Archive of Our Own

Tubbo wasn’t sure if it was the huge black wall around his country or his tie, but he felt like he was suffocating as he waited for the cabinet to assemble. Big Q was already here, Tubbo could hear him scream at Dream, but Dream just continued building up the walls as if he wasn’t even there.

Tubbo took a deep breath and stuffed his trembling hands into his pockets. This was his first big test as a president. Dream was threatening L’Manberg, again, and it was Tubbo’s job to make sure there wouldn’t be another war. He wasn’t stupid, L’manberg wouldn’t survive another war. As much as everyone liked to pretend, even if Dream was alone he was a major threat to this country. Pretending otherwise would be naïve.

But then there was that other thing as well. The fact that Dream told Niki and Puffy that this was Tommy’s fault, and seeing King George’s house burnt down didn’t leave much room for imagination. He knew Tommy better than anyone else, maybe even better than himself, and a burnt-down house with insults inside and stolen belongings? Yeah, that was something Tommy would do. Still, innocent until proven guilty. It may look like Tommy, but Tubbo doubted Tommy would do something so reckless as the vice president.

“Tubbo!” He turned around, Big Q was storming towards him, while looking at the prime path. Tommy was heading towards them, he was too far away to really make out an expression and as he got closer he disappeared behind the wall.

Before Tommy could say a word Tubbo let himself be driven by anger and shouted, “Tommy, I swear to god, if you have anything to do with this there will be consequences.”

He heard Tommy laugh and his shoulders slumped down. He knew that laugh. Tommy was guilty. Big Q may not know Tommy as well as Tubbo did, but he still knew him and Tubbo well enough to realize what was happening. He groaned and the frustration in his face morphed into anger.

As Big Q continuously shouted at Tommy, who accused everyone but himself of fault, and Fundy just arrived, looking more confused than ever before, Tubbo was watching Dream. There was something off about him. Dream wasn’t acting out of anger or emotion, at least not anymore. Tubbo has fought Dream often enough to know what angry Dream looked like, and this was not it.

Finally, he had enough, starting the cabinet meeting, which just went the exact same way as outside. Big Q accused Tommy angrily, Fundy had little to no idea what was going on and Tommy kept accusing different people and cracking jokes. Tubbo tried to be a man in the middle, tried seeing everyone eye to eye, but he couldn’t help but feel betrayed by Tommy in a way.

The entire situation was finally interrupted when Tubbo decided this wouldn’t bring them much further and wanted to speak to Dream directly, hoping to resolve everything peacefully. He took a deep breath. This was it, the moment in which he would face Dream, for the first time not as a soldier but as a President. Dream’s equal, in a way. But Tommy had other ideas.

As Tubbo was heading out of the Camarvan, Tommy pushed past him, grinning.

“I’ll lead the way.”

Tubbo stopped for a second, letting him take the lead. After all, this is what he always did. But then he remembered who he was and quickly caught up to Tommy, stopping him by his shoulder.

“Tommy, you will not lead the way.”

But Tommy didn’t stop. Even though he wasn’t moving towards the small hole in the wall anymore, he began shouting for Dream and calling him insults. Tubbo moved to stand before him and pushed him back a step.

“Stand behind me.”

His voice left no room for discussion and Tommy sighed but nodded. Tubbo tried to ignore the mock seriousness in his face as he turned to face the man who cost them so much.

Before he could even bring a word out, once again someone else seemed to forget their place as Big Q darted forward and began shouting, “What are you doing?!” Tubbo took a step forward, yanking Big Q back and giving him a warning look. They would ruin this whole thing if they didn’t stay calm.

Fundy tried to chime in, but Tubbo ignored him, facing Dream instead. Dream seemed casual about the situation as he calmly explained he just wanted to make sure L’Manberg citizens knew where the border was. Once again, a complete lack of anger in his body language and tone. Instead, there was a gleam of triumph in his voice as he explained that all past treaties were nullified due to the hostile government takeover.

Tubbo ignored Tommy as he began digging at the wall next to him, as long as Dream didn’t see it it didn’t matter, no matter how unfitting it was in the moment. But suddenly Tommy was next to him, not even looking at him and he lightly pushed him to the side to be the one facing Dream. Tubbo clenched his fists and moved back, placing his legs steady on the ground and giving Tommy a glare. Tommy rolled his eyes, walked a few steps back again, just in time not to be in Dream’s line of sight as he accused Tommy of burning down King George’s house.

Immediately everything erupted into chaos again. Fundy and Big Q began expressing their disbelief for Tommy’s actions, glaring at him while Tommy pushed past them again, demanding evidence in a loud voice. Tubbo made a step towards him, giving him a harder push this time, and snapped.

“Shut up, Tommy.”

No matter how hard he tried to suppress it, he couldn’t help but feel betrayal in his gut as Tommy still denied having anything to do with it. Maybe he really didn’t? Would Tommy lie like this to him? Would he? Tubbo looked Tommy in the eye, contemplating it. A week ago he would’ve said ‘no’ with no hesitation. Now he wasn’t so sure anymore.

“I want Tommy punished, I want something to happen to him for what he did.”

Dream talked in a neutral tone, but Tubbo knew that Dream knew exactly what this would do. And to no one's surprise, Tommy darted forward again, pushing Tubbo to the side, and began shouting at Dream, who remained unimpressed.

Tubbo wasn’t surprised when Dream began threatening to expand the borders if Tommy went unpunished. He was even less surprised when Tommy suddenly became quiet as he realized Tubbo wasn’t laughing with him, and he became completely still when Big Q began shouting at him.

