Chapter Text
‘’I’m heading out!’’
Tubbo grabbed his bag and his phone.
‘’Wait! Where are you going?’’
Jschlatt appeared in the doorway. He had a beer bottle in one hand, and a phone in the other.
‘’I’m going to Puffy’s to take the evening shift.’’
Jschlatt frowned as he took a sip of his beer. ‘’Why does Puffy stay open this late?’’
Tubbo blinked. ‘’The festival?’’
Jschlatt snorted. ‘’Fucking hell- So you are working tonight and not going to the festival?’’
Tubbo nodded.
Jschlatt grabbed something from his pocket and threw it at Tubbo. Tubbo caught it and looked at the money in his hand.
‘’Stay at Puffy’s after your shift. I am going to give a speech at the festival and after that, I’m probably not getting home.’’
Tubbo nodded. ‘’Understood. See you sometime.’’
Jschlatt gave him a weak smile and closed the door. Tubbo pocketed the money and opened the door. He hummed while walking through the big city. He saw people setting up stalls and decorating fences.
An exciting feeling bubbled up in Tubbo. He was going to enjoy this! He just had to go up in the crowd and his father wouldn’t see him.
Tubbo jumped away for a girl carrying a box and he ran through the alleys of the city.
He was going to work today first, but Puffy had pushed him into inviting Ranboo to come to the festival with him while she went with an old friend of hers. Tubbo had asked Tommy some time ago but he was going with his family.
Ranboo had come to the café every few days after that, and Tubbo and he had hung out after his shift a few times. They even practiced fighting in the local park. Ranboo was insanely strong, even though he obviously didn’t go out. Tubbo could talk with Ranboo for hours, and Ranboo slowly started being less nervous around him and opened up more.
Tubbo had stared at Ranboo’s number for half an hour before sending him a text. Ranboo replied in seconds and agreed to go with him. They had planned to meet at Puffy’s café first and then walk through the festival.
The festival happened every year in L’manburg at the end of the summer. Farmers would come to sell their stuff, but you could also buy lots of vintage stuff. There was some other stuff that you could do too and there was music. Tubbo always went to cafés after the festival, and most young people did it to be honest.
Tubbo arrived at the street where the bakery was and smiled when he saw Ranboo. He ran towards him and waved.
Ranboo looked fantastic. He wore a black tank top with an extremely large purple-knitted jacket that covered his arms and hands. He had combined this with white cargo pants and black boots. And he wore a black and white face mask.
Ranboo hugged Tubbo when he saw him and stepped back to admire Tubbo.
Tubbo did not have lots of clothes, but he decided to not wear a hoodie for once and was wearing a white blouse with a black tie and black trousers. He was wearing all of his earnings and even decided to wear a gay button. (He had put this on after he left his house of course.)
‘’Where are we going to first?’’ Tubbo asked.
Ranboo shrugged. ‘’I’ve never been to a festival.’’
Tubbo smiled. ‘’Hm okay, there are markets and music and a fair.’’
Ranboo whistled. ‘’That’s a lot.’’
Tubbo nodded. ‘’Yeah, the government plans this every year because there are not big events in the city because of ’danger’ bullshit.’’ He scoffed.
Ranboo laughed. ‘’So you are against the government?’’
Tubbo grinned. ‘’Not necessarily. Only if they make bad decisions. Hell, have you met my friend Tommy? He is against the government.’’
‘’Interesting. I have a grudge against the police but I think you can assume why.’’
Tubbo sighed. Guess that made sense. The police hated Enderman, even if they did nothing. It was weird he just opened up about his feeling about the government with Ranboo. But Ranboo did not judge him, that was cool. Maybe he could tell him about his dad once, but not now.
‘’Well, if you’ve never been to a festival, is there something you want to see?’’
‘’Uhm- I want to see the music I think.’’
Tubbo grabbed his phone and opened the plan for the festival. ‘’A good band is playing in some hours. What do you want to do before that?’’
Ranboo looked around. ‘’We can get some food if you want?’’
Tubbo smiled and nodded. ‘’Sure. My dad gave me lots of money so I’m treating you.’’
‘’Nooo-‘’ Ranboo complained.
Tubbo shook his head and started walking, Ranboo ran after him and sighed. ‘’Fine.’’
They went to the market and walked around for some time. There was lots of food to choose from and Tubbo stopped when he saw jars of honey. He immediately grabbed his money and bought one.
‘’Are you going to eat it like that?’’ Ranboo chuckled.
Tubbo nodded. ‘’Yes, I love honey. It’s a treat!’’
Ranboo looked at him and shook his head. ‘’Idiot…’’
‘’Hey!’’ Tubbo complained. ‘’Honey is good for you and it’s made by the best animals in the world.’’
Ranboo shrugged. ‘’I like fried chicken.’’
Tubbo looked up. ‘’Do you want to get some?!’’
Ranboo smiled. ‘’Sure.’’
