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Techno stared at the baby zombie Piglin, confused. It was currently parading around with his cape and crown, causing it to stumble from both items being larger than its body. That didn’t stop it though, despite the many falls.
“Are- Are you… depressed?”
The child just looked at him confused, tilting its head slightly. Techno watched it come towards him and claw at his leg, jumping up and down. He bit his tongue at the ear wiggles, trying not to fall prey to the same trick twice.
“Kid, I’ve dealt with dogs way cuter than you. There’s nothing you could possibly do-”
The baby Piglin hugged his leg, snorting as it looked up at Techno. The man froze before quickly scooping him up.
“I am so sorry I treated you like that, Michael. Do you want to cuddle with Steve? He’s very soft.”
Michael nodded, happily tugging at Techno’s ears as he picked up his cape with his free hand. He wrapped it around Michael, swaddling him in the red fabric. The zombie Piglin grinned, burrowing into the soft fabric as Techno stepped onto the snowy porch.
—
Ranboo was frantically looking around their little area, checking every place he could think of. He looked up at the sound of hooves, spotting the silhouette of a figure on a horse. He waited as they came closer, sighing in relief at the pink hair and red cape.
Techno hopped off Carl, tying him to the fence underneath the roof, “Hey Main Character.”
“Where’s Michael?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah,” Techno pulled his cape back, revealing the zombie Piglin in a sling of sorts against his chest, “I couldn’t hold him and ride safely, so.”
“Oh thank God-”
He reached to take Michael, Techno immediately pulling back. He stopped, looking at Techno confused.
“Uh- Let’s move him inside. So he doesn’t get cold,” Techno mumbled, moving past him. Ranboo followed, nodding.
“Yeah, that- that makes sense.”
They headed inside, Techno setting down the bag. Michael whined as Techno moved him, but happily snorted when he saw Ranboo.
“So, uh, what did you two do?” Ranboo asked, giving Techno his sash back.
“I went to trade some stuff. Gold, wool, that kinda stuff.”
“Oh, okay,” Ranboo said, looking down at Michael, “Did he, uh, burden you?”
“Nah, he was pretty unfussy. Better behaved than Tommy,” Techno said as he pulled out the gold, inspecting it.
Ranboo sighed in relief, “Alright, that's good. I’ll leave you be. Thanks for watching him again.”
“Uh-huh.”
—
Ranboo nervously stepped up to Techno’s door, knocking twice. He heard shuffling, looking down at the snow as the heavy footsteps got closer. The door creaked open before fully opening.
“Uh, hey? You said you had something for me?”
Techno readjusted his glasses, “Yeah. Well, not for you specifically, but close enough. Come inside, I’ll get it packed up.”
He stepped inside, Techno climbing up the ladder. His eyes looked around the room, Techno brewing something in the nearest brewing stand. The Piglin came back down, holding out a colorful gift bag.
“Alrighty, if it needs alterations, just bring him with you. Tell me in advance first,” Techno said.
“Huh?”
“I made Michael a cape and crown. Piglin’s are bad with staying warm, so I tried to stuff it with as much fluff without it being too heavy. The crown is pretty thin and he might get a little protective over it, so keep that out of-”
Ranboo shook his head, “Wait, wait, wait- You did what?”
Techno rolled his eyes, “I didn’t think you were that forgetful. I made Michael a cape and crown.”
“I didn’t- Why did you do that?” Ranboo asked, starting to panic as Techno lowered his hand a bit, “-Not that it’s bad! I just- It’s weird for you to do something like this.”
“He seemed cold,” Techno said with a shrug, “Didn’t want him to freeze to death.”
Ranboo nodded, hesitantly taking the bag from him, “Thank you.”
“No problem, Main Character.”
—
Michael’s happy squeals filled the house when Ranboo gave him the gift. The baby Piglin ran around, his crown just barely starting to cover his eyes as he jumped onto the furniture with his golden sword. He swung at the air, trying to mimic whooshing noises.