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Wilbur walked down the corridor, his arms full of books. The trip to the library had gotten a little out of hand, but he needed to change the books in his classroom - they’d moved on from geology and Wilbur was glad to see the back of it, quite frankly.
Wilbur oofed as he slammed into something, stumbling backwards and dropping books everywhere. He glanced down and saw a sixteen-year-old boy with brown hair and wide green eyes sitting on the floor next to a basket of laundry.
There were only two teenagers in the palace as far as Wilbur knew, and one of them would have sprung up immediately.
“You must be Tubbo,” Wilbur smiled. He hadn’t had the chance to meet Tommy’s new servant and though this wasn’t the best way to introduce himself, bowling the boy over in a hallway, it was certainly one way to make a first impression.
The boy scrambled backwards, his head snapping down. “I-I’m sorry sir.”
Wilbur chuckled quietly. “It’s my fault, I wasn’t looking where I was going.” He held out his hand. “I don’t think I’ve introduced myself before. I’m Wilbur, Tommy’s tutor. You’re his new servant, right?”
Tubbo nodded mutely, not moving to take Wilbur’s hand.
Was he trembling slightly?
“You okay kid? Need any help?” Wilbur said gently.
Tubbo’s eyes darted towards him and then to the laundry and books scattered in the hallway. “I-I can handle it sir.”
“Alright,” Wilbur replied, unsure of what else to say. “Can you grab the books near you?” The boy hastened to obey, avoiding eye contact with him.
When he’d gathered all the books together he looked back towards Wilbur. “Wh-where do y-you want them sir?”
“Oh, that’s okay - just hand them to me,” Wilbur said. Tubbo’s head snapped up in surprise before lowering once more. “You seem busy with laundry at the moment.”
Tubbo carefully made his way over to Wilbur and placed the books in his arms before backing away and picking his basket back up. Bowing, he scurried down the hallway.
Wilbur stared after him, brows furrowed in confusion, a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. He wasn’t Techno, there was nothing intimidating about him. Nothing that would make someone react like that to bumping into him.
He didn’t like it. The green eyes were the only thing that made the image burned into his brain any different from the one he had of himself in Tubbo’s place, sprawled on the floor, gazing fearfully at the person who had knocked him over.
He resolved to ask Tommy about it.
–o0o–
“What’s going on with that servant of yours?” Wilbur asked as he slipped into the classroom.
Tommy looked up from his desk. “You mean Tubbo?”
Wilbur dumped the books on his desk and nodded. “Yeah. I ran into him - literally - in the hallway and he was very… skittish?”
Tommy shifted in his seat. “I thought that too! He’s been like that since he got here. I thought he’d be over it after a few days, but apparently not.”
“So he’s always like that?”
“Yes,” Tommy groaned. “He still won’t call me ‘Tommy’ - even Dream called me Tommy and he tried to murder me.”
“I don’t like how casually you say that.”
“Techno said we can’t give in to fear.”
Wilbur didn’t have a response to that. “Tubbo?” he prompted instead.
“Yeah. He’s really, really quiet too, sometimes he slips in and out of my room without me noticing, which is f*cking weird. And I don’t know what he looks like smiling, or what he sounds like when he’s not doing that not-quite-whispering thing.”
“So… why haven’t you fired him?” Wilbur asked. He didn’t want Tommy to fire the boy, of course not, but he was curious. “If you find him that odd?”
Tommy rubbed his neck sheepishly. “It… well it’s kind of stupid, but - I want to make friends with him?”
Wilbur raised his eyebrows, pleasantly surprised. “Really?”
“It’s just that… well dad hasn’t employed someone my age before. Dream was in his twenties I think? And the one before that was thirty.”
Wilbur nodded, understanding. Tommy blushed. “Do - do you think I can do it?”
Wilbur squinted at his pupil thoughtfully. “If anyone can it’s you.”
–o0o–
Sometimes he wasn’t just anxious at night. Sometimes he was also hungry.
He walked down to the kitchen. Hopefully, Niki wouldn’t be in there - not that she would refuse him food. He just didn’t want to have to explain why he wasn’t asleep.
Or, more accurately, avoid explaining why he wasn’t asleep.
He pushed the door open and stepped into the kitchen. The room was almost silent, aside from the clatter of dishes being washed at a sink somewhere and the crackling of the fire that was never allowed to go out.
