Work Text:
tick. tick. tick. tick.
The sounds of the clock reverberated throughout the bleak mansion.
tick.
It’s too quiet now… with them gone.
tick.
No quiet whispers-
tick.
No joyous giggles-
tick.
There is no love here anymore.
tick.
Tubbo sat at the empty kitchen table with his head in his hands. There in front of him was an unopened bottle of whiskey. He didn’t want to drink it- he really didn’t- but everything was beginning to be too much. Far too much.
tick.
He gripped at his ears to just make it stop.
tick.
His loving partner was gone-
tick.
His child was missing-
tick.
A murderer was out of prison-
tick.
Everything that made his life worthwhile was slipping through his fingers like smoke. He could see it and feel its warmth, but it rose to the sky far beyond his reach.
tick.
Tubbo stood abruptly, his chair screeching on the flooring. He grasped the neck of the bottle and flung it at the clock. The whiskey bottle smashed into it and knocked it off of the wall. The bottle shattered into tiny shards, mixing with the alcohol that spilled upon the linoleum ground.
He breathed heavily, sweat dripping down his forehead. His dark mane of hair was tangled and matted against his face. Under his eyes were the dark bags, revealing how little he slept. (Not at all.) Tubbo’s grey eyes flickered with a million emotions, not being able to make sense of any of them. All he knew was that his family was gone.
tick.
Tubbo whirled to face the clock that was now lying on the floor. His anger flared as he stormed over. He didn’t pay any mind to the shards of glass that embedded into his hooves. He picked up the broken clock with his scarred hands.
tick.
He flipped the clock over to see it’s face.
tick.
He gripped the hands and dug his fingernails into the center of it. He pulled back forcefully and ripped out its hands and wires. He dropped the parts from his hand and threw the clock to the ground with a bang. Tubbo stood over the clock and stomped on it with all of his strength. With one last stomp and a kick that sent it sailing across the floor, he fell to his knees. Tubbo rubbed at his eyes furiously, the pressure of his emotions building up.
The dam finally broke and tears started to flow down his cheeks. “GOD DAMMIT , RANBOO!” He choked out through his sobs, gripping his hair and pulling at it fiercely. “WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE A FAMILY !”
Tubbo’s breaths were coming in short gasps, his heart pounding in his ears. I’m all alone, I’m all alone, I’m all alone, I’m all alone, I’m all alone, I’m all alone. No one is left. They are all gone. He moved his hands from his hair and grasped at his chest, almost ripping the green sweater he wore. I lost my whole family in a matter of hours. He lifted his hand slowly to his left horn. Running his fingers along it, he found his wedding ring. Tubbo’s hand flinched violently as it grazed the gold band as if it were scorching hot.
Tubbo took a deep, shuddering breath. He gripped the ring in his hand and slipped it off of his horn carefully. He held it in his palm and simply stared at it. It was a simple golden ring- nothing really special. Tubbo didn’t necessarily like elaborate gifts- drew too much attention.
He let out a hollow laugh, turning the ring over in his palms. “Ironic.”
The very mansion he was breaking down in was a gift from his partner.
Then he noticed something engraved on the inside of the ring. Tubbo brought it up to his good eye and squinted, trying to read the small writing.
A slight, bitter smile tugged at his lips. “‘Till never do us part,” Tubbo whispered to himself, wiping his eyes as fresh tears started to form.
God, the irony.
Tubbo picked himself up off of the ground, slipping the ring onto his right horn and sighing. He padded over to the clock that was now beaten and broken on the floor and picked it up. Examining the damage, he realized- with no surprise- that it was irreparable. He walked over to the trash bin and tossed it in.
A familiar voice suddenly echoed through the mansion. “Tubbo?”
Tommy.
“Tubs, you in here?”
Tubbo collected himself, wiping at his eyes to rid them of their tears. He took a deep breath. “Yeah, I’m here,” he called out, just barely loud enough for the blond to hear.
Tommy walked into the kitchen from the living area. “There you are Tubs!” he trotted over to the shorter brunette. Tommy’s wide smile soon fell to a concerned frown as he took in the state of his friend. “Hey, hey, hey, you alright?”
Tubbo pushed away Tommy’s hand as the blond reached for his face. “Yeah, no, I’m good,” he said weakly, mentally cursing himself as his voice cracked at the last word.
