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It had been thirty-two hours.
Thirty-two hours since Ranboo had last heard anything from Tubbo. Thirty-two hours since the “ going to work, be back later ” message had popped up on his communicator. Over thirty-two hours since he had last seen him.
Ranboo paced back and forth in front of the fireplace, tail lashing behind him as he worried the hem of his sleeve between his fingers.
He didn’t know what to do.
Normally, whenever one of them went off on one of their trips, there was an unspoken agreement that they trusted each other enough to not keep constant tabs on their whereabouts, and to make sure that the other had space to breathe and alone time. Nothing out of the ordinary.
But to have gone this long without hearing anything…
He had sent a few messages to Tubbo today, but none of them had been answered. Perhaps Tubbo had simply turned off notifications, or maybe he had lost his communicator, or maybe he was just busy; but something didn’t feel right.
Ranboo feared… well, he dared not even think of what he feared.
He was stuck here for the time being, looking after Michael in Snowchester. Foolish had long since left, having collected payment for the mansion (the move was proving to be a far more daunting task than either of them had expected), and no one else was ever around these parts.
A soft thud from upstairs drew his attention, and he halted his pacing. “Michael? You alright?” he called, wincing at the rough tone his voice held. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Michael?”
Muffled grunting came from Michael’s room, but he wasn’t crying or anything, so Ranboo’s already-shot nerves were soothed just the tiniest bit. He made his way over to the ladder, climbed up, and poked his head through the trapdoor.
To his relief, Michael was sitting up, his one bright eye clear and staring at him from his position on the floor. He seemed to have taken a tumble out of his bed – nothing serious.
“Boo!” he squealed. He clambered to his feet and rushed towards Ranboo, arms outstretched.
The enderman hybrid smiled, quickly hoisting himself through the trapdoor and closing it behind him before Michael could fall through. The small zombie piglin ran into his leg and latched onto it tightly as he stood up, throwing him off balance for a moment.
Ranboo crouched down, running his hand through the soft little tuft of hair between Michael’s ears. Michael giggled, hiding his face in Ranboo’s pants leg. He twisted, playfully trying to avoid his father’s ministrations.
Ranboo glanced around, and saw the little chicken plush (very well-loved) that Michael had dropped on his way over. He leaned over and picked it up, making it dance with his hands as he spoke in a comical voice.
“Hello, Michael! Whatcha up to?”
Michael just giggled harder, peeking out for a second and then immediately hiding again. Ranboo’s smile grew despite his persistent anxiety.
“What are you hiding from, huh? Am I scaaaary??” He wiggled the plushie’s head, booping Michael with it, going from his head, to his arms, down to his legs and back again. Michael’s giggles turned into laughter as he finally let go and grabbed for the plushie.
“Gimme! Gimme Benson!” he cried, arms up as Ranboo held it just out of reach for a moment before letting the child grab it. Michael hugged it fiercely, whispering, “Don’ worry, Benson, you’re not scary to me. I’d never be scared of you.”
Ranboo’s heart melted a bit at the sight. Call him a sap, but gosh darn it, he loved his family. Speaking of which…
The worry that had been gnawing away at him for the past couple hours rose up again even stronger than before. Watching Michael hold an imaginary conversation with Benson, he made a split-second decision.
He pulled out his communicator and began typing.
You whisper to Eret : sorry for asking so last minute, but could you watch Michael tonight?
He looked back up, eyes following Michael as he toddled off, completely in a world of his own as he “flew” Benson around the room above his head. His communicator buzzed.
Eret whispers to you: yeah, sure. just give me a few minutes to get over there. is everything okay?
You whisper to Eret: Tubbo’s been away for a few days and I haven’t heard anything from him
You whisper to Eret: going to go check on him, but I can’t take Michael with me
Eret whispers to you: of course, man. be right there.
He didn’t mention that he really didn’t know where Tubbo had gone, or that he didn’t know when he’d be back. But he knew Eret wouldn’t mind, no matter how long he took. Eret was one of the kindest people he had met on the server so far, and she was probably just as concerned for Tubbo’s safety as Ranboo was.