Tubbo put the jar of honey in his bag and pulled Ranboo through the crowd. It had gotten really busy and he didn’t want to lose Ranboo. Ranboo did not complain and interlocked their fingers.
Tubbo knew one food truck that sold the best fried chicken. It was owned by a young dude that had ginger hair and always wore a white shirt with a black jacket. He had gone there a few times, but not a lot recently.
The food truck had an orange color with white doors and windows. There were a few benches nearby with some people eating chicken on them. The owner waved at them when he saw them coming.
‘’Hey welcome to Fundy’s food truck. What do you want?’’
Tubbo smiled. ‘’What do you recommend?’’
Fundy tapped his chin. ‘’I like the fried chicken sandwich.’’
Tubbo looked at Ranboo. ‘’Are you okay with that?’’
Ranboo nodded ‘’Yeah, that sounds good.’’
‘’Anything more?’’
‘’Hmm. Just a Pepsi and a coke, please.’’
Fundy typed it in the register. ‘’That is £14.-‘’
Tubbo nodded and grabbed his wallet.
‘’Put it on my tap.’’
Tubbo looked behind him. Wilbur, Tommy’s older brother was standing behind them. His hands were in his pocket and he grinned.
‘’Sup, Tub.’’
Tubbo smiled. ‘’Hi, Wilbur.’’ He looked at Ranboo. ‘’Ranboo, this is Wilbur. He is the brother of my friend.’’
‘’Hi, Ranboo. Hi, Fundy.’’
Fundy chuckled. ‘’Hi, Wil. You’re usual?’’
Wilbur nodded and Fundy turned around to prepare their meals.
Tubbo looked at Wilbur. ‘’You’re here for the music?’’
Wilbur nodded as he grabbed a cigarette. ‘’Yeah, I heard great bands are playing so I’m here with Tech.’’ he looked around him. ‘’He probably went to get some potatoes at the market.’’ He looked at Tubbo curiously. ‘’So you’re here with that guy?’’
Tubbo felt how Ranboo froze, and he squeezed the hand he was still holding. That seemed to relax Ranboo.
‘’This is Ranboo. We are just checking the festival out.’’
Wilbur took a sip of his cigarette. ‘’Hi.’’
Ranboo took off his mask. ‘’Hi…’’
Wilbur looked around him. ‘’Tub, are you almost done with…?’’
Tubbo nodded. ‘’Almost.’’
Wilbur sighed relieved. ‘’Okay, make sure to get out of here by three.’’
Tubbo swallowed. ‘’You planned something?’’
Wilbur shrugged. ‘’Mmmaybe. You guys should just not be at the center.’’
‘’Understood.’’
Tubbo looked at Ranboo, did he just assume something? Is he going to do anything?
Ranboo squeezed Tubbo’s hand. ‘’I’m not going to fucking snitch.’’ He soothed.
Wilbur frowned. ‘’Smart boy.’’
Ranboo chuckled.
‘’You’re order is done.’’ Fundy placed the bags on the counter. Wilbur stepped forward and paid the guy.
‘’Thanks.’’ He handed the bag to Ranboo. ‘’I’m going to search for Techno now. Enjoy the festival.’’ He put his mask and beanie on and walked away.
Tubbo waved and turned to Ranboo. ‘’Do you want to sit down?’’
Ranboo nodded and they walked to a free bench. Ranboo opened the bag curiously and handed Tubbo a sandwich.
Tubbo freed himself from Ranboo. Although he mourned the contact, it was replaced with a warm bun with chicken. He took a bite and closed his eyes in awe. The chicken was tender and perfectly crunchy, combined with the sauces and the fluffy bun, it was pretty insane.
Ranboo took a bite and perked up. ‘’That’s good!’’
‘’Told you!’’ Tubbo took another bite and chewed slowly. He swallowed and looked up at Ranboo. ‘’So, what did you think of Wilbur?’’
‘’He was nice, he paid for our meal.’’
Tubbo rolled his eyes. ‘’Come on, you probably figured out his plans. You’re too smart.’’
Ranboo shrugged and took a sip of his coke. ‘’I don’t live in this city. I don’t care much about what happens to it. There are nice people here, but also a lot of rude people.’’
Tubbo leaned against Ranboo. ‘’You are an interesting person. Did you know that?’’
Ranboo took the last bite of his sandwich. ‘’Yeah, I realized it a long time ago.’’ He put his arm around Tubbo and started drinking his coke and light speed.
Tubbo smiled. ‘’Do you want to go in the Ferris wheel?’’
Ranboo closed the lid of his bottle. ‘’No.’’
‘’Awwww. Booooo…’’ Tubbo whined.
Ranboo froze. ‘’Did you just call me Boo?’’
Tubbo blinked, then he turned red. ‘’I did.’’
Ranboo looked at him for a moment, then a warm smile formed on his face. ‘’That’s cute.’’
Tubbo grinned. ‘’Am I allowed to call you that?’’
Ranboo was silent for a moment. ‘’Fine.’’
Tubbo giggled. He thought Boo was a cute nickname, he was definitely going to use it. ‘’Why do you not want to go on the Ferris wheel?’’
