Archive of Our Own ^beta

He would witness how the boy next door went out with his sisters a lot, or how some kids would weirdly train with swords and bows from a young age.

He would also witness how he wasn’t treated like any of those boys from a young age, when he asked about this fact, the reply was a simple: “You were made for knowledge, not for battle” which would explain some aspects of why his mothers enrolled him in school while the boy next door was left to take care of his sisters.

He would look over at his neighbour’s kind smile towards his younger one or the mischievous one that both the boy and his sister would have when teasing their older sibling (who he learned was called Teagan through maybe listening too intently into conversations) and he did not feel jealousy at all. It’s not like he deserved to have company anyway, he didn’t train like the other people in the neighbourhood did, he barely went outside due to his lesson plan being quite so full of everything (but he still couldn’t help but feel lonely in said bubble he created for himself).

From writing at a young age to basic mythology and even expanded history, Ranboo learned all his subjects to make sure his mothers were proud and happy, meaning he had to work extra hard due to the underlying issue of his memory. But for that, he held a special notebook where he would note everything that happened throughout the day, and at the end of the day, he would rewrite his ‘school’ specific ones into another notebook dedicated only towards his lessons.

During that same summer, after noticing his near perfect scores in herbology and gardening, he decided to quickly take up the hobby and start a small garden outside his house, and after getting his mothers’ permission, he went right to work: from finding the right flowers to scavenging for the perfect soil for them, to even going out of his way to obtain a good gardening tool set ( completed with a water can! He told his mothers proudly as they bought it for him after Ranboo promised good results before the end of the summer). In the end, he would try to plant alliums, pink carnations and stocks of many colours; he read all about them and all of their meanings well enough, maybe he could use a bouquet to introduce himself to his neighbour! Now that he thought about it, he should probably learn the boy’s name.

The day after purchasing all the needed ingredients for his metaphorical recipe, he wore his most comfortable clothes and kneeled in the corner designated for his little passion project and, as carefully as he could, unpotted his first flowers and went to work right away. As he did so, he heard slight shuffling nearby, but he paid no mind until there was a certain boy’s voice asking a question, peering over the fence to see what he was doing.

“What are you doing there, big man?” Ranboo looked up, making sure not to just stare into his possible friend’s eyes. Upon further inspection, the boy was actually shorter than he thought. So short, in fact, that he was sure he was taller than him by quite a vast amount.

“Uh,” He looked back at his flowers, about to have their soil adjusted, “I’m gardening, it’s just- something to do over the summer” He decided to answer truthfully, as there was no point in lying- and besides, if he made a friend that would be awesome! He’d no longer have to be lonely anymore. But it’s not like he cared anyway, not really.

“Seems fair, seems fair. I don’t- I don’t think I ever got your name?” The boy asked and suddenly Ranboo remembered that oh yeah, they actually never met, it’s just that he’s used to people watching and just observing everything around him…which isn’t something everyone does. Only quite lonely people do that, Ranboo assured himself.

“My name’s Ranboo.”

“Nice! I’m Tubbo, by the way. I’ll see you around, yeah? Have fun gardening, man!” He called out as he saw his sisters walk out with bug catching nets, ready to maybe capture some butterflies or maybe even cicadas.

Ranboo sighed softly, hoping this wouldn’t be their last encounter for the rest of the summer. He kind of felt a sense of familiarity when speaking to him, as if in another universe perhaps they were more than neighbours and perhaps… friends already? He hoped Fate wasn’t cruel, and that his karma worked in his favour.

He continued doing his flowerful activity until everything was ready to be hydrated, watering them carefully and going inside to clean himself off and be ready in time for dinner with his mothers, as usual.

What was unusual was how he smiled to himself, thinking about how he possibly made a friend, and when one of his mum’s asked about that joyful expression he went on about his journey of observing and just listening and both of his mums laughed! And they sounded so happy about it too!

“Well Boo, maybe it is Fate that you have met. Maybe you’re soulmates destined to meet each other in every universe, that would be quite sweet, hm?”

“So that means we’ll become best friends?” He asked enthusiastically.

“If that’s what you want, I’m sure you’ll make it happen. You’re a smart one, took after me.” She smiled, ruffling his hair as he passed her by to collect her dish.

“Evelyn, how dare you say such things? He clearly took after me in the smarts department!” His other mum, Sophie, decided to fake offense at her wife’s words, and with that simple statement banter began around the house which ended with Ranboo also there in the mix.

He hoped Fate would make him find someone who he clicked with as well as his mothers.

As he went to bed, he made sure to write everything down in his memory book.

As time went on, Ranboo kept taking care of his flowers, making them come to brighter colours than ever before. He was so happy to see them bloom every day, see them cherish the sun the same way Rocky, the neighbour’s cat, did on Tubbo’s porch.

