Chapter Text
This whole Enderwalk business was seriously getting out of hand.
Ranboo went to sleep in his lab and woke up inside Tommy’s house. Complete with a dirt block in hand.
Waking up in the middle of a field hundreds of blocks from where he slept was one thing. Waking up inside someone else’s house with no sign of the owner in sight was a whole other thing.
Ranboo groaned softly. He seriously needed to get this under control.
Well, maybe he could sneak out and away without Tommy even noticing-
-was what he thought before he heard the sniffles resounding from the next room.
Ranboo froze. Light emanated from the room, most likely from a torch or a fireplace. No one should be here. No one but Tommy, who should be asleep. And yet he appeared to be awake and crying.
Fuck. If he left now, Ranboo wouldn’t be able to live with himself.
Ranboo slinked to the doorway. There, sitting on the carpeted floor in front of the couch, was Tommy. His back was turned towards Ranboo, but the boy was clearly hunched over and crying. The soft glow of the fireplace casted harsh shadows against the walls, accentuating Tommy’s figure.
Ranboo’s feet banged against the doorway, making him curse. Worse, Tommy snapped his head towards Ranboo, body tense, wide eyes screaming panic. Though, when he saw that it was only him, he immediately relaxed. Confusion settled on his face before he raised his hand to wipe the tears away.
“Hi Ranboo.”
Tommy’s eyes were puffy and red, and despite the boy desperately wiping at his eyes, Ranboo could still see remains of tears on his face. He clutched a quilted blanket made of multiple colors in his hands, sewing supplies by his side. His cheeks were a deep red, though Ranboo couldn’t tell if it’s from crying or embarrassment.
“Hi Tommy,” he returned.
Tommy didn’t respond. He simply sat there, dabbing away the last remains of his tears while glaring at Ranboo’s general direction.
Oh, this turned awkward. Ranboo hovered at the doorway, unsure of what to do. Tommy had a soft spot deep inside, Ranboo knew that, but he always put up this front of toughness when he was with Ranboo. He didn’t know if Tommy would appreciate him breaking down that front.
So they just stood there. In wholly awkward silence.
“So, uh.” Tommy’s hands played with the blanket on his lap. His voice shook a bit. “Hey there, big man. Whatcha’ up to?”
“Oh! Um-” Enderwalk me decided he wanted to take a walk and I ended up in your living room, so I’m here now! “I just… wanted to check on you?”
Tommy snorted. “At 3 am, with a dirt block?”
Oh. Right. That.
“No.” With a flash, the dirt block went from Ranboo’s hands to his inventory. “Yes. Maybe.”
Tommy squinted and looked Ranboo up and down, still avoiding eye contact. He squirmed a bit under Tommy’s scrutinous gaze. Ranboo thought he’s looking for something, but he’s not sure what.
Thankfully, the moment quickly passed. Tommy averted his gaze and sighed. Ranboo took it as a sign to speak up.
“Well uh, do you want me to leave?”
Silence.
Then, Tommy lifted the blanket and patted the spot next to him.
“Sit down, Ranboo. Don’t get dirt all over my living room.”
Ranboo’s eyes widened. “You sure? I mean- If you want to be alone, I’ll be glad to leave.”
“ Ranboob- ” Tommy grinned at the nickname, but it felt weak- “I think being alone would be the worst possible option for me right now, thanks.”
Tommy fiddled with a needle before putting it in its place in the box, the end dangerously close to pricking him, and Ranboo understood.
So he walked over and plopped himself down next to Tommy, stretching out his legs and leaning against the couch.
“Prime, your legs are so fucking long,” Tommy muttered as he shared the blanket with Ranboo. It only covered around half of his legs. “I’m gonna need so much more cloth for this.”
“Why would you-”
“Because it’s for you, dumbass.”
Okay, that broke his brain a bit.
“For... me...?”
“I guess technically it’s for Tubbo too. You two sleep in the same bed, right?” Tommy’s hand danced on Ranboo’s leg, measuring its length with the span of his fingers. “But because you have long ass fucking legs, it’s for you. Tubbo has so much shit from me anyway. Prime, you’re like a spider. I’d hate to see you crawling backwards at me in the middle of the night.”
Ranboo let out a surprised laugh at that. “Why would I crawl backwards at you in the middle of the night?”
“I don’t know.” Tommy’s grin returned, a bit stronger this time. “Maybe you’ll get possessed by a demon in the middle of the night and I’d have to save you with my awesome exorcism skills.”
