Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ranboo felt kind of bad for not talking to any of the others about his plan.

After Tommy’s exile, he had been trading letters with the blonde and he had tried visiting when he had the time. He’d seemed fine at first, maybe a little out of it, but that’s to be expected when you’ve been exiled away from your home because of a stupid prank . Still, he hated that Tommy had to go through it on his own while he had been involved in the incident as well and so he visited and wrote in an attempt to make things easier for his friend ( Was he allowed to call him a friend? He didn’t know. He didn’t know a lot these days. ).

He’s been trying to visit more often, but has found it hard when he sees Dream lingering in the area constantly, always around Tommy. It was weird how he’d go to visit and would see the two laughing like they were old friends, yet Tommy always looked so... distant .

Like he wasn’t truly there, not mentally at least.

Then he stopped returning messages.

So, after not getting a single message from his friend for over a week, he figured something was off and decided he needed to approach Ghostbur.

It was late and the other citizens of L'manburg were either asleep or turned into their homes for the night. Things have been testy with Quackity these days and most people wanted to avoid getting on the duck hybrid’s bad side, so they stayed off the streets at night, a time he’d often walk around town for time to himself. It was easier to avoid conflict with the man if they just didn’t come across him, or at least that’s what Fundy told him.

Ranboo, however, knew he’d seen Ghostbur on the docks when preparing to turn in for the night and decided to approach while he still could before the spirit took off to see Tommy the next morning. From what he could tell, Quackity wasn’t in this area of the town, so he should be able to talk to Ghostbur without being spotted by his fellow cabinet member ( who acted more like he was the president even though Tubbo was, but he would never point that out ).

Slipping from his home, his gaze flickers to Phil’s cabin for a brief moment before he turns back to the docks. He’d contemplated telling the older man about his plan, but he didn’t want to drag him into anything in case it went south. Who knew what Dream would do if he found it? He’s never truly met the man, but from what he’s heard about him, he’s dangerous .

Besides, he would be fine. They would be fine.

Walking to the docks, the feeling of wood beneath his paws was still something he was getting used to. He’s used to stone floors or grass, not the hardwood of the harbor and cabins, but he wouldn’t complain . It was better than small rocks getting between his toes or stuck in the short fur covering the lower halves of his legs ( even if splinters sucked to get in his pads ). The cool night air is pleasant and feels like home, even though he doesn’t truly know where home is, but it’s nice nonetheless. He always did prefer cooler climates, especially with how cold his body naturally was already, but he knew he needed to be careful lest he risk getting sick.

Even if he was naturally cold, it didn't mean the cold didn’t do harm to his body if he was exposed too much.

“Ranboo!” Ghostbur’s voice snaps the enderman hybrid from his thoughts and he jumps, spinning around to face the spirit. He was still getting used to seeing a man float , but it made sense since said man was, well...dead.

“Hey, Ghostbur,” he returns, smiling slightly. He liked the ghost, his presence was nice and he seemed to like Ranboo’s as well, so it was a win-win. “I was actually looking for you!”

That seems to make the spirit perk up, the ever-present smile growing into a grin as Ghostbur floats further into his space, circling the poor teen.

“Oh! People don’t do that often!!” He chirps, transparent wings fluttering behind him.

Ranboo chuckles dryly and tries to ignore the implications of those works.

“Yeah, well, I actually had a question for you,” he starts, shifting in place. Ghostbur stares at him expectantly and he thanks the gods the spirit’s piercing gaze doesn’t make his skin crawl like everyone else’s does. “Do you...know when Dream goes to see Tommy most days?”

“Oh!” Ghostbur exclaims, quickly moving so he’s standing on the dock in front of Ranboo. “Of course! I even go with him sometimes!” 

Well, that certainly makes things easier.

“Oh, that’s great!” Ranboo chirps back, tails swaying behind him in an attempt to keep the easy air of their conversation. “Then can I ask you a favor?” Ghostbur quickly nods in response and he feels a wave of relief wash over him, truly grateful for how trusting the spirit was of those around him. It was definitely a flaw that could be used against the man and he knew that it was cruel to be one of the people who do use it against him, but, well, he needed to help Tommy.

Tommy saved him and he wanted to do the same for Tommy if he needed it.

“Can you take me to Logstedshire around the exact time Dream goes to visit Tommy? Tomorrow, preferably, but we can work with your schedule if you can’t.” The words are rushed, but he’s relieved that he managed them despite the nerves buzzing beneath his skin. If Ghostbur said no, his plans would go belly-up and he wasn’t sure if that would be good for him or Tommy.

Ghostbur stares at the enderman for a moment, head tilted as he examines the teen. He’s really glad the spirit’s gaze doesn’t make his brain grow fuzzy in moments like this, Ghostbur seems to like to stare a lot.

“Alright!” Ghostbur finally speaks up, a grin breaking out across his face. Ranboo can’t stop the relieved breath that leaves him, shoulders slumping slightly, and offers him a genuine smile.

“Thank you, Ghostbur. I’ll meet you at the nether portal in the morning, okay?” He suggests, holding out a hand. The ghost nods excitedly, taking his hand, and if that wasn’t a weird feeling, the blue smeared across his skin definitely was.

“Be there before six!!”

Ranboo nods with a smile and waves his goodbye to Ghostbur, watching as the spirit dissipates into nothing right in front of him, probably going somewhere else in L’manburg. Turning back to his house, he takes in a deep breath and steels his nerves.

He was going to help Tommy, no matter what happened to him.

He was going to help his friend .

“Where are you going this early in the morning, mate?”

Phil’s voice makes the teen jump, tails lashing with his surprise, and the older man has to jump back with a laugh to avoid being hit by them. Spinning on his feet, he’s surprised to see the avian standing in his doorway, an amused grin quirking his lips upwards. Swallowing thickly, he fidgets with the strap of the bag he’d thrown over his shoulder, shifting in place.

“Just...going on a little trip, y’know? Going on an adventure, you could say, like...like an adventurer ..?” His excuse lilts up into more of a questioning tone despite himself and he inwardly curses at the raised brow directed towards him, ears drooping slightly. He was never good at lying when it came to his friends. Strangers? Oh yeah, he could lie to them! But his friends? It felt like he was stepping on pins and needles when lying to them.

Phil takes in his appearance, gaze going from the black cloak draped over his shoulders down to the bandages wrapped around the lower half of his legs and his paws. His gaze is heavy and it makes his skin crawl, though not in the way other peoples’ gaze would with discomfort flooding every fiber of his being. Instead, his nerves buzz beneath his skin and he contemplates darting off so he wouldn’t have to be picked apart by his friend any longer while also preening inwardly at the apparent concern the other man held for him.

After a moment, the avian sighs and moves to one of Ranboo’s windows, opening it to stick his head out. The whistling sound he makes is shrill and it makes Ranboo hike his shoulders up towards his ears, tails curling around his legs tightly. He didn’t like shrill noises, they made his ears ring in an unpleasant way.

“Ranboo,” Phil speaks up and he looks to him. He’s surprised to see a crow perched on his friend’s arm, the bird’s gaze snapping around the room quickly as though it were examining things. “I don’t know what you’re doing, kid,” he starts and Ranboo feels his stomach drop.

Phil was going to stop him. He wasn’t going to let him leave and he wasn’t going to be able to help Tommy and he wouldn’t be able to help his friend and Tommy would be all alone and he could do nothing about it and he needed to run and-

“ Ranboo , calm down.” Phil’s voice is closer now and he looks up to see the man hovering to his right, his free hand a heavy, grounding weight on his shoulder. A weak warble rumbles from his throat and leans into the gentle touch, ears drooping slightly as he tries to focus on it. Slowly he comes back down and, taking in a deep breath, he slowly lets it out, offering the man a hesitant smile. “You back with me?”

A shaky nod.

“Okay...Now, as I was saying,” he continues, “I don’t know what you’re doing, but take them with you, they can be pretty useful for traveling.” Phil motions to the crow on his arm and Ranboo slowly looks at it, meeting the bird’s beady gaze. It lets out a loud caw and he flinches slightly, ears twitching unpleasantly.

“Why..are you giving me a bird?” He asks, voice quiet. Phil sighs and looks the boy over once more before looking to his face, being careful to not look him in the eyes.

“Well, from the looks of it, you’re not going to be coming back for a while-” Ranboo inhales sharply. “-and if you can’t use your communicator to contact me, you can use them. I’ve used them for sending letters before and they’re very smart when it comes to finding people. They’re also one of the...fastest, I suppose you could say, crows that follow me, so they’ll be able to get letters back and forth quickly.”

Ranboo...didn’t understand. Phil had no idea what he was doing and was assuming he was leaving ( even if it was true, it was still an assumption ), so he was just...giving him a bird? He knew the man often shared letters with Technoblade that way, but why was he giving a bird to him ? They’ve only known one another for a month or so and yet he was trying to help him, it didn’t make sense!

It seems his confusion was clear as Phil lets out a quiet chuckle and reaches a hand out to the teen, taking his much larger hand into his own. “Kid, just take the crow.”

He doesn’t even get to respond as the crow flutters from its person's arm onto his shoulder. Looking at it, he cautiously raises a hand to run his finger across the crow's chest.

"Hello..?"

The crow caws in his ear.

A loud, warbled whine rips from his throat at the loud noise and Phil can’t help but cackle, an arm curling around his stomach as the bird flutters its wings happily. Ranboo huffs at the two and crosses his arms, bottom lip jutting out into a pout.

“Rude,” he murmurs, only earning more laughter from the man and a mocking sound from the crow that almost sounded like laughter as well. It’s odd, hearing a bird laugh in his ear, but he can’t help but smile slightly despite it. Raising his hand once more, he runs his finger across the crow’s chest and it preens, its body fluffing slightly as it leaned into his touch. “Does it have a name?” He finds himself asking, looking to Phil.

Phil’s laughter dies down to a gentle chuckle and he hums, raising a hand as well to gently pet his crow’s head.

“I usually just call them Twitch and they seem to like it,” he explains, smiling fondly as the bird, now known as Twitch, leans into his touch.

Ranboo hums softly and nods, looking to Twitch and allowing himself to smile as well. Phil had been so kind to him since he got here and he found himself wanting to return the man’s kindness. He gently nudges Twitch with his head and they caw, wings fluffing in mock offense as they look to their temporary person. The ender hybrid chuckles softly and motions his head towards Phil, which seems to get the message across as they hop from his shoulder to the avian’s head.

A startled squawk leaves the blonde and he stammers in confusion, gently plucking the bird from his hat.

“What are you doing?” He murmurs, holding Twitch in front of his face in a hold so gentle. They just caw and allow themself to be held, pleased to be getting attention, no matter how they got it.

Ranboo has to hold back a laugh at the sight and quickly moves towards one of his chests, rummaging through it. He had a lot despite his short time on the server and so he was sure he had something he could give the man in return for helping him despite not knowing what he’s doing. He can distantly hear Phil murmuring to the crow and can hear more birds beginning to move about outside, letting him know his time was limited.

He’s beginning to rush when his fingers brush something smooth and cold, a spark of energy jolting up his arm in a familiar way. Gently prying it out, he finds it to be a totem that had managed to avoid his gaze, having been stuffed beneath a white cloak he wouldn’t be needing anymore and one of his meticulously crafted daggers he’d made before he even came to the server. It had been a ‘just-in-case’ weapon for if he lost his sword or axe during battle in the arena. He had two of them and one of them was already strapped to his belt, so the one nestled in the box was an extra he doesn’t quite remember making.

Looking between the cloak, the dagger, and the totem, he finds himself smiling and takes them all out, carefully wrapping the revival item and the sheathed blade in the soft wool.

“Phil,” he calls out, gaining the man’s attention. Phil looks up from Twitch to respond, only to pause when he sees the bundle being offered to him.

“What’s that, mate?” He asks, releasing Twitch so they can return to Ranboo’s shoulder. The bundle is shoved into his hands and he stammers quietly, brows furrowed in clear confusion. “Ranboo-”

“Consider it a thank you,” Ranboo interrupts with a smile, “You’ve been good to me and I think those things could be useful for you.” Phil stares up at the teen for a moment before he chuckles, quiet and disbelieving. It makes Ranboo smile, and he goes to continue, when Phil lifts an edge of the cloak, making him snap a hand out to gently grab his wrist. 

“Wait until you’re in your home to open it. Something in there is valuable and I don’t want anyone stealing it from you,” he explains in a low voice, heterochromic eyes darting around for prying ears.

Phil stares up at him for a moment before sighing and nodding, sliding his wrist from the enderman’s grip so he could hold his hand instead. “Will do, kid.”

The gentle squeeze to Ranboo’s hand fills the teen’s chest with warmth and he ducks his head down so Phil wouldn’t see the pleased grin that spread across his face. He was so kind to the mob hybrid and he couldn’t stop the way his instincts screamed about Phil being a part of his haunting, something that had been happening fairly often around the avian and, more often these days, Tubbo.

If he didn’t go soon, it would get really hard to leave his haunting, no matter how temporary it may be.

“Take care of yourself, Phil, and look out for Tubbo for me, alright? He’s been...off, lately, I think Quackity has been getting to him.” He squeezes the other’s smaller hand and lets go, taking hold of the strap to his pack instead to keep himself from reaching out again.

Phil nods, a small, almost sad thing, and steps to the side so Ranboo could walk out the door. “I will, Ranboo. Let’s just hope Tubbo actually listens to me if I point out if something is wrong..”

The air feels heavy at that and Ranboo frowns slightly, looking down for a moment. Tubbo was stubborn, as he has learned, but he also trusted his friends to a fault. From what he knew, though, Tubbo and Quackity had been very close in the past, but it was hard to tell sometimes with how the duck hybrid pushed the president around. It worries Ranboo, but...well, he knows Tubbo wouldn’t come with him. Anytime leaving is brought up, it’s immediately turned down by the ram hybrid and the subject is changed, as if the idea of leaving the corrupt country made the boy sick . He hopes and prays to the gods that Tubbo considers Phil more of a friend than he does Quackity at this point, but he doesn’t know .

It makes Ranboo’s stomach twist and he looks back to Phil, tightening his hold on his bag.

“Do whatever you can to make him believe you, then,” he states.

Phil meets his gaze and, for once, he looks into bright blue eyes, the determination in them relaxing some of his nerves. A part of him hates the eye contact, screams to look away, and yet the other part of him preens, pleased to be able to look his haunting in the eyes finally , even if it was before he left.

“I’ll do everything I can.”

Ghostbur is floating circles around the nether portal when Ranboo arrives.

He doesn’t want to wake up any of the others by calling out to the spirit, so he instead sends Twitch ahead to get his attention, which the crow seems excited to do. They caw and circle around Ghostbur, gaining the cheery man’s attention and pulling a thrilled laugh from him.

“Twitch!” He chirps, blue dyed hands reaching out so the bird could land in his palms. “What are you doing here, friend? Did Phil send you?” He coos, bumping his nose against their beak.

