Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When Tommy woke up the first thing he noticed was that he was in the remains of his family’s destroyed nest. The second being the uncomfortable hunger building in his stomach. And finally the third was how the warmth was fading from his body and the broken nest around him.

He was confused. Where were his parents? More importantly, where was his pod?

He hesitantly looked around where his pod had been the night before and saw no one. Not a single scale was left behind. Nothing that told him if his pod was nearby. A sinking feeling settled in his gut. Did they get attacked? Were they dead? Tommy chitters nervously, calling for his parents, his pod, someone, anyone, to answer him and help him. He called a few more times before finally someone answered. But instead of the comforting clicks and whistles of his pod call, a hunting call sounded back towards him. One that said that they were close to catching what they were hunting. He darted back to his cave and settled back down in the alcove in the wall where the remains of his nest were.

Tommy let out a soft little trill, calling for his family and pod. Hoping with everything he had that the hunter would leave him alone and that his pod would be back soon.

And so he stayed exactly where he was and waited for the rest of the hour he was able to stay awake for. Occasionally letting slip little trills and clicks for his parents to find him. But they never did, even as he slowly fell asleep in his broken and empty nest.

~~--~~

When Tommy woke up next it was noticeably darker and he was hungry. He hadn’t eaten since before he fell asleep with his family there.

He was hungry when he had woken up before, but now he was starving.

When was his pod coming back? Where were his parents? Why weren’t they back already from wherever they had gone?

His nest was cold now, freezing in fact. Without his parents there to provide him with their warmth the nest was freezing cold. He couldn’t even snuggle up to his litter mates since they were all gone too. All he was left with were the scattered remains of his parents’ nest. The one that they had made just for him and themselves. The one that was now all destroyed and sad.

Tommy knew he needed to get food and find something warm to cuddle up with in his nest while he waited. But he couldn’t swim very well and his teeth and claws weren’t sharp nor strong enough to actually hunt food for himself yet. His eyesight was pretty bad, he couldn’t see past the entrance of the cave on a normal day with his pod. Now he was on his own, hungry and cold, it made his eyesight worse somehow. It didn’t help that he was much too weak from the cold to get out of his nest, much less search for food.

His body refused to work for him, but he was fine with that right now. He was sleepy again and nestled down into the scraps of kelp and seaweed that he was able to find around the ruined nest before drifting off again.

~~--~~

The next time Tommy woke up, he was shivering so badly from the cold and hunger that he was shaking. He was shaking so badly that he thought that it was a sea quake. So he sat there for a moment, trying really hard to stop shaking so violently but it wasn’t happening. He needed to find his pod, he needed them to find him. To keep him safe and warm and fed. Another sad trilling call echoed through the destroyed nest. And again, no call answered him back.

Seeing that his pod still wasn’t back, Tommy decided to go out and look for them.

He wrapped himself up in the largest scrap of kelp from the structural remains of his nest and slowly swam out of the cave. He calls out for his pod. Where were they? Didn’t they know that they had left him here by himself? Tommy calls again. Luckily the hunter isn’t around to hear him this time. 

His movements were slow and sluggish as he swam around and they only got worse the more he swam. With his blurry eyesight it made it harder to see where he was going. Blobs of color would merge together until he was nearly face first into the large coral reef that surrounded his home. Quicker blobs of color darted around him. They must be fish. Tommy whimpered, there was no way he would be able to catch one of the fast moving fish. Never mind them even coming close enough for Tommy to be thinking about catching one.

Tommy was quickly getting tired and still saw no sign of his pod. He let out a weak, pitiful chirp before his tiny body gave up. He slumps over onto some coral. He winces and lets out a sharp chirp of pain. Another distressed chirp slipped from his lips as he sank down to the sand with the soft kelp settling around him. Hopefully shielding him away from predators.

Chapter Text

When Tommy drifted to consciousness next he was warm. He was pleasantly warm and it didn’t even occur to him to wonder why he was warm. All that mattered was that he was warm and it made him feel safe. Safe and warm and happy. Just like when he would snuggle together with his parents. A pleased little chirr slipped out of his lips. The sound is a testament to just how safe and happy and warm he felt. There was a responding rumble. Way too deep to be either of his parents. He furrows his brow, a questioning click voicing his thoughts. Another rumbling rattled his whole being. It relaxed him to a significant degree. It didn’t last for long when a huge hand came up to rest on his back.

Tommy’s eyes shot open. Someone was holding him and when Tommy looked, it was not anyone in his pod. He cried out in fear then started flailing and trying to get away from whoever was holding him. But the large set of arms cradling him didn’t let go, the only thing he accomplished was using all of his energy and becoming pretty tired quickly.

After Tommy had calmed down some, a voice drifted to his ears. Lilting and melodic but unfamiliar. They didn’t sound like anyone in his pod. The large hand on his back shifted and suddenly there was an equally as large thumb stroking the back of his head, down his exposed neck, before stopping between his shoulder blades to start back up at his head again. The ‘petting’ did a little to help Tommy calm down but he was still breathing far too quickly for any real calm to settle.

“There we go, Sunshine. You’re safe. Everything’s ok.” The mer smiled down at him. “Such pretty red and gold scales.”

Tommy was not safe. Everything was not ok.

Tommy was still hungry and his pod was still missing. Plus he was in some random mer’s arms. Someone that was way bigger than him and could hurt him easily if they wanted.

Tommy was still for a whopping two whole minutes before he scratched and bit at the hand that approached his head. Apparently he managed to hit a sensitive spot and the arms around him loosened just enough that he was able to wriggle out of them. In a frantic manner, he looked around where he was and darted for the closest cave.

“No, no, little one, Sunshine, please come back!” The unfamiliar mer clicked at him. Promising safety and warmth.

Tommy turned and hissed at the mer he escaped from before he swam further into the small cave and nestled down on the soft sand in the back.

When the mer with blue scales swam over to the small cave Tommy’s fins rose and he hissed before swiping at the hand that reached in for him.

“Ow!”

The hand retreated and Tommy’s heart swelled with pride at his ability to deal with the threat. But then he realized that the mer had taken him away from his nest.

How did he know?

Simple. Tommy didn’t recognize the cave he was in, and he had been in every cave around his own. His pod was one of the largest on the coast and they settled into all the caves around the one that was his.

Great. Now he had no way of getting back to his pod, his nest, without asking the mer outside to take him.

It was then that the smell of food drifted into Tommy’s temporary cave and snapped him out of his thoughts.

Without thinking Tommy started swimming to the entrance of the cave to snatch the food. That was a bad idea.

As soon as he got close enough the food moved and the same hand as before started reaching for him. Tommy gracefully darted back to his spot on the soft sand in the back of the cave. He definitely did not bump into the wall of the cave, and he did not let out any chirps of surprise or click in pain. He noiselessly and gracefully darted back to his spot and nobody can say anything else, because anything else is a lie.

There was a sigh from right outside the cave when the hand came back with nothing. And then the bait was pushed into the entrance of the cave.

It was a crab. Big compared to Tommy’s past crab experiences. But no matter how tantalizing the crab was and how hungry Tommy was, he wouldn’t make a move to take it with that mer right outside.

“I don’t think he’ll take it with you hovering around the entrance like that. In fact you’re just teaching him not to trust anything we leave for him.” A gruff voice said from farther back. Their voice deeper than the blue scaled mer. Someone new?

“But he needs to eat, and I want to hold the little pup again. He’s so small.” The mer from earlier said. He was right outside.

Tommy hissed again, hoping that the mers outside would hear him and leave. Hopefully leaving the bits of crab behind as well.

“You hear that?” There was a pause after the gruff voice said that. “It was a hiss. The little pup wants you to leave.”

No. Tommy wanted both of them to leave.

“But I don’t want to-“

“I don’t care what you want, Wilbur. Leave the poor guppy alone. He’ll come out when he’s ready.” The gruff voice came closer before leaving with the other mer, Wilbur? A whining trill and scolding click told him that they were leaving together, even if Wilbur didn’t want to.

Tommy was unsure that they had really left, so he waited, and waited, and waited. He waited forever before he darted over to the feast, the crab, grabbed it and then darted back to his spot in the soft sand.

Tommy sniffed the crab before inspecting it carefully. When he was done he tried to pull off one of the legs. It was a little tricky, okay it was really tricky, but he got it. It took him a good little while to pull the leg off and crack it open to reveal the yummy meat inside.

Tommy pulled the meat out and ate it before he tossed the shell to the side.

He ate two more legs of the crab before he settled down and took a nap as he cuddled with it. A soft keening sound slipped out, calling once again for his pod. Soft sad trills echoed through the unfamiliar cave that Tommy was hiding in. They were the last thing he heard before succumbing to sleep.

Chapter Text

Tommy shifted in the soft sand before he sat up and looked for his crab as he rubbed his eyes. He found his crab next to him and moved it so it leant against the wall of his new little cave.
Tommy yawned and stretched after he moved his crab. He wasn’t hungry yet, which was odd because he usually was hungry when he woke up. Maybe those crab legs were very filling.
Tommy glanced around his cave a little and looked at the entrance when something, or more specifically someone, caught his eye.
Tommy had found himself staring face to face with that blue scaled mer again. What was his name? Wyatt? William?
Tommy’s fins flared as he hissed at the mer watching him. Making him look like the big mer that he was.
“Oh. Sorry, sorry. I was just checking on you.” Will whatever, shuffled in the sand a little before he set a rock down at the entrance of Tommy’s cave. “So you don’t freeze again.”
Tommy waited patiently for the currents to settle to make sure the mer was gone before he moved to inspect the rock.
Tommy swam a circle around the rock, inspecting it before he interacted with it. He carefully pressed his hand against it and almost immediately curled up around it. He stayed there for a moment before he pushed the rock back to his sand and crab ‘nest’.
The rock was warm. Delightfully so and Tommy curled up with a happy purr as he melted onto the rock for another nap from how relaxed the warmth made him.

~~--~~

Tommy settled into the routine of napping, eating, fighting, and inspecting.
He would wake up from a nap to either a face or food at the entrance of his cave. If there was a face there then he would ready himself to fight away the hand. If there was food then he would wait for a while before taking it as quickly as he could back to where he was slowly building a makeshift nest. Then he’d inspect the new food before eating it after he deemed it safe.
Sometimes when Tommy was feeling safe and bold in his cave he would slowly swim to the entrance and lay there in the soft sand as he looked out. But if anything made noise he was darting back to his ‘nest’.
To be honest, it was more of a barrier from the hands and eyes for when he was sleeping. Nothing, except for the sand, was soft. And nothing, besides the stone he cuddled with, provided warmth.
Tommy was laying in his nest again. He hadn’t left  the past three times he’d woken up. This was the fourth time his eyes were open and he was just laying there on top of his warm stone with weird lines scratched into it. His tummy rumbled from the lack of food in it and he could hear three voices outside of his cave. But they didn’t concern him. All he wanted was his pod, his family.
“He hasn’t eaten since last night!” Wil something said. Tommy had dubbed him Blue, since that was much easier for him to remember compared to what he was actually named.
“Maybe he doesn’t want crab and mussels anymore.” The third and newest voice suggested. He sounded friendly, but Tommy was going to stay on his rock in his new nest until his parents came and found him.
“I tried giving him fish and he didn’t take it.” Blue sounded worried. It made Tommy shift to look towards the entrance of the cave.
Tommy jumped to sit up when he saw hair that looked just like his dad’s. Why didn’t they tell him his dad was here? Tommy was ecstatic. He raced out of his nest and cave as fast as he could before he swam over to his dad. He made every kind of happy noise he could as he swam around his dad. He caught sight of his dad’s face when he swam in front of him, only to realize it wasn’t his dad.
Some mer that looked like him was staring in shock. Tommy shivered at the cold and the fear that ran down his spine and tail before he darted back towards his cave.
A massive hand blocked the entrance as another grabbed at him, but Tommy quickly darted away from the hand with a chirp of both alarm and surprise. He was a fast swimmer normally, but because he hadn’t eaten for a while he was too slow to evade the gentle hands that closed around him. He was so small and the hands were so big that just by clasping together they had completely trapped Tommy. He let out more chirps and soft trills of fear.

Why weren’t they letting him go? They tricked him. They got a friend that looked like Tommy, just so that they could get him out of his cave. And now that they had him they were probably going to eat him.
Tommy cried out as he pushed at the hands around him. He didn’t want to be eaten. He had his warm rock and his pod would surely be missing him.
“He’s so small… and feisty. It’s like catching a little fish in your hands.”
That was the one who impersonated Tommy’s dad. He’s the one who has Tommy trapped in his hands.

Tommy wiggled around in the mer’s hands still trying to get out. When all of that doesn’t work, Tommy resorts to the one thing he did best.

Biting.

He found the perfect place and quickly latched onto the sensitive skin. And then once the hands were open he darted for his now open cave and into his nest.

Tommy pressed himself into the sand and his stone. He hissed and nipped at every hand that intruded into his cave.
Soon enough the hands stopped and Tommy relaxed against his warm stone enough to settle into a nap.

~~--~~

Tommy was much more cautious over what was outside of his cave. If anything made noise outside he would wait until the waters were calm again and then some before he was sure it was safe to dart for the food left for him and then dart back to his nest.
This was his new routine now. It went on for a long time. Tommy started feeling safer in this new routine. Confident in his new routine.
Until there was a new face peeking into his cave.

Chapter Text

Tommy startled and pressed into his stone at the sight of the new face at the entrance of his cave. Brown hair floated around the face as he smiled at Tommy. The scales dotting his face and crawling up his arms from his black claws, were yellow.
Tommy’s ear fins were pressed back with the rest of his fins on his tail as he hissed at the other mer pup when he intruded into Tommy’s cave.
“Hello.” The pup greeted as he slowly swam into the cave. “What are you doing?”
Tommy just hissed at the other pup growing louder and angrier the closer the other got.
The pup laughed nervously as he looked around the cave before sitting down on the soft sand.
“Are you sure I should be in here?” The pup turned his head to the entrance as he asked the question.

At that moment Tommy lunged forward and tackled the other pup who chirped out in surprise and alarm. Tommy bared his pointy teeth and growled at the other as he clawed at the pup under him who was trying to push Tommy off.
“Tubbo? What just happened?” It was Blue.
The water shifted as Blue moved to look into the cave before he reached in for the two pups.
Tommy darted back to his nest, settling down on his stone as he hissed at the intruding hand that picked up the trembling pup on the sand. Blue’s hand retreated with the intruder and Tommy stopped hissing, but he remained on high alert since Blue was right outside of his cave.
Blue cooed and crooned at the pup in his possession, trying to calm him down. The sounds remind Tommy of his pod. Tommy’s heart clenched, he really missed his pod.
His breath hitched as he mourned the separation between him and his pod, but more importantly, him and his parents. Tommy was still stuck here waiting for mer he was beginning to think would never come, and the thought made his breath shake and eyes fog up in the familiar feeling of crying.
Tommy fell asleep like that, thinking about his pod while he cried, alone, in his nest.