Tubbo closed his eyes, wishing he didn’t bring anyone else but himself to talk to Dream. After all, even if Dream was dangerous and unpredictable until now he had stayed away from L’Manberg, not causing problems and actually treating Tubbo with respect, something everyone else seemed to think wasn‘t necessary.

Tubbo remained relatively quiet as Karl and King George joined them, stating that they had fixed the damage but still wanted to see the guilty person punished. He listened intently as an argument broke out and tried to ignore the urge to just pull Dream and George aside alone and talk to them. He was sick of this dancing around each other, repeating the same arguments over and over again, and regularly just breaking into screaming matches.

He tried to stay fair, he knew he had to, but that didn’t make it hurt any less when he agreed with Dream that this is something he would do and Tommy looked like Tubbo had just slapped him, but he was back to shouting about his innocence in no time as if that would make him look any less guilty. After Tommy repeatedly denied having anything to do with it, Tubbo stepped closer and lowered his voice, looking Tommy into his eyes.

“Tommy, I need you to answer me this: Did you, or did you not?”

“No.”

It hurt with how much determination he said it, lying straight to his face. It didn’t even look like he felt guilty, in any way, other than fearing punishment. Luckily he was saved from having to respond to that as Dream asked him to speak in private.

Tubbo has no issue admitting he thought Tommy was guilty. Dream wasn’t stupid, everyone here knew Tommy did it. The question was if Tommy would finally get his act together to lessen his punishment or if he would continue to blame everyone else.

Their conversation went a lot more civil than when everyone else was involved, and finally, Tubbo felt like he was being taken seriously. Dream’s first words were acknowledging Tubbo’s position as President and telling him he didn’t want war.

“I’m sure we can find a peaceful resolution.”

“I’m sure we can, but… You know Tommy isn’t peaceful.”

Tubbo looked back. Everyone else had walked back towards the wall, but even from here, he could hear arguing. It hurt, but Dream was right. Tubbo didn’t blame Tommy for it, both of them had difficult pasts and enough traumatic experiences to be in serious need of therapy, but something Phil once told him was that mental health was never an excuse for harmful behavior. An explanation, yes, but no excuse.

“No, I was worried about that when I swore him in as vice.”

“Yeah. As long as Tommy is vice-president there can’t be peace.”

Tubbo had to admit, he wasn’t too surprised when Dream said exile would be a fitting punishment. Dream wanted Tommy gone from L’Manberg, but knew Tubbo would never give his best friend, or anyone really, a death penalty, especially considering how Tubbo lost his second life.

When Tubbo approached the group again, Dream disappearing in the distance, he could hear Tommy talking about alibis and pulled him aside, talking in a calm voice.

“Tommy, you need to be quiet from now on.”

He ignored everyone else seeming surprised and continued on, telling Fundy and Big Q he needed to speak to them in private as Tommy began shouting defensive words.

Right now Tubbo had to make sure no war would come over L’Manberg. Right now he had to ignore his feelings of guilt as Tommy actually shut up, watching after them, clearly realizing that maybe he wouldn’t be able to scream himself out of this one.

The President told Fundy and Big Q about his conversation with Dream and stated his plan: having a trial for Tommy and putting him on probation. Even though they seemed hesitant, both quickly agreed with his plan. As loud and childish as they may be sometimes, they knew what was best for their country. And a war with Dream was not that.

To Tommy’s credit, he managed to just be angry at them with sarcastic remarks, clearly not thinking his best friend would ever convict him of anything. The fear Tubbo saw in him just moments before was gone, replaced by a mask that acted as if this was just a minor hindrance in his day.

On their entire way to court Tommy argued, of course, Big Q couldn’t stop himself from insulting George and Fundy repeatedly told Tommy he fucked up. Tubbo supposed in a way this entire situation could seem comical, but to him, this was the most stress he had maybe ever been in.

After they put Tommy into his cell he immediately started to babble on about how this wasn’t fair and that he didn’t want to go up against Tubbo in court, but no matter how hard Tubbo tried to make Tommy see reason no matter how much he signaled him to just play along, Tommy continued to act like a child.

With an unnoticeable flinch, Tubbo suddenly remembered that they were in fact children. This wasn‘t fair.

Tubbo started the hearing, trying to state the fact as objectively as possible while at the same time trying to make Tommy look better, but in the end, they still ended up having to pull one lever after Tommy basically admitted to it, but said it wasn’t as bad because George was “faulty.”

When Tubbo turned back to George, listening to his side of the story, he could see the suppressed anger in his face. Tubbo knew George was a proud man, Tommy insulting him certainly wasn’t helping their case here.

Also not helping was when Tommy admitted to stealing with the defense that he didn’t think George would notice. Knowing Tommy would only dig his hole deeper at this point, Tubbo declared his plan.

Tommy would be stripped of his power as vice-president and would have to report everything he did to Fundy for a week. Even though Tommy knew the alternative was exile, he still managed to complain about it and question Tubbo’s decision, making Tubbo extend the probation length to two weeks.

Even with everyone telling Tommy to just take it and trying to explain why his actions were wrong, Tommy continued to argue back, defending his actions with the discs. If anyone heard Tubbo’s frustrated groan when Tommy brought them up, nobody said anything.

When would Tommy realize they didn’t matter? The only reason why they had power over Tommy was because Tommy allowed them to have power over him. Luckily they changed topics quickly because Tubbo wasn’t sure how much longer he’d be able to act like the discs mattered in any way to him other than wanting to make Tommy happy.