Wilbur opened the door to one of the pantries and peered inside. Bingo. Niki had made cookies. He pulled the jar out and crossed over to the sinks, intending to get a glass of water.
To his surprise he found Tubbo standing at one of the sinks, lifting his hands out of the water and drying them off.
“Hey Tubbo,” he greeted him. Tubbo whipped around, eyes widening.
Wilbur held up the jar. “Want one?”
Tubbo blanched. “Sir - I’m not sure -”
Wilbur smiled. “It’s okay, Niki won't mind. She likes me.”
Tubbo just stared at him. Well, stared at his feet.
Wilbur beckoned him towards the table in the centre of the room. “Sit down, I’ll be right back.”
Tubbo sat and Wilbur brought them both a glass of water. He offered the boy a cookie and Tubbo took it hesitantly.
Wilbur bit into his. Prime Niki was good at her job.
“Go ahead, eat it,” Wilbur said gently.
Tubbo eyed him warily. “Are you sure I can sir?”
Wilbur nodded. “Of course.’
Tubbo took a small bite and chewed it slowly.
“It’s good, right?”
Tubbo nodded hastily. “Y-yes sir. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. And there's no need to call me ‘sir’ - everyone here calls me Wilbur.”
Tubbo looked down at the table and Wilbur saw him mutter ‘ha’ under his breath. He wasn’t sure what to make of that.
Prime, this is awkward. Even Techno was more open to conversation.
Wilbur tilted his head. “So, why are you washing dishes in the middle of the night?”
“I-it had to be done - I-I’m sorry if -” Tubbo’s breathing hitched.
“No need to apologise, you’re okay.”
Tubbo exhaled slowly.
“The dishes?”
“Oh, right… I guess I w-was looking for something to do? I… I wanted to be useful.”
“At this time of night?”
Tubbo blushed. “I couldn’t sleep.”
“Me neither,” Wilbur shrugged. “I got hungry.” And panicky.
A faint smile drifted across Tubbo’s face, disappearing the moment Wilbur tried to focus on it, like a ghost in the rain.
Wilbur smiled at him. “Sorry about the other day, by the way - not too bruised are you?”
Tubbo shook his head. “N-no. It was m-my fault.”
Wilbur laughed quietly. “I was walking down the corridor with a whole bookshelf worth of books. I should have been more careful.”
Tubbo squinted at him, his eyes daring to glance at his face.
“You should go to sleep kid, you look exhausted.”
Tubbo started fiddling with the rolled-up sleeve of his shirt. “C-can’t. What if - what if the prince needs me and I’m not awake?”
Wilbur laughed and rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry about that, I’d deal with him.”
Tubbo’s eyes widened. “What?”
“If that happened - which is incredibly unlikely,” - especially since you seem like a nervous wreck - “I’d make sure Tommy left you alone about it.”
“N-no, you don’t h-h-have to do that -”
Wilbur grinned at him. “I’d be happy to. Go and get some rest kid.”
Tubbo stood up slowly, looking almost upset. “O-okay. I’m - I’m sorry. Thank you.”
Wilbur didn’t have time to ask what Tubbo was apologising for before the boy disappeared through the door.
What the f*ck was that interaction?
–o0o–
“Ah, Wilbur.”
Wilbur turned around.
“Quackity.”
Lord Quackity stepped closer. “Quackity?”
“That’s your name, isn’t it?” Wilbur replied.
He tried to turn away once more but he felt a hand wrap around his wrist.
“Wilbur, you forget yourself.”
Wilbur said nothing, resisting the urge to wrench his arm out of Quackity’s slightly-too-tight grip.
“Have you forgotten where you come from?”
Wilbur shook his head. Let me go, it’s too similar, let me go.
“Why don't you remind me?”
“An Outer Province village.”
“A commoner. An ordinary man walking the palace halls, calling the king a nickname, calling me by my first name.”
Wilbur held his head high. “An ordinary man, and yet a better one than you.”
Quackity chuckled darkly. “Really?”
“I’m not ashamed of my background. What matters is that I’m here now.”
“Yes, you are,” Quackity mused. “But do you deserve to be?”
“What do you mean?”
Quackity smiled. “You have next to no certifications Wilbur. You’re barely qualified to teach a three-year-old, let alone the Crown Prince.”
And that blow hit home.
Wilbur hated the way his breath caught in his throat. Quackity noticed it too. “You know I’m right. You don’t deserve to be here.”
