Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Shrill ringing.

Everything was too loud.

Everything was too quiet.

What happened?

Where were his moms?

His head hurt.

“Mom? Ma?”

Nothing.

Screaming.

“Ranboo!”

“Darling, you have to teleport out now!”

Teleport?

Could he do that?

He couldn't leave them, surely.

“But-”

“No buts, dear. You have to. We’ll be right behind you.” Mom.

“Remember; find the pull, think of our secret spot, and close your eyes. We love you so much, darling. Never forget that.” Ma.

He nodded.

He could do that.

And they’d be right behind him.

He closed his eyes.

There’s the pull.

Where was the secret spot again?

A whoosh.

He’s outside their house.

This wasn’t the secret spot.

Everything was so loud now.

Too loud.

Someone was touching him.

Talking to him.

Then an even louder noise.

And screaming.

His head hurt badly now.

There was something sticky in his hair.

He smelled smoke.

Then everything went black.

---

Five years later

---

They woke with a start. Again there was that nightmare they couldn’t remember. Not even just a bit. It was annoying. The orphanage’s therapist kept asking them about it and they couldn’t answer because they just couldn’t remember. She kept prodding them as if that would make them remember, but it never worked. Why couldn’t they remember? There was a reason their memory was bad, what was that again?

Looking out the window, they realized it was early morning. The caretakers would be up and preparing for the day but wouldn’t wake the kids up until a few hours later. It was routine, happened every day for the past five years, so that was hard to forget. They found comfort in that.

They got up and got dressed. They wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep anyway, so what was the point? They consulted their journal to check for any task they needed to do that they might have forgotten, but there were none. The therapist, Puffy was her name, had given it to them to write things down in, so they wouldn’t forget, even if they forgot. They always had it on them. It was nice. It had started as just an exercise to try and remember anything from before they arrived at the orphanage, but when they came up mostly blank, Puffy let them keep it to write any new memories in.

Oh right, they had memory issues because of bad head trauma from before they were brought here, it said so on the front page in Puffy’s handwriting. But she didn’t write what caused it, so maybe it wasn’t worth remembering after all.

Ranboo had no idea what to do until the caretakers woke everyone up, so they started just going through their journal. Maybe that would help spark old memories. Maybe they would actually remember one of their moms’ faces.

There was a knock on their door before it was opened. It was one of the caretakers coming to wake the up. “Good morning, Ranboo,” she smiled at him. Guess they’d been lost in the pages for a while now since she was here.

“Good morning…” Ranboo looked at her name tag, “… Lillian.” They wore name tags for their sake.

“You look like you’ve been up for a while?” she asked, still standing in the doorway. The caretakers never really came into their room like they did the other children. They were afraid of them. They could tell, even if they hid it. Their powers were a bit glitchy, they couldn’t control them. They didn’t even know what their powers were, really. But the caretakers were careful, nonetheless. Ranboo supposed that was fair enough, after the incident. They’d been very tired, one morning shortly after arriving at the home, and something took over, it was them that was in control of their body, and a caretaker had entered the room. Their eyes had gone purple, they’d been told, before snarling at the caretaker and clawing her. She no longer worked there. Having quit shortly after. But because of that, no one wanted to enter their room in the morning when waking them up.

“Nightmare,” Ranboo shrugged. “Couldn’t go back to sleep again.”

“Oh dear, do you wanna tell me about it? It could help you feel better,” Lillian told them, hesitating, debating if she should enter their room since they’d been awake for the past few hours.

Ranboo decided to spare her that debate. She was clearly uncomfortable with the idea of going into their room with them. They just shrugged again. “Not much to tell, really. Don’t remember it. I just know it was a nightmare, that’s it. Same as always.” Lillian looked relieved for a split second before she schooled her expression.

“I’m sad to hear that, but if you ever have a nightmare you remember, don’t hesitate to come to one of us, alright? Or Puffy.” Ranboo just nodded at her politely. “Breakfast is in 30 minutes, see you there. You can just bring it to your room if the other kids get too loud.” And then Ranboo was alone in their room again.