Ranboo sighed. ‘’I get dizzy very easily because some part of my brain is always calculating coordinates.’’
Tubbo tapped his chin. ‘’Hmmm. Is there any other place where we can see the fireworks tonight?’’
Ranboo pointed at the buildings. ‘’When the time comes, I can teleport us up there.’’
Tubbo gasped excitedly. ‘’That would be fucking awesome.’’
Ranboo smiled and stood up, pulling Tubbo with him. ‘’Let’s go to the fair.’’
Tubbo grabbed the bag and the empty bottle of Cola, threw the garbage in the trash can, and looked up at Ranboo. ‘’Kay, wait for me!’’
They headed to the fair after that, Tubbo jumped up once in a while to see if they had reached the fair yet, Ranboo just grinned. They skipped the rollercoasters for the sake of Ranboo. And instead, they went to all the little stalls to check out what they could buy. Tubbo bought a little sheep plushie for Puffy, and Ranboo decided to buy the cat plushie.
Tubbo sipped from his Pepsi while listening to Ranboo’s rant about naming the plushie, suggested Jeffrey and smiling at how excited Ranboo got.
In the center of the city, a big platform was placed where bands can play. There was a big crowd waiting for the band to come up, and Ranboo pulled Tubbo with him into the crowd.
‘’I can’t see a damn thing!’’ Tubbo complained while he tiptoed to see the stage.
Ranboo looked down. ‘’Should I pick you up?’’
Tubbo shook his head. ‘’It’s fine.’’
Tubbo didn’t want that anyone on the stage could see him. He knew that after the music, his dad would give a speech. If he saw Tubbo in the crowd with an Enderman… Oh man, that would not be pretty.
The band ran up the stage and grabbed the microphone. ‘’Hello, L’manburg!’’
The crowd screamed and the singer patiently waited for them to cool down again, then he started singing. The crowd sang with the band while jumping up and down. Tubbo grinned and looked at Ranboo, if this was his first festival, it must be a good experience.
The band played songs and the crowd danced and sang along. Tubbo grabbed Ranboo and swung him around and around. Ranboo’s face was hidden by the mask, but Tubbo knew that he was grinning and having a good time. He jumped around, following the crowd who had started jumping on the rhythm.
The band finished the first song, and roaring applause was their reward. They bowed and started a new song immediately. Tubbo did not know this one but enjoyed it non the less. Ranboo did seem to recognize it and he sang the lyrics with the crowd.
Tubbo looked at the stage. The band was in the middle, and guards were standing at the side to protect them.
Tubbo smiled and pointed at one guard. They were dancing along with the song and were wearing a red beanie. Tubbo had a feeling he knew that guard, probably had seen them before in the town hall or something.
The night continued, and at the end of the concert, Tubbo was sweaty from all the dancing. Ranboo had taken off his jacket and knotted it around his waist. His light skin shined in the twilight, and he truly looked magical. His eyes changed too. They faded into a light shade of purple, and his tail moved around. Tubbo grinned when Ranboo grabbed him by his waist to dance with him. Ranboo’s hands were cold and they cooled him down.
When the last tune hit, Tubbo interlaced his hands with Ranboo and screamed for the band. The band bowed and announced their thank you.
Tubbo bowed for Ranboo with a grin and kissed Ranboo’s hand.
‘’Did you enjoy my awesome moves?’’
Ranboo turned red. ‘’I did, you dance well.’’
Tubbo scoffed. ‘’You dance way better. Probably took lessons or some shit.’’
Ranboo laughed and nodded. ‘’Of course, I did. Had them since I was six or something.’’
Tubbo shrugged. ‘’Explains your skills.’’
A guard walked to the microphone on the stage and grabbed it. ‘’Hello, L’manburg. The speech is going to happen now, and after that, we will light the fireworks.’’
The crowd murmured some things, and a few teenagers dipped already.
Ranboo looked around. ‘’What is the speech going to be about?’’
Tubbo swallowed. ‘’Uhm- Politics. We might just want to try and blend in a bit more.’’
Ranboo raised an eyebrow. ‘’What is going to happen? Somebody getting publicly killed or something?’’
Tubbo put a hand on his neck nervously. ‘’I- Nope. But it’s just wise for now.’’
Ranboo shrugged and Tubbo tried to get back a bit more. But there were still a lot of people, so they did not get far.
‘’Hello, citizens of my nation.’’
Tubbo bit his lip when he heard that voice, his dad’s speech had begun. Tubbo didn’t know what it would be about, but he had seen the bottles of beer his dad had consumed earlier this night. This could not end well.
Ranboo stared at the podium and frowned. ‘’The fuck are there that many guards?’’
Tubbo inhaled. ‘’They are scared of revolution, or bombs. People try to prevent this speech from happening, it usually upsets people.’’ He looked at Ranboo. ‘’Maybe we should leave, Boo.’’
