Work Text:
Tubbo stared blankly at his ceiling, his room completely void of any light sources. His drapes were drawn shut blocking out the milky moonlight; the lights were off, and he had even unplugged his alarm clock, which normally washed the room in a soft lime-green tone. His sheets felt overwhelmingly hot, and the air around him seemed suffocating, but the thought of removing his weighted blanket and being met by the chilly room's air was far less than ideal. The boy had been struggling to get comfortable for what seemed like decades, and the restlessness within him only persisted. Last he had looked at the time, it was around 2:30 in the morning, but at this point, that was hours ago.
To put it simply, Tubbo couldn't sleep. This wasn't an uncommon occurrence for the brunette, with the amount of times he'd stay up late working, or his mind would be moving faster than he deemed appropriate for the early morning hours, but this time was different. Nothing in particular was on his mind, he had completed his self assigned work that day, he had no big plans approaching, he just couldn't sleep .
Being holed up in his room all day streaming, only leaving to grab quick meals or use the bathroom, had begun to take a toll on the boy. His room began to feel as though it was a prison. He spent his life in the same two spots; at his desk, and in his bed. The mundane sound of the same four Spotify playlists would fill the room at almost all hours of the day, certain songs making Tubbo feel sick just from how much he had played them over the past few months.
He knew that tomorrow would only bring a repeat to the vicious cycle, yet when he attempted to brainstorm ways to break it, he always turned up empty handed.
A subtle click from the outside hallway caused Tubbo to shift his attention from his spiraling thoughts. A soft creaking could be heard as the door across from his own opened, and a blue-ish white light washed over the hall floorboards, leaking in through the crack at the base of Tubbo's door.
The light swiftly disappeared down the corridor, and a small smile ghosted over the drowsy boy's lips. Ranboo had arrived in the UK about a week ago, and his internal clock had yet to adjust to the sudden timezone change.
Despite what one may think, just because his best friend had recently moved in, didn't mean they spent all day together. Sure, they spent as much time together as they could , but at the end of the day, they both had their own lives and responsibilities. They couldn't spend all day in a discord call anymore, they had to be near each other to communicate; and though they loved the newfound proximity, it hindered their work. Sure, there were things they could do together such as streaming and making content, but if one boy wanted to spend time with the other, he now had to abandon his desk for a bit, thus abandoning whatever else he was working on. This resulted in a lot of time spent in their respective rooms, only popping in when they could throughout the day.
With that being said, getting up didn't seem so bad now that Ranboo was up as well.
Tubbo groggily sat up, and pushed his blanket aside, wincing a bit at the initial chill that he's immediately met with. He pawed around at his nightstand for his phone, eventually grabbing it and turning the flashlight on it's lowest setting. The fabric of his slightly oversized pajama pants pooled a bit around his feet as he got up, making his way out of his room, and down the hallway to the kitchen.
He was suddenly met with the harsh glow of the fluorescent lights reflecting off the kitchen tile, as he lowered his phone to his side. Ranboo was leaning against the marble countertop, gently thrumming his fingers on the cool surface, with a mug of something steaming sitting to his right. It took a second, but the Taller teen was broken away from his thoughts when he noticed the brunette standing in the doorway.
Ranboo's once focused expression quickly turned to a soft smile as his sleepy gaze met Tubbo's.
"Hey," he greeted, barely above a whisper; his smooth voice pleasantly meeting the shorter's ears. "Did I wake you?"
Tubbo subconsciously returned the blonde boy's dopey smile as he hummed a response and shook his head no.
"Couldn't sleep," he replied, slowly shuffling his way over to friend. "Saw you were up, wanted to see you."
"Really? I'm flattered," Ranboo lightly joked.
"Damn right," the brit quipped back, gently leaning to press the top of his head to the taller's chest.
The American boy lifted his hand from where it rested on the counter, and moved it to Tubbo's hair, where he ever so slightly began to comb through his mocha colored locks. After a few blissful moments, Tubbo let his gaze drift to the counter beside them, which was currently housing not only Ranboo's mug, but also his headphones, which he had failed to notice before.
"What'cha been listening to?" He questioned.
"Hm? Oh, just a song I've been liking recently. 'S called 'Sunflower vol. 6"
"Can I hear?" The shorter's voice was coated in a sudden drowsiness.
" 'Course," Ranboo warmly responded, using his free hand to reach for his phone and turn off the Bluetooth function. He rewound the song from where it was, and turned the volume up a bit.
The towering teen set his phone back down, and the sweet sounding tune began drifting over the two.
"Sunflower
Sunflower
My eyes, want you more than a melody
Let me inside
Wish I could get to know you"
The music lightly echoed through the kitchen, and Ranboo softly hummed along with the lyrics. Tubbo could feel the soothing vibrations of his friend's voice from where his head continued to rest; his gaze fixed on the floor. He eventually began to sway a bit on his feet, in a drowsy sort of dance, which the blonde didn't hesitate to join in on. He lifted his head and Ranboo's hand fell from it's resting place in the other's soft hair as they made eye contact yet again.
Without much thought, Tubbo gently took Ranboo's hands in his own and pulled him to the center of the kitchen.
"I couldn't want you any more
Kiss in the kitchen like it's a dance floor
I couldn't want you any more tonight…"
The two drifted lazily over the cold tile, swaying to the beat, fingers gradually intertwining. By the time the last few notes of the song fizzled out, Tubbo found himself nestled in Ranboo’s embrace, enveloped by his dance partner’s arms.
The desire for sleep that had earlier evaded the boy suddenly came crashing down. He could've fallen dead asleep right there in the kitchen if it weren't for Ranboo deciding to pull away. It took all of Tubbo's self control not to cling to the taller boy in protest as the two separated.
He did, however, manage to keep hold of Ranboo's hand, who huffed out a small chuckle at the shorter boy's sudden sleepy demeanor.
"You need sleep, Tubbs."
Tubbo groaned at the proposition.
"Don't make me go back to that roooooom , Ran. I'll die," he emphasized his sentence by swinging their still connected hands along with his words. "Can I hang out with you pleeeease?"
"Well, I'm editing right now, I don't wanna keep you up…"
It was obvious from the expression on the brunette's face that Tubbo didn't care what the other boy was doing, he simply craved to spend time with Ranboo.
And spend time, he did.
After a moment of silent pleading on Tubbo’s part, Ranboo turned to collect his things from the counter, and led his sleepy friend down the hall, hands still clasped together. The next few moments went by in a sleepy haze from Tubbo’s point of view. The taller boy’s room was washed in a soft yellow light that emitted from his dim LED lights. A triple monitor setup and colorfully backlit keyboard added a slight splash of color and intensity to the otherwise peaceful scene. Tubbo found his way to Ranboo’s bed, falling face first into the collection of plush pillows and blankets. He felt the warmth of the blonde’s hand leave his own, as Ranboo walked over to his tri-colored gaming chair to pick up where he had left off. The brunette’s vision faded to the crisp clicking of his friend’s mechanical keyboard, and he was sure to make a mental note to add that Sunflower song to his playlist; as sleep finally came to claim him.