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Snowchester was quiet, the shore barely audible from so high and far away. Ranboo stood in one of the many windows of his estate, staring at the docks in a silent tranquility. His hair was tucked behind his ears neatly, knots scattered across his thick locks. Soft hands gripping the windowsill, he smiled, hearing a gentle creak behind him.
“Hi,” A quiet voice was heard as he entered, arms wrapping around Ranboo’s midriff in a brief hug. The weight of Tubbo’s head rested against the tall enderman’s arm and he let out a breath laced with honey.
“You’re back soon,” He muttered, closing his eyes against the beaming sun, inhaling the scent of wood and slight smoke.
“I am,” The other boy confirmed, bringing the two of them to the floor slowly. “Tommy didn’t take too long, thank god.” Ranboo chuckled a little, letting his head rest on top of Tubbo’s. The unfurnished room was barren but warm in their presence, massive windows letting the sun beam in through the glass and shower every surface in lemonade coloured shafts.
“You have the whole day to sit and lie with me,” Ranboo said, the slight lilt of a question just on the tip of his tongue.
“I’m tired,” Tubbo paid no mind to the enderman and his fumbling invitations, shifting to lie on the floor with his head in Ranboo’s lap, brown hair cascading all over his face. Ranboo shifted himself as well against the wall, letting his hands move through Tubbo’s hair smoothly.
It was a routine, had been for months.
Tubbo would return to Snowchester and find his friend staring absentmindedly somewhere and curl up on his lap with no prompt or invitation. Ranboo would stick himself somewhere comfortable and sit there, hands carding through locks of dark hair and eyes eventually closing, the two sleeping peacefully.
No work, no grinding, barely anything had been done in months. The server was quiet and conflict had restricted itself to separate factions, leaving the rest to find and collect their lives. And the two found life in each other.
Tubbo didn’t ask Ranboo why he stood by a window for hours on end and Ranboo didn’t ask where Tubbo went in those early hours of the morning. Time would heal and reveal in due time, but the boys had no intent to relive or acknowledge the past.
“You never fall asleep before me,” Tubbo’s sleep thickened voice was hard to make out for a moment, Ranboo having to concentrate to hear what he had said.
“You’re the tired one, Tubbo,” He responded gently, soft threads and strands of hair catching in the short fur of his hands. “Would you rather we switch and I fall asleep first today?”
It was a rhetorical question of course, Ranboo hadn’t expected Tubbo to sit up so rapidly.
“Yes,” He answered shortly, pushing a shocked looking Ranboo out of his place. The taller boy obliged and found himself with his head in Tubbo’s lap. It was odd to be in this position, staring up at the ceiling and Tubbo’s grinning face. “Close your eyes, I’ll lull you to sleep, or something.” The enderman huffed a laugh, taken by surprise again when the smaller hands softly grasped a knotted piece of grey-white hair.
Ranboo tensed, expecting a yank and for hair to start falling out, only to feel just a small tug on his scalp. The unfamiliar gentle touch had the enderman’s face flushed, pulse in his throat. It wasn’t long before he calmed, eyes fluttering shut as Tubbo expertly worked his fingers through each tangled piece of hair.
“See?” He murmured, silence had fallen across the room, Ranboo noticeably less tense. “It’s always better to be the one on the floor.”
“I guess…” Ranboo tried to make it sound like he was indifferent, but a particular move of Tubbo’s hand had him smiling and leaning into the touch. It was a warm, close and overwhelming feeling.
“Told ya.”
The knots were all but gone and Ranboo felt himself drifting, eyes dry and heavy. Curling up closer, a sound came from his throat accidentally that had Tubbo stop his movements, a laugh reverberating through the room.
“Did you just purr?” He exclaimed, voice still calm in the motionless room.
“I did not-” Ranboo was cut off by the continuing of his friend’s hands, comforting pressure bringing the sound out again. “You are terrible,” He remarked as soon as it let up. Tubbo only laughed, shaking his head and continuing his movements.
It was a purr, a contented rumbling from the back of the enderman’s throat in response to Tubbo’s gentle hands. It felt safe, and warm. The windows of the mansion were always so cold, the glass frigid year round. Standing near them would freeze Ranboo after only a few minutes, glassy eyes stuck and staring for hours.
“Winter’s coming,” Tubbo murmured. Ranboo nodded, casting a heavy glance out the grey windows, flakes of snow tapping against it.
“It’s always winter here.”
“Yeah, but winter on the server means Christmas.” The enderman let out a little displeased noise, much to Tubbo’s amusement. The pair were both painfully aware of Ranboo’s distaste for the winter holidays.
“Shut up.” Ranboo said, playful note in his voice indicating that he meant no harm.
“Come on bossman, it’s Michael’s first Christmas with us,”
“It is, isn’t it?”
Michael had been found in the Nether by the pair just under a year ago, rescued and adopted on that very Valentine’s Day. Ranboo and Tubbo had dubbed it Michael’s birthday, and hadn’t had the chance to celebrate many major holidays with their son as of yet.
It was an adjustment for the little zombie piglin, from the hot and dry climate of the Nether to the cold of Snowchester. Tubbo and Ranboo had spoken many times about moving him back to the Nether, back to his native home. But they knew that Michael would never go back, not with the way he clung to their clothes any time he neared a portal. He was too attached to his parents, from the day they had found him, huddled behind a tree all alone..
As if on some sort of cue, the pair’s hushed conversation was cut short by little footsteps coming down the stairs.
Holding a duck plushie in his tiny hands, stood Michael, who rubbed his eyes with the back of one hand sleepily. “Bee?” He said questioningly, a thick piglin accent bleeding through his broken English. ‘Bee’ was his nickname for Tubbo as ‘Boo’ was his nickname for Ranboo.
“Hi, Michael,” Tubbo and Ranboo said in unison, the enderman sitting up and reaching his arms out. The four-year-old walked over eagerly, sitting himself down on Ranboo’s lap and into his embrace. He curled up against his chest and said nothing more, only contentedly sighing.
“Have a good nap, Michael,” Ranboo murmured, resting his hand on his head gently.
“We got lucky, didn’t we?” Tubbo said quietly, shooting an awed smile at his husband. The enderboy nodded. “I guess we’ll just nap here on the floor then.”
“I’ll carry him to bed,” Ranboo stood slowly, making sure to hold the sleeping piglin with care as he walked to his and Tubbo’s shared king bed. “We’ll sleep here, don’t want to hurt your back on the wood.” Tubbo obliged, lying next to Ranboo with Michael in between them.
“He really loves Benson,” Tubbo remarked, talking about the small duck that Michael had held close to his chest, the plushie gripped in his tiny fist.
“It used to be yours, that’s why,” Ranboo replied, brushing back his hair from his face. Tubbo laughed quietly.
The sun beamed in through the windows, already falling steadily from the sky. It had only been less than an hour since Tubbo’s arrival home, but night was already fast approaching.
It wasn’t long until the two friends and their son fell asleep, light fading from their room. It was warm and safe together, under those blankets. Between them was the child they swore to protect, and across from them was the boy who would never leave their side.
They were best friends who loved and healed together, with a son who brought them even closer.