Archive of Our Own

finally. it was time.

ranboo’s favorite time of year had finally rolled around, and the best part was that he was spending it in the most picture-perfect christmas eve scenario.

normally, in california, the lowest it got was 40° fahrenheit. he could sit on the front steps and watch his father wrap christmas lights around a palm tree in shorts. but now, he stands in front of the glass doors and looks out into the yard he had spent his summer and fall in, entirely powdered in white.

the tree swing was unusable, the snow being so high that it nearly touched the bottom of the swing. the walk to the main house, although barely twenty steps, seemed a treacherous journey, so the boys stayed cooped up in the studio.

not that they minded it.

in fact, being stuck alone with tubbo and having no one to bother them was perfect.

tubbo was susceptible to the cold, ranboo quickly notices. the boy was always wrapped in a jacket or sporting a hoodie pulled over his hands for maximum warmth, but ranboo had assumed it was a fashion statement. he soon realized that it in fact, wasnt, as the brunette sits on the couch, wearing pyjama pants, wool socks and a hoodie, all while being swaddled in a christmas themed blanket.

ranboo stands in the kitchen doorway, holding a mug of hot chocolate and staring out at his shivering boyfriend. “this is honestly just sad.”

“you don’t need to tell me twice,” tubbo retorts, pulling the blanket closer around himself and continuing to stare at whatever was playing on the tv. “i knew that the vlog would leave me with some sort of ailment, but i wasn’t expect for it to ruin my ability to fight off the cold-!”

ranboo chuckles a bit, setting his mug down on the kitchen counter before striding up to stand beside where tubbo was seated. “why don’t i warm you up?”

“no way. not unraveling. nope. warm,” tubbo pulls the blanket impossibly closer around him.

“oh, come on. it’ll be fast. the shared body heat will make it easier,” ranboo sits down beside the boy, inching a bit closer with every word.

tubbo shakes his head. “i’m not risking it. just hug the cocoon.”

ranboo pouts, tilting his head to the side “come on, baby.”

tubbo flushes a pretty red, and ranboo’s heart soars. he'll never get over the rush he gets from making tubbo flustered, knowing just how much of an impact his words have on the boy. ranboo always knows just what pet name to call him in order to get him to crack.

“whatever,” tubbo mumbles, and ranboo can see his grip on the blanket relax. he grins, quickly pulling it out of tubbo’s hands and diving under. he pulls the boy into his lap, holding him impossibly close.

“better?” he mumbles into tubbo’s neck. tubbo nods, relaxing into his boyfriend’s arms.

ranboo adored moments like these, where he had an excuse to hold tubbo tight in his arms. the first few weeks of being in person were terrible for him, who had only dreamed of holding his boyfriend. tubbo was nervous, scared of messing up and driving ranboo away. a few kisses and hugs later, they fell asleep in each other’s arms, and now ranboo could cuddle his boyfriend whenever he wanted to.

“didn’t you say you were gonna go out now?” tubbo asks softly, his skin vibrating against ranboo’s lips with every word.

ranboo had entirely forgotten about his plans to go out. normally he wouldnt leave the studio, the fear of getting recognized or mobbed or worse, judged by random strangers, was too much for him to really want to go outside. when he did go out, it was with tubbo in the evenings, or with tommy, who faced every challenge with enough confidence to kill a man.

but, this outing was important. he needed to get presents for everyone. tubbo’s parents, for welcoming him with open arms and warm smiles despite him being the mysterious american that their son had met several months ago online. tubbo’s sisters, for accepting him into the family and joking around with him, even some insightful comments onto what flatters tubbo the most, and some embarrassing stories to retell to the boy. wilbur, for being such a caring friend and role model for him. tommy, for getting him out of his shell, and tubbo, for being the boy of ranboo’s dreams.

presents for his friends in america were set to ship just in time to arrive for christmas, so that was taken care of, but the looming anticipation of the little christmas party his friends were planning still hung over his head. he needed everything to be perfect. in fact, he already knew who would be getting what gifts, and in what order.

tubbo, first thing in the morning. tubbo’s sisters, as ranboo always ran into them when he went to the main house in the morning. then, tubbo’s parents. they’d meet with tommy in the afternoon to film an ice skating vlog, but ranboo would give him his gift in the evening, once they’re at the party. there, everyone in attendance receives their gifts, including tubbo, who receives a second. then, they go home, and tubbo receives a third gift.

was ranboo about to spend an atrocious amount of money? yes. was he willing to? absolutely. he loved seeing his friends’’ faces light up whenever they received something, and he really wanted to show them just how grateful he was for everything they had done.

also, ranboo just really loves christmas.

“boo?” tubbo says, shifting around in his arms. “you’ve zoned out.”

“ah, sorry.” ranboo flushes a bit. “i didn’t realize i had been zoned out for that long. yeah, i’ll probably get going in a bit. a lot to take care of before the party, you know.”

tubbo grumbles, leaning his head back against ranboo’s shoulder. “i’ve gotten all comfortable, and now you’re leaving. you should’ve just come along when lani and i went christmas shopping.”

“nope! cant have you stealing my present ideas,” ranboo says rather loudly. he feels tubbo roll his eyes and he chuckles a bit.

“i don’t get what you’re being so secretive about anyway.”

“i don’t want to spoil your presents,” ranboo says softly, pulling tubbo closer.

“dude-! you literally got me an electric guitar for my birthday. and my birthday was yesterday. i don’t need anything else.” tubbo exclaims. ranboo erupts into shushes, sounding like a waterfall as he presses a finger against tubbo’s lips.

tubbo bites his finger, not hard enough to hurt but enough for ranboo to exclaim a bit. in retaliation, he shakes his hand around, forcing tubbo’s head to shake before the brunette lets go of his finger.

