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“What do you even want to show me, big man?” Tommy asked with a small laugh, though internally he was quite scared of what his energetic friend was going to try to show him.
“You’ll see boss man,” Tubbo said with confidence only he could have, “You’re going to love it.”
Tommy shrugged, “If you say so, then I guess it must be true. Was the blindfold necessary though?”
Tubbo smiled, though Tommy couldn’t see it. He dragged his best friend along as the two fell into companionable silence. It was nice to have a day to themselves where they could relax without having to worry about needless wars.
It was nice.
He looked over at Tommy, studying the relaxed features of his face. It wasn’t hard for a person to get to this stage with Tommy, though it took a bit of time.
They were both a little weird, a little off in the head from all of the trauma they had been put through. Tubbo admired Tommy because they still had so much fire, so much spark, so much rebellion.
Tommy had been exiled twice for goodness sake.
He had exiled Tommy, Tubbo had exiled Tommy, his mind whispered.
He didn’t know if this sudden urge to hang out with his friend was brought upon by guilt, but seeing Tommy finally able to relax for a day without looking over his shoulder in paranoia was enough for Tubbo.
He wondered what his life would’ve been like if he had actually run away with Tommy that day. Would it have been better?
Tubbo was sure it would’ve, though he wouldn’t have met Michael or Ranboo.
Tubbo looked back at Tommy, the fiery blonde not swearing and putting up a persona ten times more aggressive than he actually was. His gaze softened, Tubbo was sure it did.
As much as he would like to pretend that he was emotionless and nothing could affect him, it was nice to just be allowed to enjoy a moment.
They finally reached it, the place that Tubbo had been itching to bring Tommy to for a long time, since before the second exile.
He loathed the fact that he never got the chance before, never got the chance to bring his best friend to a place of solitude where they could both be children.
Now Tubbo had the chance and he was unwilling to let it go to waste.
“Hey boss man. You can take off the blindfold now.”
“Fucking finally, it was really disorienting y’know. Like I know I’m a big man, the biggest actually but… fuck.”
Tubbo watched with barely hidden glee as Tommy finally caught sight of the view in front of him. He couldn’t blame him, honestly.
The first time Tubbo had seen it, he had almost passed out, then and there.
Meteors fell through the sky, lighting up the dark with bright lights of blues and greens and purples. They flashed and disoriented Tubbo, so he was sure it would disorient Tommy too.
They spoke of untold realities and beauty that one could not hope to possess. They spoke of the past and the comings of a brighter future.
Tubbo, after all of the things he had gone through, the multiple wars he had been in, had wanted to move on. But he wouldn’t move on without Tommy.
Even when he had first seen the meteors, his first thought was that he wanted to show it to Tommy, the one who he had been with since the start of the server, his brother in all but blood.
These meteors, to Tubbo at least, had become more than a sight only meant for aesthetic value. They meant promise, they meant that Tubbo hadn’t forgotten Tommy. And given the fact that his previous actions had broken that covenant, this sight renewed it.
Tommy was awestruck, though he may not place the same value on the meteors as Tubbo did, he was definitely appreciating the sight.
A soft chittering behind them caused Tommy to turn, his fear and constant vigil forcing him to.
Ranboo tentatively offered an allium.
Tubbo knew that those purple flowers meant a lot to the two, so he only smiled as Tommy took it, carefully storing it away in his inventory.
Then, without missing a beat, Tommy pulled Ranboo beside him. Tubbo had no objection to it.
“Stay for now Ranboo, I don’t think that Tubbo meant to invite you, but you-you mean a lot to the both of us, so I’m sure he won’t mind.”
“I don’t stay here Ranboo.”
Ranboo, though he may have objected before, understood the notion and the invitation and accepted gracefully. He carefully sat himself down in the grass.
Tommy sat down and Tubbo took that as his cue to sit as well.
Tubbo had originally planned this for him and Tommy, but he wasn’t averse to Ranboo being there. It was a change. Now, Tubbo had one more person in his corner and so did Tommy.
They were safe with Ranboo and Ranboo was safe with them.
“We need a trio name don’t we?” Tommy said, a brilliant smile on his face that made Tubbo’s heart warm. Tommy was always the leader, but for a while it seemed he had lost that drive, which made Tubbo all the more happier when he took control of this situation.
“How aboooout, the benchtrio.”
“That’s… you know what? I love it big man. You always have the best fucking ideas Tubbo.”
Poor Ranboo looked so lost, it was clear that he had only been intending to deliver his flowery gift, not get pulled into a friendship trio. It was fine though, Tubbo would shower his platonic partner and his best friend in affection all day long.
“The meteors, they’re falling, I should feel sad for them, but it’s so beautiful,” Ranboo said softly.
“They burn, bright and loud and begging to be noticed. They’re falling through the sky, but so what? We aren’t seeing them crash, as far as we can tell they never do. They’re going to hit the ground eventually but so what? It’s kind of like us in a way. We’re loud so nobody sees us fall, so nobody questions us.
I think that we’re different. We have each other don’t we?”
It was a nice speech, but Tommy had always been like that. Sentimental in a way Tubbo just didn’t get.
He thought back to the inner monologue he had had in his mind just now, okay maybe Tubbo did kind of get it.
But Tommy had the courage to say it out loud. Could translate his thoughts into words the way that nobody else could. Maybe that was why all the people he met wanted to follow him.
Maybe that was why they thought they were being used.
They enjoyed the colours, the iridescent glow reflecting in their eyes. Tubbo felt safe here, and it was with that thought that he drifted off to sleep.