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“A child?” Tommy asked, his expression unreadable but the bags underneath his eyes showed how little sleep he had been getting, “you adopted a child ?”
Tubbo winced, rubbing at his arm, “yeah… well… it’s this long story.”
“With Ranboo?”
“Aha… yeah…”
“You got married…”
Tubbo didn’t say anything, he stared at the ground between their feet, shuffling awkwardly. Everything about Tommy was unreadable, his expression carefully guarded as well as his voice. It made the hairs on the back of Tubbo’s neck stand up, he used to be so good at reading Tommy, now he had no idea what the other boy was thinking.
“I’m sorry… we… it wasn’t an actual wedding we kind of just,” Tubbo laughed nervously, “we just eloped right there, flipped a coin who would propose and… just… it was for tax benefits…”
Tommy wrapped his arms around himself, shifting his weight from foot to foot, his heart pounding wildly in his chest, “what’s his name?”
“Uhm… Ranboo?” Tubbo furrowed his eyebrows, looking up at Tommy confusedly, his ear twitching.
“ Your child!”
“Oh!” Tubbo felt his cheeks heat up in a small blush, “His name is Michael… we found him in the nether… he’s a zombie piglin...”
Tommy clicked his tongue, taking a step away from Tubbo, “thanks for telling me,” his voice was quiet with a bit of hurt behind it. Tubbo frowned.
“We would’ve told you sooner but… with the whole…” Tubbo cut himself off at the glare that Tommy gave him when he looked up, “right…”
“I’m going home, you know how to get a hold of me if you need me,” Tommy said. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, shivering in the crisp winter air as he trudged through the snow towards the direction of the main SMP.
Tubbo stood there, kicking at piles of the snow, “ah… that went well.” He stood there for a bit until the cold was starting to seep through his jacket and he was forced to go back inside.
Ranboo was waiting on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate in his hands, his knees pulled up to his chest, a thin blanket hanging over his shoulders. There was a second mug on the coffee table, but it was probably cold by now. Ranboo looked up as soon as Tubbo entered, his ears twitching. His hair was fluffed up and curling with the slight humidity in the room and his earrings jingled when he moved them.
Ranboo looked so soft that Tubbo had to take a moment to take the entire scene in. Standing in the doorway with his hands stuffed in his coat pockets.
“How’d it go?” Ranboo asked, completely ruining the mood as Tubbo sighed. He pulled his coat off and flopped down on the couch, swinging his hooves over the armrest. He leaned against Ranboo’s side.
“I don’t think he took it very well…” Tubbo muttered, twisting the ring around his horn, “he didn’t say much… kinda just got all quiet and stormed off…”
“Maybe you should’ve waited a bit to tell him?” Ranboo suggested, he spread one hand and shrugged, “after dying and being revived maybe you should’ve given him some more time to process that before dumping more news on him?”
“No… I think he would’ve gotten more upset if we waited to tell him…” Tubbo said, he moved his hands down to his lap, picking at the skin by his nails, “I don’t know with Tommy. He didn’t seem… that upset? He didn’t seem thrilled about it either.”
“What about Michael?” Ranboo asked, tilting his head forward.
“I don’t know, he didn’t seem that interested. More interested in Michael than our marriage though,” Tubbo chuckled weakly, “don’t blame him, sure Michael is more interesting.”
“Hm…”
Ranboo took a sip of his hot chocolate, flexing his paws and stretching his legs out, “I should start on dinner. I just wanted to wait to see how the conversation would go.”
“Ah… okay Boo.”
“We could invite him for dinner?” Ranboo wrung his hands as he stood up, his tail swishing back and forth uncertainly, “would that help do you think?”
“Not tonight, I’m sure he probably wants to take the time to process it before he comes over again,” Tubbo sighed, sprawling out over the rest of the couch now that Ranboo had stood up.
“Right… You’re right…” Ranboo nodded and turned back to the kitchen, taking both mugs of hot chocolate, “I can warm this up if you want…”
“No it’s fine, I don’t think I’d drink it anyway right now,” Tubbo shrugged and waved his hand.
“Michael’s upstairs as well if you wanna get him,” Ranboo called over his shoulder.
“Sure bossman,” Tubbo sighed and pushed himself off of the couch. His hooves clicked against the floor as he ascended the ladder carefully.
Tubbo stared at his communicator, the notification window dreadfully empty. It had been at least a week since he had told Tommy about his and Ranboo’s marriage and about Michael. And Tubbo hadn’t heard from Tommy since even messaging him a few times to see how he was doing which was met with no response.
Needless to say, it was a bit worrying. He could’ve messaged someone that lived near there to see if they had seen Tommy, but he felt that would stir up conflict and Tubbo didn’t really want to get anyone else on this server in a tizzy.
“Maybe we should just go over there,” Ranboo suggested, leaning over his memory book on the table, a quill in his hand half-pressed to the paper. The ink was starting to bleed.