Their arguing was interrupted by a single sentence that made Tubbo’s fears come true.

“Tubbo. Probation isn’t enough.”

Tubbo looked at Dream. He knew this would happen. Of course, he’d be forced to make the hard call.

They talked and Tommy for once able to keep his mouth shut as he realized he didn’t have anyone on his side left. They scheduled a meeting to talk again, but all hopes Tubbo had were demolished when Tommy addressed Dream, ignoring Tubbo’s warning not to make matters worse for himself and ranting about Dream, until Dream interrupted him.

“You know what, Tubbo? You don’t want to exile him? That’s fine. Give me the disc.”

Dream’s posture reminded Tubbo of how he carried himself on the field, like a predator about to strike on its prey. For a second Tubbo seriously considered giving Dream the disc. One object trade and the walls would be gone. His best friend still here, L’Manberg free and Dream satisfied.

But then he looked at Tommy. Tommy had wide eyes, and for once he was actually speechless. Tubbo didn’t say it, but it hurt to see that the thought of losing a disc seemed to bother him more than the threat of war to his country.

“Tommy, I suggest you stay quiet now.”

Tubbo’s voice was even, calm and cold.

“Tommy, there is one big difference between you and Dream. Dream can go around and kill people. Because guess what? Dream isn’t the vice-president. And you are. Actions have consequences. Now, one of your discs is in my possession, Tommy. I suggest-“

“I gave that to you completely, to show you’re worthy.”

“I know.”

Dream said goodbye, not interested in their conversation anymore, but Tubbo could hear the smirk on his face, even if it was hidden by a mask.

Now that Dream was gone Tommy began ranting, clearly more interested in the discs than L’Manberg.

Tubbo went to bed with his thoughts so loud he couldn’t bear the silence of his room. He may be president, but right now he felt more powerless than ever before. His people didn‘t respect him, his best friend thought being friends with the President meant the rules didn‘t apply to him and one wrong decision could easily lead to people dying.

Over the next 3 days, Tommy left him presents and tried to mend the cracks in their friendship, but Tubbo was hesitant. He knew he had to be President first and Tommy’s friend second to be able to make an objective choice in this situation, but he wasn’t sure if he could do that.

On the day of the meeting with Dream it was obvious Tommy realized that too. During the entire thing, there was a tension between the two that no one addressed, but it was obvious to everyone. Even before even arriving at the meeting room Tommy and Tubbo were arguing, because Tommy felt like Tubbo should be his friend first and the President second.

“The difference between you two is, that you mainly care about your emotions and what you think is best, but Tubbo actually is realistic here, thinking about the country as opposed to his own sake.”

Fundy’s words rendered Tommy speechless for a few seconds, he was walking faster than Tubbo so he had no idea what Tommy was thinking, but Tubbo didn’t think if he was able to see Tommy’s face he’d find anything else than annoyance. By the time he caught up and took the lead again Tommy had a neutral expression and changed topics.

When they walked into the meeting, Dream already waiting for them inside, Tubbo had a pit in his stomach. Something would go wrong, he just knew it. This was the feeling he had when Eret led them down a tunnel, promising a secret weapon. The feeling he had when Wilbur went on stage to announce the winners of the election. The feeling when Schlatt told him to give the speech.

He tried not to let the nervousness get to him, but he was sure everyone noticed when Big Q took over, for once Tubbo didn’t feel disrespected for it, he was just thankful that someone who could keep a clearer head was supporting him.

In the minute where Big Q took over Tubbo had time to compose himself, pushing the feeling of dread down and instead staying rational. By the time Dream asked for a clear proposal he was able to take over again, shooting Big Q a thankful glance, and explained their proposition. Tommy would remain on probation, which made Tommy groan loudly, the walls could stay as they were and if Tommy wasn’t able to stay peaceful they would double in size.

After he finished he saw the gears in Dream’s head grinding. He knew this wasn’t what Dream wanted. Dream wanted Tommy gone, so this plan would just be not at all what he wanted to achieve. But Dream also knew that if he accepted it wouldn’t be hard to provoke Tommy until he stepped out of line. Tubbo knew that as well, but he was confident that they could contain Tommy long enough to get the entire situation to calm down and everything would be forgotten.

Tommy intercepted, offering ‘constructive criticism‘ and was met by a belittling remark by Dream, telling him to let the adults handle this. Tubbo sighed as Tommy erupted into shouting. Dream knew just where to poke the lion to get him to roar, only that it really wasn’t hard in this case.

Luckily everything calmed down again in seconds and Dream began stating the terms as he understood. Tubbo agreed, at one point accidentally interrupting Dream, and all it took was a slight straightening on Dream’s posture and Tubbo muttered a quick apology. Right now he really couldn’t risk any missteps, it was going so well.

Until Dream added a small detail that, once again, everyone knew would set Tommy off. No insulting others. In seconds Tommy was shouting at the air, Fundy and Big Q were desperately trying to calm him down before he said the wrong thing and Dream was trying to speak over the noise. Tubbo just sat still, hot but silent anger boiling inside of him.

To everyone’s surprise Dream and Tommy came to an agreement and Tubbo put it into writing. It took some time, constant changes were made, but it finally seemed like everything would be okay. Tubbo still felt like he needed to seriously talk to Tommy about this entire situation, but it seemed like Tommy would be able to stay and they could have peace. Crisis averted.