“I - I -”
Prime, he was defenseless. Without Tommy or Techno - or Phil - there to shield him he had nothing to say in the face of the cold, hard truth.
And Quackity knew it, twisting the knife deeper. “You’ve already had your license revoked once. What would happen if you lost it again? That’s all you have, the only thing that lets you stay here.”
“Wh–why are you - what have I done to you?” Wilbur asked, hating the way his voice trembled.
Quackity released his wrist as though holding it had been dirtying him in some way. “Because you shouldn’t be here, boy. You’re a fraud, and everyone knows it.”
And with that he walked away, leaving Wilbur standing alone, drowning.
He slumped against the wall and buried his head in his hands. F*ck. There was nothing he could say, nothing he could tell himself that would stop the truth from being what it was. He was a village schoolteacher attempting to educate the prince.
He slid to the floor and wrapped his arms around himself, letting out a shuddering breath.
Village teacher, never amount to anything more, what are you doing here?
–o0o–
Wilbur watched from the doorway as Tubbo traced his hand over the lines in a book. He looked almost wistful.
“You can borrow it if you want.”
Tubbo shot about a foot in the air. “S-s-s-sorry sir - I didn’t - I didn’t mean -”
Wilbur held his hands up. “No, you’re fine, don’t worry.”
Tubbo still looked terrified.
Wilbur walked towards him, glancing at the book the boy had been holding. “You like this story?”
Tubbo blushed and fiddled with his shirt sleeve. “I - uh - I c-can’t read. Sir.”
Wilbur’s eyes widened. “You can’t read?”
Tubbo ducked his head. “N-no sir.”
Wilbur’s heart clenched. Maybe he was biased, but he couldn’t imagine life without the ability to read.
“Do you want me to teach you?” he offered.
Tubbo’s jaw fell open. “Wh-what?”
“I can teach you to read if you like.”
“You - you’d do that?”
Wilbur nodded. “Of course. Do you want me to?”
There was a long moment of silence.
“O-okay.”
Wilbur grinned. “Alright then! Sit down.”
Tubbo blinked at him.
“At the desk, I mean,” Wilbur explained, dragging his chair towards Tommy’s desk.
Tubbo sat. “B-but… the Prince.”
“I’ll handle Tommy, don’t worry. Besides, he won’t mind.”
Tubbo nodded, looking dazed.
Wilbur grabbed a piece of paper and pulled his pen out of his pocket. “Let’s start with your name…”
–o0o–
“Sh-ee… opened the… d-oo-r?” Tubbo said slowly.
“Almost! It’s just pronounced ‘d-oar’,” Wilbur corrected gently.
Tubbo squinted at the book on the desk.
“That makes no sense.”
Wilbur laughed. “I know, the English language is cruel - there’s nothing we can do but hope it has mercy on us. But that was fantastic! You’ve really improved and it’s only been a couple of weeks.”
Tubbo blushed. “Thanks Mr. Soot.” Wilbur had given up on the call-me-Wilbur thing. At least Tubbo didn’t call him ‘sir’ often anymore.
“You’ve worked really hard on this. I’m proud of you.”
Tubbo blushed even harder. “Th-thank you.”
Wilbur smiled at his student. He had two of them now. “Is there anything you want to ask me?”
Tubbo flinched. Fully flinched, as though Wilbur had just raised his hand and threatened to strike him. “What can I do to repay you?” he said flatly.
“Wh-what?”
Tubbo inhaled and exhaled slowly. “What can I do to repay you?” he repeated.
“K-kid… I don’t want payment,” Wilbur said gently. Tubbo stared down at the desk, unmoving. “I’m helping you because I want to and because I enjoy teaching.”
Tubbo furrowed his eyebrows. “What? B-but - huh?”
Wilbur laid a careful hand on the boy’s shoulder. Tubbo tensed for a moment before relaxing - or forcing himself to relax, Wilbur couldn’t tell. “I just… I think everyone should be able to read. Knowing you’ll be able to pick up anything you want and read it one day is more than enough for me.”
Tubbo glanced up. “Y-you mean that?”
Wilbur nodded. “I do.”
Tubbo let out a long, slow breath. “I… okay. I believe you.”
“Thanks,” Wilbur said. “I was going to wrap up our lesson there if that’s alright with you?”