~~--~~

When Tommy woke up next there was fresh crab next to his nest. He hissed softly at it being so close when he didn’t put it there.
The blue scaled mer was getting impatient, Tommy could tell, but he wasn’t going to give in to Blue’s wants. He hissed and nipped at his hand every time it entered his cave, especially when it got too close to his nest.
All this time had passed and Tommy hadn’t said anything to the mer outside. And he could tell that they were worrying. Not because Blue and Fake were talking to Scary about it outside of his cave right now. Nope. He was simply so smart that he pieced it together himself.
“I mean, he’s been making noises, most of them are just hisses, but still, he hasn’t said a single word.” Blue said, a sort of sadness laced his words.
“Maybe his pod was abusive. You said you found him wrapped up in kelp out in the open and that his nest was deconstructed.” Scary reasoned.
Deconstructed? No, nonono, no, no. Tommy’s nest was destroyed not deconstructed. They had been attacked and that’s why his nest had been in shambles. That’s why his pod was gone and his parents were nowhere to be found. That’s why he was, alone. All by himself. Without any member of his pod nearby. That’s why.
“And he looked like he was alone or neglected for at least a day or two.” Scary said.
Tommy silently creeped out of his nest. He stayed in the sand, hiding in the low vegetation, as he dragged himself closer to the entrance slowly.
“A pup, especially one as small and young as him, shouldn’t be left on their own.” Fake said. “In all honesty, I’m impressed that he’s been able to survive this long with how things are.”
Tommy looked out of his cave at the mer. None of them were close, with all of their backs to his cave entrance, but Tommy still pressed himself into the sand where he was laying. Trying to hide himself in the bits of plants that grew closer to the opening of his cave.
“That’s why he needs to come out and be with us, so we can take care of him.” Blue said in a determined tone. “I don’t want to just leave him here and let him die.”
“He needs to trust us before that can happen.” Scary argued.
Tommy crawled closer to the entrance as he watched the two bicker back and forth for a little while before Fake tried to stop them.
But it was too late by then and Blue tried to tackle Scary. They fell to the sand as they fought with each other and it made Tommy giggle.
Suddenly everyone stopped moving and Tommy swore he stopped breathing when he realized his mistake.
All three pairs of eyes from the other mers were on him and he just froze where he was. It wouldn’t take long for one of them to snatch him up and eat him or hurt him or whatever they wanted to do to him. He knew that, yet, his body was locked up, refusing to let him dart back to safety. Eyes wide with a mix of fear and curiosity.
“Hi mate.” Fake greeted. He had a soft smile on his face.
Tommy’s eyes flicked to the mer with the darkish green tail and black detail scales.
Tommy’s eyes flicked back to Blue and Scary when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Scary was holding Blue down. Tommy didn’t know why, but seeing that Blue, who was the most likely to try and grab him, was unable to move any closer brought him comfort. He chirrs uncertainly. Was he safe? Was it ok to stay out in the open like this?
It wasn’t until Fake moved that Tommy was finally able to move as well.
Fake slowly moved to sit down on a rock and that made Tommy flinch back. He was about to turn tail and dart back to his nest when he felt a sense of calm wash over him. It made him relax into the sand, releasing all of the tenseness in his body.
It freaked Tommy out and made him chirp out in alarm. Fake let out a croon that conveyed safety and warmth. And suddenly Tommy felt himself slowly swim to the mouth of his cave. By now he was trembling from the cold he felt seeping into his bones instead of the fear of the three mer affecting him physically.
“That’s it pup. You can trust us.” Blue cooed at Tommy. Blue’s soothing voice washed over Tommy bringing with it another wave of the forceful relaxation to Tommy’s body.
Tommy tried to squirm back into his cave away from the three. It didn’t do much but his movements became slower. Almost stopping entirely.
“No, no. Don’t fight it Sunshine.” Blue sat up and Scary let him. Tommy thought that Blue was going to try and grab him but he didn’t move from where he and Scary sat in the sand. “It’s ok. You’re ok.”
The nickname from Blue brought a haze over Tommy’s mind. It urged him closer, making Tommy fully leave the comfort of his cave.
“Good. That’s it Sunshine. You’re doing so well.” Blue crooned and smiled, dragging Tommy deeper into the haze enveloping his mind. “That’s it.”
Tommy slowly swam about halfway to Blue before he shivered and his mind snapped back to him. Tommy let out chirps of distress at being out in the open with the other mers before he darted back to his cave. He pressed himself back against his warm stone as his chest heaved with the panic that the situation had caused.
He’s going to have to leave, and soon.

Chapter Text

Tommy struggled with his stone as he tried his hardest to drag it out of the cave. Had it always been this heavy? He could’ve sworn that it hadn’t been that heavy when Blue first gave it to him. Tommy let out a little whine, just low enough that no one would be able to hear him. He tugged a little more at the stone before he decided to leave it at the entrance of his cave when a noise startled him.
He darted out of his cave and off in a random direction. Of course the cold was sharp and biting out here. Nothing like the warmth of his nest or his parents or even his stone. It started seeping into his bones after a little while, but he wasn’t about to turn around and struggle to swim with his warm stone now.
Tommy kept swimming up and away from his cave and the other mer. He was tired seeing as he was skipping his nap to swim away with the cover of darkness.
Tommy only slowed down when he was sure he was far enough away. He started looking around for familiar things and didn’t pay attention to how close to the surface he was. He didn’t see the net closing around him until it was too late.
Tommy let distressed chirps fall out of his mouth as he tried to escape the net. He tried, but his claws couldn’t cut through the rope fast enough and he was pulled up out of the water.
Tommy’s gills spasmed from the sudden change from water to air. Gasping sounds came from Tommy as he started clawing at his throat before his lungs kicked in. His gills shut so his lungs could suck in air through his mouth. Tommy held onto his throat for a moment before he grasped at the net and tried to cut the rope with his claws again. And just like before, the rope gave no sign of giving. Another distressed trill fell from his lips. This time much softer seeing as he was in the air and not the water.
“Look at what we have here.”
Tommy froze when he heard the voice. Realization crashed over him like the icy currents outside of his cave. He was above water. The voice came from behind him. Did he get caught by a human?
“Bring it up.” The voice said.
Tommy was lifted up further from the water and pulled onto the ship floating on top of the water. It looked like those shipwrecks Tommy and his pod had swam by before. But this was on the water not in the water and there were humans on board instead of fish swimming in and out of the wreck.
Tommy chirped as he struggled in the net he was trapped in on the deck. He struggled with his fins pressed back as one of the humans stepped closer.
The human examined Tommy. “It’ll go for a pretty penny.” His green coat swished as he turned around. “Put it in the tank. Make sure it’s not damaged. Damaged goods will be coming out of your paycheck!”
Tommy was picked up in the net again. He hissed and tried to swipe at the human who had picked him up.
Tommy was then promptly dumped out of the net and into a rectangle of water. And when Tommy tried to get out of it, there was some kind of invisible barrier.
“He’s smaller than the ones we’ve caught before.”
“People’ll pay more for him.” The human in the green coat said as he walked away. “Set a new course! We’re heading back to the mainland.”

~~--~~

Tommy curled up on the bottom of the water he was trapped on and tried to warm himself up. He shivered as he laid there in the cold water. He tries to think warm thoughts to try and stave off the cold. His parents, their nest, Blue, his stone. The same one that he ended up leaving behind and why did he do that? He was so cold now. Tommy shivers even more violently than before.
“Do you think we should wrap him up? Maybe in a blanket or something? He’s shivering.” The human with the white stripe around his head said as he watched Tommy. Tommy had dubbed him Fire, because Tommy had watched him play with and watch fire earlier.
“It’s probably nothing.” The one with the white goggles said. Tommy dubbed him Goggles, for obvious reasons.
Tommy pressed himself against the bottom of the water as he shivered harder.
“I don’t think it is.” Fire said as he reached into the tank for Tommy.
Tommy tried to hiss and nip at the hand, but Fire easily picked him up. And his hands were just so warm. Tommy couldn’t help himself as he melted into the warmth provided by Fire. Clinging desperately to the warmth that Fire provided.
“Dream isn’t going to like that.” Goggles chides.
“He wouldn’t like a dead mer even more.” Fire snarked back as he cradled Tommy in his arms. A stuttering purr starts up in Tommy’s chest from the warmth.
“He’s still going to end up back in his tank before Dream notices.” Goggles warns, turning back to whatever he had been doing prior.
“Before Dream notices what?” The human with the green coat asked as he walked up behind Goggles. Tommy had dubbed him Green. “Why is our catch outside of his tank.”
“He was cold.” Fire rebutted, still cradling the little mer in his arms.
Tommy pressed himself further into Fire at Green’s presence. He didn’t want to lose the warmth. He’d only just gotten it back!
“I don’t think I gave you permission to take it out of the tank.” Green said.
“And I didn’t think that you wanted him frozen.” Fire snapped.
Green sighed from behind the wooden mask he wore.
“Fine! You can take it out of the tank to warm it up, but then you put it right back afterwards.” Green commanded.
Fire nodded and placed Tommy back in the water. Tommy pressed his hands against the see through barrier as he chirped at Fire, wanting his warmth back.
“Sapnap. Don’t get attached.” Green said, walking away.

~~--~~

Wilbur was frantic. The little pup was missing from his nest in the little cave. Not to mention that the rock Wilbur had given him was left behind. It had a rune carved into it so that it would be the perfect temperature to keep the pup warm until Wilbur was able to hold him again.
“Where could he have gone? He can’t be on his own. He’ll starve and freeze to death if we don’t find him.” Wilbur fretted as he paced back and forth in the water.
“He can’t have gone too far.” Techno said.
Wilbur grabbed Techno’s arms. “You don’t know that!”
“Sure, but I do know that nothing’s going to get better if you don’t calm down. Take a breath before you whip yourself into more of a frenzy.” Techno grabbed Wilbur’s wrists and helped him calm down. He walks Wilbur through a few good deep breaths before letting his podmate go. “There you go. Now we can track the guppy.”
“Right.” Wilbur mumbled as he remembered Techno’s superior sense of smell. Dejectedly resolving himself to follow behind Techno with only the hope of finding his pup.

Chapter Text

Wilbur swam close to Techno as he followed the pup’s scent through the water. It was faint and slowly shifting away from the direct path that he probably took, but at least it was still there.
When they neared the end of the trail, Wilbur became more and more worried as they swam closer and closer to the surface. They reached the end of the trail, unable to go any further because it went above water. Wilbur freaked out even more. A little off in the distance there was the silhouette of a boat. Slowly, but steadily, making its way further from them.
“Humans! They’re going to kill him!” Wilbur fretted.
Techno sighed and rolled his eyes. He popped his head up above the surface of the waves. Looking around for a moment to spot the ship that he had seen the silhouette of before. When he spots the aforementioned watercraft he drags Wilbur up to the surface with him.

Techno points to the ship. “There’s a ship out in the distance. I bet that they are the ones who picked the guppy up.”
Techno dove back under the water and swam in the direction of the ship. Wilbur hurriedly swam after him.
“What if they don’t have him? What if we’re getting further away from him.” Wilbur worried.
“Please just shut up. We’ll find him.” Techno said, an exasperated tone slipping into his voice. He was starting to get extremely agitated from Wilbur’s excessive worrying.
Wilbur snapped his mouth shut and just swam next to his podmate as he worried in his head.

~~--~~

Fire and Green fought every now and then. Goggles told Tommy that they were close once. All three of them were best friends who decided to become mer hunters. He sighed at the lack of response from Tommy and walked away after.
Tommy was shivering in his floating water again when Fire walked by next. He stopped and smiled at Tommy before picking him up.
“There we go.” Fire held Tommy close. “You’re not meant to be on your own are you?”
Tommy looked up at him with big sad eyes before he shook his head. He curls a little closer to Fire. He was supposed to be back in his nest, surrounded by his pod, his parents . He wasn’t supposed to be alone, without a single podmate near, surrounded by humans. Tommy lets out a soft sad trill. He tucks his head into the crook of the human’s elbow.
Fire smiled. “Yeah. I figured.” He looked out over the sea and Tommy raised his head to look out over the waves as well. He chirped at it longingly. That made Fire laugh a little. “You just want to go home.” Fire pet his head. “Me too bud.”
Tommy looked up at Fire curiously before he just cuddled close to his chest. Soaking in the warmth while he still could. Fire looked around the top deck before he walked to the closest railing, looking over the waves again before staring down at Tommy.
“I can’t let you go, but I can let you get sprayed by the waves that hit the boat.”
Tommy wiggled in Fire’s arms, but Fire wasn’t letting him go. Suddenly Fire was rushing Tommy back into his water.
“Later.” Fire said when Tommy chirped at him sadly. Tucking Tommy closer to his chest when the little mer tried to reach out towards the choppy waves.
“Sapnap. Secure the creature. There’s a storm coming.” Green ordered, his voice cold and unyielding.
Fire picked up another clear barrier and attached it to the top of Tommy’s floating water. Tommy chirped sadly as he looked up at Fire. The pup pressed closer to the invisible barrier, staring up at the human on the other side.
“Can I-” Fire starts.
“Just secure the tank Sapnap.” Green interrupts, leaving no room for excuses or suggestions.
Tommy pouted before he curled up on the bottom and fell into a fitful sleep.

~~--~~

Tommy woke up to being thrown into one of the clear barriers that kept him in his water. He let out a high pitched warble from the pain and fear that being sloshed around in his water caused. He didn’t know what was happening. He lets out another whimper.
What was going on? Why was he getting thrown around? Was it the storm that Green had been talking about earlier?
Tommy tried to look out at the deck, but he was being tossed around too much. He could still hear what was going on even though it was muffled.
Lots of yelling and shouting, but one caught his attention, because it was clearer than the others.
“Secure it! I don’t want it going anywhere! If anything happens to it then I’ll hold you two responsible!”

