Chapter Text
Tommy hates that he’s actually starting to like being around Technoblade. It’s a horrible feeling to have, considering the bulky mer kidnapped him, but the boy can’t help it. For being a terrible wrong’un, Techno is nice.
He keeps Tommy warm, feeds him whenever he asks, and will even play stupid games that don’t involve the pup getting hunted down like prey and given some kind of treat after. It’s a lot better than struggling to survive in his reef, and it’s annoying that he doesn’t have an argument against it.
The golden mer huffs, sinking into the soft, warm sand under his tail as his fins twitch in agitation.
He could try to escape again, Techno was out hunting and Tommy had been stashed in a small crevice in a new reef. They were only one day away from entering the pink mer’s territory and the pup wouldn’t be able to even try once that happened.
But… he had tried before. He had tried so many times, and none of them worked.
How would he even get home? They were so far away from his reef, he’d never make it back on his own.
Tommy dug himself a little further into the sand, letting the warm grains filter over his back, keeping out some of the chill in the water. It was much colder here than it was a few days ago, the golden mer could see the occasional caps of ice floating on above them, and while he wasn’t a particular fan, it was startlingly easy to get used to. The nights were worse, but he would be lying if he said curling close in Technoblade’s arms didn’t keep the chill away.
The pup grumbles again, pouting at the way his stomach churns hungrily.
He rests his chin in the sand, snorting away some of the fine grain that gets a bit too close to his nose, ear-fins flicking in irritation.
Techno would be back soon, his hunts never took long, but Tommy was hungry now and he was terribly bored without the dumb, bulky mer around. It was stupid that he relied on the pinkette so much, from food to amusement, but he wasn’t allowed to wander off or Technoblade would definitely be dumb and clingy and give him a stupid scolding. So being bored was better than being in trouble.
Still, the golden mer couldn’t help but inch forward along the sand, wiggling up to the lip of the little cave and poking his head out curiously. His sail flicked up and down, matching his inquisitive mood.
Unlike before, Tommy was not stashed away in a crevice at the edge of the reefs. No, this time he was in the heart of it all, able to watch the colorful fish swim by and the sway of anemone in the slow current. He wanted to go out and chase some of the small schools around, maybe poke at some of the anemone that would no doubt sting him, but the pup remanded himself that he can’t. Aside from the fact that he’d get scolded, he also knew nothing about this reef or if any other mer would come by. His reef was very small and much more hidden than this one, so almost no one came by. This reef was huge! And surely someone else would hang around occasionally.
The pup flicked his tail impatiently, sending sand clouding into the water behind him.
This was dumb. Why did Techno have to hunt so far away? Wouldn’t it have been easier to snag something from the reef?
At the very least, the warm sand was making him sleepy. A short nap to pass the time wasn’t a terrible idea and when he woke up, Technoblade would already be back with his food.
Tommy flicked his tail again before shimmying it back into the sand, humming softly as he folded his arms in front of him on the lip of the cave and rested his chin on them. His eyes already felt heavy and tired, lowing with each blink until eventually they didn’t open again.
It wasn’t a true sleep that pulled him down, but more of a light doze. He could still hear the fish swimming by and the current hitting the color. It was nice. It reminded him of his old reef.
Until he heard something new echo throughout the waters.
It was a croon, slow and melodic and nothing like Techno’s. Tommy couldn’t stop the scared chip that slipped out between his lips, darting further into the crevice when he heard the new mer go quiet.
The stranger crooned again, this one more searching, and Tommy clamped his hands over his mouth. Smothering any unwanted attempt at responding.
Where was Techno?
He should’ve been back by now!
Another croon rang out, this one sounding so much closer, and the pup stuttered a chirp into the palm of his hand. He didn’t want the new mer to find him, didn’t want to smell another blood bath and murky red clouding the water. Even if they did help him, there was no way they’d out swim Technoblade.
The calls and coos were getting closer and closer, the golden mer kicking up sand as he tried to press himself impossibly closer to the back of the tiny cave, the sharp rocks digging into his back and poking through soft scales.
“Hello?” The mer trills, his voice still that pretty melodic tone and so much closer than he should be. “I know you’re there, won’t you come out and say hi?”