After he finished Dream read it out loud. Tubbo glanced over at Fundy and Big Q, while Fundy’s eyes were glued to Dream, Big Q gave him a reassuring smile. They did it. He looked further to the side. Ranboo gave him a similar smile, even if it was a bit shyer. Then Tubbo looked at Tommy, who seemed to suppress a grin with all the strength he could. Tubbo frowned inwardly but decided to trust Tommy right now. Maybe Tommy was just happy that the best-case scenario had happened.

And then it was done. Dream signed, and as they watched the ink dry, everyone feeling lighter. Until Tommy suddenly began giggling. Tubbo gave him a warning look, but Tommy’s eyes were fixated on Dream, a mocking smirk on his lips and his eyes wide and excited.

Tubbo decided to ignore it again, praying Tommy would keep his mouth shut and took the book, singing it completely and titling it. Tommy’s laugh became louder, but it’s wasn’t a laugh of relief. In fact, Tubbo had no idea why Tommy was laughing and what this tone even meant.

Tubbo watched as Tommy began questioning things, only now asking for clarification. The feeling of dread was back. He had to get Tommy out of here, now, before he did something he’d regret. But Tubbo couldn’t move. He sat motionless in his seat, watching Tommy continue to behave in this strange way until Tommy shoved Dream. Tubbo darted out of his seat, grabbing Tommy’s wrist and pulling him back.

Tommy ignored him, babbling nonsense and for a second Tubbo was concerned he had actually lost his mind when Tommy requested an ender chest. Dream provided one without hesitating, clearly curious what the teenager was thinking and why he was behaving like this. Tubbo let himself drop back into his seat, he was feeling sick from the overwhelming anxiety.

As if he was watching what was happening through a fog he listened to Tommy’s speech, talking about how he outsmarted Dream. He looked over to Fundy and Big Q, who were just as confused as he was.

“Dream? How many of my discs do you have on you?”

Tubbo’s eyes darted to Dream who crossed his arms and leaned back a bit, observing what was happening carefully.

“I have zero.”

Tommy pushed Dream back, making him stumble into his chair. Tubbo didn’t miss the way Dream’s hand rested on the grip of his sword and he felt his blood run cold.

“You fucking idiot!”

Fundy was by Tommy’s side in a second, yanking him back by his arms and trying to silence him. Big Q was with Fundy as well, shouting, but Tubbo remained in his seat. If he were to walk right now he was sure he would fall over, not trusting his own body.

This couldn’t be happening. Everything was resolved. They could’ve had peace, but now everything was falling apart. Tubbo may be the president, but once again he watched from the outside as the core conflict happened. Once again he was powerless. He was powerless as Tommy jumped on the table, towering over Dream and he was powerless and Tommy took a piece of leather out of his ender chest, grinning at Dream and telling him he had no power.

Tommy’s and Tubbo’s eyes met but where Tubbo could see glee Tommy could only see fear in the other’s eyes. He frowned for just a second, confused, before turning back to Dream.

It took a few minutes of Tommy ranting, threatening Dream, and telling him he had no leverage, but soon Fundy and Big Q seemed to agree. Nobody seemed to care when Tubbo stepped in front of Tommy, telling him he was being selfish. Just because Dream couldn’t hurt Tommy, didn’t mean he couldn’t hurt L’manberg. Why did Tommy not see that?

He looked at everyone. Quackity was grinning and chuckling at Tommy’s words, clearly getting excited over the illusion of having power over Dream. Fundy seemed more hesitant but nodded along nonetheless. Ranboo had backed up a few steps, observing from the distance. Dream had gone rigid, and that was the Dream Tubbo saw before battles. Silent anger, hot enough to turn anyone who got too close into ashes. Hot enough to turn L’Manberg into ashes.

And despite everything he was impressed by Tommy’s courage. Tommy knew what Dream was capable of, he had lost two lives to Dream and still here he stood, still challenging his authority. But courage could also be a flaw. Tommy’s confidence had turned into pride, so unwilling to submit to anyone that he risked everything he fought and died for.

Suddenly Tubbo was very aware that he was standing next to Dream, while Fundy, Quackity, and Tommy were on the opposite side of the room. He was very aware that, once again, Tommy had decided something for everyone, not thinking two steps ahead. Tubbo glanced at Dream, his position slightly behind him allowed him to see a bit of skin and jaw, a jaw that was clenched so hard Tubbo wouldn’t be surprised if he heard teeth breaking.

“Dream. You gotta take down those walls.”

Fundy and Quackity were laughing. Dream seemed to actually shuffle around on his feet, not sure what to do. Tubbo tried to say something but found himself drowned out by the laughter. He still felt a cool gaze on him as Dream looked over when he tried to intervene.

Tommy ran outside, Tubbo immediately following. He pushed past Jack Manifold, not even questioning why he was here, and instead tried to catch up to Tommy, who was reveling in the fact that he was once again leading them. Tubbo turned around, Dream stopped at the entrance, just looking at them. He wasn’t sure if it was the cool air of the night or Dream’s gaze that gave Tubbo goosebumps, but maybe he didn’t want to know.

This wouldn’t end well and if everything continued the way it was right now it would be L’Manberg paying the price, Tubbo taking the blame and it would be Tubbo being labeled as the one who screwed it up.

Tubbo began walking at the exact same moment as Dream did, Tubbo walking behind Tommy and Dream hanging around the back, following them silently. Quackity and Fundy spent the entire walk shouting insults behind them, oblivious to the anger and horror of the President who tried to reason with Tommy.

“Tommy, you’re doing more damage than helping.”

He nearly snapped when Fundy interrupted his taunting for a second to turn to the President.

“Tubbo, we do have the high ground right now. You gotta see this, man.”