“i’m getting you something, and that’s final,” ranboo says sternly. tubbo goes silent, simply opting to lean into his boyfriend’s arms. ever since tubbo’s eyes lit up like stars after seeing ranboo’s birthday gift for him, ranboo’s been determined to make him emotional like that again. he isn’t sure who convinced his boyfriend that he isn’t deserving of gifts, or that he has to repay each one he receives, but ranboo is determined to smush that idea out of tubbo’s brain, one loving gift at a time.

the two sit on the couch in each other’s embrace for a few minutes longer, making small talk between neck kisses and tight hugs. ranboo sees the snow outside lighten, and deeming it to be fine enough for him to go out. he doesn’t want to bother tubbo’s family into giving him a ride, so he’ll take a bus to the mall. which requires walking to a bus stop. which requires putting on much warmer clothes then what he’s dressed in right now.

“i’m gonna go get ready now,” he whispers into tubbo’s ear, who immediately groans.

“please don’t go. stay. warm.” tubbo curls into ranboo’s chest, hiding his head under the blanket. normally, this would be enough for ranboo to clear his entire schedule, but now, he means business.

“the party is tomorrow, bo.” he says softly, slowly pushing the boy in his arms off of his lap.

“i don’t need a present,” tubbo grumbles.

“what about tommy? wilbur? jack?”

“they don’t deserve presents,” tubbo says firmly.

ranboo throws his head back in a laugh before pressing a chaste kiss against the brown mop of hair on his shoulder. begrudgingly, tubbo lifts his head and lets ranboo go up the loft to get dressed.

after putting on enough layers to keep his thin californian skin warm, ranboo heads down the loft ladder and gifts tubbo one more kiss. he savors it, letting tubbo’s cinnamon-chocolate taste spread across his mouth.

“don’t freeze,” tubbo says once they pull away. ranboo gives his signature closed-mouth chuckle.

“if i was a popsicle, would you still love me?” he asks, wrapping a scarf around his neck and slipping into his boots.

tubbo glares at him, and ranboo gives him one last grin before pulling his mask over his nose and stepping outside.

the world outside the studio is frigid. snow still falls from the sky, but there's less of it, and it looks less threatening than it did before. ranboo walks along the iced road towards the bus stop, hands shoved in his pockets. california never gets this cold. ranboo can still see his breath cloud in front of his face, despite the fact that he’s wearing a mask.

once he arrives at the bus stop, he’s forced to stand and wait on his own. no one else is there, i mean, who would need to get a bus somewhere on christmas eve unless they were terrible procrastinators like ranboo?

he feels his phone buzz in his pocket, and decides that maybe killing time on twitter wasn’t a terrible idea.

tubboTWO:
my main source of heating just left me >:(

ranboo chuckled a bit under his breath. he replies with a quick >:) and a heart emoji, tweeting it out and then turning off his phone. normally, he’d be a bit anxious about tweeting something like that at tubbo. he isn’t always ready for the influx of stans who always have quite a bit to say directly to his face, but for once, he doesn’t really care. it’s christmas eve, and he couldn’t be in a better mood.

soon enough, the bus arrives. only a few other people are on it, scattered around the empty seats. ranboo sits himself at the back, staring out at the white-dusted world. christmas decorations litter the streets, as do window shoppers and people out on strolls. he can’t help but romanticize it just a bit.

the mall is even more decked out, and even more crowded. it seems like everyone is a procrastinator. for a moment, ranboo considers vlogging his shopping experience, but decides against it. making content and focusing on buying gifts for his friends wouldn’t mingle well, and he didn’t want to put out a mediocre vlog. it wasn’t like the party was a secret, a big portion of it tommy did say he was going to record to include in the ice skating vlog, to make it akin to “a week in the life of tom simons”. plus, another vlog was going out tomorrow morning, featuring tommy, tubbo and ranboo decorating the tree which now stands in tommy’s living room. nottingham during christmas time had made ranboo feel like he was in a real-life hallmark christmas movie, he had spent the entire train ride back to bognor regis scrolling through the dozens of photos he took.

and thus, the journey of gift-searching began.

ranboo isn’t the best gift giver in the world. he tends to hold himself to too high of a standard, before giving up and just buying people a gift card. but this christmas, he’s incredibly determined to find something perfect for each of his friends.

tommy was in no shape or form materialistic, but ranboo knows he loves to keep little trinkets that remind him of his friends. so, ranboo decides that some sort of object would do for him. he spends a while browsing through different stores, waiting for something to catch his eye, until he spots it. a stuffed raccoon, dressed in a christmas sweater.

ranboo had seen the countless amounts of fanart depicting tommy has a raccoon, comparing to a raccoon, and basically connecting him to a raccoon in every way possible. that was already perfect. then, it was dressed in a christmas sweater. which was both adorable and memorable. it’d always remind tommy of this christmas. so ranboo sweeps it off the shelf and into his arms, purchasing it and moving onwards.

he spends far too long thinking of what wilbur would enjoy. the man was older than him, and arguably more mature. he would probably want something more mature than a stuffed toy, although ranboo was worried he was idealizing him too much. wilbur would be too nice to turn anything ranboo gives him down, and hes sure that he’d enjoy anything he’s gifted.

with that in mind, ranboo heads to the next few stores. an ed sheeran guitar songbook stares at him from a shelf in the music store, and ranboo grabs it quickly. perfectly stereotypical and perfectly stupid. would wilbur make use out of it? who knows. but the internet would find it funny, and that was definitely important.

