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The door opened, and all heads snapped in its direction. Technoblade stood there. Stoic face as always, though his shoulders were a bit tensed up. Behind him stood a shorter boy. He had brown curls, and he was pale. His brown eyes were red and puffed up like he’d been crying. His face was blank, and he stared at the floor. Ranboo’s eyes widened when he recognized those eyes.
It was Tubbo.
Tubbo’s gaze suddenly locked his. Both boys stared at each other for a moment.
‘’Tubbo?’’ Ranboo sheepishly questioned. That… couldn’t be true. They just looked alike!
Nikki raised an eyebrow. ‘’How do you know his name?’’
‘’Also! Why is he wearing your hoodie?’’ Tommy questioned.
‘’R-Ranboo!’’ Tubbo’s voice was rough.
‘’Why is he talking again now?’’ Wilbur raised an eyebrow.
‘’Uhm, what’s going on?’’
‘’Did you two seriously switch hoodies or am I blind?’’
‘’Tubbo, are you okay again?’’
‘’Ranboo did you see him today while you were going to the beach?’’
‘’Tubbo was going out too!’’
‘’Am I the only one wondering why Tubbo doesn’t respond to us and he does with Ranboo?’’
Everyone was staying stuff, meanwhile, Tubbo was opening his mouth open and closed again. Like he was trying to form words, but he forgot how to. His hands started shaking as his eye twitched.
‘’Can everyone shut up?’’ Wilbur suddenly said. He turned red from embarrassment and ducked his head down. ‘’Thanks.’’ He murmured when the group fell silent. The only thing you could hear was Tubbo’s short breaths.
Ranboo cringed as he stood up. Everyone was watching him with hawk’s eyes as he walked over to Tubbo. He bow down to Tubbo’s face.
‘’Do you want to say something to me alone?’’ he whispered, barely audible to anyone else.
Tubbo nodded as he looked up at him. Ranboo’s heart clenched when he saw his brown eyes. Ranboo straightened his back quickly and looked at Philza.
‘’Tubbo and I are going to discuss some things. Alone.’’
‘’Are you sure that’s a good idea mate? Don’t want him to freak out again.’’ Phil asked slowly.
Ranboo flew some of the white hair out of his face. ‘’He asked me to, so he’s the boss. Come on Tubs.’’
Ranboo held out his hand for Tubbo to grab, which he did after some hesitation. Then Tubbo suddenly dragged him to the kitchen at lightspeed. He opened the door and nodded at Ranboo.
‘’See you guys in a bit,’’ Ranboo murmured as he closed the door behind him. “Are you okay, Tub?”
“On’t!”
Ranboo fell silent and took another close look at the brunette. Tubbo was shaking and looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack.
“Okay, okay. Just come here.” Ranboo stepped forward and pulled Tubbo into a hug. “You’re okay. You’re fine. Everything is fine and I’m here.” He mumbled as he put his face into Tubbo’s brown curls.
Tubbo was silent, but he didn’t stop shaking.
“Can I help you with anything?” Ranboo asked after some moments.
Tubbo shook his head frantically, then nodded and looked up. “Can’t…” he whispered.
Ranboo raised an eyebrow. Tubbo was clearly trying to tell something, but he wasn’t able to talk right now.
“Can you write it down for me? Could you do that instead of talking?”
Tubbo nodded and walked to the kitchen table. He grabbed a pencil and a piece of paper. Slowly, he began scrambling something down.
U cant tel semoene what I tolt u
Ranboo looked at the piece of paper. It was hard to read with the spelling mistakes. And to make it worse, Tubbo had horrible handwriting.
It was only when Tubbo looked at him, eyes filled with tears, that it clicked.
‘’You mean at the beach?’’
Yea
Ranboo’s eyes widened and he shook his head frantically. ‘’I would never tell someone, I promised right?’’
Promsises can be broken
Ranboo took a deep breath. Tubbo was scared. Scared that Ranboo would tell all his secrets to his foster family. Just like Ranboo always said, first impressions stay.