He didn’t respond but internally he was screaming. Tubbo had always been good at hiding his anger, swallowing frustration down, and ignoring the urge to shout, something that came in handy right now. He saw what happened when a President was too vocal about his feeling.

Schlatt may have had good ideas originally, but his constant anger made everyone hate him. On the other hand, Tubbo had seen what happens when a President is the opposite, trusting nobody with his sorrows. He wasn’t around Pogtopia a lot, but Wilbur must’ve been good at hiding the constant anger and insanity in him if Tommy never noticed. If he did, he would’ve told Tubbo after all.

Tubbo didn’t listen as they kept talking, he vaguely believed to hear Tommy say that Dream had nothing on them, apparently, all of them had collective amnesia of the way Manberg burned while Dream stood over the ruins, watching Technoblade and Wilbur blow everything up and laughing.

“Listen Tubbo, the reason he’s done this obsidian wall isn’t to constrict L’Manberg. Isn’t to do any of this shit. It’s to get you, to turn on me. Why do you think he was getting you to ‘consider exiling me’? It’s to get you to turn on me. And listen, I know I keep going on about if the roles were reversed, but it’s true, isn’t it? If I was President, I wouldn’t… You know?”

Tubbo stopped for a moment, seriously considering Tommy’s words. What would’ve happened if the roles were reversed? Yeah, Tommy probably wouldn’t exile him. Tommy was incredibly loyal… Well, at least to the people closest to him. He had always been quick to throw others under the bus.

They stopped at the wall before Tubbo was able to finish his thought, but a dull realization had settled in his mind anyway. One that he wasn’t ready to consider yet. Because if the roles were reversed Tommy wouldn’t exile him, because Tubbo wouldn’t have done any of this. He wouldn’t have lied to Tommy’s face, he wouldn’t have broken a treaty as soon as it’s formed. He wouldn’t have provoked Dream. Because Tubbo would have listened to Tommy and tried his best to make it easier for Tommy. But Tommy didn’t. And the implications of that were terrifying to Tubbo.

Dream stepped up to the wall, his pickaxe making contact with the obsidian wall. The cracks were loud enough to snap Tubbo back into the present. He watched Dream for a few seconds and with chills realized how quickly Dream was. Obsidian was a hard stone to destroy, but Dream made it split and crack like it was granite. Tubbo tensed as Dream glanced towards him, basically asking him to react, to step up to his position as president.

“There was a peaceful way to do this. This is not… This is not how this should’ve gone.”

Quackity shook his head, denying Tubbo’s words in an amused tone. Tubbo tried not to let the, again, blatant disrespect make him angry, but when Quackity rested a hand on his shoulder he still took a step back, making Quackity drop his arm.

“This is blackmail.”

Tommy stood before him, blocking his line of sight as he and Fundy pestered him. Fundy saying it didn’t matter and Tommy saying Tubbo had done worse. Tubbo took a step to the side, ignoring them. There was a good chunk of the wall missing already, the amount of strength it took to do that and the fact that Dream didn’t even seem tired gave Tubbo chills.

Then Dream stopped as no one was watching and turned to him. Even though the mask was covering his entire face it was obvious to Tubbo he was looking him in the eyes. It wasn’t the first time since his presidency started he wished he wasn’t president, but as he listened to the chaos around him he questioned if anyone here was.

Tubbo knew he wasn’t a good president. He let everyone talk over him, forcing his hand. He had no idea about politics, always just trying to make the moral decision. And right now his morals were in shambles. On one hand, he desperately wanted this entire thing to end and have no consequences for Tommy, because even after all this time, Tubbo loved Tommy, his brother. But on the other hand, Tommy had been nothing but lying to him, ignoring his wishes and only think about himself and the fucking discs.

Tubbo took a step back as if allowing Dream to have at Tommy. He ignored how it made him feel, the way he felt like he was betraying Tommy, but he had to do this. Even if Dream would let himself be blackmailed today, Tubbo knew what Dream was capable of. If he allowed Tommy to continue, L’Manberg would be burning before the end of the week.

It seemed like Dream understood what Tubbo was trying to say, his gaze wandering to Tommy for a second before he turned back to the wall, shoving a few crude pieces of obsidian back into place.

Tommy turned, the sound of obsidian slamming against obsidian drawing his attention. Dream’s movements were stiff and in seconds the wall was standing again, the part where he mined was cracked and broken, but there again nonetheless.

Tommy walked over, shouting at Dream to continue, but Dream didn’t listen. He jumped off the wall, the impact of his weight plus the weight of his armor made the dirt ground dent under the impact and Tommy stumbled back a step, a look of fear on his face before he was able to mask it again.

Quackity and Fundy backed up, standing behind Tubbo and observing it, their prior confidence suddenly wiped away.

“Okay, listen. You fucked up this time.”
Tubbo wasn’t surprised when Tommy tried to play it off as a joke. He wasn’t surprised when Dream shouted at Tommy, telling him to burn the leather, telling him he had no attachments. Tubbo knew nobody on this server cared enough about any object to go to war over it, except for Tommy and Dream with their damn discs.

Finally, it seemed like Tommy grasped the severity of the situation. Finally, he didn’t talk back to Dream as Dream threatened him. Only that it was too late now.

“Listen, Tubbo. You have three days. If you do not exile him in three days I’ll do what I said.”

Tubbo knew this was coming. Tommy and Dream alike forced his hand to decide. Tommy or L’Manberg.

“L’Manberg can be independent, but L’Manberg can’t be free.”

Tubbo watched after Dream as he approached the wall, beginning to build it bigger and stronger. He looked at Tommy, who was still watching after Dream.