‘’This place will be a lot different tomorrow, let’s start making it happen…’’
Ranboo squeezed his purple eyes, and his pupils grew a bit. ‘’Tubbo… who is that man?’’
Tubbo grabbed Ranboo’s hand and looked at him with a desperate look. ‘’Can we leave?’’
Ranboo stared at Tubbo. ‘’Can you tell me it?’’
Tubbo clenched his jaw. ‘’I hate the government…’’
‘’The first degree of tonight…’’
‘’But that man…’’ Tubbo continued.
‘’As president of L’manburg. The EMPEROR, OF THIS GREAT COUNTRY’’
Ranboo squeezed Tubbo’s hand. And Tubbo inhaled, he had to confess this now.
‘’That man is m-my…’’
‘’IS TO REVOKE… THE CITIZENSHIP OF-‘’
‘’That motherfucker is my dad.’’ Tubbo stared at Ranboo.
‘’ALL ENDERMANS THAT TRY TO ENTER. GET ‘EM OUT OF HERE!’’
The crowd began moving and muffling their words. Ranboo stared at the podium with other disbelief, and Tubbo did the same.
‘’LET’S START AGAIN!’’ Jschlatt screamed, his finger raised in the air.
‘’I’m- what?’’ In Ranboo’s eyes grew horror.
Tubbo made a fist. ‘’Ranboo, we gotta get outta here.’’
‘’I WANT A HONORED NATION! THIS LAW WILL BE ENFORCED WHEN I SIGN THIS PAPER.’’
Tubbo’s mind was racing. What the actual fuck, that was racism on a whole new level. Tubbo glanced at the crowd. He froze when he saw a red beanie and the back of a yellow sweater.
‘’Teleport us, now!’’ Tubbo whispered.
Ranboo grabbed his hand, and Tubbo felt himself falling in a purple fade in split second. At the same time, he heard a bomb explosion.
The crowd started screaming, and Tubbo tried to look around to see what was happening, but he couldn’t see shit. Everywhere he looked, he saw purple particles and black dots. Tubbo looked behind him and screamed. He saw Ranboo, but Ranboo was completely black, his white side was nothing more than a few dots.
Tubbo looked at Ranboo’s hand he was holding. Ranboo had interlocked their fingers and was squeezing them painfully hard.
Tubbo tried to walk away with Ranboo, but the purple haze didn’t let him. It was like an invisible mist wall was around them. Tubbo kicked the haze and tried to sweep it away, but it didn’t help.
A headache was growing the longer Tubbo was in the haze, he cursed and pricked up his ears. Faintly, he could hear people screaming and a loud beep around him. Tubbo sniffed, he could smell the gunpowder. An explosion was happening around him, it was clear as day.
Tubbo froze, this was one he made himself, had to be. What did he see for the last seconds again? He thought he had seen Wilbur…
Suddenly he lost his balance, the wind was pulling at him. It reminded him of when he was younger and went to the beach with his dad, he was so small the wind could take him. He would always laugh and run against the wind. But Tubbo was seventeen now, and he was fighting.
He looked down at his legs, he couldn’t even see them anymore. Tubbo stumbled backward and fell against Ranboo.
Ranboo had not moved the whole time they were teleporting, it was like he was paused in time. His purple eyes were wide open and he had a painful and puzzled expression Tubbo couldn’t place.
But the second Tubbo fell against Ranboo, he opened his arms to catch Tubbo. He blinked and picked Tubbo up.
Tubbo tried to thank him, but his head was pounding. He closed his eyes and leaned against Ranboo. Ranboo placed a cold hand on his head and he started murmuring things.
The beep was getting louder again, and the screams were echoing in his ears. Was this what dying felt like? Tubbo trusted Ranboo, but this did not feel good.
Tubbo felt his sense drowning, and his head was spinning. Tubbo realized suddenly that he was passing out, and he started to panic. The only thing he felt was Ranboo’s fingers, and he held onto that feeling for dear life. If he would die now, he would at least die in Ranboo’s arms.
Tubbo tried to say something, but then he was out.
--
Tubbo yawned and tried to stretch, but he wanted to scream when he moved his arms. It hurt, it hurt so much Tubbo clenched his jaw until that also hurt. Tubbo waited for some minutes to fully wake up. When he felt that he was fully awake, he focused thinking on his surroundings.
The beep in his ears was gone, and the only thing Tubbo heard was Ranboo mumbling. Tubbo did not bother opening his eyes, he leaned against Ranboo and focused on not puking. The headache was… bearable, but still heavy enough for Tubbo to curl up and put his arms around him.
Tubbo felt how Ranboo stopped talking and felt Ranboo’s cold hands on his forehead. It felt how it always did, and even in this situation, Tubbo fell completely in the touch.
‘’Tubbo?’’
Tubbo opened his eyes and looked around him slowly. He was… on a rooftop? Probably, yeah. He could see the sky and not a lot more because his vision was kind of blurred.
‘’Boo…?’’
Tubbo felt Ranboo freeze for a second, he looked up to see his face, but he didn’t see much.
