Work Text:
Ranboo sighed in despair as he watched Tommy kiss the flamingo. They were somewhere in the ocean while Tubbo left them alone. It wasn't too bad - the water wasn't very cold, and the blond's constant silly remarks made time flow faster. The fifteen minutes they were supposed to spend here didn't seem like a lot of time before, but now, in the water, clinging only to a pink piece of plastic, it seems like a lot of time. So Tommy really helped.
"Stop kissing the flamingo!" The American exclaimed, however, not even hoping that the other would listen to him.
"But he's love!" Tommy smiled brightly, turning his head to him. Ranboo didn’t even bat an eye when he heard the masculine pronouns.
"No stop kissing him!"
"I call him Kevin!" The blue eyes shone as their owner glanced back with mischief. "Kev- wait."
Ranboo sighed as Tommy frowned as he immediately renamed his new... Friend? It didn't matter. Sometimes the older wondered whether or not Tommy would think before he spoke, or if he was really expressing his true thoughts. Because if it was the second option then-
No. It was at least odd to think about it, despite the fact that in the days of SMP Earth, when Ranboo was just an unknown fan, the blond's frankly fruity jokes made the American feel better about his sexuality. If this blue-eyed boy could make strange remarks so easily, then why was being bisexual a bad thing?
It was weird how much Tommy had done for him without even realizing it or giving much thought. Like the same streaming advices he happily gave in the past. He should thank Tommy more - a thought flashed.
"Look at her eyes! She has one on the other side of her head!"
Or maybe not.
Ranboo remembered who he was here for, strengthening his "bond". But in the end, being friends with Tommy meant automatically participating in at least one vlog. Let's skip the fact that despite Ranboo's complaints, he participates in almost all the vlogs. He really enjoyed spending time with his friends, but now the fatigue and cold water surrounding them were getting a little annoying. No matter how brightly Tommy smiled, it didn’t make the breeze warmer.
"What do you mean?" He sighed.
"Don't!” The blond sighed in indignation. "Don't black chat me! You black chat me so much!"
Ranboo sighed again. It was impressive how easily Tommy could turn things around, finding insults where there were none.
But then Tommy let go of the rubber ring, pushing off and sailing away. Although he was wearing a life jacket, Ranboo knew differently. Tommy was reckless.
"No wait!"
"Bye bye!" Tommy, like the idiot he was, showed his middle finger.
"Im fine just-"
"Oh you're fine?! Are you?!"
Ranboo didn't know whether to cry or laugh. Tommy's chaotic energy making all of his content seem interesting didn't seem like such an exciting character trait when you were one of the clout sacrifices.
Ranboo honestly couldn't tell how long they had been out here. Maybe twenty minutes, maybe only five. He didn't have a phone with him, and it was inconvenient to watch the time on the camera. However, they still had to be picked up soon.
"This is cold, cold." Complained Tommy, clinging to a flamingo.
Ranboo just glanced over at the younger boy, who was dressed much warmer.
"I can still feel my feet."
"I cannot feel my brain, oh." Tommy continued to complain.
And because Ranboo was a little shit, he asked, "Well, can you normally feel your brain, honestly?"
The aggrieved look on the other was worth it.
"Ya! I can normally feel my brain, you fucking prick, man!" Tommy made that face again when he began an angry tirade - he frowned, pouted a little like a displeased cat, and his nose wrinkled slightly. "Don't do this whole 'oh I'm smartarse American, I- I am the wall of comedy!"
Glasses and a mask, they were horrible in water, but this came with a big plus - Tommy wouldn't be able to see the smug grin that plastered his face. And Ranboo continued to mock while Tommy tried to get a word in.
"This is supposed to be making us better friends. This isn't working."
Ranboo didn't know the exact reason why he behaved around the blond like that. Sassy as his fans would say. But we all know that fans' opinions on Twitter are not worth considering.
It was just funny to see Tommy get angry, how he frowns and vividly expresses his dissatisfaction, showing everyone, regardless of whether people want to know it or not, how bad this particular situation is.
So the American made his voice quieter, even more frightened.
"Oh shoot, wait, I just felt something next to my feet."
