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"Will you marry me?"
Tubbo stared blankly at his husband, who was currently kneeling beside him on one knee, his typically shaky hands surprisingly still, holding out a box which held a beautiful ring topped with a pearlescent stone. They had been nearly finished with a late night meal on the balcony of their mansion, lit by the bright full moon hanging in the sky alongside flickers of nearby torches. The ram hybrid's brows furrowed, reaching out to clasp his hands around Ranboo's as he leaned in.
"Are you alright, Ranboo? You didn't tell me you were having memory lapses this big again, we need to do something, maybe Phil can-"
"Tubbo, Tubbo, I'm fine!" The enderman laughed brightly, his smile widening a bit as he stared up at his husband with amusement. "I remember we're married, I promise. But... When we first got married, it was under much different circumstances. We were doing it for tax reasons, and we just signed a paper in Church Prime. But now, I'd like the opportunity to properly marry you. To dedicate my love, and my life to you and our family in front of all our friends. If you'll let me."
The brunette let out a little huff, blinking hard to avoid crying, his eyes focusing back on the ring instead of Ranboo's face.
"Well, I guess I can't say no to that, can I?"
It's tight. That's the first thought that passes Tubbo's mind as he buttons the collar to his white button down. Unnaturally tight, given that the shirt is at least one size too big for him since it's one of Eret's hand-me-downs. He ignores it, staring hard at his reflection in the mirror as he deftly buttons the cuffs, a long forgotten habit that clicks back into motion in an instant. He's back there, a green tie hung around his neck and the smell of tobacco creeping into his nose. Tubbo jolts in place and he's returned to reality; no tie, no tobacco smell, no Manburg.
"Doing alright, Tubbo?" Eret calls out from the other room, the royal had been so kind as to offer Tubbo one of his old suits to wear for his wedding. Ever since they’d sent out invitations, it seemed like someone new reached out with an offer to help with the wedding every other day. If he did find a suit here it would be a bit long, but Eret was versed well enough in tailoring that she could easily fix the hems for him if he found one he liked. The ram's mouth feels heavy, and it takes him a moment before he remembers how to speak.
"I'm okay!" He assures them, though the pale reflection staring back at him makes him want to consider otherwise. "Trying on the gray one now." As promised, he reaches for the first pile of cloth to the left of him, grabbing gray slacks and pulling them on. He breaks eye contact with himself to look at the slacks in the mirror, carefully tucking in the tails of his button down.
Next comes the tie. There's a navy blue tie waiting for him, the fabric sleek and uncomfortably familiar in his hands. He ties it slowly, sounding out the steps in his head. It takes him to the final pull through to realize the voice he's imagining isn't his own. Schlatt taught him how to tie a tie, the older ram did it for him the first week he was in office because he kept getting annoyed at Tubbo's shoddy attempt. The afternoon after Schlatt taught him how, his 'assignment' was to get it down pat. He'd tied and untied the same emerald green tie for 4 hours straight.
He was an expert now, though he thinks maybe he's tightened it too much, with how hard he's working to breathe. He loops a finger in and loosens it, but the tightness in his throat doesn't dissipate. Tubbo focuses on the suit jacket instead, grabbing the gray fabric and slipping it on, one arm then the other. It's not too bad, he decides, when he looks in the mirror. He's certainly looked worse.
The sick feeling in the pit of his stomach lurches, and he finds himself yanking the jacket off before he's even realized he's doing it. It's in a pile on the floor, and he wildly pulls at the tie until it's loose enough to pull over his head, trying not to scream when it catches on a horn and he has to calm himself down enough to untangle it. The slacks follow suit and then he's back to just the buttondown and his boxers, but the tightness around his throat is still there. The suffocating feeling of the jacket still sends shivers down his arms. Despite this he turns to look at the other suit Eret had laid out for him to try on, feeling breathless as he notes how familiar it is.
Black. Jet black, and shiny, with sharp-looking lapels and slacks to match. It's not Schlatt's, of course, the man was buried in his. But it's similar enough to set off sirens in Tubbo's head that are loud enough to muffle whatever Eret had just called out to him. It's nothing that apparently warranted a reply because she doesn't repeat herself, and now Tubbo's got nothing to distract him from his task.
He puts the slacks on first, ignoring the way his stomach swoops, his eyes boring a hole into the floor as he pointedly ignores the mirror in front of him. He doesn't see a tie, so he grabs the suit jacket. The fabric texture is enough to make him want to burn it but he ignores that too. It slips on easily, fits better than the gray one. Before he can take a breath and look at himself a shock of color catches his eye and he realizes there's a tie left on the bench. A bright red tie.
Tubbo's head turns away from it immediately, glancing at his reflection in the process and he can't hold back the scream that bursts out. His horns are bigger, curved more than he remembers. His hair is different too, shorter, darker, and it's not just on the top of his head anymore. The figure in the mirror is practically towering over him and it's only when he notices the height that it hits him. It's not him he sees looking back. It's Schlatt.