‘’I’m so sorry, Tubbo!’’
‘’Wha- t happened?’’
‘’The market exploded.’’
‘’I- WHAT?! The whole thing?!’’ Tubbo tried to stand up, but his legs were shaking. He lost his balance and Ranboo picked him up again quickly.
‘’Don’t Tubbo. Let your vision get used to normal light again.’’ He soothed.
Tubbo nodded, he was curious about what happened tho. The whole market? That was like- super big. Tubbo tried to think, but his memory was a mess. It was like his brain had drowned and he had to dig in honey to get it back.
Tubbo had had a concussion once, a long time back ago. He was around eleven, maybe twelve, and climbed into a big tree to see the stars. But he couldn’t see them because of the leaves and he tried to get on the highest branch. It was very thin and fragile, so it broke of course.
Tubbo couldn’t remember falling, but he could remember Puffy waking him up to puke in the guest bedroom. He had looked around him and asked for his dad. Tubbo could vividly remember Puffy’s remorseful face when she told him his dad had dropped him off there.
Apparently, his dad was too busy working to check on him every hour. He had done the bare minimum of calling an ambulance because his opinion was that Tubbo was being dramatic.
And when Tubbo went home again after a fucking month, his dad had waved at him and told him to catch up with school as a true ‘president son’.
Ow, Tubbo had hated the pitiful faces of his classmates, the compassionate face of his teacher. It was a turning point for Tubbo, the moment he realized his dad didn’t care that much about him.
‘’Are you okay now?’’
It was a normal question, but it still made Tubbo stammer in his response.
‘’T-think so…’’ He looked around him, the sky had gotten dark earlier, but Tubbo could see the moon now.
‘’I’m cold…’’
Ranboo took off his jacket and threw it around Tubbo. It was a big, chunky jacket that felt nice on his skin.
‘’Do you want to know what happened- I- It’s kind of my fault, but you deserve to know.’’
‘’I… want to know what happened, yes. But- I want to sit.’’
Ranboo nodded and crouched down, he placed Tubbo on the roof and crawled next to him. Tubbo leaned against Ranboo and waited for him to start.
‘’Uhm…’’ Ranboo began, he looked at the other side to avoid meeting Tubbo’s eyes.
‘’A b-bomb went off at the market right when we teleported…’’
Tubbo nodded, he could remember that.
‘’Okay- you probably didn’t know this… But teleporting is very hard in critical situations.’’ Ranboo bit his lip, his hands shaking.
‘’It’s- it’s all come down to having a good brain and heart. If you are stressed, teleporting is harder. Uhm, how do I explain this?’’
Tubbo closed his eyes again, he was still dizzy.
‘’An Enderman brain works differently. Yeah. Some part of me is always calculating coordinates for where I can teleport. And if the market explodes, it’s not safe to teleport there, so I have to think very fast to teleport somewhere else.’’
Tubbo whistled, he didn’t know it was that complex.
‘’But- you’ve never teleported before, so you’re not used to it. When I teleport with someone who’ve never teleported before, it’s harder. The more you teleport, the faster you get used to it, and the quicker I can teleport.’’
Ranboo inhaled slowly and looked at Tubbo nervously. Tubbo smiled, he wanted to comfort Ranboo but didn’t quite know how. Suddenly, he had an idea. He grabbed his bag and chuckled when he found what he wanted.
‘’What’s that?’’
Tubbo grabbed the bottles and handed Ranboo one. ‘’It’s Mede, a honey wine.’’
Ranboo’s eyes widened. ‘’How did you get that? You’re not eighteen!’’
Tubbo giggled. ‘’I stole them from my dad. I am almost eighteen, and this doesn’t have a lot of alcohol in it.’’ Tubbo stopped. ‘’But if you don’t want to drink, you don’t have to.’’
Ranboo shrugged. ‘’Enders can drink from the age of seventeen, I’ve just never had much.’’
Tubbo picked at the bottle and when he finally opened it, he hummed at the sweet scent. He took a sip. He had always liked honey, but he never had Mede before. It was sweet but had the bitter tang of alcohol.
Ranboo opened his bottle with ease and took a large sip. He looked at Tubbo in surprise and wiped his mouth. ‘’It’s good!’’
‘’Cheers.’’ Tubbo grinned. The alcohol rubbed in his throat and it eased his headache.
Ranboo took another sip and sighed. ‘’Where did I pause? Oh, yeah. I was trying to calculate where we could land, but there was smoke everywhere. I don’t know how I can explain it, but I got in a… Uhm…’’ Ranboo bit his nails. ‘’Enough about me. How are you feeling?’’
Tubbo stared at his bottle. ‘’I can’t remember what happened while we were teleporting.’’
Ranboo nodded. ‘’Makes sense, memory loss because of the purple haze. Do you want to know what happened at the market?’’
Tubbo inhaled another sip of his Mede. His headache was gone by now, and a warm feeling went through him. ‘’Go for it.’’
