Chapter Text
Tubbo opened the door to his bedroom. These days it was more of an office than a bedroom, with the desk and chair he had dragged in, the piles of papers, the stacks of books, and the cork board hanging on the wall which he regularly pinned various notes and lists to. He closed the door and glanced at the clock on his wall. 5am, lovely. His eyes wandered to the pile of paperwork on his desk. It wasn't his paperwork, actually, he just did all of it. In reality it was Tommy's, or President Tommy as he was called since Wilbur had given him the position then blown up L'manburg. Tubbo sighed. He really should get the papers done before morning. A few less hours of sleep wouldn't hurt, right?
Sunlight had already been streaming into Tubbo's office for hours when he was done writing up the papers. A glance at the clock told him it was half past nine. He had stayed up the entire night.
"Damnit."
He felt his eyelids start to close, and shook himself awake. He couldn't fall asleep now; he had things to do. He went to his cabinet and began to rummage through the shelves.
"Come on, where the fuck are you?"
Out of coffee. Again. Tubbo glanced over at his bed. It looked so inviting. Maybe he could just lay down for a minute- no. No, he would be asleep for hours if he did that. A breeze blew through his open window, carrying the smell of freshly baked pastries. Niki's bakery. It would have been open for hours already. Tubbo smiled as an idea struck him. The bakery, of course. He could grab some coffee there, and taking a walk would probably wake him up as well. He was about to walk out of his room when he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror. Wow, he looked like even more of a mess than usual. He was still wearing his old green shirt that he had put on before leaving last evening.
Well, he couldn't go outside like this, that was for sure. Ever since he had become Tommy's unofficial right hand man it had been basically drilled into his head that he always needed to look presentable. Mainly by Tommy himself. Tubbo grabbed a white button down and a green vest from his wardrobe, and a minute or two later looked much less like he had forgotten to sleep all night.
"Perfect."
Oh wait, he was forgetting something. He grabbed the red ribbon from his desk. It had been a gift from Tommy at the beginning of the presidency, and Tubbo had taken to making it part of his everyday outfit. He tucked it under his collar and clipped it in the front, right at the emerald he had added some time ago. He made sure the two ends of the ribbon were even.
"Alright, now it's perfect."
He grabbed some money from his desk and walked out of his house, desperately hoping that no one would notice the dark bags under his eyes. First he made his way to Niki's bakery, where he bought the strongest cup of coffee she had, then continued walking through the streets of L'manburg. There were already some people about. He spotted Ranboo rushing out of his house, pulling on his blazer as he went. It seemed as if he had forgotten that he needed to be somewhere, which wouldn't be out of the ordinary for him. Tubbo wandered around until he finally made it to the wall. His eyes wandered up to the top.
Right after Tommy had become president, Tubbo had insisted on reinforcing the walls. He had made them taller, stronger, more resilient, even tried putting a rotating guard to circle them at all times, but had been stopped by Tommy, who said that it seemed a bit over the top. Now, he walked through them, and out into the lands that were not considered part of L'manburg. All seemed quiet, but as he continued walking he heard a voice.
"I'm not sure, mate. Don't you think it's a bit risky?"
Tubbo frowned. Was that Philza? Maybe he should go say hi.
Then another voice, "Yeah, but it'll be worth it. Don't you want to see them gone?"
Tubbo froze in his tracks. He recognized that voice. How could he not? He heard it almost every night in his dreams. Almost every night that he actually slept, that is. But what was Technoblade doing so close to L'manburg? And why was he talking to Phil? Tubbo hid behind a tree and listened closely.
"Of course I do," Phil was saying, "I had to kill my own son because of that place. I want it gone as much as you do, Techno, but I also want you to know the risks."
"And I know them, but I also know what we can do. We've taken on bigger enemies than this before."
Tubbo stepped back. He heard a twig snap under his foot, and the voices went quiet.
"Who's there?" He heard Techno ask.