Tubbo also came to ‘visit’ quite often (though Ranboo isn’t sure if “visit” is the right word). He would just hang around his garden and they would talk for a while at best, a few minutes at worst. Tubbo barely ever came out without having to go somewhere or having a meeting with some friends of sorts.

There was fervorous knocking on his front door, as he was alone at home once again, he got up while shouting: “Coming!” to make sure whoever was waiting was acknowledged and stopped knocking. He left his books on flowers settle on his bed open, ready to be taken into his hands once he comes back except-

Tubbo was the one knocking at his door with a single yellow rose and a yellow freesia held in his battered hands. He looked like he had run a mile straight to get there but looked ecstatic once he saw Ranboo open the door to him.

“I brought you flowers!” He exhaled, letting Ranboo take the flowers into his own much less weathered, delicate hands. “I- I found the meanings? The yellow rose for friendship and the- The freesia for… Uh… Shit , I can’t remember-” Tubbo mumbled to himself as he still recovered his breath, to the comment the taller chuckled lightheartedly and spoke,

“They show innocence and thoughtfulness, if my memory isn’t deceiving me, but it definitely could be. I don’t have the best memory.”

“... I- I… Yeah” Tubbo smiled, but now with a look of slight concern? Confusion? Over his face.

“Is-... Is something wrong?”

“N-no! No, of course not… It’s just, we never talked enough, I guess, for me to notice your voice being deep, I reckon.” 

Ranboo hummed in reply as he looked over the flowers, thinking about how nice of a gesture it was. He finally didn’t feel lonely, felt like he was a part of something- maybe Fate wasn’t so cruel afterall.

Maybe Fate destined them to become friends after all. Maybe being lonely wasn’t written in his book of life forever.

“Why don’t you come in? My mothers aren’t home, we can get to know each other better?” He asked, seemingly shyly (Ranboo knew that deep down it was more anxiously than anything), but before Ranboo could go further into the ramble of how Tubbo didn’t have to if he didn’t want to, that he could just leave him alone and that would be fine… 

“That’d be great, bossman!” Tubbo replied cheerfully.

“Maybe you’re soulmates destined to meet each other in every universe, that would be quite sweet, hm?” his mum’s words sounded in his head as he led his neighbour, and now acquaintance for sure, to the living room so they could get comfortable and talk.

Ranboo made sure to stay up later than usual to write every single detail down, then proceeded to draw less than stellar renditions of the flowers that were gifted to him. Maybe it wasn’t his best work, but it’s the thought that counts.

I made a friend :D (I think), Tubbo (said friend) gave me flowers. 

As the summer went on, there were rumours of some kind of sickness resurfacing in the kingdom due to apparently a lot of travellers coming by, but the family of three paid no real mind.

Evelyn worked at the local town market selling homemade jewelry, which a lot of merchants were apparently interested in. Some would say that they sold well due to the simple fact that they were full of magic, and others would even dare to say it was due to the charming lady who sold them that got everyone persuaded to buy her pieces, but in reality that wasn’t the case at all.

She simply made exquisite designs with the help of her muses, Sophie and Ranboo. She would make each piece as if it were for them, as if they were supposed to wear it themselves (which they did with the earrings or rings that weren’t sold before the end of the season).

While Evelyn worked on jewelry, Sophie would work at the baker’s, making sure to keep some simple pastries in stock as well as serve fresh bread and try recipes. Everyone knew of her kind hearted nature as she used to work at the hospital a while back as a nurse, helping patients. Seeing Sophie giving food to some of her old patients and smiling brightly at them was seen as normal.

She also made very sure that her family would stay safe when going outside.

So it came as a surprise to Sophie that her wife, as she was making a new pair of rings, started coughing as if she was choking. She quickly exited the kitchen, leaving the ingredients behind- work be damned, Evelyn apparently needed her. 

As she came in, she noticed her wife trying to catch her breath, and as soon as it came, Sophie was making sure Evelyn was safe and making sure her wife wasn’t going to end up in the hospital in order to not worry their child…

But Fate sometimes liked to play games with the few lucky ones.

Evelyn ended up contracting the sickness- close contact with merchants would do that to any person, really. The doctors said that they were lucky enough to react early and bring the woman to the hospital. If they waited a little longer, Evelyn could have… 

Ranboo didn’t want to really think about that, not when Tubbo came over to cheer him up by gardening with him. Maybe after this he’ll go visit his mum, that seems like a good sounding plan.

“You look lost in thought, or confused, either or really. Mind telling me?” Tubbo smiled as he took the watering can to fill it up with water by the hose once more.

“... Just- thinking about my mum is all.”