Ranboo turned his attention back to Michael. “Hey, Michael, come here,” he called, getting the child’s attention from where he was currently trying to fling Benson on top of one of the bookshelves. (A feat that had been attempted before and resulted in Ranboo having to retrieve it, since he was the only one tall enough to reach the top of the bookshelves without a ladder; but despite that, Michael kept trying to do it.)
Even though Ranboo tried to keep his tone light, Michael must have caught onto the serious undertone. He stopped what he was doing and waddled over, tucking Benson safely under his arm. “Boo, where’s Bee?” he asked, glancing towards the trapdoor.
Ranboo forced himself to smile. “Bee’s out working, sweetheart. But how would you like to spend some time with Auntie Eret?” he asked.
Michael’s face lit up. “Auntie Eret?” he gasped.
“Mhm! Auntie Eret,” Ranboo agreed enthusiastically. “Boo has to go check on Bee and make sure he’s not working too hard, okay? But Auntie Eret will be here in a few minutes to watch you, okay?”
Michael nodded, his playful mood dulled as he picked up on his father’s worry. “Is Bee okay?”
“Of course he is,” Ranboo lied, faking confidence. “Bee just sometimes… Bee sometimes doesn’t realize how long he works, right, sweetheart?”
Michael nodded, shifting Benson up to hug onto it more tightly.
“Boo just has to go and make sure that he’s following all the rules, okay? Eight hours of sleep, drinking enough water, eating at the right times,” he said, gently poking each of Michael’s ears and then his nose as he listed each item. A smile wove its way back onto the piglin child’s face, seemingly reassured by his father’s words.
Ranboo opened his arms, and Michael dove into them without hesitation. The enderman hybrid hugged him tightly, placing an exaggerated kiss on the top of his head. “I’ll be back before you know it, with Bee,” he stated firmly. Michael let out a happy chuff, nestling further into his arms.
They stayed like that for a bit, cuddling on the floor of Michael’s room; until Ranboo heard a light knock from downstairs.
He let go of Michael before calling out, “The door’s unlocked, come in!”
In a different time, he might have been worried someone else was at the door; but considering no one ever came by Snowchester unannounced these days, and it had been some time since Eret had last messaged him, he assumed that it was them.
Sure enough, a deep voice echoed from below as the door creaked open. “Hello?”
Ranboo heard some rustling, most likely as Eret brushed snow off and wiped his boots clean, before stepping into the room fully. Michael’s ears perked up as he heard the voice.
“We’re up here,” Ranboo called again, just as Michael yelled, “Auntie Eret!!”
Eret chuckled, and a few seconds later, they poked their head up through the trapdoor just as Ranboo had done not twenty minutes earlier. “Michael!!” she responded with the same energy.
Benson once again forgotten in the heat of things, Michael bounded over to Eret as she closed the trapdoor and, once he arrived, she swung him up in her arms. Michael giggled furiously, bonking his head onto his shoulder as he often did when he was excited.
Ranboo picked up Benson once again as he stood, briefly pausing to stretch his long limbs before walking over to where they stood. In a low tone, Ranboo said, “Thanks for coming on such short notice.”
Eret waved their hand, shaking their head. “Don’t worry about it, man. You know I love spending time with him,” he said, smiling. “Do what you need to do.”
“I’ll make it up to you,” Ranboo replied. Eret began to protest, but he kept going. “No, no, I insist. You know where we keep the golden apples, and there are potions of harming in that chest over there-”
“I know, Ranboo, I’ve been over here before, you know,” Eret said lightly. He reached over, laying a hand on the enderman hybrid’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about us, Michael and I are going to have a lot of fun together, aren’t we?” She turned to Michael with a grin.
“Yeah!! Lotsa fun!” he repeated.
“See?” they said. Their face turned serious again as they turned back to Ranboo. “But seriously. He’s going to be okay. Both of them. Now get going. Michael is safe here with me.”