Tubbo clamped his hands over his mouth. What would they do if they found him?
"It could just be an animal." Phil said. "Do you want to go check?"
Tubbo didn't wait to hear Techno's response. He turned and ran. He ran back into L'manburg, and to Tommy's office, only stopping to grab the stack of finished paperwork from his house.
He knocked on Tommy's door.
"Come in!"
Tubbo opened the door and stepped inside. Tommy's office was a mess, as usual. The L'manburg flag that had been retaped to the wall about five times now was once again falling down, there were papers strewn all over the floor, and, of course, several plates (that were definitely not supposed to be there) stacked in a corner. But the most surprising thing was Tommy himself. Not how he looked, but what he was doing.
"Are you trying to do paperwork?"
"Yeah, emphasize on the 'trying'." Tommy looked up from his papers. "Ghostbur gave me a bunch of legal documents to look over, and honestly, I don't understand any of them." He explained. "You know, I used to think I could do anything. Now I see that I was wrong. I can do anything, except for paperwork." He smiled. "And that's why I have you. You're great at this legal stuff."
Tubbo didn't mention that the only reason he knew anything at all about it was because of the many sleepless nights he had spent pouring over books on legal matters. Instead he just nodded. "You want me to do that for you, then?"
"Obviously."
Tubbo stepped forward, and almost immediately tripped, spilling his pile of papers to the floor. He picked them up as quickly as possible, trying not to mix them up with the other random things on the ground. He straightened up. What was he doing, again?
"You alright there?" Tommy asked. "You seem a bit confused."
"I haven't slept."
Tommy nodded. Either he hadn't heard what Tubbo had said, or he just didn't care. He held out his barely started paperwork. "Well come on, I don't want to do it."
Tubbo took them from him and placed his pile on the desk.
Tommy stared at it in horror, "Please tell me those aren't for me."
"Don't worry, I already did them."
"Oh, thank god." Tommy took a sip from whatever liquid was in his mug. Probably hot chocolate, as Ghostbur tended to make that for him most mornings. "So any news for me?"
Tubbo frowned. There was, right? That was the reason he had ran here. But what was it again? Oh, right. "Techno and Phil are planning to attack us."
Tommy stared at him for about two seconds. Then he laughed. "Alright, very funny. Any actual news?"
"That is actual news."
Tommy rolled his eyes, "Why would anyone want to attack me, Tubbo? They all love me."
"Are you forgetting that Techno's an anarchist? We're a government, Tommy."
There was a pause. "Well yeah, but still. Techno won't attack us. And Phil? Seriously?" He sighed. "I don't have time for your random suspicions, Tubbo. Come back when you have actual proof."
"I heard them talking." Tubbo snapped. "Is that enough proof for you?"
Tommy flinched and Tubbo immediately felt bad. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He said quickly. "I'm just tired. But I did hear them. They were outside the walls."
"You sure that's what they said? You didn't mishear?"
"I'm sure."
Tommy frowned, "Okay, but why would Phil want to hurt L'manburg?"
"I don't know, something about having to kill Wilbur. But they're going to attack, and we need to be ready."
Tommy shrugged, "Okay, if you really think so. I guess we should just attack first then."
"That'll never work." Tubbo said immediately. He had already thought of that option. "As much as I'd like to get revenge on Technoblade, we won't be able to beat them. It will only make them angrier."
"Then what would you have us do?"
"Be defensive. Try to negotiate. It's the only way."
"Sounds like the pussy way."
"It's the way that doesn't include us dying."
Tommy rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, if you say so. You'll build defences, then?"
Tubbo nodded, "I'll also put Phil under house arrest so that he can't contact Techno, and we can build TNT cannons on the walls."
Tommy rolled his eyes, "Again with the walls. I swear, you're obsessed with them, Tubbo."
"They keep us safe."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I have a bunch of TNT in my basement. Use that for the cannons."
