Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Techno slammed the gate closed with a sigh of relief having finally contained the zombie villager.
Now all he had to do was cure the idiot and he'd have an indebted villager, meaning good trades.

He looked up to the sky quickly checking the time. He frowned. The sun was getting pretty low, meaning dinner would be ready soon.
Techno hummed. There might be a weakness potion in the basement and there was no question he had golden apples…
He nodded to himself having come to a decision. As long as he had some weakness potions in storage then he'd be able to finish up before dinner.
With that he picked up the sack of wheat he'd harvested and ran back inside.

Techno relaxed into the warm atmosphere as soon as he entered. The smell of baked potatoes and stew wafting over him. It was warmer than usual due to the cooking, but it felt nice to his nether born body.
Techno could hear the soft rumbling snores of Steve and the shuffling of Phil rummaging through the cabinets and Ranboo as he peeled the potatoes.
The kid had been banned from doing anything else after trying to put frosting in the stew.
And no he was not joking.
Techno quickly set the sack down in a nearby chest, because screw organization, before heading to the basement ladder.
Though not before peaking at what Ranboo was doing, hoping to snitch something.
His stomach growled when he spotted an un-pealed red baby potato.

It was perfect snack size, and Phil would hardly notice it was gone.
With a quick glance to Phil, who was currently distracted reaching for something in a high up shelf, he tip toed to Ranboo.

"Ranboo?" Techno whispered, the kid being between him and the potato.

He didn't respond.

"Ranboo?" He asked again. Nothing. Techno repeated his name once more slightly louder, looking nervously towards Phil, who's back was thankfully still turned.
Nada.

Hesitantly Techno tapped Ranboo's shoulder.
Ranboo's head snapped up to him, "Hmm? What? Yeah?"

Techno winced with how loud the kid was already feeling Phil's eyes on him.

"Uuuh," Techno glanced up at Phil he definitely looked suspicious of him, "Can I have that potato? Looks moldy."

Ranboo looked confused for a moment, like he hadn't understood what Techno had just said.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah okay. Which one?" He said voice dull.

Techno pointed to the spud, Ranboo handing it to him.
His brow furrowed. Ranboo was acting strange. Normally the kid would have never taken such a shitty excuse without poking fun or at least questioning it. That and the unresponsiveness had him worried. Techno debated if he should mention it, before deciding against it. He didn't want to add on to whatever stress the kid was feeling by interigating him. Maybe he'd mention it to Phil later after dinner. He was always better at this stuff than Techno.

"Watcha gonna do with that "moldy" potato mate?" Phil asked judgily, interrupting his thoughts.

Techno folded his arms, "Use it as fertilizer."

Phil raised his brow.

"Excuse me, but who here won the great potato war?"

Phil shook his head, "Fine. But if you get a potato I get some bread."

"No." Techno said immediately.

Phil shrugged his shoulders, "It's only fair."

"In what universe is that fair?'

"You stole my ingredients, I deserve compensation."

Techno debated arguing further, but sighed knowing it was a losing battle. "Fine, but don't blame me when you're old bird bones start breakin cause you won't give em nutrients."

Phil chuckled, "A few slices aren't going to kill me."

Techno shrugged, "With how old you're gettin, I wouldn't be surprised if you keeled over tomorrow from indigestion."

"Shut!"

Techno smiled as he turned back towards the ladder, popping the potato in his mouth.
He gave Ranboo one last glance before disappearing into the basement.

Should he give the kid something to cheer him up? He thought as he climbed down the ladder. A grass block would probably do the trick, though he wasn't sure where he'd get one of those.
Was his enchanted shovel still down here?

Technosoft!

softnoblade!!

Grass block!!!

Awwwwwa!!!!!!

technosoft

stressboo

SOFT!

"Shut up chat." Techno muttered before jumping off the ladder, his hoofs making a loud clopping sound on the dirty hard wood floor.

The room smelled like the bitter scent of boiled nether wart and glowstone. A hint of blaze powder, melon, gunpowder and what he thinks is ghast tears, though it could be spider's eye (the two surprisingly smelling pretty similar), lingered in the background, giving the room an odd mix of sweet, spicy and bitter. He could hear the potion stands bubbling against the back wall, hidden by several chest's.
He remembered Ranboo had been using them earlier. The kid must have forgotten a batch.
Techno put aside his hunt for the potion for now, instead switching his sights on the potion stands. He really didn't need his house exploding today.

A small pang of worry ran through his chest.
Ranboo was typically really good about not leaving potions like this. The boy far too anxious to leave them alone to brew for even a minute.
Techno shook his head.
He'd ask the kid later. For now he'd deal with whatever potion mess had been created.
The stands were supposed to be moved upstairs a long time ago anyway, so it wasn't that big of a deal.

Techno followed the small path between chests, taking a quick glance at any open ones as he went. The closer he got the stronger and more unbearable the smell became, a small miasma starting to appear.
Techno picked up the speed, covering his nose with his cape, eyes watering from the pungency.

He rounded the corner to see the two stands overflowing with colorful iridescent bubbles.
His eyes widened in panic. If two over saturated magic potions mixed like this, all hell would break loose.
Techno rushed forward to separate the two stands. His hand wrapped around the one on the left. He ignored the intense burning in his hand as he quickly moved it to the floor a few feet away from the other.

He let out a sigh of relief as he let go, hand numb. He gave it a brief look over, cringing to find it blistering, healing then blistering itself all over again.

Eeeeeewwwww!!!

Gross!

ooof

Omegalol

Ouch

eeew

Eeeeee

e

eeeee

E

E

Techno cringed, that definitely wasn't good.
He looked to the still bubbling potion stand. If he could smother the flame, the bubbles should stop, only problem was he'd have to reach through bubbles to do that. And seeing what it had already done to his hand, Techno wasn't too keen on doing that.
Yeah, he'd definitely need Phil's help on this one.

He pulled out his communicator shooting Phil a quick text to get down here.
Techno waited a tense minute, using a spare plank from one of the chests to push the bubbles to their separate sides of the room.

As soon as Techno heard Phil enter the basement he called out to him.

"Hurry up old man! I don't know how long I can keep this up!"

The footsteps quickly got louder accompanied by a gasp as Phil came into view.

"Holy Shit! What the hell happened!?" He yelled grabbing a random shovel to push back more bubble's.

"I don't know! Just tell me how to fix it!"

"How the hell would I know?! You're the potion guru! " Phil yelled as he reached his shovel into the large pile of bubbles trying to whack at the flame heating them up.

"Stop that!" Techno yelled, "Do you want us to explode!?"

"What else am I supposed to do?!"

"I don't know! Use your aincent wisdom or something!"

The bubbles only piled higher and higher the longer they argued. Techno growled, he really didn't want to do this.
He braced himself as he plunged his hand into the stack of magic bubbles.
White hot pain raced up his arm, making his vision sway and go fuzzy. All outside noises becoming a dull buzz in his skull. Despite the pain he pushed forward until his hand found the base of the stand. He blindly felt for where the fire would be, carefully clamping his hand over the area.
His head pounded, knees shook, arm completely numb with pain. Everything in the room seemed to double as his vision spun.

A hand on his shoulder yanked him out of the bubbles, holding him upright. The pain lessoned only slightly the world only coming into focus enough for him to hear again.

"-IOT! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

Techno recoiled, almost wishing his hearing would disappear again.

"i' wrk'd" He slurred.

"That doesn't matter if you're tu-aaaggGHHH!"

The floor raced to meet his face as his support disappeared. Techno's heart rate sped up.

"Phil?!" Techno tried to yell but it came out as more of a loud whisper.

He tried turning his head, but stopped the motion, making his vision dance and stumache curl in on itself.

He opened up his mouth to call for him again, when a far more horrific piercing cold pain ran up his back. It knocked all the air out of his lungs, sending him spiraling into a quick pain induced sleep.

-------------------

Ranboo had been out of it ever since he finished work. Wilbur had asked him to stay longer tomorrow, but he'd already planned to be taking care of Micheal that evening. Tubbo would be gone, having to attend to an emergency with Jack, and Foolish was gone for the week to work on a new build project. Tommy was out of the picture as well, considering he was going to be at therapy with Shroud.
He tried telling Wilbur that he couldn't but he kept asking saying that he was desperate and that it was really important. As you can guess, Ranboo doesn't do well with peer pressure and said he'd do it.

Though he enjoyed Phil, his, and Techno's weekly, often daily, dinners together, it wasn't helping his stress levels. He still needed a refill on health and harming potions, his old ones having finally expired. Not to mention figure out what to do with Micheal.
Ranboo resorted to making potions between dinner preparations and trying not to have an anxiety attack.

Hence why when a loud boom came from the basement, Ranboo jumped so badly he fell knocking his head on the table, the plate of potatoes he had in hands shattering against the floor.
He curled up on himself clutching his throbbing head. Something warm and sticky running along his fingers.
He fought to keep himself from devolving into a panic.
In for five, hold for four, out for five again.

He was fine. Everything was fine. Techno and Phil probably just knocked something over trying to move a chest, or messed up a potion or… something. Yeah. Yeah that's what happened. Everything's okay.
Everythings…..
Wait … Wasn't he making potions?

Ranboo's eyes blew wide as he scrambled back onto his feet, glass digging into his palms.

Ignoring the newly acquired headache, Ranboo quickly made his way to the ladder.
To his horror multicolored fumes began to rise from the basement. He quickly pulled his old mask from his pocket, a keepsake and reminder that he was now glad he had kept. As he climbed down the ladder, he continued to box breathe. If he wanted to be any help, he needed to stay calm.

The bitter smell of burnt nether wart and glowstone invaded his nose despite the mask, making his anxiety spike.
Crap! What if they're really hurt!
Ranboo practically fell the rest of the way down the ladder.
Once his feet hit the floor he scrambled towards the back of the room where the potion stands were, knocking into chests as he went. A particularly good hit to the elbow making him say some not so nice things in Ender.

"Techno! Phil!" He yelled, his heart going into over drive when no one answered.

As he flew around the corner, his heart stopped. Before him were two knocked over empty stand on opposite sides of the room. Between them, in a messy pile, a green and red cloak.

Ranboo choked on a sob. Oh prime. He'd evaporated Technoblade and Philza!
Philza, who had taken him in when he had nobody! Techno who had forgiven and taught him even when he didn't deserve it! The two men that had provided him a home when he was so lost, he had killed them!
Ranboo sank to his knees, he could hardly breathe between whispered apologies and held back sobs. What has he done? What has he done?! Gods, why was he so stupid?! Useless, useless, useless, useless-

Ranboo was broken from his thoughts when a chirp sounded from somewhere in the room.
It confused his brain enough to pull him out of his spiral.
Another chirp and a rustle of fabric.
Ranboo's eyes searched the room numbly, until they landed back onto the cloaks. He nearly broke into tears at the sight, until he saw them… move?
He squinted trying to see through blurry vision, his headache not helping.
Philzas cloak rustled some more, until a tiny hand reaching out from inside the folds. Ranboo sat frozen brain , not quite processing what he was seeing.

It wasn't till a small head of blonde hair popped out that Ranboo finally snapped out of his stupor. A wave of relief crashed into him.
Phil was alive. He was alive! Small but alive! Ranboo hadn't killed him! So that must mean Techno was alive too! He nearly broke out into tears of joy.

Phil seemed to try and pull himself the rest the way out from under the cape but his arms shook and he flopped back down onto the floor. The potions malfunction no doubt having stolen all his strength.