The fright that abruptly changed Tommy's expression almost made Ranboo laugh.
"Wait! No you didn't, did you?!"
"I a- It felt like a piece of seaweed."
"Wait."
"Or something." Ranboo had never been so happy to be a faceless streamer.
"Wait, really?" Tommy swam closer, and his concentrated face, blue eyes scanning the surrounding area as if he could see anything at all, didn't help Ranboo to contain his laughter. It's good that he had at least some acting ability.
"Yeah!" He assured.
"Oh wait what the fuck!" Tommy looked really worried now, if not panicked. "Oh my god, wait-" He clutched at the pink plastic, his eyes wide, his breathing ragged.
Ranboo's smile faded. He definitely didn't want to seriously worry the other too much, and not knowing whether he was really panicking or exaggerating his emotions for the vlog left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Ranboo was about to apologize, but Tommy screamed and began to climb onto the flamingo, pushing the American himself in the process. And why did he even think Tommy really deserved compassion?
"We go now!"
"Oh god!" Ranboo sighed as the other boy crushed him, and the wet plastic began to make a nasty sound as it rubbed.
Ranboo can't survive here.
Don't misunderstand him. Time with Tommy was fun. It was not fun that more than fifteen minutes had passed. And the cold water really began to freeze his legs, while the wet mask adhered unpleasantly to his face.
Meanwhile, Tommy found someone to vent his anger on.
"No only does Tubbo not come in the water with us he goes 'oh, I'm big Puss! Big Pubbo!"
It was hard to disagree: "Yeah!"
"Pig Pubbo!" Then Tommy glanced angrily at the American. "Don't 'yeah' me!"
Apparently the concept that you can only be angry with one person didn't exist in Tommy's universe. Ranboo was only amazed at the past of himself, who regarded this British boy too highly.
More precisely, watching Tommy insult everyone around him was more fun than being the one who was insulted. Perhaps Ranboo was just starting to get tired, not taking the usual banter normally. He hadn't even thought about the fact that he might get tired of spending time with Tommy, but the water seemed to suck all the strength out of him. He felt a little ill just thinking about how toxic his thoughts were now. Tommy would have shrunk a little, nervously playing with his fingers as his eyes darted from side to side, if he heard what the other boy was thinking. It was easy to imagine the scene, so easy that Ranboo swallowed an unpleasant bile of guilt. The cold definitely didn't make him a better person.
Ranboo managed to check the time - twenty-five minutes had passed. He really didn't want to die here like this. He was dramatic, he knew it. But how not to be dramatic when Tommy was eager to take this poor piece of pink plastic from Ranboo.
"No, no you're going out! You had so much Kevila time!" Then the blond's face softened, almost unhappy. Ranboo just blinked: for some reason, this expression on the other's face always gave him weird feelings. It was at least strange because Tommy now looked like a wet dog - his hair darkened from the water, losing its volume and sticking to his forehead and cheeks. "Can I actually have a go in it?"
"Wait actually?"
And that was the biggest mistake in Ranboo's life. Because as soon as he felt himself softening towards the other, the Briton immediately pulled himself closer, clinging to the plastic. A smile appeared on Tommy's face as he pushed Ranboo down with a scream.
"Friendship force!"
"Oh god!" Tommy wasn't the strongest man on earth. But it was enough for Ranboo to plunge into the ocean, swallowing salt water. He was forced to surface near the too happy blond.
"Mine, mine, mine!"
"You suck, man!" Ranboo's voice was filled with bitter despair as he cleared his throat.
He hated this vlog.
If a person was cornered, then they began to find at least some advantages in the situation. Yes, Ranboo talked about himself. At least now he was not as cold as a minute ago. The harsh movements warmed him up, but he didn't think it would last too long. Once he watched a documentary about the victims of a shipwreck. It was said that people in the icy water got tired faster, as if all their strength was sucked out of them, as if the surrounding ocean wanted to make them its part. Ranboo didn’t think he’d ever experience something like that, but this vile feeling - when the heat was leaving him, his strength taken away by the water - he could only feel drained. Tommy definitely put Ranboo through the strangest of situations.
