This was inspired by stuff that Coastal_Tavern told me about their Hidden Things AU hehe

AU: Son of Science (Professor Red found Sabre as a small toddler, years before the story of RQ is supposed to start. He brings him to the Red Kingdom and the Red Leader lets him stay on the condition that the Professor would be the one to care for him, since he was insistent on bringing him in. Cue the Professor being a dad.)

Context: The Professor realizes just how much trouble kids can be, and has to get a bit creative about how to handle his overly energetic child.

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[3rd Person POV]

Professor Red thinks on his situation as the little child continues to run around the lab, avoiding him so he wouldn't be caught.

It was hours past his bedtime, however young Sabre refused to go to bed. The Professor's been trying to catch him the whole time, and so far has been unsuccessful. He's sure this has something do to with Sabre beginning to interact with kids his age in the Kingdom. Some of those little gremlins can be trouble.

Sighing, the Professor tries to figure out a way to get him to settle down. Watching from his desk as Sabre continues to bolt up and down the nearest hallway, laughing, it takes a few moments before he has an idea.

The Professor smiles and hurriedly looks for a stopwatch he knows he has somewhere in his desk, eventually finding it in a lower drawer. Picking it up, he walks a little closer to the hallway Sabre is currently running through, and calls out.

"Heeeyyyyyy Sabre!" Professor Red says cheerfully.

"You're not gonna catch me!" Sabre shouts back, giggling as he went past the door for a twenty-fourth time.

"I'm not trying to, kiddo. I just have a question for you." The Professor grins. "Do you want to play a game really quick?"

Somewhere in the hall, Professor Red hears Sabre suddenly stop, turn, and the sound of little footsteps approaching before the brown-haired child carefully peeks from behind the doorway.

"A game?" Sabre asks, looking up at the Professor. "What kind of game?"

"A race!" Professor Red grins. "That is, if you can go change into your pajamas and brush your teeth in under five minutes."

"I wanna play! When do you start timing me?"

"Seventeen seconds on the clock so far."

"Wait now-?!"

Sabre rushes off, heading upstairs as fast as he can. Professor Red laughs and presses 'start' on the stopwatch, waiting. He waited for a while, and the one or two times the watch would hit five minutes he would stop the timer, clear it, then start it again. A while later, Sabre comes running back down the stairs, now wearing lilac-colored pajamas with white stars on them. He stops in front of the Professor with a bright smile.

"How'd I do?!" He asks, looking excitedly at him.

"Two minutes and forty-seven seconds. Good job." The Professor smiles back.

"Woah, I went fast!"

"Yeah you did!" Professor Red says, chuckling. "Now, you want to play that game?"

"Yes! What is it?"

I want to see how many laps you can do around the main hall going as fast as you can. If you win, I'll make waffles for breakfast tomorrow morning."

Sabre looks at the Professor with an awed expression, then bolts off back to the hallway before he can blink.

"Game on!" He shouts as he disappears into the hall.

The Professor walks to the doorframe and leans against it, watching as Sabre passes by him every so often. This goes on for a decently long time, but not even someone as lively as Sabre is tireless. Eventually, the child slows down and stops next to the Professor, catching his breath.

"Did... Did I win?" He asks between breaths.

The Professor smiles and scoops him up, carrying him as he turns and begins walking towards the stairway. Sabre doesn't object this time.

"Yep, you sure did." Professor Red replies. "Are you tired now?"

"Mhmm."

"Then let's get you to bed." Professor Red continues as he starts going up the stairs.

He carries Sabre up a few more flights of stairs, eventually reaching the top floor of the lab, able to see the starry night sky through the glass dome ceiling. He then heads into a side room to the observatory, opening a door that had a handmade paper sign taped to it, reading 'Sabre's Room'. It was covered in scribbles of swords, gears, parts of landscapes like trees or mountains, a few planets, and even a dragon in the corner.

The room was once another part of the observatory, but once Sabre came along, the Professor changed it to be a bedroom. He still kept the glass ceiling, so Sabre had a wonderful view of the stars at night and could look up at the clouds and birds flying overhead in the day. Little green glow-in-the-dark star decorations were stuck to the wall though, with a moon to match them. A dark blue quilt blanket was laid over two fluffy blankets of differing colors on the bed, a red teddy bear on top of the blankets. Next to the bed was a nightstand with a glass of water and a lamp with a muted green lampshade on it. A painting of a forest hung above it.

Against the opposite wall stood a dresser, the top of it covered in various toys and books, and two small bookshelves within Sabre's reach were above the dresser. A fluffy rug with every Chromatic color in splotches on it laid in the center of the room, surrounded by a bit of a mess of more toys next to an empty and tipped over toy box. On a small table in the corner of the room next to the dresser was a playset modeled after chemistry equipment, along with a toy based on a simple redstone circuit.

Professor Red crouched and placed Sabre on the bed, then went to grab Sabre's stuffed bear to give it to him as Sabre picked up the glass on the nightstand and drank some water. As he put the glass down, the Professor handed him his bear and helped him get under the covers, tucking him in. As Sabre snuggled down into the bed, the Professor stood up.

"G'night, dad..." Sabre mumbled tiredly.

The Professor smiled, and placed a hand on his head for a moment.

"Goodnight, my wonderful little anomaly." He whispered back.

The Professor quietly left the room, being careful when opening and closing the door.

A while later, in a lower area of the lab, the Professor enters a room with a table and chair in front of a not yet complete robotic body. The AI is online, however, and greets the Professor as he sits down.

"Good evening, Professor Red." The AI says, its monotone voice the same tone as usual. "I heard a lot of running upstairs earlier, was everything alright?"

"Everything is fine, Assistant. I appreciate the concern though." Professor Red says, smiling at his creation then getting to work on some calculations. They were measurements for the next parts he needed to make to finish the Assistant's form. "It was just Sabre getting some energy out before I put him to bed."

"Ah, alright Professor." The Assistant replies. "Do you know when my body will be complete?"

"Soon, if I can get the right materials quick enough. Hopefully within a week or so."

There's a few minutes of silence between them, the Assistant simply glancing around the room. After a while, he looks back to the Professor.

"Professor?"

"Yes, Assistant?"

"When my body is complete and I am clear to begin roaming around the lab... do you think your son will like me?"

The Professor looks up at his assistant, at first surprised, then gives a bright smile.

"Oh I promise, Assistant, Sabre is going to love you. In fact, I think the two of you will be great friends."