Ranboo burst into action at that. He rushed to Phil's side, carefully he pulling the rest of the claok away and turned Phil over, the relief he felt from earlier immediately washing away.

Phil wasn't just tiny, he was young, like super young.
His face was rounder, scars that should have been there miraculously gone, wings small and fluffy with downy. The robes around the ma- child drowning him, only the black undershirt actually staying on his body.

He hadn't just shrunk them. He'd turned them into children!
His mind ran a mile a minute.
Did they still have their adult memories? Or were their brains de-aged as well? Did only some of their memories make it? Would they recognize him? How old is Phil? He seems around five. If he's five then how old is Techno?

That last thought brought on a new panic as he quickly switched his attention to the red cloak. He held perfectly still as he watched for any movement. After what felt like an eternity he spotted a small rise and fall in the material.
Very carefuly Ranboo lifted the claok in search of his mentor.
Ranboo gasped when a baby cuddled into the folds of a white poets shirt appeared.
He didn't even know how to react. Techno couldn't be more than a year old. A year! The Technoblade was a freaking baby!
What was he even supposed to do in this situation? Did he just have to wait until they turned back? Or did he have to make a cure of some sorts? What if it was perma- No! No no no no! Not going down that road thank you very much!

Ranboo took a deep breath. One step at a time. Okay. He could do this.
First things first, they needed to get out of the magically charged basement.
Ever so gently Ranboo moved Technoblade, making a makeshift sling out of his cloak to hold the baby while he climbed the ladder.
Ranboo resisted the urge to coo when his tiny floppy ears flicked or when he squeaked in his sleep.

Next he moved onto Phil who seemed to be slipping in and out of conciseness.

"Hey, Phil," Ranboo whispered very unsure of himself, "I'm just gonna pick you up okay?"

Phil did respond other than a small whine. Okay. He really hoped that was a I want to be held whine and not a go away scarry stranger whine…
Who was he kidding it was totally a go away whine, but he didn't have much a choice.
Carefully, Ranboo picked the child up and rested Phil's head on his shoulder. Phils hand immediately grabbed onto his neck, wings relaxing from tension Ranboo hadn't noticed before.
Oh. Guess it was an I want to be held whine.
He let out a sigh of relief before his breath hitched as Phil seemed to cuddle further into him. An involuntary pur started in his his chest.
No! No! This was a serious situation! He would not fall victim to the cuteness!
….
Maybe a little cuteness was okay.

With that Ranboo headed upstairs. The climb was difficult while carrying two children, but Phil made it slightly easier with the way he clinged onto him.

Once upstairs Ranboo took a deep breath. Okay, step two. What was step two?
The smell of burning stew answered the question for him.
He ran to the kitchen, careful not to jostle Phil and Techno to much, turning off the stove.
Putting away dinner was probably a good third step, he thought, until the smell of neatherwart brought him back to the stairs. He quickly closed the trap door above it trapping the magical fumes.
They should dissapate after a few days, but for now he didn't want them messing around with anything else.

Ranboo looked back at the kitchen mess heart sinking. Maybe a break for step three was a better idea. So instead Ranboo made his way to the couch practically collapsing onto it.

Ranboo simply let his mind wonder aimlessly for a minute before pulling out his memory book to write down what happened. He didn't even want to think about tomorrow. It was already bad before, but this? This was just stupid.
Maybe he just wouldn't go to work tomorrow. It's not like Wilbur would have to know. He could easily plant enough money to cover an average day in the van. But then there was Micheal. Prime, he loved Michael, but there was no way he'd be able to handle this many kids at once as well as figuring out how to un-magicfy two of them.
Reluctantly, Ranboo pulled out his communicator, resisting the urge to sneeze as one of Phil's stray feathers tickled his nose.

You whisper to Tommyinnit: Hey, I'm really sorry to drop this on you, but can you look after Michael Tomorrow?
You whisper to Tommyinnit: I promise to pay you extra. Something came up and I can't take care of him tomorrow.

Tommyinnit whisper's to you: Why me? Cnt fuckn Tubbo do it?

You whisper to Tommyinnit: He's busy helping Jack with something important.

Tommyinnit whisper's to you: That fuckin prick?
Tommyinnit whisper's to you: UUUuuuugGhhHHhh!!

You whisper to Tommyinnit: I'm sorry.

Tommyinnit whispers to you: fine. But he's commin to therpay with me and Shroud. I cant cancel tht shit.

You whisper to Tommyinnit: Thats fine by me. Thank you so much!

Tommyinnit whispers to you: Yeah yeah. No problem BOOB BOY.

You whisper to Tommyinnit: don't call me that.

Tommy whispers to you: fuck off boobster bitch.

Ranboo set the communicator down. The weight on his shoulders that had been crushing him lightening slightly.
Alright. So he would have all of tomorrow to figure this out. That was plenty of time right? Right.
Carefully Ranboo removed the makeshift sling, setting techno on a few pillows he threw on the floor. There was no way he was leaving him on the couch where he could roll over and fall.
Phil was a bit more difficult to remove, refusing to let go of him in his sleep. Each time he tryed was only met with whines and sad chirps that broke his heart. Eventually he resorted to the most important member of their group, Steve. The sleeping Phil not noticing the difference between Ranboo and the bear as he transfered him over.
It was an adorable sight that Ranboo would have taken a picture of if it weren't for the seriousness of the situation.

He spent the next hour cleaning up dinner, only having a few sips of soup before deciding he wasn't hungry. It also gave his body the chance to remember he was injured. Pulling the deep buried glass from his palms being his least favorite part.
When he was finally done he threw a spare blanket over Phil and collapsed onto the couch a cloak swaddled Techno in his arms. He didn't trust Steve not to step on him if he left him on the floor.
It wasn't long till sleep overtook him. Both body and mind to exhausted to fight it.

Chapter Text

"Mama!" He cried searching for any sign of his mother.
She said she'd come back with Papa! Why aren't they back?!

Mama! Papa!" He cried again, tears making it hard to see.
No one answered.
He screamed and cried for hours, wandering the woods in search of his parents. With every foreign sound he flinched, wings getting hot and itchy, but he kept going. His feet hurt, bare against the forest floor. He walked still.
It wasn't till nightfall until he collapsed under a random tree, tummy hurting and cold.
He sniffled, curling into himself, wondering where Mama and Papa had gone. Why did they leave him? Mama promised she'd come back! So why wasn't she back?! Did she come back when he left?
That thought made him cry harder.
He whispered apologies and promised to be a good boy, if only they'd come back for him.

As night began to settle in so did the sounds of creeping mobs. The boy shook like a leaf, in both fear and cold. He'd never spent a night alone before, his Papa said he was too little for that. He never argued, because he liked sleeping in his family's nest, feeling safe and warm. He'd give anything to feel their warm wings around him, instead of this biting cold that tore through his puffy feathers.
He couldn't stop shaking and every breath stung with ice. His head felt sleepy, fingers and toes having gone numb. Maybe sleep wasn't so bad. Maybe this was a dream. Yeah, it was just a nightmare. When he woke up Mama and Papa would be there to hug him and give him kisses. He'd be warm and safe in their nest, surrounded by big warm feathers.
So the boy's eyes slipped shut, heart beating rapidly, fighting to keep his body warm, crying out for the ones that loved him. Unfortunately, little hearts weren't built to last alone and cold.

---------------

Phil woke to the feeling of soft fur between his fingers. He lay there confused. Mama and Papa didn't have fur in their nest.
Slowly he opened his eyes, bringing a fist up to rub them. His vision was filled with white fur, the mass beneath him slowly rising and falling. He stared at it for a moment before slowly and carefully sitting up, the blanket around his shoulders falling off. His eyes were wide with both fear and curiosity. Phil's gaze followed the fur up to where a head rested between two paws. He gasped.
That had to be the biggest bear he's ever seen! It was huge! Was it a bear? He'd never seen a white bear. Was it a dog?
His wings fluttered with excitement. Oh, he hoped it was a dog! His friend had a puppy and she was so nice! She always tried to lick his face which made him laugh.

Hesitantly he reached his hand out to it's nose. His Mama always said to let animals smell you before touching them or you'll scare them. He didn't want to scare the dog bear.
The dog bear opened its eyes, giving his hand a little sniff. Phil giggled as the sniff tickled his hand.
The dog bear then shifted, head coming closer to Phil's. He startled at the movement, wings puffing up, but didn't dare move.
Phil held his breath as the dog bear came inches away from his face. He squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself not to move when something big and wet dragged up half his face.
Phil opened his eyes to see the dog bear had licked him. A big grin plastered itself on his face.
The dog bear likes him! He got dog bear kisses!
The dog bear gave him another kiss making him laugh and weakly push away it's face.
It proceeded to grab him with it's paw pulling him in as if hugging him. Phil hugged the dog bear back. He laughed when it tried nuzzling his face.

"No, no, stop it." he giggled

With one last nuzzle the dog bear stopped, letting him go. Phil gave the creature one more hug before standing up and stretching. He really likes the dog bear.
It was then he noticed he was wearing a really big black shirt with no sleeves. It was basically a dress on him. When did he change? Did Mama put him in this when he fell asleep? But they didn't have a giant dog bear and this place didn't feel like home.

He gave the dog bear some pets while he looked around the room.
There was a fireplace on the other side of the dog bear as well as a wall completely filled with books. Behind him were some chests, the hilt of a sword poking out of one. That's so cool!
But the thing that caught his eye was the couch across from him. On the couch was a person with black and white skin and horns hugging something to their chest. They had weird lines coming from their eyes.
Phil remembers seeing a really tall lady visit his Mama and Papa and she had black skin and horns too! She looked kinda scary but was actually really nice! She even gave him some candy!
Though he didn't understand why this person had white skin and weird lines. Was this their house? Maybe they knew the tall lady! Then he could find Mama and Papa!

Phil whispered to the bear dog, "I'll be back." Before walking over to the couch.

As Phil got closer he noticed the little bundle on their chest had hair and a tiny hand poking out from it. Excitement grew in his chest. Oh my goodness it's a baby!!
Phil practically sprinted up to the couch to get a better look at the baby.
It had short pink hair, it's ears all floppy and pink, twitching every so often. That's weird. Did his ears look like that when he was a baby?
He poked the ear making it twitch, the baby nuzzling it's head into the person's chest. Phil giggled at the reaction, poking the ear again. The baby didn't seem to like this very much and scrunched up Its nose, face rubbing into the person's chest. Phil smiled, ready to poke the baby a third time when a weird sound came from the black and white person. It wasn't a noise he had ever heard before, sounding kinda staticy and strange.
Phil looked up at them, but they were still sleeping, which was weird. If he had made that noise he would have definitely woken up.

Curious about the black and white person now, Phil gave their face a closer look. He poked the lines under their eyes to see if they'd come off, but they didn't. Phil ran his fingers down the lines trying to figure out what they were. The skin felt different where the lines were which only confused him more.
He furrowed his brow in concentration. The marks kinda made them look like they were crying.
Phil gasped. Oh no we're they crying?! He'd never seen the tall lady cry, but maybe her skin went weird when she cried!
Phil started wiping at the marks again, softly shushing them like Mama and Papa would do when he was sad.
He startled when the person's eyes opened and flinched, but continued trying to rub away their tear markings.

"Why awe you cwying?"

----------------------

When Ranboo felt something touching his face through his sleep he brushed off as Enderchest being Enderchest and returned to the limbo between awareness and rest. After his sleep-addled mind registered that no, Enderchest would not be rubbing at his cheeks like this he opened his eyes.
Now he wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it was not for his vision to be filled with a child's face as they wiped at his face, shushing him.
He was even more taken aback when said child asked why he was crying.

