cute fluff story I planned.

I headcannon that sometimes, Shadow's creator would be a dad to him. Being so proud of his artificial baby. He'd take a lot of pictures of Shadow's early life for *cough* scientific research purposes *cough*

I literally died from cute writing young shadow ok?

also, for those who want to know, Gerald continuously used that mug and if anyone made and jokes about it he'd rekt them. "Oh my mug isn't cool? At least my children acknowledge me *sips coffee and walks away*"

also, this can be sort of a non-canonical sequel to "Victim of Circumstance" if you so wish, but I'm not writing a sequel for that. This story just ended up in a pairing to fit in with my drabbles better.

Within the labs of the space colony ARK, Professor Gerald Robotnik sat at one of his many work desks.

The aged scientist was bent over messy papers as he tried to re-evaluate the coding for a new project he was forced to oversee rather than focus on his current, and in his opinion, far more important one.

Tiredly, the man rubbed his tired eyes that constantly went into a squint beneath his glasses.

The young scientists working on the project had a questionable experimentation procedure. A small part of him wondered if the main reason they even brought up their hypothesis was just to mess around with rabbits in space.

That part of him wouldn't be surprised in the slightest.

Sitting back in his swivel chair, the doctor sighed as he closed his eyes.

Once his mind calmed from the swirling problems, he opened them and glanced around to the clock attached to the wall.

Only a few minutes until dinner.

"Grandfather?," a soft voice asked from the doorway. Turning, the older man smiled warmly at the sight of his young granddaughter, Maria. Though, it didn't take long to notice what was behind her.

Practically shying behind her, was the very cure he made a few years ago for her disease. Yet, due to some mishaps, along with his grandchild becoming attached, he found it difficult to conduct the tests needed to ensure he could cure her rather than be the weapon the black arms wished him to be.

He felt his smile soften a bit more towards the sight of the young black and red hedgehog that dared to poke his head out from behind his friend before ducking back quickly.

"Yes?," he asked, smiling a bit more when Maria gently took the younger's hand and walked into the lab. "Shadow has something for you." "Oh? Does he now?," he asked in slight humor. When his gaze rested to the small hedgehog he almost chuckled at the nervous nature. It was so unlike his curious and excitable creation who always seemed to have questions about everything.

It was then he noticed the crudely painted mug in the small red and black hands. "What's this?," he asked with slight curiosity. His creation shifted a bit, growing a bit of confidence when his friend encouraged him.

"M...Maria and I were talking about holidays and she told me there were special days for parent figures….," he said quietly.

The scientist blinked. Slightly shocked but touched all the same. "So...I asked what you do on these days...she said it was to thank them for being there and spending the day with them doing fun things they want to do….," his ruby orbs were fixed to the ground as his foot trailed over a tile outline.

"So...I asked if you're my parental figure since you made me….Maria said you were...So I made you a present!," he declared, a small flame in his eyes as he held up the mug defiantly.

Gently, the older man took the offered mug into his hold. Feeling conflicting emotions swirl within his being. "Marai said gifts such as these are traditional.," the small hedgehog said with a hand on his hip while the other pointed up as if he were lecturing. Maria suppressed the urge to giggle. "And I know that your mug broke earlier in the week….Now you can have that weird dark morning liquid again!," the young hedgehog beamed a smile.

It was then the doctor noticed the painted words across the mug. 'World's best creator'. "Maria helped with the penmanship…," the little artificial creation said quietly as he ducked his chin into his abundance of chest fluff.

Chuckling, the professor set the mug on his desk before picking up the small hedgehog into a sitting hug. "I love it. Thank you. I'll be sure to drink a lot of dark morning liquid in it as soon as possible.," he said warmly, catching that his small creation's tail was beginning to wag.

Carefully, he set the small child down before standing up with a pained grunt. "Perhaps I shouldn't sit so long.," he said with warm amusement. "Come along you two, let's go have some dinner.," he said, taking the small red and black hand in his own while walking with his granddaughter to the door.

When he returned to his lab, the older man filled his new mug to the brim with coffee and enjoyed a much needed moment of relaxation before closing the door to spend time with his slightly growing family.

Many years later on the planet surface….

Standing at a grave, an older red streaked dark hedgehog stood silently. Regarding the tombstone, weathered from the elements, he finally knelt and dug a small hole in the front. Once satisfied with the depth, the hedgehog rested an old mug in the divot. With an almost saddened expression filling his usually stoic features, he refilled the hole and gently patted the top.

"So you can enjoy your favorite drink…," he said softly before standing up. Silently, he swallowed down the emotions threatening to make themselves known. He knew it was alright to feel this way when visiting family, but….it still hurt him dearly.

Sighing through his nose, he turned back towards the two other hedgehogs waiting for him just outside of the cemetery. One in a dark black leather jacket and holding two hedgelets while the other in red sneakers offered a smile of reassurance to the dark male coming towards them.

Perhaps, after he learned how to feel the same way, he could enjoy his new little rag tag family far more than he already did.

Perhaps he'd make his creator proud in a sense. Only time would tell.

Without a word on the event, the trio engaged in a familiar conversation to ease the stressed male.

The three left the cemetery, missing the scent of fresh coffee lingering in the air for a brief moment before disappearing entirely.