Tommy recognised that voice as Green’s. He also realized that he could see for a few seconds as he slid off of the bench. He felt even more weightless as his floating water fell to the deck. As soon as he hit the deck the barriers around him shattered and his water spilled everywhere.
There was pain in Tommy’s tail. He cried out and whimpered before a hand picked him up by the back of his neck making him go limp. He let out a chittering trill. One that voiced his stress and fear.
“Where do you think you’re going? You’re not going anywhere.” Green snarled in his face. Close enough for Tommy to see the fine details in Green’s mask.
Tommy whimpered again as he wiggled weakly in Green’s hold.
“Dream!” Fire yelled. “What are you doing? Mers are trying to board the ship! They’ll end up capsizing the boat at this rate if we don’t do something about them!” Fire was desperately clinging to the helm, trying to steer them out of the mers’ hold and into a somewhat safer area.
Did he say mers? Tommy was a mer. Maybe it’s his family. Maybe they had finally realized that they had left him behind and they were coming back for him! Tommy trills his pod’s call. Hoping to get a response in reply.
Tommy looked around as much as he could and caught a flash of pink and blue before Green was moving and swinging him  around as water pelted both of them. Tommy let pain filled and fearful sounds fall from his lips as Green manhandled him. He didn’t want to be here anymore. He wanted to go back to his cave with his warm rock and Blue feeding him yummy things. He wanted to be back in his parents’ arms. He wanted to feel safe like he did whenever he saw Scary when he was patrolling near his cave. He wanted to be loved and safe and warm with his pod. He wanted to hide in Fake’s hair again, even if it wasn’t the same as when he hid in his dad’s.
“We have no strife with you. We just want the pup, our pup back.”
Tommy recognised that voice. But it wasn’t anyone from his pod. He calls out to them anyways. If they can get him out of this situation and back into the ocean, he didn’t care who they were.
Green stopped swinging him around just long enough for him to see Blue climbing onto the edge of the boat, the railing bowing under the mer’s weight as he dragged himself further on deck. Scary bobbed up and down in the water just below.
“It’s mine now. This, pup , isn’t yours anymore.” Green spat. “It’s mine and I won’t be giving it up! Now get the hell off of my ship you damn creature!”

“He doesn’t belong to you!” Blue hissed angrily. His claws dug into the wooden floorboards beneath him. He drags himself closer, nearly within reaching distance.
Nobody got another word in because right at that moment a large wave crashed over the bow of the boat. It slammed into Green with an unforgiving force and made Green lose his grip on Tommy. The little pup wriggled in the loose hold. Between the two, Green ended up tossing the pup out of his hold, throwing him far away from the human.
Tommy cried out in pain again before gentle, yet frantic, arms wrapped around him, tucking him close to the owner’s chest. Tommy looked up and saw Fire was holding him as he stumbled around the rocking ship. He leaned into the warmth Fire provided. Rain pounded relentlessly around them but he could hear Fire talk with his ear to the human’s chest.
“Don’t worry! It’s ok, you’re ok! We’re going to get you ho- ah!” Fire screamed as another large wave crashed into the boat making it rock and toss both Fire and Tommy off the side. Tommy gripped onto Fire even harder. He didn’t want to be separated if something bad happened.
Water enveloped both of them and the currents and waves sucked them down.
Tommy wiggled out of Fire’s arms, his tail stung and his ears hurt from going from the surface to below in such a violent manner, but he moved around anyway. He looked at Fire as he struggled to reach the surface, and that’s when it clicked. Fire can’t breathe. He was choking, bubbles escaping from the human as he desperately tried to get to the surface, just like Tommy had when he first breathed air, but Fire had no gills. If Tommy didn’t get him up quickly, Fire was going to die.

Chapter Text

Tommy struggled to pull Fire up towards the surface. His fins were torn to shreds and his tail was littered with shattered barriers lodged under his scales. Patches of his scales were missing and leaking red into the water.

“Where is he?” Blue chirred nervously. Tommy was more focused on saving Fire at the moment and decided to ignore the older mer. “Sunshine! You’re ok!” Blue said, relief clear in his voice. Then he gasped, horrified at what he saw. “Your tail!”

Suddenly Tommy was being pulled into a new pair of arms. A face pressed against the top of his head. He hissed and squirmed out of Blue’s arms before he went back to trying to bring Fire to the surface. He desperately pulled at the fabrics that Fire had wrapped around him. Trying so hard, yet still ultimately failing, to get Fire closer to the surface.

“What are you doing with that human?” Scary inquired from his other side. Tommy tries to hiss at Scary to keep him away but the sound comes out as more of a warbling trill.

“Are you trying to save him?” Blue asked, coming closer even though Tommy was letting out the most angry hisses he could. Blue just came closer, letting out his own warbling pod call.

Tommy continued to struggle feebly for a moment before Scary sighed and took Fire from Tommy and swam up to the surface with him. Tommy shivered from the cold. The currents from Scary’s body quickly moving through the water chilled him even further. He let out a pitiful chirp. He was cold and hungry and scared and he just wanted to go home! “Come here Sunshine.” Blue gingerly wrapped his arms around Tommy and swam up behind Scary.

Tommy hissed at Blue and tried to escape the mer’s hold. He didn’t want Blue! He wanted his parents or his pod! Or maybe at the very least his warm rock.

“It’s ok Sunshine. It’s alright, I’m taking you to your… friend.” Blue’s face scrunched up when he said ‘friend’ but he continued up towards the surface anyways.

Tommy resigned himself to be in Blue’s arms as he swam back up to the surface. Water was still falling from the sky and the waves were still a bit choppy, but everything was a bit calmer now. Tommy reached for Fire as he coughed and sputtered in Scary’s arms. Dragging in ragged breaths that made Tommy’s chest hurt when he listened to them.

Scary was looking around. Why? Tommy didn’t know nor did he really care. He wiggled out of Blue’s arms and painfully swam over to Fire. He dragged himself onto Fire’s chest.

“We might as well take him back to land where he… belongs.” There was a hesitance to Scary’s words.

Wait, does that mean that Scary was going to take Fire away from him? No! He couldn’t do that! Tommy tries to push Scary away from Fire and himself. He wouldn’t let him! Fire was his!

Suddenly Scary stops in his tracks, but still continues to hold firmly onto Tommy and Fire. “Do you feel that?” Scary asked,  his voice soft like he was scared of something else.

Blue swims closer, he chitters anxiously to Scary. Scary responds with a stuttering purr of his own. Tommy lets out a questioning trill, looking around at the open water around them. He can’t see anything other than some debris from the slowly sinking ship a little ways away. Scary presses Tommy closer to his chest as Blue nearly attaches himself to Scary’s back. Fire is held a little more loosely in Scary’s grip. Tommy cries out and tries to grab at Fire. Scary rumbles a warning and Tommy goes still.

The water stilled around them for a moment before it started swirling around Scary. Bioluminescence was dragged up from the deep and glowed in the water as it swirled around the four of them. Tommy chirped curiously as he watched the glowing tendrils as they floated through the currents around them. The rhythmic thumping in Fire’s chest was slower than usual as Tommy pressed himself closer trying to get to the warmth that was slowly dwindling. He lets out a sad warble. Was Fire taking a nap? He must be really tired.

The water glowed brighter and Scary slowly let go of Fire, Tommy continued to cling to him. The thumping under Tommy’s hands slowly stopped as the ocean sapped the remaining heat from Fire’s body. Tommy pressed his hands into Fire’s chest trying to get his attention. Fire’s eyes were closed and they weren’t opening. Tommy chirped sorrowfully at Fire trying to will him awake. He shouldn’t be sleeping right now. They needed to get back to the nest before he took a nap. Even Tommy knew that.

The water swirled around Fire and Tommy as it slowly pulled them under into the bioluminescence floating under the surface. Tommy grabbed fistfulls of Fire’s shirt and refused to let go when Blue tried to pick him up. He hissed and nipped at him and when that didn’t work he screamed and shrieked as loud as he could. His tail was constant pain, but Tommy pushed that aside and settled down on Fire’s chest. Deciding to stay there until Fire woke up.

The waves gently lapped at Tommy for a bit before calmly washing over him as they were slowly pulled under and into the brightly shining water. Tommy closed his eyes, but he could still see the bright light. He wiggled under Fire’s shirt and pressed himself into Fire chest again, head tucked up under the human’s chin. They floated down for a while until Fire was laying on the sand.

The warmth Tommy wanted from Fire slowly enveloped him and the stinging in his tail stopped. Tommy curled up to Fire even more. The light grew and grew, getting brighter and brighter, making Tommy press his hands over his closed eyes. He let out a fearful screech. What was happening? It was too bright! It needed to stop! Please, please, someone, make it stop!

Then, far more suddenly than how it started, the light died down and went away. Tommy slowly set his hands back down on Fire’s chest after the light finally went away. A sad warble bubbled out of his chest that soon turned into an incredibly sad sounding croon. The thumping in Fire’s chest had completely stopped and he was almost colder than the waters surrounding them. With another keening croon, Tommy curled himself up and tucked himself as close as possible to Fire’s chest. He poked his head and arm out of the top of Fire’s shirt and pulled one of Fire’s arms around him to hold him in a kind of half hug, one that the mothers in his pod would do to their guppies. However, when Tommy let go of Fire’s arm, it just fell back down to the sand. Tommy shoved his face back into his side and waited for Fire to wake up. Surely the light was bright enough to wake him.

Tommy felt like crying, even worse than the last time he really, really, really missed his pod, as sadness washed over him. He wasn’t sure why he was feeling sad right now. Fire was just asleep. Tommy wriggled desperately closer to Fire. He was still missing the warmth he usually had but that was ok. Tommy was ok being cold if that meant that he could stay here with Fire. Shivers wracked his tiny body but he didn’t care. Tommy’s chin wobbled and he sniffed as he pressed his face into Fire’s chest.

Soon there were shrill cries coming from Tommy that he couldn’t stop. So instead he just kept gripping Fire’s shirt as he continued to call for his pod. They could help Fire. He keeps calling until it’s returned. The answering pod call is different from normal but not unwelcome. Soon he feels two presences settle besides them. Something calmed just a little in Tommy’s chest. His pod was there. He was safe now. They could help Fire.

He calls out one more time. This one a parental call, one that pups make to locate their specific parents. It too, was returned. That’s good. Maybe he can take a nap now with his pod beside him and Fire snuggled with him.

Chapter Text

Fire was warm and the rhythmic thumping had started up again. A hand settled over his back and Tommy jolted. He looked toward the hole at the top of Fire’s shirt and saw him looking back.

Tommy wiggled out of Fire’s shirt and chirped happily as he swam around Fire and then clung to him when he sat up. Fire groaned a bit, but held Tommy close. The water moved around them and Tommy looked up. Blue and Scary were close, but Tommy didn’t mind.

“Looks like he likes you a lot.” Blue grumbled from where he was curled up in the sand a few feet away.

Fire looked up and immediately froze upon seeing the other mers. Blue’s arms are folded and resting on top of his curled tail, his head resting on top of his arms. He’s not quite glaring at Fire, but he definitely isn’t happy. Fire’s hold on Tommy tightened and he awkwardly scrambled backwards. Tommy yelped in surprise at his reaction.

“W-who are you? What are- oh fuck. You’re the mers who attacked the ship.” A strangled fearful chirp left Fire. He looked around as if he didn’t know where the sound had come from. A moment passed before Fire realized that the nervous chittering and light hissing were actually coming from himself and not someone else.

Fire’s breathing picked up as he held Tommy even closer. Tommy wriggled in Fire’s hold a little before wrapping his arms around Fire as much as he could. Calming noises rumble in his chest as he tries his best to calm Fire down. Fire’s hand gently runs through Tommy’s hair, pulling on tangles here and there.

“Calm down. We’re not going to hurt you.” Scary says from where he’s hovering a little ways away. It was the traditional position for a pod’s protector. Tommy wondered what Scary was protecting.

“We’re actually here for our pup. Just hand him over and we’ll be on our way.” Blue chirps out, sitting up.

Tommy glances back at them. They’re close, but right now Fire is more important. He presses himself closer to Fire and continues trying to calm him down. He knows that his purrs aren’t as loud as an adult’s but he can still try.

“I-... If he’s yours, why isn’t he pressing himself into your arms?” Fire asked, his chest rumbling against Tommy’s. Tommy relaxed into his arms and cuddled up close to him. Maybe his pod could take him in.

“I- we have been taking care of him for the past, I don’t know how long.” Blue huffed out.

“And yet, he’s still in my arms.” Fire retorts.

Tommy yawned and held onto Fire’s shirt. Tommy opened his eyes when Fire moved him so that he was holding him with one arm. “Well, if that’s all I think we’ll be leaving now. I need to get back to the surface and see what happened to the rest of my crewmates.” Fire then got off of the seafloor and struggled to swim for a moment before figuring it out and swimming off.

He didn’t get very far before Scary grabbed him by the tail. The water shifted as Blue swam over and pried Tommy out of Fire’s arms. Tommy screeched in alarm and cried for Fire to save him. He tried to bite and scratch at Blue but his claws and teeth were still too dull to do any actual damage. Fire is also calling for Tommy, trilling out danger-pup-come.

“It’s ok Sunshine.” Blue crooned at him, but Tommy just darted out of his hands as soon as Blue loosened his grasp, and back to Fire.

Fire reaches out for Tommy, still trilling out his danger call. Tommy answers back as he plows into Fire’s chest. He chitters nervously, looking between Fire, Scary, and Blue. He glares as much as possible at Blue. How dare he try to take Fire away from him! He still needs to find his pod and get them to help Fire.

“I don’t think you’re going to be able to separate them.” Scary said with a smile. He carefully cradled Fire and Tommy in one arm before slowly swimming in a seemingly random direction. “What’s your name human?”

“Sapnap.” Fire held Tommy close. There’s a moment of quiet between them all. “Where are we going?”

“Back home. If we just abandon you here, you’d probably die. And then the pup would be sad again.” Scary explained. “‘Sides, it’s not like your situation is something that happens very often.”

“My situation?” Fire, Sapnap, asks warily.

Scary sighs. He sounds tired. “I’ll let my dad explain that. He would know more about this than either of us do.”

Blue pouted as he followed along behind them. Fire and Scary continued to talk to each other as Tommy began to drift off in Fire’s warm embrace. A content smile on his face.

~~--~~

Tommy pressed himself closer to the warmth that radiated under him. The water above was cold, but whatever he was laying on was warm. Really warm. A clawed hand gently glided through his hair, lightly scratching at his scalp in a way that made him let out a small purring sound.

A soft laugh shook Tommy a little. “Does that feel good?”

Tommy cracked his eyes open and looked up at the smiling face of Fire. He stretched a little before sitting up and looking for something to eat. He whines at the cramps in his tummy. He was starving. Sure Fire snuck him little scraps of meat every now and then when they were on the ship, but that was hardly enough for his appetite. The water shifted from movement behind Tommy.

“Is he hungry?” Blue asked.

Tommy turned around and came face to face with Blue. Tommy’s eyes followed Blue’s tail all the way around him and Fire. So that’s why it’s so warm. Tommy chirped at Blue, wanting food. Blue smiled and a minute or so later a crab was set down next to Fire. Tommy chirped back a thank you as he pulled the crab apart and ate the meat inside of the shell. He offered a leg to Fire, who took it and ate it. Tommy even let Blue gently rub the top of his head with one of his fingers without hissing at him.

The crab was filling and Tommy was tired again. He nestled himself between Fire’s arm and torso. The warmth radiated from Fire and made Tommy even more tired. With a small yawn, Tommy fell back asleep.

~~--~~

“He’s much calmer now.” Blue purred contentedly. There was a rumble of agreement from someone else.

