Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 1- How was the call?

“Heyyy Ramboo, boob boy, my buddy, my pal my friendd,”

“Hello Tubbo,” Ranboo replies exasperated, used to Tubbo’s antics.

“So big man, what did you want to talk about? It seemed pretty urgent.”

“Well I wouldn't say it was urgent, but I think it's definitely important. Well, probably not that important, but somewhat important? I don't know maybe-“

“Dude chill, just stop rambling and tell me what's up, im sure its not that big of a deal.”

Tubbo was very wrong. To Ranboo, this was the biggest deal ever. He was about to shed his life secrets to Tubbo, and once he tells there is no going back.

“Okay, here we go,” The tall blonde says, taking a deep breath and preparing himself. “So, I have a chronic illness, called Multiple Sclerosis. Basically, I have these ‘relapses’ every now and then that basically makes me useless for like- 3 weeks. It probably won't happen when I'm with you, but ya’ know just in case you should know I guess.”

“Oh wow, that's not what I expected, big guy,” Tubbo replies, a little shocked from the brand new information.

“Yeah I know, it's a bit weird and i totally understand if you don't want me coming to the UK anymore at all I mean-“

“Woah woah woah man, what? You think I wouldnt let you to the UK because of a fucking illness you cant control?”

“Well- yeah, a lot of people have done similar things. I mean, not about traveling to a different country but you get the point,” Ranboo replys nonchalantly.

“Okay, first off, that's not okay for anyone to do. Secondly, you said the relapse probably wouldn't even happen when you were over here, so we have got nothing to worry about, right?!”

“Uh- yeah, probably. I just had one like a month ago and they're usually pretty spread out so we should be good for most, if not all the trip. all the content and everything should be fine, if that's what you're worried about.”

“No no no, I'm not worried about the content, Ranboo. I'm worried about you.”

And just like that, tears quickly sprung into Ranboos' eyes. Not many people, not even his parents, had ever said that to him. It was- it made him feel so good. Like somebody finally cared.

“Rambo, you good man? Sounds like tears over there. Did I say something wrong??”

“No, no, you're fine. Great, actually. I'm just- I'm just very excited to meet you and everybody in person.”

“Me too, me too. Anywho, it's almost 2 AM over here, so I'm gonna go ahead and hit the hay. I've got no clue what time it is for you, but you probably should sleep. You've got a long flight ahead of you.”

“Oh shoot, I need to start packing- later Tubbo!” Ranboo said as he clicked the ‘disconnect’ button on discord. He had already packed everything, but there was something else he needed to get done. If he was honest with himself, he could feel a relapse coming on soon. His symptoms had already started appearing, and he guessed that it would be a pretty bad one. He wouldn't be telling Tubbo that, though. No way. He can't make Tubbo worry like that, especially if it's not a guarantee.

But, just to be safe, he packs a couple medical items that could assist him whilst over there. They weren't things he would need during a relapse, they would just be very useful. Once done, he checked the clock, seeing it was 6:30 PM. It was still pretty early, but his flight was at 6 AM tomorrow, and he wanted as much sleep as possible. He always feels pretty fatigued though, that be an ongoing symptom of his multiple sclerosis.

Taking one last scroll through twitter, he turns off his phone and plugs it into his charger. Being on a plane is bad enough, but having a dead phone would be a travesty. Turning off all of his life, he climbs into bed and pulls his blankets over him. After a while of just laying there with his eyes closed, Ranboo falls asleep.

——

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Ranboo wakes up to a blaring sound, that being his alarm clock. He quickly shuts it off, and stumbles out of bed, feeling a bit more disoriented than normal. “It's probably nothing,” he thinks as he packs some last minute things. He then puts on his shoes, a bit slower than usual, gathers all his things, and quickly leaves through the front door. From there, he calls an uber to take him to the Los Angeles airport.

In his mind, he is celebrating the 5 months he can spend without his parents. They had never liked having a disabled child, and to be honest he didn't think they'd like him even if he wasn't disabled. Being without them wouldn't be the main highlight of the trip, but it would definitely be far up there.

Getting into the newly arrived uber, Ranboo puts in his earbuds and lays his head against the window until they make it to the airport. He can feel the faint sound of ‘Party In The USA’ coming from the car's speakers. God, if he didn't hear that song enough everytime he walked into a JC Pennys.

——

Getting out of the uber, he briskly walks into the airport to get out of the cold night. He has a whole hour until his flight is ready to board, but he still rushes to get to his gate. He has a precheck, due to his disability, so security isn't a hassle in the slightest. He decided at the last minute to bring his wheelchair, in case he had a bad attack. Those can render him practically legless for weeks.