‘’What if I tell you my secrets?’’
Tubbo’s eyes widened as he looked up from the paper.
Ranboo swallowed. ‘’Yeah- if I tell you my secrets I am in depth with you. So then I can’t tell yours because you will tell mine.’’
Tubbo grabbed the pencil. Thut cuold work.
Ranboo breathed and pushed the hair out of his face nervously. He hated telling secrets. But he had to make a sacrifice for this boy now. for a boy he had met today and he instantly clicked with.
‘’Okay, so my secret, right? Uh-‘’ Ranboo took a deep breath. ‘’I have the same dream every night.’’ He swallowed. ‘’Every night. And uhm. It’s about a m-masked man controlling me when I’m awake. S-so sometimes I don’t know if I’ve woken up and I h-‘’ Tubbo was hugging him, arms tightly around his back.
‘’D-don’t have to.’’
Ranboo squeezed his eyes shut, “So, now we’re even.” Ranboo breathed as he lowered himself so they were sitting on the kitchen floor. Tubbo sat beside him and rested his head on his shoulders.
“And I promise again I won’t tell anyone what you told me. And you can always tell me things and I’ll never ask questions.”
Tubbo nodded. “W-what do we tell Philza?” He whispered.
Ranboo was silent. “Nothing, just that we met earlier. I can tell him what you want me to tell them.
Tubbo looked at his hands. “I-I don’t want them to ask me questions about s-speaking.”
“Noted, anything else?” Ranboo joked half-seriously.
Tubbo looked up at him. “T-they can never call me T-Toby.” He inhaled. “I-I can tell you what happened because I trust y-you the most right now.”
Ranboo turned pink. “Really??”
Tubbo nodded as he shuffled so they were face to face.
“I-I ate too much and threw up. I’m not the best with rich foods, I need them bland.” Tubbo rested his hands on Ranboo’s and looked up for permission. Ranboo squeezed his hand.
“Phil said my n-name and triggered a panic attack. B-but I go blank when I’m panicking.”
“Tubbo,” Ranboo whispered. “You don’t have to tell everything.”
“Thanks…” Tubbo said slowly. “My voice hurts. I’m not going to talk more.”
“That’s okay,” Ranboo murmured as he slowly dragged Tubbo closer, giving him enough room to stop him if he wanted. “We can find different ways to communicate yeah? Like sign language or something. We can even create our own signs so no one can read them.”
Tubbo nodded and leaned his head on Ranboo’s chest. Ranboo placed a hand in his curls and began combing through the boy’s curls.
“I’ll also tell them to always ask for permission to touch you, they are very touchy.”
They stayed like that for some minutes, Ranboo brushing Tubbo’s curls while Tubbo breathed slowly.
Listening to Tubbo breathe while he was sorting out Tubbo’s curls was nice. They were a mess, and Ranboo took his time combing through them. Getting all the knots out. Tubbo didn’t stir once and just shuffled himself closer to Ranboo. Damn, that boy was touch-starved when it came to it.
“Can I come in?” Tommy’s voice spoke at the other side of the door.
Ranboo poked Tubbo, but he didn’t respond. “Tub?”
Tubbo hummed slowly.
“Are you falling asleep bud?”
Tubbo whined softly and shook his head. Okay, he was falling asleep.
God- Why was Tubbo like this? Ranboo decided right then and there that he would give his sanity to this person. He would help Tubbo find his way around, they would be the best of friends.
‘’You can open the door, Tommy.’’ Ranboo said.
The door squeaked, and Tommy’s head popped out a few seconds later. He blinked and then started grinning. ‘’Aww Boob boy, have you traded me for my best friend?’’
Ranboo huffed. ‘’Dude he’s your only friend if you don’t count me.’’
‘’Yeah, we’re like best friends!’’ Tommy grinned.
Ranboo waved his hand dismissively. ‘’What is it, Tubbo is napping.’’
