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Even though they were married and had a kid, Tubbo still had so much to learn about Ranboo. Maybe even things Ranboo didn’t even know about himself.
Tubbo doesn’t really look for these unknown facts and information and usually lets it unveil over time. For example, after Tubbo asked what beat Ranboo was tapping his foot to and why Tubbo couldn’t hear the song for it, Tubbo had found out that Ranboo can hum in… basically another language? How it works is that Ranboo can hum at a frequency and tone that only other endermen can hear, so it’s technically humming in another language. At least, that’s how Tubbo thinks of it.
It’s been a while since Tubbo has learned a new fun fact about Ranboo though. And recently, Ranboo keeps figuring out these little things that Tubbo likes without actually asking (like the two of them usually do) — preferring smaller utensils as opposed to big ones, wooden bowls over metal bowls, things like that. Tubbo feels like he should be keeping up. So, he’s been keeping a closer eye on Ranboo these days, trying to figure out something new about his husband.
Tubbo’s not trying to make it weird. He just wants to try new and better ways to make his husband happy, and—
“Tubbo?” Ranboo’s call from upstairs interrupted Tubbo’s thoughts. “Tubbo, do you know where we put Michael’s blanket? Michael doesn’t want to go to sleep without it tonight.”
Tubbo put down the dish he was drying on the counter. He yelled back, “Yeah, it’s right here. I’ll bring it up to you guys, just give me a second.” While Tubbo rinsed his hands, he faintly heard a ‘thank youuu’ from Ranboo. With a small smile on his face, Tubbo dried his hands, grabbed Michael’s blanket from its spot on the sofa, and began making his way up to Michael’s room.
Tubbo slowly opened the trapdoor so that it didn’t slam down and startle Ranboo or Michael. With his quiet entrance, nor Ranboo or Michael had noticed Tubbo, which left the two peacefully carrying on their… whatever they were doing, Tubbo hasn’t popped his head out of the hole yet to see what they were doing. Easily, Tubbo placed his arms on either side of him on the floor above him and lifted himself up and out of the trapdoor entrance with not even a grunt of effort. Ah, the benefits of being in shape.
Tubbo was greeted with the sight of Michael under the covers of his bed and Ranboo lying down on top of the covers, one hand holding Michael close to his chest and the other holding out a children’s book he was reading out. Michael’s gaze was focused on the book, his face practically sparkling with interest, while Ranboo’s eyes bounced back and forth from the book to Michael, his eyes full of unfiltered love and adoration for his child.
Tubbo froze, a little caught off guard. He didn’t expect to see something so… heartwarming. He just— he needs a second, okay? People might say this is a moment of weakness. He’s aware. (Not that he cares, though.)
Unfortunately, Ranboo noticed Tubbo kneeling beside the trapdoor entrance and ended up not giving much time for Tubbo to buffer from his previous malfunction. Ranboo grinned and reached out a hand, pausing his story reading to say, “Thanks for bringing up the blanket, I appreciate it. I seriously did not feel like searching the house for it.”
Tubbo blinked a few times before fully snapping out of it and clearing his throat and standing up. “Of course! Of course, I— it was no problem, it literally took me two seconds. It was just sitting on the sofa, so.” Tubbo finished his rambling with a huff of a laugh and then handed Ranboo the blue blanket.
Ranboo smiled and took the blanket and then brought it up to Michael’s chest, who gasped and clutched the fabric immediately once it was in his line of vision. He buried his face in it, making Ranboo chuckle softly and Tubbo smile fondly. Michael mumbled something out and it sounded a lot like an attempt to say “thank you, Bo” which made Tubbo’s smile grow even more.
Ranboo, who also heard Michael’s attempt at English, smiled warmly and brushed back Michael’s bangs to press a kiss on his forehead. Michael squealed, squirming a bit in his spot as he giggled from the attention from his parent. The sight was cute, but it also made Tubbo cringe, because Michael looked nowhere near wanting to fall asleep.
Deciding that was Ranboo’s problem and not his after he saw the strained look on Ranboo’s face, Tubbo clapped his hands and said, “I’m gonna go get ready for bed! Have fun with Michael!” Not bothering to see Ranboo’s reaction, Tubbo spun on his heel and jumped into the trapdoor entrance. He shut the trapdoor shut behind him and slid down the ladder easily.
Okay. Okay, glad he escaped that last minute. Tubbo glanced over to the dishes he was previously drying. They were all situated on a drying rack still dripping, Tubbo was just drying them by hand and putting them away to speed up the process but he very much could just leave it to the Tomorrow-Tubbo. Yeah, Right-Now-Tubbo liked the idea of that.