Looking at Tommy, Ranboo wished he had drunk two cans of coke before the shoot, so that the sugar in his blood would keep him enthusiastic. It was kind of amazing how the blond kept moving, cursing and joking in the cool ocean.
Ranboo wasn't jealous at all.
Just a minute ago, he was trying to somehow improve the situation by suggesting that Tommy share the rubber ring. After all, despite the life jackets, the energy spent on keeping yourself afloat evaporated too quickly.
Of course it didn't work.
So now he was swimming on his back, not even caring how disgusting the wet mask felt on his face. Perhaps dying here was not so scary.
"Hey Ranboo, man, I'm sorry I pushed you." Tommy lowered the camera and his face grew more worried.
Oh. No.
Oh no.
Ranboo is not going to-
"It's okay, I'm still going to hit Tubbo later. And you too." His tone was softer than he desired. But the smile on Tommy's totally unattractive face was worth it. Ranboo didn't even know why he did it. He was here because of Tommy. He got wet because of Tommy. He thought about the documentaries he watched as a child because of Tommy.
God, if this British boy understands the power he has, then Ranboo will be completely fucked.
"Hey! Fuck you-" Tommy calmed down, continuing.
Why does Ranboo keep doing this at all?
He pushed aside the thought that even if he was annoyed, if he got soaked in seawater, if he was in the damn ocean, he would continue to care too much.
Tommy gave the flamingo to Ranboo. To be honest, the American didn't even feel very guilty. The blond continued to spin, throw up his hands, and generally seemed too energetic. Tommy was actually the weakest in their streamer group. How was that even possible?
But nevertheless, he continued to try to dive, apparently too keen to notice that he was wearing a life jacket.
Tommy was dumb and smart at the same time.
Ranboo didn't even want to keep thinking about it all - he was doing it too much already. He focused too much on observing the other boy, memorizing patterns of behavior, sorting out the character of the other as if he was somehow a puzzle. As if understanding Tommy's essence had given him an understanding of himself.
"Wait-" Tommy's expression didn't bode well. "That's why we can't swim! I don't need the life jacket, I'll float!"
Ranboo's eyes widened. Oh no.
"You cannot! Because you don't have a life jacket on!" Was Tommy kidding?
"No, I'll float because I'm me!"
"Dude, keep your life jacket on!" Fear for this stupid idiot stained his words with panic. Tommy just smiled as he began to unbutton his jacket. "What are you doing, Tommy!?"
"I'll float!"
Perhaps those two cans of Coca-Cola weren't such a good solution. It looks like sugar has clogged the other's brain, preventing common sense from reaching Tommy.
"No you don't! Keep the life jacket on! There's a reason why it's called a life jacket!"
"Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Because death jackets are real as well, aren't they?"
Tommy was dumb. Forget everything Ranboo talked about before. There was no room here to speculate that Tommy is a multifaceted person. Tommy was dumb. Ranboo thought he was used to the fact that in most cases the other was simply making up the stupidest arguments. But this usually happened when they were sitting on a soft couch or talking in discord, not when they were in the middle of the ocean.
Ranboo wanted to cry.
Tommy, meanwhile, didn't spare the feelings of the poor American. The blond began to panic, waving his arms erratically and sending heaps of spray towards Ranboo.
He couldn't find the strength to take care of the cold water. Suddenly he was no longer cold.
"What are you doing?!"
"I'm alerting the sharks!" Of course he didn't get a normal response.
"Oh god!" Ranboo was beginning to suspect that Tommy simply loved to see him worried. He would have joked that it's an only child behavior if terror hadn't crept into his heart. "No!"
"They teach me if-" Tommy gasped and panicked. Ranboo's heart skipped a beat in fear. He hated it. "If you- if you panic they come to you and they help you!"
It was complete nonsense.
"No! That's just not true!" No, Ranboo was completely sure that Tommy just loved to see him worried. But then the blond waved his hands, plunging deeper into the water. "Stop trying to panic!"
"Don't you know that-" Tommy tried to say something, but the wave he had created himself swept over him, and he instinctively sighed, letting the water fill his lungs. His pupils dilated as he seemed to unconsciously grab onto something with his hands, but was defeated. Blue eyes, which seemed too blue in comparison to pale skin, met gray, behind the glasses for a second before Tommy was completely submerged in the water.
