Also I'm gonna just post this here instead of giving it a designated story doc. prompt by one of my followers on wattpad-
"Herobrine and Notch are brothers. Herobrine isn't necessarily evil, but he isn't the best either. So, he is surprised when his brother trusts him with caring for his son, Steve. Steve is only 2-4 years old, and is wholesome to the power of 10."
written in one afternoon because we gotta go fast
Backup Babysitter. Rated K for fluff.
"And when exactly did I agree to this?"
"I don't recall giving you the choice." Notch set down a duffel bag on the floor, blue with white polka dots. "His regular caregiver is on emergency leave, and I need to run a summit in two hours."
"Oh yes, the almighty Notch, passer of the buck." Herobrine folded his arms crossly over his pressed jacket. "And why am I your next choice? I don't even know what to do with it!"
"It has a schedule which I have written for you, all you have to do is follow it." Notch lowered his son down beside the bag, who stood there looking alarmed for a moment. The child had huge, sparkling blue eyes, which gazed around the richly-decorated room in wonder.
"So you don't trust me with a position in your congress, but you trust me with your firstborn son?" Herobrine sniffed. "I'm still upset I wasn't invited to the wedding."
"We've been over this, Herobrine, I am not married. If he was my biological son, he would more than likely be sporting a pair of these." Notch lifted one stately wing. "And I trust you well enough to know the consequences if anything should happen to Stephen." Herobrine muttered a choice word. "And watch your language."
"Fine." The prince's gaze dropped to the child again, who was wandering towards the wall to look at a shiny accent. "What am I supposed to feed it?"
"I told you already, his schedule is in the bag." Notch turned towards the door, cape sweeping grandly behind him. "I'll see you at sundown."
"Notch! I don't even like children!"
"He's a very well-mannered child, Herobrine, I'm sure even you will be able to handle him."
"But-" And he was already gone. Heaving a sigh, Herobrine shot a withering look at the toddling child before he reached down, pulling the duffel bag open and collecting the piece of paper just inside. He skimmed over the schedule, written in Notch's neat handwriting, then let the paper burst into flame in his hands.
"Show him." He muttered to himself as the schedule dissolved into ashes. He turned to the child again, whose wide eyes were now focused on him. "Stephen, hmm? Well Stephen, today's going to be on my terms." The child blinked once.
"Whe's Nahna?" Stephen's babbling speech was almost incomprehensible.
"Assuming you refer to my brother, he's left you in my capable hands until sundown. Whenever that is." He added in a lower tone. Notch had a tendency to refer to the daylight cycle of the overworld, one that Herobrine only rarely bore witness to due to his residence in the hellish dimension of the Nether. When his words were met only with confusion, he reiterated. "He went to work. He'll be back later."
"Oh." Stephan swung his arms, gazing around his uncle's chambers. The room he stood in served as Herobrine's lounge, which was rudely intruded upon by Notch several minutes before. Ordinarily, he would receive visitors here, or simply let his day pass. It was ornately decorated, as fitting for the Prince of the Nether. The child seemed interested only in a few figurines on a shelf.
"Clearly we will have to find somewhere else to put you." Herobrine mused as Stephen aimed himself for a fragile vase. "Leave that be!" The child ignored him, and Herobrine was forced to scoop him up to keep him from destroying his decor. He momentarily considered passing the child off to one of his servants, but rejected that idea quickly enough. The best way to ensure Notch did not come back in a rage would be to keep an eye on the boy himself.
"Come on, then, let's go." Grabbing his bag, Herobrine lugged both it and the child through the doorway, shaking his head in annoyance when Stephen tugged at his pointed ear. Steering them both inside a guest room, the prince set his charge onto the carpeted floor, who promptly fell over.
Dropping the bag, Herobrine sat down beside it to search through it. Inside was a metal lunchbox with a small amount of food inside it (Was that really enough? He was awfully small…), as well as two changes of clothes, some wooden toys, a pillow and blanket, and a few diapers. Herobrine found himself disliking how this day was going more and more.