Twitch pulls their head back so they can caw and look in the enderman’s direction, Ghostbur quickly following their gaze. If emotions could be seen within the deep blue pools that made up the entirety of the ghost’s eyes, he’s sure the man would look thrilled at the sight of him, though the rest of his expression surely makes up for it with the way he grins. It fills his chest with a fond warmth and he chuckles, speeding his walk up to a jog so he could quickly reach his friend.

“Hello, Ghostbur,” he hums, tilting his head to the side so Twitch could return to their perch on his shoulder. Distantly he notes that the blue dye is certainly getting on his cloak, but the thing is black, so he really doesn’t care that much. “Ready to go?”

“I am!” He responds immediately, floating towards Ranboo so he could grab the teen’s hand and tug him towards the portal. “Come on! You’re late, Dream will be visiting Tommy soon and we’ll miss him if we don’t go now!”

Ranboo’s laugh is hollow to his own ears at the mention of Dream, but he allows himself to be pulled forward, ignoring the blue dye staining his stark white skin. If it keeps Ghostbur happy, he can deal with having to scrub at dye for a day or two, he didn’t like seeing the spirit deflate when he pulled away.

“Yeah, sorry about that, Phil stopped me on my way out,” he explains, body shuddering as heat washes over him. “That’s why I have Twitch, he told me to bring them with me.”

Ghostbur hums, eyes glued forward for once as he led the teen down paths towards Logstedshire. In reality, Ranboo knew the way to the location of Tommy’s exile ‘home’ very well, but the avian seemed pleased to lead the way, so he gave it to him. He knew it’d probably be faster to just walk ahead, but in all honesty, he preferred it this way. It was still early, after all, and he was tired after the emotional ( Only on his end, he’s sure ) interaction with Phil, so he prefers not being in the lead so he can recharge his emotional battery.

Ranboo tunes back in to Ghostbur talking animatedly, the hand not holding his own waving frantically in front of him.

“-kfast!! Tommy deserves a nice meal, I think, and I think he’d like eating with all of us!”

“All of us?” He asks, trying to get context on what the spirit was talking about. Ghostbur shoots him a playful glare for not listening, squeezing his hand once before looking ahead once more.

“Yeah! You, me, Tommy, and Dream!”

Right. Dream . The sour taste is back in his mouth.

“Does Dream have to be there?” He murmurs, distaste clear in his tone. He doesn’t like the masked man, especially after everything he’s heard, and he’d rather avoid being around him as much as possible, especially when he’s about to try to break Tommy out of exile and get him away from there.

Ghostbur huffs, speeding up slightly when a familiar sign comes into view. “Of course! Dream has to approve it, anyways, and he’d be mad if he wasn’t invited after giving us permission to do it!”

The sour taste in his mouth grows bitter.

“Dream shouldn’t have to give permission for Tommy to have breakfast with his friend,” he murmurs, a slight hiss to his voice. Ghostbur slows near the portal and turns to Ranboo, causing the teen to freeze.

The spirit’s expression is serious, unlike his normal grin, and it sends a shiver down his spine.

“Be careful of Dream, Ranboo,” he murmurs, normally cheerful voice now low in warning, “He gets angry when people go against him. He’s already killed one person, Tommy wouldn’t like it if he killed you, too.”

Ranboo feels sick at this information. Dream had killed someone because they got Tommy to go against his rules? That was sick ! He was trying to...to control him?! Where did he get the nerve ?! He feels Twitch press closer to his neck in an attempt to calm his anger, but he finds it hard to calm the fury burning in his chest.

Ghostbur squeezes his hand and he looks up from the netherrack, meeting blue eyes.

“ Be careful, Ranboo, ” he warns one last time before any trace of his serious expression vanishes, replaced by a wide grin. It’s like a switch had been flipped and it takes Ranboo a moment to realize he’s being pulled towards the portal once more, Ghostbur chattering excitedly.

“Tommy never gets visitors, so he’s gonna be so excited to see you!! He gets excited to see me and no one ever gets excited to see me, so I’m sure he’ll be excited to see you!” He rambles, wings fluttering happily.

Ranboo doesn’t like how quickly the spirit goes from serious to not even knowing it happened.

Stepping through the portal, he’s immediately looking around for any sign of life. It’s quiet, too quiet, and a part of the enderman wonders where all of the animals have disappeared to. He can’t even hear birds, the only sound being the distant one of water lapping against the shore in a slow, repeated motion.

Ghostbur is still pulling him forward and he doesn’t fight it, instead looking around the area in search of something, anything . Why weren’t there any animals in the area? Why was it so desolated ? It had been lively, to an extent, last time he’d visited. Animals could be heard in the trees, birds flying above, but now there was nothing, just the leaves rustling in the wind and the water. He doesn’t like it, it’s eerie and it makes his fur stand on end, claws instinctively extending from his paws with each step he takes towards Logstedshire.

The tent is in sight when he hears a voice speak.

“You know the drill! Put your items in the hole, Tommy.”

What?

Ghostbur has slowed at this point, but Ranboo only speeds up, walking towards the voice rapidly. He can hear the spirit quietly plead with him to stop , wait , but he can’t. Each step is long and calculated, paws silent on the ground he had learned to traverse in silence to avoid being heard by other mobs or animals he was hunting.

He turns the corner of the tent just in time to see Dream light tnt, items that he could see squished into the hole being exploded in dust. Tommy stands on the other side of the hole, eyes empty, and something in Ranboo roars .

“ What are you doing? ” He asks, a warning growl to his voice.

Tommy’s gaze snaps towards him, the hollow look replaced by silent shock as he stares at the enderman and grabs at his tattered shirt. The blonde looked so battered and something told Ranboo he knew the exact cause for the clear injuries his friend sported.

Dream is slower in looking at Ranboo, white mask hiding any expression he may have as he stares up at the towering enderman.

“Ranboo,” Dream drawls, false kindness seeping into his tone.

Ranboo recognizes that tone because he’s used it himself when fighting in the arena.

“What brought you here?” The masked man asks, resting a hand just above the hilt of the sword strapped to his waist, a clear threat. Come closer and you’re dead .

Ranboo finds he’s not as scared when he sees the clear fear in Tommy’s eyes as he looks between his friend and Dream.

“I just came to visit my friend ,” Ranboo returns, stepping closer towards the two. He sees Dream’s hand move closer to his sword, but that doesn’t stop him as he moves towards Tommy, tails moving behind him in a mockery of calmness. “What are you doing here?”

He can see Dream bristle at the question being turned on him and a small, sick part of him is pleased to see it.

“I’m also visiting my friend, actually,” Dream chirps, stepping closer, “And you’re interrupting.”

“Really?” The enderman tilts his head, a hand coming up to tap his chin as he gently nudges Tommy behind him ( Tommy flinches at his touch and his hearts weeps for his friend ). “I didn’t think friends destroyed their friend’s belongings? Is that a new thing people started doing?” Sarcasm drips from his words and he can feel Tommy tense behind him, tightly gripping the back of the taller teen’s cloak.

“Ranboo, no ,” Tommy pleads, voice quiet and meek, and that’s not how Tommy is supposed to sound. Tommy is supposed to be loud and abrasive, yelling profanities and talking about anything and everything he could think of. He wasn’t quiet , he wasn’t meek , and yet Dream had caused him to be so.

Anger flares in Ranboo’s gut and a tail gently brushes Tommy’s ankle, making the boy jump.

“It’s okay, Tommy,” he murmurs, voice low enough just for him. “Can you hold Twitch and my bag for me, though?”

The crow in question doesn’t caw, simply looking down to the blonde, and Tommy’s eyes widen at the sight of them, reaching out to let them hop onto his wrist while his free hand takes the bag ( his arms are so skinny, he is so skinny, Ranboo is going to kill Dream ).

“Hi there,” Tommy murmurs softly, pulling his arm close so Twitch was close. It warms his hearts, watching the crow rub their beak to Tommy’s cheek, but he’s pulled back to the man in front of him when he hears a footstep.

The Axe of Ender appears in his hand in a heartbeat, the weapon immediately pointed towards Dream when he looks to the man. The admin’s sword is now out as well and he can feel him glaring at him through his mask.

“Ranboo, I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” Dream warns, not backing down. Ranboo chuckles, a low noise, and he hears Tommy begin to move back behind him.

Good.

“I don’t think I’m going to do that, Dream,” he returns, head tilting, “Because, you see, you’re hurting my friend and I don’t like that very much.”

Dream’s sword lowers slightly as he stares at the enderman before he laughs. It’s low, quiet, and slowly raises into loud laughter, body shaking as he laughs like he just heard the funniest joke in the world.

“Wow, you really are stupid! I thought Fundy was joking when he said you were an idiot!”

The mention of the fox hybrid makes his fur bristle and he growls, sharp teeth bared for all the world to see. “ Shut up .”

“No, Ranboo, I don’t think I will,” Dream hums cheerfully, “You see, Ranboo, I’m simply teaching Tommy a lesson like a good friend would, and you’re getting in the way of that! I can’t have people getting in the way when he’s been making such good progress , isn’t that right, Tommy?”

He hears the blonde’s breath hitches, pointed ears twitching for a response, but he doesn’t hear one. Instead, he hears a broken whine from the blonde, quiet and unsure.

“I said ,” Dream growls, “Isn’t that right, Tommy ?”

“Y-Yes!” Tommy yelps, wings raising high on his back. “Yes, Dream! I-I’ve learned so much from you since you’ve been helping me!”

Ranboo’s gaze snaps towards Tommy, eyes wide in disbelief, but it fades when he sees the younger teen’s expression.

Fear shows clear in faded blue eyes, eyes that were once a shining color, the normally tall boy standing crouched and shrunken in on himself and something in Ranboo snaps.

He can feel his shoulders shift, spine cracking as his body stretches in a way it hasn’t done since he left Hypixel. His head slowly tips back towards Dream, gaze tilted downwards, and he feels his legs crack as they stretch and groan with the strain of the change in his figure. He can feel the way his jawbone shifts, mouth opening slowly to stretch his jaw as it unhinges and opens unnaturally wide, a low croon rumbling from his throat.

Ranboo has always been tall, reaching an easy eight foot or so when he stands at his full height, but when he stands tall now, there’s nearly an extra foot added to his usual size.

Heterochromic eyes snap towards Dream and he’s pleased to see the man has taken a surprised step back, his hold on his sword having tightened.

“You,” he states, low voice holding a thick, enderian accent to it, “Are dead .”

“ R-Ranboo, NO! ”

Tommy’s yell falls on deaf ears as Ranboo lunges towards Dream, bringing his axe down on the man. The goat hybrid quickly brings up his sword to block the attack, pushing back against the axe with a low growl of his own.

“You think you can kill me? Don’t make me laugh ,” Dream snaps, pushing back against Ranboo’s axe and swinging a leg out, slamming it into Ranboo’s.

The enderman stumbles and he sees Dream bring his sword down at him in an attempt to take advantage of his tumble. Multihue eyes meet the eyes of the mask and they do the job as a low, drawn out screech rips from his throat, the sound of static filling the air. The pearl nestled in his chest pulls and suddenly he’s behind Dream, bringing his axe down on the man once more.

Unfortunately for Ranboo, he isn’t the only one experienced in battle.

Dream whirls just in time, shield materializing on his arm to block the blow. The Axe of Ender imbeds itself deep in the wood and Ranboo growls, lifting a hind leg to slam his paw into the shield, successfully freeing his axe while also pushing the admin back a good foot. A startled grunt leaves the man, but he’s quick to catch his balance and dart forward, moving so his body is lower down, closer to Ranboo’s torso.

The enderman’s tails lash behind him and he quickly jumped back when Dream swiped at him, the tip of the sword cutting through the cloak he had been guarding himself with and nicking his arm where it was bare.

The black fabric falls from his shoulders, revealing the netherite armor he rarely removed, and he hears Dream’s breath hitch, followed by a quiet “ Shit ”. He can feel blood dripping down his arm, but he finds that he doesn’t care all too much. Instead, Ranboo grins at the momentary distraction and brings his axe down on the man, a displeased growl leaving him when the startled blonde moves back.

He’s pleasantly surprised, however, when he feels his axe connect and a loud crack echoes through the air.

The white mask cracks down the center, going straight through the smile that was carved into the birch wood. Ranboo continues his strike down and is even more pleased at the pained yell that leaves the admin, swinging the axe to the side to take the mask with it. The mask splinters and breaks from the force, a half of it being thrown to the right as the other half hangs limply off the side of Dream’s face.

The enderman can see the puny man’s chest heave, a green eye blown wide in shock as he stared up at Ranboo, his hold on his sword tight. A clear slash makes its way across his face, his left eye squeezed shut to keep the blood from getting into it even as the crimson liquid drips from the injury, staining the green hood tucked beneath netherite armor and leading trails across his mouth.

Scars litter pale skin and a distant part of Ranboo wonders where the hell Dream showed his face to have earned as many clear battle scars.

The goat hybrid’s chest heaves quickly and Ranboo realizes he’s beginning to freak out, making his stomach churn. He’s stepping back when Dream swipes out with his sword sloppily, clearly not in a clear state of mind anymore as he throws himself at Ranboo, doing everything in his power to keep himself hidden even as he attacks. It’s sloppy and it’s messy and a part of Ranboo doesn’t want to fight Dream like this. It isn’t really a fair fight anymore and the Hypixel warrior in him hates that and then he remembers seeing Tommy.

He remembers Tommy, staring blankly down into a crater where his belongings had been. 

He remembers Tommy, flinching from his touch as though he was going to be hurt.

He remembers Tommy, stumbling over his words in an attempt to please Dream so the admin didn’t get mad at him.

He remembers Tommy, telling him in messages about how he was scared of Dream sometimes.

He remembers Tommy, making him promise not to tell Dream he visited him, fear underlying his pleading words.

He remembers Ghostbur’s warning.

He remembers seeing Tommy cower.

He remembers Tommy and he sees purple.

A sickening squelch echoes through the air and he feels a distant pain in his gut, but it’s nothing compared to what he’s done.

There’s a thump and the sound of something rolling across the ground slowly before quickly being followed by a heavier thump, the heavy weight of a body against his torso pulling him back to earth. Ranboo looks down just in time to see Dream’s body disintegrate into nothing, the only sign of the admin’s first death being the blood staining Ranboo’s axe and hands.

He’s distantly aware of the ding that comes from his communicator, but he already knows what it says.

It has him pausing for a moment before a pleasant buzz thrums beneath his skin and he slowly grins, a low laugh rumbling from his chest. It’s slightly broken and, as he stares down at the pool of blood at his feet, he feels tears prick at the corners of his eyes.

He killed him.

He killed Dream.

He promised he’d never kill again and yet he killed Dream.

But...it was for the greater good, wasn’t it? Dream deserved it for everything he’s done to his friends, to his haunting . He deserved to die and yet..