Tommy’s sleep was being disturbed for this? He wasn’t sleeping just so Blue could show him off to Fake and whoever else. He didn’t want to be up, he wanted to go back to sleep. So, logically, Tommy bit Blue. Sure it was only a tiny pinch for the larger mer but Blue still yelped and let go of him. One of the others made a sort of lighthearted scolding trill towards Blue. Tommy swam back to the nest and snuggled back up to Fire with a little huff before promptly falling back asleep.

~~--~~

Tommy grumbled sleepily. Fire was sleeping in the nest and Tommy wishes he was back in the nest with him. He had been just fine in the nest but of course his nap had to be interrupted. So instead of sleeping, Blue was carrying him off on a swim to somewhere. Tommy whined softly and tried to push at him.

“Aw, it’s ok Sunshine.” Blue cooed as he rubbed the pup’s back comfortingly.

Tommy squirmed and pushed at Blue. He wanted to go back to the nest. Back to Fire’s, Sapnap’s, side where it was warm and comfortable. Why couldn’t Blue understand that? Blue readjusted his hold on Tommy as he swam up to a cave and peeked inside. Tommy let out a weak frustrated cry before giving in to his situation.

“Tubbo?” Blue called out into the cave.

A little face with brown hair floating around popped up. “Wilbur?” The other pup’s face lit up and he happily swam over. “What are you doing over here? What’s in your hands? What are you holding? Is it something for me?”

The large mer chortles at the pup’s overexcitement. “You remember Sunshine right?” Blue asked, moving Tommy to show him off to the other.

Tommy grumbled and squirmed a little. He was very much unhappy and showed it in the forms of vocalizations and fin positions. The other pup’s fins flattened and he backed away. Fear was clear on his face.

“Don’t worry. He won’t attack you this time. I promise.” Blue said softly as he slowly swam into the cave and settled down on the sand before gently placing Tommy down on the sand as well.

The sand was soft, not as soft as the sand in and around the nest he shared with Sapnap, but still. It was very soft. Tommy lazily watched as the other pup paced a little outside of the patch of sand that he and Blue were resting on, before hesitating while still staring at Tommy. Tommy laid down and rested his head on his folded forearms. The other pup looked as if he stopped breathing all together for a moment.

After a while the pup finally approached him. It was very slow and cautious, but he was making his way closer to where Tommy was laying. Tommy lifted his head and studied the other for a moment before resting his head back on his forearms. It was weird, Tommy didn’t feel threatened in the slightest from having this other pup so close to him or what would be considered a nest. If anything, Tommy was more put off at having to go through this in the first place. He’d really rather still be sleeping in his nest cuddled up with Fire.

“He won’t bite.” Blue gently ruffled Tommy’s hair with a finger.

Tommy lifted his head to glare at Blue, but the fucker scratched under his chin and behind his ear fins. Tommy couldn’t resist melting into the show of affection. A tiny purr rumbled in his chest as he leaned into the scritches. Ok, maybe this wasn’t so bad if he was getting the good scritches. He could deal with not being in his nest if he got more scritches.

Suddenly the scratches stopped and the hand retracted. Tommy whined and swam up closer to Blue. Tommy chirped sadly at him, vocalizing his distress in his lost scritches, before settling down on the large mer’s shoulders with a longing warble. Blue crooned at him and gently scratched under his chin again. Tommy immediately started purring again. He stretched out his arms, his little claws catching Blue’s skin, sometimes catching in the few scales that dotted his shoulders, as he clasped and unclasped his hands on Blue’s shoulder over and over.

This went on for a while until Blue stopped. Tommy whined and pressed his head against Blue’s jaw. Blue cooed and rubbed Tommy’s head gently.

“Aw, Sunshine. It’s ok.” Blue comforted.

“Tommy.” His voice was rough and wavering from how little he’d used actual words since the last time he’d seen his pod.

Blue froze before shifting a little. “What?”

Tommy huffed and pressed himself into Blue’s hand. “My name is Tommy.”

“Oh.” Blue gently pulled Tommy off his shoulder. “That’s a lovely name. This is Tubbo, and you know that I’m Wilbur.”

Tommy sat up in Blue’s, Wilbur’s , hands. He turned around and looked down at the other pup, Tubbo. He was the same one who came into Tommy’s cave without permission. Tommy taught him a lesson and based on the way he’s shrinking in on himself under Tommy’s gaze, it looks like he remembers. Good.

Blue, or Wilbur, set Tommy down on the sand near Tubbo. “I brought you here to get to know each other.”

“And he won’t attack me right?” Tubbo asked meekly from where he was hiding behind Wilbur’s tail fin.

Tommy flashed his teeth in a wide grin. He lifted a hand to show off his claws. Because even if they were still not as sharp as an adult’s, he could still do a decent amount of damage to another pup. “I might.”

Chapter Text

Fake narrowed his eyes at Blue. “You still took him out of the nest.”

“I just took him down to the cave to properly meet Tubbo.” Wilbur explained.

Fake pinched the bridge of his nose. “Did he attack Tubbo again?”

“No, they had fun. And I made sure that they were safe. I followed an actual introduction custom this time.” Blue, Wilbur, argued back. There was a moment of silence where the two mer just stared at each other. Wilbur huffs as he gives in to whatever silent argument they had been having. “I know his name now. That has to count for something.”

“What is it?” Fake asked with a raised eyebrow. He folds his arms across his chest. There’s still the look of disappointment clear on his features.

“Tommy.” Wilbur chirped out proudly.

Tommy lifted his head and looked up at Blue with a questioning chirp. His eyes are still half closed as he faces the general direction of where he’d heard his name. Wilbur looked down at him with a smile. Tommy huffed and cuddled back up to Fire, who was still asleep.

“Oh! And I figured out that he really likes being scratched behind his ear fins and under his chin.” Wilbur rambled a little before gently scratching behind Tommy’s ear fins.

Tommy melted into the affection and purred. Eventually the scratches stopped. Tommy whined and looked up at Wilbur sadly. Wilbur smiled and patted his head very carefully.

“I’m sorry we woke you up Sunshine. You can go back to sleep.” Blue placated with another gentle pat to his head. 

Tommy huffed and settled back down with Fire, Sapnap. If Blue wasn’t going to give him any more affection then at least he can get cuddles from Sapnap.

~~--~~

Sapnap cracked his eyes open. His vision was still blurry and unfocused and his legs, arms, back, and neck hurt. He didn’t even want to think about the raging headache he was dealing with. It was worse than any hangover he’d ever experienced. The air felt thick in his lungs and pressed in around his body.

Sapnap closed his eyes and reached around himself for his blanket. His hand bumped into the wall. The wall felt… scaly? Sapnap frowned as he pulled his hand back and rolled onto his side. The air shifted as a big heavy blanket settled over him. It was thick and warm. It drove away the chill that had settled into his bones. He grumbled softly, pulling in on himself a bit before grabbing at the blanket. Instead of the normal blanket textures Sapnap was used to, and had expected, his hand landed on something weirdly smooth.

Sapnap cracked his eyes open again and peered down at whatever was on top of him. He was expecting a blanket. It was definitely not a blanket. A large hand was laying over him instead. The fingers were black and ended with claws instead of nails.

Sapnap tried to squirm out from under the hand, but everything hurt and he couldn’t see and the hand was so heavy. But there was something wrong with the situation he’d been put in. The hand couldn’t belong to anyone other than a predator. Which meant that Sapnap was definitely in some kind of trouble. He exhausted himself just to wiggle a mere inch from where he had been laying when he woke up.

“Oh, little one, please calm down. It’s okay. You’re safe.” A voice rumbled through the space.

Sapnap stared wide eyed at the hand over him. The fingers gently scooped him up. A weird noise wrangled itself out of his throat. His stomach twisted with terror, but he couldn’t do anything. His head spun and rocked at every single movement, making him feel unbearably nauseous. His legs felt like jelly and lead at the same time and everything just hurt and ached. What happened to him?

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he was set down. Sapnap looked down at what he assumed was skin, cause it sure as hell didn’t feel like sand or rock, and his hands. Although, these hands didn’t look like his hands. The nails were longer than they usually were and the skin of the hands were black. Maybe he was handling the cannon and passed out after getting hit in the head or something. Yeah. That has to be it.

The ground, or skin, rumbled under him. Alarms were ringing in Sapnap’s head and his heart started to race. Another weird sound slipped from his throat as he tried to get away from the rumbling. The same hand gently scooped him back up as what he was laying on rose up.

A moment later a rather large face was in front of him. The spots of brown, which Sapnap thought were probably the eyes, blinked at him. A clawed finger gently rubbed his head. Sapnap felt things press flat against his skin and it freaked him out. He yelped and tried to squirm away from what was touching him, only to have it follow him.

Sapnap tried to rip away whatever had been touching him but was stopped by the large hand. His hands were then pinned by the large hand. He was so small compared to this massive being. Another sound sprung from his chest, this one sounded more frustrated than scared. He tugged at his hands over and over as the rumbling started up again.

“What the fuck is going on?! What’s touching me? And who are you?” Sapnap shouted, still trying to pull his hands from the giant’s grasp.

The other, considerably larger, person flinched back. They finally let go of Sapnap’s hands. “I’m Wilbur. And those would be your fins. They’re incredibly delicate right now so don’t touch them. As far as I know they’ll firm up more as you grow and get used to this form.”

Wilbur’s answer was extremely confusing, but right at that moment a different thought crossed his mind. “Where is he? What did you do to him?” Sapnap interrogated as he swept around him with his arms, looking for the tiny mer with golden blond hair. Something told him that he needed to find the little mer pup sooner rather than later.

“Where is who?” Wilbur asked. “Sunshine? Er, Tommy? Wait. Do you know his name?” Wilbur pulled Sapnap a little closer up to his face.

Sapnap’s head spun when Wilbur moved his hand a little too much, a little too fast. His vision already blurred Wilbur’s face, and the movement wasn’t helping.

“Stop! Stop. Please, just put me down.” Sapnap cried out. His head spun and pounded. He felt like he was going to throw up.

“Sorry.” Wilbur gently set Sapnap down on the very soft sand. “I forget that you’re basically a newborn pup. More or less.”

Sapnap squinted at where he thought Wilbur’s face was. He then buried his face back into the sand and tried to take deep breaths. Two fingers brushed along Sapnap's spine. It was actually quite comforting. As his head started to settle down, Sapnap turned his face to look back at where he thought he’d seen Wilbur’s face. There was a movement just in the corner of his eye. Sapnap turned to stare directly at the movement. It turned out to be a blob of color. This long blue blob of color shifted as Wilbur settled down in the sand next to him. A sailfin came to settle flat along Wilbur’s tail. Sapnap let his head rest against the sand as he soaked in the small patterns in the blue scales… Wait.

“Holy fuck! You’re a mer!” Sapnap shouted in surprise. He jerked away from Wilbur’s hand and sorely regretted it as soon as he moved. His head swirled and he could feel his stomach slosh around.

Wilbur flinched back again. “I-” He let out a breathy awkward sounding laugh. “Yeah, I am. What else would I be?”

Sapnap squinted again as another thought drifted into his mind. “Wait… how am I breathing?”

Wilbur settled back into the position he was in before. “Just like I am. Your gills.” Another blob of color shifted to point at what Sapnap assumed to be his neck.

Something in the back of Sapnap’s mind started to scream that he was still missing something. Instead of wondering what he was missing, he pushed the feeling to the side and looked down at himself. He was still wearing his favorite shirt, but where his legs were supposed to be was a black, white, and orange mass.

Looking at his arms closer, there were things sticking out of them. Sapnap assumed they were fins. He brought his hands up to his ears. His hands gently felt the weird texture of more fins where his ears should be. A sound bubbled up in his throat, but he shoved it down and felt along his neck for the gills. He coughed hard when his fingertips found what he’d been searching for. Sure enough, they were there.

“What in the hell happened to me?” Sapnap asked calmly, his voice a little raspy from the accidental poke as his gills. An emotion he couldn’t name started bubbling under his skin.

Wilbur shifted closer to him. Leaning down to lay on the sand close to Sapnap. “You’re a mer. I thought that would be clear.”

Something snapped and a flood of emotions washed over Sapnap. “What the fuck do you mean, I’m a mer? Humans don’t just turn into fish people.” He shouted. It made him cringe a bit from the raspy-ness that he could still feel in his throat.

Sapnap felt a rush of warmth come from his chest. Warmer than the water surrounding him. Warmer than Wilbur’s hand. It made his skin feel hot and tight. His vision started to blur even more. Wilbur tried to reach for him but flinched back instead. Anger burned even brighter in his chest. It felt like he was going to overheat at any moment.

Suddenly a melody washed over him. It was cool and soothing. A balm to the burning in his chest and along his skin. It made him feel drowsy and ready to sleep again. But- but he was still missing something. What was it? Sapnap let out a sad croon. Calling for whatever he was looking for. Whatever he had been missing. Slowly, he sunk back into the sand. It was so soft and comfortable.

The water vibrated a bit as Wilbur shuffled closer and gently pushed Sapnap the rest of the way down. Sapnap’s mind went a bit mushy and he snuggled under Wilbur’s hand a bit. He was still sad but for now he needed to sleep. Hopefully when he woke up he would be able to find his missing thing.

Chapter Text

Sapnap stretched a bit as he woke up. A sleepy whine came from beside him as he moved. He reached and pulled his dog close to his chest. Another whine came from his dog that he was cuddling with. Sapnap frowned, but nuzzled his face into his dog’s fluff.

“Let me go.” A quiet voice whined out.

Sapnap opened his eyes and was met with golden curls floating around a small child’s face. He was confused about who this child was and where his parents were until he realized that he was holding the mer pup they had caught back on the ship.

“Sorry. I thought you were my dog.” Sapnap apologized. He loosened his hold on the mer pup slightly.

The pup let out a strangled noise and held himself up by his hands. “Your dog?” The pup shouted the question and looked at him angrily. “I am not dog!” The pup turned away from Sapnap and crossed his arms. A moment later the pup was looking over his shoulder. “What… What is dog?”

Sapnap snorted. The pup narrowed his eyes at Sapnap. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It’s just-” Sapnap laughed again. After a moment he calmed himself down. “Sorry. I can’t really explain what a dog is too well. They come in all shapes and sizes, with different kinds of fur. You kinda just gotta see one yourself.”

“Dog teeth sharp?” The pup asked, pointing at his own teeth, which didn’t really look that sharp.

Sapnap thought about it for a moment. “Kinda.”

The pup settled closer. “Dog tail?”

“Different kind of tail than what you have.” Sapnap said as he gently patted the pup on the head.

The pup leaned into his hand and followed it when Sapnap set it back down. It got a bit darker and when Sapnap looked up he saw a cloud of pink above him. He squinted at it, trying to bring the thing into focus, but his vision was still blurry. It hurt his head to try and squint for too long. So instead he opted to close them to try and stave off the impending headache.