Tommy shivered, smothering another distressed chirp into his hands. He certainly did not want to go out there, especially not with that creepy bastard. This felt far too close to when Techno had caught him. What if he was waiting for him to peek out and ambush him from above like the pink mer did? That was horrible, he didn’t want to go through that again.
A dark shadow passed overhead, a flash of blue fins gliding past the crevice entrance.
The pup gasps too loud, far too loud, and the water goes quiet. The stranger glides away, but Tommy watches in horror as he circles around, dipping down into the deeper water before rising back up. Face hovering just in front of the little crevice as fingers hook around the lip of it.
He had bright golden eyes and deep blue scales scattered around the sides of his cheekbones, ear-fins flared in surprise as his curly brown hair waved in the soft current.
“Oh.” The mer whispers in awe. “Hello there.”
This time, Tommy doesn’t smother the terrified chirps the drip from his mouth, curling his tail close to his chest and pressing his fins tightly against his body.
The last time he tried to scare a bigger mer off, Techno took him, and he doesn’t want to know what this mer would do if he did the same thing. He looked thinner than Technoblade, less bulky and huge, but he was barely smaller than the pink mer at all. Tommy was still tiny compared to him.
“Oh, it’s okay, it’s okay,” The stranger purrs, the noise making the pup’s chest feel just as weird as when Techno does it. There’s an urge to respond, but Tommy shoves it down viciously. “I’m not going to hurt you, why don’t you come here, little one?”
The golden mer shakes his head vigorously, desperately trying to make himself as small as possible, worming his tail into the sand so he could sink lower.
The blue mer hums, a tiny frown on his face. “Are you lost? There are no pods with pups up here, where is your caretaker?”
Tommy blinked, confusion clearly showing on his face.
Caretaker? What the hell was a caretaker?
Before the stranger can open his mouth again, a new, deeper and familiar croon echoes throughout the water. The blue mer looks surprised for a moment, recognition flashing in his golden eyes, but Tommy lets out a distressed chirp as soon as Techno makes his presence known.
There’s a familiar, terrifying warning trill that seems to freeze everything in the water. Fish scattering from what Tommy can see behind the blue mer, and the stranger himself has his fins and sail flared, almost like he were going to let out a challenging call in return.
Except, the trill he lets out isn’t a challenge at all.
It sounds more like a greeting. A rather annoyed greeting, but one that Techno responds to.
Though the pink mer also didn’t sound happy either, he sounded annoyed too, and Tommy couldn’t help but worry about what that meant. The stranger was supposed to go away when Technoblade returned. Not stay.
“I cannot believe him.” The stranger scowls, his sail rattling and only calming when the pup lets out a small, frightened whimper. The blue mer turns back to him with a soft warble. “Oh sh, sh, it’s alright. I’m not upset with you, you’re okay.”
“Wilbur.” Techno rumbles as soon as he’s close enough. Tommy can’t see him from behind the other mer—Wilbur, but he can smell the small tinge of blood that was no doubt from whatever prey the bulky mer had brought back.
“I was wondering why you were taking so long to come home.” The blue mer—Techno’s podmate?—says almost flippantly, not moving from his spot in front of the crevice, fingers still hooked around the lip of the little cave. “And you said I had Phil’s tendencies of picking up stray pups.”
“Shut up,” The pink mer grumbled, unceremoniously shoving Wilbur, who was definitely his podmate, to the side.
The lanky mer hissed out a grumbling squawk, but didn’t do anything up hover a tail length away, out of Tommy’s limited vision as Techno took up the space with ease. A fond, but exasperated, look on his face.
“Come here, Theseus.” The pink mer croons, reaching a hand forward into the cave as Tommy hesitantly wraps his hand around a few of Techno’s fingers, flicking his tail to wash away the sand clinging to his scales.
He’s carefully pulled out, guided to hide in the crook of the bulky mer’s neck, flicking his gaze away from the almost adoring look Wilbur has on his face. It was creepy and scary, and Tommy didn’t like it at all. He’d only been with this mer for a few minutes at most, him having that kind of look after a short amount of time wasn’t normal at all. No wonder he was Technoblade’s podmate, the bulky mer was just as bad.
“Can I—?” Wilbur started, but was quickly cut off with a growl.