Ranboo drops to his knees and his body aches, the exhaustion of teleporting and shifting hitting him all at once on top of his injury. He can hear footsteps cautiously approaching him, but he doesn’t bother looking up, allowing his axe to disappear into his inventory as he slumps forward.

“ Ranboo! ” A distant voice yelps and the footsteps speed up. 

A small smile finds its way onto his face and he stares at the red stained grass, acutely aware of the fact that the blood was smearing across his face the longer he laid there. He’s growing more aware of the pain in his gut and distantly wonders how Dream managed to slip his sword between his armor while not properly looking at him. Maybe it helped that he was looking down and could see Ranboo’s stomach easier than he could the rest of him? He wouldn’t know.

A shame it went so deep.

Someone grabs his shoulders and a pained groan leaves him as he’s pushed onto his back by surprisingly careful hands, eyes squinting at the sky as the sun rises above them. He tries to focus, but everything is blurry and he can’t help but whine, a slight warble to the broken noise.

“Ranboo, don’t you dare die here,” a voice hisses, wavering slightly, and a small voice in the back of his mind whispers a name.

Tommy .

Right. Tommy had seen all of that. Tommy saw him fight Dream. Tommy saw him kill Dream.

He must be scared of him now .

“Open your damn eyes,” Tommy pleads and huh , Ranboo didn’t realize he’d closed them.

“Sorry y’ had t’ see tha’,” Ranboo slurs, cracking his eyes open as a harsh cough shakes his body. The sun isn’t directly in his eyes anymore, but something just as bright is above him and oh , that’s Tommy. He forgot how brightly his friend shined in the light, even when he’s filthy.

“Why the hell are you apologizing, asshole?!” Tommy snaps, though there’s no heat behind it as his voice wavers. Ranboo chuckles dryly and raises a hand out, mildly surprised when he feels Tommy take it into his own.

“Y’ had t’ see me hurt s’meone…”

“I don’t care about that, dick! I care that you’re bleeding out on the damned ground and I don’t have anything to stop it!” Tommy yells, tightly squeezing Ranboo’s hand.

The enderman hums, low and oh so quiet , and tilts his head back against the ground. That was a shame, it’d suck to die and return to L’Manburg right after killing Dream. They’d probably try to execute him for betrayal or something.

Maybe Tubbo would stop them, who knows?

He feels a beak peck his temple and whines quietly, tilting his head to the side to look at the crow. Twitch caws neck to his head, pressing their head to his temple, and he hums, gently rubbing his head against their’s.

A shame, Phil had just made him the caretaker of Twitch and he was already going to have to give them back. He’d given Phil goodbye gifts, too…

The memory of Phil’s gifts hits him like a train and he sits up abruptly, pain shooting through his torso from where he was slowly bleeding out. Tommy shouts at the sudden movement and shoves the enderman back down, hands pressing against his shoulders to keep him from sitting up once more.

“Woah there, big man, don’t be stupid! You can’t do shit like that when you’re hurt!” Tommy snaps, desperation clinging to his words.

“M’ bag ,” Ranboo whines, panic buzzing beneath his skin when his friend keeps him from moving. “In m’ bag .”

Tommy frowns at the mention of the bag and looks to the side, motioning for something. His brows furrow and he follows Tommy’s gaze to where he was looking and oh , right, Ghostbur was here. The spirit frantically grabs the bag the blonde had dropped in his panic and brings it over, shaking hands shoving it into his brother’s hands.

Ranboo doesn’t like seeing Ghostbur scared. It wasn’t right. 

Tommy quickly pulls the bag to himself and looks to Ranboo for permission to open it, hands trembling slightly as he grips it tightly. Ranboo ignores the voice hissing that Tommy normally wouldn’t ask and nods, relieved to see his friend eagerly rip the bag open and dig through it.

His head thumps back down to the ground and he lets out a slow breath, suddenly aware that he couldn’t feel much anymore and, well, that’s not a good thing. The grass beneath his fingertips is so wet and he wonders just when his blood mixed with Dream’s or if it was mostly his now at this point. That’s not really how that worked, though, was it? A shame blood stayed around after despawn, clean-up would be so much easier if it disappeared as well when the bodies did.

His fingers tingle and he wonders when he’s going to lose feeling in them, too.

Everything was so cold .

An ear twitches when he hears the grass crunch and he leans his head to the side, shuddering when a cold hand runs through his hair in an attempt to be comforting. He knows the black and white strands are coated in blood from laying in the puddle of blood surrounding him, but Ghostbur doesn’t seem to care as he hums shakily, trying to keep Ranboo in the present.

“Holy shit!” Tommy’s voice makes him crack his eyes open and he tilts his head to the side to see what the blonde found.

In his hands is a totem of undying, the golden idol shining brightly in the sunlight as a familiar energy radiates from the small statue. The sight of it makes him hum and he smiles lazily, relaxing into the ground.

“Ya,” he slurs, talking hard, “Tha’s it..”

“Where the hell did you get this?!” Tommy hisses, though he doesn’t hesitate to scramble closer to Ranboo, grabbing at the hybrid’s hands. Ranboo ignores the fact that he can’t feel it, simply humming as he closed his eyes, body heavy and mind foggy.

“Dunno...forgot..” He murmurs, hoping he tightens his hold on Tommy’s hands when he attempts to squeeze. Tommy lets out a hollow laugh and looks away from Ranboo’s face, looking down at their hands instead. He’d managed to get the totem held between his friend’s hands, but the enderman’s grip was limp and so he had to hold the older teen’s hands over the idol lest he let go.

“You do that a lot, don’t you, big man?” Tommy jokes dryly. Ranboo tries to return the laugh, but it turns into a cough, a low whine following after it. His throat hurts, but it’s the only thing anymore, the rest is numb. Is that a good thing? He doesn’t know.

“Dyin’ sucks,” he murmurs, swallowing down the blood that’s risen in his throat. Ghostbur lets out a strangled noise from behind him, the hands in his hair shaking more, and he almost feels bad for speaking. A slightly manic laugh leaves the blonde at his side and he tightens his hold on Ranboo’s hands, refusing to look at his friend’s face. 

“I know, Big R, it’ll be over soon and then you’ll be fine,” Tommy assures, trying to cheer the enderman up, but he only whines in response. It’s so slow this time and he wishes he could just speed it up -

His dagger. If he could grab his dagger, he could speed up the process, but no, Tommy would never let him do that. Honestly, he wasn’t sure if he’d want to do that, he didn’t want to make his friend see that on top of everything else he’s had to see.

His mind is foggy and he hums, closing his eyes once more.

“‘m gonna take a nap,” Ranboo hums, head falling to the side. Tommy’s breath hitches and he tightens his hold on Ranboo’s hands, shuffling closer to his friend.

“Alright, big man, I’ll be right here when you wake up,” Tommy murmurs and Ranboo finds himself believing him.

He wishes he could actually feel the fingers in his hair and hands holding his as his consciousness slips.

When Ranboo wakes up, his body hurts . He can feel the phantom pains from where he was stabbed and he has to shove down the whine that wants to leave him from it. He’s not on the ground anymore, that much was clear, but he wasn’t in a proper bed, either, so he assumed the totem had done its job and kept him alive. His head is on something soft, though, so he supposed that was a plus.

His body feels like lead and he finds that he doesn’t even want to try moving right now, not when everything hurts the way it does. He doesn’t think he has to worry about moving, however, when he notices a small weight on his chest and a hand gripping his own in a death grip, fingers intertwined.

He can hear voices talking and a pointed ear twitches as he tries to focus on who was talking.

“-pset. I’m glad you sent for me, I had a feeling you’d recognize Twitch when you saw them,” an older voice hums, a tired lilt to his voice. It’s a familiar voice with a familiar accent, but his sleep clouded mind couldn’t pinpoint just who was speaking.

“How’d you even know he was coming to see me?” The other voice speaks and Ranboo’s brows furrow, the name on the tip of his tongue.

“How wouldn’t I know? You’re the only other person he’d go to, Tommy.”

Tommy .

A choked warble rumbles from his throat and he squeezes the hand holding his, making the other person jolt in surprise. He can feel eyes on him, but they don’t make his skin crawl, instead making him feel safe . Neither speak for a moment and another warble leaves him, raising high into a whiny chirp, tails thumping against the ground.

A strained bark of laughter leaves the deeper voice and he feels a warm hand run through his hair, making him relax.

“There you are, mate. We were wondering when you were going to wake up.”

Mate? He doesn’t know many people who slip that into casual conversation…

Multicolor eyes crack open and he’s both equally pleased and equally surprised to see Phil leaning over him, a hand tangled in long, tangled strands. When his gaze flickers to his side, he sees Tommy sitting beside him, still as a brick for a moment before visibly relaxing when he meets the enderman’s eyes.

He tries to speak, but he can only chuff quietly, enderman-like in nature. Phil chuckles faintly once more and Tommy sighs, breaking eye contact so he can look down at the enderman’s stomach.

“You’re fucking lucky I was able to get Phil,” the blonde grumbles, his frustration clear. The enderman frowns, squeezing Tommy’s hand, and the avian looks up to meet his gaze again, an unreadable emotion shining in his eyes. “What were you thinking , fighting Dream , you coulda got yourself killed! You did get yourself killed! You’re so fucking lucky you had that totem, you asshole !”

Ranboo doesn’t know why the concern surprises him, but it does, and he finds himself choked up for a second. He didn’t mean to worry Tommy, but Dream had been hurting him and Ranboo couldn’t contain his anger at the sight of his friend being treated so horribly. His lips part to speak and his throat feels dry, a broken cough forcing its way out with a pain wheeze. He feels Phil move from beside him and tries to reach for the man, relieved when he feels the calloused hand take his own.

“It’s okay, I’m not going anywhere, I’m just getting you something to drink,” Phil soothes, running a thumb across his knuckles. Ranboo frowns and lets out a soft rumble, but lets go nonetheless, turning his attention to the weight on his chest instead.

There, Twitch sits, beady eyes glued to his face, and it pulls a strained laugh from him. Cooing at the bird softly, he gently pets their head and they lean into it, a soft chirp leaving the crow. It seems the others in the tent weren’t the only ones he worried.

Phil’s hand brushes his cheek and he jerks in surprise before quickly melting into it, closing his eyes.

“Don’t go to sleep, mate, you need to drink,” the avian coos, hand slipping to the back of his head so he can gently urge him to sit up. The thought of moving isn’t one he wants to humor, but he knows he has to, and so he tries to force himself upright, a pang of pain in his torso making him growl softly. Another hand touches his back and helps him sit upright, which he’s grateful for, but it still hurts and he growls once more quietly.

“Don’t you growl at me, bitch,” Tommy snapped, a lack of familiar heat behind the words. 

He finds himself unable to fight against the blonde.

Once he’s upright, he curls an arm around his torso, fingers lightly brushing the bandages wrapped tightly around the remainders of the injury he’d been dealt. He knew the totems didn’t heal you completely, but he couldn’t help but be frustrated that he was still hurt despite having it. He didn’t think Dream’s strike had been that severe, though it’s clear it was seeing as he was still in pain despite his death and immediate revival.

Phil’s fingers tangle in the hairs at the nape of his neck and gently shake his head, trying to get his attention. Heterochromic eyes open to see a bottle being held to his lips, the contents seeming to be milk since water burned its way down his throat, just like it did his skin.

“Come on, kid, drink up,” Phil urges, squeezing the nape of his neck gently. A quiet grumble leaves the enderman and he parts his lips, allowing the cool milk to be poured into his mouth.

Despite his frustration with being bottle fed like a toddler, the milk soothes the ache in his throat and he can’t stop the quiet purr that rises from his throat at the feeling. At his side, Tommy snorts, a disbelieving grin spreading across his face.

“You purr ?! That’s fucking hilarious!” The blonde cackles. Ranboo cracks an eye open to give his friend a dirty look and flicks the white tail at him, its black counterpart thumping against the ground heavily. A startled yelp leaves Tommy and he shoots a glare back, returning it with just as much fire.

The spark in his friend’s eyes warms his hearts and he can’t help the purr that kicks up in his chest.

Phil snorts quietly at his side, lowering the bottle of milk so he could rest it on the ground beside them. “Can you speak now, Ranboo?”

Ranboo’s head lifts and he looks to Phil for a moment before looking down, clearing his throat.

“I..yes,” he murmurs, voice strained yet clear. Looking back up, he turns his eyes to Tommy and meets pale blues, squeezing the hand holding his. “I did it because I had to.”

The blonde frowns slightly.

“The hell are you talking about?”

“Dream,” he clarifies, looking down. The air in the tent grows tense, but he continues anyways, gripping at the sleeping bag beneath him. “He was hurting you, Tommy, I couldn’t...I couldn’t just let that happen..! If I can do something to help someone I care about, I’ll do it in a heartbeat, even if it risks my life in the end.”

He can feel Tommy’s eyes on him and contemplates pulling his hand away to give him space when he feels the blonde’s forehead thump against his shoulder.

“Dream isn’t going to forget this, Memory Boy,” he murmurs, voice quiet. “He’s going to do everything in his power to kill you and if that means dragging the others into it, he will.”

Frowning softly, the enderman leans his head against Tommy’s, staring at the wall of the tent. He knew that already, but the words still made him nervous regardless. He supposed now was as good as time to ask the questioning weighing his chest down, but the words are hard to come by. How does one ask someone to drop everything they’ve ever known and leave with them?

His thoughts are cut through by Ghostbur bursting into the tent, visibly frantic as he fidgets with the blue in his hands. 

“They’re coming to take Ranboo,” the spirit rushes out, looking behind him frantically. “Dream..Dream told them you tried to hurt Tommy and so he was defending him, but you killed him instead..! They think you’re a traitor !” Ghostbur’s voice trails into a high whine, his panic clear, and Ranboo feels his stomach drop. He didn’t think they’d believe Dream so whole-heartedly, but he supposed he thought too highly of the people of L’manburg.

“You need to get out here, Ranboo,” Phil urges, pushing himself to his feet. “I’ll keep them distracted, but you have to go. Take Twitch with you and don’t look back.”

“What? No!” Ranboo snaps, pushing himself up with a pained groan. Tommy quickly stands with him, wings fluttering behind him in an attempt to make it easier, and he shoots him a briefly grateful look before turning back to Phil. “You need to leave, they can’t know you helped me, they’ll kill you, too!”

Phil looks over his shoulder at the teens and grins, head cocked to the side slightly.

“Oh don’t worry about that, Ranboo,” he comforts, walking out the mouth of the tent. Shooting them one last look, his grin grows as his wings stretch out behind him. “I can’t die.”

Then Phil is taking off into the air and Tommy tightens his hold on Ranboo’s arm at the distressed warble he lets out. 

“Trust Phil, Ranboo,” Tommy murmurs, “He knows what he’s doing.” Then he steps away, moving around the tent to gather up Ranboo’s belongings that he and Phil had used to patch him up. “You have to go, though, they’ll think you’re holding me hostage or some shit if they see us together and they’ll think you killed me if they see you without me.”