Tubbo felt his heart drop. Tommy wasn't going to help. Figures.
Tommy's eyes brightened, "Oh, Withers would be good to get!"
"Withers? Why?"
Tommy shrugged, "I don't know, they're cool."
"Tommy we need things that will help, not- "
"Tubbo, who's the president?"
Tubbo stared at the floor. "You." He muttered.
"Exactly. I say Withers, we get Withers."
Tubbo looked up hopefully, "We?"
"Wait no, not we. I'm not doing that. Why don't you ask Ranboo? He's good at collecting things, right?"
The hope drained from Tubbo's face, "Yeah. Yeah, he is."
"Great. So Ranboo gets the Withers, you make the TNT cannons and put Phil under house arrest." Tommy thought for a moment. "Oh right, and you need to talk to Fundy?"
Tubbo sighed, "Why?"
"I'm pretty sure he's stealing from the treasury."
The secretary of treasury stealing from the treasury. Wonderful. "Yeah, I'll do that."
"Good. Oh also, Ghostbur wants to pass a law, should I let him?"
Tubbo was almost afraid to ask. Their ghostly vice president had a habit of trying to pass useless and sometimes very odd laws. "What is it?"
Tommy shrugged, "Something about having a flower in every house, I wasn't really listening."
"Don't let him do that. Just get him to establish a national flower instead."
"Good idea, I'll tell him."
Tubbo nodded, "Alright. Well I need to go talk to Ranboo, I'll see you later."
"Cool, and don't forget about that paperwork."
"I won't." Tubbo left Tommy's office, closing the door behind him.
Tubbo found Ranboo at the entrance to L'manburg.
"Hey, Ranboo."
Ranboo jumped, nearly dropping the book he was holding in the process. "Oh, Tubbo. What's up?"
Tubbo shrugged, "Not much. I've just got a favor or two to ask."
Ranboo was looking around nervously, "Yeah? What is it?"
"I need about nine Wither skulls and help building a few TNT cannons tomorrow."
"Alright, I can- " Ranboo blinked. "Wait, what? Why?"
"It's… " Tubbo trailed off. Was it safe to tell him? Wait, this was Ranboo he was talking about, he'd probably forget anyway. "Techno and Phil are planning an attack."
Ranboo looked away, "That's not good."
"No, it's not. But that's why I need your help. We need defenses and I can't do it all by myself."
Ranboo nodded, "Right, of course. I'll help. But why Withers? Those aren't exactly defensive."
"I don't know, that was Tommy's idea."
"Not a very good one."
"Yeah, that's what I said. He wouldn't listen."
Ranboo started flipping through his book, "He should really listen to you more. So nine Withers? I'll write it down."
"Exactly, thanks. Also can you help me with TNT cannons tomorrow? I want to build them on the wall."
"Yeah I- " Ranboo glanced at him, "didn't you already ask me that?"
"Oh." Tubbo blinked a few times. He really was tired, wasn't he?
Ranboo closed his book, "Is everything okay? It's not like you to forget things."
"I didn't sleep last night."
"You didn't sleep?" Ranboo's eyes widened. "Tubbo, that's not good; you need your rest. Go take a nap, okay?"
Tubbo smiled weakly. "I'm fine, Ranboo. And anyway, I have things I'll need to do, I'll sleep later." And with that he was off, heading in the direction of Phil's house.