Ranboo brought his hand up to where the child was rubbing, surprised he hadn't noticed he was crying, only to become more confused when all he felt were his scars.

"I… I'm not crying." He said confused, voice scratchy with sleep.

The kid looked at him just as confused, tapping his scars, "What awe these weiwd line thingys then?"

Ranboo instinctively looked down to see them making him go a little cross eyed. The kid giggled.

"My scars?" Ranboo asked.

"Those awe scaws?"

"... Yeah?" Ranboo said still very much confused as to why he was talking to a child at the moment.

"I have a scaw! But it's a weally tiny one. Mama says I fell down on a wock. And the the wock was shawp! You wanna see?!" The kid said excitedly.

"Sure?"

The kid proceeded to drop to the floor lifting up his dress to find said scar.
Ranboo went to sit up but stopped finally noticing the baby in his arms.
What… Oooooh. Oh no. Okay.
A trickle of memories from the day before made it through his confused sleepy brain. Some smaller parts were missing but he retained the majority… or at least he thinks it was the majority of the days events. He'd have to check later.

"Found it!" Phil yelled, bringing Ranboo's attention back to him.

Phil pointed to a tiny white line just below his knee, a proud look on his face.

"That's… so cool." Ranboo said, unsure how he was supposed to respond.

Phil seemed happy with his response and jumped up going on a rant about how his friend got a big one on her hand.

Ranboo sat up, careful not to wake the sleeping Technoblade. Everything felt an inch away from him. A touch to the left. Like it wasn't quite real. He had actually managed to turn the two most important figures in his life back into little children. Wow. Just wow.

"Hey," Phil asked, pulling him out of his stupor, "Awe you a boy or a guwl? Papa says I have to ask ow I'm being mean and I don't wanna be mean."

"Oh," Ranboo said, surprised that Phil would ask a question most adults struggled with, "I'm a boy."

Phil smiled, "I'm a boy too!"

That shout seemed to be the final straw for Technoblade, as he woke up pushing himself off Ranboo's chest with a squeak rubbing at his eyes. Ranboo had to hold back an awe as he yawned showing off a few baby teeth that had grown in.
He looked around the room eyes wide, holding tightly onto Ranboo's shirt making a few oinks.

"Hey, buddy." Ranboo said hesitantly.

Baby Techno looked around wildly before looking up at Ranboo. His grip loosened on Ranboo's shirt, as tears began to well up in his eyes.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, it's okay, it's ok-"

The baby wailed small slurred squeaks for what Ranboo recognized was the Sounder Mother.
Crap. Ranboo only knew a little piglin and he wasn't even sure that would help him here. Techno didn't recognize him, and Ranboo doesn't look like anything the baby would have encountered in his life yet.
So basically, Ranboo was scary.

Ranboo shushed Techno repeating the words okay, and safe in piglin. The baby just shook his head swinging his fists wildly.

"Why is they cwying?" Phil asked, looking concerned.

"He's scared." Ranboo replied quickly before returning his attention back to the baby.

He tried hugging Techno to himself to make him feel secure, but he wasn't having any of it. Techno continued to cry oinking and squeaking incoherent sad babbles every now and then. His cries were surprisingly quiet but they broke his heart all the same.
He didn't know what to do! He's never had to calm down a scared baby before! Ranboo looked to Phil before remembering he was a child at the moment.

"Why is he scawed?" Phil asked, coming closer, reaching a hand out to Techno.

"Please don't touch him." Ranboo quickly said.

Phil brought back his hand looking sad and dejected. Ranboo felt bad but he didn't need him scaring Techno more.
He looked around the room frantically trying to find something to sooth the baby with.
A binki? Do they have a binki? No, why would Techno have a binki?! Ummm…
Ranboo paused as his eyes caught on his crown that was sitting on the small table by the book shelves.
Gold! Gold should help! Gold should definitely be familiar to him!

"Phil, can you get my crown for me?" Ranboo said pointing to it.

Phil perked up immediately and rushed over to the crown, happy to be of use.
Ranboo continued to rock and hold Techno while he waited for Phil. Prime he hopes this works.
Phil ran back with the crown in his hands, tripping a little on his shirt.

"Hewe!" He said feathers puffed out proudly.

Ranboo turned to take the crown, but Techno had spotted the crown cries turning into sniffles and whines. He didn't dare move, for fear of setting him off again.
Techno made grabby hands for the crown, Phil bringing it close enough so that he could grab it. He still looked upset, but at least he wasn't crying. Ranboo let out a slow breath, rubbing small circles into the baby's back.

"See?" Ranboo whispered in piglin, "Gold. Safe."

Phil giggled at Ranboo's snorts before snorting himself. This caught Techno's attention, the baby snorting at Phil. He didn't really say anything as far as Ranboo could tell, just baby jiberish. Phil laughed snorting back at Techno.
The two continued this back and forth for a while, Ranboo just glad Techno seemed to be calming down. His crown staying firmly in Techno's grasp, or in his mouth (hopefully the crown wasn't too dirty), Phil making sure it didn't fall away from the baby.

"Hey mistew?" Phil said, grabbing Ranboo's attention.

"It's Ranboo."

Phil tilted his head to the side in question. It reminded Ranboo of a bird and made him want to coo at the little Phil.

"My name's Ranboo."

Phils brow furrowed in concentration, mouthing the syllables, before he seemingly gave up looking back to Techno, a small blush rising in his cheeks.
Oh my Prime he was so cute.

"You can call me boo if that's too hard to say." Ranboo offered, having noticed how the kid struggled with his Rs.

Phil lit up at this, "Okay! Boo, why's his feet all funny?" He pointed to Techno's hooves that were poking out from under the giant poet's shirt he wore.
Yeah he definitely needed to get them some proper clothes.

"Uh, those are his hooves."

Phil's brow furrowed, "But people don't have hooves. Howsey's have hooves."

"Well…" Ranboo said, not quite sure how to explain this, "you know how you have wings like a birdy?"

Phil nodded.

"Some people have hooves like a horsey. Or in Techno's case, a piggy. Even my feet are a little funny."

Ranboo demonstrated this by lifting up a digitigrade foot.

"Wow! They look just like the tall ladies!" Phill gasped, "You know the tall lady wight?!"

Ranboo, in fact, did not know any tall ladies. "I'm sorry, but I don't know any tall ladies."

Phil frowned, wings dropping a bit before picking up slightly, "But you know Mama and Papa wight? Whewe awe they?"

Ranboo sat there frozen on what to do. He knew absolutely nothing about Phil's parents. While Phil told many stories from his life, none ever involved his parents. But he couldn't very well tell child Phil that, could he? The kid would freak out! But he couldn't lie! Ranboo didn't know the first thing about Phil's parents, and with his memory issues, he'd get caught in record time!
The longer he stayed quiet the deeper Phil frowned, tears brimming in his eyes.

"Oh, hey. It's okay. I-"

"But," Phil hiccuped, "It was a dweam." a distressed chirp escaped his mouth.

Techno looked up at Phil, squeaking, curious to the noise he made.

"What was a dream?" Ranboo asked softly, lost on what he needed to do.

Phil acted as if he hadn't said anything, sniffling, a few tears managing to find his cheeks.
"Mama!! Papa!!" Phil screamed looking wildly around the room.

Techno didn't like this, dropping the crown in favor of holding onto Ranboo, trying to hide in his chest.

"Phil," Ranboo said, reaching a hand out to the boy, while the other held Techno.

"No! Go away!" Phil yelled through tears, running away from his hand and further into the house, screaming for his parents.

Ranboo quickly stood up, holding Techno firmly to his chest. It felt like his heart was being torn apart as he followed Phil. He desperately wanted to hug him and tell him everything was going to be alright, but Phil didn't trust him. To Phil he was a stranger who had stolen him from his family. He'd only scare Phil more if he got too close.
So all he could do was follow as Phil cried and ran into every room on the ground floor, searching for parents who weren't there.

"Maammaaa!!!" Phil wailed, "Come back Mamaaa!!"

Ranboo clenched his jaw, fighting back his own tears.

"Paaaapaaahaaahaaaa!!!" He screamed, stumbling his way through and out the kitchen.

"Maammaaa!! I sowwy!! Mamaaa!!!"

Phil dashed to the front door swinging it open before Ranboo could stop him. Though it didn't seem to matter, for as soon as the cold wind hit the kid, Phil screamed, scrambling back right into Ranboo.
Phil latched onto him like his life depended on it, body shaking like a leaf.
Ranboo could feel Techno start his own little sniffles as well.

He dropped down to his knees, wrapping the boy up in his free arm, shushing and whispering assurances.

"M-mama," Phil sobbed.

"Ssshhh. I know. I know. It's okay."

"Mama s-said. She- She said." Phil said between tears.

"I know. I-" Ranboo's voice cracked, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Phil was in pain because of him. He was scared, and alone because of him. All this was Ranboo's fault, and he was so unbelievably sorry.

Phil cried and cried and cried, until he tired himself out, falling fast asleep in Ranboo's arms. Techno continued to sniffle for a bit, but thankfully didn't start crying again.
Which left Ranboo in an awkward position on the floor, legs having long since fallen asleep, cold air wafting into the house from the open door.

With some expert maneuvering, Ranboo was able to get to his feet, arms struggling with the two children in his hands, especially since Techno chose then to get squirmy.
Once back in the living room he set Techno down on the floor. He took a moment to look around, making hesitant scoots in a direction every so often. Ranboo gave up on trying to get Phil off of himself, the little guy having a death grip on him.

Ranboo looked from Techno to the still open door, before turning his attention to Steve.

"Watch him." He said pointing to Techno.

Steve only yawned in response.
That would have to do. Ranboo quickly went to shut the door, his arms aching from holding children for so long.
Finally he collapsed on the couch, Techno having grabbed Ranboo's crown again.
He needed a nap. What time was it?
Ranboo groaned when he saw the clock above the fireplace.
7:16 a.m.
Today was going to be a LONG day.

Chapter Text

Now Ranboo may have forgotten something quite crucial about baby's, but to be fair he was busy trying to figure what to do next. Not to mention he didn't know what he even could do with a sleeping Philza in his arms. So he would like to think that when a giant wet spot appeared on Techno's clothes it wasn't completely his fault.
At the sight of the stain Ranboo immediately stood up and went over to Steve praying Philza would transfer to the bear like last time. He ended up in an awkward position for a moment where Phil had a tight grip on both him and the polar bear, but thankfully ended up gripping onto Steve, snuggling into his soft fur.
With a relieved sigh Ranboo stood up and turned to Techno. He snorted a quick 'up?' in piglin holding out his arms to the baby. Techno looked at him and Ranboo had to hold back a laugh. Never had he seen a baby with such a good resting bitch face before.
After a moment the baby made grabby hands for him. Ranboo picked Techno up by the armpits and held him out and away from his body. Techno didn't seem to like this too much, a frown starting to form on his face. He cringed but continued to hold the baby out, not too keen on getting pee on his shirt.

"It's okay. Just hang in there for a second." Ranboo said rushing to the bathroom praying he'd get there before Techno decided he'd had enough and cried.

Once in the bathroom he carefully placed Techno in the tub before scrambling to find the extra rubber gloves Techno hid around the house in case Ranboo had to deal with water. It was a gesture that had greatly warmed his heart, though now he only felt guilt.
He gave a celebratory vwoop as he pulled out a pair from behind the med kit under the sink, before turning his attention back to the baby. Techno didn't look too happy glaring down at his lap and making distressed squeals. Quickly Ranboo sat on the edge of the tub placing a towel over his lap before picking Techno back up. The pigling gripped tightly onto his arms squeaking louder.