“Ah, yeah… Hope she gets well soon, maybe we can get her some flowers!” He came back with the can and sat it down next to them, he kept his demeanor soft and lighthearted, making sure that Ranboo understood that he wasn’t alone in this. “When my sister like, broke her ankle? I visited her with some really pretty flowers and it made her day, maybe we can do that for you mum, too! Only if you want to, of course…” He smiled.

Ranboo nodded, a solemn expression still on his face but then he let out a sigh: “Yeah, that’d be nice.”

Tubbo got up and then offered a hand to his neighbour, “If we hurry enough, maybe we can pick out the flowers with the meaning you want and ask the girl working there to make a pretty bouquet!” 

With a small smile, Ranboo looked at the hand but he batted it away, getting up and dusting himself off. “I’m ready,” he said.

“Alright, let’s go!” Tubbo started to run, like he would often with his friends or sisters when being chased by something, but Ranboo quickly realised something they had forgotten.

“Wait, we need payment!”

“Oh, right! Sorry, boss man”

And after picking up the cash they would need, they hurried to the flourist, and as they stepped in, Ranboo immediately started rambling about flower meanings and he picked up some red chrysanthemums and yellow pansies. “I picked these because if my memory is correct, red chrysanthemums should mean ‘I love you’ and the yellow pansies should be around the meaning of ‘thinking about you,’ but it would depend on the book and the person you ask.”

“That’s so cool! You should totally apply for work here if you have the time! You’d fit right in.” Tubbo commented as he still held the flowers Ranboo picked up. They headed towards the woman working there to pay.

“Maybe I will actually,” Ranboo mumbled. “Maybe I will.”

Evelyn thought those were some of the most beautiful flowers given to her. “Is there a reason you picked these, Boo?” She asked knowing full well that there would always be a reason Ranboo did something.

“Yeah, red chrysanthemums mean ‘I love you’ and the yellow pansies mean ‘thinking of you’... Uh, mum said she will visit soon too, by the way.”

“That’s nice, dear” She smiled, then looked over at Ranboo. Her eyes lit up for a second and from the three chrysanthemums, she took two in her hand and gave them back to her son. “How about you keep one and give one to Sophie, hm? So you both know I love you, yeah?”

Ranboo smiled, even if it was a bit sad, and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll- I’ll keep it, and give it to mum when I get home” 

Evelyn sighed and settled back into the bed and closed her eyes for a second, reaching out a hand to Ranboo. “Come here for a second, Boo” she whispered softly, and as she felt his hand take hers she couldn’t help but feel her eyes watering: “Make sure to… Start taking bigger risks. We won’t always be here to take care of you, and I know you’re capable of taking care of yourself… But I need you to start having more fun, yeah? Go do things with that Tubbo kid, start socialising a bit more for me, ok? Next time we see each other, I want to see your skin more tanned due to the sun.” She giggled as she pulled Ranboo closer and ruffled his hair.

“Alright, I’ll make sure to go out more and whatever.” He grinned.

“Mhm, seems fair! And Ranboo? I think longer hair suits you, you look quite dashing… It reminds me of my younger days.”

Her son nodded, knowing full well that it was a challenge: upkeep the longer hair to see how his mum looked with it on the shorter side. Maybe he took more after his mum than just smarts.

They talked for the allowed amount of hours before a doctor escorted him out, but before he forgot, he took the two red chrysanthemums with him and once he arrived back home, he looked at the time and set them in a vase, ready to show them off to Sophie as she came in.

At the end of the day, he wrote everything down in his book and even made sure to underline the important stuff his mother said, as he laid in bed: Ranboo smiled at seeing how maybe things are getting better. 

Mum gave her wife (other mum) and me chrysanthemums to tell us she loves us. 

Mum said to take more risks and have fun. I think I took more than just looks from mum, because she said I look like her, I’ll try to keep it on the longer side now. I think things are getting better :)

It was a sunny day when tragedy happened for the Beloved family. The sun was shining bright, Ranboo was gardening at the time, and his other mum was home for the weekend. Usually they would be baking, but Sophie wanted to visit her wife, so he kept himself entertained. He kept hearing the chirping birds, the laughter of his peers and even sometimes he would hear someone strumming along an instrument.

It was supposed to be a good day, but Fate likes to deceive expectations.

That afternoon both Sophie and Ranboo ended up on their couch hugging each other while in tears. 

That afternoon the Beloved family became a family of two.

Mum died today. I cried with other mum on the couch (I think I don’t have to write Sophie as other mum anymore :( ). I feel like cr

From that point there was just some smudged ink on the page, looked to be done by either wet hands or tears.

During the ceremony it was drizzling slightly, and there weren’t many people who attended. The few who did were for sure important people- a few merchants who wore Evelyn’s jewelry, some family members and even neighbours. 

It was quiet for the most part, no one dared to utter a word not to disrupt the tension or even ambience in the air. Most people hid under an umbrella, except for Ranboo, who instead of an umbrella held some flowers for his mum.

