Chapter Text
‘’Hi aunt Puffy!’’
Tubbo walked in with his backpack in one hand, and his normal bag in the other.
It was busy in the café, around ten people were working behind laptops and drinking coffee. Workaholics. Some people were talking with each other and a few obvious first dates were happening.
Puffy was behind the counter and waved at Tubbo. ‘’Hello, my boy.’’ She looked at Tubbo’s second bag and smiled. ‘’Place it on the stairs for now. It is very busy, would you mind helping me out?’’
Tubbo nodded and ran through the kitchen, he placed his bags in the little hallway and grabbed an apron. He walked to the kitchen where Puffy was making coffee.
‘’What can I do?’’
Puffy pointed at the coffee machine. ‘’It broke again and now I can’t make hot chocolate. Can you look at it?’’
Tubbo nodded and walked to the machine. He grabbed a screwdriver from his pocket and slowly opened the machine. Just as he thought, the filter wasn’t working.
Tubbo grabbed a towel and screwed the filter out. He grabbed the towel and began cleaning the inside of the filter. He sighed, Puffy had to get a new machine. The grinder was not good at his job and spilled everywhere, so the filter stopped working a lot.
He put the filter back and screwed it together. That was done, easy but still a dirty job.
‘’Thank you, Toby. Grab a cookie or something.’’
Tubbo smiled and washed his hands. ‘’Do you need help serving people?’’
Puffy wrote a name on a cup. ‘’It’s fine. Why don’t you change your clothes and put your bags away?’’
Tubbo sighed. ‘’Sure.’’
He put his apron off and hung it on the hook. He grabbed his bags and ran upstairs to his room. Well, the guest room, but he used it a lot.
When he was little, he loved sleeping at his aunt, he would always beg his dad if he could be at his aunt’s house for the weekend. But now that he got older, he slept here whenever he fought with his dad. And that happened a lot.
His dad and he just couldn't agree on certain topics, so Tubbo avoided him as much as possible. He would hang out with Tommy, or game with him. He didn’t have a lot of friends, and Tommy did not go to his school.
They had met a long time ago when they were fifteen. They bonded so well and could talk about music for hours. They even got some cool discs that they found in the woods.
Tubbo walked into the bathroom and put on the shower. He took off his sweater and waited for the water to get hot.
Half a year ago, Tubbo and Tommy got their discs back and vowed peace with Dream. Tubbo shivered, the thought of Dream’s smiley face was enough for him to not sleep for a few days. He had not seen Dream since, not in real life, not on the news.
They had gone to the woods that night to get their discs back from Dream, they had borrowed some of Techno’s weapons and swore to get the discs back.
Tubbo closed his eyes.
Dream was weaponed, of course. Tubbo had gotten an arrow in his cheek and lots of other injuries. Luckily for them, Wilbur showed up and fought Dream.
They had won, there were lots of bloodshed, but they had won! Dream promised to leave them alone after that. And he had followed his promise.
Tubbo gets in the shower and washes his hair. He washes off all the dirt that had gotten on his hands from the nukes he was building earlier. He had to finish them for his plan next week, but he could do that when he got home again.
Tubbo chuckles. He had promised Wilbur to make him a nuke. Wilbur was planning on bombing the police station and Tubbo was excited about it. Police did nothing but follow the rules like puppets. He was against harming people, but buildings could be replaced and it would leave a sign.
Tubbo gets out of the shower and dries his hair. He puts a black hoodie and jeans on and brings his bags to his bedroom.
He grabs his phone to put it on the charger and scrolls through Twitter for some minutes. He sighs and looks around the room.
The walls were painted in a soft tone of mint, with big windows and yellow curtains. There is a closet with a tiny desk. Tubbo had hung up posters next to the desk and some pictures of him and Tommy.
The bed was small, but with lots of pillows and blankets. And it was a good place to cry. because Tubbo cried a lot when he was at Puffy’s. About his dad, about the school, just the normal things. Puffy would always be there to soothe him. She would hug him and comfort him for as long as he needed.
Puffy was great, she had been a therapist but eventually stopped to open her café and bake the whole day.
Tubbo smiled, he should probably go downstairs again and try to do some homework. He would probably be too tired in the evening.