"Shhhh, it's okay. I got you." Ranboo calmed, setting him on his lap.

This only seemed to make matters worse. Techno started whining and hugged Ranboos waist like his life depended on it, his little body shaking. This confused Ranboo for a moment. Was Techno scared? No, he's pretty sure baby's cry when scared. Then what...
Ranboo wanted to smack himself. He was cold! Of course he was cold! He's a freaking piglin hybrid! And a baby one at that! Sure techno kept his house pretty warm, but the fire was probably getting low, and they were in the bathroom! It was guaranteed to be one of the coldest rooms in the house with it's cool marble tiles and farther from any heat source! Prime, why was he so stupid?!
Ranboo wrapped his arm around the piglet rubbing his back.

"I'm so sorry buddy. Just one more minute."

He shimmied a glove on his free hand, before turning on the faucet. As he waited for the water to heat up he bounced his leg hugging Techno tightly trying to warm him up. The piglet whimpered, but at least he wasn't shaking.
Finally the water warmed up. He let it get fairly warm like how he did with Michaels baths. Nether hybrids being able to handle a lot more heat. Ranboo then plugged the drain only letting the tub fill up a few inches before shutting the water back off.

"Okay buddy. Let's get this off of you," he said, pulling the stained shirt off with little difficulty.
Oh, boy. Techno was not going to be happy when he found out Ranboo let little him pee on his shirt. ...If he ever turned back to normal that is. He shook his head. Now wasn't the time.
Techno whined at the loss of the shirt hugging Ranboo tighter. It nearly broke his heart to pry his tiny arms away from his waist, Techno's whines only becoming louder.

"Shhhh, it's okay. You'll be warm in a second."
Ranboo said as he lifted the child from his lap.

Tears began to bubble up into the baby's eyes, making Ranboo quickly set him in the water, hoping the warmth would calm him down.
Techno froze as soon as he touched the water eyes going wide. He held his arms above the water, ears twitching. Ranboo held his breath only now realizing Techno had probably never seen water before.
The baby moved his leg but stopped when he saw the water move as well. He made a quiet oink, waited a minute then oinked again, this time louder. Techno watched the water intently, like he was waiting for it to respond.
Ranboo stifled a giggle and reached a gloved hand into the bath gently splashing the water. Techno's eyes somehow got even larger. Carefully he lowered his own hand into the water, making a surprised squeak before quickly drawing away from the water again. Techno looked up at him wide eyed and curious. Ranboo laughed, giving the water another splash. He watched as Techno slowly raised a tiny hand before slamming it down into the water, falling forward a little from the force. Ranboo pulled back a bit, so as to not get splashed.
A big grin spread across Techno's face, as he raised his hands to splash again. The baby giggled as he splashed water everywhere, tiny tail whipping around in delight. Ranboo couldn't help but laugh with the baby, his giggles far too adorable and infectious.

While Techno busied himself with the water Ranboo put on the second glove and poured some soap into his hands. He made a mental note to get some more baby friendly soap later.
He washed Techno who only complained when his arms had to be washed, preventing him from splashing.
As he moved on to the hair he noticed a familiar three red hearts etched into the back of Technos neck. Everyone was born with these hearts, each one representing a life. They appeared in different areas of the body depending on the person. If you died one would lose its color and fade away. Ranboos were on his wrist but they were so marred by scaring you could hardly tell. Only a sliver of red shining through the razed skin. He had never actually seen Techno's before this, not that he ever asked. Techno was a private person and lives we're always a touchy subject no matter who you spoke to. Besides, it wasn't any of his business anyway. Sure he worried about how Techno could be like Phil. How the man could be taken away from him with just one well placed hit, but it was fine. Technoblade never dies right? Besides, it wasn't like he had collected an entire chest full of totems for nothing.

Ranboo was pulled out of his thoughts as Techno leaned forward, mouth open wide, having discovered the bubbles now forming in the water.

"Nononono! Don't eat those!" Ranboo yelled, pushing techno back into an upright position.

Techno seemed to find this very funny and laughed as he tried to eat the bubbles again. Ranboo tried to sound stern when telling him no, but he couldn't stop himself from giggling at the adorable laugh. This sadly only ended up encouraging the baby. Eventually, he had to give Techno a roll of gauze, due to lack of toys, in order to distract him. He wonders if Phil still had some of Wilbur's old baby stuff. Maybe he'll go to Phil's later, see if he can get these two some decent clothes.

With some struggle Ranboo was finally able to get Techno all washed up, out of the bath, and into a warm, clean, towel. Ranboos' arms were slightly irritated due to a few too many big splashes getting him, but he didn't mind. The smile on Techno's face was worth it.
He just wished he could make his mentor smile normally. The man had done so much for him, yet all Ranboo could do in return was cause problems. He shook himself out of his thoughts holding Techno close as he stood to go find something to use as a makeshift diaper.

-----------

Okay so maybe a dish cloth and duct tape wasn't exactly the best diaper but hey, it works!.... Kinda… not really. Whatever. It would have to do.
He watched Techno crawl on top of Steve's paw only for Steve to gently knock him off. Though Techno was not deterred by this and continued to crawl on his paw, snorting frustratedly at Steve when he knocked the baby off once more. Somehow Phil was still sleeping, but you didn't see Ranboo complaining. He was currently too busy making the ugliest set of clothing in existence to deal with kids. The pink mutilated shirt, now turned dress he held, made him cringe.
It was one of Techno's old farming shirts he didn't really use anymore. He had cut off some of the bottom and folded the sides of it, sewing them down to make it less baggy. Honestly he could have done worse, but still, it wasn't pretty.
Techno currently wore Ranboo's other abomination; a dress made of sewn together patches of various battle torn shirts. He wished he could make them pants since they lived in such a cold biome, but alas, that was far above his skill level. So dresses it was.
Ranboo cut off some more excess fabric, when his stomach conveniently reminded him how he hadn't eaten yesterday or today. With a groan he got up popping his back from being hunched over for so long. It seemed Techno had the same idea, as he started to whine making grabby hands.
Ranboo picked the baby up rubbing his back as he headed to the kitchen. Techno only whined more, opening his mouth and smacking it.

"I know. I'm getting there." Ranboo said, opening the fridge.

The soup from last night as well as some ingredients they never ended up adding filled the shelves along with a half empty bottle of milk.
Ranboo struggled to pull out the pot of soup with one hand but managed to get it to the stove only spilling a little along the way. He took a moment to catch his breath before lighting the stove. The stew had some potatoes he could mash up along with some nether native mushrooms Techno should recognize. He wasn't sure how much milk to solid foods he should be eating at this point but he had a few teeth so some solids shouldn't hurt. Ranboo grabbed the milk and poured it into a pan to warm up just in case.
As Ranboo stirred the stew, Techno decided the small braid in his hair would be a tasty snack. He let the baby gnaw on the braid, he doubted it was a smart decision, but anything to keep him happy for the moment.
Pretty soon the stew and milk were done, Ranboo picking out some potato and mushroom into a small bowl to mash up. He set Techno down on the kitchen floor pulling the braid away from the baby. Techno made grabby hands at Ranboo, a frown on his face, but when Ranboo didn't pick him back up he grunted looking angrily at his lap tears starting to form in his eyes. Ranboo was quick to mash up the food, placing an upside down bucket in front of the baby as some sort of makeshift table. (They didn't exactly have a high chair and he didn't want Techno falling off the table.) He sat down across from techno scooping a tiny bit of food onto the tip of the spoon.

"Hey Techno, look what I got!" Ranboo sang.

Techno looked up at the spoon sniffles immediately starting to disappear, chubby fingers reaching out to grab the spoon. He pulled the spoon back gently redirecting the baby's hands. Ranboo didn't know if giving a baby such a big spoon was alright. He didn't want him to choke. Techno would haunt him and his descendents for eternity if he ever let the man die like that.
Ranboo brought the spoon to the infants mouth Techno staring at it before putting his hands over the spoon and guiding it to his mouth with Ranboo's help. They continued like this, though Techno was hesitant towards the potato at first.
When done Ranboo quickly put the dish in the sink and got a moist towel to wipe all the food off Techno's face. His fingers stung a little, having been too afraid Techno would run off if he spent the time to find gloves again. Techno squeaked irritatedly trying to avoid the towel, but eventually Ranboo got him all clean.
He picked the baby up and stared at the food debating if he should wake Phil up or let him sleep some more. Ranboo frowned, afraid of what Phil's reaction would be to him waking him up after having cried himself to sleep. He sighed, it didn't matter, Phil needed food and Ranboo couldn't let him sleep all day.

Ranboo stepped into the living room and set Techno down by his discarded crown, before crouching next to Phil.
He looked at Phil for a moment not sure how to wake him up when he noticed the white knuckle grip on Steve's fur and scrunched up eyes. His breathing, far too fast to be that of sleep. Phil was already awake, and doing a terrible job at faking sleep. This was going to end well.

"Phil, hey. Do you want some food buddy?" Ranboo asked gently.

Phil shut his eyes tighter, shoving his face into Steve's side.

"Are you sure? I've got some really yummy soup."

Phil shook his head despite the loud growling coming from his stomach.

Ranboo chuckled nervously, "Sounds like your tummy disagrees."

Ranboo could make out a small blush creep onto the child's face.

"No it doesn't." Phil said, voice muffled by polar bear.

Ranboo smiled, "I don't know. Sounded like your tummy has a bear in it." Ranboo poked the kids' side for emphasis.
Phil whined, turning away from Ranboo trying to sound annoyed, but he could hear the held back smile in his voice.

Ranboo gasped, "Oh my goodness there really is a bear in there! We have to get him out!" He reached a hand out to Phil only for him to turn around and smack it away.

"No, it's just my tummy!" Phil yelled trying to look angry.

"I don't know. Do you hear that?" Ranboo roared, then gasped again,"You hear it?! The bear's roaring again!"

A smile slipped onto Phil's face, "No! That was you!"

"Me?!" Ranboo placed his hand on his chest in faux offense, "I would never. It was the bear!" He poked at Phil's tummy again, getting a squeal from the kid as he pushed his hand away.

"No! It was you! My tummy can't fit a beaw!" Phil yelled, pointing an accusatory finger at him.

Ranboo raised a brow, "Really? Then where's the bear coming fro-" he roared again, "Oh my gods did you hear that?! It came from your tummy!"

Phil giggled as Ranboo poked his belly, trying to push his hands away.

"It was you! I saw you do it!" Phil accused, standing up in order to get more leverage to push Ranboo's hands back, a grin slapped across his face.

"No, I heard it. It's coming from your tummy." Ranboo gasped, "Here it comes again!" He tried to roar, but Phil launched himself at Ranboo tiny hands covering his mouth.

Phil giggled, "See! It was you!" His feathers puffed up in pride as if he had just discovered the biggest mystery.

Ranboo wrapped his arms around Phil and fell backwards, eliciting a delighted shriek from the child, his hands falling away from Ranboo's mouth.

"Oh no! I've been caught! What ever shall I do!?"

Phil was grinning from ear to ear as he pushed himself off Ranboo's chest, "Gimme all the tweats in the wowld!"

Ranboo grinned, "Ooor, I could just…" a pause, "Eat you all up!" He suddenly wrapped his arms around Phil, tickling his tummy.

