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Turning away from the window where snow was slowly piling up, Ranboo looked at the view that greeted him in his living room. Tubbo was lifting up Michael so he could put the star on top of the tree, Micheal giggling at how tall he was on Tubbos shoulders. Next to the fire, Tommy was sitting leaning back against Friend, using her as a pillow, as Technoblade entertained him with stories of demigods and heroes from a time long ago.
From the other side of the room, quiet clashing from the kitchen let him know that Wilbur and Phil were in there, likely finishing up the cookies. Ranboo smiled. Everything was perfect. Well, almost everything. With Christmas Day quickly approaching, Ranboo was faced with a problem. Gifts.
Sure, some were easier to figure out than others. Technoblade had lost his axe a while back, so Ranboo had gotten him a new one. Tommy was in desperate need of armor that was better than diamond, so Ranboo had spent hours in the heat of the nether searching for ancient debris to get him a full set. The list goes on and on, all presents figured out and acquired except for one. Tubbo’s gift.
He had spent the past month puzzling over what to get him. Tubbo already had netherite armor and tools, so he didn’t need those. He had no need for resources, supplied by both his efforts above ground and Ranboo’s time below in the mines. It seemed like there was nothing he could need or want, but he needed to get Tubbo something.
Walking over to the couch where Techno was sitting, Ranboo sat down and pretended to listen as he tried his best to think harder about what Tubbo could want. Thinking back to when he had first met Tubbo, he tried to remember what he was like. A suit a couple sizes too big, the leftover stench of alcohol from its former owner. Burn scars covered the side of his face, slowly being hidden by growing bangs. Prime was he thankful for the bangs when he first moved to L’Manburg. The ability to look someone in the eyes while talking with none of the discomfort was a godsend.
And then he remembered what was likely Tubbos favorite spot in New L’Manburg. The greenhouse. With L’Manburgs climate, the greenhouse wasn’t needed for plants. Rather, it was used to prevent the bees from escaping. Prime, how could he forget Tubbos love for bees.
However, he paused. It had been months since New L’Manburg. How could he be sure that Tubbo would appreciate the bees?
Looking around the room for people he could ask for advice, his eyes settled on Tommy. Surely, he would know as Tubbos best friend.
“Hey Tommy, can I talk to you outside for a bit? It’ll be quick.”
With a groan, Tommy got up from Friend’s side, muttering under his breath about the loss of warmth.
Sidestepping Tommy, Ranboo opened the front door and they stepped outside onto the porch, the only light coming from inside the cabin.
“Alright you prick, I was comfortable inside, what do you need to talk about so badly?”
“It’s about Tubbo’s gift,” Ranboo supplied, “I want to build him a bee enclosure or a greenhouse or something out here but I don’t know if he would appreciate it.”
Tommy looked him dead in the eyes, causing Ranboo to turn his head to the side before he heard a guffaw. Turning back to Tommy, he saw him crouched over, struggling to breathe from laughter.
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to laugh, it’s just Tubbo loves bees. Possibly an unhealthy amount. If you were to get him bees out here, I’m pretty sure he would never leave their enclosure.”
Tommy stood up, wiping tears that had streamed down his face from laughter.
“Get him the bee enclosure or whatever, I’m heading inside, it’s cold as balls out here.”
Ranboo watched as he headed back inside, a wave of warm air hitting his face as the door opened and closed. Well, now that he knew what to get Tubbo he only had to get everything in order and somehow not have Tubbo know. And quickly, With Christmas only a handful of days away.
-
Ranboo stopped from work in getting the bees into the hive and squirted at the sun, seeing it was around noon. Checking his inventory, he quickly went through a mental checklist to see if he had everything he needed. Wood, stone, glass, flowers, and most importantly, bees. Having no bees in the area near Snowchester, he had had to travel hundreds of blocks away to a forest, before painstakingly checking chunk by chunk for bees buzzing along in the air, or a beehive nestled among the trees.
But finally, he had everything he needed. He had already enlisted Foolish in helping him build the enclosure, not before swearing him to secrecy about the gift, wanting as few people to know about the gift as possible.
Quickly creating a nether portal, Ranboo walked through the purple haze, walking out into the nether, the heat enveloping him as he shook the dizziness from his body, looking around the warped forest he found himself in, endermen chirping at him. Looking off in the distance, he saw the bridge that had once linked the nether hub to Tommy’s portal while in exile. Now fallen out of repair, the bridge was less than pretty, but it would get him back home.
-
Slipping into bed next to Tubbo and Micheal that night, Ranboo felt relief sweep through his body. The greenhouse was finished, the flowers were planted, and the bees had settled in, all in time for Christmas morning in just a few hours. He closed his eyes and let the sensation of sleep run through his veins.
-
Waking to Micheal jumping on the bed, Ranboo groggily sat up, before looking to see Tubbo sleeping soundly. Not wanting to disturb him, Ranboo gently slid out of bed, before turning to Micheal.
“Hey bud, let’s let him sleep for a bit. Wanna help me make breakfast while we wait for everyone to get here?”
With a snort of agreement, Micheal walked over to Ranboo, who gently picked him up and set him on his hip as they walked downstairs to the kitchen, with the goal of breakfast in mind.
-
Only an hour after rising, Tubbo had woken, breakfast had been eaten, guests had arrived, and gifts had been handed out, now slowly drawing to a close. Micheal sat in the corner with Tommy, excitedly showing off all the toys he had been giving, with Wilbur and Phil looking over at them and discussing when their children had been that small, with Wilburs face flushing with embarrassment as Technoblade slung his arm over his shoulder and told him of how he had attempted to eat sand as an infant.
Tubbo sat on the couch, drinking from a mug of hot chocolate while watching the scene. Ranboo inhaled. This was the moment of truth. Walking over to Tubbo, he let him know of his presence with a tap on the shoulder.
“Ranboo! To what do I owe this pleasure?” Tubbo remarked with a cocky grin.
“Your gift. It’s outside, so I thought it would be best to give it to you last.”
With a confused look on his face, Tubbo sat down his mug before following Ranboo to the door, putting on his boots and jacket before following him out the door.
As they trudged through the snow, Ranboo began explaining his thoughts behind the gift.
“I didn’t really know what to get you, so I tried to think back to when we first met in New L’Manburg, and you had that greenhouse with all the bees you liked, and I thought, oh I’ll get you that, but then I thought, what if you don’t like it, so I asked Tommy, and he said you would really love it, so I built you a greenhouse with more bees and Foolish helped me build it and I really hope you like it.”
Taking a deep breath in after rambling for so long, Ranboo looked around them to see they were already at the greenhouse. He opened the door and motioned Tubbo to walk inside, following behind him.
Tubbo gazed at the interior, mouth open as he looked up at the bees flying around in the air, dusting his hair with pollen.
“So?” Ranboo asked nervously, “Do you like it?”
Tubbo turned to him with a smile on his face.
“Ranboo, I lika da bee.”