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Tubbo was never a “disciplined” child. He never had good grades, his childhood was spent mostly grounded in his room, and he prided himself in that. He was bored, he needed something to spend time with, so he egged other people’s houses, stole snacks from the little shopping places and ran away from the police almost every day. It was fun for a while, and Tubbo really enjoyed the adrenaline that he got with that.
After mom left them, filing a divorce, Tubbo went even more rogue. Schlatt wasn’t really interested in being invested in that “family” stuff, and so was Tubbo, so they just existed together while living completely separate lives. Tubbo broke into abandoned places, drank booze from his father’s kitchen counters, and was actively skipping school.
But when they moved to Brighton, this lifestyle had to change just a tad bit. Instead of small shops it was Tescos, instead of egging houses it was getting into bars and pubs, but the only thing that never changed was dad’s alcohol. Tubbo found comfort in getting wasted, and even though it definitely was very distructive, he just closed his eyes at that.
One day, when he was running from cops, completely drunk, he met this weird random kid, who was definitely the “perfect” kid. Ranboo turned out to be actually quite decent, and he didn’t mind causing some chaos. It was fun to turn the kid that parents were so proud of, into someone who lives off of adrenaline and does the absolute dumbest shit ever.
Then Tommy joined their duo. His energy matched Tubbo’s perfectly, however Ranboo wasn’t very happy with someone joining them, which was very upsetting. A few talks with Tommy later, the blonde kid gave in and tried his best to act more friendly towards the american. It was funny to look at them trying their best not to yell at each other on any given occasion.
And they were the perfect match. The three of them were the troublemakers, the destructive trio and so on. They weasel their way into bars and get completely drunk, they hang out at Tubbo’s house at all times getting high, and honestly, Tubbo couldn’t wish for a better life.
At least before his mother finally decides to try and reach out to him.
The three of them were sitting in Tommy’s room and the two tall kids were laying down on the couch, white powder on Ranboo’s nose and a joint in Tommy’s hands. Tubbo was chugging wine that Tom stole from his brother when his phone beeped, informing about a new message. He lazily picks up the phone, staring at the screen for five minutes after finally figuring out what the jumping letters mean.
“Shit.” Ranboo immediately sits up, looking at Tubbo with something that remotely feels like concern. His pupils are dilated and the dumb smile doesn’t drop, but the american is definitely worried. He always is. “My mom wants to talk to me. She is in Brighton for the week with a dumb work thing.”
“I never heard you talk about her.” Tommy’s speech is mumbly, and he doesn’t even lift his head from the pillow, just staring at the ceiling. He is relaxed, puffing clouds of smoke into the air, and Tubbo is honestly jealous of how easy it is for Tommy right now. “What’s up with that?”
“My parents are divorced, Tommy. That’s why I moved here.” Tubbo takes another swig of wine, unlocking the screen again and again just to stare at the message. It’s been at least a year since he saw mom. Does she have another family already? Does she look the same? Tubbo sighs and leans back, falling onto the carpeted floor. “What the fuck do I do.”
Ranboo stands up, slightly swaying from side to side. He giggles when he almost falls over and sits down beside Tubbo, reaching his hand forward. The older kid smiles, grabbing his friend’s hand and pulling him down to lay beside. The alcohol starts to wear off almost immediately, and Tubbo panickly tries his best to bring back the happy high he gets, finishing the bottle in a few gulps and throwing it towards the other two bottles.
“You can meet up with her tomorrow before the thing we planned, and then we will pick you up.” Ranboo smells funny, and his hand is sweaty, warm and shaky. The American is very funny when he is high, especially when it comes to body language and the way he acts. Tubbo giggles, shuffling closer to his friend. “And we will like… Steal you, and then flip off your mom.”
“No, she’s nice, don’t flip her off.” Tubbo laughs, the jumbled thought process and smile reappearing. He can leave worrying about this to whenever he actually sobers up. “But I do give you permission to steal me.”