His vision goes dark, he drops to the floor and curls in on himself, another scream ripping out of his throat as the ram hybrid clutches at his horns. His hands are shaking, prying at them desperately. "Get them off, get them off, please," Tubbo doesn't even recognize that he's speaking, the words repeating like a mantra through hiccups and gasped breaths as he pulls harder at the horns. His words get louder and louder until he's screaming them, and he doesn't stop until Eret's arms encircle him.
"Breathe Tubbo, close your eyes and breathe with me." Tubbo's eyes scrunch shut and it takes him a bit but slowly his breath evens out, and the screaming ceases. He can't unclench his hands yet but Eret works around it, kneeling next to him and rubbing his back slowly. It's a painfully familiar feeling, and it takes Tubbo calming down more to remember how Eret used to rub his back like this when he'd get in arguments with Tommy when L'Manburg first declared independence.
The ram stays still for a while longer, at some point he feels Eret's soft hands gently slipping under his own and separating him from his horns. He lets them. Finally he lifts his head, and notices for the first time that he's been crying, Eret's form is blurry and wobbly as he tries to focus on the royal. "Oh Tubbo," they murmur softly, those gentle hands moving to wipe away Tubbo's tears. Tubbo tries not to notice the guilt-stricken face they're pulling, he certainly doesn't blame Eret for his freak out.
"I... I don't know why that happened. I see suits every day, and I never felt like this."
"It's one thing to see them on people you love, but I think wearing one yourself... Should we get changed again? I can bring you something completely different to help take you away from these thoughts."
Tubbo nods, and Eret gently helps him sit up. She pulls the jacket off him and is up in a flash grabbing the other suit set and the tie he'd left on the bench. "You get out of those and I'll be right back with something else." With that he hurries out of the room, arms full of clothing Tubbo hopes will never see the light of day again. The ram slowly undresses, his hands shaking so hard he can hardly maneuver them and he ends up just ripping the button down shirt off, relishing in the small amount of relief the pinging sounds of the buttons flying off gave him as they fell to the floor.
He kicks the remnants of the shirt, along with the pants towards the door, continuing to face pointedly away from the mirror. Eret called out for him to come to the door and he shuffled over, jolting in surprise when it opened and a hand popped through with a mass of white puffy fabric. Tubbo takes it, trying to decipher what exactly he's holding, and Eret pulls the rest of the suit mess out of the door and shuts it behind them.
Letting it unravel, Tubbo can't hold back a little snort as he realizes what he's looking at now. It's a dress. It's white, and poofy, and he thinks this fabric is lace? He doesn't have much experience with dresses, aside from ones he's seen Niki and Eret in. It's certainly different. Carefully, he pulls it over his head, making sure not to catch the delicate fabric on his horns. He slips his arms through, relief flooding him at how loose the sleeves are. Nothing is tight, or suffocating, even with a higher collar than the suit had, he felt so much better in this.
With a measured breath, he turns and looks in the mirror. He's staring back at himself again, it's just him, and this flowy white dress. Tubbo walks over, getting a better look and turning a bit, smiling a little as the hem lifts slightly when he spins, catching air. He glances at his face before tilting his head down to avoid it again, this time deterred by the faint tear stains he could see still there. Still, this was nothing like the suit, nothing like Manburg. Nothing like Schlatt.
"Doing okay, Tubbo?" Eret's voice is decidedly calm, but Tubbo can tell that she's right by the door, ready to rush in if needed.
"Yeah, you can come in." He calls back, coughing slightly at the rasp in his voice. Eret takes the invitation, stepping inside and smiling kindly at him, their eyes taking in Tubbo and their shoulders visibly drooping in relief when she realizes he's back to himself. "I kind of feel like I'm wearing a cloud." The ram twisted his body back and forth, watching the hem twirl after him.
"It's called a prairie dress! It's a very popular modest style, I thought it'd be a good change to what you were wearing before. Help get you out of that mindset a bit faster."
"I like how swishy it is. And how my legs are free. Reminds me of when I wear Ranboo's shirts to bed. Comfy." Eret hummed in reply, watching as Tubbo continued to move about, watching his reflection and how the dress swayed and twirled with him.
"Tubbo, how would you feel about wearing something like this for the wedding?"
The boy froze, eyes going wide as he turned his head to stare at Eret directly. "That's an option?! I thought I had to... to wear a suit. Like Ranboo will." The royal smiled brightly, stepping closer and putting a hand on one of Tubbo's shoulders.
"Tubbo I assure you, Ranboo would be delighted to marry you in whatever you'd like to wear. It doesn't even have to be black or white! Would you like to go through my dress collection and see if any catch your eye?"
A thoughtful hmm was the initial reply, the ram glancing at his reflection once more before looking at Eret again. "Does that mean I'd have to give this dress back?" His query was soft, and the unspoken request was clear. Eret chuckled, shaking his head and gently ruffling Tubbo's hair before taking his hand to lead him to the dresses.
They have the ceremony in their back garden. Foolish helps them set up, even builds them a beautiful arch that Niki and Puffy decorate with flowers for them to stand under. Almost the entire server ends up attending, save a few stragglers they never heard back from like the boomers, and Techno. Bad's standing at the altar, having offered to do the ceremony since he was already ordained. The egg chaos is far behind him, and neither Tubbo or Ranboo ever had much of a problem with him anyway.