“Tommy.” A deep monotone voice called out from above them. “It’s time to go play with Tubbo.”

A small whine came from the pup laying with Sapnap, pressing into his side. The pup wiggled into his arms and tried to hide in his shirt. A blob of mostly blue came over and a large hand was approaching Sapnap.

“Come on Sunshine.” A lighter voice chirped. Sapnap recognized it from earlier. “Let’s go play.”

As the hand got closer something in Sapnap flipped. Suddenly a growl was rising in his throat and his lips were pulling back to show his teeth as he held onto the pup and tried his hardest to push them away from the hand. Pain flared up all over his body as he scooted across the sand. The hand pulled back.

“Now you’ve got the wanna be mer all riled up. Good going Wil.” The monotone voice said.

The pup wiggled in Sapnap’s arms and let out a loud whine. Sapnap’s attention narrowed to the pup wiggling in his arms. What was wrong? Did something happen to him? Sapnap’s attention shifted back to the two others around him. Did they do something to the pup?

The blue one moved and soon his hand was close again. “Are you hungry, Sunshine?”

The pup stilled for a second before straining against Sapnap’s arms. Eventually he wriggled out of Sapnap’s hold, despite his honest efforts to keep the pup right where he was. With a chirrup the pup swam out of Sapnap’s focused sight and to the other mer’s hand. Sapnap felt something on his back rise up and strain against his shirt. He reeled back and tried to see what was on his back, until he was suddenly being picked up.

“There you go Sunshine. Let’s go play with Tubbo in the cave, yeah?” The blue mer asked. Supposedly talking to the pup. A responding trill confirmed Sapnap’s suspicions.

Sapnap reached in the general direction of where he knew the pup was. The hand he was in didn’t let him get anywhere near close enough to get the pup back. A whine pulled itself out of Sapnap’s throat as he stopped reaching and just let himself be held.

“Calm down. He’s not gonna do anything to the little one.” The monotone voice said.

Sapnap wriggled in his hold one more time before giving up. “Can you please let me go.” He muttered through gritted teeth.

“Not until Wilbur is far enough away.” The monotone voice said.

Wilbur. That name was familiar. But why was it familiar? Sapnap knows he’s heard it somewhere, but where exactly? Sapnap thought for a moment longer before it hit him. The mer from yesterday. Or whenever it was he woke up last. Speaking of when he last woke up, he was starving. As if on cue, Sapnap's stomach growled.

“Hungry?” The monotone voice asked.

Sapnap nodded as he hid his face in his hands from embarrassment. His stomach was so loud. Why’d it have to do that right now?

“I thought you might be.” The monotone voice said.

A few seconds later something bumped against Sapnap’s hands. He lowered his hands from his face and saw another incredibly large hand holding a piece of meat in front of him. Sapnap cautiously took the piece of meat. When nothing happened, he started to munch on it. It was the most delicious thing he’d eaten in a long while. He finished it quickly, subconsciously chirping for more when he was finished.

The monotone voice chortled from above him. “Knew you were hungry, didn’t know you were that hungry.”

The mer dangled another piece of meat in front of Sapnap. Without hesitation, he snatched it up and happily ate. That earned another chuckle from the other mer. Sapnap swallowed the last mouthful of his food.

“What’s your name?” Sapnap asked when a third piece of meat was offered to him.

“Heh?” The monotone voice questioned. “Technoblade.”

Sapnap hummed. He took a bite out of his meal. Eating this one a little slower than the others. There was a moment of quiet between the two of them. “What are we gonna do now?”

“You’re gonna go back to sleep and I’m going to watch over you.” Technoblade said as he laid Sapnap down on the soft sand. “You’re still finishing up the turning process. I’m actually surprised you’re up so soon after the last time you woke up.”

“But I’m not… tired.” Sapnap said with a yawn. When did he get so tired?

Suddenly it felt like he couldn’t keep his head up. So he ended up slumped into Technobade’s hand. Yeah, this was nice. He let out a content trill without realizing what he was doing. Sapnap blinks heavily as he looks up towards where Technoblade’s face should’ve been but all there were were blobs of colors.

“Mhm. Not tired?” Technoblade settled down around Sapnap. “Remember, you’re not a human anymore.”

He furrowed his brows. “Not human, but I’m not mer either.” Another yawn escaped him. “Then what am I?”

“Right now I’d say you’re tired. Considering you’re falling asleep where you sit.” Was all the response he got.

Sapnap’s eyes fluttered shut and he curled up on the soft sand. The warmth radiating off of Technoblade was lulling him to sleep. “That’s not a real answer.” He mutters, already half asleep.

“Shh, just go to sleep. We can talk about this some other time.” Techno says, a gentle hand coming to stroke Sapnap's back. It soothed something deep inside of him that he hadn’t even realized was unhappy. Eventually Sapnap slipped off into sleep.

Chapter Text

As the days passed Sapnap’s vision slowly returned and the aching in his body finally went down. His tail didn’t flare with pain every time he moved it too much. He was still taking a lot of naps, but he wasn’t sleeping as much as he was in the beginning. Today he was working with Philza on how to properly swim with his new tail. He wasn’t very good at it, but part of that’s due to the residual pain in his body.

“You’re still thinking of them like legs. Like it is two separate limbs working together as one. You have a tail now, it works differently. It’s one unit, one limb, so you need to move it as one.” Philza instructed. “Any other way will throw you off balance.”

“Aren’t there different swimming styles for different people?” Sapnap asked from where he was sitting on a rock. His breath comes in light pants as he rubs the left side of his tail from a charlie horse.

“Sure, different mer have different swimming styles, but you don’t have enough swimming experience to have your own swimming style yet.” Philza moved to sit on the sand next to the rock Sapnap was on. “We’re all taught how to swim the exact same way. Then as we grow up, how we swim grows with us.”

Sapnap dragged his hands down his face with a groan. “Why can’t I get it?”

“It’s gonna take you a while to get used to the new muscles that comes with having a tail instead of having legs. Not only that, but learning how to control your new limb and expecting mastery in just a few days would be the same as expecting a newborn human to compete in a race. Control and finesse come with time and practice.” Philza said, trying to comfort Sapnap.

“Even my pup’s better than me.” Sapnap complained.

“Tommy?” Philza tilted his head a little. Sapnap face palmed. “Of course he’s going to be better. He’s been a mer his entire life.”

Sapnap looked up at Philza with a look that said, ‘that didn’t help at all’. He sighed and hunched over a little as he looked down at the sand. His tail was definitely longer than it was when he had first seen it, but it’s still not as long as it should be. Why? Why was he given a second chance? He was perfectly fine with giving up his life to save his- the mer pup.

“Swimming training’s done. It’s nap time for you.” Philza scooped Sapnap up and took him back to the nest in the main area with the soft sand.

Sapnap didn’t fight Philza. He let Philza carry him and put him in the nest. He curled up in the sand, waving his tail fin in front of him a little before resting it on the sand with the rest of him. Sapnap sighed and wiggled into the sand a little. He closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep, but after a few minutes, that felt like forever, it didn’t happen. He groaned and rolled over, but that didn’t help. With a huff he rolled onto his stomach.

“Hm, maybe it’s not nap time just yet.” Philza said slowly. He carefully scooped Sapnap up. “Come on, let’s go socialize.”

Sapnap held onto Philza’s hand as he was tucked close to Philza’s chest and carried somewhere out of the nest. A questioning trill left his lips as he looked up at Philza.

Philza responded with a comforting croon. “We’ll be there soon. Don’t worry, little one.”

Philza carefully swam around rocks and schools of fish. He stopped just outside of what looked like a big city. Sapnap shot up in his hand. A string of awed and amazed chirps and clicks coming from him before Sapnap remembered that words were a thing.

“Woah! How have we never seen this?” Sapnap asked as he twisted around to look up at Philza. “With how far humans have come, you’d think that we would’ve noticed something as huge as a whole underwater city at the bottom of the ocean!”

Philza chuckled and slowly swam into the outskirts of the city. “We’re pretty far under the surface and protected by the magic seals around the perimeter of the city. You can faintly see them from here.” He pointed out several slightly glowing squiggly shapes. Sapnap let out an impressed coo at the sight.

There were mer of all shapes and sizes swimming around the city. Sapnap was in awe as he took it all in. Some of the buildings were taller than what they had on land. Some of them were decorated with sea plants and others were plain.

Sapnap leaned out of Philza’s hand a little. Everything was so… alive. None of these mer were terrifying beasts. Sure some of them were really really big, but nothing like what Dream said they were like. Of course Dream lied to them.

Philza turned and wove through the walk, or more accurately, the swim ways of the city. He stopped in front of a cozy looking home. Kelp and other kinds of sea plants were growing in front of it. A few sea creatures were swimming through all of the sea plants.

“Where are we?” Sapnap asked.

“Not quite in the heart of the city but close enough. I think you’ll like the mer who live here.” Philza said, offering Sapnap an encouraging smile as the two continued on their way.

Philza swam close to the cozy looking home and settled down on the seafloor before inching as close to the door as he could get. Sapnap stayed in Philza’s palm, curled close to the larger mer’s chest, and watched as he gently tapped on the half door with his claws. They waited for a moment before a mer appeared in the doorway. The mer had light brown hair floating around his face and his tail was purple and teal. The scales on his face and shoulders were teal as well.

The mer’s face lit up when he recognized who was at his door. “Phil! What have you been doing? How have you been?”

Philza smiled politely. “Trying to raise the new pup. He’s… a handful. To put it lightly.”

The mer leaned on the half door. Another mer swam up behind him. This one was smaller than the first, closer to Sapnap in size. This one had a navy blue tail and shoulder length black hair that was mostly hidden by the hat he was wearing.

The new mer raised an eyebrow. “Oh? You and Kristin have another one?” He said with a smirk.

Philza shifted and raised his other hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, letting out a long suffering sigh, before dragging his hand down his face. “No, Quackity. Wilbur found a tropical pup that had been abandoned by his pod. Now we’re trying to raise that pup.”

Both of the mer froze and stared wide eyed. “Oh. That’s… unfortunate.” The dark blue mer, Quackity, awkwardly said.

The other mer’s eyes drifted down and finally caught sight of Sapnap, who was still curled up in Philza’s hand. “Is this the pup? Doesn’t seem very tropical pup-like to me.”

Philza gently stroked Sapnap’s head. “No. We’re just looking over this one until he finishes his transformation and development. It’s a temporary thing.”

Sapnap wrapped his arms around one of Philza’s fingers. “Why are we here?” He asked, confusion clear in his voice.

Quackity swam around the other mer and over to Sapnap. “Development?” Quackity looked over Sapnap for a moment before running his hands over Sapnap’s tail and lifting it up. “Oh. His tail’s a little too short. Can you even swim properly?”

“Hey!” Sapnap growled, letting out a sharp warning hiss. “Don’t touch someone without their permission dipshit!”

Quackity just laughed and continued to inspect Sapnap’s gauzy thin fins. He did end up picking at a few scales as well, which put his unwilling victim in a bit more pain than he was willing to put up with. Sapnap whined and wiggled away from Quackity. He pushed himself up off of Philza’s hand before he grabbed onto the loose blond locks floating serenely in the gentle currents. Once he had a good grip, Sapnap pulled himself up out of Quackity’s reach. He curled up behind Philza’s ear fin. Philza lowered his head just in case Sapnap fell. Effectively tucking the disgruntled pup behind his ear fin.

“Phil?” Quackity settled on Philza’s hand.

“He was human.” Philza said in a slightly hushed tone. “We’re just dropping by so he can socialize with other mer. It’ll do him some good to be around others outside of my pod.”

“Karlos!” Quackity jumped up and swam over to the other mer. “Did you hear that? He was humano.”

The other mer, Karlos, smiled and patted Quackity’s head. “Yes, I heard.”

Philza picked Sapnap up by his shirt and set him down in front of the half door. Sapnap reached for Philza’s hand and whined when he pulled it back. Karlos reached down and pulled Sapnap up to sit on the half door.

“Hello, my name is Karl. This is Quackity.” Karlos, Karl, said as he gestured at Quackity.

“Hola.” Quackity waved as he curled up on Karl’s back before resting his chin on Karl’s shoulder.

“You’re more than welcome to come inside. Phil on the other hand will have to stay out here since our house isn’t quite big enough to host him as well.” Karl smiled at Sapnap.

“I have some errands to do. I’ll be back when I’m done.” Philza gently patted Sapnap’s head. “Have fun.”

He pushed himself up off the seafloor before swimming off into the city. Sapnap nearly tipped over where he was balanced on the half door. Karl quickly scooped him up and brought him inside.

“So… Can you swim? How did it feel? When you changed. Does your tail hurt? Are you like a pup or an adult?” Quackity badgered Sapnap with questions. He poked at Sapnap’s tail and looked at his face.

Sapnap hissed at him and swatted his hands away. “Stop touching me!”

Karl smiled down at them as he pulled Sapnap closer. “Quack, maybe don’t overwhelm the little one with questions and pokes.”

Quackity pouted and crossed his arms. “Fine.”

Sapnap smiled softly for a second as he leaned into Karl. He was starting to think that he’d like these two.

Chapter Text

Tommy yawned and stretched a little before curling up further in the nest. Sapnap wasn’t here right now which Tommy was not happy about but he was tired. Wilbur said Phil took him somewhere for training or something. Techno was swimming around keeping dangers out.

Wilbur curled around Tommy as they laid in the nest. Tommy leaned into the warmth that Wilbur provided. He was sleepy from playing with the other pup, Tubbo. He had a lot of fun and he hoped that Wilbur took him to see Tubbo again. That would be nice. But for now it was naptime. The sand was soft and he was pleasantly warm.

The water shifted, pulling Tommy back from the edge of sleep. He lifted his head and looked around with bleary eyes. The familiar colors of Phil and Sapnap swam over to the nest. Wilbur gave a gentle welcoming trill, while Tommy gave a sleepy one. Phil responded in kind as Sapnap clicked softly, not quite sure how to trill yet. Sapnap was laid down in the nest next to Tommy and Wilbur.

Tommy closed his eyes and started dozing again. His head rested on his forearms as he started drifting off again. Muddled voices were talking above him, sending rumbles through the water.

“Are you sure you want Kristin to meet him?” Wilbur asked, his voice just above a whisper.

A claw gently scratched Tommy’s head. He knew it was Phil even without opening his eyes. A pleased and sleepy trill cascaded from his lips. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Phil says in a low tone.

Tommy yawned and stretched himself upwards into the affection he was receiving. He chirped when the claw moved from his hair to stroke his cheek lovingly. Tommy grabs Phil’s claw to give him a little hug. A chuckle resounds through the water. Tommy gives Phil a sleepy smile. He sleepily pulled himself up off the sand of the nest and swam along Phil’s arm. Tommy pressed himself to Phil’s cheek with a loving little trill before he settled down in the crook of Phil’s neck.