Tommy nodded and came through the door. ‘’Wilbur and Nikki are out to get the pizza. Phil was wondering, uhm well. What the fuck happened.’’
Ranboo groaned. ‘’Should have expected that. Fine, we’ll come. But Tubbo told me what had to be told so don’t bug him.’’
‘’Yeah, fair.’’ Tommy agreed. ‘’Is he asleep or…?’’
‘’Think so.’’ Ranboo smiled. He brushed Tubbo’s hair. ‘’I’ll just pick you up and place you next to me all right?’’ he moved his hands from the boy’s hair and wrapped them around his waist. Then he picked him up. Tubbo was light, so Ranboo could hold him bridal-style without any struggle. Tubbo leaned his head against Ranboo’s chest, eyes closed.
Tommy opened the door after that and Ranboo followed him to the living room. The couch was empty, with Philza and his son sitting on the chairs next to the window. Philza chuckled when he saw the three teenagers. And Ranboo muttered something while he placed Tubbo on the couch. He and Tommy both taking a seat next to the asleep brunette.
‘’That’s actually quite cute,’’ Philza commented after a few seconds. ‘’I’m surprised you could even hold him for that long Ranboo.’’
‘’Yeah, well. He is very light.’’ Ranboo pointed out.
‘’Not sure if that’s a good or bad thing,’’ Techno said.
‘’Eh.’’ Ranboo started. He fidgeted with his hands nervously. ‘’So me and Tubbo met earlier today on the beach, and we chatted for some time. And we did again just now in the kitchen.’’
‘’And you cuddled.’’ Tommy added.
Ranboo hid his face in his hands. ‘’Tommy!’’ He groaned. ‘’He was upset, okay?’’
‘’I just don’t think that was it all big man.’’ Tommy laughed as he placed a hand on Ranboo’s shoulder. ‘’But don’t worry, I give you my consent to marry him.’’
Ranboo blinked. What. The. Fudge. He’d met Tubbo today. They just clicked. Maybe they met in weird circumstances and now both boys had decided to create an attachment to a person they didn’t even know. Which was probably fine.
‘’But Tubbo wanted you guys to know some things about him, and I’m here to deliver.’’ Ranboo continued after he recollected himself. ‘’Firstly, he doesn’t want to be called by his real name, ever.’’ He glanced over at Philza and Techno
Phil nodded. ‘’Go on.’’
‘’Second, he doesn’t want anyone to ask him why he doesn’t speak when he gets in that state. Ow, and you need permission to touch him at all times.’’
‘’That’s not fair,’’ Tommy whined. ‘’Why are you special, huh?’’
Ranboo grinned. ‘’I’m just that cool.’’
‘’Boys.’’ Philza stopped them both. ‘’So Ranboo, you’re trying to tell me Tubbo sometimes goes mute?’’
‘’I guess. I don’t really know but he had a hard time talking earlier.’’
‘’I can confirm it,’’ Techno added. ‘’He wasn’t able to talk with me too.’’
‘’Okay, that’s a lot.’’ Philza breathed. ‘’With the touch thing too, checks out.’’
‘’Dadza…’’ Tommy asked silently. ‘’Is Tubbo okay, like, mentally?’’
‘’He’ll be fine mate,’’ Phil said as he stood up, ruffling the hair of his youngest. ‘’He just didn’t have a good life up until now. Healing takes time.’’ He looked at Ranboo and Techno. ‘’That’s why we have to try to make him feel happy.’’
So that’s what Ranboo decided his goal would be this year. Making Tubbo happy and safe. So when Tubbo woke up and wiggled closer to Ranboo, Ranboo held him close. And when Tubbo complained about the cold, Tommy went up to get a sweater for him. And when Wilbur and Nikki came home and asked if Tubbo wanted to eat anything, Ranboo loudly declared he’d made Tubbo eat something earlier.
And if Tubbo hid his face in Ranboo’s hoodie while he was talking, than no one pointed it out.