From there, the day proceeded as normal. They went to get breakfast, the other kids would be loud and tease them about their memory issues or broken horn making them take their breakfast to their room. After breakfast, they got ready to go to school, left before everyone else so they could be early and read in the silence of the library before class. Teachers then praised them for their note-taking skills, as always, and during breaks the other students would pick on them for it as well as their hybrid appearance, making them seek shelter in the library once more. The librarian was nice to them. They made sure no one bothered Ranboo when they were there. Then school would be out and Ranboo waited in the library for the other students to leave before going back to the orphanage themself. All-in-all, just a regular day.

When night fell, Ranboo couldn’t fall asleep. They tried, but something kept them up. Around midnight they gave up, going to the window where they heard some scratching. Ranboo opened the window to let the cool night breeze into their room, as well as two streaks of purring black. The two strays Ranboo had fed a while back often came by their window, so they’d decided to name them. Enderchest and Enderpearl. They didn’t care that Ranboo looked different or had a bad memory. Whenever they came by, Ranboo made sure to keep the lights off, even though the chances of someone entering their room was close to none.

“Hey there, girls. Do you know why I can’t sleep?” Ranboo asked the cats as they sat with them on the bed, petting them. “I heard somewhere that some people can’t sleep during the full moon, but it’s not full, so it’s not that,” they mused. The cats merely kept purring, loving the attention. Ranboo sighed. Could it be because it was almost their birthday? Or maybe they had an assignment they’d forgotten about that was nagging on their subconscience. But not sleeping did mean a zero chance of enderwalking, so that was at least something.

“-ere has to be something we can do!” Ranboo stilled as muffled voices came through their door, the cats sensed the change and kept quiet. Hopefully, they would keep going.

“Nobody wants him. We’ve tried finding foster families, but nobody wants him after what happened at that first foster home,” a second voice answered tiredly, staying outside of Ranboo’s door. Welp, they were apparently staying. Ranboo wondered who they were talking about.

“I know, but he’s been through enough already, there has to be a way for us to keep him off the streets when he ages out. Right?” the first voice asked desperately.

“There isn’t, I’m sorry,” the second responded sadly. “We both know he won’t be able to hold a job, something that’s required for him to actually get help from the city with living arrangements and such. He’ll end up on the streets and there’s nothing we can do. The laws are not in favour of him.”

“And Puffy isn’t allowed to foster or adopt him because he’s her patient. She’s the only one I could think of who’d give him a chance,” said with a resigned voice. “It’s just not right! Ranboo should be allowed a chance to live his life outside of the orphanage in a safe environment, not abandoned.” Oh. They were talking about Ranboo.

The voices faded as they finally moved on down the hallway with their conversation. Enderchest rubbed her head against Ranboo’s as they did, but they sat still, taking in the conversation they’d just overheard. The caretakers didn’t believe in Ranboo. They thought he- THEY would end up on the streets. They’d age out of the system soon and they’d be right. No one would want to hire them, a hybrid. A hybrid with memory issues. What should they do? Their 18^th birthday was only a few months away, what happened then? Would they just have to pack up their belongings and walk out the door? No one to go to? Who’d care whether they lived or died?

They didn’t get any rest that night, writing down the conversation in their journal before lying in their bed, staring up into the ceiling, thoughts swirling around in their head.

The next few days were spent in a similar daze, Ranboo being stuck in their worries and anxieties. The caretakers were right. No one wanted to foster them, let alone adopt them. Not after the first – and only – foster family they were with, shortly after they arrived at the orphanage. That was around the time Ranboo started enderwalking. At first, they just woke up in weird places, having no recollection of how they got there. The caretakers and Puffy just thought it was sleepwalking, so they weren’t too worried about sending them to foster homes.

It was nice, that foster home, the family they stayed with. At least, that’s what they’d written in their journal. Ranboo had thought they’d be staying there forever. That they’d found a new family. But then they enderwalked. It started with just waking up on the roof. Then they ended up in their foster parents’ bedroom, staring at them with purple eyes, and then their foster siblings’ rooms. When their foster family tried stopping Ranboo from enderwalking, that’s when everything went wrong. They weren’t told what they’d done, just that it was bad and they got sent back. From then on, nobody wanted to foster them or even visit to see if Ranboo was a kid worth their time and love.