Ranboo shot Eret a grateful look, and turned to Michael. “Be good for Auntie Eret,” he said, handing Benson to him again.
Michael grabbed it and nodded. “I’ll be good, Boo.”
Ranboo leaned forward, and Michael met him halfway, bumping their foreheads together. Ranboo quickly snuck another kiss onto Michael’s forehead, then turned tail before he could waste more time.
The quicker he found Tubbo, the quicker he could be back and with his family.
He slipped down the ladder and rummaged through the chests in the main room downstairs, making sure he had enough supplies to take care of Tubbo should he be in any sort of bad condition when he found him.
When he found him.
He would find Tubbo. He had to.
A stack of golden apples, some regeneration and healing potions, bread, steak, bottles of water… Should he bring a blanket? He wasn’t sure if he would need it, but he packed it in his bag anyway.
He threw on his waterproof boots and cloak, adjusting the hood so that it could be pulled up quickly in case it started raining. He double-checked his bag again, and after making absolutely sure he had everything he needed, he left, locking the door behind him.
He took off due north, heading towards the outpost that he and Tubbo had made a couple weeks ago. If Tubbo wasn’t there, then he could worry about where else to look.
Ranboo seriously doubted that he had gone to the Bee’n’Boo Hotel (they had scrapped that project a long time ago, especially after Tommy had seemed upset by it), and he also doubted that Tubbo would go anywhere near the ruins of L’manberg. However, the outpost and Las Nevadas were new, and it was highly likely that Tubbo had gotten caught up in new secret projects or posting a lookout, and hadn’t realized how much time had passed.
He just couldn’t be sure until he got there.
He picked up his pace, taking advantage of his long legs to get him there as quickly as possible.
The sun was slowly descending as finally, Ranboo came within sight of Las Nevadas. The bright sign that was perpetually lit up emitted a soft glow on the surrounding area, barely noticeable against the early sunset. He turned to see where the outpost sat and-
Oh, wow.
The outpost was a lot different than he remembered. Last time he had left it, it was just a simple one-room guard lookout, with a lava trap and a precarious staircase leading up to it.
Now?
Twelve-foot-high walls surrounded the area – not just the lookout and the hill it sat on, but also around the field that spread at the base of it. There seemed to be another structure built into the side of the hill facing outwards, but Ranboo couldn’t make out what exactly it was supposed to be.
There was no way that anyone but Tubbo had done this. The walls looked exactly like the walls surrounding Snowchester, which Ranboo himself had helped build.
His worry was allayed just the slightest bit as he took all of this in, but Tubbo was nowhere to be seen. Ranboo hurried to the walls, going around their base to see if he could find an entrance.
Sure enough, an arch was carved out in the stone brick wall around the back end of the outpost, opposite to Las Nevadas. He entered, glancing around anxiously.
“Tubbo?” he called – loudly, but not too loudly. He wasn’t sure how Las Nevadas was taking this display of strength (as the outpost was decidedly not just an outpost anymore), and if they weren’t taking it well, it was possible that they had infiltrated it and this was a trap designed especially for him…
He crept around, making sure to be fully aware of his surroundings at all times. There was still no sign of the goat hybrid anywhere, but the random piles of bricks and mortar laying all around meant that he had been there recently.
Hopefully he was okay…
Ranboo pushed that thought down as he continued to search. “Tubbo? Are you here?”
He turned, and suddenly caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. He whirled back around, and-
He let out a huge sigh of relief.
There, on the far wall that he had yet to inspect, a small, horned figure perched, seemingly oblivious to his presence as he laid brick after brick, slowly inching his way along the wall.
Ranboo trotted over, feeling as if a huge weight had just been lifted from his shoulders. Tubbo is okay, he reassured himself.
“Tubbo!” he yelled as he got closer.
Tubbo heard him this time and jumped, fumbling the brick he had just picked up. It fell to the grass below with a dull thud . He groaned, and called back, “Piss off! You made me drop it!”
“Nice to see you too, Tubbo,” Ranboo replied, ignoring the complaint. He came to a stop at the base of the wall, craning his neck back to see the top.