The pink carnations in the garden, maybe, weren’t fully in bloom but Ranboo nonetheless took them because he promised to show his mothers how he had done a good job. He had kneeled and took them, perfectly arranged them and he headed out, landing him where he was standing.

Evelyn Gina Beloved, the gravestone read. Ranboo teared up and he didn’t even know anymore if the water drops rolling down his face were his, or if the rain was also showing its sorrow through him. He wiped at his eyes and placed the bouquet of pink carnations, and headed to stand under the umbrella with his mum.

“Why did you choose pink carnations, Boo?” Evelyn had asked as she picked the potted flower,

“If I tell you now, the fun for waiting until the end of the summer will be gone” He teased, smirking as he picked up the allium.

“Well Eve, we’ll have to wait to see what Mr. Beloved has in store!” Sophie cheered as she usually would do during familial activities (or in other words, bantering).

“Pink carnations mean a mother’s undying love” He whispered, almost fainter than the pitter patter, but Sophie perked up and looked at her son, “They also mean ‘I’ll never forget you’, in a sense” he finished. His mum put a hand around his shoulder to rub it slightly, and give him a kiss on the top of his head.

He felt like a child again, witnessing a funeral of a loved one, but this time he was aware enough what death meant and the implications. He still remembered asking his mum ( God, he’ll never get used to calling Sophie just ‘mum’) about the person that was buried at the time, it was supposed to be his grandfather but he had never met him due to scheduling problems in the family, he wondered if his grandfather from Sophie’s side died happily.

He saw the pile of flowers grow, since it was technically the end of the ceremony, some opted out to leave, some decided to pray for Evelyn and her family.

Sophie and Ranboo decided to stay to just watch and process what had happened, and slowly but surely, there were the only two left.

“Did you know I didn’t believe in soulmates until your mum?” She spoke up, Ranboo looked at her in wonder. “I still don’t fully believe in them, but… I do believe she was the person for me. She was something else, like you are…” She looked at her son back and she smiled softly, “Gosh, you even have the same hair as her when we met…” She mumbled, drying her tears, before she could continue, Ranboo spoke up.

“Yeah… Mum- Mum told me, so I just decided to keep it this way, for her.”

Sophie smiled, giving yet another kiss to Ranboo, this time on the forehead. “You are just… Wonderful, something else, I tell you,” She sighed after repeating herself, “Alright, we should get going, Tubbo’s mum invited us for dinner today, said something about us meeting and such.” 

Ranboo nodded and took his mum’s hand and leaned against her, Sophie accepted the gesture and made sure to still hold the umbrella. They walked away slowly, but kept a light chatter in order to not darken the mood further. 

Ranboo only hoped that Fate would at least let them heal.

Today was mum’s funeral. He wrote down, he thought to himself if anything else was important enough to also let it stain the pages of the notes:

I look like her, Sophie (other mum) pointed it out now too. Hope we can heal together.

Tubbo’s mum invited us for dinner, Tubbo said it was for meeting purposes but I still firmly believe it was just to maybe cheer us up. Wasn’t too bad.

He set the pen down along with the book and headed to bed.

Soon, Tubbo would tell him he was ready to fight in wars and win battles.

Ranboo only hoped that Tubbo wouldn’t end up like the millions of other warriors before him, deep underground while a single commemorative stone would lay for people to know where he lay.

He could not handle such grief again. If Ranboo made a few attempts at making sure Tubbo stayed no one pointed it out, but they never worked.

A few weeks later, he would find himself in front of a flower shop ready to start working under the kind lady, his mother had said to start taking risks and this job was enough of a controlled risk to take it up.

There were rumours of some kind of war maybe breaking out with the neighbouring kingdoms to some internal tensions between the rulers, but the family of two paid no real mind. They weren’t warriors, Ranboo would work maybe as a successful writer with the amount of notebooks he had eaten through to write down every detail of his day, and Sophie was but a simple baker, she wasn’t made for war either (not in the battlefield anyway, more in the healing department).

Niki, the owner of the shop, was kind and calm but also cheerful in her own ways, she took care of her mother’s flowershop really well, kept it clean, and cute. She always reminded Ranboo how grateful she was for finding him at such a perfect time too, she joked that it was Fate or even destiny. She said she really got worried for her business with the beginnings of war (Niki didn’t call them rumours, she always said she was certain there would be war), so it was good to have another helping hand out there.

While Ranboo usually worked at the counter and arranging bouquets for various occasions, for various people… Niki would usually stay in the back writing something down, or not even inside the shop, but doing various other errands around the town making sure to stock up for the upcoming months in flowers, plants and possible gardening ‘helpers’.

