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Tubbo blinked blearily, tapping his hooves against the floor as he stared at the paperwork in front of him. Something about the mansion that usually he let Ranboo take care of. But since he was the only one around at the moment, he had to get it done. His quill scratched against the page, ink blotting from where he let it settle for too long.
Somehow, Tubbo hadn’t seen Ranboo at all tonight. His husband had left a few hours ago, not saying where he was going, and hadn’t returned home yet. Tubbo wasn’t that worried, he knew that Ranboo could take care of himself and he would be back eventually.
But now, as the hours were stretching on and the sun had dipped far below the horizon, Ranboo still hadn’t returned. It was nearing two in the morning and Tubbo still had a stack of paperwork to be done. He stood up, stretching his arms above his head until his shoulders popped and he grabbed his lantern.
Ranboo was always back before three am. That was how it was. They hadn’t set an intentional curfew, Ranboo just somehow had the distinct mental clock and would always be back before then. Right now he was cutting it close.
As Tubbo walked he pulled his communicator out from the clip on his belt and shot a quick message to Ranboo asking where he was, his hooves clicking against the floor as he walked. He stopped below the entrance to the ladder, listening to make sure that Michael was still asleep before he crept into the living room. Tubbo checked briefly around the cabin to make sure that Ranboo hadn’t somehow returned home earlier and Tubbo just hadn’t heard him enter.
Since there was no sign of his freakishly tall enderman husband, he shot another message to him. Though as the message went through, Tubbo heard a ding from the kitchen and nearly jumped out of his skin. He stepped through the doorway to see the illumination of Ranboo’s communicator on the kitchen counter. Tubbo picked it up, the purple tassel that hung off it swung as he did so.
There were the messages that Tubbo sent, one from Tommy and one from Phil. Neither of these messages looked important so Tubbo ignored them.
The fact that Ranboo had left his communicator was concerning though. Setting his communicator back down on the counter, Tubbo noticed a piece of paper stuck to the counter with a piece of tape.
He peeled it off to examine it closer and grimaced as the note spelled out in Ender. A language that while Tubbo could read he wasn’t very good at it. It didn’t even look like Ranboo’s handwriting at all, it was scratchy and the words were far apart like it had been written in a rush. It seemed that ink had been spilled on the page as well, absorbing the last few words of the note as well as a good portion of the middle.
Tubbo could make out his name, a couple simple words that gave no information whatsoever, the words “forgot” and the small drawing at the very end of the page of “:)”.
Frowning, Tubbo put the paper back where he found it, pressing the edges of the tape down so it would stick. He didn’t like the last drawing of the message. He knew that Ranboo had some sort of issues with it but Ranboo had never gone into detail about it. Tubbo used to sign his notes with it before he found out. They hadn’t had much of a conversation about it besides coming to the conclusion that “please don’t use it”.
So the last bit of the note was a bit concerning.
Tubbo sent a quick message to Tommy, asking if he had seen Ranboo. Though knowing Tommy, he was probably asleep. And if he wasn’t he would probably ignore the message.
Grabbing his coat off the hook, Tubbo quickly stepped out into the night, pulling the door shut quietly behind him. He pulled the hood up over his head as the wind blew against his face and scanned around.
There weren’t any footsteps nearby, besides the ones that Tubbo was making with his own boots. Tubbo felt his communicator buzz and quickly pulled it out, squinting at the message.
Tommyinnit whispers to you: no
Tommyinnit whispers to you: he didnt respond to my message either
Tommyinnit whispers to you: thinks hes so high and mighty
Tubbo rolled his eyes and continued through the snow, scanning the ground for any footsteps or signs that his Ranboo had come anywhere near Snowchester. The signs so far of what he was seeing led to no. Tubbo realized he probably should message Tommy back.
You whisper to Tommyinnit: he left his communicator at the house dont think he saw
Tommyinnit whispers to you: >:(
You whisper to Tommyinnit: I worry about what hes doing
You whisper to Tommyinnit: hes usually home by now
Tommyinnit whispers to you: hes probably doing bad things like the wrongen he is
Tubbo ran a finger through his hair and decided that Ranboo wasn’t in snowchester. He made the quick trip to the ruins of L’manburg, shivering despite the heat that was coming from the warm night. He stared at the glass barrier over the top of it, moss already starting to creep its way along the ruined buildings and stone.
Something felt off about the ruins tonight. Tubbo stepped over the glass, treading lightly as anxiety bubbled in the pit of his stomach from being over such a high drop.
