Chapter Text
"Ranboo"
"Yes coach!"
"You're partnering with the newbie for drills today. Take care of him, okay?"
"Yes coach"
His coach smiled and patted Ranboo on the back. There was a hint of worry in his eyes, one that Ranboo didn't quite understand.
When he jogged over to where the new kid stood awkwardly next to the bleachers, he understood why
The kid was tiny, a foot and some shorter than Ranboo, and a hell of a lot scrawnier. He almost wanted to coo when he saw him, that's how adorable he looked. Instead, Ranboo cleared his throat, greeting the new kid with as friendly of a smile as he could muster.
"Hey! you're new to the team, right? I'm Ranboo."
"Yea, nice to meet you," the boy smiled, craning his neck up to make eye contact. "The name's Tubbo."
Ranboo grinned, caught a bit off guard by the boy's accent. He didn't expect the new kid to be British, much less for him to strike Ranboo's interest so quickly. Whether it was the determined glint in his eyes, or his just to the left of being cringe smile, he didn't know. But one thing was certain, they had to hurry the hell up and start drilling before Coach Collins yelled at them for standing around.
"Did you uh, bring your own ball?" Ranboo asked, tying up his hair into its little rat tail as he did so.
"Yep."
"Perfect."
Tubbo procured the ball from his sports bag, and Ranboo led them to an unoccupied part of the gym. He quizzed Tubbo a bit on the basics, correcting the way he clasped his hands together and reviewing how to properly bump the ball on his forearms. For a beginner, Tubbo was pretty alright.
"You think you can bump the ball to me now?", he asked.
"Sure big man."
Tubbo gently volleyed the ball to Ranboo, the throw so low it caused Ranboo to nearly double over just to return it. Tubbo quickly adjusted, putting more effort into the pass and allowing Ranboo to more comfortably send it back. The pair continued like this, increasing the distance between the two little by little until they were about half a court's length away from each other.
The look in Tubbo's eyes was more focused now, with each pass more forceful than the last. Only when Ranboo overestimated the force needed and overshot the ball did the two break their routine.
Tubbo ran over to scoop up the ball and returned just as quickly, careful not to interrupt anyone else's drilling. The pair smiled at each other, their faces warm from the exercise.
It was just as Tubbo was readying to pass the ball that Collins blew his whistle. Ranboo gestured over to where Coach stood, beginning to jog and making sure Tubbo was close behind him.
"Alright everyone, we're going to wrap it up here. Sorry for the short practice, I've got personal issues to contend with."
The team looked at each other with questioning looks. What the fuck was this man on about.
"Oh! Before I forget, we got a new player today. As you know, we've been struggling to get a full team together, so Tubbo will be a great help! Don't give up on recruiting though, we've still got a little over a month before our first comp."
Tubbo smiled nervously as he felt multiple pairs of eyes on him, unconsciously backing into Ranboo. He stumbled over the other boy's shoes, before making a quick recovery with a small push from the boy in question.
"Anyhow", Coach Collins said in attempt to redirect attention back to him. "You're dismissed. See you all tomorrow!"
A couple of the boys bolted for their bags, while a few lingered to ask Collins a question or two. Ranboo meandered to where he had left his gym bag and backpack, the weight of the textbooks and homework in it already making him dread going home.
He sat down on the bleachers for a bit, taking a swig from his water bottle and subsequently pushing his head in between his knees in a fruitless effort to block out the echoing squeaks of the other boys' volleyball shoes on the linoleum. He heard a quiet shoe squeak directly in front of him, at which point he looked up.
Tubbo smiled at him, this time almost face to face due to Ranboo being sat down, (though, Ranboo noted, he was still the smallest fraction of an inch taller than the other boy).
"Thanks for helping me out" Tubbo said.
Ranboo nodded, returning Tubbo's smile. "No problem dude. To be fair, you were already pretty good."
Tubbo beamed at the small compliment, rocking back and forth on his heels. With nothing else to say, the pair stood still, looking at each other as an uncomfortable silence slowly but surely surrounded them.
"Well, I, uh, gotta go now." Ranboo blurted out awkwardly as he quickly stood up.
"Yea! Yea. See you tomorrow", Tubbo replied.
Ranboo and Tubbo parted ways then, with Ranboo beginning to mentally prepare himself for the long walk home.
He found a stray cat on the way there, something about it's eyes and grayish coat strangely reminding him of Tubbo. It stopped in his path, making itself comfortable in the middle of sidewalk. Ranboo knelt down a way aways from it, intently watching as the cat settled into a loaf-like shape.
Man, he really was tired.