Phill giggled and squealed trying to get away from Ranboo. Apparently this caught the attention of Techno, as Ranboo felt his tiny fists smacking at his arms. The baby grunting at him, a look of determination on his face. At which point Ranboo burst out laughing, losing his hold on Phil. It was both sweet and hilarious to see that even as a baby Techno would come to Phil's rescue. Phil took the opportunity to escape, running away still laughing. Techno on the other hand decided to crawl on top of Ranboo and grab his face, with a triumphant squeal. He made a funny face in an attempt to make the baby laugh, only to get an incredibly unimpressed look.
Which was fair.
Ranboo sat up, Techno securely in his arms, who was slapping and pulling at his face. He did bother to stop the baby, he was being surprisingly gentle and was only curious and having fun.
Phil stood across from them distracted from his escape by the pink 'dress' (if you could even call it that), a look of confusion on his face.

"What's this?" He asked.

Ranboo winced, "It's a dress."

Phils eyes narrowed, "Why's it look weiwd?"

Ranboo chuckled nervously, "I don't know….. You want to wear it?"

Phil shook his head.
Of course he didn't. The thing was hideous.

"It would feel a lot nicer than the big shirt you're wearing." He said, hoping beyond hope the kid would agree.

Phil shook his head again, "I want nowmal clothes."

"But you'll be matching Techno." Ranboo tried.

"Nuh uh. His dwess is diffewent." Phil pointed to said dress.

"I'll give you a muffin if you wear it?" Ranboo prayed Phil still had his bread addiction.

Phil's eyes lit up at that, "Okay!" He agreed enthusiastically.

Ranboo felt slightly guilty for using his bread addiction against him, but him being in that shirt was a disaster waiting to happen. It was only a matter of time before he tripped on it and Ranboo doubted all the extra bunched up fabric resting on top of where his wings stuck out of the wing holes felt very nice on the limbs.

As Phil changed in the bathroom Ranboo brought his tail up to entertain Technoblade with and redirect his attention from his face. Thankfully the baby found the new limb much more interesting, reaching out to try and grab it. Ranboo pulled it just out reach before dangling it closer again. Eventually he caught it, immediately sticking it in his mouth. Ranboo cringed, pulling away tiny fingers, trying to free his tail until techno let out a heartbreaking squeak gripping his tail tighter.

He sighed fondly, "Fine. Just please don't bite me."
Techno gave no answer and just continued to gnaw on the limb. It wasn't like he had to worry about Techno swallowing hair since his tail fluff was a lot sturdier, being far more difficult to pull out. He would just have to deal with gross baby slobber, which he wasn't too fond of, but he'd suffer considering he has made Techno suffer much worse.
Techno settled down lying comfortably into his chest, eyelids drooping. A small rumble coming from the infant's chest, that Ranboo soon realized was a purr of sorts. He smiled, rocking the baby, as he fell asleep, purring back.

When Phil walked out of the bathroom Ranboo liked to admit that the dress didn't look too bad. Sure the Wing holes went a little too far down but that was to be expected when he didn't have buttons or velcro to bring the fibric closed around the wings base.
He went to compliment the child when his breath caught in his chest. Ranboos' eyes tunneled onto the child's now exposed collarbone where a gray fading heart sat amongst a line of red.
Phil had always had one life, that was common knowledge. Sure the thought of Phil having more than that at one point in his life had crossed his mind, but he never really cared to explore it further. He never asked either, considering death was a pretty traumatic experience, and Phil would probably want to keep that private.
But never did he think the man would have lost a life as a child. He could hardly imagine the damage it would do to someone so young. Tubbo and Tommy suffered awful nightmares and still hurt from the scars death left behind. It broke his heart to imagine a tiny Phil scared and hurt like that.

"Boo?" Phil asked, pulling on his shirt, confused as to why the older was just staring at him.

Ranboo forced himself to breathe, giving Phil a wobbly smile.
"Shhhh." He said gently pointing to the sleeping Techno.

Phil's eyes went wide with wonder, before he straightened, miming zipping his lips shut.

Prime what does he do?! Does he mention it? Phil doesn't seem bothered at the moment. But he certainly needs to talk about it at some point! Doesn't he? Older Phil seems fine so younger Phil must get help at some point! But what if he forgot because his brain did the brain thing and blocked out the trauma?! What if Phil doesn't turn back?! What if the potion isn't reversible?! What then?! He can't take care of two kids on his own! Much less a traumatized one! Not to mention Micheal! What if something happens?! What if he needs help?! Who is he supposed to turn to?! Both his parental figures were children!! He can't do this!! Gods he's going to mess them up!! He's going to ruin their childhoods and they'll hate him!! He hates him!! Why?! Why ca-
Ranboo was abruptly pulled from his spiral, by a small hand hitting his leg. He looked down to see Phil smacking his leg trying to regain his attention, oblivious to Ranboo's inner turmoil.

"Boooo!" He whispered shouted.

"Y-yeah?" Ranboo stuttered.

Phil perked up at the attention, "Can I see the baby?" Phil stood on his tippy toes trying to get a better look at Techno.

Ranboo nodded, crouching down so he could see the baby.

He took a calming breath, forcing himself to look away from the hearts. If Phil wasn't bothered by it, Ranboo wouldn't say anything. It was up to Phil if he wanted to talk about it. Not like the kid needed to cry himself to sleep twice in one day. Should he be talking to Phil about it? Probably. A death was a big traumatic mess to deal with, but that was way out of his depth, especially with Phil being a child. If worse came to worst, there was always Puffy. He reassured himself.

"Awww. He's so cute!" Phil gushed, "Can I hold him?"

Ranboo smiled, pushing all his worry into the back of his mind. He could have a breakdown later, for now Phil needed him. "Yes, but we have to eat first okay?"

Phil nodded excitedly, wings flapping a little. "Okay!"

"Shhhh," Ranboo hushed again, Techno curling up further into his arms.

Phil's hands flew over his mouth, his eyes wide. "Sorry," he whispered, voice muffled by his hands.

Ranboo waved off the apology, standing up to go set Techno down on Steve. It took some careful maneuvering but eventually he was able to free his tail, replacing it with an emerald… Yeah, he REALLY needed to get more things for children.

Ranboo guided them to the kitchen, serving Phil his muffin as promised along with some soup. He made some hot chocolate as well, using the milk he totally didn't forget he had heated up earlier. As soon as Phil was finished he thanked Ranboo then ran back into the living room excited to hold Technoblade. He, on the other hand, was nervous to even move the baby for fear of waking him up, but he did promise. So ever so carefully Ranboo picked him up and told Phil to sit on the couch. While Techno was tiny in his arms, he was also around seven feet tall at the moment. So he didn't exactly trust Phil to be able to carry Techno.
He was surprised but grateful when Techno stayed asleep as he was moved to Phil's arms. Ranboo almost laughed. Techno was pretty big in Phil's arms. Assuming he was about a year old it made sense. Phil didn't seem to mind though as he looked at the baby in wonder, a huge smile on his face. Ranboos' heart nearly melted when Phil started cooing his little wings wrapped around the two, the quiet rumble of Technos purrs filling the room.

………….

The rest of the day went by with little incident, but Phil and Techno both, barely gave him any time to relax or research the potions effects. There weren't any toys leaving Ranboo as the only source of entertainment, and there were weapons casually strewn everywhere! The two had nearly decapitated themselves several times just by noon! This was only made worse by the fact that apparently Techno was discovering he could stand and Ranboo had to suddenly dive to save the baby from a nasty fall far too many times. By the end of the day, he was utterly and totally exhausted. His clothes were messy, eyes drooping, hair wild, surely looking nothing short of a complete mess.
All he wanted was to close his eyes and sleep. But that was selfish. He doubted any of this was fun for Phil and Techno either. The least he could do was be there whilst he figured out how to fix them. If they ever gave him the chance that is.

Currently Ranboo stood in the living room desperately trying to rock Techno to sleep as Phil flipped through the one picture book Ranboo had managed to find. The sun had set an hour ago, yet the infant refused to sleep. He had tried everything short of a binki, which he didn't have. Not even Steve, the designated babysitter, sleeping spot, and MVP of this whole ordeal could soothe the child. It didn't help that Techno was quickly becoming grumpier and grumpier. While his cry's weren't loud, they were still sad to hear, and Ranboo had no idea how to help.

Eventually he plopped down on the couch in defeat. Phil looked up from his picture book, something about crows, giving Ranboo a curious look.

"Why won't he stop cwying?" He asked.

Ranboo sighed, running a hand down his face. "I don't know. He's tired, but just won't go to sleep."

Phils brows furrowed in thought before he shot up onto his feet a bright look on his face. "Oh I know! When I can't sleep my mommy and daddy," he falters at the mention of his parents but recovers within a second, almost convincing Ranboo he'd imagined it, "They always sing me songs when I can't sleep! You should sing him a song!"

Ranboo gently hushed the excitable child, seriously considering the idea. He didn't really like to sing since he was a terrible singer in his opinion, but it was just Phil and it wasn't like he had any other options at the moment.

"Good idea Phil." Ranboo praised, the child bristling with pride, "Do you think you can help me?"

Phil was practically vibrating with joy. "Mmmhmm!" He nodded, hopping up onto the couch. "What song awe we singing?"

Ranboo actually didn't know very many lullabies, the one he sang to Micheal being hush little baby because Tubbo found it funny. He didn't know all the words with how long the song was and would often make them up. It would be a difficult song for Phil to follow.
"Why don't you pick?"

Phil's face lit up at that, the kids' wings fluttering in excitement. He scooted closer to Ranboo hovering over the baby and began to hum a soft tune. He immediately recognized the melody, but from where he didn't know.

"Wolf, wolf, don't you come hewe.
I will never let you take my baby," Phil's voice was quiet, mumbling a few words as if unsure what the lyrics were. Ranboo doing his best to hum along. He had never heard the lullaby before, but it was familiar. Did Phil sing this to him at some point and he just forgot? Ranboo shook his head. Yeah, there was no way he would forget if Phil sang to him, memory problems be damned. He shrugged it off. He had learned long ago there was no point dwelling on things he couldn't remember.
Phil continued to sing, Ranboo humming along to the best of his ability, ignoring the morbid undertones that seemed to be present in all lullabies.

It was sweet to watch him sing so softly, face hovering over Techno's. Ranboo resisted cooing at the two.
Miraculously Techno actually started to calm down, eyes drooping, no longer crying.
He let out a sigh of relief when Techno seemingly fell asleep for good. Never would he have thought singing would have put Technoblade to sleep.
He turned to Phil to congratulate him but paused. Phil was staring dejectedly at his lap. Before he could say anything Phil spoke, voice small and sad.
"I miss them."

Ranboo wasn't sure what had brought this on so suddenly, but honestly it was a miracle the kid hadn't broken down again sooner.

"I know." Ranboo whispered, placing a hesitant hand on his back.

Phil leaned into the touch, sniffling loudly.
"Why did Mama leave m-me?" His voice cracked, tears welling up in his eyes.

What was he supposed to say to that? She didn't leave him, Ranboo just teleported his little brain, who knows how many years into the future? No. He couldn't. He couldn't explain how badly he messed up. How he always messed things up.

"I'm so sorry. I'm sure she didn't want to." Ranboo said, feeling a little teary himself, "I swear I'll fix this."