“We’ll pull up in Ranboo’s car, grab you and throw you in the trunk.” Tommy rolls over and puts out the joint, pressing it into the ashtray. Tubbo relaxes, closing his eyes and putting his head on Ranboo’s chest.
***
Next day Tubbo complained. He whines about the uncomfortable clothing he had to wear, about how the restaurant that his mom picked looks so posh and dumb, about how his head hurts from the wine he drank last night. Tommy and Ranboo are still asleep, probably, which pisses Tubbo even more. He fixes up his dumb green sweated, looks into the window of the parked car and ruffles up his long brown hair.
He freezes when he hears clacking of the heels on the asphalt and looks up slowly, trying his best to calm his nerves down. His mom didn’t change at all since he last saw her. Long white hair curled up, pink cheeks, big blue eyes, the red suit she wears. Everything stayed the same, even the expression that she has on her face when she looks at her son.
“Hi, Tubbo, I’m so happy to see you!” She pulls the kid into the tight hug, and Tubbo awkwardly gives in, wincing at the smell of her perfume. The harsh smell hits his sensitive nose, making his head spin. “You smell like alcohol, your father is the same drunk even after a year, I suppose.”
“Uh… No, actually, he got way better.” The woman’s face changes to surprise, and she pulls away, a ring on her ring finger shining in the sunlight. So she does have a new family already. “Should we go inside? I actually didn’t have any time to have breakfast, so I’m very hungry.”
“Of course, kiddo.” She walks in first, and Tubbo takes the time to check his messages. Tommy and Ranboo finally woke up, promising to pull up in an hour. They send a few selfies of their faces and Tubbo can’t help but laugh at the way Tommy’s eyes look extremely tired and at the way Ranboo’s nose is red and runny. Puffy smiles at the waiter and looks over at her son, curiosity in her eyes. “What are you laughing about?”
“Just my friends.” He shruggs, walking after his mother across the restaurant, looking around the fancy place with shock.
The chandeliers look giant, the carved columns around the restaurant look a bit like the owners tried to show off, and the number of posh and overdressed ladies sitting around with a judgy look on their face is just impressive.
“You made friends over here? That’s great.” They sit down at the little table near the window, and Tubbo lets himself relax just a bit, scanning the menu for anything that he can even pronounce. “Who are they?”
“Uh, one of them is American and he moved over here because his parents got some work thingy. He is very cool, is the best student in his school and he is six foot six, I think.” Puffy’s face lights up when Tubbo mentions that Ranboo is “academically smart”. he decides not to mention that his friend’s grades dropped after they started hanging out, instead thinking of how to tell her about Tommy and make him sound appealing. “And the other one moved here with his brother. He is very funny and he wants to be a comedian when he grows up. His brother is a talented musician, and he is planning to release his first song in a few weeks.”
“The second kid doesn’t sound like a good influence, Tubbo, but I’m sure he is great if you talk to him.” Puffy signs the waiter to come over and names some weird dish that sounds way too expensive. Tubbo doesn’t bother even trying to pronounce the name, instead pointing aggressively at the picture of some meat dish. The man nods and retreats into the kitchen. “How did you meet them? Do you go to the same school?”
“Not really. I met Ranboo in the store and we just kinda started talking. His parents didn’t want him to get distracted from school, so it was very hard to hang out daily.” Puffy nods, taking a sip of the water, and the hangover suddenly hits Tubbo even harder than before when he sees the drink. He tries to compose himself, and pulls a smile on his face. “Tommy just approached me on the street and we started talking. We hang out almost every day, and today we are planning to go to the fair.”
“That’s great, Tubbo.”
They sit in silence for a while, Puffy replying to some work emails and Tubbo panickly messaging his friends. They send a few pictures of them in the shop, and then in the car with two bottles of whiskey in the background. And, honestly, Tubbo is so thankful for their existence.
His mother gets distracted from work only when their food arrives. The waiter puts the plates down, brings out the bread tray and pours Puffy a glass of wine. Tubbo tries not to show that just the sight of this drink makes his stomach turn. He lazily pokes the piece of meat off the plate.