‘’That Wilbur guy probably bombed the market so that your dad-‘’
Tubbo looked down.
‘’The president.’’ Ranboo corrected himself. ‘’So the president couldn’t sign the papers to ban all Endermans. But he used a very big bomb because there was a lot of smoke.’’
Tubbo sighed relieved. ‘’He probably used a smoke bomb. Those make a loud noise and produce a lot of smoke, but they are pretty harmless. I think he snatched the documents and got out of there. But the impact of the explosion has definitely ruined buildings.’’ He chuckled.
‘’If you say so.’’
Ranboo fell silent, and Tubbo didn’t bother continuing about the nukes he made. It wasn’t something to be proud of, Tubbo knew that. But still, deep down, he was proud he helped Wilbur.
‘’Why can’t I remember what happened in the haze?’’
‘’Uhm. You puked when we landed here, and then you passed out.’’
Tubbo’s eyes widened. ‘’How long?!’’
‘’Maybe half an hour. Not long.’’
Tubbo relaxed and drank the last bit of the wine. He took the jacket off, he was feeling warm again. He opened his bag and pounded when he saw there was no more Mede.
‘’You can have mine.’’
Tubbo took the bottle from Ranboo. ‘’Are you sure?’’
Ranboo stuck out his tongue. ‘’Yeah, I stand by my point that I don’t like drinking a lot of alcohol. It makes me so dizzy and my brain feels mixed up.’’
Tubbo tapped his chin. ‘’I didn’t like it in the beginning. But you have to learn to drink it. But it probably has to do with you calculating every second.’’
Ranboo nodded in agreement. ‘’Enders don’t need a lot of liquid.’’
Tubbo took a small sip of his Mede. ‘’I wanted to go to a pub after the festival and fireworks… But I think the whole night is going to be avoiding the cops.’’
Ranboo hissed. ‘’Yeah, probably. Do you have school tomorrow?’’
Tubbo groaned. ‘’Yes, but I’m not sure if I’m going.’’
Ranboo’s eyes widened. ‘’Like- skipping school?’’
Tubbo frowned, was that so weird? ‘’Yeah? I mostly have English tomorrow and I’m fucking dyslexic.’’
Ranboo shook his head in awe and stared at the sky. ‘’Wish I could skip school…’’
Tubbo fell on his back and looked at the stars. ‘’School sucks. I learn nothing anymore, but my fucking dad wants me to be some kind of whiz-kid.’’
Ranboo followed Tubbo’s position and curled his tail around his legs. ‘’I… Don’t think you realize what my school is about, Tub.’’
Tubbo squinted his eyes. ‘’What do you mean?’’
Ranboo sighed. ‘’Better if you don’t know it.’’
Tubbo yawned loudly and giggled. ‘’Some Ender culture I should dive into. Why don’t we learn that in school?’’
Ranboo clenched his jaw. ‘’Tubbo, please don’t. If you will know, L’manburg will know.’’
Tubbo bit his lip. ‘’You don’t trust me, Boo?’’
Ranboo froze and sat up straight. ‘’I do! I do! Tubbo, please! I-. I-‘’
Tubbo frowned. He kind of meant what he said, but Ranboo took it way too seriously. ‘’Hey, Boo. Relax, if you want privacy, that’s fine!’’
Ranboo’s purple eyes started to glisten in the moonlight. ‘’How can I be sure?’’
Tubbo tried to sit up straight. Okay, he had to admit, he was dizzy from the wine and was not thinking properly. ‘’Ranboo, you just kind of saved me from memory loss? I trust you.’’
Ranboo fidgeted with his hands. ‘’I’m sorry, okay?’’
Tubbo nodded. ‘’You’re all right. Don’t worry, I would’ve dipped if you were dangerous.’’
It reminded Tubbo of how Ranboo first was when they decided to be friends. He was nervous and surprised by Tubbo’s trust in him.
Tubbo yawned. ‘’So, there is something I want to get out of the way.’’ He leaned into Ranboo’s side again. ‘’That fucking speech, like I said earlier, the president is my dad.’’
He waited for Ranboo to get nervous, disappointed, scared. But Ranboo just looked at the sky and listened.
‘’I never liked my dad. He is… rude, and mean.’’ Tubbo exhales, his throat still had the bitter tang from the drinks. ‘’He hates Enderman, I’m sorry.’’
It was a fact, Tubbo couldn’t lie about it. It was of course disappointing for Ranboo, Tubbo understood that. He had danced around the topic of his family for months, mumbled things about living with Puffy or having a busy dad.
‘’Do you want me to like, tell my situation?’’ Tubbo questioned.
Ranboo looked down to see Tubbo’s face. ‘’I mean, I would like to, but you don’t have to.’’
‘’Nah, I need to get this off my chest.’’ Tubbo cracked his back and under-pressed another yawn. ‘’My dad wants me to become the next president, but I hate government. In my opinion, there should be multiple leaders you can vote for. He wants a perfect nation where everything is how he likes it, fucking unrealistic of course. I- I, don’t-‘’
‘’Tubbo, I know you don’t.’’