Tubbo grabbed his backpack and walked down the stairs. He walked through the kitchen where Puffy was getting fresh croissants out of the oven. They smelled perfect and would probably sell out soon.
‘’Do you need a drink, Toby?’’
Tubbo shook his head. ‘’I’m going to do some homework.’’
‘’Okay, let me know if you need help.’’
Tubbo nodded and grabbed a snickerdoodle, it was his favorite cookie. Perfectly buttery and with a cinnamon flavor. He put the cookie in his mouth and walked to the study lounge in the back of the café.
There was one other dude there, he had a buzz cut and was wearing a black headset and some awfully funny 3D glasses. He was slurping a coffee with the name ‘Jack’ written on it.
Tubbo smiled at him and sat down on the chair on the opposite side of the boy. He opened his English book and began reading what they had to do.
It had started raining, and the rain was falling against the windows. It was like everyone had started talking softer to hear the rain. The bakery was filled with an amazing scent of coffee and pastries, and life was good.
Tubbo grabbed his pencil and wrote something down. It was not a hard assignment, but it was still boring.
The bell rang, and the door opened.
Tubbo ignored the bell, and read the next task. But he stopped when he noticed that the boy across from him shuffled closer to the wall.
Tubbo looked around, was it him, or were people whispering now?
Tubbo looked at the door and his eyes widened.
A tall Enderman was standing there, and I mean like, two times the size of Tubbo. He was wearing a black suit and gloves. He had horns and a tail, but Tubbo couldn’t stop staring at his face.
It had lots of dots on it that reminded Tubbo of freckles, he had short hair that was put in a ponytail. And his eyes… one was red, one was green, they were beautiful.
‘’Hey? Would you like a towel?’’ Puffy was waving at the Enderman who was awkwardly standing in the doorway.
‘’Don’t burn your face. My dear, is it raining hard all of a sudden.’’ Puffy placed a towel on the counter and looked outside the window.
The Enderman smiled, and Tubbo’s eyes widened even more. He had a beautiful and generous smile.
The Enderman walked to the counter and grabbed the towel. ‘’Thank you, I did not realize it was going to rain and I burned my face.’’ He dried off his face and looked at Puffy with a self-conscious face. ‘’Can I pay you?’’
Puffy waved and laughed. ‘’No, only if you order something can I take payment. But feel free to stay until the rain stops.’’
The Enderman stared at the menu. ‘’Thank you so much-’’ He looked at Puffy’s nametag. ‘’-Miss Puffy. Can I have an iced Frappuccino?’’
Puffy ticked it in the register. ‘’Yes of course. That is £3.’’
The Enderman placed some coins on the counter.
Puffy grabbed them and printed out the receipt. ‘’Can I have a name for the order?’’
‘’Ranboo.’’
‘’It will be done in a minute Ranboo, it is a bit busy. But I think there is a place in the study lounge.’’
Ranboo looked around and looked at Tubbo. Tubbo, who was still staring at him, quickly looked at his book and pretended to have worked this whole time.
Tubbo’s heart was racing, who is that Ranboo boy? And why the fuck is he so pretty?
He heard footsteps, and then he saw out of the corner of his eye that Ranboo was sitting in a chair close to him.
Tubbo looked up and smiles, and Ranboo slowly smiled back. Tubbo felt that he was getting red and looked at his book again.
Fuck, what is happening?
‘’Iced Frappuccino for Ranboo.’’ Puffy walked towards Ranboo and placed the coffee next to him.
Ranboo bowed his head. ‘’Thank you so much.’’
Puffy smiled. ‘’No problem. How are you doing, Toby?’’
Tubbo looked up. ‘’I-Uhm. Good, yea good!’’
Puffy looked at him and then she nodded and walked back to the counter.
Tubbo leaned back in embarrassment. That was awful.
‘’Is she your family?’’
Tubbo looked at the Enderman. ‘’Yea, she is my aunt.’’
Ranboo took a sip from his coffee and looked away quickly. ‘’She’s nice.’’
Tubbo nodded.
What could he talk about? He wanted to see this Ranboo boy again. But how?
A thought flashed through his brain.
‘’Is this your first time here?’’
The Enderman looked down in surprise. ‘’Uh- I have been in L’manburg before, but not in this café.’’