“See. He’s a little lovebug.” Phil said as he gently rubbed the second knuckle of his finger against Tommy’s cheek. Tommy let out a sleepy chirp.

“To everyone, but me.” Wilbur pouted with a jealous stare.

“And who’s fault is that?” Phil asked, a knowing smile smugly stretched over his lips.

Wilbur sulked and folded his arms with a huff, careful to not disturb Sapnap. “Mine.”

Tommy closed his eyes again. He leaned into the warmth Phil was radiating as he finally fell asleep.

~~--~~

Tommy yawned and stretched before letting anyone even touch him. He rubbed at one of his eyes as Phil picked him up off the sand. Phil cooed at him softly.

“Aw. He really is just a baby.” A female voice said, awe and fondness dripping from the words.

Tommy’s head perked up, a questioning click slipping from him. He looked around for who just talked and saw another mer. She had a dark purple tail with black detail scales. Her long dark brown hair was decorated with handmade beads and shells. Her eyes held only kindness and interest.

She smiled down at him when she noticed he was looking at her. “Hello little one.”

One of her clawed fingers gently scratched his scalp and behind his ear fin. Tommy chirped and smiled as he leaned into the affection. A swelling happy, loving feeling made his chest feel like it was about to burst. He leaned further into the mer’s hand. Before long it felt like he was about to explode when it finally did burst but settled softly in his heart. And just like that Tommy imprinted.

He swam out of Phil’s hand and bumped his body against the other mer’s arm as he swam up to her face. He swam a circle around her head, rubbing against the underside of her chin before cozying himself behind her ear fin. Her hair floated around him as he pressed himself close to her. He felt so safe here, safer than any other time he’d tucked himself behind Phil’s ear fins or Techno’s. He tucks himself more firmly behind the mer’s ear, burying under her dark locks of hair. A high pitched purr vibrated through his chest.

“That was fast.” She said with a soft laugh. “And how long has Wil been trying?”

Phil laughed with her. “Two to three months or so.”

“And he didn’t imprint that entire time?” She asked, a teasing lilt to her voice. “He’s going to have a tantrum.” She reached up and gently ran her finger over Tommy’s head and down his spine. He presses up into her finger with a little trill. “I’m sorry little one, I haven’t introduced myself.” She gingerly removed Tommy from his hiding spot and held him in her hands. The action earned her a disgruntled string of chirps from the young pup. She smiles fondly and strokes his head down his back once more until Tommy is trilling in contentment. “I’m Kristin. You’re Tommy, right?”

Tommy looked up at her with wide eyes and nodded. “Chris-Christan?” Tommy narrowed his eyes. That wasn’t right. He sticks his tongue out to show his frustration.

“So close. Kristin.” Kristin repeated with a chuckle.

“K-Kris - tan.” Tommy finished lamely. He frowned when it came out wrong again. His brows are knit together with frustrated concentration.

Kristin giggled softly before settling down in the sand beside Phil. “Kris-.”

“Kris-.” Tommy copied.

“-tin.”

“-tin.”

“Now, put it together. Kris-tin, Kristin.”

“Krissstin.” Tommy beamed when he finally got it right. Even though the name still had a few too many sounds than it was supposed to. He didn’t care, he got it right that time! Okay, well mostly right but that didn’t matter.

Kristin smiled lovingly down at him. “Good job.” She praised as she rubbed her finger against the top of his head.

Tommy leaned into the affection with a chirp. The currents shifted, but Tommy didn’t pay it any mind. Phil and Kristin were here. He’d be just fine. They’d protect him from everything.

“Mum?” Wilbur called before swimming up behind Kristin and resting his chin on her shoulder. That’s when he catches sight of Tommy nestled in her hands, purring in content. “You met Sunshine without me?”

Kristin used her free hand to pat Wilbur’s cheek. “I’m sorry.”

Wilbur pouted. “And he’s so cuddly with you. It took me weeks, a run away attempt, and a mernapping attempt to get him to let me even hold him.”

Kristin watched as Tommy swam along her arm and brushed along Wilbur’s chin before swimming along her jawline. He presses into her cheek for a moment before diving into the thick locks of her hair. “Well, he’s… um, he’s imprinted on me.” Kristin smiled as she felt Tommy nestle himself behind her ear fin once again.

Wilbur gasped as he leaned back and swam in front of Kristin. “He imprinted on you?! I’ve been trying to get him to imprint on me since I found him.”

Tommy peeked through Kristin’s hair and watched as Wilbur groaned and fell back to the sea floor. Tommy grinned as a tiny rumble started up in his chest. He leaned into the side of Kristin’s head as he purred.

“What did I miss?” Techno asked as he swam over from behind them.

“Tommy imprinted on Mum.” Wilbur draped his arm over his eyes. Trying to play into the whole ‘woe is me’ that his overly dramatic self is feeling.

Tommy grinned and stopped purring as he swam away from Kristin and over to Techno. He chirped at Techno, who responded with a low rumbling purr, as he swam around his head before settling in Techno’s loosely braided hair. Tommy pushed the beads and shells around until he was able to settle comfortably in Techno’s hair. Perfectly woven into the pink strands for optimal support, cover, and comfort. He sighs softly as a purr of his own starts up.

Techno chuckled. “Seems like Tommy likes everyone but you, Wil. Don’t feel too bad, I am the superior older brother after all.”

Wilbur groaned and rolled onto his stomach. “Why? Why don’t you like me?” He asked as he reached towards Tommy before dropping his head to his forearm.

Tommy smiled and snuggled further into Techno’s hair as he started to purr again. He yawned before tucking his head into Techno’s braid. The warmth and gentle sway of Techno’s braid lulled him​​ to sleep.

Chapter Text

Tommy shot forward and pounced on Tubbo, sending them both tumbling forward into the soft sand. Playful chirps and clicks could be heard throughout the cave. As well as a warning hiss or two whenever one would get a little too rough with the other. Kristin watched as the two played, keeping a careful eye on them just in case they ended up accidentally hurting one another. They wrestled a little bit before chasing each other around the cave. Tommy glanced behind him to see how close Tubbo was. When Tommy looked forward again it was too late to stop himself from running head first into a rock. Tubbo laughed at him as he was splayed out on the sand of the sea floor.

Kristin let out a concerned croon as she swam over and gently scooped Tommy up with a handful of sand as well. “Are you okay, sweetheart?” She brushed through his hair and over his scales. Tommy hissed a bit when she ran a gentle finger over his head and discovered a growing bump on his head. Concern-love-pup She clicked and crooned.

His head was thrumming with pain. Tommy whined and made grabby hands at her. A reassuring purr burst from her chest, comforting both pups. Kristin gently separated him from the handful of sand before tucking him behind her ear fin and setting the rest of the sand back in place.

“Is he okay?” Tubbo asked, peeking over her scales and looking towards where Tommy was now hidden among her inky curls.

“He’ll be fine. Just needs a little rest.” Kristin reassured with a smile. “Just like you. It’s getting late. Come with me, little one. Time for bed.”

Kristin held her hand out close to the sea floor. Tubbo swam over and crawled onto her hand. Kristin held him close as she swam out of the play cave. Tommy pressed himself closer to the warmth Kristin emitted as she swam back to the nest. Tubbo curled closer to her chest, a high pitched purr emitting from his own chest. Showing just how content he was at the moment. Tommy reciprocated with a purring trill of his own.

The nest was empty when they arrived. Which was to be expected. At this time her mate and sons should be out hunting for dinner. Kristin set both Tommy and Tubbo down in the nest before circling around them and settling down on the soft sand of the nest floor. A pre-dinner nap was in order for the pups and herself. Their other pod members would wake them in an hour or so. Kristin let out a content and loving trill as she settled further into the nest. Tommy and Tubbo both cuddled up to Kristin’s hand when she gently draped it over them. Kristin sighs with a fond expression and a loving smile as sleep slowly claimed the three of them.

~~--~~

Tommy weaved between Phil’s fingertips, little chirps and clicks falling from his lips to be returned by Phil, before curling around his thumb. He grinned as Wilbur leaned into Kristin with a pout. Tommy stuck his tongue out at Wilbur, the action making the older mer pout further and grumble under his breath. Kristin carded her fingers through Wilbur’s hair. Though she was trying her best to hold back, Tommy could tell that she was silently giggling at Wilbur’s pouty attitude and jealousy towards his father. Tommy smiled widely as he pressed the side of his face into Phil’s thumb pad. He was purposefully giving affection to everyone, but Wilbur.

He swam away from Phil and over to Sapnap. Tommy hugged Sapnap and curled up in his arms. Wilbur whined again as Sapnap wraps his arms around Tommy.

“Hello.” Sapnap smiled down at Tommy. A knowing glint in his eyes.

Tommy chirped at Sapnap before nuzzling his head against Sapnap’s. “Hi.”

Sapnap gently scratched behind Tommy’s ear fins. Tommy leaned into the affection from Sapnap. Wilbur whined again. Ha, he sounds so pitiful. It almost makes Tommy want to actually swim over to alleviate the pain he was intentionally causing. Well, too bad, so sad.

“Sunshine.” Wilbur whines out. So extremely pitiful and sad sounding. It grates on Tommy’s nerves a little. “Please. I just want to hold you.”

Tommy looked up at Wilbur before cuddling closer to Sapnap. He smiled into Sapnap’s shoulder. Wilbur lets out an incredibly sad sounding pod call. Pup-podmate-here-come-pup-come

Podmate-here-stay-here Tommy clicks back somewhat annoyedly. He tried his hardest to continue ignoring Wilbur and he lasted quite a while actually. But after a while Tommy sighed and let go of Sapnap to swim over to Wilbur. Wilbur eagerly cupped his hands around Tommy and pulled him closer. Tommy’s stomach decided to grumble at that moment.

“Hungry?” Wilbur asked.

Tommy nodded as he weaved around Wilbur’s hands like he did with Phil. A sad sound escapes Wilbur. Tommy looked back for a singular moment then swam over to Kristin. He curled up in her hand. He turns his large pleading eyes towards her. Trying his best to get her to agree with him.

“Mum.” Tommy called. “Can we go hunt?”

Kristin raised an eyebrow as she looked down at him. “You want to go hunt for food with us? I’m not sure little one, you’re a bit too young to be allowed into a hunting party. Are you sure you’re old enough to go hunting?” A sliver of a smile sneaking onto her face.

Tommy nodded. He bared his sharp teeth and hissed with all of his fins flared in a mock threat display. His sails knocked against each other to make a haunting sound. Sure it wasn’t as impressive as how his parents were, but he was definitely old enough to go hunting. He quickly moved on from that and smiled up at Kristin.

Kristin used her free hand to clutch at her chest and gasp. “Oh, so scary. Better put that away, you’ll scare all the fish away.”

“Kristin. You’re not taking him hunting.” Phil said bluntly as he swam over to her side. He has a concerned frown on his face. That doesn’t look good.

Kristin waved Phil off. “We’ll go to the coral reef. It’ll be perfectly safe there. There haven’t been any outside mer sightings in nearly three moon cycles and all dangerous predators have been removed entirely or relocated.” Her expression softens when she sees that her mate is still not quite convinced. “Really, darling, it will be just fine. If anything happens Techno will be able to take care of it, and if he can’t then I’ll be there for backup. You know exactly how fierce your son and mate can be.” 

Phil frowned. “Kristin-”

“We’ll be just fine on our own.” Kristin gave Phil a peck on the cheek before dismissing the rest of his worries.

Wilbur whined. “I want to go with you. Please take me with you?”

“Nope.” Kristin booped Wilbur’s nose. “This is for me and our little sun spot. Techno’s coming because we need someone to watch for any danger.”

“But Mum-!” Wilbur exclaimed but was held back by Phil.

“What, you don’t want to spend time with your ol’ dad anymore? How disheartening!” Phil said with faux sadness in his tone.

“That is not what I meant and you know it!” Wilbur fumed, cheeks puffing out like that one spiky fish Techno showed him once.

Tommy giggled as Wilbur groaned and flopped down onto the sand. Tommy held onto Kristin’s fingers as she pushed off of the seafloor and started swimming. Techno wasn’t swimming too far behind.

“Which reef are we going to?” Techno asked.

“The east one.” Kristin answered without hesitation. Techno just grunted in understanding as they continued swimming.

Kristin started swimming up and over a little cliff. Techno was on her tail as they swam off. Eventually they arrived at a coral reef. There were tons and tons of fish swimming around. Small ones, big fat ones, any kind Tommy could think of was there. It was amazing! Tommy hadn’t been to an actual reef in a long while. It was more beautiful than he remembered.

Kristin smiled as she settled down in the sand. The spot she had picked was one where she could see just about everything but was still somewhat sheltered and protected. Tommy swam excitedly between her fingers. He trills out a question at her.

“Use your words Tommy.” Kristin chides gently. “You’re old enough to remember to use them.”

“Can I go hunt now?” Tommy asks impatiently.

“Not yet. Techno needs to make sure that it’s safe enough for you to be out and about by yourself first. When he comes back you can go out.” She responds in a loving manner.

Tommy whines but stays in his mum’s hold. He tries to stay still and wait for Techno but it’s really hard. Soon enough though, Tommy can see Techno making his way back over to the cave they were both in. Tommy wriggles and chirps but stays within his mum’s grasp, waiting for Techno to come to them. She let Tommy go when Techno finished his patrol around the reef and settled next to her. He had done a few loops around the reef before coming to sit next to Kristin. Tommy chased after the big fish and tried to pounce on the smaller fish. Kristin smiled as she watched. She snagged a rather large fish out of the water and killed it when Tommy started getting too hungry.

“Thank you Mumma.” Tommy chirped happily at Kristin as he made little grabby hands towards the offered fish.

“Do you need help eating it?” Kristin asked.

Tommy shook his head and glanced up at her before pulling the scales and meat apart with his slowly sharpening claws. He pulled the scales off of a chunk of meat before eating it. He tossed the discarded fish scales to the sand and watched as scavenger fish came to pick at them. Kristin gently dragged a claw through Tommy’s curls. He continued to rip the fish apart and eat it. Soon the only thing left of the fish was what Tommy didn’t want to eat. Bits of bone and scales floated in the water before sinking to the sand. The scavenger fish darted in to claim whatever was left.

“Thank you Mum.” Tommy purred. He swam up and nuzzled against Kristin’s cheek.

“You’re welcome Tommy. Why don’t you play for a little while longer?” Kristin rumbles. “I’ll let you know when it’s time to head back home, alright?”

Tommy chirrups his excitement before darting away. As he left, Techno was making his way back to the sheltered cave. Tommy trills a greeting as he swims around Techno’s arm up to his face. He presses himself to Techno’s cheek for a moment before letting out a sharp click. A teasing challenge towards the pink haired mer. He responds with a click of his own.

“Now Theseus, you know better than to challenge me.” Techno rumbles before snatching Tommy and holding the pup close.