Silent tears streamed down Phil's face. Ranboo wrapped his arm around his shoulders in a side hug. Phil immediately wrapped his arms around Ranboo crying into his side. He did his best to comfort the child, rubbing his back and whispering assurances.
His cry's soon became hiccups, then sniffles, wings held tightly against his body. They sat in silence for a while Ranboo, sure Phil had fallen asleep when a quiet whisper caught his attention.
"Th'nk you." He slurred before falling asleep for real.

Ranboo wanted to cry. Phil shouldn't be thanking him. He should be shouting and screaming at him for being so stupid. Ranboo pulled the kid closer, hoping the embrace could express how sorry he felt. He used his tail to reach a nearby blanket and pull it over when Phil started shivering.

Ranboo sighed letting his head fall back. This was fine. Everything is fine. He'll just rest his eyes for a moment then get to researching. Yeah. That's a good plan. He closed his eyes sleep reaching out with an embrace he couldn't bring himself to decline. His mind became foggy, the world around him fading, until incessant pounding rang in his ears making him jolt upright.
He suppressed a whine. Can't he just get a second to himself?
Apparently he wasn't the only one the racket seemed to disturb. Phil sat up ramrod straight clutching tightly to Ranboo fear filling his eyes. By some miracle, Techno stayed asleep in his arms.
For a moment he was confused as to where the noise was coming from when he saw the front door shaking on its hinges, familiar angry shouts now accompanying the banging. A spike of panic ran through Ranboo's system.
Crap! He totally forgot other people exist!
He scrambled onto his feet, careful not to jostle Techno too much. Phil whined, having lost contact with Ranboo and still looking scared out of his mind. Ranboo wrapped his tail around Phil's wrist, giving him a reassuring smile.

"It's okay. That's just a friend of mi-" he was interrupted by a very loud 'Bitch if you don't open this fucking door right now I'm gonna burn down your entire ugly ass goddamn house!!!'

Phil, reasonably, didn't look convinced and simply clutched onto his tail and hid behind him. Ranboo quickly made his way to the door, if only to get Tommy to be quite faster, Phil trailing close behind him.

Ranboo swung the door open, Tommy pausing mid-shout, seemingly surprised to see Ranboo. Which was fair. This was Techno's house.

"Holy shit Ranboo!!" Tommy shouted his face switching from anger to relief then back to anger all within a second.

"Hey Tomm-"

"Where the hell have you been?!! Do you know how worried Tubbos has been?!!!" Ranboo cringed. He had a feeling Tubbo wasn't the only one who was worried. "You didn't tell him shit!! We fuckin texted you!! WE CALLED YOU DUMBASS! WHY didn't you answer you're fuckin communicator?!!! Where the hell is Technoblade!? Did he fuckin kidnap you or some shit?!"

"Tommy-"

"What!?"

Ranboo pointed to the now very awake Technoblade in his arms. "Please be more quiet."

Tommy had an incredulous look on his face. "What the Fuck?"

With that Techno started crying, Ranboo almost tempted to join him.

Chapter Text

Tommy hadn't thought anything about Ranboo suddenly springing Micheal onto him. The guy was scatterbrained on the best of days, so he assumed he had some previous commitments he in a very on brand fashion, forgot about. Usually he was really good at retaining anything about his family, but he was bound to slip up at some point, the loser.
When Michael arrived he had been very upset, refusing to talk to Tommy, or even shroud for the first hour. Apparently today was supposed to be a Boo day or some shit. It made Tommy wanna clart the boob bitch.
Things got better when they saw puffy, the fucking miracle worker. Though he was bitter that they had to focus more on Micheal instead of him and Shroud.

Not that he was angry at the kid! He just really needed this session with Puffy. Shroud had been struggling lately. He was quieter than usual, and more withdrawn. Tommy had tried to talk to him, but Shroud would just brush off the question, switching up the conversation.
As much as Tommy would like to say it wasn't affecting him, that wasn't true. He found himself psycho analyzing every interaction with his kid. The fragile sleep schedule he had agonizingly created being thrown out the window.
He couldn't help but feel frustrated and… angry.
His inner Puffy chided him at that.
Fine, he felt scared. He was scared he had fucked up again like always. That he had hurt Shroud. That maybe he picked up a few habits from his- from Wilbur.
He never had many what one would call "stable" adult figures in his life, and he was scared. Scared he'd end up just as bad, if not worse. Scared Shroud would become just another Fundy. He was scared, so he was angry. Not at Shroud, but at, Dream, Wilbur, Schlatt, Puffy, Jack, Foolish, his friends, this entire goddamn server, himself. Mostly himself. It wasn't their fault he always managed to fuck things up. His inner Puffy really didn't like those thoughts.
He just wished things weren't always so god damn complicated. Would it kill the universe to give him a break every once and a while?

Apparently it was, for when he had gone back to Snowchester to drop Micheal off, it turns out Ranboo still wasn't home and neither was Tubbo. After breaking into their house, (he was not going to stand out in the freezing cold with both a five and six year old) Tommy called Tubbo who apologized saying he was going to be late, telling him to call Ranboo. He muttered promises of death to the ender hybrid as he hung up to call the Boobster.
Yet again the universe just loved to watch him suffer, his call going unanswered.
Now the first time this happened Tommy didn't think much of it, simply calling him again this time far more annoyed. By the fourth unanswered call he was beginning to worry. He shot Tubbo a text about it as he raided their pantry in true raccoon like fashion, sharing a portion of his spoils with the kids. If his friends were gonna make this difficult he reserved the right to empty their cupboards.

Not even five minutes later he got a panicked call from Tubbo saying he'd be over in twenty minutes. Tommy tried not to let what ifs flood his mind on why Ranboo wasn't answering. Emphasis on tried.

By the time Tubbo got home Tommy was already in a full set of armor, pacing the length of the house, Micheal and Shroud fast asleep on the couch.
After some quite arguing they decided to shoot Phil and Techno a text considering Ranboo lived with them. Though Tubbo was reluctant to contact Techno. It was fair, while Tommy had already talked with Techno about l'manburg (not a very good talk, but a talk), Tubbo hadn't. Honestly he didn't think either party was eager to talk with the other, but if it was for Ranboo Tubbo would do it.

After ten agonizing minutes with no answer Tommy called them, both calls going unanswered. At this point Tommy had to restrain Tubbo from marching onto Techno's door step nukes a blazing. After calming down they agreed Tommy would go to Phil and Techno's, considering he had better relations with the two, while Tubbo watched over the kids.

Now Tommy wasn't sure what he was expecting to find when he reached Techno's. Blood, bodies, signs of a struggle, Phil and Techno doing chores… or Techno doing chores. Phil still had a decent sleep schedule last time he checked. Whatever it was, he wasn't expecting to have the friend he had been stressing about for hours at this point open Technoblades door with a wailing baby piglin hybrid in his arms. He blinked several times, to ensure it wasn't just his bad eye fucking with him, and the baby was instead just a large piece of squirming bread. But the baby was still there.
Oh no.
He didn't know Ranboo's memory had gotten this bad! Oh Gods his friend has kidnapped someone's baby! Tommy thought he would at least remember what Micheal looks like! Shit Ranboo spent too much time away from his son! He needed to fix this!

Ranboo whined distressed vwoops accompanying it, before returning his attention back to Tommy.
"Come inside, I'll explain." He said, sounding tired and defeated as he walked back inside.

Tommy went to argue but the dark spot of hair matted with dried blood on the back of his friend's head gave him pause. What the fuck?
He ran inside, not bothering to shut the door, grabbing Ranboo's arm, forcing him to face him.

"What the Fuck happened?!" Tommy demanded.

Ranboo looked taken aback, "Wha- I- Let me calm him down first and I'll-"

"No!" Tommy said, checking the rest of Ranboo's appearance, getting more and more concerned with each cut and burn he saw on his friend's skin. "Who the fuck did this to you?! "

Ranboo spluttered, "I- Nobody did this to me?"

"Well then what the hell happened to you?! You've been gone all day! Not even bothering to pick up when me and Tubbo call! And now I find you looking like you got run-over by a fuckin ravager with blood allover in your hair?! What the Fuck happened?!"

Ranboo raised a hand to feel the back of his head guilt washing over his features, "I-" a particularly loud cry interrupted him, "Just let me take care of-"

"Ranboo, that's not even Michael!" Tommy shouted, "It's just some random person's baby!"

The Enderian looked utterly confused, "Tommy... I'm not stupid."

Tommy gave him a skeptical look.

"I'm not stupid!" He defended, before sighing heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose, "listen, just please sit down for a minute."

Tommy opened his mouth to protest, but Ranboo interrupted him. "Would you rather me explain with a baby crying the entire time or not?"

Reluctantly Tommy shut his mouth and sat down on the couch. He hates it when Ranboo decides to suddenly develop a spine towards him.
Tommy watched irritably as Ranboo shushed the baby, trying to quietly humm to it. His leg bounced trying to get rid of the adrenaline and anxiety that still coursed through him. He debated texting Tubbo that Ranboo was okay, but decided against it. Tubbo would want details Tommy didn't know, and he's pretty sure telling your friend that you think his platonic husband had picked up a random baby thinking it was Micheal and was covered in cuts and burns wasn't exactly the best idea. He wasn't going to freak Tubbo out for nothing.
Tommy leaned back into the couch, shifting around a bit, the pieces of armor he was wearing weren't exactly comfortable.

A flash of movement in the corner of his eye had him whipping his head around. He had expected to catch Techno entering the room, but instead he was met with a small head of blonde hair and big blue eyes before they quickly disappeared around the corner into the kitchen.
What the Fuck? Why was there another one?! He didn't just imagine that right?! That was a whole ass kid! There was no way his vision could fuck up so badly he saw a fucking kid!
Ranboo better hurry up with that baby, he was getting sick of not knowing what the hell was going on.

After a head achingly long time the baby FINALLY fell asleep. Tommy had offered to comfort the kid instead, but the baby only cried louder when he left Ranboo's arms. Likely intimidated by Tommy's greatness. He couldn’t blame the kid, he’d be intimidated by such a big man too.
They both didn't dare to so much as breathe too loudly for fear of waking him.

For a tense moment Tommy watched as Ranboo set the baby down beside Steve. When the kid stayed blissfully quiet they both let out a sigh of relief. Prime, was he glad he had skipped the baby phase with Shroud. Not that he wouldn’t have wanted Shroud back then!
… You know what? Actually yeah. He would have gotten Shroud killed back then.

Ranboo carefully backed off from the baby, next to Tommy.
"Okay," he whispered, "Just let me get Phi- wait." Ranboo looked around wildly, "Where's Phil??!"

Tommy gave him a look, "How the fuck am I supposed to know?!" He whisper-shouted. "You're the one who's been hiding out here all day!"

Ranboo winced, "Sorry. I promise I'll explain, I just need to find Phil."

"Wha- No you don't! You have some explaining to do and I am not waiting any longer!"

"You don't understand, h-"

"Then tell me!!" Tomy said, whispering forgotten if only for a second.

They both froze, listening intently for the sound of an upset baby. Nothing. He slouched in relief, though Ranboo stayed tense.

"I… Yeah. Okay." He whispered, eyes still searching the room.

Tommy motioned for him to continue standing his ground.

"So I umm, I might have been brewing some potions and uhh," Ranboo muttered the last part so quietly he couldn't hear.

"What?"

Ranboo took a breath, "I forgot about them… aaaand Phil and Techno might have touched them."

A moment of silence.

Tommy made a face, "That explains literally nothing!"

"I turned them into kids!" Ranboo blurted, turning his head away like he was bracing for a hit.

"What do you mean?" Tommy asked, confused.