No building survived the actual explosion. But some were doing better off than others. Tubbo stared at the dilapidated buildings of the country he used to be president over and frowned. The scent of gunpowder and decay still lingering in the air.
He shivered.
Grass and vines swayed in the wind and Tubbo climbed up one of the flatter slopes. It was eerily quiet.
Not even the calling of crows or any sort of monsters lingered around the gravesite. Tubbo hated the quiet. Old wounds ached the longer he stood here. But he had a small feeling that he might find Ranboo here. So he continued walking, avoiding holes and loose pieces of ground where the bottom half had all crumbled away making it that if you stepped there you would certainly break an ankle from your fall.
“Ranboo?” Tubbo called, cupping his hands around his mouth like a megaphone. His boots scuffed against the ground and he nearly tripped over a hole. The remnants of the path below him creaking and swaying dangerously. He stopped when he heard shuffling.
He barely recognized the building in front of him, the front of it had been completely blown open and caved in trailing stone and wood splinters on the path and inside the house. Glass shards crunched under his feet and the floorboards swayed dangerously as he stepped over the rubble. Potholes littered the floor and they cracked and sank as he walked. There was no way that Tubbo wasn’t going to break some sort of bone tonight walking through the L’manburg ruins. There was soot and ash splayed across the walls and when Tubbo put his hand on it, the wood crumbled beneath his fingers.
Ranboo’s old house. Tubbo remembered. He swallowed thickly, pulling the collar of his shirt up to cover his face as he kicked up a cloud of dust and rubble. There was a chest near the front, the lid was blown off and overturned. Spilling out useless items and long spoiled food.
“Ranboo?” Tubbo asked, his voice sounded far away. It was practically swallowed by the dread that hung over this area like a thick storm cloud ready to burst.
A small growl from the corner of the room. Tubbo turned, he nearly jumped out of his skin seeing the glow of piercing purple eyes staring back at him.
Quickly looking down at his feet, Tubbo waited until the choked hiss stopped before he looked back up again, making sure not to look Ranboo in the eyes.
Ranboo was sitting in the corner of the room, his back pressed against the wall and his knees pulled up to his chest. His claws were extended and he stared at Tubbo with a blank but threatening expression. His jaw clicked slightly as he opened his mouth to bare his teeth.
Tubbo held his hands up in front of himself in a placating gesture, the movement caused Ranboo to flinch, letting out another low growl, his ears pinning against his head and his tail lashing back and forth, the fluff at the end of it hit against the wall.
“Ranboo, hey,” Tubbo moved slowly, his heart hammering in his chest and the back of his mind telling him that he definitely shouldn’t be here right now. But he crouched down in front of his husband, a few feet away to give both of them space.
Ranboo’s eyes darted back and forth, particles dripping from his skin. There was confusion in his eyes and a lack of connection. Tubbo had seen Ranboo like this, but usually, the Enderman hybrid was passive and a bit of a pain in the butt.
There were fresh tear marks running down his cheeks, they shimmered and were still steaming.
“It’s just me, okay?” Tubbo spoke softly, unsure if he could even understand him right now, “it’s me, Tubbo. Your husband.”
Ranboo blinked and while he gave no reaction, Tubbo noticed the way his ears relaxed some, drooping and twitching every time the wind whistled through the holes in buildings. He closed his mouth but still pulled his lips back in a silent snarl.
“Do you know where you are?” Tubbo sat down on the ground, spreading his legs out in front of himself, “do you know why you’re here?”
Ranboo said something in clipped Ender. His voice was distorted and staticy. Tubbo grimaced, it seemed to echo even if he was just whispering.
“Okay uh… I can’t understand you, boss man…” Tubbo chuckled weakly, “but uh… you know who I am right?”
A slight nod, Ranboo furrowed his eyebrows. He tilted his head to the side, his different-sized horns making the action seem lopsided.
“This is your old house, remember?” Tubbo licked his lips, his voice shook and he stared intently at the dirt on Ranboo’s tie. His gaze was almost intense enough to be able to wipe it off with just his mind.
Ranboo nodded again. He curled his hands into loose fists, gripping at his pants leg.
“It uh… it kind of got exploded, remember?” Tubbo looked down at the ground, he mimicked an explosion with his hands, “it went boom.” He laughed nervously. Ranboo flinched.
He said something in the same clipped Ender that Tubbo felt bad that he couldn’t understand. The only thing that he knew was his name and a couple simple words. None of which Ranboo used.