“What are you doing here, bossman?” Tubbo asked, a hint of exasperation coloring his tone.
“You haven’t picked up your communicator in over a day, Tubbo,” Ranboo said. “I got worried.”
“Over a day?” Tubbo asked in disbelief. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small black rectangle. “Surely not-”
“Mhm. Which is why I’m here.”
“What about-”
“Eret’s watching Michael right now,” Ranboo interrupted. “He’s okay. What I’m more concerned about is you.”
“I’m fine, Ranboo.”
“Can you come down?”
The goat hybrid hesitated. Ranboo couldn’t make out his expression, since the sun was gradually sinking and shining right in his eyes, but he could tell that Tubbo didn’t want to.
Well, too bad.
“Tubbo…”
“I’ve- I’ve just got this bit left, let me just finish this and I’ll-”
“Now, Tubbo,” he stated firmly.
Normally, Ranboo would have to fight more to get Tubbo to rest. But either something in Ranboo’s voice made Tubbo aware he would brook no argument, or he must have been really exhausted, because Tubbo began packing up his things.
Ranboo waited patiently as Tubbo made his way down the wall, his goat hooves finding crevices and cracks that no ordinary person would be able to support themselves on, hopping from brick to brick as he descended.
He stepped back, giving him space to brush himself off and collect himself before speaking again.
“So,” he began.
Tubbo wouldn’t meet his eyes. Well, normally Tubbo didn’t look him in the eyes for obvious reasons, but it had been a long time since Ranboo had felt any hostility towards eye contact with him. He still did it out of habit; but this was different.
Normally, Tubbo would just focus on a spot over his shoulder or on the horizon behind him, but now he was fumbling around with his tools, not looking up in his direction at all.
The silence stretched between them awkwardly.
Ranboo waited.
Finally, Tubbo spoke up. “I have to finish up a couple things down here, how about you go up to the outpost and I’ll meet you there in a couple minutes?”
“Is there anything I can help with?”
“I just need to cover up the bricks with their tarps, and make sure I don’t leave any mortar lying around,” Tubbo explained, gesturing to the piles that Ranboo had seen earlier, spread sporadically along the walls.
Ranboo hummed and began trotting over to his right. “I’ll go this way, you go that way, we’ll meet in the middle, okay? And then straight up to the outpost.”
“You got it, bossman,” Tubbo responded, already making his way towards the next pile.
There weren’t many, and the time went by quickly. Ranboo knew that it was often hard to get Tubbo out of his rhythm when he got like this, and he was honestly surprised that he hadn’t put up more of a fight. He must have been really tired to concede to Ranboo that quickly. His concern rose again, but at least Tubbo was okay for now. At least he wasn’t…
This task would help Tubbo wind down, and ease him into a state where he could rest. The quicker it was done, the better, in his opinion (which was why he had offered to help), but he knew in the long run it would help him.
After they had finished, they made their way up the steps to the outpost in silence; Tubbo still very pointedly avoided looking at Ranboo. Once they reached the top, Tubbo put his tools away in the chest while Ranboo stood, looking around the interior to see if anything had changed.
Not much was different from the last time he had been here. There were no windows in the place, just cutouts in the brick to let light in. A couple smoky torches were positioned on the walls, casting the room in a pulsing light as they flickered in the chilly breeze. The lava trap bubbled outside, heating it up enough for it to be comfortable despite the cold slowly creeping in as it descended towards night.
“So, how’s the project been going?” Ranboo asked.
Tubbo inhaled sharply. “It’s been going good, yknow, just building up defenses,” he said, with a strange, almost forced lightness to his voice. “Gotta make sure it’s safe.” He clapped his hands together, brushing the dust and dirt off as best he could. He tilted his head, wincing for a moment before seemingly pulling himself back together. “What have you been up to, big man?”
“I’ve been looking after Michael, mostly,” Ranboo stated.
“That’s good. Thank you,” he said softly.