He didn’t want to get weird, but he felt of her as like a sister he never had, maybe he could offer to hang out with her like Tubbo would with his own. That sure would be a risk, but if it pays off, he might have a new friend instead of just an employer!

His mum would be so proud, he hoped.

As the days went by he built up courage to ask Niki to hang out and as the day he was going to do it ended up, he finally asked the question: “Niki, sorry to bother, but would you want to maybe stop by someday by my house for tea or… Something?”

But all Niki did was smile and nod, “Sure, we can do today, tomorrow I’ll be pretty busy though with sword practice… Talking about tomorrow, can you open up the shop while I’m not there?”

Ranboo was slightly taken aback, but Niki was trusting him to open up shop! This was a big, frankly, and he nodded enthusiastically: “Of course, yeah! Whatever you need.”

“Awesome, thanks Ranboo,” Niki said, getting close to him so she could hug him with one arm. “I couldn’t think of anyone better suited for this job, really.” She smiled.

Ranboo seemed bashful but he still smiled, and nodded once more. 

As they finished up cleaning and closing for the day, Ranboo brought Niki over and prepared some tea, they chatted and possibly even bonded until Ranboo’s mum arrived, to which she joined the conversation a few times but then left to Evelyn’s studio.

Ranboo might have fallen asleep leaning on his employer as they were reading a book together and he kept looking over Niki’s shoulder, she didn’t pay any mind. Sophie walked out and witnessed the sight and smiled, “Sorry for him, probably a lot of like, emotions. He doesn’t usually hang out with many people aside from school” She had said, but the younger woman waved her hand:

“It’s fine, I don’t mind.”

She stayed for the night, but once morning came she had left for practice, but she didn’t do so without leaving a note for Ranboo thanking him for the presence.

In the following weeks they really clicked in a way, Ranboo would even consider Niki a close friend, maybe even a sister figure in his life, he was so glad he took his mother’s advice on the risk taking bit. They would close earlier the shop sometimes to just chat while cleaning, which prompted a short conversation:

“I wholeheartedly believe people all over the kingdom come to you for flowers, like! They are some of the prettiest I’ve ever seen” Ranboo spoke as he was making sure the yellow roses had clean water once again, roses are easy to wilt at the slightest problem, he wanted to make sure every rose was well taken care of under him.

“Yeah, this may sound morbid, but I really hope that when I die, someone plants the prettiest flowers on my grave,” Niki commented as she counted the receipts and the money gathered “I feel it would be a nice goodbye” She added, looking over at Ranboo who was now looking at her solemnly.

“I’ll make sure to plant those flowers if you die before me,” He whispered, “But you’re not leaving soon, right?”

“Of course, Ranboo! It was just a hypothetical, it won’t be soon. I promise to stay here as long as I can.” She hurried close and cupped the boy’s cheek as an older sister would to her younger brother to comfort him, she then smiled and hugged him closely.

The war was getting closer. Barely anyone paid attention, except the girl with pink hair that took care of the flowers.

Barely anyone paid attention, except the boy who had sisters to keep warm.

Barely anyone paid attention, except the royals.

Barely anyone paid attention, except now, the boy who would take care of his garden flowers, decided to worry instead of ignoring the problem.

“Ranboo, promise me to still take care of the flower shop if I am not there.”

“I promise.”

“You’ll open up everyday like normal, people need a sense of normalcy when dire times come, alright? You’ll talk as if everything is fine, let them buy whatever they need, then close and return safely home, alright?”

“Yes.” Ranboo whispered, making sure only Niki heard him.

“Good.”

“Niki?” He had asked before the day ended completely, the clouds began to look greyer by the minute but he had to ask the question: “You’ll stay safe, right? You’ll come back?”

“I promised to stay for a long time, right? I’ll make sure of it.” She hugged him one last time before heading out, they exchanged flowers: Ranboo gifted Niki some statice while Niki gave Ranboo some forget-me-nots (maybe as an inside joke, maybe as the actual meaning: Ranboo didn’t know). They thanked each other and set off their own ways, Ranboo with the flowers in hand ran to his house, ready to search for keys but he saw the lights on.

His mum was already home.

Before he forgot, he grabbed the alliums from his garden and hurried out outside, the wind blowing a bit heavier, the rain starting to fall.

“Tubbo!” He called out, and as Tubbo was heading out, he turned around to see Ranboo standing there, clearly not in clothes made for battle.

He never was made for battle, the boy realised soon enough, but as he saw his friend standing there with a single flower in hand he maybe regretted doing so much training instead of hanging out with him… But there was no turning back now, he was ready and he always wanted to be.

Ranboo ran closer and gave him one of the prettiest alliums he had in his garden, “Here, have this flower…” He huffed quickly, “Alliums mean good fortune, unity and patience…” He smiled, a sad one, but a smile nonetheless: “I wish you the best out there” He said, quickly. 