“I don’t know… should we?”
“You’re worried aren’t you?” Ranboo looked up, tilting his head to the side.
“Kind of, are you?” Tubbo leaned back in the chair, carding his fingers through his hair.
“I’m always worried,” Ranboo laughed and ducked his head again, “sorry, yeah, I mean we haven’t heard anything from him… but me and Tommy aren’t exactly that close so I don’t think it would do much good for me to reach out.”
“You’d be surprised when it comes to Tommy,” Tubbo picked at a chip on the edge of the table, “I think I’m just gonna go over there and make sure he’s okay.”
Tubbo was just starting to stand up when his communicator buzzed, startling both boys at the table. Tubbo picked it up, squinting at the words on the notification that had popped up. His communicator buzzed again.
Tommyinnit whispers to you: coming over 2 Snowchester
Tommyinnit whispers to you: better be home
Tommyinnit whispers to you: otherwise im breaking in
Ranboo was looking at Tubbo with a confused expression as Tubbo read over the messages, his eyebrows furrowed.
“Who is it?” Ranboo finally asked, closing his memory book slowly.
“Tommy says he’s coming over?” Tubbo said, more of a question than an answer.
“Well… I guess that means he’s doing okay?”
“I think?”
You whisper to Tommyinnit: ok!
Tubbo set his communicator down on the table with the screen facing up. He stared at it for a few seconds before brushing his hands off on his pants.
“I guess we should make some hot chocolate or something? Tommy doesn’t have a coat so I’m sure he’ll be cold,” Tubbo said, moving into the kitchen. Ranboo huffed out a short laugh and stood up as well.
The loud pounding on the door alerted them that Tommy had arrived. And when Tubbo took more than a couple seconds to open the door, Tommy knocked again, louder this time.
“I’m coming! Prime!” Tubbo called, sighing heavily. He pulled the door open to reveal Tommy shivering in the cold, he stepped in quickly as Tubbo opened the door fully. Tubbo shut the door behind him and raised an eyebrow.
“It’s freezing out there! And you’re just leaving me out there to freeze,” Tommy complained, wrapping his arms around himself.
“No, if I was leaving you out there to freeze, I would’ve locked the door,” Tubbo deadpanned, raising one eyebrow, “What brings you to Snowchester? We haven’t heard from you in a while.”
“Don’t say that with such enthusiasm, can’t get rid of me that easily,” Tommy spat, the venom in his voice thickly disguising his exhaustion.
“Of course not, I don’t know what I would do if I got rid of you,” Tubbo knocked his shoulder against Tommy’s, “so why did you decide to visit?”
Tommy wrinkled up his nose, producing a sloppily wrapped package from under his arm. Tubbo hadn’t even noticed that he was carrying it. Without commenting on it, Tommy shoved it into Tubbo’s hands and looked away with a grimace.
“What?” Tubbo asked in surprise, almost dropping the package, not expecting the white paper to crinkle when he held onto it.
“It…” Tommy rubbed at his arm, “it’s for your son… for Michael.”
Tubbo just stared at Tommy with his mouth half-open, trying to process what was going on. Tommy looked up, his eyebrows furrowed.
“Well, you’ve got to open it!” Tommy insisted with a huff, taking a step back. Ranboo peeked his head out from the kitchen, a mug of hot chocolate in his hand. He smiled softly and waved at Tommy, who ignored him in favor of staring at the ground.
“Right… uh,” Tubbo peeled away the white paper wrapping, the tape barely holding it together. The paper came off easily revealing a soft, plush quilt. It was small, child-sized, and the material was smooth but soft.
There were orange, red, and purple fabrics obviously a play on the nether and the nether portal. They were arranged similarly to the portal leading from the overworld to the nether. It looked hand-stitched but well made and just by holding it in his arms, Tubbo could feel how warm it would be.
Tubbo must’ve been staring at it for too long without a reaction because he heard Tommy shuffle awkwardly and cough into his elbow.
“It… it’s kinda rough I haven’t… sewn in a long time… but…” Tommy trailed off, his entire face heating up in a dark blush up to his ears, “I don’t know… it’s stupid.”
Tubbo felt tears welling up in the corners of his eyes, he dropped the paper wrapping and grabbed Tommy into a hug.
“Tommy, it's amazing, Michael is going to love it!” Tubbo said quickly, “Thank you so much!”
“Yeah uh… no problem big man…” Tommy wrapped his arms around Tubbo loosely, pressing his face against the side of Tubbo’s head. His voice was shaky and he was trembling slightly.
“Ranboo!” Tubbo pulled away from the hug, “Come here!”
Ranboo peeked out from the kitchen again and shuffled over to where they were gathered by the door. Tommy wrinkled his nose and looked away again, stepping to the side as Tubbo showed Ranboo excitedly, his ears flicking.