Tubbo nodded and Wilbur opened the door to the classroom, letting the boy step out. “See you same time tomorrow?”
Tubbo nodded again before hurrying away.
Wilbur closed the door and stared at the desk Tubbo had been sitting at. Prime, what the f*ck was that? What door did I just open without knocking?
Wilbur found himself unable to shake the unease that shadowed him for the rest of the day.
–o0o–
Wilbur placed his elbows on a wall and watched as Tommy pulled Tubbo into the garden, laughing.
Techno sidled up beside him. “Hey Wil.”
“Hey Tech.”
“You not getting any closer?”
“No. Tommy told me he was trying to make friends with Tubbo - I want to see if he managed.”
“You’re spying on them.”
“Not spying. Observing.”
Techno rolled his eyes. Together they watched as Tommy tugged Tubbo under the blossom tree. Both boys were smiling and Wilbur found himself smiling too. Thank Prime for Tommy. Miracle worker.
Tommy picked a flower up from the grass and handed it to Tubbo. “It’s so pretty, right? Wilbur says they’re called Malus Domestica blossoms.”
Tubbo rubbed a finger over the petal. “It is beautiful.”
A bee buzzed towards them and Tommy froze. Wilbur suppressed the urge to laugh and he could tell Tubbo was doing the same.
“Don’t move. It can smell fear,” Tommy said seriously.
To Wilbur’s surprise, Tubbo laughed. Not loudly the way Techno did, but that wouldn’t have suited him anyway. Tubbo’s laugh was clear and bright, like sunlight.
The bee got too close to Tommy and he broke his own rule, batting at it.
“Tommy, no! It’s just a bee!”
Wilbur gaped at Tubbo, who covered his mouth with his hand the moment he registered what he’d just said. “Oh - P-Prime -”
But to Tommy’s everlasting credit he didn't even acknowledge it, even though Wilbur knew he must want to start celebrating. Prime, his pupil was even smarter than he gave him credit for. “It’s a monster Tubs. A yellow-and-black demon.”
Tubbo blinked. “I…”
The bee obviously figured out that Tommy didn’t want it anywhere near him and made its way over to Tubbo instead, circling his head a few times before settling on top of him. Tubbo’s eyes crinkled, the tension in them dissipating slightly.
Tommy stumbled backwards. “You’re the f*cking bee-master.”
Tubbo blushed. “All… all I did was not murder it.”
“Well in that case the bee clearly needs to raise his standards. Not being murdered is sort of the lowest bar, and that’s coming from me. My last servant tried to stab me. And drug me, presumably to stab me at a later date.”
“I’m not going to stab you.”
“Yeah, I know that, idiot. Though you could set your bee on me.”
Tubbo tried to look at the bee on top of his head, but failed. “I don’t think she’d do that. She’s pretty calm.”
Tommy flopped down into the grass. “By bee standards.”
He patted the grass next to him.
Carefully, trying not to disturb the bee, Tubbo sat down, crossing his legs.
Tommy picked a daisy. “Do you know how to make daisy chains?”
–o0o–
Wilbur propped himself up on his elbow. It was far too hot, and it wasn’t even summer yet.
Tommy evidently agreed with him because he was still in the lake, Tubbo hovering on the shore nearby holding his shirt and shoes.
“Tommy if you drown I’ll kill you,” Techno said from where he sat.
“I’m standing up Techno.”
“Mhmm. Come on, get out of there.”
“I can’t, my feet are stuck in the mud.”
Techno groaned and rubbed his forehead. “Well, it was nice knowing you.”
Tubbo tilted his head. “Do you need me to come and get you?”
“I don’t want to come out! It’s too hot!”
Wilbur was inclined to agree, but he also didn’t want Tommy to wind up sinking into the mud entirely. “Here, Tubbo, pass me his stuff.”
Tubbo did, taking off his shoes for good measure before wading into the water and grabbing Tommy’s hand. “C’mon man, you gotta get - whoa!”
Grinning like a Cheshire cat Tommy pulled himself and Tubbo over and into the water.
Tubbo surfaced first, spluttering. “Hey!”
Techno burst out laughing and Wilbur couldn’t suppress his own smile either. “Tommy you absolute -”
Tommy bobbed up and splashed at him. “You have to admit that was funny.”
Wilbur folded his arms.
“It was sort of funny,” Tubbo admitted, grabbing Tommy’s wrist and pulling him towards the shore.