Ranboo stared at the spot where Tommy had panicked about a second before until he decided he had had enough. Even if it was a protracted bit, he would rather listen to how the other would mock him than just leave it as it is. He didn't risk it.
But this was not needed. Tommy somehow managed to catch the ring, swimming out and coughing up excess water. His face was wrinkled from the salty taste, and his breathing was ragged as he slowly regained consciousness.
They were silent - one too scared and the other just trying to catch his breath.
"You're an idiot." Ranboo's trembling voice betrayed all his feelings.
Tommy just looked at him with displeasure. He really looked like an idiot. And like a wet dog. Ranboo's brain was trying to get distracted by something funny, preventing him from fully comprehending what had just happened.
"Oh, fuck off."
Silence fell between them again as the blond sighed and reached for the slowly drifting life jacket. It was fortunate that all of Tommy's chaotic actions carried it closer to the flamingo, and not somewhere else.
Ranboo sighed, nervously fiddling with the camera in his hands.
"You could have drowned!" An afterthought hit him.
"Well, I didn't do that, did I?" Tommy smiled at him lazily.
"What do you mean you-" He gasped. No, he couldn't do it now. "You could have died!"
"I have two more lives-"
"Tommy! My God!" Ranboo sighed again, trying to calm himself. Everything was fine. Tommy was there, everything was fine-
"Hey."
Everything was just fine-
"Hey!" Ranboo pulled himself out of his thoughts as he looked at the other. Tommy's face softened but his voice seemed weak. "It's okay, I'm sorry I worried you so much."
"Well, looks like you like doing it!"
"Dude, it's okay. I'm not dead, I'm too good for that."
"Oh my God, I-" Ranboo groaned. The adrenaline weathered from his blood and he felt cold. His emotions were like a tangled ball curling up inside. He was worried and upset, angry and frightened.
He cared too much despite all the jokes.
Meanwhile, Tommy pressed his cheek against the pink plastic, which painted with glare a pale face, a too pale face...
"Tommy, you're really not going to try again, are you?"
"What?” The blond blinked slowly, sliding off the flamingo.
Ranboo realized that he would definitely not freeze here - adrenaline again flashed in his blood with fire. Tommy wasn't wearing a life jacket.
Ranboo widened his eyes, trying not to panic. Yes, how fun. Great situation. Tommy brought him here himself, and now he suffers trying to prevent this idiot from killing himself.
Ranboo dived out from under the flamingo. Tommy seemed sleepy, too pale to be okay. He didn't seem to care about the water around him or the possibility of death.
"What are you doing, Ranboob boy?" He chuckled as he continued to slide into the water, his fingers that had been tightly gripping the plastic now relaxed. "Fuck, I think I'm going to faint- ha, I'm going to faint."
Ranboo bit his lip, trying not to scream. He didn't understand what the problem was, why Tommy looked so dead, out of touch with reality. Did that little dive knock all his strength out of him? But earlier he was so energetic...
Ranboo tried to push aside the scattered thoughts, his chest hurting. If he starts to have a panic attack, then he probably will die out here with Tommy. How romantic- no.
No-no-no.
He wasn’t going to die, and neither was Tommy.
Ranboo bit his lip harder as he grabbed the free-drifting life jacket and shoved it hard into the blond's arms.
"Come on, Tommy, take this! Come on, please-" He sounded frankly pathetic, but the hazy, blue eyes frightened him.
Tommy looked at the jacket with a kind of muffled surprise, too pale to be easily noticed. But Ranboo spent his days watching the other. It was easy for him to discern small emotions, too easy- He shouldn't think about it now.
"Oh well, don't worry, I'll be back to normal soon… Because Tubbo, Tubbo will take us, he's such a bitch-" Tommy gently, slowly pressed the life jacket to him, his eyebrows frowned and his lips began to turn blue.
Ranboo would have thought that the blond looked cute - with that puzzled expression on his face, like a child being cuddled with a stuffed animal - but he couldn't stop staring at how lethargic, detached from the whole situation, the other seemed. If Tommy- no, no, no, no, no.