Tubbo smiled. ‘’You should come here more! You don’t have to buy anything and you can just chill.’’
The Enderman looked around. ‘’I- don’t know if that is a good idea, uhm-‘’
Tubbo looked at the people, they were busy talking again. ‘’They are not staring at you, I think. Most people that come here are not from L’manburg either.’’
Ranboo looked at Tubbo. ‘’But you are from this city right? You have a bit of an accent.’’
Tubbo turned red and looked at his hands. ‘’Yeah, But I have been outside L’manburg many times. So I am pretty adapted to other people.’’
Ranboo took a sip from his coffee again and looked outside. It had almost stopped raining.
Tubbo looked outside. Shit- it was almost stopping raining and his plan did not work.
‘’Are you in a hurry?’’
Ranboo nodded. ‘’Yeah, I have to get home but it’s still raining.’’
Tubbo grinned. ‘’I can borrow you an umbrella!’’
Ranboo looked at Tubbo with big eyes. ‘’No thank you! I’ll just wait, it’s fine!’’
Tubbo shook his head and jumped up. ‘’I am grabbing it, wait here,’’
Ranboo complained weakly but Tubbo was already running to the coat rack where he had left his umbrella. He grabbed it and ran back happily.
‘’There you go!’’
The Enderman looked at Tubbo. ‘’I can’t take it.’’
‘’You can bring it back another day!’’
Ranboo looked at Tubbo. ‘’Huh?’’
‘’If you come to L’manburg again, you can return it.’’
Ranboo frowned. ‘’But what if you are not here?’’
Tubbo smiled. ‘’I am here almost every day.’’
‘’Do you work here?’’
Tubbo looked at Ranboo and nodded. ‘’Yeah, something like that.’’
Ranboo finally took the umbrella and bowed his head. ‘’Thank you, I will return it tomorrow.’’
Tubbo raises a thumb. ‘’That’s all right! See you tomorrow!’’
Ranboo bowed his head again and walked to the door with the umbrella in his hands. At the doorway, he waved at Tubbo, and then he was gone.
Tubbo fell back in his chair and closed his eyes. He talked! He did it! Ranboo… Ranboo… he had to memorize that name.
If his plan worked… he had to ask Puffy! Then he could see Ranboo more and-
Tubbo curses and places his head on the table. He forgot to say his fucking name!
‘’Do you want more soup?’’ Puffy looked at Tubbo with a questioning look.
Tubbo shook his head. ‘’No thanks, aunt.’’
Puffy smiled and took a sip of her water. ‘’Is there something?’’
Tubbo tapped with his fingers on the table. ‘’I have a question. Can I have a job here!?’’
Puffy raised an eyebrow. ‘’Why?’’
Tubbo turned red. ‘’I-Uhm. God this sounds stupid. But I talked with that Enderman today and I want to continue talking with him and uhm- If I get a job here I can talk with him without looking desperate.’’
Puffy chuckled. ‘’Toby, what is this absurd plan?’’
Tubbo looked at his plate. ‘’It’s a good plan!’’
Puffy rolled her eyes and grabbed Tubbo’s hand. ‘’You realize you can just talk with him without needing to work for it?’’
Tubbo shook his head. ‘’No- I’m too scared.’’
Puffy smiled. ‘’Aww Toby, is this your first love?’’
Tubbo turned even redder than he already was. ‘’I-. He’s pretty, okay?’’
Puffy laughed and squeezed Tubbo’s cheek. ‘’Nah, you can get a job here. But you have to know that you are very cute when you are embarrassed.’’
Tubbo shook his head, but Puffy kept grinning. ‘’That boy was very polite, innit?’’
Tubbo placed a hand under his chin and leaned on the table. ‘’He was very nice. But very shy. That’s why I need the job, so I can talk with him without worrying that he is uncomfortable. AND!! I borrowed my umbrella so he has to return to the café now.’’
Puffy stood up and grabbed the plates. ‘’I hope that this plan works out for you.’’
Tubbo stood up to help his aunt. ‘’Me too.’’
--
Tubbo slowly opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. Where is he again? Oh right, at Puffy’s. Tubbo yawned and closed his eyes again. There was something he was going to do today… was Tommy going to come? No… Tubbo felt himself falling into the sleeping world again, but then he opened his eyes again.