Ranboo is standing there too, stiff as a board, his eyes anxiously scanning the crowd to keep himself distracted. Tubbo had confided in him that he wasn't planning to wear a suit the moment he got home from Eret's weeks ago with bags full of puffy fabric. The enderman didn't care in the slightest, he'd marry Tubbo in anything, anywhere. He decided to stick with a suit personally, but he did accept Niki's offer to design a special one for the occasion.
They decided on a deep navy suit with a faint blue grid pattern, and a black vest and tie that was covered in beautiful intricate gold patterns that shined when he caught the light just right. He'd even swapped out his typical crown for a thinner, more delicate design which matched the shade of gold. Ranboo swayed on his feet anxiously, glancing at the door every so often as the anticipation built up inside him. It takes him a moment to pick out Michael, who's sitting on Phil's lap, waving at his father. The enderman's nerves settle for a moment, and he returns the wave with a small smile.
Inside the mansion Tommy was pacing outside the couple's bedroom, 3 minutes deep into a rant he was directing at Tubbo who was on the other side of the door.
"I'm just saying Tubbs, are you really sure you want ME to do this? I could trip when we're walking, or step on your toes, I mean Phil's right there it's not like I'm the only option." The blonde was walking in a frantic circle, his hands clasped tightly together behind his back. When Tubbo had asked Tommy to walk him down the aisle, he'd agreed without any hesitation. Now the time had come, and his nerves were high. The last thing he wanted to do was mess up Tubbo's special day, but the ram didn't seem to care despite Tommy's lengthy explanations on why it was a bad idea.
He looked a state, frantic in his slate gray suit, one could almost mistake him for a nervous groom himself. Tubbo had to argue with him to even get him to wear it, Tommy initially refused to ever wear a suit again after Tubbo told him about what happened at Eret's. But the ram insisted seeing others in suits was okay, he just couldn't wear one himself anymore, and Tommy ultimately wanted the other boy to be happy so he relented. Tubbo even picked out his tie, a soft blue that matched Tommy's eyes.
"Seriously, Tubbo! I could ruin everything, I can feel-" Tommy was stopped short by the door suddenly opening, making him jump to a halt as he turned toward it. And there he was. Tubbo was practically glowing, his typical bedhead tamed into careful swooping curls that no longer hid his eyes. He had dainty yellow flowers pinned all over his head, small bunches of them by the top of his horns.
But the real masterpiece was his dress. The collar was made up of loose gold beading and thread, his collarbones exposed through the gaps, his shoulder scarring almost unnoticeable when covered with the intricate beadwork. The beads connected to the main part of the dress, a pale yellow tulle A-line gown that reached the floor. A gold satin band cinched his waist, tied into a ribbon in front of him. The sleeves were elbow-length, layers upon layers of the yellow tulle draped carefully, connected to the beading on his shoulders and adding to its elegance.
Tommy had no words. This was a form of Tubbo he'd never seen before. He couldn't remember the last time the boy had seemed so happy in his own skin, surely it had been before L'Manburg existed. He was ethereal, like someone had found a way to transform the sun into a person. He was blinding. He was beautiful. "You done whining now? Ready to walk me down the aisle?" Tubbo grinned brightly at his best friend, who couldn't help but let out a burst of laughter before offering his arm.
When the piano starts Ranboo practically jumps out of his skin. He'd been so focused on Michael in the crowd he forgot they'd set it up so Ghostbur would play Tubbo in with the upright piano that they kept by the door to the gardens. It was quiet at first, but the full sound carried through in an instant when Fundy and Foolish opened the doors. They'd opted for no wedding party, so Ranboo knew it was only a matter of seconds before Tubbo would be there, and he could finally settle his nerves.
With a beautiful flourish of the keys, Ghostbur began playing full force, and there he was. Tubbo and Tommy stepped into view, their arms linked, the blonde slouching a bit for Tubbo's comfort. Ranboo felt breathless. His body felt warm, like he was sitting in the sun on a hot day, though in reality it was a cloudy spring morning. Tubbo was radiant.
The pair slowly made their way down the aisle, Ranboo's eyes never leaving Tubbo. As they reach the altar, Tommy stiffens, pulling a serious face as Tubbo smiles and rolls his eyes with amusement. Bad clears his throat, smiling kindly at the trio in front of him, a book in his hands.
"Tommy, do you bless Tubbo in his marriage to Ranboo today?"
"I do." Tommy says with a nod, and Ranboo suddenly remembers that's his cue, and steps closer. Tommy opens up his arms, the enderman hybrid leaning down for a hug and freezing when Tommy holds him in place. "You ever upset him and you'll be hearing from me, alright?" The blond mutters to him before letting go, seemingly satisfied at the hurried nodding Ranboo does in response.
Tommy then turned back to Tubbo, leaning down and hugging him tightly, whispering something to him that made the ram giggle. They parted after a moment more, Tommy taking his seat near the front. Tubbo smiles brightly at Ranboo, holding out his hands. "Still sure you wanna marry me, bossman?"
Ranboo chuckles, taking Tubbo's hands in his own, and squeezing them gently.
"Sure as ever.”