It had been nearly a week since Ranboo overheard the conversation. They were again sat on their bed with Enderchest and Enderpearl curled on their lap and by their side, both purring up a storm. What could they do? Should they try and prove them wrong, and look for a job? And if Ranboo miraculously got hired, what if they just end up proving them right? That their memory issues get in the way of doing it well and they get fired? What then?

“Ugh, why does everything have to be so complicated and against me?!” they groan and flop down on their back on the bed. “Sorry, Pearl,” Ranboo mumbles to the disgruntled cat that used to sleep on their lap. The cats end up sleeping with them that night, not leaving Ranboo alone with their thoughts.

The next day they make up their mind. They’d look for some easy job after school. They just had to figure out what that might be. So when the bell rings the end of the day, instead of reading while in the library, Ranboo looks at their phone. The most they come up with in potential jobs are in a convenience store, at a bakery, or working as a barista at a coffee shop. Both of which aren’t great jobs for someone with memory issues, but alright for a hybrid.

They close their phone with a sigh. “Maybe I should just look at the shops on the way back to the orphanage, might be easier,” they mumble to themself, gathering their stuff and leaving.

Ranboo had never really looked at any of the shops and stores when they went to and from school, and if they had, they’d forgotten, so this time, Ranboo took the time to actually study their surroundings. It was actually pretty quaint, nice. Maybe they should consider looking up from the pavement more often.

They came to a halt in front of a cute-looking flower shop. Ranboo liked flowers. They calmed them down with their soft or vibrant colours and smells. Ranboo took in a deep breath, collecting their courage while ignoring the way passerbys looked at them, and opened the door, entering the flower shop.

A tiny bell rang as the door opened, signalling Ranboo entering the shop, sending their nerve ends standing on edge. Wait, they didn’t have a resumé to give these people, wasn’t that something that was required when looking for a job?

Before Ranboo had time to spiral more, their attention was drawn to the person walking into the shop from the backroom with a bag of what looked like dirt in their hands. Their hair was long and pink and they looked like they were quite muscular, not really someone you’d think would work in a flower shop.

“Hey, kid.” Their voice is gruff and Ranboo noticed that they have tusks and red eyes. A pigling hybrid! Maybe they had a chance of getting a job here after all!

“H-hi,” Ranboo waved slightly in awkward acknowledgement. And then the two just stood there, looking at each other. Wait, maybe there was something regarding hybrids not mixing with each other and that’s why the piglin was just standing there, looking at Ranboo? What if that made their chances of getting a job here plummet to the ground because they didn’t know and then they’d be chased out of the flower shop with angry growls and threats and-

“So,” the piglin cleared their throat. “What can I do for ya? Need any help or just browsin’?” Ranboo couldn’t find any anger or animosity in their eyes, so maybe they were just overthinking things again, like how they did best.

“W-well, I, um, I-” Ranboo took a deep breath to calm themself, clutching their journal. “I was actually wondering if I could maybe speak with the owner about getting a job here?” Ranboo worried their lip between their teeth, looking off to the side of the piglin’s head, having trouble with eye contact.

The piglin looked at them for a long moment before responding, sounding surprised. “Well, you’re in luck, as I’m the owner,” they smiled minutely. Huh. Okay. Not what Ranboo had expected, but hey. They hadn’t been chased out yet, so that was a win.

“Oh, c-cool. Um…” Ranboo smiled back, slightly, not sure how to proceed in this conversation. It didn’t seem like the piglin did, either.

The piglin cleared their throat again. “You look like you just came from school, kid. Spontaneous act?” Ranboo nodded at this. “Normally, people would like, ask for resumés and stuff, but there’s not really much you can put on one to look good for work at a flower shop,” the piglin joked. Or, at least, Ranboo was pretty sure it was joking.

“Y-yeah, don’t really have much to put on one, anyway,” Ranboo said nervously, smiling slightly, rubbing their neck.

