Chapter Text
An itty putty pup chirped and squeaked, its chubby little arms sticking out and wiggling around until they met skin and scales. Then, with soft, squishy pads, clawless fingers squeezed the skin and red scales under their little hands. The mer in question lifted his face and drew closer, pressing his nose into the baby's soft skin.
The tiny pup let out a series of small chirps and squeaks of victory, seeing as he had succeeded in his quest. The little one was now squirming, its soft leg-like fin flapping, as he tried to hook its nonexistent claws into the much larger tail. Still too small to do any real damage.
Technoblade curled his tail tighter around the little one to keep them from rolling deeper into the water, a loud rumbling purr reverberating through his chest, trying to calm the energetic pup.
He winced as its tail bumped against his casted arm, the many stitches in his arm aggravated by the movement. He'd gotten a deep bite from a shark catching him in his blind spot. He was sure there was now a patch of missing scales on his left arm. He'd quickly overpowered the shark and swam to shore before the blood could really cloud the water, catching the attention of the humans nearby.
Hours later, he had woken up in a room of white with a pool just deep enough for him to move and nap semi-comfortably, and his arm wrapped tightly in the cast and bandages. Although the humans had been feeding him handsomely, even if they seemed frightened of his large size, he had been in the white room for a few weeks, and it had become boring.
Techno had been quite surprised when he was woken by a human waltzing into his white room without a worry. Techno watched from the deep water as the human gently placed a small lump of something covered with a wet towel before leaving the room. Then, assuming this was some early meal, Techno surfaced. The little towel on the ground was squirming, and Techno felt a little offended for a moment if the humans felt this was an adequate meal for a mer his size. It wasn't until the little thing managed to kick off the wet towel that shiny golden scales caught Techno's eye. He could practically feel his pupils dilate. As Techno began to make his way onto the land, the golden fish finally squirmed itself utterly free of the towel. A mop of golden curls matched well with the shiny tail.
If Techno's eyes widened, this wasn't a snack. The little pup had finally spotted him. Little fingers made grabby hands at the large man as the pup whined. Techno hesitated. Surely this guppy was not left all alone in Techno's territory, but even as he glanced around the room, there was no sign of any pod mates for the little one. His attention was returned to the issue before him when a louder whine caught his ears. The pup looked at him indigently, obviously not used to an adult not coming to his rescue when he called for them. A standoff began as Techno, and the guppy stared at each other.
Eventually, Techno was beaten when the little one's blue eyes filled with tears, and Techno rushed forward with his own clicks and whistles to comfort the little one. He was never good with crying puppies. It's a mystery to him why these humans thought he was the best candidate to care for it. Was there no one else more qualified?
The pup squirmed in his arms leading Techno to put them back down on the slick ground. But, once again, the guppy let out another angry whine slapping its little tail in defiance.
Techno rolled his eyes as he scooped it back up. It was just being needy and looking for his attention now. Curling his tail carefully, spines raised defensively. Techno created a protective barrier around them.
He had zero experience taking care of pups. That had always been Phil's job. The little one made a high chirping sound, clearly distressed about something. Techno turned his attention from his internal turmoil to the pup. Running a single finger through the golden locks to soothe it. The small thing's cries quieted, clearly content with the attention. He nuzzled against his soft cheek, huffing in amusement when babbling left the pup's mouth in response to the affections.
The pup's cheeks were still fat and soft to the touch from milk fat. It made its face look round and plump, perfect for squishing. Techno found quite a lot of amusement with it; the pup would make grumpy sounds as he squished their face between his fingers. However, he smiled when the little one reached up and grabbed at his face with soft, chubby hands, trying to squeeze his face back.
When he had finally settled down, Techno took that time to curl his tail tighter around them to get settled in for a nap. Purposely ignoring the muffled voices outside the room so as not to stir the pup awake again.
Bright blue eyes opened after a nice nap, trying to view everything at once in wonder, curious babbles leaving their tiny mouth. Until a face entered its line of sight, now looking curiously at the face just above them. They squirmed and splashed in the small pool of water they were lying in, surrounded by their protector's tail.
Red eyes came into view, contrasting against light skin. That made the color pop out even more and held the pup's attention for some time, their splashing ceasing at the sight of such a bright color.
Techno moved his face closer to the small pup, huffing as he nosed along their cheek, and a thumb began cleaning away any dirt or grime from his neck and gills.
The pup within the small "nest" of his tail squirmed and chirped, not enjoying the little bath it was being subjected to. Then, looking curiously around, he turned and rolled, eager to see everything at once. Yet still physically incapable of doing so as fast as he wanted, making Techno huff in amusement as he chirped and garbled in frustrated guppy babble.
Techno placed down the pup and scooted away, hoping to give the little one some space to explore. High-pitched chirps that ended in joyful squeaks echoed through the small room. And soon enough, Techno found the tiny pup wiggling over to him, little flipper-like fins against the stone floor to reach him as fast as he possibly could. Techno watched him with amusement in his eyes, a low rumble rolling through his chest as he watched him make their way over to him.
Once the pup reached him, tiny but sharp claws dug into his scales so he could get a good grip. He ignored the sharp pin pricks of pain to reward him for his efforts with sweet nuzzles against his cheek and an encouraging rumble.
Now, little Theseus just wiggled and rolled, trying to either bury himself in the crook of Techno's arm or get past him just to crawl on his back. Techno's spines lift to keep the small pup at bay. Which didn't do much since Theseus only made loud squealing sounds when Techno laid his spines down on top of the curious pup, who only tried to beat its tail against him to free itself.
He lifted the spines again, a huff of amusement leaving him when he saw the small pup roll over in surprise. His small mouth opened with surprise when he fell headfirst into the shallow pool of water.
After a long while, Techno finally got the pup sleeping soundly, unbothered by the filter's noises in the background. Little Theseus was curled up with his fins tucked in. He seemed at peace, eyes closed and tiny claws flexing against the cast-covered arm, chubby cheek mashed against Techno's arm, causing his mouth to pucker like it was being squished between gentle hands.
Techno stood vigilant over them, fins twitching at any sounds outside the room, eyes focused on the door, fully prepared to defend his pup if necessary.