Tommy climbed onto the bank, Tubbo following him a moment later, both soaked from head to toe. Wilbur rolled his eyes. “Yeah, Tubbo, you can take Tommy’s shirt. Tommy, you can… suffer?”
“Hey!”
“I-I don’t -”
Wilbur handed Tubbo the shirt, ignoring his protests. “It’s his fault you’re drenched. He can walk back to the palace shirtless, or wear yours.”
Tommy shrugged. “Fair enough. Go ahead Tubs.”
Tubbo eyed him nervously for a moment before nodding and moving slightly closer to the treeline. Techno jogged over to Tommy and Wilbur and the three of them faced the lake. “It’s nice out here,” Techno said absently.
“Yeah. We should take the horses out here sometime.”
“You think Crow could handle it?”
Wilbur turned away. He wasn’t against horses, but -
His stomach fell out of his body.
What the f*ck?!
Wilbur had forgotten why they were facing the lake until he saw Tubbo without a shirt, back facing him.
And his back…
F*cking Prime, his back…
It was covered in thin, criss-crossing scars.
Whip lashes.
What the f*ck?!
Wilbur spun back to the lake, his heart pumping. He wanted to throw up. The image of Tubbo’s back was seared onto his brain and he couldn’t get rid of it. Prime… what had happened?!
Puzzle pieces were falling into place and Wilbur hated that everything began to make sense. The wide-eyed terror, the timidity, the way he was so afraid of making even a small mistake.
Everything in Wilbur was screaming at him to move, to race over to the kid by the trees and wrap him in a hug and promise that he was safe, that no one would ever hurt him again.
But he couldn’t. Not yet anyway.
So he waited for evening to come.
–o0o–
Wilbur had sent a message to Tubbo telling him they’d do their lesson in the library tonight. The classroom didn’t feel like the right place to have the conversation he wanted to have. Though perhaps there was no right place.
Tubbo’s head popped into the doorway and Wilbur’s heart clenched. If he didn’t know better he’d say the boy was just fine.
“Hey Tubbo, sit down,” he said, indicating the armchair across from him.
Tubbo sat and Wilbur took a deep breath.
And another.
Prime, how do I even start?
“Um - is everything alright?” The irony of Tubbo’s question made Wilbur want to cry.
Instead he said: “Tubbo - I have to ask you something. Maybe quite a lot of things. And the moment you decide you don’t want to keep answering you can, alright?”
Tubbo nodded, looking confused.
“Tubbo… who did that to you?”
“Wh-who did what to me?”
“Your back.” Tubbo paled. “Prime kid… who did that to you?”
Tubbo said nothing, wrapping his arms around his torso.
“You’re not in trouble or anything, I promise. Was it your last master?”
A pause and then a small, hesitant nod.
Holy f*cking sh*t.
“Oh Prime, Tubbo…”
Tubbo said nothing. His eyes were screwed shut as though he was anticipating a blow.
“Tubbo?”
Nothing.
“Kid, nod if you’re okay, just so I know.”
“...please,” Tubbo whispered. “I-I know you d-don’t want me here if I’m… l-like th-this… but p-p-please don’t send me back - he’ll d-do it again and I… I don’t think I could take it now, it’s been too l-long.”
Wilbur wanted to say something, wanted to reassure him, but he couldn’t seem to speak.
Tubbo glanced at him and shrank in on himself further. “I-if you have to s-send me b-back ...p-please… d-don’t tell him I t-told you… he’ll kill me,” Tubbo whimpered. “He’ll kill me.”
Say something! Speak! Wilbur gulped. “Tubbo… Prime… I-I don’t know what to say…”
Tubbo stared at his knees.
“I’m - I’m not sending you back to him, Prime, there’s no way you’re ever going back there, I promise.”
Tubbo let out a sigh of relief. “Th-th-thank you.”
“How - how long were you there?”
“Three years.”
F*cking Prime.
Wilbur hated asking it, he didn’t want to know, but he had to. “Did - when you arrived - did you think…?”
Tubbo nodded slowly.
“Oh Prime…” Wilbur breathed.
“I-I was so scared,” Tubbo said quietly. “It was the palace… there were so many mistakes I could make… and no one interested in stopping the prince from doing whatever he wanted. A-and even though everyone w-was nice I just - I didn’t - I just couldn’t believe it was real. P-people always wanted a… a punching bag in return.”