That’s right! Today he was going to work, and hopefully, see Ranboo again!
Tubbo jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. He washed his face and looked in the mirror. Should he try to style his hair today? No probably not, he had to look casual. Tubbo walked back into his room and opened the closet. He grabbed a pair of dungarees and a black and yellow shirt. That could be cool, he could look like a bee!
Tubbo changed himself and looked in the mirror. He looked good! Tubbo grabbed his bag and began pulling things out of it. If he remembered it correctly, he had something that could bring this outfit together.
Tubbo grabbed a little box and smiled. His accessories! He opened the box and looked at it.
He would wear the bee earrings. And probably the little nuke earrings. Then, he could wear his rings, and his nose piercing!
Tubbo grabbed the piercing first and cleaned it thoroughly. He walked to the mirror and put the piercing in his nose again. He never wore his piercing when he was at home. But when he didn’t see his father, he would always wear it.
Tubbo hummed while putting in all three of his earrings, and he put on all his rings. Then he put on his black Doctor Martens.
He spun around for the mirror, he looked lovely. He was ready for this day!
Tubbo walked out of his bedroom to the kitchen where Puffy was making toast.
‘’Hey Toby, do you want toast?’’
Tubbo nodded and grabbed a mug for some tea.
‘’Are you nervous about today? I see you are dressed lovely.’’
Tubbo poured the hot water into his mug. ‘’Is it too much?’’
Puffy shook her head, her hair swung with her. ‘’No, it’s perfect.’’
Tubbo grinned and sat down at the kitchen table. ‘’When is the bakery going to open?’’
Puffy placed a slice of toast on his plate. ‘’In a few hours, but I have to bake some pastries.’’
Tubbo grabbed the jam and spread some of it on his toast. ‘’I’ll help you.’’
After breakfast, they head downstairs and start baking. Puffy has a really big recipe book with all the steps for things in it. So Tubbo can just follow the recipe and doesn’t mess things up like normal. They bake cookies and cake, bread and pastries and they clean up.
Tubbo displays all the baked goods in the showcase and refills all the ingredients.
Puffy cleans the tables and sweeps the floor, and then she opens the café.
Tubbo grabs a name card and writes his name on it. He puts the thing on and settles himself behind the counter.
Puffy smiles and ruffles his hair. ‘’My little barista boy. Are you sure you don’t want the bakery when you are older?’’
Tubbo laughs. ‘’I still want to do something different, sorry.’’
Puffy sighs. ‘’Then I will have to search for someone else, but I am still young enough to run this business on my one.’’ She looks at the clock. ‘’Customers will probably come in half an hour when it’s lunchtime.’’
Tubbo nods. ‘’What are you going to do today?’’
Puffy taps her chin with her finger. ‘’I think I am going to visit Philza Minecraft. I haven’t seen him in ages.’’
Tubbo smiles. ‘’Say hi to Tommy for me.’’
Puffy smiles and kisses Tubbo’s forehead. ‘’I will. Call me when you need me dear.’’
Tubbo giggles. ‘’Will do.’’
Puffy hugs him and then puts her apron on the hook and leaves the café.
What Puffy predicted came true, not many people showed up during the first hour and Tubbo could serve them all with ease.
Then, more people start coming in and Tubbo got busy making drinks and collecting cash. It is a little awkward to interact with that many people at a time for Tubbo, but he tries to smile and be polite like Puffy always does.
He burns his hand on the espresso machine and tries not to curse. He makes lots of coffee and serves them to the people. He tries to guess their names correctly every time he writes one on a mug. And he didn’t know that so many people liked red velvet cake because it was the first cake to sell out.
Tubbo glances at the door every time the bell rings, hoping to see a tall Enderman. But the lunch rush passes by and Ranboo still hasn’t shown up. Tubbo hopes he will come, would be a bummer if his plan didn’t work and he would never see him again.
Tubbo sighs and grabs a hot chocolate to put whipped cream on top.
‘’Hi… Tubbo?’’
Tubbo looks up and he grins when he looks into two beautiful eyes.
‘’Hey, Ranboo!’’