Tubbo was swaying on his feet. There was no way he wasn’t bone-dead exhausted, and hungry, and dehydrated as well most likely. Not to mention if he had any cuts or bruises from countless hours of nonstop work…
Ranboo took a step forward, offering a hand towards the smaller goat hybrid. Tubbo took it, clearly a bit confused, and Ranboo gently guided him over to one of the windows. He ignored Tubbo’s questioning grunt and instead rummaged through his pack, pulling out one of the bottles of water. He uncorked it and Tubbo gasped, reaching for it in a panic. “Ranboo, what-”
The enderman hybrid pushed his hands away, holding them out of the window, and then began to pour the water out over Tubbo’s hands. It took a moment for the goat hybrid to realize what was going on, but soon enough he was rubbing his hands under the stream, now more effectively cleaning off the dirt and grime from his long hours of labor.
Once Ranboo was satisfied, he corked the bottle again. He noticed, however, that Tubbo seemed to be staring at it longingly, and he handed it to him. Tubbo quickly brought it up to his mouth and gulped down the contents.
“Whoa, slow down there, Bo, you don’t want to get sick,” Ranboo warned, reaching out for the bottle.
Tubbo lowered it – it was completely empty – and blinked hard. The bottle slipped out of his hand, and Ranboo let out a surprised cry as he lunged to catch it before it could shatter. Broken glass was the last thing he wanted to add to this situation.
Once the bottle was safely back in his pack, Ranboo looked back to Tubbo.
The adrenaline rush that had kept Tubbo going for so long seemed to have finally up and left, and Tubbo was not looking good. His head tilted to the side, as if he could no longer hold it up under the weight of his horns. He was hunched over, hand on his forehead as he tried (and failed) to stifle a pained groan.
Immediately, Ranboo was at his side, an arm around his shoulder to support him as he guided him over to the cot in the corner. Tubbo sat down heavily.
Ranboo fumbled in his pack with one hand, pulling out a loaf of bread and shoving it into Tubbo’s hands. His other arm rested against Tubbo’s back, making sure he didn’t decide to lay down and then choke. “I’m assuming you haven’t slept or eaten while you’ve been on this whole stint,” Ranboo said dryly, watching carefully as Tubbo began slowly tearing off chunks and chewing on them.
“I have a golden apple here for you, but I’m not going to give it to you until you finish that loaf, or most of it,” he continued. Golden apples were amazing at healing and restoring energy, but when someone’s been overworking themselves or they’re really sick, they can do more harm than good on an empty stomach. He was also debating whether or not Tubbo deserved a regeneration potion, but he figured that he could figure that out after Tubbo had taken the golden apple.
At least it didn’t look like he needed a healing potion. Those were for immediate injuries, targeting a specific area, whereas regeneration helped to restore the body as a whole. Regeneration potions were for when someone was physically exhausted and needed to repair and regain energy. They also took some energy to work properly, and they knock the person out for a few hours while they’re running their course.
Which was why Ranboo wanted Tubbo to eat the golden apple. If he ended up giving Tubbo the regeneration potion, it would have more energy to work off of, so his recovery would be quicker. And even if he didn’t, the golden apple certainly wouldn’t do any harm.
The enderman hybrid was aware that Tubbo had kept himself going for longer in the past on less, but it had been a while since the goat hybrid had had to do so. Especially since Michael was now taking up so much of their time and attention.
Tubbo was eating slowly (which was probably a good thing, considering he hadn’t eaten in a good bit), and Ranboo also handed him another bottle of water. Taking sips in between bites, Tubbo got through about half of the loaf before he set it down, reaching up to brush his hair out of his eyes. His hands were a bit shaky, though that tended to happen whenever he was tired, especially on his right side.
“Sorry about that,” Tubbo tried to say, but Ranboo shushed him.
“No, don’t apologize. It’s okay,” he reassured him. His hand rubbed soothing circles on his back. “I’m here now, it’s okay.”
The goat hybrid hung his head for a moment, inhaling deeply, exhaling slowly. Ranboo pulled the golden apple out and presented it to him. Another deep breath, and then Tubbo took it. “Thank you,” he said quietly.