“No,” Techno rumbled, the sound startling Tommy into curling tighter and pressing his face into the pink mer’s neck, the sail along his back twitching.
He can’t see the expression on the blue mer’s face, but he can hear the annoyed scoff he lets out.
“That’s not fair!” Wilbur protests, he sounds like he’s pouting. “You’re bringing him home, aren’t you? You can’t just not share! He’s going to be part of the pod now! You don’t hoard family!”
Tommy’s lips twisted at that, ear-fins pinning at the reminder. He already knew Techno was going to add him to his pod, there’d be no other reason to drag him halfway across the ocean, but he still didn’t like it. Pods were dumb, patriarchs were dumb, and families were dumb too, even if Technoblade wasn’t the absolute worst.
“I’m not. He just isn’t used to you yet, hold off until we get home.” The bulky mer grunts, running a big hand down the pup’s spine. “You can wait until then.”
“What?!” The blue mer trills sharply, fins rattling in a way that has Tommy flinching with a whine. It goes quiet soon after, with an apologetic warble. “Can’t I at least hold him? How are we supposed to bond if you just hog him?”
“You can,” Techno shrugs and a jolt of fear goes through the golden mer’s heart. “When we get back to the reef.”
Tommy lets out an inaudible sigh of relief, but doesn’t relax.
“But that’s a whole day away while carrying the pup!”
“It is,” The bulky mer nods. “So, why are you so far away from the reef?”
Wilbur sputters, fins twitching as his face flushes indignantly. He opens his mouth to say something, sharp teeth flashing, but Techno cuts him off.
“Does Phil even know you’re out here?”
“What?!” The blue mer hisses, sail rattling in irritation. “I am not a pup! I can go where I damn well please!”
If Techno wasn’t busy running his hand down Tommy’s back and holding a small tuna fish, something he just now noticed, the pup was sure the pink mer would be crossing his arms over his chest right now. And even if he can’t see it, Tommy was sure he had that stupid, raised brow look on his face too.
“So he doesn’t know you’re out here.” Techno drawls, beating his tail once, so he was smoothly gliding through the water. Carrying Tommy up towards a wide, flat section of the reef, where a circular sand dune sat calmly in the center of rocks and coral.
The pup glanced behind the bulky mer’s shoulder, shrinking down as Wilbur was quick to follow. He was far too close.
“Of course he knows I’m out here,” The blue mer lets out a resigned sigh, drifting around the pair as Techno settles into the sand, the tuna left carefully on the dune floor as Wilbur eventually lowers himself into the sand as well. Not even a tailfin's length away.
Tommy grimaces, desperately trying to pull himself over Technoblade’s shoulder and away from the fucking creepy bastard who leans forward in delight.
However, the pink mer doesn’t let him. His grip became firm, though not sore, and he refused to let the pup pull away. Instead, he forces Tommy away from the crook of his neck, easily keeping the golden mer in his lap, a warning rumble leaving his throat to keep the pup still while he moves his hand away to rip open the stupid tuna.
Tommy curls in on himself, glaring at the dumb blue bastard, who only grins in response.
Wilbur tries to lean in closer, ear-fins flaring curiously, but a sharp trill from Techno has the lanky mer moving back with an annoyed huff.
“Oh, come on, can I not do anything with him?” He grumbles. “At least let me rip off some pieces of the fish for him! This is so not fair.”
“If all you’re going to do is complain, then you can go home.”
The blue mer huffs again, scowling as he hunches his shoulders. Tommy turns away once Wilbur’s golden eyes meet his own bright blue, instead focusing on Techno’s long claws tearing thin ribbons of meat from the fish.
It smells good, really good, and the pup can’t help but creep a bit closer, careful to stay on the larger mer’s lap.
He’s hungry.
Technoblade purrs, stabbing a slice of red meat on his claw and using his free hand to scoop Tommy up from around his back, lifting the pup close to his chest. The golden mer could feel the vibrations of the other’s chest and he lets out a tiny chirp in response before snagging the morsel of food off of Techno’s claw and chews it gleefully.
“Where did you even find him?” Wilbur speaks up, but Tommy is too focused on his food to care.
“A small reef down south,” The pink mer hums, the purr in his chest not lifting up as he speaks. He stabs another cut of fish with his claw, holding it out for the pup to take.