Ranboo’s face immediately lit up, his tail wagging as he examined the quilt. He held it gingerly as if it was made of glass.
“Tommy made it for Michael,” Tubbo said, rocking back and forth on his hooves.
“It’s gorgeous…” Ranboo said, leaning down with his eyes wide, “Tommy I... thank you…”
“Yeah,” Tommy shrugged, “you’re welcome.”
“You haven’t met Michael yet,” Tubbo said, “you’ve gotta give it to him! He’s gonna love it.”
“Uh… I don’t know about that Tubbo… I should get going, I really only came here to drop it off…” Tommy held his hands up in front of himself, “I… I don’t really know if it would be a good idea for me to meet him.”
“Well, what kind of uncle would you be, not even meeting your nephew in person?” Ranboo asked, tilting his head to the side. Tommy’s eyes widened.
“What?”
“Come on big man, Michael loves everyone…” Tubbo reassured him, “well… almost everyone…”
Tommy frowned, taking the quilt that Ranboo had handed back to him. Tubbo took his arm leading him to the ladder.
“Are you sure?” Tommy asked, looking like he had just eaten a lemon.
“Mhm,” Tubbo hummed, going up the ladder first and pushing the trapdoor open, “Michael! Look who's come to visit!”
Tommy stood where he was, planted in place until Ranboo nudged his arm, nodding up at the ladder when Tommy turned to glare at him. Ranboo smiled softly.
“C’mon, you deserve to meet him.”
Ranboo nudged Tommy towards the ladder again, and reluctantly, Tommy climbed up through the trapdoor, his heart hammering loudly in his chest. Tubbo was standing in a corner of the room near a small bed, he turned, holding a small piglin child on his hip. He wore overalls and a striped yellow shirt.
One eye darted around the room while the other was cloudy white and moved with a small drift. One of his ears was ripped and bitten while the other flopped when he moved his head. Small tusks protruded from his mouth and his snout wrinkled up when he seemed to smile.
“Michael, this is your uncle Tommy, he made you something,” Tubbo explained, pressing his nose against Michael’s cheek. Michael squealed and snorted, tilting his head to the side as Tubbo put him down. Ranboo had squeezed through the trapdoor as well, his tail flicking back and forth as he stood off to the side.
Michael stared up at Tommy, his one eye seeming to stare right through Tommy. He snorted and stepped closer.
“Uh… hi?” Tommy shifted his weight from foot to foot, rubbing at the back of his neck. He looked up at Tubbo for guidance who only gave him a thumbs up and a small smile. Michael’s gaze didn’t falter.
“I made you a quilt?” Tommy muttered, his voice rising in pitch at the end with anxiety creeping into his voice. He held out the small blanket to Michael, who upon seeing it squeaked excitedly.
Still a bit hesitant, Michael shuffled over to where Tommy was, taking the quilt extended to him. He didn’t examine it in the same way that Tubbo or Ranboo did, instead pressing his face against the fabric and snuffling softly. He clutched it to his chest, his small hands gripping tightly as he stared up at Tommy with wide eyes.
“What do you say, Michael?” Ranboo asked, chuckling softly.
Michael continued staring at Tommy, he shuffled closer and reached his hand out, putting it on Tommy’s knee and patting gently. Tommy furrowed his eyebrows, looking up for any sort of explanation.
“He doesn’t know how to speak common, that’s how he says thank you,” Tubbo responded with a laugh.
“Oh… you’re welcome…” Tommy muttered. Michael headbutted Tommy in the leg, leaning against Tommy. Tommy patted him on the head awkwardly, Michael snorted contently.
“See he loves you, normally he would go hide behind Ranboo when someone new comes up,” Tubbo said, spreading his hands.
“Probably because I bribed him.”
“No, Phil came up with a cake one time and Michael just hid,” Ranboo sat down on the floor, leaning his back against the wall.
Michael wrapped the quilt around his shoulders, the edge of it dragging against the ground. He took Tommy’s hand and dragged him further into the room, towards a pile in the other corner from his bed. The pile seemed to be filled with gold or shiny yellow items. He snorted and pointed, staring up at Tommy. Tommy nodded, unsure of what was going on.
Michael let go of Tommy’s hand, shuffling through the pile and producing a small bee plush. He displayed it to Tommy proudly who nodded in approval, wringing his hands.
“You could try and look like you’re enjoying yourself. It’s not like you’re being forced to sit through three hours of meetings,” Tubbo laughed, plopping down on the edge of Michael’s bed, “he just wants to show you his things.”
“Uh… okay…?”
Tommy slowly lowered himself to the ground, watching Michael produce more and more objects from the pile of things. He snorted expectantly and when Tommy gave a small nod of approval he squealed happily. The blanket that Tommy had made was wrapped snugly around his shoulders, Michael kept one hand wrapped tightly around it at almost all times.