So he made his way to get ready for bed in the washroom and then migrated to his and Ranboo’s bedroom where he changed into his pajamas and then immediately flopped onto the bed when he was done. When Tubbo strained his hearing, he could still hear Michael making noises and chattering away. Geez, did the kid sneak in a few extra cookies before he went to bed?
That’s not my problem, Tubbo thought to himself as he made his way under the covers, Ranboo is on sleepy duty tonight, not me! With that ending the conversation in his head, Tubbo leaned over and blew out one of the two candles in the room. Now the bedroom was only being dimly lit with Ranboo’s tall, skinny candle.
Tubbo sighed and closed his eyes, letting himself sink into his bed and pillow while he let his thoughts wander.
What felt like seconds later — they were actually minutes, at least 5 or 10 — Tubbo heard Ranboo walking around their bedroom, probably changing into his pajamas and getting ready for bed. He had blown out his candle, (or the candle might’ve got caught on some melted and still-hot wax and went out on its own) so Tubbo could barely make out Ranboo’s outline in their bedroom as he shuffled around.
Tiredly, Tubbo asked, “You got him to sleep?”
Ranboo sighed deeply before responding. “Yeah, I did.” He paused before continuing, thinking to himself. “I think we need to start having dinner earlier. I don’t want to ever deal with a hyper child so late at night ever again. Also, if Michael wakes up, he’s your problem, not mine.” There was a sound of different drawers being shut and opened repeatedly and Tubbo raised a curious brow at the pattern of it. It sounded like Ranboo was searching for something.
Instead of being annoyed with his husband’s previous words (nobody wants to deal with a fussy 4 year old past midnight), Tubbo ended up saying, “What are you looking for?” The shorter hybrid listened to the sound of one more drawer open and close before his husband responded.
“My pajama pants,” Ranboo grumbled out, slouching forward a bit and dragging a hand down his face tiredly. “It’s colder over here than back at my house so I usually wear pajama pants instead of shorts here. I can’t find my pants though, and I—” Ranboo buried his face in his hands, muffling his next words, “— Good god, I just want to sleep… but just… not cold.”
Tubbo scoffed, rolling over from lying on his back to facing Ranboo’s side of the bed instead. “You’re so dramatic. They’re probably just in the wash. I’m sure you can survive one night without your precious pajama pants.”
Ranboo sighed, his arms flopping down beside him. “I mean, I guess…” he went silent for a few moments and then scoffed. “Whatever, I’ll suffer.” And with that said, Ranboo finally flopped onto the bed. He didn’t move for a solid minute, probably just forcing himself to unwind before he properly goes under the covers. When he finally did go under the covers, he let out a big sigh of relief.
Tubbo forgets how often Ranboo sighs. It’s fine, though. Tubbo doesn’t mind.
“Goodnight my beloved,” Tubbo cooed, leaning forward a bit so that he could take Ranboo’s face in his hands. Instead of softly caressing his husband’s face, Tubbo decided to squish his cheeks. Ranboo didn’t seem particularly phased or annoyed, he just attempted to smile and say good night back. Satisfied, Tubbo released the taller and then turned so that he was lying on his back.
Slowly, his eyes fluttered until they shut.
When his eyes opened again, it was because they sensed sunlight.
Ugh, oh god, Tubbo thought to himself miserably when he immediately noticed that it was very early morning (probably around 6 AM), I woke up to the sun again. Good lord.
Being a child soldier gave you those fun little quirks, Tubbo guessed. Slowly, he began to become more and more aware of his surroundings. And, wait, what was—
The sleepiness in Tubbo’s eyes disappeared in seconds when his focus snapped on the half and half Enderman basically cuddled into him. Wow, Tubbo did not expect to wake up to this. (Not that he’s complaining)
Ranboo was curling in on himself slightly, but he was leaning his head towards Tubbo’s shoulders, and his entire body and arms were also facing Tubbo. One of them was just casually limp, and the other was awfully close to Tubbo’s chest as if his hand was grabbing onto his shirt and had eventually let go. Just, in general, Ranboo was very close to Tubbo right now and it almost felt like cuddling.
When Ranboo shivered very lightly for a short moment, it hit Tubbo. Ranboo had probably drifted closer towards him overnight because Ranboo was cold from wearing shorts instead of his usual pants and Tubbo wasn’t.