The piglin actually started grinning. Ranboo had said something right! “As much as I’d like to hire you on the spot, there are some questions that I’m kinda required to ask, if you’re good with that?” They put down the bag of dirt somewhere behind the counter. “First bein’ your name and age.”

“M-my name is Ranboo. Um, I’m 17, 18 in a couple of months,” Ranboo replied, wringing their hands slightly. “They them,” they added quietly, remembering how the caretakers kept calling them he.

“Nice meetin’ ya Ranboo. My name’s Techno, he him,” the piglin –Techno– said with a smile. “Got any experience with plants?” he asked in a joking manner.

Ranboo frowned slightly before shaking their head. “Not that I can remember, sir, but I’m a quick study!” they added quickly, hoping that would increase the of getting hired.

Techno waved them off. “No need for all that sir stuff, Techno’s just fine. And it’s fairly easy, so it doesn’t really matter that you don’t got any experience, kid. I’ll need to show you the ropes of how I do things here anyway,” Techno shrugged. “Though I obviously gotta do something with your parents, they gotta sign some stuff, I’m pretty sure. Niki’ll help me out with that.”

Ranboo blanched. Parents. That they didn’t have. Oh, gods. “U-um, I don’t- I don’t have any parents…” Ranboo mumbled, looking down. “I live at the orphanage down on Elm Street.”

“I see,” Techno grunted. Ranboo looked up slightly and thought they saw a flash of recognition or understanding in his eyes before Techno schooled his expression and continued. “Well, I’ll have Niki clear stuff out with the caretakers there, then. She’s always been much better at all that legal stuff than me.”

Ranboo looked up in surprise when no pity came their way, just acceptance and normalcy. That’s when they finally registered what Techno was actually saying. “Wait, does that mean-?”

Techno grinned at them. “You’re hired, kid. I expect to see you here Monday when you’re done with school so we can work out your schedule and I can show you around. And make sure to tell your caretakers you got a job here and to expect someone called Niki to sort out all that legal stuff in a day or two.” As Techno spoke, Ranboo started writing in their journal what Techno was saying. They’d gotten pretty good at writing while standing up. “Anythin’ I need to know about you, kid?”

Ranboo glanced up at Techno from their journal, putting the bookmark to the page so they’d see it later, should they forget. Oh boy, this could be the deal-breaker. If Ranboo told him about their memory issues, Techno might change his mind and not hire them anyway.

Ranboo worried their lip between their teeth, internally debating if their should tell him or not. Eventually, they gathered up the courage. “Um, five years ago I had some pretty bad head trauma, messed with my memory. I write everything down in my journal, in case I forget.” Their voice was quiet, tail swishing wildly back and forth in anxiety. Please, let this not be a failure. Please, don’t let the caretakers be right about me, went through Ranboo’s mind as they couldn’t quite get themself to look at Techno.

Techno was silent for a long moment before he just shrugged. “We can work with that no problem, Ranboo.”

His words stunned Ranboo. “R-really? You still wanna hire me?” Now Ranboo’s tail was still, ears perked, and eyes wide. No one had ever treated them like just another person with the knowledge of their memory issues, and here Techno was, a complete stranger, wanting to hire them despite the knowledge.

Techno’s smiled at them softly. “Of course, Ranboo.” Ranboo didn’t really know how to react. This might’ve been the best day of their life if they hadn’t forgotten so much of it from before they came to the orphanage. “Now get outta here, I’m sure you got some homework to do, shoo,” Techno grinned, shooing them half-heartedly out

Ranboo walked out of the flower shop with a pep in their step, a bright smile on their face, tail swinging wildly behind them, not noticing the fond look Techno sent their way.

Chapter Text

Ranboo practically ran back to the orphanage, grinning brightly. That had gone better than expected. Now they just needed to find a caretaker to tell. Preferably someone who at least had a bit of faith in them. They ignored the jabs and side-eyes given to them by the kids they ran past, determined to keep this a good day. So of course, they had to run into the caretaker that liked them the least.

“Where are you going in such a rush, Ranboo?” she stopped them, sounding annoyed. She always looked at them like they were less than a person like so many others did. She always made Ranboo stutter and fidget with their sleeves. That only made her more annoyed. “Well?”