Tubbo bowed his head and bit his lip. He wasn't the same as his dad, Ranboo knew it. ‘’He doesn’t like Enderman because they sometimes destroy buildings or place things where they shouldn’t be. Or like, that when you stare at them for too long they can get defensive.’’ Tubbo stared at the sky. Clouds had started appearing and he could faintly see a moon.
‘’It’s creepy people look at Endermans for so long. I would get nervous too.’’ Tubbo snaps. ‘’It doesn’t make any fucking sense why other specifies can fight and Endermans not. So now he wants that fucking law to be enforced.’’ Tubbo chuckled. ‘’Damn, I am going to hack his database until I change the laws. No, I will just talk with him and persuade him into banning teleportation or shit.’’ Tubbo inhaled slowly, he had to get a hold of himself.
‘’It’s okay, Tubbo. You have Puffy.’’
Tubbo smiled. ‘’I do. I mostly sleep at her place… probably even more after this evening.’’ He put the bottle at his lips again but noticed it was empty.
‘’You really liked that Mede huh?’’
Tubbo shrugged. ‘’I like honey.’’ He yawned, he was so strangely tired.
‘’Tubbo. You should sleep.’’
Tubbo shook his head. ‘’I’ve pulled all-nighters before.’’
Ranboo curled his tail around Tubbo’s waist. Tubbo looked at the tail with surprise, that must be strong. He brushed the end and giggled at how fluffy it was.
‘’If you teleport a lot, you get sleepy. Especially if you’re not Ender and you have had alcohol.’’
‘’I don’t want to go home…’’
‘’Puffy?’’
That was his only option, he was lucky he had an option. So Tubbo nodded. He was sleepy, and sleeping would probably kill last nausea he had.
Ranboo stood up and picked Tubbo up with ease. Tubbo looked around him, but Ranboo had already placed his bag on his lap.
‘’I won’t teleport.’’
Tubbo nodded in relief, walking sounded so exhausting. The warm buzz in his head sent waves of relaxation through his body. Maybe this should have been a bad night, but Tubbo enjoyed it. ‘’MMShould practices together…’’ Tubbo noticed how his words started to slur, it sounded awfully funny.
Ranboo brushed through Tubbo’s curls. ‘’If you want, Bee.’’
Tubbo hummed happily. ‘’So smart… You’re so smart…’’
Ranboo froze, and Tubbo yawned and leaned against Ranboo’s chest.
Ranboo started walking and Tubbo closed his eyes. He wanted to sleep. The movement was making him dizzy again and his head was throbbing.
Tubbo didn’t know what to do tomorrow or the day after. The first thing was probably to talk with his dad. And he did think it was a good idea to practice teleporting with Ranboo, maybe next festival they could-
Tubbo moaned disappointed.
‘’What’s wrong?’’
Tubbo looked up with pleading eyes. ‘’We did not get to light fireworks…’’
Ranboo chuckled. ‘’We can do it on our own okay?’’
Tubbo pounded. ‘’I wanted to hang out with you until sunrise and now I’m stuck with headaches and sleepiness.’’
Ranboo rolled his eyes and pushed the cat plushie they had bought earlier into Tubbo’s hands. ‘’Sleep with Jeffrey, keep him as a reminder.’’
Tubbo smiled and hugged the plushie, it was something. He could make fireworks himself and light them with Ranboo.
Tubbo felt himself falling into the world of sleepiness again. His head was swirling, the memories were slowly coming back. He remembered… what did he remember? Tubbo sighed, it was all a fucking mess in his brain.
‘’Okay, Tubbo. Whoever told you that Mede doesn’t have a lot of alcohol lied.’’
Tubbo grinned and flicked off Ranboo. ‘’It was ggooddd!’’
‘’Don’t scream that loud. You’ll make me look like some creepy man kidnapping a child.’’
Tubbo hummed. ‘’MMyou’s too tall…’’
Ranboo laughed. ‘’Maybe you are just tiny. Tiny little child in my arms.’’
Tubbo pouted, but to be honest, he did feel like a child right now. Tubbo looked around where they were in the city, which seemed to be around the corner of the bakery.
‘’You’re warm, are you getting sick?’’
Tubbo stared at Ranboo’s faintly purple eyes. His mind didn’t register the question, all he could look at was Ranboo’s face. It felt right, being sick but leaning against something cold. It made him cool off pleasantly. ‘’I like your coldness.’’
Ranboo opened his mouth but closed it again. Instead, he grabbed Tubbo’s hand and squeezed it.
‘’I’m going to knock now, okay?’’
Tubbo nodded, he fidgeted with Ranboo’s hand. Lingering the fact he had to stand in a few moments.
Surprisingly, Ranboo knocked on the door next to the bakery, holding Tubbo in one hand. He placed the other hand around Tubbo again after that.
Tubbo heard someone standing up and walking towards the door. The door opened, and Tubbo hissed at the bright light that fell on him.