Tommy turns back to the taller teen and shoves the bag into his chest after shoving everything into it, tilting his head back to meet his eyes. Ranboo’s hearts hammers in his chest as he holds the eye contact for just a moment before he stands taller.

It’s now or never.

“Run with me.”

Chapter Text

“You have to keep running.”

“I know but it hurts ..”

“I know, I know, but we have to get the hell out of here!”

“I know .”

“Come on, big man, come on!”

“I need..I need a break…Just for a second..”

“We can’t-”

A low thump.

“ Fuck! Ranboo ! ”

“Why are you protecting him?!”

Phil laughs as he expertly twists out of the way of the axe, a grin plastered on his face as Quackity swings at him repeatedly. The others are keeping their distance and Phil has to give it to them, it’s a smart move. He knows of his reputation, knows how people hear his name and feel fear, but he’s impressed that Quackity had the balls to charge straight for him.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the avian responds, a sing-song-like tone to his voice. Quackity’s glare darkens and he swings down, movements so clear and readable. Phil doesn’t bother twisting to the side this time, instead raising his own sword to block the swing and leaning closer to the other man, raising a brow. “I’m surprised, though. I didn’t think you all were so stupid .”

“What?!” Quackity barks out, pushing back against the sword. Phil hears the affronted sounds of the others and hears them loading their bows once more, but he can’t help but laugh.

“I mean, this is all pretty stupid, isn’t it?” He asks, tilting his head almost mockingly. “You’re trusting Dream of all people? You’re trusting the man who has been causing conflict with L’Manburg constantly, doing everything in his power to smother you all. Didn’t even bother to ask Ranboo his side of the story.”

Crows circle above head and he hears their cries, hears their warnings. The hand not holding his sword darts out and grabs the front of Quackity’s armor, jerking the younger avian to the side. There’s a cry of pain from the duck hybrid, followed by curses from the others.

“What the hell, Fundy?!”

“It wasn’t my fault!!”

Phil lets go of Quackity and steps back, watching as the man reaches a shaking hand behind him to rip the arrow from his shoulder.

“You’re all idiots,” Phil continues, shaking his head. “Listening to Dream despite everything he’s done to L’Manburg. Done to all of you.”

“Well what do you want us to do?!” Fundy snaps, voice strained. “Trust the guy we barely know?!”

“ Yes! ” Phil snaps back, wings flaring out behind him. Quackity scrambles back slightly, but he pays the other man no mind, swinging his sword out in the direction of the citizens of L’Manburg who still have their bows trained on him. “You should trust him! Because he is the one person here who would gain nothing out of hurting Tommy in any way! Because he hasn’t stabbed you in the back every damn time you turn it on him!”

Gaze darting around the people in front of him, his eyes lock with a pair of dull blue eyes and he can’t help the disappointment that shows clear on his face when Tubbo looks away.

“You’re all fools.”

Ranboo groans quietly when the fog clouding his mind begins to fade, duel tails thumping heavily against the ground.

“You finally come to, big man?” A familiar voice asks from his right and he cracks an eye open to look for the culprit. Tommy is sitting on the ground next to him, close enough to touch, and splotchy memories come flooding back to him. Right. He’d killed Dream and the others were coming after him.

He doesn’t remember Tommy agreeing to run away with him, but he finds himself not caring as he rolls his head to the side to bump a horn against the shorter teen’s leg.

“How long has it been?” He asks, closing his eye. Tommy hums and tilts his head back to look at the sky, a crooked frown tugging his lips downwards.

“An hour? I think? I don’t fuckin’ know, it’s hard to keep track in the middle of nowhere,” he grumbles, stretching his hands behind to him to lean back, wings stretching out slightly, casting a shadow over the enderman’s head. Ranboo hums quietly and simply lays there for a moment, allowing the companionable silence to wash over him. It’s weird, not hearing much noise from Tommy, but he supposes he understands. The young avian had been through a lot, he’d be quieter if he went through that, too.

Doesn’t mean he has to like it, though.

After another long minute, he finally stirs and begins to push himself up, groaning at the ache in his gut from the movement. He feels a hand immediately move to his back to help support him and is silently grateful for Tommy’s assistance, shifting into a sitting position. Gods , he forgot how badly it hurt to die and be brought back by a totem, it’s been a long time since he has been injured bad enough for it.

A small voice in his mind wonders what kind of pain Dream felt after being killed. He had been decapitated after all.

A flash of the admin’s head rolling before despawning floods his vision and his stomach churns, but he forces the feeling down. Dream deserved it , he was not going to feel bad for killing the man.

Even if the image will haunt his mind until he finally forgets..

“Ran boob ?” Tommy’s voice snaps him from his thoughts and he looks to his friend, tilting his head. The younger teen huffs, frustration evident, but repeats his question anyways. “Should we set up a camp here for the night? If we hurry the fuck up, we might find a village, but I don’t have money for an inn.”

Ranboo hums quietly and reaches a hand back to grab his bag, only for his alarm to flare briefly. He hadn’t left his bag behind, had he? Oh no, that had everything in it, it has his book in it-

“Chill out, big man,” Tommy rushes out, hands moving to his other side to pull out Ranboo’s bag. The enderman deflates with relief and quickly takes the bag, holding it to his chest for a moment.

He can feel Tommy’s eyes on the side of his head, but the uneasy tingles down his spine aren’t as bad as they could be. Opening the black bag, he shoves a hand into it and moves stuff around, forked tongue sticking out in thought as he searches for what he needs. It takes a moment, he didn’t realize he’d packed so much, but a rough fabric brushes his fingertips and he grins, jerking it out.

A small bag sits in his palm and he tries not to laugh when Tommy leans closer to get a better look at it, carefully tugging it open. Inside sits a bundle of emeralds, the sun making the green gems glow slightly.

“Yo! Where the hell did you get these?!” Tommy yells, hands grabbing his arm and shaking. A spike of pain makes the laughter that bubbles from Ranboo’s chest break off into a pained groan and the blonde stops shaking him, but he doesn’t move away.

“I mine , Tommy. I have a lot of free time, so I have a lot of supplies,” he explains, motioning with the bag. “This isn’t even all of them, this is just what I keep on me when I go adventuring so I can buy supplies from villages if I need to. I have way more in my enderchest.”

“Yooo,” Tommy whispers, eyes shining with clear excitement. Ranboo chuckles quietly at the sight and, after a moment ( second ) of consideration, holds the baggie out to his friend.

“Want to keep a hold of them so we don’t have to dig through my bag to find them?”

A bark of laughter bursts from his chest when Tommy snatches the bag from his hand and he waves off the blonde’s concerned yells when it breaks off into a wet cough, shaking his head. If he could see Tommy light up like that again, he would deal with the pain that follows any laughter the avian brings.

They’re an hour into their second bout of travel when Ranboo notices something was missing.

“Where’s Twitch?” He asks, looking down at Tommy.

The avian bristles at the mention of the crow and looks away, not meeting the enderman’s eyes. Now, normally Ranboo would see this as a sign of respect, he knows Tommy knows eye contact can get overwhelming, but he also knows that Tommy knows he’s gotten better at it. Their interactions earlier in the day were enough proof of that, the number of times they met gazes and held them more than he could count on one hand.

“Tommy,” he starts, frowning slightly, and Tommy’s wings puff out slightly.

“I didn’t do anything!” He defends, a slight waver to his voice. “I just...I just needed to send a letter to Tubbo so he knows I’m not dead ...y’know?”

Ranboo’s frown deepens, but for an entirely different reason now. That’s right, Tommy didn’t even get to say goodbye to Tubbo before they ran. He didn’t even get to say goodbye to Tubbo, but he knew it probably hit Tommy harder than it did him. The two were inseparable at one point, he vaguely remembers the number of stories that were told by the others and the two teens were always together in them, rarely apart.

He wonders how badly this separation was going to hurt the two of them.

He doesn’t realize he’s been quiet for a few minutes and it seems Tommy has taken his lack of response as anger as he quickly puts distance between them, wings stretching out behind him slightly. When Ranboo looks at him, the brief flicker of fear in his friend’s eyes feels like a punch to the gut.

“I-I’m sorry,” Tommy rushes out, “I didn’t mean to do it without your permission! You...You were just asleep and I-I needed to send Tubbo a message and I’m sorry , I-I won’t do it again, I promise-”

“Tommy,” Ranboo interrupts and the avian’s mouth snaps shut. He hates how obedient his once rebellious friend acts, but doesn’t comment on it as he takes a step forward, ignoring the ache in his chest at the way Tommy flinches. “I’m not mad at you. You don’t have to ask my permission to do things like this, Twitch is here for both of us to send letters, not just me. You don’t have to ask me to send a letter to Tubbo, you can do it whenever you want.”

It takes a moment for the tension in Tommy’s body to melt away slightly and while it doesn’t all go away, it’s a step. Crimson wings droop slightly and he stands up slightly taller, hands fidgeting in front of him.

“I...I can..?” He asks, voice quiet, and Ranboo’s hearts  aches .

“Of course, Tommy. You don’t have to ask for permission to do anything anymore,” He states, holding a hand out. Tommy stares at the offer, eyes flickering between the hand and heterochromic eyes, before he slowly takes it. Ranboo smiles softly, aware of the way his fangs stick out slightly, but it doesn’t seem to deter his friend, so he doesn’t stop smiling.

“Don’t have to ask for permission to do anything , huh..?” Tommy murmurs, returning the smile with his own smaller, more cautious one. Ranboo pauses for a moment as the words register before he snorts, curling his fingers over Tommy’s.

“Well, okay, maybe not anything , we have to have some boundaries,” he jokes, his smile stretching into a grin. Tommy snorts and tightens his hand around Ranboo’s as the muffle snorts rise into body-shaking laughter.

Ranboo’s grin softens and he runs his thumb across the back of his friend’s hand. He missed that sound.

Wide blue eyes stare at the bird sitting in his house, a letter carefully tied around its neck. It’s been a long time since he’s seen a messenger bird of any sort, but especially a crow . He doubts its from Phil, especially since the man had fled after a large murder of crows blocked out the sky, seemingly a sign for him since the sight caused him to stretch his wings and fly away, expertly dodging any arrows shot at him.

Phil was the only person who used crows, though, so who could have sent it..?

Tubbo ignores the voice in the back of his head that sounds suspiciously like a dead man’s that whispers about how he had once used crows, way back before he was president, before he was a spy, before war and then also after .

The bird caws at him and he jumps, turning his attention back to it. It seems the animal was getting impatient and he has to shove down an amused huff, cautiously approaching the large bird. The crow was bigger than any crows he had seen before and his curiosity on who sent it was only growing by the second. Reaching a hand out, he lets out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding when it bares its neck to him, allowing him to carefully untie the string holding the letter to it.

As soon as the paper is removed, the crow is moving, wings spreading out behind it quickly. Tubbo has to scramble back to avoid getting hit as it takes off, expertly twisting in the air to fly out the window, and he has to wonder where the bird learned to fly inside houses.

Turning his attention to the paper in his hands, he stares at it for a moment before moving to the window the crow had just flown out and closing it, flipping the latch that held the panes shut. He quickly moves to his door after and locks it as well, going around to the rest of his windows to make sure they’re all latched as well. Call him paranoid, but he’d rather not be watched as he read the mystery letter that was clearly sent to him specifically, especially if the sloppy “Big T” written on the outside said anything.

Wait…” Big T ”...

The goat hybrid scrambles to his bed and sits down, almost ripping the paper in his haste to open it and cursing at himself quietly. Unrolling it, he’s met with very familiar handwriting and he could almost cry .

Hey, Tubso! Bet it’s weird to hear from me again, huh? Almost like it’s been four months! Or has it been more? I dunno, lost count! Haha! Anyways.

I’m not dead! Shocking, I know, but ain’t nothing gonna kill me! I’m a Big Man, I won’t die that easy! And I especially won’t be killed by Ranboob . Yeah, I know about that shit Dream spat.

Ranboo didn’t try to kill me, you know?

I wouldn’t blame him if he did, though! HA! But he didn’t. The bastard actually. Saved me, I guess. Saw Dream being shitty and killed the green bitch. I probably shouldn’t be as happy about seeing the guy die as I am, should I? He was my friend. He took care of me. I miss him already. I should go back. Maybe he was protecting me? But Ranboo wouldn’t hurt me, so that can’t be right. I don’t know. I miss him. That’s fucked up, isn’t it?

Did you guys manage to beat up Phil? I doubt it, big man is too big to be beat by you lot anyways. Kinda scary TBH haha..he told Ranboo to run away. Thought you guys were going to kill him. I thought you were, too.

Don’t go to Logstedshire. You won’t find me there. I left with Ranboo. Don’t know where the hell we’re going, but we ain’t looking back, that’s for damn sure! I doubt the bastard would let me look back anyways LOL

I miss you. I wish you could have come with us. I wish you could have come with me. It’s weird not having you with me when I’m so far away from home. I haven’t had you with me for a long time, though, so I don’t know why it’s so weird.

Oh shit! Running out of room, F. I’ll try to send more letters, but it might be hard. I didn’t even ask if I could write this one haha I doubt Big R would really give a shit, but, well, who knows. I didn’t think you would really exile me and look at where we are now, sometimes you never know what people will do

Don’t do some stupid shit, Tubso, L’Manburg still needs you. Maybe we’ll see eachother again! Who knows lol

Signed! The Biggest Man In The Server, Tommy Careful Danger Kraken Innit

Tubbo finds he can’t stop reading the letter. There’s multiple spots where the words have been scribbled out to the point that he can’t read them, but from what he can read, Tommy is alive . He was alive and he was safe and he was with Ranboo.

Of course Dream was lying. He almost wants to hit himself for distrusting Ranboo for even a second. He doesn’t even realize he does hit himself until he feels a sharp pain in his jaw and his knuckles ache as he shakes his hand out. Okay, maybe don’t punch yourself. Doesn’t feel good.

Looking back to the paper in his hands, he tightens his hold on it for a moment before raising it to his face, pressing it against his forehead. Tommy was alive. Tommy was safe . And so was Ranboo. They will take care of each other, he knows they will.

All he can do is give support from L’Manburg and hope no one finds them. Maybe if he’s lucky, he can send a letter back with the crow next time it comes to deliver one.

“Sons!!”

Both teens nearly jump out of their skin at the voice and barely have time to react as Twitch begins to swoop around them, loudly cawing to announce their arrival.

“ Shit -” Tommy curses, quickly reaching out to snatch the bird out of the air. The crow caws, struggling, but the avian presses a finger to his lips, shushing urgently. “Shut the fuck up, Twitch, it’s the middle of the fucking night! We don’t need you attracting mobs!”