He sits in an uncomfortable chair by his gate, 32B, and waits for his flight while scrolling through twitter. He could text Tubbo, as it's 1 PM for him, but he decides against it. He had plenty of time to talk to him later. Soon, all the pre-boarders get to, well, board, and that includes Ranboo. He walks up to the smiling attendant, shows his pass, and walks onto the plane.

Thankfully, he got a seat in the front of economy, those having the most leg room. And god, did he need that. He slips in his earbuds once again and watches Iron man while the flight takes off, to distract himself from the nausea that is sure to come. Eventually he got board of the movie, and decided to text Tubbo

Ranboo: Hey man, Im on the plan rn

Tubbo: YOOOOO, have a good flight i cant wait :DD

Ranboo: I probably wont, these air planes are cramped.

Tubbo: haha sucks to suck

Ranboo: I hate you. Im turning on airplane mode no, so ttyl

Tubbo: ok byee

Putting away his phone, Ranboo decides to try to sleep, for the sole reason to pass the time. He struggles, but eventually finds a nice, semi-comfortable position and begins to fall asleep. It was difficult, with turbulence and all that. But eventually, Ranboo falls asleep.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2- oh no i'm in pain

“RANBOOO!!”

“TUBBOOO!”

“Oh my god you're actually here right now,” Tubbo says, rushing to hug Ranboo.

“Yep, yep, I am definitely here- oof,” Ranboo replies, grunting from the impact of the hug.

“I’m so excited you're here right now, we gotta get to my house and stream asap! I mean you have to unpack first and shit but after that we can do-“

“Tubbo, Tubbo calm down. I still need to get my stuff from the bagging area,” Ranboo says, releasing himself from the hug.

“Oh yeah, right. Let's go!”

They quickly walk over to the bagging claim, fortunately not too far from where they met up. Dodging people have them pretty much jog through the hallways, excited to be with each other. Waiting at the conveyor belt, eventually Ranboo sees his suitcase, accompanied with his wheelchair right next to it.

“Why’d you bring the wheel chair big man? You said the relapse wouldn't happen, right?”

“Yeah, it wont. It was more like a just in case thing, ya know?” Ranboo replys nervously, not wanting to let Tubbo in on what was really going on.

“Ohhh, yeah yeah of course.”

Relieved he got out of that conversation quickly he gathered all of his things, Tubbo helping with some of the luggage, and they made their way to Tubbos parents car.

They stuff all the luggage into the tiny family car, it just barely all fitting. Who knew that enough stuff for 5 months away from home would take up a lot of space?

“So I was thinking after your unpacked and everything, we could go ahead and stream like a just chatting thing. I set up my computer last night so we can just do it there. Is that good?”

“Yeah, that's great,” Ranboo replies, a little disoriented from all the walking they had done. It seemed as though his relapse was coming up sooner than later.

“You good my guy, we don't have to stream if you don't want to, I just think it would be a good idea, let the fans know you're here,” Tubbo replies, noticing Ranboo is a bit out of it.

“Oh no no, we can stream. I'm just a little tired from that long flight, if you dont mind Im gonna take a nap,” Ranboo lies, not wanting to face the reality of what was happening with his body.

“Of course! I'll wake you up when we get to my house, in a couple hours or so. Just rest so you will be all good on stream!”

“Alright cool,” Ranboo says, already closing his eyes and drifting asleep. Though it was true from his illness he was always fatigued, relapses usually doubled that. At this point, it was basically confirmed he was having one, a pretty nasty one at that, but he thought maybe he could hide it from Tubbo.

Was it wishful thinking? Yes. But maybe, just maybe, it would work. With all these thoughts in his head, it was hard to fall asleep, but that never stopped Ranboo. After only a few minutes of having his eyes closed, he was out like a light.

——

“Ranbooooo, wake uppp,”

“Ughhhh already?” Ranboo says, slowly opening his eyes. And sure enough, out his window he could see that they were parked in the driveway of Tubbo’s house.

“Yup! Hurry up and unpack all your shit, the sooner we stream the better!!” replies Tubbo enthusiastically, obviously much more awake than Ranboo.

Was it only 3 PM, yes. Did it feel like midnight for Ranboo? Also yes. But regardless, he got out of the car and followed Tubbo to the extension he would be leaving in for the next 5 months.

“You can keep all your stuff under the loft, and the couch is a pull out so you'll sleep there. The mattress is very comfortable, so don't worry.”

“Alright cool, you get the stream set up and call me when your done”

“Alright boss man!”

Ranboo hastily unpacks his suitcases, first putting all his clothes in a dresser under the loft. Who knew how spacious this area was. He found a nice little corner for his wheelchair, out of the way but still very accessible if (when) he needs it. Then, making sure Tubbo wasn't watching, he bent over, got all the medical stuff he packed and put it in the bottom drawer of the dresser, hoping it was out of the way.

When he stood up from bending over his vision got very blurry, and before he knew it he completely fell over.

