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Quackity's hand rests on Tubbo's shoulder fingertips pressing barely against his blue sweater.
It's so weird to enter school today after the night they had.
After-
"If you fucking think-!"
After..that..
Shivers race up his spine.
Quackity was certain Tubbo needed to keep going to school.
Be a normal kid.
Quackity was skipping school himself though.
He didn't tell Tubbo why and honestly asking felt far too daunting.
"Okay. Just. Like everything is normal Tubbo. Every other day."
Tubbo nods his head idly shifting on his feet.
“Right. Right.”
He whispers in some kind of response.
What's going to happen inside there?
Tubbo takes his first step inside-trying to fight off the picture of a guillotine.
It was gonna be fine. No one would know he's just gonna be one of the crowd.
The sound of screaming pitched raw and high echoes in the click of the front door sealing him away from his brother.
Inside the walls, Tubbo ghosts along the halls actively trying to keep himself as quiet as possible to avoid any attention and keep himself unnoticeable. It's super important no one looks closely at him.
But now.
Now.
Kids are running past him shouting and jumping, bright bubbly cheers and one child has another one on the ground and it would be terrifying if it wasn't for the laughing.
The laugh takes a higher pitch, breaking off into a shriek-
Tubbo freezes, caught in place by the shrill noise.
It was fine, it was fine, they were playing.
The boy flailing on the ground had the brightest blue eyes Tubbo had ever seen. They sparked with mirth as he attempted to…bite? The arm of the brown-haired teenager trapping him.
Tubbo sticks his hands into his sweater sleeves twisting them around in the oversized garment (he borrowed it from Q after his was taken last night.) So his fingers could grip the skin.
"Hey hey, Wilbur! Didn't you already graduate?! Get your lanky butt to high school!"
"Oh! Big talk from you….ahh aha, yes sorry Miss Puffy, just saying goodbye to Tommy..ha..uh."
"Get."
The two separate.
Tubbo shakes his head exhaling the breath he didn't realize he was holding.
The child-Tommy? Springs up and his cackling laughter rings around the middle school as he dances from foot to foot, mocking the teen who must be his older brother for getting scolded.
Glares get sent his way but he doesn't seem to even notice.
The bell rings.
Tubbo jumps slightly, unsure of what class he should join.
One of the bigger ones for sure..he slinks into some kind of history class.
A large globe of the word sits on top of the teacher’s desk rustic and clearly well-used.
Tubbo picks an open spot in the back.
It's not logical they don't have any neighbors around their house, and definitely none from around here but-Tubbo sits on the edge of his seat terrified that his teacher knew.
Every time her eyes flicked past Tubbo or even in just his general location he could feel how his back would straighten, his lungs would ache.
It just.. sucked. But
Well.
She didn't do a roll call so yeah!
That's.
One out of seven teachers.
There was no way this was going to work. They were gonna get caught.
There was just. No way no one was gonna notice that Tubbo's never been here before.
That's not. Possible.
Right?
God. Why would Q do this to him?
"And that's why America believes John Paul Jones was a true hero."
The words blur together and Tubbo drops his head into his arms unable to stare at the blurry screen projection any longer.
The next couple of classes go by in the same blurry haze, with Tubbo checking his back and staying as quiet as possible. Letting teachers assume whatever keeps them from pressing, letting them think maybe they just printed out the wrong amount of worksheets for how many kids were in the class.
He has a couple of close calls and a couple of hair-raising questions from both staff and peers alike.
“Oh? I don’t think we’ve met before! The teacher didn’t mention a new student!”
“Sorry, are you supposed to be in a different class?”
Tubbo had muttered a quick sorry for that one and got out of there as fast as possible.
He didn’t really need to learn pottery anyway.
Perks of picking his own schedule!
…That also means he could avoid going to an English lesson then!
The bell rings dismissing his third period to lunch, Tubbo follows the herd, still marveling over not having to write essays or struggle with reading- if he could, whoa!
That would be so much easier on his grades! Stupid C before E and the rules of.. of...
Tubbo blinks at the sign posted inside of the cafeteria just before the trays of food completely distracting him from that line of thought.
“Please bring your own lunch from home! Due to restrictions, we ask that only children placed on free or reduced lunch enter this line! Have your student ID ready to be scanned. (Forms to be placed on the student aid are on the front desk at the office.) Your parents have been notified.
-Have a great day and learn lots!- School principal and staff!!
Tubbo frowns, biting his lip at the new information.
He..he. Didn't know that this was how this school would go about lunch..if he did, he would have taken something from the breakfast bar here in the morning and saved it for lunch.
Now..now was he just not going to get to eat?