Slowly Ranboo faced him, eyes glued to the floor, ears pinned back. "I-I turned them into kids." He weakly pointed behind him towards Steve. "That's," he swallowed, "That's Techno."

Tommy… didn't know how to react to that. For a moment he thought Ranboo was joking, but Ranboo would never pull shit like this. Skeppy maybe, but not Ranboo. The guy simply didn’t have the guts for that shit. It's just, there was no way that was Techno. Never had he heard of a spell or potion, or anything for that matter, that could turn you into a baby. Yet, the more he looked at the baby, the more he could see the similarities between it and Techno. He took a step forward in disbelief. There was no fucking way. Ranboo had to be confused. He said he’d fucked up some potions right? They had to be messing with his head. Guess there was only one way to find out for sure.

In Pogtopia, despite the revolution, there wasn't always much to do, some days seeming to last years. There was a shit ton of time where they had to wait, whether it be for information, food, planning, or even the weather. During that time he would talk and listen to anyone and anything to stave off his boredom. He'd even bother Wilbur when he was… frustrated.
One of those days he had sprawled out on the floor in the farm, bugging Techno while he needlessly checked on the potatoes. While rambling about something, or another, he noticed a small bald spot above Techno’s right hoof and asked about it thinking it was a result of some epic battle. Techno simply shrugged saying he had always had it before continuing his tasks. Tommy quickly made fun of him calling him an old man. He didn't ever really think about it again after… everything. Didn’t exactly come up during his brief stay here either. Too fucked in the head to really joke properly at the time. Yet it stuck in his brain, the moment having been one of the few he actually liked from that goddamn ravine.

Quietly, he approached the kid, carefully checking the bristles on the back of his leg. Sure enough just above the hoof there was a bald spot.
Ranboo was telling the truth. Not that he thought he was lying, confused a little, but not lying.

"Holy shit." He whispered. "Holy Shit! Wait, you said Phil!" He quickly turned to Ranboo, who cowherd away from him with a nod.

He frowned at his friend's sudden warryness.
Tommy rolled his eyes, "I'm not mad at you boober." He honestly wasn't. Worried? Yeah. Freaking out? Absolutely.
Ranboo would have never done something like this on purpose. He's certain the ball of anxiety that is his friend had already been beating himself up about it.
Honestly… a part of him revealed in the fact that Phil and Techno were suffering. He felt a little guilty for it. Phil had at least apologized somewhat and had tried helping him. But that part of him didn't care, it only wanted to watch them burn. It scared him, reminded him of…
Tommy shivered, quickly pushing the thought away.
There was no time for that. He had Tubbos little anxiety attack to calm down. "Kinda funny to be honest. I'm going to get Sooooo much black mail."

Ranboo's shoulder lowered slightly at that, a tired laugh escaping his lips.
"Techno would kill you."

Tommy grinned, "Not if I threaten him with baby pictures he won't"

Tommy watched as a hint of a smile tugged at the corner of Ranboo's lips. The tension in his friend slowly easing away, the heavy purple bags beneath his eyes seeming to grow darker.

“Sure.” Ranboo took a breath rubbing at his temples. “I… ugh, I’m sorry. I n-need to find Phil. I promise I’ll- I won’t- I just-”

“Boobster, Boobers, Boob man, relax.” Tommy interrupted. “I’ll help you look for Smallza. Think I saw him in the kitchen earlier actually.”

Ranboo gave him a grateful look as they made their way to the kitchen, his friend's tail wrapping around his wrist.
No, Tommy did not like it, he simply… allowed it… for his friends sake. Yeah. The clingy bitch.

When they entered the kitchen it didn’t take too long to figure out Phil was in there. Unfortunately the reason they knew he was there was the suspicious sniffles coming from one of the cabinet doors.
Tommy gave Ranboo a questioning look, only to get a tense shrug in return. He hung back as he watched Ranboo approach the cabinets, not wanting to crowd Smallza. A soft knocking filled the space as Ranboo wrapped on the door.

“Phil?” He whispered, “I-It’s me, Boo. Are you okay? Is- are you hurt?”

No answer.

“Hey, Do you think you can open the door? Everythings okay. I promise.”

Tommy winced a little at that one. Him bursting in yelling and cussing Ranboo out had probably scared the kid.
...
Kid.
Phil really was a kid right now.
Would Phil recognize him? Did he keep his memories from when he was an adult? Probably not, considering he was currently hiding in a cabinet, crying right now. Plus if he did remember that would mean Techno would remember too, right? He shivered at the thought of a fully coherent Babyblade. That would be some fucking uncanny valley type shit. Or the same vibe at least. He swears, if that fucking baby starts reading the art of war he was throwing it back into the nether. The piglins could take care of him until the potion wore off, but Tommy was not dealing with that shit.

He was broken out of his thoughts at the creak of the cabinet door easing open. Curled up, and surrounded by black fluffy down feathers was a tiny, teary eyed, Phil, in what had to be one of the ugliest dresses he had ever seen.

It was strange seeing Phil so young and small. Sure the kid had the blonde hair and blue eyes, but everything else was missing. His nose wasn't crooked anymore, the scars were gone, his fingers didn't bend out a little, his skin looked softer, and pale, But most noticeably we're his eyes. Where lifetimes of knowledge and wisdom were hidden, there was only fear. His eyes, once oceans, were now shallow pools. They felt plain and empty. Every emotion on display, nothing to accent or hide it. It was disconcerting. Everything he knew as Phil was gone, leaving a fearful child he didn't know.

"Hey, buddy." Ranboo said, a gentle smile on his face. "It's okay. You're-"

Ranboo was interrupted the moment Phil's eyes met Tommy's by an ear piercing screech that jump-started Tommy's heart.
His hands flew to his ears, clamping down around them.
Phil continued to scream, uselessly scrambling to shove himself further into the cabinet. Ranboo's arms flew about him in a panic, his tail puffing up when Techno's cries joined Phil's.

Tommy stood there frozen and wide eyed. The expression strained his fucked up eye, but he hardly noticed. Phils terror filled gaze never left him.
Phil was scared of him.
Why was Phil scared of him? Sure he had been loud, but this was extreme.
Was this some fucked up joke?
One look in the kids' eyes assured him this was genuine. But why?
Tommy hadn't done anything! If anything Phil's been the one to do shit to Tommy! He was the only one who should be feeling scared out of the two! Granted Phil was a kid now, but still. So why?

"Tommy!" Ranboo shouted above the screaming, snapping him out of his head.
His friend was holding tightly to Phil trying to block his vision of Tommy in vain.
"Can you take care of techno please?!"

Tommy nodded and scurried off to get Techno. Obviously his presence wasn't helping, and he's pretty sure all this screaming was going to be what finally finished his hearing off if it didn't stop soon.
He quickly approached the squirming baby blade. Steve seemed concerned with the crying wriggly mass on his side. The bear kept nuzzling him to no effect. This is when Steve thought it best to move the baby. As he raised his paw to do so Tommy sprinted to Techno, scooping him up before Steve could. From what he's seen and heard of the bear, it's very gentle but Tommy sure as hell didn't trust it to be gentle enough to move a baby.

Carefully he adjusted so the baby sat comfortably in one arm and headed towards the ladder. Figure, he better get the noise as far away from the panicking Phil as he could. With some struggle he climbed the ladder to Techno's room, muttering curses to the baby every time he squirmed. Which was a lot.
Getting the hatch open had him nearly falling off the ladder, but he managed it, sighing as he plopped down onto the bed.
Phil didn't seem to be screaming anymore, or at least he'd calmed down from those ungodly screeches. Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for Techno.

He did his best to soothe babyblade, but of course, it didn’t work. The kid was beginning to give him a headache. Prime, he was so going to get Techno back for this shit when he was back to normal. Tommy flopped back on the bed holding Babyblade to his chest, praying the new position would do SOMETHING. Surprise, surprise, it didn't.

He focused on the little jingles of random knick knack rolling around on the bed from his disturbance instead of the cries. Techno was nearly as bad as Phil when it came to hoarding shiny things. Only difference was that Techno’s collection was a lot more expensive, his only real urges being towards gold.
Tommy groaned as something stabbed into his back, Techno still squirming and whining above him. He reached behind himself, roughly extracting the offending do-dad. A twinkling ring filled the air as he yanked it out. In his hand was one of the stupid little bells Techno kept in case he couldn’t lug around his obnoxiously large one. Tommy rolled his eyes, and nearly threw the thing across the room, when he noticed something strange.
It was quiet.
Slowly he lowered his gaze to a teary eyed, yet quiet Technoblade. As some sort of test, Tommy rang the bell again. To his surprise Techno ACTUALLY closed his eyes. He definitely wasn’t asleep, but he had closed his eyes!
Tommy rang the bell again, and again, and again, until quiet baby snores could be heard coming from the kid.
He laid there, mouth agape from what had just happened. REALLY?! That's all it took?! Him and Ranboo had spent for–fucking–ever trying to get him to sleep, and all they needed was a goddamn bell??!!!!?
Oh, Techno was SO dead once he was normal. Tommy was going to have a fucking field day tormenting him.

---------------------------------------------------------

Phil clamped his hand tightly around his mouth muffling his whimpers and barley concealed sobs. His wings ached, and itched, shaking from being pressed so tightly against his back, both from fear and the lack of space in the cabinet.
The number one rule his parents had given him playing on repeat in his brain.
If a scary person were to ever show up he needed to hide.
It was the one rule he never broke. Sometimes he'd try flying even though his mama told him no, he was too small. When Papa said it was bedtime, sometimes he'd pretend to be asleep only to play with his stuffies a little longer. One time he even snuck a whole muffin in his room to eat. He broke those rules, but never this one.

He doesn't remember the first time the scary people came. Mama said he was too little to remember. Phil only knew because his Papa couldn't fly well. Papa said they had caught him and Phil when they were out collecting food in their old home. They had hurt Papa while he was protecting him. When Papa saw how the story scared Phil, he assured him Mama was quick to swoop in and save the day, but he was still left with weak wings.

The second time he had been playing pirate in the woods with his best friend when he saw someone stumbling around in the trees. His friend suggested they play spies instead and Phil agreed enthusiastically. They were very stealthy as they slowly got closer, jumping from bush to bush. Phil giggled when his friend tripped and fell into a mud puddle, but otherwise they stayed super duper quiet.
It wasn't till Phil's friend grabbed him by the shirt did he stop his sneaking. He looked up to complain, but her wide fear filled eyes made him pause. She was two whole years older than him, and very strong so he immediately felt uneasy. He tried to ask what was wrong but she shushed him. Phil pouted and looked back to the person they were spying on. Slowly he gripped onto his friends arms curling further into the bush they were hidden behind. The person had no feathers, claws, or colorful skin, which wasn't bad in of itself, some people just didn't have those. But what scared him were their ears. Only scary people had round ears. Mama taught him that every night before bed.
A frightened chirp escaped him as the scary person got closer and closer to them.
The scary person froze at the noise, their gaze snapping to their bush. His friend squawked, yanking them from their hiding place and ran. Phil could hear pounding footsteps get closer and closer making his heart beat out of his chest. His friend let out a very loud and sharp chirping noise his papa taught him to only make if he was in big trouble.
Phil copied her, though his call was much quieter. He gasped for breath as they ran his wings beating uselessly to try and give him a boost.
For a brief moment he felt fingers brush against his feathers, before they were yanked away, a loud crash and angry voices sounding behind him.
Out of nowhere a whole bunch of grown ups descended through the trees. Most ran past them, but the older lady from across the street scooped them up and asked if they were okay.