Twitch puffs up in Tommy’s hold, but allows him to shift them until they’re standing on Ranboo’s shoulder. They look like a big ball of feathers from how angry they were and it was almost hard to keep from laughing at the sight. Unfortunately for them, he had to shove down their amusement, instead focusing on their surroundings. It doesn’t seem like any mobs had spawned in the short time the bird had acted up.

That was probably for the better in the long run since the only guy who has the weapons to fight is barely able to stay standing anymore, panting heavily. He’d been killing mobs when they got too close and it was taking a toll on his injured body, leaving Ranboo shaking slightly as his gaze rapidly darts around the area. Tommy stares up at his friend for a moment before frowning, looking around as well. No village had been close enough and before they knew it, night had fallen, surrounded them in mobs that had no hesitation in ripping them to shreds. While he knows death by their hands won’t be permanent, they hadn’t set a spawn far enough away from Logstedshire for it to be safe to die, so they had to keep going.

There’s a low warble to his right and he looks up to see Ranboo leaning heavily on his sword, the tip of the blade slowly sinking into the dirt. They needed to find a temporary cover and they needed to find it fast .

Tommy shuffles to be closer to Ranboo and tucks himself under the other’s arm, wrapping his own around his torso. The enderman whines when he’s jostled, barely able to make noises that weren’t ender in nature, and Tommy tries to ignore the guilt that’s eating him alive.

“Come on, big man, we just gotta find a cave,” he murmurs, trying to urge his friend into using him for support. It’s obvious Ranboo is avoiding putting too much weight on Tommy, but he’ll take what he can get as he feels some of his weight rest on him. “Twitch, go look for a shelter, stop just fucking sittin’ there.”

The crow makes an offended noise, but does as they’re told, careful of Ranboo’s head as they take off into the night air. Tommy’s attention is stuck to their surroundings as they continue to walk, a wing raising to curl around his friend. The enderman has fallen quiet and that makes him nervous, unable to keep himself from looking at the other teen frequently. It’s clear he’s still awake since he’s walking, but he’s so clearly exhausted and another wave of guilt hits Tommy like a train.

Ranboo had gotten hurt protecting him, he’d gotten hurt fighting Dream for him. It was his fault the other could barely stand anymore, it was his fault he was injured, and he feels his wings puff up slightly behind him. Dammit , he should have just told Ranboo to leave before it got to that stage, he’s sure he could have convinced him with enough curses and threats! ..or maybe not, Ranboo had seemed like a man on a mission when he arrived at Logstedshire and, if the bag full of supplies on his back said anything, he’d been planning to take Tommy with him no matter what.

Damned Ranboob. Damned jerk. Getting himself hurt for Tommy of all people. He hates the guy...except he doesn’t because he’s so good and he missed having good in his life.

A tail slips around his wrist and he jumps, looking down to see the white limb wrapped loosely around his hand. He looks back up to see Ranboo is looking at him, a piercing red eye glued to him, and his stomach drops as realization hits him.

He’d been talking out loud ? Fuck.

“Pretend you didn’t hear any of that, big man,” Tommy murmurs, squeezing his friend’s side slightly. Ranboo frowns and leans his head down to bump a horn against his temple, the action so gentle, and it’s almost enough to break the messy wall he’d put up since Ranboo arrived at his exile home. “Stop looking at me like that, bitch boy.”

Ranboo’s smile is small, but it makes him relax slightly anyways. He missed seeing someone smile at him and the smile not being one painted on an ugly white mask.

“Cabin!!!” 

Both teens jump in surprise as Twitch soars down to them, circling around the two teens. The bird’s…”voice” was kind of weird in Tommy’s opinion. It was too close to a human voice and it made him feel weird, like he was hearing something unnatural. None of the other messenger birds Phil used spoke like Twitch did, not even the ones from when he was a kid, but then again, maybe they did and he just never noticed?

“Is anyone at the cabin?” He asks, adjusting his hold on Ranboo. He holds the free arm not around the enderman out and Twitch lands, shaking their head.

“Empty! Safe!”

Tommy’s gaze flickers to Ranboo and he quirks a brow slightly in a silent question. Ranboo meets his gaze and shrugs the best he can. So it was up to him then, huh?

Looking at their surroundings and then at the teen beside him, the answer comes to him easily.

“Well, take us there.”

Chapter Text

The cabin is so clearly very old, the porch creaking beneath their combined weight as they step up onto it. Tommy almost considers saying ‘fuck it’ and finding a cave to rest in instead, it would likely be more safe than this rickety house.

Then Ranboo is leaning forward to open the door and, well, can’t back out now.

The hinges of the door squeak as it swings open and Tommy feels a tail slide around his calf, the tip of it twitching almost like an agitated cat. He wants to make a comment, try to lighten the mood, but Ranboo’s eyes defy his neutral expression, pain underlyed in them, and he’s reminded that his friend is hurt.

“Alright, big man, let’s get you sitting,” he says instead, nudging him forward. The enderman warbles quietly, but lets himself be led into the building.

It’s even older on the inside than it was on the outside. A layer of dust covers nearly every surface, even their feet leaving footprints on the layer that dusts the floor. Ranboo huffs when the dust tangles in the fur on his paws, raising a foot to try to wipe it off on his pant leg, and Tommy can’t shove down a laugh at the sight.

“It’s just dust, Ran boob , it won’t hurt you,” Tommy teases. Ranboo shoots him a glare, but it’s so clearly lighthearted and he feels the brief spike of panic be soothed by the tail around his leg. “Come on, the couch looks stable enough.”

And it did! It looked like it had barely been used by whoever had lived here before, the only sign of life being what looked like scratch marks on the arms of the couch. Maybe a pet? It was hard to tell in the dim light of their torch. Leading Ranboo over to the couch, he stares at the dust covered surface for a moment before he moves away from his friend’s side, looking up to him.

“Do you want to get dust on your suit? You didn’t like it on your feet, sooo..” He trails off, shrugging slightly.

Ranboo frowns slightly, looking between his paws and the couch for a moment before huffing. Looking back to Tommy, he motions for him to move and the blonde frowns, backing up carefully. Was he going to flop down on the couch or something?

No. No he was not.

“Ranboo!” Tommy yells, concern lacing his voice as the taller teen grabs the cushions from the couch. He knows they’re not that heavy, but the bastard was hurt and he looked like he was barely able to stay standing. Each step looks like it hurts him and the blonde starts to rush after him, only to freeze in his spot when Ranboo looks back at him.

“ ☊⌰⟒⏃⋏ ⏁⊑⟒ ⏚⏃☊☍ ⍜⎎ ☊⍜⎍☊⊑. ”

He says something, but it’s not in common and it makes his brows furrow, wings drooping behind him slightly. The first thing Ranboo manages to say in nearly an hour and it’s not even in english .

“Big man, I don’t know what the fuck you just said.”

Ranboo’s frown deepens even more, pointed ears drooping at the sides of his head, and he really looks like a disgruntled cat right now. Tommy bites his tongue to stop himself from commenting once more, simply shrugging at the look he was receiving. ( He ignores the voice in the back of his screaming that he’s angered the other, begging for him to apologize. He does not want to have another meltdown in front of Ranboob, thank you very much. )

“ ⎎⍜⍀ ⏁⊑⟒ ⌰⍜⎐⟒ ⍜⎎ ⏁⊑⟒ ☌⍜⎅⌇.... ” Ranboo speaks again, his accent so thick, and Tommy connects the dots in his head. Right , Ranboo was an Enderman, of course he knew Endspeak! How had he not realized literally as soon as his friend spoke, his voice sounded the same now as it did when he spoke to Dream earlier that day. Obviously he had been speaking english back then, but still!

He doesn’t even notice Ranboo had moved closer again until he hears him clear his throat quietly in an attempt to get his attention. Turning his attention back to the enderman hybrid, he raises a brow when he notices he has moved back to the couch.

“What?” He asks, tilting his head. Ranboo points at him and then the couch, reaching a hand out to wipe a layer of dust that had settled on the top off. “Do...you want me to dust the back of the couch?”

The immediate nod pulls a long groan from the blonde.

“I don’t want to clean,” he whines, head falling back.

“ ⌿⌰⟒⏃⌇⟒? ” Ranboo asks and it’s so clear that he’s asking nicely, even if Tommy doesn’t have a clue what he just said. He meets heterochromic eyes and holds eye contact, almost expecting him to look away, but he doesn’t and he doesn’t know why he’s surprised. He’s made eye contact with the guy multiple times since he showed up and he hasn’t shied away yet, so he doesn’t know why he expected him to this time.

Pointed ears droop slightly, his expression shifts, and oh . Puppy eyes. He had to have learned that from Tubbo.

Quickly looking away, Tommy throws his hands up. “Fine! Fine. I’ll dust the fuckin’ couch, just stop doing that ,” he hisses, motioning towards his face.

A bark of laughter bursts from the taller teen and he grins, all sharp teeth, and a part of Tommy wonders why it doesn’t unnerve him. He warbles something, but it’s slightly slurred and unintelligible, even if he could understand Endspeak. Tommy rolls his eyes and turns to the couch while Ranboo shuffles outside with the cushions, most likely to beat the dust out of them. He supposed it made sense to do that instead of just...sitting on them as is.

Unfortunately for him, being left alone in the cabin with a tedious task allows for Tommy’s mind to wander.

He can’t help but think about the moment in Logstedshire when Ranboo had asked him to run with him. It had startled him in the moment, but now that he was standing here, he couldn’t see himself not going with him.

“Run with me.”

Tommy’s eyes widen at the plea and he takes a step back, wings rising high on his back. 

“What?” He asks, voice quiet, and Ranboo looks around quickly. His sudden confidence deflates in a heartbeat and he returns to his slouched position, twin tails curling tightly around his calves.

“It’s not safe for you here anymore, Tommy,” he explains, voice wavering. “Dream is going to come back and he’s going to keep hurting you and even if he doesn’t, others will.”

Tommy’s wings puff out behind him, suddenly defensive.

“He’s going to hurt me because you killed him!” He snaps, glaring up at the enderman hybrid. 

“I killed him because he was hurting you!” Ranboo yells back, ears pressed back against his head. The raise in volume makes him flinch back and Ranboo deflates once more, shoulders slumping. “He was hurting you, Tommy, I couldn’t just...stand there and watch . I can’t just stand by and watch my haunting be hurt -”

“Haunting..?”

Ranboo’s jaw snaps shut with an audible click, but Tommy doesn’t pay mind to that. No, his attention is on what he had just called him.

He knew haunting was a term for a group and/or family of enderman. It wasn’t often you saw a lot of enderman together, but if a group of them were traveling together, it was common knowledge to stay away less you want to risk getting your spine broken by a swipe from one of those strong, powerful arms.

He also knew that it wasn’t impossible for them to form hauntings with other creatures.

It wasn’t common, but he remembers a story Phil had told him when he was a kid. He had been traveling in his hardcore world when he came across a haunting who had integrated an entire village into their haunting. The endermen and villagers lived in harmony and he watched from a distance for nearly a week as the two interacted with one another. The enderman hadn’t even grown hostile when the villagers would meet their gazes and Phil was in awe.

When he finally entered the village to speak to the villagers, both the enderman and the villagers themselves were guarded. He’d promised he didn’t want to harm any of them and it took a few days of him proving himself before they began to relax around him. Finally, he could ask the villagers how exactly they’d been integrated into the Endermen’s haunting and they had laughed and shrugged helplessly.

‘One of the children came home with a young one that had gotten hurt. We tended to their injuries and when they returned, they had more with them. Before we knew it, they were living around our village, protecting us from mobs and offering gifts every now and then. They’re family now, at this point!’

Tommy always thought that story was so cool and he’d declared that he would befriend an enderman one day so he could join their haunting. Phil had just laughed and waved it off, but..

It looks like he had achieved that childhood dream without even realizing it.

He didn’t realize his eyes started burning until it was too late.

“Tommy?” Ranboo whispered, voice urgent, and he flinched when a large hand gently cupped his face. The enderman started to pull his hand away after the flinch, but Tommy turned his face to press into the touch, raising his own hand to grip the much larger one.

“You’re such an asshole, dropping that on me without warning,” he mumbles, voice muffled by his hand. Ranboo only stares for a moment before chuckling dryly, ignoring the pain of the tears burning his palm.

“Sorry,” he murmurs back. They stand there for a few moments, only for the moment to be interrupted by Ghostbur rushing back in.

“They exited the portal! Phil is dealing with them now!” The spirit rushed out, blue stained hands grabbing at their sleeves. The two teens look at Ghostbur for a moment before looking back to each other, locking eyes.

“Come with me,” Ranboo says, one last time.

Tommy stares at him for a long moment before huffing, fake exasperation leaking into it.

“Fine. You better not get me killed.”

The grin that spread across Ranboo’s face was almost blinding.

Tommy huffs quietly, but can’t help the slight smile that curls his lips upwards. The giddy feeling he got from being called a member of Ranboo’s haunting had yet to go away, not that he would ever tell Ranboo himself about it. It was the last thing he had expected, he didn’t even realize Ranboo had cared about him that much, but then again, it kind of makes sense if he actually thought about it.

Ranboo had been his only visitor from L’Manburg and Tommy had been his first friend in the server before everything happened. He even humored him with letters, exchanging them frequently despite the danger of it.

Then, of course, the incident with Dream…

A shudder runs down the blonde’s spine at the memory of what happened and he quickly shakes his head, smacking a hand down on the couch. No , actually, he’s not going to think about that!

He’s so wrapped in his thoughts that he doesn’t hear movement in the house until a floorboard creaks.

Head snapping up, he looks to the source and feels his stomach drop.

A large cat stalks around the corner, head ducked down with bright eyes glued to him. He feels his breath hitch at the sight and he stands upright quickly, earning a low hiss from the feline. The ocelot isn’t running like they normally would and Tommy’s stomach twists, that means it was someone’s pet. Does that mean someone is still around here? But why would the place be so dusty if they did?

“Heeeyyyy, big guy,” he drawls out, holding his hands up. The ocelot hisses once more and stalks forward, making him step back. Now that the entire cat was visible, he saw that it was...really skinny. Had it been trapped in this house? “Heyyy, big guy, I’m not here to hurt you! My, uh, my buddy is hurt and we just need somewhere to rest for the night..!”

The ocelot growls and he mentally facepalms. He’s explaining himself to a cat , it can’t understand him!

“Ranboooo..?” He calls out cautiously, stepping back when the feline steps forward. It only takes a moment for the door to swing open and the ocelot spins around, hissing at the intrusion.

Ranboo steps into the building and his tails puff out when he’s hissed out, an instinctual growl rumbling from his throat in response. The ocelot puffs up as well and the two stare each other down for a moment before Ranboo slowly moves to kneel on the ground.

“Ranboo!” Tommy hisses out, wings raising high on his back. The enderman shoots him a look and he falls silent, eyes widening.