Tommy hummed disbelievingly. He searched Tubbo’s pools of grey, noticing how they were still red and puffy from crying. His blue eyes caught a glint of light from the floor behind Tubbo. The blond furrowed his eyebrows, even more concerned. “What happened here..?” Tommy pushed past his friend and took in the sight. It was just tiny shards of glass scattered over the flooring, the reek of alcohol wafting from it. He walked slowly over to a small clump of wires that sat amidst the broken glass. “What’s this from?”
Tubbo laughed numbly to himself. “Oh, that’s from the uh, the clock.”
Tommy raised an eyebrow. “Now, why isn’t it, like, you know…” he motioned with his hands, “inside the clock?”
Walking over to the trash bin, Tubbo lifted out the damaged clock to show Tommy. “Well, you see,” he paused. “I got a little angry, and uh…” He looked down at the clock, letting the silence speak for itself.
Tommy’s eyes softened. “Tubs,” he said softly, placing his hands firmly on Tubbo’s shoulders. “It’s okay to cry.”
Tubbo looked up at his friend, searching his gaze. “But-”
And Tommy pulled Tubbo into a tight hug, resting his head between Tubbo’s horns. “ You aren’t weak, ” he whispered into his friend’s hair. “You lost your family , Tubbo. You can cry.”
Tubbo wrapped his arms around Tommy’s torso and hugged him closer. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Tubbo pulled away. (Tommy’s eyes had started to water, but Tubbo would never mention it to him)
“Tommy,” Tubbo said, wiping away the few stray tears that started to slide down his cheeks. “I didn’t lose you.”
Yeah. Tommy’s family.
Tommy smiled and opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by another familiar voice. One that Tubbo did not expect to hear any time soon.
“Tubbo!” the voice echoed through the mansion. “Beloved??”
Tubbo glanced up at Tommy. “He’s a ghost now,” the blond whispered.
A small glimmer of hope sparked in Tubbo’s soul, but was quickly snuffed out as he saw the state of his partner’s apparition.
Ranboo’s ghost still had his half black and half white with the same eye color, but without pupils. Their tear scars were accentuated with a sickening violet. He wore a cloak that flowed from his shoulders, corresponding with the monochrome colors. On his stomach was a gash made from a sword by the looks of it, dripping with Ranboo’s red and green blood. It coated the floor in drips before promptly disappearing into a puff of smoke. Hovering over the ghost’s head was a beautiful gold crown encrusted with many jewels and diamonds.
And on their left horn sat a golden band, the same as Tubbo’s.
“Boo…” Tubbo forced out a whisper as he padded over to his late partner. “What did they do to you?” He lifted a hand up to the ghost, reaching out to touch him- to see if they were real. Ranboo lifted his own hand up to touch the brunette’s, but it simply just phased through it like nothing was there in the first place.
It started to rain.
A shiver was sent down Tubbo’s spine as his hand felt the pure coldness of the ghost’s touch. It was like the cold of Snowchester, it was just… an empty cold. There was no warmth to it at all.
Tubbo inhaled sharply and put his hand to his mouth. He looked up at his partner’s ghost. Being able to see through them was unsettling.
“Tubbo,” Ranboo whispered softly to Tubbo. “It’s me.”
He just wanted to hug him… one last time.
But that isn’t an option. All he could do was stare at Ranboo’s ghost, wondering what to do next.
Suddenly, Ranboo grinned widely. They motioned Tubbo to follow him, and the brunette complied.
Tubbo looked back at Tommy, but the blond told him to go along with a flick of his hand. Tubbo gave a quick nod and trotted after his partner.
Tubbo looked ahead and saw Ranboo waiting by the door, grinning ever so brightly. It made Tubbo’s heart loosen a fraction. They seem… happy.
Tubbo opened the door and stepped onto the porch, to a steady rain falling from the sky. Ranboo began to step out from under the roof.
“ Boo! You’ll bur-” the brunette stopped his words abruptly.
There stood Ranboo, the ghost of his partner and an enderman , standing in the rain. They lifted their arms and closed their eyes with a beaming smile. The two stood in silence, listening to the soft patter of the rain.
“Bo!” Ranboo spoke with the most undeniably happy tone Tubbo has heard from his partner.
“The rain doesn’t hurt anymore!”