He thought that was the scariest day of his life. He even told his Mama and Papa so, but it wasn't. The scariest was when…
Phil hiccuped a whole new host of tears springing up at the thought.
He didn't understand. He just wanted his mama and papa back. He knew Boo was going to help him, but now there were scary people here too! A-and they were going to hurt Boo! l-like they h-hurt papa! A- a- and- and…

Phil gasped, unable to keep quiet any longer, making him cry harder. They were going to hear him again!! He was going to get Boo hurt!
A soft knock on the cabinet door had Phil paralysed, air refusing to enter his chest.

“Phil?” He heard Boo whisper through the door. “I-It’s me, Boo. Are you okay? Is- are you hurt?”

What? Boo was okay? Did Boo beat the scary person? He didn’t hear them fight. Did he scare them away? Boo was super big. Phil would be scared too if Boo was mean. Was everything really okay? Did he do well?

“Hey, Do you think you can open the door? Everythings okay. I promise.”

It was… okay. He was okay. Phil let out the breath he was holding, not bothering to silence his gasping anymore. Slowly he eased the cabinet door open, still scared the scary person would pop out, like how when he told Mama he was sure one would pop out of the closet at bedtime.

Crouched in front of the cabinet was Boo, with a gentle smile that allowed his feathers to relax. Boo looked happy and not at all like how mama or…
He shook his head. Boo was okay.
“Hey buddy.” Boo said.
Phil opened his mouth to say hi back when movement caught the corner off his eye. He followed it up to a haunting figure looming over Boo. His eyes slit, Feathers puffing, panic wringing out his tiny heart. Shrill chirps, screams and warnings flooded from his mouth as he desperately tried to push himself further into the cabinet. They were going to get Boo!!
Boo didn’t know they were still here!!!!
They were going to take Boo away! Then Phil! They were going to hurt his wings like Papa!! He didn’t want to have hurt wings!! He wanted to fly like mama!!! Please! He doesn’t wanna hurt!! He doesn’t like hurting!!
It was then he registered Techno crying. Phil sobbed harshly, his throat feeling raw already. Everyone was going to get hurt, and it was all his fault!
He hardly noticed as Boo wrapped his arms around him, unable to look away from them.
Then just like that the scary person left. It was confusing. They could have hurt him and Boo easily, so why did they leave? Phil gripped tightly to Boos shirt, not caring that his claws were poking through the fabric.
He didn’t understand. Everything was scary and weird and new and scary. He wanted mama. She would beat the bad guys. Then Papa would give him big warm hugs, making the scary go away.

Phil whimpered, burying his face in Boos chest. He missed his mama and papa. His heart hurt so much and he just wanted it to stop.
Clawed fingers ran through his hair, his breath coming in easier at the action. Mama would always scratch his head when he was sitting in her lap sleepily listening to one of Papas stories.
He whined at the memory, wishing it were real now.

“Shhh, it’s okay. You’re okay.”

Phil shook his head violently, gripping onto Boos shirt harder.
A grunt sounded above him. “Okay Okay- er, not okay, but alright! I understand.”
He snuggled into Boo further.
“You want to tell me what's wrong?”
Phil cried at that. How could Boo not know!? They were going to be hurt really badly and Boo didn’t know!
“O-Okay, I’m Sorry! It’s Ok-… umm.. Y-your safe. We're safe. I’ve got you.”
“No!” He sobbed, unable to keep panicked chirps from his voice.
“No?”
Phil nodded his head, throat too clogged with hurt to speak.
“No… we're not safe?”
Phil nodded again, angry it had taken Boo so long to realize.
“... Why aren’t we safe?”
Phil screamed, banging his fists on Boos' chest. He felt kinda bad for hitting him but he was so scared and angry! Why didn’t Boo get it?! Why was Boo being stupid!? They can’t be stupid right now!
Boo jumped when he hit him, making Phil cry more. He didn’t wanna hit Boo! He didn’t wanna be mean! And now he was being mean, just like the scary people! He hurt Boo!
“Oh, n-no, no, no, It’s alright. I promise we're safe. Nobody is going to hurt you. Uh.. d-deep breaths! Deep breaths.”
Boo started breathing slowly and loudly. Phil tried to take a deep breath (even though he didn’t want to), but the sad in his throat made it really hard.
“Good job. you’re doing really good. Can you take another deep breath with me?” Boo asked.
Phil nodded, swallowing some of the sad.

Boo had him take two more deep breaths , before talking again.
“Alright, can you tell me what's making you feel unsafe now?”

Phil held his breath to keep from crying or screaming again, his fists shaking from how hard he had them clenched.

“Deep breath. One more deep breath.”

Phil listened despite really wanting to keep holding his breath. A small sob interrupted his breath, but Boo didn’t seem to care.

“Try telling me again if you can.”

“I- thewe's a-” Phil gasped, the words hard to say around the sobs and chirps that kept making their way out. “Scawy- s-scawy-!” more sniffles and sobs continued to interrupt him.

“Scary?” Boo asks.

Phil nodded, rubbing harshly at his eyes.

“Did To- err, did my friend scare you? I promise it was an accident. He’s actually really nice.”

He shook his head, holding back another onslaught of cries.
“It- it's a Sc-scawy pew-pewson!”

Boo didn’t look like he understood, which made Phil frustrated and angry.
“Theiw- They huwt Pa-papa!”
Boos' expression did not change. Phil shook his arms in the air wildly, trying not to scream.
“They huwt! They huwt! T-They huwt Papa a-and Mama!” A sob, “N-now They- They h-huwt you!”
Still boo looked confused, and Phil was going to scream again, but was interrupted.

“Phil, are you scared cause, Tommys... human?”

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was taking everything in Ranboo not to curl up on the floor and give up right then and there. He had no idea what Phil was talking about. At first he thought Phil had been talking about Tommy, but Tommy wasn’t alive when Phil was this age, much less able to hurt his parents.
Maybe it was someone that looked like Tommy? Phil had been alive a long time, so it was more than possible.

That's when it clicked. Honestly he should’ve realized sooner. The hostility between hybrids and humans had been centuries old. Races having been wiped out from the brutality of humans. Nowadays things aren't nearly as awful. Hybrids were rising in population, almost reaching the same as humans. It wasn’t odd to see hybrids walking around the marketplace. It was honestly beginning to become more common to even see people of mixed backgrounds. Of course there were still those that held on to that time old hatred, but they were few and far between.

Yet Phil had lived a long time. Long enough to be the last of his kind as far as anyone knew. So to assume he had been hurt by humans, therefore afraid of them, wasn’t a stretch.
This was only confirmed by the fear filled nod Phil gave him.
Welp..
He had no idea how he was supposed to fix this one.

"I, I promise Tommy is different. He's very nice and-"

Phil shook his head with a wet "No! Liaw!"
Phil gasped. "They-they'we liaws! Th-they huwt you!"

Ranboo ran a comforting hand through his hair.
"It's okay. I know." he very much didn't. "But, uh..” He scrambled to find something to say. “You know how… Bears are really scary and mean?"
Phil gave him a weak nod, as he tried to breathe.
"But you like Steve right? Steve is nice."

Phil adamantly shook his head, one of his hands wandering over to the feathers on his back. Ranboo caught the action and swiftly redirected the hand back to its original spot.
It never happened often, but Phil would sometimes pluck at his feathers when he was having a particularly hard day. While it wouldn't affect him as far as flight, considering how messed up his wings were already, it was still harmful. He and Techno made sure to watch for it, since most of the time it was a subconscious motion on Phil's part.

"That's diffewent!" Phil yelled.

He resisted the urge to sigh. Not sure what else he was supposed to tell the kid. It wasn't like he could show Phil how nice Tommy was to people like them.
Just then an idea hit him and he quickly fumbled to pull out the locket that always hung around his neck.

"Would you believe me if I told you Tommy has a kid like you and me?"

Phil didn't seem to want to listen anymore and turned his head away from Ranboo with tears in his eyes. His heart clenched at the sight but forced himself past it.

"Can you at least look? I promise I'm telling the truth. Tommy doesn't care that you have wings. He would never hurt you, because that would be like if he hurt his own kid."

Phil whipped his head around an angry expression on his face, seemingly ready to yell at Ranboo when he spotted the photographs in the locket.

On one side was a picture of Tubbo standing in front of their house in Snowchester holding an excitable Micheal.
The other held a picture of Tommy in that ugly blue sweater Ranboo and Tubbo had tried to make him. It had been a gift they decided to make their friend. It wasn't for any particular reason, there was no birthday or holiday of some sort. They simply felt like he needed it and got to work.

Unfortunately, despite the two best efforts the sweater hadn't turned out well. While Tubbo was good at embroidery and Ranboo knew how to knit a scarf or two, it didn't exactly transfer well.
The sweater as a whole was too big, one of the sleeves was longer than the other, and the hem was longer in the back than the front. That mixed with the chaotic placement of bees and alliums Tubbo embroidered, and you had a disaster.

The picture was from a few weeks after they had given the sweater to Tommy. They had invited him and Shroud to have a little family picnic. To their shock Tommy had shown up wearing the thing, sure that he wouldn't actually use it with how ugly it was.

Touched, Ranboo snapped a photo of him while he was distracted braiding flowers into Shrouds hair.
In the photo Tommy wore a soft smile while Shroud sat in his lap mid giggle. It was a sweet and rare scene, one he would not have captured if Tommy noticed.

Afterwards he had happily placed it within his locket, an invisible weight finally lifting from his shoulders.

To Ranboo's relief Phil's expression softened into that of confusion. Seemingly unsure if he could believe what he was seeing.

"His name is Shroud. He's a little older than you." Ranboo carefully pointed to shrouds arms. "He's a spider hybrid, see? That's why he has extra arms. I think you'd like him. He's very nice."

Phill sniffled messily, wiping snot and tears from his face. He was very much still displeased, and a little confused, but he had at least calmed down.
"But," Phil scowled, "That doesn't make sense. He's supposed to be mean!" He pointed an accusatory finger at Tommy.

"I know, but Tommy's different, remember? Would you like to meet Shroud? Would that make you feel better?"
Ranboo immediately regretted the offer as soon as he made it. He wasn't sure if Tommy would be okay with little Phil meeting Shroud. While his relationship with Phil was certainly improved, he would even say good, but Ranboo felt there were still some things between them that needed to be hashed out.

Phil pouted, brows furrowing before nodding and thumping his head back against Ranboos chest.
He sighed, hating the position he had now placed himself in.
"Okay. I'll see what I can do."

Phil gripped him hard, eyes drooping; no doubt exhausted by his freak out and the late night.
He sat there for a minute running a soothing hand through the kids feathers. Ranboo wasn't sure how you took care of baby feathers like these, but it seemed to be helping Phil relax.
He was startled and briefly paused his motions when Phil mumbled something unintelligible to him.
"What was that?" He whispered, in case it had been sleep talk.
" 'on't leave me too."
Ranboos' breath stuttered in his chest at the heart broken tone in which Phil spoke. His guilt gnawed a hole in his chest.
"I-I won't. I promise." He stammered back.
Phil's body relaxed even further into him, finally falling asleep.
….
…
Shit.

Guess.... he better plan a playdate with Tommy, then he can get back to fixing this issue. Now that he thinks about it he should probably include Michael in on the play date. Though he'd have to ask Tubbo, especially considering he didn't like Phil or Techno much.
….
…
OH MY GODS TUBBO!!
He was dead! He was so dead! Oh, shit, he needs to call Tubbo!