Ranboo smiles and looks at Tubbo. ‘’You look g-great today, yeah!’’
Tubbo feels that he is getting red, so he quickly bows his head and adds sprinkles to the hot chocolate.
‘’Thank you. You look nice too.’’
Ranboo is wearing a fancy type of white blouse with high-raised trousers and a black beanie.
Ranboo looks at the umbrella he is holding. ‘’Uh- I have the umbrella.’’
Tubbo grins. ‘’Thanks. Do you want something to drink?’’
Ranboo blinks and looks at the ground embarrassed. ‘’I don’t know. I wanted to g-give you something in return because you were so kind. But now you are w-working and-‘’
Tubbo’s eyes widen. Ranboo wanted to give him something? That- that is…
‘’You can give it after my shift if you want!’’ Tubbo blurts out.
Ranboo looks at him. ‘’Are you s-sure? I don’t want to be a nuisance.’’
Tubbo grabs Ranboo’s hand and smiles. ‘’You would never be a nuisance Ranboo.’’
Ranboo turns red and looks at the hand that Tubbo still is holding.
Tubbo realizes it and quickly lets Ranboo go. ‘’I’m sorry.’’
Ranboo shakes his head. ‘’Doesn’t matter.’’
Ranboo’s hand was cold but very soft. Secretly, Tubbo could imagine himself holding it for longer. He just loves human contact, it makes him feel loved.
‘’I-Uhm. I wanted to give you something, but there are lots of other people here and I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable.’’ Ranboo looks around. ‘’C-can I study in that place over there until the café closes?’’
Tubbo smiles. ‘’We are closing in four hours or something. Are you okay with waiting that long?’’
Ranboo nods. ‘’Y-yeah I have lots of homework to do.’’
‘’Mkay. Do you want something to drink?’’
Ranboo looks at the menu. ‘’Uh- surprise me?’’
Tubbo grins. ‘’Okay, I will bring you it in a few seconds.’’
Ranboo smiles softly and walks towards the study place.
Tubbo starts making a Frappuccino and he stares at Ranboo. The conversation was short but very effective. And he called him cute!
Tubbo grabs the cameral bottle and decorates the inside of the cup with glazes of cameral. Then he pours in the coffee and puts on whipped cream. He finishes the coffee with more cameral and grabs a marker.
He stops, he can write whatever he wants on the cup. He could do something funny, or sweet.
Tubbo sighs, he should just write Ranboo’s name on the cup.
‘’Ranboo… with a little heart.’’ Tubbo murmurs and he finishes the little drawing. He grabs a cookie and puts it in a bag. Then he walks towards Ranboo.
Ranboo has a lot of books spread out on the table and seems to be reading weird symbols.
‘’Is that Ender?’’
Ranboo looks behind him. ‘’Uh- yeah.’’
Tubbo places the drink and cookie on the table. ‘’Cool. I always wanted to read Ender. It looks so pretty and mysterious.’’
Ranboo stares at his books. ‘’You should be glad you can’t read Ender. It- it is really hard to master even for me.’’
Tubbo shrugs. ‘’Then you must be smart.’’
Ranboo looks at him for a second and then he looks at his books again. ‘’I’m just mediocre. My siblings could do what I can when they were much younger.’’
Tubbo swallows. That was not the best thing to say. ‘’I think that you are the prettiest one.’’
Ranboo laughs. ‘’You haven’t even seen them.’’
Tubbo chuckles. ‘’I just know it, wait.’’ He grabs a marker and scribbles something down on the cup. He gives the mug to Ranboo with a grin.
Ranboo takes it and reads the name. ‘’Ranboo… The hottest Enderman?’’
Tubbo nods proudly. ‘’Just writing down facts you know.’’
Ranboo shakes his head and giggles. ‘’Thank you.’’
Tubbo smiles.
The last customer waves at Tubbo and leaves. Tubbo is wiping down the counters as fast as he can. Ranboo is going to give him something and he can’t wait. He had been staring at Ranboo for the last couple of hours while trying to figure out what so enchanting was about him. Maybe it was his gentle face or his gorgeous hair. It was something, Tubbo had never felt this way about anyone before.
It was like the thought of Ranboo made him smile without him noticing. And his stomach would feel weird, but not in a bad boy. Like he had bees inside of him. That feeling when you were on a rollercoaster, scared but very happy and excited.