Tubbo’s heart melted. Okay, wow, this just got a whole lot more endearing.
Instead of leaving Ranboo the way he is, Tubbo decided to experiment. Because who better to experiment on than your husband, hm?
Very slowly, as slowly as possible as to not to disturb and wake up Ranboo, Tubbo reached out and pulled in the upper half of Ranboo’s body in hopes that the bottom half of him (basically just his legs) would follow. When Tubbo pulled Ranboo in closely enough, Tubbo gently pushed down Ranboo’s head so that it was resting in the crook of his neck. Instead of further moving his husband around to make him more comfortable, Tubbo just moved his arms back and held Ranboo loosely as he waited to see how he would react to his new position.
In all honesty, Tubbo expected Ranboo to turn over or shuffle away, maybe even wake up.
But to Tubbo’s surprise, Ranboo let out a quiet enderman-like chirping noise and pulled himself closer to Tubbo, and made himself more comfortable. Endeared, Tubbo tightened his arms around his enderman, tucking his face into the top of his head and smiling into the soft half and half hair. Tubbo’s smile widened when he heard another chirping noise - this time muffled - that Ranboo always made whenever he felt comfortable or safe. He curled further into the goat hybrid and nuzzled Tubbo’s shoulder a little before sighing softly and going still.
Tubbo does not mind staying like this until Ranboo wakes up. He’s totally comfortable with where he is right now. All he’s hoping for is that Michael doesn’t decide to wake up early and ruin the tranquility that was currently in the room.
Slowly, Tubbo’s eyes slid shut.
“You know, I never took you as the cuddly type.”
Ranboo choked on his spit, eyes widening as he turned away from the stovetop that he was using to make lunch so he could cough into his arm and recover from his choking. In the other room playing with some toys, Michael squealed happily, oblivious to whatever was happening in the kitchen. Tubbo was sitting on a countertop Ranboo wasn’t using, head tilted slightly to the side with a small lopsided smile.
Ranboo finally got ahold of himself. “As the what?” He croaked out, turning over to give Tubbo a confused look. Instead of repeating himself, Tubbo kept talking.
“You’re a hybrid of, like, a sorta hostile mob so I assumed that you would have…” Tubbo paused, trying to figure out a way to word his thoughts correctly, “Well, I thought that you would be tenser with, like… everything, because hostile and semi-hostile mobs are programmed to react to things with hostility. I thought you experienced a super watered-down version of that?” Tubbo snickered. “I think I’m wrong, though. Maybe your other half is a cat hybrid so it takes over those instincts?”
Ranboo scrunched his face up and then rolled his eyes. “I am not a cat hybrid!” He scoffed, turning back to the seasoned eggs on the stove.
Tubbo tapped his chin in thought. “A dog hybrid, then? That would also make sense.”
“I’m not a dog hybrid either!”
Let’s get back on topic! Tubbo thought. “I mean, either way, you were clinging to me like a— a sloth, or something this morning.”
“I’m not a sloth hyb—” Ranboo froze, cutting himself and furrowing his brows, “wait, what? I was what?”
Tubbo raised a brow, tilting his head to the other side curiously. “Do you not remember? You were clinging and cuddling into me like there was no tomorrow this morning.”
Ranboo flushed slightly, purposely not looking up from the stove now. “Um, no, I don’t really remember what happens on slow mornings ‘n stuff…” the enderman hybrid went silent, brows furrowing in thought. “Um. I didn’t— I wasn’t bothering you or anything, was I?”
Tubbo’s eyes widened and he straightened his back a tiny bit. “Oh, oh no, of course not!” He reassured, “I kinda encouraged it myself, so. It’s totally fine.”
Ranboo glanced at Tubbo briefly as he turned around to grab some plates from some cabinets. “Encouraged it…?” Ranboo echoed quietly, a little lost. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Tubbo opened his mouth to explain, but he realized he was going to have to tell his husband that he basically experimented with him and his cuddling habits this morning while the enderman hybrid was cold and… in a seemingly cuddly mood. Instead of answering the question with that, Tubbo dodged it. Better yet, he simply ignored it entirely. “Do you wanna cuddle after lunch?” He hummed, “It’s raining outside of Snowchester and it’s snowing super heavily around here, so you’re stuck in here all day.”
Looking slightly flustered, Ranboo ignored Tubbo’s question by calling out for Michael to tell him that lunch was ready.
