Your Name Is Precious (And So Are You)

     It was as if hands had surged up from the quickly deteriorating ground underneath him, grabbed his legs and pulled him along with the current. Their head got shoved under, and it might have hit a rock, but the pressure in his ears and the ice blue death trying to force it's way into his mouth took much more of his attention. They thrashed and kicked, but it did nothing. Wasn't he swimming? He never learned how, but wasn't this what the other kids did? Why wasn't it working

        The waves threw them around like a dog with a new chew toy and Ranboo thought he would be ripped apart. His head hadn't surfaced once since being thrown under, and his little fourteen year old lungs couldn't hold their breath anymore.

        The only thing Ranboo could do was shut his mouth. His mind was completely blank--nothing but the rushing blues and black surrounding them. He remembered this. He remembered this too well. He was going to die. There was no kind firefighter to save him this time. 

        Their head broke the surface. Frozen air assaulted their face and surges of water hounded their back. The trees looked about to topple in the torrents of rain and wind, but in a flash they were back under again. They didn't even have enough time to-

Scream. 

        Ranboo screamed, and choked, and gagged up water into more water. He hit what used to be a street sign. Everything was blurred and painfully bright grey. Someone was shouting from somewhere. "-nyone else?! If you can hear me, shout!" There was a man on a boat, in a bright orange vest. He was safe! The people with him--their parents! Were safe! Ranboo had to get over there! Their parents would help him! 

        It was near impossible, but they managed to force their arm out of the water and wave it above him. He could feel himself about to drop down to the bottom again and tried to shout. He couldn't. Another current buoyed him back up. The man turned to their parents. "Can you see anyone else in the water!?" 

They were staring right at him. He waited for them to cry out, and point, and save him.

They turned away. 

Then Ranboo was drowning again, until the big red raft appeared above him and he was yanked to fresh air and soothing voices that belonged to strangers.

        Ranboo didn't bother to fight it this time. They didn't want to hack up their lungs and cry all their tears again, just to go "home" and live so alone. They were so tired of swimming when they didn't know how. Maybe it was time to just let himself be washed away.

        Ranboo startled when a giant force pulled him to it and held him tight. The entire upper half of his body hit air. The thing didn't let go. They were thrown under again, tossed around and bashed against things, and the thing didn't let go. Whenever they broke the surface Ranboo could hear the creature's jagged breathing. Worse than their own, but still it didn't let go. 

        The creature saving him kept one pink arm wrapped around them the whole way through the forest, until it managed to paddle them out of the flood. Blade threw himself and Ranboo onto a giant rock, mercifully jutting out from the water. It was slick and near impossible to hold onto, but the gales had subsided and Blade never let them go, even while wheezing in pain.

        Ranboo still wasn't ready to live again, but their body had other ideas. Their lungs rejected what they had swallowed. Ranboo heaved and gasped and cried all his tears, and this time, battered and burning and half drowned, was Blade, right next to him.

        Ranboo doesn't really remember what happened after that. Their world faded away and he came too to sunny skies, still soaked, and laying on his back. He turned (more like lolled) his head to glance over to Blade. The faerie was still there. He looked like he had been put through a blast furnace. One hoof-hand was resting over Ranboo's. 

        Should he wake him? Ranboo's brain stalled. Could he wake him?

...

        Oh no. "No, no, no!" Using his voice hurt. Using his body hurt. He scrambled over to the faerie and shook him viciously. Or at least, he wanted too. Blade was way too heavy, Ranboo's exhausted body probably wouldn't have been able to lift him even on it's best day. They panicked, brain still slow to catch up, then settled for slapping the man as hard as they could.

        Well, if it works, it works. The pig man jerked and let out a delirious shout of alarm that immediately turned into haggard coughs.

        "You're alive! You're alive, you're alive! O-ok. This is fine. We-were fine now, its fine. You're alive." Ranboo thinks this might have been the first time he properly breathed in-

in...

What the fuck happened?

        ...He didn't want to think about it. All he knew was that Blade had saved them. Had risked his life--to save Ranboo. Why? Why, why, why, it didn't make any sense!

        "I-" Blade coughed, bringing the boy's attention back to him. He sat up and laughed. Actually laughed. "I'm alive, yeah. 're you ok Boo?" 

        Blade was staring at him with more genuine affection than Ranboo had seen in his entire life. Ranboo broke down crying.

        "What the- the h- hell is wrong with you!?"

        "You were gonna drown! I couldn't let that happen!

        "Bu- but! But- !" He didn't understand. He wasn't worth saving. They had never really done much good in this world anyway, why did they deserve someone like Blade to care so much about them? Even the people who were supposed to love them more than anything couldn't care less. 

        Ranboo only stared, completely at a loss for words. Blade ruffled the back of their hair.

        Could he stay here forever? Would Blade not get tired of them eventually? He whispered, "My name is Ranboo."

        Blade's brows furrowed. "Wha- wait, kid no--don't!"

        "Yes! My name is Ranboo! Ranboo Ender Live, Blade please, take it! Take my whole life--I don't want it anymore!" He cried, falling into the pigman's arms. His throat was raw from the disastrous day, and his voice was ready to be done. "Please--I know you didn't ask, but don't let me go home."

        The faerie was silent, and Ranboo tensed, ready to run if he was rejected. If Blade wouldn't take it, Ranboo would find someone else who would, but they wanted it to be him. Not Tubbo, or Eret, or Tommy--Blade, whose real name he barely knew and had never used, but was a better family than Ranboo's own flesh and blood.