Tubbo nodded and smiled in return, looking back to where he was headed seeing his little sister still ready to give her goodbyes.

“I’ll see you later, yeah?” Tubbo asked.

“Hopefully you will.” Ranboo assured, and with that he left Tubbo to continue with his journey and he returned home, slightly wet from the outside rain. His mum looked at him and got close to kiss his head, but it was getting harder, he was growing fast, she noticed.

“Did you say your goodbyes with Tubbo?” She asked softly as she directed him towards the living room.

“We said see you later to each other.”

“That’s sweet,” Sophie muttered, “Very sweet.”

Ranboo thought it was sweet too, but he hoped Fate was in their favour and at least the war wouldn’t end as badly as many merchants would say. He looked at Sophie, covered in jewelry made by his mum, in remembrance and maybe even comfort.

He wished he could wear his mum’s earrings and hear the soft dinging or clinking for comfort, he wished he had something more like that to give to Tubbo or Niki, like a good luck charm of sorts, but alas, he was only a boy that liked to garden. 

Nothing out of the ordinary about him, really.

That night Ranboo slept with the window open, and he heard low sobs coming out of Tubbo’s house as he wrote down the happenings of the day:

Niki and Tubbo went to battle/war. It looks bad. I hope they’ll be fine.

Not even a day later he asked his mum to pierce his ears, and as soon as he had them pierced, he picked some earrings from Evelyn’s jewelry box and started wearing them.

“You look just like her,” His mum muttered as she looked at him with a sad smile, “be careful, alright? I’ll be working until late, will be sending some of the pastries and such to the city hall and nearby houses, ok? Stay safe.”

“Will do,”

“And when you’re going to work, make sure to be careful, alright?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. I’ll see you tonight, if you’re still awake.”

Work was duller than usual, but that was fine. Customers seemed to be happy that there was at least some shop that didn’t talk about war and was just itself like always.

Ranboo sold a lot of flowers for remembrance and love.

He only hoped he wouldn’t get many funeral ones by the end of it all.

As the days went by, he did get a lot of requests for flowers for funerary ceremonies.

He did them as always, tried to not cry while making most of them, but the thought of it all still made him tear up.

That was the first day he closed earlier than usual after selling the flowers.

Ranboo was out taking care of the flowers in the garden, waiting for his mother to come home as he heard multiple screams in the distance, his flight or fight told him to flee, go to his home, maybe even the basement, there he would be safe. Maybe visit Tubbo’s house, maybe they would be doing better than him.

But he braved through it and ran towards the source of the noise, that’s where he saw his mother sneaking by some warriors, who clearly were out for bloodshed. She looked terrified, these people seemed to not care about anything, set to destroy everything in their way.

The boy wanted to scream and shout to alert them and let his mother go, but if he did so, he might end up getting caught in the crossfire. He waited with baited breath, and then the armed people after looking around, spoke to each other and turned to leave the place.

And they were leaving right where Ranboo was standing, and with that he quickly threw himself into the bushes nearby and hoped some animal would be able to cover for him if the guards seemed to have noticed him…

The people got closer and closer and suddenly he heard them:

“I swear I saw a boy here, perfect for battle too.”

“We aren’t gonna sweep up random boys off the streets to fight! If they’re not guarding already, they mean nothing for sure. Just come on, let’s go towards the main plaza since someone doesn’t know directions.” The other spoke quite angrily, but they both left and Ranboo was safe, and soon he saw his mum walk by.

He jumped from his spot and ran towards her, he spoke: “Mum?”

Sophie seemed to flinch and turned around, but at the sight of her son, she sighed relieved and quickly took his hand to hurry themselves into the house.

“What got into you? Ranboo, you could’ve been hurt!”

“I just heard a scream and got alarmed so I wanted to check it out-”

“Ranboo, please! There is a war, you can’t help everyone! Please look out for yourself, you have more life to live than I do, alright? Put yourself first. I don’t want you hurt.” Sophie scolded him as they entered the house.

“Sorry.” He mumbled.

“It’s fine, let’s just hope Fate is in our favour and won’t plan any evil tricks of sorts on our family for karma…” His mother thought aloud, and Ranboo still nodded.

Don’t take too many risks during wars , mum doesn’t want you hurt.

Ranboo was closing up for the day, it was mildly sunny but he could start to feel the chill in the air already, he noted to himself to make sure to pick up a jumper before heading out next time.

He was hurrying home when he felt a tremor and a loud rumble. Soon after, a loud explosion was heard and there was smoke coming out of a cave, and not too far there appeared to be smoke around the royal grounds… He thought for a second, it wasn’t safe, if he was spotted, he could die…

But curiosity always seemed to kill the cat, so he slowly went towards the royals’ grounds to maybe have some sense of knowing what was happening, along the way he witnessed soldiers fighting each other, some would be healing others but that’s when he heard a very loud scream that echoed throughout everywhere (his mum would kill him right now, he told himself).