He placed it next to the half-eaten loaf of bread on the bed next to him, and began to shrug off his coat. Ranboo took it by the collar, helping it off the right side when Tubbo struggled to bend his arm back enough to lever it off. He took off his own cloak, bundled them up, and stood, walking over to the nearest chest. A crisp crunch echoed out, accompanied by then a contented sound as Tubbo took the first bite of the golden apple. He opened the chest, relieved to see that it was mostly empty, save for a few sticks.
He took the sticks out, replacing them with the coat. He then shuffled over to the corner opposite from the cot, and laid them out in a pile. He sliced a couple of the small ones into smaller strips, and pulled his flint and steel from his belt, getting a fire going with practiced skill.
After he had done that, he searched the rest of the chests and came up with a bit of coal, and he added those to the fire as well so that he wouldn’t have to worry about it fizzling out quickly. The lava trap kept the building warm, of course, but it did little to light up the interior; and torches for sure would not last through the night.
He didn’t plan on going back to Snowchester tonight. Not with the condition Tubbo was in. He hadn’t said it outright, but Ranboo was fairly certain that the goat hybrid was suffering from one of his bad headaches, which he got even on good days. With that came dizziness, nausea, exhaustion, and light sensitivity, none of which Ranboo would be equipped to deal with on the long trek back home.
He pulled out his communicator and sent a quick message to Eret:
You whisper to Eret: Tubbo is safe, I’m with him. But I don’t think we’ll be able to make it back tonight.
Eret whispers to you: Oh thank prime! I’m glad he’s okay. Do what you need to do, I can stay with Michael until you get back.
You whisper to Eret: Thank you so much. Once we get back I’ll make sure to compensate you.
“Who are you talking to?” Tubbo asked. Ranboo looked over, noticing that Tubbo had fairly devoured the apple, not much left but the core. That was a good sign.
“Eret. Just telling her that we won’t be back tonight,” he explained. He shoved his communicator back in his pocket and walked back over to the cot, this time kneeling in front of Tubbo so that he was at eye level with him. He offered his hands out to Tubbo, palms up. Tubbo’s brow furrowed, but he took them nonetheless.
His hands were so much smaller than Ranboo’s, but they were rough and calloused from extensive labor over the years. Despite being only seventeen, he had seen so much more work than others on the server. It was his way of coping, Ranboo knew; he distracted himself with project after project, so that he didn’t have time to sit down and think.
It certainly wasn’t healthy, but when had Ranboo done any better? He had a bad memory, but sometimes he didn’t write down things he didn’t want to remember. They all had their ways of dealing with things. The fact of the matter was that no matter what happened, they’d be there for each other.
That’s what their marriage meant. It wasn’t the rushed decision that the other married couples on the server had made, a fling that had turned into a hasty exchange of vows for fear that they’d never find someone to love again. It certainly wasn’t romantic in nature. But it was… an alwaysness. A promise. A constancy.
“We won’t?” Tubbo asked, pulling Ranboo out of his thoughts. The enderman hybrid looked up again.
“No, we’re going to stay here tonight. Michael is safe with Eret,” he reiterated, knowing that that would be the next question out of Tubbo’s mouth.
“But I’m fine now-”
“Don’t care,” Ranboo interrupted. “You need real rest, and that’s not going to happen if we have to walk all the way back to Snowchester. You might be okay now, sitting down, right after you’ve eaten a gapple, but that stuff is going to wear off quickly if you start exerting yourself. Here,” he said, reaching into his pack once again and pulling out the regeneration potion. He pressed it into Tubbo’s hands. “Take this. It’ll help you sleep.”
Tubbo eyed the potion warily. He wasn’t a big fan of potions in general for many reasons; some of which Ranboo knew, and others he didn’t. His gaze softened.
“For me, Tubbo? It’ll make you feel better in the long run.”
The goat hybrid glanced up at him, and Ranboo could see the wheels turning. He must have been in more pain than he was letting on, because it was a surprisingly short amount of time before he sighed, and uncorked the bottle.