        "You don't have to do that," the faerie croaked out. Please don't push me away. "Your home is with us now.

        "Ranboo, my name is Technoblade. I give this to you in faith, for you too do as you please with." 

There was warmth, there was Technoblade, and there was something soft and golden, and Ranboo was finally at rest.

        Voices floated into the room, a bit difficult to decipher until Ranboo was conscious enough to focus. A sliver of light broke a path through the dark, onto the floor and over to their bed from the doorway.  

        “He’s like—practically an orphan Phil-“

        “He is now,” Tubbo interjects.

         “Exactly. We have to adopt him.”

        “Technoblade you hate orphans. You’re literally The Orphan Obliterator,” A musical voice argued. Ranboo squeaked.

        “Shut up Wilbur."

        "If he needs somewhere to stay, they ca- actually, wait. I'm sorry, that wouldn't be a good idea with Dream around right now. Forget I said anything."

        "It's alright mate."

        "They're stayin' here."

        "Techno, you shouldn't even be up, you're still very injured!"

        "But we need to- "

        "No. Go back to bed."

        "Phil I'm literally fine!"

        "No you're not! You're lucky I'm not screaming at you right now, but we have other things to worry about! Go back to bed Technoblade!"

        Silence. 

        "Fine. But no one is havin' this conversation until I'm here."

        "Of course."

        After that the door creaked open and the avian faerie entered. He stepped softly so as not to wake the boy, but was startled to see Ranboo's eyes staring at him. 

        Phil smiled. "Hey mate, glad you're awake! How are you feeling?" He spoke as lightly as he stepped, like Ranboo might break at any disturbance. He lowered himself onto the edge of the bed. 

        "...Sore," They decided. There was so much more than that, but they didn't even know where to start. "I can't believe I fell asleep, that- ugh. How- how's Blade? Is he ok?"

        The man's gaze darkened with regret. Was he man at Ranboo for hurting his son? "He'll be alright. He was very badly burned. The faster the water moves, the worse the affects are to us faeries." He glanced back down at Ranboo and sympathetically. "But I suppose you already understand that." 

        Ranboo's heart stopped and plunged into the dark ocean in his chest. Ironic that that was the way he experienced emotional pain, but life, especially recently, seemed to love fucking with him. He had almost drowned. Twice. 

        "I- " He swallowed. "I suppose I- " He couldn't finish. He ducked his head and habitually reached up to brush his falling hair out of his face.

He stopped.

Pulled back his hand to look. 

That wasn't his hand.

        His eyes shot open wide and he let out a strangled cry of surprise as Phil grimaced. "Ah, yeah I was wondering if you had noticed that yet."

        "Wh- wha- hap- wh- I- ?!"

        "Easy mate, it's alright. I promise, nothing is wrong, just- "

        They leapt up and rushed to the mirror on the wall, almost spooking at their reflection. "What happened to me!?"

        Phil tried to explain, but frankly, Ranboo wasn't listening, just waiting to grow accustomed to the figure matching his every move. They looked…perfect. Ranboo had never really known what his ideal appearance was, and they didn’t know that they would be this ok with looking so Definitely Not Human, but they were loving it. Half of his hair had turned completely white, and his skin was paler…on that side. The other half of his entire body was almost completely black, as if all the color had bled from his left and mixed together into darkness on his right. His left eye had turned red, which surprisingly, would take the most getting used to. And were those- ?! He had horns! Not massive by any amount, just two graceful spikes arching up and slightly over the back of his head.

        This was so strange. They were taller, his limbs and fingers were longer, he had a tail for gods sake! But after just a minute they felt completely at home in their new body. They grinned.

         He stepped backwards right onto the floof at the end of their new tail, screeched in surprise and pain, and fell backwards onto the floor.

        Ok, maybe not completely at home. Phil scrambled to kneel at his side and heavy footsteps thudded towards his room. “Boo! What happened?! Are you alright?!” Technoblade towered above him. Would they be as tall as him now? Taller? 

        They chuckled. "I'm alright. This is just...Different. Not bad! Good! Good, good, very good!" They hurried to explain at the faerie's alarmed expression. "Um, what am I?"

        "We...Don't exactly know." Techno huffed awkwardly and offered a hand to help them up. "We assume yer a faerie now; or half or somethin', but this hasn't really happened before so, uh, yeah. We were thinkin' of askin' Dream--if anyone could be sure, it would be him--but Eret didn't think it was a good idea." His face had almost gone back to its typical state of apathy, but his eyes betrayed a dark worry (Ranboo had gotten better at reading him, he liked to think).

        "You uh..." He hesitated, twisting his hooves nervously. "You like it? Its not too bad? I'm sorry I didn't know what would happen, I shouldn't have- "

        Ranboo grabbed his brother's hands with a smile. "I love it. Thank you Technoblade." He hugged the man tight. They might've cried a little too when the faerie hugged back, but no one needed to know that. Blade was safe, and warm, and Ranboo wondered how they could've gone so long without hugs like this.

        When they broke apart, Philza rubbed Ranboo's shoulder affectionately. "C'mon mate. Everyone's waiting for you in the kitchen."

        "Everyone?"

        "Yeah. Tubbo an' Eret, an' Tommy, and even Wil. He won't give you any crap anymore, he was just salty that you outsmarted him," He snorted. Ranboo grinned. Technoblade mirrored their smile and led the way out of the bedroom. 

And there they were: Ranboo's family.