A few hours later Tubbo was back in his bedroom, or office, or whatever he called it. He had already put Phil under house arrest and talked to Fundy about the treasury, and now, of course, he had to get to that stack of paperwork Tommy had given him. His eyes wandered to his cork board. Right at the top corner, he had pinned a photo of him and Tommy. It was from simpler times, before L'manburg. Originally he had put it there to make himself happy, but these days it seemed to have the opposite effect. Whenever he looked at it he would be reminded of how much things had changed. How much he and Tommy had changed. They barely talked, they didn't go on walks together, they didn't go exploring, even the bench was starting to be covered in cobwebs. The only time they were ever in the same place was when Tubbo would check on him in the morning, or at meetings with various cabinet members. Tubbo pulled his eyes away from the picture. He didn't have time to get lost in nostalgia; he had work to do. But now, his eyes drifted to another paper pinned to the board. A paper about a certain project of his. Project N, he called it. It was secret, only known to him, and it was risky. Very risky. His eyes scanned the list of all the reasons it was worth it. He had written them at some ungodly hour of the night, when he was wondering whether he should really continue with that dangerous project. He read over one of them now.
It will protect Tommy. That was the reason for everything, right? Protecting Tommy. He was the president, he was in a position of power, and therefore people would come after him. They would try to hurt him. That's what Tubbo thought, at least, and he had been proven right. Techno and Phil were planning an attack, and there was almost no way Tommy would escape unscathed. And that was why he needed to finish this project as quickly as possible. No matter how little sleep he got, no matter how much it could hurt him, no matter the risk of death looming over his head, this project was the most important thing he could do.
Tubbo grabbed a blank piece of paper from his desk, and scribbled a sentence onto it. He attached it to the board and stepped back to read what he had written.
IT'S WORTH THE RISK
Good. Now he would always be reminded of how important that one project was. It didn't matter if it hurt him. Tommy would be safer, and that was the most important thing. Tubbo sat down at his desk to do the stack of unfinished paperwork.
Tubbo returned to his house in the later hours of the morning. After he had finished his paperwork the day before, he had gone to continue working on his project, and that meant that he once again stayed up the entire night. Tubbo rubbed his eyes; he was so tired. But of course, he didn't have time to sleep. He would have to meet Ranboo to build the TNT cannons soon. He began to make a pot of coffee and only when drinking it noticed that it only consisted of hot water. He made it again, (successfully this time) and sat down on his bed to drink it. Did he have anything to do before going to Ranboo? He couldn't check in on Tommy now, as he had a meeting with Fundy and Quackity at the moment, (and Tubbo should know, he was the one who scheduled it) so he would do that after the cannons. Anything else? He glanced over at his to-do list. Of course, he had wanted to find a flower for Ranboo as thanks for the Wither skulls he had given him yesterday. He had enough time to do that now, as there was still an hour before he had to be on the walls. Tubbo was about to leave when he saw himself in the mirror. Right, he couldn't go out like this.
Some time later Tubbo was wandering around trying to find a flower. He had already seen some daisies, but he wanted an allium. He was pretty sure that those were Ranboo's favorites. After a good half an hour of wandering, he finally spotted a patch of the purple flowers by a river bank. He walked over, careful not to slip, and began to pick them. Originally he had wanted to only get one or two, but somehow he ended up with an entire bouquet. Now, what to do with all these? Tubbo began to smile. He had an idea.
Ten minutes later he was done, and began to make his way back to L'manburg. When he arrived on the wall, Ranboo was already waiting for him.
"Hey, sorry I'm late."
Ranboo shrugged, "Don't apologize, I got here early anyway. So where exactly do we want these cannons?"
"Just over… " Tubbo trailed off as he remembered the reason he was late. "Actually, I have something for you."
"Yeah?"
Tubbo held out the allium flower crown in his hands, "Here. As thanks for getting me those Wither skulls."
Ranboo stared at it with a mixture of wonder and surprise, "Tubbo, you- you didn't have to do that."
"I wanted to."
"Oh, well- thanks." Ranboo took it from him. "It's really nice, I could never make something like that."
"I can teach you some day."
A smile broke out over Ranboo's face, "Really?"
Tubbo couldn't help but smile along with him, "Of course."
"Thanks." Ranboo placed the flower crown on his head, situating it at the bottom edge of his own crown.
Tubbo laughed, "You're all flowery now."
"Really? Weird how that works."
Tubbo rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, come on. Cannons to build."