Tommy on the other hand let out a startled trill that sounded more like a screech. “No! Let go, Techno!” He pounded his tiny fists against the arms holding him captive.

“Is this not what you wanted? You challenged me and I caught you. Therefore I have tickle rights.” And even in his normal monotone voice, Tommy could hear a hint of laughter.

“Noooo!” Tommy shouted before the tickling began.

Techno tickled the pup until he was flushed and panting a bit. Their mum had joined in the laughter at some point. She watched her two boys interact with one another from her spot in the sand. Techno finally let up a bit to give Tommy a break and Tommy took this as an opportunity to escape. He wriggled out of Techno’s hold and swam away as quickly as he possibly could. Once he was a good bit away, Tommy turned to his podmates and stuck his tongue out at them. If there were a few chuckles that followed, Tommy ignored them.

Tommy resumed chasing around all the fish in the reef. He pounced on a few, but they all wiggled out from under his claws. He somehow managed to catch one and kill it. He ate that one and left the remains with the first fish. This one tasted even better than the one that his Mum had caught for him. Probably cause he caught it himself, instead of someone else.

The water shifted and ruffled Tommy’s hair as Techno came back from another little patrol around the reef. “Having fun?”

Tommy chirped happily and nodded. “I killed a fish!”

Techno smiled down at him a little. “Good job.” Techno settled back down next to Kristin and watched Tommy with her for a while. “Why don’t you try and catch another one?”

“Kay!” Tommy called as he darted off to find another fish to chase.

Kristin’s hair splayed out through the water when she turned her head quickly. The movement made Techno go on high alert as well. Tommy was still chasing a colorful fish around the reef when he froze. There were faint calls of danger coming from further away.

A shrill pod call reverberated through the water and spooked Tommy, Pup-here-come-Protector-stay-pup-safe-stay

Tommy rushed over to where his mum and Techno were. He barrels into his mum’s arms. She coos comfortingly at him before passing him over to Techno. “There’s something wrong. Techno. Watch Tommy.”

Techno nodded firmly. “I’ll keep him safe here. I’ll make sure of it.”

Tommy let out a fearful click. He reached out towards Kristin. She gives him a comforting trill and gently cards a hand through his hair.

“Mum?” Tommy’s voice quivers with uncertainty.

“Stay here, with Techno. Alright Tommy? My little sun spot, I love you but I need to take care of this, okay?” Kristin says, her voice clear and firm. “I will be right back, I will not leave you. But I need you to stay safe.”

Tommy nods with sadness and fear in his eyes. She smiles once more before giving Techno a firm nod. He responds in kind, pulling Tommy closer to himself. She pushed herself off of the sand and darted off in a seemingly random direction. Tommy tried to follow Kristin, but Techno gently grabbed him and pulled him back. Techno rumbles comfortingly without looking away from their mother’s slowly shrinking figure. Tommy whines but ends up sinking into Techno’s hold against his will. The warning calls were now much clearer. They sounded so familiar too. Why did they sound so familiar? A shrill and pained pod call finally snapped something deep inside of him. Tommy chirped in distress before digging his claws into Techno’s hand. Techno tried to keep a hold of him but Tommy was determined, dammit. He wiggled out of Techno’s hands and swam off after Kristin.

“Tommy! Come back! It’s not safe!” Tommy ignored Techno’s outcries and continued towards his mum and the painfully familiar calls.

He watched as Kristin swam towards a large group of mer. She swam around them and flared her sails at something as she hissed. Tommy swam faster towards Kristin and the other pod. He got close, but not too close before Techno snatched him up again. Tommy wriggled in Techno’s hold as he watched the scene in front of him. There was a shiver of sharks chasing after the stranger pod. Kristin snarled and hissed at the sharks. Her fins flared as much as they could in a threat display. She swatted at the largest shark before they finally swam off.

The pod of strangers had minimal injuries and Kristin had none. It looked like she was talking with them. Motioning towards where he and Techno were, several meters away. Tommy watched the exchange with nervous sounds constantly falling from him.

Techno’s hand loosened around Tommy from the relief he felt seeing his mom unharmed. Tommy immediately took the opportunity and slipped out of Techno’s hand to dart over to Kristin. He barreled into her. Kristin gently cupped her hands around him.

“Mum!” Tommy chirped as he scrambled for purchase on her face to give her a hug.

“Tommy, darling, I told you to stay with your brother where it was safe.” Kristin gently scolds as she carefully guides the pup to hide behind her ear fin.

“But, but you left! And there were sharks! And, and you-!” Tommy started sputtering before he was interrupted by an extremely familiar voice.

“Tommy?”

Chapter Text

Kristin turned around to face the pod. Tommy pulled away from her face and held onto her fingers instead. He peered around them at the pod. He recognized them. Most of the mer had golden blonde hair and blue eyes. They looked just like him and Phil.

Tommy gasped softly when he saw his family. He pulled himself around Kristin’s hand before darting over to his parents. He barreled into his dad’s chest.

“Oh, Tommy.” His mum brushed his hair back from his face. “You’re alive?”

Tommy reached for his mum and hugged her. “I-I woke up, and you were gone.” Tommy mumbled into his mum’s shoulder. “I waited. I waited for so long but you didn’t come back!”

She gently carded her claws through his hair. The movement was a little sharper than anything Kristin or Phil or anyone else did. It hurt a little but Tommy was just happy to see his pod again after all this time. He trills out to his parents and actively ignores how they don’t respond immediately to his calls.

His mum hummed as she continued to card stinging claws through his hair. “We looked for you everywhere.”

Tommy nuzzled his face against her shoulder a little more. He sniffled a little before pulling back. He brushed up against his dad one more time before swimming back over to Kristin and Techno. He twines himself between Kristin’s fingers and looks up at her with the big pouty face that Wilbur sometimes makes.

“Can they stay? Please.” Tommy put on his best, as Sapnap would say, puppy dog face as he begged.

Kristin smiled down at Tommy. “If they want to.”

Tommy happily rubbed up against Kristin’s cheek. He swam by Techno before swimming back to his parents. He circled around his dad’s head and draped himself around his dad’s neck. Kristin swam in front of Tommy’s family and Techno swam behind them. Eventually Tommy swam up to Kristin and settled behind her ear fin.

~~--~~

Kristin smiled down at the sight of Tommy curled up on his mother’s lap. He was sleeping peacefully as she gently ran her claws through his golden curls. Tommy’s family was nice, all things considered, but something about them felt off. It was almost as if their story was a little too, convenient. Like the little details weren’t quite adding up. Then there was the way they interacted with Tommy himself. It was almost as if there was an invisible wall or barrier that they had to reach over or through whenever they were around the pup.

“And then you were chased by sharks?” Wilbur asked. His tone is saccharine sweet, one that he only uses when he’s trying to get information from someone and they’re not bending.

Kristin can tell that Wilbur is on edge. Had been since they brought in Tommy’s ‘birth pod’. His body language is absolutely screaming how much he distrusts the pod in their den. His sail is slightly flared at any given moment. His fins twitch minutely, never staying still for long. Her mate and second son weren’t much better. Philza was better at hiding it but she knew his tells like none other. They had been a mated pair for so long that she’d be ashamed if she didn’t. Technoblade stood guard over his pod, making less than covert threats towards the visiting pod should they make any kind of move or even remotely think of becoming a threat to his pod.

“Yes. When we couldn’t find Tommy, we thought he had been eaten, or something worse.” Sarah, Tommy’s mother, said. Her tone was lacking the kind of maternal grief that would’ve come from losing a pup. Technoblade narrows his gaze at her.

“He’s bigger than when we last saw him.” Tommy’s dad said. It sounded more like he was awkwardly stating a fact instead of making a genuine observation.

“That’s what happens when you don’t see your kid in months.” Technoblade huffed.

Sarah pursed her lips. Her hand paused in Tommy’s hair before continuing to comb through his curls. Kristin pushed herself off of the ground and scooted over to Philza. She kissed his cheek before settling against his side. He wrapped an arm around her waist.

Tommy’s aunt laughed. “Honestly, I’m surprised you put up with him for so long.” Her smile is sharp, like a predator, as she tucks a wayward curl behind her ear fin.

Kristin and Philza froze. “What?” They both ask incredulously.

“He’s annoying.” Tommy’s uncle said, nodding to show agreement in what the other had stated.

“A handful.” Another aunt chipped in.

“I mean, we weren’t planning for him to live, but at least he’s not our problem anymore.” The first aunt said flippantly.

Kristin sat up and nearly pulled out of Philza’s grasp. He was able to keep her there in his hold, but only just barely. “What do you mean ‘you weren’t planning for him to live?’” She demanded, eyes narrowed with a growl starting far back in her throat.

“We left him in that cave to die.” The aunt smiled at her words. “He was such a drain on our pod. Usually when there’s only one or two that survive out of a clutch we abandon the fingerlings at birth and start anew. It’s a waste of resources otherwise. He should consider himself lucky that his parents decided to keep him for as long as they did. I don’t think I would’ve done the same.” She huffs at the end of her little rant.

“We didn’t want him and no other pod would take him.” One of Tommy’s cousins said, shrugging nonchalantly.

Kristin balled her fists up. “You what?”

“We didn’t want him.” the second aunt said. “It’s a wonder that he’s even survived this long in the first place. He should’ve died within the week.”

Kristin pushed off the sand with a rattle and swam around the other pod. She quickly snatched Tommy away from Sarah and hissed at his supposed parents. Tommy let out an alarmed chirp as he was jolted awake from Kristin grabbing him. He settles back down after a few carefully gentle strokes and being tucked back behind her ear fin.

“You left him to die?!” Kristin hissed angrily. She kept her voice low enough that it wouldn’t bother the sleepy pup she was carrying.

Sarah stared at her wide eyed. “I- n-no. W-we-”

Kristin narrowed her eyes. “Leave.”

“W-what?” Sarah stuttered, wide eyed with her mouth gaping.

“Leave.” She hisses again, this time with more fervor.

“Mum. Careful with Tommy.” Wilbur reminded.

Kristin’s fins flared more as she hissed again at Tommy’s parents. “You should leave. Leave and never come back. All of you.”

Sarah and her mate scrambled up off the sand and hurriedly swam over to the rest of their family. An alarmed call rang out in the short distance. The sound jolted Tommy awake again. This time he emerges from where he’d been tucked away and tries to swim after his parents. He’s stopped by Kristin caging him in her hands. The other pod shared a few words before swimming off. Tommy trilled, calling for them to come back. Philza swam over and wrapped his arms around Kristin.

~~--~~

Tommy couldn’t believe it. His family was gone because of Kristin. He had just gotten them back and she had just chased them off. They didn’t even look back as they swam off. Tommy wriggled himself out of Kristin’s grasp before swimming off.

He didn’t exactly know where he was going. When he finally stopped, he saw that he was in front of the cave he had hidden in when he first met Wilbur. He darted inside and curled up in his old nest. He barely fits in it now.

“Tommy!” The faint voices of everyone called for him.

Tommy turned his back to the entrance of the cave. The cave didn’t feel as cold as it used to. He’d have to expand his little nest later. Right now though, he was just tired and sad and angry and he didn’t know how to fix it.

The water shifted as something or someone settled at the entrance of the little cave he is hiding out in. Tommy curled up tighter. He hissed when claws gently touched his back.

“It’s just me.” Sapnap said softly.

Tommy grumbled as he somehow curled even tighter. “Leave.”

Sapnap’s claws gently ran through his hair. “I’m not leaving, but we can just stay here for as long as you need.”

Tommy pulled his head away from Sapnap. “I don’t want you here.”

“Fine. I’ll tell Wilbur you’d rather he watch you then.” Sapnap said as he started shimmying backwards.

Tommy flipped around. “Wait.” He looked down at the sand as he tried to come up with something to say. “Do you have food?”

“Not on me but I can see if anyone has something for you to eat. Alright?” Tommy nods and curls back up in the furthest corner of his little cave. Sapnap smiled before pushing himself out of the cave. “He’s hungry.”

“He just ate not that long ago.” Techno pointed out.

Tommy watched as Sapnap shifted on the sand. “Well, he’s hungry again.” Slowly, the others leave. Soon no one other than Tommy and Sapnap are left. Sapnap turns back to where Tommy is all curled up. “Now, would you like to tell me what happened? I just came back from the city and was met with several panicked and distressed calls.”

“No.” Tommy says resolutely.

“Alright. I won’t push you much further for today.” Sapnap sighs. “But you’ll have to come out sooner or later. If not willingly then by force, and I know that you won’t like that even more.”

Tommy just hums and turns so that his back is to the entrance. His tummy is doing all sorts of loops and twirls that make him feel sick. Soon he doesn’t feel hungry anymore. So instead he just buries his face in his own scales as he hugs his tail.

Chapter Text

Tommy stayed in the cave long enough to expand the little nest there. He lined it with all sorts of soft things, just about all of them were given to him by the others through Sapnap. He’s stayed away long enough that he isn’t so mad anymore. If anything, Tommy thinks he’s more sad and lonely. He had also gotten cold enough that he let Sapnap wrap his arms around him.

One night, while he and Sapnap were cuddled up to go to sleep, Tommy finally broke and asked the question that had been burning in his mind for so long. “Do you think they’re mad at me?”

Sapnap jolts a bit before letting out a soft trill. “No, they’re not mad at you. I think they’re more sad than anything, they miss you.”

Tommy pulls away from Sapnap to stare at him in the eyes. “Really?”

Sapnap nods. “If you want, we can go talk to them. That way they can tell you for themselves. Do you want to do that?”

Tommy nods and cuddles back in. “Tomorrow?” He asks.

“Tomorrow.” Sapnap says. Tommy can hear his smile even if he can’t see his face.

The next morning, Sapnap swam back to the nest where the others were waiting. They all cautiously approached the two. Tommy curled himself further into Sapnap’s hold as a short scared trill escaped from his mouth. Tommy hid his face even further into Sapnap’s neck, trying his hardest to hide away. Maybe if he was as difficult and annoying as his last pod thought he was, maybe, just maybe, he could get his new pod to leave him alone too. It wasn’t like he was actually ‘their responsibility’, since Phil and Kristin weren’t actually his parents. Just like how Wilbur and Techno weren’t actually his siblings. They just liked him cause he’s little and cute. But what would happen to him when he stopped being little and cute? Would they not want to keep him anymore?

Tommy whimpers at the train of thought that kept circling in his mind. He didn’t want to leave. He wanted to stay here. He wanted to stay here so that he could be with his pod.

A low rumbling startled Tommy out of his thoughts and he made just the tiniest little peek to see who was rumbling. With his limited sight, he could see that his pod wasn’t surrounding him like he’d thought. Instead they had stopped a little bit away. Far enough that they couldn’t make an easy grab for him, but close enough that he could see Phil’s gills fluttering as the rumbling continued.