in the book store, he finds interesting socks with interesting designs. he picks one sporting an assortment of swear words, and another with mushrooms on it, deciding that would suffice. socks as a christmas gift. also funny enough.

ranboo was going to write wilbur one hell of a christmas card.

for jack, ranboo had already been planning a full gift of gags. a wig, a card that didn’t even fit the occasion, and whatnot. ranboo thought it reflected the man’s personality well enough, and maybe he could build some bits off of ranboo’s mediocre, and yet somewhat thoughtful gift.

shopping for everyone else in attendance to the party went swiftly. ranboo picked whatever reminded him of them, and wrote little notes on what exactly he thought aligned with the person in question, so that he could include it in his cards.

he had two bags in his arms when the final person on his shopping list rolled around. tubbo.

ranboo already had one gift for tubbo, a joke gift for the party. which meant he still had two other things to get the boy. things that he’d give in private, away from cameras and the ultra-attentive eyes of the viewers.

he spends what feels like an eternity browsing through shops, searching for the right thing. he finds himself in the toy store once again, searching through stuffed animals. a brown stuffed rabbit catches his eye, and he picks it up from the crowd of other animals surrounding it. needless to say, ranboo immediately decides that it looks like tubbo, and brings it to the counter.

that leaves one gift for him to give. the one he’s planning to give in the evening, to really seal in his adoration for his boyfriend. this needs to be special, to be perfect. to really take the boy’s breath away.

his eyes land on the jewelry store, and an idea starts to bubble.

tubbo and ranboo were certainly too young to marry, that much was obvious. it wasn’t that ranboo was unsure in his feelings of the boy, or even couldn’t see a future. marriage, although something that flustered him beyond belief, was something he could see. something he wanted. with tubbo.

but, for now, he just needed something to show how committed he was, without finalizing it. a promise ring.

throughout the time that he had been at the mall, he had been recognized a couple of times. but, he absolutely could not risk being recognized in a ring store. that’d be too embarrassing.

he’s seen people not recognize him without his disguise on, and there was no famous friends surrounding him to really give him away, so he pulls the glasses off and tucks them away in his coat pocket.

i am just a white guy shopping for a ring, he thinks to himself, stepping inside the jewelry store. i am not a youtube celebrity. just your regular dude. british dude. not american. nope.

ranboo did have tubbo’s ring size, thanks to a clever little scheme he did on stream. he pretended to take some far fetched quotev quiz which guessed his ring size, which allowed him to seamlessly ask tubbo for his ring size without raising suspicion.

he had the note open on his phone as he browsed the glass displays, nervously gnawing on his lip. this was a big thing. this was a huge thing. it needed to be absolutely perfect, to reflect just how he felt for tubbo.

“hey there!” a man says, startling ranboo quite a bit. judging by the silver name tag on his shirt, ranboo can tell that the man works there.

“hi!” ranboo greets in return, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

the man smiles as he looks ranboo up and down. “shopping for someone special, are we? you seem rather young, though.”

“i’m just looking for- uhm, promise rings,” ranboo says, cursing the way his voice breaks a bit with embarrassment.

the man’s smile grows a tad softer. “sounds good, mate. we’ve got a selection of rings i think you might like over here.”

ranboo follows the man to another display full of rings. “if you need anything, just give a holler.” ranboo nods, catching a glimpse of the man’s name tag. alex. alright, perfect. he turns his attention to the display, looking over all the rings it proudly shows off.

“tubbo, tubbo, tubbo,” he mutters softly. what would tubbo like? he imagines each of the rings on tubbo’s hands, and he feels his face heat up. any of them would look good on him. hell, tubbo could make a trash bag look like the world’s most glamorous dress.

ranboo sighs. this was going to take him forever. his eyes scan down to the next row of rings, and stop on a certain one. it’s a band, with a design of a starry night sky on it. he recalls the way tubbo’s eyes shine, when he laughs, when he smiles, when hes looking at something he loves. they look like little stars.

“uh-alex!” ranboo calls. the man quickly looks up and then makes his way over to ranboo beside the display.

“so, you find anything?” he asks cheerfully. ranboo nods and points at the ring. alex smiles wide. “ah, how romantic! and what size would that be?”

“seven.” ranboo says confidently, not even having to look down at the notes app open on his phone.

“lovely,” alex says, making note on a notepad. he looks up at ranboo with a kind smile. “it’s perfect. i’m sure they’ll love it, mate.”

_______________

the ring box seems to burn a hole through all the bags on the bus ride home. its heat even melts through ranboo’s warm jeans and sears his skin, putting him on edge.

what if tubbo doesn’t like it? what if he’s moving too fast? what if it pushes tubbo away?

ranboo squeezes his eyes shut. what would tommy tell him?

he imagines tommy in the bus seat next to him, listening to ranboo spill his woes.

tommy would give him a look, lean his head back against the window (he always sits with his knees facing ranboo. it’s uncomfortable, but shows he cares), and he’d cut ranboo off mid sentence and say “shut up, man!”

yeah. he’d definitely say that. he’d tell him to shut up, and then he’d say that tubbo loves him too much to ruin their relationship over some promise rings. two bands of metal weren’t enough to tear their relationship to shreds.

he sighs heavily, barely catching the attention of anyone else on the bus. it skids to a stop at a familiar bus stop, and ranboo gathers his things and gets off.

he walks home scanning through how to hide his gifts for tubbo. everything was already gift wrapped by their respective stores, so he’d just have to find places to put them where tubbo wouldn’t see and start to scheme.

soon enough, he arrives at the studio, opening the door and stepping inside. he can hear tubbo chattering in the other room, probably streaming out of boredom. he shakes the snow from his boots and shoulders, setting everything aside. he pulls the ring box out of one of the bags, hiding it in a pantry that they rarely use and making mental note of where it was before walking into the other room.

tubbo sits in front of his pc, laughing boisterously at something. he turns around at the sound of the door opening, and ranboo will forever remember the way his face melts into one of adoration. but it quickly turns mischievous as he turns back to face his camera.