As it turned out, Ranboo didn't know how to build a TNT cannon, so the first several minutes were spent explaining the process. Ranboo got the hang of it quick enough, and soon they were building cannons all around the wall. Ranboo did the majority of the talking, as most of Tubbo's focus was directed at struggling to keep his eyes open. If he was being honest, he didn't really process what was being said to him. He caught a word here and there, but not much, and when his eyes started to close again he didn't have the strength to keep them open.
"Tubbo?"
Next thing he knew he was being shaken awake by Ranboo.
Tubbo blinked as his eyes adjusted to the sunlight, "Sorry, what happened?"
"You dozed off for a bit. Are you okay?"
Tubbo frowned at him. Why did Ranboo look so worried? "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Hm." Ranboo didn't look convinced. "How much sleep did you get?"
Tubbo didn't answer.
"How much sleep did you get, Tubbo?"
"Well… None, actually."
Ranboo looked horrified, "That's two might in a row you haven't slept! Tubbo, that's not healthy."
"I have things to do, I don't have time."
"You won't be able to do anything if you're tired."
"I'm fine." Tubbo pushed him away and stood up. "We've got a war coming, Ranboo. I need to prepare."
"What are you preparing? We have the TNT cannons now, what else?"
"Not important."
"Tubbo, come on, I can help. Just tell me- "
"No." This was one thing that he couldn't tell him. It was too dangerous. "I'm fine, Ranboo."
One, two seconds of silence. "No," Ranboo said quietly, "you're not."
Tubbo glanced back at him. Ranboo was staring right at him, almost as if he could read his every emotion. Why did he care so much? What Tubbo was doing was worth every risk he was taking. "I'm fine." Tubbo said again. "Thanks for the help, but I need to go check on Tommy."
"Tubbo- "
He didn't wait. He climbed down the walls and ran. Away from Ranboo; away from that boy who seemed to care more than anyone else. He ran until he reached Tommy's office. He could feel his heart pounding. Why was his vision so blurry? He brought a hand up to his face and realized that he had been crying.
"Damnit." He wiped the tears from his face. Hopefully no one had seen him. Then he took a few deep breaths and stepped into Tommy's office.
Tommy glanced up from whatever he had been doing, "There you are. How'd the cannon building go?"
"Good."
"And Ranboo got the Withers?"
"Yeah, twelve of them, and Phil's under house arrest."
"That's good."
Tubbo nodded. He walked up to the desk and pulled a stack of papers from his bag. "Here, I finished these yesterday."
"Thanks." Tommy opened a drawer and stuffed them in. "I don't have much for you today, just a report from the meeting earlier if you want to look through that."
"Alright." Tubbo took the paper Tommy was handing him and slipped it into his bag. "How'd that go, by the way?"
Tommy shrugged, "Fine. I mean, it was horribly boring, but I guess it could've been worse."
He went on to complain about it, and Tubbo's mind began to wander. He wondered where Ranboo was now. He had probably gone home. Or maybe he went mining, he did that a lot. His eyes landed on a guitar leaning against a wall. Had that been Wilbur's?
"Hey, Tommy?"
Tommy stopped talking, "Yeah?"
"Since I don't have that much to do today, do you wanna just hang out for a bit? We could go to the bench or something."
He said it casually, but in his heart he was hoping, praying, that Tommy would say yes. He wanted to talk to him normally for once. Without all the presidential stuff, without worrying if their country would be destroyed, just as normal friends.
But Tommy didn't seem to share the same sentiment. "No, I can't go around doing random things."
"Why not? If you're not busy- "
"Doesn't matter. I'm the president, Tubbo. I don't have time to waste on stupid shit."
Tubbo swallowed the sob he felt rising in his throat. "Right, stupid. Obviously." He turned away. "I'll just- I'll get back to work. See you tomorrow."
He left before Tommy could see the tears forming in his eyes once more.