“And his pod?”
From the corner of his eye, Tommy can see the lanky mer lean forward again. The pup shies closer to Techno’s chest, sending a weary glance towards Wilbur, but returns to focusing on his food once he sees that the blue mer doesn’t edge too close.
“He didn’t have any,” Technoblade shrugs. “Didn’t even have a name before I gave him one.”
Tommy growls behind his meal at that. The dumb, bulky bastard gave him a stupid name, too. The pink mer only snorts in response while Wilbur quietly ‘aw’s in the background. The pup grumbles again, biting off another piece of fish that Techno gives him.
“What name did you give him?” Wilbur asks curiously, fins twitching idly as he moves down to lie on his stomach, palm propping up his chin while his elbow pressed into the sand. His tail swished back and forth slowly, occasionally kicking up small clouds of sand as he watches Tommy chew his food. It’s really creepy.
The blue mer rips his own chunk of meat out of the tuna, merely rolling his eyes when Techno responds with an annoyed rumble.
“If he’s still hungry I’ll get more,” He snorts. “I doubt a pup his age could eat the whole thing. Chill out, Tech. Just tell me his name already.”
The bulky mer sighs. “His name is Theseus.”
Tommy scrunched his nose, but didn’t comment. Techno already knew what the pup thought of the name, it was stupid, of course, however he knew that the bastard would never change it.
“Oh, of course you’d name him something fancy like that.” Wilbur shook his head in amusement, gaze meeting Tommy’s once again and the golden mer bit down a quiet chirp and quickly turned away. His face heats at the quiet coo the other lets out.
“So,” Wilbur starts again, plopping another cut of flesh in his mouth. “You found some random pup, why’d you take him in? I know you wouldn’t feel that bad just leaving him there. Tell me all the details.”
Tommy’s ear-fins perked up, the pup glancing at Techno from the corner of his eye curiously. He also wanted to know why the pink mer kidnapped him, something other than just ‘helping him’ when the boy very much did not need help and if anyone ever said so, they were a liar.
“I liked him,” He shrugs, completely unbothered. “He’s a spitfire. It’s endearing.”
The golden mer furrows his little brows, an ear-fin flicking casually. He didn’t think ‘liking’ someone or finding them endearing was a good enough reason to kidnap them, but Techno had murdered three mer without issue and… well, he probably shouldn’t put the big bastard on a regular scale of what was ‘normal’.
Wilbur pouts, however, fins drooping almost dramatically.
“He wasn’t a spitfire to me.” The blue mer warbles sorrowfully, removing his palm out from under his chin so his jaw almost touches the sand. Low to the fine grains as he inched forward just a little. “He won’t even talk to me.”
“There was an incident some time back with a small pod of mer,” Techno hums, pulling his claw away when Tommy refuses to take another bite of meat off the sharp nail. He flicks the little morsel away, ignoring the other fish that dive for it. “He’s still a bit weary because of it. You’ll see what I mean once he warms up to you.”
The pup scowls but doesn’t say anything about it. No way was he going to warm up to some creepy weirdo.
“An incident?” Wilbur says slowly, pulling Tommy away from his thoughts at the blankness in the lanky mer’s tone. Something dangerous just edging in.
“I took care of it.” The pink mer snorts. “It’s my job, they won’t be a problem anymore.”
Tommy feels a bit sick just thinking about how Technoblade ‘took care of it’, remembering the thick, choking cloud of blood and the taste of metal on his tongue. He remembers the colorful scales under the pink mer’s claws, the wild look in his eyes.
It still makes him shiver, and he ignores the low croon and soft squeeze said mer gives him in response.
“Is that where you got the—?”
Wilbur taps the bridge of his own nose, obviously mimicking where Techno had gotten the wound across his face from the fight. It was healed now, much more faded and less jagged around the edges. Honestly, it just made the mer look even more intimidating.
Technoblade snorts at that.
“Yeah, one of them got a lucky shot in while I was dealing with his friend.”
The blue mer snarls lowly, something furious as the sail along his spine raises threateningly. Rattle so loud it sends the fish around them scattering.
Tommy chirps in fright, instincts blaring at him to not be in the view of that, and he swiftly hides his face in Techno’s chest. The pup wiggled so he could push himself up, close to the older mer’s collarbone and under his chin for protection as his instincts trembled in fear.