“Tommy, you had one job. You had one job. To be positive, to be peaceful. And you messed it up.”

His best friend didn’t dare to look Tubbo in the eyes, instead choosing to look at Dream. Tubbo wasn’t so sure if it was guilt or if he was just sore about losing his verbal fight with Dream.

Quackity tried to say something, starting to accuse Tommy of being the one who fucked up, but Tubbo was fed up. He spun around, pointing a finger at Quackity and Fundy, and snapped.

“No, this on you two as well, actually.”

Quackity backed up a step, stuttering and looking around. Apparently, he hoped Tubbo would just forget about how he acted, but Tubbo was done. Everyone except for himself and Ranboo had pushed Dream, they didn’t get to blame this on Tommy alone now.

“You went along with it! You all went along with it!”

He ignored their justifications and turned back to Tommy, who had yet to say a single word as he watched Dream work. When he realized Tubbo was looking at him he shifted uncomfortably. Nobody was used to Tubbo actually snapping, Tommy least of all.

“Tubbo, he’s only doing this to get under your skin so you turn on me, right?”

Tubbo’s eyes narrowed.

“No, actually. I think he made it very clear what he is doing. He is doing this to get your disc. Because he wants them.”

Both went silent, Tubbo tried to ignore the disappointment he felt, but he couldn’t.

“You had one job. You couldn’t do one thing for me. You couldn’t do one! Just one thing, and it was for your own good!”

He allowed more pain into his voice than he wanted to, but right now he felt more alone than ever before. Even when he worked under Schlatt, a spy that could be found out any second and when couldn’t trust a single person, even then he knew he at least still had Tommy. Right now? The only people who hadn’t blatantly ignored his input and spoken over him were Dream and Ranboo.

Tommy took a step back, looking to the ground and hiding his expression.

“So, you know what? If the roles were reversed, as you said… Yeah, you probably wouldn’t exile me. Because I would’ve actually listened to you and do what you said! And maybe had a couple ounces of respect! You’ve messed this up for no one but yourself!”

Tommy looked back at the wall, apparently, he still couldn’t bear to look Tubbo in the eye as Tubbo told him what he had been thinking this entire time.

“Selfish.”

Quackity interrupted the long silence that stretched over them. “What are we going to do?”

Before Tubbo could finish one sentence Tommy interrupted him, trying to get his attention. Tubbo turned to Tommy.

“I don’t want to exile you! Okay?”

“This whole war, all of this, L’Manberg, everything… This has started way before L’Manberg, me and you versus Dream. This isn’t… This can’t be where we split now. You can’t… It’s always been me and you, man. We can’t… Come on. Please.”

“Tommy I don’t want to exile you-“

“The power is getting to your head, man.”

Tubbo silently wondered what power he meant. It wasn’t like he could make any decision without being immediately overruled by Tommy or Quackity.

“I know that you are President. I know I wanted Wilbur to be President, that’s why I gave it to him, alright? And I’m happy. I’m happy, but you can see the power of having… This isn’t what we were meant to do. If he builds walls over us if he… It’s always been about getting back the discs! Because that is what we started fighting for! There have been too many times where I put them to the side, alright? When L’manberg was blown up the first time, and I was shot. Every time I put them to the side, but now… You can handle this, this isn’t…”

“Yeah. We could’ve handled this. If you had listened. And we could’ve gone and got your discs back.”

“Tubbo, if I had listened we wouldn’t have got the discs back! There would still be a war, I’d be on probation. You can’t probate your friend! Never in a million years would I have put you on probation, making you report to this prick every day.” He glanced at Fundy. “You know I would’ve never done that! I would understand and help you. I wouldn’t just… “

To everyone’s surprise, Ranboo spoke for the first time that day.

“Tubbo. You said that Tommy was selfish. You said that Tommy, well, doesn’t care about anyone else. That’s not true. I robbed George’s house too. I did it with Tommy. But in court, he said that it was just him. He could’ve pinned the blame on me. He could’ve said that it was me, there was evidence that it was me! But he didn’t. He is not selfish. He can’t be selfish, me and Tommy robbed George’s house. We didn’t mean for it to burn. We didn’t mean to burn anything down.”

Tommy confirmed what Ranboo said. Tubbo wasn’t sure if that was selfish of him but couldn’t help but feel betrayed by both Ranboo and Tommy that they lied to him, even if he knew they had to in court or Ranboo would be as much in trouble as Tommy was. He knew they had to do it, but feelings weren’t rational.

“Everything we’ve been through, every time I put the discs aside. I think for one time after Wilbur is gone, the villain, fucking Schlatt, the dictator who had exiled us before, has gone… Tubbo, you can’t turn into what you hate. You can’t be the next Schlatt. If you exile me, you’re following in that man's footsteps.”

Tubbo felt his gaze harden. Tommy had no right. This entire situation was so different than what Schlatt did, Tubbo felt the anger he pushed down for so long come back up. “Well, if I can’t be the next Schlatt, you can’t be the next Wilbur.”

Once again Quackity seemed to realize Tubbo wasn’t thinking clearly, just like he did in the meeting, even though for a different reason now, and chimed in.

“We need to make a decision, now. Tubbo, I don’t know what’s in your mind. You are the President, you have the last word.”

Tubbo considered their options. Exile and freedom from Dream’s oppression, or no exile and complete isolation. They were completely backed into a corner. They discussed their options, this time calmer than before.

“The only thing Dream wants is the only thing I care about.” Tubbo looked at Tommy, not even trying to hide his irritation, anger, and most of all hurt. “Well, not the only thing I care about.”