Prime, it got worse. “Tubbo I - when I said, that day in the classroom, when you asked me about repayment - did… did you think…?”
“Y-yes. And I know you’d n-never hurt me n-now, but at the time I still wasn’t s-sure s-so -”
Wilbur’s heart shattered. “T-Tubbo I’d never hurt you. I don’t want anything in return either, I swear. Neither does Tommy, or Techno, or anyone else in the palace.”
Tubbo blinked at him wetly. “I-I know. Or I hope I do.”
Do not cry. Be an adult Wilbur. “C-can I give you a hug?” Tubbo hesitated, then nodded.
Wilbur got out of his chair and slid next to Tubbo, who was impossibly small and slight and - oh f*ck, he was crying.
Tubbo buried his head into Wilbur’s chest and Wilbur held him tightly. Now that he knew they were there he could feel the raised skin over the scars through Tubbo’s shirt. Tubbo tensed as he ran a finger along one. “S-s-sorry. I-I know th-they’re g-g-gross…”
“Don’t apologise,” Wilbur said gently. “They are nothing of the sort.”
He held Tubbo tightly and let the boy release three years of pain in his arms.
–o0o–
Tubbo cried until he was too tired to cry anymore and sank into sleep instead. Wilbur grabbed one of the blankets draped over an armchair and covered the boy with it, leaving a note beside him with the words ‘Take the day off. If you need me you know where to find me - Wilbur.’
Then he left the library and headed straight to his chambers, commanding the first guard he passed to get Phil and Techno there now.
They entered together, both a little surprised to find the usually-calm tutor angrily pacing the floor of his bedroom.
“Uh - Wilbur?”
“Techno. And Phil too, thank Prime.”
“You alright Wil?”
“Who was Tubbo’s last master?”
Phil thought for a moment before answering. “I believe it was Schlatt.”
Wilbur knew Schlatt - a man with a sly smile and cold eyes. The thought of Tubbo cowering under his gaze…
“I - oh Prime.”
“Wilbur, what’s going on?”
Wilbur a hand through his hair. “He was - he was whipping Tubbo."
Phil gasped and Techno narrowed his eyes dangerously. “He was what?”
“And who knows what else.”
“How - how do you know?”
“This afternoon, at the lake. I saw his back and… Prime Phil, it was awful. Like it had been used to sharpen a knife. And what he told me earlier…” he trailed off, unable to continue due to the rage simmering inside of him.
“He’s dead,” Techno said flatly.
Phil looked at Wilbur carefully. “Does he deserve to die?”
Wilbur didn’t even have to think about his answer.
“Yes.”
–o0o–
When Tubbo heard that Schlatt was dead and that they had done it for him, he burst into tears and sank onto the carpet.
Tommy held him as he sobbed, letting his servant cry into his shoulder for hours, whispering reassurances into his ear. Techno stood beside them protectively, his eyes fierce, while Phil sat close to his son, pride and sadness mingling in his eyes.
Wilbur strummed his guitar quietly until Tubbo was ready to stand again.
–o0o–
Happy birthday to me, Wilbur thought glumly. Tommy had gone riding with Techno, Tubbo was off doing... Tubbo things in the meantime, and Phil was the king.
And it was fine. Wilbur understood. He wasn’t a noble. He was barely a teacher. The palace was his home, sure - not that he had any right to call it that, but he had nowhere else to call his in any case. Why would his birthday matter to them? It didn’t matter at the orphanage, and it didn’t matter here.
Still. A card might have been nice.
But it was fine.
He sighed and pushed himself up, heading towards the throne room. It would be empty, but he didn’t want to be around a lot of people right now anyway, not when -
“SURPRISE!”
Wilbur stared at the throne room. It was full of people.
“Wh-what the f*ck?” he spluttered.
Tommy bounded towards him and hugged him tightly. “It’s your birthday!” he exclaimed. “We’re throwing you a party!”
Wilbur’s brain short-circuited. “You’re what?”
Phil stepped closer, Techno on his heels. “A birthday party Wilbur.”
“B-but - I don’t - what?!”
Techno slung an arm around his shoulders. “Happy birthday Wil.”
Wilbur gazed around the room. The whole place was covered in golden streamers.
“I - I don’t know what to say,” he whispered.
“Don’t say anything. Just enjoy it,” Phil smiled.