Ranboo decided he heard and saw enough when all the people fighting stopped fighting and the healers looked towards the monarchs’ castle, the scream came from there. 

He knew the situation was tense since the new king came, but he didn’t pay much attention. He saw someone clutching a bloodied body, full of hurt and sadness. Another person looked like they were ready for bloodshed.

 Now he had paid too much attention to everything. He quickly ran away, to his house and he ran.

And he ran.

Once he arrived, he opened the door, noting how his mother wasn’t home yet and he went to his room. 

What if something had happened to Tubbo or Niki? Would Fate dare to be so merciless to him?  

That night Ranboo slept with the window open, and his sobs were heard down in Tubbo’s room. His memory book lay discarded by the end of his bed with a few words written in,

It got bad. I’m praying for them to be safe now.

Soon enough, everything had quieted down and all that was left was tension in the air and whispers in the ambience.

His mother had headed out to check on the soldiers and their healing to bring any food to recover energy, but he wasn’t interested in that, he made sure to run past her and see what had become of everything.

Ranboo felt like crying at the sight of the many people dead, but soon enough he had one goal in mind: he decided to stay in the open trying to find (or maybe not find) the body of the person he might have considered a sister a few weeks prior and maybe find his kind neighbour too.

But Fate is cruel and likes to laugh in the faces of the people who hope.

Ranboo found the prettiest burnt flower petals near her. Still, no sights of Tubbo, but that wasn’t on his mind, not after the horrific sight.

He ran towards her, feeling completely at loss. As he arrived near her, he kneeled down, not only to pay respects but also to hug her. He started sobbing, he didn’t think of bringing flowers, he thought that he’d see her maybe in the infirmary getting healed or at the very least at the flower shop in the coming weeks. 

All he had strengths to do is hug his once family in spirit, and cry his eyes out as he thought of how the universe picked favourites and was cruel. On how Niki didn’t deserve this, how she was too young to leave the world behind, how she still hadn’t picked her birthday gift… He wanted to scream at everything that the vast expanse of space made Niki dishonest and a liar for making her break a promise so early. He yearned for her gentle touch and kind smile, for her stories of childhood friends and her many remarks. 

He wasn’t ready to lose another loved one, not so soon anyway. 

He hugged her tightly until someone else found him and asked him to return to his home.

Ranboo didn’t feel like telling the guard that the dead woman was supposed to be part of his home too.

Niki (your sister somewhat, actual employer) is dea

He couldn’t finish writing the sentence before he had cried once more.

He attended her funeral, alongside his mother and some other people Ranboo didn’t know (he did take note of the woman who looked too suited for such an occasion, maybe she had been a Captain of sorts).

There at the center sat some vases with lilies, he picked them out for her and made sure they were the prettiest. Alongside the lilies, even if they weren't the prettiest, he held purple hyacinths that would be ready to get planted and maybe bloom in the Spring.

He wouldn’t tell anyone, but he was planning to make sure to plant more for Niki, she asked for it, and he wanted to make sure to fulfill his side of the promise.

He felt like he was repeating actions from a few months ago, he felt like a kid again but also he felt as if the universe was looping his life. His mum had gone soon but he couldn’t help but feel that Niki went even sooner than she should have,

He didn’t have enough energy to cry his heart out again, but he stood quietly watching everything happen slowly. For Autumn, the day was surely quite sunny overall. Ranboo took note of the weather, another sunny day when tragedy happened.

Fate probably thought it was as funny as ever, Ranboo thought to himself.

As he kneeled down, and started to do the familiar action on autopilot, he took special care of the flowers and even left a soft kiss on them, “I’m keeping this promise, grow to be pretty, please” he had whispered like a prayer.

Once they were planted he got up and went to stand beside his mum. She whispered to him about being sorry, but he paid no mind. 

As they left he said his actual goodbyes to Niki.

He just hoped that the flowers he planted would be the prettiest that resided at his sister’s grave.

As he would be writing things down in his memory book, he made sure to look out his window everyday, but nobody was there aside from maybe the neighbour’s cat. It was ok though, Ranboo told himself, his neighbour maybe was taking care of things inside his home or maybe he was still getting healed...

He just really hoped he hadn’t lost his best (and maybe only) friend.

Everything had calmed down considerably, the Winter was about to hit and he still hasn’t seen signs of Tubbo, but he felt optimistic this time. He told himself that if Tubbo ended up in a dire situation, his family members would have surely told him.