It was too late, Tubbo looked down at his book where he made some notes of their discussion, trying to ignore the tears that were attempting to exit his eyes, although he wasn't sure if it was tears of hurt or anger.

“Hm. The one thing you care about.”

Tommy didn’t answer, making Tubbo tighten his grip on his pen and clench his jaw. Fuck, this hurt.

“Tommy, maybe consider putting your discs aside.”

“That is what I’ve done this entire time, that’s why L’Manberg is here.”

“Oh yeah, what a beautiful state it is in, huh?”

In seconds Quackity, Fundy, and Tommy were in a screaming match again, when a reflection in netherite armor caught Tubbo’s eye. He glanced behind Tommy to see Technoblade. Of course, he immediately hid, but Tubbo had already seen him. Suddenly he was very aware of the scars from the firework littering his body. He swallowed and lightly shook his head. They had bigger issues than his trauma.

He turned his attention back to the discussion, where Quackity was trying to convince Tommy he needed to compromise and forget his discs. Tubbo knew he wouldn’t get anywhere. He had no idea why Tommy was this obsessed with two music discs, especially since he couldn’t even play them anymore. Throughout all of the wars, they were scratched and battered, unable to produce the soft tones they once did. Tommy would still kill for them, and apparently, even let a nation go down for them.

“You need to compromise, Tommy.”

“I’ve compromised for too long.”

“Not everything is black and white. There is lots of things to consider in these decisions. Like, when you go after your discs, okay? There is a way to go about that and I am more than happy to help as much as I can, but there’s more people at stake than…”

He didn’t want to say what he was thinking, but judging from Tommy’s expression it was enough and Tommy knew what he meant. Tubbo didn’t think the discs were worth it.

“No, you’ve proven yourself tonight. This is your nation. This is your discs. It’s not… It’s not about that.”

“How much are you willing to sacrifice for those discs? How much is enough? How much is gonna be until you realize the discs maybe aren’t worth it after all?”

Quackity stayed calm, his voice had a soothing touch to them. Tubbo hoped it’d be enough to get through to Tommy.

“Because, after all, Dream now considers them his discs, apparently.”

“But they’re not. Tubbo, you’ve got the disc. And I’ve given it to you so that I can trust you with it, so please.”

“Tommy, you can trust me with it.”

Even if Tubbo hated how Tommy let them rule over his life, Tommy could trust him with this. Tubbo may never understand how or why they meant so much to Tommy and Dream, but that didn’t change that he wouldn’t betray Tommy’s trust.

Two days later Tubbo was still in his office when the sun began grazing the horizon, looking at the notes he and Ranboo made, trying to figure out what to do. This entire thing had been the only thing on his mind for the last few days as he tried to find the middle ground between his friendship and his country.

The plan to fake an exile had been discarded fairly quickly after they tried to figure out how you could even fake that and found no good solution. In the end, it would always be an exile, with Tommy being away from them, no matter how often they tried to visit.

It came to no surprise when someone knocked on the door that evening. He expected Fundy or Big Q wanting to talk to him, but instead, when he asked the person to step in and the door opened he looked into Dream’s face. His mask was pushed to the side, a sight he hadn’t seen in weeks, ever since his mask broke when he blew up L‘Manberg to be specific.

“Dream, what a surprise.” Tubbo stood up, suddenly very aware of the physical imbalance between them. The memory of Dream hacking down on the obsidian and splitting it in two without breaking a sweat came to Tubbo’s mind, giving him chills.

Dream remained in the door. He was obviously also very aware of these imbalances between them and gave Tubbo the space he needed. Somewhat ironic that Dream wouldn’t hesitate to kill but still tried not to be imposing right now. It made Tubbo suspicious.

“If you’re here because of my decision, I have until tomorrow, so…” His voice trailed off and he tried not to show how unsafe he felt at this moment. Even if Dream had shown him respect during his time as President, he was very aware of how dangerous Dream was.

“No, no, no… I’m not here because of your decision. Well, at least not because I want an answer.” He didn’t add anything after that, so Tubbo motioned to the seat in front of his table and waited until Dream was sitting to sit down himself.

“Alright, why are you here then?”

“I’m not sure. I just felt like I had to talk to you before tomorrow.”

Tubbo shifted slightly, his eyes wandering to the window and he looked at L’Manberg, which was glowing in golden light in the evening sun. He might as well use the opportunity to try and maybe change Dream’s mind.

“If you were in my position, what would you do?” Dream’s only reaction was a slight twitch of his eyes. “I mean… Let’s say George destroyed a part of L’Manberg unprovoked and I wanted him to be punished, what would you do?”

Dream seemed to consider his words carefully before responding. “I would do the same thing you did. Make a trial, try to get him out easy, and hope that will be it.”

“But what if I demanded more, what if I demanded exile?”

“I… I’m not sure.” He shrugged and after a moment of silence. When Tubbo looked unsatisfied he sighed. “Look, Tubbo. I never said your position wasn’t hard. It is, you are being forced to choose between being a President and being a best friend. And I’m sorry for putting you into this position, I really am. But Tommy has been doing nothing but cause problems for a long time now. I want it to stop.”

Tubbo seemed to consider not saying what he was thinking, but finally, he sighed. This was the most civil conversation about this topic he’d had with anyone since… well, since their last conversation.

“You know I’m not stupid, right? I know you don’t care that much about a house. Even if it is your King’s house, it was fixed in hours as far as I know. And George was fine with probation, it was you who kept pushing.”

