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“Ranboo, it’s just a therapy appointment, I’ll be fine!”
“I know, I know, I just…” Ranboo sighed. “I just worry, you know this.”
Tommy nodded. “I know. But I’ll be with Puffy the whole time, okay? You and Michael go enjoy yourselves.”
Ranboo hiked the toddler on his hip up higher, sparing the child a smile before turning back to Tommy. “Okay. Okay, we will.”
He leaned forward slightly, kissing Tommy’s forehead. “Good luck, Toms. Tubbo will be here to pick you up in an hour, and then you’ll join Michael and me in the field we showed you yesterday. Okay?”
Tommy nodded again, face flushed at the attention, even after a few days of this.
It was Tuesday afternoon, and Ranboo had walked Tommy to his therapy appointment, along with Michael.
“Okay.”
Michael reached out with grabby hands, and Tommy took him from his father, face brightening.
“I know, you’re going to miss your Mimi so much, aren’t you Michael?” The zombie-piglin child squealed, reaching a hand up to pull at Tommy’s gold locks. Tommy just laughed. “Yes, yes, I know you just love me because of my hair!”
“Tommy, you know that’s not true,” Ranboo protested, but Tommy just smiled up at the taller boy.
“Even if it was, I don’t mind, Ranboob. Now,” he turned his attention back to the child, ignoring Ranboo’s faint protests to the name. “You can’t get in trouble with your daddy while I’m gone, okay? You have to wait until I’m there, and then we can annoy the fuck out of your dads together!”
“Tommy, he’s three, watch your language.” Ranboo was grinning though as he held out his arms for Michael.
Tommy curled his arms protectively around the kid. “Noooo, Michael loves me, don’t you little man!” Michael yanked harshly on Tommy’s hair, making the boy wince. “See? Love.”
“I’m sure he does Tommy, but we need to get on with your therapy appointment.”
Tommy turned to find Puffy standing in the doorway of her office, a small smile on her face. Tommy scowled—it was still not a pout—and handed Michael back to Ranboo. “Be good for your daddy, okay bud?”
Michael whined, making Tommy laugh. “I know, kiddo, I’ll miss you too, but it’s only for an hour.” Michael babbled in piglin, some of which Tommy vaguely understood, courtesy of Techno.
“Be good,” Tommy repeated, ruffling the fur on the zombie-piglin’s head.
“And you,” Ranboo said, “be good for Puffy, okay? Even if it is only an hour.”
“Yeah, yeah, get going now Ranboo!”
“Remember, Tubbo in an hour, good luck.” Ranboo kissed his forehead again. “Love you Toms!”
And with that, the Ender-hybrid and the zombie-piglin child made their way down the Prime Path, Ranboo nodding along seriously as Michael chattered away.
Tommy watched them go with what he knew was a fond expression on his face, then schooled it to turn back and greet Puffy. The greeting, however, died on his lips as he saw the woman holding back her laughter.
“What.”
“Nothing, nothing,” Puffy said, waving a hand as if to brush aside the thought. “Come on in, Tommy. I think we have quite a bit to talk about.”
He followed the therapist into her office, taking his usual seat across from her and getting comfortable.
“So Tommy, how have you been this past week? I know you were free from Michael for a few days, as he was with me. What did you guys do?” She took a sip from the cup sitting next to her as she waited for a response, clearly expecting some mundane answer, like ‘have a movie night.’
The three boys did that, of course, but Tommy wasn’t going to bore her with everyday activities when there was a much more pressing issue.
“I fucked Ranboo.”
Puffy choked on her drink, and she quickly set the cup down on the table next to her, coughing heavily. “I’m sorry,” she said when she caught her breath. “You what?”
“Well, Tubbo and Ranboo both say he fucked me,” Tommy shrugged. “But they’re usually wrong and the details don’t matter.”
“Aren’t Tubbo and Ranboo married?” Puffy asked, looking a little lost. “To each other?”
“Exactly my thoughts! But then Saturday happened, and I don’t know what’s going on anymore. Like marriage? I’m seventeen!”
“Tommy—” Puffy cut him off, bemused and floundering. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to start from the beginning. I, uh, I have no idea what you’re on about.”
Tommy sighed dramatically. “So I had this plan, right? If I fucked Ranboo and made him cheat on Tubbo, they would both hate me, and I could move on.”
“Move on from what?” Puffy asked.
Tommy rolled his eyes. “Oh, I’ve been in love with Tubbo for years, it’s not a big deal.”
