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"I think we should do more married people stuff."
That was absolutely the furthest thing from... well, anything that Ranboo was expecting to hear Tubbo say, and it made him pause, the heavy block of glossy yellow terracotta in his hands slipping just a bit as he turned to look down at him. The other boy's expression was almost comically thoughtful, dark hair in his eyes and his lips pursed as he considered... something. It was an expression that Ranboo knew all-too well, and generally couldn't help but feel a mixed surge of anxiety and amusement at the sight of-- it generally lead to either a bizarre declaration not unlike the one he just heard, or some exciting new idea.
"... what do you... mean?" Ranboo's voice was cautious, his words carefully-chosen, as he returned to his previous task of carefully fitting the block into the intricate pattern on the floor of their new hotel, shifting it to ensure the lines flowed together as intended.
"Well, y'know," began Tubbo's response, and Ranboo braced himself for whatever would come next almost instinctively. "Like, married people... there are things that married people do, right, that is like... expected of them, you know?"
"... uh-huh." Well, if he hadn't been worried about where Tubbo was going with this before, he certainly was after that remark. "Tubbo, I don't know... what you're--"
"No no no, like... erm, nice things, I think! You know? Like when they give each other flowers and stuff." Tubbo shrugged his shoulders as he went to one of the storage chests in the center of the growing hotel, and Ranboo couldn't help but chuckle as he dug into the dirt foundation, clearing space to put down another block of terracotta.
"So, you want me to give you things. Tubbo, we already do that."
"Well! No, come on--" Tubbo had to raise his voice to be heard over his husband's rasping bursts of laughter, his face flushing at being called out so bluntly. When the taller boy turned to glance at him, it only made him laugh that much harder, the sight of Tubbo's face lit up pink in offense, his round face pulled into a sharp frown and bottom lip stuck out. "Aw, come on, Big Man!"
"It's fine, Tubbo, it's fine!" Ranboo tried his best to recover his composure, though laughter still bubbled just beneath his words. He peeked into his inventory for something, quietly looking over the contents; after a moment, he pulled out a single, freshly-cut pink tulip, and he offered it to Tubbo, a smirk tugging at his odd face. "Here. Is this what you wanted?"
"... well, it's not all romantic now!" The smaller boy continued to pout, even as he reached out to accept the flower, holding it carefully in his dirty hands. Ranboo couldn't resist the urge to lean down, to slip his fingers into Tubbo's hair, petting him affecionately, and he tilted his head up to peer at Ranboo's face from beneath his bangs, dark eyes round as he considered him.
"Awww..." Ranboo did not sound sincere, not in the slightest, and it only drew a darker flush from his husband, who... despite his best attempts, couldn't resist smiling at just how silly the whole conversation was.
"I really mean it, though. We should do something romantic together."
... wait. Was... he being serious? Ranboo paused, blinking down at him in growing surprise, his own mismatched skin starting to warm up at the implications behind the words.
"Are you... I mean. Do you... want to do something... romantic, Tubbo?"
"Yeah! I mean, I did marry you!" As if it should be obvious.
Oh.
Well. The beginnings of a flush that had been mere pinpricks at Ranboo's face before bloomed into something much more obvious at that, and for a moment, Ranboo found himself unable to string words together to respond. Tubbo, his best friend... wanted to actually get romantic with things? Sure, they were married, but it had been for tax reasons, right? He hadn't actually planned on things being like that... right?
Or... had he just been oblivious the whole time?
"Oh."
The way Tubbo's face scrunched displayed very clearly that "oh" was not the response he'd been hoping for.
"What? Did you not know that marriage is somethin' people do for romance, Ranboo?"
"I-- no, I know that, I just--!" Oh, god. He straightened, hiding his face in his mismatched hands, suddenly at a loss of what to do or say. "I just didn't-- I-I thought..."
"... I mean, yeah, like... yanno, taxes and all that, but like... you've seen the movies, right, Big Man? Things happen sometimes!"
At this point, Ranboo could no longer tell if Tubbo was making his request out of genuine interest, or out of some kind of idea of "this is how things go, this is how it goes in the movies." He sighed, running his hands down his face.
"... Tubbo." His voice was lower, just a little bit more firm. "Are you asking about romance because you saw this happen in a movie once, or because you just... want... to be romantic... with me?"
"Ermm... both of them, I imagine," was the reply, marked with an innocence that sat squarely at odds with anything Ranboo knew about the former president, and he couldn't help but smile. How very Tubbo.
"... so, you do... want things to be... romantic, with us?"
Tubbo was quiet for a beat longer that time, letting the words hang in the air, his gaze drifting back down to the flower still clutched in his hands.
"... yeah, I think so!" And then his gaze was, again, lifted back to meet Ranboo's, and there was a bright grin on his face, and Ranboo could feel his face heating up all the way to the edge of his crown.
"... ah." The Enderman was quiet for a long moment, his hands nervously lacing together in front of his chest. "... so..."
"Aw, come on, what are you bein' all awkward for? We're already married!" Ah, Tubbo was clearly aware that things had turned back in his favor, the sight of his tall husband visibly flustered emboldening and endlessly amusing to him. He grinned, rocking up onto his tiptoes to be closer to his eyeline-- not that it made much difference, all told.
"I know, but..." Ah. Oh no, what should he do now? He'd never really... been very good at romance. He'd never really had much of a chance at it before. And now, here he was, with a husband standing before him, expecting to be wooed, he supposed, and how on earth do you even do that?
"Come down here!" Suddenly, Tubbo was reaching out, grabbing a handful of Ranboo's tie, and the taller boy was shocked, unable to do anything to resist being pulled down to his husband's eye level. Tubbo simply grinned at him, seemingly proud of himself.
"See? That's not so hard, now, is it?"
Ranboo couldn't help the laugh that broke loose from his tightened throat.
"-- is this what married people do, Tubbo?"
"Well, it's not my fault you're all the way up there. I had to get you down here somehow."
"You did. Well, here I am."
"Yep!"
And then, without giving him a moment to respond, to process what was happening, Tubbo leaned in... and pressed his lips against the other's. It wasn't a good kiss, or an experienced one, or even really all that romantic... but it was indeed a kiss, and, for a second, it was enough to make Ranboo's entire mind freeze over and stop, his breath hanging in his chest.
And then it was over, and Tubbo just smiled sweetly at him, and Ranboo was certain that he had never turned that particular shade in front of anyone before.
He cleared his throat.
"... oh!"
"S'that all you've got to say, big guy?" Tubbo didn't seem hurt, although something questioning hung just beneath his smile-- was that alright? Should he have done it? Did he mess something up?
"... Tubbo..."
Ranboo sighed; he leaned down more properly, reached in with his hands to cup his husband's face, and this time, he kissed him first. And it was better. A little bit, anyway. He'd only seen them do this in movies, but... he had some idea of what to do, at least.
When he pulled away, Tubbo's eyes were closed; he hummed in his throat, and then he opened them, gazing up at Ranboo with a grin. One of his hands lifted from holding the flower to lay over one of Ranboo's own.
"You hopeless romantic, you."
As if he had any room to speak.