The line of kids getting trays filled with sandwiches and fruit was bigger than ten people... Could Tubbo just..fit in and grab something without any raised eyebrows?
Tubbo takes a half step closer to the line, eyeing the pile of ham sandwiches he could see underneath a dome of glass.
A taller boy swipes his ID card against the panels.
A beep.
He pulls up and the cover follows, he easily picks one up and laughs at something someone next to him says carefully lowering the dome back over the food like it wasn’t a big deal.
Blood rushes past his ears, barely muffing the click of the latch sealing.
Tubbo curls his hands into fists feeling a stab of hunger snarl awaken a stronger force now that it’s even more clear that-
He won’t be eating without a card.
The boy with Tubbo’s fucking food flicks his head over to him, clearly confused. He has a stupid black-and-white mask on! He can’t even-!
Tubbo glares, daring him to say anything.
Tubbo twists his body away before he can do or say something stupid, it’s not the kid's fault it’s not! and hunts for a small corner to wait out the rest of lunch in.
He’s been hungry before. One..no..two missed meals won't kill him but.
Dammit!
It’s. Fine. He’s just gonna have to make do.
There’s a spot underneath a tree just outside the front doors. Some students milled around but they were a good few feet away.
The grass is thick underfoot; it would feel great against Tubbo’s bare feet.
When his back rests against the bark he finds out why no one is enjoying the shade here.
A bee’s nest hovers in the branches above him, buzzing forms raising up high and low looking for flowers.
Close enough that all Tubbo needed to do to get to them would be to climb a limb.
It's tempting, not that he’d be able to actually do anything with the hive, he just likes the noise.
Tubbo likes bees.
One lands on a flower near his foot.
He pulls up his phone and shoots Quackity a text.
T- “I can’t get lunch…think you could swing by with something, maybe? No worries if not! I’ll figure something out!”
The message stays on read and Tubbo drops his head down into his knees biting the side of his cheek harshly.
Fuck he only had so much time before lunch was over-
But it would be fine just till schools out it doesn’t matter-!
The tips of his thumbs sink into the skin behind his ears, nails rubbing till the ache Tubbo feels subsides.
The bee lifts itself from the petals of the flower and starts to climb into the sky aiming for its home.
Pollen specks drift underneath its ascent.
When it’s time to pick his next period he’s still on read.
At least hunger pains dulled to something barely noticeable after sixth
Storm clouds threaten over the sky when school ends for the day
Tubbo does his best to avoid being trampled by the crowd, keeping to the fringes.
Quackitly said he would be able to pick him up today..but there hasn't been any communication since this morning so...
Maybe Tubbo would just have to suck it up and walk.
…Would he get lost?
The unfamiliar streets were cold and leeching-what was the crime rate in this town?
Tubbo bites his lip.
He doesn’t see Q.
Kids are being picked up smiling bright and loud, pleased to see their families.
Tubbo should get moving.
His phone is in his palm…could he call? Where was-?
Tubbo’s feet slide out from underneath him as a group of teenagers four of them shove him out of their path. Tubbo throws his hands out in front of him to keep his balance and sends as nasty a glare as he knows how to at their backs.
They don’t even seem to notice.
Assholes! That- come on he’s not that short!
“So, when did you say Karl would be back?”
“Hm? Oh- I don’t think he’ll be back for like…a while? It’s all kinda confusing, to be honest... No one’s too sure.”
“He’s already missed like all of these first two months!”
Tubbo huffs as their voices fade away rubbing his shoulder where it stings.
It's not too bad in all honesty it's just.
The cherry on top of everything else.
Whatever it's fine it’s fine.
On his phone screen, a message finally comes through with a happy little chirp.
Big Bro-"You're gonna have to walk home, abeja. Sorry..Stay safe. "
Tubbo swallows past the lump in his throat.
T-"Ah- okay okay thank you. See you soon."
Quackity responds with a thumbs up and heart emoji.
Tubbo nods to himself, there was nothing else he could do about it.
and begins his walk framed by the sun dipping lower in the sky, it'll be fine. He can do this.
It takes a good thirty minutes to get where Tubbo and Quackity have set up
Especially because Tubbo keeps pausing and checking the street signs and trying not to look like a thirteen-year-old who's lost.
Judging from a couple of fugitive looks sent his way, he wasn't exactly successful.
He keeps a wide berth away from a rather dark-lit alleyway half concerned about what could live down there. It looked like a rather cool way to get shanked.
If he got hurt because of something as stupid as getting jumped jeez Tubbo would never be able to show his face to his older brother again!
The picture of the shock and anger and “ What the fuck Tubbo?! Man?!” has Tubbo grinning to himself.