Ranboo leaned back on his heels, watching to make sure that Tubbo drank the entire thing. It was rather diluted, but he could see Tubbo’s face scrunch up from the taste. Potions never tasted good on their own, and there was little anyone could do to change that without damaging or altering the potion itself. He licked his lips sympathetically.
Tubbo blinked rapidly, then shivered. “ Blegh ,” he muttered. “That tastes awful .”
“I know, I know, but it’s going to make you feel better,” Ranboo repeated. Then, after a pause, “I’m proud of you.”
Tubbo raised an eyebrow skeptically. “Really, bossman? You’re going to get sappy on me now?”
Ranboo rolled his eyes playfully. “Oh, come on, let me live a little,” he joked. He stood up once again, lifting his pack off of his shoulders and setting it down in the chest that held Tubbo’s coat. He went around, making sure everything was secure for the night, and stoked the fire, making sure that it had enough fuel to keep going for a while.
When he came back around to the bed, Tubbo had taken his boots off, placing them neatly underneath the bed. He patted the sheets next to him, looking at Ranboo with a mischievous glint in his eye. “Join me?”
Ranboo groaned lightly. “Don’t say it like that, for prime’s sake.”
“Come on, you know you love it.”
“I really don’t,” he responded, sitting down on the edge of the bed anyways as Tubbo swung his legs up, rolling under the covers.
In reality, he was far too tall for the cot, which barely had enough room for two regular-sized people. Whoever it had been made for, it was not for him. He took his shoes off anyways, but instead of laying down, he sat with his back against the wall, with his legs stretched out the entire length of the bed. Tubbo shuffled around, letting out little snuffles as he made himself comfortable.
Ranboo held his arms up until the goat hybrid got settled, and then dropped them to run his hands through Tubbo’s hair. “Getting tired?”
“Mhm,” he responded, his voice muffled in the blankets.
Ranboo smiled.
His fingers wove patterns into Tubbo’s soft brown hair, dancing around the horns that sprouted just above his temples, then looping down towards the nape of his neck and back again, over and over, losing himself in the rhythm…
A warm blanket of contentment fell over the two of them as they lay there (well, one sitting and one lying), and the sun made its final hurrah as it finally passed beyond the horizon.
“Thanks f’r finding me,” Tubbo mumbled, his voice thick with exhaustion.
Ranboo paused his ministrations for a moment. “You know I’ll always find you,” he said quietly.
Tubbo readjusted his position, now leaning his head more on Ranboo’s leg than the pillow. The enderman hybrid let him, still resting his hand between the curving horns. “I know. It’s just… it’s one thing to say that and it’s another to…”
To mean it.
Ranboo’s been there in the past. Being thrown into situations where he was told that people cared for him and then betrayed his trust, or weren’t there when it actually mattered. He didn’t know specifics of Tubbo’s past, but he did know that whatever he had experienced, it had been far worse than anything Ranboo had been through. At least, it was worse that anything Ranboo remembered he had been through.
That was why out of all the people on the server, the one person he was determined to not give up on was Tubbo. And Michael, of course.
“I know,” he said simply. He began again, this time gently pressing around the base of his horns. Even on good days, they got sore from having to hold up their weight. They had grown over the past months to a size that made it necessary for Ranboo to file them down periodically, just so that they wouldn’t go on to cause his spine issues. He was probably due for another, but, knowing Tubbo, he had just been bearing it until he physically couldn’t deal with it anymore.
That was an issue for tomorrow's Ranboo, though.
He ran his hand along the rough texture of the horns, only broken by the smooth golden ring that adorned the left one. Tubbo’s breaths were growing deeper, slower, as he gradually lost himself to sleep.
The whole mood reminded Ranboo of something, but he couldn’t place his finger on exactly what it was. A feeling bubbled up in his chest unexpectedly, giving him a sense of warm, here, family, forever .
He blinked, unsure what to make of it. Sure, he regularly felt a sense of safety and family from moments like these, but… this was different.