Ranboo’s movements are slow as he sets the cushions of the couch down and shakes his wrist out to rid it of any ache that lingered from earlier. The ocelot growls and he trills softly, startling the feline into taking a step back. He’s making his movements obvious and Tommy can only watch as he touches a hand to the band wrapped snug around his wrist, tapping at the screen. The dim glow of his inventory opening lights up the cabin slightly and Tommy takes advantage of it to look around for anything else.

The cabin is so old, it’s clear no one has lived here for a long time, and his chest aches for the ocelot. Someone had left it here and didn’t even leave the door open so it could leave .

He turns back to Ranboo when he hears him laugh and his eyes widen at what he’s met with. A raw slab of beef lays on the dirty floor, but the ocelot doesn’t care as it digs in, ripping it to shreds with sharp teeth. A soft smile has spread across Ranboo’s face and he carefully scoots forward, reaching a hand out. The ocelot freezes and stares at his hand for a long moment before it returns to eating, allowing him to rest his hand on its back.

Tommy can only watch in silent shock as the enderman hybrid smooths a hand down the feline’s back, cooing softly and pulling another slab of beef from the container he’d tucked it into, giving it to the ocelot once it finished its first slab.

“ ☊⏃⍀⟒⎎⎍⌰, ⊬⍜⎍'⌰⌰ ⋔⏃☍⟒ ⊬⍜⎍⍀⌇⟒⌰⎎ ⌇⟟☊☍, ” he coos, voice fond and amused. Tommy doesn’t have a clue what was said, but the ocelot slows slightly, eyeing Ranboo from the corner of its eyes as it eats.

“How the hell..” Tommy murmurs, taking a cautious step forward. Ranboo tilts his head back to look at him and grins, shrugging his shoulders.

“She looked hungry.”

A moment of silence.

“You could speak english all along?!”

Ranboo bursts out laughing and the ocelot growls, but doesn’t move as she eats, ignoring the two teens as Ranboo explains himself to an infuriated Tommy. Neither notice the low purr that begins to rumble from her chest as she leans further into the gentle touch on her back.

After the ocelot had eaten, Ranboo left the door open so she could leave and she darted, looking back at the two briefly before disappearing into the surrounding forest. The enderman stayed on the ground for a moment after she left before he sighed and looked down at himself.

“I need help to get up,” Ranboo calls out, gaining Tommy’s attention. The blonde looks back at him and sighs, loud and dramatic.

“You shouldn’ta sat on the floor, bitch boy,” he scolds. Despite this, he comes over and helps Ranboo stand back up, supporting his weight when his legs tremble beneath him.

“I didn’t want to scare her,” he explains weakly, offering a smile. Tommy just rolls his eyes and ushers him over to the couch where he had returned the cushions to their spots. He careful lowers himself down onto it and groans, a hand curling around his gut. He’s been pushing his limit and he hesitates for a moment before slinging his bag off his back, holding it to Tommy. “Can you get the bandages out?”

Tommy stares at him for a moment before his mouth forms an ‘o’ and he snatches it, cursing under his breath.

“You better not have ripped open your stitches, Phil will kill you,” he murmurs, digging through the bag.

Ranboo just chuckles dryly and shrugs his suit vest off, his muscles screaming at him with each stretch of them. If only Dream hadn’t made them have to leave early, then maybe he could have actually rested instead of having to take off and push himself despite being freshly injured. The white button up isn’t really white anymore, the stomach and back stained a muddy color from multicolor blood from where he had been stabbed by Dream with a tear in the fabric. Both shirts will have to be replaced when they arrive at a village, but they will have to do for now.

The bandage wrapped around his torso is ripped slightly and stained the muddy color, though it’s hard to tell if it’s from his shirt or from the injury hidden beneath it. He almost doesn’t want to find out, but he knows he has to change it, so he tugs his dagger from his belt and carefully begins to cut it. He feels the blade nick his skin, but it’s nothing compared to the pain in his gut where he’d been stabbed.

It’s clear the totem stitched his insides back together, but the outside wasn’t as important as the bandages falls away, showing his injury. The stitches are surprisingly neat, though he supposes it makes sense since it sounds like Phil was the one who did them. There’s dried blood near the edges of the stitches and it’s clear he ripped the injury slightly when fighting mobs earlier that night, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. 

“Can you grab the awkward potion that’s in there, too? I need to clean it,” he explains, running his fingers across the injury. The light touch hurts, but not bad enough for him to need to stop right away. The hand not touching his stomach starts rolling up the used bandage and he uses it to carefully dab away the green blood slowly leaking from the cut he’d given himself when cutting it off. It’s not a bad injury, so he’s not worried about it. Hell, it probably won’t even scar, so it really didn’t matter to him.

Tommy seems to be in a different mindset, however. When the avian turns back to him, he quite literally squawks at the sight of the new cut, pulling Ranboo’s hands away.

“What the hell, man?! How’d you do that?!” He exclaims, examining the injury. Ranboo huffs quietly and swats his hands away gently, rolling his eyes.

“I had to cut the bandage off, it’s not a big deal,” he explains. Tommy shoots him a look, but he ignores it in favor of snatching the awkward potion from his hand. He lets out an offended noise, but doesn’t push, shoving the new bandage into his free hand as well.

Carefully uncorking the potion, he cuts some of the bandage from the bundle and folds it a few times before pressing it to the mouth of the bottle. Tilting it, the liquid quickly soaks into the fabric and he feels the faint tingle against his fingertips.

“Won’t that still burn you?” Tommy asks, staring at his hand.

“Well, yeah, it’s mostly water,” he starts, ignoring Tommy’s concerned look in favor of dabbing at the stab wound, “The nether wart makes it not hurt as bad, though. So while it still burns a bit, it isn’t as bad as straight water.”

The blonde’s brows furrow, but he doesn’t push, looking into the bag in his lap. “Phil put some ointment shit in here to put on the cuts before you bandage them again.”

“Thanks, can you get it out?”

A grunt is his response.

The two sit in silence as Ranboo finishes wiping down the cuts on his stomach, setting the bloodied bandage to the side with a sigh. The muddled blood mixes with the green from the newest injury and he can only stare at it for a moment before turning his eyes to Tommy, holding his hand out.

The ointment is immediately pressed into his palm and he’s pleased to see it’s already open, shooting his friend a grateful smile. He holds back a laugh when he looks away with a slight flush to his face and shakes his head, turning his attention back to himself. Carefully spreading the ointment over the injuries, he’s surprised by the slight tingling that spreads across his skin and has to shove down a choked noise. Phil put regen in the ointment to help with the healing process and he almost wants to cry.

Tommy seems to notice something Ranboo didn’t realize he was showing because he touches a wing to his back lightly, earning his attention. Ears tilt back, he looks back down, quickly busying his hands with the bandage.

“You know, Phil is the best guy at taking care of injuries I know,” Tommy starts, looking forward. A tail twitches, showing he’s listening, and Tommy huffs out a laugh. “Always had to deal with me and Wil getting hurt. Bastard liked dragging me into his shit, so I dragged him into my shit in return. One of us always ended up getting hurt.”

Ranboo listens in silence, carefully applying the ointment to the exit wound. Tommy never talked about his past and he never talked about Wilbur, so if he wanted to talk, he was going to listen.

“One time, when my wings were still pretty new, Wil wanted to teach me how to fly. Helped me climb a tree and then pushed me out of it,” he breaks off into a laugh, wings puffing behind him slightly, “Broke my damn wing from the fall, the jerk. He freaked the fuck out and took me to Phil, all while apologizing like he’d killed me. Never seen Phil work so damn fast before making the healing pot to fix it. Still ended up having to wrap it since it broke, was a pain in the ass to deal with. Wil got grounded for a month, though, so that was funny.

Another time, after we met Toby - that’s Tubso by the by - he insisted on one of us picking up and flying with him. Obviously, me being the big man I am, offered to do it, but Wil was a bastard and picked him up before I could. That was the day we learned Tubbo did not like heights, poor guy freaked the fuck out. Phil helped him calm down when he got him back to the cabin and we got in huuuge trouble for not asking him first.”

Tommy falls silent after a moment and Ranboo shoots him a look, carefully securing the bandage in place. The avian stares forward for a long moment before he huffs out a shaky laugh, looking down at the dust covered floor.

“He’s the only person who checked in on me other than you. He couldn’t do it too often because everyone was already watching him after what happened with Wil, but he sent me letters with Twitch when he could, told me about what was going on in L’Manburg. Twitch would wait for me to write a letter and send it back every time...” He trails off and grabs his pant legs, head ducking down slightly.

Ranboo stares at him for a moment before holding his hand down in a silent offer. Tommy looks at it for a moment before taking it into his hands, running his fingers across the bandage covering it where he had been burned by his tears.

“Have you replaced this one yet?” He asks, not looking up.

“Not yet, I was just about to,” he returns.

Tommy hums quietly and starts to carefully unwrap the bandage.

“I’m doing it,” he murmurs. Ranboo’s lips part to refuse, but Tommy shoots him a look and his mouth snaps shut with a click. Nodding, he offers the bandages and ointment to his friend and he takes them, setting them on the couch beside him.

The bandage peeling from the burns makes him wince and a quiet, pained warble slips past his lips. Tommy’s wing raises and curls around his shoulders for comfort as he carefully peels the bandage off, setting it to the side. Deep red stains the cloth and the burns are messy, clearly tear tracks.

“How do you bleed different colored blood..?” Tommy asks, brows furrowed as he gently dabs ointment against the injuries. “It’s fuckin’ weird.”

Ranboo laughs quietly and shrugs, wincing at each dab. “I don’t know, honestly. It’s always been that way.”

“It’s weird,” Tommy repeats, and Ranboo laughs. Each of his movements are so careful and the enderman can’t help but wonder how often Tommy has had to replace people’s bandages in the past. He was a child soldier, so he knew he had to deal with it, but how often was he the one actually doing it?

Bandage is being wrapped around his hand when they hear a thud against the door. Both teens tense, Tommy’s wings puffing and Ranboo’s tails lashing. The avian shoves Ranboo’s hand into his chest with the bandage and stands up, cautiously approaching the door.

“Tommy,” Ranboo hisses out, gaining his attention. He tosses his sheathed dagger to the blonde and he fumbles with it for a second before holding it tight, nodding back at him. Finishing the bandaging, he watches from the couch, prepared to stand if needed, and Tommy slowly cracks the door open.

A flash of tan and brown fur darts through the door and Ranboo yelps at the sudden weight that leaps onto his lap. To say he’s surprised when he looks down is an understatement.

The ocelot from before stands halfway on his laps, her hind legs digging into the cushions with her front paws digging into her thighs. She’s staring up at him with expectant eyes and his stomach churns slightly when he notices just what she’s offering to him.

A dead chicken dangles from the feline’s mouth, blood dripping from her maw, and he swallows thickly.

“O-Oh,” he murmurs, shaking hands carefully taking the chicken, “Is this for me..?”

The noise the ocelot makes when he takes the chicken makes his fur stand on end and he swallows thickly. Now that the cat isn’t growling and hissing at him, the noises she makes are also terrifying. He can understand why phantoms and creepers are scared of them if this is the noise they make all the time.

“Thank you..?” His voice trails off into a questioning tone and he opens his inventory, quickly depositing the chicken into it to deal with later. Something about having a dead animal brought to him by the ocelot instead of having killed it himself was unnerving.

The ocelot’s growl isn’t hostile like it had been earlier, but it still makes him a little nervous.

“Did you...re-tame the damned cat?” Tommy asks, disbelief in his voice as he approaches once more. That makes Ranboo pause and he looks down at the cat, holding a cautious hand out to stroke her head. A low purr rumbles from her chest and he lets out a quiet, shocked laugh.

“I...I guess?” He mumbles, petting down her back. A startled laugh leaves Tommy and he shuffles closer, cautious of the ocelot. She doesn’t pay him any mind, however, instead moving all the way into Ranboo’s laugh, and a low groan leaves him at the weight. “She’s kinda heavy for how skinny she is.”

“So are you, big man,” Tommy teases. The enderman huffs and rolls his eyes, dragging his hands down her back as she makes herself comfortable for the night. "Are you gonna name her?"

"I don't know, maybe? We can pick a name in the morning," he hums, waving a hand dismissively. Running a hand down the ocelot's back, he smiles slightly when he notes how quickly she fell asleep despite the odd position she'd put herself in. It's a miracle she was even able to properly fit with how big she was, but he supposed it was just a cat thing to do. “Guess I’m stuck here now."

Tommy snorts and sits on the couch beside him, hesitating for a brief moment before he slumps into his side “Now you’re extra stuck, bitch.”

Ranboo makes an fake affronted noise, but puts no effort into making his friend move, rolling his eyes. Carefully adjusting his arm, he wraps it around Tommy’s shoulders and closes his eyes, smiling slightly. He supposed he really was stuck, but he didn’t actually mind it all too much.

Chapter Text

Tommy opens his eyes and everything is dark. It looks to be late and a part of him is frustrated that he hasn’t dropped his habit of waking up at obscur times of the day. He raises a hand to his face, rubbing his eyes and looking around for Ranboo, noting how the enderman was no longer beside him, but then his surroundings register and his stomach drops.

The tent he’d spent the last few months in looks the same as it had the day they left down to red and green blood staining the sleeping bag he slept in. 

Sitting up quickly, he scrambles to his feet and narrowly misses slamming his head against the supports keeping the tent standing. There’s no sound outside, not even the sound of water lapping at the shores, and he can’t stay in this tent anymore, the smell of blood in the air suffocating. Throwing the flaps of the tent open, he ducks out and is hit by a wave of heat that surrounds him.

Fire consumes the entirety of Logstedshire.

Everywhere he looks, fire is blazing, and how hadn’t he been able to see it from inside his tent?! How couldn’t he feel it?! His tent is the only thing still standing and even it doesn't last long against the spreading fire. As soon as he steps completely out, he hears the sound of fabric catching ablaze and spins around to see the tent - his tent - bursting into flames, falling to pieces in mere seconds in the face of the blaze.

“No..” He murmurs, voice catching as he watches everything he’d known for months burn to ash around him.

“ You shouldn’t have left me, Tommy. ”

His heart drops and he spins to the source of the noise, but there’s no one there. All he sees is the fire consuming everything, spreading further and faster, faster than any fire he’s ever seen, and a part of him pleads with the gods to make it rain so the flames would just stop -

“ No god can help you now, Tommy. ”

He spins around, but there’s still no one in sight. His lips part to yell, scream and beg for them to stop destroying his home , he can’t lose another home again, he’s already lost his real home twice, he can’t lose this one too -

And then he feels a hand curl around his neck.

Breath catching in his throat, he freezes in the hold around his throat and he can’t move. The grip is tight, nearly suffocatingly so, but it’s just loose enough for him to drag in short, panicked breaths through his nose. A low hum sounds behind him and his body feels cold despite the flames dancing around them, the noise so familiar to the one person he’d been trapped with for so long.