So, heart full, Wilbur did. It looked like anyone not required to work was there - almost all of the servants, scores of guards, even a few nobles that nodded at him approvingly and talked to him as though he was their equal.
Quackity was not there, something that Wilbur was incredibly grateful for.
Even Niki popped out from the kitchen to speak to him. “Hey Wilbur,” she smiled. “Happy birthday.”
“Thanks Niki,” Wilbur said sheepishly. “There’s so many people here.”
“Of course there are.”
“What do you mean, ‘of course there are’?”
Niki shrugged. “This is… I guess it’s our way of saying thank you.”
“F-for what? Who's saying thank you?”
Niki waved her hand at the crowd. “We’re saying thank you. The difference you made around here…”
She placed a hand on his shoulder. “Wilbur, you brought light back into this place. First, you pulled Tommy back from the brink of collapse. Then you forced the king to make amends with his son. That had a ripple effect on every person in this room Wilbur, you have no idea. We were all watching them tear themselves apart and none of us knew what to do. You changed everything for them and you changed everything for us.”
Wilbur blushed. “I… Thanks Niki.”
Tommy bounced over. “Niki! He’s here.”
Niki laughed. “That’s my cue. See you later Wil.” She hurried away, apron flapping.
Wilbur turned to Tommy. “Who’s ‘he’?”
Tommy looked at him seriously. “Wilbur, please try and be at least a little nonchalant about this, alright?”
“I’d find that significantly easier if you told me -”
A man in purple robes approached and grabbed his hand, shaking it enthusiastically. “Wilbur Soot! I’m thrilled to meet you at last.”
Wilbur just nodded.
“I don’t know how much you know about the goings-on outside of the palace, but you have made quite the stir in my field. Prime, it’s like a revolution and I mean that in the best possible way.”
When in doubt, nod.
“We simply must get you to teach a course. Your technique isn’t taught anywhere yet, we’d be honoured to be the institution to cover it.”
The man glanced down and saw that they were still shaking hands. “Oh, Prime, I’ve just realised I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Karl.”
Wilbur blinked. Then -
“Wait, Karl? As in Karl’s Library?!”
Karl nodded. “That’s the one!”
“Oh - wow - I’m - I’m a huge fan!” Wilbur exclaimed, unable to believe that Karl was shaking his hand, that Karl of Karl’s Library knew his name.
Karl shook his head. “Impossible, I’m your fan.”
Tommy groaned. “You’re both fans of each other, congratulations. Can we eat cake now?”
As if on cue Tubbo wheeled a cake out from the kitchen and the lights were dimmed so the candles shone like a beacon.
Tommy tugged Wilbur towards it and Wilbur tried not to blush as the whole room sang ‘Happy Birthday’.
Wilbur blew out the candles and was about to make a wish when he saw what was written on the cake.
‘Happy Birthday Professor Wilbur Soot’
Wilbur closed his eyes and opened them again.
It was still there.
“Um - Tommy? Phil? Techno? What’s this?”
Phil smiled and stepped forwards, handing Wilbur a piece of paper, rolled and tied with a ribbon.
Wilbur opened it.
‘The supreme commission of Karl’s Library, with the power given by His Royal Majesty King Philza of the Antarctic Empire, herby grants Wilbur Soot the academic title of Professor for outstanding contribution to the field of education.’
Wilbur’s vision blurred.
“Aw, don’t cry!” Tubbo exclaimed.
“I-I don’t - I don’t deserve - what -”
Techno put his hands on Wilbur’s shoulders. “You do Wil. I’ve never met anyone more deserving,”
Tubbo nodded, smiling. “You saved me.”
“I - that wasn’t - I just -”
“You could have ignored my scars, but you didn’t. You taught me to read, you put my mind at rest. Thank you.”
“You listened to my story and you haven’t pitied me once Wil. It means the world.”
“I can never thank you enough. You brought me back to my son.”
Tommy wrapped his arms around Wilbur’s waist. “You made me less alone.”
“You once told me you were ‘just a commoner that got lucky’. Every day you prove yourself wrong Wil. You’re the most talented, passionate, caring person I’ve ever met.”
Wilbur looked down at the diploma in his hand.
“I… Thank you…”
“You deserve it.”
And as Wilbur stood there, surrounded by the people he loved, he began to believe that he did.
–o0o–
When the party ended Professor Wilbur Soot stepped out onto his balcony and looked up at the stars.
And smiled.