"If Tubbo doesn't take you, I'm going to kill him." Ranboo whispered, too focused on dragging Tommy onto the flamingos. At least that way he wouldn't be completely in the water. It's going to help, won't it? In films, people froze faster in the ocean, but he didn't know if he should even believe it at all.
"Yes! Tubbo left us here... " Tommy sighed as the other unceremoniously took a swim ring, lifted it above the water and lowered it onto the blond so that he was inside. "Hey, what the fuck-"
Ranboo had no choice. He should believe in stupid films and now was not a good time to start doubting himself. Not the most fun prospect - slipping into a spiral when a slowly fading friend was nearby.
"Tubbo!" Ranboo screamed at the same time trying to drag Tommy onto the flamingo. "Tubbo!-"
He was breathing heavily, either from the approaching panic attack, or from too much effort put into trying to somehow make the situation better for the other. But his hands seemed to be freezing despite the fact that he was hot. It seems that a small star burned inside him, the flame burned his veins, his eyes-
He sighed as Tommy finally found himself on the flamingo, shivering with overly dilated pupils. He wasn't getting better, although he seemed to become more aware of what they both got themselves into.
Alone in the ocean, when no one could hear from them, while they had only a camera with them.
"Tubbo!" Another cry echoed over the small waves, almost desperate.
The adrenaline still penetrated the American's body enough so that he didn't feel the cold, but now there was no clear goal in front of him, it was not clear what else he should do. Just screaming in hopes that Tommy will be saved? It seemed like torture. What could he possibly do? He couldn't do anything at all now, he couldn't-
"Hey." Tommy called out softly, reaching out and taking the other's hand in his, successfully distracting Ranboo from the jumble of thoughts. His eyes were black with a shining blue rim. "Don't panic... big man, that Tubbo bitch will take us away soon... Or I'll haunt him..."
Tommy spoke more slowly than usual, with pauses. It’s like he’s trying to fight sleep after a grueling day when your body seems to be shutting down. Ranboo didn't often see him like this. Unless that time when Tommy drank a lot of coke, he seemed too energetic, and then passed out-
Wait.
Ranboo tightened his grip. "Tommy, did you say you drank two cans of coke?"
The blond lying on his back, his head hanging down, just blinked.
"Yes, I mentioned... about this... You are so... strange... "
Ranboo tried not to hysterically giggle. Tommy fell asleep, using up all the sugar he had received earlier. And the weakness most likely signaled low blood pressure after diving. Tommy was even more of an idiot than expected.
"I'll kill you. Seriously, I'm going to kill you." Ranboo swam closer, looming over the other's upturned face.
"What?..." It seems Tommy still didn't understand what was wrong, or his foggy brain hasn't yet caught up with what is happening.
"You drank two cans of coke, knowing that now, you wanting to sleep is because all the sugar you drank is- because you used up all the sugar, and then you also decided to splash in the water and start to panic, because-" He wandered, but stopped abruptly and sighed, throwing the camera at Tommy. "Did you eat before?"
The younger's face was one big expression of confusion. He frowned, blinking, clinging to the camera that suddenly appeared in his hands: "...I ate in the morning."
Ranboo wanted to strangle the guy lying on the flamingo.
"What time?"
Another pause for Tommy to collect his thoughts.
"At eight?..."
Ranboo suppressed a shaking sigh, but couldn't hide the fear and resentment mixed together: "It's five o'clock in the evening, Tommy! I swear to god- Tommy!"
Even through the fog, the blond realized how upset the American was. Tommy clenched slightly, guiltily looking away, and his fingers ran nervously around the camera.
"Sorry…"
Ranboo groaned as he took off his glasses and his mask. It is unlikely that these frames will be included in the final vlog. And if Tommy wanted this whole situation to appear at the end... well now he is going to get nothing.
"It's okay..." Ranboo admitted. These words were too true, in fact. It was impossible to be angry with Tommy, it was impossible to feel comfortable when Tommy really looked upset and guilty. This is the effect this sunny boy had over others. "It's just... I really thought you were dying."
Tommy immediately cheered up, shifting a more conscious, sly gaze to the other. His voice was still weak: "Oh, were you worried about me?"