How was Ranboo going to explain to her that they were looking for a nicer caretaker to tell her they got a job? She would surely get mad at them and put them on dishwashing duty, despite knowing water hurt them. Oh! They could say they’re looking for Puffy! Then she surely would have to let them go. “I’m, um, I’m l-looking for Puffy, I- I have something to tell her?” they fidgeted with their sleeves, looking around nervously, their anxiety stopping them from looking at the caretaker.

“Oh? And what would that be? Your next appointment with her is not until tomorrow, or perhaps you forgot that?” she jabbed at them. “She’s not here right now, she has a life other than trying to fix you, something I’d say is impossible. But whatever it is, just tell me. I will let her know.” Ranboo very much did not trust the caretaker, but they had no other choice. She gave them no other choice. Ranboo had to tell her they got a job, knowing she’d put them down. “Come on, boy, I don’t have all day, tell me,” she demanded.

Ranboo flinched slightly at her tone. “I- I, um, I-I got a- a job at-” Before Ranboo could finish answering her, the caretaker huffed in a demeaning way.

“Don’t lie, Ranboo. No one would want to hire you. You’re bad for business. And even if someone were to hire you, they’d sack you at the end of the week because of everything that’s wrong with you.” The caretaker made a point of looking disgusted at Ranboo’s horns and tail specifically. It hurt Ranboo a lot to hear someone say everything they thought, their worst fears regarding this. “Go to your room and don’t come out until dinner, that’ll teach you to not lie directly to my face.”

Ranboo lowered their head and stepped past her, yelping as she stepped on their tail. They rushed to their room. When they finally closed the door and were alone, Ranboo realized their cheeks stung. Ranboo looked in the mirror at their broken self, seeing how red the skin was around their eyes. Oh. They were crying. They should probably stop, or it would scar. They wiped at their cheeks with their sleeve, but no matter how many tears Ranboo wiped away, there would always be more to replace them. It was infuriating and Ranboo rubbed at their eyes angrily until they hurt. They sniffled and gave up, sitting down on their bed, and looking through their journal. They should probably update it. Maybe if Ranboo told Puffy what happened, she would do something?

The journal closed and fell to the floor. Who were they kidding? It wasn’t going to end well. Nothing ever went their way. Why did Ranboo have to be so different? If they’d just been normal, their life would’ve been so much easier. They might even have someone to call their family again.

They fall asleep crying, not coming down for dinner.

The next day they took their breakfast with them to their room immediately, ignoring the worrying glances they got from the caretakers at the red scars running from their eyes down over their cheeks. Ranboo was gonna see Puffy today. And she was gonna give them that worrying look and ask if they wanted to talk about it. And Ranboo would start crying again, saying they didn’t want to. And she was gonna let it go.

Ranboo was first out of the door, not wanting to be stopped by the caretakers and have to listen to their pity. They gave a quick nod to the librarian before taking their usual spot when they arrived at school. They sat there until their first class. Ranboo could barely follow, mind elsewhere. They didn’t miss the worrying glances the teachers sent their way when they saw their face or the silent conversations, they had with each other. Ranboo just wanted it to be over so they could see Puffy and be done with the day already.

The school day ended and Ranboo resumed their routine. Sit in the library until everyone had left, walk back ho- back to the orphanage looking at the pavement, ignoring the ugly looks from the people they passed. (Ignoring the way Techno might have seen them as they walked past the flower shop, about how messed up they looked)

They sat in their room until it was almost time for them to see Puffy. Ranboo did everything they could to avoid the caretakers and other kids as they headed for Puffy’s office. Ranboo was so focused on avoiding them that they didn’t realise the new presence and bumped headfirst into someone.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” Ranboo quickly started apologising before being waved off by who they bumped into.

“Don’t worry, it’s alright,” she said with a smile in her voice, accent foreign to them. When Ranboo got a closer look at her, they realised she was quite short but looked like she could easily take anyone in a fight. But she had a gentle aura surrounding her. She also had pink shoulder-length hair making her look just as out of place as Ranboo.