“ I don’t know why you ran, Tommy ,” Dream hums, a sad lilt to his voice that feels like a punch to the gut. “ I was trying to help you, we were friends , and then you left me, you let Ranboo kill me. ”

“No,” he rushes out, but the hand tightens around his throat and his words are cut off.

“ I didn’t say you could speak yet, ” Dream growls, voice dangerous, and Tommy’s mouth snaps shut. The grip loosens once more and he drags in a gasping breath, barely able to hold it before it rushes out of him in a panicked wheeze. 

“ I was trying to do what was best for you and you let Ranboo warp your mind. I told you not to talk to the others, that they didn’t want you to make the development that you needed to, but you just didn’t listen ,” the admin drags on, the hand not holding his neck waving around dismissively. It takes a moment for Tommy to notice what was in the man’s hand, but when he does, his heart drops, unable to look away from the sword that gleamed in the light of the fires.

There’s a low sigh next to his head and suddenly he’s been shoved to the ground, the brief spike of pain that shoots up his knees nothing compared to the buzzing in his brain. Spinning around, he looks up to see Dream staring down at him, that damned mask boring holes into his head, but he can’t look away. It’s like some invisible force was making him look the white mask in the eyes and he feels sick the longer he looks.

“ You should have just told Ranboo to leave you alone the first time he visited ,” Dream scolded, shaking his head like one would their own child or something. “ Now he’s dead and it’s because you didn’t listen to me. I guess he deserved it, though, since he killed me, but he never would have done that if you had just listened to me, would he have? ”

Tommy doesn’t think he can breathe.

“What..?” He asks, voice cracking. Dream sighs and waves a hand in the direction of the flames, causing them to part and since when could Dream do that?

He looks in the direction the admin motioned and it feels like the world stops when he sees just what the man was motioning towards.

Laying on the ground only a few feet away is Ranboo. The enderman is unmoving, once bright red and green eyes dull and unseeing. Blood is pooled around him, red and green and muddy brown staining the grass and when he notes where the blood is coming from, he feels like he’s going to be sick. A large cut going down the center of his back still leaked blood, the injury so deep he could almost see into it, and he can’t hold it back anymore.

Turning his face away from his friend’s body, he hurls. He doesn’t remember the last time he got sick, but he doesn’t remember it hurting this bad. His entire body convulses with each rise of bile, throat burning as acid mixes with the little food he had in his stomach, splattering across the ground with each harsh expulsion. It hurts, it hurts so bad , but he can’t stop and it feels like he’s dying.

A hand touches between his wings and he flinches, but it doesn’t move away as it begins rubbing soothing circles into his back. He knows who it is, he knows , but he can’t help but lean into it, a pained whine rising from his throat.

“ I know, Tommy, I know ,” Dream soothes, crouching next to him, “ Let it all out. ”

Gaze flickering to the side, he meets Ranboo’s lifeless gaze and he sobs as his body convulses once again.

This was his fault. Ranboo was dead and it was all his fault, he should have just listened to Dream and done as he said, but no, he talked to Ranboo consistently and now he’s dead and it’s his fault . He made Dream kill the only person who seemed to care about him during exile-

Except that wasn’t true, Dream cared, right? He was his friend, he’s been there for him every day. He can only imagine the pain he put him through, what with letting him die and then making him kill someone else.

“ Now Tommy ,” Dream speaks up. The sobs break off into a choked noise and he bites his tongue to keep himself from saying something stupid. He looks up to the admin and his breath catches in his throat when he sees him standing. “ I will have to punish you for disobeying me. ”

Tears build in his eyes once more.

“ You know I’m doing this because I care about you, right?”

No.

“I just want what’s best for you, so you have to be punished when you step out of line.”

No..

“This way you will be disciplined and be let back into L’Manburg!”

“ NO- ”

Tommy wakes up with a scream on his tongue and he lets it out. Everything is too hot and the heat pressed into his side shifts, making him scramble away from it. Hands brush his shoulders when he moves and a choked whine rises from his throat, shoving the touch away from him.

“Don’t touch me!” He yells, voice cracking. There’s a displeased growl and his heart leaps to his throat when he looks down to see a large cat fluffing up on the couch, growling at the terrified blonde. Another fearful noise rises in his throat and then he sees hands grabbing the ocelot and ushering it to the floor.

Following the hands up, he sees concerned green and red eyes staring at him and flashes of the teen’s corpse flash through his mind. 

He barely has time to scramble to the floor before bile rises once more, this time much more real and much more painful. The food he and Ranboo had eaten only hours prior forces its way up his throat and he lets out a choked noise as vomit forces its way past his lips. He can feel drool pooling in his mouth with each wave of bile that forces its way up and a broken noise leaves him, wings curling around him in a protective shield.

He can hear Ranboo shifting around behind him, but he can’t look at him, he can’t, he’s dead, he saw his body, he smelled his blood, he knows he kn ows he knows he knows, he’s DEAD -

Knees drop to the ground beside him and he flinches, bile catching in his throat and causing him to cough harshly.

“Can I touch you, Tommy?” Ranboo asks, voice gentle yet concerned as he holds a hand out. A small voice in the back of Tommy’s head whispers about how no one has ever asked before touching him and a broken whine rises from his chest. Ranboo was so good compared to him and he was going to get the older teen killed . “Is that a no?”

The hand he could see from the corner of his eyes starts moving away and panic rises in his chest. He quickly latches onto it and pulls it to his chest, a sob leaving him from the heat of Ranboo’s hand.

“You were dead ,” he manages to get out, voice rising in distress. The hand he’s gripping onto curls around his hands and he holds it closer, curling around it as if Ranboo would disappear if he let go. He can feel two tails curl around his legs and he knows it’s his friend, but he still can’t help but jump slightly. He’s so grateful when the twin tails don’t move away, however, pressing Ranboo’s hand against his heart. “I saw your body , you were dead , you were, I saw it-”

“Tommy,” Ranboo murmurs, shuffling a bit closer. The air is thick with the smell of vomit and sweat, but it doesn't deter the enderman as he raises his free hand to Tommy’s face. The blonde jerks away from it briefly before pressing into it immediately after, squeezing his eyes shut so he wouldn’t have to look at him. “Please open your eyes, Tommy,” Ranboo pleads and a part of Tommy wonders why Ranboo of all people is begging him to do something.

He listens despite his better judgement, however, cracking his eyes open and meeting bright, heterochromic eyes. Flashes of Ranboo’s dead, lifeless eyes flash through his mind, but then he’s brought back to the present by the thumb rubbing beneath his eye.

“I’m alive, Tommy,” Ranboo mutters, holding his gaze. “I’m alive and I’m not going anywhere. I’m not leaving you. I swear to you.”

And suddenly, for just a moment, Tommy is in early L’Manburg, Wilbur crouched in front of a younger Tommy with the same promise being whispered to him.

And suddenly, Tommy breaks. Tommy breaks and a sob rises from his throat, tears falling rapidly as he allows his guard to fall, throwing himself into the chest of the taller teen. Ranboo grunts, but doesn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around the blonde, holding him close to himself even as tears burn their way into his chest.

Meanwhile, Tommy, for the first time in months, allows himself to sob, clinging onto fur covered skin and letting it out until he couldn’t cry anymore.

Chapter Text

Ranboo stares down at himself, hands perched on his hips as he takes in the state of his body.

Both hands were now bandaged due to water burns, the skin sensitive and tender, but it wasn’t something he’s never experienced before. It was nothing compared to the time his hands had been completely submerged in water, though that wasn’t exactly his fault in the long run. This time it was since he kept using his hands to wipe his friend’s tears away, even when the blonde tried to smack his hands away so he would ‘ stop fucking burning them! ’

Then there was his torso. The bandages on his gut had to be replaced, the force of all the movement causing the stitching to come loose and bleed once more. It wasn’t severe, but he supposed it wasn’t a big deal since he had to bandage his chest now, anyways. 

Tommy had looked horrified when he pulled back from Ranboo’s chest after crying and saw the burns seared into dual-colored skin. Unfortunately, Tommy and the ocelot had both fallen asleep on him before he even got the chance to put his shirt back on, so his bare chest had fallen victim to direct contact with the other’s tears. He couldn’t help but laugh when he was forced to sit on the couch so that Tommy could bandage the burns before they got dirty in the filthy house they were currently in.

“You don’t have to, Tommy, I can do it,” he had said, amused.

“I’m the one who did it, so let me fucking fix it,” Tommy had said back, frustrated.

( He had at least gotten him to allow him to wipe the tears and blood from his face so he didn’t have to see it when he looked at his reflection. )

And now he’s here, carefully tugging his dress shirt on over the bandages, trying not to disturb them. He can hear Tommy moving around the cabin, probably searching for things they could take, when he hears a thrilled shout.

“Ranboob! Get up here!” Tommy hollars from upstairs. A low chuff flips past the enderman’s lips, but he listens anyways, running his hand across the ocelot’s head as he walks past. He really has to name her soon ..

Going upstairs aches, but he pushes through it, ducking his head down to avoid hitting it off the doorframe when he enters the room Tommy was scavenging. He looks up to see clothes all over the room, completely scattered and clearly thrown around recklessly, most likely the avian’s doing.

“These clothes are so musty,” Ranboo mumbles, sensitive nose scrunching as he shuffles closer to his friend. Said blonde snorts and spins towards him, shoving a large shirt into his hands.

“Well, you can’t go into a town covered in your own fuckin’ blood,” Tommy says, grinning up at him. A frown tugs his lips downwards, but he knows Tommy is right. The dress shirt he had on was stained a muggy brown color with splotches of red and green bleeding out and was torn from the sword; there was no way he could walk into the town dressed like that.

Still, the shirt in his hands smelled musty and there was an underlying smell that made his nose scrunch and his stomach churn. He couldn’t pinpoint where he knew the scent from, but he hated it, it didn’t feel safe like his shirt did.

“Come on, big man,” Tommy urges, “You need to wear it.” Ranboo jumps slightly when he realizes Tommy is right by his side now and looks at the shirt in his hands, frowning at the aged green fabric. He didn’t want it, he didn’t like it , but he needed it.

“Fine,” he murmurs, shoulders slumping. He hates this.

“There we go,” Tommy cheers, thumping a hand on his back. A pain wheeze rises from his lungs and he curls an arm around his torso, curling in on himself slightly, and the blonde curses loudly, jerking his hand away immediately. His apologies are loud and so genuine sounding, and Ranboo lets out an amused chuff, shaking his head.

“It’s fine,” he interrupts, voice strained. Tommy frowns beside him and carefully rests his hand on his back once more, much higher than where he had before, and gives him a gentle nudge.

“If you say so,” he murmurs, but doesn’t push. “Put the shirt on, I’m looking for one for myself.”

Sitting down on the old bed, Ranboo finds himself watching his friend for a moment as Tommy returns to rummaging through the long abandoned closet, mind wandering. Who had even lived here before they found the cabin? It was clearly someone’s home at one point, but who’s ? And why had they left the poor ocelot trapped in the house, why couldn’t they have let her out if they didn’t think they were going to return? It didn’t make sense, nothing about this house made sense, and the longer Ranboo thought about it, the more unnerved he became.

Carefully shrugging the ruined shirt from his shoulders, he hesitantly tugs on the green one and shudders, ears falling flat. He didn’t like it, he hated that the scent on this shirt was completely surrounding him now, but he had to wear it. It was the only thing that seemed to be big enough for him, still a little snug, and he hated it. He hated everything about it, but he had to wear it, just for now.

Just for now..

“Ranboob!” 

Tommy’s excited voice makes him jump and he looks up, brows furrowing when he notes that the blonde isn’t in the same room as him anymore. Had he zoned out? He’s been trying to get better at not doing that..

Pushing himself up from the bed, he wanders to the hall, looking around cautiously. “Tommy?”

“In here, big man!” Tommy calls from another room. Turning to the source of his voice, he follows it and ducks his head into the room next to the one he’d just been in.

He can barely shove down a snort at the sight of Tommy wearing a large, long-sleeved shirt, the black fabric not suiting him at all . Tommy’s nose scrunches at the muffled laughter coming from the enderman hybrid and he crosses his arms, squinting up at the taller teen.

“What’s so funny, bitch ?” Tommy hisses, wings puffing beneath the shirt. Ranboo can’t contain the bark of laughter that bursts from his chest and he nearly hits his head when he steps back, quickly grabbing the door frame to support himself. “What?!”

“You look so dumb ,” Ranboo laughs out, tails thumping against the ground. The blonde squawks and tears the shirt off, chucking it at the other.

“I never look dumb!” He shoots back, grinning despite himself.

“Look at your wings then!” Ranboo’s laughter only grows louder as he grips the black shirt, leaning heavily against the wall. Tommy’s wings puff out more and the messed up feathers look ridiculous , making the avian squawk in offence.

“No! My most beautiful feature aside from my face!”

Ranboo can’t stop laughing and Tommy grins behind a wing, fixing his feathers.

It took a bit longer to find a proper shirt for Tommy, but they landed on a white, collared shirt in one of the other rooms as well as a red cardigan from another. Now that they were exploring, the house was bigger than they thought it’d be from the outside appearance, four rooms taking up a good portion of the house.

“ Whoever lived here left so much good loot behind, ” Tommy had chirped, grinning widely as he took old leather armor from a chest.

“ It will fall apart with one hit, ” Ranboo had returned, shaking his head.

Now they were back in the living room, Tommy sewing up holes in the backs of the shirts for his wings. Ranboo, on the other hand, was carefully shredding their old clothes into strips to be used for bandage later if needed. They’d need to be clean first, of course, but they could do that later, they had plenty of bandage still in stock.

“Y’know, she’s been sniffing at you for a while,” Tommy mentions off handedly, not looking up from the cardigan. Ranboo hums in response and looks to the ocelot in question, raising a hand to gently pet her head.

“Maybe this is her old owner’s shirt?” He phrases it like a question, but if the way she rubbed against his sleeve said anything, he had his answer. “We should probably name her now.”

Tommy perks up from his spot on the couch, grinning slightly. “Let’s name her Pog.”

“We are not naming her Pog.”

“Poggers?”

“ No!! ”

Who knew naming an animal would take so long?

The teens spent nearly half an hour shooting names back and forth, some being immediately shot down ( “ We are not naming her bitch. ” “ I mean she kinda is a bitch. ” “ TOM! ” ), others being put on the backburner. While Ranboo was technically the one who had tamed her, she was going to be both of their pet and so they wanted to decide on something together .

“What about Octavia?” Tommy suggests. Ranboo is already mid-refusal when he pauses, the name registering.

“That’s...not a bad name, actually,” he murmurs, looking down at the ocelot. She’d laid in his lap at some point and was sleeping, large paws making very painful biscuits in his legs. Tommy’s wings stretch slightly behind him and he grins, scratching his nose slightly.

“Of course it’s not! I’m the best at names!”

Ranboo huffs out a laugh and leans down, pressing a gentle kiss against the top of the feline’s head. “Yeah, sure. Octavia.”