He hasn’t… Tommy hasn’t heard a snarl like that in a while.
Not even Techno sounded so mad when he tried to ward off that small pod of mer and he wasn’t close enough to hear the worst of the sharp shrieks and hisses. Especially not when he had his hands over his ear-fins at the time.
The growl quickly cuts off not even a second later, an apologetic warble echoing behind him. He can hear the shifting of sand and another low croon, this one coming from Techno, as the bulky mer begins to gently pet down his back and sail again. The soothing motion warmed his back, and he felt himself relax just a little. Instincts clinging for the comfort from someone familiar.
“Sorry- I’m sorry, little one. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Wilbur warbles again, quieter this time. “I’m not going to hurt you, I promise.”
Tommy hisses quietly, barely flashing a glare over his shoulder.
He was not scared.
“Alright, alright.” Technoblade cut in before the blue mer could open his mouth, easily waving away the positively delighted look on the other’s face. “Stop trying to mess with him, Wil. You’re only making this difficult.”
Wilbur rolled his eyes, but was still sprawled lazily over the sand, the other having inched far closer than he was earlier. So close he could almost lay his head on the pink mer’s tail.
“When are we leaving? I wanna hold the pup already.” Wilbur pouts and Tommy can’t help but rattle his sail at that. He does not want some creep like that holding him.
“Stop it.” The bulky mer scolds quietly, and the pup huffed, but did as told. Hiding his face against the crook of Techno’s neck.
Wilbur purrs from behind him, crooning an eager, needy tone, but he’s quickly quieted by a deep rumble. Still, the lanky mer huffs in annoyance, but thankfully backs off again, sand shifting as he leans away.
He was like a fucking shark, constantly poking and prodding any moment a weak point presented itself. Slinking away when he was warded off, only to come back again later and repeating the process. Tommy couldn’t help but wonder how much longer he had until Techno just handed him over. The mer had given the pup whatever he wanted, within reason, if he asked enough times. And this was his podmate, no doubt he’d do the same for Wilbur.
“We’ll leave in the morning and make it to the nest later in the night.” Technoblade says as he pushes up off the sandy dune, Wilbur following soon after.
Tommy makes sure to glare at him from over Techno’s shoulder, pressing his nose against the bulky mer’s neck with flattened fins.
Wilbur warbles softly, looking far too tempted to reach out and grab him. Thankfully, the blue mer doesn’t do so, but Tommy still flashes a bit of teeth as a warning. He’ll bite the fucker if he tries. He will. And Techno won’t even be mad at him!
… Still, it’s a bit hard to keep up his glare while the bulky mer carries him through the ocean. He’s full and tired from having to be around the lanky bastard, slow blinks getting slower and slower each time he lifts his eyelids.
Tommy can’t quite stop himself from dozing off.
Techno holds Theseus close, cradling the pup gently as he glides through the water towards a small cave he’d scouted out earlier in the day.
They wouldn’t be sleeping there tonight, not with Wilbur having suddenly showed up, but the pink mer knew there were more possible temporary dens to rest in. Ones big enough so his podmate could join for the night.
“Are you really not going to let me hold him?” The blue mer complains, pulling up right at Techno’s side now that his boy was asleep. Wilbur leans in close, curious but careful not to touch, keeping his hands hooked around the bigger mer’s arm. It’s far too similar to what his podmate had done when he was younger.
Techno purrs, pleased even as he ignores the lanky mer’s huff.
Wilbur still holds on anyway, letting himself drift while the pink mer carries both of them towards a suitable-looking cave.
“I’ll let you hold him in a minute.” He says, flicking a glance down towards his podmate. Wilbur’s face lights up in eager delight, fins flaring greedily as a croon echoes softly from his tongue before it swiftly lowers into a low, constant purr.
Techno nudges Wilbur forward, tail flicking to guide the blue mer into the cave first.
“Here,” He says once Wilbur is situated in the back of the cave, the lanky mer having to curl in on himself so he wouldn’t hit his head on the roof. Still, he leans in eagerly, slowly lifting his arms as Techno lowers Theseus from where the pup clung to his neck.