“Are- are you sure? I mean, um, yeah…” Ranboo fidgeted with their sleeve again as she finally looked up at Ranboo, taking in their appearance. But she didn’t start frowning or scrunching her nose, she simply just smiled again, such a genuine smile. Ranboo wasn’t sure anyone had ever smiled at them like that before.

“Really, it’s alright. I wasn’t looking where I was going anyway.” She looked slightly puzzled as if she was trying to remember something she’d been told. A look Ranboo often wore. “Goodness, you’re tall,” she giggled softly making Ranboo smile slightly, it was that infectious. “What’s your name?”

Ranboo finally sobered slightly, remembering this was someone who was probably here to see someone else and was just being polite and they should probably get out of her hair soon. “Um, Ranboo,” they said, winching slightly at how awkward they sounded.

Her face lit up in recognition and happiness. “Oh! You’re Ranboo! It’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Niki,” she smiled brightly, voice bubbly and light. Now it was Ranboo’s turn to look puzzled. Finally? Ranboo didn’t know anyone called Niki, right? Or had been told of anyone, at least.

At Ranboo’s confusion, Niki frowned slightly, before widening her eyes in realisation. “Oh, right! Techno did say you have some memory issues. Don’t worry about that, Ranboo,” she assured them when they started looking guilty. “We’re gonna spend plenty of time together so your brain won’t be able to forget me,” she laughed lightly. “Speaking of, could you show me where the front desk is? I’m here to take care of some legal stuff so you can start working with me and Techno,” Niki beamed at them.

Ranboo just stared at her. They were actually gonna work there? They really didn’t care about all the things that were wrong with Ranboo? And she just smiled at them, all the patience in the world in her every action. It was… nice. Weird, but nice. To have that directed at them.

Then Niki’s words sank in and Ranboo remembered they were on their way to see Puffy. “O-oh, um, yeah, it’s just this way. I’m, uh, I was going that way myself. Gonna see Puffy. My therapist. Um, so, yeah…” Ranboo motioned for Niki to follow them on the short walk. She simply nodded and followed them, smile ever present. “Here it is.”

“Well, I’ll see you around, Ranboo,” Niki waved at them as Ranboo went to Puffy’s office. Ranboo liked her. She was nice.

Ranboo now stood in front of Puffy’s door, mentally preparing themself to face Puffy with the tear tracks seared into their face from the day prior. They took a deep breath before knocking on the door, entering as they heard the familiar “come in” from Puffy.

Puffy was indeed worried about them but started the session as she always did, asking about anything good that had happened since last time, enquiring about their hobbies, if they’d gotten further with them, and asking about how Enderchest and Enderpearl were doing. Ranboo did notice how often Puffy looked at the scars on their face and how red and bothered they were. Ranboo never met her eyes, as usual.

About 35 minutes in, Puffy finally asked about the scars and what had happened. Ranboo clutched their journal close to their chest at that, looking down in shame. Of course, Puffy caught onto that shame immediately. “Ranboo? Whatever happened to make you cry, it’s okay. It wasn’t your fault. You shouldn’t feel guilty for crying. You don’t have to tell me what happened but remember, I’m here for you.” Puffy leaned forward in her chair, looking at them with only worry and compassion.

Ranboo looked up at Puffy slightly before looking down at their journal, contemplating letting her read the entry they wrote after they went to their room yesterday. They ended up shaking their head, trying to stop tears from falling again.

Puffy leaned back slightly, nodding slowly. “That’s okay. You don’t have to tell or show me anything, alright? How about we end early today?” Ranboo nodded, about to stand up. “Before you go, I’d like to do a breathing exercise with you, is that okay?” It was only a question. Ranboo could say no if they wanted, and she wouldn’t be offended. But they also knew they wouldn’t make it to their room without breaking down without calming down, and Puffy was really good at guiding them through the exercises, so they nodded, staying put.

Puffy guided them through five minutes of controlled breathing while they lay on the couch. It was grounding and helped a lot, and when they finished, Ranboo was no longer on the verge of crying again and smiled as they got up. “S-same time next week?” Ranboo asked quietly, about to leave.