His mother was in Evelyn’s studio, as usual, trying to maybe do some jewelry herself (she kept insisting Ranboo try it, he did and he found that he was average at it, but he didn’t want to tell his mother about it until he had finished making earrings for her… huh, he guesses he took that after his mum too ).

Ranboo was looking out the window, doing his usual activity of people watching, but it was surely only to spot if his friend was back… He kept peach roses and peach stocks from his old garden ready to give to Tubbo, on a note were attached the meanings: peach roses mean modesty and demureness, you are missing the person you’re gifting it to while stocks in general mean beauty, a happy life and the bonds of affection, kind of perfect for a best friend.

As the boy was going to finish his activity for the day to go work on the earrings (and maybe schoolwork too), he saw a glint of an axe.

Wait, I recognize that axe, I think.  

Ranboo jumped to his feet seeing Tubbo coming back with firewood, probably for his family, he grabbed the flowers and shouted a quick ‘be back!’.

His feet hit the cold floor with a thump, he instantly felt cold but he still felt as determined as ever: “Tubbo!” He called out, tears of happiness in his eyes for once in this godforsaken year.

“Hm?” He looked back and as he saw Ranboo with flowers, he quickly smiled and dropped the axe “Ranboo!”

They ran at each other and hugged, Ranboo quickly giving Tubbo the flowers and a quick once over. “You’re here! You’re- You’re genuinely here! Oh my god-” The boy sobbed as he cupped Tubbo’s cheek to then squish it between his fingers because Tubbo was there and felt so real .

“Yeah! I- I did! Missed not hearing you nerd out about every flower I saw on the way there.” 

“I-I missed you too.” 

They looked at each other for a long time, before Tubbo sighed and went to hug Ranboo once more, which the other reciprocated right away, then he heard the boy quietly inhaling air. “I’m so glad to see you, you have no idea” he whispered, “I had this feeling that I had to come back or you’d bring me back  to life to cry and then kill me again”

“I would never kill you, Tubbo”

“That’s what they all say.” He giggled to lighten the mood.

Tubbo reached out a hand to him, Ranboo analyzing it and looking back at Tubbo. Start taking risks echoed in his mind, and sure enough: he took Tubbo’s hand. His friend just beamed and dragged him along so they could continue talking, maybe even chat a bit inside one of their houses too.

He was glad to have taken the risk.

Tubbo is back home :)

“My mum once talked about soulmates and them being like a possible thing…”

“Are you flerting with me again, Ranboo?”

“No! No, I meant like, as a concept.”

“Sure… But I’ll tell you something, I don’t really believe in soulmates… Well, I didn’t at least. I do believe that there might be multiple people you really click with.”

“That’s sweet… Have you met a person like that yet?”

“Yeah. You might know them, they never went to battle, they write a lot of things down in this journal they have and they love flowers.”

Ranboo laughed.

“Hm, could it possibly be me?”

“Yeah.”

Tubbo sighed, but it was a content one.

“Well, I believe I clicked really well with this boy who takes a lot of care of his sisters, he is wise beyond his years and could possibly break my spine with all the training he had.”

They looked at each other for a second, before Tubbo laughed,

“That’s like the weirdest way to describe me!”

“But it’s true!”

“Oh Ranboo, you really are something else, boss man” They laughed and maybe even giggled together

The two boys continued to banter as Ranboo took care of some flowers he was preparing for Tubbo’s sister’s birthday (the younger one if he recalled correctly).

At the end of the day, the two remained friends, even stronger than ever. Some would say Fate was the one that brought them together to build each other up, some say it was anything but Fate, because Fate played tricks and made people regret too many things. Still, the two boys didn’t really care who was that brought them together: they would always be Tubbo and Ranboo, neighbours by chance and platonic soulmates by heart ( “Tubbo that sounds so dumb, I can’t describe us this way to my tutor!” “Yes you can! You’re just a pussy.” )

I think this is the most I have smiled in weeks, feeling happy :)

Gave mum the earrings I was working on a few days before Christmas (I couldn’t contain myself), she cried and told me I was truly like mum.

I still miss her and Niki, it hurts like nothing else, but it doesn’t hurt as much (I met the Captain woman at Niki’s funeral again, apparently they were really close, we sometimes talk at the shop).

Tubbo proposed to marry each other platonically when we’re both old enough so we can reap off the tax benefits, I think it’s funny. Tubbo is funny.

There was a picture of Tubbo, his sisters and Ranboo glued to the lower half of the page Ranboo used. On the next page, however, was clearly someone else writing things down:

Hi Ranboo’s journal! I wanted to make sure Ranboo knows he is loved and now has many friends and a good ‘home’ or whatever. If you see this Ranboo, HI! Glad you’re happy here. :D

Ranboo sighed as he read the last bit of this notebook, smiling to himself. He set it down on his desk and went to bed, noting he had to get a new journal to write things down in. 

To write new memories in.