“That-” Ranboo was not sure demons-that-possess-people exist, but Tommy was the religious one between them, so Ranboo was less inclined to argue. “That was certainly a sentence.”
“Yeah.” Tommy laughed weakly, the sound quickly dying in his throat. “I’d fucking- splash holy water on you and call on Master Oogway.”
Ranboo snorted at that, making Tommy chuckle a bit before falling into silence.
For several minutes, there was no sound but the crackle of the fireplace. Tommy let out a shaky breath and hunched in on himself. His hands left the blanket and wrapped around his elbows, making the boy seem like he was hugging himself. His eyes glazed over and dulled, as if his mind were going elsewhere.
Remembering what Tommy said earlier about being alone , Ranboo placed a hand on Tommy’s shoulder, turning the boy’s attention to him.
“It’s… really late at night right now, for you to still be sewing.”
Tommy laughed. It sounded forced.
“It’s really late at night for you to break into people’s houses to check on them . Seriously, people might think you’re stealing from them.”
Ranboo shrugged, but didn’t answer.
Sometimes, silence is how you coax more information out of someone.
He didn’t remember how he knew that, but it was useful information for times like this.
“Yeah, no,” Tommy muttered. “I was sewing, and then I started thinking, and it just goes downhill from there.”
More silence. Tommy exhaled shakily. Ranboo rubbed down his back in a soothing manner.
“...Ranboo, what do you think about Wilbur?” Tommy finally asked. “And please, be honest with me. I’m... kind of sick of people lying to me.”
Ranboo ruminated on the question. Wilbur, huh? Ranboo didn’t know the guy very well. No one ever really talked about him, and it seemed like no one could agree on who he was. Opinions on the man ranged from martyr to beloved relative to misled to monstrous bastard . Sometimes one person had multiple, conflicting opinions on him.
(Tommy, Tubbo, Fundy. There people whose opinions on Wilbur seemed to swing wildly between love and respect and hatred and disgust. One day they’d talk of how much they missed him, the next they’d seeth at the mere mention of his name.
Tommy, above the others, who shouted I hate you with surprising venom and yet followed him like a lost duckling with barely hidden adoration and longing in his eyes.)
Wilbur Soot was always more of a myth than a person for Ranboo. A taboo, a story told far too late in the night. People spoke little of him and mentioned him by name even less. When he was mentioned, it was always in incredibly charged moments with little explanation, like an open secret that only Ranboo was not in on. His grave was less of a grave and more of a shrine , a monument, a spectacle.
And then the man himself stood before Ranboo with a stiff smile that barely reached his eyes, trying to pick apart Ranboo’s beliefs as if he couldn’t fathom it, and Wilbur Soot suddenly felt very real.
“He is… strange.” Ranboo finally settled on that. “He is very strange. I don’t… I don’t really understand him. And… I don’t think he understands me either. He definitely feels like he belonged in the past, you know? In the times of nations and political strife. He’s like… a relic of the past, I guess.”
Tommy scoffed. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”
For a few moments, there was quiet.
Then, Ranboo broke it.
“...Did something happen? With Wilbur?”
Ranboo knew Tommy spent three weeks with the help of anyone who was willing to help gathering chests upon chests of stone. For Wilbur. Ranboo didn’t know what it was for, and despite his insistence, Ranboo didn’t think Tommy knew either.
Tommy went off with Wilbur several days ago to Prime knew where and only returned yesterday, looking more tired than Ranboo had seen him in ages. He wouldn’t tell anyone where they went or what they did, and that had worried both him and Tubbo.
Tommy hunched in on himself even further. For a second, Ranboo feared that he had pushed too far. That he had just pushed Tommy back into his cocoon of secrecy. But just as he was about to break the tension, Tommy spoke.
“He…” Tommy’s voice was barely a whisper. “He didn’t really do anything, I think. But it just made it worse. I feel like I see manipulation where there’s none , Ranboo. I feel like I see enemies when there’s none. I don’t know if I’m just being paranoid or if he’s genuinely trying to manipulate me anymore. Or anyone, really.
“I think he cares about me. I think he wants me around because he likes me, not just because he thinks I’m useful. But I also used to think that about Dream and Techno and Phil and I don’t-” Tommy’s voice caught in his throat. He sounded like he was about to cry. “I just- I don’t know anymore , Ranboo. I really want to believe he wants me. I really want to believe he loves me. But my stupid fucking fucked-up brain just won’t-”
Ranboo slung his arms around Tommy in a hug, and Tommy sobbed.