"Here." Herobrine offered one of the toys to the child, a carved horse. Stephen regarded it with little interest for a few moments before turning and toddling away, heading for the door instead. "No, you- hey, stay in here." He was forced to grab him again to keep Stephen from escaping down the hall. "I won't be chasing you all over my mansion." Herobrine told him sternly as he kicked the door shut. "You have toys and room to run in here, what more could you want?" Again, he set the child at his feet, and Stephen made a 180 degree turn, throwing his arms around his leg and hugging him tight.
"Uncwe." He murmured against his leg. Herobrine stood silent for a few moments, stunned, before reaching down to offer the child a pat on the head.
Perhaps this wouldn't be as bad as he'd thought.
As Stephen lay on his back on the floor, arching and screeching at the top of his little lungs, Herobrine found himself mildly regretting his decision to burn Notch's instructions.
He'd already checked, the child didn't need changed, nor did he show any interest in the lunchbox. He had played quite happily for the better part of an hour before hurling his toys in various directions, and Herobrine quite honestly had no idea what could be wrong. All he knew was that the crying was quite grating on his nerves.
"Do you want to go outside?" He asked, voice loud from both frustration and an inability to hear himself think. This placated the child slightly, whose wails lowered momentarily to a manageable level. "Let's go, let's go for a walk, hmm?" Herobrine scooped him up before he could change his mind, balancing the boy on his hip. At this point, Stephen's squalls had nearly ceased, only a few whimpers remaining as he clung to his uncle's neck. Opening the door, Herobrine stepped out into the hallway, making his way towards the staircase at the end of the hall as Stephen gazed about in wonder. Hopefully the change of scenery would entertain him enough to keep his caretaker sane.
Making it to the bottom of the staircase, Herobrine pushed his way through the front doors. A blast of heat hit him, which caused Stephen to shrivel away and blink rapidly, but Herobrine was unaffected. So many years in this hostile environment allowed him to be fairly accustomed to its inhospitality.
Stephen shook himself out a bit as he was carried down the path, crossing beneath several overhanging crimson trees. Herobrine made a mental note to have those pruned. Despite the desolation of the majority of the Nether, his estate was calm and friendly, even for those unused to it. A small group of baby hoglins crossed the path in front of them, grunting and squealing, and Stephen cried out in delight.
"Now- hey, hold on." Herobrine struggled to adjust his grip as Stephen made an attempt to squirm free. "You can't simply run after wild animals, hold on now." The toddler gave no indication that he'd heard him, continuing to struggle. "Fine! Patience, child!" Herobrine started after the hoglins, calling them back with a whistle and a click of his tongue.
The Nether-boars came readily, and he crouched down before them, letting Stephen reach out to pat one's large nose. The creature huffed a hot breath, and Notch's son squealed and giggled. He made a grab for the coarse fur that lined the creature's neck, and Herobrine quickly stood, shooing away the pigs and moving on. As mild-mannered as the beasts were around their master, he wouldn't put them past nipping at a hand that grabbed and yanked.
The pair of them wandered around his grounds for a good while, Stephen eventually insisting on toddling about on his own - which Herobrine allowed only on the condition that he held his hand. He wasn't about to let the child run away and plunge off of a cliff, boil in the lava below. Notch would draw and quarter him.
Eventually, the child started to complain and ask to be carried again, which Herobrine took as his prompt to bring him inside. Stephen was calm as they travelled back to the room in which he had claimed, allowing himself to be carried up the stairs and brought down the hall. The moment he'd spotted his bag, he was squirming out of his uncle's arms, running to it and grabbing his lunchbox.
"Dah!" He exclaimed, holding it a loft.
"You're hungry?" Herobrine tried in vain to translate. Stephen wasted no time in attempting to unlatch it, with very little success. "Fine, here, I'll open it." The container was offered to him, and Herobrine clicked it open, revealing a sandwich, several apple slices, and a small container of chocolate pudding. Herobrine removed the pudding. "Real food first." He told the child sternly. Stephen seemed happy enough to comply, grabbing a slice of apple with his stubby fingers and stuffing it in his mouth.