“would you look at who’s back! four hours later!” tubbo announces, sounding rather cross.

“hey! it was important business!” ranboo says, placing the bags atop the loft.

“i saw the fan pictures, you were at the mall!”

“i- you knew i was going to the mall! i had to get presents, we have a party to attend tomorrow!” ranboo exclaims, and tubbo bursts into laughs.

he disapprovingly shakes his head, before climbing up to the loft to take his warm clothes off.

“well then boys, i think it’s time i end up. i probably won’t be streaming tomorrow, but you’ll have the vlog to look forwards to and i’ll probably be active on social media stuffs posting about the party and such. bye! merry christmas!” tubbo waves a bit more before ending and sighing, stretching his hands upwards.

ranboo decends from the loft, grabbing tubbo’s hands and kissing them all over. tubbo giggles lightly (one of ranboo’s favorite sounds), looking up at his boyfriend with loving eyes.

“did you do all the shopping you could dream of?” he ask, lowering his hands and standing up from his chair.

“you know it,” ranboo cups the boys face and places a bunch of kisses on it.

“what’s gotten you all affectionate?” tubbo teases.

“isn’t a guy allowed to love his boyfriend?” ranboo asks, dragging this thumb under tubbo’s eye.

tubbo hums for a moment, making an exaggerated thinking sound. “sure. i rather like it.”

ranboo grins. “perfect.” he seizes tubbo’s lips.

kissing tubbo is the best thing to come out of the meet up. that was only a slight exaggeration. every single time ranboo kissed him, it felt like he was being warmed up, all the way from inside his core. they parted slowly, ranboo still cradling the brunette’s face.

“can we order pizza,” tubbo asks softly. ranboo grins, placing a gentle kiss atop tubbo’s nose.

“yup. domino’s.”

“no red onion.”

“of course, your highness,” ranboo says, only letting go of tubbo’s face to do a large bow. tubbo rolls his eyes with a scoff, reaching back to his desk to grab his phone. he hands it to ranboo, muttering something about “day-after-birthday privileges” before heading over to the couch and getting situated under his new favourite christmas themed blanket.

ranboo lets himself admire the boy under the covers, the way his tired expression is illuminated in the low light. he turns back to his phone and begins to make their pizza order, thoughts of tubbo still swimming in his mind.

_______________

“i wonder what poor pizza delivery guys are working on christmas eve,” tubbo says. the pair are sitting on the couch, curled against one another as they absentmindedly eat pizza and barely pay attention to whatever youtube video is on the tv.

“well now i feel guilty about ordering this pizza,” ranboo grumbles, looking at the slice of hawaiian pizza in his hand.

“it’s whatever. hopefully they have the day off tomorrow,” tubbo says, shoving more pizza in his mouth.

“yeah. hopefully.”

ranboo looks down at his boyfriend, his sleepy hooded gaze trained on the video on the tv. even when tired and eating pizza like a starving man, ranboo still finds his boyfriend beautiful. all his prior anxieties had been shoved to the back of his head the second tubbo’s lips met his for the first time that evening. nothing mattered when tubbo was with him. when the boy was tucked into his side, the whole world felt fuzzy, soft, warm and perfect.

“take a picture, it lasts longer,” tubbo quips, a small smirk on his face. ranboo rolls his eyes and presses a kiss atop tubbo’s head, sinking further into him.

“i think i’m gonna clock out early,” tubbo says through a yawn, and ranboo smiles.

“awesome, its finally cuddle time,” he says, shutting the pizza box in front of them.

“it could’ve been cuddle time earlier if you didn’t abandon me for the mall.” tubbo says, feigning anger.

ranboo laughs. “c’mon, i can’t show up to the party empty handed.”

tubbo simply hums, turning off the tv. “i am rather excited for the party tomorrow.”

“yeah, me too.” normally the idea of a party would fill ranboo with dread, but this time around, he was full of excitement. he’d be surrounded by friends who love and care about him, celebrating his favorite holiday. he couldn’t deny that he was very excited.

the two head to the bathroom, brushing their teeth and washing their faces in tandem. they changed into their pyjamas (both christmas themed, which they laugh about for a moment and take a quick picture of), and then dive into bed.

several goodnight kisses later, tubbo’s breath evens out and ranboo is sure he’s asleep, tucked safely against the taller’s chest. he absent mindedly runs a hand through tubbo’s hair as he sorts through his thoughts, letting his excitement pool in his stomach.

he was finally spending christmas with his favorite person. it was a dream come true. even if he was a bit anxious, he knew that his and tubbo’s bond would be hard to sever. slowly closing his eyes, ranboo lets sleep take him, as final thoughts of the next day slip through his fingers like grains of sand.

_______________

ranboo is up early. he made sure of it. he wanted to beat tubbo to waking up so he could grab the boy’s gift and surprise him with it right before he woke up.

he slowly moves tubbo’s arms off of him, making sure the boy beside him doesnt wake up, before slipping out of bed and moving to the bags full of gifts. he sorts through them quietly until he finds the one he recognizes as the bunny.

ranboo hears the covers behind him shuffle, as well as a light groan. he grins, looking back to see tubbo rubbing at his eyes.

standing up, the blonde hides the gift behind his back and makes his way to stand beside tubbo. tubbo looks up at him, slight confusion on his face. ranboo can’t help but grin with affection, heart warming with how cute his boyfriend is.

he swiftly bends over, pressing a gentle kiss to the brunette’s nose. “merry christmas.”