Octavia lifts her head and chuffs in Ranboo’s face, making Tommy burst out laughing. The enderman chuffs back, grinning slightly despite himself and sitting upright, scratching behind the cat’s head with an amused sigh.

"We should stay here for another night," Tommy suggests, reaching a hand out to pet Octavia's head. The ocelot purrs and leans into the touch, making both teens grin. Ranboo's grin falls fairly quickly, however, and he sighs, shoulders slumping.

"Yeah, one more night of rest, then we have to go," he murmurs. "It's not safe to sit still for so long, we're still too close."

Tommy frowns beside him and leans against his side, head resting on his shoulder.

"Yeah, alright.."

Chapter Text

The sun is rising, he can tell it is, and yet he finds he doesn’t want to move. Moving meant they’d leave and he didn’t know if Tommy would allow this type of contact to continue once they were out of the cabin. The weight of the other teen on his side is comforting, this type of contact something he had grown used to during his months in L’Manburg and something he was realizing he was going to miss if it turned out this was just a temporary thing.

Who knew he’d grow to crave physical contact so deeply despite hating it so much at first? He blamed Tubbo, truly, the older teen was always hanging off of him during meetings or when they walked the streets.

He should write Tubbo a letter when they reach their next stop.

“I haven’t seen those clothes in so long.”

Ranboo jolts upright from his slouched position, fur on end and tails lashing out next to him. The weight that had been against the side of his body is suddenly gone, but he finds he can’t focus on that, heterochromic eyes snapping around the living area. There’s no one in the cabin from what he can see, but that doesn’t stop him from stumbling to his feet, wavering slightly.

He recognizes that voice, he knows he does, yet the name slips through his fingers like silk. An instinctual growl bubbles up in his throat, sharp teeth being bared at nothing in particular, and he steps forward.

"The cabin looks so rotten, don't know how you're sleeping here!"

Hands grab at him, but he doesn’t pay them any mind, a territorial warble leaving the enderman.

“Where are you?” He hisses, ears pressing back against his head. There’s laughter and his tails lash once more, the growl only growing louder at the sound of it.

“What do you mean? You really can’t tell?”

The voice sounded so close, like it was right by his head, and Ranboo could feel his frustration growing, jaw clicking with the warble that leaves him.

“What do you mean I can’t tell?”

The voice laughs again and he can distantly feel the hands touching him begin to tremble, the voice speaking in the background barely audible to his normally so sensitive ears.

It feels like something touches the side of his face and his gaze whips to the side, sharp teeth snapping at empty air.

“I’m in your head, Ranboo.”

Those words make the teen freeze, all movement coming to a stop, and it feels like even his hearts stop for a moment. Suddenly, he can’t feel the hands shaking him or the paws smacking at his tails, he can’t hear the panicked voice wavering in the background or the distraught caws coming from around his head.

“What..?”

The voice cackles, loud and pleased with themself, and he feels his tails slowly curl around his leg.

Ranboo knew about the voices. Every ‘hostile’ mob hybrid had to deal with them in some way or another. Ranboo’s were the particles that were a constant presence around his person that would speak sometimes, soft voices that carried on the wind easily, only audible when they truly wanted to be. He was familiar with them and he’s gotten good at ignoring them when they got to be too much, but this?

This was different .

None of them have ever been so loud , so demanding of his attention.

His legs tremble and a high warble rises in the back of his throat.

“You’re lying-”

“Now why would I lie to you, Ranboo ?”

He recognizes that voice, that tone .

His breath catches and the world is suddenly moving fast.

Desperate hands hold onto his arms, a frantic voice spouting words that were hard to make out with how fast he was speaking. He could see large wings curled around them from the corner of his eyes, trembling with just as much panic as the hands gripping tightly onto his arms.

The touch is familiar, as are the wings, but his mind is spiralling and a broken whine leaves the enderman hybrid.

The hands shaking him stop for just a brief moment before the presence moves closer, forehead pressing against his shoulder.

“Ranboo, you’re scaring me .”

Tommy.

The front door to the cabin creaks open, Octavia’s large form stalking into the room, and the voice curses at her arrival. Ranboo barely has time to react to the ocelot as his legs give out from under him, a startled shout leaving Tommy as he steps back to avoid being hit by the other on his way down. He quickly follows, however, hands grabbing at the enderman, but Ranboo finds it hard to react, barely registering the hands taking hold of his own.

Octavia’s curious chirps that trail off into angered hisses make his tails lash, but it’s the most of a reaction it gets.

“Ranboo, answer me , come on, snap out of it, asshole!”

Heterochromic eyes briefly flicker to Tommy’s face, but it’s hard to focus on anything other than the voice.

He knows where they are.

He found them.

He knows this house.

He’s wearing his shirt.

Ranboo snatches his hands away from Tommy, making the blonde jump, but he can’t focus on that as sharp claws dig into the green fabric and he rips . The shirt rips to shreds with ease beneath his frantic hands and he throws it across the room, growling at the offending article of clothing.

That’s why he hated its scent.

“Ranboo!” Tommy shouts, making his gaze snap back towards him. The younger teen flinches away briefly before steeling himself, grabbing Ranboo’s hands once more. “Ranboo, what happened ? Who were you talking to?”

They make eye contact for the first time that morning and Ranboo’s barely aware that he speaks.

“Dream found us.”

Chapter Text

After very quickly retrieving a new shirt from one of the other rooms, packing to leave is a frantic and fast process. Tommy’s panicked curses echo through the small cabin, though he’s a bit quieter in an attempt to not be overwhelming.

Ranboo doesn’t even have it in them to scold him, static buzzing in their mind in chorus with the voices yelling for their departure, for them to hurry. After having Dream’s voice whispering in his mind, the voices and particles dancing around him aren’t a comforting presence and they tighten their hold on the pack they’d brought with them.

“ Will you shut up! ” They snap, throwing the bag over their shoulder. The words are directed towards the particles and yet they hear Tommy inhale sharply behind him. Quickly turning to the blonde, they raise a hand in a placating motion, trying to offer a comforting smile. “Sorry, Tommy, that was at the particles, not you. They’re being annoying.”

Tommy looks them over for a moment, as if trying to suss out a lie in his statement, before he seems to believe him and relaxes with a sigh. “Fucking hell, Boo, you can’t just yell like that out of nowhere!”

He offers a sheepish laugh and rubs the back of their neck with a shrug.

“I’ll try not to do it again,” he mutters. Tommy rolls his eyes and the enderman smiles when he turns away, waving away the particles when they fly in his face.

Softboo! Allium duo is the best. We’re not annoying! Hey, don’t wave us away! Come on! Come on! Let’s go! Hurry, he might come back. Tommy looks scared. Scared? Same lmao

Rolling their eyes, Ranboo looks around the room to make sure he has everything before starting to the door, glancing at his winged companion. “You ready to go?”

Tommy is also looking around when Ranboo talks and he looks to him, frowning. Another scan is cast over the room before he sighs, shoulders slumping.

“Yeah, I guess..” He mutters, approaching.

Ranboo examines the other for a moment before holding a hand, a silent offering. It takes Tommy a moment to realize what’s being offered before he scoffs, shooting a glare up at them.

“I’m not a fucking child, Ran boob ,” he hisses, crossing his arms. Ranboo sighs and pulls his hand back, heading out the door.

“I know, but considering who was just in the cabin, I’d rather be sure we don’t get separated,” they explain quietly. Logically they knew the touch was a temporary thing, but it’s still upsetting nonetheless, especially since most of their touch up until now had been hand holding. Had he viewed it as childish all along?

They don’t get a verbal response, but they can hear Tommy trailing after him and they keep their hand by their side now, tails twitching anxiously behind him. The world around them feels loud ; from Twitch’s wings flapping above head to Octavia’s steps by his side to their footsteps on the grass underfoot, and his ears twist and turn towards each sound.

What if Dream was still nearby? They wouldn’t even know with all the noise around them. He could be right behind them and they wouldn’t have any idea.

There’s the phantom feeling of the tip of a blade digging into their spine and Ranboo jerks when his hand is taken. 

Quickly looking to Tommy, he’s surprised to see the blonde’s hand holding onto their’s, grip tight. He doesn’t look at him and Ranboo can see the underlying embarrassment in his guarded expression, but it’s a step.

They go to thank him and he squeezes their hand slightly.

“Don’t say a fucking word, prick.”

A strained laugh bubbles up from their chest.

With the help of the regen in the ointment Phil had sent with them, moving doesn’t hurt as much today. Ranboo’s stomach still ached and he can feel the pull of the stitches every now and then, but it isn’t nearly as bad as it had been the day before. Tommy still makes them take breaks and sit down every now and then as to not push themself, but Ranboo doesn’t quite mind the fussing, even if his friend denies ever fussing.

They also don’t mind when Tommy’s hand slips right back into their’s once they start walking again. He can’t help but wonder if he still thinks it’s childish?

The two have put quite a bit of difference between them and the cabin at this point and they were fairly certain they weren’t being followed. Octavia wasn’t reacting as if they were and Twitch was fairly calm on Ranboo’s shoulder, so it seemed they were safe for now. They made sure not to leave anything behind to possibly hint to their presence, but other than that, the travel is calmer than it was before.

“Say, Boo,” Tommy speaks up, breaking the silence of the walk. A quiet trill is his response and the blonde rolls his eyes, but continues anyway, “Why did you come to Logstedshire anyways? You hadn’t visited in a while, I thought you forgot where it was!”

Tommy tried to make the statement come across as lighthearted with a laugh, but it’s strained and choked and Ranboo’s ears droop.

“Every time I tried to visit, Dream was there, and I remembered you telling me to stay away when Dream was around. I didn’t want to go against your wishes, but-”

“But you came to Logstedshire when Dream was there. You came to Logstedshire and you killed Dream, Ranboo,” Tommy interrupts, voice chipped. Ranboo flinches, twin tails curling around his calves.

“Yes, well, I was getting there,” they mutter, cautious. Tommy grunts, but doesn’t interrupt again, so they continue. “I didn’t want to go against your wishes, but then you stopped answering me. No matter what I wrote in our journal, you never responded. The last thing you had said to me was how you were scared of Dream lately and...and I didn’t want you to be trapped with someone you were scared of anymore.

I asked Ghostbur to take me to Logstedshire with him next time he came to visit you when Dream was there and he agreed. Phil stopped me before I left and sent Twitch with me so we could communicate with them, then I went to meet Ghostbur at the nether portal. When we got there, I heard what he said and I saw him blowing up your things and...well, you know the rest of what happened.”

Tommy stays quiet for a moment as they walk, idly swinging their hands slightly, and Ranboo is so happy he hasn’t let go during their explanation.

“Why did you ask to come when Dream was there?” He finally asks.

That makes them falter for a moment and Tommy stops walking as well, looking back at him.

Now that the question was in the air, Ranboo finds they...don’t actually know why they asked to go when Dream was there. Was it to see how bad Dream was? To see how he was treating Tommy?

Maybe...Maybe he had wanted it to go bad? Wanted an excuse to hurt the man who was hurting his friend? Ranboo had told themself they weren’t going to hurt people anymore, not unless it was necessary, so maybe they’d wanted to go when Dream was there so their violence would be necessary?

Their hearts clench and twist in his chest and he doesn’t realize his breathing has picked up slightly until a hand lightly touches their chest.

Ranboo flinches slightly and looks at Tommy, surprised to see an understanding look on the blonde’s face.

“I get it, big man. I’ve wanted to hurt Dream, too. I guess with all the shit I told you about him, it’s not surprising if you wanted to hurt him, too.”

They know they didn’t say any of that out loud and yet the way Tommy so easily reads him is odd. No one has ever been able to read them like that before and yet with Tommy, it’s like he’s an open book.

He huffs out a quiet, disbelieving laugh and leans down to lightly thump his forehead against Tommy’s.

“He was hurting a member of my haunting. I didn’t want him to hurt you anymore,” they mutter, voice quiet. Tommy laughs and tilts his head back so he can then bump it against Ranboo’s in return.

Ranboo wonders if it was Tubbo who taught this to Tommy or if it was the other way around.

“Yeah, well, he won’t get his grubby fuckin’ hands on me again if you have anything to say about it, ain’t that right, Ranboob ?”

A loud bark of laughter erupts from the enderman’s chest and his forehead slides down from the blonde’s to his shoulder.

“Stop calling me that!” They whine.

“ Nahhhh. ”

It’s easier to talk now that the conversation about why Ranboo had come to the small camp was out of the way. Tommy’s free hand moved around as he spoke animatedly about a time he and Tubbo had pranked Fundy by dumping a bucket of water on the shapeshifter’s head.

Apparently, because of his shapeshifter genes, Fundy aged exceptionally fast, and so that meant they hadn’t had a lot of time to tease the young fox until he outgrew them. They took advantage of it while they could until Fundy was eventually older than them and was starting to return to pranks tenfold with the help of Jack and sometimes Niki. 

It’s nice, being able to relax. With the distance between them and the cabin and the certainty that Dream wasn’t still close with the way Octavia was walking calmly beside them, it was nice. They weren’t being drowned by fear anymore, at least for now, and it was nice .

Ranboo swings their hands between them, starting to comment on the fact that Tommy had dunked a fourteen year old Fundy when they’d gone to the river, when a loud caw sounds overhead.

The teens stop walking for a moment to look up and Ranboo lifts his free hand so Twitch has a landing spot, the crow’s abnormally large wings nearly hitting the enderman in the face. Tommy snorts at the bird’s sporadic movements and he shoots him a brief glare before looking at them.

“Well, Twitch? Find anything?”

The bird nods proudly and hops from Ranboo’s arm to their shoulder, nodding their head towards the west.

“Town! That way!” They caw next to his ear, making him wince. Tommy snorts and looks in the direction the crow motioned, squeezing Ranboo’s hand.

“How far is it,” he questions. Twitch hops back to Ranboo’s arm and takes off, flying above their heads.

“Follow! Follow!”

Tommy huffs and narrows his eyes up at the bird, free hand resting on his hip. “ That isn’t an answer .”

Ranboo snorts quietly and bumps their hips together, nudging him onwards.

“Well, let’s follow them, I guess.”

"If they get us killed, I'm blaming you, Ranboo."

"Yeah yeah, whatever you say, Toms."

Chapter Text

Hey guys, similar update to the one I posted on my other dsmp fic.

I won't be able to finish this. This fic brought me so much joy at one point and I loved writing Allium Duo exploring the world together and running away, but I just. Can't anymore. The fic doesn't bring me that kind of joy anymore and writing dsmp just makes me sad at this point.

If you guys want, I have a General Layout? Of how I wanted this fic to go, though it's a bit more sporadic compared to some of my other things. I can update this chapter with the general idea of things if you guys want, but it won't properly be updated with actual chapters anymore, I'm sorry.

It sucks to drop fics like this, but I don't want to never update you guys and leave you wondering when or hoping I'll update when I won't.

I hope you guys understand. 

♡Ajax