“Now hold on, don’t you think that’s something we should dis—”
“Anyway, so if it worked out like I planned, they would hate me, I would get kicked out of the mansion, and everyone could move on with their lives! Foolproof, right?”
Puffy just nodded along mutely. Tommy prided himself on the ability to confuse people with his antics to no end, and it was safe to say he still had that special skill even after being gone for so long.
“That’s what I thought too. But as it turns out, Ranboo enjoyed it!”
Puffy’s forehead was becoming more wrinkled the longer Tommy talked. “...which part did he enjoy exactly? The cheating or the... other parts...”
“Fucking me. Apparently.”
“So Ranboo is cheating on Tubbo?”
“No, no, keep up. Because then they both fucked me.”
Puffy’s pen, which in other sessions had been scratching away on the notebook she always held in these appointments, was still. “What?”
“See, apparently they had discussed this weeks ago, long before I knew about it. They had plans already, Puffy. Plans! ”
“Uh-huh.” Puffy marked something down in the notebook she was holding. “And...what were these plans?”
“Oh, apparently they were going to fuck me, then propose. Or something along those lines. So that’s what they did.”
Puffy was way out of her depth here, and Tommy knew it. He just grinned cheekily at her.
“...I see.”
Puffy did not in fact, see.
“So what are your thoughts?”
“...about which part?”
“About my fucking Ranboo. No, about the proposal, obviously!”
“Obviously,” Puffy muttered, before sitting up straight and turning all her attention back to Tommy. This, she could handle. “Well, how do you feel about the proposal?”
“I mean, I was shocked at first, but I thought it was just heat of the moment stuff. I asked them again later, and both Tubbo and Ranboo said they were serious.”
“Okay, and what do you think you want to say to them?”
“I dunno, that’s why I came to you, innit?”
Puffy frowned. “Well, partially, yes, but let’s...what would be your initial reaction, if they asked you right here and now to marry them.”
“Yes.”
Tommy reeled back in surprise. Even though he was the one to say it, the ease at which he admitted to wanting to marry the two was honestly shocking.
Puffy smiled. “Well, I think that answers that question, doesn’t it?”
“Well yeah, but I’m seventeen,” he stressed. “I don’t know if I want to get married yet.”
“Ah, but that’s not what they asked you, now is it?”
Tommy raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
Puffy sighed, blowing a piece of curly white hair out of her face. “I mean they asked you to marry them. They didn’t specify a time, right? That means that you could accept their proposal now and get married pretty soon, or you could accept and wait a few years until you’re ready.” Tommy nodded along, turning this over. Puffy made excellent points.
“Or, honestly? You could just ask them to shelve the offer. Knowing both Ranboo and Tubbo, I think they would happily wait until you’re ready to accept.”
“Oh. I didn’t think about that,” Tommy responded, leaning back in his chair.
“That’s what I’m here for,” Puffy pointed out.
Tommy nodded sagely. “And that’s what I pay you the big bucks for.”
“Tommy, I don’t get paid anything. I volunteered to be the therapist on this server. Prime knows we needed one.”
“Minor details,” Tommy waved his hand. “I, uh, I can pay you, though.” Tommy ducked his head, bashful. “I really appreciate what you’re doing, and I know you said no the first time, but really, I don’t mind paying for—”
Puffy cut him off with a raised hand. “Tommy, it’s fine. As I said, I volunteered for this.”
“Yeah, I know, I just feel bad that I’m wasting your time like this.”
“First of all,” Puffy started, “you’re not wasting anyone’s time on this server. You belong here just as much as the rest of us, right?”
Tommy shrugged, looking down, but Puffy wouldn’t let it go.
“Right?” she tried again.
Tommy nodded, clearing his throat. “Right.”
“I’ll keep saying that until you believe it, Tommy. You matter, you belong here, and other people want you here as well. I think today has proven that many times over.”
Tommy laughed. “That’s one way to look at the situation I guess.”
“And you shouldn’t feel guilty,” Puffy continued, “for taking some time to do something for yourself. You’re here because you want to be, Tommy, not because anyone is forcing you.”
“Tubbo and Ranboo—”
“Are just coming with you to drop you off here, as a courtesy. You were the one to reach out to me first. And I’m so grateful you did, Tommy.”
The boy just ducked his head, feeling a blush rising on his cheeks. It felt nice to be praised and appreciated like he didn’t have to work for his existence in the world.
“You want to get better, not only for yourself but also for the people around you. And I think that’s admirable of you, Tommy.”