“It’s getting really late,” Tubbo said, a chill ran down his spine and his skin felt all itchy, “Are you ready to go home?”
Ranboo gave no visible answer, but he shifted, pulling a book out from his jacket. It took Tubbo a second to recognize it as his memory book. He scribbled in the page a few words and extended the book to Tubbo. Who took it gingerly, clutching the edges of it tightly so he didn’t drop it.
Ranboo was staring at him with a sad expression, his jaw clenched and his tail beginning to swish back and forth lightly.
It was a message in Ender, the same handwriting that had been on the kitchen counter. Tubbo squinted at the words in the dark.
He recognized the word Home.
“Yeah, we can go home,” Tubbo said with a nod, he went to hand the book back to Ranboo but Ranboo leaned forward. His knees dug into the rubble on the floor and he pointed to the message that he wrote.
“I’m sorry I don’t know what all of this says, Boo,” Tubbo admitted.
Ranboo pointed to the word home, his claws almost ripping the page. He spread his hands, pointing to the rubble around them.
“Oh,” Tubbo whispered, his voice catching in his throat, “Boo, this isn’t your home anymore. It was blown up a while ago.”
Distressed, Ranboo pointed again to the word on the page with a chirp. There were tears welling up in the corners of his eyes and a couple ran down the scars causing a small hiss.
“You have a new home Ranboo,” Tubbo said, “In Snowchester and in the arctic.”
Ranboo frowned, he whimpered and rubbed at his eyes. He gave Tubbo another small chirp, sounding so much smaller than his actual size would lead you to believe.
“I’m sorry, Boo,” Tubbo let the book rest in his lap. Ranboo pointed at the page again, then at the room around them with more of a question in his movements.
“Dream blew it up,” Tubbo said, “And Techno and Phil. They made the obsidian road in the sky and set off TNT from there. Techno had withers and…” Tubbo stopped, his voice cracked and he wiped away the tears that were forming in his eyes. The smell of decay reeked in the air.
“You know all this Ranboo, you were there—you…” Tubbo sniffled again, he couldn’t wipe away the tears fast enough, “don’t tell me that you’ve forgotten. The actual you, not the you that’s in whatever state this is,” he gestured at Ranboo, “please tell me that you remember.”
Ranboo gave no reaction. Tubbo wasn’t even sure if he understood. Pulling his knees up to his chest, Tubbo buried his face in his arms, breathing slowly and painfully. He heard shuffling and then suddenly there was someone right next to him. Tubbo leaned against Ranboo’s shoulder and his husband chirped softly.
“Can we go home, Boo?” Tubbo asked his tone pleading, “please. To Snowchester, back to Michael. This isn’t our home anymore.”
When Ranboo once again, gave nothing that Tubbo could take as an answer. Tubbo stood up, taking Ranboo’s hand and pulling his husband up to his feet.
Ranboo let himself be moved without complaint and with his tail tucked between his legs and his ears drooping he let Tubbo tug him out of the ruins of his old house.
Tubbo’s strides were quick and he moved with less care than when he had entered. Ranboo moved along behind him silently, his claws clicking against the glass as they walked.
When they finally entered the tundra, Tubbo could still smell dust and rotting wood and decay on his clothes. He did everything in his power to keep his composure and not go straight to the bathroom to scrub his skin raw. He sighed, half pulling Ranboo down the hallway to their bedroom. His communicator buzzed but Tubbo only tossed it down on the nightstand and ignored it.
He pushed Ranboo into bed, ignoring the small chirp of surprise that Ranboo gave him. The enderman hybrid was still staring at Tubbo as he discarded his coat on the back of the chair in the room. He tugged his boots off and tried to ignore the chills that ran down his spine.
“Come on, you won’t remember this in the morning anyway,” Tubbo said, he shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. Ranboo’s tail twitched, the end of it curling back and forth.
When Tubbo laid down under the covers he honestly figured that Ranboo was going to get back up and leave. Fear causing his breath to catch in his throat.
Though, Ranboo looked down at Tubbo, glancing up and down the bed like he had forgotten how to lay down. Then, tentatively, he laid down, Tubbo pulled the covers back and tucked them around him.
“Go to sleep,” Tubbo said, curling his legs up to his chest. Ranboo let out a slow chirp, then a warble.
It seemed like he was trying to communicate something but Tubbo had no idea. After a few moments, the determined but tired chirps settled into the idle vrwoops and chirps that Ranboo made while he was asleep. Tubbo buried his face in the pillow and willed sleep to come as soon as possible.