Puffy smiled kindly. “Same time next week. See you then, Ranboo. And be kind to yourself, okay?” Ranboo nodded. They’d try. They left Puffy’s office then.

On the way back to their room, Ranboo saw Niki sitting outside the Director’s office. She looked slightly annoyed. They wondered what might be taking so long for Niki to still be here even after 40 minutes.

“Um, hey, Niki…” Ranboo nervously shuffled their feet as Niki looked up from her phone in surprise only to smile when her eyes landed on Ranboo.

“Hi, Ranboo! Are you done with your session already? I thought those were usually an hour,” she frowned slightly in confusion, giving them a concerned look.

“Oh, yeah, we, uh, cut it short today. We do that sometimes.” Ranboo was quick to soothe her. “What, um, what’re doing here, still? Do things like this usually take this long?” they asked the smaller woman, words hesitant.

Niki sighed. “Yeah, it shouldn’t really take this long, but they keep making me explain myself over and over like it’s so strange that a kid your age wants a job. I just don’t get it.” Niki shook her head. She sounded disappointed. But the disappointment wasn’t pointed at them, which Ranboo was used to it being. It made something stir in their chest. Something… nice. That she was disappointed for them. Niki was frustrated for Ranboo.

Ranboo sat down next to her carefully. They didn’t have anything else to do that day, no one would be upset if they stayed just a bit longer. Niki just had an aura of comfort about her. “It might, um, have something to do with me being a hybrid… I mean, who wants to hire a hybrid kid anyway?” they tried explaining, wringing their hands together, eyes fixed on the floor. They missed the look of sadness and horror on Niki’s face.

Niki gently put her hand on Ranboo’s thigh in comfort. “That shouldn’t matter, Ranboo. They should want the best for you, no matter what you are. That’s literally their job. Arguing with me about hiring you is counterintuitive to that.” Niki looked so genuine, eyes full of concern and care for a kid she’s just met not even an hour ago.

They sat there for a few moments in silence just looking at each other. Ranboo found it easy to look close to her eyes. Someone cleared their throat right in front of them loudly making Ranboo jump and Niki startle slightly. Ranboo looked up and paled. It was her. The bad caretaker. And Niki, gods bless that kind woman, immediately noticed their change and gently squeezed their leg in reassurance.

“Now, Ranboo, don’t annoy the kind lady and run along to the other kids. In fact, shouldn’t you be with Puffy right now, or did you forget?” the caretaker said with a fake smile on her face. “I’m sorry ma’am, I’ll take him from here, he won’t bother you anymore.” She began to reach out to Ranboo who still sat completely still from fear.

Ranboo watched as Niki’s eyes darkened as she looked up at the caretaker with a dangerous smile. “Ranboo’s not bothering me at all. What’s bothering me, is how Ranboo seized up in fear when you started talking. What’s bothering me, is how everyone here seems neglectful of the hybrids in their care, telling them no one would want to adopt, foster, or even hire them. What’s bothering me is how everyone keeps stalling and not believing me when I try to get the legal stuff in order so Ranboo can start working with me and my boss in a flower shop. It should not matter that Ranboo is a hybrid or has memory issues, you should want only the best for this kid, it’s literally your job. And all you’ve done is install fear in these kids, making them feel less than.”

Silence.

Ranboo widened their eyes as they looked at Niki as she spoke, completely caught by surprise. This was the first time someone had ever stood up to this caretaker. Stood up for Ranboo.

The caretaker was equally stunned, looking like she was trying not to combust. It would be odd if she did, she’s not a blaze hybrid unless she’d really done everything to make herself look human. Though she did eventually collect herself. “Wait, he told the truth? You want to hire him? Why on earth would you do that?” the caretaker basically hissed.

“Why wouldn’t we?” Niki countered dangerously calm, challenging the caretaker. She still had a comforting hand on Ranboo’s leg, grounding them.