‘’Ranboo!’’ Tubbo relaxed at the soft tone of Puffy’s voice. ‘’Is that… Toby?’’
Ranboo nodded. ‘’I-Uhm. T-the market.’’
Puffy grinned slowly. ‘’Did you two try to teleport?’’
Ranboo inhaled, and stammered. ‘’Y-yeah. B-but I was r-really stressed s-so it didn’t work that well…’’
Puffy patted Tubbo’s head. ‘’So you let Ranboo carry you to me?’’
Tubbo giggled proudly. Puffy was not mad, she never was. ‘’I’m dizzy.’’
‘’He drank.’’
Tubbo looked up and rolled his eyes. ‘’SShh! You didn’t have to say it.’’
Ranboo raised an eyebrow. ‘’It’s true. You’re pretty tipsy.’’
Puffy shook her head. ‘’Did something else happen or was that it?’’
Ranboo froze and looked away from both of them. Tubbo looked back and forth, what was happening? Was Ranboo feeling guilty again?
‘’I puked.’’
Ranboo’s eyes widened and Puffy burst out laughing. ‘’Well, fantastic. Why don’t you come in boys? Ranboo, are you okay carrying him inside?’’
Ranboo nodded and followed Puffy on the staircase.
‘’Why’d you lie?’’ he whispered, head bent down so Puffy couldn't hear him.
‘’It’s true!’’ Tubbo whisper-shouted. ‘’You told me!’’
Ranboo placed a finger on Tubbo’s mouth. ‘’Shush! She doesn’t have to know.’’
Tubbo opened his mouth again, but Ranboo spread out his hand so Tubbo’s mouth was completely covered.
‘’Mmm!’’ Tubbo muffled.
Puffy opened the living room door and Ranboo bent his head when he stepped inside.
‘’Thank you Ranboo. If you want, you can place him on the couch.’’
Ranboo walked to the couch and slowly placed Tubbo on it. He turned his head around. ‘’You get sleepy from teleporting for the first time, so if he passes out, you know why.’’
Puffy placed a hand on Ranboo’s shoulder. ‘’Thank you for not leaving him in the city while he is drunk.’’
Ranboo turned red. ‘’Of course, anytime.’’
Puffy fell silent for a moment and Tubbo stared at the two of them.
‘’You’re a good friend for Toby.’’
Tubbo nodded in agreement. ‘’Tommy’s shit!’’
Puffy chuckled. ‘’How sweet. I will tell it to him.’’
‘’Nooo!!’’ Tubbo wailed and he stretched out his hands. ‘’The Soot family will kill me!’’
Ranboo bend down and brushed through his curls. ‘’Good luck with that, buddy.’’
Tubbo grabbed Ranboo’s hand. ‘’Are you leaving me all alone in my misery?’’
Ranboo grinned. ‘’It’s the middle of the night, yes I am.’’
Tubbo sighed. ‘’Fine.’’
‘’Are you going to walk?’’
Ranboo turned around him. ‘’No, I’ll just teleport.’’
Puffy nodded. ‘’Thanks again Ranboo.’’
Ranboo smiled and brushed through Tubbo’s curls one last time. ‘’I will text you tomorrow.’’
POOF
And, Ranboo was gone.
Tubbo smiled weakly. ‘’I did puke, Puffy.’’
Puffy covered her mouth to not burst out laughing again. ‘’I believed you, Toby.’’
‘’Good.’’ Tubbo snorted as he closed his eyes again.
He heard Puffy walk away and water pouring from the sink.
‘’Drink Toby, I don’t want you to be a hangover.’’
Tubbo opened his eyes and accepted the glass of water. He took a large sip and noticed how thirsty he was. He put the glass at his lips and started gulping it down.
‘’Did you enjoy the festival?’’
Tubbo placed the glass of water on the side table. ‘’I did, Ranboo looked so pretty!’’
Puffy smiled and took Tubbo’s hand. ‘’I’m relieved he saved you from the market.’’
Tubbo’s eyes widened. ‘’Did you get away!?’’
‘’I did. I was at the fair when I heard the explosion going off.’’
‘’Okay…’’ Tubbo bit his lip. ‘’I think I hate dad even more after his speech, Puf.’’
Puffy’s eyes started glistering. ‘’I know, Toby. Is that why you drank?’’
Tubbo stared at the fireplace. He didn’t specifically know why he decided to drink a shit ton of Mede. Maybe he subconsciously tried to forget his dad for a moment.
‘’Yeah…’’
Puffy exhaled and pulled Tubbo in for a hug. ‘’You’re such a teenager.’’
Tubbo rested his head on Puffy’s shoulder and placed his hands around her. ‘’I don’t want to go to school. They are going to ask my fucking opinion on everything and try to get more information about what happened.’’
Puffy wiped away her tears. ‘’Of course. Just stay in bed tomorrow.’’
‘’Thanks…’’
‘’Now come on. Let’s try to get you in bed, okay?’’
Tubbo took a deep breath, stood up, and followed his aunt.