The little mer grumbles, tiny brows scrunched unhappily, but quickly relaxes once Wilbur covets him into his arms with a soft coo.
“He’s so small.” The blue mer whispers, head tilting down close, as though he were trying to make out every little detail of Techno’s boy. Absolute awe shines in his eyes, the purr in his chest picking up, only growing louder when Theseus responds with a small chirp. “Oh.” His voice stutters. “Oh, Phil is going to love you.”
Techno snorts, slinking into the cave silently, curling around his podmate and allowing Wilbur to slither over his back. Resting comfortably over the bulky mer’s shoulder.
“You know he’s going to be insufferable, Tech.” The blue mer whispers, voice thick with amusement. “He’s been absolutely bemoaning about not being able to baby me anymore.”
The pink mer’s lip curls, just a touch too sharp, but Wilbur is too focused on Theseus to notice.
He did know that Phil was upset over Wilbur growing up too quickly, Theseus was supposed to be a gift for the older mer after all. But they didn’t need to know that, the pup was Techno’s son now; he wasn’t going to give him up. However, he wasn’t above sharing, they’re family after all, they all belong to each other, and it’d be much easier to take care of the little menace with Philza’s expertise.
Besides, if Phil gets a son, so does he.
“He’ll be lucky if he even gets to hold him when we return home.” Techno teased, his grin turning horribly sadistic when Wilbur throws him an amused look. Both knowing full well the pink mer was merely joking.
“Don’t rile him up too much, Tech.” The blue mer continues anyway, a dark smirk pulling his lips. “You know it’ll only make him more clingy. I doubt your little pup would be able to handle that.”
Techno snorts, rolling his eyes as he turns onto his back, Wilbur lifting up just enough for him to move. The lanky mer huffs, but shifts to rest more comfortably on the pink mer’s stomach. He can feel his podmate’s heartbeat against his skin, the barest press of Theseus’s limp tail resting at the base of his ribs.
His pup is still asleep, snoozing softly, with his face pressed up against Wilbur’s collarbone. Little arms tucked close to his chest as he skins into the warmth of the lanky mer’s skin.
Wilbur croons adoringly at the little shuffle, ear-fins flexing when Theseus’s nose twitches.
“Don’t wake him.” Techno warns, curling up just enough to cup the back of his podmate’s neck and pull him close. The blue mer goes a bit limp, folding into the bulky mer’s touch without a fight. Techno purrs in response, the sound slightly louder than Wilbur’s own. “He’ll definitely try to claw your eyes out if he realizes you’re holding him.”
Wilbur snorts quietly.
“Didn’t I try to do that to you?” He says, head tilting to the side like a curious seagull.
“Yeah,” Techno rolls his eyes, raising a hand to gently scratch behind one of Theseus’ ear-fins. “And Phil blamed me for it.”
Wilbur chuckles quietly, cooing when Tommy stirs for a minute before falling back asleep. It’s an endearing sight, the two youngest podmates huddled together in Techno’s arms. His son and… pseudo nephew, he supposes, is a decent title for it.
Though, there never really is a good word for it. They’re pod, Wilbur might be Philza’s son and Theseus is his, but they’re all family in the end. They’re all his, just like he’s all theirs.
“Alright, alright,” Techno hums quietly, keeping up his purr. “Go to sleep already, I don’t want to drag you along all day tomorrow because you’re not well rested.”
“Geez,” Wilbur grumbles. “I should’ve known you’d be the one to adopt a pup, you were always a worrywart.”
The pink mer snorts in amusement, resting his chin on the lanky mer’s hair.
“Just go to sleep, Wilbur.”
“Alright, alright.”
Tommy is exhausted when Techno wakes him up, his limbs feel like jellyfish tentacles and the mere idea of talking to that creep has him hiding his face in the crook of the bulky mer’s neck.
He isn’t sure why he’s so tired, though. Maybe just looking at Wilbur was enough to make him sleepy. The fucker was hovering right above him when Tommy woke up.
The pup did try to claw him in the face, though. He didn’t make it, Wilbur dodged and the weirdo just laughed and Techno had said something about a ‘full circle’ before they left the cave.
Tommy didn’t even remember being taken to a cave.
Still, that wasn’t the point! He felt like a limp jellyfish and it was annoying. He wanted to go back to sleep, but stupid Technoblade and weird Wilbur were swimming too fast for him to get comfortable in the bulky mer’s arms.