“merry christmas,” tubbo mumbles through a yawn. “you missed my lips.”

ranboo’s grin grows impossibly wider as he leans down again, this time locking his lips with tubbo’s in a tender kiss.

they part after a few seconds, ranboo’s smile quickly returning to his face. “i have something for you,” he whispers against the smaller’s lips.

“i told you not to get me anything.” tubbo groans.

“and i didn’t listen. sit up.”

begrudgingly, tubbo moves to sit up in bed, still rubbing sleepily at his eyes.

ranboo gingerly places the wrapped stuffed animal in tubbo’s lap and folds his hands behind his back, carefully watching his boyfriend’s facial expressions.

tubbo glances up at ranboo before looking back down at his gift and moving to slowly rip the wrapping paper apart. slowly, brown fur begins to peak out of the paper, and once tubbo realizes just what he’s unwrapping, he smiles and begins to tear it apart a bit faster.

he lifts the rabbit into the air, giggling lightly.

“do you like it? i thought it looked like you.” ranboo says, watching his boyfriend with an overwhelming feeling of adoration.

“i do like it, thank you.” tubbo says, grinning down at the stuffed toy. “i dub thee….nutmeg.”

“that’s cute.” ranboo notes, patting nutmeg the stuffed rabbit twice on the head. tubbo hums in assent, hugging the stuffed rabbit to his chest for a second before turning to lock lips with ranboo again.

“merry christmas bo, ive got more where that came from,” ranboo says with a grin, and tubbo flushes.

“you’re crazy.”

“crazy for you.”

tubbo scoffs, but he’s smiling. “cheesy motherfucker.”

“last time i checked, i am not made of cheese.” ranboo says very matter-of-a-fact-ly, and is swiftly met with a pillow to the face.

_______________

tommy meets the couple at a cafe, where they exchange quick “merry christmas”es and walk to the ice rink together, laughing and shoving one another the entire way there.

it’s snowing out, but not nearly as much as it had the day prior. tommy’s fingers were red with the cold as he held his phone, recording for the vlog, but his laugh was loud as ever.

for once, ranboo didn’t care if the cameras caught him and tubbo holding hands.

they quickly arrive at the ice rink, and spend an abysmal amount of time trying to get their ice skates on. out of all of them, tubbo is the most experienced in ice skating, as well as the most balanced, which was going to make for an interesting experience.

the ice rink wasnt incredibly crowded, but there were enough people to provide as obstacles on the ice. tommy was shouting about how crashing into people would make good content, while tubbo quietly countered him with pleas of how embarrassed he would be.

after getting an employee to help them lace up their skates, the boys finally got on the ice, and it was instant disaster.

ranboo was a giant, towering over every person on the rink, and his way off center of gravity kept him from stopping properly. tommy couldn’t get up off his ass and refused to let go off the wall unless tubbo challenged him, in which he’d charge and promptly fall.

half of the footage so far was just of tommy falling onto the ice, or ranboo apologizing as he nearly crashes into strangers. he ends every apology with a little “merry christmas,” and tubbo shoots him an endeared smile every time.

at one point, ranboo loses his balance and flails around, but is quickly caught by tubbo.

“okay, just-hold onto my arm-there you go!” tubbo instructs. ranboo wraps one arm around tubbo and flails the other at his side, desperately trying to keep his balance.

“what if i put too much weight on you, and you fall and die?” ranboo says, exasperated.

“okay, well, let’s not do that,” tubbo says. “look, here- how about i skate in front of you and you hold my hands?”

ranboo flushes a bit, and is thankful the cameras can’t see. “yeah, that sounds good.”

tubbo moves to be in front of the boy, grabbing his hands and holding him steady.

“now try and push like i told you to earlier, outwards.” ranboo follows tubbo’s instruction carefully, grabbing the brunette’s hands tightly. “good, you’re getting it! now-“

”guys!”

tubbo is swiftly cut off by tommy’s loud shout from behind. the two turn around, and the sight they see immediately sends them into laughter.

tommy is grasping onto an ice walker for dear life as he slowly stomps over to them, face pink with embarrassment. tubbo laughs so hard he falls down, hitting the ice hard.

this only makes everyone laugh harder, and soon enough ranboo‘s on the ice as well, while tommy shouts for them to stop making fun of him.

ice skating goes well, and they have a good amount of footage from the entire experience. they head to a nearby cafe to get some warm drinks, sitting at a table inside with their jackets thrown over their chairs.

“this has been great, i’m glad you guys were willing to come out to film on christmas,” tommy says, swirling a spoon around in his cup of hot chocolate.

“you’re making it sound like we’re business associates. this was a lot of fun, and there’s still a lot more footage for the vlog tonight,” tubbo chuckles.

“yeah! i’m real excited for the party tonight, that’s gonna be fuckin’ awesome,” tommy says with a smile, “although you guys aren’t spending much time with the tubfam then, right?”

“we spent plenty of time together this morning,” ranboo says, fondly recalling how thankful tubbo’s family was for the gifts.

“good man ranboo,” tommy remarks, and ranboo chuckles a bit.

they talk for a bit longer until all their drinks had been finished, at which point tommy parts with them, not before monologuing about how excited he is to see them later that day.

“you two will get home alright, yeah?” tommy asks, standing beside the exit.

“bus!” tubbo exclaims.

“poggers. see you guys tonight then!” with a final wave, tommy exits the cafe and heads down the street into the christmas snow.

“so,” ranboo says, turning to his boyfriend. “is it home and then party prep time?”