Ranboo was too tired. His hands were still shaking, sticky terror still clung to his heart. So he just nodded.
Tommy's eyes widened, and his pale cheeks were covered with a slight blush, barely noticeable in the surrounding ocean, which stained everything around with its blue glow. He smiled. "Oh thank you."
Ranboo swallowed as he spoke words that seemed heavy on his tongue. "You are my friend, Tommy, if you died here I would blame myself for it."
The blond just held out his hand, touching the cheek of the other. His fingers were icy, but still leaving a trail of fire. His fingers didn't tremble anymore. "It's okay, man. We'll be taken away soon... and then I'll laugh at you."
Mist began to fill his blue eyes again, despite the fact that it had retreated earlier. Tommy ran his fingers over the cheekbone of the other, moving his hand a little higher, drawing strange patterns. Ranboo's cheeks burned and he just stared as if mesmerized. "You know... your face is beautiful..."
And before Ranboo could fully comprehend these words, these tender sprouts of feelings that blossomed inside him, that opened their buds, Tommy's palm fell and his blue eyes closed.
The waves quietly hit the swim ring, the sky filled with clouds met the ocean somewhere on the horizon, merging together into one big picture of gray and gray, with a glimpse of blue. Plastic stood out as a pink spot, as the only marker that they weren't alone here, that all this should have been just a stupid vlog. The blond was sleeping calmly - it seemed that he was asleep - and his pale and calm face, even relaxed, his hair faded from the water, perfectly fit into this lonely landscape.
It was wrong, it was so wrong- Tommy was the sun, the fire that shone, surrounding everyone with his warmth. Now there was nothing, it was quiet, it was cold, lonely.
The fire was extinguished, smothered by the ocean, and now even the coals didn't smolder in a vain attempt to warm.
Ranboo extended his hand, his heart skipping a beat, as his breath froze as a wave of terror loomed over him, wrapping its arms around him, wrapping its arms around his neck. He must breathe.
"Tommy?"
His breath stuttered, and the cold began to penetrate deeper, slowly through his soul.
"Tommy?!" Ranboo put his hands around the other's face, shaking slightly as a vile, sticky feeling of terror filled his lungs, squeezing-squeezing-squeezing. It was as if the waves around him rebelled, as if the ocean had buried him with it and he couldn't find anything for which he could catch on, ground himself. He didn't know if his hands were frozen or if the other's skin really became icy.
Tommy didn't open his eyes. His face was calm, serene, as if he was asleep, as if nothing had happened, as if he was just tired, he just wanted to rest, rest a little, just a little bit-
"Tubbo!" His hysterical scream echoed across the cold ocean. "Tubbo, please!"
He swam even closer, stroking the blond's pale cheeks with trembling fingers.
His eyes were burning, his chest was burning as he tried to breathe, he just needs to breathe-
"Everything will be fine, everything is fine, everything is fine-" He gently pressed his forehead against the other's, whispering as if Tommy could hear him. "Everything will be fine, they’ll take us, they definitely will, and then I’ll kill you myself- I will definitely kill you, because- because now you will not die, you hear, you have no right to do this- Tommy, please- please-”
He sighed, gasping for breath.
Everything will be fine-
He screamed and screamed and kept screaming as panic grew like a weed in him, blocking the oxygen.
"Tubbo!-"
When the familiar boat swam closer, an interesting picture opened up to them.
Tubbo widened his eyes, examining Ranboo, tear-stained, desperate and tired, clinging to the pink flamingo on which lay Tommy, the sickly pale Tommy, calm as if asleep.
"Tubbo!" Ranboo's voice sounded hoarse, as if he had been screaming for too long, pleading. "Tubbo, help!"
Tubbo felt terror overwhelm him, perfectly aware of how he had laughed before, hearing the subtle screams of his friends. Guilt swirled inside.
The boat team immediately began to fuss, worried, and agitated. They lifted both boys out of the water and wrapped them in towels.
"Are you okay?" Tubbo dared to ask when the people around them calmed down realizing that the blond was fine. Ranboo grabbed Tommy's hand as if he let go of it, the other would disappear.
"I-" The gray eyes looked directly at Tubbo, and there was too much emotion in them to make out. "I'm tired."