Tommy grumbles, digging his talons into the scales of Techno’s shoulders as he glares out into the open waters.
They’ve been swimming for a while now too, barely stopping at all! It was midday already, and he was hungry, he didn’t want to have to keep feeling the current flow tightly against his sail.
“We’re almost there, basslet.” Techno rumbles a comforting note, and Tommy relaxes into his side just a tiny bit.
That is until he registered what the pink mer had said.
Almost there? Wasn’t it supposed to take all day? How could they almost be there already? Tommy certainly wasn’t ready to be there! He was supposed to have more time!
“Wait- wait!” Tommy hissed, fins flaring and tail beating against Techno’s chest. “I thought- I thought you said it would take a whole day!”
Technoblade doesn’t slow down, rather, from behind him, Wilbur speeds up, looming just above Tommy and blocking out portions of the sun. The weirdo smiles, teeth sharp and ear-fins flared eagerly, even while he swims effortlessly fast.
“We were a bit closer than we thought,” The blue mer coos, “So you can have your lunch at the nest! Your first meal with the whole pod, it’ll be great!”
Tommy can’t help but gape in horror, trying to find something to say so they would slow down but—
It was already too late.
A new, mid-toned croon echoed throughout the waters. Something greeting and eager, and Tommy couldn’t help but whip his head over his shoulder, squinting his eyes against the fast current to catch sight of the stranger.
Almost immediately Techno and Wilbur croon back, though the blue mer’s call sounded more like an excited trill as he raced ahead, swimming through the water so fast he was almost a blur.
Tommy warbled in horror, heart climbing up his throat at the sight of a massive reef. Easily the biggest one the pup has ever seen, and Wilbur blends into all the colors far too quickly. He looks small compared to it.
And gods. He didn’t know the fucking creep was that fast.
Still, that wasn’t Tommy’s biggest worry, especially not when Technoblade fucking speeds up. The pup has no choice but to hide his face and cling to the bigger mer’s neck like a lifeline. Even if he was anything but!
There’s another croon from the new mer, something more excited and chirper than it was before. That blue fucking weird definitely told them Tommy was here. The dumb jerk!
Tommy doesn’t dare look up once Techno begins to slow down, not wanting to instantly come face to face with another weirdo.
“Huh, Wilbur wasn’t lying. You actually brought home a pup,” The new voice, no doubt Phil, coos in awe. “He’s such a little thing. Wilbur said his name is Theseus?”
Tommy can’t help but curl closer to the side of Techno’s throat, fins pinned tensely as he peeks past the pink mer’s neck. It’s a bit hard to see, but the pup can just make out white scales and blonde hair, eyes so bright blue that they practically blended with the water.
They were like chips of ice that had Tommy flinching with a gasp, trying to claw himself over Techno’s shoulder with a frightened chirp. Except the dumb pink prick’s grip is as unyielding as usual, and the pup can barely even wiggle as the new mer floats closer.
The large hand gently running down his sail was not as comforting as Technoblade probably thinks it is.
“Oh sh, sh,” The white mer croons, reaching forward even as Tommy jolts with a terrified chirrup.
“You’re scaring him Phil.” Techno huffs, though he sounds more fondly exasperated than anything else and the golden mer digs his claws deeper into the fuckers back, even if it doesn’t hurt him, it would get his point across.
“Oh, shut it. Give him to me so I can properly accept him into my pod.” The white mer—Phil, scolds lightheartedly and Tommy can feel the heat from his hands as he edges closer.
His pod? What the fuck?! Tommy thought Technoblade was the pod patriarch!
“Alright, alright, don’t get your tail in the twist.” The pink mer grumbles, moving his hand away from Tommy’s back and just when the pup tried to use the moment to swim away, new hands grabbed him instead.
Tommy almost shrieks in terror, a hiccuping gasp wheezing out of his chest as he’s cradled but against Phil’s chest like a fucking baby. Taloned fingers running through his hair while a deep purr builds up under the collarbone Tommy’s head rests on.
It’s terrifying, the pup’s breath hitching as a thumb gently runs over one of his brows. A sharp talon so so close to his eye. He stiffens, choking on a frightened chirp, fins trembling as his face is gently turned to hide against Phil’s throat.