Tommy threw his arms around Ranboo’s body and gripped him tight. In return, Ranboo pulled the boy closer and allowed him to sob into his chest. His tears stained the front of his sweater, but thankfully, the shirt under it stopped it from seeping through onto his skin.
“I don’t fucking know anything anymore,” Tommy cried, slightly muffled by the sweater. “I just want him to love me, but he sounded an awful lot like Dream sometimes, but Wilbur said he loves me and he used to love me, at least, and Dream never said he loved me so it’s not the same but I don’t fucking know- ”
Ranboo rubbed soothing circles onto Tommy’s back, which just made him cry harder. Tommy’s grip on Ranboo tightened, and in return, Ranboo hugged him even tighter. Slowly, Tommy’s sobs died down, leaving only heavy, muted breathing in its wake.
“I just want him to love me,” Tommy finally whispered. His voice was deathly hoarse. “He used to be my brother. I think I’d quite like that back.”
Ranboo’s hand shifted to caress Tommy’s hair. The boy whimpered before leaning into the touch.
“I’m sorry,” Ranboo whispered. “I’m sorry I can’t do more.”
“Don’t be, there’s nothing you can possibly do,” Tommy muttered, chuckling deprecatingly. “I just… I just want someone honest and a place where I can feel safe. Is that really too much to ask?”
“You can come to Snowchester, you know.” In Ranboo’s arms, Tommy tensed. “We have a giant mansion for three people. One more wouldn’t hurt.”
Tubbo had desperately wanted Tommy to move in after his death and revival, but he ‘didn’t want to intrude on Tommy’s privacy.’ Tubbo thought Tommy wanted space. Privately, Ranboo thought Tommy needed the company.
“...I would hate to intrude on you,” came the whispered reply, so quiet Ranboo nearly didn’t catch it. “I’d ruin you. I ruin everything I touch.”
“You wouldn’t,” Ranboo insisted. “We want you there. We’d be very happy to have you with us. Tubbo and I were just waiting for you. Michael’s already attached to ‘Uncle Mimi’, you know that? He kept asking when you’ll come over again.”
Tommy snorted at the mention of the nickname Michael gave him.
“Yeah, what will he do without his awesome Uncle Mimi?” Tommy chuckled. “No one’s gonna be around to teach him how to say fuck. Or shit. Or bitch.”
Ranboo let out a small laugh at the joke. “See? You’re going to fit right in.”
“Yeah… Yeah, maybe.”
“So… Will you move in with us?”
Tommy fell into silence, no longer tense but not really relaxed either. Ranboo sorta wished he could see his face, just so he can gauge Tommy’s mood and thoughts.
“I’ll consider it.” Tommy adjusted his position in Ranboo’s arms, but made no move to pull away. “Wilbur… Wilbur needs me right now. I can’t just leave him behind.”
Ranboo scrunched his brows. “You don’t have to stick with him, you know.”
“Yeah, but…” Tommy sighed. He sounded awfully tired. “I can’t leave him.”
He used to be my brother resounded in Ranboo’s head. He tightened his arms around Tommy.
Ranboo tried to be everyone’s friend, but the number of people who he would turn the world upside down for were… fairly limited.
Tubbo.
Michael.
And… Tommy.
Tommy, one of his first friends on the server.
Tommy, who lied so he wouldn’t get in trouble.
Tommy, who seemed to care for others so much more than they care for him.
If it were up to Ranboo, he’d drag the boy home to Snowchester right this instant and lock the doors so no one who had hurt him would ever get to see him ever again.
Not Dream. Not Wilbur. No one.
He wanted to protect his loved ones so badly, and to some extent he managed that with Tubbo and Michael in Snowchester, but Tommy had been increasingly distant from the rest of them. He was worried. Tubbo was worried. Using Michael as bait could only work so many times. Tommy was drifting away from their grasps and into the hands of people who could hurt him.
Ranboo was not against meeting Wilbur and getting to know him better, but Tommy’s devotion to him was near suicidal and Ranboo couldn’t say he liked it. Not one bit. Not when Wilbur had seemed so dismissive of Tommy on their first and second meetings.
But that same devotion was why Tommy wouldn’t listen to him, so Ranboo settled on planting a soft kiss on Tommy’s hair and caressed it.
“Okay,” he whispered. “Just know that... the door is always open for you.”
“Thanks, Ranboo.” After a bit of silence, Tommy continued. “Would you... Would you please stay?”
“Of course.”
And he stayed, long after the fire had gone out and they both had fallen asleep by the couch, holding each other close. When Ranboo finally woke up, Tommy was still in his arms, sleeping peacefully.
Ranboo smiled softly. It was the least he deserved.