"It'll be okay, you know." Tubbo sat closer, hugging his emaciated friend who had gone through too much in the past twenty minutes. It didn't matter that the Briton got wet from contact, it didn't matter that he didn't like physical contact. Tommy's lifeless, serene look and the traces of a suppressed panic attack on Ranboo's face were now something to worry about. "Everything will be fine."
Ranboo sighed, melting at the contact and squeezing Tommy's hand tighter.
"Everything will be fine." He seemed to be comforting himself.
When Tommy woke up, he was wrapped in a pile of towels, as if he were a caterpillar cocooning to become a butterfly.
The wind ruffled his hair as someone gently stroked his curls while his head rested on something soft. He shifted slightly to make himself comfortable. Tommy was too comfortable and felt weak all over his body, so the decision to stay here was the most logical one.
"Tommy?"
He groaned, pressing closer to the heat source next to him.
"Tommy, are you alive?"
But the voice didn't subside, on the contrary, they grabbed him by the hand, shaking him.
"We were told that you need to eat something when you wake up."
Tommy just muttered something in displeasure.
"Come on, bossman, don't be a kid, Ranboo early died here."
Finally Tommy opened his eyes, blinking at the bright light and slowly becoming aware of his surroundings.
Tubbo was sitting next to him, his worried face already making the situation more serious.
"What?” The blond asked dully, lost.
"You passed out in the water, and then they pulled you out of the water, and now you're here."
Tommy's eyes widened as he remembered the events of the day. The ocean, silly jokes, water and slowly coming weakness, dizziness that took him with it. "Fuck."
"Yeah, you scared us all."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I mean, uh-huh." He glanced away, but immediately looked at his friend again. "What about Ranboo?"
Tubbo smiled. Perhaps even too much, smiled strongly, as if anticipating something. "Oh he lost his shit before. I think now he won't even take a step to leave you. I can't even laugh at him because of this, given his condition."
"And where is he?" Foggy thoughts in his head rushed about, trying to line up in one understandable picture.
Tubbo just grinned. "You're lying in his lap."
Tommy suddenly felt a surge of energy as he sat up abruptly in his place amid the laughter of the other. But Tommy didn’t have time to look at Ranboo, because the world before his eyes darkened, and he began to fall as if he had previously been a puppet and someone broke the threads.
"Wow, you definitely need to eat something."
Tubbo grabbed him, now the smile was gone from his face and Tommy felt guilty again as his vision cleared.
"I- I'm sorry for that- I didn't think the cold water would affect me that much." He cleared his throat awkwardly.
"You never think." Only Tubbo replied, but when he saw that the remark made Tommy shrink tighter, softened. "It's okay, man, anyway, you woke up almost as soon as you were lifted out of the water, so I didn't even have time to worry. Ranboo on the other side... well, I think you both better talk when he wakes up."
Now Tommy really looked at the sleeping teenager. He was without a mask and glasses - the blond vaguely remembered how he took them off - shrank in his place, anxiously looking for something with his palm, unable to never remain calm in his sleep. Oh. So he knows what was ran so softly through his hair earlier.
But most important were the traces of exhaustion and tears on Ranboo's face.
Tommy swallowed a foul taste of guilt, now understanding more clearly the situation he had caused. He was too careless, too frivolous...
"Now shut up." Tubbo jabbed a finger at him to get his attention.
"What?"
"I can hear what you're thinking. So shut up and eat something already! We’ll be reaching land soon."
Tommy smiled nervously, feeling the familiar warmth inside of concern. So he took the plate of the still hot dinner (lunch?), and let himself try not to think about how much he worried his friends again.
Ranboo really feels like shit. You couldn't blame him. And despite the fact that now he was sitting in a warm room, dry and wrapped in blankets, the trembling didn't stop. It was not hypothermia - they were checked by the doctors. It was more like fear, horror that didn't want to go away, clinging to him like a parasite.
"Ranboo!" And here is the culprit of his condition - bright and lively, entering his hotel room.
Tommy examined the room, unceremoniously falling onto the bed next to Ranboo.
"I'm going to strangle you."
"You talked about it all the time while we were driving, but you never did anything!" Tommy just grinned.
