He sniffed it hazardly, nervous to even bother to bite into it, but as he saw the giant persons smile gaze into his deep sea eyes, he decided to be brave and face the horrors of this... "pancake."

Denied lifted the fork, flinching as the brown liquid leaked onto his lap before he bit into the confection. The metal made his teeth vibrate, but this breakfast. It made his eyes widen and his once slit pupils suddenly become the size of dinner plates. He began to scoop up more, neglecting his fork and using his hand, ignoring the syrup that coated his shirt and tail.

"Now now! Settle down, I don't want you choking." The calm voice ushered, handing him a napkin. Denied stared at it, was this also food? He gave a patient lick before the giant gave a light scoff and began to dab at his face, Denied fussing as the stranger scrubbed the leftovers off his chin and cheeks. He squeaked, letting out an angry chitter as The person finally finished cleaning him up. Now he smelled weird! The audacity of these humans, now he was going to have no crumbs for swimming later.

"Do you want some more?"

Suddenly, he couldn't remember why he was so angry, all he could think about were those tasty circles and that delicious gooey substance that coated it. "Well, try to use your fork this time, and try to eat a little more... gracefully."

Denied squeaked, slapping his hands on the wooden table, the plate making a soft clatter as he chanted for more food.

"Ahh, introducing our stowaway to more food? What is it this time?" Another voice piped up from behind him. Ahh, the hat man! The snooty hat man..

"Oh its pancakes. He seemed to enjoy the bacon, so I was curious on his reaction to something sweeter." The other chuckled. Hat man stared down at Denied, tilting his head before grabbing something from the drawer. Oh no.

The napkin.

Denied squeaked and growled as Hat man began to tie the annoying pure white cloth around his neck. "We need to put you somewhere that doesn't require your bottom on my books." Hat man grunted, scooping denied up. "Wai- and.." the other quickly tried to scrabble before Hat man found syrup on his sweater. "Its fine. Its not like I have 40 other ones I can switch this one out for." Hat man sighed, walking to the closet before pulling out an odd shaped thing.

Soon denied found himself back near the counter, but there was something near his waist.

"Vilhelmas's old feeding chair?"

"Yes. It saves my poor books from being stained in fish scent."

"Hm, I see." The giant chuckled, Hat man scoffing and rolling his eyes. "This is temporary. I'm just hoping whatever clan he came from will swim by, not cause a tsunami on my streets, and swim happily away and peacefully with their son."

"Sunn.." denied mimicked, before finding more of the pancakes near him. He began to eat with his hands. "Oh, no no no." Hat man grumbled.

"Here. We eat with cutlery, not our little paws."

Denied looked up at Hat man, his scruffy beard hiding his mouth a little, but the young Fishling could see those eyebrow lines. Denied opened his maw, hat man gently setting a forkful of pancake into denieds mouth before pulling away.. only for Denied to shudder and fuss as the metal once again scrapped his teeth.

Hat man paused, no longer disgruntled, more so worried. "Maybe.. just this once you can be messy." He whispered, standing up and placing the fork in the sink. "Gonzalo, where did I put the plastic silverware?"

Gonzalo pointed at the top of the room. There, in almost plain sight, was an awkward square that stuck out unlike the rest of the ceiling. Denied wasn't quite sure what it was, but now that this.. Gonzalo person pointed at it, he was curious. "Zalo." He mumbled to himself, before eating more of his breakfast, the scales keeping his teeth from chomping his poor lil hand off.

Except the boxes are tinier than him and said furniture is like. A lamp. And if he hides behind the armchair, his tail is too fat n bigg...

Bob, never in his years, had to deal with such a rebellious baby. No less one that accidentally always made himself known via the wet slaps of his feet on the wooden floor. Denied, had decided that this was his year to deal with it. Panting through the halls, his little feet mustering him through the hall as Bob grumbled and walked after him

"Denied it's late. You MUST rest, otherwise you won't be well awake for tomorrow!" Bob tried to reason with the infant, but Denied just burrowed himself under the couch in the living room.

Bob paused, looking around before seeing it. That shiney scaley blue tail giving a light wag and a hushed giggle.

"Oh no. I've lost him." Bob said in a monotone voice, rolling his eyes. "I wonder where he went."

Denied huddled closer to the wall as he could hear Robertas approach his hiding spot. "Hmm.. where is he."

"Iss he... here?" Bob feigned, looking by the lamp. He tsked and shook his head, stiffling a chuckle at how obvious this was. But he cleared his throat. He was strict with billy, he'd have to be serious with Denied.

It got quiet for a moment, Bobs footsteps seeming to stop. The tiny fish blinked before wiggling a bit under the couch, hoping to find Bobs shoes.. or any sign of his presence.

Just as quickly as he thought he had won, Denied felt two large hands grab his waist and pull him out, making him squeak in shock.

"Aha! There you are!" Bob triumphantly said, holding Denied up. "Now. Bed."

Denied giggled, wiggling as Bob began to march to his bedroom. Bob let out a small chuckle. "Now. Enough, really. You'll just be grumpy if you don't get good rest. And you want that, right?" Bob sighed, trying to set Denied down, but Denied kept trying to flee the scene.

Bob let out a grumble before pinning Denied down to the bed. "You leave me no choice." Robertas scolded before beginning to fold the blanket under Denieds neck. Slowly, bit by bit, Denied found himself in a restraint. A swaddle.

"There." The older man spoke softly, admiring his work. Denied attempted to wiggle, only to find himself unable to escape this comfy prison. The baby let out an angry squeak, his brows furrowing. How dare Robertas swaddle him in his hour of whimsy and fun? He didnt wanna sleep.. he wanted to play.

But Bob refused to let up. "I know. Your just bursting with energy, but I need you to relax your mind.. and try to sleep." He explained, petting Denieds head and setting it on his pillow.

Denied let out a grumble, his tail, thankfully not tucked, gave a light swish of annoyance before he huffed and laid still. He watched as Bob began to stand up, putting his favorite Ducky next to him and slowly set the room for bedtime.

The nightlight flickered on, and the lights went off. Soon the hallway lights were snuffed slightly via Bob closing the door, though he could slightly making a thin line of it at the underside.

Denied fussed a little more, but felt his eyes getting heavy.

And even more heavy

Gee. Maybe this wasn't so bad.

Denied felt his eyes slightly creak open at the sound of chattering. Oh, Gonzalo was home.

"Both the boys are asleep. Denied was giving me a hard time, I swear."

"Oh?"

"Little stinker tried to hide in the living room, his tail was a massive giveaway though. The effort was adorable.."

"Yeahhh, its like he's always 'go-go-go!'. His poor little brain just needs time to understand that theres a time for fun and play, and then theres a time to just.. relax. I'm sure as he grows up he'll get to that point." Gonzalo nodded, watching Bob undo his cape. "Were you.. ever like that? Y'know, full of extra energy?"

"Well of course. But my mother wasn't.. exactly as forgiving." Bob whispered, hanging the hat and cape up on its respectful rack.

"Well. I'll go check on him." Gonzalo mumbled, giving Bobs forhead a kiss before walking down the hall, his boots giving the wooden floor under the long carpet a weak "cccreaak.."

Denied squinted as the hallway light nearly blinded him, Gonzalos shadow engulfing it almost immediately. The boy didn't feel the need to blink or fully open his eyes, so he closed them..

Gonzalo bent over, his gloves tucked in his pocket before he gave Denieds head a soft rub. "You're a handful... might have to make you work my men to death with a run tomorrow." Gonzalo whispered, kissing his forehead. "Night night."