“My pajama pants are still gone!” Ranboo whined into the dark room, keeping his voice quiet so he wouldn’t disturb his sleeping child upstairs. Tubbo had put Michael to sleep a while ago and now all he was waiting for was for Ranboo to get into bed so all the candles can be blown out and he can go to sleep.
However, Tubbo couldn’t help the grin that made its way onto his face as he watched his husband frantically check all the drawers in their room. You see, Tubbo had found Ranboo’s PJ pants when he was doing the laundry that had been left in the drier last night. He had originally planned to alert his husband about it but had decided against it when an idea came to mind.
“Aw, that sucks,” Tubbo frowned, turning over and looking at his husband, who was wearing his pajama shorts and not looking happy about it. “That means you’ll be cold again tonight.”
“Where are the spare blankets?”
“With Michael, in his bed.”
Ranboo groaned, throwing his head back. He knew he couldn’t take the blankets his kid was using. “You have to be kidding!” Ranboo whined. “I don’t want to spend another night cold!”
My plan is working! Tubbo grinned, but quickly hid it and replaced it with a neutral expression. “Well… not necessarily.”
Ranboo slowly lifted his head up and looked over at Tubbo cautiously. “What do you mean?” He asked slowly.
Do we do this the slow, smart way or the fast and blunt way? Tubbo thought to himself. Eh, he was tired. I’ll do it the fast way, I wanna get to sleep.
“If you cuddle me, I can keep you warm all night,” Tubbo finally said. He couldn’t help but grin at Ranboo’s flustered sputtering.
“You’re so— Why— What is with you and wanting to cuddle today?!”
Tubbo hummed and it dissolved into a soft giggle. He thought back to this morning when Ranboo was cuddling into him. “Hm, dunno. Anyway, wanna try it out?” Ranboo was silent, and the single candle that was across the room was not enough for Tubbo to see Ranboo’s current expression.
When Ranboo’s silence began to stretch on for longer than Tubbo liked, Tubbo rushed out a “we don’t need to if you’re not comfortable with it, obviously.”
Ranboo’s back straightened as if he had snapped out of a daze. “What? Wait, what? No, no, I just—” Ranboo sighed, cutting himself off. “I’ve never, like… agreed to cuddle anybody. It’s not really something I’ve been able to do with people. At least, from what I remember.”
Tubbo smiled warmly, opening one of his arms slightly, a silent invitation for Ranboo. “That’s fine, I have plenty of experience from Tommy. We’re both cuddle monsters.” When Ranboo didn’t immediately settle into the bed, Tubbo shook his arm and gave Ranboo a look. “Are you sleeping standing up or what? Get in here!”
Again, Ranboo snapped out of whatever daze he was in and began making his way to the bed. “S-Sorry, I just… Tommy? A cuddle monster?” He asked, sitting on the bed and giving Tubbo a disbelieving look.
“You’d be surprised,” Tubbo snickered. He stretched out his arm further, trying to reach out and grab Ranboo and pull him in. “Now please lie down! I want to sleep now. I’m sleepy.”
“Sorry,” He mumbled, but didn’t move from his spot. He had his brow furrowed in confusion. “I just… you just want me to lie down? How would tha— Woah!” Ranboo made a noise of shock when Tubbo grabbed Ranboo’s sleeve and tugged him down roughly onto the bed. After he landed, the Enderman bounced up and down on the mattress a few times from the force of the pull. He was staring wide-eyed up at the ceiling.
“I forget how strong you are sometimes,” He whispered. He didn’t say it like it was a bad thing, though. Tubbo grinned a little, looking a little smug and a little proud of himself. “Just hybrid perks,” He hummed. Then, he opened his arms again, a silent invitation.
Ranboo looked over and stared for a few seconds, seemingly debating something. Eventually, whatever was happening in his head came to a conclusion and he finally moved into Tubbo’s arms.
Tubbo hid his giddy grin by pulling Ranboo in and holding him the same way he had this morning but in a much more comfortable way. He had a feeling that Ranboo didn’t really know what to do, so Tubbo decided to just take the lead and… hold him. Really close.
Ranboo made a small Enderman noise, one Tubbo knew that was a happy sound, resting his head in the crook of Tubbo’s next and curling up slightly. When Tubbo brought up a hand to stroke through Ranboo’s hair, Ranboo made a quiet chittering noise that Tubbo didn’t even know he could make. Silently, Tubbo lay there with an Enderman in his arms and smiled when he felt a thin tail with a fuzzy end wrap around his ankle.
Slowly, Tubbo fell asleep, the small sounds from the other hybrid making everything cozy and warm.