“i think it is, my dearest ranboo.”

_______________

the air in the studio was buzzing with excitement as tubbo and ranboo got ready. they clearly labeled their gifts and placed them in a collective bag, before going off to get ready.

ranboo combined two mcc suits, the jacket and pants from one and the tie from either to have a red suit and a green tie. tubbo had corduroy pants with a comfy looking red sweater. he looked huggable, and ranboo made his point by walking up and hugging him from behind as the brunette fussed with his hair in the mirror.

“we’re dressed so differently,” tubbo muses, trying to get a stubborn cowlick to stay down.

“it’s not a black tie event, wilbur just said to dress festive.” ranboo says. he leans from foot to foot, swaying tubbo with him gently.

“do you think i look festive enough?” tubbo asks, setting the comb down. ranboo looks at the two of them in the mirror.

“you look adorable.” he murmurs, pulling tubbo impossibly closer.

tubbo grins. “you’re quite adorable yourself.”

they spend a bit longer fussing over little things in the mirror until tubbo checks the time, and they both come to the grand realization that if they don’t leave now they will be late, and then being late will be documented and then handed to the internet to be made fun of.

it was a roughly hour long train ride from bognor regis to the train station nearest to wilbur’s flat in brighton. the boys were graciously driven to the train station by tubbo’s father, who wished them well.

the two got situated on the train, warm and yet fancy clothes clashing with the tired looks and snow pants that the other passengers on the train wore. they had taken two seats across from each other, and ranboo lamented over the loss of physical contact (he couldn’t even tap shoes with tubbo, as their massive bag of presents sat between them).

they were about thirty minutes into the train ride when, through the excited haze that hung in the air, they had no idea who was going to pick them up from the train station in brighton.

“tommy’s not taking the train there, is he?” tubbo asks.

“honestly, knowing tommy, he’s probably already there.” ranboo shrugs. tubbo snorts, shaking his head a bit.

“i’ll ask wil if he can pick us up.”

ten minutes of spamming wilbur’s dms later, the man responds with “UBER.” in bold, and ranboo schedules an uber for their estimated arrival time.

in the time left of their train ride, ranboo checks twitter. screenshots from the christmas tree vlog fill his timeline, as well as holiday wishes from all. people have cute little christmas hat twibbons in their profile pictures, as well as christmas themed puns surrounding their names, and ranboo’s heart warms a bit at the way his community can come together.

he glances up at tubbo, who’s on his phone as well, head leaned against the train window. ranboo cant help but admire his boyfriend, and quickly snaps a picture of him. he debates on tweeting it, but decides to keep it to himself, taking a close up picture of himself and tweeting that instead.

soon, the train comes to a stop at brighton, and their haze of excitement returns as the couple scrambles for their bags and quickly gets off the train. they thank their uber profusely both while getting in the car and getting out of the car, and tubbo mutters this and that about how sad it was that the man was working on christmas.

he simply laughed, saying that he meets all sorts of lovely people on holidays, and its his favorite day to work. ranboo leaves the car a bit heartwarmed, and he can tell tubbo feels the same by the small smile on his face.

they’ve finally arrived at wilbur’s flat in brighton. tubbo’s bouncing from each foot, excitedly clutching the bag of presents to his chest. “well, go! what are you waiting for!”

they climb the stairs up to the door, and before they can even knock, it swings open. wilbur stands at it, eyes as wide as his smile.

“fucking finally you two arrived!” he steps aside and turns over his shoulder, shouting down the corridor, “oi! toby and ranboo are here!”

ranboo can hear one of tommy’s classic screams, followed by the sound of scampering feet. ranboo already has his shoes off when tommy slides into the corridor, shouting this and that about them being late and him already having a ton of footage, until he comes to a full stop.

he and ranboo are wearing the same thing, but reversed. ranboo is in a red suit with a green tie, while tommy is in a green suit with a red tie. tubbo laughs so hard that he falls to the floor, and tommy calls it fate, pulling a camera out of nowhere and taking a selfie.

wilbur’s house is decked out in holly and ribbons and mistletoe, looking a bit over the top. a christmas tree stands in the living room, beside a long table that seems to have been brought out of the dining room to fit more people. a third of the seats actually at the table are for it, while the other third is the couch and the rest are random foldables to fill the empty space. almost everyone is in attendance, including wilbur’s flatmates, tommy, niki, jack (who has george on facetime) amongst others.

everyone is in festive clothing, which simply warms ranboo’s heart. he feels at home as he places his and tubbo’s gifts under the tree, chuckling quietly to himself under all the commotion in the house.

eventually others arrive, and wilbur politely taps his knife on a glass cup to command everyone to sit at the table. the dream team is propped up at the end, barely in the camera frame but all clearly sporting christmas hats. tommy won’t stop laughing, barely showing the rest of the party as he keeps his own camera trained on the americans (and george) on facetime.

food is brought to the table, and for the most part they eat calmly while various indie band covers of christmas carols drone on in the background.

somewhere between typical content creator talk and wilbur dropping a random fact, a dollop of mashed potato ends up on jack manifold’s face. this eventually evolves into tommy screeching as niki attempts to pour cranberry sauce on his head while tubbo is already halfway hidden under the table.

commotion aside, the dinner had been lovely, and once plates were cleaned they all fell into comfortable conversation and laughter, all swapping to join one another’s conversations. ranboo grins when he catches sight of tubbo’s pretty smile, teeth sparking in the overhead lights.

wilbur stands and begins to gather cleaned plates to bring to the kitchen, and phil joins him. feeling a bit empty handed, ranboo stands to help as well, grabbing a couple of plates and heading off into the kitchen.

the music and chatter fades as he turns a corner, and he finds himself in the dimly lit kitchen, the only sound being the gentle clatter of plates under running water while phil and wilbur converse quietly.

with little sound to consume him, ranboo’s thoughts creep up on him. the black hand of insecurity grabs his wrist and holds it tight, making him freeze.

what if tubbo thinks i’m going to fast. for a while he was too scared to hug me. what if this will be the end?

what if i’m not good enough? what if i’m subconsciously doing this all just to appease to him? what if this is all fake, and i’m wasting his time?

tubbo’s face flashes across ranboo’s mind, and he frowns.

toby’s incredible. there’s no way i’m good enough for him.