Herobrine sat back with the pudding, watching the child eat and ensuring he didn't choke. The longer he sat and watched, the more fond he grew of his nephew. His bouncy brown curls framed his round face perfectly, and he let out small exclamations of mmmm! every few bites. When he turned his gaze to his uncle and grinned, Herobrine found himself grinning back.
"Where did he find you, anyway?" He murmured. "I can certainly believe you aren't his son by blood… as if that grandiose old fossil could ever find a woman."
"Clous!" Stephen exclaimed.
"That means nothing to me." Steve merely grinned and went back to his meal.
The longer he ate, the slower his movements became. By the time he had finished his pudding, his head was nodding, and he stretched his arms over his head with a yawn. Herobrine took a small towel and wiped off his face, then scooped the child up and deposited him in the large guest bed, tucking the blanket Notch had sent with him around him. As he'd suspected, Steve fell asleep within minutes.
Herobrine knelt on the floor beside the bed, chin resting on his arms, watching his charge sleep. He didn't dare leave the room, else the child was likely to somehow injure himself. All there was to do was watch him rest… and the longer he watched, the more tired he felt himself becoming as well.
Before the hour was up, his face was pressed into the mattress, fast asleep as well.
Notch made his way up the winding staircase towards Herobrine's chambers, frowning with displeasure as his wing caught on a decorative suit of armor. It had been a long and exhausting day. Attempting to mediate the trivial squabbles of a dozen city-states was, in the opinion of his frazzled nerves, far too much for any one man to have to bear.
The nagging worry that Herobrine was being a poor caretaker hadn't helped, but Notch had done his best to brush it off. If nothing else, he trusted his brother's fear of his reckoning if anything were to happen to his son.
As he neared the top of the staircase, he could hear Herobrine's animated voice coming from a guest room, followed by his son's high-pitched one. The sound heartened him, and he followed it, opening the door to find his brother and son on the floor, staring down what appeared to be a standard game of checkers.
"Notch!" Herobrine exclaimed upon sighting him. "Can't you see we're in the middle of a game?"
"Nahna!" Stephen cheered, scrambling upright and dashing over to him to faceplant into his leg. Notch chuckled, mussing his curls.
"Did you have a good day?"
"Of course he did, he was with me." Herobrine's voice held more than a note of pride.
"Did you follow my instructions?" Notch questioned, not seeing the sheet of paper. Herobrine's face colored slightly, and he averted his gaze.
"Regrettably, I lost them."
"Ah." Notch looked back to the checkerboard. "Surely he is too young to…?"
"We were playing a modified version of the game." Herobrine explained smoothly. As if to demonstrate, Steve unlatched himself from Notch's leg, running back to the board to gather up all his checkers. Once he had done so, he hurled them at Herobrine's face, who didn't so much as flinch as they ricocheted off his head.
"He's won again."
"Herobrine, I do believe you enjoyed yourself today." Notch accused him, a smirk on his face.
"Yes, well," Herobrine huffed, "of course I did. Any true offspring of yours, however, would undoubtedly be far more insufferable."
"So if I should ever again need emergency childcare…?" Notch trailed off. Herobrine sat up straight, assuming a disinterested expression.
"I'm a busy man, Notch, but I will see if I could fit it into my schedule."
"You amuse me, brother." Notch picked up his son, who squealed and reached for his feathers. "Thank you for taking care of him today." Herobrine seemed momentarily at a loss for words. "Did he eat? Sleep?"
"He ate everything, I almost feared there wouldn't be enough. He's a growing boy, Notch."
"Oh, I feed him plenty. And he slept?"
"Yes, he woke up about an hour ago."
"Wonderful." Notch picked up his duffel, lifting the strap onto his shoulder. "Goodnight, brother."
"It's night?" With that, Notch turned and left, setting a course back to the portal that lead to the Overworld.
"You had fun with your uncle, hmm?" He pinched Steve's soft cheek, causing his small hands to clamp onto his fingers "You wouldn't mind going back?" Steve launched into incomprehensible babble, and Notch smiled.
So much for not liking children.