“RANBOO, YOU GOOD IN OVER THERE?” Tubbo shouted, not getting a response. Worried, he made his way over there only to spot a passed out Ranboo. Freaking out, he shook Ranboo until he awoke again. It took a little bit of time, but eventually, Ranboo woke up.

“Dude, are you okay? That was a nasty fall.”

“Huh? Oh- yeah, I’m good, just tripped is all,” Ranboo lied through his teeth. Seems as the relapse had just truly begun. His legs were usually the first to act up.

“Okay, are you sure? Is this your medical thing or something?”

“No, no, just, could you get my wheelchair from that corner, I don't think I can walk just yet.”

“I mean- sure. Are you certain nothing is up? Trust me I wont mind in the slight-“

“Nothing is wrong. I'm fine,” Ranboo says, cutting Tubbo off. He just wanted to have a good time in the UK, not to have a relapse the second he gets here.

“If you say so big man,” Tubbo replies, wheeling the wheelchair over to Ranboo. Ranboo shakily gets in, almost falling over again if it weren't for the support of Tubbo right by him.

“We can go ahead and start stream now,”

“Okay if you are sure, the camera shouldn't be low enough to have the wheel chair in frame, but just in case do you wanna go to a normal chair?”

“Nope, I don't think I should do that right now, walking is a little bit of a no no,”

“Dude, are you sure you're okay? We don't have to stream right now if you're feeling bad,” Tubbo says, clearly noticing that Ranboo is not okay.

“Im fucking fine god dammint, jsut start the stream,” Ranboo says, a bit more aggresivly than usual. Another symptom of his MS is a very short temper, going from his usual joyful self to a more pissy, irritated version.

“Im sorry, I didn't mean to be rude, can we just please start the stream,”

“Yeah man of course, I get it. Todays been a lot, everyone gets pissy every now and then,” Tubbo responds, clicking the go live button and putting on his starting screen.

Ranboo faintly hears Tubbos starting soon music, but he is very lost in his head. He can register the immense pain his muscles are in at the moment, 100% confirming the chances of a relapse. He knows he has to tell Tubbo before it's too late, but he really doesn't want to ruin the moment.

“Ranboo, you good? We are just about to start,” Tubbo says, shaking him out of his thoughts.

“Uh- yeah, I'm all good. We can go ahead and start.”

“Alright” Tubbo says, clicking the scene change button, watching the camera fill the frame. “HELLOOOOO CHAT what is upp, if you can't tell, today we have a very special guest.”

“Hey guys, how are y'all doing?”

“It's the ONE, the ONLY, RANBOO LIVEE.”

“Yup, that is me. Tubbo kidnapped me and now I'm forced to be here for the next 5 months. Mom, if you're watching this, please save me,” Ranboo says, quickly falling into his stream persona.

“Chat, dont listen to him, he is a big fat lier. You got on that plane by your own free will.”

“I have no idea what your talking about”

The stream continues on well for the next hour or so, when Ranboo can feel muscle spasms starting in his leg. The pain quickly went from 50 to 100, and he wasnt able to hide the grunt of pain that released from his mouth. Tubbo, noticing this, quickly muted the mic to ask what was up.

“Before you say anything, you are not good. Tell me what's going on Ranboo, please.”

“Okay, I may or may not be having a relapse. I swear I wasn't trying to hide it from you I really just wanted to have a good time but now this is happening and I'm so sorry and-“

“Ranboo, Ranboo chill- it's okay. What can I do to help?”

“Could we maybe end the stream? They have to be getting suspicious on whatever were talking about.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course. One sec,” He says as he clicks the unmute button and says his goodbyes to chat, playing things off like nothing bad just happened.

“Okay man, what's going on?”

“Soo, basically Im having fucking horrible muscle spasms in my legs at the moment, and let me tell you they are NOT pleasent. And I don't think I can walk anytime soon, hence the wheelchair. The relapse just started today, so more symptoms are probably going to come, but that's it for now.” Ranboo left out the part that this was coming out to be one of the worst relapses he’s had yet.

“Okay, I can work with that. Tommy’s meant to come over tomorrow, so we should probably tell him what's going on. Speaking of- have you told anyone other than me about your many scoliosis thing or whatever?”

“First off, it's multiple sclerosis, and second, no I haven't.”

“So, what i'm thinking is we get all the UK boys in one call just to tell them what's up, since we are going to meet them all soon. And these things last 3 weeks right? So we’ll just hold off content that might require legs.”

“That’s a great plan, but speaking of content, how are we going to let chat know. Their gonna notice the wheelchair sooner or later, especially since we’ll be going out in public”

“That ones up to you big guy. Share as much or as little as you want. Or, don't share anything and leave them in the dark. Whatever you choose is good.”

“Wow, thanks. Very helpful.”

“I know, I pride myself on the ability to help those in need.”

“Oh shut up-“

——