Tommy relaxed a bit in Sapnap’s hold. The rumbling that came from Phil was one that spoke of comfort and love. Nothing like the harsh reprimand that he’d been expecting. Maybe Sapnap had been telling the truth? That his pod really wasn’t mad at him. Another rumbling, this one softer than Phil’s, started up. His eyes dart over to settle on Wilbur’s form. Then Kristin followed by Techno. Finally, Sapnap joined as well. Suddenly Tommy was surrounded by love and comfort. They were all telling him that they loved him and still wanted him. And that’s all it took to make Tommy break down in sobs and broken trills and chirps. Phil and Kristin came closer, slowly so that they wouldn’t upset or scare Tommy more than he already was. Kristin gently pulled Tommy from Sapnap’s hold and he let them.

“Oh, little one.” Kristin murmurs quietly as she gently pets a finger down Tommy’s spine. He cries louder and clings to her fingers like someone was going to come and steal him at any moment. “I’m so sorry that you’ve had to go through everything that you have this last week. You don’t know how scared and worried we’ve all been while you’re away from the nest and out of our protection. I hope that you can forgive us one day.”

Phil nods and clicks reassurance. “We will always love you Tommy. Always. I hope you never forget about that. And even if you do, we’ll always be here to remind you about just how much we love you.”

Tommy can feel the pull of his instincts, dragging him under from the sheer amount of love and acceptance from his pod. He nods and pulls away from Kristin’s fingers just a bit to press into Phil’s hand that has been gently combing through his hair. Soon his brain is all fuzzy and his body is little more than a melted puddle. He doesn’t know just how long he stays that way, but from what he does remember it was a happy time. With all of his pod members there taking care of him and giving him cuddles and singing him to sleep. He struggles to come back up from his instincts, but for the longest time it takes just one rumbling purr or loving trill to send Tommy back into the hazy floating feeling.

When he finally is able to stay conscious for more than a moment or two at a time, they all make him eat a lot more than usual. Sometimes his tummy gets so full that it hurts and then he has to shove his face into whoever is holding him at the time just so that they couldn’t make him eat even more. But that’s okay, Tommy thinks. Because it’s better than not having food or warmth like he did before he came to live with his pod.

One day, Tommy just, woke up, without the fuzzy hazy feeling clinging to him. He found himself gently cradled between Wilbur and Techno. It took him a minute but he was able to wriggle his way out of their grips enough to sit up some and discovered that his mum and dad weren’t there with them. Without meaning to, Tommy let out a warbling pod call, one that specifically called for his parents. It didn’t take more than a few seconds before his call was returned and his parents were coming into the nest.

Kristin smiled gently and, with careful hands, carefully pulled Tommy loose from his brothers. “Good morning pup.” Kristin murmurs with another soft smile. “I’m glad to see that you’re up.”

Tommy purred, high and reedy, as he twined himself between the mer’s fingers. Only stopping once he’d settled himself to cling to her pointer finger as his tail trailed in and out of her other fingers. He sleepily rubs his cheek to her finger and lets out a satisfied chirrup.

Phil chuckles off to his side, but Tommy is too sleepy to look over at him. “I know you’re tired mate, but we have something very important to talk to you about.”

That catches his attention and Tommy forces himself to wake up a little more. “S’methin’ ‘portant?” He asks. His voice is a little rough from disuse and his words come out a little more than just a bit slurred from how sleepy he felt.

Phil chuckles again and runs a hand through Tommy’s hair. “Yes, something very important.”

“We want to know,” Kristin starts before running a thumb over Tommy’s cheek. “if you’d like to come home with us?”

Tommy scrunched his face up in confusion. Weren’t they home already? This was the same nest that Tommy had been staying in for the last few months. The only one that he’d ever known while staying with his pod. Where would they go if this wasn’t their actual home?

“I know it’s a bit confusing, little one, but our main nest is in the city. We’ve been away from it for a long time while you got used to living with us. Now though, it’s time for us to go back.” His mum explains in soft and gentle tones.

Tommy just hums. He guesses that it wouldn’t be too bad if they moved nests. Especially if they all moved. “Wha’ ‘bout Wilby an’ Techie?” He’s finally able to get the words out.

“They’ll be coming with us. So will Tubbo and Sapnap. Is that alright?” Tommy hums again then nods after a little bit. “Alright, we’ll head out in a bit. First we need to wake up your brothers and gather the others. Then we’ll be on our way. If we leave soon we can make it back to our main nest by lunch.”

Tommy hums again and lets himself drift in and out of wakefulness. At some point he’s tucked behind his mum’s ear. It’s cozy there. All snug and safe. It makes him even sleepier so he ends up taking a bit of a nap. He’s woken up a little bit later for a late morning snack before he’s allowed to go back to sleep. When Tommy finally wakes up there’s a lot more noise around them. He wiggles forward a bit, just enough to allow him to see their surroundings. They were back in the city! Tommy let out an excited trill.

“Good morning, Sunshine.” Wilbur greets from his right side. Tommy darts out to swim under his brother’s chin before draping himself over his dad’s shoulders.

“Are we almost there?” Tommy asks as he takes in the sights around them as they travel through the streets.

“Mhm.” His dad hums. “Do you see that big building over there?” Tommy squints before nodding. “That’s where we’re heading. We should be there within the next hour or so.”

“Okay.” Tommy says. Just then his stomach growls.

His mum giggles a bit. “We can get you something to eat there, alright?”

“I guess.” Tommy grumbles. He snuggles closer to his dad’s neck.

They stopped in front of a grand archway. It had large curling carving all along the surface. There wasn’t a door but there were some mean looking mer that guarded it. Tommy let out a little worried trill. His dad answered with comfort and reassurance. The whole group passed through the archway with little resistance. Soon they entered a large building that led into an even larger cave system. There were lighting rune stones along the walls with heating runes scattered between them. Tommy trills happily as the warmer waters soothed his suddenly aching scales. He hadn’t even realized how cold he was until he wasn’t anymore.

Tommy watches as Sapnap has a quiet conversation with his mum. Whispered words too faint for him to make out. But after their conversation is over, Sapnap gives his mum a short bow before swimming back out of the caves. He trills sharply after the other. Why was he leaving? Tommy had to bring him back! So he leapt off of his dad’s shoulders and darted after Sapnap.

He didn’t make it very far before Techno’s strong hands caged him in, bringing the pup to his chest. “No!” Tommy shouted, squirming in Techno’s hold. “No! I need to get Sapnap!”

“Oh, no, baby, it’s okay. Sapnap is just going to visit with his, friends. He’ll come back to visit, I promise.” His mum tries to comfort him but Tommy just struggles even more.

“Noooo…” He whines, sounding heartbroken. Tommy weakly thrashes in Techno’s hold.

“Awww, it’s alright Tommy. You’re okay.” His mum coos. She reaches for him. “Here Techno, let me see him. I’m sure you’re eager to check in with the troops. I’ll take Tommy to the nest. You and Wilbur can join us in a bit when your dad and I have had the chance to calm Tommy down.”

Techno just nods and hums before handing Tommy over to their mother. He takes a moment to look back at the sniffling form of his little brother before taking Wilbur by the arm and swimming off in another direction. His mum just holds him and rocks them back and forth. After a moment, she turns and swims deeper into the cave system. Soon they come to a massive nest. It was the biggest one he’d ever seen. With soft sand and impossibly warm waters that made Tommy sleepy just thinking about it. It was a crackling sound that caught Tommy’s attention and woke him up immediately.

“How is that burning?” Tommy asked, mesmerized by the flickering flames that cast soft shadows over the nest.

Kristin swam over and pointed at the carvings in the stone around the fireplace in the wall. “These runes keep the fire from going out. They also make sure that the fire doesn’t make the nest too warm. Only just warm enough to keep little pups like you comfortable.”

Kristin set Tommy down on the soft sand before bringing over pillows stuffed with soft sea sponges and blankets made from kelp. She made sure he was comfortable before curling up around him. Phil settled behind her. Tommy trilled happiness to his parents and they trilled back. It made him feel so safe and loved. He was still sad though. He really wanted Sapnap to be there with them. That way he could feel just as safe and loved as Tommy did right now. He whines as the sadness over takes the warm fuzzy feelings.

“I know pup.” His dad combs through his curls. “But Sapnap has a couple others that he hasn’t seen in a long while. He’ll be back before you know it, I swear. It’ll all be fine.”

“But I want him here now, not later. He needs to be here with me now. I miss him already!” Tommy whines as he shoves his face into his dad’s chest.

“I know, I know, but Sapnap really will be back soon.” The reassurances fall flat and Tommy just begins to sniffle again. “How about this? If Sapnap isn’t back by dinner we can go look for him and bring him back. Would that be alright?”

Tommy thought about it for a minute. “I guess.” He finally mutters.

Once he’d calmed down some, two more presences made their way into the nest. Without opening his eyes, Tommy knew that they were his brothers. Wilbur laid on Kristin’s tail, trying to be curled up as close to her and Tommy as he possibly could. Techno was somewhere Tommy couldn’t quite see over the bodies around him.

He closed his eyes and snuggled into the soft warmth of everything. He had one passing thought before he fell asleep. He could get used to this. Having a loving pod. A loving family.

~~--~~

Tommy stared wide eyed at the city sprawling over the seafloor. It was even more beautiful than the building, which he later learned was called a castle, Tommy got to stay in with his pod. His family. The thought still warmed his little chest. They were his and he was theirs.

Philza chuckled softly. “The city is breathtaking isn’t it?”

Tommy nodded rapidly from where he was perched in Philza’s palm. His tail lazily wrapped as far around his dad’s wrist as he could. Which was farther than when he had first come to live with them. Guess that’s what happens when he finally has enough food and consistent meals.

He looks around the city sprawled out in front of them more, looking for a specific person’s house. “Where does Sapnap live?” Tommy asks when he doesn’t see off the bat.

Philza hummed softly before pointing at one of the twinkling lights. “Right there. Happily living with his fiances, just like how you’re happily living with your family.”

Tommy smiled widely up at his dad before trilling at him. Philza responded with his own trill and smiled back. He gently pets Tommy’s head, absentmindedly noticing that he no longer has to use just one or two fingers to do so. Tommy settled more securely into Philza’s hand as he was carried back inside the palace. He didn’t stay with Philza for too long after he spotted Kristin.

His mum smiled and cupped her hands around Tommy. “You’re getting so big!”

Tommy leaned into the thumb gently rubbing at his head. “I’m gonna be as big as Techno.” Determination glints in his eyes as he puffs his chest out with pride.

Kristin hummed softly. “Yeah?”

Tommy puffed out his chest and did everything to make himself appear bigger. “I’ll be the biggest man ever. Even bigger than Techno.”

Kristin laughed a little before frowning. “But then I won’t be able to hold you in my arms anymore. Much less my hands.”

“Big men don’t need to be held by their mums.” Tommy said as he crossed his arms and pouted.

Kristin’s frown deepened as she cocked an eyebrow up. “Even big men need to be held by their mums. Techno comes to me for hugs, not all the time but often enough. Wilbur spends quite a bit of time cuddling in the nest with us as well. And you’ve seen how much your dad likes hugs from me.”

Tommy’s face turns a bright red before he hides it in his hands. “Mum! Nooo, I don’t wanna hear about you and dad. That’s icky.” He whines, then takes a moment before looking back up at her. He thinks about it for a long time before he huffs and swims up to lay behind her ear fin. He’s almost too big to hide here, but not yet. “Fine, but not all the time.” Tommy laid still for a while before gasping and swimming out to be in front of Kristin’s face. “Is Tubbo back?”

Philza laughed as Kristin smiled. “Yes, Tubbo’s back. So are Wil and Techno.” His dad’s smile leaked into his voice, showing just how happy he was.

Tommy excitedly darted out of the room and raced through the palace to find his brothers. He eventually found them and tackled Tubbo in a hug, which quickly devolved into them play wrestling in the sand. Cheerful laughter rang through the halls. Loudly telling everyone that a happy and loved family lived here.

~~--~~

Tommy pounced on a fat fish and swiftly killed it. He sat down and cut the fish apart, he knows that he’s not as good as his older brothers or his parents, but he’s been getting better at it. He watched Tubbo chase after his own fish. When Tubbo ultimately failed to catch the fish and crashed. Tommy cackled loudly as he munched on his own kill.

“When are you going to be better at hunting?” Tommy teased from his spot in the sand.

“Shut up you bitch.” Tubbo shot back, bits of sand floating down from his hair as some kind of plant got stuck in the locks.

Tommy stuck his tongue out at Tubbo and got flipped off in return. He responded with a cheeky giggle as Tubbo gave a half-hearted growl. He turned his head to the side and caught sight of a figure swimming towards them. It was Sapnap! Sapnap was back!

Tommy abandoned his fish and eagerly darted towards Sapnap. “Sap!”

Sapnap opened his arms and wrapped Tommy in a hug when Tommy barreled into him. “Tommy. Jeez, you’re so big now.”

Tommy huffed. “You saw me two months ago. That’s what you get when you don’t visit very often.”

“Yeah, I’m just thinking about how big you were when I met you.” Sapnap said, smiling down at Tommy.

Tommy pulled back. His nose all scrunched up. “I was a big man then too.”

Sapnap chuckled as he shook his head. “No, I distinctly remember you being able to fit in my arms. Now you’re bigger than I am.”

“He’s built like a fuckin’ stick!” Tubbo shouted from where they were hunting.

“You’re just mad I’m a better swimmer than you.” Tommy shot back with a disgruntled trill.

Sapnap laughed. “He’s right though. Has Wil and everyone been feeding you well? You need to gain some weight if you’re going to make it through the winter.”

Tommy swatted Sapnap’s hands away. “I’m fine.”

“I’m taking your fish!” Tubbo shouted over his shoulder. The remaining chunks of Tommy’s kill gripped in his clawed hands. A shit eating grin on his face.

Tommy whipped around. His attention now squarely on his best friend. “No you’re not!”

Tubbo was already tearing into what was left of Tommy’s fish. “Too late.” He said, mouth full.

Tommy narrowed his eyes and frowned as he spoke. “You bitch.”

Tommy darted back over and tackled Tubbo. Just before Tommy made contact, Tubbo ungraciously stuffed the rest of the meat in his mouth. A warning growl vibrated deep in his throat, deeper than before but not quite as deep as his other podmates’. They wrestled in the sand as Sapnap watched fondly. Sapnap only stepped in when Tubbo yelped from Tommy’s claws sinking into his forearm.

“Hey, hey, hey. Calm down.” Sapnap chided as he separated the two. They half-heartedly tried to keep fighting around Sapnap, but the elder put a stop to that fairly quickly. “Come on. Stop it you two. Let’s get back to your family. Preferably with both of you in one piece.”

Tommy and Tubbo smiled at each other before picking up what remained of the fish Tommy had caught. Tommy got most of it. They playfully fought with each other before swimming after Sapnap back to the palace. Tommy was officially getting his title and being introduced to everyone in the city today after all.