See.
The hardest part about finding where they live now is the fact it doesn’t really have an address. It’s not on a street.
It’s more like just outside of town in a fairly forgotten and neglected part of the area. At least that’s the best guess they have for how it’s ended up being the way it is.
So the area getting more rural is a good thing- his eyes catch onto a single dented lamp post.
Quackily taps Tubbo’s head sharp enough to get his attention he’s leaning against the cool mental.
“Hey, abeja! Pay attention! If you need to get around- this is where you turn off to get back home, our fucking landmark- back to our own fucking holy land!” He’d been smiling then and in the morning breeze ruffling his hair just enough- Tubbo was impressed, he’d ever be able to handle all of this as confidently as his brother!
Tubbo pushes past overgrown bushes and trees screwing up his face at the vines nipping playfully over his arms and back.
There’s a barely there pathway, the same one he and Q had stumbled through this morning so yes! Tubbo wasn’t lost!
Home breaks into view as he stumbles into the glade.
It’s.
A fixer-upper that's for sure, the cabin is old and spots of wood are rotten-Tubbo isn’t allowed in the upstairs sections of the house for fear of it breaking in.
It was a fair concern seeing as the left side has completely caved in on itself folded in, wooden shingles messy across the remaining supports.
On the one hand, it left a rather nasty draft- but Tubbo and Q had done quite a bit of repair with an old tarp they’d found laying in the grass outside by tying it down across the widest section of the break- they’ve managed to section off the worst of it, which took away the worst of the draft!
And-!The kitchen was still intact so that was good!
All in all, It wasn’t a bad place if you just kept a positive outlook.
Tubbo was excited to keep working on it- maybe he’d be able to build his own treehouse one day!
Now that he wasn’t surrounded by people who didn’t understand he could feel his shoulders coming down and that little itch fading away, to be replaced with something akin to excitement.
Tubbo steps forward eager to get his backpack off his back even though it didn’t have much in it anymore the straps digging into his shoulders was annoying.
Grass knots around his right foot and Tubbo has to hop to shake it off and to keep himself upright.
Then he’s ducking inside unsure if he should really touch the door, the way it hangs..Q said it should be steady and he’d shut it last night but.
If Tubbo broke it..that would be bad..not that it would break or anything!
The smell of mildew gets stronger indoors.
Tubbo drops his backpack off the floor and wrings his hands together standing in the living room studying all the dust in the air, caught gleaming in the sunlight.
Q wasn’t back yet, but that doesn’t mean Tubbo has to be idle, he could do something helpful even!
And he doesn’t even have homework!
And no one found him out!
Tubbo grins feeling a bubbling sense of cautious joy because-
He did it! He really did it!
Maybe they could really truly do this!
Even just the idea of being out and done and alone was so much better than anything else.
Tubbo wouldn’t have to creep around and live on eggshells and Q wouldn’t need to sweet talk the police and and and! Tubbo could get all the toys he wanted!
Dinosaurs and rockets and maybe, maybe he could get like... A real robot?
Ohh that would be so cool! Flashing lights, please!
But first Tubbo needs to clean.
Q would be so much happier if he came back to a place that didn’t smell damp and didn’t feel..so..pressing.
Tubbo pauses because he doesn’t really know where to start…
Some elation trickles away, his chest tightening in its absence.
Tubbo shakes his head and breathes out slowly only to break into a coughing fit as he inhales dust.
Fuck-! Ah, he’d forgotten- God okay, window open a window, air it out or something-!
His fingers fumble with the latch.
Finally, with a shivering groan, it releases its death grip and Tubbo inhales nice fresh air, which helps him regain control of his breathing.
He leaves it open.
They have a lot of work to do.
But they can do it!
Just have to try.
Tubbo finds a broom in what must have been the closet- spider webs cling to its handle but when Tubbo cleaned them off no spiders ran out onto his hands so it was probably fine.
If Tubbo could clear away most of the dust then it would be so much nicer here!
And then he could uh. Move anything that was in the way? Like those debris tuck them away in the corner!
It’s late when Q finally gets home.
He’s driving a fucking car.
“Hey, Tubbo! Look who's coming in on a fucking white horse!”
He gets out of the car like it makes perfect sense to just randomly accrue one- like Tubbo’s blood isn’t rushing in his ears, heart pumping adrenaline- Gonna be found out that’s not laying low, that’s not keeping out of sight!
“Q! What- What did you-did you-”
The look his brother sends him has Tubbo tripping over onto the backfoot-
“Uh-uh nevermind, nevermind, I don’t wanna know do I?”
Quackitys shoulders go down and he hums nodding in his causal manner, Tubbo knows him too well, he’s wired up- a snake curled with its tail ratting warnings.