“Honey, you are using the wrong fork.” Puffy whispers that, as if it was something embarrassing, and Tubbo stares at the huge selection of utensils with panic appearing in his chest. This was a bit too overwhelming for him. “You need to use the dinner fork, the big one. It’s the far left one.”
It takes a second to process the lefts and rights before Tubbo picks up the right fork, staring at it before cautiously lifting his hand above the biggest table knife. Puffy nods slowly, and smiles. She was always the posh one, with the expensive restaurants, high standards and work being her first priority. Tubbo loved her, obviously, but never understood the way he sees life.
He pokes the meat again, before cutting off a little piece and placing it into the mouth. The sauce tastes weird, the meat seems undercooked, and it takes a lot of willpower not to spit the food out.
“So you didn’t take the classes that I asked your father to sign you up for, I see. What about piano and guitar? Are you still learning those?” Puffy takes a sip of her wine, and picks up some vegetables that honestly don't look appetizing at all. “I hope you do, Tubbo. I want you to be better than your father, honey.”
“I am still learning some songs on the piano, mom, but it’s got kinda boring, so I don’t practise a lot.” Tubbo tries to ignore the hurt and angry glimps in his mother’s eyes, getting back to food instead. “However, I do enjoy learning the ukulele. It’s a small Hawaiian guitar.”
While his mother rants about how important it is for her that Tubbo actually works on something more intelligent than a “small hawaiian guitar”, a car pulls up on the other side of the road. The brown haired teen glances at it from time to time, seeing his friends stumble out of it. Tommy looks around and the mischievous smile appears on his face when he finally spots his friend. Ranboo pulls his mask over his nose and Tubbo laughs at how serious those two dumbasses look.
“Tubbo, that’s not funny at all.” Puffy sighs, looking at her son with sadness. Ranboo and Tommy run across the street and the blonde boy flips off the car that almost hits them. Tubbo bites his lips, trying to hold in his laughter. “You know that I care about you and love you, right? Just promise that you will call Miss Smith and pick up the piano again.”
“I don’t know, mom.” Tubbo hears the door to the restaurant open and the chatter near the reception, Tommy’s voice very distinctive and clear. “I am not like you, I don’t like all that posh and show-offy stuff, I like spending my time doing completely unproductive stuff with my friends and having fun.” He stands up, hearing more bickering and his two dumbasses running towards the table where he sits. “I love you, mom, but that’s just not for me. Thank you for reaching out, at least.”
Tommy stops right beside him, a dirty red hoodie on him, and grabs Tubbo’s hand. Ranboo catches up to the blonde boy just a few moments later, and Tubbo looks as every single emotion flashes on his mother’s face. She stands up, clearly angry and embarrassed.
“Who are you two supposed to be?” She frowns, and it’s so obvious that she is trying her best not to raise her voice in public. Tommy giggles at that, and immediately gets shoved in the shoulder by Ranboo.
“Your son’s family, miss Underscore.” Ranboo smiles, wrinkles appearing near the corner of his eyes, and grabs Tubbo from the other side. “Now we have to go, sorry. It was nice to meet you!”
Tommy does flip her off when they are almost near the car, and Tubbo can’t help but laugh loudly when he almost falls into the car. Tommy jumps at the driver's seat and takes off as soon as Ranboo hops beside him. Puffy’s angry and shocked face moves out of the view, finally allowing Tubbo to unbutton the first two buttons on his shirt and get the whiskey in his hands.
“You look like such a nerd in this outfit, just so you know.” Ranboo laughs, taking his mask off and turning around in his seat to face his friend. “We are gonna stop at your place so you can change and look like a normal person, not the posh Tubbo Underscore dude.”
“Is your mom single though? She's super hot.” Tommy laughs and immediately gets punched in the shoulder by Ranboo. “Ow, if you do this again, I’ll crush your fucking car into the tree.”
Even if he never had an actually functional family that was close to him, Tubbo was happy to find one in those two dumbasses.