Tommy snorted. “I just don’t want everyone else to deal with my fuck ups anymore. They’re getting sick of it.”
“Tommy, you’re seventeen. You’re allowed to make mistakes, and you shouldn’t have been punished as harshly as you were for what you did.”
“But I did fuck up,” Tommy pointed out. “The blame for a lot of what happened falls on me.”
Puffy shook her head. “Sure, you messed up, but it wasn’t just your fault. We all played a role in destroying L’Manburg, in exiling you, in causing all the problems on this server. You shouldn’t have to bear the weight of our sins when you didn’t have anything to do with some of it.”
Tommy muttered, “I guess,” frowning a little.
“Well, despite all the intricacies of the situation, you’re looking a lot happier,” Puffy noted, looking a little more put together than she had previously.
“I—” Tommy paused, taking a moment to think about everything that had been happening before actually responding.
Was he happier? Or was he just hiding behind jokes and strained smiles again?
According to Puffy, humor was his coping mechanism, and he used it to ignore the reality of the situation. Jokes aside, Tommy thought about how he was really doing, not just what he was pretending to feel.
Certainly, he felt a lot safer. He wasn’t anywhere near Dream, he had a roof over his head, food in his stomach, and three people, maybe more, ready to listen should he need it. Right now, Tommy didn’t have to worry about wars, or dying every other day.
Tommy didn’t think the peace would last long, but he was going to make the most of it while it lasted. Right now, Tommy was able to just focus on himself, on healing. And, Tommy realized, he could focus on the people he loved too.
“I think I am, despite everything. I think I could be happy with them.”
“Good,” Puffy said, smiling gently. “That’s all I want for you, Tommy. Your happiness.”
“I think that’s what I want, too,” Tommy confided. It had been so long since he was actually happy. It was nice to be able to feel the elusive emotion again.
Puffy glanced at the clock on her wall, and as Tommy checked it as well, he realized the whole hour was almost up.
“Is there anything else you needed to get off your chest before we wrap it up for today?” Puffy asked, flipping her notebook closed.
Tommy shook his head. “I don’t think so, not right now at least. It was a wild weekend.”
“Well, it certainly was...eventful, that’s for sure,” Puffy said, though her face was a little pinched.
Tommy cackled. “What, you don’t enjoy hearing about how Tubbo and Ranboo fucked me?”
“I think that’s best left between you three,” Puffy said, raising an eyebrow knowingly and guiding Tommy towards the door.
“Aw, but where’s the fun in that?”
Puffy just smiled gently at Tommy as she opened the door to the outside.
The pair stepped out into the sunlight, Tommy squinting at the change in light, Puffy somehow looking perfectly composed, as she usually was.
Tubbo was sitting on the Prime Path outside the office, swinging his feet off of it. The goat-hybrid looked up as the door opened, and his face brightened as Tommy walked out.
“Tommy!” the boy said, excitedly waving and jumping to his feet.
“Hey, Tubbo,” Tommy greeted, hopping down onto the wooden slats to meet the older boy halfway.
Tubbo raced over to Tommy, latching onto his shirt collar and pulling the taller boy down. He paused for a moment, catching Tommy’s eye. “Is this okay?” he asked, sounding a little uncertain.
Tommy nodded and closed the distance, kissing Tubbo. It was short and sweet, considering Puffy was still standing in the doorway, but Tommy could still feel his heart swell and flutter.
He pulled back, looking down at the shorter boy with a grin.
“Hi,” Tubbo giggled.
Tommy couldn’t quite stop the grin that took over his face. “Hey again.”
“Ready to go meet ‘Boo and the little man?”
Tommy straightened up, nodding once before turning back to Puffy. “Thanks again, Puffy. I’ll see you next week?”
“Same time, same place, unless something changes,” Puffy confirmed with a smile.
Tommy nodded, reaching out a hand and offering it to Tubbo.
The goat-hybrid grabbed it, grinning as the pair began to walk. “Bye Ms. Puffy!” Tubbo called back, swinging his and Tommy’s joined hands back and forth.
Puffy smiled, her eyes soft as she watched the two boys. “Bye Tubbo! Bye Tommy!”
Tommy waved with his free hand one last time before turning his attention back to Tubbo—to his fiance.
As the pair walked down the Prime Path, Tubbo chattering away, Tommy nodding along—the spitting image of Ranboo and Michael an hour previously—Tommy couldn’t help but feel at ease in his own skin.
Yeah, Tommy thought. He could get used to this.