Dream looked amused, leaning back as he listened to Tubbo.

“Because you actually don’t really care about that house or the robbery. You want Tommy gone.” He made a pause, looking Dream in the eye, but Dream gave nothing away. “You want Tommy gone and saw your chance. I can’t even blame you, Tommy is terrible at respecting authority, I should know.” He added the last part in a low and slightly bitter tone, but going off Dream’s knowing nod he heard what Tubbo said.

“You’re smart, Tubbo.”

When he didn’t continue Tubbo quirked an eyebrow. “Is that all?”

Dream smiled. “We both know the truth and you know I can’t confirm or deny what you said.” Tubbo huffed.

After a short second of silence, Dream asked, “Don’t you wonder why Tommy is behaving like this? Like he couldn’t care less about L’Manberg when he lost two lives fighting for it?”

Tubbo was hesitant to answer, after all, he was obviously trying to make a point, not asking a genuine question. “Why?”

Dream crossed his arms. “I think it’s important for you to consider. Because it explains why Tommy isn’t good for L’Manberg.”

Tubbo’s eyes narrowed, he was very hesitant to let Dream tell him how to feel but made a motion for him to go on nonetheless.

“During the first revolution, was Tommy not eager to prove himself? Willing to sacrifice everything for L’Manberg? And now he doesn’t even care enough to just… do what you ask of him. And do you know what changed? Wilbur. I mean seriously think about it. Was Tommy really ever loyal to L’Manberg or just to Wilbur?”

Tubbo sat up a bit straighter, his eyes wandering to the portrait of the former President on the wall of his office, thinking back. It was true, when they first started Tommy wasn’t a big fan of L’Manberg. He really only stayed around because of his friends. And now that Wilbur was gone Tommy suddenly didn’t seem to care about L’Manberg anymore.

Tubbo shifted in his seat biting his lips and looked back at Dream. What if Dream was right? Did it change anything? Not really, except maybe… Tubbo tensed. If Tommy was loyal to L’Manberg because of Wilbur but not because of Tubbo… What did that mean for their friendship? Tubbo swallowed hard, refusing to answer Dream.

After a minute of silence, Dream sighed. “Because you asked, if I was in your position and George fucked up I wouldn’t exile him. Because I know I can trust him to follow my rules when he has to. He and I may bicker a lot, he may tend to act out, but in the end, I know he would want the best for his friends and would’ve just accepted the probation.”

Tubbo avoided Dream’s gaze and muttered stubbornly, “I can trust Tommy.” He wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince Dream or himself. Tommy had lied to him so many times, looked him in the eyes, and lied. Could he still trust Tommy? He had no idea.

“I know. I have rarely ever seen a bond between two people as strong as the one between you two. Did you know I thought you were brothers when I first met you?” Dream chuckled. Tubbo didn’t.  “I know you can trust him with your life. When he has to he would die for you, I have no doubt about it…”

“But?”

“…But he hasn’t learned anything. He still thinks he is the loud second in command to a confident leader who will fix all of his mistakes with a snappy speech and everything goes back to normal. And, well, that just isn’t the case. No offense.”

Out of reflex, Tubbo muttered, “None taken.”

“Tommy needs to learn that a leader has to make sacrifices. And he needs to learn fast.”

Tubbo sat up a bit straighter. “Tommy isn’t our leader.”

Dream gave him a meaningful look. “Exactly.”

Oh.

Tubbo took a deep breath and thought his words over. Dream was right, but also… Tommy was just a kid. Just like himself. No one should expect them to be able to do stuff like this, he was a child why should he have to decide over a country? Over the life of his best friend?

“It isn’t fair, Tubbo. You shouldn’t have to lead. You shouldn’t be forced to make decisions like this, but you are the President… Even if some people like to forget it.”

Tubbo looked up, meeting Dream’s gaze, and gave him a questioning look. He had to at least pretend like he had this country under control.

“I mean, I know what I saw. You’re not stupid, so I’m sure you see it as well. As you said, Tommy never respects authority anyways, even less so when he thinks he can get away with it because you’re friends. Quackity is a good second in command, he at least somewhat respects you, but even he rather follows someone more vocal, like Tommy. And, well, Fundy just follows whatever the majority of people is doing.”

Tubbo swallowed hard. He knew it was true. None of them respected him as a friend, much less as a leader. They treated him like he was just some guy, not a friend, and certainly not the President.

“I didn’t come here to influence your decision, but-“ he stood up and fixed his mask to center it on his face again “-tomorrow? Don’t decide to do what they say you think. Decide what you think.”

Dream nodded as a goodbye and walked out into the evening, the sun was gone by now and the remaining light made L’Manberg look like a ghost town. Tubbo looked out of the window, following the tall man with his eyes. He remained standing at the window for a long time after Dream was gone, looking at the darkening shadows of the place he called home.

Could he do it? Could he exile Tommy? Did he have it in him? He wasn’t sure. He thought back to everything he and Tommy went through together. Could he really just throw all that away?

Well… Would he even throw it away if he chose to exile him? Nobody said anything about a permanent exile. Maybe just two weeks would be enough to make Dream happy. They could make sure to visit as much as they could and it wouldn’t even be that bad.

He sighed and rested his arms on the window still. He had to make a decision, this was not something he could just run away from. This was different. Nobody but himself could make this decision.

Dream was right. Tomorrow he’d have to decide what he wanted to do, what he thought was right. Not what they told him he thought was right. A tiny smile formed on his lips. For once he would decide where his life would go. For once he would be the one in control. He would be the one in control. Nobody else. Just him.