“His memory is messed up and so are his powers, or did he not tell you of this? He’s a dangerous hybrid for goodness sake!” the caretaker argued back, making Ranboo flinch violently, and look at their hands, tears threatening to spill anew. She was right. They were a dangerous hybrid after all…

“Ranboo, and any other hybrids for that matter, are only as dangerous as you make them!” Niki’s voice was so dangerously venomous and calm. Ranboo started to wonder if she’d had this argument before.

The caretaker sputtered, trying to find something to counter to win. “I- he’s a hybrid!”

“And so am I. So is Techno, my boss, the man who hired Ranboo. He’s a piglin, I’m a merling, so do keep trying with the ‘hybrids are dangerous’ spiel.”

The hallway grew silent again. The caretaker had lost all leverage. Ranboo just looked at Niki in wonder and amazement. If they’d been a hybrid that could pass as human, they wouldn’t out themself like that. Niki was very brave. Braver than they’d ever be.

“Now, unless you want me to go to the authorities about the clear mental abuse that’s going on here, I suggest you stay quiet and work to do so much better.” Niki’s words were final, and she looked at the caretaker with the clear message ‘try me, I dare you’. Ranboo was holding onto her hand now, they only realised when she gently squeezed their hand back in reassurance.

The caretaker looked like a goldfish with the way her mouth kept opening and closing before she huffed and stalked away with a muttering of “fucking hybrid freaks” or something like that, whatever children or other people may have been in her path hurried to get out of her way as fast as possible.

Niki let out a relieved breath as it was finally just the two of them again. She turned to Ranboo with a small kind smile, nothing like the smile that was on her face when talking with the caretaker. She rubbed circles on their hand with her thumb, something Ranboo found was very soothing, grounding. “You okay, Ranboo?” she asked gently, eyes filled with concern. They nodded slowly, still trying to process what the heck just happened.

They tried saying yes, but all that came out was a warble specific to enderman hybrids. A warble that called for comfort, family. A noise they’d never made before, at least not while living here. Niki simply squeezed their hand again, the action comforting to their instincts.

The rest of the day was a blur to them, they were too deep into their instincts, unable to speak or react to much, basically clinging to Niki the entire time she was there. She had to leave at one point, but she left them a note, talking about what had happened if they wanted to write it in their journal. She finally got things worked out with the Director and Ranboo was gonna start working on Monday after school. She looked forward to seeing them again and getting to know them.

When Ranboo read the note when they woke up the next day, they couldn’t stop smiling. Monday couldn’t come soon enough.

The day was so much better than the previous ones, they even started a small conversation with the librarian when they got to school. Eret was her name. Ranboo never knew, but now they did. They made sure to make a section for them in their journal, specifically, drawing the design on their skirt. Maybe, things wouldn’t be so bad from now on. Eret certainly was kind. Ranboo hoped they talked more. It would be nice to have someone at school to be able to talk to, even though he wasn’t another student. He wore sunglasses to hide their white eyes, the only physical thing that let others know they were a hybrid. Ranboo realised that must’ve been why he always smiled kindly at them, always letting them in no matter how early they came, always letting them stay however long they needed after school.

When they went home from school, they kept their head low, still, but looked up as they came by the flower shop, looking inside quickly, waving with a small smile to Niki inside. She smiled brightly at them and waved back before they headed back to Elm St. Yeah, things could only go up from here.

The day went by fast after that, the weekend coming and going in a blur. Ranboo kept saying Niki and Techno’s names repeatedly, trying to memorise them to make it harder to forget.

Finally, Monday came and Ranboo could not wait for school to finish. Something that was out of the ordinary for them as they wanted to spend as little time near the people that resented them the most for simply existing. Today was the day. They were gonna start working today. And with other hybrids, nonetheless. People who didn’t see them as something wrong.

For the first time in their life, Ranboo hurried out of school the way other kids did instead of staying in the library and waiting it out.

They soon found themself outside the flower shop, suddenly very hesitant to enter. They were nervous, and scared, but excited all the same. So many conflicting feelings.

They took a deep breath, the way Puffy always told them to, and opened the door. The scent of blooming flowers and other growing plants reached their nose. It was nice. A new chapter of their life was about to begin.

“Hey, kid. Good to see ya again.”