“ranboo, mate, you okay?” phil says, tearing ranboo from his thoughts.

“oh-uhm-yeah! or well, not really, but it’s fine.” ranboo stammers, moving a dirty dish under the running tap water.

wilbur gives the blonde a concerned look, reaching over and shutting off the tap. “hey, what’s wrong?”

ranboo bites his lip for a moment, sighing softly. “you both have like- known tubbo, for a while, right? a-and, this might be difficult to answer, but i’d like you to be honest with me.” ranboo didn’t. he wanted to live in denial. but he also wanted confirmation, to either let his insecurities win or finally shove them into the dark. “do you think i’m right for tubbo? like, do i truly treat him the way he deserves?”

wilbur’s expression falls, and phil opens his mouth to say something, but ranboo cuts him off.

“i know he doesn’t do well with the whole touch thing, but he’s really affectionate with me. am i forcing it? do i make him uncomfortable?” the mere thought of tubbo being uncomfortable with anything ranboo’s done made a shiver run down his spine. he’d honestly rather die than ever making tubbo feel anything negative.

“mate, you don’t even know how much tubbo loves you.” phil says gently. ranboo looks up from his plate, and he can feel his own eyes widen.

wilbur nods. “dude, every conversation somehow derails into talking about you. every solo stream, you’re brought up somehow. tubbo loves you dude, more than anything else. i’d know, because he rants about you.”

ranboo’s face increases about ten degrees in temperature, and hes pretty sure he’s gone red. “he- he talks about me? with you?”

“all the fuckin’ time, dude.” phil chuckles, tone laced with endearment. “sometimes hes rambling about something you did, disguising his affection by flaming the shit out of you, other times it’s just straight up lovey-dovey bull.”

“i don’t get how a eighteen year old can have a healthier love life than i do.” wilbur grumbles, making phil laugh a tad.

ranboo’s face is still on fire. tubbo talks about him. he’s heard tubbo say it plenty of times, always something along the lines of “i love you so much i can barely contain myself”, but he didn’t think it was literal.

“you get it now, mate?” phil asks, and ranboo nods slowly. he receives a gentle pat on the back as phil walks to leave the kitchen, sending the young adult a smile.

“he forgets how much he means to you too sometimes. but you two have something special, something that’ll go unbroken for a long ass time.”

phil exits the kitchen, wilbur follows after quickly ruffling ranboo’s hair.

faintly, ranboo can hear laughter in the music room. tubbo’s giggles stick out like bells, sending sparkles through the blonde’s veins. the clean dishes shimmer in the low kitchen light, and for a moment ranboo is back at the extension, gently swaying tubbo in his arms.

he truly is something special.

tubbo’s face lights up when ranboo enters the room once more, eyes glistening like stars, ranboo comes down to sit beside him at the table again, a hand firmly planted on the boy’s thigh. tubbo brings cold fingers to meet the bigger ones on his leg, and ranboo does an exaggerated shiver at the chilling touch. tubbo simply scoffs, rolling his eyes.

conversation continues on around them, various drink games being started up. ranboo participates in the various egg nog flavor taste test, and later the holiday themed-turned lovejoy karaoke session. but, despite all the excitement around him, he can’t help but keep his eyes on tubbo. the way tubbo squints his eyes shut when laughs really hard, the how he smiles so wide you can see those lovely dimples of his. he looks prettier than the angel atop wilbur’s expensive christmas tree.

between one activity and another, ranboo’s hand makes its way to tubbo’s waist. when the smaller boy doesn’t protest, it remains planted there for the rest of the night.

presents are unwrapped, ranboo watches on with a sense of pride as both joke gifts and genuine ones emerge from the holiday themed wrapping (tubbo groaned at ranboo’s gift- an embroidered throw pillow with a qr code on it that led to “cute platonic ranboo and tubbo moments!” on youtube). he receives many hugs and many middle fingers, all equally worth it.

eventually, the air turns thicker than molasses, people splitting off into their own groups around the main room as long ignored christmas lofi continues to drone in the background. drunk laughter and songs from jack manifold and wilbur, all filmed by an ever energetic tommy, niki watching on with an amused smile. the room continues to turn, and yet tubbo and ranboo are in their own world, thousands of galaxies away, in the corner of the couch.

tubbo is snugly tucked into ranboo’s side, succumbing to slightly tipsy drowsiness and letting the pda slide. ranboo strokes his side, planting the occasional kiss on the boy’s head.

“no sleeping, baby. we’ve got a train to catch.” he whispers. tubbo grumbles, nuzzling further into his boyfriends chest.

“let’s just stay the night. the couch is comfy here.” he says, slightly muffled by ranboo’s sweater.

ranboo tuts, lifting his hand through hot cocoa colored locks. “i’ve got one more present waiting for you.” tubbo looks up in disbelief, forcing ranboo to chuckle.

“i don’t you not to get anything else!” he says. ranboo shushes him like a waterfall.

