Work Text:
Parenting is a noble task when done right. But in all honesty B.Zuka still did not understand what is so noble about it. There is nothing to be gained externally shouldn’t a parent just inherently be a parent should they choose to take on a spawn?
Perhaps he was overthinking things again. Then again big change has always sort of brought of panic to anyone. Zuka has learned though that one must simply take change peacefully as it comes. Life in the inpherno is ever changing and evolving, things come and go.
So coming across an angry young boy who has a problem with exploding at anything he perceives as a threat, the usual reaction for B. Zuka with most not too ignore it. Sure that would have saved him plenty of hassle, but something in that exhausted expression of that little inphernal lit something within B.Zukas long frozen heart. One thing led to another and now he had Rocket in his care. It was a rocky venture for sure.
Rocket was untrusting, aggressive, and very prone to picking a fight. Every small step Zuka would manage to take with the shark pup, there would be two steps back of that progress. And Zuka found that he was alright with that. Sometimes all inphernals need is some patience and room to bite something.
It was another one of those late two steps back nights. Rocket has been in his care for at least one year now, and the whole time unfortunately has gone barely through any week without one night of his dreams being plagued with terror. Zuka himself can empathize, he has had night terrors since even before his incident. In the end some nights both Zuka and his newly adopted child might not end up getting a wink of sleep.
Currently that was thankfully not the case. Zuka was pacing slowly back and forth while every now and then stopping to sway back and forth. Rocket had his prosthetics off by this time of night, and was dressed in Zukas personal favorite of his sons sleepwear. Which was a blue bunny onesie that Zuka had bought the young boy as a gag gift for his spawn day a few months back.
The six year old was not amused then, but still wore it anyways. Zuka had almost fallen asleep on the couch with the tv blaring, before he was shocked right awake from a loud cry upstairs. In a flash he had been up the stairs into Rockets room and scooped the boy up to check for any injury. Rocket had not wanted to say what the nightmare had been, and only sobbed into Zukas shirt for comfort.
And that is alright with the orca inphernal, if the pup just needed to cry then he could cry all he needed onto the shopkeeper. He held Rocket firmly with his arm, and angled his own head to lay over top of the shark inphernal. Presently Rocket was still shifting in his hold and every now and then would release a stifled sob that would ache Zukas heart. It was an embarrassing thing to do, but one that always soothed B.zuka as a child in Blackrock.
There were not many songs in Blackrock, most of the faction were never keen on such fun things like music. Arts in general were seen as a big waste of time and resources. However at least among caretakers in charge of rearing children in the spawnling care facilities there is a handful of songs passed down to one another to help soothe any fretful spawnling. Zuka never found his own voice very nice, but if he sung quietly it seemed to provide some comfort to Rocket.
Zuka breathed in and began to recall the one comforting piece of his past home.
“When the winter falls I just wanna lay in the snow,
I will make em fly, every single snow angel ..”
Rocket let out a muffle mrrp at the familiar tune, and slowly his finned tail curled up to wrap around Zukas waist. In return the older inphernal brought his black and white whale tail to curl over the sleepy guppy in his arm.
“Hope you see the signs they are in the snowflakes, they
Glow..
Before it all melts away
Snow angels won’t stay…”
Zuka flinched for a moment when he felt a smaller clawed hand graze over his cheek. He looked back down at Rockets face, his eyes were still puffy and red from crying but now he seemed more tired again. Before Zuka could ask what was wrong, the guppy butted his face against his chest.
“…You has a tear on your face, old man..”
Zuka mentally kicked himself, but also almost gushed about how sweet Rocket was being. Instead of earning himself another bite to the shoulder from the shark pup, B.Zuka only hummed and walked back over towards the hallway.
“Eh..don’t worry kid, my eyes are probably just dry. Let’s head to bed now, alright?”
Zuka looked questioning at the guppy who only yawned in answer. The former Blackrockian smiled in relief before settiling down one his rickety old bed. He curled slowly around Rocket before headbutting him with a hum.
“G’night, kiddo.”