Archive of Our Own ^beta

Snow delicately fell from the darkening sky and past Michael’s window in a slow, methodical dance. Ranboo carefully petted the hair of his sleeping son as he watched the snow fall. Heat from the downstairs furnaces filtered up through the wooden floors, making this room one of the warmest in the house. Ranboo couldn’t say he liked it that way, but he knew Michael did. When it was colder the pigmen child would get more agitated and grumpier but when it was warm, he was a cuddly ball of sunshine.

Michael’s ears twitched and he curled up closer in Ranboo’s lap as Tubbo opened the trapdoor and climbed up into the room. Ranboo didn’t have to turn away from the window to know it was him, the pattern of Tubbo’s footsteps and breath patterns was something he easily recognized.
“Aw,” Tubbo cooed, seeing their son curled up on Ranboo’s lap. He sat down crisscross on Ranboo’s left and leaned on his shoulder. Immediately his eyes started drooping. Ranboo smiled softly to himself and wrapped one of his arms around Tubbo.

“Tired?” He asked, full well knowing the answer but hoping for a bit of an explanation, Tubbo was usually still full of energy this early in the evening.

“Mhm, Tommy’s got this spider now? I think it’s like his kid I don’t know, he calls it Shroud. He let the thing out so we could play with it? I don’t really know what he was thinking but Eryn showed up and scarred it, so then, me, Tommy and Eryn had to go find the fucker,” Tubbo explained, sounding slightly more awake as he remembered the trials of his day.

“Eryn?” Ranboo asked, he didn’t remember meeting anyone named Eryn on the sever.

“He’s just this demon guy Bad started bringing around, I think Eryn’s like his son or something. He claims to be Tommy’s best friend,” Tubbo finished with a bit of venom and sarcasm. Ranboo chuckled quietly.

“What?” Tubbo asked, a bit snappishly.

“Nothing,” Ranboo giggled, “It’s just a little funny seeing you get all protective over Tommy.”

“I’m not being protective!” Tubbo argued back. Michael twitched in Ranboo’s lap and Tubbo lowered his voice, “I just don’t think he can just not be there for years and suddenly back waltz into to Tommy’s life and act like they’ve never been gone!”

“Back? Was he in Tommy’s life before now?”

“Well yeah, back when they were kids, before even I knew Tommy. They meet in the nether one time when Tommy snuck into a portal and from then on, they were basically inseparable. Something happened then, I don’t know, and he just disappeared, that was about the same time I met Tommy.”

“Well time passes different in the nether, maybe he doesn’t think it’s been that long Bee.”

“I don’t care, he’s dumb and I don’t like him.”

“Alright,” Ranboo agreed.

“What?”

“What do you mean what?” Ranboo asked.

“You’ve got a dumb smile on,” Tubbo supplemented.

“I just-don’t you think you’re being a little unfair?”

“No.”

“Have you even talked to him.”

“Once.”

Ranboo raised an eyebrow at that response, “Really Tubbo?”

“I just don’t like him okay!?”

“Of course, it’s okay but I’m just saying you’re kinda acting like…”

“Kinda acting like what?”

“Kinda acting like you're jealous?”

Tubbo’s eyes widened before a look of betrayal crossed his face, “How dare you! I’m not jealous!”

“Just think about it, would you hate him so much if he didn’t want to be Tommy’s best friend.”

“Yes,” Tubbo answered instantly.

“Really?” Ranboo asked. There was a long pause before Tubbo answered, Ranboo almost thought he wouldn't

“No,” Tubbo sighed and pulled his knees closer to his chest. Ranboo also noticed that he was fiddling with his golden wedding band.

“That’s okay Tubbo, you should tell Tommy how you’re feeling.”

“But what if he likes Eryn better?” Tubbo asked mournfully.

“There’s no way, Tubbo you’re his best friend, you two are two parts of the same crazy whole. I might not understand that whole but you to are always going to be best friends, there’s no way anyone could change that ever,” Ranboo reassured, softly running his hand through Tubbo’s thick hair, it was a bit knotted, so he was especially careful.

A few tears slipped down Tubbo’s face, Ranboo would have wiped them away if the sizzling of his skin wouldn’t make Tubbo more upset.
“You think so?” He asked wetly.

“I know so,” Ranboo confirmed. Tubbo’s body shook as more tears fell. Ranboo hugged Tubbo tightly before quickly putting Michael into his bed and then returning back to his brunette's side. Ranboo wrapped both of his arms around Tubbo and enveloped him in another embrace. Tubbo collapsed into the embrace and curled up as close to Ranboo as he could. Seeing Tubbo like this made Ranboo’s heart ache but right now wasn’t about him. He made sure to keep his breathing even so Tubbo could have something to focus on.

Tubbo’s body shook long after the tears stopped falling. When the shaking slowed Ranboo started talking to him in a very soft whisper.

“Hey Tubs, how you doing?” Tubbo hummed something that sounded like ‘meh’. “I’m going to place two beds, and I’m going to put you in one of them, okay?” Tubbo hummed in conformation and Ranboo placed down the beds in the empty spaces next to Michael’s cookie chest. He picked Tubbo up and placed him in the one next to the wall. Tubbo didn’t bother crawling under the blanket, it was much to warm for it anyway. Ranboo dimmed the lanterns and blew out the torches before the laid down in his own bed next to Tubbo’s.

Ranboo scooted close enough so that Tubbo could tell he was there when his eyes were shut but far enough away that the heat wouldn’t be a problem. He quietly sang one of the endrien lullabies that he remembered and would often sing to Michael when the pigman baby would have nightmares. Tubbo closed his eyes and his breathing slowed as the familiar tune floated through his brain and sent him into a deep sleep. Ranboo’s final thoughts of the evening were for Tubbo and hopping that he would be able to talk to Tommy about how he was feeling. As that final thought slipped away so did his consciousness and Ranboo fell into a heavy sleep.