He didn’t have a word for it, but it felt like… home . But not this home, not the one in Snowchester, or the one with Tubbo and Michael, but something… before. Something he used to have, but not anymore.
“R’nboo?” Tubbo muttered, his speech even more slurred than before. Without realizing, Ranboo had frozen, and apparently Tubbo was still awake enough to notice.
“ Shh, shh, ” he whispered – or at least, he tried to whisper. What came out instead, was a sort of hiss; still soothing, but touched by the distortion that always came out whenever he spoke in Ender. He cleared his throat. “Go to sleep.”
Tubbo didn’t seem to mind, probably since the potion was now in full effect. He didn’t respond, and if Ranboo didn’t know any better, he’d think he had fallen asleep on the spot.
He didn’t try to push the feeling away, but he didn’t know what to make of it.
That was, until he heard a noise from outside the outpost. His head whipped up, making out a tall, dark figure in the doorway, purple eyes glowing faintly in the dark.
He stared back (beyond the figure, of course; he may have been half enderman but that didn’t mean he could just go around making eye contact with every full-blooded enderman he saw). He didn’t want to disturb Tubbo, not when he was almost asleep; but he could sense little to no hostility from the enderman. It wasn’t going to attack him just yet.
Truth be told, Ranboo was used to randomly being observed by various enderman around the server. Some of them talked to him, others didn’t; but rarely had they ever watched while he was with other people.
Quiet reigned over the room. The enderman looked between him and Tubbo, then back again.
Your haunting? it said in the chirping language of the End, lifting one long arm to point at the goat hybrid resting next to him.
Immediately, that feeling that Ranboo had been trying to name rushed up again, stronger than before. Haunting. His haunting…
Faint memories of being held, of being taken care of, of family and forever and safety and love. He couldn’t remember who, or how many, but… he was a part of a haunting once, hadn’t he? He had to have. He hadn’t come from nowhere. And now…
He looked down at Tubbo’s head in his lap, now peacefully snoring. He looked back at the enderman, who seemed to be patiently waiting for a response.
Yes. My haunting, he replied simply.
The enderman nodded, then turned and, in a burst of purple particles, disappeared.
Ranboo let out a sigh, leaning his head back against the wall. He may not have had a haunting for a long time, but now…
He was home.
* * * * *
The following day, they had barely made it into Snowchester again when they heard a gleeful shriek from the direction of the house.
“Bee! Boo! You’re back!!” A small figure dashed into their sight, sprinting at full speed towards them. Ranboo smiled as Tubbo crouched down, arms out. Michael ran right into them and Tubbo picked him up, twirling him around as the piglin child giggled hysterically.
Eret emerged, following at a slower pace. “Michael, you can’t just run off like that,” they scolded, though there was no heat behind their words. He turned to Ranboo as Tubbo set Michael back down, listening to him babble. “I’m glad you both made it back safely.”
“Me too,” Ranboo confessed.
“Are you all good now? Do you need me to stay around any longer? I don’t have anything going on,” Eret asked.
Ranboo shook his head. “We can take it from here. Again, thank you so, so much for all of your help.”
Eret waved him off. “Don’t worry about it, I love spending time with the kid. Well, if you don’t need me, then I’ll be on my way now.” She pulled her cloak tighter around her, but Ranboo stopped her.
“Wait, let me pay you-”
“I said don’t worry about it ,” Eret repeated. They patted Ranboo’s shoulder sympathetically. “Maybe later you can bring me over a cake or something,” he whispered conspiratorially, winking at him.
Ranboo smiled gratefully. “Got it. Take care,” he said.
“Say, ‘bye, Auntie Eret!’” Tubbo prompted, kneeling down next to Michael and waving.
“Bye, Auntie Eret!” Michael yelled.
Eret waved back. “Goodbye, Michael! See you soon!” And with that, they set off back towards their castle.
Ranboo turned back to where Tubbo and Michael sat in the snow, looking up at him expectantly.
“Let’s go inside and get warm,” he said, and turned towards their house.
His family was together once again.