“Sh, it’s alright.” The white mer whispers softly, tone edged with a rumbling croon. Comforting, like Techno’s usually are. If it weren’t coming from a fucking monster. “I know, I know, I’m so scary, huh?”
Phil jokes, and Tommy has to swallow the lump in his throat that threatened to choke him.
Oh gods, he can’t even fucking move. Everything in him whispers and hisses to stay still, that Phil is so much more dangerous than Technoblade ever could be. His limbs are locked in place, refusing to listen to him, and all he can do is tremble and listen.
Tommy keeps his hands cradled close to his chest, not even tempted to sink his tiny talons into this mer’s scales, the mere thought just has his panic rising even with the continuous purr around him, drowning everything else out.
Tommy tries to look back at Techno, for help, maybe, but he’s too busy conversing with Wilbur, not the least bit bothered over the fact that some other mer is just holding him, even though he killed three others for just the mere thought of them taking Tommy away.
Is this some sort of horrifying pod bullshit? He feels like his heart is about to fucking explode.
Phil croons louder, a noise that lights up something in the back of Tommy’s mind the more he hears it. It’s never unpleasant, just the opposite in fact, but he’s too scared to hear the comfort. It’s more than enough to make him jolt with a gasp when the hand gently holding down his head slowly moves down to the back of his neck instead. Tommy’s heart leaps into his throat as he unwillingly lets out a terrified warble.
Phil only responds with another croon, something softer this time, as he rests his chin on the pup’s head, and Tommy feels something in his chest begin to unwind.
The white mer hums a soft tune amidst the rumbling purr, keeping Tommy’s attention solely focused on him as exhaustion slowly starts to seep into his limbs in place of the fear.
He can feel the stiffness of his limbs start to relax, an incoherent warble slipping from his lips. His eyes close, but he doesn’t have the energy to open them again.
Phil croons again and Tommy’s mind latches onto it, something in his brain locking into place right before he goes completely limp with a confused wheeze. The feeling was entirely new and foreign to him, like he’d just gained three extra fins, but couldn’t really feel them or move them. They were just there.
It was weird, like they moved on their own but were still a part of him. He couldn’t describe it, couldn’t properly think out what he was feeling or what they were feeling.
“There you go,” Phil whispers in delight, pressing a kiss to Tommy’s brow and the pup is too confused and tired to make a complaint about it. “There’s my new little grandson.”
Tommy’s face pinches in confusion, a chirr echoing from his throat, but Phil only shushes him softly.
“There, he’s part of the pod.” Techno suddenly cuts in, but his voice is quiet, as though he’s careful not to be too loud. “Can you hand him back to me now?”
“Hmm,” Phil hums, and Tommy can feel the vibrations of it against his face.
“No.” The white mer suddenly says, sounding far too cheerful, but Tommy doesn’t feel concerned at all.
“Wha—heh?!” Technoblade sputters, for once sounding at a loss for words. Tommy hasn’t ever heard them sound like that before, it makes him huff quietly in amusement. A feeling that is… echoed? By two of the three other fins.
Weird. He didn’t know fins could do that.
“He’s my kid, what the hell Phil?!”
“And he’s my grandson,” Phil says, his tone content, but clearly unwilling to yield. “I get to spend some time with my newest family member. Why don’t you go get him something special to eat? I’m sure he’d like to try seal, that’d be a good pod welcoming meal, wouldn’t it?”
“You did say once we got back to the reef, Tech. You can’t hoard family.” Wilbur reminds him with a chirp of amusement, the water slightly disbursed as he swims close. Just in time to follow at Phil’s side while he begins to swim too, with Tommy still in his arms.
At least it’s a nice swim.
“Wha—? First off, Phil, I am not your son and he isn’t your grandson, he’s more like- your nephew or something!” Techno says, sounding thoroughly thrown off.
“I raised you since you were a teenager, just because you don’t call me dad doesn’t mean you’re not my son.” Phil practically sings, thoroughly unbothered. “You’re all my family and my pod, and I’m the patriarch, so I get to stay with Theseus for bit.”
Tommy can practically hear the smug smile in his voice.
“Now go get the seal, mate.”
“Phil!”