“screw you, i do what i want!” he announced triumphantly. tubbo sighs in defeat, opting instead to snuggle back into his boyfriend’s chest. ranboo chuckles once more, petting his lover’s hair. he thinks of the ring box tucked away in the cabinet and lets the slow, syrupy atmosphere lull him into a calm state.

eventually tommy puts away the phone for good, and people slowly begin to leave. several of wilbur’s housemates sign off for the night, heading upstairs to their respective rooms. the number of people in attendance diminish until barely anyone remains, jack manifold being the one to see the couple out as wilbur went upstairs to show tommy where he’d be staying for the night.

after a long set of goodbyes and good wishes, tubbo and ranboo are back outside in the december snow.

tubbo laughs, loud and echoey. it drifts down the empty street, challenging the light of the streetlights. ranboo smiles, grabbing his gloves hand. “had fun?”

“totally.” the brunette grins, squeezing his lover’s hand. “but i am very ready to go home.”

ranboo exhales, breath clouding in front of his face. “yeah, no. me too.”

the train back home is practically empty, having it be past midnight on christmas. this time around, tubbo sits beside ranboo, so they can properly snuggle against one another.

they arrive to a quiet house, the rest of the smith family presumably in bed.

snowy boots are dropped inside and snowy coats are shed and hung up in their respective closet, leaving the boys once again in their festive clothing.

tubbo sighs softly, shoulders sinking, and for a moment ranboo fears he’s upset, until he turns around. a small smile graces the brunette’s face as he reaches for his lover’s waist, pressing himself against ranboo’s chest.

ranboo holds him and they sway to their own rhythm, room quiet but not in any way that could be deemed uncomfortable.

“ah!” ranboo gasps softly, letting go of his boyfriend, “your gift!”

tubbo groans, shaking his head. “i had hoped you forgot.”

grinning, ranboo opens the cabinet. he blocks it with his body, swiftly turning and hiding the small box behind his back.

“at least it’s small.” tubbo murmurs.

“i don’t think it’ll be as small as you think it is.”

tubbo raises an eyebrow. he makes a swift gesture with his hand, signaling ranboo to give him it. ranboo clears his throat, standing up a bit straighter.

“tubbo, you and i have been together for a while now, and we’ve had our fair share of arguments and mishaps, but no matter what all i’ve ever wanted is you.”

the mood in the room shifts, becoming warmer. tubbo’s eyes widen a bit, and ranboo can swear he sees them sparkle. he continues.

“you know i have my fair share of insecurities. the ‘what if’s’ and whatever. but… regardless of anything, every time i even get a chance to glance at you, i remember just how much i love you. it’s the one thing i’m truly wholeheartedly sure of.”

slowly, ranboo pulls the box into view. when tubbo’s eyes land on it they widen a bit more.

“now, the insecurities still exist, and i would never ever want to go too fast and make you uncomfortable, but- the thought that you and i could see other people and not be together, the thought that i wouldn’t be able to love and adore you like i do daily, it- it makes me sick.”

taking a shaky breath, ranboo opens the box. two twin rings glisten in the overhead lights of the kitchen, but still tubbo is the brightest thing in the room.

“i want to make sure you know that i do mean forever. forever and always, toby smith, i’m yours like you are mine.”

tubbo’s crying.

sirens immediately go off in ranboo’s head. did he say something wrong? did he make his lovely, amazing boy so uncomfortable he’s crying?

“oh my- are you okay baby? did i say something?” the rings in their box are immediately said aside on the counter to make room for tubbo’s face in ranboo’s hands.

“n-no, i-i-“ tubbo sniffles harshly. ranboo swats away a hand of his, opting instead to gently wipe away his lover’s tears.

“i-i just l-l-love you s-so much.” tubbo sobs, taking handfuls of ranboo’s shirt.

in this moment ranboo’s heart shatters and then pieces itself back together, freezes and then melts and then spins and spins and spins until it explodes, love-heart shaped fireworks erupting in his chest.

and despite the way he feels like he could run hundreds of miles, his voice comes out soft and gentle as he pulls his lover close. “oh, baby, i love you so much.”

they hold one another until tubbo’s tears quiet. once they pull away his eyes are still wet and nose still running, but he’s capable of forming a sentence. so, ranboo gestures to the box sitting abandoned on the table, pleased to see tubbo eagerly nod.

gently he slips the smaller ring onto tubbo’s ring finger. it fits like a glove. tubbo attempts to put ranboo’s ring on his finger, but his hands are still too shaky. a couple of uttered swears and a chuckle from ranboo, the ring is snugly on his own finger. matching starry skies to connect the two.

a few moments of silence encompass them, both boys admiring the rings. a shared look, and then they lock their lips in a kiss. a cold ring graces the nape of ranboo’s neck as they kiss and he giggles into it, forcing a laugh out of tubbo. soon they stand laughing in tandem, limbs tangled together.

thirty minutes of fussing later both boys are in their christmas themed pyjamas, curled up once more in their shared bed. neither wanted to take the rings off, so they stay on their fingers, glistening in the moonlight.

after a few goodnight kisses and whispered sweet nothings tubbo gently falls into a soft sleep, leaving ranboo alone.

but he wasn’t truly alone. no, he never would be. not after this night.

his heart was still bursting, an endless firework show inside his ribcage. he wanted to scream, cry, laugh and throw up all at once just watching his lover sleep. he traces soft fingers over his lips, curling around his ear and lining his jaw before setting atop his ahead and slowly stroking his hair. tubbo subconsciously leans into the touch, emitting a high pitched and throaty sound and ranboo just about melts.

he places a gentle kiss behind the boy’s ear, whispering a gentle “merry christmas my love”, before closing his eyes and succumbing to the sweet lull of sleep.