Be quiet be quiet don’t make it worse he’s been through enough.
“I brought a treat. It's a housewarming gift eh?”
Tubbo tries not to stare at the car, at the rusted crusts on the rims, or the dents on its side.
Or the mini holes dotted in the back side just above the right tire.
It’s better he doesn’t know. That’s always been a fact.
“Thank you Q.”
“Pizza is probably the best food ever.” Tubbo manages to say around his mouthful of the stuff. It’s cheesy and messy it’s Tubbo’s third piece- eating had reawakened the first of the stabbing ache.
Quackily flashes him a tired grin circles dark underneath his eyes, there’s a certain distance buried inside there that Tubbo doesn’t really know what to do with.
He knows better though than to ask how Q got this pizza at least, or about the car.
The fucking car..what did he do?
Tubbo’s gotta stop thinking about it!
It burns at the back of his throat though. Maybe..
“Mmhm, Mmhm, save some for lunch tomorrow.”
Tubbo fidgets not really sure how they’d save anything without bags or Tupperware but yeah.. they should. Somehow. He’ll work on that.
“Did school go well, no one asked anything they didn’t need to?”
Tubbo shivers, hugging his coat tighter against himself-it’s cold. He feels cold. Why is it so cold in here?
Did Tubbo forget to close the window?
“Uh, It went well I think...I was hungry..but uh yeah..cleaned up here a bit..I-”
Quackity leans forward on the ratty couch stuffing and falling out with the motion.
Q doesn't react to it.
He narrows his eyes watching Tubbo with his head tilted slightly. His eyes have sharpened, more in tune with what’s around him.
Tubbo rises an eyebrow pinning that stare down.
Quackity frowns eye’s tracing down his form..taking it in-
Then he lunges with a loud cry and pulls Tubbo off the back and tucks him in close to his chest.
Tubbo chokes on a startled noise- surprised by the quick action- This wasn’t something he did all the time! Give him a break!
“Q!”
“You're all sad! Sad bo! What’s on your mind! Huh? Huh?” his voice a high teasing pitch softened with affection.
“I-I dude! Personal space! Personal space!”
Tubbo spits out, squirming and pretending that he couldn’t feel the smile fighting its way on his face.
Quackity sticks his tongue out, amusement sparking in his eyes, catching Tubbo’s wrist loosely- Tubbo could escape easily.
He doesn't.
“Well Tubs..seeing as your just a little baby thirteen year old- your big older amazing brother has-”
“By three years! Just three years It’s not that much!”
“Has! To check in on your well-being just the life of a”
Tubbo thunks his head down against Q’s neck, listening to the rushing exhale of air.
“I missed you.”
It’s whispered and it’s a little silly, there are so many things they have to actually be worried about, but but but.
Fingers settle in his hair, lightly scratching through the stands.
I’m scared- I don’t know what we have to do...I don’t want to go back!
Tubbo goes completely limp, nuzzling into comfort.
He can feel the shaky breath Quackilty makes before he speaks.
“I know, I know it’s a lot to ask abejita, I get okay? This fucking sucks.”
Tubbo nods, he can’t open his mouth, his throat is far too tight.
Quackity continues-
“And to make this work I can’t be around as much as I want to be, but we need money Tubbo. We need it. There’s no other way.”
His frame shivers and Tubbo squeezes it tighter in response wishing he was old enough to hold him together.
“I swear. I’ll buy glasses, a heater- make this place real fucking posh, fix it up, I just need- I mean it’s better right?”
Carefully Q shifts Tubbo back so he can see Tubbo's face-which means he really needs to hear Tubbo say something- to mean it.
It’s easy.
His bedroom door slams shut with a click. Locked in. Locked in till-!
“Yeah. Yeah, this is better, I just wish I could help.”
It’s rough and torn out of his jaw but it’s so true.
Q needs to hear it.
The gentle touch slides down to cup his chin encouraging Tubbo to meet his burning gaze lit with passion and power and pride-
“All you need to do in order to help Tubs is keep people from finding out. They’ll send us back, they will. So don’t let them know and that’s all I need from you.”
Tubbo echos the words.
He knows.
He knows.
He won’t risk it.
He won’t be left behind.
“You and me, right Q? You and me?”
And Quackiy beams, his voice is laced with pride and he tucks Tubbo back in, his heart is racing against his ear.
“You and me kid. You and me. We can do this. We can do this! Fuck yeah!”
Loud, uncowed by anything- powerful. There’s no room for doubt or for pause. Last chance, gambling cards set out all in.
They have no choice but to succeed.
Tubbo’s never felt safer.