"Well, we're alone now, aren't we?"
"Hey!" The blond widened his eyes. "We can solve everything peacefully, big man!"
"Peace has never been a solution." Ranboo replied ominously, but still stayed where he was, wrapping himself tighter in the blankets and hiding a slight tremor in his hands.
"You just want to see me suffer." Said Tommy.
"Of course-” But Ranboo cut himself off immediately. "Actually, your suffering was enough for me today."
"Well, at least it's gonna be a good vlog!" The Briton rolled over, putting his elbows on the bed and resting his chin in his palms.
"Tommy…" Ranboo sighed. "We have no records after you started drowning due to your fake panic."
"Wait!" Tommy's eyes widened. "Really? Why?"
Ranboo just covered his face with his hands, "Tommy you literally drowned and then fainted."
"So what?"
"So what?!" The older exclaimed, slightly raising himself in his place from anger into which that ball of excitement and fear, strangling him, had turned. "I thought you were dying! Sorry I was thinking about how to keep you alive, not about making hilarious content!"
Tommy froze, wide-eyed at his friend, who sighed heavily, rubbing his cheeks in frustration. It was now clearly visible how Ranboo's fingers trembled finely.
Tommy sat up gingerly, his knuckles touching the palm of the other hesitantly.
"I-" He swallowed, searching for his words. "I really didn't want to worry you that much. I didn't think about eating anything before, I didn't think it would turn out like this." He smiled, looking straight into gray eyes. "But I didn't die, did I? I just fainted from my dull blood pressure."
Tommy's touch was warm, almost soothing. It was as if they were lighting something inside, as if they brought comfort with them, and a bright smile was reassuring. Ranboo swallowed as his throat felt dry for some reason. For some reason. Yes indeed. Ranboo knew what was the matter, allowed himself to realize it when he whispered useless words of comfort to sleeping Tommy, when he whispered that he couldn't lose him.
But at the same time, those touches burned, as they burned when Ranboo froze in the ocean, staring into blue eyes, shining and too bright against the pale skin, as the waves gently hit the pink plastic.
The memories were fresh, like a fresh wound.
And for a second, instead of a warm bed, there was water, and the bright smile of the blond turned into a weak smile of a boy who was about to faint.
"I-" For some reason he whispered, as if he was telling some secret. And words poured out of him, saturated with these trembling feelings: this fear, panic and love. "I thought that you were dying. I thought that this would be the last time I spoke to you, I thought that I hadn't done enough, that I should have watched more documentaries about shipwrecks, that I just- that I will just watch until you stop breathing and I couldn't change anything, and I screamed and screamed, although I realized that no one would come, but continued, because if I stopped, then I would be left with nothing - only with the understanding that I can't do anything, that I can only watch and you are dying-"
At some point, he stopped distinguishing his surroundings, everything blurred because of the veil in front of his eyes, while a hazy feeling of devastation covered him like a wave.
And when he felt how soft, careful hands gently took his palms, he realized that he was trembling. And when Tommy gently ran his fingers over his cheeks, he realized that he was crying.
And when Tommy hugged him - gently but tightly - he allowed himself to let go of the tension that lurked inside him.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Tommy whispered into his hair. "I'm here, I got you. Everything is fine, we’re here, not back in the ocean, we are here and I am alive, and I am not going to die."
And Ranboo allowed himself to melt in these words, in these warm embraces that dried him, like the spring sun melting the ice and snow. Tommy was the sun - gentle and warm, whose care, whose bright personality attracted everyone around and it was impossible not to get into his orbit, not to become a planet revolving around the center of this solar system.
It was impossible not to feel loved, protected, despite the fact that Tommy was weak, endlessly complaining about everything around him.
It was easy to fall, not to notice how the saplings of something more than just friendly feelings sprouted under the bright rays, blooming in buds of multi-colored flowers.
So he smiled.
"I want to kill you anyway."
"Well, I kind of deserve it this time?" Tommy chuckled, stroking the other's hair.
"Yes, you deserve it." Ranboo pressed closer to the heat source.
And they remained so, basking in the presence of each other, not realizing yet that their hearts were overflowing with the same feeling.