Ranboo had noticed he was the only one in the café and put his books in his bags. ‘’Can I help you clean?’’
Tubbo shakes his head. ‘’It’s fine. I am almost done anyways.’’
Ranboo nods and continued to put his books away.
Tubbo throws out the last empty mug and walks towards Ranboo. ‘’The place is clean.’’
Ranboo seems nervous. ‘’Uh- Where should I-. Do you want… Uh-‘’
Tubbo smiles and lets Ranboo speak.
‘’W-where do you want to open y-your gift?’’ Ranboo finally asks.
Tubbo shrugs. ‘’Wherever you want.’’
Ranboo blinks. ‘’Uhm, yes. I can...’’ He looks at Tubbo with a lost expression.
Tubbo grabs Ranboo’s hand. ‘’If you want we can open it in my room.’’
Ranboo nods and Tubbo walks with him upstairs.
Ranboo is tall and has to bend down in the hallway, but the ceilings in Tubbo’s room are high enough so he can stand normally.
Tubbo jumps on his bed and lays on it with a happy hum.
Ranboo looks around, and then he places himself next to Tubbo on the bed.
Tubbo rolls around and sits next to Ranboo, who is still holding his bag.
‘’Uh- It’s not much… B-but I wanted to give you something, so-‘’ Ranboo stammers and he gives Tubbo a gift.
It is wrapped in purple paper done so neatly that Tubbo almost feels sad opening it.
Almost.
Tubbo smiles and slowly rips the paper off. Ranboo looks at him with nervous eyes as if he is waiting for approval.
It is a book. A beautiful book. It is bonded in leather and has a soft brown tint. In purple letters, ‘Memory book’ is written on it. Tubbo silently opens the book and gasps. The paper is a light tone of yellowish white. But the sides are all decorated with drawings of pink flowers and lots of purple sketchy eyes. The first page has text on it.
‘Memory book for Tubbo. -Ranboo’
Tubbo looks up at Ranboo.
‘’It’s beautiful.’’
Ranboo’s eyes widen in reply and he sighs relieved. He points at the text. ‘’I wrote that just an hour ago because I did not get your name yesterday.’’
Tubbo bows his head to look at the flowers again. ‘’I love the design.’’
‘’I- uhm. I did not know what to get you… But you were studying so I thought you could take notes on this. Uh- In my family, people write in this like a diary.’’ Ranboo points at the flowers. ‘’Those are chorus flowers and eyes, gotta keep the Ender theme you know.’’
Tubbo giggles. ‘’Thank you so much Ranboo. It’s such a big present.’’
Ranboo looks at his hands. ‘’Well, I did not get scars yesterday because of the umbrella.’’
Tubbo looks at Ranboo. ‘’Wait what? You get scars of water?!’’
Ranboo nods. ‘’If water comes on an Enderman, it burns its way in the skin and creates a white dot.’’ Ranboo looks at his white hand. ‘’Or in my case, a black or a white one.’’
Tubbo sees the sad look on Ranboo’s face and grabs the white hand. ‘’I have birthmarks. See? Look at my arm.’’ Tubbo rolls up his sleeve and shows Ranboo his arm.
Ranboo looks at the arm, and then at Tubbo with a confused look.
Tubbo grins. ‘’They remind me of yours.’’
Ranboo stares at his white hand, then he sighs. ‘’I guess.’’
Tubbo stares at the tall Enderman next to him. He hasn’t seen a lot of Enderman with two colors, but he thinks it’s gorgeous.
‘’you’re a good friend,’’ Tubbo mutters.
Ranboo looks up in shock. ‘’Are we friends?!’’
Tubbo turns red. Something in him knows he wants more than being friends, he likes Ranboo, he really does. But it would be weird to say that, kind of creepy.
So instead, Tubbo smiles. ‘’Yeah, we are friends.’’
Ranboo blinks. ‘’Why would you want to be friends with me?
Tubbo shrugs. ‘’You’re just nice and we click you know?’’
Ranboo smiles and bows his head. ‘’I’ve never had friends before.’’
Tubbo grins. ‘’Then I will be the best one you’ve ever had.’’